Chapter 6:

'News from the North'

The royal leaders took their seats and were prepared to begin the council. The purpose of this council was to discuss and finalise the terms of the alliance between Canterlot, the Crystal Empire and the North Kingdom.

Celestia gently clasped her hoofs together and was the first to bring up the most important topic at the moment. "Now, Dusk, we have been patiently waiting for this discussion for a while so I must ask that you tell us right now, who is this enemy we are up against?"

Dusk rested his head against his hoof and sighed. "Very well. The enemy we are up against is the leader of the Iron Empire. His name is Metal Wing." He made sure the name was clear enough for everypony to hear.

Celestia narrowed her eyes at him. "Metal Wing..."

"Yes...have you heard of him?" Dusk asked.

Shaking her head, Celestia said, "No, I've never heard of him before."

"Not once in fact, and we have been around for a long time to know much." Luna added.

Dusk closed his eyes for a moment before taking in a deep breath. "That doesn't surprise me..."

Ignoring his tone, Celestia continued. "So tell us Dusk, who is this Metal Wing exactly and what is his goal?"

Cadence then spoke up next. "And why is he called Metal Wing exactly?"

Magister Freed was the one to answer that question. "They call him Metal Wing because of the metal wings on his back. Magical armour that gives him the ability of flight."

That caught their attention, especially Celestia's. "So, he is an Alicorn?"

Freed nodded. "Correct, from what we know about him anyway. He wears the magical Wings of Metal to give him the edge he needs in an aerial battle should there ever be one."

Luna raised a brow. "So, how powerful is Metal Wing exactly?"

"Quite." Dusk merely said. "Let me ask you something, Princesses. Have the two of you ever heard of the Dalkia Republic?"

This question caught them by surprise. Celestia then decided to answer. "Yes, we have heard of it, a land far away from Equestria. I've never been there though."

Dusk nodded. "Then I assume you also know of its leader, King Grande?"

"Yes, I've heard of him." Celestia replied.

Silence followed for a moment. Just as Celestia was about to ask why he was asking such questions, he spoke up. "King Grande is dead."

"What?!" The other royal leaders all said simultaneously.

Dusk sighed. "He's been dead for twelve years now. You're telling me you didn't know?"

No answer came from them, they all just slowly shook their heads. "It was Metal Wing and myself that killed him." Dusk explained.

The surprised looks on their faces remained. Celestia then spoke again. "You were working with Metal Wing?"

With a nod, Dusk said, "I used to. Twelve years ago, Metal Wing led his army to numerous victories against the forces of Dalkia, I was leading a rebellion against King Grande at that point. During the battle at Fort Ramast, me and my forces ran into Metal Wing. He told us that he sought to free Dalkia's citizens from Grande's corrupt and ruthless leadership, my goal was to merely get rid of Grande. As we had a common enemy, Metal Wing and I formed an alliance and together, our combined armies obliterated the Dalkia forces at Fort Ramast."

Nopony dared to interrupt as they were too intrigued by the story the golden armoured Prince was telling them. "One week after that battle, we marched on Dalkia's capital, the city of Gustahl." He let out a frustrated sigh as he said that. "That was probably the most difficult battle I had ever fought in my entire life. It lasted many days, and it was only after we broke through the inner defences, that we were able to make it inside the castle. Soon, the city was taken, all of its citizens were safe to leave their homes, others were rescued from the castles dungeon. Metal Wing fought against King Grande in front of the entire city, all of us witnessed Metal Wing decapitate him, and every single one of us, cheered. Dalkia was free from Grande's rule, Metal Wing announced that all of Dalkia's citizens were free to live the way they wanted to, under his fair and noble leadership."

Celestia and Luna both nodded. Cadence then said, "What happened then?"

Dusk sighed. "With Grande defeated and Dalkia finally free from his rule, I told Metal Wing that I was leaving to return to Equestria, he had no objections of course, and I left with my forces. After that, I officially established my Kingdom in the Frozen North, that was one year ago as I'm sure you all know. Then, one month ago, I received a letter from Metal Wing himself. He said he was planning to conquer and unite Equestria under his rule, and that he wanted my help once more, I refused."

The Princesses exchanged nervous looks as they knew what his story was leading up to. Dusk frowned at them. "You know the rest. Not that long ago now, my land was attacked so I decided to send you that letter asking for an alliance, which is why we are here right now." He raised his head and lowered his hoof onto the table.

