Chapter 5:

'Royal Gathering'

Princess Celestia and Princess Twilight Sparkle, upon hearing of the arrival of the Crystal Empire's Princess Cadence and Prince Shining, quickly made their way to the front gates to join Luna in welcoming them. However, it wasn't just them that had arrived, as a guard had informed them not too long ago that Prince Dusk of the North Kingdom was also arriving.

The news was indeed correct, for as soon as the two Alicorn Princesses made their way out onto one of the castles balconies, they saw something in the distance. From where they stood, it looked like a large number of shadows that was slowly approaching, one of the shadows let off a faint green light. It wouldn't take a genius to figure out that those shadows were actually Prince Dusk and his royal guard, which confused Celestia greatly as there were more than enough guards within the castle.

Of course, she assumed that Dusk didn't have faith in her castles security and decided to bring along his own guards because he believed them to be more capable than her own. If that was the reason, Celestia swore she would have to do everything in her power to refrain from bringing it up, as she was all too aware of Dusk's temper, and the last thing she needed was an argument with another royal leader over something so trivial.

Her thoughts then went back to Twilight as she remembered the younger Princess was standing right next to her, watching as Dusk and his guard were getting closer. As it was night time, and no doubt Dusk would be feeling very, VERY, tired, Celestia decided it would be best if everypony got some sleep and saved any introductions for tomorrow, where she would also be holding the royal council.

"Go and get some rest Twilight Sparkle..." Celestia said softly.

Twilight looked up at her with confusion across her face. "What? But why?"

Celestia smiled a little at her. "I'm sure you may be eager to see Cadence and your brother, but it's very late, I think it'd be best if we all go and get some sleep before we do anything. Don't you think?"

"I...I suppose...but..." Twilight continued to ponder away at her thoughts.

"Don't worry Twilight Sparkle...I will handle their arrivals, you can see your brother and meet Dusk in the morning." Celestia said.

And as usual, the young Alicorn couldn't say no to her fellow Princess, as she did indeed bring up a good point. Deciding it would be best, Twilight replied with a simple nod, gave one last glance at the large group in the distance, and left for her quarters.

Now that Twilight had gone to get some sleep, Celestia was able to relax a little easier, knowing it would be a good idea if Twilight were to meet Dusk tomorrow rather than now. She wasted no time and flew off of the balcony, quickly turning and making her way for the castle gate. As she predicted, Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor were right there along with her sister, Luna.

"Sister, I assume you are also aware that Dusk is arriving?" Celestia asked as she approached the slightly shorter Alicorn Princess.

Luna gave her a slight glare before facing the approaching group. "So he decided to come after all? Surprising. He's much earlier than expected. I suppose that's fine, the sooner we have spoken with him, the sooner we can see him leave."

Celestia gave her sister a worried glance, hoping she wouldn't say anything to offend the Prince from the North. "I told Twilight Sparkle to get some sleep, I said that it'd be best if we wait until morning for introductions, as it would seem more appropriate, since it is very late." She turned to the rulers of the Crystal Empire. "I hope that won't be a problem."

Cadence smiled. "Not at all Princess Celestia, me and Shining would be happy to spend a night in the castle."

The white Alicorn Princess was just hoping the same could be said for Dusk. To fly all the way from the Frozen North to Canterlot, just to find out that the royal council would be held tomorrow, would no doubt be frustrating news to the Prince.

Knowing that she had a few minutes to spare, Celestia decided to take a look at the scroll that Spike had sent her not too long ago. It was from Fluttershy, and putting it plain and simple, she, along with the other Elements of Harmony, were requesting Celestia's permission to be at the royal council. She pondered on it for a moment, it wouldn't do any harm as they were the ones responsible for defeating Nightmare Moon and Discord, and knowing of this new enemy would help them prepare better should the need come to use the magical artifacts. The only downside of course, would be if whether or not Dusk could tolerate their presence. She decided to take the risk and made sure to send a reply as soon as she got back inside.

Hearing the flapping of wings above them, the royal leaders aswell as the guards around them, all looked up in time to see the others land. Atleast twenty black armoured Pegasi landed, their armour clearly stated that they were indeed guards.

The next one that landed got their attention. Unlike the guards, this Pegasus was literally covered from head to hoof in gleaming silver armour with white blossom designs on the chest plate that went down to his right foreleg. His silver cape also had the same design and his helmet looked expertly crafted, which prevented his face from being seen. His orange mane and tail still stuck out and they were both tied up, and his blue wings were still showing of course. He was the perfect example of a knight, and he was slightly taller than Shining Armour.

