The Emissaries

Chapters

Chapter 1: History lesson
Chapter 2: The visitors
Chapter 3: Story Time
Chapter 4: Royal trouble
Chapter 5: Into the portal

Chapter 1: History lesson

"A long time ago, there were three big continents. The first is the northern swamp where monsters are said to live and where no civilized creature can last. The second is the southern icy desert, uninhabited and hostile to life. The third was the largest. However, he had no name. There were two types of terrain on it: the northern meadowland and the southern area mostly consisting out of mountains and volcanoes. In the north, the first alicorns came to be. The residents were peaceful and used the magic they were given, as well as the natural resources to build their houses, plant fields and preserve nature. In the south, however, the dragons reigned supreme. They are aggressive and only accept strength. Born with one, two or even three heads, they quickly became aware of their superiority, as well as their greed for fighting and precious gems. For centuries, the multi-headed dragons fought, while the single-headed dragons had to work hard. But one day, ponies, explorer on a journey, entered their domain. For the first time there was agreement in the Dragonlands. The agreement over the idea to ensalve the ponies and make them the work force. A dragon named Kreng took advantage of this unity and challenged one dragon previously regarded as the leader of a group after the other. And in the end, when he defeated everyone, he proclaimed himself a warlord and founded the Dragon Empire. His first act: an attack on the peaceful ponies. With unprecedented brutality, the dragons raided the ponies, destroyed their homes, burned the land, enslaved them, and killed anyone who tried to resist. Soon there were no more free ponies and the once green country became a stone desert. The ponies worked day and night in the mines and on houses and palaces for their oppressors. Those who could no longer were grilled and eaten alive. All hope was lost for the alicorns. But one night seven alicorns appeared out of nowhere. They freed the other ponies and led them west, to the edge of the continent behind which the great sea began, feared by everyone. There, the seven alicorns showed their impressive power and raised a huge continent from the depths, larger, more fertile and greener than their old homeland. But soon the dragons caught up. The ponies had barely gotten used to their new home and freedom when the dragons suddenly invaded their country to massacre the ponies as punishment for their flight. But it didn't come to that. The seven alicorns, later known as 'The Ancients', challenged Kreng and his generals to a fight. If the Ancients won, the Dragon Empire had to leave and was never allowed to cross the border between grasslands and stone desert again. If the dragons won, however, the ponies would have returned to eternal slavery. Kreng and his generals accepted. Their struggle continued for three days and nights until the Ancients defeated the dragons and the Dragon Empire retreated. This was followed by millennia of peace. The alicorns built cities and were taught how to use their the magic to its fullest by the Ancients. The Ancients themselves lived in a floating castle with which they traveled across the country. But then, one day, the Dragon Empire attacked stronger and more brutally than before. With their new leader Warlord Magnor, they started a war against the alicorns. But this time the alicorns knew how to defend themselves with the newly created 'combat magic'. The war, which later became known as the Great War, lasted no less than 6,700 years before the Ancients managed to crush the entire dragon army at the Battle of Mount Olympus. Previously, an Ancient, the tailless Shadowcorn, enraged by the pain the dragons caused, immersed himself in the studies of dark magic, which eventually corrupted him and turned him into a monster with red eyes and black fur. Finally, in the last battle, he was completely lost and attacked both friend and foe. No one knows exactly what happened, but at the end of the battle, Warlord Magnor and most of his soldiers were dead and Shadowcorn was gone. While this battle didn't mean the end of the war or hostility, it did leave a void that was filled by the young dragon general, General Trion. This dragon general offered the ponies an armistice that continues to this day. Both dragons and ponies were tired of the war, which is why Trion entered both stories as a hero and received an impressive statue in both realms. He was also the first warlord to die a natural death more than 20,000 years later. A few years after the war, the remaining six Ancients disappeared without a trace. A millennium passed, in which the only mentionable event was an attempt to colonize another dimension. Though this failed because of a demonic being. One day a family of alicorns appeared, claiming to be direct descendants of the Ancients. It didn't take them long to convince the ponies it was the truth. The leader proclaimed himself king over the Alicorn Empire. For several generations they lived in luxury and ruled over the other ponies. But with all the power and luxury they were slowly being warped and finally became tyrannical. This caused the general of the royal guard to rebel. After a few years the time had finally come: the rebel leaders achieved their goal and managed to kill the king and queen. However, they couldn't catch their son Discorn. The general abolished the titles 'King and Queen' and replaced them with 'Crown Prince and Crown Princess', to which he and his wife were crowned. Their reign was calm. It was only during the reign of their son that the Alicorn Empire experienced something notable again: Once again a tailless pony could not resist the temptation of the dark magic and gave in. The pony, known from that day on as 'Shadowcorn', however disappeared the same night it surfaced. Millennia past. Then, a catastrophe shook the Alicorn Empire: The gate, which was once used to colonize the other dimension, opened and Discorn, believed dead, returned! With powers never seen before, he let us feel his revenge and put the Alicorn Empire in ruins! Not even the royal guards or the crown prince could stop him! Fortunately for us, a mysterious ray appeared that defeated Discorn and restored all damage. But there is no trace of Discorn. Many questions have arisen. But if our heroes' mission is successful, these questions will be answered soon."

A male, gray alicorn with a pince-nez, short black mane and tail, and a feather writing in a book as a Cutie Mark, put down his pen with which he had been writing in a book, closed the book and put it on the shelf. The cover said:

"Brief history of the Alicorn Empire for ponies with concentration problems"

Then he walked to the window to his left and looked out at the portal.

"Soon or not at all. We don't even know what gruesome creatures are lurking over there. Ignorance is an illness that needs to be eliminated. But sometimes ignorance is better than the price you have to pay to stamp it out. I hope they are alive and well. Even if the mission fails. With the current disputes between the dragons, we cannot allow the Crown Prince and the army to leave us."

The pony sighed and returned to his table, where he took an unwritten book and started writing something on the cover.

Chapter 2: The visitors

A portal opened in front of entrance to Ponyville. Shadowcorn and his boys came out. They went through the town. Most ponies didn't notice them. Only a few greeted them. The five alicorns went straight to Twilight's Castle. Spike waited in front of the castle.

"Your Highness," he said with a bow.

"I said I'm not a ..." Shadowcorn started.

Then he stopped and started laughing.

"Again! You always get me! “, he said while laughing.

Then they followed Spike inside. They walked through the hallways to a room in front of which Twilight was standing.

"Everything is done.", she said.

The seven went in. It was a very large, empty, room.

"Very beautiful. Thank you very much.“, Shadowcorn replied after looking around.

"I have set the celebration of your move here to tonight. Starlight is handing out the invitations. Cadance and Shining Armor have already had to cancel. There is some problem, but they have everything under control, they told me. "

"Well. It's a pity. But I understand.”, Shadowcorn said.

Then he approached Twilight and whispered to her:

"Have you found out the truth about the rumors yet?"

"Not yet. The eyewitnesses are not sure whether they have mistaken something else for an alicorn. One said it could have been a griffon, the other spoke of a large eagle, a group claims to have seen one of the legendary 'hippogriff' and the last pony fears that it was a changeling. We can only say with certainty that it was something which can fly."

"And Discorn?"

"Our...expert on chaos magic assured us that since Discorn's disappearance, there was no further occurrence of chaos magic. If he's still out there, he's no longer able to use chaos magic.”

Shadowcorn nodded and stepped back.

"Well, then we'll go back and start the move. Until then.“, Shadowcorn said.

A lot had happened after the fight against Discorn a month and a few weeks ago. At first, Shadowcorn and his boys had just stopped by from time to time. Some ponies bowed, others hid when they first came to town, although the Mane Six had explained the situation to them. They stopped by every day for more than a month until the ponies got used to them. There was only one interruption when they came to an abandoned Ponyville without Twilights Castle. When asked what was going on, they were told of a war against a certain 'King Sombra'. Later, the world suddenly turned white, leading to them returning to the Void rather quickly. A few days later, when they visited Twilight again, there were two surprises for them: First, Twilight was now the teacher of the former villain Starlight Glimmer, who was also responsible for the changed world through a time charm. Second, an alicorn was born in Equestria! Although Shadowcorn and his boys are naturally born alicorns, they hadn't seen a naturally born Alicorn in a long time, which is why it was exciting for them, too. There were originally plans to visit the baby, Flurry Heart. But then there was a rumor: Unknown alicorns are said to have been sighted near Appleloosa! There were two possibilities: either it was Discorn and an unknown alicorn or they were members of the Alicorn Empire! Shadowcorn didn't tell his boys about it as not to worry them. Twilight started the investigation. She and the Mane Six interviewed those ponies who claimed to have seen the alicorns. She also hired an expert on chaos magic (Discord) to track down Discorn. So far, however, there has been no success in either case. Still, Shadowcorn was ready to move into Twilight's castle with his boys.