Luna narrowed her eyes at him. "Why didn't you just fight against Metal Wing yourself? Surely you're capable of-" Before she could finish however, Dusk spoke over her.

"Because Luna...I fought alongside Metal Wing during two of the most difficult battles in Dalkia. I assure you, I know exactly what he is capable of, and his forces far outnumber mine, if I were to fight against him, me and my forces would be obliterated." Dusk explained.

Celestia sighed as all eyes were on her now. She knew she was going to have to bring up the terms of the alliance eventually, and she would have to brace herself for Shining Armor's outburst when he hears it.

__________________________________________________________________________________

At the gates of Canterlot...

"Finally made it..." Spike said as he jumped up onto Starlight's back. "Carry me the rest of the way would ya?"

Starlight rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Sure thing." He set his eyes on the bag that the young dragon was carrying. "Why did you bring the Elements of Harmony by the way?"

Spike shrugged. "I thought it'd be a good idea, you know, considering if any more of those jerks show up, we'll be prepared next time."

"I suppose that's a good idea, just make sure you don't lose them." Starlight replied.

Rarity, followed by Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Spike and Starlight, all entered into the city, access was immediately granted to them by the guards, not that nopony was allowed in of course.

"I could never get tired of looking at this wonderful place." Rarity said as she stepped out into the sunlight.

Spike nodded as he kept his eyes on her shining beauty. "I could never get tired of looking either." He said quiet tone.

Pinkie Pie looked around and was about to do her usual disappearing act but was stopped by Applejack. "Now hold on there sugarcube! Remember what we're here for."

"Aww but I wanted to go explore!" Pinkie Pie said in a slightly upset tone.

Applejack smiled at her. "Well ya can go an' explore as much as ya want once we're done visitin' the castle. Remember, we're here ta see what all this is about."

With a simple nod, Pinkie Pie turned and kept walking, clearly still a bit upset that wasn't allowed to explore first.

"She's in an awfully sour mood today don't ya think?" Applejack asked.

Rarity and Rainbow Dash merely shrugged. "As much as I'm also tempted to explore and, do some shopping of course, we must hurry to the castle if we want to get to the royal council in time." Rarity said before moving on.

No reply came from Applejack this time and she followed Rarity and Rainbow Dash. Starlight then followed, with Spike still on his back.

As Fluttershy was about to follow, she was stopped when she heard a sound. It sounded like somepony was groaning in pain.

"OW!"

She heard another and decided to check it out. She slowly walked around the corner of one of the towering structures to find...nothing? She knew there was something, or somepony there not a few seconds ago and suddenly there was nothing there at all.

Deciding it was not important, she turned and moved on to catch up with her friends.

Behind the structure, four stallions appeared in a flash of blue light. "I gotta say, THAT, was a close one." Kickback said.

Blitz Bolt was breathing heavily. "Yeah...totally. Thank Celestia that Vanisher was able to use that invisibility spell at the last second."

"How did you know she was coming anyway Vanisher?" Kickback asked.

Vanisher merely stared at him, his blindfold covering his eyes as usual and his mouth showing no expression.

"Right. Anyway, now that we're in the city, we have to sneak into the castle." Kickback added.

Air Break raised a brow. "Aren't you forgetting something? We're supposed to meet up with Cloud Hunter."

Blitz Bolt faced him. "And just how are we supposed to find him?"

"Well if I remember correctly, he was supposed to be undercover so all we have to do is just keep an eye out, maybe he'll come to us." Air Break replied.

Blitz Bolt led the three out into the open, only to jump and shove them back around the corner. "BLITZ BOLT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Kickback yelled.

"SHH!" Blitz Bolt shushed him and pointed at something.

Kickback carefully peeked out and saw Applejack, Rainbow Dash and the other Pegasus who nearly saw them, along with a few others. "Uh-oh."

"Great, they've already seen us once, if they see us again then they'll get the guards and we can kiss our tails goodbye." Blitz Bolt said.

Air Break smirked. "No problem, I say we just attack them while their backs are turned and crush 'em while we have the chance."

"In the middle of the city? Where everypony can see us? No thanks. Look, just follow my lead." Blitz Bolt said before quietly moving through the city without attracting attention. The others exchanged looks before following.

Pinkie Pie turned around and barely saw something quickly making a run for cover. Raising a brow, she decided to ignore it and moved on.

The entrance to the castle was just up ahead, thankfully they were already known so they knew they would be allowed in without any trouble. "Hey!" Rainbow Dash flew over to one of the Pegasus guards. "We were invited by Princess Celestia to be at the council or whatever."

