Chapter 7:

'Course of Action'

All eyes in the throne room were on the five mares and the small dragon. While Celestia was thankful that the wielders of the Elements of Harmony were now here, their timing was rather, bad. She could tell just by the look on Dusk's face that he seemed confused and annoyed, and if that wasn't bad enough, she knew there were a lot of thoughts running through Shining Armor's head right now after hearing about the marriage. The same of course, could be said for the Element wielders, who all continued to stare at Dusk in shock.

Finally, the silence was broken when Dusk spoke up. "Who...are they?" He asked as he glared slightly at Celestia.

Celestia took in a deep breath. "I'm deeply sorry for not informing you earlier Dusk..." She tried to think of way to explain their presence, but unfortunately, somepony else spoke up before she could.

Black Lance huffed. "You little fillies are intruding on a royal council, get lost."

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes at him. "Why...you...!"

Without hesitation, the cyan Pegasus shot through the air towards the black armoured Magister. "RAINBOW DASH! STOP!" Shining Armor yelled out, but she didn't listen.

Just as her hoofs were about to connect with Black Lance's helmet, the Magister surprisingly dodged them with ease. He then grabbed Rainbow Dash and threw her onto the floor. His horn started to glow, and as he stood over the recovering Rainbow Dash, a long thin sword materialized in his hoof.

Everypony watched in shock as he lowered the sword until it was against Rainbow's cheek. "Stupid filly, attacking a Magister." Black Lance muttered in an amused tone.

Rainbow Dash glared up at him. "W-What...?"

Just as Black Lance was about to strike her, he was blown back by a powerful wind. He remained standing and turned to the source of the wind. Standing in front of Rainbow Dash, was Luna. "THOU WILL NOT DARE BRINGETH HARM TO THY ELEMENT WIELDER, BLACK LANCE!"

Luna speaking in the Royal Canterlot Voice once again caught almost everypony off guard. Black Lance remained where he stood however, unfazed and not even close to being intimidated. The sword in his hoof started to glow, had it not it been for his helmet, everypony would of seen the grin on his face.

Fluttershy watched nervously as the two were staring each other down. She noticed that Black Lance was slightly taller than Luna, and after seeing how quick he was even with all of that armour on, she assumed he was very skilled at combat.

"Wait!" Magister Snow Charm stepped between the two. "That's enough Black Lance! Stay your hoof!"

Black Lance faced her. "That little filly tried to attack a Magister of the North Kingdom, she deserves to be punished."

Celestia waved her hoof. "ENOUGH! THERE WILL BE NO FIGHTING!"

All eyes were on her now. Rainbow Dash and the others were surprised at her loud tone, they had never seen Celestia so angry before.

Black Lance turned back to Luna and Rainbow Dash. "I will not be commanded by-" Before the Magister could finish however, he was cut off by a calm toned voice.

"Enough Black Lance. I believe you have embarrassed us long enough."

Everypony turned to Magister Freed, who continued. "It's clear that these mares and their little dragon companion were given permission by Princess Celestia to be here at the council, otherwise, what other reason would they have for being here? You yourself provoked the young Pegasus into 'attacking' you and don't deny you'd do the same thing were you in her position. Now put your sword away and let us continue this council, if you desire a fight so badly then you can save it for the enemy. We will have not have this alliance cancelled because of your temper."

Much to the their shock, Black Lance did indeed let his sword fade from his hoof before making his way back to his seat. Celestia eyed Magister Freed and noticed he gave her a slight nod. She smiled, atleast there was one Magister who seemed to have more control over the others.

With the situation back to normal, Luna helped Rainbow Dash up and led her to a seat. She then motioned for the others to sit by their friend.

Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Applejack sent nervous glances towards each of the Magister's as they sat down next to Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow, are ya feelin' alright?" Applejack whispered.

Rainbow just nodded.

Celestia sighed. "I'm really sorry about that Prince Dusk, I should have informed you sooner that I had invited the Element wielders to this council."

