Legion of Shadows

by Strythio

Rating: teen
Tags: Trixie, Sex, Gilda, Sunset Shimmer, Lightning Dust, Adventure, Fleur de Lis, Alternate Universe, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 79918

Sunset Shimmer. A name respected by few, known by many. Months after returning to Equestria, Sunset is once again in trouble with her former mentor, Princess Celestia.

Sunset Shimmer. A name respected by few, known by many. Months after returning to Equestria, Sunset is once again in trouble with her former mentor. This time however, the crime is less trivial, and much closer to home than the alicorn would have preferred.

Her actions have now stirred up a hornet's nest, and in an effort to better understand the events that preceded, Celestia offers Sunset the chance to explain not only herself, but the motives behind her supporters for aiding her in her crime.

However, Sunset Shimmer is not the only problem that Equestria has to deal with, and before the dust settles, it becomes clear that Sunset's actions are only a part of a much larger scheme.

Published 2014-06-14 12:50:02 UTC
Last updated 2014-09-08 01:03:07 UTC

Sunset Shimmer

The Canterlot Caves had seen many uses over the years. It once imprisoned a certain pink alicorn, housed the base of operations for Blueblood's wine operation during the dry seasons of Equestrian policy, and actually had once been an active mining site for gems.

But now, in the seemingly endless crystal tunnels, a single mare bound by shackles and chains called this place home. Thin, as if having been starved for days on end, the weak unicorn pawed at the dusty floor, the gentle clank of her restraints ever reminding her of her predicament.

Her once brilliant mane of crimson and yellow was now filthy and matted with knots, the coloration resembling a dirty blonde and black combination. Her coat had long lost its sheen as well, and the markings of healing bruises and scratches almost making her resemble some undead thing. On her back were a few scars as well, though individually they were far too small to be noticed from a distance.

Sunset Shimmer, no doubt, had seen better days. She crept open her eyes at the sound of clopping hooves, though did not bother rising from her slumped position. Unless they were bringing food and water, there was no point in getting excited.

Entering her cavern was none other than Princess Celestia, her face stern and her posture tense. Her gaze softened for a brief moment before hardening at the sight of the fallen unicorn.

"Sunset Shimmer, are you ready for your sentencing?" She asked with that serene tone of her, despite the message that echoed through the halls, "For your crimes against Equestria? Against your fellow ponies? Against me."

Sunset did not bother looking up; already she was physically weak. No need to melt even further under her mentor's burning glare.

"This is your last chance. Tell us everything about the Legion, and the sentence will be reduced to banishment."

Sunset spat at her own hooves at the proposal, what little spittle remaining hardly forming a drop worthy of the action's symbolism.

Celestia, unfazed sighed. "Death it shall be then. I hope your ambition was worth it..."

"Celestia, what did I do wrong?"

Though wretched and dry sounding, the sudden change of heart regarding speech only mildly surprised Celestia. The question, however, seemed very out of place.

"You attempted to overthrow not just me, but the entire Equestrian government by force; insurrection is one thing, but good ponies died because of your actions."

Sunset cackled, rising weakly to her hooves, still unable to look Celestia in the eye. "I never once lost sight of my ambition, my goal, to become an alicorn and rule Equestria; and yet, when I had the chance to finally destroy you, I choked."

Celestia seemed slightly amused, though maintained her composure. "Perhaps you are willing to talk?"

Sunset finally garnered the strength to look into her mentor's eyes. And for the first time since she had arrived in her stoney prison, she could feel two emotions that she thought had long since departed from her. Fear and hope swelled, her ears flattening against her head.

"I will not tell you where they are. But I will tell you our story."

Celestia, rather than telling her off or dismissing the notion, actually levitated a bottle of water to her former adversary. Sunset, wary at first, uncapped the bottle and sniffed it, lapping at it before downing half of it in one fell swoop. It was a pitiful sight, but the unicorn was not in the caring mood for appearances.

"Upon your execution, you will become a martyr to your cause, and no doubt the rest will have to be dealt with before this spreads any further," Celestia lectured, never taking her gaze from Sunset, " They will tell a story no doubt different from what really happened. I have my doubts that you will tell me the truth."

Sunset wiped her mouth with a dirty limb, a few bits of dirty clinging to her chin and face. Having regained some level of dignity, she daintily licked at the still moist portion of her right arm, hardly paying Celestia any mind.

That was fine. Celestia was not here for an argument anyways.

"However, I am willing to hear you out. For despite my grievances, I cannot deny that you have done things that, under different circumstances, would be worthy of praise rather than scorn."

At this, Sunset looked up in shock. Celestia's smiling face, amiable and friendly, unnerved the unicorn in ways that horror stories foreshadowed their gruesome conclusion. It was a deep foreboding, this seemingly unwarranted gesture, one that put Sunset on guard.

"Is that so? Then would you let me and the others go?"

Celestia laughed. Actually laughed at the suggestion that Sunset and her comrades would so easily get off. Though the laughter was musical, it had a sort of mocking after-ring to it once she finished.

"Oh my previous student, I applaud you for your attempt, but that is not an option, and you know it. In your weakened state, you would not last five seconds outside of these walls with the crowd of griffons, ponies, and dragons that want to drag your lifeless body across Canterlot, tie you to one of my statues, and burn you alive."

Celestia shook her head, as if the audacity and atrocity was more that they wanted to do it on her property than that they were feeling so bloodthirsty for the one she once called student.

Sunset seemed taken aback at the bluntness of this report. She had not expected such a reception, and in the back of her mind, she questioned whether it was safer to just give in and receive a royal pardon.

"Why not let them have me? Would save you the trouble."

Celestia narrowed her eyes, all friendliness completely departing from her face. "Sunset Shimmer, I may have grown a little more violent in the past month, but handing a pony off to such an end is still beneath me. The griffon Gilda, on the other hand..."

Celestia paused, trailing off as she saw Sunset quickly rise to her hooves, the chains rattling. Her eyes were wide, her breathing had been stepped up several times, and she seemed panicked. She had her now.

After dragging out the moment for a little longer to ascertain the genuine concern and fear, Celestia continued. "Gilda, though Equestrian, also has citizenship with Griffia. Her fate is not as secure as your own."

"How?" Sunset demanded, "I told her and the others not to..."

"Considering the report that she was among the shallowest of your group, I too was quite surprised," Celestia cut in, "She boldly declared that she would come alone if she had to in order to save you. Now, that is very out of character with what I know about her. Perhaps the diamond hole goes deeper than I figured?"

Sunset looked downcast, reigning in her intense guilt and anger. She couldn't allow Gilda to just be handed off, not like that. But why would she come alone? She had always been wary of recklessness and waste, both of which were marks of what she had done.

What if Celestia was lying? What if she was not lying? Gilda would suffer the same fate for a lesser conspiracy crime.

"Your capabilities of brainwashing are very impressive," Celestia continued, taking a few steps to Sunset's left, "However, to think that you could trick a griffon as distrusting of ponies as Gilda into siding with you to this extent is very impressive."

"I did not trick her!" Sunset shot her head back up, a fiery light once again burning in her eyes, "I did not brainwash anypony!"

Celestia did not look convinced, but returned to her original spot directly in front of Sunset. "Is that so? Care to explain then? I might can remove mass brainwashing from your list of crimes."

A chortle, for of all the crimes that Sunset had been charged with, that one had to had been the least of them all. Especially the crime that had her on death row.

Sunset bit her lip and closed her eyes. For a few minutes she contemplated, thought hard on what she was faced with. Finally she re-opened them with a determined glare.

"Where do I start?"

Celestia smiled fully, pleased with the response. "I already know about you and Flash's relationship, so let us skip your family history and go straight to when you got back to Equestria, prior to re-opening of the mirror portal."

Sunset sighed, and with her hooves, wrapped them around the water bottle and downed it. "Some food to keep up my strength would be nice."

Celestia nodded, and with a flick of her ears, clopping much further down the hall resounded, getting further and further away.

"It is in the making. Continue."

Sunset sat on her haunches, hardly able to continue standing and launch into a lengthy dialogue at the same time.

"As you are aware of, the Draconians had been working on a special kind of teleportation spell, one which would allow migration throughout Equestria. Of course, they would use it for other purposes as well, but that is the story they told Griffia. At the same time they had planned on testing it, I just happened to be working on my own spell to get back to Equestria before my appointed time. Since magic was inaccessible to me, I had to resort to using science."

Sunset cringed upon speaking the last word, as if the very notion of science crawled up her spine like an insect. "The Draconians set off their spell, I set off my device, and the next thing I know, I am in the Crystal Barracks..."

Return to Equestria

Nearly a year earlier...

Sunset Shimmer had been hard at work in her attempts at returning to Equestria. It had been, at least in part, due to the uncomfortable atmosphere at Canterlot High. Her less than friendly relations before had turned stone cold after the incident with Twilight, and though some of the students had long forgiven her, some just would not let it go.

The Flash Sentry of this world, oddly enough, was among them. And if he did not let it go, then that mean that few others truly would either. Twilight's friends in this world were the only ones willing to give her a chance.

But old habits die hard. No matter how much Sunset tried, she could not tone down her arrogance and general manner of accomplishing things. Though her ego had taken a hit straight to the vitals, it made a very swift comeback once it became apparent that acceptance by the school would mean completely changing herself.

Her final attempt had been based off of what she knew about mirrors; there was one way in and one way out. If the portal closes, then tough luck to anyone who wanted to travel inbetween.

However, if she could force the portal back open, then there was a chance that she could slip through and get back to Equestria without having to go through the red tape of her old mentor.

Now, in a dark, but very warm room in the middle of Celestia knows where, Sunset was beginning to regret not toughing out the remaining year and a half. A throbbing, rigid, fingerless arm ran down her underside, and even while she tried to get used to the lightning and the fact that she was a pony again, a very loud commotion outside kept her tense.

Hot breath on her chest alerted her that she was not alone, and that whatever she was on top of, would very soon wake up. Now that she thought about it, that arm earlier did not belong to her, and was probably the first indication that she in fact was not alone.

Just before she could enact her plan of swiftly hopping from this strange place, her host aggressively shoved her off, sending her to the hard crystal floor. The darkness made it difficult to re-gather her bearings, and the change in location coupled with the effects of crossing dimensions the hard way only increased Sunset's struggle.

Dazed and disoriented, Sunset staggered, bumping into cabinets and shelves, hearing the clang of armor and metal tools upon the floor before finally coming to a stop, realizing that moving around in her state was pointless.

Once the world stopped spinning, her adjusted eyes attempted to peer into the darkness when a lamp burst to life with light. The now blinding light source caused Sunset to wince and squint. For a few tense moments, the blurry visioned unicorn attempted to focus both her vision and her magic in case the creature wanted to continue attacking.

"Sunset Shimmer?" the voice was familiar, and yet foreign, the tone suggesting confusion bridled with some anger, likely at being disturbed at whatever hour it was. After all, finding a mare on top of could lead to issues beyond simple awkwardness.

Sunset's vision finally came into clear focus, and laying up a wooden bed with wood was none other than Flash Sentry, pony version. Sunset would have been happy to see him were his expression a little less condescending. It was hard to be thrilled when someone stared at you as if you had committed some sort of crime.

"How did you get here?" He made no move to hop out of bed, no doubt still sizing up the situation, "I thought you were still in that other world."

The room resembled the typical guard room, with shelves that used to be lined with armor and weapons, the article now scattered along the floor from Sunset's clumsy steps earlier. On a small table sat the lamp that had earlier blinded her, and while spacious, the room could have stood a little more decoration. She could presume that she was in the Crystal Empire, but the crystal theme all over the walls and ceiling had already gotten quite old to her.

Sunset chuckled, shook her head clear one last time, and then sat on her haunches. For now, she was not going anywhere, as there was no immediate threat to her safety. "I think the better question is, why I am here early from... banishment. You sound like you didn't miss me."

Flash snarled, throwing the bedding from him and hopping out of bed. While he hadn't bothered waiting for his wood to burn out, Sunet would not complain; it would be easier to fight him that way if she had to. Of course, she was not making any bets that he would seriously try to fight her in his current state anyways.

As Sunset had yet to make a move, Flash's expression softened, slightly, to a more concerned expression more fitting for an old friend. "Sister, this is not the time for games. You are supposed to be arrested on sight, you realize that right?"

Sentry spread his wings out, as if prepared to pounce. Sunset lit her horn threateningly, wanting to re-establish the sort of hierarchy that she had been accustomed to. Oh, there she went again; the hell with it, that was one habit that she just could not kick. And now that she was back in Equestria, with Flash Sentry no less, then there was no need to proceed with completely changing herself.

Though she took a step back, she pointed her horn threateningly towards Flash, just to be on the safe side. "Not so fast half brother; I am still one of the most powerful unicorns in all of Equestria, even moreso now that my only real competition are all alicorns. You won't be arresting anypony this night."

Sentry snorted in response, though he hesitated in striking. He continued to stare Shimmer down' however, his arousal finally beginning to taper off with the threat of danger. His facial expression evened out to a more neutral tone.

Sunset smiled, a warm feeling radiating out from her chest. This was more like it, instead of the scornful looks from Canterlot High Students. "Now then, while I would love to catch up on my carnal needs, which have been going unsatisfied for far too long just so you know, I really do have to get going."

Sunset began backing towards what she knew was the door; after all, only doors have shiny yellow doorknobs right? "Give my regards to Daddy will you?"

"Sunny wait!"

Sunset stopped, Flash's hoof extended outward in a desperate attempt to keep her in the room. Though Sunset loathed being stalled, if he was willing to call her by her pet name, then either he was a glutton for punishment or had something to get off his chest.

Realizing that Sunset was willing to hear him out, Flash requested, "Listen, we can compromise. It has been years since we last saw each other; can we at least catch up?"

Sunset was very unwilling to stay much longer, with the squawking and screeching outside reaching a fever pitch. It would only be a matter of time before guards rushed in to assess the noise, or get Flash in order to help deal with whatever was causing the issue. And without having her bearings, teleporting anywhere was not an option.

"Make it quick," Sunset threatened, still keeping her horn tilted towards Flash, "How has Dad been?"

"He is dead." Flash spoke shortly and rather curtly; there was no dragging it out for the sake of dramatics, not even an explanation as of yet.

Sunset's lips quivered, and her ears drew themselves back in response. Her horn dimmed ever so slightly, and she took anotherstep backwards in shock. "How, when?"

"He passed in his sleep."

Sunset shook her head, this bit of news not piecing together very well.

"But, that is not possible! He was still in his prime..."

"When you left."

Flash's gaze became more sympathetic, though still had a bit of a razor to it. He did not change his blunt manner of speech as he carried on, "I was in Saddle Arabia guarding Cadance, and you were fleeing from the royal guards at the time. Neither of us were there when things turned bad for him."

Sunset began backing away again, her internal clock screaming that it was high time for her to leave the building. "Terminal illness?"

"If you could call old age a terminal illness." Flash softened the edge on his gaze and took a few cautious steps forward. "Most unicorns don't live as long as earth ponies do."

Sunset seemed stunned, and it was not until her horn completely dimmed that Flash made his move. He charged forward, using his right hoof to slam her head back into the door while his body sent the rest of her with it. That one moment where she let her guard down he was upon her, sending her back straight into the door.

He used his body to pin her, his wings to restrain her arms outward, and used his hooves to properly embed her horn into the door, which surprisingly for Sunset was made of wood and not crystal.

Flassh hurriedly carried on while he had the upper hoof. "Either way, when I got back, Celestia told me that I was the only one left to arrange the funeral; she gave me leave time to return to Las Pegasus so that he could be buried in our home town. Sunset, you have no idea what you missed while you were gone."

With Flash having taken advantage of her temporary weakness, Sunset, under different circumstances, would have started cursing and attempting to headbutt, despite her horn being stuck through the seemingly thick door. Either Flash had gotten stronger since their last encounter or she had been more lost in thought than she had realized.

How could she let her guard down in front of a royal guard member? Family and old friend or not, he was still a member of the royal guard.

Their muzzles just inches from each other, a few tears welled from from Sunset, the unicorn blinking quickly in order to keep them from dropping. Was it pain from Flash's use of force? No, she had felt worse pain when she had transformed into her demonic state back then. No, those few drops of salty water were reserved as a brief memento to her now deceased father.

Right now though, she had a priority to get Flash off of her. While she doubted that he would attempt to turn her in, she was not in the mood for taking unnecessary risks.

Channeling magic through both her horn and the door, Sunset set the wood ablaze, using magic to prevent the flames from spreading directly onto her. Sentry backed off in alarm just enough for Sunset to buck him further away with her hooves, physically with her horn using the burning door as temporary leverage. She returned to her hooves and freed her horn in the same instant

The flames licked at her mane and back, but as quickly as they had come the flames finished consuming the rest of the door, leaving behind an ashen pile and a now home free Sunset Shimmer. Lain out on his back by the kick, Sunset did not stick around for him to recover before dashing from the room and into a long hallway.

