"What's the status of the Equestrians?" I asked through the magical hologram.

"They have set camp around the Crystal Tree my Lord."

"The tree? Have they tampered with it?" I asked, knowing very well how important the magical crystal tree was to my future empire. If anything was to happen to it, the setback would be devastating. The Tree once known as Harmony had been altered by Malus to help drive his plans into action. The Tree was altered to become the engine of our magical powered droids. Though the term droid didn’t quite match them. They were more like that of magical golems then anything else as they were made of stone, earth, and anything else available. But when I expand my power across the land, I will build my army of metal and might.But until then, I needed that tree more than ever. If the tree was to perish, all my magical creations would die. It is what powered my droids and the construction of my side projects. But that’s not all I would lose. All of the wildlife not altered by Malus’s dark hand would revert from my orders and become wild once again.

The Tree itself was in a natural state of balance, not fully evil nor that of pure good. Balanced just right to use the Magical Elements into a literal power plant. The energy it held was enormous indeed, but was not infinite as it was powered by the world. And since my creation, it has had not enough good to feed off of. But thanks to some tinkering with the runes, I was able to let it feed off of the chaos magic that has been plaguing Equestria as of late. But the Tree has started showing negative effects with the high doses of chaos magic. So we have been reluctant to use the golems as much as before. While in its weakened state, it still does the job, just not as efficient as before.

"No my Lord. The ponies have not touched it. Though they have been observing it quite a lot." The Diamond Dog replied, showing me their poorly defended camp and it's residents. I thanked for my good luck as the ponies had done nothing to hinder the tree and my work.

"Interesting. Have your troops keep eye and prepare for my arrival. I think it is time we dealt with our guests." I finished off, gaining a 'as you wish' with salute from my captain. I ended the Hologram and looked back to Zeke, who was waiting patiently for my comment.

"Zeke, begin the preparations for the feast! We might have some guest accompanying us, so do ready some meals for the herbivores." I order, Zeke nodding with full complacence. I rose from my throne and made my way down the steps and seek began giving out orders. I began walking down the tall halls to my personal chambers. As I walked, Zeke came up to my side once again, this time looking up at me with a torn expression.

"What is it?" I asked, showing my concern at the sight of his expression.

"Why invite the Equestrians my Lord? Aren't we at war with them?" Zeke asked, truly confused with my reasoning.

"I have never been at war with Equestria Zeke. It was Malus Messer who was against the sun tyrant. While crimes such as theft, breaking and entering, resisting arrest, and many more give reason to have us locked in the dungeon. But you must remember, it was Malus who ordered such commands, not I. I have done nothing but help build and bring prosper to these people. We are not criminals my loyal minion, for we have technically done no evil deeds. If the Equestrians were to bring us to court, they would know that it was all committed by Malus’s hand, not mine." I explained, trying to enlighten him with my logic.

"So... All previous crimes towards Equestria are all the Lord Of Bone's fault? And since he perished with the sun. Does that mean we're safe from their rule?" Zeke asked.

"Not exactly, while all previous deeds done by Malus cannot sick to us, we are still accountable for our future actions. Besides, with all the chaos going on, I doubt they could even organize nor mass a fair trial against us without going for each other's throats." I added as we reached my chambers. I took little time as I didn't need that much. I slipped on one of my custom made cloaks and sheathed a Daedric Sword. Even though I didn't need the sword to protect myself, it matched my demonic armor, giving the full impression of my godly power. After all, looks are an advantage, and being imposing as I am powerful will certainly strike fear into any that gaze upon me. I was Lord Merciless, and I needed to look the part.

"Yin! Yang!" I called out, awakening my two pet Lions. Yes, Lions. Not Manticores. And the two obviously lived up to their names. Yin was a pure white Lion with huge owl like wings and has burning red eyes. And Yang was a pitch black Lion with very large raven like wings and has electric blue eyes. Both were originally manticores, but thanks to my power, I had changed them to fit as my personal guards with each having a magical ability. Yin using pure magical flames while Yang harnessed control over electricity. The two big cat awoke from their king sized beds and began stretching. After going through their morning routine, they obediently accopaoned me with Zeke at my side.

