"Seashell…are you sure this is a good idea?" A blue pegasus filly asked as the three young ponies crept up to the Marestream that sat in front of the Brighthouse, which was in chaos.

"Why wouldn't it be?" The purple earth pony with a green mane asked.

"Umm…because it could be dangerous?" An orange unicorn answered, looking more than a little worried.

"Because we could get in the way?" Glory added, glancing around nervously.

"Because we could get in trouble," Peach Fizz continued.

"Or killed," Glory finished.

"Okay, all valid reasons," Seashell interrupted. This was sounding like more and more of a bad idea by the second, but she wouldn't let that deter her. She was tired of sitting on the sidelines. "But I mean come on! They got to see a Crystal kingdom! Crystal! And got to reform a whole different species! Doesn't that interest you a little? We have to go on at least one, and they'll hardly notice we're there. We'll just stand on the sidelines and…watch."

The two fillies were silent for a moment before sighing heavily. Their friend was right, they supposed. They always have wanted to go on one of the Guardians' adventures. It was now or never. If they were going to go on one of these adventures, they couldn't let fear hold them back. Fear would be their enemy.

Then a thought occurred to Peach Fizz. "How did you know they were going on an adventure, Seashell?"

Seashell froze, her eyes widening briefly. They were Pipps biggest fans and were often referred to as the Pippsqueaks, and would do anything for Pipp, but Seashell doubted stalking Pipp counted as 'anything'.

The truth of the matter was that she was hiding in the bushes outside the Brighthouse, hoping to catch them before they went on another adventure. Though she fell asleep in the middle of her watch, she woke up to the sounds of the six of them packing up the Marestream before the sun even came up and she knew she had to get her friends before it was too late.

"That's…not important," Seashell said. "Now, let's go! Before they leave without us."

The three fillies hurried to the Marestream, hoping to hide and be out of sight before the others boarded.

Back inside the Brighthouse, The Mane Six were trying to get everything packed and ready before dawn. The three alicorns lay on the couch or the floor, looking bored out of their minds. Hitch had a checklist and pen in his hoof and was currently trying to keep everything organized.

"Alright, Elements of Unity? Check. Food and provisions since we have no idea how long it's going to take to get to Skyros? Check. Sparky?" Hitch paused in his list, looking around. "Sparky? Sparky? Has anypony seen Sparky?"

"Chill, hun." Pipp flew up to Hitch, kissing his cheek. "I already beat you to it. I figured it would be way too early for him to be awake right now so I asked Misty if she could levitate him to the Marestream so he could sleep on the little bed I made him."

Hitch smiled lovingly at Pipp. "Thank you, honey. You really are amazing," Hitch said, leaning close to Pipp.

"I know," Pipp muttered, leaning closer still. "But it's nice to hear you say it anyway."

"Alright, split it up lovebirds," Zipp called, startling them apart. "Nopony wants to see that."

Hitch rolled his eyes before going back to the list. "Packed saddlebags? Check. Temporary sheriff fill-in? Check."

"Are ya done yet, lad? We don't got all day now." The leader of the three alicorns groaned.

"Oh, give the poor wee lad a break, Ice. He's just tryna find control in a situation he feels out of control in. That's all." The second alicorn voiced, waving a dismissive hoof.

"W-what?!" Hitch exclaimed, trying to process how he had just been psychoanalyzed by a complete stranger.

"Oh, none of us are in the mood for your psychological bull!" The leader, apparently named Ice, said.

"I'm just sayin', the lad don't know how to just live in the moment and just let things go the way they goin' to go. He's got himself a process, let 'im live it out."

Pipp snorted. "Yep. That sounds like my husband."

Hitch blinked, before his face turned red, suddenly feeling embarrassed. He didn't realize he was so easy to read. None of it was true, of course. Right? He knew how to live in the moment. He wasn't so uptight. Right? However, his wife was awfully quick to agree with the alicorn.

Well, whatever it was, he was going to prove this alicorn wrong.

He crumpled up the list and threw it behind him. He cringed as it hit the floor, going against all instincts to pick it up and throw it in the trash. "Well, we're all set. Let's get to the Marestream."

"Babe, are you sure? Maybe you should check the list again. And…aren't you going to pick up that litter?"

"Trust me, Pipp. We got it all. We're good." Hitch said, though, he wasn't entirely sure.