Dusk narrowed his eyes at her. "I'm willing to overlook it. But are there anymore surprises that you have yet to tell me of?"

"No. I merely called them here because I believe it would be beneficial, as I'm sure they can use the Elements to help defeat Metal Wing." Celestia explained. Although, in all honesty, Celestia was really hoping they wouldn't have to resort to the Elements.

Spike nodded. "Yeah..." He showed them the bag he was carrying. "All of the Elements are right here, safe and sound, and ready to save Equestria once again."

Dusk's eyes widened a little. "Weren't the Elements supposed to be kept here in Canterlot?"

"They originally were." Celestia replied. "But after a while, we decided they would be better off with the wielders themselves."

"I see." Was Dusk's reply.

Shining Armor then spoke up. "Alright, enough of that! I want to know what this is about my sister getting married!"

Magister Sky Shadow glared at him from behind his helmet.

Dusk sighed. "I assume you were not informed Prince Shining Armor?"

"I was never told anything about any marriage! Princess Celestia, what is he talking about?!"

Celestia faced him and the rest of Twilight's friends. "Dusk stated that to ensure our alliance would be trustworthy, he would marry the newest crowned Princess of Canterlot. Twilight Sparkle."

Rainbow Dash glared at Dusk for a moment and was about to speak, only for Rarity to restrain her. "But, does...does Twilight know about this?"

"Yes...she does." Celestia replied. "And she agreed."

"WHAT?!" They all shouted.

Dusk himself was slightly surprised as he also had yet to find out what Twilight Sparkle's answer was. Though he still had yet to meet her, he was partially satisfied.

It took a long moment of silence for them to recover from the shock. Shining Armor was the first to speak. "But...why?"

Rainbow Dash pointed at Dusk. "Yeah! I mean come on! Why would she want to marry-" She was restrained by Rarity again.

"Ah know this alliance is important 'an all but, is marriage really the only way?" Applejack asked.

Celestia and Luna exchanged looks before turning back to the Element wielders. They didn't blame them for their reaction, after all, Twilight Sparkle was their close friend and the thought of her marrying somepony like Dusk clearly didn't sit well with them, but sadly, there was nothing the Princesses could do about it.

Shining Armor sighed. "No. I refuse..." All eyes were on him as he said those words. "I refuse to let my sister be married to you Dusk. I'm sorry if this alliance is important but I can't let my sister go through with that."

Magister Sky Shadow, who had been silent practically the whole time, finally made himself known. "It's not your place to decide."

"What?" Shining Armor faced him.

Sky Shadow continued. "She is a Princess of Canterlot and as such, it's not your place to decide what she can and cannot do, Shining Armor. Princess Twilight Sparkle is doing this to protect her loved ones and all those she cares about, if you were to stop her, how do you think she would feel?"

Shining Armor narrowed his eyes at him. "You don't know my sister!"

"I would have...were it not for you." Sky Shadow muttered quietly in a slightly hurt tone.

"What was that?" Shining Armor replied.

Sky Shadow faced him again. "The fact of the matter is this, if Twilight Sparkle marries Prince Dusk, he will be able to ensure the complete protection of the villages and towns all over Equestria. Canterlot and the Crystal Empire will be able to rely on his forces for help should the enemy attack, as such, this marriage must happen if we hope to defend our homes and loved ones against Metal Wing. I suggest you see reason Shining Armor."

He didn't want to admit it, but the Magister had a point. Shining Armor just couldn't stand the fact that his little sister, whom he loved so deeply, was marrying Dusk of all Ponies. As much as he didn't want to, he had to go through with it. "Fine...you bring up a valid point."

Sky Shadow nodded before looking at the table. "I can assure you, this is for the best."

"I just hope she will be happy after this over." Shining Armor muttered.

