A/N: This may be a tad difficicult to read, but rate fairly, eh?
Ark I: The Arrival
Chapter I: The Plan
Ponyville. Was this truly a job for a Arch-Duke? Armour Roses job was fortifying Ponyville, a task he thought was entirely pointless. Why tie up all of those troops, spend all of those bits, on a town that was destroyed by natural disasters, (Usually they were easily preventable.) and the townsponies own ignorance and stupidity. *Sigh* Armour Rose thought At least I will be able to meet with the Bearers of Harmony... the young unicorns blue eyes glistened in the sun as his large, black and silver train steamed onward, regardless.
-1 hour later...-
"Lord Armour?" a grey Pegasus clad in steel armor asked Armour Rose.
"Hmm? What is it, Lieutenant Mail?" Armour Rose tiredly answered with another question.
"The… the Princess asked me to give this to you…" the shy Pegasus' cheeks were shade of scarlet Armour Rose had never seen before, on account of the fact of his meeting with the princess. He immediately flew off afterwards.
"The Princess…?" Armour Rose questioned. Then it hit the blonde duke. He would pay for his miscalculation…
Blush ravaged his face as he remembered the events that led him to this train full of soldiers and material.
The Changelings had begun their invasion of Equestria. Every Duke, Noble, Prince, General and Tribal Cheiftan had to turn a portion of their troops over to Canterlot to defend the princess'.
Armour Rose had the largest non-royal army in all of Equestria. Several things contributed to this. His mother was of relation to the Queen, so she had the title of princess. His father was Arch-Duke of Manehattan, Fillydelphia, and Stallionsgrad. He was simply known as "Lord Armour".
Eventually, his brother, a general named Armour Violet, had his parents murdered to gain control of their titles, so he could strike at the Celestial Empire and install a Lunar Republic. Armour Rose found proof of his brothers, and other high ranking nobles, including Celestias own advisors, collaboration. Their plan to capture the princess was in mere days, but he was a week away from Canterlot, his noble estate being in Stallionsgrad. He decided it was better to attack with his own soldiers, a twenty stallion strong force.
He located the democrats base and boldly and ferociously attacked, using stolen cannons, scorpions*, ballistas**, and catapults he got when he seized his brothers base south of Stallionsgrad.
He had half of his Stallions man the artillery, while he and the other half of his force rushed the base. While the base had over 500 ponies, only 200 of them were guards, and only half of them had weapons, and all odf the guards ere untrained peasants, compared to his elite officers. The base had no turrets, walls, or barbed wire either, for that alert would other ponies of the secret base.
The walls of the base crumbled as the artillery bombarded it. His soldiers rushed in, and dueled the hapless guards. Armour Rose galloped into the room which his brother occupied.
"You foal! What in Lunas name are you doing?" Armour Violet asked.
"I am saving my country, and my princess, you traitor!" Armour Rose retorted.
"You aim to save a tratoir? She dominates the earth ponies, forcing them into second-class citizenship!"
"You had mother and father murdered to gain power! Who is the true tratoir here?"
"The ends justify the means, brother! Democracy is the way of the future! The ancient Pegasi were correct!"
"Pff… even if I believed in your attempts at a civil war, I've already sent Private Chainmail to Canterlot with evidence of your plot. I have won, Violet. Turn yourself in."
"I see you shall not listen to reason. You have won a pyrrhic victory, Rose. Now," red and purple magic coiled around the two brothers swords. "EN GARDE!"
Violet thrust his freshly sharpened sword feverishly at his brother. Rose deflected the blows off of his own sword, matching the movements of his brother. The larger and more powerful Violet struck randomly at his brother, seeking any advantage he could get. Rose, however, had precise, graceful, calculated movements, slicing the leather straps that held his brothers armor together. The damage revealed his brothers cutie mark, a dove perched on a metal Violet. The continuous strikes took there toll on Roses armor, and it too fell apart, revealing his cutie mark, a metal rose glowing with a light, vibrant blue.
The unicorns nearly collapsed in exhaustion, so they both put the last reserves of their magic into powerful swings. The swords cracked together, breaking both blades in two.
This, however freed up their magic. They both ran as far away as possible from each other, as their horns glowed in a powerful, mystic energy. The horns released beams that clashed against each other in a desperate power struggle. Soon, Roses cutie mark began to glow and his body began to change into a reddish steel. He slowly walked up to his brother, until he was face-to-face with Violet.
"YOU SHALL NEVER WIN!" he thundered, before Violet was turned to dust from the beam.
Roses body quickly became organic once more, and he passed out.
-3 Days Later…-
"Uhh… what happened?" Armour Rose asked himself.
"Lord Armour!" Mail shouted. "Everypony is meeting up for a celebration in your honor! You've gained all of your brothers titles!"
Armour Rose simply smirked. He'd had his revenge, and he was now only second to the princesses' in power. Nothing could stop him now.
That was, until he refused to forfeit anypony in his army. He had recently found out the Changelings were planning to capture Stallionsgrad, then advance into the rest of Equestria using it as a base.
Armour Rose decided to keep his army in Stallionsgrad, against the advice of his advisors. He began to station troops at the Pony-Changeling border.