Some time after the five alicorns left, two unicorns suddenly appeared in Twilight's castle: a male light blue one and a female white one. Both of them wore sunglasses, a bowler hat, a camera, a coat that covered their bodies under their necks, a notepad and a pen in their coat. The female unicorn said to Twilight in a soft voice:

"Good day. We are from the Hoovefield Times. We have been told there are some non-royal alicorns here. Could we report on it?"

"Of course. These alicorns are moving to Ponyville tonight. You are welcomed to come to the celebration we are hosting."

"Thank you very much, your majesty. But there is one more thing: There are eyewitnesses who reported to have seen a pony named 'Discorn'. Can you tell us more about it?"

Twilight swallowed. For Shadowcorn's sake, everyone made a promise not to tell anyone about the night. Who could have been chatting? She stuttered a little unsure:

"D-Discorn? Never heard of it. Your witnesses must have been wrong. I only know Discord. And he's anything but an alicorn with chaos magic. "

The two ponies looked at each other. Then the male unicorn asked in a rather hard voice:

"If you don't know anything about it, how come you knew Discorn is an alicorn with chaos magic?"

Twilight was startled by her mistake. Her throat suddenly felt dry. She swallowed hard. Sweating, she replied:

"I, uh, guessed it. So, um, I have some important things to do. You know, princess things. So unfortunately I have to ask you to leave now. Thank you for your visit. ”, she said putting on a big, obviously fake smile.

The two ponies raised their left eyebrows, looked at each other again and then said:

"Well. As you say, your majesty. Untill tonight."

They left the castle. After Twilight closed the door behind them, she collapsed with a strong groan.

"Well, that was close." Spike said.

"Tell me about it. I hate to keep things from the public, but in order to avoid a panic and not to let Shadowcorn re-live the same distrust Trixi and Discord went through, it has to be that way. I just wonder who told them about Discorn…The best thing to do is to discuss this with the rest of you tonight.”

At sunset, there was a large crowd in Twilight's castle. Tables with food and drinks and a stage were set up in a large hall. There was much eating and drinking and talking. Then, the Mane Six, as well as the princesses and Shadowcorn with his boys entered the stage. The voices fell silent. Everyone was staring at the stage. Shadowcorn started to speak.

"Thank you all for showing up here today. We also thank you for your acceptance of our appearance and our wish not to be treated as royal alicorns but as normal ponies. We assure you, we- "

Suddenly he stopped. His eyes focused on a point in the crowd. His expression changed from happy to fearful. He took a few steps backwards and stuttered:

"No. T-that is impossible! Why?! How?! You can't ... "

His boys looked in the same direction and were suddenly shocked as well. They hutdled behind Shadowcorn as the crowd grew restless.

"What’s going on?", Twilight asked.

Shadowcorn turned to her. He was more afraid than ever. Suddendly, the two reporters jumped on the stage. Shadowcorn immediatly jumped between them and his boys and took a battle stance, though he was still shaking.

"What are you doing?! They are just two Hoovefield Times reporters!" Twilight called out.

Shadowcorn looked at her. With a serious tone of voice, he said:

“These two are neither reports, nor from Hoovefield or anywhere else in Equestria. These two come from the Alicorn Empire! "

Those present were shocked. The Mane Six immediatly surrounded the two ponies.

"Are you sure?", Celestia asked.

"Yes. And not just any ponies." Shadowcorn replied.

His horn glowed light blue and a small cyclone came from the tip of his horn which blew away the clothes and camera of the two ponies revealing they were indeed alicorns! The male was wearing silver armor with a red diamond placed in the middle of his chest armor. The armor covered the part that was previously covered by the cloak, except for the wings and the Cutie Mark, which showed a golden shield. He also wore a silver helmet that covered his mane. The helmet also had a red diamond in the middle. His tail was black and shortened. The female alicorn also had armor, but a golden one with a white diamond instead of a red one. Her Cutie Mark was a light green veil with little white stars. However, she was not wearing a helmet revealing a pink, yellow and white mane. Her tail was the same color as her mane and of normal length. Shadowcorn, who was now pointing his horn at the two alicorns, said:

"The name of the male alicorn is Prostatis. He is the head of the royal guard. Only the royal family is above him. The name of the female alicorn is Motus. She is the crown princess of the Alicorn Empire."

Shadowcorn took a short breath and then said:

"They are also my older siblings."

Those present were even more shocked.

"You have siblings? And they are among the highest in the Alicorn Empire? Then why were you afraid of them? ”Asked Applejack.

"Because as princess and head-commander of the Alicorn Empire, their primary duty is to the Alicorn Empire. They were the only ones who could track me down after I used the Black Light spell for the first time. Ultimately, however, they let me escape. However, they swore that if we ever meet again, they will think of their duty first. ”

"We didn't know back then that we would ever see you again. Certainly not in another dimension.”. Prostatis noted.

"Still. You are not known for breaking your words. So where's the rest of your army. Shouldn't this place be swarming with soldiers by now? ”

"Quite the opposit. You see, after Discorn returned, nobody could stop him. But then suddenly a ray came from the same portal he emerged from and defeated Discorn, whereupon he disappeared. Eyewitnesses reported seeing many alicorns as well as other ponies on the other side of the portal who were responsible for this beam. Apparently, you were one of them. That makes you a hero! If you just surrender and come with us, your sentence to will reduced to some years in prison!”, Motus said.

"To bow to Fortis and be at his mercy? One of the main reasons I fled with my boys was to deny him that satisfaction in the first place. Besides, neither Fortis nor Adika would ever show me mercy. "

"Do not be afraid. Fortis has grown and calmed down as a result. And father ... ”, Motus swallowed.

"Has been dead for a long time," Prostatis finished.

"So the old man finally bit the dust? Well. Peace to his ashes. One should respect the dead. Even if it is difficult for me to do so with HIM. But as for Fortis: if he doesn't want to see me dead anymore, why did he send for me? "

"He didn't. We proposed it and he gave his consent. However, if we are not back in about 2 days, he will come personally. And he won't be alone. That's why you have to come with us beforehand. Otherwise the reduction of your sentence is null and void!”, Motus said.

"Wait a minute!" Celestia called out.

She and Luna stepped forward and stood with their wings spread out next to Shadowcorn.

"And who are you?", Prostatis asked.

"I am Princess Celestia and this is Princess Luna, my sister. We are both rulers of this country called Equestria. And your crown prince cannot just march into this country with an army! That would be a declaration of war! "

Now it was Motus and Prostatis who were taken aback.

"What? Is this a monarchy?! But the reports of the colony tell of chaos and terror, in other words: anarchy! ”

There was a short silence. Then Shadowcorn and his boys burst out laughing. As he laughed, Shadowcorn said:

"Really?! You think that some reports from a thousand years ago are still up to date?! You really changed! Besides, he couldn't arrest me anyways "

"Well, the reports were the only things we had and..." Prostatis began, but Motus cut him off.

"Then it's even more important that you come with us! Fortis doesn't know either! He will come with the entire army and, if necessary, bring you back by force! There will be war! And this underdeveloped piece of land will lose! "

"Underdeveloped? Listen up! We're NOT underdeveloped!”, Rainbow Dash complained but Motus ignored her.

"Come with us. For your welfare, as well as the welfare of your new friends. Please, Caudata.”, Motus pleaded.

"Caudata?" Twilight asked while Celestia and Luna exchanged glances.

"My birth name given to me by my mother.”, Shadowcorn explained briefly before turning back to his siblings.

"But I already told you that night: Caudata is death. I am Shadowcorn. "

“That was over 3,000 years ago. You have had the name father gave you long enough. You are not like the pony of darkness from the legend. Father was simply wrong. You should stop clinging to the past and look towards future. What do you think mother would say now?“, Motus asked.

The mention of his mother seemed to have moved something in him. Shadowcorn lowered his head and looked at the floor for a moment. But that moment passed quickly. He looked up again with his old determination and said:

"Do tell me: What would mother say now if she knew I had to choose between humiliation and captivity and friends and freedom? And that it is you who make me choose? "

Motus and Prostatis had apparently not expected this answer. They also bowed their heads for a moment. Unlike Shadowcorn, at least Motus had lost some of her determination. She took a deep breath and said saddened:

"Excuse me. I shouldn't have said that. Mother would have found a way that would have been satisfying for everyone. No. She wouldn't have let it get that far. So caring and yet so strong inside...I wish she would have stayed with us longer..."

All three now looked depressed. There was no trace of any tension between them. There was silence for a while. Then they looked at each other again. Motus nodded to Prostatis. The two of them turned their backs on Shadowcorn and consulted. Finally they turned back to Shadowcorn. Motus said firmly:

"We agreed: Today we will not reach an agreement. We will stay here for the remaining time and update our knowledge of this world. At the same time, however, you should carefully consider what your final answer is. Once the time is up, we will talk about this topic again. Maybe...maybe we will at least find a compromise. Agreed? "

Shadowcorn sighed.