Cursing the fact that she had still failed to ask Flash exactly where she was, Sunset blindly dashed through the brightening halls. Upon coming to a very well lit chamber with several tunnel entrances, she noticed that she had very much misjudged the time of day. It was late evening, with only about ten minutes left of daylight remaining.

Why had Sentry's room been so dark then? And more importantly, why was he even in bed at this hour? Sunset pondered this until she came to the only reasonable conclusion; Sentry must have been preparing for the night shift. Either that, or he had been getting off for the day.

Either way, she did not have much time to keep wondering about that; the sound of shouting ponies and clanging armor alerted her to the fact that Flash may have already organized a search party. She was definitely in the Crystal Empire, as even this chamber had that same irritating crystal design. That meant crystal ponies; which meant that she could not blend into a crowd very easily at all.

Grimacing, Sunset peeked through the window, hoping to find someplace to hide out at until she could move around in the cover of night. To her surprise, the earlier noise seemed more reminiscent of an invasion of sorts, as griffons, dragons, chimeras, and beasts of almost all natures rampaged around the city, scattered frightened ponies and fighting amongst each other and the Guard.

"What a convenient time to return to Equestria," Sunset snickered to herself, eying the chaos, "They will be far less concerned with me than putting all of this back in order."

Just across the street, Sunset spotted a sign that spoke words more magical than almost anything she had ever encountered in the human world.

A library, a public one at that, that was still open for business. Sunset smiled even wider at the thought of not just hiding in the library, but actually passing time reading books she had yet to lay her hooves on; who said that fate was cruel?

The chamber had several ways out, but the earthen tunnels could lead to almost anywhere. Only a story high, Sunset measured that she could, if she wanted to, burst right through the window and levitate the rest of the way.

"You have not practiced magic like that for a few months, do you really want to chance it?" Sunset spoke aloud, trying to reason with herself, "Not to mention even if you fit through the window, the glass might shred you..."

The sounds of pounding hooves from the direction she had just came alerted her that she needed to get a move on. Deciding against the window approach for logical rather than practical reasons, Sunset instead galloped down one of the tunnels, hoping that it ledto the library.

The tunnel went from evening lighting to complete and total darkness. Using her horn, Sunset lit the way, though only just barely, as she did not want to yet give away that she had went down this tunnel.

Once some ways in, Sunset brightened her horn light, noticing that this passageway seemed quite old. The floor seemed to be descending, and before long, Sunset could tell that she was going subterranean. Though this was not her intention, it at least got her into silence, save for the pounding above.

The tunnel stretched on for what felt like a few more meters before sharply rising again, the incline so steep that Sunset had to half levitate herself just to get up it without sliding back down. Fingers would have come in great handy there, but the benefit of magic had far more uses in the grand scheme.

Finally, the end of the tunnel came, and, removing a part of the ceiling, Sunset discovered that she had found herself in the library.

How could she tell? The books that lined the shelves, some rather new and untouched. The smell of antique dust having been flitted from books merely days prior, the lingering taste in the air of the printed word. The expansive library had that wretched crystal theme as well, although it appeared newer, as if it had previously been more of a wooden, traditional library theme.

An inner orgy caused Sunset to leap from the hole in excitement, cover the spot back up, and walk amongst the tall shelves, already lost in the possibilities.

The library was vast, comparable to Canterlot's in sheer size and volume. Where should she start? Adventure, Romance, Comedy, Fiction, Bibliographies, encyclopedias, there were so many options to choose from, all neatly labelled and in their place. Warm in every part of her body, a small glob of drool threatened to leave her open mouth when her eyes caught sight of a particularly thick book.

It's worn, leather back and spine showed signs of age, but the enchanted runes on it suggested preservation. Sunset's ears perked and her mouth closed, for if someone had went into that kind of effort to preserve a book, just to put it in the library for all to read over, then it must contain something very important. Maybe something important enough to aide her in future endeavors.

A wicked smile creased her lips. This would occupy her time nicely. The inner bookworm squealing in delight, Sunset levitated the book from its place, bringing it down to her hooves. When she read the cover though, she realized that reading this would likely be a challenge, simply due to the age of the book.

House of Umbra: Dark Magic. Clearly the Umbra family had not considered making an update volume in the modern tongue yet; oh well, that had never stopped a studious unicorn before, and it would not stop her now. From opening the very first page, just a twinge of fear entered her heart, as she recalled the second part of the title.

Dark magic.

A Hard Solid

Back in the present, Sunset paused at this point in the story to see if Celestia would react at all to the mentioning of that particular book.

Celestia frowned upon hearing the title of the book; she had likely recognized it merely by the description alone, but had not interrupted Sunset as to ask any questions. Now that she had paused, Celestia voiced the skepticism at the coincidence.

"I had suspected that you had gotten your hooves on that book, but in the Crystal Library right off a regular shelf?"

Sunset nodded, eyeing the cavern behind Celestia. The smell of freshly cut grass appealed to her hungry body, even if it had been cut from some random lawn.

"The original volume was, by some coincidence, hidden in the Crystal Library," Celestia echoed, clearly in disbelief, "I have heard of hiding a book in a library, but that seems a bit hard to believe."

Two royal guard pegasi walked in, carrying a tea set and two plates of grass between them. Upon inspection, Sunset realized that they were indeed plates of grass. Not hay, not even an apple; just freshly cut grass, or grass made to smell like it had been freshly cut.

Although she cared for a moment, once the guards set the morsels down before her, Sunset wasted no time in grazing, any shame she might would have had removed by the bliss of the act. Oh how good mere grass tasted to the unicorn, she found herself licking one of the plates clean of its contents.

What if it had been laced with poison? Sunset hadn't thought of that, and hesitated before going for the second plate. The grass had clearly been doused in water before being brought over, making her question the source of the grass.

"It just does not add up," Celestia carried on after Sunset paused from her ravenous eating, hardly paying her former student any mind, "How could you just up and find the book in the library? And why did that tunnel connect to the Crystal Barracks?"

"I can actually answer that last one," Sunset chimed, recalling the reason she had received sustenance in the first place and licking her lips, " During Sombra's reign, he had tunnels built under several of the structures, so that his slave labor could go unnoticed beneath the hooves of visitors. Obviously he failed to take into account that his slaves might actually use the tunnels to escape and bring their plight to your attention, but one cannot think of everything."

Celestia gave a small smile, and gently laughed, as if Sunset had given both a humorous and incorrect answer. "On the contrary."

The pegasi guards from earlier brought an excessively large pillow, almost as large as the two of them together, just in time for Celestia to take a seat. The guards hastily retreated, them being dismissed without a single visible gesture.

"Sombra knew that some of them were bound to escape; he wanted us to know what was going on. It was not oversight."

Sunset, realizing the reason Celestia even bothered asking the question when she knew the answer, chuckled. "Still testing me for accuracy? I thought we were past that stage."

Celestia laughed again, this time without the mocking ring at the end. "Evaluations are never finished. Now then, presuming I believe you actually found that book where you claim to have found it, what did you do with it then?"

"I borrowed and read it. Duh." Sunset lost to her temptation and began grazing at the second plate, though in a much calmer manner.

Celestia did not seem put off by the comment, though she did flick her ears forward, as if something had caught her attention. "That is more of the Sunset Shimmer I remember. Now then, I happened to be in the vicinity at the time-"

"I know." Though her mouth was full, Sunset still found a way to respond in an intelligible manner. "All of Equestria might could have heard that ringing voice calling for creatures to align based on their kind."

"You were not amongst the Equestrians, so I assume you hid out in the library?"

Sunset nodded, swallowing, only to find that her second plate already had been cleared. With a disappointed sigh, she continued.

"Yes, I hid out in the library until very deep into the night; I took that book with me. The very first page, with Luna and Sombra's doodlings out of boredom, let me know that at worst, the book was worth the price at the museum, and at best, would allow me an insight into the kind of magic that those two may have practiced all those centuries ago..."

The book had started off with some background on the various authors. The House of Umbra was a pony family, one that had largely unicorns in it let the book tell it.

The family stretched back centuries, prior to the founding of Equestria even. The family had been guarding and ruling on and off the Crystal Empire since its establishment, and could be considered nobility in that light. Supposedly, they had also been the founders of dark magic, something which the family took pride in considering that they wrote an entire book about it.

The family kept several records of their findings, this book being a compilation of most of them, and rarely allowed outsiders even a glimpse of their work. Luna was the only recorded exception, and from what Sunset could tell, it was due only in part due to her contributions to the volume. Dark magic functioned off of negative polar emotions, such as hatred and fear, and as such, tended to exchange power for control over these emotions.

Light magic, or so it was termed, functioned eerily similar, but as could be expected, it functioned more off of love and compassion. Like its counterpart, the user tended to lose their ability to resist control of these emotions with extensive usage, explaining why alicorns like Celestia could remain so amiable even under the most stressful of conditions.

Mastering both polar magics required great skill, and apparently had only been accomplished by alicorns in history. While that would have discouraged some others, it put Sunset into thought mode. Here she was, hiding out in a library, when the opportunity to become an alicorn may have literally levitated itself into her hooves.

Then again, this book was about dark magic; hardly anything good came out of using dark magic, not to mention it could easily be beaten with there being four alicorns running around.

Despite the wealth of information in the preface chapters, reading became much more complicated once actual spells came into play, with writings and re-writings making it very difficult to comprehend in the dimming daylight. Sunset needed a better place to hide out and read this book, especially since no one had bothered to check in on the library in hours.

Such a book, of course, would be noticed missing, so she went back down the tunnel that she had come. To her pleasant surprise, the guards had not blocked it off, and the chamber with the single window was completely abandoned. The window had been shattered, the entire frame completely off of its hinges.

Sunset contemplated making her get away right then and there, as her earlier window idea no longer had glass as an issue, but then she hears the faint sounds of chatter. Hiding in the darkness of the tunnel, Sunset gazed in surprise as Flash Sentry came into view, alone.

He was fully garbed in his royal guard armor, and seemed to be slowly, but surely, trotting back towards his room. He did not seem to be in the greatest of moods.

"Did you check the library, she asks," Flash mocked in a pitiful attempt at mimicking some mare's voice, "Why would I check the library when I damn well know that Sunset is the only thing that would attempt to hide in a library. Seriously, who else does that?"

Sunset had half a mind to lash out for this barbed insult at her choice of hiding places, but an interesting thought came to mind instead. She had recently read up on some interesting, if not mildly redundant information regarding dark magic. Earlier she had been bested by Flash; perhaps this time, she could get the jump on him instead.

Building up dark magic in her horn, Sunset let loose her magic, only for a purple mist to be emitted from her horn instead. While she had not used a specific spell, she had half expected dark magic to simply work off of her emotional state.

It had been unexpected, for she had been going more for a blast of dark magic, but the mist covered Sentry's head for a few seconds. He inhaled it, coughed a little, and then carried on with what he was doing down the hall, his voice still being heard as he continued his rant.

"Sunset had better be gone by the time I see her again; with Celestia hanging around, there is no telling what I would have to do in order to keep her head from ending up on a stake."

Sunset blinked, hardly processing that phrase. The only thing that went through her mind was how deprived she had been recently. Not of food or water, but of something much more basic, necessary to the continuance of life itself. She needed a good romping.

Sunset shook her head in an attempt to clear these thoughts, but they persistently remained. She wasn't going into heat now of all times was she? A quick moment of deliberation led to the conclusion that that earlier blindfire with her spell may have had something to do with it, rather than a sudden ability to have foals.

"Celestia always told me not to use strange magic without direction," Sunset pouted to herself, "Dammit, how am I supposed to figure out a way out of here with this distraction?"

From her hooves, up her spine, and straight into the back of her head, Sunset realized that she had been approaching this the wrong way. Flash Sentry clearly had not sounded the alarm yet, meaning that, to some extent, he wanted her to escape. Meaning, that he would be more than likely to help her, if she only asked. And maybe held him at bay with her magic.

"What could possibly go wrong!" Sunset shouted, quickly covering her mouth and frantically looking around. When no pony came running, Sunset returned to the library, "returned" the book to a random space, and then went on her way to finding Flash's room again.

She had noted it once before when she had come by at this time of night that the Crystal Palace was a dark place to wander around; only the lights of guards illuminated the hallways. Some instinct, or perhaps a higher sense of direction, guided her through the darkness to her destination right outside of Flash's front door, having apparently been repaired earlier in the evening while she was in the library.

Before she could open the door, however, a familiar voice could be heard on the other side, conversing. Putting an ear to the door, Sunset listened carefully to the dialogue, muffled as it was.

"I just replaced that door Flash. You were supposed to be on watch all day!" The voice sounded frustrated and masculine.

"My Prince, I was on watch almost all day; however, I took a break. The door must have been broken sometime during then." Flash's voice, with anger evident in the tone.

"Well, I guess I can't blame you entirely, today has been one strange set of events." Concession that perhaps a burnt down door being replaced was far more excusable under the unusual circumstances. It was just a door; whoever but a superior would even care that it had been burned down? .

Prince Shining Armor might would care, Sunset mused. She settled that that was who was on the other side of the door, having a somewhat private conversation with Flash.

An oddly serious interest sounding Flash inquired, "So, how did it go with Cadance?"

A pregnant pause followed, with only the sound of her own breathing filling the gap. At last, Shining spoke again.

"Could have gone better. Celestia is taking charge of everything, so I guess you have the rest of the night off, for now."

The sound of clopping hooves approaching the door signaled the end of the conversation. In a desperate attempt to hide herself, Sunset dashed off just down the hall. When the door opened, very little light poured out, and the form of Shining Armor stepped out. He used magic to close the door behind him before lighting his horn and trotting off in the opposite direction of Sunset, disappearing around a corner a minute or so later.

Sunset let out a sigh of relief once he was gone, and crept once again to Flash's door. Surprisingly enough, it opened for her, and though wary at first, Sunset trotted in confidently.

Once in and clear, the door slammed shut, the sound of bolting accompanying it. Before she could assess any further, a husky voice sounded out from behind her.

"What kept you so long Sunny? I thought I would have to pleasure myself tonight."

Sunset did not know how to take that comment, so instead turned around to find a glassy eyed Flash, practically eating her with just his eyes alone. Apparently, the magical mist worked as stated in the book, although it had not been Sunset's intentions to quite draw this result from Flash.

He strode up till he was right in her face, a wide grin on his face. "So, how would you like it tonight? Or would you just prefer I take over?"

Sunset backed away slowly, re-channeling magic into her horn, not entirely aroused by this far too easy to get stallion. "I think it would be best if you came to your senses."

Flash's eyes flashed green before returning to their normal blue; his smile did not waver in the least.

"I am in my senses."

Stallion tackled mare, sending both onto the awaiting bed behind them, Sunset temporarily pinned beneath Flash. His muzzle came within a hair's breadth of hers, and a wide grin was plastered on his face, mischief no doubt on the mind.

"Let's get down to business first, shall we Sunny?" Flash grinned, forcefully holding down the unicorn, despite her still flared horn, " I'll do you a solid or two, and then you do a solid or two for me. Got it?"

Sunset raised her left eyebrow in interest, for now stopping the surge in her magic. "Go on."

Flash snickered, and then nuzzled Sunset's right side. "You need to get out of here and on the train straight for Equestria proper. I need some business handled that I can't really do myself; someone will be sure to update you on what exactly that is on your way there. And if anyone asks, we are not fully related."

"But we are still family." Sunset critically looked at Flash, at this point mildly aroused, "Half is still there."

"Adopted, same father, that never really stopped your interest in me before," Flash teased.

Sunset had a brief flashback to the last time she had come onto Flash; as irony would have it, it had been shortly after she went into heat for the first time. Though their mother had not seen the issue, oblivious to the fact that the two were more closely related than law, their father had known very well and separated the two.

Perhaps history would have been different had they been allowed to mate all those years ago.

"Alright, but since I am not in heat, then you are not going to be taking me just any kind of way."

With a rough, but playful bump of the muzzles, the two came together in a kiss which shot electricity straight through Sunset's body, It was as if Sentry were attempting to shock her with a buzzer in his mouth, this feeling spreading rapidly through her entire head. Even her horn sparked mildly as tongue met tongue.

Just before anyone could get carried away, Sunset broke away and, using magic, flipped Flash over onto his back and onto the empty space on the bed to her left. Before he could react, she rolled over as well, now on top and leering down at her partner in crime.

"Sometimes, I wonder if Father was telling the truth when he said that I was the product of an affair," Sunset jested, "You would think Mom would have known. Not much got past her."