Rarity and the others just stared in shock, unable to believe that Shining Armor was actually allowing his sister to get married. Clearly everypony in the throne room was behind this decision except them, but even if they were to voice their opinions, it wouldn't make much of a difference.

Pinkie Pie then spoke up. "So! Does this mean that there'll be a party?! A celebration?! I mean it is a wedding after all! And all weddings have to have parties! Right?! Right?! Right?!"

All eyes were on her for a short moment. "That one is quite the cheery type, isn't she?" Freed muttered to Sky Shadow, who merely nodded in response.

Rarity then decided to speak. "I..." As soon as everypony turned to her, she stopped.

"Please, don't hesitate to speak your mind dear." The calm and caring voice of Magister Freed made Rarity blush a little, she did everything she could to hide it, and thankfully, nopony noticed.

Facing Magister Freed, Rarity said, "It's nothing...I was just wondering, when exactly will the wedding happen?"

Dusk sighed. "That has yet to be decided." He turned back to Celestia. "Since she has agreed, I guess that means the alliance is technically finalised." He got up from his seat and made sure he was loud enough for all to hear him. "Canterlot and the Crystal Empire will have the support of the North Kingdom. If the enemy makes their move, we will be ready."

Rainbow Dash merely glared at him. She had a hard time swallowing the fact that this Prince was their ally, as he sure wasn't acting like it.

Celestia spoke up. "We agree to the terms of the alliance. Canterlot gladly accepts the help of the North Kingdom, we are grateful for your support."

"As does the Crystal Empire, we shall do our best to support one another." Cadence added.

Fluttershy looked around and started wondering where Twilight was.

Luna faced her sister. "Celestia, perhaps we should go and see how Twilight is doing. She'll want to know what happened, and I'm quite positive that Dusk himself will want to meet her." She whispered.

Celestia nodded. "You're right sister."

The two Princesses decided that finally introducing Dusk to Twilight would be the best thing to do. Considering a fight almost erupted between Luna and Black Lance, the white Alicorn Princess was nervous enough about leaving the Magister's alone with the Element wielders. She decided to bring them along, as they no doubt wanted to see how Twilight was doing.

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Outside the room where the Elements of Harmony were once kept, Cloud Hunter paced back and forth as he continued ranting on and on about how the Elements were supposed to be right there. The other four Ponies just continued to watch, well, Kickback was too busy admiring the jewel decorated case and Blitz Bolt was too busy thinking of a plan.

"This just doesn't make sense! My information couldn't have been off! It was clearly mentioned that the Elements of Harmony were kept right HERE!" Cloud Hunter pointed at the open room again.

Air Break rolled his eyes. "We get it Cloud Hunter. You've said that like twenty times."

"It doesn't make sense!" Cloud Hunter said out loud.

"Twenty-one." Air Break replied.

Unfortunately, their continuous ranting was so loud that it caught the ears of several guards nearby. Vanisher stared at the door where he heard hoofsteps coming from. Blitz Bolt and Kickback's eyes widened when they saw a total of seven guards enter the hallway. "Uh-oh."

Cloud Hunter let out a quiet growl. Clearly the situation just got worse, and the last thing he needed right now was getting asked questions.

"You there...why aren't you at your post?" A Unicorn guard asked.

"And who are these stallions that are with you?" Asked a Pegasus guard.

Cloud Hunter narrowed his eyes at them. There was no way he'd be able to talk his way out of this and he knew it.

An Earth Pony guard stepped forward and pointed his spear at them. "We heard yelling and came to investigate. You know this hallway is off limits due to the council."

Neither of the Iron Five said anything.

"I'm afraid you'll have to come with us. You'll need to explain yourself to Princess Celestia." Said another Pegasus guard.

Cloud Hunter chuckled. "I'm afraid that's out of the question."

"Hm?"

Within the blink of an eye, Cloud Hunter unfurled his wings and shot forward, he was already behind the guards by the time they realised what happened. He twirled around and hammered his armoured hoof into the Unicorn guards head, knocking him out immediately.

