The noise of the outside world hushed instantly when the marble doors of the High Council Building shut closed. Citizens the Empire wide had gathered on the steps, demanding, pleading, suing for answers and assistance. Councilwoman Serenia was beyond their pleas. Given the deluge of havoc wrought upon Pivot and it’s ancillary municipalities, due to the unexpected winter storms, she and the council had been fighting viciously to keep vital services running, so citizens wouldn’t freeze or starve. The frost had put a halt on plans she had devised since learning of the Endymion Heir but now that the chill had gone as quickly as it arrived, she could now put her scheme into motion.

“Miranda,” The Councilwoman cried, “Miranda! Where are you, daft girl…?”

“I am here,” the maiden said, “what need have you of I, mistress?”

“First,” Serenia stated, “I want all coms concerning the frost redirected to House Intelligentsia. If First Sage Williams cannot cope with the volume, then I have to assume that she neither has the wit or the will to do so. Might show that pipsqueak a lesson. Second, I need my Scouts in my office in five minutes.”

“The first order I have already begun,” Miranda replied, “the second- The Scouts are awaiting you in your lounge, My Liege. The assembled themselves there not long after your call.”

“Good, good,” Serenia beamed, “I’ll be in my office, then. No coms for the rest of the day, or I start leveraging treason charges on every caller.”

“Of course, Mistress,” Miranda said.

The Councilwoman charged down the hall, towards her private elevator, entered it, then let it take her up to her palatial offices. After stepping out of the elevator, she brushed her past her usual gaggle of sycophants, through petitioners row, then into the hall the connected to the foyer of her offices. Past that was the stenographers pool, where young woman of high breeding were typing away on Personal Holographic Adjunct Tablets or speaking to ancilla of various council members.

None of the maidens looked up from their tasks or greeted her as she strode by. Serenia had it instilled in this ladies that she did not extend pleasantries like that. That was only for when she was glad handing her constituents. Her stride never broke as she past a set of ivory doors; behind those doors resided a lounge where her favorite petitioners and important appointments waited. There were many refreshments available here and plenty of soft furniture pieces to lounge on. The room was lit by by both skylights and soft white halo emitters.

In the lounge, there rested her Scoutmasters, elite soldiers, and a few unfortunates, whose sole purpose was to reconnoiter the outlying lands outside of the Ecumene. Their current mission was essentially a suicide mission, but she would never tell them that. She nodded to her retainer, who opened her office doors. She walked within, settled her cloak on a rack adjacent to her desk, a solid oak piece harvested from the Dragynlands, then awoke her ancilla, Isis, to read off her itinerary. After that was confirmed, she informed her retainer to call forth her Scoutmasters to her office, who filed in, one at a time, until they framed her desk.

Serenia looked at the men and women standing before her. Each of them had been selected, from birth, except for Rowena, to be part of the Scoutmasters. Their obedience was ensured, their dedication unquestioned. She knew that each of them would give their life for the Empire, for her, or for whatever cause she decided worthy enough.

“Our empire is facing an energy crisis of the likes we’ve never seen before. Consider that for a moment. If things are left unchanged, the mana batteries that power everything in the Empire will be depleted in less than a generation. As we speak, there multiple districts of Pivot that are darkened, some for a few months, others for the last few centuries. Even taking and restricting the use of them to official and government use only has merely delayed the inevitable.”

She watched as they listened. Not one questioned, and that was exactly what she wanted. Complete blind obedience from her subjects. Perhaps it had been shortsighted of them to destroy the house of Endymion. She could admit that now, but then again, it had allowed them to have the perfect Empire. The will of the people mostly in tune with her own. Yes, this was how it was obviously meant to be. The house of Endymion simply didn’t understand.

“Furthermore, recent events have given new impetus for the Council to find new energy sources, lest another sudden frost like the one we had just recently freeze the capitol and endanger our fellow Imperial citizens. However, I have learned, through certain channels, that there is a little lost lamb who is need of assistance. A human, raised by the Equestrians, able to perform magic, to control the arcane,” she looked at them, their faces full of the selfless pride that made them the wonderful pawns they were, “Intelligence collected in recent times has indicated the Equestrians consider him quite the prize, a prince even. There is no doubt he not one of them and indeed, one of us. They will not give him back so easily, so, it is my wish for you to study the Equestrians. See their weaknesses, discover what it is that will bend them to our will, and then we shall bring them under the protection of our great Empire. They shall know the peace and tranquility that comes from being one of us.”