"You haven't changed that much. Well, I'll think carefully about the offer. Until then, you stay here. However, not as emissaries of the Alicorn Empire, but as twins who visit their little brother. Deal?"

Chapter 3: Story Time

The bloodmoon shone in the sky. Shadowcorn and his boys ran. Over the green plain, through the forest to the clearing. Suddenly, a beam hit the ground in front of them. Alicorns wearing full body armor with swords emerged from the trees. Shadowcorn stepped protectively in front of his boys and fired a magic beam at one of the alicorns. However, they held out their sword and absorbed the beam. Two alicorns jumped forward and grabbed Shadowcorn. He tried to fight back but couldn't do anything. An alicorn emerged with the commander of the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Armed Forces. Shadowcorn was dragged aside so that the commander could see Shadowcorn's frightened boys.

"What should we do with them, sir?", an alicorn asked.

The commander glanced at Shadowcorn, then at the boys, and finally said:

"His majesty only asked for the one creature. Execute the other abominations. "

Four alicorns lined up in a row and charged a powerful and, above all, deadly beam.

"NO!" Shadowcorn called out.

He concentrated and fired a fireball from his horn at the ground beneath him. There was a little explosion. The two surprised alicorns jumped back releasing him at the same time as the four other alicorns fired their beam. Without hesitation, Shadowcorn jumped between the beam and his boys...

Shadowcorn awoke startled. He was hyperventilating in his bed. Slowly, his senses came back to reality. It was morning already. He was laying in his bed in his new room in the castle. He looked around. Everything was exactly as he had left it yesterday: the shelves on the walls were filled with equestrian and self-written books about the various magical spells and rituals. There was a desk on the wall opposite his bed. A map of Equestria hung over it. Shadowcorn shook his head. Suddenly, he heard a scream, followed by an explosion and another ongoing scream. He jumped out of his bed and ran out into the corridor. His boys also stuck their heads out of their rooms. Suddenly, Spike ran around a corner screaming. Several beams hit the wall he had just been in front of. Shadowcorn rolled his eyes. He knew immediately what was going on. And he was right: His brothers and sisters, fresh out of bed as it seemed as they weren't wearing their armor, turned around the same corner and shot several more beams at Spike, who jumped and crouched to avoid them. When he saw Shadowcorn, he hid behind him. Shadowcorn's siblings also came to a halt.

"What are you doing?! Get out of the way so we can get rid of the assassin!", Prostatis called out.

"Spike is neither an assassin, nor from the Dragon Empire, which doesn't even exist in this world. He is a friend and practically takes the position of the butler in this castle. "

"I prefer: assistant.", Spike noted.

"Whatever. In any case, he's not a threat to you.", Shadowcorn said.

Motus and Prostatis slowly turned back, but still gave Spike suspicious looks.

"A dragon as a servant. Now I've seen everything.", muttered Motus as the two went back to the guest room.

"Phew. Thanks, Shadowcorn. I just wanted to let you know that breakfast is ready. But what did you mean by 'assassin'?"

"The Alicorn Empire has a neighbor, the Dragon Empire. The dragons there are bigger, however. Dragons of your size are very rare, so they can usually sneak in anywhere. Mostly to carry out assassinations."

"Yieks. No wonder they're so suspicious of me."

When Starlight Glimmer entered the dining room, the rest of the residents and guests were already at the table. Shadowcorn sat exactly in the middle, Motus and Prostatis to his left and Shadowcorn's boys, Twilight and Spike to the right. From time to time, Spike glanced nervously at Prostatis, who in turn gave him suspicious looks. Starlight sat down next to Twilight.

"Ah. So there are also non-dragons here.", Prostatis noted.

"Shadowcorn's siblings aren't big fans of dragons.", Twilight whispered to her.

"Which surprises me. Didn't Fortis promised in his great speech to end hostilites with the dragons once and for all? Don't tell me he started a war?!", Shadowcorn asked.

"His majesty is doing his best, but the dragons are not very... cooperative.", Prostatis answered.

"Warlord Zorak is the oldest dragon and therefore the last of all dragons who lived during the Great War. He knows the horrors of war and worships Warlord Trion. But the other dragons disagree. Not too long ago, we helped him uncover a conspiracy to take him down but the mastermind, General Kreing, is very popular as he openly calls for war at every opportunity to overthrow the Alicorn Empire and to enslave all alicorns once more.", Motus elaborated further.

"And yet still Fortis wants to march into another dimension with his army? Didn't you say he calmed down? This sounds more like he got even more obsessed to me…"

"Come now, Caudata. You of all ponys should know best that forgivness isn't exactly one of his strengths. Especially after…the accident.", Prostatis said.

"Prostatis!", Motus quietly hissed at him.

Shadowcorn jumped up and stomped with his forehoofs on the table.

"I told you before: That's wasn't my fault! Those damm bullys sabotaged me!"

"And we believed you back then. Just like we believe you now. But Fortis-", Motus began before being interrupted by Prostatis.

"As she said. But that still doesn't make you completely innocent. If you wouldn't have trifled with the elemantal magic of the Ancients, non of that would have happened!"

Shadowcorn jumped on the table, as did Prostatis while Motus shook her head and muttered:

"Not again. Ancients, give me strength."

"Well excuse me for not wanting to blow the ONE chance I had in my life to get the approval from Adika I craved for all my life and maybe get a second chance, not just with him but with everyone who mocked and looked down upon me all my life!", Shadowcorn yelled.

"There were plenty of other ways to shine. Sure, you may not be naturally gifted in magic like the rest of us and sure, you may have only just passed basic magic but it was because of that lack of natural giftedness and your failure at the basic stuff that you always worked harder than anyone else! Your score in Battle Magic proves that! If you wouldn't have bailed that night, you would have ranked third. One rank higher than Motus and only one rank lower than me! Father wouldn't have had a choice other than to be proud of you! But by trying to take the easy way and mettle with powers neither you nor anyone else was able to master since the Ancients, you ruined any chance of that!", Prostatis yelled back.

"That is a great argument, dear brother. Except that it only works in hindsight! I was a bit too pre-occupied trying to hide that the constant abuse I had endured for most of my life was actually getting to me to even think about something like that! You don't know how it was getting mocked, insulted and verbally and physically abused just because you looked different! I was at my limit! I just wanted it all to end! So when I saw the opportunity, I of course grabbed it! As far as I knew back then, it was my only way to finally escape it all! What else should I have done?! What else would you have done if you were in my place?!"

"Now how about we all calm down and-", Starlight began but Prostatis yelled at her:

"Shut up, wing-less! This is non of your damm buisness!"

"ENOUGH!", Motus angrily shouted.

She flew into the air and emitted a bright light off her horn blinding everyone forcing both brothers to stop. Then she landed between them and said in a strict tone of voice:

"You two! Sit. Down. NOW! Mind your manners, for Olympus sake!"

Both Shadowcorn and Prostatis followed her order without a word and sat back down. Afterwards, Prostatis turned to Starlight and said, now calmer:

"I'm sorry I yelled at you. I shouldn't have done that."

"It's okay. But you two seem to have some…unresolved issues. Maybe you want to talk about it?"

"What do you mean?", both brothers asked at the same time.

"Well, maybe if you both tell your sides of the storys, you will also be able to understand one another."

"What, are you a school councillor now?", Spike asked sarcastically.

Starlight gave him an angry look before turning back to Shadowcorn and Prostatis.

"As it just so happened, I'm unbiased and have nothing much to do today. So. What do you say?"

"Hm. I mean, we don't have much to do, either. So I think it's worth a try.", Prostatis said and both Shadowcorn and Motus agreed.

"Great. I know just the place. Follow me, please.", Starlight said.

They left the room and went straight to the library. There, Starlight went and got a big couch and a sofa. The siblings sat down on the couch while Starlight sat down on the sofa. Then she said:

"Great. Now let's begin."

"I think before we do that, there's some backstory on our family and the Alicorn Empire I feel is important for you to know before you can understand anything.", Motus began.