Just as Celestia was about to greet the silver armoured Pegasus, one more landed. Only this one wasn't a Pegasus, he was a Unicorn. He wore golden armour around his chest and hoofs and he had piercing red eyes that looked like they could strike fear into a dragon. She then noticed the green lights on his back, clearly, this one had used a wing spell to travel, which immediately reminded her of the time Rarity also had wings. He had a decent physique and he was just slightly shorter than Luna.

In all honesty, Celestia had never seen Prince Dusk before, so she found herself in a difficult position, wondering which of these two regal looking Ponies was Prince Dusk. She saw Luna, Cadence and Shining Armor were also looking at them the same way she was, clearly they had no idea which one was Dusk either. Not willing to allow the silence to last much longer, Celestia was about to speak when...

"Allow me to introduce you..." The silver armoured Pegasus said. "Prince Dusk, of the North Kingdom." He said as he bowed.

All eyes were now on the golden armoured one. So, that was Prince Dusk. He definitely did indeed look exactly as she sort of expected him to. The dark look in his eyes made her feel a little uneasy. Just as she was about to introduce herself, a blinding flash of light appeared right next to them.

As things weren't awkward enough, they just got more awkward. Standing where the light had briefly been, were four more armoured Ponies, Unicorns to be exact. Three of which who were all fully armoured up just like the silver one, while the fourth, a mare, was wearing less armour, which was most likely for more mobility.

The silver armoured Pegasus faced them. "Good to see you again fellow Magisters."

The four merely nodded before turning to Princess Celestia. Dusk, getting all of their attention when he cleared his throat, said, "They are with me, I believe it would be best if we saved introductions for tomorrow Celestia. I have travelled far, and I am...tired. Though I would like to get this gathering over with as quickly as possible, I need my rest, I trust you already have spare rooms ready?"

Such an arrogant tone! Celestia didn't deny that the way he just spoke annoyed her, and she didn't even want to think of what thoughts were running through Luna's mind right now. She refrained from looking at her sister and faced Dusk again. "First of all, welcome to Canterlot, Prince Dusk, I am glad you decided to agree to my request to come here, I am most grateful."

Dusk narrowed his eyes. Celestia noticed this and said, "I apologize, it is quite necessary to welcome one into your kingdom, especially if they have never been in it before."

The golden armoured Prince's look remained the same as he spoke. "I see...well, far be it from me to ruin the welcome, if you'd be so kind as to have a guard show me to where I may rest for the night, I'd be grateful."

"Grateful...yeah right..." Luna muttered.

She was taken slightly aback as Dusk set his gaze on her. The two locked eyes for a moment before the golden armoured Prince walked on, following one of Celestia's guards into the castle.

The four Magisters who had just arrived then followed him.

After letting out a sigh of relief, Celestia set her eyes on the silver armoured Pegasus. He slowly approached her and gave a polite bow. "I apologize for my Prince's attitude...he is merely tired you see. I am also honoured to be in your presence Princess Celestia..." He turned to Luna. "And you Princess Luna. I thank you for allowing us to rest within Canterlot's walls, I'll see to it that you are repaid eventually."

Celestia and Luna blushed a little at the Pegasus's surprisingly polite and noble words. "Rise my friend, you need not bow." Celestia stated with a slight giggle.

Standing back on all fours, the Pegasus said, "I will be glad to introduce myself more appropriately tomorrow at the royal council. Until then, goodnight Princesses." With that said, he marched into the castle, his armour rattling with each step he took.

For a moment, time seemed to slow down, and as he passed by, Shining Armor could have sworn the armoured Pegasus locked eyes with him, even though he was wearing that helmet. He felt a chill run down his spine as the Pegasus walked by him.

"Is something wrong?" Cadence asked.

Shining Armor shook his head and turned to her. "No...nothing's wrong. Let's go inside." He said. Cadence nodded and followed her husband into the castle.

The twenty Pegasus guards who had arrived with Dusk had all entered the castle by now aswell, no doubt they would be posting themselves near Dusk's room to keep him safe. Even though Celestia could guarantee that the castle was secure, it wouldn't exactly come as a surprise if Dusk still had his guards keep an eye out for any assassins.

Luna sighed. "I've only met him for a couple of minutes and I already despise him."

"Please sister..." Celestia said as she placed a hoof on the dark Alicorn's back. "If we want to learn more about this rising threat and keep Equestria safe, we will need Dusk's cooperation, and so we must give him ours aswell."