Seeing them watch her, she walked toward the door, “I’ve readied your airships. Your equipment loadout will include all the standard gear, with one minor addition. A wrist strap with a jewel attached to it; it has the ability to detect arcane energies but it is most adept at finding human magical signatures. This should aid you in finding our wayward son. Your LZ is a field at the base of Mount Gloom, just outside of Ecumene patrols. It will take you a month’s travel by foot to reach their border. Study those living outside of the border first, then move further in. Save the batteries in your radios only for dire emergencies: imminent capture, injury, illness, death, or to confirm the location of your mark. Do not become discovered, remain as hidden as the shadows, until such time you receive the order to either capture our target, or to blend into their society.”

With that she watched as they left. If only all of her subjects were as obedient as those fools. She turned and walked back toward her private chambers. She would have to raid the storage for more batteries for her gauntlet, that meant another group of her subjects would be subjected to power failure. She decided the labor class would be fine without power, walked into the generator room, and removed two of the brightly glowing gems. Once done the machine they powered began to slow, then stopped. She knew in a couple of hours the labor forces would be complaining about the loss of power in their homes, but it didn’t matter. They would be able to work without a few minor luxuries.

Cosmic yawned as he leaned against the building that served as the general store, post office, and town hall. Captain Armor had sent him here after he made the remark about the sight of Princess Cadence’s flank in a pair form fitting exercise pants. Of course it wasn’t until after he said it that Silver Quill told him the two of them were getting married. So here he was a unicorn, in an Earth Pony village, stuck being a guard that helped to patrol just outside of Equestria’s reach.

“Cosmic, had lunch yet?”

He looked to see Sweet Harvest, the assistant mayor, walking toward him. He was never a tribalist, and he was thankful for that. Mainly he was thankful because Sweet Harvest was the kind of mare made for sin and buggery. If he had to be stuck out here being stuck here with her was a bonus. The two had hit it off fairly quickly, and to be honest, he enjoyed her wit, her work ethic, and the fact that they had ended up together back at the guard house wasn’t lost on him.

“Naw, haven’t had a chance. Brandywine just let me know that she isn’t going to be able to make it for her shift. I’m pulling a triple today,” he replied.

Sweet Harvest made a little disappointed face before walking on over and holding out a small brown sack.

“Well, then you should at least eat, and I’ll find out what’s going on with Brandywine.”

He laughed, “She said that last night she played cards with Molotov, and well, she lost,” he couldn’t keep from laughing as he said it, “Apparently she hasn’t been able to sit down since.”

Sweet Harvest giggled and leaned against the wall, “I bet. Brandywine always did like to bet her plot. Guess that it finally caught up with her.”

The sound of something caught Cosmic’s attention, and then it caught Sweet’s, “Cosmic, what is it?”

“Sweet, go inside, and alert our other two guards. It might be nothing, but whatever made that sound is coming just from over there,” he pointed toward an old abandoned mine system, “and I’m not sure I want to face it down alone.”

She nodded, ran inside, and he let his horn light up. He was a level three, that’s all he ever really managed at the academy, but it was enough for guard work. As his magic focused he pictured it forming into a ball, about the size of a marble, small, but completely round. Above his horn a fantom purplish sphere formed. It would take nothing, absolutely nothing, to cause that sphere to go flying with over three thousand pounds of pressure at another being. He’d used it once, when defending from a terror wolf, and he had seen it leave a hole through its head.

“If you’re friendly you will be welcomed, but if you aren’t…”

He didn’t get to finish the word when the creature stepped out toward him. It was pony, in shape, but it was dressed in armor like he’d never seen before. There was some kind of weapon in its hands and he wasn’t going to give it the chance to hurt anypony. The sphere launched from its perch, hit the figure square in the chest, and knocked it back. But the armor held. It had bent in from the attack, but it was holding. He formed another ball and this time something hit him.