Three days before the attack on Canterlot, the Changelings smashed through the border. The Changelings marched near Stallionsgrad, but never attempted to besiege it. Eventually, Armour Rose challenged and destroyed the Changelings, but, they were a decoy army. As soon as word spread about the Siege of Canterlot, Armour Rose and his army took a train to liberate Canterlot, but, by the time he arrived in the city, the Changelings had been eliminated. Disgraced, the next time he entered Stallionsgrad was in chains.
Originally, Princess Celestia was going to take pity on him, but Prince Blueblood and Princess Luna made appeals against it.
Armour Rose lost all titles except his nobility, princedom and his ArchDuke hood in Stallionsgrad.
He opened the letter, and read details he had already envisioned in his mind.
Dear Exalted General/Nephew,
I reget to inform you that you will be unable to return to Canterlot in near future, as your great leadership skills will be needed for at least one year. I only care about the perfect aplication of your skils-
He droped the letter. He shouldn't complain. If anypony else was charged with treason, they'd hang. He still felt wronged, however, and would fight it.
-10 minutes later...-
"Sire, what did the letter say?" Chainmill asked, after overhearing a fury of obscenities.
"We're staying in Ponyville a little longer than thought." Armour Rose said.
"How… how much longer?"
"A year."
And with that, Mill fainted, causing Armour Rose to chuckle vigorously.
-30 minutes later...-
"You slander the family name..." he heard whispering through a vent.
A sword gravitated towards him in a red glow "Of whom, do I ask, has a death wish!?" he cried.
Your father, suddenly, a shadowy pony apeared "asking why my sucesser has allowed the family name to be trampled, stripped and commited the ultimate betrayl?"
"This madness," he deemed "I have to sleep more often."
"Have you even attempted to think of a plot to regain your honors?"
"I see no reason to even remain sober." he stated, magicaly pouring a glass of brandy.
"I have seen your new habits, I know that it is a monumenta occasion to even see you away from the bottle." the stallion said, adressing the lie.
"Do you want me to play along?"
"I could imagine no greater privliege."
"Okay, oh all knowing spirit, what may I do to win your favor?"
"Piss off, regain your honors and marry that clamp thats latch upon you, what was her name, Miss De Lis?"
"Oh, is that all, milord?"
"Father."
"Bastard."
"Child."
"Oho, more than I expected."
"I'm sure your brother didn't either."
Rose spat out his drink and tossed both the glass and the bottle at the spirit. They simply colided with the ground. He quickly realized that there was nothing there.
"My titles shall be regained!" he thought, pulling out a pad and paper, inventing a devious plan.
-2 hours later-
-Ponyville-
Armour Rose left to find a finery shop, almost immediately after arriving, only giving vague instruction to his 500+ stallion force.
I guess I should start it now... Armour Rose thought.
He spent a few minutes looking for a clothing shop, smirking as civilians watched him in awe. Armour Rose was horrified to see the sheer gaudyness of the buiding he would have to enter. He sucked, and put on his best smile.
Business was bad. Rarity realized that opening a boutique in a low income area was not the smartest idea she had ever had. The only reason she stayed open was the generous amount of bits she received from the royal wedding. She had not sold a single piece of finery in three months.
"Hello, miss." he said, walking in.
"Blueblood?" Rarity chimed.
"Hmm?"
"I haven't seen you since the airship launch. How have you been? Could I ask if you are here enjoy a new suit?"
"I believe this is misunderstanding." Raritys face drooped "You myst be thinking of my good friend Prince Blueblood. I am Genaral and Arch-Duke Prince Armour Rose the ninth, Lord of Stallionsgrad."
"Oh, how wonderful!" she said grabbing his hoof, yanking him out of his freshly-occupied seat "You absolutely have to tell me more!"
"And may I ask where were going?"
"I'm going to give you a haircut darling, so you can tell me all about yourself! Oh and I'm Rarity."
"How silly of me, how could I forget the local customs?" Armour Rose simply loved to be arrogant.
Rarity, slightly irked by his smugness, but not enough to pass up a conversation with a Canterlot elite, continued the conversation "So what brings you to Ponyville?"
"I am putting fortifactions up, to may or may not defend against threats that may or may not exist. Royal orders, you see."
"Oh." Rarity stammered "Intereesting. I, myself, have had the pleasure of meeting the royal family several times."
And for hours the battle of egos and wit went on. Rose did not truly like Rarity, his lover was far more beautiful, if a little daft, and he doubted after exile she would be there for him. So he weighed his options and decided to leave his fillyfriend in the dust until he returned. So he made a morally questionable choice.
"If, by any chance, you would like to continue this conversation, meet me at A Slice of Canterlot at 8pm." Now he could have fun.
Rarity then fainted for the first time that day.
Smirking, he checked a nongaudy suits price, scrawled a note, and left the bits on said note. Leaving out the front door, he realized that his plan would be far easier then he had assumed. He had arrived.
A/N: So here it is. I hope you liked it. If your wondering about Rarits sudden infatuation, I thought it was in her character. Trust me, it gets better.
* Mounted crossbow
** Spear catapult