Chapter 2:

'Everfree Ambush'

Twilight Sparkle received the usual royal welcome when a group of guards arrived to escort her inside the castle. Unsurprisingly, the marching ponies from the North were not far behind, and with the gates open, she could only assume Celestia ordered for them to be allowed into the castle.

Upon entering the large throne room, Twilight saw her fellow princesses at the end waiting for her. Besides the generous smile Celestia gave her, she felt a little intimidated at the glare she was receiving from Luna.

"I'm...I'm here Princess Celestia." Despite being of the same title as Celestia and Luna now, Twilight still believed it was necessary to address them royally by their titles.

"Twilight please, for last time, you are a Princess now, there's no need to address me as such anymore." Celestia stated with her usual caring tone.

With a nervous chuckle, Twilight said, "I'm sorry, I guess I'm still trying to get use to it..." She turned to Luna and tried to keep up her smile. "Good morning Princess Luna, how are you feeling?"

Luna just continued to glare at her but satisfied her with a reply. "We art feeling much...I mean, I am feeling, fine...thank you for asking." She said, clearly showing she was still having a hard time adjusting to normal speech.

"So, what's going on? Why are those guards coming here? What's the situation in the Frozen North?" Twilight asked with a curious tone.

"Twilight please, one question at a time..." Celestia said as she raised her hoof. "First of all, we weren't given all of the details and we asked you to be here so you could discuss it with us. You know of Prince Dusk correct?"

"Yes, I know of him, the Unicorn who founded his Kingdom in the Frozen North some time after the day of my coronation?" Twilight replied.

Celestia nodded. "The same. He recently sent us a letter stating that he would like to form an alliance with us. He mentioned in his letter that a supposed warlord has been rampaging throughout his Kingdom, as such, he sent some of his own forces here to ensure we can rely on him to assist us."

That certainly explained the ponies she and Starlight saw earlier, but she was still confused as to why Dusk was putting his Kingdom at risk by sending most of his forces to Canterlot. Celestia noticed her expression and continued. "We cannot ignore Prince Dusk's generosity and must repay him in some form. We still have yet to decide the method of an alliance, that's why you are here Twilight, we'd like to know what your thoughts are on this."

Talk about pressure. As if things weren't bad enough, Twilight now had a lot more weight on her back, knowing full well that the fate of another's kingdom was on the line. She bit her bottom lip as she tried to think of a reply, but no words came to mind, and she could see in Princess Celestia's eyes that her struggle to find an answer was clearly showing.

Suddenly, she got a lucky break, as a rolled up scroll appeared before them just like the scrolls the two used to always send each other. "What's that?" Luna asked.

"Another letter from Prince Dusk I believe." Celestia used her magic to bring the scroll towards her. "I hope it's more information regarding this warlord, we really know nothing about him yet." She said as she opened the scroll.

Dear Princesses of Canterlot,

I send this letter to you in my lords stead, he has his own duties to attend to. The Prince has come to a decision on a method of forming an alliance and has stated it as the method he will stand by. Prince Dusk of the Frozen North has declared that he will marry the newest crowned Princess of Canterlot, and in doing so, ensuring a trustful and permanent alliance between our kingdoms. My deepest apologies for this unexpected change on such short notice and I hope that you will agree to these terms for the sake of our homes. I also hope Princess Twilight Sparkle is okay with this decision, as it would be most unsatisfying if she were to turn the offer down and put our kingdoms at risk.

Yours sincerely,

Magister Sky Shadow

Twilight saw the look on Celestia's face and immediately came to the conclusion that the letter held very bad news. "What is it sister?" Luna asked, puzzled by Celestia's silence.

When no reply came, the dark Alicorn slowly approached her sister and looked at the letter also, her expression also changed upon reading its contents. Twilight noticed the change and finally spoke up. "What? What is it?" She asked as she took a step forward.

"Wait!" Celestia said out loud, stopping the young Princess in her tracks. "Twilight Sparkle, please give me and sister some time to consult with each other on this."