Again, Luna sighed. "I have a bad feeling about this."

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Fluttershy's eyes shot open as she felt a burning heat all around her. She found herself lying down in the middle of a grassy field, surrounded by black smoke. As she got to her hoofs, she noticed that everything around her was on fire, literally, the entire field and all of the once beautiful trees around her were consumed by a scorching inferno.

She gasped at the horrible sight and attempted to turn and run away, but she was stopped by the sudden sight of...her cottage. Her cottage, her home, was nothing but a burning ruin. It wasn't just her home though, as she set her eyes on Ponyville which was just up ahead. To her shock, even Ponyville was in ruins, engulfed by a never-ending swarm of flames that only continued to expand further.

Walking through the ruined town, she was surprised when she noticed there were no Ponies walking about, or rather, running about. No Ponies, crying, screaming or yelling as the entire town continued to burn.

Fluttershy saw the flower shop not far ahead and gasped when she noticed the flowers were also nothing more than shadows of their former selves.

"This is...so awful." She muttered as a tear dripped down her face.

As she silently cried at all of the destruction around her, a sound caught her attention. The sound of rattling metal, getting closer and closer. From behind.

She slowly, slowly turned. She took in a few heavy breaths as she did so, and when she fully turned around, her eyes widened in horror.

A dark shadow stood before her, standing not too far from her, but not too close either. She was frozen with fear, unable to comprehend what she was seeing, but at the same time, it seemed familiar, almost as if she had seen it before. The shadow was that of a Unicorn, shrouded completely by a black aura. It was literally covered from head to hoof in pitch black armour. The helmet itself had two thin eye slits, the eyes of the Unicorn glowed a dark blood red colour. The dark blue mane and tail slowly floated in the air as the hot wind blew against them.

Fluttershy's eyes followed the black aura that continued to float around the entire Unicorn's figure, and, as the scared Pegasus set her eyes on the helmet once more, her eyes widened with complete and utter terror.

The horn on this Unicorn's head was made completely out of metal, it was as sharp as a sword and it was about the same length as Princess Celestia's horn.

Finally, she looked into its glowing red eyes again. Working up enough courage to speak, she said, "What are you?"

The black Unicorn merely stared at her, the look it gave her was unknown due to the helmet blocking its face, its glowing red eyes were completely devoid of all emotion. Looking at it up and down, she was able to tell that this Unicorn was just about the same height as Princess Luna herself, if not, slightly taller. Fluttershy slowly turned away to leave, and as she did so, she turned to look back at the Unicorn one more time, only to find it wasn't there.

Sighing with slight relief, she turned back to keep walking on, she then found herself mere inches away from a metal face.

"AHHHH!"

Fluttershy panted heavily like she had just ran from one end of Equestria to the other. She looked around to find herself in her bed, safely in her cottage, which was thankfully intact and not burning like she had seen it not moments ago. Looking out her window, she saw that it was morning, and the beautiful grassy fields were untouched.

But what she saw had terrified her so much that she suddenly burst into tears.

"Fluttershy?! Fluttershy?! Can you hear me?!"

The voice of Rarity could be heard from outside her door. The next instant, it slammed open, Rarity stormed in, followed by Spike and Starlight, who both entered into fighting stances. "We heard you scream! What happened?!" Spike said as he looked around.

Upon seeing her crying into her bed sheets, Starlight and Spike lowered their guard and followed Rarity over to the crying Pegasi. "Fluttershy dear, what happened?" Rarity asked in a soft tone as she put her forelegs around Fluttershy and pulled her into a gentle hug.

Fluttershy then looked at them, they were taken greatly aback when they saw the look in her eyes, as if she had seen a ghost. "It...it..." She stumbled on her words and continued to sob. "OH RARITY! IT WAS AWFUL!" She hugged Rarity back, holding onto her for dear life.

The red pony and the young dragon stared in silence as Rarity comforted her friend. They had seen Fluttershy cry before, a few times, but never, ever, like this. She cried like she had lost the most important thing in her life, whatever that was. But even so, the two couldn't help but take a step back to give her some space, the most likely case was that she had a bad dream since she was still in her bed. What kind of bad dream could make her cry like this though, they didn't know.

Spike looked at Starlight. "I guess we better show her Celestia's letter when she's calmed down."

Wiping her eyes, Fluttershy faced them and said, "Princess Celestia?!" She took the letter from Spike's claws and read it.

