Chapter 28:

'Brothers'

Silence.

Complete and utter silence filled the air as Celestia, Luna and their guards, along with everypony else in the throne room kept their eyes on the lone Pegasus that stood at the entrance of the balcony.

Cloud Hunter merely continued to keep his eyes locked with Celestia's, almost as if he was unaware of the others presences. His eyes showed no fear whatsoever, and he wasn't in the least bit intimidated by the glares the royal guards were giving him.

"Why are you here Cloud Hunter?" Celestia asked in her usual calm tone.

The Commander of the Iron Empire continued to stare at her for a good long moment, unfazed by the guards that were about to make a move.

Just as the guards were about to rush him, Celestia quickly raised her hoof, stopping them in their tracks.

The guards did indeed stop, but they continued to keep their angry gazes on the blue Pegasus.

Cloud Hunter looked at the Element wielders and noticed one of them was absent. It didn't matter to him right now though, as the one he sought was present.

Fully facing the Element wielders, Cloud Hunter said, "I'm just here to return what rightfully belongs..."

The Element wielders all gave him curious looks. Cloud Hunter slowly looked over his shoulder and said, "Alright you three, get off."

As soon as the Commander closed his large blue wings, Rarity and Applejack gasped as soon as they saw who was on his back.

"Rarity!"

"Applejack!"

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were already on the floor sprinting towards their sisters by the time they noticed them. Tears were immediately rushing down the older Ponies faces as their sisters jumped into their embraces and started hugging them tightly.

Scootaloo had climbed out of Cloud Hunter's saddlebag and set her eyes on Rainbow Dash, who was staring back at her in shock. "Rainbow Dash!" The filly ran towards the cyan Pegasus, who caught her in mid-air as she jumped at her and held her tight.

"Oh Sweetie Belle! I was so worried about you!" Rarity said as she nuzzled her little sisters head.

Apple Bloom nuzzled her own sisters leg as she continued to hug her, not eager to let go anytime soon. "Ah missed ya sis', ah'm sorry if ah worried ya."

Applejack smiled down at her and said, "It's ok Apple Bloom, ah'm just glad yer alright, if somethin' bad happened to ya, ah, ah don't know what ah'd do."

While they cried and exchanged heartfelt words, Rainbow Dash held Scootaloo in front of her and said, "Hey there squirt..."

"Hey...Rainbow Dash..." Scootaloo merely replied.

Rainbow Dash was able to fight back the tears that were threatening to show, but that didn't stop her from hugging the filly tightly again. "I'm so glad you're alright. I bet you must've been really scared..."

Scootaloo hugged her back and said, "I was, not much though. Because every time I thought of you, I figured that you wouldn't be scared if you were in our position, so I tried to be as brave as I could, I was still scared, but..."

Rainbow Dash chuckled. "Hey, relax, it's okay. I don't care if you were scared. I'm just glad you're safe." She said before setting the filly down on the floor.

"They didn't hurt you or anything did they?" Rarity asked as she looked at her sister worriedly.

Sweetie Belle shook her head and smiled up at her sister. "Not at all!"

"Cloud Hunter looked after us the whole time we were there!" Apple Bloom added.

All eyes were on Cloud Hunter again, who continued to remain where he stood, still looking at them and still unfazed even by the touching reunion. Rarity took a step forward. "Is what she says true?"

Cloud Hunter slowly faced the Unicorn mare and said, "Don't you recall our last conversation Rarity? I did tell you I was looking after them didn't I?"

In the blink of an eye, Rarity had rushed over to the blue Pegasus and threw her forelegs around his neck, pulling him into a tight hug. "Thank you...thank you so much..." She said as tears poured down her face again. "You said I would see her again and you kept your word! Thank you, thank you Cloud Hunter!" She sobbed into his coat.

Cloud Hunter just stood completely still, not sure what to do or say, he was completely stunned by her unexpected action. He expected her to cry and he definitely expected her to be happy to see her sister again, he didn't expect her to do this though.

As Rarity let go and backed away, Applejack approached the two and said, "Cloud Hunter...ah'm...ah'm really grateful that you returned mah sister and her friends...really, ah ah'm. If there's anythin' ah can do to repay ya..."

Looking down at her, Cloud Hunter said, "No need..."

Applejack looked at him with a confused expression. Before she could reply, Rarity spoke up. "Rainbow Dash, don't you have something to say aswell?"

All eyes were on Rainbow Dash, who was glaring at Cloud Hunter with a mixed expression. She slowly made her way towards him and stopped when she was few steps away. Looking up at him, she said, "Thanks...I guess." She narrowed her eyes as she continued. "But don't think for a second that this means I trust you!"

Cloud Hunter narrowed his eyes back at her. "That's fine with me..." He slowly turned to Fluttershy. "Fluttershy..." He called out to her.

Fluttershy hid behind her mane as he stared at her. Cloud Hunter couldn't help but smirk slightly at her reaction, he took off his saddlebag and said, "I believe this belongs to you."

He threw the saddlebag at her, watching as it slid across the floor and stopped at her hoofs. Fluttershy showed her face and slowly looked into the saddlebag with a curious expression. She gasped at what was inside and took it out for all to see. "M-My...my Element..."

Cloud Hunter nodded.

Finally, deciding to make herself known again, Celestia stepped forward, catching everyponies attention. "Why Cloud Hunter?"

"I was keeping my word to Rarity, I said I would return the fillies and I meant it." Cloud Hunter said, earning a smile from Rarity and Applejack, while Rainbow Dash turned away to hide the smirk that nearly showed on her face. While Cadence, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie also smiled at his noble words, Shining Armor was still sceptical, while Dusk and Black Lance merely scowled at him.

Cloud Hunter then turned back to Fluttershy. "As for the Element of Kindness, I was merely returning it to its rightful owner..." He then fully faced the shy Pegasus again and said, "Fluttershy, I want to personally thank you for what you did back in the Everfree Forest. Vanisher would have died if you hadn't helped him."

"WHAT?!" Was the word that came out of almost everyponies mouths as they all stared at Fluttershy in shock.

Fluttershy looked at the floor clutching her Element tightly. "Well...you see..."

Cloud Hunter raised a brow in confusion. It didn't take him long to process why they were all surprised. 'Oops.'

________________________________________________________________________________________

"Hey so umm, why exactly did you need my help anyway Magister Freed?"

Magister Freed sat at a table as he levitated a large number of books next to him, reading through them one by one at a pace that would make even Twilight Sparkle jealous. "Twilight Sparkle spoke very highly of you young dragon. It would be very foolish to not request the assistance of one such as yourself."

Spike blushed in embarrassment. "Heh, well, I guess I AM pretty good at what I do aren't I?"

Freed levitated a cup of tea to his mouth and took a sip before replying. "Perhaps I should take you back to the Frozen North so you can be my personal cup-bearer. Your tea making skills are quite impressive young dragon."

Again, Spike blushed in embarrassment. "Ah knock it off."

