Knights of Iron

As Natah approached Canterlot from the sky, he could not help but marvel at the beautiful sight from above. This bittersweet feeling was spoiled by the truth that so much of the beautiful view hides the filth of the society that gate keeps its golden borders. The alicorn shakes his head, reminding himself that he needs to meet Suda. They never specified a place to meet, so he went for her tower of the castle, gently knocking on the balcony door. The unicorn answers, briefly forgetting to look down, as the alicorn stares up with a blank expression at her nude form. “Don’t give me that look, brother. You’re pretty much the only one who’s seen all this and it’s nothing you aren’t familiar with.” She teases, reminding him of his girlfriends, which brings an agitated blush to his face before the unicorn chuckles. “Let me get something on and we can head down.”

The alicorn waits right outside, looking at Ponyville from such a high vantage point with a smile on his face. It’s nice how something so quaint and quiet can look so serene from all the way up there. He hears the mild rustling of clothing and sees Suda in jeans and a crop top with her earrings and a light jacket, going for a rocker aesthetic with band names she likes. “Ready to go?”

Natah was about to say something before seeing the mischievous grin on her face and he replies with his own. “As ever, bitch.” The unicorn snorts in an attempt to hold a laugh as she was going to enjoy this. Speaking this language would likely throw Celestia, but the two agree she’s an honest mare, so they’ll leave it be. They’d talk notes in town though, which makes their grins more devious.

The two land in Canterlot’s market center for a meal as Natah speaks up saying, “So about the scrying you made earlier?” The nobles, hearing this strange dialect, felt as though he just started to speak nonsense.

This was floored when Suda answered, “It was a strange place. It resembled our system in many ways but the inhabitants were…strange.” This caught the alicorn’s curiosity as she continued saying, “They stood upright like us, but all of them had flat faces. Well, the ‘normal’ ones. One faction used strange golems but the other faction had troops with bodies mutilated for strange and often strong enhancements.”

Natah had forgotten they were messing with the nobles, who thought the two were speaking nonsense but their facial and body language said they were having a full and coherent conversation in a strange tongue. “Hmm, that sounds different from mine. I saw myself in a strange vehicle. It had speed similar to Rainbow Dash and ‘modes’ for various tracks. I even seemed to be with a sizable team but…their faces were blurred.” Natah could only figure that this memory was connected to him yet not his own, so the memory has nothing to fill in except for the shape. “What’s more, they seemed to race in other dimensions.”

Suda looked a bit shocked before contemplating the implications of this information. If that was true, it would mean these dimensions they were in were made, or else like how she perceived space, in layers. She makes a Scrying Eye and starts to have a look before the story Natah told was confirmed right there, as they can see many dimensions thanks to her scrying into other realms by using her talent. “Alternate realms with different physics…”

Natah, hearing this, had a brief idea. “Do you think the chimera we fought could have come from there?” Suda, thinking logically, took a peek at each of the realms to try finding the closest match to any of them. After looking through about four as quickly and meticulously as possible in a couple minutes, she closed the Eye and shook her head. “So these ones are being made.”

Suda, curious of those words at first, smirked and flicked his forehead to get him out of that stupor. “No more business talk. How’s Ponyville doing?”

“Well aside from getting repairs after a monster and chimera attack, everything is good.” The news made Suda’s eyes bug out from concern before Natah looked, seeing he may have forgotten to say something. “Weren’t you scrying us.”

“I’m sorry am I a stalker?” She asked her brother, feeling a little betrayed before getting back to the main topic. “No, back to the attack. Ponyville was attacked?” Natah nodded, sharing the details of the attack and what happened, which was the main reason he came, with a secondary reason being Fluttershy as she seemed to be the most affected by this. Suda, taking this in, now understands why he left the attack out, since it was still standing, with so little damage she never thought to scry the town.

“You have enough on your plate watching our borders, keeping an eye on dangerous locals and turning down these snobby harem trotters that just want you for a crown. I didn’t want to put more stress on you than you already have to handle.” Suda, wanting to counter this, simply pouted that all she had for an excuse was the risk of him dying, which was hard to do as alicorns have a strong constitution physically and magically, this coupled with his hold over time had made killing all the more harder to achieve. “Besides, I’m sure your secret crush wouldn’t mind the chance to show off if you were there at all.”