"You see, a bit over 7000 years ago, the Alicorn Empire was ruled by the latest descendants of a line descending from Coligo the Unifier, who claimed descendence from the Ancients and united all alicorns into the Alicorn Empire. While initially being quite popular with both nobles and the common ponies, over the millennia of unchecked rule, his descendants fell more and more into madness and tyranny until the, at that time, current monarchs called for war with the Dragon Empire, something no one wanted, and subsequently called for everyone who did anything less but to enthusiastically agreed with them to be arrested and executed. In response, Rextas, the head of the royal guard, the best friend of our father as well as the father of my husband, the current crown prince, rose up in rebellion against them with our father being one of the first to join his cause. Though at first, it was a small rebellion with only the first two batallions of the royal guard, the first led by our father and the second by Proelia, Rextas' lover and future wife, as well as a few civilians, including our mother Diglit, a kind yet strong willed pony and a master in healing and protection magic, joining the cause. Too many were simply afraid of the monarchs who, while being unpopular were also very powerful due to the blood of the Ancients flowing through their veins. But as the rebellion continued to win battle after battle and due to the mercyfull nature of its leadership towards those who only served the monarchs out of fear, it grew until the entire Alicorn Empire was up in arms against the tyrants. In a last ditch attempt to get the situation back under control, the king and queen used a dark ritual to infuse their son Discorn with chaos magic. Luckily, he hadn't had time to master his new powers. During the last battle, he accidentally opened a portal to another dimension and fell into it. Though this also meant he survived, unlike his parents, who died putting up quite the fight. Afterwards, our step-father was hailed as the new king. However, he renamed that position into 'crown prince' as his ancestor, the middle of three brothers, the oldest of whom being Coligo and the youngest being the ancestor of our lineage, after founding the royal guard took an oath alongside his younger brother to Coligo saying that both them and their descandents would always serve and protect the realm and never claim the title of king or queen themself. He also made our father the head of the royal guard and married Proelia. Abother few centuries laster, our parents married as well. Then, 2375 years after the rebellion, Fortis was born. 18 years later, Prostatis and I were born and another 7 years later, Caudata followed. And that is where our story begins.", Motus ended the prologue.

Shadowcorn continued:

"Adika was quite strict and a perfectionist. He expected us to be as close to perfect as possible and didn't tolerate any flaw. So as you may expect, he wasn't too fond of me as I was born with a tail too small to be seen with the naked eye making me 'forever flawed' as he put it on one of his very few nicer days. In fact, I've been told that at my birth, the moment he noticed that I was different, he immediatly left the room uttering only one word: 'Shadowcorn', the name he would from then on refer to me as. It's said that one of the Ancients, who was tailless as well, was named Shadowcorn. Ironically, as you know, it's also the name I chose after my transformation into, well, this. Though unlike my dear siblings believe, it's not because Adika gave me this name but because of the many similarities I share with the original Shadowcorn. My mother however wasn't bothered by my lack of tail even giving me the fitting name 'Caudata', a word from the old tongue meaning 'without a tail'. Unfortunatly, 'perfectionism' wasn't limited to Adika. It was very much common throughout all noble families. That's because in the Alicorn Empire, nobility isn't something you earned once and your descandence will have it 'til the end of your line. Every 100 years, the head of every family in the Alicorn Empire sans the royals and families who rose to the rank of nobility less than fifty years prior are tested to see whether they are still worthy of their title, position and privilages. This resulted in an unspoken cast system among the nobility where each family would completely devote themself to a specific trade or task such as life-time military service, first-class cooking or finance management. This obsession with perfection and flawlessness also meant that literally everyone looked down on me. Whenever I showed my face outside, I was mocked, insulted and called names. This led to me refusing to go outside, something Adika almost enthusiastically supported giving me plenty of books and even setting up a training field in our backyard so that I wouldn't leave our property. At first I thought he finally came around and started caring about me. But, of course, the only reason he supported my refusal to go outside was that it meant people wouldn't have to look at 'his disgraceful freak'. My mother was the only one with whom I went outside as she had the weird affect on ponys to calm them down and made them ignore me, which was really the best I could hope for. Unfortunatly, that was not to last. You see, ten years after my birth, a terrible and mysterious disease hit the Alicorn Empire. No one knows where it came from though the most popular theory is that it was conjured by some rogue dragon mages. It spread rapidly and soon, almost everyone was infected. Even our mother, wiedly regarded as the best healer since the Ancients, was unable to do even as much as stop it. So she did the only thing she could: Using an ancient emergency spell, she made the ultimate sacrifice by transferring the disease from everyone infected to herself. She then quarantined herself in an abandoned house and requested that every morning and evening someone were to knock on the door and that if she failed to answer just once, the house shall be set ablaze immediatly. Three days later, the smoke of the buring house was covering the morning sky. Afterwards, Adika became even worst. It didn't became uncommon for him to lament how unfair it was that his beloved wife was gone yet I was still there and he used every little opportunity to physically abuse me. But all that was only the prelude to what was to come. You see, every 100 years, when the currently youngest member of the royal family reaches an age ending with the number '75', a special kind of school is held for 25 years. This school is only for nobles who are at least 50 years old at that time and hadn't attended it yet. Usually, children in the Alicorn Empire get homeschooled from the age of 5 onwards in things like basic magic and basic battle magic. But this special school taught much more like advanced battle magic, rituals or potion brewing. Every noble was obligated to attend this special school. On one hand, this excited me and my siblings as the prospect of extending our understanding and ability to use magic does. On the other hand, it also frightend me due to the fact that I was basically forced to be around other nobles, who, as you may remember, weren't exactly too fond of me. And unfortunatly, those fears proved to be on point. While the teachers took their jobs serious enough to not treat me differently, my fellow students didn't. I was subjected to physical and verbal abuse from the start. And the worst offender was the 'star' of the school: Fortis, the future heir to the throne of the Alicorn Empire. He was well liked by everyone and was quite pleasent towards everyone. Except me, of course. At first, my siblings protected me as best they could. But as their own popularity rose due to their status and natural talent in magic and as Fortis started showing interest in Motus, they hadn't had the time to be around me. Though to be fair, I wasn't too keen on being around the large groups following them everywhere as well. So it's not like it was entirely their fault either. At least back at home they were able to keep Adikas mood good enough for him to stop his physical abuse most of the time by informing him of their latest praises and achivements and later on by Motus giving him updates on her relationship with Fortis. This went on for about 15 of the 25 years. But then, one day, while on a school trip to the ruines of a castle once belonging to the Ancients, underneath a loose stone slap laying in a hollowed out pit I found something that would change my life forever: a box containing scrolls and books on which the Ancients wrote down their spells and wisdom as well as the journal of the original Shadowcorn. This, of course, included the elemental magic of the Ancients. The knowledge on how to use it was thought to be lost forever as it was the only kind of magic the Ancients never taught anyone. At first I thought about sharing this discovery. But then I had a better idea: Every 5 years, there was a talent show. The next one was coming up only a few months away. My plan was to learn how to use the elemental magic until then, impress everyone and finally get the approval from Adika I craved for all my life. And so began months of long training. I would sneak out of the house regularly to train far away from any pony as I didn't want the suprise to be spoiled. But just a few weeks before the talent show, Adika saw me sneaking out and followed me. He witnessed the performance I had been working on utilizing every part of the Ancients elemental magic. I called it 'The Dance of the Elements'. He soon made his presence known. At first, I was afraid as I did sneak out of the house which was enough reason for him to give me a beating. But instead, he did something I never seen him do before: He smiled at me. And then, for the first time in my life, he said the words I wanted to hear ever since I was a child: 'I'm proud of you, my son.' That was the happiest day of my life. From then on until the talent show, our relationship was slowly improving. The abuse completely stopped and he even apologized to me for it, something he didn't even do to my siblings whom he was as good of a father to as he was a bad one to me. Though, of course, he couldn't keep it a secret and openly bragged that his youngest son mastered the one thing no pony managed to do since the Ancients, not even the royals or the first line of monarchs who were direct descendants of the Ancients after all. And soon, our house was almost besieged by ponys who wanted to see the pony who mastered elemental magic and, of course, see him showcase his power. Even the royals came down to me in order to offer me a high position in their court as teacher of elemental magic once I graduated school. Things also improved at school were my popularity rose to a level only rivaled by Fortis. Speaking of whom, he even humbled himself by publicly apologizing to me and calling his past behaviour 'a disgrace'. Unfortunatly, as you propably could tell already, it was not to last. You see, Fortis had three henchponys who took over his bullying 'duties' after Motus managed to convince him to just let me be. And those three saw bullying me as their greatest joy in life. They were, of course, not too fond of the fact that bullying me was not an option anymore so they instead decided to sabotage me. The night of the show they snuck underneath the stage and using a so-called 'prank ritual', a ritual not designed for combat but in its effect usefull enough to not be discarded, to temporarly block my control over my magic."

"Well, thats what he claims happened anyways. But no proof and no witnesses made it look much more like baseless accusations.", Prostatis interrupted.

Both Motus and Shadowcorn gave him an angry look before the latter continued:

"Anyways, the effect of the ritual lasts only a few seconds but, unfortunatly, they used it exactly as the fireball which was part of my 'Dance of the Elements' was circeling back around towards the audience. With the sudden loss of control and with the centrifugal force having made it quite fast, it was propelled forwards directly towards Motus. Luckily, Prostatis managed to react almost instantaneously and put up a shield protecting her. But I knew: Even with no one injured, this accident was the end of my life in the Alicorn Empire. And Fortis' look in his eyes as he looked at me all but confirmed that. If looks could kill, I would have died a series of extremely gruesome deaths that day. So while everyone was busy praising Prostatis, I ran back home, frose the door, packed up as much as I could using my bed sheet as bag, grapped some food and flet Mount Olympus knowing Adikas wrath was indescribable. Though strangely, he did not come home this entire time."