Freed chuckled. "I am merely offering praise where it is deserved. I'm surprised you and Miss Rarity haven't started your relationship yet."

Spike's eyes widened. "W-W-WHAT?! I...I don't know what you're talking about..."

Smirking, Freed levitated the books down and ran an armoured hoof through his long dark grey mane. "Oh I know love when I see it young dragon. Don't worry, I can tell you do not wish for others to know, I shall keep silent until a time comes when you are comfortable with announcing your marriage to the world."

"M-Marriage?! But we haven't even-" Spike couldn't finish, as Freed spoke over him.

"I'm sure you will also make a good father aswell. Your young will most definitely enjoy your tea." Freed said.

Spike continued to stare at the armoured Unicorn in shock. "But I'm not-"

"I know parenthood may be difficult at first, but you'll get used to it eventually." Freed added.

Again, Spike tried to speak. "But you don't-"

"Though I suppose the difficulty of parenthood depends on how many young you have. How many do you plan on having young dragon?" Freed asked as he gave Spike his usual friendly smile.

"MAGISTER FREED!" Spike groaned as he dropped to the floor and buried his head under his arms to hide the massive red blush across his face, earning a loud laugh from the Magister.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Everypony listened carefully as Fluttershy explained everything that had happened during her search for her Element. She included all the details, to when Vanisher first appeared before her, to when they were attacked by the dragon and ended up trapped in the cavern. She grew even more nervous when she explained how she patched up Vanisher's wounds, and she could tell Shining Armor was most likely furious at that considering it was Vanisher who nearly killed him.

They all looked at her in disbelief as she finished explaining, mentioning how she found herself back at her cottage with Shining Armor and Vanisher nowhere in sight.

Celestia and Luna merely looked at her with blank looks, as if they were still processing everything she said.

Black Lance was the first to speak up however. "So you helped the enemy."

Fluttershy hid behind her mane again so none of them could see her face. "Y-Yes..."

"Treason." Black Lance said.

Fluttershy's eyes widened as she stared at him in fear. Rainbow Dash flew in front of her friend, stopping the black armoured Magister from approaching. "Now hold on just a minute, sure Fluttershy helped him out but that's just because she's like that sometimes!"

Black Lance narrowed his eyes behind his helmet. "Treason is treason Rainbow Dash, she helped the enemy and now she must face the penalty." He turned to Celestia and Luna. "The Iron Empire's Surveillance Commander was responsible for the deaths of a few of your guards Princesses, and the Element wielder has confessed to helping him. Are you actually going to allow such actions to go unpunished?"

Celestia and Luna stared at Fluttershy again, who hid behind her mane again. "I-I'm sorry..." She muttered.

Cloud Hunter shook his head before moving in front of the shy Pegasus and beside Rainbow Dash. "That's enough of that Black Lance."

Black Lance glared at him. Cloud Hunter glared back and said, "Fluttershy is the wielder of the Element of Kindness, as such I don't think the Princesses would punish her for something so trivial, even if it did cost her the Element itself. What you need to understand is that Fluttershy was acting on instinct, that's how she always is, that's how she earned the right to wield the Element of Kindness in the first place. If everypony were to be punished for being themselves, all of Equestria would be rotting in the dungeon right now." He turned his gaze back to Celestia and Luna, both who were looking at him with unreadable expressions. "Princesses, while I understand that Fluttershy helping Vanisher may seem treason to you, in my eyes she was merely helping another Pony who was too hurt and too injured to defend himself. To throw her in the dungeons or punish her in any form for staying true to her kindness, would be dishonourable and unbecoming of royal leaders like yourselves."

Again, everypony looked at Cloud Hunter in shock, even Celestia and Luna were surprised by how serious he was being right now.

A long awkward silence filled the air and even Rainbow Dash was starting to grow nervous about what was going to happen next.

Finally, Celestia spoke up. "You're right."

"What?" Cloud Hunter and Black Lance said in perfect unison.

Celestia gave the blue Pegasus a warm smile. "You are right Cloud Hunter. It would be very unbecoming of my sister and I if we were to punish Fluttershy for being kind to another..." She turned to the shy Pegasus and placed a hoof gently on her head. "It's ok Fluttershy, we're not angry with you, in fact we completely understand why you were so hesitant to tell us. Don't be afraid, we would never punish you for such a thing."

Fluttershy slowly looked up at the Princess. "R-Really?"

"Really." Celestia replied, still smiling. She turned back to Cloud Hunter and said, "Why defend her if I may ask?"

Just as Cloud Hunter was about to reply, Luna spoke over him. "Honour right?"

Facing her, the blue Pegasus let out a slight chuckle before replying. "Yes...honour."

Applejack approached Fluttershy and helped her up. "Ya could of just told us earlier sugarcube, we wouldn't have held anythin' against ya for helpin' somepony."

Rainbow Dash nodded. "Yeah! You are who you are Fluttershy, just like me, you can't get into trouble for that!"

"Next time Fluttershy, don't be afraid to tell us anything, we'll always be willing to hear you out darling." Rarity added.

"Yeah! I mean sure enough Vanisher and them were a bit mean but even they still have hearts and it would be completely heartless if you just left him there to die and if you left him there to die then you would end up feeling really guilty and we all know you wouldn't want to live with the guilt for the rest of your life so you decided to be friendly to him! Oh! Does this mean that we have a chance at becoming friends now?! Does it?! Does it?! DOES IT?!" Pinkie Pie was literally at Cloud Hunter's face when she said those last few words.

Cloud Hunter merely stared at her in surprise, wondering how it was even possible for a Pony to be so energetic. He tried to back out of the conversation and turned to leave. "Well, now that I've done what I set out to do, I'll take my leave."

As the blue Pegasus headed towards the balcony, Sweetie Belle rushed towards him and grabbed his hind leg. "You can't leave yet!"

Cloud Hunter turned his head and raised a brow at her. "Why not?"

Sweetie Belle looked back up at him and attempted to think of a way to get him to stay longer. "B-Because...well...uh...the Princesses!" She pointed at Celestia and Luna. "You can talk to them about joining our side! I'm sure they'd more than happy to have you join us!"

Celestia and Luna gave them a curious look, whereas Shining Armor and Cadence exchanged confused glances. Dusk however narrowed his eyes at Cloud Hunter, almost as if he was angry at the thought of him defecting to Celestia and Luna's side.

Cloud Hunter sighed. "I already told you Sweetie Belle, I will not betray lord Metal Wing."

Sweetie Belle tried to think of another way to delay him. "W-Well...umm...why don't you atleast stay here for the night?! I mean, it's really late and I bet you're really tired after all of that flying right?!"

"Sweetie Belle...I don't know..." Cloud Hunter stopped as he pondered his words.

The filly turned to the Princesses. "Please Princess Celestia! Princess Luna! He brought us back and he returned Fluttershy's element, please let him stay for the night!"

Apple Bloom rushed to her friends side and said, "Yeah! Ah think it's the least we can do to pay him back Princesses!"