“You leave Iron out of this.” She countered swiftly with a stern look.

“I never said it was Iron, though he did give the lead chimera a show before smiting him with a thunderbolt.” Suda, feeling betrayed that her brother baited her, just blushed at the fact she said that insufferable stallion’s name aloud before trying to deny it again. While this whole spectacle was happening, the nobles, seeing the facial language, were now convinced that they were speaking a whole other language. The only question was do they blame Natah for defiling the mouth of a princess or praise Suda for uplifting a crippled pony. The confusion on their faces did nothing to calm Suda as she just sulked in her chair, calling him a jerk.

“Princess,” one of the nobles called her to get her attention. “Pardon my intrusion but…what is that curious dialect?” The noble's words could not be any more blatant about how he views the dialect as something exotic to be owned, the act making Suda’s now hidden expression open with a rage Natah can see before sensing the mischievous side come out like some dimented joker.

She turned back to the table, arms crossed and one leg over the other before directing an eye to the noble’s direction, hope on his face. “The dialect is called ‘none of your bucking concern’ you sycophantic twat.” The harsh tone and sharp facial language would have normally shooed the noble away but he seemed even more enamored as she spoke to him in that tone. “Should I have said that in Equish?”

“Leave it sis. Guys like that would own the origin of all time if they could buy it.” Even with Natah’s honest disdain for most nobility and him knowing them like a clear pane of glass, the noble seemed appalled at such a ‘baseless’ accusation of his reputation. The stallion even went so far as to demand Natah to not speak with Princess Suda so casually.

Suda, taking offense to this, had a threatening look on her face, which drew attention. “My brother can be as casual with me, his sister, as he wishes. He is my family after all. Yet here I am dressed like some ‘lesser admirer’ of the same ‘unsophisticated music’ my brother listens to and I make it sound refined.” The nobles, trying in vain to defend their reasons, drew Suda’s irritation as she slammed the table, making them go silent. “Why don’t you vacate this spot before I scry something truly uncouth, Noblis Scoom.”

The nobles were rightly startled as the venom and heat coming from the foreign language was like a weapon twisting in a wound. A laugh came from the crowd that made all of them recoil with disgust, as the Royal siblings saw a familiar red mare with a maintained black and blonde mane and wild tail strutting up to the table. Her saucy accent and hoarse voice for a lady make her sound similar to a high profile escort, though her manners are as refined as a lady’s should be. “You petty nobles get told off by a lady and your first reaction is to stand there like a bunch of children. Does that not say something of your interests?” The crowd, appalled, left the scene to deny anything she said. Her gaze turns back to the two as she waves casually, dressed in attire that’d be seen on a Neighponese street girl. “Sup you two.”

Natah, happy to see another noble of integrity, smiled alongside his sister. “Scarlet Pride, to the rescue?” Suda said, almost reading the Alicorn’s mind as they shook hands. “Guessing our little ‘foreign tongue’ act drew some attention?” Suda already knew the answer to her question.

Scarlet nodded and said, “With my sources trying to figure out who spoke first and then blame or praise the other.” The siblings knew that much already, but they were happy this keeps them confused and in line, since Suda is still willing to call Natah her brother while the nobles want her to disown such ‘damaged goods’ like he’s product. “But I can guess, by the way you were speaking, you both have an instinctive understanding of it.” The two parties nodded, making the fact of who spoke it first moot either way.

“We still don’t know how we can speak it. We were tempted to tease Celestia about it, but I doubt she’d know.” Natah added, going so far as to think that even their mom and dad wouldn’t know what it was since only he and Suda saw something like that, so the chances of knowing how or why are nil.

Scarlet, ever the friendly ear, takes a seat and orders a meal for the three of them. “Then what will be the main reason to use the dialect, if no one can read it?” Scarlet’s smirk did not drop as she figured the tongue can be used for more than teasing.