"TAKE THEM! THEY'RE INTRUDERS! ALERT THE PRINCESSES IMMEDIATELY!" An Earth Pony guard shouted. Two Pegasi guards then turned and flew off.

Cloud Hunter smirked. "You're not going anywhere."

As the two Pegasi guards flew down the other hallway, a blue light suddenly appeared in front of them, and as they hit it, they found themselves back in the stained glass window hallway with the others. "What the-" Before they could question what happened, they were knocked out from behind by Air Break.

"Nice one Vanisher!" Air Break said.

Vanisher just stared and then turned his attention to an Earth Pony guard who was charging towards him, spear pointed at his head. As the guard was about to impale the silent Unicorn, he instead found himself running into a blue light...and found himself falling from the ceiling of the hallway. Vanisher stepped to the side and watched as the guard landed on the floor, followed by a loud sickening crack.

Another Unicorn guard attempted to impale Kickback with his spear, but the red Pony was much quicker and continued to dodge him. "I WILL NOT LET YOU DAMAGE MY COAT!"

The guard growled, his horn then started to glow, but before he could use any magic, he felt two large hoofs on his head. Kickback merely turned away and clenched his eyes shut as he heard a loud crack. When he turned back and opened his eyes again, he saw the guard laying on the floor, dead. "Thanks, Air Break."

Air Break laughed. "They don't call me Air BREAK for nothing!"

The two last Earth Pony guards didn't retreat and instead continued to fight. As one of them rushed towards Cloud Hunter, the other was about to throw his spear at Blitz Bolt, who stayed in the air where they couldn't reach him.

As soon as Blitz Bolt saw the guard aiming for him, he shrieked and flew behind Cloud Hunter, who quickly knocked out the other guard with a simple punch. Realising he was outnumbered, the last guard attempted to get away, only for a large hoof to collide with his face, knocking him out.

"And that's the last of 'em!" Air Break said with a large grin.

Cloud Hunter looked at the mess they caused. "Five knocked out, two dead...no doubt Celestia will want our heads when she finds them like this." He turned to the others. "We've wasted enough time, they may have moved the Elements somewhere else. I would assume the Princesses quarters is the most likely option."

"Well what are we waiting for?" Blitz Bolt replied.

"Right. LET'S GO!" Cloud Hunter flew off down the other hallway, Blitz Bolt, Kickback, Air Break and Vanisher followed.

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Twilight Sparkle remained in her quarters, she knew the council was going on right now but she decided to not bother showing up. She knew that Celestia would inform her brother that she was to be married to Dusk, and she didn't doubt for a second that he'd go insane as soon as he heard it. What's more, she knew that Dusk was there too, and while she was tempted to see what her future husband looked like, and how he acted, she decided to remain in her room. If she were to meet Dusk then she wanted to meet him alone, as it would be slightly embarrassing for her to try and talk to him in front of the others. It would be much more easier to start conversation when there were no one else watching them.

She was slightly disturbed when she felt a powerful presence not too long ago, she could only come to the immediate assumption that somepony got on Princess Luna's bad side and was suddenly paying the price for it.

Despite not knowing what was going on, she had faith that Celestia and Luna would be able to keep the council going without any trouble. She was hoping her friends would show up to the council, but she had little doubt that they'd be allowed in, even if Celestia gave them permission, she didn't doubt for a second that Dusk would be against it. She took her crown off of her head and placed it on her bed before walking over to a mirror.

All of a sudden, a sound caught her attention. It sounded like hoofsteps, and they were getting closer. She was able to make out a rattling sound aswell, she immediately assumed that it was a guard and decided not to worry about it.

However, she had no choice but to worry as her doors slammed open. Twilight turned and saw a tall guard standing there, staring back at her with a confused look. The guard slowly looked to his left and shook his head at something before entering the room, closing the doors behind him. "Umm...apologies Princess Twilight Sparkle."

