Warhammer Equestria

It was a typical sunny day in Equestria when Twilight Sparkle and her friends were summoned to the castle by the princesses for an urgent mission and like always, they were eager to answer the summons but upon their arrival, they had noticed a large number of guards assembled in the throne room and the royal airship had been prepared for takeoff. Standing next to the princesses was the new captain Flash Sentry who didn't hesitate to smile at Twilight as she began to blush a little.

"Twilight my faithful student. As always, it is good to see you and your friends." Celestia smiled to her former pupil with a warm hug.

"We came as soon as we got your summons your majesty. What's the emergency?" Twilight asked, eager to get started on their mission.

"Oh there is no emergency. Not this time, at least." Princess Luna replied, confusing the group.

"So if there's no emergency, why did you call us?" Rainbow Dash asked before they followed the princesses to the royal airship.

"We're departing to Manehattan to greet foreign diplomats from a new nation."

"Ohh new friends!" Pinkie Pie cheered as she bounced excitedly.

"And we believe they should meet our kingdoms greatest heroes, that includes you as well Spike." Celestia said to the little dragon.

"So who are these diplomats anyway?" Spike asked as they boarded the ship.

"They are humans."

"WHAT?!?" The seven friends shouted in unison.

"Yes, humans. The first to set foot in Equestria in over two thousand moons."

"But I thought humans were a myth." Twilight said in disbelief, making Celestia giggle a little.

"Oh no they are very real Twilight, once they were our neighbors but they soon left Equestria to find a new home."

"And now after all these centuries, they have returned."

"This is incredible! Humans, real live humans!" Twilight said with excitement as the ship took off towards Manehattan where a surprisingly large crowd had gathered at the port to greet the princesses.

"Wow, check out the crowd." Rainbow said after seeing so many signs welcoming the royals.

"It's only natural darling, this is a big event."

"I wonder what kind of animals these humans have." Fluttershy said as the ship docked and they headed towards another part of the port that had been sectioned off for their new guests.

"I bet these fellers would love a taste of some Equestrian home cookin'." Said Applejack after seeing a small banquet was prepared.

"SHIP AHOY!!" A pegasus soldier called out after spotting several large ships on the horizon.

"Ohh this is so exciting!" Pinkie squealed before seeing the royal guards assemble on the docks.

"Whoa, they're really rolling out the welcome wagon." Spike said just as Flash Sentry began to inspect his troops.

"As we should Spike, the ruler of this nation is visiting us personally." Luna said as the ships slowly pulled into the port. The moment the gangplanks were lowered, a line of armored soldiers with halberds came marching out in single file to the sound of drums as they appeared to be putting on a show for the ponies gathered there.

"Not bad but could be twenty percent cooler." Dash said as the last of the soldiers fell into place when another individual wearing a feathered hat and puffy outfit appeared holding a scroll to read to the crowd.

"Presenting his majesty Karl Franz of Reikland! Lord of Altdorf and Ruler of The Empire of Man!"

"HAIL TO THE EMPEROR!" The soldiers shouted as they banged their weapons in unison.

At that moment, a man wearing black armor decorated with elaborate feathers and a cape stepped down from the ship to greet the princesses. To many his appearance was intimidating but to the soldiers who had assembled he was a symbol of pride and courage that inspired them.

"Greetings your majesty, I am Princess Celestia of Equestria and this is my sister Princess Luna." Celestia greeted the emperor in a formal manner as they bowed to each other.

"Greetings from The Empire." The emperor replied in the same manner as he was shown the way towards the banquet table.

"We prepared a small feast for you and your men, you all must be tired from such a long journey at sea."

"Indeed. Captain, tell the other crew members to disembark but mind their manners."

"As you command sire." A soldier said before blowing a whistle to signal the other crew members to disembark. Among them was a knight in more decorative armor who proceeded to march to the emperors side as he made the introductions.

"Ah Sir Darren, you have perfect timing. Dear ladies, may I present Sir Darren Clarke. He was just recently promoted as a member of the Reiksguard; my personal bodyguard regiment."