“Secret letters and hidden conversations, a way of planning in plain sight without the eavesdroppers knowing what’s going on.” Scarlet smirked at Suda’s plan. It was risky, as that meant the letter, if intercepted, would mean the party in question would suspect something, but with Suda’s and Natah’s skills, this could be a moot point as well. Scarlet points out that these two love taking risks, but then that is what makes them suitable rulers alongside the other siblings, as caution and action contrast each other and create a favoring reaction.

The siblings chuckle at those words as they can do so much with so little attention, at least until someone demands they speak plain Equish out of frustration and insecurity. “I can figure what you two are giggling about, and I do not blame you. Being able to keep secrets while discussing those secrets has to be a net benefit for you siblings all around.” The two nodded, agreeing before their meal came and they dug in, savoring their meal and Scarlet’s company.

A good moment like this, sadly, comes with the tax of something bad happening. Natah, feeling something amiss, starts to see futures and streams of the other country leaders coming to press the sisters about the Elements. He paid for his and Suda’s meal as he got up. “Brother?” Suda looked up, a bit startled as he spoke. “We need to get to the castle, now.”

“What’s up?” Natah, thinking of the best way to show her, weaves the streams into a pane, showing her what’ll happen soon. “Hold on, I have an idea, if you’ll trust me.” Natah finishes his food without a word, waiting for Suda as she does the same. The two mix their magic and their talents as they begin to weave the streams of time and the pockets of space around them, seeming to teleport from the perspective of both Scarlet and the sisters when, in reality, they displaced themselves through time.

The sisters, understandably, see this particular magic performance and ask what that was. “I’m afraid we have a more pressing matter, ladies.” Suda says, making the guard balk while Suda continues. “In exactly twelve minutes, the rulers of our neighboring kingdoms will come to the castle regarding the elements. My brother didn’t see the full stream but their tone and your faces did not make it look like a peaceful request.”

“You expect us, or the princesses, to take the word of a banished royal?” One guard spoke up before Suda’s glare promptly floored him.

“Banished by the nobility, not by the sisters, get that fact straight now.” She turned back to the sisters and said that they need a plan by the time the other rulers get inside. The sisters, seeing the gravity of the situation and the situation of the other kingdoms, can only guess what they are going to ask of the girls. They agree to let the siblings attend so they can act as the mediators for negotiations. Suda, ever curious about the interaction, asked Natah who was in attendance.

The alicorn said that the kingdoms in attendance included the Griffons, Minotaur, Cervine, Dragons, Zebra and Lupine. This was troubling news given that the kingdoms mention seem rather random, even more they would note that the Lupine don’t agree with Equestria, much less anyone else to their limited interpersonal knowledge. More concerning, the worst case scenario would be each nation taking a single element, leaving Equestria effectively defenseless. They thanked the siblings for this information and gestured to either side of their thrones as the other rulers arrived, right on schedule. Credit to Natah.

“Princess, we have a grievance!” The griffon, Black Beak, shouted with a boom in the throne room. The siblings all shared the same opinion with this guy: he’s going to be trouble. “We were informed you were attacked by those very same creatures, yet you fended them off with such ease.” Shows what this guy knows. Natah threw the fight just a little since Ponyville was saved regardless of his participation. “And I have no doubt it was those Elements of yours that saved your feathers again.” And there went Suda’s patience, before Natah stopped her from striking. He reminded her to play it cool and put them in a bind, not the other way around.

“Please calm yourself, King Black Beak.” Celestia gestures a simmering mood as she tries to keep tempers from boiling as she explains. “It was not the elements that saved Ponyville, as I had only just heard news of this earlier. It was one of my guards who managed to halt the chimera and Natah who spearheaded the task.” She explained, gesturing to the shorter alicorn who stood proud, fighting back a big nose and smug grin of accomplishment.

“You really expect us to believe you could fight those things without the elements?” The griffon went on, Natah’s pride stepping aside in place of his curiosity to the king trying to sidestep the statement. “They seemed more than instrumental for handling your terror of a sister.” The room felt hot as the siblings all backed away from Celestia, her aurora mane beginning to smolder with the corona of her celestial body as her eyes became like that of burning gold.