"Anything else my Lord?" Zeke asked, cowering a bit from the big predators.

"Keep the people happy and insure that the feast will be ready by my return." I ordered, letting Zeke scurry away from the lions. I don’t blame Zeke for fearing my pets. The two were huge compared to his size. I stood at a towering height of 7’3” while my Lions stood a 5’6” while on all fours. Now most Diamond Dogs standing tall would only reach a height of 4 to 5 feet tall. Plus my lions were built like a bull, making them just as strong as a Alpha Manticore. The three of us walked into through the fort made our way into the courtyard undistributed. When we reached the heavily fortified gate, I had only needed to gazed up at the guards. Even though no words were spoken, my message was clear for them. The metal gate was parted and the drawbridge slowly lowered. Once everything was opened, me and my two companies strolled out into the forest. As we made our way to my uninvited guest, I began going into deep thought. Mostly focused how proud I was of my people and what they had accomplished.

While under Malus Messor's rule, they had been planning a grand scale idea. It was only until last week, had we begun the construction of Project Diamond. Now I have many projects going on, but there are only two that are at of most importance to my empire. They were Project Seeker and Project Diamond. Project Seeker is by far the second most complex and diverse project on my table. To summarize Project Seeker, it was a huge rocket capable to launching into space. But it is it's cargo that makes this all more valuable. It would hold 16 satellites that would be able not only map the whole world, but used to spy and gather data on a global scale. But unlike Project Seeker, Project Diamond was the most time consuming as it would be the largest scale construction ever seen on this planet.

To summarize Project Diamond, were are building a city with the ability to house and support a bit over five hundred thousand people. While Diamond city would be the equivalent in mass of Brooklyn, a ½ of the city will be used for growing and harvesting food. If everything goes as planned, this protected underground city will be not only self suntanning, but prospering. I planned on carving and expanding the city network throughout the deep underground. While instead of tall skyscrapers, it would span far and deep throughout Everfree Forest. And it would be very deep with the highest point near the surface were around 500 feet under dirt and rock. Unlike the rest of the world, there would be electrical, plumbing, and temperature systems that far out powered equestrian tech by a century. The complex city would have different layers with all kinds of districts and sectors that made this place not only organize and livable, but enjoyable. And everything was planned and written to every detail.

Hell! There's a whole storage room covered in mounds of paper frilled with plans. That alone was just scratching to surface as I had a miles worth of schismatics and building designs in my head. Beside underground city, the castle was going to be upgraded over time and used solely for protection as it was the only gateway in and out of my future city. While this was an idea planned by Malus, it wasn’t on such a grand scale. So far, my dogs had been digging elaborate tunnels during Malus ruled and have dug under the fort. But there was a problem with that. There was a ravine that surrounded that surrounded the castle, making it quite a tricky job to dig through what kept the castle standing. But thanks to their surprisingly creative brains, they constructed support beams and other strong structures to keep the castle from sinking. After everything was secure with the fort, that’s when they began digging throughout Everfree and mapping the underground.

While it was still in basics of forming the layout and making sure it would work, the idea kept my people happy and motivated. And with me being part of this grand operation, the progress has only gain momentum. Thank to my powerful magic, I’ve lowered the time from several generations of constant labor to an estimated time of 10-15 years till completion. The explanation? Magic, a lot of Enchantment, powerful spells, and a ton more magic from my core. Besides that, if we gained more workers, this time will radically decrease. But at the moment, we are still mining and mapping the foundations for the great city. Shaking my head, I began to focus back to the mission at hand. Find out what these Equestrians are doing in my land. And see what use I can make of them. But my scheming came to an end as I’ve arrived to my destination. During my deep thinking, ten minutes had passed as now I was greeted by my warriors clad in enchanted steel.