Now she was really curious as to what the letter said. "But why? What does the letter say?"

"I promise, I will tell you, just...just not at the moment. I don't think you'll be particularly happy with what is written on it. Return to Ponyville and come back to the Castle at night." Celestia said in a slightly nervous tone.

"But..." Twilight tried to argue but retracted what she was about to say when she saw the sad look in Celestia's eyes. It'd be impossible to argue with her when she had such an expression on her face, Twilight decided to accept defeat for the moment. "Ok, I'll come back later." Twilight said before turning to leave.

Celestia sighed. "I'm sorry Twilight..."

The purple Alicorn continued to walk on, not acknowledging the Princess's apology. "Celestia?" Luna said, catching her sisters attention.

"I'm afraid to make a decision I may regret." Celestia said.

Luna narrowed her eyes at the white Alicorn. If Twilight were to be married to Prince Dusk then that would mean that their homes would be safe from whoever is causing all of the destruction in the Frozen North. The pressure was just as equally on her back as it was her sisters, as they knew the importance of this alliance and if they were to agree, Twilight would have no choice but to accept even if she didn't want to. That's why Celestia was having a hard time thinking about it, as she would be making the younger Princess do something against her will, and she'd never do that to anypony.

At the moment, they had some time to discuss the matter, and if Luna knew her sister, there was no doubt that she would probably try and convince Twilight to agree to this marriage. They would have to tell her at night, and Celestia was only hoping it wouldn't create a rift between her and her former student.

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"Everything is going as our master planned. Now then, all we have to do is stir up a little bit of trouble here and there, kill a few ponies and get away before the Princess's royal guard catches us." A silver Pegasus said darkly as he set his beaming red eyes on Ponyville.

A red earth Pony chuckled and brushed his mane back with his hoof. "And if we happen to get caught?"

"Kill any witnesses, I would very much like to succeed without any setbacks this time." The Pegasus said.

The sound of laughter caught their attention. The two remained hidden in a tree and watched as three little fillies were passing by. "I still think those Ponies were from the Crystal Empire!" Said the one of the fillies.

One had a horn and a light grey coat. Her mane and tail were a greyish mulberry colour with pale and light greyish rose streaks. Her eyes were also a pale and light greyish harlequin colour.

The second had gamboge coloured eyes and pale and a light greyish olive coloured coat. Her mane and tail were both amaranth coloured and she wore a light crimson bow.

The last one had greyish purple eyes and a cerise coloured mane and tail. Her coat was also a light gamboge colour and she had small wings.

"And I'm telling you they came from the Frozen North Sweetie Belle! I even heard some of the older Ponies mentioning it!" Said the filly with the wings.

"Ah'm willin' to bet that the Prince there is plannin' on movin' 'ere." Said the filly with the bow.

Sweetie Belle laughed. "I think that would be great Apple Bloom! A new Pony to talk to! He might even know of a way for us to get our Cutie Marks! What do you think Scootaloo?"

Scootalo shrugged. "I don't know, Rainbow Dash told me that the Prince over there is a huge jerk. Atleast, that's what someponies say."

"Ya think so? Applejack told me the exact same thing, but ah think yer all jus over-exaggeratin' a little too much. He may actually be pretty nice!" Apple Bloom added.

As the three fillies walked on, they were suddenly stopped by a silver Pegasus that landed in front of them. He had a short, spiky white coloured mane and tail and beaming red eyes that looked like he was on the verge of insanity.

"Whoa! Who are you?" Sweetie Belle asked.

The silver Pegasus smirked deviously and stood straight, towering over the three fillies. "I am Blitz Bolt, and I couldn't help but overhear-"

"Nice ta meet ya Blitz Bolt! Ah'm Apple Bloom! This here is mah friends Sweetie Belle 'n' Scootaloo!" Apple Bloom interrupted.

Blitz Bolt raised a brow and continued. "Right. Anyway as I was saying-"

"Are you with those ponies who were marching towards Canterlot?!" Sweetie Belle interrupted.

