It was a bright, beautiful morning in The Crystal Empire as Emperor Shining Armor surveyed his kingdom high atop the tallest balcony in the palace. Down below the streets of the city were full of life and laughter while the palace was quiet and peaceful minus the sounds of his only daughter Flurry Heart running towards him to be carried.

“Daddy!”

“Hey there's my little princess!!” Shining plucked her off the ground and carried her back inside to find his wife Cadence waiting for him to join in on their morning breakfast. The family sat down in the Royal dining room together while attending to their royal duties at the same time with Cadence overseeing the daily paperwork while her husband tended to the new recruits of the Empires expanding army, Flurry Heart was taking lessons in etiquette and other lessons in being a princess including learning to use her magic which was unusually strong for a filly her age.

“So honey. Anything happen today?” Cadence broke the silence with a simple question to her daughter who seemed a little apprehensive about answering.

“Well...I sneezed and turned teacher into a squirrel…”

Shining stifled a giggle when he heard that news and got a scolding look from his wife until he explained that her aunt Twilight had done something similar to her parents and some of the staff at Celestia's school for gifted unicorns when she first enrolled there, Flurry heart broke out in a laugh along with her mother and for a while things seemed peaceful until there came a frantic knocking at the door.

“MY EMPEROR!!” A scout who had just come in from what looked like a blizzard knelt before the emperor looking terrified. From the look of his armor, the young emperor could tell this scout had narrowly escaped a fierce battle.

“Calm down soldier! What happened?” He asked in a calm manner which seemed to allow the scout to catch his breath.

It was a day like any other, A small scout team was sent to traverse the mountain passes for any unusual activities as well as find any travelers who were stranded or injured but as the day grew long the mountain atmosphere suddenly changed. The wind had suddenly died down and a strange stomping noise began echoing around the area.

"What's that noise?"

"Sounds like marching...."

The scouts were beginning to grow worried as the marching grew louder when from a short distance they spotted a massive army of warriors clad in red armor while their leaders was pure black. He rode atop a demonic hellhound large enough to swallow a foal in one bite with sharp claws and jagged teeth to back it up but what was most intimidating was his sword, the blade seemed to give off an aura of pure terror as the black rider slowly approached the unlucky squad standing before him.

"You're in my way...." His voice was ghostly and metallic thanks to his helm yet the men were more focused on his eyes which seemed to burn like the fires of Tartarus itself.

"H-HALT! In the name of the emperor!!" The squad captain shouted but was met with no response as the rider drew closer.

"I saild HALT!!"

This time the rider dismounted before slowly turning towards the frightened group and without hesitation he began cutting them down one by one until only two were left, the battle was quick and bloody. The bodies of their fallen comrades laid on the icy cold path all butchered beyond recognition with the blade drenched in their blood, the black rider then addressed the two survivors and ordered them to tell the emperor that war was coming to the empire and as the scouts ran for their lives the rider turned to one of his archers asking.

"How many men does it take to deliver a message?" He asked in a sinister manner as the archer drew back his bow.

"One..."

The last thing the scout heard was the sound of his friend screaming as the arrow struck him in the back before arriving at the palace, when Shining learned of this he grew furious and demanded the city be put on lockdown and the protective barrier reactivated as troops began flooding the city streets while making sure all civilians were off the streets.

Shining Armor was in his quarters to retrieve his old armor and the mighty Warhammer; Ghal Maraz. The emperor could still hardly believe that such a weapon was in his possession ever since he joined the Royal guard. Shining Armor remembered when he first chose the hammer when he was still a recruit and all the times it had saved his life whenever he was out on a mission and now it served as a symbol of his title as emperor. By noon, the entire army was assembled before the crystal gates and at the head was Shining Armor mounted on a wolf with snowy white fur clad in golden armor and as they prepared to move out he gave a quick speech as was tradition for any leader of an army.

"Men! All my life I have lived by a code and the code is simple: Honor your leaders, love your families and defend your kingdom!!"

The men gave a rousing cheer as the emperor donned his helmet before raising his Warhammer to signal the gatekeepers.

"Men of the empire!! MOVE OUT!!"

The army marched onto the frozen wastes just beyond the safety of the barrier and all the while Shining Armor could not take his eyes off his wife and daughter as they waved him off with a smile and a kiss along with the citizens of the empire who had come to wish their loved ones luck in the upcoming battle but Shining couldn't shake the feeling that this was more than just a random invasion yet despite all that he still had to fulfill his role as ruler and protector of the empire. By the time they had reached the mountains, all could see the army of marauders in battle formation with their leader at the center and he was everything the scout had described him as; A dark armored knight with an aura of fear and bloodlust that seemed to silence the very air around him.