Pipp stared at him hesitantly, looking worried. She wondered what got into him so suddenly. He usually wasn't so…careless. But, nonetheless, she knew she had to trust him. So, she left with the rest of the ponies leaving the Brighthouse. Hitch stood there for a moment, a smile plastered on his face. When he was sure everypony was out, he ran to the list, uncrumpled it, and looked it over, making sure they really did have everything. When he was sure they did, he crumpled it back up again and threw it in the trash where it belonged.

"Oi! What kind of strange contraption is this?" Ice asked, inspecting the Marestream with squinted eyes and a hoof to his chin.

"That's the Marestream." Zipp filled in helpfully. "A friend of ours once described it as a self-flying carriage."

"A self-flying carriage, eh?" The second alicorn said skeptically, narrowing his eyes. "How does it work?"

"Hop in and I'll show you." Zipp offered, opening the door for her friends and three alicorns.

The alicorns hesitantly got on, Misty and her friends following. The three alicorns and Zipp sat in the cockpit, while the rest of them went to sit in silence in the cabin, completely unaware of the Pippsqueaks hiding behind the curtain around Misty's bed they put up for her when they went to the Crystal Empire. They hadn't even been home for a day and already they were leaving again.

"Shouldn't somepony contact Queen Haven and Alphabittle that we're leaving?" Sunny asked Pipp and Misty.

Pipp shrugged. "I put a note on the door for mom to find. I would've texted her, but she doesn't check her messages. Voice or text. Plus, I figured it will give us plenty of time to put some distance between us and them so Mom can't send Zoom and Thunder after us. After what happened in the Crystal Empire, I don't feel comfortable bringing them."

"And how will we know if she even gets the note? She might not even find it." Hitch pointed out.

"Oh, she will. If she doesn't hear from us for a while, she'll send Cloudpuff after us, and if he can't find us, she'll send Zoom and Thunder. They'll probably see the note. It's on the door of the Brighthouse. It's kind of hard to miss."

"Okay, so, which way are we going?" Zipp asked in the cockpit as she lifted the Marestream into the air.

"Whichever way you wish. It doesn't matter." Ice said.

"I'm sorry?" Zipp asked thoroughly confused.

"We ain't flyin' all the way to Skyros. That'd take weeks and weeks and I don't have that kind of patience. We're takin' ourselves a shortcut. You trust me?"

Zipp shrugged. "I don't know. You did try to fillynap my future stepsister in the middle of the night so…"

Ice rolled his eyes. "Just fly straight. As fast as you can."

Zipp did as she was told, a little hesitantly, but did nonetheless. As she flew, slowly gaining speed, the alicorn grabbed a small ring from his bag on the floor and put it on the dashboard. It spun itself in a circle, slowly at first before gaining so much speed, it looked like a blur.

Slowly, the ring began to glow before lifting into the air and shooting through the windshield, creating a big gaping hole, and making Zipp gasp. She turned to Ice with a glare, who simply shrugged with a small smile. The ring floated in front of them, stopping a good distance away. Zipp was tempted to slam on the breaks, but slowly, the ring grew bigger and bigger until the center was bigger than the Marestream.

Zipp looked at Ice who was sitting next to her, and he gave her a reassuring nod. Zipp took a deep breath to steady herself before staring determinedly out the window, flooring the gas pedal. She kept the steering wheel steady, aiming right for the middle of the ring. She said one last prayer before they darted through the ring.

Thunder whistled a tune as he and Zoom walked down the road that led to the Brighthouse. Before their last Unity Adventure, which is what the Guardians of Unity decided to start calling these adventures, to the Crystal Empire, it used to annoy Zoom, especially when she was trying to concentrate. But now…it just felt good to have her best friend by her side again.

"It's really good to have you back Thunder. Really." Zoom said, a smile on her face.

But, to be honest, she was worried about him. He just…wasn't the same pony he used to be. Granted, both of them were different after that adventure, but still, Zoom was worried. She tried to ask multiple times what he remembered during the time he was consumed, but he always said he didn't want to talk about it before quickly changing the subject entirely. It felt like he was trying to shut her out.

"It's good to be back. It still feels a little weird to see you and not see an enemy out to kill–" Thunder stopped immediately, looking away.

Zoom wanted so badly to know what Thunder was about to say, though he clearly didn't want her to know. "Out to kill what?"

But Thunder remained silent, just staring at the ground.

Zoom bit her lip before continuing. "Thunder, you know you can tell me anything. Whatever it is you thought about me…that wasn't you. I know that. I…just wanna know."