Attempting to speak again, Blitz Bolt said, "Actually I'm-"

"Because if you are then that'd be so cool! You can tell us what's happening and why you and your friends are moving into the Princess's castle!" Scootaloo interrupted.

On the verge of screaming, Blitz Bolt took a deep breath and regained his composure. "Ok. Now, to answer your question, I'm actually here to-"

"Hey ah just thought of a great idea!" Apple Bloom, once again, interrupted.

"What is it Apple Bloom?" Sweetie Belle asked.

Apple Bloom smiled and pointed at Blitz Bolt. "Maybe he can tell us how he got his Cutie Mark an' give us some ideas on how we can get ours! Wha'cha think?!"

"I think that's a great idea!" Sweetie Belle replied.

"Yeah we should totally-" Scootaloo couldn't finish as she was cut off by a loud high pitched yell.

"NO! NO! NO! NO AND NO!" Blitz Bolt kneeled down and clutched his head in his hoofs.

Apple Bloom blinked in confusion. "Is somethin' wrong? Oh! Ah know! Maybe we can-"

"NO!" Blitz Bolt stood on all four hoofs and gave them a raging glare. "THE TIME FOR WORDS ENDED A MINUTE AGO! NOW SHUT UP AND LET ME KILL YOU!"

The three fillies eyes widened as the silver Pegasus raised his hoof at them. "Whoa!" They rushed around him, avoiding the hit. "W-We're sorry if upset you sir! M-Maybe we can make it up to you somehow?" Sweetie Belle said a very scared tone.

Blitz Bolt smirked at them. "You sure can make it up to me...by STAYING STILL!" He lashed out at them again.

However, just as the silver Pegasus was about to strike, he felt a huge amount of pain coursing through his hindleg. He turned around just in time to see Apple Bloom kick his other leg. "AH!"

"C'mon you two!" Apple Bloom yelled before running off with the other two fillies.

Blitz Bolt sat down and rubbed his hindlegs like crazy. "Curse them! Curse them all! I hate fillies!" He growled like mad before looking up at the tree he jumped down from. "KICKBACK! WHAT ARE YOU DOING UP THERE?!"

Kickback, the red pony with a short and tidy grey coloured mane and tail, looked into a mirror he placed on an empty nest and brushed his mane back with his hoof. "Who's the dashing one? Oh...that's right...YOU ARE!" He narrowed his red eyes and grinned deviously at his reflection. "I'm so dashing, I make myself jealous." He chuckled evilly as he brushed his mane back a little more.

"KICKBACK!"

Hearing Blitz Bolt's angry cursing, Kickback carefully jumped down from the tree and approached the Pegasus. "You needed something Blitz?"

"Why didn't you help me back there?!" Blitz Bolt growled.

Kickback smiled at him.

"What? Why are you smiling at me like that?!" Blitz Bolt added.

"Blitz..." Kickback took a deep breath and continued. "Blitz...if our master ever learned that you were unable to handle three little fillies, you would forever go down in Equestria history as a laughing stock. Ponies would use your name as a nickname for Ponies who can't..." He started chuckling. "Pff...handle...THREE LITTLE FILLIES! HAHAHA!" The red pony burst out laughing again, much to Blitz Bolt's chagrin.

Blitz Bolt covered his face with his hoofs. "I'm never going to hear the end of it now am I?"

"Don't worry Blitz..." Kickback said as he patted him on the back. "This will be our little secret..." He chuckled again. "Our...pff...HILARIOUS little secret! HAHAHA!"

With a flap of his wings, Blitz Bolt flew into the air. "Forget this!" He shouted before flying after the fillies.

Kickback merely chuckled as he casually walked after the silver Pegasus.

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Spike sat in silence as he continued to happily watch Rarity sew up more new clothing for the upcoming fashion show. After finding out that Photo Finish wanted to promote more of her dresses, Rarity began working like crazy to create some of the best threads she could, if not, THE best.