“Your majesties,” Darren said with a bow. He pulled off his helmet so that the sisters got a better look at him.

The human man had dark red hair that was tied in a long braid that reached past his shoulders. He had a goatee along his chin and circled his mouth and upper lip. When he opened his eyes, they were arguably the bluest eyes both princesses had ever seen on a creature.

“It is a pleasure to meet you,” the man said with soft tone.

“And you as well, Sir Darren,” Celestia said with her trademark motherly tone. Meanwhile, Luna caught her sister staring a bit at Darren, but brushed it off as her imagination.

"I hope the journey wasn't too strenuous on you and your men."

"Some more than others." Darren said after noticing a few of the crew members rushed to the docks to heave.

"Move it lads!" A captain shouted as a more rowdy looking bunch of soldiers began walking off the third ship.

The captain led the men toward them and bowed to the Princesses and Elements. The captain was dressed in chainmail and had a bear fur cape. "Your majesties. It is an honor to meet you. I'm Captain Joe Arminius of the Free Companions Militia."

"A pleasure to meet you Sir Joe. I hope this meeting will forge new friendships between our nations." Celestia replied as the last of the soldiers disembarked.

"And may I introduce Twilight Sparkle and her friends."

"Hi!" Pinkie pie waved hello.

"A pleasure to meet you, your highness." Twilight bowed to the emperor.

"Howdy y'all."

"Sup?"

"Hi there, I'm spike!" The little dragon said, catching the attention of the humans.

"Blessed Sigmar, a baby dragon." Darren said while kneeling down to the little drake.

"And a talking one at that. How did you train him to do it?" Joe asked when Twilight shot him a scolding look.

"Spike is not a pet! if anything he's family to me."

"Shame on you good sirs, assuming little spikey wikey was nothing but a housepet." Rarity scolded the two men.

"Our apologies miss." Joe said while bowing.

“Indeed, it was not our intention to disrespect, boy,” Darren said as he stood up and pat Spike on the head with a smile. “You seem like a nice young drake.”

"Heh heh, thanks."

"Now Twilight, why don't you show Sir Darren and his friend around the city whilst we attend to The Emperor?" Luna suggested before they parted ways.

"Now hold on, where is Marshall?" Darren asked after looking around.

"Is he one of your men?" Twilight asked.

"A captain actually, he should've departed with the rest of the crew."

"I'm here." A voice called out when Darren turned to see another knight with his helm at his side walking up to them. He had a rugged looking beard and a horrendous scar on the left side of his face as he marched up to the emperor and saluted.

"My lord, all crews have departed the ship and the cargo is being unloaded as we speak."

"Well done men. Take some time to rest, you've earned it." The emperor said before leaving with the princesses.

"Um H-hello." Fluttershy said nervously to the rough-looking soldier staring at them.

"Greetings."

“Sister, would you mind if I joined these humans on the tour?” Luna requested.

"Oh well of course not. Have fun!" Celestia waved her sister goodbye while leaving with the emperor.

"So. What would you fine gentlemen like to see first?" Twilight asked when all three soldiers smirked at each other.

"The Pub."

"Now these guys know how to party!" Rainbow Dash said while wrapping an arm around Joe.

"Follow me guys, I know this great bar where they serve the best cider this side of Equestria."

"Cider eh? Been a while since I tasted apples." Marshall said while following behind them.

Later at a bar

As expected, the three soldiers got three pints of cider and began drinking themselves silly while music and chatter filled the room, mostly with the other bar patrons talking about Princess Luna being in a public place along with Twilight and her friends.

"Now THIS is some quality drink!" Joe shouted in approval while raising his pint.

“Indeed, it’s quite the step up from the usual meed back home,” Darren said as he sipped his drink.

"Well nothing beats a barrel of Bugman's XXX." Marshall said before taking a swig.

"Wow you fellers sure must drink a lot." Applejack said while she leaned back and crossed her legs.