But Thunder just shook his head. "It's…it's nothing. I…I don't want to talk about it. Let's just…check in on the princesses like Queen Haven wants." And with that, Thunder sped up his walk to a trot, hurrying ahead of Zoom and effectively ending the conversation.

Zoom continued at her slow pace, wanting to give her friend the space he wanted. She just didn't understand why he didn't want to talk to her about this. They were best friends. Surely talking it out would be of some consolation to him.

"Uh…Zoom?" Thunder called, getting his patrol partner's attention. "You might want to come see this."

Zoom galloped to Thunder, seeing him standing at the Brighthouse door, a note in his hoof. Confused, she read the note over his shoulder, her eyes slowly widening in shock and fear.

"Oh no…Queen Haven's gonna kill us." She muttered fearfully.

Zipp gasped when they made it to the other side. Instead of the bright blue clear sky and the rolling hills outside Maretime Bay, they were in a sky full of white fluffy clouds. She slowly drove through them, gasping in amazement when she saw the kingdom atop the highest cliff she had ever seen.

Zipp pressed the button that turned on the intercom and began to speak, not taking her wide eyes off the kingdom on the cliff. "This is your pilot Zipp Storm speaking. I'm expecting clear skies and smooth conditions as we approach our destination. Please prepare yourself for a smooth landing in about half an hour."

The five ponies gasped as they looked at each other. "We're there already?" Misty asked with shock, her voice shaking.

Four of the ponies smiled brightly before rushing to the windows, gasping much as Zipp had upon seeing the kingdom that seemed to reflect the light of the rising sun.

Misty swallowed nervously, her heart racing. They were here. They were already at Skyros and it was far sooner than Misty expected. She was hoping it would take a couple of days to reach the alicorn land, a couple of weeks at best, but definitely not five minutes. Her stomach twisted in knots as the reality came crashing down on her. She somehow had to convince an alicorn king to give her and her friends time to look for a third alicorn that'll back Misty before her trial. And if she didn't…she may never leave this place. The thought terrified her.

Slowly, she stood up and walked over to her little curtained area with her bed. She just wanted to be alone to try and think things through. She used her magic to open the curtain and close it behind her, slowly looking up only to freeze and let out a startled yelp.

"Hi, Misty…" one of the three fillies greeted with a nervous smile and chuckle.

"What were you thinking?!" Hitch asked incredulously, pacing back and forth in front of the three filly Pippsqueaks, who stood in the center of the cabin.

"We're sorry, Sheriff Hitch. We just…wanted to come with you on an adventure. We were curious." Seashell apologized, looking down.

"It was all Seashell's idea," Glory blurted.

"Hey!" Seashell yelled, glaring at her friend. "You didn't have to agree to come!"

"I don't care whose idea it was, it was reckless and stupid!" Hitch yelled, still pacing back and forth.

"Why would you do something like this? Don't you understand how dangerous this all is?" Sunny asked, taking a step forward closer to the Pippsqueaks.

"If this is your way of trying to play hero…" Zipp started. As soon as she heard Misty call out that the Pippsqueaks were on board, she put the Marestream on autopilot to join her friends in the lecture.

"Oh no. Don't worry, you can do all the fighting and dangerous hero stuff. We just want to…tag along." Peach Fizz assured.

The six ponies were silent for a moment before Hitch said, "No." The Pippsqueaks' faces fell, but Hitch just shook his head. "Nope."

"Um…hate to be the bearer of bad news but um…do we really have a choice?" Pipp asked, looking at all her friends. "We just went through a portal that I'm pretty sure was a one-time use only. Which means if we're getting out of here, we need to go through Skyros first."

"We can always turn around and fly home the old-fashioned way," Hitch suggested.

"Ice said that would take weeks and weeks. I doubt that's an option. That's why we used the portal in the first place." Zipp pointed out.

Hitch groaned. Of course it would. Hitch told himself that there was no way he could've possibly known this would happen, but he still blamed himself. He should've checked the Marestream and should've done something to avoid this very thing. How could he be so careless as to let three filly stowaways sneak aboard the Marestream without him knowing until it was too late?

Suddenly, Ice poked his head into the cabin from the cockpit. "Pilot lass. We're approachin' Skyros. We'll be there soon." He paused, looking at the three fillies. "Oi! Where did those three come from?!"

"Umm…they kinda snuck onto the Marestream without our knowledge, Mr. Ice, sir," Misty answered in a shaky voice.

"They royalty?" The alicorn asked. The six ponies were silent, looking at each other. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't throw 'em overboard?"

The nine ponies were silent before Seashell blurted, "Because we're Pipp and Hitch's daughters!"