"That's because you were right. He was so furious, he couldn't even express his emotions. So he simply…stopped. When both Prostatis and I tried to stop him, he merely replied that he gave up and wouldn't give you any attention at all moving onwards, including negative one. He correctly predicted everything you did after you ran home and patiently waited until he was sure you were gone. Then, he burned everything you owned you couldn't take with you, sealed off your room by replacing both the window and door with a wall, erased all remaining traces of your existence and forbate us from every mentioning your name in his presence ever again henceforth pretending we were his only children. It wasn't until he was laying on his death bed that he spoke your name again asking us to tell you something if we'd ever see you again."

"Let me guess: He will never forgive me, even in death, he wishes me all the bad luck there is and will never understand how I could be his and mothers child."

Both Prostatis and Motus looked at him confused.

"How did you…?", Prostatis started asking.

"Come now. What else could it be? Anyways, afterwards, I traveled to the only known place I knew no one would ever look for me: A large forest area not too far from the nothern swamps. It was said that there were monsters in this forest which is why no one wanted to go near it. Luckily, it was only two days away by hoove, one by wing and only a few hours via our flying carts as Mount Olympus is the most northern point of the Alicorn Empire and therefore the city the furthest away from the capital of the Dragon Empire. Once there, I used a spell from the Ancients to built a hut. And after I sent those two a memory bubble so they would know where to find me, I began a new life devoted to unlocking every secret magic held, including dark magic. Something both of them would repeatedly warn me about as it was forbitten and as it was said to have driven the original Shadowcorn insane. Though thanks to Shadowcorns journal, I was able to learn from his mistakes and be patient about it. The only problem was the food as I had no farming skill. But that was solved soon enough when a visitor came by. Though I don't exactly know how he found me…"

"Come now, Caudata!", Prostatis said, "Your choice in refuge wasn't even close to being unpredictable. Literally EVERYONE knew where you were. It was literally the only place in the entire world you could have gone."

"Okay, okay. Point taken. Anyways, this visitor was named Melior and was a noble and the owner of all magic shops in the Alicorn Empire. He was considered 'weird' since he was more concerned with logic and practicality rather than with emotion and looks. This made him one of the few ponys who didn't look down upon me. Since I was living near the forest, he figured I wasn't afraid of it. You see, the forest is the only place where you can find certain ingredients for potions making them quite valuble. But there was a shortage since he couldn't find anyone to go into the forest and was too busy doing it himself. Therefore he offered me a job: I would get the ingredients and bring them to him in the middle of every 7th night. In return, he would get me eight days-worth of fresh supplies as payment. On one of these trips, I also met a group of four small orphaned alicorns who were disowned by their parents due to being born mute. I took them in and raised them as my own. Luckily, I managed to convince Melior to increase the amount of supplies he gave me by promising they would later help me gather more ingredients. Speaking of whom: How did things go for my former boss?", Shadowcorn asked.

Motus and Prostatis exchanged an uneasy look. Prostatis said:

"Unfortunatly, not great to say the least. Shortly after you left, he barged into the throne room and openly complained about how our 'inability to look past the rules in favor of the results' cost him one of his most valuble workers and the only source of those special ingredients growing in the forest. Unfortunatly, his inability to understand emotions horribly backfired as his majesty accused him of aiding you in your unlawful acts. He was stripped of everything he owned and had build up throughout his life and was branded a traitor. If it wasn't for Motus pleading for him, who would have bing executed. Instead, he was cast out of the Alicorn Empire. Both Motus and I offered him help in return for his kindness towards you. Unfortunatly, having lost everything including the ability to rebuild any of it, he soon lost the last thing he had left, his will to live, and died shortly afterwards. Though at the very least, we did manage to give him a proper burial."
There was a moment of silence in the room. Shadowcorns eyes were filled with tears. He closed his eyes and let them flow silently. After a short while, he muttered something and opened them up again.

"Thanks for telling me.", he said to his siblings.

He breathed in and out strongly once. Then he continued:

"Let's end this story now, shall we? After finishing school, Fortis had reached the age of 100 which is the age you are considered an adult in the Alicorn Empire. Upon graduating, his parents retired and he was crowned the new ruler of the Alicorn Empire. Just one year later, he married Motus. I didn't come to the wedding as both my siblings and I new it would have been a very bad idea. Then, another 300 years later, Adika retired and the royal guard elected Prostatis, who became a commander less than 50 years prior, as their new head. This also led to him becoming a lot more jerkish."

"Being the head of the royal guard is quite the stressful job. It doesn't leave much room for 'being nice'. If you do that job without it affecting how you act outside of work, you're not doing it right.", Prostatis defended himself.

"Anyways, after another 100 years, the fateful night came where me and my boys left the Alicorn Empire forever. You see, I had unlocked every secret Shadowcorn had wriiten down in his journal. So I started experimenting with new ones. Unfortunatly, new secrets meant that there were no mistakes made prior I could learn from. To make sure I wouldn't succumb to it, I prepared a ritual Shadowcorn had come up with but never managed to try out. Unfortunatly, something went horribly wrong. I don't know exactly what happened. There was a bright light. Then everything went dark. The next thing I remember was waking up with my boys laying around me missing their manes and me looking like, well, this. There was also a giant whole in the ceiling. My guess is that the magical energy which turned me into how I look now went literally through the roof up into the sky. Which meant everyone could see it. Which, in turn, meant Fortis propably could see it as well."

He looked at Motus and Prostatis who both nodded. Then he contuned.

"After I made sure that my boys were okay, I took them outside. I used my magic to collapse the house hoping the inevitable army Fortis would send to arrest me would be fooled by it thinking we would have died via the house collapsing. We then ran towards the dimensional portal located nearby. While it hadn't been used in millennia, the knowledge to activate it was still preserved and taught at the special school. Unfortunatly, I miscalculated the time we had. We were spotted by the army before we could reach it. So we ran through a small forest nearby hoping to eventually lose them. But when we reached a clearing in the woods, we were cornered. As the royal guardsmen prepared to kill my boys and fired magical blasts at them I jumped between them and held them off long enough for my boys to get out of the way. But we were still surrounded. With soldiers closing in from all sides, I called upon all my strength to defend my boys and get them to safty. And that's where it happened. I don't know whether it was always laying in me dormant until that very day or whether the ritual and my subsequent transformation had something to do with it. Regardless, suddendly, I felt an entirly new kind of magic flowing through me. I channeled it in my horn and led it all out. That was the first time I ever used the Black Light Spell. To my suprise, everyone around me was blinded while I could see perfectly fine. I quickly grabbed my boys and ran back to the portal. There, I found my siblings waiting for me. They told me they had orders to arrest me. But they weren't going to do it. They told me they knew what I wanted to do and would allow it but threatend me that, if we'd ever see us again, they would arrest me."

"We only did that to make sure you'd never come back. We didn't mean it.", Motus said.

"Don't worry. I believe you.", Shadowcorn said before telling Starlight:

"Well. And I think I've already told you the rest."

Starlight nodded. But Motus said:

"You may have told her but not us. Where did you end up after jumping into that portal? You just moved in here so I presume this wasn't the world you ended up in, was it?"

"No, it wasn't. I ended up in an empty dimension called 'the Void' which had its own set of, at times, strange rules. There, I met another outcast who would late pretend to be my friend but in reality used me for his own gain: Discorn."

Motus swolloed.

"So it was indeed Discorn who devestated Mount Olympus. This all but confirms it. But he has to be about 8000 years old by now. That's far older than the current oldest alicorn in history which reached the age of 6788. How did he survive that long?"

"It's because of the Void. Time barely moves there. This is why I look the same as back when I left. Due to extended exposure to it, me, my boys and Discorn will propably continue to age much more slowly for a long time meaning, if we aren't killed, we'd be able to reach an age somewhere in the tenthousands, if not even hundredthousands."

"That is…concerning considering we weren't able to capture Discorn. After he was depowered, the moment both he and we realized what happened, he immediatly teleported out before anyone was able to cast a counter spell. We have been looking for him ever since and even warned the Dragon Empire but not even our HIVEyes were able to do as much as spot him.", Prostatis said.

"That's no suprised. As arrogant as he can be, he is no fool. He propably picked up a few tricks watching me train my own abilities for exactly such a case. Which makes it even more foolish for Fortis to want to take his entire army with him tomorrow."