When he had been learning at the academy he’d faced off against a pegasus who controlled weather, and she liked to zap him with electricity. It hurt, but it also taught him to be quick, think quick, and dodge. This was like that, but stronger. He fell to the ground, unable to move for a moment. A more slender version walked toward him, dressed in the similar armor. She removed her helmet to reveal a creature that looked similar to the crown prince.

“Enemy is stunned, but still aware.”

The big form walked toward her, “Seems they are able to focus energy into a hardlight construct. Capture this enemy, we’ll have the doc run a few experiments. See if there are any obvious weaknesses.”

Cosmic tried to move, to focus, to get one last good shot off, but his body wouldn’t listen to him. It wouldn’t do a damned thing, and that’s when he heard one of the most violent war cries he’d ever heard in his life. Everyone told him that Brandywine was out here because she liked to fight too much. She was part of the outer guard because she looked for trouble, and for the first time he was seeing what they meant.

The hammer she had easily would have to weigh in at over six hundred pounds, but she was swinging it like it was as light as a feather. The hammer hit the larger one, knocking it back, denting in the armor more, and then she turned on the female.

“Never mess with a guard missy, less you want to mess with all of us!”

The female creature looked at her. Her raven locks hung loosely as she seemed to study Brandywine. Brandy looked back at the strange mare. She looked like Luna’s adopted son, except that she was a obviously a mare, and she didn’t look too off from them. Brandywine took after her mother’s line, the painted ponies, ponies with splotches of red and white all over them, and her muzzle was no different. Mostly white, with little red tints of fur at the top. Her mane, thankfully, was at least just a solid pink. And right now her muscles were bulging out as she stood there. There was only two, at the moment, but there could be more at any time, and she had to be ready. The fact they caught Cosmic only made it that much more of a dangerous situation.

Molotov was on his way, but the older stallion wasn’t very quick on his hooves. She knew that when he got here he would have some explosives ready, and that might be useful, but for the next few minutes she was certainly on her own. She heard something a nearly quiet high pitched whine, and when it shout out she jumped out of the way to keep from being struck.

She looked behind her to see a nearly invisible web of very thin material. It was surging with electrical power, and she had no desire to let it touch her. The exotic mare looked at her, drew a sword, and motioned toward her. Not being one to back down from a challenge she went in swinging her hammer.

The blade caught the handle of her hammer right below the head and she watched as it flew off. She stood there holding a bit of enchanted wood, which looked like an unicorn had decided to hit it with a heat spell mixed with a light spell. The strange mare swung again, and she moved out of the way.

“Orders are to capture both types for study. The Doc wants to see what makes that one so agile and strong.”

“Yeah,” Brandywine scoffed, “like I’m gonna let that happen.”

The mare felt the next swing of the strange blade more than she saw it, so her evasion astounded the strange beings bent on her capture. She got close enough to Cosmic to protect him, still holding the haft of her hammer. They were going to pay for destroying her favorite weapon, but if they thought her defenseless, then they had another think coming.

Another swing, and another net, both of which Brandywine dodged with ease. She managed to put another dent into the armor of the strange mare and then giving the strange stallion a resounding headache when she drove her hammer’s haft down on his armored skull. She could hear him cursing a blue streak as he tumbled down, holding onto his head for dear life. Then a bolt of energy, not unlike a magic bolt, flew through the air. Brandywine dodged it, just barely, and saw it connect with the strange mare. She fell to the ground, twitching.

“Hmm,” she mused, “friendly fire.”

She could hear more of them, just outside of the visible line. The strange mare was down, the bigger one, the stallion, was still reeling from the strike on his head, and that left an uncertain number. Still even though she could hear them the sounds wasn’t exactly nearby. It sounded like a distance, but close enough that their sound and scent carried. The experiences and training she had in the guard told her that they were within a half mile. That meant that somepony was a very good shot. She dodged another blast of energy, and then she heard the sound of a war cry followed by a raging fire.