The sound of a pin dropping could be heard throughout the empty silence of the Marestream cabin. They all looked to the three fillies with confused expressions, the six friends wondering why Seashell would blurt something like that and the alicorn trying to add up the math. Even Seashell's friends were looking at her confused.

"Daughters? You look awfully young to be parents and they look awfully old to belong to ya."

"Yes. That always seems to come as quite the surprise when we tell ponies…" Hitch said, not taking his eyes off Seashell.

"We're…adopted. Pipp and Hitch adopted us shortly after their wedding. Right, Mom?" Seashell explained, looking to Pipp for backup.

Pipp froze when called…'mom'. She never expected to be called that at such a young age. Pipp was silent for a moment, reluctant to admit that it kinda felt a little nice to be called that. It warmed her heart a bit. Though, she certainly wasn't ready to have kids.

Fake kids however was a whole nother story. "Umm…yeah. These are our adopted daughters, Seashell, Peach Fizz, and Glory. They were supposed to stay in ZH with their…grandmother," Pipp could see her mother's reaction to being called a grandmother. If only she knew…

"Yes. They are quite the…hooful." Hitch added, not quite sure he understood the whole point of doing this.

Ice was silent for a moment before nodding. "Aye. Good reason. I'll be damned if I dragged Skyros into a war for harmin' royalty." He went back inside the cockpit, causing the group to sigh in relief before he poked his head back out again. "A bit o' advice though? A lie starts before ya tell it. Ya might wanna remember that before ya tell this to the king."

All their eyes widened as they looked toward alicorn, but he was already in the cockpit again. The six ponies and three fillies were silent following Ice's words, unsure as to how they should react to him knowing they were lying. Though to be fair, if the Skyronians saw the Pippsqueaks as another country's royalty, they'd be less likely to be harmed. Pretty brilliant thinking on Seashell's part, even if it wasn't intentional.

"Well, then. Go ahead and land us in Skyros…'Aunt' Zipp," Pipp said sarcastically, making Zipp cringe. She was not ready to be called aunt.

Zipp made her way to the cockpit, turning the Marestream off autopilot and steering it towards the city on the cliff. As she pulled in, Sunny and the rest of the ponies hurried to the windows to get a look at the legendary alicorn land, and when they did, they couldn't believe their very eyes.

Gold arches arched over the cobblestone streets. The kingdom wasn't just on one cliff, but on multiple, rocky ledges that climbed towards the sky. Well-kept staircases made of cobblestone connected these cliffs, making travel between them simple. Each cliff held what looked like entire towns that looked to be bigger than Maretime Bay, Bridlewood, and Zephyr Heights combined.

That's when they noticed the abstract differences between each of the cliffs. There were five of them in total. One cliff seemed to be lush with plant life, with a waterfall that spilled over one side of it, with water that seemed to sparkle in the light of the morning sun. Another cliff looked to be full of moss-covered rocks, the buildings made of stone, having an ancient beauty to them. Each cliff seemed to have its own personality to it, each beautiful in its own way.

In the middle of all the cliffs was a glorious city with spires reaching high into the sky. In its center stood a magnificent castle made of gold and marble, its towers higher than even the ones in Zephyr Heights. High walls surrounded the palace, with guards posted around its top.

Sunny gaped at the alicorn land in wonder, her mouth dropped open. She couldn't help but feel a certain connection to this place, like this was always meant to be her home. A hole she never even knew existed was being filled just by being here. She waited so long to find alicorns like herself, to know where alicorns came from, just to feel a little less alone in the world. Now she finally found an entire kingdom of them, only now she had to save her best friend from them.

None of them have ever seen anything so beautiful, so perfect. Even Pipp, the social media star, was in so much amazement that she forgot to pull out her phone to snap pictures. Even Misty's fear was temporarily set aside to marvel at the beauty. It almost seemed too perfect, too beautiful to be real. Not even the Crystal Empire could compare, and that was pretty special.

"Just pull in. Right there next to that gate." Ice said, pointing to a big golden gate in the wall. Zipp glanced at him before making a wide turn towards the palace.

"Wow. This place looks like a home for the ancient gods or something. Like…Mount Olymphoof." Misty muttered.

"It's so shiny and sparkly," Izzy marveled. "Like the Crystal Empire, but in a different way."

"Ancient gods?" Sunny asked, looking at Misty.

