The Equestrian Royal Envoy soon made it past the southern tip of the continent, and to the stretch of chilled waters leading to the Island of Storms. The wind was cold as the waters, and most of the company onboard the lead ship, the Skyward Gypsy, were in the cabins, keeping warm. The other ships, containing the various servants and guard details needed for a visit between two nations and their leaders, kept a ways behind.

All was calm for a good long while, until the captain spotted a number of much larger, visibly more advanced, and armored airships off in the distance. There were at least three, the same number of ships the Equestrians had. Still, the captain alerted the royals, just in case. They came out of their cabins swiftly, the royals and the Elements.

"Princesses, there are three foreign ships heading our way. They do not seem to be hostile, but we do not recognize the colors they fly. What are your orders?" the captain asked. Celestia summoned a spyglass, looking through it. She slowly lowered it from her eye.

"It is certainly a foreign ship. I have never seen such unique crests, but I would imagine those are the Storm Queen's," Celestia mused.

"Can I see?" Twilight asked eagerly. Celestia nodded, handing the spyglass to her. Twilight took a look through it and grew giddy, summoning a quill and notebook, immediately starting to write. "Oooh, our first look at their culture! I wonder what significance those symbols have?" She muttered to herself, mind going a mile minute.

"They certainly have style, though! Look at those engravings on the hull! A mixture of floral patterns and lightning bolts? How exotic!" Rarity cried, entranced by the alien designs. The foreign airships soon halted, and then started to turn back around. The one in the lead started to move forward once more, whilst the other two went slower, but didn't come up to the sides of the Equestrian ships.

"It seems they are escorting us," Luna noted.

"Then let us follow," Celestia replied. The captain nodded, ordering his men to do so, as well sending the same order to the other ships.

"Those hulls... I've never seen such an abundant amount of steel... Where do they get it all?" Shining Armor wondered.

"Maybe their island is abundant in natural metals?" Starlight offered.

"That could be it," Celestia said with a nod. 'Still...to think they would invoke such a show of might right away...This Queen is a dangerous one.'

Slowly, they reached a large thunderstorm, and the Equestrians braced for bad weather. The ride was, to put it lightly, rough.

Rain battered against the ships, drenching the ponies to the bone. The winds forced the crew to run to and fro across the ship, making sure everything stayed together. The thunder was what took the cake, though. It was loud, its succeeding flashes of lightning powerful as they ripped through the skies, more than once threatening to touch the ships of the Envoy.

And yet the escorts were fine. Their ships took no damage, and fared better than their Equestrian counterparts. Twilight silently wondered how the steel lining their hulls did not attract the lightning, but then she saw lightning strike one of the ships, and yet the lightning just seemed to get absorbed into the metal, not spreading throughout the hull or anything. It was a sight that sparked many questions in her mind that just begged to be answered.

Finally, the clouds parted a bit and a large, rocky island came into view, a sprawling city covering it, and a massive castle, larger than even Canterlot Castle, stood just at the base of a mountain. And it was a sight to behold.

A fortress through and through, massive and imposing, but it did hold beauty and majesty. Steel I-Beams supported and reinforced much of it, along with concrete, and the walls were a royal purple that seemed to demand respect.

The beams were painted a solid gold, and the concrete a slate black. Battlements were on nearly every level of the main fortress, layered like terraces and lined with spikes and banners bearing that same crest. And at the very top of the castle was a tower that looked almost like it had a set of bull's horns growing from it, a single balcony jutting out from it and facing them.

Never in all their collective lives had the ponies seen such an imposing and yet majestic castle.

"Woah... That castle looks awesome!" Rainbow cheered.

"It is quite impressive. I pity anypony who has tried to assault it," Luna agreed.

"Oh my word! It's so majestic, and yet so mysterious! Ooh, I simply must find the designer!" Rarity swooned.

"It looks very defensible. I can't see a single flaw in it..." Shining Armor noted, impressed.

They touched down at a massive airstrip, and when they did, they finally got a glimpse of the creatures that inhabited the Island. They were similar to yetis, with white and black fur, large, muscular and beefy physiques, and hunched backs.

Guards lined both edges of the strip, wearing golden masks that hid everything but their eyes, and bearing purple and black plate armor with strange suns on the breastplates.

They held imposing black shields in one hand, edges lined with gold, and halberds just as imposing with gold lining the edge of their black axe blades.