The kings, all realizing the princess is not weak for her forgiveness, recoil at her display of rightful anger and disgust for their words. Her glare and heat threaten to melt or burn the throne room as she speaks. “I would most appreciate it if you kept your business about how you think the Elements can deal with the monsters. Include my family in that again, and your attendance is moot. Am I understood, dear guest?” The kings, all of them, dazzled but terrified of the princess, nodded their heads as the aurora mane cooled before losing the corona, while her eyes returned to the soft magenta as she breathed to relax. “As you were saying?” She asked flatly.

With Black Beak no longer running the narrative, the other kings expressed a similar need for the Elements, to combat the monsters and hopefully drive them away. While the griffon king called and treated them as weapons or objects, the others expressed different interests that Natah took notice of, before Black Beak spoke up again. “As you can hear, we all have the same problem. I propose a battle royal to settle the matter, in our own coliseum. Our warriors will fight for the ownership of the Elements.”

Natah noticed the king gesturing to the other royals and glanced at Suda, the unicorn catching the same insinuation before speaking up. “So you lot get to fight for six citizens of ours and we’re supposed to just go along with it?” The king, feeling offended by Suda’s words, whipped around and barked at her that Equestria has been in ownership of the elements for too long. “So we only spectate with no chance of proving ourselves. Yeah, see, that isn’t flying for four very big, very pissed off reasons.”

“Learn your place femal-” The Cervine King was cut off as a void space was shot by his feet, the resulting shot stripping the floor next to him. The others look and see it was Suda’s magic, with another armed and ready.

She held the dimension destruction method with a dark glare as she said, “you come into Equestria, demanding that we hand over six citizens and we don’t get any say for our own attendance even though you are inviting us, just to merely spectate.” The unicorn, seeing the king reach for a bow, snapped the sphere at the string, making the limbs snap as she continued. “Then you want to threaten us with force when we, like you, have a right to defend ourselves.” Suda, having proven to be the more direct powerhouse, showed she’s not to be taken lightly or directly fought. “So here’s the deal, Equestria fights for the Elements as well. Or, I start erasing landmarks and nations.”

“As if a pony is that strong.” Suda’s magic intensified, increasing the dimensions of her destroyer to challenge the dragon’s word. This was neither the proud and experienced Torch nor the cunning and cautious Ember. This was just some newt ambassador who thinks the dragons are the strongest for size. Fair, but misguided. The dragon said no further and this made the other kings think twice.

“I believe Suda has spoken for my sister and me quite well.” Luna said, not hiding the smug grin before it turns into a hard scowl, with a minor visage of Nightmare in her eyes. “If you want to take the Elements from us, earn them. If we lose, we lose. If we win, we win. It is just that cussing simple. Whomever wins earns the Elements. Not the mares attached to them.” Luna’s words made the other royals balk while Natah grinned. The timeline was leaning further and further into the princesses getting their attendance to fight for the Elements while the mares are omitted from the details.

“What gives you the right to boss us around?” The lupine spoke up. The ponies all paid attention to those words and the body language of the lupine. He’s scared. He could be scared of Suda, or for his people.

“The fact that we want our people safe, just like you.” Suda was the first to answer, catching the princess’ interests while Natah just looked on, curious. “No one wants to feel like their home, their nation is crumbling around them.” She said, addressing them directly as rulers. “I get your desperation, I didn’t know my own brother fought those creatures until just today. But what right do I have to cage him just to keep him safe for myself. Would you not be doing the same thing taking the Bearers from us, putting them in gilded cages until it was time for them to fight? Making sure they were safe until you ordered them to fight for a nation they know nothing of?” She looked to Natah, who felt his cheeks heat up. “I know my brother well enough to want to protect him,” she says before turning back to the royals, “but that isn’t my call to make, because I know he’d want to fight. The bearers, they are just young girls with this responsibility thrust onto them. If you want the elements, we’ll fight for them. We will not, however, hold this contest to decide the fate of the bearers unless you have troops of equal value to wager.”

