Chapter 24:

'What is Love'

After deciding that she'd done enough research at the moment on the Mad Unicorn, Twilight Sparkle put the book away and left the library to return to her quarters. She figured it would be a good idea to send a letter to her parents, asking them to come visit her so they could meet Dusk, after all, Twilight wanted to make sure they knew what was happening and she knew her marriage to Dusk was something they needed to be informed of. Her only worry was what their reaction would be, and she was worrying even more when she imagined them meeting Dusk.

Considering the Prince of the Frozen North wasn't exactly the most friendly of Ponies, she was slightly afraid that he would leave a very bad first impression on her parents.

As soon as she sent her letter off, Twilight decided to look for Dusk so she could talk with him. When she thought about it, she never had an actual conversation with him, the last time she spoke with him was nothing more than a small exchange of words that lasted no more than three minutes. She would have to speak with him and inform him of her parents visit, and hope he would have the decency to change his attitude a little to leave a good first impression. If he were to leave a bad first impression on her parents, there was a chance her father would most likely try and persuade her to cancel the marriage. That couldn't happen of course. They needed Dusk and his army to help them against the Iron Empire, if the marriage were cancelled, Dusk would take all of his troops and return to his castle back in the Frozen North. Twilight couldn't let that happen. She had to marry Dusk if it meant keeping her home and loved ones safe.

As she approached the castle kitchen, Magister Burning Mace exited through the doors. Hearing her hoofsteps, he turned to her, Twilight gave him a warm smile as she reached him. "Hello Magister, how are you?"

No reply came from behind the Manticore-looking helmet, instead he merely continued to look at her.

Twilight's smile lowered. "Umm, is something wrong?"

Again, Burning Mace said nothing.

Realising she wasn't going to get a reply from the armoured Unicorn, Twilight moved to walk by him but stopped when she heard somepony approaching. She turned and saw Magister Snow Charm walking towards them from the same direction Twilight just came from. "Ah, I see you two are getting acquainted with each other, how nice." She said with a smile.

Burning Mace cast a quick glance at Twilight before facing Snow Charm again. "Actually we just walked into each other..." He began walking away. "And I was just leaving."

Twilight and Snow Charm watched as Burning Mace disappeared around the corner before turning to each other. "I'm really sorry about him Princess Twilight, I'm sure you're aware that he doesn't think highly of you."

"But, why not?" Twilight asked in a hurt tone.

Snow Charm sighed. "He thinks you're too inexperienced to be a Princess. He thinks that Princess Celestia's decision to make you a Princess was a stupid decision and that she made you a Princess simply because you were her student."

Twilight was taken aback by the Magisters words. "So, he thinks I'm too inexperienced?" After Snow Charm nodded at her words, she continued. "I guess I'll have to show him that I am experienced then."

"No Princess Twilight..." Snow Charm said, placing an armoured hoof on the young Alicorns leg. "You don't need to prove anything to him. Burning Mace is just a cranky old Stallion who thinks every royal leader he has served is not deserving of their titles."

Twilight sighed and looked at the floor for a moment. Suddenly, she remembered where she was going and continued down the hallway. "Do you know where Dusk is?"

"Prince Dusk is in his quarters, I'll take you there." Snow Charm replied, pacing a little quicker until she was slightly ahead while remaining at Twilight's side.

Facing the Magister, Twilight said, "Well, I really do take the opinions of others seriously. I'm hoping I can show Magister Burning Mace that I'm not as experienced as he thinks I am."

Snow Charm smiled. "Well, like I said, you don't need to prove anything to him. Besides, from what I've noticed, you seem to have already gained quite a friendship with Magister Sky Shadow."

Twilight smiled at the silver armoured Pegasus's name. "Yes, he's really friendly. I've only known him for a short time and yet he's doing everything he can to satisfy me. He even read with me in the library, and nopony ever reads books with me, besides Rainbow Dash but only if it's books on Daring Do."

"Oh? He seems to have taken an immediate liking to you." Snow Charm laughed. "Please know however that he is merely doing his duties as a Magister."

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked.

Snow Charm gave a proud smile as she spoke. "It is the duty of a Royal Magister Knight to attend to the needs of their royal leader. To serve them, to protect them, not too different from an ordinary royal guard, except they have a more, royal background. Royal Magister Knights were the personal guards of the royal leaders back in the Dalkia Republic. They counselled the royal leader, offered advice, commanded the royal military in their leaders place..." She faced Twilight again. "Basically, we Royal Magister Knights have many duties and responsibilities."

Twilight smiled back. "Wow! It sounds like you and the other Magisters are always busy. How many of you are there?"