And at the very far end of the strip was a strange biped and a maroon unicorn wearing simple black armor, though she bore a broken horn.

The Equestrians slowly lowered their gangplanks and stepped off of their ships, the guards from the escort marching forth in perfect formation towards the two figures at the end of the strip. Once there, they lined up on either side of them, and all went quiet save for the storm still raging over the island. The Equestrians were, understandably, wary of the imposing creatures, but the Princesses tried their best to not look intimidated. The retinue of servants and guards from the Envoy soon touched down on the strip as well, coming in to surround their regents and officials. Naturally, only the best of the best were chosen, both from the Royal Guard and the retinue of servants, though the former naturally took to the ever present storm a bit better.

The Celestial Sisters held their masks spectacularly, having had thousands of years of practice. The others were muttering a bit fearfully to themselves, and Prince Shining Armor was glancing between the countless guards warily. He did not want to get into a fight here, he knew that much. They wouldn't stand a chance with this many foes around them. They easily outnumbered the guards they had brought.

All the while a certain cloaked biped was trying to keep her friendly smile from turning to a smug grin.

Seems I managed to intimidate them successfully. Good. Now they know that this is my country, and I held power here. If there was one thing I'd learned from my lessons, as well as from my time as a CO, it's that you need to instill at least some fear and respect in those you are leading. The only difference was that that factor applied to almost everything you did when it came to being a ruler. I waited for the ponies to approach me, and kept my friendly smile up as they all stopped in front of me. I looked over them all briefly.

I managed to recognize them all, of course, as Tempest had filled me in on the rulers of Equestria and the Crystal Empire, as well as the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony. It wasn't too much of stretch to remember such things, and I'd had bigger challenges to my memory back during college. Regardless, I also knew their names, as the The Storm King had ordered his forces to investigate them after seeing an explosion of rainbows in the sky. I had expected the guards, as well, but what I didn't expect was the pink unicorn mare with a purple and mint green mane. Hm. I'll have to keep an eye on her, make sure she doesn't get into anything. Unknown elements are never good.

Regardless, I bowed my head a bit to the royals. "Greetings, Princesses. Welcome to the Island of Storms. I am Lucette Petremol, The Storm Queen." I motioned to Tempest. "This is my Advisor and Right Hand, Tempest Shadow." Tempest simply bowed, saying nothing. The diarchs smiled.

"Pleasure to meet you, Queen Petremol. I am Princess Celestia, Ruler of the Day," greeted the white alicorn, who dipped her head in a bow.

"Greetings. I am Princess Luna, Ruler of the Night. Pleasure to meet you," introduced the blue alicorn, who also dipped her head in a bow. A white unicorn stallion in purple and gold barding stepped forth, doing his own bow.

"Prince Shining Armor of the Crystal Empire. It's an honor to meet you," he said formally. A pink alicorn stepped up, smiling wide and bowing her head.

"Princess Mi Amore Cadenza of the Crystal Empire, Princess of Love. You can call me Cadance, though," she said with a warm smile. I returned it. Finally, the purple alicorn walked up.

"U-Um, H-Hello, I'm Princess Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship, it's wonderful to meet you," she stuttered. I chuckled a bit. Both because the ponies believed friendship to be worthy of a title, and because she was kinda cute.

"It's nice to meet you too," I replied. I gestured to the doors behind me. "Why don't we head inside where it's warmer? We can talk while I show you all to your temporary rooms. I'm sure you're all tired from the long voyage." They nodded gratefully, and I opened the doors, walking inside, them following me.

Their guards and my own did much the same, mine walking ahead of us and theirs flanking them.

It wasn't long until those that had been quiet and at the back came up to me. First was a pink Earth Pony with a poofy darker pink mane.

"Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie! Do you like cake? What about cupcakes? Croissants? Cookies? Oh! What's your birthday?" she began, rattling off question after question, without stopping. I blinked, before I decided I might as well humor her.

"I prefer cookies, specifically those with marshmallows. As for my birthday, that's on the first of the sixth month," I answered.

Before she could reply, another mare butted in, this one looking more cultured, with a curled purple mane, white fur, and mascara.

"Darling, wherever did you get such amazing apparel? I've never seen anything so majestic!" she asked in a high-class girl kind of voice. "Oh, where are my manners? I'm Rarity, pleasure to meet you." She smiled up at me.