"So word around here is that you lot are the greatest heroes this kingdom has to offer. Bet you vanquished lots of beasties before we arrived eh?" Joe said with a wink.

"Well we did defeat this evil king made of shadows and a queen who could take the shape of ANYONE she chooses-Oh! oh! and then we took on this BIG red centaur guy named "Tirek" who tried to suck the magic out of ALL Equestria!" Pinkie replied with her usual enthusiasm before calmly seating herself down.

"But that's just routine for us."

"Well enough about us darlings, tell us about yourselves." Rarity said before sipping some of her wine.

"Indeed. For instance, you Sir Darren. How did you become a member of the emperors bodyguard?" Princess Luna asked.

Darren took one more swig of his drink before setting the mug down.

“Are you ponies aware that we humans hunt animals for food and resources?” Darren asked.

“The Emperor’s son, Prince Luitpold, had invited his personal guard and some of the regular soldiers to go on a hunt. I was but a simple knight of the royal guard at the time. We were hunting small game, boars, elk, perhaps a few stags until we accidentally stumbled across a bear’s den. But this was no ordinary bear’s den, you see.”

"What was so dangerous about this bear?" Rainbow asked while taking a quick drink.

"It was a mankiller." Joe answered, revealing he was on that hunt as well.

“Indeed, we wondered into its territory on whim. And the big bastard was on us in no time,” Darren said.

“We had a name for the beast, we called him Ratak. He was notorious for attacking villages, leaving only destruction and death in its wake. Normally, bears are timid creatures who only attack when provoked. But this bear seemed to willingly attack the towns of its own accord.”

"The beast was so infamous that a bounty of five hundred crowns was put on its head." Marshall said as a few more patrons gathered round to hear the tale.

"Before we had a chance to turn around, the beast came charging out of nowhere and knocked the prince out cold. Many of the hunters rushed to save him but ended up losing their lives to that wretched creature..."

"I put a shot right into its heart and it still kept coming after the prince." Joe then smirked as he pointed at Darren.

"And then this mad bastard here does the most reckless thing I've ever seen."

“What did you do?!” Spike said as he and Pinkie were on the edge of their seats.

“I jumped on the beasts back and started slashing my sword at its neck,” Darren said.

“It managed to toss me off with ease and I was sent flying against a tree. I had little time to recover as the beast charged at me with this jaw wide open while I held up my sword. Damn monster bit down on my shoulder quite hard before I stuck my blade right through its neck. The men thought I was good as dead under the beast, but I managed to push it off me and show that I was very much alive.” Darren pulled his collar of his armor to the side a bit to reveal the huge scar on his right shoulder.

“You can barely see it, but this is what it left me. The scar runs down my whole shoulder and part of my arm.”

"And just like that, he pierced the bears heart and slew it in its own lair! HA!" Joe shouted while stabbing a butter knife in the table, startling some of the crowd before they gave a round of applause.

"When the prince told his father of what transpired, The Emperor summoned his best doctors and physicians to fix Darrens arm and shortly after he was made a member of The Reiksguard."

"Ohh how thrilling!" Rarity clapped her hands.

"I do feel sorry for the bear though." Fluttershy said.

"And how about you Marshall? Were you there, is that how you got that scar?" Spike asked when the soldier ran a hand over his scar.

"No...I got this from an old adversary....but that is a story for another time. We should meet back up with your ruler and mine."

"Agreed, my sister will want me at the meeting." Said Luna as she left a small coin pouch on the table.

"Apologies for the table." Joe said to the barkeep.

"Don't fret sir, happens all the time."

A few hours later

The friends had gathered at Manehattan City Hall where a press conference was held as the discussion between the two nations began. As expected, The ambassadors from the empire told the equestrians of their home and all its wonders from their forms of trade to their knowledge of science and magic.

For Twilight, it was like she had stumbled upon a treasure trove of knowledge after seeing the various machines and spells used in the humans daily lives and was more fascinated by their religion after hearing about the many gods the worshipped.