"W-What's going on?" Twilight asked in a nervous tone.

The guard looked away for a moment before providing her with an answer. "There's been a problem...apparently there are intruders in the castle, and I was ordered to come here and make sure you were okay."

Twilight nodded. "Well...I'm fine..." She looked at this guard and noted how clearly different he was from all the others. He was almost as tall as Princess Celestia, his coat was blue and his long blade looking tail was a dark yellow colour. She got slightly nervous when she looked into his red eyes, she had never seen a guard as intimidating as this one before. His wings were also large, just like Celestia's.

She had never seen this guard before, of course, it was possible that he was just a new recruit, but then again, a new recruit wouldn't be relied on to protect one of the Princesses. He could have been a captain, but she would have seen him atleast a few times before, something wasn't right here.

The guard narrowed his eyes slightly as he saw Twilight Sparkle's crown on the bed. 'That's one of them! Her crown is one of the Elements!' He said to himself in his head.

"Princess Twilight...where exactly are the Elements of Harmony being kept?" The guard asked.

Twilight then narrowed her own eyes at him. "Why would you want to know that?"

The guard then raised a brow. "Just...curious."

Something was clearly wrong here, and Twilight knew it. Whatever reason he had for asking such a question, she decided it would be best not to give him an answer. "I'm sorry, but I can't say."

The guard frowned. "I'm sorry to hear that."

Twilight Sparkle had the biggest shock of her life when this 'guard' just lunged forward and snatched her crown from the bed. "Tell me where the other Elements are!"

There was no denying it, he was no guard. Twilight stepped back and used her magic to teleport the crown out of his hoofs, and into her own hoof. "Sorry, but I can't tell you that! More importantly, who are YOU?!"

"I am Cloud Hunter! That's all you're going to get out of me, now give me the Elements!" Cloud Hunter yelled.

Twilight shook her head. "I don't think so! I'll see you in the throne room!" She attempted to teleport herself and Cloud Hunter to the throne room where all of the others were, only to find that she couldn't. "What's going on?!"

Suddenly, the Purple Alicorn found herself floating in the air, surrounded by a dark blue aura. Her room doors slammed open again, and entered a few familiar faces. "YOU!"

Kickback chuckled. "Well now, it's good to see you again Princess Twilight Sparkle."

"I'm sure you remember us now don't ya?" Air Break added.

Twilight attempted to use her magic again, but she couldn't. She turned to the source that was holding her and blocking her magic, a navy blue Unicorn with a blindfold around his eyes and a complete blank expression on his face. The dark blue aura around his horn was a dead giveaway that he was the one blocking her magic. "You...who are you?"

The Unicorn said nothing and merely stared at her.

"We are the Iron Five!" Said a new voice.

Twilight turned to see a silver Pegasus flying into the room. "I am Blitz Bolt. I'm sure you've already met Kickback and Air Break..." He turned to the blind Unicorn and smirked. "And of course, Vanisher."

The young Princess remained silent as Blitz Bolt floated over to her. "You have something that we want..." He said as he snatched the crown from Twilight's hoof. "The Element of Magic! Perfect! One down and five more to go!" He turned back to her. "Now tell us, where are the other five?"

Twilight smirked at him. "You're insane if you think I'm going to tell a bunch of idiots like you."

Blitz Bolt raised a brow. Cloud Hunter stepped forward. "We don't have time for games Princess, tell us where they are now!"

"Never!" Twilight yelled.

Cloud Hunter growled. "Listen here! We've only got a short amount of time left before that darn council ends and all of the guards return to their original posts! So unless you know what's good for you, you'll tell us where the Elements are!"

Twilight glared at him. "I'll never tell you anything! Why would I give an answer to a bunch of jerks who tried to hurt a few defenceless fillies?!"

Cloud Hunter's eyes widened when she said that. He turned to Blitz Bolt and said, "What is she talking about?"

Blitz Bolt turned his back to him. "Umm...I...I don't know. Kickback?"