Dear Fluttershy,

Your concern is noted and the feeling is quite mutual. I would be more than happy to have you and the rest of Twilight Sparkle's friends here at the Royal Gathering, as I too believe it would be most appropriate to have the wielders of the Elements of Harmony here. I cannot however say the same for Prince Dusk and whether or not he will tolerate your presence remains to be seen. If you still wish to come to council, please do not delay and come as soon as possible.

Yours sincerely,

Princess Celestia

The news that she and the others were allowed to be at the council calmed her down a little. But no matter how much she tried to forget, the images of the ruined Ponyville continued to appear in her head. As did the black Unicorn. She started thinking if she should bring the topic up with Celestia herself.

"Fluttershy?" Starlight's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "Are you okay Fluttershy?"

With a nod, Fluttershy said, "I'm...I'm fine. Just a...a bad dream. We should probably go to Canterlot now so we're not late for the council." She decided it would be best to drop the subject for now, as she didn't want her friends worrying about her.

Even though she successfully changed the subject, her friends still couldn't help but give her concerned looks.

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Morning had come and as was her duty, Celestia raised the sun once again. Knowing it would be a good few long minutes before everypony had arrived for the council, the white Alicorn Princess took the time to step out onto the throne rooms balcony where she could see all of Canterlot. Taking in a breath of fresh air, Celestia smiled a little at the beautiful land before her, the land she ruled. She didn't care how dangerous this threat was, all she cared about was ensuring that it was stopped before it could bring harm to her subjects and destruction to her home.

Celestia was so deep in thought however, she failed to notice the dark Alicorn standing at the side of the balcony. "You're up early again sister."

Were it not for the fact that her tone was calm and quiet, Celestia would have jumped. "Luna, you haven't been up all night have you?"

"Of course not." Luna replied as she narrowed her eyes at her sister. "Though, I must confess, something has been troubling me, I can't figure out what though."

She first assumed it had to do with Dusk considering the slight introductions they had last night, the way Luna and Dusk glared at each other didn't go unnoticed. Again, Celestia was just hoping Luna could keep herself under control, no matter what he said.

"The feeling of being threatened by an unknown enemy is most likely the case. I understand all too well sister..." Celestia said with a sigh. "When I think about everything we've been through...all of the foes we have faced off against, I think to myself that everything will be alright, because in the end, somehow, no matter how dire the situation is, we will always triumph."

Luna narrowed her eyes a little at the white Alicorn. "Do you think Dusk will participate in battling against this enemy?"

"I have no doubt Luna. I know for a fact, that Dusk will enter the field of battle, as he cannot afford to stay out of it, especially considering the fact that he was attacked first." Celestia stated.

As the two exchanged words, Canterlot was eventually getting crowded. Celestia and Luna kept their eyes on their loyal subjects for a moment before setting their sights on something else. "Hey...isn't that..." Celestia started.

They had noticed that the large crowd had stopped moving around and where facing something that was slowly walking through them. The crowd started to split apart, revealing the source of all the commotion.

Walking through the path between the crowd, was none other than Dusk himself. Behind him, were his five Magisters, Snow Charm and Sky Shadow on his left, Burning Mace, Black Lance and Freed on his right. And behind them, where the twenty black armoured Pegasus guards that had accompanied him, all marching in a straight line towards the castle.

"Looks like he got up early." A voice said.

Celestia and Luna turned to see Cadence and Shining Armor approaching them. "Yes...I'm assuming he merely went out to explore Canterlot itself, seeing as how this is his first time here." Celestia said.

"I didn't think him to be the exploring type." Shining Armor said.

The crowd all kept their distance, making sure there was plenty of space for Dusk and his followers to walk through. Some started muttering to each other, while others continued to look at him with nervous expressions.

"I didn't expect the Prince from the North to be here."

"Some say he's immortal, just like the Princesses."

"Rumours state that he had fought and defeated several dragons all by himself."

"Wasn't that the Magisters?"

"No, it was said that the Magisters merely supported him, while he himself was the one to strike the dragons down."

"Why is he here?"

"What business does he have with the Princesses?"

Dusk narrowed his eyes at the large crowd on both of his sides. "These inferior beings aren't worthy to look upon my glorious presence."

Black Lance narrowed his eyes behind his helmet and yelled out, "You are all in the presence of Prince Dusk! Show some respect and bow before him!" He stated in his usual dark and cold tone.

Everypony did as they were told and bowed, by then, Dusk and his followers had already arrived and entered the castle.

"I don't like that one." Luna said. "In fact, I don't feel comfortable with any of those Magisters nearby."