"Now, to help answer any further questions, Emperor Karl Franz has chosen these three individuals to help represent their nation." Celestia smiled as Darren, Joe and Marshall stepped up to their respective podiums while their pictures were taken.

"Sir Darren, how did you and your people find Equestria?" one reporter asked as the photo's ceased for a moment.

"One of our wizards stumbled across an old map of The Empire from a thousand years ago showing the location of your lands and after determining its authenticity, it was decided that we should explore this new land and hopefully form new diplomatic relations." Darren answered as more reporters began battering them with questions.

"If you came here peacefully, why does it look like you are all armed for an invasion?" One reporter asked with suspicion when Marshall answered.

"We have learned through many expeditions that danger lurks in the unknown and it is best to be prepared."

"Aren't you worried that your enemies will also find this land?" Another asked as the room fell deathly silent for a few moments.

The Emperor stood from his chair and addressed the crowd with a serious expression upon him.

"If our visit does indeed bring danger to your lands then I promise you, I and my men will do all in our power to protect you and your people. I swear by Sigmar's crown."

With the press conference over, many of the mages that came with the emperor were fascinated by the cameras and microphones they were using earlier and thankfully Twilight was able to explain how they were built and how they worked while her friends joined the royals for a quick lunch in the dining hall.

"Let's grab some grub!" Rainbow said as she zipped over to the buffet and began filling her plate.

"Rainbow Dash, must you be so crass?" Rarity said while taking a few bits of food for herself and headed to the table.

"No meat, I can understand that but at least they got some grilled fish." Marshall said as he took a large piece for himself.

As the group ate their meal, Darren, Marshall, and Joe noticed that the seats next to Celestia and Luna were vacant.

“Hmm, your majesties, may we join you?” Darren asked politely.

"But of course Sir Darren." Celestia smiled while some of the nobles began talking amongst themselves.

"I do apologize if the food is not to your liking."

"No apologies needed, a healthy meal is just what the lads need after months of rations at sea." Said Marshall as he watched his men stuff their faces.

"If anything, we should apologize for the lack of table manners..."

"It's fine captain Marshall." The emperor smiled.

"Reminds me of my earlier years when I would patrol the borders with my men. It is good to see them in high spirits."

"Thank you, your majesty."

"So what will you and your men do now?" Twilight asked just as spike showed up with a mountain of sweets on his plate.

"Your princess has invited us to stay in your capitol city, our negotiations will continue there. Sir Darren, I want you, Sir Joseph and Sir Marshall to accompany us as well."

"But it will take us days to march inland." Marshall said when the ponies began to smirk.

"That's not entirely true."

Manehattan Train Station

"What...is...that?!?" Joe said in astonishment after seeing what could only be described as a giant metal snake spewing smoke.

"This my dear friends is a Steam Train." Twilight smiled.

The men stared at the machine with both awe and caution for not knowing the full extent of this mechanical wonder.

"Truly, this land opens a new world of excitement and wonder," Joe said before turning away from the train and over to Twilight. "How fast can it go?"

"On average, at least a hundred miles per hour."

"Incredible." Marshall said as the doors suddenly opened and the whistle sounded.

"ALL ABOARD!!" Shouted the conductor as multiple passengers began boarding the train.

"Gentlemen, step right this way." Rarity smiled while leading them into the passenger car.

"This is incredible, if we had this we could make transport through the empire safer for everyone!" Sir Darren said while feeling the chair cushions as he sat down.

"The roads aren't safe back at your home?" Fluttershy asked with curiosity.

"Afraid not miss. Roads are filled with brigands, beasties and worst of all Orks."

"Orks?"

"Aye, green-skinned brutes that stand at least ten feet tall with teeth strong enough to crunch bone. They love nothing more than to fight and destroy things for their own twisted amusement." Marshall said with spite.

"Sounds like a bunch of troublemakers if ya ask me." Said Applejack.

"Oh yeah. I remember this one time we were on patrol and suddenly, we were attacked by five Orks. We lost two men and our traveling Minstrels before we took them down. To be honest, we were very thankful for them eating the Minstrels. They were out of tune and kept insulting us through song," Joe retold the story of his youth.

