Two horned kings

Night has fallen in Equestria, and with Celestia having retired for the night, Luna was now holding Night court. She seemed...excited. Ponies rarely come to Night Court, so Luna used this time to think and ponder. Or daydream, occasionally...like she was doing now. One thing that lingered on her mind was King Iron eye. She never told her sister (or anyone for that matter) that she had...visited him a couple times over the last year or so. Images flashed across her mind of black satin sheets, moans and red hazes, sleepless nights (and days)...and the smile of genuine joy on his face when she'd see him...

A dopey smile spreads across her face at these thoughts, and the fact that soon he would be here! She was snapped out of her happy reverie by a knock on the throne room door. Quickly shaking her head to dislodge these thoughts, she looks to the door.

"Enter." she says, straightening up. One of her lunar guards walks in, holding a scroll.

"A message for you, Princess. We detected no signs of tampering or magic on the scroll." the lunar guard mare announces. The scroll is enveloped in a dark blue aura, and levitates into Princess Luna's waiting hand.

"Thank you, guard. You may return to your post." Luna dismisses the guard, who gives a crisp salute before leaving, closing the door behind her. When she was sure nopony was going to come in, she quickly opened the letter.

"My dear Luna, I am on my way now, my army mobilized. I imagine the Bullivian minotaurs are as well. Though war looms on the horizon, I feel truly blessed that fate has given me the opportunity to visit you...I swear on all that I am that I will make sure your ponies don't come to needless harm.

I have decided to aid Equestria in the coming war against the gryphons, and as stated before, I shall be there soon.

Yours alone, King Iron eye"

She let a happy sigh escape her lips as she rolled the letter back up. He was coming.... she felt better already, knowing this. Now, all she could do was wait. Her sister sent a letter to Twilight Sparkle and the other Elements of Harmony earlier in the day, telling them to get ready to head for Canterlot, so she'd have to be careful about seeing him. It's nice, sometimes, to have some time to yourself.

+++++

Said Elements of Harmony were on the train to canterlot the next morning, talking amongst themselves. Twilight Sparkle was wearing her white button up shirt and plaid short skirt. Rainbow Dash was wearing a somewhat loose fitting, black track suit. Fluttershy was wearing a yellow sundress, the same color as her coat, that slightly hugged her chest more than anywhere else. Rarity was wearing a body-hugging purple dress that stopped just below her knees, like her mane and tail. Pinkie Pie was wearing a pink sweatshirt and a pair of pink jeans. Applejack wore a checkered, buttoned shirt, undone at the top slightly, revealing her white undershirt, a pair of blue jeans, and her trademark stetson.

"Do you think the minotaurs are actually gonna show up?" Rainbow Dash asks Twilight.

"The princesses received a reply last night saying that they're going to help Equestria. I've read a lot about the minotaurs from Bullivia, and The only advantage the gryphons are gonna have on them is that they can fly...." Twilight shivers, recalling the information about the berserkers.

"Now ah don' know 'bout y'all, but somethin' ain't right here. Is Bullivia tha only minotaur kingdom?" Applejack asks.

"There aren't any records of another minotaur kingdom at the library." Twilight rubs her chin in thought.

"I h-hope they're not mean..." Fluttershy wishes, more to herself than anything. Twilight gives her friend a reassuring smile.

"It'll be okay Fluttershy-" Twilight cuts herself off as the train passes....

A giant, metal tortoise was at the base of the mountain, shining in the light of Celestia's sun. It had to be the size of Canterlot! How did that thing get there without anypony knowing if it was that big? The mane six gape at it, before Pinkie pipes up,

"Hey, that looks like Tank!" The pink party mare exclaims, pressing her face up against the window.

Everypony present just shakes their head at Pinkie's antics. Soon enough, they pull into Canterlot station, and they get off the train.

Ponies were gathered together in the streets, watching something. The girls heard a repetitive *clank!*...*clank!*...*clank!* as if something metal was lifting and falling repeatedly. They follow the noise back to the source.

These ten foot tall, clockwork minotaurs with glowing eyes were marching through the street towards the castle, in some kind of defensive perimeter around...something they couldn't see.

"Hold on, I'm gonna get a better view." Rainbow says, flaring her wings out before taking flight. Rainbow peers over the heads of the clockwork minotaurs, then quickly zooms back to her friends.

"There's a minotaur in a robe flanked by two ponies." Rainbow informs the rest of the elements.

"What did the ponies look like?" Twilight asks, eyebrow raised.

"They're both some shade of green, one's an earth pony, the other is a pegasus. The earth pony has a black mane and tail, with a beret. The pegasus has a white mane, and is wearing some kind of goggles, but for only one eye. Both of them have red eyes, like Vinyl Scratch." she says, looking back at the ring of minotaur machinations as they went further down the street.

Twilight had heard some descriptions matching that before, but couldn't put her finger on it.... Applejack, however, went slightly pale as a look of realization hits her.

