Princess Celestia was walking back and forth, a scared look on her face. She had hoped this would never arise again. But it has, anyway. Finally, after a few minutes, Luna came in and asked, "What troubles thee, sister?" Celestia looked to Luna, and she instantly knew; he was back. Celestia waved Luna over to her, and showed her a vision of a city that fell just last night at the hands of this evil. Luna covered her mouth and started to tear up as she saw her subjects become one with the pavement, getting crushed by the toppling columns and buildings. She finally looked away when she saw a little colt, who lost sight of his family while evacuating, get impaled by a wooden beam. Celestia turned off the vision, and hugged her sister, rubbing her back. All the while, Luna cried on her sister's shoulder, the night gown getting soaked. Luna looked up at Celestia, and said, "I don't want this to happen, sister. My son, he may be able to defend himself, but...he is still young! I can't have what happened to that little child happen to him, he's my son!"

Celestia smiled and looked down, saying, "We will not let this happen to Dante. He's my nephew by rights of custody. Therefore, I don't want this to happen, either. We will form an army. This is a Code Red Threat. This is on a level of the utmost importance." Luna smiled, and thanked Celestia. She then headed to her room, where Dante was sleeping soundly, curled up into a little ball. But he was whining, a clear sign he detected his mother wasn't there. Luna simply smiled as she tilted her head down and shook her head. He had clearly grown quite close to his mother in the short few days he had been living here. She would have to give him his own room soon, though. She got into bed and tucked in Dante, then pulled her covers over her. She started to silently cry a bit, remembering the scene of the little colt getting impaled. Then, she tried to shake it out of her mind, and went to sleep, nuzzling Dante.

"Good Morning Dante," said one of the guards as Dante headed to the dining hall. He wasn't so excited to do so, because he'd have to meet this Prince Blue-blood pony, who apparently was quite a douche-bag. So much so, it was to the point Luna once threw him into the moat. But, he had to go anyway. On his way, he came across a guard who stood at attention in front of the bathroom, sword at the ready as he guarded it. He had a gray coat of fur, somewhere between blue and white. He had blue eyes, a gray mane and tail (the tail cut short). Dante thought, 'Meh, I got some time left...plus, I smell like sweat from the early morning workout. I'll need to take a shower when whoever's in there gets out.' And so, he walked up to the guard. The guard looked and saw him. He smiled a bit as Dante came up to him and said, "Hey, there. I'm Dante Quicksilver...can I ask what your name is?" The guard held out his hand and said, "The name is Steel Shield."

Dante accepted the hand and shook it. He then asked Steel, "So, who's in the bathroom?" Steel rolled his eyes and said, "That pretty boy Blue-blood. I swear, he takes like an hour making sure his mane and tail are tidy. I could care less, though." Dante laughed and asked, "Hey, um...how come I've never seen you before? Are you new?" Steel laughed lightheartedly and said, "New to protecting Celestia's nephew, yes. New to the guard, no. I helped form part of it." Dante gasped and smiled. "Really!?!" Steel nodded and just as he was about to say something, the door opened, revealing a 'pretty boy Blue-blood' with a gelled mane standing at the doorway. he looked Dante up and down and said, "Oh, so you're the new relative, are you?" Dante nodded, and he huffed as he said, "I thought Auntie Luna could have done better. I guess not." and he walked away. Dante felt his face heat up, but Steel put his arm across Dante's chest and said, "Easy there, tiger. It's his way of saying hi, don't worry about it."

He slowly calmed down and nodded, saying, "Okay, Steel. I'm only calming down because you said, okay?" He nodded. Dante and Steel then heard Blue-blood say, "Well, Steel? Are you coming? Or are you just going to stand there all nilly-willy?" Steel simply laughed and shook his head, then waved good bye and ran towards Blue-blood with quite a good speed. Dante headed into the bathroom and locked the door. He stripped down to nothing but his birthday suit, and stepped into the shower stall. He turned on the water and let the it heat up to the point steam rolled off his back. He didn't even mind the heat. In fact, he'd been around heat since he was 3. He used to mess around with lighters, flicking his finger across the flame. He did however, raise a little bit of cold water. He lathered his body with soap, and washed off the sweat and grime from his fingernails. He then moved to his mane and tail, digging deep to get into them so he could wash off all the dirt that tended to get stuck in their while he slept. After all that, he turned off the water and reached out for a towel. He found none, and realized Blue-blood took the last one. He cursed under his breath, and took the nearest thing to wrap around himself.