"Wait they...gulp EAT people?!?" Spike asked nervously.

"They'll eat anything they find tasty little drake." Marshall said, making Spike cling to Twilight.

"But fret not little friend, their miles away across the ocean and any ships they can build will be lucky to make it through the storm."

"Oh, that's a relief."

The men were startled when the train began to move out of the station and were fascinated by how fast they were suddenly going.

"By Sigmar..." Marshall said in astonishment.

"You guys keep saying that. Who is this Sigmar guy anyway?" Rainbow asked while leaning back in her chair.

"Sigmar was our first emperor, the one who founded the empire over a thousand years ago before he ascended to godhood. We look to him for courage and strength, even in the most darkest of times." Marshall explained to the group of friends while showing him a symbol of their patron.

"Not to sound skeptical but do you have any proof this "Sigmar" even existed?" Twilight asked.

"There are many portraits and imperial records dictating his life. Some have had embellishments but all stories are true." Joe Answered.

"And of course there is Skull Splitter."

"S-S-Skull Splitter?!?" Fluttershy said nervously.

"The Emperors warhammer. In another language it's called Ghal Maraz." Darren replied with a proud smirk.

After several hours, the group arrived in Ponyville where an entire town was waiting to greet them.

"Hi everypony, we're back~!" Pinkie said to the crowd before stepping aside to introduce the humans.

"And these are our new friends!"

"Greetings on behalf of The Emperor." Darren waved hello to the townsfolk when he noticed some foals were staring in awe at them.

"Seems we have a few admirers." Marshall said to Joe with a friendly nudge.

"Well, why not? The children gawked at us when we marched through the streets back home. I imagine it's double for seeing a soldier and new species at once," Joe chuckled before bending down so he was at eye level with three fillies. "Hello, little ones. What are your names?"

"I'm Scootaloo."

"I'm Sweetie Belle."

"And I'm Apple Bloom."

The men smiled at the three fillies when Applejack and Rarity scooped up Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom with happy smiles.

"Hey there sugarcube. I see you boys met our sisters."

"Sisters? For a second I thought they were your daughters." Marshall chuckled, making them giggle.

"Oh darling you flatter us but we are still single." Rarity said as Sweetie Belle cuddled her sister.

"Hey what's this thing?" Scootaloo asked when she began reaching for Darren's flintlock.

"Ah ah ah ah! Mustn't touch." Darren said as he gently moved her hand away.

"These are dangerous and we always keep them loaded."

"Maybe we'll give you all a demonstration of how they work," Joe tells them before he looks to their sisters. "If it's alright with your siblings, of course."

"Uhh I don't know. I don't like the idea of the girls learning how to use weapons..." Applejack said while keeping Applebloom close.

"Aw come on Applejack, it'll be fine." Said Rainbow before as she picked up Scootaloo.

"Besides, it's only natural they become as awesome as the heroes of Equestria."

"Heroes you say?" Marshall asked the pegasus.

"Yeah! Rainbow and her friends are super awesome! They travel across Equestria, solving friendship problems and fight all sorts of bad guys!" Scootaloo cheered.

"That is impressive," Darren said.

"Though I do have to ask. What's a friendship problem?" Joe asked.

"Oh nothing special, we just go around and try to resolve arguments between friends across Equestria." Twilight answered.

"Ah so you're negotiators."

"More than that! Twilight once fought Lord Tirek to a Stalemate right here in Ponyville!" Apple Bloom said making the princess blush.

"Yes, we've heard." Joe smirked.

"I imagine you lot have put many a villain in the dirt during your career."

"Oh um we never....killed any of them." Twilight said, surprising the humans.

"So... you just imprison them, or something along those lines?" Joe asked.

"Oh no, we reform them." Fluttershy said with an innocent smile.

"What, have them do labor for the crown before letting them off on bail?" Darren asked.

"Pretty sure they have a supervisor that reports back to the authorities," Joe said.