Misty nodded. "Yeah. The Skyronians worship a million different gods. There's a god for each thing. There's Donaos, the God of War, and his wife, Elra, the Goddess of Wisdom. There's Adite, Goddess of Order, and Romus, God of Chaos. They're one of the twin gods. Ghimnera, the goddess of fire. Opaline worshipped that one a lot."

"Wow," Sunny said with wide eyes, though her heart was a little heavy. Here she was an alicorn, and she knew next to nothing about alicorn culture. And Misty wasn't even an alicorn and she knew more than Sunny.

"Yeah. There's a god or goddess for, well, almost everything. Wind. Nature. Rain. Water. Peace. Love. Everything."

"How many are there?" Izzy asked, also intrigued.

"I'm not sure. Opaline never said." Misty answered with a thoughtful look.

"More than four hundred." One of the alicorns said as he walked into the cabin.

Sunny sighed, pulling herself away from the window. There was a whole world of herself she knew nothing about, and she wanted to learn all she could. But…she had to put Misty first. She'd never forgive herself if something happened to one of her best friends all because she was selfish and greedy.

Sunny turned to her friends. "Okay, when we meet the king, I don't think all of us should go. They don't like mortals, and I think bringing four plus Misty the first time we see the king won't work in our favor. We want him to get to know Misty first before he's focused on all the mortals she brought along with her."

"I think that's a good idea. I mean, Izzy coming to Maretime Bay for the first time was hard enough. I couldn't imagine if she brought four other unicorns with her."

"So, obviously, Misty and I will go," Sunny continued. "But…I think only one of you should come with. Just to represent the rest of you."

"I'll go," Hitch volunteered, stepping forward.

Sunny sighed. "I was actually thinking it should be Pipp. She was the one who convinced Ice to bring all of you along. She may be able to help convince the alicorn king."

"Where she goes, so do I," Hitch stated firmly, making it clear that there was no room for argument.

"Hitch, it's okay. I can–" Pipp started before Hitch interrupted.

"Pipp, I know you can take care of yourself. But, Pipp, I would feel a whole lot better if I could come with you…please?"

Pipp paused, about to say no. She was strong. She didn't need her husband as a bodyguard wherever she went. But…if she were being honest…it would make her feel a whole lot better too if he was by her side. They both had too many close calls for them to not stress about the other's safety.

So, Pipp nodded, kissing him on the cheeks, before she turned to Izzy. "Do you and Zipp mind watching the Pippsqueaks, since they clearly can't be trusted on their own?"

The Pippsqueaks chuckled nervously, blushing a bit. Izzy saluted Pipp. "I'd love to. I consistently dragonsit Sparky successfully. How hard can three little fillies be?"

"Thanks, Iz. You're a huge help." Hitch did feel better knowing the Pippsqueaks were in good hooves. He trusted Izzy's foalsitting abilities. Watching Sparky was ten times more work than any foal could be and she did it all the time. It was one last problem the four of them had to worry about.

"Starting our descent…" The nine ponies heard Zipp's voice say through the intercom.

They all glanced at each other, taking a deep breath. This is the moment they all dreaded since leaving the Crystal Empire. Misty's fate was in the hooves of an alicorn king they had never met and all they could do was hope for the best. Sunny had never felt so helpless.

"Halt! Who goes there!" A mare guard yelled, pointing the spear she was holding in her purple magic straight at them, causing the four ponies to freeze.

Ice, however, simply kept moving forward, a relaxed smile on his face. "Chill my lady. It's only me."

The mare in light blue crystalline armor that had a design all over it that looked like tide pools rolled her blue eyes that seemed to be the same shade as the clear blue sky above, scoffing distastefully. "Rocky Ice. What an…unpleasant surprise. I thought you'd come back yet again a failure."

Rocky Ice's smile only seemed to grow wider. "Oh, River, how it pains me so, your lack of faith."

River glanced at Misty before looking at Pipp and Hitch, her scowl deepening, before turning her ice-cold stare to Rocky Ice. "You were sent to retrieve one mortal, yet you come back with three. King Skotos will not be happy."

"Actually, I came back with eight." Rocky Ice corrected. "And believe me, King Skotos will want to see these mortals."

River was silent for a moment before she stepped aside, the palace gates opening behind her. "Fine. It is your head that is paying for it, not mine."

"Wouldn't have it any other way, little sister," Rocky said with ease. The others widened their eyes. That's his sister. But…she was so mean to him.

Without another word, Rocky Ice walked through the palace gates, entering a large courtyard, the four ponies entering behind him. Sunny noticed that River didn't even spare her a glance. Barely even acknowledged her existence. Sunny couldn't help but wonder why.