The young dragon was joined by his friend Starlight, who somehow found himself assisting Rarity with retrieving all the materials and tools she needed. He again did not mind helping out the Element of Generosity, as it was his own way of showing his gratitude to her for fixing his mane up when it was overly messy. Though she may have overdone it just a little back then.

"Oh my! Starlight! The needle broke! I must have applied too much pressure. Be a dear and fetch me another one would you?" Rarity asked.

Just as the red pony was about to go and get her another needle, Spike jumped off of his chair and beat him too it. "I got it!" The young dragon rushed over to the Unicorn, needle in hand. "Here you go Rarity!"

"Thank you Spikey-Wikey." She replied with a smile before using her magic to take the needle out of his hands.

As the young dragon sat back down, he turned Starlight, who just blinked at him. "You gotta take it easy lover boy. If you work yourself too hard then you're gonna exhaust yourself."

"For Rarity, I'll work to my last breath!" The dragon said proudly.

Rolling his eyes, Starlight said, "Right, whatever you say. You still have a long way to go before having a chance with her."

Spike narrowed his eyes at him and grinned. "That's funny coming from the same stallion who likes a certain mare I know."

"W-What?! What are you talking about?!" Starlight replied in a surprised tone.

The dragon chuckled. "Oh nothing, nothing."

Before the red pony could push the topic any further, they were interrupted by the sound of the door opening. "Ah hope ah'm not interruptin' anythin' here."

Spike and Starlight turned to the Pony that entered, Applejack. "Oh hey Applejack, how are you doing today?" Starlight asked with a smile.

"Sorry but ah can't chat right now, mah little sister's gone off somewhere an' ah can't find her. You see her anywhere?" Applejack asked.

Before the two could answer, Rarity spoke over them. "Now that you mention, I haven't seen Sweetie Belle for a while either, I hope they're ok."

Starlight shrugged. "They'll be fine, they always are. Like that time you all thought that Zecora took Apple Bloom and it turned out she was just helping her make a potion that would heal you all of the afflictions you got from the Poison Joke Flowers."

"How...how did you know about that?" Rarity asked in a very curious tone.

With another shrug, Starlight said, "Pinkie Pie told me."

"Figures!" Rarity said before tending back to her sewing.

Applejack rolled her eyes. "Whatever, anyway, did ya see her or not?"

Spike shrugged. "Sorry Applejack, we haven't seen her."

With a sigh, the Pony turned to leave when something outside caught her eye. "Twilight? Maybe she knows where mah little sis' is!"

"Twilight?!" Starlight said in surprise, earning a smirk from Spike. There was no hesitation when the red pony rushed out after Applejack to see the Princess.

"Hey Twilight!" Applejack called out, catching the Alicorn's attention. "Twilight wait up a second..." Applejack said as she tried catching her breath.

The Princess just blinked in confusion. "Is something wrong Applejack?"

"Yer darn right somethin's wrong! Ah can't find Apple Bloom anywhere!" Applejack said in a rather loud and frustrated tone.

Twilight pondered around in her thoughts for a few seconds before replying. "Well, when did you see her last?"

Applejack shrugged. "Last ah saw her, she 'n' her friends were goin' off to check out those Ponies that were marchin' towards Canterlot."

Starlight reached them just as the Alicorn replied. "Ok, let me think...they decided to check out the guards marching from the North. That wasn't far outside Ponyville either, and..." Twilight gulped.

"W-What? What is Twilight? Tell me, ah can handle it..." Applejack said.

Twilight looked at her friend nervously. "Everfree Forest is right next to where the guards were marching."

"It wouldn't be the first time they went in there." Starlight added.

Applejack's eye twitched. "Those...those insane...little..." With a loud yell of anger, Applejack took off towards Everfree Forest.

"We better go after her, if Apple Bloom and her friends did indeed go into the Everfree Forest then they might be in trouble." Twilight said to Starlight before running off.

"I'm right behind you!" Starlight replied as he rushed after her.