"No we just talk to them." Pinkie smiled as all three men just stared in confusion.

"You just...talk to them?"

"Yeah but if that fails then we turn em into stone!"

"Ugh, MUST you bring that up?" Another voice said when all three were startled by a strange creature baring the paw of a lion and eagle while having the head of a goat and the tail of a snake.

"DEMON!!" Darren shouted as he shielded the girls while Marshall and Joe drew their pistols on him.

"Say your prayers beast!"

"NO WAIT!" Fluttershy cried out as they took aim.

"You aim for the head! I'll aim for the cro... Wait?" Joe turned to Fluttershy. "You know this thing?"

"His name is Discord, he's one of our friends!" Twilight said as they looked at each other completely confused.

"Friends? With this monstrosity?"

"Well that's rude." Discord scoffed.

"Well can you blame us? You popped up out of nowhere and you look like a Zoo threw up," Joe told Discord. "What are you anyway?"

"I am Discord. Master of Chaos or well I used to be until sweet little Fluttershy here extended the hand of friendship and turned my once black heart into something pure." The lord of chaos said with dramatic fashion.

"Blech..." Rainbow gagged from the cheesy performance.

"Please we assure you he means no harm." Twilight reassured the humans as they slowly tucked away their guns.

"See? Isn't talking more productive than outright killing someone? a pleasure to meet you dear humans, it has been CENTURIES since I've seen one of your kind." Discord said, while shaking hands with each of the humans.

"Centuries you say? And what did you do when you did visit humanity?" Darren asked.

"Ohh a thousand or so years ago, had the pleasure of meeting a certain warrior too. One with a golden hammer." Discord smirked, catching their attention.

"But that is a story for another time, I really must be going." He said before poofing into thin air.

"Golden hammer...it can't be." Darren shrugged off Discords last statement as they were lead to a large crystal castle overlooking a small town.

"Gentlemen, welcome to my castle." Twilight smiled after opening the doors with her magic and took them straight to the map room.

"And here is how we know where a friendship problem is."

"Incredible, it's like a miniature version of the whole kingdom." Marshall said before swiping his hand through one of the buildings on the map.

"Never seen magic like this." Joe smirked.

"But how do you know when trouble arises? I don't see any sort of alarm system on this map."

"Oh it's because of these." Twilight showed the men what looked to be a star tattoo on her arm, leaving them a bit surprised.

"A princess getting a tattoo? Now I've seen everything." Joe chuckled as she rolled her eyes.

"It's not a tattoo, it's a cutie mark. It symbolizes what our special talents are. Mine for example means I'm good with magic, Rainbow Dash has a storm cloud with a lightning bolt showing she's good at speed and-"

"Lemme guess. Applejack is good at apple farming." Marshall smirked after seeing how Applejack was flexing her arm and winked at him.

"You got that right partner."

"Ohh and they're not just on our arms, they're on our tushies too!" Pinkie said before bending over and showed the men her underwear and cutie mark.

"See?"

"PINKIE?!?"

“By Sigmar, woman!” Darren barked and looked away. “Cover yourself! There are children present!”

The fillies giggled as Pinkie covered herself and sat down without a care while Joe gave an impressed smirk with an approving nod along with Marshall.

"Much bolder than the tavern maids back home."

"Very much so."

"Um moving on." Twilight said after calming down.

"This map helps us find trouble in Equestria, mostly sending the team for the job and our marks glow again letting us know that our mission is complete."

"Fascinating. This is something the colleges of magic would love to study."

"Colleges of magic?!?" Twilight gasped with excitement when she heard those words.

"Like a magic school?!?"

"Yes, The colleges were founded by Emperor Magnus The Pious to help those gifted with magic."

"This is amazing! What's it like? How many courses can you take? Do you have an observatory, if so how big is it?"

"Uhh slow down there miss." Joe said, calming her down.

“Would you like to see our magic?” Darren offered. “I am actually proficient in the magical arts.”

"Isn't that what you told that bar maiden at Bugman's bar?" Joe asked though he had a smirk about him, indicating he was teasing his long time friend.