Scootaloo then joined them. "He even kept us warm and fed! I know he's not really on our side but I'm sure if you talk to him, he might be willing to change his mind!"

Rarity and Applejack gave proud smiles at Cloud Hunter, who merely looked away from them, trying to hide the embarrassed look on his face, whereas Rainbow Dash continued to give him a curious glare.

Celestia and Luna giggled slightly before walking past the fillies and towards Cloud Hunter. "It seems as if the young ones have taken a liking to you." Luna said.

Cloud Hunter rolled his eyes. "Maybe too much of a liking..." He said as he noticed the three fillies were staring at him with big happy grins on their faces.

Chuckling at his words, Celestia said, "Nonetheless, Cloud Hunter, as a Princess and Co-Ruler of Equestria, I would personally like to thank you for keeping our little Ponies safe and returning them to their siblings unharmed. I can see I was right about you after all."

Luna nodded. "I admit I was sceptical of you at first, but it is clear to me that you truly have a kind heart. I too thank you for watching over our little Ponies."

Cloud Hunter shrugged. "Honour-"

"Before Duty." Celestia finished for him, still smiling.

Cloud Hunter chuckled slightly. Celestia turned to the guards that still had their weapons raised and waved her hoof. "Stand down, everything is fine."

The guards all exchanged looks with each other, some in shock and some in confusion.

"That's an order!" Shining Armor shouted.

With that, all guards returned to their original posts, but they still kept their eyes on Cloud Hunter.

"You do hold the advantage here. Why not have your guards apprehend me?" Cloud Hunter asked.

Celestia shook her head. "After what you've done tonight, it would be, dishonourable, to repay your kindness with such an action."

Cloud Hunter chuckled. "Heh, dishonourable, perhaps..." He looked down at the fillies for a moment before giving them a curious look once more. "You would allow me to rest here at the castle? Even though we're enemies?"

Luna spoke up. "If we're enemies, why haven't you attacked us yet?"

That kept him silent.

Celestia giggled before motioning for him to join them at the table. "Come Cloud Hunter, we'd be more than happy to have you join us for the banquet, we were actually just about to begin."

Cloud Hunter raised a brow. "Tempting offer, though I'm sure a few others here don't like the sound of that."

True enough, the ones who had looks on their faces that stated they didn't like that idea were Dusk and Shining Armor, though Shining Armor's expression was a little more welcoming than Dusk's.

"Prince Dusk, Shining Armor, you don't mind if Cloud Hunter joins us do you?" Celestia said.

Dusk sighed and waved his hoof. "...Do as you like."

Shining Armor just nodded.

Celestia looked back at Cloud Hunter. "Well?"

Cloud Hunter sighed and let out a small chuckle. "I guess I don't have a choice." He followed Celestia and Luna over to the table and sat down. As they all seated themselves down, Fluttershy made sure she was seated next to the blue Pegasus.

"I...I just wanted to say thank you...for returning my Element." Fluttershy said quietly.

Cloud Hunter nodded. "You're welcome." He replied. Fluttershy smiled a little and turned away, attempting to hide the blush that appeared on her face.

Cadence noticed the three fillies were seated down aswell and giggled before turning to Magister Sky Shadow, who remained silent throughout the whole event. She noticed that even though he was wearing his helmet, she could tell he was deep in thought. She started wondering again why he lashed out earlier like he did when they were with Twilight's parents. Deciding to get some form of response from him, she said, "Magister Sky Shadow, could you be so kind as to escort the little fillies to a spare room. It is quite late and they need their sleep."

A collective 'aww' came from the fillies as they looked at Cadence and then Sky Shadow.

Sky Shadow, as Cadence expected, snapped out of his thoughts and got out of his seat. "Of...of course...come with me little ones."

Luna then spoke up. "There is a spare room next to their sisters rooms, you can take them there."

Muttering under their breaths, the three fillies followed the silver armoured Pegasus towards the doors. Sweetie Belle turned back to Cloud Hunter and said, "Make sure you don't leave so soon!" She said out loud before being dragged out of the throne room by Scootaloo.

Rarity giggled. "That Sweetie Belle...she really likes you." She said as she turned to Cloud Hunter. "Cloud Hunter dear, I really must thank you again for bringing our sisters back."

Cloud Hunter waved his hoof. "I think I've been thanked enough..." He said with a slight smirk on his face.

"Well, if you're going to spend the night in the castle, you can share my room if you'd like." Rarity said, winking at him.

Cloud Hunter stared at her in surprise. "Umm...well, I'm pretty sure the Princesses would feel more secure if I probably just, slept in the dungeon."

"Nonsense." Luna cut in. "A room will be prepared for you, and..." She looked at her guards for a moment before facing the Pegasus again. "Don't worry about our guards, I'll make sure everypony knows that you are a guest here."

Cloud Hunter nodded slightly. "Your generosity is appreciated."

Shining Armor spoke up. "Cloud Hunter...I have a question."

"What is it?" Cloud Hunter replied.

Shining Armor's eyes narrowed as he continued. "...How exactly did you manage to sneak into Canterlot and disguise yourself as a guard?" He asked this question out loud, earning looks from all guards in the room.

Cloud Hunter smirked at the Captain, his smirk itself suddenly made them all a bit nervous. "...I signed up."

"...That's it?" Shining Armor asked with a surprised expression.

Cloud Hunter nodded. "Of course."

"But...how were you able to get around without drawing attention to yourself?" Shining Armor asked, while Cadence and the others listened in closely, interested in what the blue Pegasus would say.

Facing the Captain again, Cloud Hunter said, "Shining Armor...when you've been fighting for as long as I have, you tend to learn quite a lot. I assure you, before that little incident with stealing the Elements of Harmony, sneaking into the castle and posing as a guard was foals play for me."

Shining Armor raised a brow at him. "Foals play huh? Well, you sound like you've seen a lot of war."

Cloud Hunter's expression dropped, he looked down at the table and sighed, earning a concerned look from the Princesses and the Element Wielders. "I've seen war...my whole life."

After getting nudged by Cadence, Shining Armor quickly replied. "S-Sorry if I brought up any bad memories. Just forget I said anything."

"It's alright, I'm used to it." Cloud Hunter said.

Celestia smiled at him. "Well, if there's one thing I do know Cloud Hunter, you certainly looked good in my royal guards armour." She said, remembering when she first encountered him.

Cloud Hunter merely chuckled at her words.

While they were all exchanging words, Dusk turned to Black Lance and said, "They're too trusting sometimes."

"Sometimes? More like all of the time." Black Lance replied, turning his gaze back to the throne room doors, noticing that Snow Charm had returned, followed by Sky Shadow. "You both took your time."

Snow Charm sat down next to him. "I was making sure the Princess's parents were comfortable with their quarters."

Black Lance shrugged off her reply and turned to the others.

Sky Shadow sat down opposite of Dusk and immediately went back to his motionless state. Snow Charm took notice of this but refrained from saying anything at the moment.

