The Emissaries

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?"