Flash cackled, giving Sunset a sideways glance. "Well, we are about the same age. Maybe there were three ponies involved that day."

Sunset would not have banked on it, but the humor in just imagining it went well with the next thirty minutes of the evening.

Author's Note

I was going to write a clop scene for this, but then I decided not to. I don't think the T rated could have been maintained had I let my imagination run wild.

Disguises and Jests

"How silly, to think that you can trust Flash Sentry so easily. The moment you shut your eyes he can turn you in and collect whatever prize he so seeks. Stupid mare."

Sunset woke up, this voice echoing through the dimly lit room. Her ears flicked every which way to find the voice, but the echo faded before she could fully get a bead on it. Straining her ears, she listened, hearing only the sound of her own breathing. She looked frantically through the sheets only to find that Flash Sentry was not present.

This did not bode well, and the concerned Sunset was prepared to make a hasty gallop for the door when a chuckle could be heard from a dark portion of the room.

"Rise and shine."

The voice belonged to Flash, but before Sunset could react, light flooded the room, completely blinding the unicorn. For several minutes she winced, eyes tightly shut as her mind reeled from the unprompted wake-up call. All the while, Flash could be heard laughing, the sound of glassware being shifted being heard.

When Sunset opened her eyes, she found that the room had a particularly large hole in the roof. How had she not noticed that before? With sunlight pouring through it, Sunset could only assume that it was some sort of sun roof.

"Drilled out myself after last night's activities," Flash explained, hopping back onto the bed, "You slept like a rock. A very smart rock at that."

Sunset rubbed at her eyes, looking to find breakfast in bed. Apple turnovers, some fruity pastries, and just plain old apples were all arranged neatly in front of her and Flash. They had not been there before either.

"Took me an hour to set this whole thing up," Flash continued, beaming all the while, "Now then, while you eat, there are a few things that we need to go over."

Sunset did not feel like a lecture, but she was far too enamored with the gesture of breakfast in bed to make it known. She began chomping at the apples, all the while listening to Flash speak.

"I have spoken to an associate of mine, old friend from the funeral. Funny how that works. Anyways, I had a chat with her, and she is willing to take you on board with some occupational hazards in mind. However, they have a major deal going down sometime later this day, so you will probably not get the chance to get involved-"

Sunset swallowed the last bits of an apple before dropping the core to speak. "What have you exactly referred me to, Flash?"

Flash sheepishly chuckled and rubbed the back of his head with his left hoof, a smile on his face. "An old friend. Just trust me, you will definitely fit right in considering your less than noble history."

"For the record, I am turning that around," Sunset insisted, eyeing the apple turnover that Flash had seized in his mouth, "If I am going to be an alicorn someday, I am going to have to hang with the right crowd."

Flash practically inhaled the turnover, licked his lips, and then carried on as if he had not taken a pause to eat. "In whatever they have planned. Until the whole magic teleportation thing gets fully sorted out, they, and we, are going to be very busy. Did I mention that they pay well?"

Sunset frowned, still munching on the last turnover, lost in thought. She had not considered how she intended on living in Equestria, as the few bits that she had stored up would have likely been confiscated by now, if not outright taken as tribute for property damage in Canterlot. Flash was a rather upstanding citizen of Equestria, so whatever this group was, they had to be in good standings with Celestia.

Or at least, as far as Flash knew. Considering that they paid well, and that Flash had an insider, then it did not sound like a bad start. After all, she needed more than anything to find a group of her own to hang out with. Equestria was a very boring place without some companion.

Swallowing the turnover's last morsel, Sunset looked up to the sun roof. She could feel her half-brother's intense gaze seeking eye contact, something she continued to deny while she made her decision and Flash carried on with his explanation.

"Some of the creatures that got landed here have little interest in going home; the Military is being mobilized in order to make sure that no troublemakers stay behind, if you catch my drift."

"So this contact may be helping out with that?" Sunset still avoided eye contact, instead granting a side glance instead, "You have not told me much about her. Who is she?"

"I cannot tell you that." Flash laughed, and used his wing to pop an apple into the air. "It is supposed to be confidential." While in mid-air Flash snaps the apple between his jaws and removes half of it from the core; the other half neatly falls onto the plate.

Sunset mockingly claps with her hooves, slowly as to emphasize her lack of astonishment. "Have you two done anything together?"

Flash shook his head quickly, a little too quickly for Sunset's taste. "Of course not, I am not that kind of stallion, though she is not half bad looking. Listen, just trust me on this one. Did you have any other destinations in mind other than Canterlot?"

So the contact was likely a unicorn, Sunset guessed. That would make sense; she could get along with other unicorns decently well, as most unicorns tended to have a keen interest in magic. Canterlot though had been the last place that she would have wanted to go; she would have preferred taking her chances in Manehatten before going right to her mentor's doorstep.

"I guess not," Sunset grumbled, conceding that she did not have much of a gameplan, "Ending up here practically in your lap was a stroke of fortune right there."

Flash gave Sunset a confused look, most likely not understanding the reference. Upon realizing this, Sunset shook her head. "In the other world you can have laps because you walk on twos instead of fours and can have your thighs act as a seat-"

Flash put a hoof up for silence, shaking his own head furiously. "I get it, it's a human thing. Anyways, we can't have you walking out of here as yourself, so I also got a disguise ready."

"Disguise?" Sunset incredulously stated, "What do I need a disguise for?"

"Well, the later Celestia knows that you are back the better," Flash explained, "Considering that you did try to kill her studnet, do you really want royal guards tailing you wherever you go?"

"I eventually have to reveal myself though," Sunset pointed out, "Hiding from Celestia is not my top priority."

"Then why did you not go out to her when she called for Equestrians?"

Silence, save for the breathing of two ponies and the faint drop of an apple from its perch on the bed. The noise of it rolling was near defeaning as Flash waited for Sunset's answer, to which he would recieve none.

Sunset turned her head completely, turning her back to Flash for the first time since she had awoken that morning. "So where do I go after I get on this disguise?"

Not wishing to press the matter any further, Flash diverted his gaze to the floor. "The train station. A train leaving for Canterlot will be departing soon. An unusually large amount of ponies are having a dream gap, and want an explanation from Luna herself. Considering the boldness of that, I would say that something must have happened in the dreamscape overnight."

Sunset would have laughed at the thought of the dream world having its own issues, but then again, she had managed to get back to Equestria before the portal was properly open. In that light, the dreamscape having issues seemed much more normal.

Sunset pondered for a moment longer before Flash stacked the mostly empty dishes and disappeared to the other side of the bed. In his hooves was a bucket, and his mouth a large cloak of sorts. He also had a grin, using a wing to brandish a paintbrush playfully in Sunset's decision.

Sunset could already tell where this was going. " That paint had best be washable," she playfully threatened, putting a hoof to her chest for emphasis, "Sunset Shimmer does not like stains."

"Then I hope you wash up good after last night."

Sunset did not get a chance to respond before the paintbrush, already dunked into the paint, was already flying through the air in the grasp of Flash.

After the paint job, Sunset donned the cloak and had her mane and tail dyed; as Flash put it, attempting to completely conceal her cutie mark would draw attention, as it would take a real artist to draw on a false one. When she took a look in the mirror, Sunset could hardly believe that the pony staring back at her was her.

Her mane was a sugary white and her coat a bright blue. The cloak covered most if not all of her body, even her tail not sticking out the back. It was, to say the least, quite impressive, though she reasoned that it would draw some levels of attention.

Flash escorted her from the empty Barracks and through the Crystal Empire's main street, not even trying to keep to the shadows. Though she received a few strange looks, most onlookers were too busy with their own dealings to pay her any serious attention to the mare with the brown saddlebags and oversized cloak. Celestia had apparently left in the night without any further word, leaving the remainder of the extradition work to Shining Armor and Cadance.

Publicly they were thrilled at the notion, but Sunset highly doubted that they truly looked forward to the extra workload. Nevertheless, the duo reached the train station without incident, only to find an incredibly long line of ponies, many armed with cameras and small microphones.

"Celestia dodged a bullet warping out of here without another word," Sentry joked as they strode up to the end of the line, "Look at all the paparazzi."

"This is going to take forever," Sunset concluded, seeing the line moving literally a foot every few minutes, "We are not even halfway up there yet!"

"Nevermind that," Flash said, noticing a contingent of crystal guards checking the lines for problems, "I got this. Sword, over here!"

One of the crystal pony guards looked up and smiled upon seeing Flash's waving hoof. He was a large and bulky sort of stallion, blue both in color and in dress, his armor matching his coat almost too well.

"Well well well, what we have here?" Sword bellowed with his small entourage, " Our fair second-in-command and his mistress? No doubt the recipient of that breakfast."

A few heads turned as Flash's ears flattened against his head and his cheeks burst bright red in color. "She is not a mistress-"

Sword laughed, cutting off Flash and wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "We heard all that noise last night. Thought it was just you going at it again solo, but then somepony else actually responded. You have no idea how permeable your door is to sound Cap."

Sunset was not quite sure how to react to this, and based on Flash's lack of speech, he too was unable to form an appropriate response.

"So, all jokes aside, what can I do you for? I am sure the mare knows your price better than I do." Sword released Flash, allowing him enough physical distance to get his head back into the situation.

"Ah yes, need this mare at the front of this line. What is the holdup?"

"We were waiting on you," Sword pointed out, "Nopony leaves this town without your approval. Shining's delegation duties delegated this task to you."

"Well, I approve this mare," Flash quickly stated, gesturing towards Sunset, "Send her on board already."

Sword shrugged, a few outcries of protest present among those in line. "Alright, but if these good ponies get pissy, I am not the one telling Shining that we bopped them in the head for unruly behavior."

Sunset and Flash both rolled their eyes at the same time. Sunset turned towards Flash, who smiled sheepishly as his cheeks returned to a more natural coloration.

"Yeah well, good luck. My contact in Canterlot should already be aware that you are on your way. Make some friends while you are at it alright?"

Sunset laughed and started trotting towards the train cars, ignoring the deathly stares of the waiting ponies. "I will try my best. Thanks for the favs." Flash nodded and waved her off, still eying the less than enthusiastic crowd.

Sunset had brought a saddlebag with her, a brown one, which held the rather large tome that weighed down one side of her pack. The other side had to be counter-weighted with bits, writing materials, and some packaged food. All in all, she had went prepared for a relatively short trip.

Her "ticket" had been for first class, with a personal cabin all to herself; supposedly, the night before, Cadance and Celestia had been on that very train. Hardly anyone seemed to show much care until rumor got around that the princess of love had brought Shining along for the ride, and may have been up to something in the car next door when the two had some alone time together.

In due time, a swarm of curious investigators sought the potential scene of the royal screwing, much to Sunset's disdain, especially since they had to pass right through her car in order to get to the scene. She bolted her cabin shut, not wanting any intruders to disturb her reading. Once the train got moving, not much could, or would, disturb her, she was certain of that. Within a few hours, the herd settled down, but many seemed to be camping on the other side of the door; they eagerly hoped that Sunset would require the attention of the front of the train for any reason.

Obviously they had never met the unicorn, for once she delved into a good book, nothing short of Celestia herself could tear her from it. And this book was filled with lore and hard to decipher spells. Rather than picking through the rather convoluted spell notes of the previous owners, Sunset focused on reading through the more clearly written and more neatly organized notes on magic in general. Some of it was review, but some of it also added some interesting touches to her knowledge base.

One particular chapter caught her interest: How to Kill an Alicorn.

No doubt her mentor came to mind for a brief moment, but Twilight Sparkle stayed in her mind the entire time she flipped through the seemingly endless pages in an attempt to get to that chapter. She could see that it was rather short due to the few pages that were devoted to it, but her mind did not allow her to dwell on that too long. Maybe this detailed multiple methods.

At some point, it occurred to me that alicorns are very difficult to kill; perhaps taking an experienced one in head-to-head combat was a wake-up call that I ignored. Other than being long lived, they are also extremely magical, and quite unique in that regard.

However, like a blazing fire, they only have so long before they too die out. Otherwise, reproduction would be pointless, and ascended ponies would lose all ability to reproduce. As I know for certain now, that is not the case.

Though Luna wishes not to describe the passing of her mother, I have already surmised that it was likely an unpleasant end. I hear that Discord put up a fight in order to maintain control of Equestria; that draconequus defeating Solaria would explain why he seemed relaxed enough to send me a letter announcing his triumph, boldly stating that he had taken down the only serious threat to his continued rule.

He should have kept up with history, but that is a point for another time. He killed Solaria not with physical force, but psychological warfare. You do not kill the alicorn's body or mind; you kill their very soul, and the rest will follow suite.

Sunset began to feel that the writer was dragging out the answer for her own torture. However, she patiently waited, and continued reading.

Alicorns are intimately connected to their primary magic specialization; the moon for Luna, sun for Celestia, for example. Solaria and her mate were connected to their respective conquests, the conjoined gains not always printed on their cutie marks. When the Empire died, her mate did as well; how Solaria survived as long as she did truly was a mystery.

So rather than fighting Solaria on her terms, Discord attacked the minds of the Equestrians. He made their lives most miserable, which oddly enough forged them an identity far different than that of the Empire of past. Before long, they renounced ever having had a previous Empire, and declared themselves Equestrians through and through.

Ironically enough, they also cast away their previous culture, preferring to instead be ruled by alicorns, not because they were the most powerful, but because they represented all three races.

Touching, but inevitably this abandonment killed Solaria off; not all that slowly either. One week she is scouring the land in search of the elusive spirit of disharmony, and the next, Luna sends a tearful letter regarding the natural death of their mother.

But where does all of that magic go?

Sunset stopped here, contemplating. Connected to the sun and the moon respectively, the odds of either of Celestia or Luna going out would be slim to none, which would explain why neither of them had yet bitten the dust. And yet, certainly not all of the Equestrians would have renounced their very roots? That would be quite something, even for the likes of Discord.

There had to be something more to that tale. Sunset eagerly read on, hardly noticing the change in weather outside.

Well, cut off from their specialization, alicorns die, and may very well take their magic with them to the afterlife. As alicorns are not dying left and right, I cannot exactly test this anytime soon.

Sunset snorted, finding that the end of the chapter was near to hoof. There was only a paragraph left, and a brief skim suggested that she would not get any tips on taking out Twilight. Then again, now that it came to mind, why was that even a priority?

Twilight had saved her from herself. And stripped her of her power over the Canterlot students, ruined her image of invincibility, and crushed any hopes of invading Equestria with a teenage army. The strategy of course had its flaws, but it would have been worth a shot, one that Twilight had put an end to.

Screw it, Sunset reasoned; she had more than enough grievances against the purple alicorn! Of course, killing her without knowing her specialization would be a burdensome task indeed, if the author could be credited with doing their research on offing alicorns.

As these thoughts ran through her mind, the more Sunset began to realize that she was on a train trip to the wrong place; she needed to find Twilight's castle, if she even had one yet, and see what she could scrounge up there for information. A bookworm always placed a book of secrets somewhere in their personal library.

Before the thought could fester anymore in her mind, Sunset was thrown forward out of her sitting position. The entire world lost balance as it seemed to tip, twist, and turn, the confounded Sunset rolling and slamming into anything that decided to get into her path. Worst of all, her saddlebag slammed into her stomach, knocking the very breath from her. The final clock to darkness came when the large tome came inbound.

Rather than allowing it to hit her head on, Sunset managed to levitate the book just a few inches to the right; though it spun her from sheer momentum, she did manage to avoid kissing the book cover. When the world finally found itself again, Sunset came to a rolling stop, a few new bruises making themselves known on her body through their ache.

Barely conscious, Sunset heard the familiar sound of fireworks, along with the startled cries of ponies. Getting to her hooves slowly, she would have taken a look outside, but a flash of light completely blinded her, along with a blunt amount of force sending her backwards.

Whiplash would have been one way to describe the ill side-effects of this as Sunset found herself thrown through glass and rolling in the cold snow. Her belongings scattered around her, and the world took on a crimson tint. Sunset had not even realized that the weather had changed since she had last looked up from her book, from a bright, sunny day to a light snowfall.

On her back, Sunset fell to her side, shivering instinctively from the change in weather. She looked towards the bright orange flames, realizing that her mane had returned to its normal color. A unicorn, silhouetted in the gathering snowstorm, rushed towards her position, clearly in some sort of charge.

The train had certainly derailed, but billowing smoke from the front suggested that it had not been a mere driver error.

She was in the middle of a train robbery.

Author's Note

As I came back to re-read while I was working on the next chapter, it occurred to me that some parts near the middle stopped making sense, since Sunset boarding the train had been the beginning of the chapter rather than the middle prior to me coming back to this chapter. I think it is all good now, though if I still missed something I am sure someone will make it known.