Dusk used his magic to levitate his cup of wine to his mouth, but stopped after noticing how plain the cup was. "I refuse to drink out of a cup fit for a peasant..." He waved a hoof and called one of his Unicorn guards over.

"Yes Prince Dusk?" The guard asked.

Dusk levitated the cup to the guard. "Drink this or get rid of it and find a cup that is worthy of my lips."

The guard took the cup in his magic and nodded. "Yes your highness." Deciding not to let such wine go to waste, the guard drank it all. "I shall return with another cup as soon as...as...as soon as..." The guard started to shake and Dusk, Black Lance, Snow Charm and Sky Shadow most certainly noticed it.

The awkward silence and the guards sudden gasps for air caught the attention of Celestia and the others.

"What's going on?!" Luna asked out loud as they all rose from their seats.

The guard fell to the floor and started flailing about as he continued to gasp for air. Eventually he stopped and his body was completely motionless.

"What...just happened?" Fluttershy asked quietly.

Dusk's eyes widened at his dead guard. Upon looking back at the various bottles of wine that were set up on the table, a look of rage slowly made it's way onto the Prince's face. He smacked his hoof into one of the bottles, shattering it and spilling its contents across the table. "SOMEPONY DARES TO TRY AND POISON ME?!"

Snow Charm's horn lit up and she started scanning all of the bottles. "I don't believe this...somepony has indeed put poison into the wine."

Black Lance turned to Luna. "Was this your doing Luna? Attempting to have Prince Dusk poisoned and killed just so you could take command of his troops?!"

Luna glared at him. "How dare you accuse us of such a heinous thing! We were planning on drinking that wine too you know!"

As the two continued to glare at each other, Celestia spoke up. "Who would do such a thing?"

Rainbow Dash glared at Cloud Hunter, the latter who stared back at her and raised a brow. "If you're planning on pointing hoofs at me you're wasting your time. Not only did I just get here but poison is a low tactic that not even lord Metal Wing would resort to. That, and I too was planning on drinking that wine."

That pushed away Rainbow Dash's suspicions but she certainly looked like she was hoping it was him.

Cadence then spoke up. "Well, whoever it was, they must still be here."

"Hold on a second..." Cloud Hunter said, getting everyponies attention. "I think I might have an idea. When this banquet began and all of you were here, was there anypony who wasn't present? Was there anypony who didn't want to attend for any particular reason?"

As soon as he said this, all of them stared at each other in horror.

Celestia raised a hoof. "Guards! Go to the library! Tell Magister Freed he is to come here immediately!"

All of the Celestial and Lunar guards immediately rushed out of the throne room upon hearing her orders, while several of Dusk's guards carried the dead Unicorn guard away.

Rarity could feel tears forming in her eyes. "I...I don't believe this...M-Magister Freed...he wouldn't..."

________________________________________________________________________________________

"It was a siege that went down in history! King Shirai of Vulhaven went in alone, rushing through the shallow river, waving that flaming sword of his! Striking fear into the enemies vanguard, they were so stricken with fear that they hadn't noticed the second army that circled around and ended up flanking them! Cornered from both sides, they had nowhere to run, by the time that strategy worked the battle was over before our reinforcements showed up!"

Spike laughed as he and Magister Freed drank more cups of tea. "Wow! That sounds awesome! How did you make it through that?"

Freed chuckled as he took another sip of tea. "I was at the rear of the flank unit. Haha! In fact, we had decimated the enemy forces so quickly I don't think I got a chance to strike a single one of them! The irony! I spoke about defeating the enemy so much back then, and I never even got a chance to use my sword!"

Again, Spike laughed again before taking another sip of tea, taking a moment to catch his breath before replying. "Wow, what a story."

"Indeed young dragon, indeed." The Magister replied as he finished his cup. "Ah, I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a good drink."

Spike raised a brow. "Back in Dalkia right?"

Freed chuckled. "Ah...yes...of course. How could I forget."

The sound of rattling metal and hoofsteps dragged their attention to the library doors, which were slammed open. A large number of Celestial and Lunar guards rushed in and pointed their spears at the two.

"Magister Freed, Princess Celestia has demanded that you come to the throne room immediately!" A Celestial guard said.

Spike stood up and looked back and forth between Freed and the guards. "What's going on?"

The Celestial guard replied as he kept his eyes on the Magister. "The wine at the royal banquet was poisoned and one of Prince Dusk's guards ended up falling victim to it. Princess Celestia has-"

"Ah I see." Magister Freed interrupted the guard. "Because I've been spending my time here and not at the banquet, I am the prime suspect in this little mystery. How exciting, I get to put my mind and wits to the test and prove my innocence. Very well, I shall go and speak with the Princesses immediately." Freed said with his same friendly smile.

Spike just stared at him awkwardly, wondering how the Magister could be so calm in this situation.

Freed used his magic to levitate his helmet on and began making his way towards the doors.

A Lunar guard moved and stood in his path. "We shall escort you there Magist-"

"That will be unnecessary." Freed replied as he walked casually around the Lunar guard and out into the hallway. "The young dragon certainly knows how to make good tea, help yourselves." He said in his same friendly tone.

The guards and Spike all just stared in awkward silence as the Magister made his way down the hallway towards the throne room.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Twilight Sparkle and Burning Mace slowly walked through the large open hallway with the stained glass windows, Twilight herself was telling the gold armoured Magister about the events each window depicted. Events such as how she and her friends used the Elements of Harmony to free Princess Luna from Nightmare Moon's control, how they used them again and defeated Discord, King Sombra's defeat at the Crystal Empire, she even included what happened at her brothers wedding some time ago.

Burning Mace remained silent and listened carefully as she went on about how she tried to persuade everypony that Cadence was evil back then, but in truth, it was actually Queen Chrysalis disguised as Cadence. Twilight admitted that she felt a little sorry for the Changelings, because of what they needed to do to survive, and it sometimes made her feel guilty that they couldn't have just done something to help them.

"It is quite understandable why you'd think that way Twilight Sparkle..." Burning Mace said.

Twilight faced him as they continued their slow walk. "Now that I think about it, I wonder what happened to the Changelings. I know they were blasted out of Canterlot by my brother's and Cadence's magic, but I never really did find out where they had gone to after that. Sometimes I worry that they may attack again."

Burning Mace shook his head. "Doubtful. I'm pretty sure everypony in Equestria knows of the alliance between Canterlot and the North Kingdom. To attack Canterlot as it is now would be suicidal. Only a mad Pony would charge into the castle and attack the Princesses and Prince Dusk."

"I suppose you're right." Twilight said as she continued to look at the stained glass windows, she stopped when she reached the window that showed Celestia banishing Nightmare Moon.

Burning Mace noticed and stood next to her. "Sometimes I wonder...if Celestia was able to harness the power of the Elements of Harmony back then, why didn't she just use them to free Luna like you and your friends did?"