Before anyone could say anything else, there was a knocking at the door. Twilight entered and said to Motus and Prostatis:

"Please excuse the interruption but Princess Celestia has requested your immediate presence in Canterlot. She wants to talk about a possible future diplomatic relationship with the Alicorn Empire."

"Of course. Let's go.", Motus said to Prostatis and both left the room.

Starlight went up to Twilight.

"Is everything alright? You seem…nervous."

"It's just that the request was delivered by a guard instead of the ususal dragon breath delivery. That's quite strange. Something feels off."

Chapter 4: Royal trouble

The train stopped at Canterlot Station. As Motus and Prostatis exited the train, they took a look around.

"This place reminds me of home.", Motus said.

"Same. Only with a lot more towers and no flying carts in the sky.", Prostatis agreed.

Two guard ponies came up to them.

"Look at that! These ponies are really lucky there is no Dragon Empire here. If that's all the armor they are wearing, they'd be fried before they could even hit a single dragon.", Prostatis silently complained.

"Hush now, brother. Don't be rude. Remember: We are guests."

"Good day, your highness. We are here to bring you to her highness.", one of the guards said.

Motus and Prostatis nodded and followed the guards. They went through the streets where ponies stopped and stared until they reached the castle. There, the two guard ponys stepped aside as Princess Celestia came out to greet them.

"Welcome, your highness. I'm honored that you came. Please, follow me."

Once again, Motus and Prostatis nodded and followed. But as they entered the castle, the gates were shut.

"I don't know why, but I have a strange feeling about this.", Prostatis whispered.

"The good kind or the bad kind?", Motus whispered back.

"The very bad kind.", Prostatis replied.

They entered into the main hall. Suddendly, all lights were turned of.

"I knew it! Quick, let's use battle magic to light-", Prostatis started before getting something thrown in his face.

It smelled strange. Suddendly, the world around him became even darker. His eyelids became heavier. His senses started to black out one by one. The last thing he saw was Motus' horn producing a red bubble and sending it away. Then he passed out.

Shadowcorn was in the middle of being taught how to use a teleportation spell by Twilight when the red bubble suddendly floated into the room.

"What is that?", Twilight asked.

But Shadowcorn didn't answer. Instead, he poked it with his horn. For a moment, his eyes shone bright. Then he said:

"That was a memory bubble. It is used in the Alicorn Empire to send secret intel in the form of recent memories to someone else as these bubbles can only be popped by the one they are meant for. And this one was a distress call. Something is very wrong. Princess Celestia has let them into a trap!"

"Impossible!", Twilight called out.

"Indeed. But it's also the truth. These memory bubbles can not be tempered with. Not even by the one sending them."

"Then let's gather up our friends and head to Canterlot immediatly."

"Easy there, Twilight. One shouldn't call in the cavalry before he even knows what he's up against. Let Starlight and Spike gather them up. Meanwhile, we'll do some reconnaissance. Maybe it's just a big misunderstanding which can be resolved without any fights."

Twilight thought about it for a moment.

"Alright. Let's do it."

As Twilight and Shadowcorn arrived in Canterlot in disguise, they found the city as busy as ever. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. They moved further down the streets until they reached the castle. The gate was shut. Some guards stood on the walls looking into the distance.

"This is highly suspicious.", Twilight said.

"Agreed. How do we get in?"

"We could teleport."

"I'd rather not. I'm still not confident enough I can do the spell without a mistake."

"Well then, how about we take the 'secret' entrances to the tunnels under Canterlot Castle?", Twilight asked pointing to one of the entrances.

"Wait! There are entranced into Canterlot just standing around out in the open completely unguarded? Okay. You know, if I were the princesses, I'd block them off. Those are quite the security risk.", Shadowcorn said.

"Yet strangely, no villain has ever used them.", Twilight replied.

"Fair enough. Though we better not tell Prostatis. If he hears about that one, he's going to rant for a while.", Shadowcorn said as the two entered the tunnels.

Shadowcorn produced some Shadow Mist to cover the sound of their movements. They walked through the tunnels for a while until suddendly, they heard a voice in the distance. They turned a corner and entered a hall. In the middle of the room stood Celestia, surrounded by a few guards. In front of Celestia, there was a Changeling-communication portal with the head of an armord changeling on the screen. Celestia was in the middle of saying:

"…next dozend changelings to pose as guards. Then we will have full control over Canterlot."

The Changeling saluted and the device was turned off.

"Quick! Turn off the Shadow Mist and let's get out of here!", Twilight whispered.
Shadowcorn turned it off and the two slowly backed away. But as they did, they bumped into something. They turned around and saw two guards in front of them.

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here.", a voice said behind them.

They turned around just as Chrysalis was finished changing back.

"Chrysalis! What have you done with Princess Celestia?!", Twilight yelled.

"The same thing I'm about to do with you.", she said.

She took a step back, while two guards moved in. Each of them took out a small bag. They opened it and took out a little bit of a purple dust. They were just about to blow that dust into Twilights and Shadowcorns faces as Shadowcorn unleashed a small gust of wind in their direction blowing the dust in their faces instead. As they staggered and fell down, Shadowcorn's horn glew dark.

"Let's get out of here.", he said to Twilight.

Before Chrysalis or any other Changeling could react, Shadowcorn unleashed his Black Light Spell. Twilight heard a portal opening beneath her. Than she fell. But not for long as she landed on the ground again. Soon after, the effects of the Black Light spell began to fade away. As her vision returned to normal, she managed to make out her castles walls surrounding her.

"Everything alright?", Shadowcorn asked.

Twilight rubbed her eyes.

"Yeah. But…Please warn me next time you are going to open a portal right beneath me."

"I'll remember it for the next time we are about to get captured. Anyways, Chrysalis is back. Seems she has captured both Princess Celestia and my siblings. I presume she used that powder. It propably makes you go to sleep. It's the only explanation I have for how she managed to capture my siblings anyways."

"Yeah. Seems like we have a rescue mission on our hooves."

"Let's see if our friends have gathered already. Then we can make a plan."

"This damm alicorn and his strange magic! Now it's only a matter of time until those ponys come in here and ruin everything!", Chrysalis yelled angrily as she walked into the throne room were Celestia, Luna, Motus and Prostatis were trapped in cocoons hanging from the ceiling,

"Don't worry, your majesty. We have successfully closed off Canterlot and placed eyes throughout the city. There is no way they are going to enter the city without us noticing.", a Changeling said.

Suddendly, they heard a sound behind them. They turned around. The Mane Six, Shadowcorn and his boys stepped out of a portal.

"You just had to say it, didn't you?", another Changeling said.

"You?! Already?! Why have you come this soon?! Why didn't you wait until it was night and snuck in quietly?", Chrysalis asked confused.

"Why should we when I can literally open portals? And also when I can do that?", Shadowcorn asked unleashing four flames which burned the part of the cocoons holding them to the ceiling. The cocoons fell down and the prisoners were freed.

"But…How did you know where I kept them?!", Chrysalis asked even more confused.

"Come on. Where else would someone like you hold their prisoners?", Rainbow asked.

"Thanks, Caudata.", Motus said.

Then she turned to Chrysalis.

"Payback time.", she said.

"Actually, I think it's time to RUN!", Chrysalis said.

She jumped in the air, shot a hole in a wall and flew out of Canterlot before anyone could stop her. Seeing their queen leaving, her changelings quickly followed her.

"Wow. That was quick.", Applejack said.

"I mean, who would be dumb enough to go against ten alicorns?", Rarity replied.

Meanwhile, Motus went up to Celestia.

"Princess Celestia, please allow us to be part of the pursuit-party."

Celestia asked confused:

"Pursuit-party? I'm sorry, but we will not pursue them."

Motus and Prostatis were stunned.

"What?! But…but they invaded your castle! They took you captive! They are clearly a danger to your kingdom! Why don't you chase after them?!"

"Oh don't worry. We face these kinds of enemies regularly and our heroes have always been able to defeat any thread before sunset. Just think about how quickly this went by. If she tries again, I have the utmost faith she will be foild again. We really don't need to worry.", Celestia answered calmly.

Motus and Prostatis were so utterly shocked, they were speachless. For a moment, they stood still with an expression of such shock and disbelieve that it almost looked like their brains had shut down. When they finally moved again, they turned to Shadowcorn. Motus said:

"Caudata, you have to come with us. Under no circumstances can you stay here."

"Why?", Shadowcorn asked confused.

"Because this kingdom is DOOMED! If they really let every dangerous enemy run loose, sooner or later, they will all band together, defeat these ponies and overthrow these monarchs!"

"We don't let EVERY enemy run loose…", Twilight said and Rainbow added:

"Villains joining forces? Ha! They would stab each other in the back the moment victory is in their reach giving us the win. Villains don't believe in friendship. Therefore, they can't work together."

Motus looked at her in shock and confusion asking:

"In what world do you live?"

"In a world were friendship always wins.", Pinkie Pie answered.