Natah, checking the time stream, saw that Suda practically solidified the omission of the mares as the prize, mentally thanking her with silent tears as she showed herself as a proud and capable royal all her own. The royal leaders began to argue with each other, with the majority agreeing to take only the Elements while the griffon and cervine kings wanted the mares with them. Natah could already sense the intent from the two kings, their minds plagued with ruinous thoughts of defiling the mares. He looked to the princesses and his sister before they could tell he wanted to try something stupid. So he pulled from one of the failed timelines before snapping his fingers, letting everyone see the result of what would happen if the mares were taken as well as the elements. “This,” he began before switching to another failed timeline. “This is what failure looks like, when you submit to ineptitude and try desperately to hold on to pride.”

He snapped his fingers again and the perspective returned to the throne room. “So I hope everyone here knows their own place in this universe, because I can’t change time for others, only myself. Such a fate and existence means I can do what I want, but it would be a lonely, pathetic life of misery and solitude.” The kings that agreed to the terms looked at the griffon and cervine kings with a glare, almost hinting they should be thankful for their renewed chance to live. The kings argued it could just be a fabricated trick. Though Natah was not smirking or laughing, something the girls took note of with its own horror. “Now what would make you think I can fabricate the future. I can see it, it can be changed, but it can’t be manipulated. A price is paid for something to be earned. So take the loss here and earn the elements. Otherwise, stay out.”

The kings, thoroughly terrified of the royalty and nobility present, take their leave after agreeing to hold the battle royal a week from today. This would give the guard time to train, though Celestia’s mild confidence was challenged by Natah’s experience, as the Ponyville guard could barely handle the chimera, and they were coordinated by another chimera. “Then how do we get our troops to prepare?” Suda’s question left Natah stunned as he realized who the pegasus guards would have to learn their own magic from and Suda took a guess on who would be their chief armorer. “Oh…fuck me with a cactus.”

The two head to Ponyville with Suda making a gate in, still wearing the same setup as from Canterlot’s market district and catching eyes in the process. Being familiar with the area, she and Natah stopped by Iron Forge to check on the shop’s aforementioned owner, who was being visited by spike. Unknown to them, the dragon stopped by earlier that morning to apologize to Iron for his jealousy, something that was forgiven in a heartbeat as the terran had no ill attitude toward a drake who was still young and blissfully innocent. In exchange, he let Spike join him on how to use a Magus Engine for gem cutting and refining before seeing the siblings at his door.

The terran cleaned his hands and shook Natah’s but wasn’t sure about Suda before she shook his hand with a seething blush. “Okay…? Anyway, how was your day?” He asked the two before going back to his previous projects.

“Well we got news.” Natah saying just ‘news’ was enough to warrant concern as Iron resumed his work. “So the rulers from other nations came in demanding for the Elements. Suda managed to get the mares out of the deal, thank Sun.” The terran hid his anger but did not hide his gratitude for the mare’s actions. “And we have a battle royale coming up, so you know we need armor for the guards.”

Iron, setting the project aside for a bit to look over the armor. “Training?” Natah nodded, saying that the terran guard would have to learn from him and the guards who’ve been using the armor consistently and the pegasus guard would need to learn from Fluttershy, something he was hesitating on while trying to speak plainly. “So then it comes down to how soon we can gear up. And while victory is not the goal, it is the minimum?” The alicorn nodded before looking at his sister, who’d been still as a statue as her eyes were fixed on the magiguns.

Seeing this, Natah was about to say something before Iron beat him to it, snapping her out of her stupor. “Those are the prototypes. I want the final product to be the first in a line of templates, so no.” Suda, struck by those words just huffed, saying it was a good thing, since she didn’t actually want them. The alicorn just smirked while Suda started walking to Fluttershy’s. Iron told Natah the base should be done some time before or after the battle royale, so they can be a surprise gift if he needed to give her something. Natah nodded and turned as a mischievous smile slowly creeped onto his face for a moment before falling, remembering who else they had to visit.

Suda was the first to knock on the pegasus’s door, the butter yellow mare answering with enthusiasm before shutting it just as fast after seeing Natah. Sighing in frustration, Suda bends the space around herself and Natah, telling Natah to just sit in the living room while shee and Fluttershy talk in the kitchen. “Okay, Shy, why are you avoiding my brother?”