The Great and Thievous Trixie

Sunset had endured some pain in the past few weeks, but not since she had to escape Equestria had she been physically injured even closer to this manner; broken glass had embedded itself in a few places on her back and shoulders, most deep enough to cause some bleeding.

A few were relatively shallow, and merely caused a light scratch on the surface, but as she had been laid out on her back with her saddlebag still on her person, the unicorn would need to move deliberately in order to avoid worsening her situation. Gingerly, she removed her saddlebag, hearing yet more fireworks going off in the distance. Once the saddlebag was safely out of harms reach, Sunset then worked on removing a few of the less embedded glass shards from herself.

It took a few minutes, but once a few tugs with her magic proved that the remainder, the majority really, were stuck in there until greater force could be used, Sunset managed to rise shakily to her hooves.

The train had not just been derailed; it had been completely blown off of its tracks. Another blast of fireworks lit up yet another train car, sending it careening into the air, making a rather rough landing several yards off. Whoever had done this had an obsession with overly showy explosives. Then again, clearly this was also a rather well thought out plan; it was not everyday in Equestria that a train robber goes to the trouble of blowing up the tracks in order to rob the train.

Then again, Sunset had not been in Equestria very often lately, so as far as she knew, this could in fact be the new norm. She highly doubted it though. Much of the attention was still on the very much stopped train and its various cars, all of which were landing in a stacked-like fashion some distance away.

Taking this moment in which the perpetrator might not come hunting for her, Sunset began carefully removing some of the shards of glass, largely using feel in order to locate the shards. Now, logic would have told her that it would make some sense to at least find some bandages first, but logic had been tossed out the train window along with her at this point. Removing the shards seemed to only widen the wounds into small lacerations, but at least there would be little chance of them going in even deeper.

The freezing cold numbed her to some degree, so while she could consider that relief, she also became faced with a rather interesting problem. This problem, of course, was that she had not been paying attention to the deathly quiet that had overtaken the area, and had forgotten about the unicorn that she had earlier spotted on her way to the ground.

"Hoof over the saddlebag unicorn."

The voice was female, but it had an odd authority and malignity to it that almost made Sunset comply immediately. However, she turned every which way to find the speaker first, only to be faced with a brilliant azure unicorn with hair that reminded her of toothpaste, with its pale cornflower blue (like that of cauliflower being lightly tinged blue) with almost white colored stripes.

Purple eyes stared Sunset down, narrowed and focused, sparks of magenta magic emitting from the horn.

"I will not repeat myself. Hoof over the saddlebag, or the Great and Powerful Trixie will have to take it."

Sunset was on the verge of telling this "Trixie" that, as a unicorn, she could levitate it herself if she wanted it so badly; however, Sunset detected a potential advantage in this roundabout way of doing things, as maybe her foe was not as villainous as she had first came off of. Seeking the true nature of her foes and exploiting it had been a talent that Sunset worked on vigorously during her time at Canterlot High.

"Feeling a bit guilty about blowing up a train are we?" Sunset taunted with a wry smile, "Best save your remorse for the bottom of Celestia's hoof. She does not take kindly to murderers and robbers. Just ask Sombra."

For some reason, Trixie cackled at that; Sunset did not see the joke, for as far as she knew Sombra had not seen a warm day in his life since he crossed the royal princesses.

"Trixie will not think twice about sending your face to the bottom of Celestia's shoe on a burnt plate; after all, I am sure you were impersonating Trixie rather poorly for some reason."

Sunset would have been in denial, but then she reconsidered her disguise. This pony's cutie mark was a star-shaped wand leaving a sparkly swish behind it, the swish resembling a cape; Sunset's disguise had kept her own cutie mark concealed, but other than that, she did bear a slight resemblance to Trixie. Nothing for her to get worked up over though and shout identity thief though.

"I did not want to get swarmed." Sunset decided to switch tactics, as threats of punishment clearly were not this mare's concerns. "Hard to have looks like these without-"

"Enough!" Trixie let loose a blast from her horn, sending a flurry of snow behind Sunset. As this had also been where Sunset had been hurling the glass, a few shards of glass also fly into the air as well. Sunset takes a few of these shards in her magic and sends them towards Trixie's eyes with the intention of blinding her. It was a somewhat desperate tactic, as she could have just fired a blast of magic of her own, but she did not want those shards coming back at her either, so she felt it was better to get them away from her blind spot.

No such luck for blinding Trixie though, for she had vanished quite suddenly. Sunset had been thrown off and watched the shards embed themselves into the snow. A few moments later she noticed that hoof tracks were still in the snow, leading off to the right. About to start trailing them, Sunset felt something incredibly warm touch the bottom of her neck. Sunset's eyes shifted from the tracks in the snow to the source of the warmth.

Trixie re-appeared, her head and glowing horn poised directly below Sunset's chin at this point, ready to blast at a moment's notice. "Last chance unicorn. I want your stuff, not your life, but try anything else and there will not be much left of that pretty head of yours."

Sunset cursed under her breath, angry at herself for being cornered so easily. She chalked it up to rustiness from fighting as a unicorn and looked towards her saddlebags, finally relenting.

Using her magic, Sunset levitated her saddlebags towards Trixie, dropping them to her side. For some reason, her seemed to be getting gradually weaker, and it was only now that Sunset recalled her earlier injuries with an acute sense of urgency. She needed to get that addressed, for even though they were numbed somewhat, that did not mean that they had rapidly healed.

In a last ditch effort to appease the fortune rulers and turn this situation around, Sunset tried one of her lesser talents: flattery. "You know, impersonating one of the greatest unicorns in all of Equestria, and this little fight here, has really given me insight to one of my betters. If I may ask, may I join you?"

"I don't need an apprentice." Trixie shimmered for a moment and reappeared a few feet from where the shards of glass had found their resting place, her horn still glowing. When Sunset checked the spot Trixie had last been seen, she realized that there had been no hooftracks that led straight to her. Meaning that Trixie had managed to trick her into thinking that she had been in imminent danger when in fact, the real Trixie had been at a rather safe distance away.

It had been smoke and mirrors, a magical illusion. At this moment, Sunset felt very much like a sucker for falling for such a basic trick. Trixie apparently had been very well named when she was younger, and Sunset could guess she might have had some background as a magician.

Holding back her frustration as all of this added onto the other issue that she was dealing with at the moment, Sunset attempted to continue to stroke her opponent's ego. "But what of all of your talent? Think of it more like a partnership; after all, hauling all of those train goods by yourself must be quite the task."

Trixie seemed to perk up at this, much to Sunset's pleasure. Unfortunately, before she could hear the response, her legs gave way, sending her crashing to the cold ground. Everything began going white, and before she could get back to her hooves, she lost all feeling. The world seemed to disconnect itself from her, and her very mind seemed to wander to the outermost mists of the universe.

It was kind of strange, sudden even, for she had thought that she still had more time. Then again, she had been so focused on Trixie that she had not re-addressed dressing her wounds. Blood loss, though unlikely, may have caused her to pass out; she was not entirely sure, but she was sure that her mind had wandered into dream land long before she could try to figure out what caused her collapse.

Light began flooding Sunset's vision shortly after this. From a bright white aura to a white coat, Sunest began to assume that she was dreaming. A mare with a flowing mane like an angry thunder cloud and a coat of white stared at her with a serious expression. The mare had both wings and a horn, and seemed to be just Sunset's size.

The bright magenta eyes had an odd amount of friendly youth in them, and contrasted with the frown and furrowed eyebrows. The place for a cutie mark was absent, and it was at this moment that Sunset realized that the mare was not staring at her.

The mare was staring at itself, and more pertinently, its blank flank.

Either she was this dream pony, or this dream pony was her; or perhaps this was a vision? Sunset decided to go with vision rather than a mere dream, and for a brief moment she enjoyed the thought that, if she had just died, she would be reincarnated in the form of an alicorn. A rather nice looking one at that. Maybe the fortune lords had heard her pleas from earlier.

"Nimba!" a familiar voice called out urgently, "Nimba, where are you?"

The pony relaxed her facial expression at the sound of the voice, the owner belonging to the only pony that Sunset could match. Princess Celestia.

"Coming mother!" the mare shouted back, taking one final glance in the mirror before rushing from the room.

Apparently, the pony had been getting prepared inside of a bathroom for something. A large hole for the business, a large tub for bathing, and a simple sink with a mirror attached to it were all that was in this small bathroom. From this, Sunset deduced that the setting was somewhere in the past, perhaps in a noblepony's home.

Upon leaving, Nimba entered a large bedroom; Celestia's icon, the blazing sun, had been posted in the form of banners, paint, and engravings in almost every corner of the room. In conjunction with this was an incredibly large and round bed; so large that three Celestia's could have fit into it. Sitting atop it was none other than Celestia, a small frown on her lips. Her eyes dripped with concern, and Sunset could swear that even some anger resided.

"Nimba, were you inspecting your flank again?" Celestia did not sound very pleased, though Sunset reasoned that this was a very natural reaction to a blank flank as old as this pony appeared.

"Well mother, I still don't have one," Nimba pouted, lips poked out in an attempt at humor, "Every other pony my age already has had their marks for years, but me? Blank as a sheet of unused parchment."

Celestia shook her head, that scholarly expression warning Sunset that a scolding was coming her way. "As a young mare, an alicorn no doubt, you should not try to rush these things. A cutie mark is permanent; once you get it, there is no removing it without altering the very way you live."

"But it is not fair!" Nimba continued, Sunset almost being amused by the familiar protest in the face of the patience speech, "I am one of the most powerful pegacorns just short of You and Auntie. I can call down meteors, burn heretics with my mind, and even manipulate the nobles with a single bat of my eye! I should have a cutie mark by now for something!"

Celestia rose from the bed, using her natural height to look down upon her daughter with a stern look. "As an alicorn, your specialty is linked to your very livelihood; I would prefer that none of those things brand you for life. And what heretics do you burn?"

Nimba's ears flattened backwards, perhaps out of guilt. Perhaps out of concern about what she had just said, to her own mother of all listeners. "Those who do not believe in the magic of friendship," she muttered, "They threaten to disrupt the stability that You and Auntie have worked so hard for. We do not want another Sombra--"

"Do not speak ill of Sombra," Celestia snapped, cutting off Nimba abruptly, "He is just going through a rough time right now."

"Yes, enslaving his subjects and promoting tyranny is a rough time for everypony," Nimba retorted, now sitting on her haunches and averting her gaze, " He dared to suggest that they had it coming too! No pony deserves to be in chains! If they wronged him so badly he should have just put them out of their misery and called it a millennia."

Celestia's wings flared upwards in anger, though she did not rise from her resting place. This was a surprise for Sunset, as she never saw her former mentor get riled up over much of anything. "Execution and genocide is not the solution to everything! If you are going to rule a portion of Equestria one day, you need to change your outlook on how to treat your subjects; both followers and breakers of the law."

"And that is why Sombra is the only stallion who has tasted the position of alicorn recently," Nimba muttered in as low of a tone as possible, hoping that her mother did not hear her.

Unfortunately, Celestia could read lips particularly well and sighed in both resignation and frustration. "Nimba, it is clear that you are far from ready to succeed me; maybe your lack of a cutie mark is because of your lack of wisdom."

Nimba's ears twitched, and though Sunset could feel the need to retort on that, Nimba suppressed it. She instead took a moment to compose an answer, choosing carefully what she wanted to say. "Even the weak-minded of our subjects get a cutie mark; You and Luna would be the only ones with a cutie mark if that were a requirement. I bet Father would have understood my viewpoint."

"You have no idea just how right and wrong that you are," Celestia then laid herself back onto the bed, showing some signs of fatigue, her wings drooping down to her sides, still stretched out. "The night has already started for at least twenty minutes now; I need my rest for tomorrow's day. I want you to think more critically about this conversation."

"It would help if you told me who my father is so I could ask him, if he is still around, that is." Nimba's retort had a sort of edge to it that, without further context, Sunset could not piece together. Either way, it struck Celestia in a fashion that few managed to strike in a single evening of chatter.

With an angry expression, Celestia, in a restrained voice, ordered, "To your room Nimba."

Nimba's ears perked up, and the mare took a step forward in protest. "But, we always sleep together. It's almost ritual."

"Not tonight." Celestia was resolute with her answer, "Tonight, I need some alone time. And you need some alone time to think about what has so obviously angered me."

And with that, Celestia turned from the still surprised Nimba. After a few moments of hesitation, the young alicorn frowned and stalked off towards a large set of double doors on the other side. "Fine. But when I get my cutie mark in investigation, I am going to ask Auntie about Father again. Maybe then she'll be less reluctant to withhold information."

And with that, Nimba stormed off, though behind her back Celestia began laughing to herself. It only irritated Nimba more that her mother had found such humor in the comment.

"Good night Nimba. Love you."

Despite the earlier hostility, Nimba gave a small smile and, with only a single look back, replied, "Love you too Mother."

With that, the dream ended, and Sunset awoke to find herself bound and gagged. While not surprised that she did not awake in the cold snow, she was startled to find a fire roaring mere feet away from her position. Any attempt at channeling magic to her horn failed, some sort of suppression presumed to be on it.

Seems Trixie either had taken her prisoner, or was preparing to allow certain thing to happen. Either way, Sunset searched with her eyes for an answer.

The small camp had the backdrop of various train cars, all derailed of course, gathered around as a sort of wall enclosure; each being carefully placed as to fit almost seamlessly between each other. Trixie sat on the other side of the fire, much of her form blurred due to the fire between them and Sunset's viewing from a much lower angle. Not only that, but there seemed to even be train cars formed into a sort of ceiling, with a circular skyview created letting in a stream of moonlight.

It was a full moon, and the lack of the Mare in the Moon was a slight disturbance to Sunset, though she recalled that Nightmare Moon had been liberated from that during her absence, and had since been reformed into Luna. Or was it the other way around? Sunset was not entirely sure, but either way, the full moon's lack of a unicorn head certainly dashed her theory of unicorns being imprinted even on the moon to show their dominance.

Oh how her former classmates would likely laugh at her now for such a notion. But it had made plenty of sense, with the unicorn capital of Equestria also being the national capital, with Celestia taking up residence there after the first Nightmare Moon incident. So even if they were to mock her now, she could easily retort that she worked with what knowledge had been available.

At this thought, Sunset's gag was removed via levitation, Trixie likely noticing her awake at last.

"I see you are awake," Trixie commented, placing the gag to the right side of Sunset's head, "You should be grateful to Trixie for saving your life."

Considering she was the one who put her in harm's way in the first place, Sunset personally counted that as even, though she spoke no such thing. After all, she did have the courtesy to bandage up her wounds. Plus, Sunset had to keep this unicorn buttered up, especially now that she was practically a captive. "So, what is with the restraints? I thought you had changed our mind about a partner."

"I did." Trixie sneered, a glint in her eye, "When I dragged you over here and patched you up, obviously I needed some way to keep your limbs from flopping all over the place."

Magic, maybe? Sunset would have retorted that levitation would have worked just fine, but reminded herself that, presumably, Trixie also moved her loot and the train cars as well. There was logic in not further straining herself to levitate Sunset back to her hideout.

"I see. So, mind untying me and unsuppressing my magic?"

Trixie laughed, and then levitated a poster with Sunset's cutie mark on it. In bold letters, Wanted described the nature of the advertisement. For a few moments, it meant nothing to Sunset, until she noticed the cutie mark that was framed in the description box. A sun with red and tan rays and a center divided between the colors of red and yellow. It looked very much like her own cutie mark, just short of a proper dimension comparison.

"You were a wanted pony. Celestia was willing to offer a kingdom's worth of bits to the pony who brought you in alive, and a castle's worth for any who brought you dead. That was years ago, but there is no expiration date, and I doubt you became less dangerous over your time in exile. I will remove the physical restrains, but your magical one remains."

Damn, so Trixie had done some research. Or better yet, had been holding onto that in case she got a lucky break such as this. Sunset realized that her charade was over, and at this point, she would be faced with blackmail. As her physical bindings came undone, the rope seemingly snaking itself from her limbs, Sunset took a moment to reach a hoof to her horn.

It felt rocky, as if she had crystals sprouting from it. Whatever this suppression spell was, it was very effective, as Sunset couldn't even channel enough magic to levitate a snowflake. And that was saying something; maybe she really had underestimated Trixie's skill with magic.

"Found that nifty spell in that book of yours," Trixie boasted, gesturing to herself with a wide grin and a hoof to her chest, "You have no idea how hard it was to do that. Took me almost an hour just to cast the spell, and another thirty minutes figuring out how to keep it on your horn."

A hour and thirty minutes? That seemed like a rather short time considering how effective the spell was, but Sunset reasoned that this particular spell must not have been overly complicated; either that, or she had been out of it for far longer than she had realized.