"Men. You stay put....I wanna have a talk with this rider."

"Is that wise my lord?"

"No...it isn't." Shining rode ahead as the rider met him halfway across the field and something seemed strangely familiar about him but the emperor could not figure out what. Both riders met face to face as the wind died down and could sense the tension between the two, as shining armor looked at his foe he caught a glimpse of what looked like some kind of branding mark on his chest before noticing his blood red eyes that seemed to send a chill up his spine as if he were staring down a wild beast.

"Speak your terms." The rider started the negotiations as he turned away from Shining to look at his army.

"Very well. Lead this army off the field, go back to wherever land you came from and perhaps in time we can negotiate some form of trade-!"

"We didn't come here for gold. We came here to see this kingdom burn."

That statement alone made Shining armors blood boil as he gripped Ghal Maraz tight in his hand.

"I have heard your terms so now you will hear mine. Surrender the crystal empire and I swear by Khorne that your people will be spared....for the time being." The rider and his men chuckled at the joke while the emperor took a deep breath to calm himself.

"The last thing I wanna do is give up my kingdom for a bunch of savages!!"

"So be it....you'll find I have a mighty appetite for battle today."

"!!! What did you say?" Shining armor asked when the rider rode back to his army and began ordering them into battle formations. Shining did the same and assembled a line of halberdiers followed by battle mages and marksman on the front lines while the cavalry took position on a nearby hill, the enemy consisted mostly of infantry but all were five times larger than the equestrian soldiers and were heavily armored. The first wave was sent charging down the center line where Shining ordered the musketeers to open fire, though a great many of the enemy troops were taken down the marauders began smashing through the center line before Shining Armor rode in with his elite guards and began smashing them left and right with his hammer.

On the left flank, the soldiers had engaged in close range combat and were able to hold the line but for each marauder that fell he took at least three soldiers with him and to make matters worse the enemy had hidden artillery along a cliff line just above the battlefield that began to bombard the imperial troops. Shining quickly ordered his men to fall back towards the hills when he noticed the leader of the enemy army standing above a large number of corpses that were all cleaved into pieces.

"Prepare yourself emperor...."

Shining removed his helmet before charging at his opponent and a fierce duel broke out amongst the battlefield. Both riders were evenly matched in strength and reaction time as they began racing each other across the field, trying to dismount one another before coming to a stop on flat ground at the center of the field.

"RAAAAGGGHHH!!"

"HAAAAAAA!!!"

In one last charge, both riders were knocked off their mounts and were forced to fight on foot but when Shining noticed the helmet of the rider had been knocked off in the last blow nothing could prepare him for what came next.

"No....it...it can't be!!!" The emperor froze when he saw the face of Valiant staring right back at him, the men had also witnessed this and were shocked as well but before they could do anything Valiant went on the offensive with a fierce two handed swing that sent Shining Armor staggering back but in the thick of the fight he noticed the mark on his chest was beginning to glow and instantly figured out that he had been brainwashed by the enemy.

"VALIANT!!" Shining called out to him while staying on the defensive but each blow from Valiants swing drained his stamina bit buy bit as the assault continued.

"Valiant it's me!! Shining armor!!" The two warriors locked weapons with neither side giving an inch as Shining continued to try and snap him out of it.

"I'm your friend!!!"

"YOU ARE MY ENEMY!!" Valiant was able to get a clean cut on Shinings left arm before getting slammed back with his hammer. As Valiant charged in for another attack, a wall of ice suddenly entrapped him thanks to a few battle mages who had come to the emperors aid while the soldiers quickly took him off the field.

"My emperor we must fall back!!"

"What?!? No! We can't leave Valiant!!"

"But sire if you fall who will protect your wife and daughter?!?"

Though it seemed like a low blow, the soldier had a point. Shining couldn't bare the thought of leaving his wife and child to the hands of the enemy but at the same time he couldn't just abandon his friend to his fate.

"MY LORD?!?"

".....order the retreat!"

Shining and his men quickly abandoned the field and all around they could see the snow drenched in the blood of both their comrades and the enemy while Valiant shouted in a bloodcurdling roar that roused the marauders into a frenzy while the imperial army continued to run towards the safety of the barrier.

Later

Crom and Tirek soon arrived to see the carnage of the battle and were impressed by how effective Valiant was in using the troops as well as him forcing the emperor into retreating, this however was only the beginning. With the news of the enemy successfully invading the empire, the other kingdoms of Equestria began to assemble their armies and began making plans to march against the armies of chaos.

War had come to Equestria once again.

End.

Author's Note

Due to the recent news of the next season, Flurry heart has been added to the story and edited into the first one.