Snow Charm shrugged. "Back in Dalkia, there were originally eight Royal Magister Knights, we all served King Grande at the time. But ever since the Dalkia War started, everything broke apart. Some Magister Knights were killed, others rebelled. I was one of the few who rebelled. When Prince Dusk was on the battlefield, Magister Freed was by his side, when I learned of this, I joined them. Magister Freed told me that he and Dusk were hiding here in Equestria for a while before returning to Dalkia to kill Grande. I'm sure the others already told you about the war itself. We encountered Metal Wing, who was leading his own forces against Grande. We all defeated Grande together, and from there, Dusk, Freed, myself and all of his troops left to return here, where he decided to establish his kingdom in the Frozen North."

"Where were the other Magisters when this happened?" Twilight asked, obviously referring to Sky Shadow, Black Lance and Burning Mace.

Snow Charm sighed. "Burning Mace defected to Dusk's side when Grande tried to order him to carry out a suicidal task. Black Lance also defected to Dusk's side, simply because he believed Dusk was a better leader than Grande, and because he liked the way Dusk fought. Sky Shadow..." She stopped.

Twilight listened closely as she waited to hear where Sky Shadow came into all of this. Snow Charm sighed. "Sky Shadow...he...Oh! We're here!" The two mares stopped walking. Looking to the side, they realised they had reached Dusk's quarters. There was no doubt that it was Dusk's quarters, otherwise Black Lance wouldn't be guarding the door like he was right now.

"Giving the little filly a history lesson Snow Charm?" Black Lance asked, though they couldn't see his face due to his helmet, his tone told them that he was smirking.

Twilight frowned slightly at the black armoured Magister, clearly offended when he called her a 'little filly'.

Snow Charm shook her head and replied. "Show some respect Black Lance..." She turned to the door behind him. "Is Prince Dusk inside?"

Black Lance nodded. "Yes."

Twilight stepped forward. "Can I see him?"

"No." Black Lance replied without hesitation.

Snow Charm frowned at him. "Princess Twilight wishes to see Prince Dusk, I suggest you step aside and let her enter."

Black Lance chuckled. "Dusk said he didn't want to be disturbed."

"I just want to speak with him, it's important." Twilight said.

"Dusk is also doing something important." Black Lance replied.

Snow Charm narrowed her eyes at the black armoured Magister. "Whether Dusk is currently busy or not, Princess Twilight is free to speak to him whenever she wants. Let her pass, or do I have to tell Freed that you refused to do your duties as Royal Magister Knight."

Black Lance looked at her and remained silent. It was clear to them that Black Lance and Burning Mace were quite intimidated to an extent by Magister Freed. Despite how calm and overly friendly he was, Magister Freed had an aura about him that clearly told everypony that he was not to be trifled with.

With a low growl, Black Lance slowly stepped aside.

Twilight turned to Snow Charm and smiled. "Thank you." She muttered.

Snow Charm nodded in response and stood back as Twilight entered Dusk's quarters.

As soon as the door closed behind her, Twilight set her eyes on the Pony she was looking for. Dusk was sitting at a desk next to a window on the other side of the room, his horn was glowing and there were several scrolls all piled up on the desk. Hearing her hoofsteps, Dusk set down a quill he had in his magic hold and turned to face her.

"I believe Black Lance told you I didn't want to be disturbed." He said in a slightly annoyed tone.

Twilight looked at the floor as she tried to think of something to say. "I'm sorry...I just..."

Before she could finish, Dusk turned his back to her and used his magic to roll up the scroll he was writing on. "I have something very important to do. Give me a couple of hours, as soon as I have dealt with my business, we shall speak about whatever you wish."

Twilight was starting to grow just a little bit annoyed that Dusk was once again backing out of a conversation between them. She was hoping that with the royal banquet happening tonight, he would spare some of his time to speak with her so she could get to know him better.

She decided to carefully voice her thoughts. "Umm, I understand that you're very busy Dusk, but, we are supposed to be getting married, and I only want to talk to you so I know more about you. We haven't exactly spoken much at all since we met."

Dusk narrowed his eyes slightly at her before making his way towards her. Twilight stayed frozen still as the golden armoured Prince approached her. As soon as he reached her, he looked down at her with an blank expression, while Twilight looked down at the floor, unable to look him in the eye. He slowly raised an armoured hoof and placed it under her muzzle, tilting her head up slightly until she was facing him and said, "As soon as I finish my business Twilight Sparkle, we will talk. Until then, get some rest." He turned to his desk and levitated the rolled up scroll to his side. "I'll return shortly." He added before disappearing in a red flash.

Twilight was frozen still for a good long minute. Even if he did have important business, Dusk had backed out of a conversation yet again, prompting Twilight to let out a frustrated groan.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Somewhere in Manehattan...