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"Keep running, I think we've almost lost them!" Sweetie Belle yelled as she continue to run through the forest.

Scootaloo and Apple Bloom weren't far behind. "What do we do?!" Scootaloo said as she looked around for a place to hide.

They didn't exactly understand why the Pegasus called Blitz Bolt tried to hit them, or kill them for that matter. Sure enough, they knew they could be annoying to some Ponies from time to time, to the point of making them really angry, but any punishment they got would just be something minor, like not being allowed to go out and play with each other, or not being allowed to leave their homes. This was a first, a Pegasus that was trying to 'kill' them, all because they were being annoying? They each had mixed thoughts about this, either the Pegasus had major issues, or they must have been more extremely annoying than ever and they just didn't know it, either way, it didn't change the fact that they had a very angry Pegasus on their tails trying to 'kill' them.

Of course, the only reason they were out to begin with was so they could watch the guards from the North march into Canterlot, as they were returning to Ponyville, they weren't paying attention to their surroundings and found out too late that they cut through the Everfree Forest. But the forest itself didn't scare them much due to the amount of times they had already been in it, the only issue they really had was that it was large, and they had no idea where they were going. It was now much worse because they now had an angry Pegasus running after them, or flying maybe, and they knew that one mistake or one wrong turn would be the end of them.

It's times like these that the three of them thought to themselves that they shouldn't have bothered going outside of Ponyville, or that they should have brought somepony with them, like Applejack, Rarity or Big McIntosh. But what were the chances of running into a Pegasus like Blitz Bolt, who just went insane in less than a minute or two upon meeting them? A more curious question entered their thoughts, what was he doing in Everfree Forest anyway?

The three fillies were starting to get tired from all of the running. With no choice left, they quickly stopped and jumped behind separate bushes, Apple Bloom in one, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo in another on the opposite side.

They waited patiently for a few long minutes while catching their breath, it wasn't long before the enraged silver Pegasus stopped in the pathway between the trees and bushes they were hiding in. "My little ponies! Come out come out wherever you are!"

"What makes you think they're around here?" Another voice said.

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo turned to see a red pony approaching. "Is he-"

"SHH!" Sweetie Belle tried her best to keep quiet.

Blitz Bolt looked at the ground and smirked. "Because the tracks end here Kickback...see the hoofprints?"

The fillies held their breath as the red pony walked in front of the silver Pegasus. Scootaloo decided to take advantage of the situation and looked at Blitz Bolt's Cutie Mark. It was just a silver lightning bolt, they wouldn't know what he got that Cutie Mark for.

They then turned their attention to the red Earth Pony, Kickback, as Blitz Bolt called him. His Cutie Mark appeared to be a medical cross, this one was a little easier but they still had no idea what he got it for. Though they had an idea.

"Maybe they're just trying to scare us. You don't think they'd actually kill us, do you?" Scootaloo asked as quietly as she could.

Sweetie Belle remained silent and looked up ahead to see if Apple Bloom was still hiding in the other bushes. "I...I can't see Apple Bloom..."

"Sorry I'm late, but I caught this little filly hidin' while I was cuttin' through the forest." A new voice said.

"Let me go! Let me go!" That was Apple Bloom's voice. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo peeked through the bushes and saw a larger Pony slowly approaching Blitz Bolt and Kickback from Apple Bloom's hiding place, with Apple Bloom in one foreleg.

This big Pony was all blue, he had a very short and messy silver mane and a short messy silver tail. His eyes were a piercing yellow colour and his Cutie Mark was a war hammer.

"Ah, Air Break, you got here just in time." Kickback said with a friendly smirk.

The blue Earth Pony, Air Break, dropped Apple Bloom in front of Blitz Bolt and Kickback. "So, Apple Bloom was it? Want to tell me where your other two filly friends are hiding?" Blitz Bolt said with a smug grin.