"So, what now?" Sunset pondered, as she had never exactly been on this side of Equestria's law before, not to mention she did need to get to Canterlot at some point.

"A representative from the Market is coming to inspect and trade the goods for bits," Trixie explained, gesturing to the train cars, " Live merchandise, jewels, and of course, magical items go for very high prices. Anything else is pretty variable depending on the condition."

Sunset took a harder look at the train cars, only just now noticing that, while some of the glass had been blown out, much of it was still intact. Additionally, the train cars that formed the wall-like structure had various shadows moving within them, some rather violently at that.

Flash had earlier mentioned that he had had a contact in Canterlot, and that some major deal was going down later on this very day. Though he doubted that she would get involved, he did mention occupational hazards, and was the one to choose which colors she would use for her disguise. While it could all be a coincidence, Sunset began to suspect that there was some sort of connection between these incidents. If indeed Flash's contact had any communication with Trixie, then sticking with her would be the easiest way to find the contact, perhaps without having to walk the rest of the way to Canterlot.

"How long did it take you to do all of this?" Sunset inquired, both genuinely curious and wanting to keep some sort of conversation going.

"A magician never reveals her secrets." Trixie cackled, posing triumphantly, "Trixie hints that that hardest part was setting up the fireworks."

That did not at all answer Sunset's question, but she decided not to press further on that matter. Every unicorn had their secrets, and apparently, the logistics behind this would be Trixie's for now.

"Now then, that tome that you took?" Sunset assumed that Trixie had not discarded it after obtaining that one spell from it, and she wanted it back, as she had been far from done with it.

Trixie levitated said tome above her head with that same smile on her face, overly confident that she was in full control of the situation. Sunset would have killed for the chance to wipe that smug look off her face. "This one? Well, I suppose, though I will need your new partnership with me in writing before I hoof it over."

The Market

Sunset signed, in writing, a 'legally binding' document stating that she would be Trixie's partner in crime until Trixie so deemed it necessary to break things off. In exchange, Trixie levitated the book over to Sunset, whom was more than ready to once again get back to work. With her hooves, she re-opened the book back to the table of contents, as she had failed to properly bookmark her place last time she had perused through it.

Before Sunset could get a crack at both reversing the spell on her horn and figuring out how to kill Twilight, the sound of a mass of beating wings brought her attention to the skies.

Snow, in small amounts, continued to fall, but the owner of the wings was nowhere to be found. The beating sounded far, yet close, and even Trixie looked around in curiosity before shrugging her shoulders. "Guess it is our imagination."

Sunset then noticed a part of the ground a few meters from Trixie move; it was subtle, but she could have sworn that she had also seen a glint in the snow. Flipping open the book, discounting what she saw for now as her mind playing tricks on her the unicorn flipped through the pages while searching for the spell.

The wing flapping only seemed to grow ever louder in response, much to Sunest's annoyance. "Trixie, if that is you, really, I need you to cut it out. I am trying to concentrate over here!"

When Sunset looked back up, however, she noticed that Trixie's mouth was agape, and that she stared up into the sky as if it held a new constellation that no one had previously seen before. Sunset chanced a look upward, only to see an entire army of pegasi flying high above them. Although individually they were mere dots in the sky, together they were a large moving mass that made the already dark skies even darker.

Her own mouth fell open, as such random mobilization seemed very out of the ordinary. The fire cackled violently, and upon looking towards the fire briefly, the earlier patch of ground had clearly moved again; but this time, it was mere inches away from Trixie's left instead at a rather ignorable distance of several meters.

"Trixie-" Sunset started before the moving ground turned into a pouncing dragon. Claws extended, the dragon grabbed a startled Trixie and breathed a small amount of fire upon her horn. The horn, once touched by the flames, became black as night, much to Trixie's dismay.

"Unhand Trixie or face her wrath!" Trixie wiggled and attempted to free herself to no avail.

The dragon, oddly enough, was a dark blue color, and was nearly five times the size of the two mares; how it managed to sneak around for so long was beyond Sunset. It had a large, shovel-like tail, sharp teeth and claws, and sapphire eyes that seemed to be sizing up the situation. Sunset knew was that this was a dangerous situation, as there was no helping Trixie without some sort of magic. And she would be damned by Celestia herself before trying to take on such a large dragon using nothing more than her hooves and horn.

A crack of thunder resounded in the sky, and a small group of pegasi descended from the sky, thunderclouds forming as rapidly as the pegasi had arrived.

These three pegasi wore what looked to be grey flight suits with a dark yellow stripe of lightning along the sides. If Sunset would have guessed, it was the Wonderbolts with some very different uniforms, perhaps made in order to fit in with the oncoming storm.

Of course, she did not have time for guessing, and instead backed away from the fire and the dragon, as she did not want to risk the book catching afire from the dragon's movements. The dragon looked like it was about to burrow underneath the ground again in an attempt to escape with Trixie, its free paw already going for the ground.

One of the pegasi from the trio descending streaked down, leaving behind a blue and yellow thunderbolt streak, smashing into the dragon's right paw, which held Trixie.

The paw opened and the dragon roared out in pain, freeing Trixie. Sunset would have assumed that the impact might would have hurt, but the pony was already diving back up to avoid getting singed by the angry dragon's fire. Trixie dropped straight on her rear, directly in the path of the dragon, who was preparing to stomp down on her in its fury. Before she could get stomped on, the other two pegasi swooped in and swept her off her feet, the ponies barely avoiding a run in with the large pancake maker as it smashed into the ground, sending snow and dirt flying.

Trixie was unceremoniously dropped off next to Sunset on her stomach with her mane disheveled. Sunset watched Trixie struggle to her hooves, not quite thinking that she could have used a helping hoof; she was too entranced in watching these three pegasi, who seemed to now be the center of attention for the angry dragon.

The dragon roared and breathed out a spray of fire in an attempt to ward off the pests that had interrupted its seizure of Trixie; the pegasi nimbly dodged, regrouping a few meters in the air above the dragon. Now that they were in one place and much closer, Sunset could notice the familiar set of flight goggles characteristic of the Wonderbolts, and could take note of the manes of the trio.

The first one to arrive, in the center of the formation, had a brilliant amber mane with brilliant gold stripes. The one on the left had a light cyan-gray mane with streaks of a lighter shade. The one on the right had a light gray mane, and bore a much more defined lightning stripe.

The light gray maned one spoke first, shouting, "By order of Fleetfoot of the Equestrian Wonderbolts, dragon, cease your resistance and come with us; you will not be asked again."

The dragon paused for a moment, processing this information for a moment. It seemed as if it considered the implications of the statement, and was weighing the risk with the benefits of continuing its task. After a few moments of contemplation, the dragon stomped its shovel-like tail into the ground, tossing up dirt and snow into the air. While not high enough to disrupt the pegasi, the shockwave did disrupt the delicate train car setup, the screeching of the metal predicting imminent collapse from the top down.

"We should have just kicked ass and been done with it," the center pony grumbled aloud, head looking upwards at the slow dismantling of the train car shelter.

"Can it Lightning Dust," Fleetfoot ordered, looking at the disaster preparing to happen, "Thunderlane and I will get the unicorns out of here, you handle the dragon with your bad self."

Sunset could detect a slight bit of sarcasm at the end there, though Lightning Dust seemed to take no particular offense to it, and in fact, seemed to take pride in it.

"Yes ma'am!" In a streak of blue and yellow, Lightning descended upon the dragon, whom apparently had been following the conversation. The dragon, in response, blew fire, only to blatantly miss its target.

Sunset's attention was diverted as Trixie chose this point spoke up, as already Thunderlane and Fleetfoot had swooped down to get them. She had long gotten back to her hooves, and uneasily watched the events unfold. "Wait, there are passengers in some of those cars!"

"There shouldn't be," Thunder commented with a concerned expression, "I could have sworn we had already checked on our way down here."

The ceiling cars fell in, temporarily narrowing the opening at the top of the encampment and threatening to crush all who remained at the bottom, dragon and ponies alike.

Sunset howled in frustration, as she realized that there would not be enough time to continue looking up the spell now. She hastily began packing the book back into her saddlebags, some of the rest of her belongings having apparently been looted, as there was far more room for the tome than there should have been on either side of the bags. She would have to keep note of that for later, if she was still around to look into it.

While Sunset did this, Trixie turned towards the still lit fire near the center. Her horn glowing brightly again, the unicorn let loose stream of magic into the fire. The fire responded by sparking and flaring, with the surrounding snow shifting to an array of colors. Innumerable rockets fired into the air, each rocket bearing a strange square plate on one side.

With precision rivaling a surgeon, Trixie attached these fireworks to the descending train cars via the metal plate. The rockets then exploded, sending a dazzling amount of light all around. The blast was so great, that it forced all into the snow face or rear first. Sunset found the world once again going white, with dazzling lights of the rainbow to add into the mix..

The roar of the explosion deafened her, the ringing in her ears only making an oncoming migraine worse. Sunset, at this point, could only wonder why she had to be the unicorn to be stuck in this situation. However, a few minutes later, when no train car came crashing down atop of her, instead a few bits of burning ember, she had to admit that Trixie had far exceeded her initial expectations when they first me. Granted, she could have done the same thing, or something similar, had she had access to her magic, but as fate would have it, she at least had been stuck with a unicorn while her magic was inaccessible.

Brushing snow from her muzzle, the still dazzled Sunset looked around. The sky was completely visible now, and the stream of pegasi and thunderclouds still baffled her as they flew on like an endless sea in the sky. This kind of mobilization was on the scale of a response to an invasion of sorts; had she come back to the middle of Equestria in war? Were there even that many pegasi in the Military? Then again, they were pegasi, and most pegasi had some sort of military background in the least.

As the ringing slowly began to subside, the migraine earlier creeping up on Sunset came full force. Rubbing her head, Sunset brushed against her now unrocky horn, the spell apparently having worn off at last. She looked to her left to see an unconscious Trixie, surrounded by a presumably shouting Fleetfoot.

Ah, so Trixie had over-exerted herself; Sunset could feel her horn return to its more natural state, the spell likely wearing off with the castor in such shambles. Well, better late than never, as now she could bail out of this place before anything else happened. Before Sunset could prepare a teleportation spell, her mind reeled at the thought that she almost left without her saddlebags, which were being inspected by Thunderlane.

Unable to concentrate fully with her migraine, Sunset shakily walked over towards Thunder, viewing the blown away train cars with a level of disbelief. He looked in her general direction, gasped and dashed towards her, dropping the saddlebags back into the snow. Sunset almost ran forward, but when he passed right through her, she realized that not all was right with her senses.

She looked back to see Thunder running up to a unicorn with a crimson mane with yellow stripes. For a brief moment, Sunset did not process that that unicorn might be her, until Thunder unburied her head from the snow. As comical as it would have been to see herself out cold as if she had been staying up for an exam, the sight of herself in such shape caused her to freeze in place, mind locked in on a single answer to this oddity.

Fear crept up her spine, ethereal as it was right now, as she realized that she was having an out of body experience. She backed away, only to notice the dragon beginning to stir as well. It had landed quite some distance from the three ponies Sunset had spotted so far, and though its blue scales had turned into a darker shade of blue, the sapphire eyes still locked onto Trixie with killer intent.

"Is anyone still paying attention to the dragon?" Sunset exclaimed, realizing that she also could not be heard.

Or so it seemed, as shortly after speaking, Thunder looked from her crumpled form towards the dragon. He shouted, and Fleetfoot responded with perked up ears. She had already been back on her hooves, and had likely been searching for the third of their party. She shouted back at Thunder, who stooped down low to bring Sunset onto his back. Fleet then shouted yet again, this time towards the limping Lightning Dust, who seemed to appear at just the right moment next to the Wonderbolt.

Sunset could feel an odd tug towards her body, and as the world blackened out, she could begin to hear again as the ringing completely subsided. She felt heavy, she felt pain, and she could still feel that migraine at full force. She could heard the cackling of flames, though other than that the area seemed awfully quiet now.

"Lightning, get the blue one and go! I'll keep tabs on this dragon!" Fleethoof shouted with a very urgent tone.

"But ma'am..." Lightning began, potentially wishing to stay and fight.

"No buts! Thunder, you're not in the air yet?"

The flapping of pegasus wings alerted Sunset to Thunder's compliance. Her eyes crept open, the bright orange flames of the fire dimming. Well, she could not use her magic, but at least she could get a lift.

Just as Sunset thought this, she heard Thunder howl in agony, the wind flapping becoming far more erratic. She could see, blurry as it was, that they had not yet left the ground, and she had a feeling that they would not be leaving the ground anytime soon.

"Fuck!" Thunder cursed aloud, "I don't think I can take off." He held his left wing as if it were injured.

The dragon by this point, realizing that its quarries were a bit busy, dug its shovel-like tail into the ground and hastily began back burrowing its way into the ground. Within seconds the large dragon had already re-submerged, the area it had descended back into the ground at blending back in with the surroundings shortly after the dragon's head went under. Such digging skills were the only explanation for how the dragon had sneaked up on them in the first place.

Attempts at willing away her migraine were failing miserably, the pounding in her head refusing to subside for even a brief moment's worth of magic. Sunset could feel strengthening tremors, and could deduce that that dragon had not yet given up the draw for Trixie, the earlier stare adding some backing to the thought. Fleetfoot lived up to her name, and swiftly dashing over to where Trixie lay, likely having also picked up on the obvious intentions of the dragon. Upon arriving, she grabbed the unicorn's horn with her teeth and, using it like a handle of sort, swiftly swung her form to the side, moments before the dragon re-emerged in that spot.

Upon noticing its target once again being flung out of reach, the dragon instead snapped its jaws at Fleet, who narrowly avoided getting her muzzle trapped between the razor sharp teeth.

"Danger close!"

Lightning's words made no sense to Sunset, especially when yellow snow smacked the dragon straight between its eyes. The yellow snow stuck in place, and before the dragon made another move, a bolt of lightning descended from the sky, striking with pinpoint accuracy the dragon where it had been marked.

The bolt was so powerful, that upon thunder sounding, it sent Fleetfoot flying backwards, straight towards Sunset and Thunder. Without remembering that he had her on his back, or so Sunset hoped he merely had forgotten, Thunder rushed to try to soften Fleet's landing, only to also be sent backwards by the sheer force.

Thunder took the brunt of the force, though Sunset could hear the crack resounding from the smacking of the two bodies. The trio rolled for a few minutes in the snow, the world spinning and the ground going from freezing cold to warm. At last, they came to a stop Thankfully, Thunder had not rolled on top of her, as his weight would have been far too much for Sunset to handle at this point.

She heard the thump of the dragon, likely finally bested at this point. Rolling from atop of Thunder, Sunset once again found the cool ground an odd comfort, even if a very painful one yet still. At least now she did not have to worry about her own weight doing any further damage to either of the pegasi, though her gaze looked up towards the sky, a sort of haze beginning to claim her vision.

She could feel her earlier wrappings beginning to unravel, her earlier injuries possibly being re-opened by the damage she had sustained. Even with all the help in the world in the air, and she still might end up dying right here in the cold snow.

Sunset's vision darkened and blurred, her hearing once again becoming like that of bells ringing. It was a nuisance, really, but she could feel the cold beginning to numb her even moreso than her loss of her sense of touch. Just before she gave up the pot, her vision focused and brightened again, with Lightning Dust standing over the three.

Although she could not hear her, she could mildly read lips, and figured that Lightning was calling someone, hopefully for assistance. What arrived, however, was far from assisstance, and in fact were two more large dragons of the same type that had previously attempted to kill them off, red and green respectively.

Instead of attacking, they actually chatted with Lightning, engaging in a full blown conversation. Based on the pegasus' expression, they were making her some sort of offer, or perhaps giving her a no-win set of options that would lead to a moral delimma of the highest kind.

Of course, their wide grins and Lightning's subsequent hoof pointing suggested otherwise. The dragons went off to somewhere out of Sunset's sight, with a body beneath her beginning to stir. Her hearing returned just in time to catch a few of Lightning's words.

"The goods are secured... dealt with... best get them to... the wrong idea..."

Lightning's voice faded as once again blackness overtook Sunset's vision, the dream world calling her in ways that she had never been called before. It was alluring, irresistible, and almost like the described embrace of death. Sunset would not have welcomed that, but it seems that, if indeed that was what was calling her, she did not have much choice. So she ceased her fighting and gave in, all feeling leaving her once again.

Author's Note

The very end of the chapter was going to end sooner, but then I tacked on some of the next chapter's end intro bit in order to make the next chapter less shifty (as in, constantly having breaks in the story). That last bit fit on anyways, and still left this chapter with the kind of cliffhanger that I had been going for.