Celestia faced her. "What about-" Before she could continue, Luna spoke over her.

"The one from last night...is an exception. Although I admit, I haven't exactly been able to converse with the rest of them, I suppose it's only fair to see what the rest of them are like before jumping to conclusions." Luna said.

A good long moment had gone by, Dusk and his followers had made it into the throne room. His twenty guards lined up on one side of the large hall, while ten of Celestia's guards and ten of Luna's guards were lined on the other side. By now, a large rectangular table was being set up in the middle of the throne room, plenty of chairs were also placed around it, though Dusk didn't seem overly satisfied with the chairs.

"Before we begin the council, I believe it is time we finally introduce ourselves properly, after all, some of us are still unfamiliar with each other." Celestia stated with her usual calm smile.

"Hmph." All eyes were on Dusk. "Very well, I am Prince Dusk...ruler of the North Kingdom that currently resides in the Frozen North." He said with a hint of boredom in his tone.

Princess Cadence stepped forth. "I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza of the Crystal Empire, but you can just call me Cadence for short. It is pleasure to meet you Prince Dusk."

Shining Armor then stepped forth, catching the attention of Magister Sky Shadow. "I am Prince Shining Armor, also of the Crystal Empire, I've heard quite a bit about you."

Dusk merely gave a slight nod. Luna then spoke up. "WE ART PRINCESS LUNA! PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT! WE WELCOME THY PRINCE TO OUR CASTLE AND BID THEE GOOD TIDINGS!" She said in the Royal Canterlot Voice.

With the exception of Dusk and Black Lance, the rest of the Magisters aswell as the guards behind them all winced at the unexpected outburst from Princess Luna, minus Magister Freed, who remained surprisingly composed.

"We thankest...and ask that thou never do that again." Dusk said quietly, mocking the Royal Canterlot Voice.

Luna was on the verge of unleashing her rage on the golden armoured Prince when he said that but stopped when she felt a hoof on her back. She turned to her sister, Celestia. "Remember Luna...cooperation." The white Alicorn whispered.

With a sigh, Luna nodded and stepped back.

Celestia then set her eyes on the five Magisters that were lined up behind Dusk. "May we have the honour of knowing the names of your Magisters?"

Dusk rolled his eyes and waved his hoof, clearly giving the five permission to speak.

"I am Magister Snow Charm, it as an honour to meet you both, Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna. I have heard much about you two and I am glad to see Equestria is indeed safe under the rule of such kind and caring leaders." Snow Charm stated with a polite tone as she gave a quick bow.

Celestia and Luna immediately took a liking to this one, as she was probably the first of them all to speak such kind words to them, with the exception of the one from last night.

Burning Mace decided to speak up. "I am Magister Burning Mace. Even though you have both ruled Equestria for a long time, I must say that some of your decisions have been most...questionable at best."

Both Princesses didn't exactly know what he meant when he said that. They could tell however that under the golden manticore looking helmet was an old stallion who seemed to be in his grumpy years.

The two then turned to the most intimidating of the five, Black Lance. "I...am Magister Black Lance." He merely said in a tone that clearly stated he didn't care at all.

Luna already disliked this one, as she and her sister did indeed witness how he forced all of the Ponies outside to bow to Dusk as they made their way to the castle. They then set their sights on Magister Freed. After noticing his horned helmet, they were quite interested to see just how this one would speak to them. "I am Magister Freed, it as an honour to meet the Princesses of day and night. If you are ever in need of assistance with any matter, don't hesitate to ask me your highnesses."

Wow. His tone was so calm it seemed almost impossible to copy. That, and there was a sort of coldness to it yet it was clearly friendly and kind.

Finally, the two Princesses faced the last Magister, the one they had a brief conversation with last night. It was then they noticed that the silver armoured Pegasus was staring at Shining Armor, the latter stared back in return. Not only that, it was only now that they noticed that he was the only Pegasus Magister, the other four were all Unicorns, one could only imagine how left out he was probably feeling.

Shining Armor stared at him nervously, wondering what thoughts were running through the mind of the silver armoured Pegasus.

The fifth Magister then faced the Princesses and said, "I believe we have spoken once already. I am Magister Sky Shadow, again, I am honoured to be in your presence, your highnesses. I shall do my utmost best to meet your expectations."

They had already indeed spoken briefly with him last night so they already liked this one too.

With a wave of his hoof, Dusk said, "I believe that is all, shall we begin the council?"

Celestia nodded. "Yes...let us begin."