Twilight gave him a surprised look before turning back to the window. "W-Well I...I think that might be obvious. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were both able to harness their power, and it was by using them together, that they were able to defeat Discord. When Princess Celestia used them, she wasn't able to use them to their full potential alone. Without Princess Luna to wield them alongside her, she was unable to use them to the best of their ability, and that left her with no choice but to banish her sister to the moon."

Burning Mace scowled. "Nightmare Moon or not, banishing her own sister to the moon, such an unforgivable crime."

Twilight Sparkle stared at him, eyes widened. Burning Mace shook his head as he continued. "I'm still baffled at how Luna forgave Celestia immediately upon reuniting with her."

Twilight gave him a warm smile. "Well of course. Everypony deserves forgiveness for their mistakes. And they certainly deserve second chances."

Burning Mace tilted his head a little as he faced her. "And yet King Sombra was given none?"

No reply came from the young Alicorn. Burning Mace sighed as he turned his back to her. "Tell me Twilight Sparkle, was becoming a Princess something that you wanted?"

"W-What?" Twilight stared at him with a confused expression.

Burning Mace faced her. "When Celestia made you a Princess, was it what you wanted?"

Twilight Sparkle looked at the floor and pondered on that question for a moment before answering. "To be honest...no. I...I didn't want to become a Princess. Ever since I became one, I haven't been able to spend as much time with my friends as I used to. Sometimes, I wish Princess Celestia never gave me this responsibility."

Scowling behind his Manticore looking helmet, Burning Mace said, "So why haven't you stepped down?"

"Excuse me?" Twilight replied as she faced him again.

Burning Mace took a few steps towards her. "If you never wanted to be a Princess, why didn't you just tell Celestia to undo the transformation spell she used on you?"

Twilight turned her back to him. "I didn't want to disappoint her! I...I just wanted to meet her expectations and make her proud..."

As the young Alicorn continued to speak, she was unaware of the orange glow that suddenly appeared around Burning Mace's horn. "Princess Celestia has expected me to accomplish all the tasks and assignments that she gives me and she has always expected a lot out of me, I couldn't possibly refuse becoming a Princess and risk disappointing her then, not after everything I've accomplished."

A long thin sword suddenly materialized in front of Burning Mace, being held in the air by his magic. He slowly raised one of his forelegs and grabbed it with his forehoof, after which, a small golden ring with runes carved into it materialized in front of him and he slowly levitated it over Twilight's horn. "It certainly sounds like all of your 'royal duties' have been troubling you to no end." He said as he slowly approached her.

Twilight nodded. "They have. And...it's those very duties that have dragged me away from my friends so many times. It's those very duties that have dragged me away from...Starlight..." She let out a sad sigh.

Burning Mace stopped approaching her as soon as he was a few steps away and slowly raised his sword. "I think I may have a solution to your problem..."

________________________________________________________________________________________

Celestia, Luna, Dusk and all of the others stood in silence as they watched the castle chefs and maids take away the bottles of poisoned wine. Cadence was still shaking after what happened, the Element wielders were also shaken up, except Rainbow Dash who was eager to beat up the one responsible for poisoning the wine. Dusk and Shining Armor were furious, Black Lance, Sky Shadow and Snow Charm were completely silent and were trying to remain patient as they waited for the possible culprit to show up. Celestia and Luna remained composed throughout the whole thing, albeit they were undeniably shaken up like Cadence, they were able remain calm and keep the situation under control.

Finally, they were about to get answers, as the throne room doors opened and entering was none other than the one they believed to be responsible, Magister Freed.

"Princesses, I hear a little incident took place a few minutes ago." Magister Freed said in his usual calm tone.

Celestia nodded. "Indeed Magister."

"Well, feel free to ask away Princess, I will answer all the questions you have and, hopefully you will believe my words." Freed replied, his tone remained ever cheerful.

Luna stepped forward and spoke. "Did you poison the wine?"

Freed chuckled. "Absolutely not."

Cadence then spoke up. "How can we believe you? You were in the library the entire time, with the wine poisoned, it only makes sense that you would not want to attend the banquet."

"Very true Princess. But answer me this, what could I possibly gain from killing everypony in here..." He said as he looked at them all, his eyes eventually stopping on Cloud Hunter. "Ah, Commander Cloud Hunter, it's been too long."

Cloud Hunter nodded. "Likewise Magister Freed. We can talk another time, right now though we need to get to the bottom of this."

"Of course..." Freed replied as he looked at them all. "Rest assured, I have absolutely nothing to gain from killing you all. I happen to like everypony in here..." He cast a quick glance at Black Lance though they didn't notice it due to his helmet. "Well, almost everypony." He muttered.

Dusk raised a brow. "Do you have proof?"

Freed chuckled. "The only proof I have are my words Prince Dusk. Of course, I would like to point out something that you all seem to be forgetting..."

All eyes were on him and they listened carefully at what he was about to say. "You all seem to have forgotten that there are others who are currently not in our presence. Tell me, where is Magister Burning Mace and Princess Twilight Sparkle?"

Cadence narrowed her eyes slightly at him. "Shining Armor and I saw them leaving."

Freed nodded. "Indeed. Now, Princesses, we all know Burning Mace doesn't think highly of Twilight Sparkle, and he greatly detests both of you, no offence."

Celestia and Luna just stared at in confusion, wondering what he was getting at.

"So tell me, considering Burning Mace would never change his opinion of Twilight Sparkle or the Princesses, what reason could he possibly have for wanting to 'talk' to her?" Freed asked, his tone suddenly became more serious.

Suddenly, a horrified expression made it's way onto everyponies faces, except Dusk, who merely looked surprised. Freed nodded as he knew they were now catching on to what he was saying. "Burning Mace leads Twilight Sparkle away from the banquet, all of you drink the wine and die. What could possibly follow after?"

They all still continued to stare at him in shock.

Finally, they were all brought out of their shocked states when a loud scream literally echoed throughout the castle.

Freed turned and looked at the throne room doors. "I believe we better hurry."

"TWILIGHT!" Sky Shadow was already in the air, flying through the throne room doors at a speed that would make Rainbow Dash jealous.

Everypony else exchanged looks and immediately galloped after the silver armoured Magister, Dusk, Freed and Black Lance slowly followed after them.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Twilight Sparkle screamed as she rolled over on the floor clutching her bleeding foreleg pain. When she had heard Magister Burning Mace mentioning a solution to her problem, she had turned around expecting him to tell her, instead she found herself shielding herself with her foreleg as his sword came flying at her. She had pulled away at the last second, and though she managed to avoid losing her entire foreleg, his sword had still struck her, leaving a large open gash on her foreleg.

As she recovered from the attack, Twilight looked at her bleeding foreleg before facing the gold armoured Magister. "M-Magister Burning Mace! W-What are you doing?!"

Burning Mace slowly made his way towards her as he replied. "Giving you your solution. I'll put an end to your life and in doing so you will no longer have to bear the burden of being a Princess."