The guard nodded and was about to turn until Pinkie Pie shouted. "HI!"

All of them faced Pinkie Pie. "Pinkie Pie? What are ya wavin' at?" Applejack asked.

Pinkie Pie smiled at them and pointed at the corner of a small tower not far behind. "Those stallions who just ran behind that building over there!"

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes. "Stallions huh?"

Behind the tower, Blitz Bolt and Kickback were panicking. "Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. What do we do? What do we do?!" Kickback looked around for a place to hide.

Blitz Bolt looked and saw a large waste bin up ahead. He ran over to it and opened it. "GET INSIDE!"

Kickback looked inside the waste bin and then glared at the silver Pegasus. "...Never."

"Sorry pal! No choice!" Air Break said as he grabbed the red Pony and threw him inside, followed by a loud squeal. Blitz Bolt jumped in next, followed by Vanisher, then Air Break, who then closed it.

"It's a tight space enough as it is! Try going on a diet big guy!"

"Buck you!"

Pinkie Pie led the others over to the small area and started looking around. "Hey that's strange, they were here just a minute ago."

Rarity gave her a curious look. "Well what did they look like dear?"

"Well, two of them were Ponies and another one was a Pegasus and another one was a Unicorn and-" Before Pinkie could finish, Applejack cut in.

"Ah think yer gonna have ta be more specific than that sugarcube." Applejack said.

Pinkie laughed. "Oh sorry! Well, the Ponies were-" Again, she was cut off, not by the others, but by a faint sound. They all turned and saw the waste bin not far ahead, and, for some reason, it was shaking.

"Hey...I wonder..." Rarity slowly walked over to the waste bin. As she did, three stallions were quietly saying their prayers while a fourth was contemplating his future.

However, before she could take a look inside, a loud voice made them all jump. "Hey! You there!"

The group of Ponies all turned to see a Pegasus guard walking over to them. "I heard you all came here for the royal council am I right?"

Rarity eyed the guard up and down, he was quite different, in fact, he was way different than all of the other guards she had ever seen before. He was just about as tall as Princess Celestia and his coat was a dark blue colour. His long blade looking tail was a dark yellow colour, the same could be said for his mane, which was barely seen due to his golden helmet.

The thing that stood out the most about this guard though were his wings. His wings were much, much larger, almost as large as Princess Celestia's wings. Rarity took a step back when she stared into his piercing red eyes. Something seemed awfully suspicious about this one but she concluded that he was probably just a new captain of some sort. "Yes good sir, we came here for the royal council, with Princess Celestia's permission of course."

The guard nodded. "Then go, head on over to the castle, you don't want to keep them waiting."

"O-Of course!" Rarity turned to the others. "Let's go girls!" Without another word, they all headed back towards the castle.

As soon as they were out of sight, the guard made his way over to the large waste bin and opened it. "You idiots owe me one."

The four stallions, all piled on top of each other, slowly looked up at the guard for a moment before tipping the waste bin over, falling out one by one.

"Uh, thanks, Cloud Hunter." Blitz Bolt said as he wiped all of the rotten food off of his coat.

Kickback on the other hoof, looked like he was having a panic attack as he looked at all of the filth on his body. "...Blitz...Blitz Bolt...I...I am going to murder you."

"Save it for when we get back, the Elements of Harmony are our target right now." Cloud Hunter stated.

"Why didn't Vanisher just use his magic to make us invisible again?!" Kickback yelled.

Cloud Hunter glared at him. "Because, if we want to break the magic seal that Celestia placed on the room that holds the Elements of Harmony, Vanisher needs to make sure he doesn't exhaust himself, as he's the only one here with magic and the only one capable of breaking it."

Kickback grumbled as he sent an angry glare towards the blind Unicorn.

"Now, we've wasted enough time, let's hurry up and get inside. I scouted the entire castle and I found a way inside that'll allow us to get in without being seen." Cloud Hunter said as he moved on. Vanisher then followed, Air Break was next, then Blitz Bolt and Kickback, the latter who continued to mumble to himself about his dirty body.

Rarity and the others had already wasted enough time and were in a hurry to get into the castle. Pinkie Pie's talk of stallions delayed them a little and they were now worried they may have missed something important. They were finally relieved as they reached the entrance to the castle once more, but just as they were about to enter, a Pegasus guard unfurled his wing, blocking them access.