Kickback and Air Break strolled into a small bar and got a seat next to a window. They got a few curious looks from some Ponies who were seated on the other side of the bar, but they ignored them.

A Unicorn mare approached them and used her magic to levitate out a small notepad and a pen. "Hello good sirs, what would you like to drink?"

Shrugging, Kickback said, "What do you have?"

"We have a wide variety of drinks sir." The mare said smiling.

Kickback turned to the large blue Earth Pony that was sitting opposite of him. "Air Break?"

Air Break turned and set his eye on the smaller Earth pony. "I'll have three bottles of wine, any type will do."

The mare nodded slightly before writing down on the notepad and turned to Kickback again. "And you?"

"Eh, I'm not in the mood for strong drinks right now, just give me some water." The red Pony said.

The mare wrote on the notepad again and nodded at him. "Anything else?"

Kickback rested his head on the table and said, "No thanks."

"Ok, I'll be back with your drinks in a few minutes." The mare said before leaving their table.

Kickback sat up for a moment and folded his forelegs on the table and rested his head on them to get more comfortable. After closing his eyes, he said, "Hey Air Break...you see those Stallions in the corner?"

Despite Kickbacks voice being muffled slightly by his forelegs, Air Break heard him. "Yeah, I see 'em..." He replied as he cast a quick glance at the four Stallions who were sitting in the corner on the other side of the bar. "Four of 'em...you think they're spies for Celestia and Luna?"

"Pfft, yeah right." Kickback replied as he sat up and smirked at the blue Earth Pony. "I may not know Celestia and Luna well, but I do know that they wouldn't have spies keeping an eye out for us. Besides, just look at them, thugs at most, and the Princesses would not hire the services of the Ponies like that."

Air Break narrowed his eye at him. "...I don't like the way they're lookin' at us."

Kickback shrugged. "Ah relax, if they try anything funny, we'll lure them into the alley behind the bar and you can kill them there. Actually, probably best if you just beat them to within an inch of their lives, killing them would cause too much suspicion and we'd never be able to come back here, and I quite like this city."

"You like this place?" Air Break asked.

With another shrug, Kickback said, "Well, yeah. Other than the annoying Ponies who keep getting in our way and the supposed kind and benevolent Princesses who want our heads, this place is pretty nice. Of course, we'll never be able to relax a lot as long as the war is still going on."

Air Break rolled his eye and rested his head on one of his forehoofs. "Whatever. It doesn't really matter. Lord Metal Wing will defeat Celestia and Luna and all of Equestria will be his to rule. Then we can relax as much as we want."

Kickback chuckled. "Hehe, I'll definitely drink to that partner."

As if on cue, the Unicorn waitress returned with their drinks and used her magic to levitate the glasses and bottles onto the table. "Enjoy your drinks." She said with a friendly smile before leaving once again.

Air Break didn't waste anytime and immediately began drinking from the bottles, while Kickback merely stared at his glass of water. "Air Break, I'm curious."

"About what?" Air Break replied as he stopped drinking.

Kickback looked at him and raised a brow. "Before we left, I asked Blitz Bolt if he wanted to come with us, but he said he was going to hang out with Lightning Dust."

Looking at the short red Pony with a confused look, Air Break said, "So?"

"Usually he never turns down an offer to hang out with us, but ever since Lightning Dust showed up, he's been spending more time with her than us. Air Break, do you think Blitz Bolt is smitten with Lightning Dust?" Kickback asked.

Air Break nearly choked as he took another drink. He placed the bottle back down on the table and coughed for a moment before looking at his partner in shock. "Are you serious?! He hasn't even known her for a day yet and you're already thinking things like that?!"

Kickback raised his hoofs slightly. "Whoa calm down big guy. I'm just saying, don't you think it's a little strange that he's now spending his time with her instead of us?"

"Lord Metal Wing did order him to show her around and help her with anything she needs. If anything, he's just following orders, so I very much doubt that he'd be smitten with her." Air Break explained.

Kickback let out a sigh of relief. "That's good to hear."

Air Break narrowed his one yellow eye, Kickback's relieved tone didn't escape his notice. "...You sound relieved to hear that. Why?"

Suddenly, Kickback's eyes widened a little at his partners words. "Uh...well...I..."

Air Break leaned over the table and glared at his partner. "Kickback..."

Growing nervous at his partners glare, Kickback pulled away slightly and sighed. "I...I think I may...have a...slight...crush on her?" He said nervously before looking away.

Air Break just stared in shock. They both remained in their positions for a good long minute before Air Break could find his voice again. "...What?"

Kickback sighed and managed to speak more confidently this time. "I think I may have a slight crush on Lightning Dust."