Good Hooves

Thoughts of the waking world brought Sunset to an odd numbness, that told her that her sense of touch had returned. Of course, the room she was in seemed to be spinning, disorienting any other sense that she still had. When the spinning finally slowed, she realized that she was looking up at a plain white tile ceiling.

Certainly not on the fringes of the Crystal Empire anymore, or if so, at least not outdoors.

Shouting could be heard, a sort of argument even that intrigued Sunset. She could not move her body, it being held in place by some cast of sorts, but she could move her eyes towards the source of the sound. She was in a hospital of some sort, with rows and rows of empty beds to her left, and a few more that were occupied on her right. She presumed that the blue horned visitor was Trixie, and that the other two were among the pegasi trio whom had saved them.

Her eyes drifted yet again in a vain attempt to look directly ahead of her, towards the only door in the entire room. A fire hazard no doubt. After failing to get a good look past the small wired window on the door, Sunset settled on merely listening in on the conversation; after all, she could learn more about her situation that way anyways, and she was not going to be moving anywhere while this cast had her bound.

"Lightning Dust, I thought I made it clear that you were not to be even associated with our military anymore." The voice sounded very angry, feminine, and almost lethal with sheer vice, "Not a single pegasus in the air yesterday had the clearance to actually kill any of the intruders!"

"In my defense, that dragon was going to maul civilians. Equestrian lives come before foreign policy." Lightning's rebuttal clearly had been well thought out and planned, as she sounded oddly collected and prepared. Or at least to Sunset it seemed rather odd that she was so put together.

"Most of the civilians on that train are still unaccounted for." The angry voice yet again, though this time it seemed as if less volume was being used and more tongue work on the consonants in order to get the point across. "Not to mention the civilians throughout Equestria. I would have expected a train wreck to at least produce more bodies rather than nothing."

"Maybe they escaped in the mayhem." Lightning seemed convinced of this herself, despite this likely not being the truth. Sunset was certain at this point, from what she last saw of Lightning Dust, that that back there had been more than just a mere coincidence.

"Or maybe your story does not add up." The voice had finally returned to a normal manner of speech, showing a shift in the conversation, "I find it very strange that every witness with you is either in a coma, in a cast or in a grave while you are still limping around like you got nothing more than a sprain."

Grave? Sunset assumed, from the earlier dialogue, that she likely meant the dragon; a lightning strike directly to the head would have lain out any pony. A dragon though? Maybe the dragon had not had any magical defenses in place. Coma? Well, it could not be her or Trixie as they were both in casts. Perhaps she meant the other two pegasi?

"Well ma'am, sometimes, fortune favors the headstrong."

The other speaker snorted rather loudly, likely not convinced. "When the shit fan stops spinning, I am going to order a thorough investigation of the entire incident. In the meantime: Soarin'!"

Some clopping of hooves and heavy breathing accompanied a pony who came rushing at this call. "You called Spitfire?"

"Keep an eye on our remaining witnesses. It would be a shame if they were to end up vanishing into thin air, and leave Lightning's testimony as the only account of what happened." This "Spitfire" clearly had no need to beat around the bush. "I am going to start working on the report to Celestia. We have the situation under control, but I don't want any underhooved shuffling of goods, if you catch my drift. Lightning, you are dismissed until further notice. If I catch you even within ten feet of Fleetfoot and Thunderlane, I will personally see to it that you never fly again. Got it?"

"Ma'am!" Soarin' and Lightning responded in unison, probably giving some sort of awkward salute as they did so.

Even as the sound of Spitfire leaving reached her ears, Sunset began to wonder why Trixie and her did not come up in the conversation as named guests. Maybe Spitfire was unaware of who the other two ponies in the room were? If that were the case, then Lightning must have either forged them different identities or simply not identified them, the latter seeming the most likely at this point. If so, then why not?

And where were they exactly? How did they even get them here? And just how long had they already been resting here? She could answer the last question with a level of certainty, as she was not yet stiff from constant stillness, and it sounded like Spitfire was just now being briefed on what happened.

Now that she thought about it, Sunset could also answer the second question as well. They had to have flown them here, as keeping them on the ground would have been quite hazardous considering what happened. They also couldn't have been too far south, as though the train had taken them quite some distance from the Crystal Empire itself, their transports would have had to fly them all the way to this hospital likely by wing. Not to mention the small size of the establishment.

Sunset had been so lost in thought over this that she had not noticed only a single set of hooves clopping into the room. A pegasus with emerald green eyes, dark blue mane, and a very pale blue coat, almost like Trixie's mane without the stripes, strode past Sunset and Trixie and down to a two sets of bed near the end.

He looked rather downcast, though he bore a small smile as he spoke, "Well, look who can't fly for the team now. Heh."

That weak and forced laugh at the end almost brought various substances from Sunset's near empty stomach. Even had she known the context at the time, it would have not made that comment any less sickening to her. Though what made her so sick she wasn't certain of at the time.

Soarin's eyes narrowed, a grim determination replacing his almost morbid demeanor earlier. "You will come out of this, Fleet. Just hang in there."

He gently nudged the mare with his nose, though where was beyond Sunset, as Trixie was blocking much of her view of the two. She could guess that it was a muzzle bump of sorts. Sunset had apparently been staring so hard trying to figure it out that Soarin' could feel it, for he turned his head to look at her straight on shortly after the muzzle bump.

His face became stern while he trotted over towards Sunset, stopping right at the foot of Trixie's bed. "About time one of you woke up. I am not sure if you are in the talking mood, but I think it would be easier for everyone if a fresh perspective was given on the situation. Lots of unknowns going around."

Sunset, completely cast from head to toe, could not have spoken coherently if she wanted to, and gave a deadpan expression that no doubt was largely hidden by her cast. Her slightly lidded eyes might would convey the same meaning, or so she hoped.

Soarin' chuckled and yawned, using a single hoof to cover his mouth. "Right. Yeah well, I have to keep an eye on all of you, so don't go anywhere."

Now Sunset narrowed her eyes more out of anger than anything else. Since when did Wonderbolts have this sort of sense of humor? If you could call it humor, as Sunset was very far from being amused.

The pegasus ignored the death look that he was getting from the still intact unicorn and instead turned towards the fourth bed on that side of the room; likely Thunderlanes', if Sunset had any cares left to guess.

"We did it. The intruders have been contained. Everything is going to be fine, and all can go back to normal in a few days."

This moment, touching perhaps if Sunset would have really been concerned about the situation, made it clear that the pegasi forces indeed were responding to some sort of threat, likely the appearance. And let Soarin' tell it, they had neutralized the main problem.

A new voice rang through the halls, interrupting the serenity of the moment. At first, it was difficult to make out, as both words and tone were jumbled in a way akin to someone trying to speak through a wall with the volume better used for speaking directly to the wall.

However, when it sounded again, it was both distinct and clear to Sunset's ears. "Is this where they are keeping her?" A feminine voice, sounding both highly concerned and high society at the same time. Likely a higher class pony, though It could be any number of ponies, especially since "her" could refer to at least three patients in the room, all with a different set of concerned individuals likely to miss them.

Soarin' did not miss this exclamation and trotted over to the lone door to investigate. Bursting through said door was a unicorn mare with a white coat, a pale pink mane, and light purple eyes. Although she could not see the cutie mark, Sunset could recognize who she was long before Soarin's shocked expression confirmed it.

"Fleur Dis Lee?" Soarin' smiled wide, his eyes practically blinking rapidly in disbelief.

Sunset would have frowned had she been able to. Sure enough, Fleur Dis Lee herself walked further into the room, looking around in clear disappointment. As if the very atompshere interfered with her very livelihood.

"Seems I missed Spitfire," she murmured, hardly paying the gawking Soarin' any mind, "The Captain of the Wonderbolts is as elusive as she is picturesque."

"You were looking for the Captain?" Soarin' seemed more alarmed, as if mentioning Spitfire changed the nature of her visit from when she first walked in, "What did it pertain to?"

"Business Soarin', business," Fleur replied, still searching the room as if Spitfire were hiding, inspecting the several casts in the room, "Dear, I came all the way out to this outpost simply to speak with her about her tastes." She took a particularly long glance at Sunset's cast, eye contact lingering for a few moments before moving on to Trixie.

"Tastes?" Soarin' seemed more confused than ever, and Sunset joined him in this confusion. Last time she checked, Fluer was not much of a cook, and even if she were, owning a restaurant would be news beyond the mare's flanks.

Fleur lingered near Trixie's before sighing in resignation. "Well, perhaps you will know." Fleur turned towards Soarin', granting him her full attention. "Do you know what Spitfire is into in her private time?"

Ah. Those kinds of tastes. Sunset should have known.

"Into, in her private time?" Soarin' blushed lightly, his eyes wandering the room in thought, "Well, they would not call it private time if it were public knowledge." Or his knowledge for that matter, or at least that was the subscript that he was trying to pass off.

"Which is why I trotted all the way out here to ask." Fleur seemed unusually talkative, but then again, Sunset noticed, she was neither followed by a camera crew nor on the back of some high society pony. "Surely one of her fellow Wonderbolts would know." By this point she had come a few feet closer to Soarin', as if that might would coax more of a favorable response from him.

"I don't know." Soarin' said without further hesitation, "You are going to have to ask Spitfire about that sort of thing." His body stiffened and tensed, his posture beginning to radiate discomfort with the conversation's direction.

Fluer seemed disappointed, and even Sunset had to admit, her pout face could probably melt the hearts of unsuspecting ponies. "Perhaps you can give me some sort of idea-"

Soarin' was not some unsuspecting pony, however, and seemed to reply even more negatively

"No, I do not have any idea." Resolute, Soarin' gestured with a wing towards the door, face still red as a tomato, "Now if you do not mind, I have some watch duty to finish."

"Hmph, that is not the thing you have to finish dear Soarin'. Perhaps there is something going on between you two?" Fleur had focused in on Soarin' like an eagle preparing to scoop a fish out of water.

Chest puffed out, Soarin' starkly denied the claim. "Listen Fleur, I do not know of what rumors you have been told, but I and Spitfire are purely professional. Heck, the nicest thing she has done for me recently is give me a coupon for one of your services as an apology for sending me all the way to the Griffon Kingdom by myself, and she hardly wanted to do that."

Sunset perked up at this, though her cast disallowed her to physically show this. What was Soarin' doing all the way in the Griffon Kingdom anyways? And more importantly, when did he go? He surely must have went a week or so ago to be back already.

Fleur seemed interested in this as well, though she continued on her previous track in an attempt to divert attention from this. "I will believe that when you return to your professionalism. Or perhaps thinking of Sunset and having me in the room a little too much for you?"

Now Soarin' flapped his wings aggressively, his patience likely wearing short with this dance. "Fleur, I am now asking you as a Wonderbolt to leave this room at once." He was missing an "or else", but by this point Sunset highly doubted that Soarin' would seriously go through with any of his threats anyways.

Fleur once again pouted, but this time she came within feet of the upset Soarin', who watched her every move. With a small smile, Fleur commented, "Well, I suppose that is fair. Can I get you to do me a favor first? Eyes up on the horn now you."

Soarin' rolled his eyes and complied, perhaps because he preferred this than the route of force. No sooner did he do so did her horn flash brilliantly, much like the burst of light from a camera. It was brief, but it was quite bright, so much so that even Sunset was slightly dazed from just looking in that general direction.

Soarin' blinked wildly, likely blinded by the flash, and staggered backwards. Trixie's cast opened up, and Trixie leapt from her place, landing nimbly on her hooves at the base of the bed. She seemed quite fine, with no bruises or cuts of any sort, and considering her landing, she was likely not internally injured either.

"Trixie did not need to see that," Trixie jested, trotting over to Sunset, her horn charged with magic, "What did you need to arouse him for?" Sunset mused that Trixie did not realize that, at the end of the day, being a model in Equestria had a tendency to lean in that direction, as is often the intent when attempting to sell clothing or scenery.

"I just can't help it," Fleur shot back, stepping over to the still dazed Soarin', whom put a hoof to his head, "It's my specialty." While Fleur used her magic on Soarin', Trixie undid the bindings on the cast that held Sunset firmly in place; it opened like a suit of armor, as if it had indeed been designed for restraint over protection.

Sunset rolled rather than hopped out of bed, feeling a stiffness that was only accented by the light burning sensation on her back.

Trixie made a break for the door, coming to a screeching hault when Lightning Dust, with a large saddlebag, came through it, blocking the exit. "Which one of you owns this thing? There is a book in here half the size of a pony that would take about a lifetime to read."

"Tch, pegasi," Sunset murmured, rolling her eyes as she took her saddlebags using her magic. Obviously this did nothing to assuage her back, but she did not trust any of the ponies in the room with them at this point. She had had about enough of this. Lightning and Trixie moved some distance away from the door and closer to Fleur and Soarin'.

"Alright, I still need to get to Canterlot," Sunset explained as Trixie and Lightning silently talked to each other, "Where are we now?" She was left staring in their general direction for some time, neither seemingly wanting to address her as of yet. After a few minutes, Lightning finally spoke up at a volume that Sunset could catch.

"A military outpost literally in the middle of nowhere," Lightning spoke, though it seemed to be directed towards Trixie, " Considering your actions in Ponyville, your best bet is to wait for Fleur to finish up with Soarin' and get your replacements in here."

Sunset would have asked about these replacements, but when she looked back, she saw that already the two casts had been filled; two unicorns of just the right size had already taken their place. Mildly impressed with this, Sunset reconsidered her earlier sentiments; as much as she had been tired of the delay, she had to admit, it did not take them very long to get things done. Of course, where these replacements had been hiding out at to have not come through the front door was a mystery, as unless they somehow slipped in with Fleur and around both Soarin' and Sunset, there was no reason they should have been able to get in.

When Sunset looked back over to Fleur, she noticed her flaunting her tail to Soarin's face as she strode back off. The poor stallion was already on the floor, but now he seemed to slowly be falling asleep as well. Whatever Fleur had done to him, it would likely leave a mark in his fantasy world.

"Sweet dreams Soarin'," Fleur cooed, whipping her tail in his direction one last time, "I hope we can play next time. Very worth my price..."

"Ahem." Fleur's attention snapped back to Lightning upon the pegasus clearing her throat. "Seriously?"

"Oh you would not understand, your head is always up in the clouds," Fleur practically spat, walking past the three mares and towards the door, " Military brats, always so serious."

"You better get those two out of here," Lightning threatened, pointing a hoof towards Fleur, "Or else-"

"It will be your wings getting clipped, not mine." Fleur huffed, much to Lightning's irritation.

Sunset had to admit, she would have been upset too, but she actually found humor that Fleur seemed so confident speaking to a potential rat like that. Then again, Lightning might be in too deep to make the report without her own hide being scorched.

"Sunset, are you coming dear? Lightning can handle Trixie, but Flash wanted me to make sure you made it to Canterlot in at least one piece." Fleur's words suggested that she was joking, but her tone made it clear that she was dead serious, even with the one piece part. "Now come on, I have not all day."

So she was the contact that Flash had set up. Sunset groaned; the last thing she needed was her face plastered on a magazine, if that had been the occupation that Flash had been hinting at. Then again, this mare knew Trixie and Lightning in a capacity less than their professional lives of magician and flyer, so there remained hope that modelling would not be the fate that had nearly gotten her killed on her way to Canterlot.

Sunset began to trot after her when Lightning called out, "Don't forget that you're under contract. Trixie will be joining you in Canterlot soon enough."

Sunset paused for a moment, only just now recalling that she had indeed signed a contract to be Trixie's partner. The implications earlier were very different than from now, as earlier she assumed that Trixie was a lone ranger of sorts seeking to make ends meet. Now, it seemed as if she was involved in something far larger. However, just as she had turned to comment, the two were already speeding past her, the sounds of their clopping hooves echoing in the emptier room.

Soarin' stirred, giving Sunset more than enough reason to gallop after them. Whether she liked it or not, she did not want to be the object of the Wonderbolt's attention when he came to.

Author's Note

Alright, story-wise, I have much of the remaining section pretty uncharted, unless I somehow incorporate the Gilda chapter(s) that I had composed without breaking the story's flow too much.

Nonetheless, this chapter took some work, at least in part because an unplanned pony arrived in the fic; from mistaking Fleur for a pegasus to a unicorn, it was an interesting addition that I had not fully expected when I first started charting the course of this fic.

Anyways, thanks for reading, I'll try to have the next chapter(s) plotted up within a reasonable time.

An Offer

The crystal caverns darkened considerably, as if within a few moments a living shadow would engulf the entire prison. Such was not the case, as the setting sun had merely shifted the lighting in the cavern. Celestia had been intently listening to Sunset at this point, in which time she turned her head towards the entrance.