“A-avoiding. I’m not avoiding anyone out of shame.” Realizing she may have said too much not five seconds into the conversation, the mare tried to hide herself behind her mane, all while Suda just raised an eyebrow before taking a seat.

“Fluttershy, I do respect you for standing up for my brother, given what happened to make him act like that. So how is that different than if I acted the same way?” Fluttershy made the argument that Suda is his sister, so she has more right to scream and throw a tantrum over the episode he had, thinking she disrespected Natah’s condition or character. “Okay, and I tease him because he’s my baby brother with two hot girlfriends. Also you are his girlfriend and you were concerned for him since that episode was off base from how he normally is.” Fluttershy continued to demean herself as she’s just a girlfriend, making Suda’s eye twitch. “Just a girlfriend?”

“Slipping there, sis?” Suda flinched before seeing Fluttershy’s startled look. The mare did not account for Suda to be something similar to Natah’s condition as said alicorn peeked in. “Just a side note, we can write and speak what you just heard. Don’t ask why.”

The pegasus, now in stunned silence, looks at the unicorn who was a bit sheepish with an embarrassed grin on her face. “Yeah, we threw each other a curve ball and spoke that tongue in Canterlot’s market district to discuss the invasion and some other things. The nobles’ faces were priceless.”

Fluttershy, seeing that this was Suda’s way of consoling her, listened more intently to Suda, who said that family is family but it’s still a relationship, just like having a best friend, a significant other or spouse. Family is what you make of it and Fluttershy had every right to act the way she did out of concern for Natah since that side of him came up outside of normal context. The pegasus, seeing how silly she was acting over her concern for Natah, was soon alone in her kitchen as Suda wanted to peruse around the town. “Natah?” The alicorn heard Fluttershy, entering the kitchen to the sight of the sad pegasus. “Can we talk?” He just nodded and joined her to talk about the events of the invasion.

Suda, meanwhile, was looking around town for Applejack and Rarity, curious about their interest in Iron since she still, for the life of her, can’t figure out what they like about him. The man, to her knowledge now, has a functioning suit of armor powered by magic sources, a spear with a similar core, two guns and enough balls to get into a fight with chimera that are less natural than the normal fare or even obedient for that matter. And he just goes and throws himself at them like the idiot he is for the sake of a whole town, his girlfriends, his best friend and his country, whose nobility hates him, with no actual idea of if he’d make it out of the fight in one piece, never mind alive if the suit malfunctioned any further than her brother claimed.

“SUDA!” The southern drawl of Applejack’s voice got her out of her thoughts as the unicorn jumped. “Dang girl you were out of it, day dreamin’ about my man like that?” Suda paused for a moment with fish eyes, swearing to herself it was all in her head. “Sugarcube, my whole farm heard you on the way here. You better get me a barrel of good Mule Kick for saving you from self-incriminating embarrassment.” The smug look on AJ’s face made Suda slowly hide hers with her mane. “Yeah, I know, I’m horrible. And, on a Pinkie promise, I won’t say a word to Iron.” Suda’s face flashed with rage before seeing the serious look on AJ, remembering that no one should ever break a pinkie promise.

“Never…” Pinks I swear to Moon if you do not stop that!

“Uh, Pinkie?” Suda seemed to snap Pinkie out of her supposed stupor, dreading what she already knew.

“I know already, little tsundere.” The pink party mare teased before hopping off, leaving a bright red blush on Suda’s face before she starts walking, much to the farm mare’s humor as she begs the unicorn to not leave.

Rarity, Applejack and Suda met up in town, catching a drink of a sweet and salty milkshake as the taller unicorn just sulked. While Rarity would find this amusing, she almost needed to ask, until it just blurted out. “Have a crush on someone?” The fashionista could see every muscle in Suda tense as the mare resisted every urge to talk before taking a breath and calming down. “Sore topic?”

“Between you two and my brother, it became one.” She said with a spicy inflection as the other two bit their lips to stifle a laugh. She sighed before saying, “I’m sorry. That’s not fair to take my emotions out on you two.” She sips more of her drink to try passing her embarrassment by.