"You may think our kingdom is doomed, but you haven't seen the power of friendship yet. Whatever threat comes our way, we'll beat-", Twilight continued but suddendly Prostatis yelled:

"ENOUGH!"

"Prostatis!", Motus said but Prostatis yelled:

"No! I've had enough of this! We tried it your way and your way failed! Now we do it my way!"

Then he turned to Shadowcorn.

"You WILL come with us. No discussion! We are going home and you WILL come with us!"

Shadowcorn pinched his eyes.

"And if I refuse?"

Prostatis pinched his eyes as well.

"Then I'll make you."

"Calm down you, two!", Motus yelled.

"No. If Prostatis thinks he can force me to do anything, he is sadly mistaken.", Shadowcorn said.

"Prove it.", Prostatis responded.

"I will. But not here."

Shadowcorn opened a portal. Everyone went through it. It led to a grass plane not too far from the cave with the portal in it. Except for a few trees and some big rocks sticking out of the ground, the grass plane was empty.

"You win, I come with you. I win, you leave and tell Fortis to not show his flank around here. Deal?", Shadowcorn asked.

"Deal.", Prostatis said.

The two took position a few meters apart from each other.

"I hope you know some good shielding spells. You are going to need them.", Motus said.

"What do you mean?", Twilight asked.

"I don't know how it is around here but in the Alicorn Empire, when two alicorns battle, they can forget everything around them rather quickly. I'll try to block as much as possible. But Prostatis' offensive abilities far exceed my defensive capabilities.", Motus responded.

"Well. Maybe this is going to go quick. I mean, Shadowcorn knows so many different kinds of magic…", Rarity said.

"That might be true. But Prostatis is a master of defensive magic having developed a number of new spells himself. And since Caudata doesn't know about them, he might just get suprised very soon. On the other hand, no one has fought against elemental magic in millenia. And since neither Prostatis nor I know the full extend of what a master of it is capable of, Prostatis may just end up being suprised as well. One thing is for certain: This is going to be tough for both of them.", Motus concluded.

Then she took a step forward. Her horn glew bright. She fired a blast of magical energy into the sky. Shadowcorn and Prostatis took their battle stance. The blast exploded into a bright sphere which soon disappeared. For a moment, both Shadowcorn and Prostatis simply stood there. Then suddendly, Shadowcorn shot a beam at Prostatis. Prostatis however formed a small shield on top of the tip of his horn which he used to capture the beam. As the beam went into the shield, he did a 360 degrees turn before throwing it back at Shadowcorn. But Shadowcorn easily dodged it. Now his horn glew red. He shot a fireball at Prostatis. However, Prostatis simply put up a shield in front of him which absorbed the fireball. Afterwards, the shield drew together into a small sphere surrounding the tip of his horn. The moment the last bit of the shield entered the sphere, a straight, fast beam shot out in Shadowcorns direction. Shadowcorn quickly moved the nearest of the big rocks in front of him. But the shot simply pierced through it. As it fell down however, Shadowcorn disappeared into the earth. For a moment, nothing happened. Then suddendly, four holes opened up around Prostatis. Prostatis took a quick look around. Then he created a glowing sphere over his head. For a moment, it floated in the air before shooting down a hail of shots in all direction. Motus quickly put up a shield before some stray shots could hit them.

"See what I mean?", she asked.

The barrage destabilized the structure of the holes causing them to collapse. Suddendly, a fifth hole opened some meters behind Prostatis. Shadowcorn jumped out and shot a light-blue beam at Prostatis. Prostatis grabbed some chunks of dirt laying around with his magic and through them at the beam. The chunks of dirt got frozen solid. Shadowcorn shot another beam. This time, Prostatis flew into the sky. The beam hit the tree behind him instead. Once in the air, Prostatis drew a line into the air with his horn. For a split second, the line remained before drawing together forming three orbs. The orbs flew towards Shadowcorn each of them giving off a shot from time to time. Shadowcorn dodged them. While dodging, he grabbed three more rocks with his earth magic and threw them at Prostatis. Each time, Prostatis recalled one of his orbs using it to destroy a rock shattering it into four to five smaller yet still sizable pieces which fell back onto the ground. Once Shadowcorn ran out of rocks to throw, Prostatis gathered another sphere on top of the tip of his horn. This time, it was much bigger. Four beams came out. Each of them hit the ground surrounding Shadowcorn. But instead of disappearing, they persisted, cutting through the ground towards Shadowcorn. Shadowcorn quickly ran towards the nearest tree. His horn glew black. He shot at the shadow of the tree before leaping into it. Prostatis stopped.

"What the-?", he asked confused.

Suddendly, a line began extending outwards of the shadow Shadowcorn just leaped into. Prostatis shot at it but it only hit the ground underneath the shadow line doing nothing to keep it from continuing moving forward. It continued until it hit the shadow of one of the rock pieces which had fallen down. Suddendly, two lines extended towards the nearest shadows. Once they reached them, two more lines came out of each newly connected shadow. This continued until every shadow on their battlefield was connected.

"I see. So the rocks where part of your plan. You knew I would destroy them allowing you to set up this net of shadows. Very clever, little brother. But what now?"

Suddendly, the Shadow Mist came out of every shadow covering the whole net. Then, a beam came out of the Shadow Mist. As Prostatis blocked it, another beam came out of another part of the Shadow Mist. As he blocked that one as well, more beams came out of more different parts of the Shadow Mist. But Prostatis blocked them all. Finally, he said:

"Alright. Let's end this."

He gathered up a massive sphere above his head.

"Oh no. Everypony! Shield up! Now!", Motus yelled.

Once the sphere was gathered up, Prostatis threw it into the Shadow Mist. For a moment, nothing happened. Then it exploded into a massive sphere of light consuming the Shadow Mist and everything it hid. The shockwave it produced even hit the shield the group had put up shattering it throwing everyone to the ground. As the dust settled, nothing but a giant crater was left of the battlefield.

"Everyone alright?", Motus asked.

The group affirmed her question. Meanwhile, Prostatis searched the ground.

"Where are you?", he asked,

Suddendly, he was hit by a light-blue beam freezing him and capturing him into an ice block before Shadowcorn said:

"Right behind you."

The block fell to the ground right in front of the group with Shadowcorn landing on it.

"Ready to give up yet?", he asked.

But Prostatis' horn glew. He let out a powerful shockwave freeing himself.

"On the contrary. I'm not done yet."

"I disagree.", a calm voice said.

Shadowcorn and his siblings became stiff. A white male alicorn almost the size of Princess Celestia walked up to them. He was wearing golden armor with a white diamond placed in the middle of his chest armor. He also wore a golden helmet that covered his mane. The helmet had a red diamond in the middle. His tail was long and colored white and yellow. His cutie mark showed a winged crown. He was surrounded by three more smaller alicorns in full body armor carrying swords. Prostatis immediatly kneeled down while Motus ran up to him asking:

"What are you doing here this early, Fortis?!"

"I was scouting ahead, of course, to see whether the area was safe. While doing so, I saw this light show."

Shadowcorn turned around to him. His eyes were pinched and he had a wide, obviously fake smile on his face. Upon seeing him, Fortis immediatly put on the same obviously fake smile. The guards immediatly drew their swords but Fortis dismissed them with a wave of his hoof.

"Well, well, well. It has been a long time, hasn't it, your highness?"

"Indeed, Abomination. Unfortunatly, not long enough."

"For once, we are in agreement. Please excuse that I am not bowing to you but I simply have better things to do right now."

"Oh, do not worry. I wouldn't want the grass to be polluted anyways."

"Yet here you are walking on it."

"Please. You walked on it before I came here. Even a dragon stepping on it would be a major improvement. Now, if you excuse me: I too have better things to do.", Fortis said walking past Shadowcorn towards the Equestrians.

"Still wanting to have the last word. Must be difficult with all those echoes in your court."

"Ha! I'm glad to see you did not lose your sense of humor. It's the only thing which makes you not a complete waste of time."

"Why thank you, your highness. I wish I could say the same about you.", Shadowcorn said with a smug smile on his face.

Fortis turned his head to him. With a suprisingly genuine smile he said:

"Ha! You know, Shadowcorn, as much as I despise you, I truely missed our little back and fourth."

Shadowcorn was genuinely taken aback by his words. Fortis put on a triumphant, smug smile before turning his attention back to the Equestrians. He eyed up Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Applejack.

"Say, you five: What happened to you? Did you lose your horns? Or wings? Or both? If so, I'm sure we can help you get some new ones or reattach the old ones, if you still have them laying around."

"Your majesty, these are the inhabitants of this world. They are born that way. Apparently, Alicorns don't occur naturally around here anymore.", Prostatis said.

"Hm. How odd. I mean, how can you live without a horn, a set of wings or both?"

"Quite easily, actually. You should try it. Maybe you'll even learn humbleness.", Shadowcorn said.