I actually wanted to answer this one, since I had so much pride in this set of armor. "I got it from a very talented friend. It's honestly my favorite outfit, and the only armor I'll ever wear to battle. Wouldn't trust any other old suit," I said with a genuine smile as we walked, patting my chestplate. "And it's nice to meet you too."

"Oh you simply must introduce me! I'd love to swap ideas with this friend of yours!" Rarity gushed. I frowned at that, turning my gaze forwards and away from her.

"...He's... Well, he's out of reach, right now. Sorry," I said apologetically, trying to keep the tinge of sorrow out of my voice.

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that! I didn't mean to bring up any bad memories," she apologized. I shook my head.

"No, no, it's fine," I assured her.

Celestia spoke up. "So, if I might be so bold, what exactly are you? I can't say I've ever seen a being like you before."

"Well, I'm an Awoken, a race that descends from another called Humans," I explained. "We're a very... Isolated, race, and prefer to keep to our own kind. You could say I'm the black sheep of the herd."

"Humans? You mean... Wait, are you from the other side of the Mirror?!" exclaimed Twilight. I blinked a few times. She's met humans before? There are other humans here?! I'm definitely going to have to look into that later. I almost rushed over to her and questioned her, but restrained myself by taking a deep breath. Now, how to answer...?

Hmmm... Let's play it close to the chest for now.

"Perhaps. Maybe we can discuss the matter further at a later date, and I'll tell you more," I offered. I swear her eyes sparkled as I said that.

"You bear some very curious weapons, Queen Petremol. That blade... I can tell it is forged from the light of my moon. A very rare thing to see indeed. However did you come across it?" Luna asked out of nowhere. And once again, play close to the chest. Remember your lessons, Lucy. Don't reveal all your cards.

"I fought and slayed a pale drake for it about..." I tilted my head from side to side, thinking of a random number. It didn't really matter what number I chose, since I already knew I was basically immortal, what with being a Guardian and an Undead. All it was was a tactic I'd come up with long ago as a kid to make my stories believable. Too bad Mom still figured them out almost every time. "...Oh, what? Five hundred years ago?"

The silence from that statement was deafening. I looked around to see they had all stopped, even Tempest. I kinda forgot that I hadn't told her much about myself yet either.

"...You're an immortal as well?" Celestia asked slowly. I nodded.

"I am. Been alive for about nine hundred and twenty six years," I answered. I was actually only twenty six, but hey, they don't need to know that.

"Remarkable... My Queen, I had no idea you were so long lived..." Tempest uttered slowly in awe.

"And here I thought us Alicorns were the only immortals. This is welcome news indeed," Luna mused, smiling a little. I shrugged. I honestly was still wrestling with the idea of being immortal. It was why I hadn't gone around making friends right off the bat. Didn't want to feel the pain of losing them.

We started walking again as Cadance spoke up, coming up next to me. "So if you've been around that long, why haven't we heard of you? Did you travel a lot?"

"Oooh! Do you have any cool stories?" a blue pegasus mare asked excitedly, flying near me. "Name's Rainbow Dash, by the way. Fastest flier in Equestria!"

"I have a few," I replied with a nod, ignoring her boastful statement. "And yes, I traveled quite a bit." Ventus appeared, startling them all.

"My partner used to be a soldier, but left after some circumstances," she explained. I shot her a glare as her segments spun a bit. Twilight and that pink unicorn immediately rushed over and started to poke and prod Ventus, and I shot her a triumphant smirk as they drowned her in questions.

"Really? In what army?" asked Prince Shining Armor, returning my attention to the main subject. I sighed. Thanks Ventus, now I have to improvise. I swear, she's too oblivious sometimes. Thankfully, we'd reached the guest wing now, so I had a good deflection.

"Why don't I tell you later tomorrow?" I offered, gesturing to the many doors lining each side of the hall. Shining Armor frowned, but nodded.

"Very well," he conceded.

"Just pick a room, and if you need anything, ask the guards. They should be able to get it for you," I told them.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Queen Petremol," Celestia said with a warm smile. I returned it with my own and a nod.

"Of course. What kind of ruler would I be if I wasn't gracious to my guests?" I replied, shooting her a wink. She giggled and her and her sister chose a room and opened the door.