"B-But why?! What did I ever do to you?! I thought you wanted to start over!" Twilight said, trying to endure the overwhelming pain that was coursing through her foreleg.

"Hmph." Burning Mace stomped his hoof on the floor as he reached her. "Don't be ridiculous, I never had any intention of starting over with you. I was merely using that as an excuse to get you away from the others." He slowly put a forehoof under her muzzle and raised her head to face him. "You are a pathetic excuse of a Unicorn Twilight Sparkle. You stated that you never wanted to become a Princess, and yet you are so blinded by your loyalty to Celestia and focused on what she wants that you fail to stand up for yourself and announce what you want."

Twilight just looked up at him, she could feel tears starting to form in her eyes but she did her best to keep up a confident look.

Burning Mace shoved her face aside with his forehoof and turned his back to her. "Celestia is nothing more than a hypocrite, she preaches about equality, friendship, peace and harmony, yet here she is today, ruler of Equestria alongside her sister, thinking herself to be more superior than all others, simply because she 'saved' Equestria several times in the past. Luna is no different, just like Celestia, she believes she is superior than everypony else just because she helped stop Discord. Oh, I can only imagine how betrayed she must have felt when Celestia sent her to the moon. It's very surprising when I think about it. Celestia would never have been able to defeat Discord and King Sombra without Luna."

Twilight whimpered in pain as she tried to stand back up. "This is the kind of leadership Equestria has? Pathetic. Celestia, powerful though she may be, is nothing more than a weakling who needs others to do her dirty work for her, and Luna is the same in every way. When the Crystal Empire returned, she had Cadence and Shining Armor steal it from its rightful ruler King Sombra. Tell me, since when did Celestia and Luna have the authority to decide who rules what? Who gave them the right to rule Equestria in the first place? Do you not take the time to actually ponder these questions Twilight Sparkle?"

"I..." Twilight tried to speak but he interrupted her.

"Of course you don't. You're blind to the truth. You believe everything that comes out of their mouths. They give you an order, you carry it out without question. So tell me Twilight, if Celestia were to suddenly show her true colours and order you to turn on your friends, would you do it?" Burning Mace said.

Twilight scowled at him. "I'd never-"

"You would turn on your friends without hesitation. You're nothing but Celestia's little pet. She only uses you to take care of things she'd rather not take care of herself. Whenever there's a threat to Equestria, instead of dealing with it herself, she sends you and your friends. And if you were all to die, she wouldn't care." Burning Mace explained.

Twilight Sparkle had heard enough and summoned up all the strength she could in her body. She pushed herself back to her hoofs and immediately began charging her horn.

Except...she couldn't. She couldn't use her magic. "What? What's going on?!"

Burning Mace chuckled. "Look at your horn."

Twilight looked into her reflection on one of the stained glass windows and gasped. There was a small gold ring with runes carved into it fitted at the base of her horn. "What is this?!"

Burning Mace slowly made his way towards her as he explained. "A magic inhibitor ring. Hehe, those things are quite useful. They completely render magic useless, Unicorn or Alicorn, it doesn't matter, once you have a magic inhibitor ring sitting around your horn, your magic is useless and you can't remove it. And removing it is certainly no job for hoofs." Upon reaching her, he smacked his armoured hoof across Twilight's face, sending her to the floor again. "Don't worry, once you're dead, I will be the new ruler of Equestria. The land needs a new ruler who can do what Celestia and Luna cannot. Only I, am fit for such a role."

Twilight scowled at him. "You won't get away with this..." She rubbed her cheek as tears began to flow down her face. "The Princesses, Prince Dusk and the others will stop you."

Burning Mace chuckled. "You are so foolish Twilight. Celestia, Dusk and the others are probably already dead."

"D-Dead? What do you mean?" Twilight replied.

Burning Mace shot a beam of magic at her from his horn. Twilight screamed in pain as the blast hit her and sent her flying into the wall. "Do you remember when you saw me leaving the castles kitchen?"

Twilight just stared at him through half opened eyes, trying to keep herself conscious as she felt her entire body aching in pain.

"Well, while I was in there, I decided to put a little something into the wine that was being served. I'm pretty sure the throne room is littered with bodies right about now." Burning Mace said with a chuckle.

Twilight's eyes widened. "Y-You...you put poison into the wine?"

Burning Mace nodded as he made his way towards her. "But of course. So if you're hoping that somepony will come and save you, you can forget about it. They're all dead..." He used his magic to levitate his sword over to him and grabbed it with his forehoof before raising it into the air. "Don't worry, I'll kill you here so you can be with them in the next life."

Twilight, unable to defend herself or move out of the way, stayed where she was on the floor and braced herself as the Magister was about to bring his sword down.

Instead of a sword colliding with her body, she heard the sound of doors being slammed open.

"TWILIGHT!"

That voice renewed her hope and gave her the energy she needed to turn her head. "S-Sky Shadow..."

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Sky Shadow bolted through the air and launched himself right into Burning Mace, sending the gold armoured Magister flying across the hallway.

Landing on the floor, Sky Shadow wasted no time and rushed over to Twilight's side. "Twilight! Are you okay?! Oh no, you're...you're bleeding!"

Twilight gave him a weak smile as he helped her stand up. "I'm...I'm okay Sky Shadow..." She nearly collapsed but the silver armoured Pegasus caught her.

"Don't strain yourself..." Sky Shadow said as he held her bleeding foreleg. "Don't worry, you're safe now..." He said with a reassuring smile, though she couldn't see it due to his helmet.

Twilight could tell he was smiling though just by the tone of his voice. Suddenly she remembered what Burning Mace said. "I...I was worried you were dead. He said he poisoned the wine."

Sky Shadow shook his head. "Everypony is fine, don't worry. The others should be here any minute now."

That was probably the best news Twilight heard in a long time. She leaned forward hugged the Magister tightly. "Thank you Sky Shadow...I was so worried..."

"Don't be..." Sky Shadow said as he pulled away.

A loud cough dragged their attention towards Burning Mace, who was back on his hoofs. "So you all managed to avoid drinking the wine, impressive."

Sky Shadow gently shoved Twilight Sparkle behind him and glared daggers at Burning Mace. "You have a lot of nerve doing what you just did. You had better pray that the Princesses and Prince Dusk will be merciful, because if not then you may aswell kill yourself right now."

Burning Mace laughed. "Hahaha! Don't be ridiculous, I didn't become a Royal Magister Knight just because of my superior political advisory!" In a flash, Burning Mace shot forward at an alarming speed.

Sky Shadow drew his gleaming silver sword and braced himself as Burning Mace was almost within range. As soon as he reached him, Burning Mace swung his sword down, but Sky Shadow blocked it. However, the Pegasus wasn't prepared for the flames that suddenly shot out of Burning Mace's sword and ended up lighting his cape aflame.

