The princess's fanatical student. A startlingly honest bootlegger. A prissy high-class escort. A traitor caught between two loyalties. A hyperactive pyromaniac. A quiet assassin who can kill with a word.

The night that has covered Equestria for a thousand years might just be coming to an end. And all of these familiar faces will be engulfed in the war between a victorious Nightmare Moon and her sister, returned from a millennium of exile.

Even as the sun rises, the situation has never seemed so dark.

This story was edited, preread, and otherwise improved by Einhander, Comrade Sparkle, CartsBeforeHorses, Spigo, and IR Pony.