"Hey! What's the big idea?!" Rainbow Dash yelled out.

The guard faced Starlight. "I was informed that the wielders of the Elements of Harmony were to be allowed in, but there was no mention of any friends. I'm sorry."

Starlight's eyes widened a little. "What? But-"

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you in." The guard interrupted.

Spike jumped down from Starlight's back and shrugged. "Oh well, better luck next time."

"SPIKE!" Applejack glared at him for a moment before turning back to the guard. "Look, ah know we didn't mention anythin' about bringin' friends, but he's with us. Can't ya just let him in?"

"No exceptions." The guard said.

Starlight's ears dropped, he turned around and sighed. "Figures. It's fine you guys, just go on in." As he walked away, the were barely able to make out the sad look on his face, and it made them feel quite guilty. "I'll be waiting for you back in Ponyville."

"Oh but Starlight!" Fluttershy called out to him but he ignored her.

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes and glared at the guard. "Didn't you hear what she just said?! He's with us!"

"No exceptions." The guard repeated.

On the verge of unleashing her anger on him, Rainbow Dash was stopped when she felt a hoof pull her down to the ground. "Don't worry Rainbow, we'll go and see how Starlight's doin' after we're done with this council." Applejack said.

Rainbow rolled her eyes and sighed before following the group into the castle.

"Poor Starlight..." Rarity muttered.

Spike then grinned a little. "Atleast I was let in." He muttered to himself.

__________________________________________________________________________________

"So Dusk, since you used to be Metal Wing's ally, what would YOU suggest as the best course of action?" Luna asked as she clasped her hoofs together.

Dusk rested his hoof against his head. "I don't know."

Luna narrowed her eyes. "You fought alongside him and yet you don't even have an idea as to what he is planning?!"

Black Lance got up from his chair. "Watch your tone when you speak to Prince Dusk, Luna!"

The dark Alicorn glared at him. "I apologize Magister Black Lance, but I find it completely idiotic to request an alliance with another against an enemy when we don't know what that enemy is up to!"

Black Lance's horn started to glow. "You insult Prince Dusk! I recommend you rethink your words carefully Princess because you're stepping into the fire!"

Luna got up from her chair and her horn started to glow aswell. "Is that a threat?" She locked eyes with the slit of Black Lance's helmet.

Celestia waved her hoof. "ENOUGH!"

The glows around their horns disappeared as they set their eyes on the white Alicorn. "There will be no fighting and no arguing in this council! If we don't know what the enemy is planning then we just have to come to the most likely assumption." Celestia stated.

"Hmph!" Black Lance sat back down, Luna then did the same.

Celestia turned back to Dusk. "Prince Dusk, do you atleast know where the enemies main stronghold is?"

"I would assume it isn't far in the Frozen North, but I'm not fully positive." Dusk said as he raised his head again. "I do however have reason to believe that they have a secret stronghold set up somewhere in the Smokey Mountain, just South of Vanhoover."

Shining Armor narrowed his eyes at him. "That's also West of Canterlot."

"Indeed. As I said, I'm not fully positive on their main stronghold, but I know for a fact that they have a temporary one set up in the Smokey Mountain. Their numbers however are unknown, it could either be the majority of Metal Wing's army, half, or only a little, either way, I don't plan on taking any chances." Dusk said.

Cadence then spoke up. "If that is the case, we can just send a few guards to scout out the area, surely-"

"The guards would get killed before they even had a chance to spot a single one of them." Magister Burning Mace interrupted.

Things weren't exactly getting any easier for Celestia. She already knew that Luna and Black Lance wanted to rip each other apart, and Dusk's lack of knowledge on the enemies whereabouts didn't make things any better. Add to the fact that she still had yet to inform Shining Armor of his sisters marriage to Dusk, and the current absence of the Elements of Harmony, she was already under enough pressure as it was.

"In any case, Dusk, I was recently informed not too long ago that some of the wielders of the Elements of Harmony were attacked by an unknown group of stallions. You wouldn't happen to know anything about them would you?" Celestia asked.

Dusk seemed a little surprised when she brought up the Elements of Harmony, his look returned to normal as he spoke up. "I would assume that the stallions were Metal Wing's troops. That's the only logical explanation if they were after the Elements of Harmony."

Shining Armor spoke up again. "Wait. If they're after the Elements of Harmony then doesn't that mean my sister and her friends are in danger?"