Jumping back, Sky Shadow ripped his flaming cape off and threw it aside, thankfully his armour had protected the rest of his body from the flames. Burning Mace started swinging away at him, but Sky Shadow matched him blow for blow. Each time their swords collided with each other, small flames had shot out of Burning Mace's sword and the long carpet that expanded across the entire hallway was eventually lit aflame too.

After getting some distance, Sky Shadow flapped his wings hard and managed to put out some of the larger flames, but Burning Mace attacked him again before he could continue to put out the rest.

Twilight watched the two fight and she could tell Sky Shadow was struggling to hold him off while keeping the place from burning down. She attempted to remove the ring that was around her horn but it was just too difficult for hoofs.

Sky Shadow slashed his sword across Burning Mace's chest, but only managed to scratch his armour. Acting quickly, Burning Mace lunged forward and attempted to impale him, but Sky Shadow was quicker and leaped into the air, keeping himself there with the use of his wings.

However, he had forgotten one very basic important thing. Burning Mace was a Unicorn.

The gold armoured Magister fired a powerful magic beam that successfully hit the silver armoured Pegasus in the chest, sending him flying into the wall with a loud crash.

"SKY SHADOW!"

Twilight attempted to rush to his side but Burning Mace blasted her away with his magic. She cried in pain as she lay on the floor, trying to do everything she could to get back to her hoofs, but it was no use, she was too injured and too weak.

Sky Shadow groaned as he got back to his hoofs. "You were always a good warrior Sky Shadow, but you lack the one thing that all Royal Magister Knights have..." Burning Mace said as he reached the silver armoured Pegasus. "Magic."

With that, Burning Mace levitated Sky Shadow into the air and threw him across the hallway.

"L-Leave him...leave him alone...!" Twilight shouted out weakly.

Burning Mace paid no attention to her and began making his way towards Sky Shadow again.

Sky Shadow stood back up and turned to face his opponent. The impact from hitting the wall ended up crushing one of his wings, rendering it useless, and he had used up so much stamina so quickly that he was practically at his limit. With one final attempt at stopping him, Sky Shadow threw his sword at Burning Mace.

Unfortunately, Burning Mace stopped it with ease using his magic and threw it aside. He then charged up his horn and shot a powerful fiery blast of magic at him.

Sky Shadow roared in pain as the blast hit him head on, blasting him back and sending him sliding across the floor, his helmet had came flying off in the process.

"N-No..." Twilight watched in horror as Sky Shadow's body remained motionless. "No...Sky Shadow...SKY SHADOW!"

Burning Mace turned back to her and was about to finish what he started.

Thankfully, luck was not on his side today, as the doors were slammed open once more, and in came Princess Celestia herself, followed Princess Luna, Princess Cadence, Shining Armor, Snow Charm, Cloud Hunter and all of Twilight's friends.

"Y-You...you made it." Twilight muttered weakly.

"TWILY!" Shining Armor rushed to her side and hugged her. "ARE YOU OKAY?!"

Twilight nodded. "I'm...I'm fine..."

Cadence, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie had rushed over to join them, while Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Snow Charm and Cloud Hunter stayed by Celestia and Luna.

As soon as Celestia saw the shape Twilight was in, along with the motionless body of Sky Shadow, she stepped forward and glared daggers at the gold armoured Magister. "Burning Mace! What is the meaning of this?!"

Burning Mace chuckled. "It's just like you to show up at times such as these Celestia..." He turned to Twilight and said, "I was merely doing Twilight Sparkle a kindness by ridding her of a responsibility she never wished upon herself. Unfortunately, it would seem my plan didn't exactly go as I expected it to. I admit, I'm surprised you managed to avoid drinking the wine I poisoned, I'd give praise, but you don't deserve it."

Before Celestia could reply, Snow Charm stepped forward. "How dare you Burning Mace! I know you hated the Princesses, but this...THIS IS TOO FAR!"

"Ah knew there was somethin' off about one of you Magister's, ah just didn't think you'd sink this low!" Applejack added.

Rainbow Dash pointed her hoof at him. "You picked the wrong Ponies to mess with and you're gonna pay for it!"

Pinkie Pie nodded as she joined her friends. "Yeah! You big meanie!"

Shining Armor glared at the Magister with a look of rage and was about to rush forward until Cadence stopped him. "Shining, don't, Twilight needs you right now." She said with pleading eyes.

Shining looked at his injured sister and let out a quiet sigh before nodding at his wife.

Snow Charm drew her sword and pointed it at Burning Mace. "Magister Burning Mace, as Royal Magister Knight of the North Kingdom and upholder of the Dalkian Laws, you are charged with the attempted assassination of the rulers of Equestria, the royal leaders of the Crystal Empire, Prince Dusk of the North Kingdom, the wielders of the Elements of Harmony and assaulting Princess Twilight Sparkle and a fellow Magister Knight. With clear evidence and witnessing your assault with our own eyes, I hereby find you guilty! Stand down and surrender!"

Burning Mace narrowed his eyes at her. "Never." He charged up his horn and fired a large blast of fiery magic at her.

Snow Charm charged up her horn and fired a large icy beam. Both beams exploded upon colliding with each other, forcing everypony to recoil and shield their eyes with their hoofs.

As the magical explosion was dying down, Shining Armor noticed Burning Mace charging up his horn again from behind the smoke, attempting to fire a second beam. Not willing to let him hurt anypony else, Shining Armor charged up his horn. After summoning up a large amount of magic, Shining Armour fired a powerful beam at the gold armoured Magister.

As the smoke had finally cleared away, Burning Mace's eyes widened behind his helmet as he saw Shining Armor's magic beam shooting towards him. Acting quickly, he fired the beam he was charging up in an attempt to stop it. Unfortunately for him, Shining Armor's beam had already gotten too close, by the time Burning Mace had fired his own attack, both beams collided and exploded right in front of him, sending him flying across the hallway and into the wall. As soon as Burning Mace fell to the floor and lay motionless, everypony let out a relieved sigh.

"It's over..." Shining Armor said as he panted heavily.

Cadence gave him a curious look. "You must have used up a lot of magic if you're that exhausted already."

Shining Armor nodded before looking back down at his sister. "Twily, are you okay?"

Twilight Sparkle nodded. "I'm...I'm fine Shining Armor..."

"Hold still Twilight..." Cadence said as she charged up her horn.

Twilight's entire body was engulfed in a pink aura, and immediately, she could feel most of the pain in her body fading away. The large gash on her foreleg closed up until it looked like a small cut. The mark on her on her cheek where Burning Mace had smacked her also faded away.

Cadence then finished by removing the magic inhibitor ring from Twilight's horn and threw it away. "There we go, you should feel better after a good rest."

Twilight was able to stand again and she wasted no time in hugging the pink Alicorn. "Thanks Cadence."

"Good ta see yer doin' okay Twi." Applejack said.

Rarity nodded. "Yes darling, we all thought you might have been killed for sure this time. After what happened the last time you were...attacked..." As soon as she said that, they all remembered what exactly happened the last time Twilight was attacked.

Twilight Sparkle found herself locking eyes with Cloud Hunter. "...What is he doing here?"