Apple Bloom looked up at Blitz Bolt with a very scared look in her eyes. "Ah swear, we...we didn't mean ta make ya angry sir. We were jus' tryin' ta find out how ta get-"

"Your Cutie Marks?" Blitz Bolt interrupted. "Yes I am aware as much. Don't get the wrong idea, I'm not angry at that..." His grin faded as he lowered himself until he and Apple Bloom's eyes were inches away from each other. "What I am angry at are those kicks you gave me earlier, my little pony." He said with a venomous tone.

Kickback rolled his eyes, Air Break on the other hand, started to laugh. "Pff...Hehe...HA! HAHAHA!"

"W-What?! What's so funny?!" Blitz Bolt asked as he raised his head back up to glare at the large blue Earth Pony.

Air Break's laughter slowly came to a halt and rubbed Apple Bloom's head with his hoof. "THIS little filly outsmarted YOU Blitz Bolt?! Sorry but I can't hold in my laughter on that one, IT'S JUST HILARIOUS! HAHAHA!"

Blitz Bolt's eye twitched like crazy. Kickback sighed and put a comforting hoof on the Pegasus's back. "You couldn't even keep your own secret." He said in a clearly fake sympathetic tone.

Trying to remain calm, Blitz Bolt turned back to Apple Bloom. "Now, tell me where your friends are, and I'll make sure you have a quick and painless death."

"But why? What did we do ta make ya so mad?" Apple Bloom asked in a tone mixed with fear and sadness.

Kickback chuckled. "My little pony, you didn't make him mad at all...we were just given specific instructions to kill a few Ponies, that's all. You and your filly friends just happened to have run into us and became the unfortunate victims."

Stomping his hoof on the ground, Air Break said, "Nothin' personal little filly, we're just followin' our leaders orders."

Taking in the biggest breath that she could, Apple Bloom shouted out as loud as she could, "APPLEJACK!"

Her yell of her sisters name echoed in the air for a few long seconds before it finally died out.

Blitz Bolt, Kickback and Air Break just stared at her for a moment, it was then, the other fillies decided to jump to their friends rescue. "Leave her alone you big jerks!" Scootaloo said with a confident glare, Sweetie Belle's wasn't as confident however.

"Sweetie Belle! Scootaloo!" Apple Bloom said with a slightly renewed hope.

Air Break raised a brow and grinned at them. "Ah I see, there's three of them, one for each of us to smash then?"

Kickback stepped away. "I don't think so! I just cleaned my hoofs not that long ago, I am NOT getting blood or dirt or anything on them unless it's clean!"

"Sounds a lot like Rarity." Sweetie Belle muttered to Scootaloo.

Blitz Bolt shook his head. "Enough of this foolishness! We were supposed to complete our task ages ago..." He pinned Apple Bloom onto the ground with one hoof and raised the other. "Let's hurry up and finish them so we can-" The silver Pegasus wasn't allowed to finish however, as he was forcefully rammed aside by something very, very fast.

"What the...who dares attack me?!" Blitz Bolt growled out as he looked around for his attacker.

The attacker landed in front of Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, with Apple Bloom in one foreleg. It was a cyan Pegasus with a rainbow coloured mane and tail.

"Rainbow Dash!" All three fillies said simultaneously.

With a surprisingly angry look in her eyes, Rainbow Dash turned and said, "Picking on a few fillies that can't even defend themselves? I never thought I'd see the day somepony would sink so low!"

Kickback rolled his eyes. "Oh please, as if you haven't seen worse."

"As a matter of fact, I haven't!" Rainbow said in an angry tone.

Blitz Bolt narrowed his eyes at her. "Wait a minute...something seems awfully familiar about this one."

"Heard of me have you? Well I wouldn't be surprised, I am the best flier in all of Equestria! Rainbow Dash!" Rainbow said, her ego suddenly showing again.

It took a long minute of studying her for Blitz Bolt to find out who she really was. "I see...I see now! The Element of Loyalty...one of the six Elements of Harmony!"

"WHAT?!" Kickback and Air Break said.