"Whoever this minotaur is, they must mean business." Applejack mutters, staring after the group going down the street.

"Everything okay there, AJ?" Rainbow asks, patting her friend on the back.

"Yeah, ah'm fine." She straightens up, her smile returning. Twilight looks up at the sky,

"Well, come on girls! the princesses are expecting us!" She urges, leading the way to the castle, followed by her friends.

"I don't know about you guys, but I wanna go check out those minotaurs again." Rainbow says, her wings prepping for flight.

"Just be sure to make it to the castle on time." Twilight replies. Rainbow takes off immediately afterwards, flying in the direction the strange group went.

When she makes it to the group, she sees the ponies flanking the minotaur again. It's only then, though, that she notices their cutiemarks.

The earth pony (a stallion, she could finally tell) had his cutiemark on his right hand. It was two shiny, metallic cone things crossed in an "X". The pegasus (a stallion as well) had his over his right eye. It was a circle with a cross going through it...What was it called again? A crosshair, there we go! It was a red crosshair.

Suddenly, without breaking stride, the pegasus snaps his head around, looking directly at Rainbow Dash over his right shoulder. Vinyl's eyes were crimson, but this stallion...his eye color reminded Rainbow of Sombra's eyes, minus the green. He had some kind of metal device strapped across his back, which he adjusted slightly.

Then, he mouths something at her. It's only after he turns to look in front of him again that she got the message. "Stay away from my little brother."

+++++

Later, at the castle

King Iron eye had reached the front gates, his bodyguards and machinations guiding him to the castle. The pegasus stallion looks at the earth pony stallion

"You have your safety off, Fifty?" he asks, scanning the gates and guards with each turn of his head.

"I never had it on, Forty Five." the earth pony replies with what other ponies would call an unsettling smile.

"Now, Forty Five Caliber, Fifty Caliber, do your best to stay your hands while we're here. We'll be in the company of allies, and in your case, future employers." Iron eye advises them.

Forty Five nods his head silently, while Fifty just puts his hands behind his back, whistling. Now, let's explain just what kind of weapons these bodyguards were packing. Forty Five Caliber had a scoped, gem powered beam rifle, with gem powered handguns in both sides of his vest, a combat knife in his pocket, a Fragmentation Crystal hidden in his pants, and a plethora of throwing needles hidden among his feathers.

The earth pony, Fifty Caliber, has a belt fed, experimental Minigun, with high caliber revolving handguns hidden in his pants, vest, and inside a compartment of the gun, a belt of Fragmentation Crystals intersecting his bullet belt, with a bayonet on the end of his minigun, and a meat tenderizer strapped to the back of his right leg.

You don't get far in the bodyguard/mercenary business without being sufficiently armed, and well versed in all weapons you carry.

"Now, let's not keep our hosts waiting any longer." with those words from Iron eye, the eyes of the clockwork minotaurs dim, and they freeze in place. Forty Five Caliber, Fifty Caliber, and Iron eye leave the protective circle of clockwork guards, through the recently opened gates, and into the main room of the castle.

Forty Five Caliber was scanning around with his eyes, not moving his head. Fifty Caliber was looking around with an almost childlike glee and curiosity.

At the other end of the room were two thrones, a white alicorn with a flowing, pastel rainbow mane sitting in one. In the other sat an alicorn all too familiar to Iron eye. He smiled as he felt Luna's presence, approaching the thrones with his bodyguards following close behind.

"Ah, princess Celestia! It's truly an honor to see you! Though, "see" is a relative term for me." Iron eye says with a small chuckle. Celestia gives him a princess smile.

"Hello, I don't believe we've met." she says, with an airy giggle. This is a facade, but she didn't think anyone would be able to tell.

"Ah, where are my manners? I am Iron eye, King of Cape horn! My cousin Iron Will passed through equestria fairly recently, and told me it was a marvelous place. You sent for my aid, princesses, and here I am!" his hands were moving animatedly as he explained, ending with a flourished hand on his chest. "Though, I think I arrived before the Bullivians."

Celestia raises an eyebrow, glancing at her sister, who was smiling warmly. "Well, I thank you for coming at our call. There's no telling when the gryphons will strike, and we would very much appreciate our little ponies being protected during the times to come." Celestia says, then glances at Iron eye's bodyguards.

Fifty Caliber was giving a toothy grin, waving. Forty Five Caliber simply looked at her, his face unreadable even to her. But one thing was for certain about these ponies...

They were dangerous. Very dangerous.

"And who might you two be?" Luna asks the two ponies.

"I'm Fifty Caliber." Fifty said with a childish smile.

"I'm Forty Five Caliber." Forty Five answers, his crosshair cutiemark seeming to glow as he wached the two princesses unblinkingly.

"Well, I'd like to officially welcome you three to Equestria." Celestia says with a smile.

She was gonna have her hooves full with these two.