Pinkie Pie was about to open her mouth, until Applejack stopped her. "Relax sugarcube, he ain't here ta start any trouble. Long story short, he returned Fluttershy's Element and he brought our sisters back."

When Twilight noticed the necklace around Fluttershy's neck, she stared back at Cloud Hunter in shock. "But...why?"

"Well..." Cloud Hunter started but stopped when he saw something at the corner of his eye. Burning Mace was getting back up and his horn was charging up another spell.

With a loud roar, Burning Mace shot a powerful blast of magic at Princess Luna. "DIE!"

"WATCH OUT!" Acting quickly, Cloud Hunter rushed between Luna and the blast and raised his wings so he could fully shield her from it.

The blast exploded upon making contact with Cloud Hunter's body, sending him flying back and into Luna, who managed to catch him and quickly placed him gently onto the floor before glaring daggers at Burning Mace.

Just as Celestia was about to use her own magic, Burning Mace fired another blast at Luna. The Princess of the Night, not willing to tolerate his continuous assaults on her subjects anymore, quickly charged up her horn and fired back with a powerful blue beam.

Burning Mace's eyes widened with horror as Luna's beam shot right through his own, Celestia and everypony else watched as Luna's beam then collided with Burning Mace himself. The gold armoured Magister let out a loud painful roar as the beam tore right through him, he was engulfed in the large blue light and eventually his entire body was vaporized.

As soon as the light died down, all that was left was a charred mark on the carpet where Burning Mace once stood.

"He's...gone..." Fluttershy muttered quietly before turning to Cloud Hunter. She gasped after noticing he wasn't moving and quickly flew over to his side. "C-Cloud Hunter...?"

The blue Pegasus didn't move. Fluttershy gently shook him, attempting to get a reaction. After a short minute of shaking, he opened his eyes and swiftly raised his hoof to stop her from shaking him.

"Eep!" Fluttershy recoiled at Cloud Hunter's hoof touching her own and stood back as he sat up.

Cloud Hunter rubbed his head and let out a painful groan. "Ugh...that's one of the few times that I've actually been hit by a magic attack..."

Celestia smiled as she and Luna approached him. "Cloud Hunter, thank you for protecting my sister, if that attack had struck her while her guard was down..."

"Knowing Princess Luna, it'll take more than that to bring her down." Cloud Hunter said.

Luna blushed in embarrassment at his words. "You think too highly of us..."

Twilight looked up at Cadence and said, "Cadence...Sky Shadow...is he..." She looked over at the motionless body of Sky Shadow just a good ten steps away.

Cadence smiled at her as she got back to her hoofs. "I'll check on him, you just rest here." She said before making her way over to the silver armoured Pegasus.

As soon as she reached him, she could see that his helmet was gone, she noticed it was lying just few steps away from his motionless body. As Cadence closed in on him, she was able to make out his fiery orange mane.

Cadence then walked around his body to get a proper look at his face, but as soon as she did, she let out horrified gasp.

"It would appear we are too late."

Celestia and the others turned to see Dusk, Freed and Black Lance entering the hallway.

Dusk looked around as he approached Celestia and asked, "So...where is he? Where's Burning Mace?"

Luna looked at the floor in shame. "We tried to stop him...but...he left us no choice..."

Black Lance narrowed his eyes from behind his helmet.

Dusk on the other hoof, merely raised a brow, as if he was only slightly surprised. "You killed him?"

Luna nodded.

Dusk took a short moment to process that, after looking at Snow Charm who nodded at him, he sighed. "Well...what's done is done. He attempted to assassinate us and he paid the price. Good job Princess."

Luna and Celestia, aswell as the Element Wielders, stared at him in shock. "How can you say that?! He attempted to kill us yes but he was still one of your Royal Magister Knights! Don't you care?!"

Dusk shrugged. "Burning Mace was long overdue for retirement anyway, it's not as if I've lost anything important."

Freed and Snow Charm exchanged glances.

Celestia sighed. "I will never know how things worked for you years ago in Dalkia, and I don't think I want to know."

Dusk merely glared at her before looking around the large room.

Luna used her magic to help heal the injuries Cloud Hunter received from Burning Mace's attack. The burn marks on his coat and wings faded, though there were still a few small charred areas that he'd need to personally clean.

Celestia walked over to Twilight and gave her a concerned look. "Twilight, I'm so sorry we didn't get here sooner..."

Twilight got up and smiled at the white Alicorn. "It's fine Princess...I'm okay. If it weren't for Sky Shadow, I probably would be dead..."

Shining Armor smiled as he looked up, his smile immediately faded when he saw Cadence shaking and holding the motionless Sky Shadow in her forelegs.

Twilight, Celestia and eventually everypony else noticed this. Shining Armor made his way over to Cadence and Sky Shadow, Celestia, Luna, Twilight and the others were right behind him.

As soon as Shining Armor reached them, he was able to make out a sound Cadence was making. She was...crying?

"Cadence...?" Shining said, his tone full of concern.

Cadence slowly looked up at him. They were all taken aback as soon as they saw her face. Cadence's eyes were all slightly red due to the tears that were continuously flowing down her face, and it didn't look like they were stopping anytime soon.

After giving a quick glance at Sky Shadow, she tightened her grip around his body and faced Shining Armor again. "I-It's him! It's him! It's really him! H-He's back Shining! I don't know how but I just do! I know it's him!"

Shining Armor moved in closer as Cadence pulled her head back slightly so he could see.

As soon as he set his eyes on Sky Shadow's face, his expression turned to horror.

Suddenly, hundreds of old memories began to flood through Shining Armor's head...and one in particular.

"I...I've never had a brother before either..." The colt said.

"Well...you do now."

All eyes moved towards the white Unicorn colt, who was standing by the door. "Nopony should have to go through what you did, it just isn't right." He said as he trotted over to the bed before jumping up to sit beside them. "And besides, I've always wanted a sibling of my own. I think it'd be great to have a brother. A Pegasus brother at that!"

The Pegasus colt looked up at the two older Unicorns. "You don't have a problem with that either? I mean, you're all Unicorns, and, I don't know if it would seem right-"

The mare hugged him again. "You are who you are. You're future is for you to decide. We won't pressure you or anything into making a decision. But..." She slowly pulled away and smiled at him. "You deserve better, and I'd like to believe we can give you what you never had."

The colt looked up at her, he then turned to the stallion, who was also smiling at him.

He felt a hoof on his shoulder, causing him to turn to the small white Unicorn colt, who, just like his parents, was also smiling at him.

"What I never had..." He muttered to himself. He looked up at them again. "I...have always wanted...a real family..."

The two older Unicorns smiled at each other before turning back to him. The Unicorn stallion shuffled closer so he could put his forelegs around his wife and the colt.

The small Unicorn colt moved over to them and hugged the colt also. "And I've always wanted a sibling."

Shining Armor was only able to mutter out three words...

"L-Luster Shield...

...Brother?"