Blitz Bolt chuckled. "I have to say, it's an honour to meet one of the famous Elements of Harmony who helped defeat Nightmare Moon and Discord. I never thought I'd receive an opportunity, Rainbow Dash."

Confusion filled Rainbow's eyes when he said her name as if he knew her. "Do I know you?"

"No you do not..." Blitz Bolt said with a chuckle. "But I know you...and all of your friends too, the other Elements of Harmony. I'd be surprised if nopony heard of you and the other Elements, after all, the six of you did save Equestria like, what, two? Three times? More?"

Rainbow narrowed her eyes at him. "Who are you and what do you want?"

Hearing a loud cough, Blitz Bolt turned to Kickback, who whispered to him. "If I recall, our task was to merely kill a few Ponies, right Blitz? So...how pleased do you think our leader would be if we returned to him with news that the Element of Loyalty is no more?"

"I like the way you think Kickback..." Blitz Bolt turned back to the cyan Pegasus and smirked venomously. "We will allow the three little fillies to leave, but you stay here, Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow could clearly tell that these three jerks were planning on ganging up on her, fortunately, only one of them had wings, which would even the odds if she took to the sky. The disadvantage however was whether or not Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo would be able to get away in time, she'd have to make sure they were safe first before fighting the stallions.

"Apple Bloom, you and the others go on and get outta here, I'll handle these losers." Rainbow said confidently.

Sweetie Belle backed away. "But what about you Rainbow Dash?"

"I'll be fine! I'll kick their tails all the way to Canterlot!" Rainbow added with a smirk.

The three fillies hesitated for a long minute, but eventually decided it was best to listen to the cyan Pegasus and took off as fast as they could.

"And there they go..." Kickback said with a smirk.

Rainbow Dash waited until the fillies were no longer in sight before making her move. "Alright then! You want me?! Come and get me!"

With a loud roar, Air Break jumped at the cyan Pegasus, but she leaped into the air and used her wings to keep herself from getting hit by his large hoofs.

"You aren't the only one with wings!" Blitz Bolt said as he flew into the air. "If you're as fast as you say you are, then prove it right now!" He added before flying into the sky.

"A challenge huh?! Fine then! Sounds good to me!" Rainbow said as she flew after him, thrilled by the challenge.

Air Break scratched his head before turning to Kickback. "I'm assumin' he led her away so we could go after those fillies."

Kickback rolled his eyes. "Oh fine! Fine! But you're the one that's gonna crush them, I'm not getting blood on my hoofs, I just had them cleaned remember."

The two Earth Ponies ran off after the three fillies, while Rainbow Dash chased Blitz Bolt in the sky.

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In Canterlot, Princess Luna finished welcoming the guards from the North and provided them with an empty area in the castle for them to rest in. She and Celestia had discussed their approach on the marriage proposal, while neither of them liked the idea of Twilight marrying Prince Dusk, they knew that if they refused to let it take place, Dusk would recall his troops and Canterlot would have to fend for itself. While there was a chance that they would be fine against this unknown enemy, they didn't want to count out the possibility that their forces would be bigger than their own.

Even if they were to send a message to Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor of the Crystal Empire, they were still at a major disadvantage as they had no idea what they were really up against or what this enemy was capable of. As such, Luna, although she did not like it, suggested to Celestia that the marriage should take place, for the sake of their Kingdom.

Celestia needed time to think, she knew that Twilight Sparkle wouldn't like the sound of marriage, but what else was she to do? She knew better than anypony that she couldn't place one before many, her options were greatly limited, it was either persuade Twilight Sparkle to marry Prince Dusk and keep their kingdom safe through the alliance in the process, or allow Twilight to refuse the marriage proposal and lose the only chance of an alliance, putting their kingdom in possible danger.

She knew that no matter what choice she made, there would still be negative results. Celestia could never bring herself to hurt anypony, especially her former student, and that's why she was having a hard time trying to decide what to do. Whichever decision she made, somepony would be hurt.