She looked up to see Molotov. He had the bright purple satchel on his side that the local Earth Pony alchemist had given him. She knew that little glass balls he was throwing as well. Bountiful Orange had made several small glass orbs, or jars, full of magically altered fire and other such things that she could do with what she’d learned.

Right now there was several shouts of anger, surprise, and pain coming from those fires. Clear of being shot at she grabbed the strange armored mare and stallion. When she did she expected to bring them back, question them, but instead the armored stallion grabbed the mare, held her and a second later he shot up into the air in the direction of the fire. Realizing that they were gone she took the breath she didn’t realize she was holding. A moment later Molotov landed.

The white coated Pegasus stallion grinned at her as he landed. He was wearing his guard armor, barely, and he looked half drunk. She saw his flaming red mane and tail as he shook it out.

“How many did you see?”

He rubbed his chin, “Twelve, maybe fifteen of them out there. They had a little camp, but Bountiful’s fire will take care of it.”

She didn’t like the sound of that.

“Help me get Cosmic back to Three Heroes, and then we need to contact Canterlot. The Princess is going to want to know about this.”

Charm looked at the ceiling, his eyes wide with what just happened. He wasn’t that surprised, Earth Pony courting was fairly quick. He knew his father, Master Chief, didn’t spend a lot of time courting his ma, but then again he half expected to have spent a bit more time courting Applejack. Instead once they got back to her farm, things got sorted out, well one thing lead to another.

He felt her curled up beside him. He looked at her, and then at himself again. He wasn’t built like an Earth Pony. He was built like an Unicorn. He was fairly short for a stallion, he was actually a little shorter than Applejack herself. Still,he was behind her, hugging her, spooning with her, and that made him the big spoon. It was almost silly since she was taller.

Part of him wondered if this meant foals. She wasn’t in estrus, or season like his father would say, so it wouldn’t mean it now, but later on… He wasn’t against the idea. Still, his work, the potions, the medicine, everything he was trying to do, everything he was building it depended on being in the swamp. Being beside her he felt the connection she had for this place.

This was more than just her home. It was just as much a part of her as the swamp was to him. Still, those was questions for later, and he knew it. Instead he leaned forward, taking in the scent of her mane, the feel of her back, then his eyes widened as the door opened.

The Pegasus mare standing there was a friend of hers, he knew that, and she looked a little embarrassed at having opened the door and found her friend in the aftermath of a long, and fantastic, rutting session. He felt Applejack move, and he felt her tense up.

“Rainbow, ya got ‘bout five seconds ta explain why yer a standin’ there,” AJ growled.

“Twi said that we need to meet with her.. Damn, you sure work fast AJ.”

Charm watched as the Pegasus mare just barely dodged a book that had been on Applejack’s nightstand. Slowly she got up, and he looked at the beautiful mare before him. She was stunningly beautiful. She looked at him, and the fire that was in her eyes was still there, but it wasn’t anger. He felt her lean down, the heaviness of her breasts pressed against him. Their mouths fit together, perfectly, before she raised back up.

“Ah’m not gonna be gone ta long. Y’all gonna stay fer a while?”

He nodded, “Figure that Moondancer and Muddy might be enjoyin’ the chance ta look around a town fer a bit. Heard her sayin’ something ‘bout takin’ him ta a bar. Few days ain’t gonna hurt a thing.”

It didn’t take her long to get dressed, head downstairs, or find Rainbow Dash. She hung back a little, listening to her brother talking to the Pegasus. The two of them talking about more than the adventure his sister was accompanying them on. Rainbow was actually asking about the things he did, putting an interest in him as a pony, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about that.

Rainbow was a loyal, no doubts about it, but it didn’t change the fact that she was also somepony that was fairly light with her fingers. She cleared her throat, letting them both know that she was down here, and then both Rainbow and her began their walk toward the Golden Oak Library.

“Any idea what Luna wants, and what in the hay was that with mah brother?”

Rainbow rolled her eyes, “Not sure, and I can talk to him.”

“Uh huh, dun’t go messing somewhere ya ain’t gonna stick around in. Big Mac is a good stallion, decent fella, and he deserves ta be treated like one.”