Celestia nodded slightly. "Possible, but they drove the stallions off so I wouldn't doubt their abilities to defend themselves. Still..." She turned back to Dusk. "We shall send a group of guards to look around the Smokey Mountains, and we will increase the number of guards to make all towns and cities more secure. As for the terms of the alliance..." She started to hesitate.

Dusk nodded. "I shall provide a large number of my troops to patrol Canterlot and the Crystal Empire, should an enemy ever be nearby, they'll be seen before they have a chance to do anything." He then narrowed his eyes at her. "And to ensure the alliance between us is permanent and reliable, I will marry Princess Twilight Sparkle."

Shining Armor and Cadence's eyes widened. "WHAT?!" They both said simultaneously.

"WHAT?!" Said a few other voices.

Everypony in the throne room turned to a group of mares and a young dragon that were standing by the throne room doors.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Blitz Bolt sent nervous glances in every direction, worried that a guard was going appear and ask who they were and why they were wandering around in the castle. Even with Cloud Hunter's disguise, there's no way the veteran Pegasus would be able to deceive a guard, after all, how would he explain a group of stallions following him around like they owned the place? He wouldn't, that's why he was being extra cautious.

"Relax Blitz Bolt, nopony is going to see us, I figured you'd realise that after the last few empty hallways we've been through." Cloud Hunter said as he led the group of stallions through another empty hallway.

Even if Cloud Hunter already took the liberty of making sure all of the hallways were clear, Blitz Bolt was still nervous. Kickback looked slightly nervous, Air Break looked like he wanted a fight, and Vanisher was just...Vanisher.

"Well, look on the bright side, atleast the Iron Five is together again." Blitz Bolt said with a confident grin.

Cloud Hunter rolled his eyes. "You're still calling the five of us, the Iron Five?"

Blitz Bolt chuckled. "Well of course! Ever since lord Metal Wing started conquering the other lands, it was always us that was by his side. Even...even if we were still just colts at the time." He grinned at Cloud Hunter. "But you were old enough to join him in battle back then Cloud Hunter, seriously, you should consider yourself lucky."

"Lucky that I was usually charged with foalsitting the four of you? Yeah, I was REAL lucky." Cloud Hunter said with clear sarcasm in his tone.

Kickback smirked. "Ah, those were the days. Remember when we accidentally made Cloud Hunter fall off that cliff?"

Air Break and Blitz Bolt chuckled at his words. Cloud Hunter frowned at them. "Fortunately I was already good at flying back then, I really wanted to kill the three of you."

After a long pause, the four of them laughed.

Finally, they made it the large open hallway where the Elements were supposedly being kept. As they entered, they couldn't help but stare in awe at the stained glass windows depicting various events that took place in Equestria. From Celestia banishing Nightmare Moon to Discord's defeat at the hoofs of the wielders of the Elements of Harmony, and a whole bunch of others.

"Ha! Celestia and her subjects sure like to boast about their accomplishments don't they?" Air Break said.

Blitz Bolt growled a little. "I bet they're already working on a new stained glass window of them defeating lord Metal Wing. But that won't happen, lord Metal Wing will reign supreme, just as he always has!"

Cloud Hunter nodded. "Well said my friend." He made his way over to the large sealed door. "Vanisher, it's time."

The blind and silent navy blue Unicorn made his way over to the door. After looking at it for a moment, his horn started to glow, he then shot a beam of blue light at it.

The rest of the Iron Five stood back and watched with interest as the Unicorn went to work on breaking the magic seal on the door. The door itself began to glow a bright blue light, and after a good long minute, Vanisher stepped back and watched as the door finally opened up, unleashing a large blue flash that almost blinded the rest of them. The group of stallions exchanged glances before making their way over to the small room.

Inside on a small stand was a case with jewels decorated on it. Kickback raised a brow and smirked. "Ooh...I think I'll take that case while we're at it."

Air Break rolled his eyes. "Or, you could leave it and make sure they don't know the darn things are missing."

With a wave of his hoof, Cloud Hunter said, "Quiet! Let's hurry up and take the Elements before the council is over, we only have one shot at this."

Just as the tall blue Pegasus took the case, Vanisher used his magic to snatch it out of his hoofs and placed it on the floor. "Vanisher, what are you doing?!"

The silent Unicorn walked over to the case and put his hoof on it. After a long awkward silence, Vanisher opened it.

Blitz Bolt, Cloud Hunter, Kickback and Air Break looked inside, their faces immediately turned to shock.

"WHERE ARE THE ELEMENTS?!"