"We will see you tomorrow," Luna said, bowing her head once more before the two diarchs walked into their room and closed the door. The others did much the same, though it took a while to get Princess Twilight and the other mare, whom I learned was named Starlight, away from Ventus.

After they all were in their rooms, I sighed deeply, then I walked down the hall to a different area, one more secluded. I quickly reached it after about fifteen minutes of walking. My personal study.

I had instructed the builders to make a special door for it with an even more special lock, or locks, to be precise. Eight in total, and all of the keys were on my person at all times. Well, more like they were in my inventory, which was in a separate dimension according to Ventus, but my point still stands.

I looked around swiftly but cautiously, making sure no one saw me, and then summoned all eight hexagonal keys. It took me a long time to make these things, especially since my Ghost didn't have access to much of the Hive's tech, much less any other agents of Darkness, but it was well worth it for the added security.

I made sure that everyone under my command knew to never come in here unless I gave express permission, and that wasn't changing any time soon.

I placed each key in each of the rune-laden sockets on the door, and the door let out a quiet hiss and a dim, eerie green glow, before swinging open.

I looked around one more time, then pulled the keys from their sockets and walked inside, the door sealing shut behind me. I gazed around the room, making sure nothing was out of place.

The lights made from luminescent crystals found in the mines around the island illuminated the room. All the beakers, tubes, and basic lab equipment were where they should have been, and the shelves of books were all in their rightful place.

The desk in the center of the room hadn't had any of it's notes shuffled around or anything, so that was good too. I walked over and picked a few of the note sheets up, looking them over.

"Why the fuck did you leak information like that?" I asked, chilling anger practically drooling from my tone while I kept looking at the notes.

"What? It's not like I told them any big secrets," Ventus replied.

"Maybe not, but now I have to make up a new nation just to have an alibi for me being a soldier!" I shot back. "They'll be suspicious, because they'll have never heard of it!" Ventus sighed.

"Okay, okay, fine. I'm sorry," Ventus said. I huffed.

"Just...just don't do it again." I responded. A few seconds of silence passed before I spoke again. "So, what did you manage to discover?" I asked Ventus. She already knew what I meant.

"It's very powerful energy, but I did find a critical weakness," Ventus said, floating in front of one of the sheets of notes.

"And?" I continued, raising a brow.

"Their connections to each other power it all," Ventus explained, turning to me, her segments shifting and spinning a bit. I hummed in thought, hand on my chin.

"So all we'd need to do would be to sever or weaken those connections... Hmm... We'll need to look into ways of doing that, maybe secure some agents among the ponies," I mused. Ventus bobbed herself in way of a nod.

"Pretty much," she summed up.

"Well, let's just keep it in mind for now, at least until we suspect that they're planning to go against us," I decided finally. Ventus nodded again.

"You got it, boss lady," she chirped. I rolled my eyes.

"Let's just get to work on those construction plans for those new ships," I said, grabbing a sheet of fresh paper from one of the drawers on the desk.

This is going to be a long night...

But hopefully, a fruitful one.

"So, what do you think, sister?" Luna asked Celestia as they sat in the confines of their guest room. They had dismissed their own servants for the time being. They needed to be as secretive as possible. Any leaks would be problematic.

"She's quite obviously new to ruling. Most of our questions had a visible impact, and revealed that, at the least, she is not willing to speak of her past," Celestia began, stirring her tea with her magic.

"The fact that she knows of Humans, yet held off on explaining how she did, bears a need to investigate, as well. Maybe we should have Twilight get in contact with Sunset, see what she can find," Luna mused.

Celestia nodded, finding her tea sufficiently mixed and taking a sip before adding, "Her story didn't match up, either. While we may not have explored all of the world, yet, the idea of there being such a powerful nation around, and without our knowledge of it, is suspicious to say the least. She is hiding something."

Luna nodded, looking to the carpeted floor. "Indeed. All in all, there is much mystery around this monarch." She looked towards one of the windows, gazing out into the ever raging storm outside. "With any luck, we will have answers, and soon."

EDIT: Added a bit more meat to the chapter, fleshed it out, tried to make it all more realistic and logical. Hopefully it worked.

EDIT: Added a new, better intro, complete with a new song.

EDIT: Added an intro, complete with a song.

Some of this feels a bit weak to me in terms of justifications, but for the life of me I can't think of how to fix that. Ah well, I'll just hope you guys can give me some pointers.

Thanks for reading.

-Timeless Celestial