“So what’s got you kicked by the spurs?” Suda took a moment to collect herself before explaining the situation regarding the other nations and the Elements. While the mares are upset the griffin and cervine kings wanted them as some form of collection set, they were thankful Suda set the terms that she did, otherwise things would have gone south for their mental health real fast. She even shared news about Fluttershy and Iron teaching the guards their magic and arming them with the equipment needed to attend, though she suspects Black Beak will try setting a weight limit on gear unless you’re large by nature. “Hah, if he does that the contest will be a moot point if the more warrior inclined see the obvious rule fiddling. Everyone would probably have to fight nude.

Suda, to her aroused horror, pictured a nude Iron laying on her bed before she downed her glass and paid for it and another. “Don’t ask…please.” Applejack, curious but considerate, did not pry into what her words did to the poor unicorn’s thoughts.

“I could make something for you to take your mind off of the topic, darling. Something lacey or bold?” The two looked at Rarity questioning if they weren’t the same thing. “Goodness, no. Lace can be modest and well covered, while bold can be simple but exposing.” The two just shrug at her explanation as Suda wears anything just to tease people and Applejack is all for the delicate clothing but those are for special occasions, which can be few and far between.

The mares spend the afternoon after their shake walking about the town and letting Rainbow and Twilight know about the arrangement. While Twilight was against giving up the elements, like Celestia was, Suda managed to separate the relics from the users, eliminating any risk of the mares losing their agency and rights, though she would not put it passed Black Beak to try something to get the mares as well, or muddle the rules to put Equestria at a disadvantage.

Later on in the day, they noticed the guards with the first version of Iron’s armor, the guards inside managing to move the plated gear, though with some difficulty depending on the race. Seems training started with the basics, and the guards had to use their own magic as the generator for training their mana and powering the suit. The pegasi were up in the air with their own training as their wings glowed, each one wrapped in a different elemental energy.

Suda, while not thinking of how much Iron is doing, is certainly praising Fluttershy for being brave enough to teach other Pegasi what she did. That or she taught Natah and he taught them. Either way, the results for terrans and pegasi were already promising. Which left. The unicorns. Oh. Joy. “I’m sorry to leave like this, but our forces only have a week to prepare for this battle royale.” The mares held their hands up with a smile, telling her to do as a princess should and help lead Equestria to a promising future. The unicorn smiled and said her goodbyes before returning to Canterlot.

While in the castle, she paid a visit to the barracks which seemed rather…void for some reason. She looked at the guards, who were doing their exercises before putting it together. The guards were not pushing their limits, only doing what was comfortable out of some misplaced pride they will win by default. While she wanted the guard to learn the fault of such thinking the hard way, Equestria, literally, does not have the time. The guard captain, Shining Armor, saw Suda and was about to call his men to attention when he felt magic on his lips. She did not want him stopping the guard just for him to make them work harder for one day. She took a deep calm breath before a thunderous, “ATTENTION!” The guard stopped everything they were doing and lined up.

Shining, rather surprised a princess’s roar could sound so sexy, could not hide his shock before the Princess of Space spoke. “Now I’m not sure if you are aware, so let me cover the basics. The Elements of Harmony are currently under scrutiny for their lack of participation in the fight against chimera; you may have heard of the chimera attack on Ponyville by now.” Both Shining and his guard were not aware of this just yet, as evidence when Celestia almost came in to give the news, now spectating. “While my brother and I have managed to spare the bearers from change of national ownership, you still have a country and a treasure to protect! The terrans and pegasi have a head start on their training, as it will be all hands on deck. So for this whole next week, I am going to run your drills, stress you to the bone and push you so hard you may be gasping for air! We have very little time and you need to be ready. Now, divide into platoons of three and get ready, because I’m going to run your mana until it is boiling!”

Celestia, happy that Suda was taking on the same responsibility as Natah, in respect and elation of his restored freedom, left the guards to their training. If they come to her about Suda’s training method, they can leave. She may need to get some Terrans and pegasi up to Canterlot, though she wonders how the terrans are training to participate.