"Sister..." Luna's voice broke her out of her thoughts. "I understand your struggle in making a decision, but you know better than I that we need to keep the kingdom safe. As much as I hate the idea, Twilight Sparkle must be married to Dusk if we are to form a permanent alliance between our kingdoms."

Celestia said nothing and continued to stare out at the sky. Luna approached her sister and said, "Celestia, you know what will happen if Twilight doesn't marry Dusk. Like I said, I'm against it aswell, but you're going to have to put your own personal feelings aside for the good of the kingdom."

Finally, Celestia said, "I will."

"Hm?" Luna raised a brow.

Celestia faced the dark Alicorn and sighed. "I'll ask Twilight to go through with the marriage. In the meantime, I'm going to send a letter to Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor, and another to Prince Dusk."

"What for sister?" Luna asked.

Facing the sky again, Celestia said, "If we're going to form an alliance, I want to atleast know what we're forming it against. I'm going to ask Cadence, Shining Armor and Dusk to gather here at Canterlot so we may discuss this together. I will ask Dusk to provide us with every detail of information regarding this warlord and his forces."

Luna nodded. "A good idea sister, I would actually like to see this so-called Prince with my own eyes and see if he is really worthy of the title."

Celestia managed a slight smile as she wrote the first letter using her magic. "I understand why you dislike him sister, but please try and refrain from saying anything that would offend him, we wouldn't want to make a bad first impression."

"He believes himself to above everypony else, sister, I don't understand how you can defend somepony like that." Luna said with a slightly irritated tone.

"I am not defending him sister. I admit, he is quite arrogant..." Celestia saw Luna raise a brow and sighed. "Ok, he is very arrogant, but if he is willing to help keep our kingdom safe, I can't risk losing that help just because we didn't show him respect. We have to show him respect so he knows he can rely on us, and I am sure he will show us respect in return."

Luna narrowed her eyes at the white Alicorn and turned to leave. "I pray that you are right sister. I'll let you speak to Twilight alone, I hope you can make her see reason." The dark Alicorn said before leaving.

Celestia watched her sister leave before finishing the letter, she rolled it up and sent it away, the scroll itself vanishing into thin air. She then used the magic from her horn to bring over another, and began writing her next letter to Dusk. "I hope that I can make Twilight see reason aswell sister, because I could never force her to do anything against her will."

Although she could ask Prince Dusk for another method of forming an alliance, she refrained from doing so, unwilling to risk testing the Prince's supposedly short temper and making him change his mind. She only hoped that it would all be worth it in the end, but she was still puzzled about this warlord. Judging by Dusk's words in his first letter, he made it sound like the warlord was unstoppable, but surely this warlord couldn't be any different than Nightmare Moon, or Discord, or Queen Chrysalis or even King Sombra. Even if things were to take a bad turn, Celestia had faith that the Elements of Harmony would be able to stop this warlord. She knew that as long as Twilight and her friends remained united through the bonds of their powerful friendship, there would always be a chance at putting a stop to any enemy.

As she finished her letter, Celestia used the magic from her horn once again to roll it up and send it away. Celestia knew that Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor would arrive, she could only hope that Prince Dusk would set aside his arrogance to meet her request aswell. When her thoughts jumped back to Twilights brother, she shivered a little, wondering how he would take the news that his sister was to be married to Dusk. She didn't doubt for a second that he knew what Dusk was like, so she wouldn't exactly be surprised if he got enraged over the news of the marriage proposal. Only time would tell, and if Dusk were to accept her request and come to Canterlot, it would be a chance for Twilight to meet him for the first time. Hopefully the arrogant Prince would leave a good first impression, although, Celestia knew the chances of that were slim to none.

Soon enough, Luna would raise the moon and night will have come, Twilight would return to the castle and Celestia would have to tell her about the marriage proposal. Despite the outcome from either decision, Celestia was going to risk breaking the bond between her and her former student for the sake of the kingdom, she only hoped that the newest Princess would see reason as her sister previously stated.