"So how do you guys deal with baddies back home?" Rainbow asked while leaning back in her chair as each of the men gave a cryptic answer.

"Faith."

"Steel."

"And Gunpowder."

The girls seemed confused when Darren gave a short laugh before explaining.

"Whenever a threat arises in the empire, we rise up to face it. From savage orks and brutish barbarians to demons of chaos and the undead, we have struck down every foe that has ever come against us."

"Um have you tried talking instead of fighting?" Fluttershy asked.

"Oh no worries, we have as many allies as we do enemies." Marshall said before pulling out a strange looking medallion.

"See this? This is a good luck charm given to me by the dwarves. They are the most stubborn of races but once their trust is earned, their friendship lasts generations."

"Wow, I bet you guys fight all sorts of monsters!" Scootaloo chirped with excitement.

"Indeed. In fact, gather around and I shall tell you a tale, about a dashing rouge, a giant, and a broken cannon." For the next hour, Joe told the kids and the mares about his hunt against a giant that had been stealing cattle and crushing houses. "And with a quick improvisation, I catapulted the cannon right into the giant's mouth, where it exploded and his head was splattered all over the wheat field."

"Ewww!" The three fillies said in disgust and amazement.

"And it saved us a good deal of men." Darren said after he finished his tale.

"Normally it takes a battalion of elite troops and adventurers to bring down such a beast."

Suddenly, the clock hanging above the doorway to the throne began to chime and all could see that it was nearly noon and would have to report back with the princesses and the emperor.

"Oop story time is over." Marshall said as the three fillies whined.

"Another time kids."

After saying goodbye to the three fillies, the group went up the mountain to Canterlot via train and were escorted towards the castle where Princess Celestia and Karl Franz were in deep discussion.

"Twilight! So glad you made it. How was the tour?"

"It was fine your majesty." Twilight bowed along with the others.

"Gentlemen, I trust you behaved yourselves for our guests?" The emperor asked his men with an authoritarian voice.

"Yes sire." Darren answered.

"As good as gold, Sire," Joe added.

"Very good. Princess Celestia and I have put the finishing touches on our agreement, once the document is signed we can officially begin trade."

"That's wonderful! I honestly can't wait to see what books you have from your kingdom." Twilight said with excitement.

"And I am well aware of your accomplishments dear Twilight Sparkle. The windows depict many of your triumphs." The emperor said as he bowed in respect to Equestria's heroes.

"Well now that we've finished all the diplomatic matters, I say we sit down for lunch." Celestia smiled before clapping her hands to call her servants.

“Your highness, might I say, you look quite lovely,” Darren said with a bow and smiled.

"Oh thank you Sir Darren." Celesita smiled as Luna walked in with the servants.

"Sister, am I late for lunch?" Luna asked as they headed for the dining room.

"On the contrary, you're just in time."

A while after dinner

Once their bellies were full, Celestia offered her guests to stay in the castle for the night and naturally, they all accepted with The Emperor getting the royal suite as a sign of hospitality but not before Princess Luna decided to show them a bit of their magic as the sisters lowered the sun and raise the moon before their very eyes.

"Incredible." The Emperor said in amazement as the night sky suddenly became alight with stars.

"I've never seen magic like this."

"That's not the only thing my sister does. She also assures that everyone in the kingdom are given pleasant dreams and helps them face their fears in their nightmares." Celestia explained before bidding the emperor goodnight.

"Will you accompany me Sir Darren?" She asked with a friendly smile.

"Sir, Joe." Joe turned to see Luna had called to him.

"Care to accompany me for a while? The night shift tends to get a little lonely."

"It would be my pleasure, your highness," Joe answered before escorting Luna to the throne.

The men escorted each princess to their respective bedchambers after evening court was finished and bid them good night with Joe planting a kiss on Luna's hand that made her blush a little before meeting back up with Darren in the main hall.

"You know Darren, I think I'm beginning to like this place."

"Agreed Joseph, agreed."

End.