Pulling away and sitting back down on his side of the table, Air Break placed his forehoof over his face and sighed. "Please tell me you're kidding."

"Sorry, but I don't think I am." Kickback replied.

Air Break took his hoof away and looked back at his partner. "You've barely even spoken to her, in fact, I don't think you've spoken to her at all."

Kickback looked down at the table and sighed again. "That's because Blitz Bolt was with her at the time."

"Heh, embarrassed because you know Blitz Bolt would tease you?" Air Break replied as he took another drink.

Kickback shrugged. "Kinda. I just figured that there would be something going on between them, even if they've only known each other for a short time, so I didn't try to talk to her."

Air Break rolled his eye as he finished his bottle of wine and moved on to the next one. "Well, if you're gonna ask me if I think you have a chance with her, I'd say, no."

"What?! Why?!" Kickback asked in a surprised tone.

Air Break narrowed his eye at the red Pony. "Simple. You're an officer of the Iron Empire, a medic, we're in the middle of a war and we need to focus on defeating our enemies, we don't have time for mares."

Kickback raised a brow. "Maybe you don't, but I got all the time in the world. Besides..." He smirked as he brushed his hoof along his mane. "How can any mare resist my dashing good looks?"

Air Break rolled his eye and took another drink. "Whatever. You go ahead and do what ya want, leave me out of it."

Kickback chuckled. He took a sip of water from his glass and said, "I am also curious about something else. You think the others have their own crushes?"

"Ugh, how did we get into this topic?" Air Break groaned.

"Just answer the question." Kickback replied.

Air Break took another sip of wine before replying. "No, I don't. Blitz Bolt maybe, but not the others. Cloud Hunter forbid himself to love thanks to his little oath of Knighthood. And Vanisher, I don't think he even knows what love means."

"What about you?" Kickback replied.

Air Break gave him a serious look. "I'm a Knight. I've spent my whole life fighting wars and taking lives, I don't have time for things like love."

Kickback let out a low sigh before looking out the window. "Love. I never really had a chance to learn much about it. Just what exactly is love?"

________________________________________________________________________________________

Various thoughts were running through Metal Wing's head at the moment. Despite the importance of those thoughts on winning the war, the most important thought that had his full attention was Celestia.

The Iron King narrowed his eyes as he recalled his meeting with the Princess. 'I wanted nothing more than to see Celestia again. And yet, we barely conversed. Had it not been for that mad beast, the Elements of Harmony would be mine and I would have had a proper reunion with her and Luna. Heh, no matter, a minor setback, one that can be easily fixed. I will also have to speak with Cloud Hunter when he returns.'

Breaking out of his thoughts, Metal Wing found himself in front of a large rusty old door. He used his magic to open it and entered the large hall on the other side. There was a large fireplace on other side of the hall. In front of it was a large circular table with several chairs placed around it.

Sitting in one of those chairs was none other than the leader of the Changelings herself. Queen Chrysalis.

"You look well your majesty." Metal Wing said with a smirk.

Queen Chrysalis returned his smirk as she levitated a cup of wine to her mouth and took a sip. "And you, Metal Wing."

Metal Wing's seated himself down on the end of the table right in front of the fireplace and levitated a large rolled up parchment off of his back and onto the table. He then used his magic to unroll it, revealing a map of Equestria. "We shall discuss our course of action in a moment."

"Waiting for somepony else?" Chrysalis asked as she took another sip of wine.

As if on cue, the door to the hall opened again. Chrysalis set her eyes on the Pony that entered.

The same Pony spoke as he approached the table. "I'm growing very tired of keeping up this facade Metal Wing. How much longer do you intend for me to stand amongst those fools?"

Metal Wing smirked. "Sorry old friend, but I must ask that you keep this up a little longer, atleast until all of Equestria is mine."

Chrysalis narrowed her eyes at the Pony as he reached the table. He was male, that much she knew by his voice and the horn on his head indicated that he was a Unicorn, but the rest of his appearance was shrouded by the long dark cloak that he was wearing. "And, who are you?"

The Cloaked Unicorn slowly looked at her. Chrysalis was able to make out his piercing red eyes, but his coat was hidden by the shadows casted by his cloak. Though if she had to guess, she'd say his coat was probably a tan colour. She couldn't make out his colour by looking at his hoofs as they were covered by golden bracers.

"My name is none of your concern changeling." The Cloaked Unicorn said.

Chrysalis was about to lash out at him, until Metal Wing spoke. "No need for that now. We are all allies here."

"Hmph, whatever. Let's just get down to business. It'll only be a matter of time until they realise I'm gone." The Cloaked Unicorn said.

Metal Wing nodded and placed his large armoured hoof on a part of the map. "Very well. Let us begin."