"Too bad it didn't teach you manners. You are in desperate need to learn them. Honestly, how someone like you can be an offspring of such a fine pony like Adika still eludes me…", Fortis replied before turning to Celestia and Luna.

"And who are you, if I may ask?"

"I am Princess Celestia and this is Princess Luna. We are the rulers of this kingdom."

Fortis made a respectful bow.

"It is an honor meeting you, your majesties. Please excuse my sudden and univited intrusion into your lands. I meant no disrespect."

"Do not worry. We are aware that you thought this land was in a state of anarchy. However, we are also aware that you want to enter our kingdom with an army and we kindly ask you do not do that. We seek no conflict with the Alicorn Empire.", Celestia said.

"My apologies. I will, of course, tell my soldiers to stop any further preperations for crossing into this world once I return to my world. We also seek no conflict with fellow ponys. All we want is to take Shadowcorn back with us. It is apparent that he refused our offer to be pardoned. Therefore, he has to pay for the crimes he comitted."

"That will not be possible. Shadowcorn is now an equestrian citizen. We understand that the things he did are considered crimes in your world. However, that is not the case in our country. Further, he has been in exile for thousands of years. We believe that is sufficent as a punishment and no further punishment is needed.", Celestia said.

"Is that so?", Fortis asked coldly, „Well. If that is your stance, then I shall return to my subjects for now to think. I will return tomorrow to solve this issue."

Fortis turned around and flew away, followed by his guards and Prostatis. Motus stayed behind for a moment and said:

"I'm sorry. May you have fortune in the days to come. You are going to need it."

Then she followed them.

Chapter 5: Into the portal

"You think Fortis is going to invade?", Twilight asked.

She, Celestia, Luna, Shadowcorn and the rest of the Mane Six were gathered in Twilights castle.

"I'm sure about it. The way he said 'I will return tomorrow to solve this issue' leaves it open enough to be interpreted as him saying 'I'm going to take over tomorrow'. Plus, both Prostatis and Motus weren't too thrilled that you let Chrysalis get away without pursuing her. It is very likely that at least Prostatis is going to tell him about that. And he will propably exaggerate making it sound as if you would let every villain go. Fortis will use that to justify an invasion."

For a moment, there was silence. Then Celestia spoke up:

"We can't let them do that. Let's go to the Alicorn Empire and meet with Fortis. We need to convince him to seek a peaceful solution instead."

"I think that is a waste of time. Fortis is not going to listen. But: Considering that you wouldn't stand a chance against the forces of the Alicorn Empire and since I don't know whether your friendship-magic would even work considering he doesn't want to kill anyone but me, I have no better idea, either.", Shadowcorn said.

"Alright. Then let's get going.", Twilight said.

The sun was setting upon the fields surrounding the altar as the group exited the portal into the Alicorn Empire. Only a few meters away, they saw the lights of a number of small campfires surrounded by tents.

"It seems Fortis and his army have been waiting here for some time. Guess we won't have much of a walk.", Shadowcorn said.

As they walked down the path towards the tents, Twilight felt watched. She thought she saw a pair of glowing eyes watching them from some nearby bushes in the corner of her eye.

"Everything alright, darling?", Rarity asked.

"Yes.", she said.

She turned her head to the bushes but she saw nothing. Suddendly, two guards came up to them.

"Hold! Who goes there?!", one guard asked.

"We come from the other side of the portal. We wish to speak to Crown-Prince Fortis immediatly.", Celestia said.

The guards discussed what to do for a moment before saying:

"As you wish. Please follow us."

They led them through a maze of tents. Alicorns wearing full body armor either ran from one place to another or sat near a small campfire eating and drinking. As the group past them, they stopped and looked at them with suspicion in their eyes. After a short while, they came to a big campfire surrounded by tents in a circular position. Many guards sat around it and talked, ate or drank. Unlike the other ponies, these ones didn't pay much attention to the group. The two guards let them around the campfire to a large tent on the other side. Two more guards were positioned in front of it. As the group approached the tent, one went inside. Soon, he exited and told the group:

"His majesty has predicted your arrival. He awaits you."

"I don't like this…", Shadowcorn mumbled.

They entered the tent. Fortis said an a make-shift throne with two guards and Prostatis flanking him.

"Welcome to the Alicorn Empire. I knew you'd come to me. Though to be honest, I expected you to show up much later. I presume you have already guessed I decided to come over with my army tomorrow. And you are right. However, I do not intend on waging a war."

"You don't? Then why do you want to come over with your army?", Luna asked.

"To demonstrate you and everypony else in your world our power. To convince you all that you can't stand against us. And to make you give up your power and your kingdom to the Alicorn Empire willingly and peacefully."

"WHAT?!", the Mane Six yelled while Celestia said:

"Giving our kingdom to you? What exactly are you talking about?"

"Well, you see, Prostatis has informed me of your ineffektive and daring way to handle your enemies. Also, since you are not able to protect your subjects yourself but have to rely on others to do so, you are clearly unfit to rule. Further, he told me more about your world. And I think, it sounds wonderful. It is the perfect place to relocate the entire Alicorn Empire to. Equestria shall be renamed into 'The Pony Empire'. With me as its head, we will be able to expand rapidly conquering all the lands hold by those uncivilized creatures and wipe out the pathetic excuses of dragons your world has to offer and any other lesser creature standing in our way. Then ponys will reign supreme. As we should. Though, of course, there will be some changes within pony society. Since we can both fly and use magic, we alicorns will be the crème de la crème, the high nobility overseeing and ruling our empire. Those unicorns will be lesser nobility as they can still use magic with chances of upward mobility. The pegasi and earth ponys will be middle class seeing as while they can't do magic, they are still ponys. Though, of course, they will be granted opprtunities to enter nobility as well. Every other creature will be low class. While they aren't the crown achivement of creation we ponys are, I highly doubt they are useless. Every non-dragon has a use to us and therefore a place in our empire."

"That is madness!", Twilight yelled.

"No. THAT is what a REAL leader does. THAT is what it means to givie your people the best lifes they can possibly have. Now, since you are already here: How about you give me Equestria right here and now?"

"You are insane. We will never surrunder to you, Fortis.", Celestia said firmly.

Fortis sighed.

"As expected. Too bad. For you."

He used his magic to lift up the tent revealing they were surrounded!

"Seize them.", he said.

"Shadowcorn, open a portal!", Twilight yelled.

"I can't! They must have used a ritual or a counter spell to disable any non-portal interdimensional travel. But I have another idea…"

His horn glew dark. Before anyone could stop him, he unleashed his Black Light Spell followed by a tremour.

"Hang on to the ground and don't move!", he yelled.

Suddendly, Twilight felt a force pressing her to the ground for a moment. Soon the effects of the Black Light Spell faded. She looked around. They were flying through the air on a big chunk of ground. Shadowcorn had used his earth magic to rip the chunk they stood on from the ground and used it to float them out of the camp towards the portal. They could already see it. But suddendly, the part of the chunk of dirt Shadowcorn stood on exploded. As he fell to the ground, so did the chunk of dirt. For a moment, Twilight thought she saw a blue horn lurking out of the bushes she imagined seeing the pair of glowing eyes on her way to the camp in the corner of her eye. But upon taking a glance over to it, she saw nothing once more. Then the chunk of dirt crashed. Fortunatly, they hadn't fallen far and the portal wasn't too far away. Unfortunatly, the entire army of the Alicorn Empire was catching up.

"Quick! Into the portal!", she yelled.

As they ran, magical beams hit the ground around them or had to be deflected or absorbed by shielding spells. However, as they reached the portal, Shadowcorn suddendly stopped. He looked back at the army approaching. Then he looked at the group. Then he looked at the portal.

"Shadowcorn! Come on! We have to get out of here!", Twilight yelled.

"As long as this portal exists, Equestria will never be safe…", he thought out loud.

"Shadowcorn! What are you-", Twilight started saying but suddendly, she and the rest of the group were caught in a horizontal cyclone originating from Shadowcorns horn which threw them through the portal.

Shadowcorn then shot a beam at the archway above the portal destroying it and destabilizing the portal.

"Shadowcorn! What are you doing?! Quick, jump through!", Twilight yelled.

"I can't! The portal has become destabilized! If I jump through now, it's not unlikely less than half of me will make it."

"Shadowcorn…"

"Thank you. For everything.", he said with a genuine smile.

Then the portal collapsed completely.

Shadowcorn took a look around himself. He was surrounded by the entire army of the Alicorn Empire. Fortis stepped out of the crowd. He was beyond angry.

"You will pay for that.", he said.

Then he turned to his troops and said:

"Kill him."

Shadowcorn grinned. He took a battle stance. His horn glew brown. As a hail of magical blasts rained down upon him, he yelled:

"Bring it on, bucket-heads!"