"My Lord, shall we make ourselves present to the Equestrians?" My Captain asked, crudely bowing, but still showing respect.

"No. I shall greet our guests alone Captain. Keep to the shadows and wait for my orders. If they attack, apprehend and cuff them. If they they start fighting back or try escaping, make sure they don’t try again. But only kill them if necessary." I ordered coldly. My dogs nodded while confirming my orders with a yes sir. After Patrols 11 and 12 took their hiding positions again, I began making my way through the brush loudly. Time to play.

"It doesn't make sense." Twilight Sparkle repeated, she had been spending the last hour debated with her friends. But as of right now, she had been staring at the Once healthy Tree of Harmony. So far, she couldn't come up with a logical reason nor make sense of Malus's goals. Why they hadn't been captured or... Dealt with by Malus was the first to be noticed. But while that question remained unanswered, it left her to explore others as well, still finding little understanding of Malus Messor's Plans. Why had he provoked the media? What did he gain from that? What did Malus do to Luna? Why has Luna left the country in Chaos? Speaking of Chaos, where is Discord? He hasn't been seen since Malus appeared. All these questions ran through her head, all leaving and going by unanswered.

"Ya alright sugarcube? Ya been mumbling n staring for a while now." Applejack asked with honest concern. Twilight looked back at her friend, allowing a weak smile to grow on her snout.

"I'm fine Applejack. It's all of this... It's just stressing me out." Twilight replied, rubbing her temples.

"I reckon ya lay it down for a bit, that Malus fella is a sneaky one." Applejack replied confidently, giving the purple mare a comforting hug.

"It not just him Applejack..." Twilight spoke softly, breaking the hug.

"The future of Equestria is worrying me. I mean, with Princess Celestia gone and Princess Luna abandoning us-"

"Now hold it right there." Applejack interrupted, looking Twilight dead in the eyes.

"I know that things are rough to be taken' in, but do ya really think the Princess will just abandon us now?" Applejack asked seriously.

"Ya! I bet Luna is working on a super duper awesome plan to save Equestria and make that meanie pants pay!" Pinkie Pie said cheerfully, popping out of nowhere. Both mares smiled at the party mare's enthusiasm and hope.

"I guess that is possible. But will Equestria want a Princess?" Twilight asked, raising an incomprehensible question.

"Whaaaaa!?" Pinkie busted out, three bold question marks appearing right above her pink head. Ignoring the random illogical phenomenon, Twilight carried on.

"I mean, Luna is good and told us the truth, but does everypony want to have a princess after what Celestia has done?" Twilight stated, ironically pointing out her old mentor. The two stayed silent as they can't think of an answer.

"I mean, Equestria wants me, the Princess of Friendship, hanged for being Celestia's prized pupil. So how would Luna fair in trying to control and run the country?" Twilight asked, the rest of the group listening to the debate. Nopony answered.

"Applejack, what I'm stressed about is my purpose. All my life I've been Celestia's number one student. I've spent most of my life working and studying for her and to show my worth. Princess Celestia was not only my mentor, by my ideal on everything that is good. She was perfection in my eyes. But then when everything I've built my life upon is nothing but lies, what can I do? What is my purpose when everything I lived for was a lie? I don't know what I'm meant for anymore." Twilight asked, a few tear falling from her eyes. She looked up and gazed around, finding eyes showing pity, just for her situation. Twilight looked down once again, not realizing that there was a puddle of tears at her hooves. She stare at her reflection, feeling her own existence broken from destiny. But as dark her future seemed, it was lit aflame with a single action. A hug, not form Pinkie Pie, but from someone who she could call a brother. Spike had embraced around her neck as he contributed to the puddle of tears. She looked up again, her friends trotting over and joining in, soon all were part of the group hug. Though they were silent, their compassion and care for one another was deafening. That is, until a certain robot in demonic armor came in unannounced.

"Bad time?"

Author's Note

Well her ya go. Enjoy as this one took my mind grinding with math to get thing right. Hope you enjoyed this Chapter.

-Grave Walker