Unfortunately, that object was his pajama bottoms...and his tail...

He opened the door, and looked left to right. No one was in clear sight. He quickly ran to his room, and locked the door. He leaned against it and breathed heavily. Finally, he calmed down and let his tail go slack behind him.

Big mistake.

There was a mare in the same room as her, unpacking a suitcase and taking out a cello. He quickly wrapped the pants around his waist with his tail, and ran to his dresser. The mare noticed the sound, and turned. 'No, don't look!' thought Dante, but it was too late. The mare had seen him, and was blushing as she looked him up and down. She opened her mouth to say something, but all that came out was, "Umm..." Dante noticed a sort of Mid-Atlantic accent in her voice, and it went well with her voice. Dante took out some boxer briefs and socks as quickly as he could and slipped them on so fast, she couldn't see any of his junk. He sat on the bed and put on his socks, then went back to the drawer to pull out some clothes. He had two options; the fancy suit Mom had bought him, or the normal style clothes Auntie Tia bought. He had a hard time deciding, then remembered that Mom said he didn't have to wear the suit unless it was a special occasion. So, he wore the normal clothes; a pair of jeans and a shirt that read, 'I like classical and I don't care.'

The mare saw the shirt and smiled. She looked at Dante and asked, "Oh, do you now?" Dante just nodded, smiling. So the mare took out a huge instrument case and pulled out a cello. Dante's eyes widened, because he used to play a cello, but never saw one as magnificent as the one she held. It was simply marvelous, and he noticed that some of it was made with ivory. The mare took out a bow and started to play;

At the end of it, she put the bow back into the case and started to cry. Dante just stood there for a bit and watched, and then clapped. She looked at Dante and smiled, then did a bow, which looked kind of funny since she was sitting. She then wiped the tears off her face and said, "I always get emotional when I play. Without emotion, you can't exactly perform at your best, after all. Right?" Dante just nodded, and asked if the mare would be a friend. She cocked her head sideways and said, "But I just met you. How could I be friends with somepony I just met?" Dante shrugged and said, "By getting to know them better." And he held out his hand, which the mare took gratefully. They hugged, and when they broke the hug, they stayed like that until the mare cleared her throat and said, "Um...you're...still holding my hand." Dante looked down and realized he was, indeed, still holding her hand. He quickly pulled his arm back and slipped it in his pocket, grinning sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. She just laughed and put her clothes away in a dresser on the other side of the room.

"Wait," said Dante, causing the mare to turn around. He then smiled and said, "My name's Dante Quicksilver, if you want to know." The mare smiled and said, "That is a nice name. Mine is Octavia Melody." With that, she finished packing her things in the drawers, and walked out the room. 'So,' he thought. 'I have a roommate, huh?' He shrugged and laced up his boots. He then walked out and headed to the dining hall.

"Okay, Mom! I'll be out! I'm going to help AJ do some apple-bucking!" said Dante as he hugged his Mom and slung on his messenger bag. He had recently sprayed on a design that looked like a lambda, and he liked it a lot. Luna waved good-bye and walked to Celestia. Celestia looked at Luna, and Luna nodded, exclaiming "Let's find our recruits!"

Dante was standing atop the clock tower. It took him a few hours to climb it, but finally, he was at the very top. He stood completely balanced on the tip of it. He took in the sight that was to behold. He then leaned forward, standing on one hoof, and put his hand on the same tip he stood upon. He raised one hoof in the air, putting his right hand on the roof next. Then, he had both hooves in the air. He raised his lower body up into the air, and stood on the roof with his hands. He then did something even more dangerous, and raised one hand to his side. He just stood on his left hand, thinking, 'How in the name of Tartarus am I doing this?' He started to do push-ups like this for about ten times, then pushed off into the sky. He twirled as he spun around, landing gracefully on a wooden beam jutted out from the ledge of the clock tower. He jumped down to hang off it, and swung into the opening under the roof. He rolled and got up, slapping the dust off his clothes. He looked around, taking in the scenery of the gears clicking and whirring. But he came for some parts. Like; springs, a drawer slide, some double brackets, copper wire, a metal 2x4 and a drill.