"Seems it is that time of the evening again. Luna shall be visiting you within an hour or so; I will brief her what has occured so far and you may pick up your story from there, clear?"

Sunset nodded, having very little choice but to comply, and watched as her mentor rose from her place. Royal guards materialized from the shadows and swiftly took the cushion, ushering it and guarding their leaders flanks while eyeing Sunset as if she were going to run up and attack at any moment. Rather silly considering her situation, but when they disappeared from view, all Sunset could do was sigh. Things could not get much worse for her, no, not at this point.

With the setting of the sun and the entrance of night, the streets of Canterlot buzzed with nightlife. Ponies carefully stuck to the street lights, however, as in recent weeks they had reason not to go down dark alleys all willy nilly. Not that they were too eager to go down them anyways, as among the high society unicorns there remained less than noble raff to tango with.

Celestia's castle even seemed darker than usual, the crescent moon adding very little natural lighting to the place. As the place had been designed to be at its greatest in the daytime, it was no surprise that at night it had an eerie feeling of being deserted. But Royal guards of the night variety patrolled, their intent not to be seen until it was too late to correct ones actions.

This night, within the throne room, Celestia and Luna stood looking towards the stain glass windows, darkened by the lack of light beaming through them. Luna spoke first, breaking a silence that seemed to suffocate lesser ponies.

"Execution is the only option. We do not want to encourage this kind of behavior." Luna was unblinking in stating this, and her tone was very even. As far as she was concerned, Sunset Shimmer should have been executed on the spot. Celestia's intervention, however, had made that an impossibility.

"Luna, something terrible will happen if she is executed," Celestia warned, "If she becomes a martyr, then we will have far greater issues to deal with."

"Sister, for once, can you put aside your concerns and face the facts?" Luna turned her head towards Celestia, still having to look up to her older sister quite literally in an attempt to make eye contact. "Sunset Shimmer is guilty of assassination, and even moreso guilty of tampering with dark magic in her attempts to become an alicorn and rule Equestria. She has to be gotten rid of."

Celestia blinked, avoiding her sister's gaze. "We need more information. Maybe we can find some reason not to..."

"Is it because she was your student?" Luna frowned even deeper. "Is that why you are so adamant about not executing her?"

"That has nothing to do with it." Celestia finally met her sister's gaze, though she had to look down some due to her height. "I cannot explain, but that dream..."

"Where she becomes the alicorn of revolution?" Luna scoffs, "That is not to be taken literally, as one cannot become an alicorn of something as non-magical as revolution. Not to mention there is no revolution to put down."

"Not yet, but if Sunset is executed, the Market will do anything in its power to make sure that we do not do the same to Gilda, whom I am far more willing to put down."

Luna gasped, her face showing the surprise at this declaration. "But Gilda's involvement is largely circumstantial. Not to mention her father demands her release, unharmed. I figured you would rather get rid of Sunset than risk a war."

Celestia chuckled, this no doubt being the opposite of what she had in mind. "Luna, as you know, Equestria is the most powerful military force in the world. IF they go to war with us, even if they last three months against us, it will be a losing battle. Even if they were to get the Crystal Empire involved somehow, they cannot beat us. And they know it."

"So you are saying execute them both at the same time?" Luna raised a brow, coming to this conclusion shortly after her sister finished, " That would solve many of our problems."

"Luna, that is not what I am saying at all." Celestia walked away from Luna, heading towards the door before pacing back and forth. "What I am saying is that I am more willing to execute Gilda. At least I do not have to fear her coming back from the dead."

"Dead is dead sister," Luna pointed out, "Not even Sunset can defy it."

"Not on her own."

Luna tilted her head in confusion. "And who, may I ask, can help her overcome death? Or are you just being paranoid because a ghost keeps coming back to haunt us?"

Celestia stopped to think of this for a moment, her gaze resting on the throne. If Sombra would have appeared and declared Luna correct, that would have been less unsettling than the silence that instead took back hold of the room.

Luna, assuming herself correct, shook her head in dismay. "Celestia, let it go. Sombra and Nightmare Moon both are gone, for good this time; if you want, I can bring the griffon, we can figure out how she is got involved, and then we can off the two, all before the mobs return in the morning. What say you?"

"No." Celestia was resolute, and turned towards Luna to make it clear that her mind was made up. "Take Gilda to Sunset and have her explain her involvement."

Luna sighed, clearly not looking forward to listening to a potential liar's story. "And what shall you do in the meantime? I presume you will get your rest?"

"Not yet," Celstia concluded, now turning and walking towards the double doors of the throne room, " There is a certain unicorn that I need to have a word with. And she is most busy at night, so there will be few chances of her, by coincidence, being out to lunch like earlier today."

Back in the Canterlot Caves, Sunset hung her head low, impatiently awaited Luna's arrival. Granted, it had only been an hour, but it felt like years when there was nothing else to do. As much as she disliked having to give information, she did at least enjoy the attentive company, and the reflection that she was able to have.

The clopping of hooves and the clanking of armor should have announced the arrival of the princess; when Sunset looked up, however, it was not Princess Luna and her royal guards who had come.

It was a Flash Sentry and two day guard escorts.

"Flash?" Sunset started, fearing the worst, "Why are you here?"

The two day guards, with a nod from Flash, trotted back off towards the entrance. Flash turned towards Sunset with a smile, one far too wide in fact.

"Why don't you look lovely, even in chains. Tell me dear, how badly do you want out of here?"

"Very badly." Sunset was joking, but Flash's unchanging expression suggested that he had not been.

"Well, I can get you out of here, for a price. A prize that would certainly make up for what you did earlier."

Now Sunset was suspicious. Granted, she had made deals with Flash on more than one occasion, but this seemed a tad out of character for the way he did things. Something was not right here.

"Go on."

Flash seemed even more pleased, trotting around Sunset in a circle as he explained. "Well, as you know, alicorn amulets go for very high prices; however, the most recent addition to those has recently gone missing, if you catch my drift. Now, I want that amulet, but only you and your friends know where it is."

So that is what this was about? Sunset scoffed. "Sorry Flash, but I can't trust you with that kind of information. A good alicorn had to perish for that amulet to be made, and her love is literally seeping out of it still. It would draw quite the attention to you."

"Precisely the reason why I need to know its location." Flash stopped circling, now at Sunset's back. "That love will no doubt attract treasure seekers. You don't want all of your hard work to get into the wrong hooves do you?"

"Who says that your hooves are any better?" Sunset challenged, turning to face him, " You said that the Crystal Empire would be on high alert, but you did not mention that there would be griffons there as well for protection. Nor did you mention that Cadance would be finished giving birth by the time we were scheduled to arrive"

"They came of their own accord," Flash pointed out, "I can't predict everything. Besides, that weakened her so that you could take her down, so why are you complaining about that omission?"

Sunset and Flash locked eyes; one filled with a boiling anger and the other a steady calm. "Listen, I did not come here to have an extended chat. Your next listener will be here very soon. I need an answer."

Sunset went over her options in her head. On one hoof, Flash's offer seemed rather good to be true; after all, the amulet empowered and strongly influenced through love, and would make one's affectionate power quite considerable. One could quell entire entities with it by softening their hearts.

On the other hoof, she was beginning to have doubts that she was talking to the real Flash; either he was here on someone else's agenda, or someone had disguised themselves as him. If she were right, then the amulet would definitely fall into the wrong hooves; if she was wrong, then she would be hanged, and she would be giving up an opportunity to continue pursuit of her goals.

In short, how badly did she really want to live?

Before she could answer, clopping hooves once again echoed through the halls. This time they were heavier, and the magic that radiated from them signaled a more powerful being's entry.

"No deal," Sunset whispered, not bothering to turn to look at Flash, "I will take my chances."

"Very well then," Flash whispered back before fading into the darkness, "Try not to give up everypony involved hm? There has to be some confidentiality left."

Much to her surprise, Flash actually left a different way than he came in. Taking note of this for later, Sunset put on a smile for the arrival of Princess Luna and her night guards, none of which seemed pleased to see her.

"Hello Sunset," Luna greeted cordially, "I am guessing my hooves did not leave too many marks?"

"Not ones that you can see anyways," Sunset jested back, a few ribs aching upon being reminded of how she had been captured, "So, Celestia finally agree to executing me?"

"Not yet," Luna sighed, sounding genuinely upset that she had not gotten the go ahead, "Instead, she would rather we go over how Gilda got involved."

No sooner had Luna finished did the clanking of chains, the scraping of talons, and the clopping of hooves follow, once again from the main entrance that everyone seemed to be entering from. Sunset now had to wonder truly where Flash had gone, and how he knew of an alternate route in and out of the place.

These thoughts were purged once she saw Gilda who, other than the chains, shackles, and a slight limp, looked as if she had been treated rather well.

Gilda smiled once she made eye contact with Sunset. Sunset now noticed that there was something else around her neck, a pink-blue gem in the shape of a heart held in place by a golden chain.

Luna eyed this as well, and looked towards Gilda with some confusion. "That does not look like anything a prisoner should be wearing."

Gilda chuckled as her escorts stalked off. She limped forward to join Sunset on her side of the cavern, still smiling the whole way. "Yeah well, I am a special kind of prisoner. Daughter of the current Consul of the Griffia-Draconia Republic, or GDR for short, heir to the defunct Griffia throne. You know, that kind of status."

Luna rolled her eyes, and much to Gilda's surprise, Sunset found herself doing the same.

Other than showing surprise, Gilda did not show much more of a reaction to the ponies' response to her statement. She instead carried on. "Anyways, I already cleared it with Princess Celestia, and she permitted it on the condition that I liven up my living space some. You lot don't have alot of prisoners, but the ones you do sure were morbid before I showed up."

Luna refrained from sighing heavily, though Sunset could note the building in her chest for said action. Instead, Luna merely made it seem as if she were doing nothing more than taking a deep breath to calm herself before speaking. "Yes well, let us start from the beginning with you. Your origins, Gilda, and then we can work our way up to where you met Sunset."

Sunset would have protested, as she had yet to finish her tale, but Gilda jumped right into her story with no hesitation.

"Well, for starters, I was born in Grifais, Griffia, so right from the start Equestria influenced my upbringing thanks to the culture of that pseudo-Equestria. My barren old Aunt-in-law lamented that succession might would pass over her and her mate, so she sought to get rid of me. Naturally, my father, being a member of the Griffon Peacekeeping Forces at the time, thought it would be easier and more peaceful for everyone if I disappeared for awhile."

Here Gilda chuckled, gesturing with her talons a whisking motion. "One day I was the target of an assassination, the next, I was the newest camp member at the Junior Speedsters Flight Camp."

Sunset snuck a glance at Gilda, her interest at this point piqued.

Luna seemed interested as well, though she seemed to doubt the accuracy of the information."So, right off the gate you want to convince me that your father sent you here to Equestria, without a secret identity or even a name change, in order to get you away from jealous relatives who could have tracked you down rather easily?"

"Got that right," Gilda trudged on, not missing a single beat, " For a barren griffon queen, she was a pretty dumb bitch. No idea how Uncle Grackus put up with her."

Sunset sighed and shook her head. All things considered, there had hardly been any tactc in discussing her distaste for her own aunt.

Gilda did not notice this concern and carried on, using various gestures with her foretalons to get the point across. "Anyways, a funny thing happened at Flight Camp. It was here where I met Rainbow Dash, and we have our very first scuffle..."

Gilda the Lightning Strike

In a brightly lit concrete locker room, Gilda sat on a wooden bench, head hung low in thought. She had a solemn look, silence making even the occasional flicks of her tail audible. It would have been maddening under any other condition, but the griffon was used to hanging out alone by this point.

The sound of a metal door opening briefly brought the griffon's head up, revealing a purple tipped, feathery fringe that shaded the griffon's face.

“Package for Gilda.” The sound of a thump accompanied the announcement, before the metal door once again closed shut.

Gilda broke into a wide grin, practically jumping from the bench and down the narrow pathway of the locker room. Dashing past shining silver lockers, the griffon skidded to a halt to see the bound brown package that had been brought.

The image of a griffon holding a letter bound the string that kept the package together. Two envelopes and a brown box were tightly kept together, and Gilda eagerly seized the package in her talons.

Returning to her bench, she tore away at the rope like a ferocious lion its prey. The envelopes were sorted onto one side of the bench, one getting special attention. It was a black envelope, standing out greatly from the rest of the white envelopes.

“Mom.” Gilda brought the envelope to her chest, practically hugging the letter in a strange show of affection. Well, strange from an onlooker who had no idea of the context. Equestria was a great place, but there was little greater than getting messages from her parents.

Come to think of it, Gilda did not even recall why she was even still in Equestria in the first place. Ever since her alteration with Rainbow Dash, she had not had much of a personal motivation for sticking around, except for completing this tournament that she had been thrust into.

Gilda gazed towards where the steel door leading to the cold outside air lay. Homesick did not come near to describe how she felt right now. She could just walk out right now, not lift another talon in this silly competition, and return home second best.

Gilda shook her head and laughed. She really had been hanging around ponies too long if she felt that way. Opening the envelope, Gilda began reading the letter with ernest, eager to hear news of home.

Bonjour Gilda! Your father and I just wanted to wish you luck in the upcoming finals of the Street Fighter Class 1 match coming up! If I send this right, then it should arrive just in time for your match!

Gilda smiled. Never late, her mother's packages always arrived whenever she so deemed it. She was the envy of the griffon world, as anyone else attempting to send messages across the seas would have to go through so much red tape, there would be no telling how long it would take. Sometimes it would take a week, sometimes a year. But Gilda's mother always managed to get her packages in whenever Gilda needed them the most. Putting it on her list to pay home a visit after the fight, Gilda read the remainder of the letter.

Your father as always wishes you good luck! He even wanted you to have something of his from back in his earlier GPF days.

Gilda blinked, eyeing the relatively small box. It was unmarked, and hardly seemed to carry anything in it of great value. GPF, the griffon Adaptive Peacekeeping Force (sometimes shortened to just Griffon Peacekeeping Force), had been around since the second Equestrian War (or the second griffon War let the Equestrians tell it). Its purpose originally had been to quell rebellions while the main forces went off to war, but when the griffons lost yet more territory to the alicorn sisters, it became clear that the objective needed to be to avoid further war with the Equestrians.

As a result, the job of GPF had been to maintain the peace at all costs, often assassinating even members of their own government who were advocating armed conflict with Equestra. They also attempted to prevent rebellions and terror attacks, but preventing a war with their more powerful counterparts held top priority.

From a member of such an organization, what could the box possibly hold? Gilda placed the letter atop of the torn string and, with an outstretched talon, ripped open the box, and stared at the contents.

It was nothing more than a small sweater!

Gilda almost screeched in rage from this letdown, grabbing the sweater and preparing to hurl it into the air. Upon grasping it, she felt something much harder than fabric within the sweater. Looking around to make sure nopony snooped, Gilda carefully opened the folded sweater. An envelope clattered to the floor, clearly containing something heavier than another letter.

“I should have known.” Gilda smirked, taking a moment to chastise herself for doubting her father's pleasant surprise factor. Casting the sweater aside, Gilda snatched up the envelope. With a surgeon's cut, she sliced open the envelope at the bottom, the contents dropping onto the bench.

A letter, of course, and a medallion. Disregarding the medallion for now, Gilda carefully opened the letter, once again scoping the room before reading.

Gilda, honey, this is the big one. By the time you get this letter, we will already be underway on our latest mission. It is supposed to be classified, but all things considered, I want there to be a written account giving the jist of what we are up to.

You know, just in case. I do not like griffons lying about what I did and what I did not do and desire.

“Get to the point already,” Gilda murmured, as if she were actually talking to her father right then and there.

There is an exchange going on between some very high profile targets in Gritaigne. We believe that they are plotting with Equestrian conspirators to weaken the alicorn sisters.

“What is the problem with that?” Gilda chuckled to herself, temporarily thinking in her mind a weakened Equestria. At best, every country in the world would hesitate before doing anything, wanting to see bodies before jumping to conclusions. No state messed with Equestria and left unscarred, for though Celestia was very benevolent, she did not take too kindly to enemies of the state. The griffons had learned that the hard way.

Oh and the look on all the ponies' faces if they really did have to witness the death of their longtime monarchs. Have them go through a regime change for once! Finally she could then gloat to Rainbow Dash about the superiority of Griffia when her precious harmony and friendship crumbles once the facade finally dies down.

Gilda cast a look towards one of the lockers, as if they had stated some offending word to her. Why did she switch tracks to Rainbow Dash again? Gilda sighed, and then looked back at the letter. She continued reading, begrudgingly coming to terms that she had not entirely gotten over that burned bridge.

The reason I am telling you this is that I want you to be careful, as I know that you once were involved with one of the Elements of Harmony.