Kickback shrugged. "I think she's gone insane, just ignore her."

Twilight glared at them. "Don't you dare lie! You guys are nothing but a couple of bullies! You threatened Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo!"

Things suddenly got a little awkward. Cloud Hunter slowly turned and glared at Blitz Bolt, Kickback and Air Break. "When you were give your assignment to take a few lives...you chose...fillies?"

The three exchanged nervous looks before turning back to the angry Pegasus. "I'll deal with the three of you when we get back..." Cloud Hunter said before turning back to Twilight. "As for you, tell us where the other Elements of Harmony are and we won't hurt you."

Twilight shook her head. "I don't care what you do to me, I won't tell you anything."

"Very well. You don't need to tell us anything." Cloud Hunter replied before turning to the silent Unicorn. "Vanisher?"

Vanisher nodded and turned back to Twilight. The glow around his horn grew brighter, as did the dark blue aura around Twilight as she was brought to the floor.

The young Princess started to feel an aching pain in her head, it was just slightly painful, then it became unbearable. She started to cry in pain.

Cloud Hunter placed his hoofs on her to restrain her. "Don't worry, it is just a side effect of the spell, you'll be okay. The pain will pass soon."

"Stop...please stop..." Twilight muttered out.

Vanisher however, didn't stop and continued to dive deeper into her mind.

Twilight continued to cry in pain, but Cloud Hunter restrained her and attempted to give some form of comfort to help ease the pain the spell was putting her through. He watched as she squirmed about in his forelegs, crying and eventually pleading for him to make it stop. Cloud Hunter sighed as he tightened his grip around her a little. "It'll be over in a minute, I promise." He said with a clearly upset tone.

Even if obtaining the Elements of Harmony was his task, it made him feel very uneasy that he had to put her through this. He knew Twilight Sparkle was the enemy, but that didn't mean he had to enjoy the pain and suffering she was enduring. If anything, he was regretting it and was even cursing at himself for having to resort to such brutal methods.

Twilight however, may have hit the final nail on the coffin for them when she let out a loud scream that echoed far down the hallways of the castle.

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Celestia and Luna's eyes widened with horror upon hearing a loud scream coming from further down the hallways.

"That was Twilight!" Rarity said.

Spike also knew that it was Twilight's scream and no words could describe how worried he was. "She's in trouble! We have to help her!"

"Ah'm right on it!" Applejack said before rushing down the hallways.

Rainbow Dash flew after her.

Just as the rest of them were about to follow, Celestia and Luna saw Magister Sky Shadow rushing to join them. "I heard a scream, what happened?!"

"Twilight Sparkle is in trouble! Something has happened!" Celestia said.

As soon she said those words, Sky Shadow was already ahead. Shining Armor then ran on next, everypony else then followed.

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Finally, the dark blue aura around Twilight disappeared and Vanisher's horn stopped glowing.

Cloud Hunter gently lay Twilight down on the rug he was standing on and turned to the silent Unicorn. "Alright, show me what you got."

Vanisher nodded and placed his horn against Cloud Hunter's head. The horn started to glow again and hundreds of images were already speeding through Cloud Hunter's mind.

Blitz Bolt grinned as he looked at the crown in his hoof. "Soon we'll have them all."

Vanisher stepped back and watched as Cloud Hunter processed everything he had seen. "So...that's where they are..."

"You get what you were lookin' for?" Air Break asked.

Cloud Hunter nodded. "Yeah, I know where the rest of the Elements are now." He looked at the unconscious Twilight Sparkle once more before turning to leave. "Let's get moving, no doubt her scream would have caught the entire castles attention."

As if on cue, the doors slammed open and a large group of Ponies had entered, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna among them.

Shining Armor shoved his way through them and his eyes widened upon seeing his unconscious sister.

"TWILY!"

"PRINCESS TWILIGHT!"

"BLITZ BOLT!"

"THE ELEMENTS!"