Rainbow stopped and looked at her, “Are you saying that I wouldn’t treat him like one?”

She shook her head, “Ah’m sayin based on what Ah’ve saw ‘fore that it’d be hard for ya.”

Rainbow growled at her, “I could treat him just as good as anypony else, better than anypony else. We ain’t there yet, but if it ever got there I would.”

“Uh huh, let’s see what Princess Luna dun sent, and what she a wants us ta do.”

Rainbow looked at the nearing library, “Figure it’s another adventure?”

“Could be, Ah ain’t sure.”

The door opened and inside there was a frantic Twilight. Her mane was sticking out, there was dozens of books floating around her, and from the look of it Pinkie Pie was going from shelf to shelf looking for something, anything, that might help. Finally they saw Spike who was picking up the messes, reshelving them, and trying to get Twilight’s attention.

“Girls! Spike, the elements?”

“They’re right here. Twilight… You need to calm d…” he started to say before he, and the box containing the elements of harmony were floated toward her. She opened it and breathed out a sigh of relief.

“Twilight, darling, not that I mind being brought over without much warning, or explanation, but perhaps now would be a good time to let us know what it is that’s going on?”

She nodded and she floated the letter over to Rarity who looked at it for a moment, “Oh, oh my, this does present a problem. I take it that Endymion has been at Luna and Celestia’s old Castle all day?”

Twilight nodded, “Perhaps that’s for the best.”

“Okay, what the hay is going on?” Applejack asked.

Rarity looked at Twilight who was still in freakout mode, “Well, from what I understand from the letter it appears that some of Endymion’s… kind, I fear I simply don’t know another way of saying it, but regardless, it appears that some of his kind have attempted to attack, and capture, some of the guards stationed at a small town called Three heroes in the outskirts of Equestria.”

“They’re taking us to war?”

It was the first thing that Fluttershy had said.

“That’s the thing darling, the letter doesn’t go deep into details. It appears that could potentially be the case, but unfortunately it appears that Princess Luna is nearly as out of the loop as we are.”

“That’s why I needed all of you here. We can get the elements together, and…”

Fluttershy floated toward Twilight and touched her hand, “I understand, but ummm, I don’t think that the elements really work like that Twilight. And I know you know that too.”

Twilight nodded, “I.. I know, but I couldn’t think of anything else.”

Applejack moved toward her, “Twilight, Ah understand that yer worried. Hay, this is the kinda thing that a pony ought ta be worried ‘bout. But, and Ah can’t believe Ah’m ‘bout ta say this, Endymion ain’t some useless lump that’s gotta be looked after. Ah know he can hold his own, and ‘sides it ain’t like we’d abandon him.”

The six friends came together, hugging one another, and not a one of them noticed the form that was just outside of the door. It was a form of the very pony they were talking about, and he had planned on taking his wives to be out to lunch. Instead his hand resided on the door, his face twisted in anger, and he considered the options before them. The first option was something he was actually known for. Rushing into the problem without thinking ahead.

The problem with that was likely it would be giving them exactly what they wanted. No, he needed to be smart about it, and the smart thing would be to get information. Three Heroes was a good stretch away on foot. There was no way he’d make it there and back in day, or even a week. There were two more options he could consider, but neither was ideal.

Option Two was to recruit some of his friends from down in the Canterlot Stockyards, hire an airship, and fly out the way Three Heros. This had its disadvantages, chiefly being that his mother would notice the rental of an airship. There was no way The Crown Regent would let her only son and Crown Prince slip off into danger like that. Most likely, Mother was doing this for his own good. He hated the idea that he was some helpless, mewling foal,

This left him with his third and final option: confront his friends and lovers over their secrecy, conjure a stratagem to confront the unknown adversaries, and get some answers out of them. His mother had always taught him that eavesdropping was an impolite thing to do, but given all that he had overheard, he felt it was tantamount to his safety, neigh, his sanity, to find out what caused his mother to Defensive Condition One. With that resolved in his mind, Endymion walked to the door, knocked three times, and entered before he was bade entrance.