He was actually amazed at how conveniently located they all were.

He took them all, slipped them into his messenger bag, and headed down the stairs of the clock tower. He remembered the shirt had a hood inside, so he unzipped the collar, stuck his hand in, and pulled out a hood that he pulled low over his face. He decided he should probably get some batteries for the drill, so he headed for the marketplace. His shift at Sweet Apple Acres was done, of course, so he had plenty of time.

When Dante got to the marketplace, all the stores were closed. He looked around, and saw one store had a poster attached to the front gate that protected its contents. He looked at the poster, and it read;

SOLDIERS NEEDED!!!
There is a new threat against the kingdom. Under normal circumstances, we would send some of our guards to stop it, but it is a code red. Therefore, we need new recruits as well. If you'd like to learn more, there will be a speech in the Town Square.
Sincerely,
The Regal Sisters.

Dante decided to head to the Town Square, like the poster said, and saw a huge crowd ahead of him. Using his arms, he gently pushed the crowd out of the way to get to the front. He saw his Mother and his Aunt standing at a stage with about five guards. Mayor Mare was giving a speech, saying "The Regal Sisters have learned of a new threat to our peaceful land. They are asking all of Equestria to offer help. Those who wish to help, please step forward!" He noticed the famous six mares of Ponyville step forward and followed their example, exclaiming, "I will join the fight!" Luna squinted at Dante, then her eyes grew wide. She shook her head and said, "No, my son! Thou art still young! I will not allow thee to fight this war!" At this, Dante pulled the hood off his face and exclaimed, "But Mother; This is my home, as it is everyone else's! I will join the fight, if it means protecting my home and maybe sacrificing my life!"

Suddenly, a thunderous voice boomed from the sky and said, "THAT CAN BE ARRANGED, DANTE LORENZO QUICKSILVER!!!" Then, a huge plume of smoke shot down onto the stage and formed a figure with no true form. It looked right at Dante with glowing red eyes and slowly got off the stage, walking towards him. A guard tried to stop it, but the figure simply waved its hand and the guard slammed into a wall. The figure continued to advance towards Dante, and all Dante could do was slowly back away, fear in his heart becoming heavy to no bounds. The figure was finally mere inches away from his face, and it grabbed his throat, trying to crush his windpipe. Dante for a moment couldn't breathe. Then, out of nowhere, a guard slammed into the figure, causing the figure to let go of Dante. Dante landed on his knees, holding his throat, gasping for the air he so desperately needed now.

The guard removed his helmet and threw it down. It was Steel Shield. He walked up towards Dante and held out his hand. Dante graciously took the help and got lifted to his hooves. Dante was pissed now. He charged the figure, and when the figure threw a punch, he faked it and ducked by sliding on his knees under the fist. He got back up and elbowed the figure in the back of the head. The figure nearly tripped, but regained its balance and turned to face him. Dante then flipped over it and grabbed it by the shoulders. As he landed, the figure was thrown into a fruit stand, scaring a hiding Bon Bon away and into Lyra's hands (at which Lyra blushed). The figure pulled it head out of the wooden stand, and as it looked at Dante, the eyes became furious with flames erupting out of them. It charged Dante, but Dante sidestepped and flipped the figure, slamming it to the floor with his hand against its chest.

The figure waved its hand, and everyone flew backwards three feet. It got back up, and started to laugh as it said, "You can not defeat me that easily, Dante Lorenzo Quicksilver. Nopony can, for I once created all of Equestria until that fool alicorn brother of mine grew soft. I'm back to take what was rightfully mine, and you can't stop me!" It snapped its fingers, and a whole army of shadowy figures identical to it appear, destroying the place. All Dante could do was watch as he saw the fall of the kingdom happen right before his eyes.

Author's Note

You know what would be so cool? If someone made a fan based game off of this! That would really shock me! Hah! But...I highly doubt that'll ever happen. I mean seriously; who would want to make a story of mine into a fan made game? *laughs at the thought of it.*