"Well, your sister's a barrel of laughs," Pipp muttered, a little bitterly.

"Oh, that's just Riverwatch being Riverwatch. She honestly has a heart of gold under all that armor."

"Must be pretty deep," Hitch mumbled, raising an eyebrow.

"You have no idea."

They crossed the courtyard which was dotted with alicorns in fancy clothes and jewelry. As the five ponies passed, four of them looked at the ground as they felt every eye gravitate towards them. Misty squeezed her eyes shut, on the verge of tears she was so terrified. She was right back where she started with Opaline, her fate in the hooves of a temperamental alicorn and there was nothing she could do but pray like hell for the best.

Misty was relieved when they finally crossed the courtyard, which seemed to take forever, and entered the palace through the huge double doors that were three times the size of normal ones.

When they entered the palace, their mouths dropped open and their eyes bugged out. The whole floor was made of marble with a red carpet with a golden frame lying the length of the grand hall. The marble walls had thin streaks of golden filigree, making mandala designs on the walls. Marble pillars stood every twenty feet, reaching high to the ceiling, which the ponies could hardly see. Between every pillar stood two guards, their bodies motionless, their faces impassive, their spears held in their magic, the butt of them against the floor, the pointed end up towards the ceiling.

Few servants could be seen, and when they caught sight of them, more specifically of the two alicorns, they scurried out of sight, leaving their task unfinished. Rocky Ice continued walking, barely sparing the beauties of the castle a glance. As they walked, guards that stood between the pillars joined the five ponies behind them, new guards replacing the old ones until they had a whole band of nearly twenty guards following them in perfect formation.

They walked through the halls, treasures being showcased on pedestals in each one. Finally, the five ponies and twenty-plus guard mob behind them arrived at another pair of great golden double doors, a beautiful design carved into them. Slowly, the two guards standing beside them opened the doors with their magic, revealing a grand throne room with a grand marble and golden throne.

Hesitantly, the group followed Rocky Ice, their hearts racing in anticipation. This was it. This was the moment they had all been dreading. Sunny was brought back in time to that moment in Queen Haven's throne room the first time she visited Zephyr Heights. It was just her and Izzy, standing in front of the three royals, with Zoom and Thunder escorting them. Yes, she was scared then, but she was nowhere as terrified as she was now. If anything, she was more frustrated and weary than scared. Now, however, her mouth was so dry, she was afraid she wouldn't be able to talk. Her heart raced and pounded so hard in her chest, she was sure every alicorn in the room could hear it. Her hooves quaked so much, she was surprised they hadn't given out from under her.

Sunny looked up at the black throne that seemed to contrast with the entire palace which seemed to be bathed in light, to see a black alicorn, taller than she had ever seen before with huge black wings. He was taller than Opaline, taller than Flurry Heart. His white mane draped down both sides of his neck with bangs that swept over his left eye. He wore a silver breastplate that had a bronze lining. From his shoulders hung a sweeping black cape. He had hard eyes and a tense jaw.

But there was something else about him. Something that only Misty could see. It was how shadows seemed to cling to the edges of his frame. How the fabric of his cape swirled and moved, the edges of it almost reaching. Grasping. It was so faint, so minor, Misty believed she was hallucinating the whole thing.

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to clear her mind, and when she reopened them, the shadows were gone. She breathed a sigh of relief, knowing the whole thing was just her imagination getting the better of her.

At least, that's what she thought until a silver alicorn flew down from above, with a light silver mane that bordered on white. He landed on the side of the long red and black carpet, between the throne and the guests.

He cleared his throat before announcing, "Presenting His Grace, King Skotos Malum, first of his name, King of Skyros, Lord of all alicorns, Protector of the Elements, and the King of Shadows. Bow before his might and may he judge you with Elra's wisdom and may he lead with Cerdon's mercy and Onreus's strength. Long may he reign."

"Long may he reign," the guards behind them echoed.

Author's Note

Phew…second chapter is done. Yes…Skyronian religion is based off old Greek mythology and Skotos title is based of the Game of Thrones title for the king of the seven kingdoms.

Fun fact…Skotos is the Greek word for darkness and Malum is the Latin word for evil. So his name translates to Dark Evil. Hmm…I wonder who the villian is…

I've decided to run a poll. Feel free to answer it in the comment section.

If Pipp and Hitch were to have a baby, what do you think it would be? A pegasus or an earth pony?

Can't wait to see your answers…

Hakuna Matata!