“So,” Endymion began, “I know it’s rude to eavesdrop and all, but I couldn’t help overhearing about something going on at Three Heros and beings with strange armor and weapons… For the sake of argument, just what were you all going to do about it?”

“En-Endymion-!” Twilight gasped, stuttering, “Wha- What are you doing here?”

“I could ask the same,” Endymion replied, “then again, I just heard most, if not, all of it. So, what are we going to do?”

“What do you mean, ‘we?’” Rainbow asked, “‘We’ aren’t doing anything. ‘We’ are going to be sitting on our rumps while The Elements of Harmony investigate this disturbance.”

“That’s a lot of words for you to string together cohesively, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity said, “but I do agree. Prince Everfree, you would be better served staying here in Ponyville, where you’re safe. Meanwhile, The Elements will see to it that those brigands who harmed Equestrian soldiers suffer the penalty for their perfidy.”

“Oh, come on, Rares,” Pinkie objected, “Endy’s faced down a golem, trolls, orcs, a few timberwolves, those things in the cave… I really think Endy should come along! How can he be any safer than with the Elements of Harmony?”

“Are ya sure, Pinkie?” AJ inquired, “Endymion ain’t exactly a magical prodigy or muscle-bound powerhouse now…”

“You know well enough that isn’t entirely true, AJ,” Twilight retorted, “Endymion may not unicorn prowess or Earth pony endurance, but he has more than proven himself, time and time again.”

“That’s true,” Fluttershy said, “I-I-I mean, My Champion may not be the most powerfully magical being, or the most physically intimidating-”

“Thank you for the vote of confidence,” Endymion interjected.

“B-b-but, he sees solutions to problems the average pony can’t,” Fluttershy continued, “I say he comes with us.”

“Twilight?” Endymion said, “Do you have anything to add?”

“Well,” Twilight began, “uh, no, no, I can’t. You are a capable swordwielder, a competent spellcaster, when you can concentrate, and a worthy leader. And Pinkie made a point: you would be safer with us than stuck here in town.”

“And wouldn’t you want him were you can keep an eye on him?” Spike added, “I mean, I would.”

There was a general murmur of agreement, and when it ended, Endymion said, “So, when do we go?”

Twilight looked at the others, and then at Endymion, “We were going to leave in a day’s time.”

“You weren’t planning on going on foot, right?” Endymion asked.

Applejack rolled her eyes, “Nope. Best we figured we could take the train, but the train would still drop us off at nearly a month’s travel on foot. So, we figured that all of us could maybe see ‘bout an airship. Not sure that Princess Luna would be up ta loaning hers again though.”

Endymion smiled, “No, not after last time, but she doesn’t have to be,” he said as he focused his magic, picturing the imagine he had in his mind, and using his wand he let the light form into a sort of reflective mirror. What was on the mirror was a picture of a Unicorn. He was large, built like an Earth Pony, his green eyes looked tired, and behind him was a large black airship with the Privateer for the Crown stamp on it.

“That’s Captain Wayward Sparrow,” he looked at Dash, “His father was a Pegasus, but Wayward would be more than happy to give us transport as long as he gets paid. His ship, the Dawnbreaker, is the second fastest ship in the commercial fleet, and he has a full crew that are all former guards ponies.”

“He is rather rugged looking, isn’t he?” Rarity asked as she looked at the Unicorn in question.

“But if we’re going to do this, we need to contact him today. Mom most likely will contact him to something if she finds out that I found out.”

Twilight looked at him, and then at the others, “The next train leaves in fifteen minutes, let's go, now.”

He looked at them and regretted what was coming out of his mouth, “After we contract him we need to possibly talk to the black cloaks.”

They looked at him like he grew a second head, “I don’t like it either, but having the black cloaks as backups would be a good idea. A magi with no limitations on what they can do would be a plus.”

“Indeed it would, and Trixie would gladly join you!”

They turned to see the showmare standing in the door.

“Trixie… What are you doing here?”

“I followed you! You were going to go to lunch, and Trixie did not get to announce what she would like, so she followed you, and heard this plan. As a Black Cloak Trixie can be of value. She is quite talented after all!”