Her alteration with Rainbow Dash had not been in any of her letters back home; she had purposely omitted that for personal reasons. Apparently her father kept more tabs on her than she had thought.

Anyways, no matter what happens, I just want you to know that I love you, and that we are doing everything possible to maintain the status quo. Enclosed is my medallion; I wore it for good luck on missions, but I think I will need more than silly luck to get me through this one.

So I want you to have it. I know you have a fighting match tonight, and I want to wish you good luck. As always, fly like the wind and strike like lightning!

Gilda broke out into a smile again. She looked back down at the medallion, taking the time to study it now that she knew that it held some sort of significance.

Made of steel, the slightly rusted metal square dangling from red ribbon hardly seemed lucky. On closer inspections, Gilda realized that the likelihood of that rust being rust would be slim to none. Twirling it around, the coin weighed enough to notice in the hand, and yet, the single circle where the ribbon looped around had just sliver of gold, giving off a shine in the lighting.

The lights to the locker room suddenly dimmed, jerking Gilda from her viewing of her gift. It was almost go time.

Placing the medallion around her neck, she briefly went to the mirror to admire herself before fitting into her costume, which she retrieved from the locker that she had given the death stare to earlier.

The dark blue jumpsuit did not have much protection to it, but the flashy lightning bolt along the sides drew much attention, and allowed everyone in that arena to know what she went by. Zipper in front and tuckable, the streamline design allowed for flex movement while reducing friction, important when facing pony opponents.

They could grip you still with their teeth, but they would have a hard time gripping her with their hooves with this design, not to mention it would be easier to slip around their blows. Donning a matching mask, the griffon stuffed the remainder of her articles in the locker.

Closing it, locking it, and giving it a good kick for good measure, Gilda felt satisfied in marching towards an opening leading to the arena. The sound of cheering and general uproar could be heard from the outside as the steel door at the far end opened seemingly on its own.
A long and very dark hallway held only a single occupant. A bright blue unicorn with a pair of black shades and a horsetail styled azure mane awaited Gilda with a wide grin.

“Are you ready?” The voice was gruff, but sincere, as if more time could be spent preparing.

Clutching the medallion underneath her uniform, Gilda gave a confident grin, and with swagger attained after years of competing with ponies, she strode forward forward to a small flight of stairs leading upwards.

“Born ready.”

Walking up these stairs, Gilda’s heart raced with anticipation. This was going to be the big fight, the one that would finally make her new career! At a very young age too, now that the griffon thought about it. It would be an early conquest of the top, with decades ahead yet still to knock down any who challenge her position.

The double doors at the top of the stairs opened wide, and the flashing snapshots of cameras almost blinded her, the cheers now a deafening roar. Stepping into the stadium of sorts, the air conditioned, inside area of combat already had the smell of sweat and excitement. The fans had worked themselves up into a frenzy, and the fight had not even begun yet. Gilda did not mind; she liked an attentive, over-excited crowd. They tended to make the silence after a victory all the more significant.

“In this corner, the fastest griffon Equestria has yet seen in this arena, a competitor that has mastered both the single and double matches, Lightning Striiike!” The announcer’s microphone voice could hardly be heard over the crowd, the stomping of hooves and talons cheering Gilda on as she journeyed down the aisle leading to the actual arena.

The large arena at the center of the crowd-packed stadium was brightly illuminated. The four roped square had been the stage for many fights, a few mildly bloody, as broken muzzles and beaks were commonplace in the higher tier fights. Gilda expected a very tough fight, but had very little doubt that she could, and would, take care of the competition and walk out in great enough shape to not have to take a trip to the infirmary.

Her theme music, electric, with a screeching bird in the background, pumped up the crowd. Even Rainbow Dash had never been able to rear up a crowd with her taste of music alone, even if she had been more into speedy flight competitions than more messy brawls.

Gilda scowled at herself, her thoughts once again wandering in that accursed direction. If this turned into a surprise double fight, then she would be stuck on that cyan Pegasus for the rest of the evening.

“And in this corner, the reigning champion, undefeated in the ring and armoured to the hoof, Tin Caaaan!”

Gilda scoffed while the announcer introduced the clearly over-rated pony. The earth pony, clad from head to toe in heavy, medieval armor, strode down the aisle on the other side of the ring. Despite the sheer weight of the armor, as Gilda could hear the sound of each hoofstep even in this roar, the pony did not seem hindered at all.

No wonder no pony had ever beaten this competitor before in the ring. Just punching him/her in the face would do no good, as his/her helmet looked at least as hard as steel. Gilda’s mind went to work, as the competitors were allowed to bring almost anything to the arena, as long as it was not an instrument to assist in drawing blood.

A hammer came to mind when she first got a glimpse of the infamous gloater, but thanks to Celestia’s regulations, anything that could also crack skulls was also banned. Shame really, for a hammer would have saved Gilda many hours of slamming her opponents into the arena floor. The pony hopped into the arena, causing a mild shaking. The armor did not seem to have any openings, but Gilda knew that there had to be some way to beat this pony. The customary trash talk now came as the two approached center ring, with a griffon referee in the middle.

“I want a good, clean fight. A few splots of blood is fine, but if either of you start flowing the match is off.”

The Can cackled, and then spoke with a very echo in the tunnel voice, “I hope it is not that time of the year, Lightning. Would be a shame winning by default.”

Gilda hooted, and despite not being an owl hybrid, she did a fairly good hoot imitation. The crowd had long fallen silent to hear the jeers of these two.

“You know, I think your head is as empty as the can you call armor,” Gilda jeered, “That does not count for blood flow. Or did you forget the humiliating defeat Spitfire burned you with five years ago when that shit mouth of yours ran off to her?”

The pony snorted in anger, steam emitting from two holes Gilda assumed were the nostrils. Yeah, that had struck someplace on the pride dartboard.

“I still have the mark to prove it. That was not in the ring, however, and at least my friends do not disown me for being myself.”

Now that had bullseyed Gilda's own ego dartboard, the mentioning of that particular blemish on her history causing her to grind her talons into the arena floor, reminding herself that the floor was far less sturdy than one might think. “At least I got ditched for the Elements of Harmony; your friends would leave you for a far cooler tin can. Maybe one with an apple label on it.”

Tin Can laughed, and then stalked back to his/her corner. “ I am going to enjoy crushing your lungs.”

Gilda stepped back to her own side, puffing out her chest proudly. “And I am going to enjoy cramming my new title up your…”

Ding!

The bell rung and the match had begun, much to the delight of the crowd, whom once again were in an uproar. Normally Gilda would have at least had time to finished her bit, but it seems that they were in a rush today. Circling the center ring, Gilda trained her eyes on the metal deathtrap in front of her.

This would have been easy; punch to the left, another hook to the chin, maybe a kick if she were feeling particularly vile. However, this champion did not get their name for nothing; the metal armor would make it very difficult to land a devastating blow.

Tin Can charged straight towards her, knowing very well that she would not be charging him/her back. Of course, Gilda leapt into the air, using her wings to stay afloat. Tin Can, by some miracle, defied gravity and jumped up after her.

Though Gilda managed to lift her talons out of the way, the pony somehow managed to grab her tail with its teeth. The incredible weight of the armor brought her down to earth, and before she knew it, she was being slammed into the floor of the ring.

Her body slammed against the wood, shattering some bits of the flooring upon impact. No doubt mere inches from splinters, the griffon cawed and kicked out, her feet meting metal in a painful reminder of who she dealt with. Though it warded the pony off for a bit, the price of stomping against metal was a ringing foot.
Sprawled on her back, her foe reared up and made to slam onto her right wing. Gilda swiftly moved it, the subsequent landing creating yet another hole, which the pony fell through in a rather clumsy, yet comedic way.

Gilda would have laughed had this not brought an idea to mind on how to win. Back on her feet again, Gilda prepared to take off again when, emerging from the floor beneath her, a metal hoof made contact with the underside of her beak.

Sent backwards and upwards by the force of the punch, Gilda was quite dazed. Another strike to her left, then to her right, and stars were beginning to buzz around her head like the swirling air. Stumbling towards the end of the arena, she tried to regain her sense of location, but yet another swing sent her tot he ground.

“You know, I think I am going to take my time with this one.”

The harsh words hardly even registered before a flash of light shrouded the area. An intense burning sensation on her chest forced Gilda to remain still while she regained her bearings. For just a moment, she felt herself on a wooden table, staring face to face with a blue eyed pony that she had met only some time ago.

The name escaped her, but some innate anger did rise from her body. She flexed her talons, head finally returning to her senses. Before she could strike, the burning sensation returned, and the griffon was forced to refrain from striking out at the pink pony.

The burning sensation began to dull, and moments later another flash of light overtook her. Gilda flopped back onto the stage, hearing the sound of confusion ringing out. Back on her feet, she looked around to see ponies and griffons running about in a sort of panic, confusion settling in. No doubt whatever happened startled the crowd.

Gilda's focus, however, was not on the crowd, but on the slightly dazed Tin Can, who shook his/her head clear and looked towards Gilda.

Her opponent spotted her return snorted, and then charged at her a second time. Much like last time, Gilda rose to the air, but this time, she took off with much more force, not wishing to repeat her earlier mistake. Also once again, the pony leapt up, aiming to drag her back down to the ground in a similar fashion as to last time.

But this time, things were going to be different. Rather than trying to fly higher and leaving her tail exposed, Gilda dove talon first towards the leaping pony, using her own body weight to shove her opposition down head first towards the arena floor.

The end resulted in a satisfying slam dunk, the clang of metal and a sharp snapping noise announcing the downfall of being so heavy and landing in such a fashion. The arena area completely shattered from the force, forming yet another large gaping hole, with wood splintered everywhere.

Reaching her talons around Tin Can's neck, Gilda dragged the heavy, limp pony from the splintered crater out of the center of the ring, where she proceeded to remove the helmet with surprising ease. The latches were nothing more than two buckles on either side, and rather

Tin Can had a red mane, a coat of red, and even red eyes. Even the face flowed crimson, obscuring the natural coat color of the pony, presuming it was not red. To some extent, this seemed rather extreme, as she had been going for a more internal sort of injury; on the other hoof, her opponent would not be getting up anytime soon to challenge the challenger's clear victory.

“I said I wanted a clean fight dammit!” the referee rushed over on all fours with a few ponies in in white smocks.

Gilda, the fight being rather anticlimactic for her personally, could only sigh. She had really been hoping for a more prolonged slugmatch when she had first started. However, as fate would have it, that would not be happening, and in hindsight, it was probably for the best.

Gilda stalked away for a few moments, looking for her manager while the ponies and griffon attended to the knocked out competitor. Nowhere to be found, Gilda turned impatiently back to the referee and the attendants, intent on claiming her prize before charges set in.

“I am sure it is bad and all, but where is my championship belt?”

She had not come all this way and nearly gotten herself stomped on to have to wait for her title. She had a threat to fulfill after all, and she had every intention on finding out if Tin Can was a mare or a stallion.

The referee looked at her with some disgust, as if he could not believe that she had just said that. “Is that really all you care about? This pony is seriously injured…”

Gilda would not have cared more if she had outright killed the pony at this point, as long as it did not interfere with her receiving of her title. “He she it knew what they were getting into when they stepped in. I am going to shove my belt so far…”

Gilda did not get the chance to finish this boast, the burning sensation living back up again. Gilda collapsed, feeling her body become like dead weight in an instant. What was with this medallion? It was as if some magic were triggering it to do this. Losing feeling in her body, darkness began to creep around her vision, as if her body were shutting down.

It did not make much sense, but her hearing seemed to become even more acute, despite the other signals that her body was giving off. The sound of panicked screaming turning into a zapping noise, drowning out all else for a few moments. The zapping was accompanied by burning, the cackles of flames, and the howls of surprised ponies and griffons.

So they wanted to burn her alive and claim it a magical accident huh? Sometimes life was just not fair. Gilda wanted to have a serious chat with the ponies about her suspicion, but their shouts were beginning to get ear splitting, as if there was a serious threat to their lives.

Numbness fully settling in, all Gilda could hear consisted of zapping noises, dropping weights, and screeching. Finally, all went silent, with only the sound of a few clopping hooves being heard. Eventually, the hoof sounds got onto the wrecked stage, and Gilda ended up blacking out entirely.

Captain Antoine Bellamy

When Gilda awoke, it was in a very shaky and dark room. It was stuffy, almost as if she had been placed in a coffin of sorts. Fearing of that possibility, the panicked griffon reached out to pound with her fists anything that could possibly shed some light so that she would know for sure. When her talons were seized in mid-air, the griffon cursed, her concerns now shifting into who had taken her captive.

She had been prepared to thrash about when a stern voice attempted to calm her. "It is alright Gilda, I am here."

With an accent clearly from a Griffia native, Gilda ran the voice through her head several times before she pinned down who it was. And when she did, she calmed down, an odd peace washing over her.

"Pops?"

A light literally went on the size of a light bulb directly above her head, illuminating the not so small chamber. It was sizeable; nearly as large as a bedroom, and with the same general shape as well. Gilda's attention, however, was fixated on the famaliar griffon whom only now released her wrists, allowing them to flop down to the floor that she lay upon.

Gilda's father had a sleek, black crow's head with the body of a midnight blue panther. His sharp, sea green eyes missed no movement, and his warm and inviting smile contrasted greatly with the faint lines of healed injuries from the past that covered much of the exposed bits of his body.
He wore a chainmail body suit with a steel breastplate, both riddled with runes that offered some levels of resistance against magic. He had no helmet

A large, rectangular shield with a large emblem brazened upon it nearly the size of a full grown griffon was propped up in the seat to the right of him. It bore the Griffia insignia, a griffon grasping arrows and a scepter in its talons, arrows on the left and scepter on the right. That shield normally would have belonged to a member of the Griffia Royal Guard, but it seems that her father had picked it up at some point.

Noticing Gilda looking him from head to toe, Gilda's father cleared his throat in order to return her attention to the matter at hand.

"Are you alright?" he inquired with concern, " I am glad that amulet offered some protection against the attack, but I am still concerned about what you may have seen before playing possum."

"Seen?" Gilda was confused, and not just because she had hardly seen anything worth mentioning, other than that ass kicking she gave the former champion. "All I recall is winning the championship title, and this stupid amulet dropping the curtain on me fulfilling a promise I made at the beginning of it."

Gilda's father laughed, apparently amused by this answer. "That amulet is designed to react to magic; GPF were required to wear them whenever in Equestrian territory as a form of both restraint and protection. It has the power to create a powerful illusion that gives the appearance of death, fooling both the trained and untrained eye. High enough levels of magic cause it to activate, and an inexperienced bearer like yourself would not have thought to take it off, something I had been counting on when I gave it to you."

The chamber rocked yet again, even as Gilda prepared her next question. She sat up and looked her father in the eye, her temper beginning to build at the obvious attempt to withhold information. Yes, he had explained the meaning behind why he had given her the amulet, but he had noticeably attempted to direct attention away from the incident that prompted the amulet's usage in the first place.

"What is going on? What attack are you talking about? And where are we going now?"

"Better tell her Antoine before she sends you to the bottom of the carriage," someone called out to the left of the duo with just a hint of sarcasm, "And of course before we get to the Castle. Canterlot looks like the ponies decided to have a giant party and forgot to omit the alcohol in the apple cider."

Antoine sighed in what sounded like defeat. He kept up silence and eye contact for a few minutes longer, likely to compose an appropriate response.

Meanwhile, Gilda attempted to make sense of what she knew. So they were on their way to the Royal Sister's Castle, in a carriage; already they were in Canterlot it seemed. This was no small carriage, and she knew from experience that chariots were far more common in Equestria than carriages, which meant that they were going to stick out. However, it was clearly intentional for them to stick out, or else they would be travelling in something far less eye-catching and unusual. Gilda concluded that this was not a standard GPF mission.

Antoine finally frowned, a sign that he was ready to begin delving into the details of the situation. The warmth in the carriage seemed to increase, to the point in which Gilda would have suspected that there were vents of warm air placed around the carriage for whatever reason.

"Excluding yourself and a few other characters of interest, those there at the fighting match were slaughtered," Antoine explained slowly and with clear signs of hesitation, "Butchered. Unicorn magic, dragon fire, even griffon talon marks were literally all over the place. Identifying a guilty party is next to impossible, but we have a fear that the two target organizations from Griffia and Draconia have banded together. Remember the letter that I sent you?"

Gilda nodded. He had mentioned in the letter something about important targets meeting with Equestrian co-conspirators; perhaps this is what they had been planning? If so, the main question was how in the world her father could have been so off, when the actual problem had been occuring an entire sea away. Not to mention if he was supposed to be in Griffia, how he managed to get to Equestria so relatively quickly, as it did not seem that much time had passed since then.

"Ponies, griffons, dragons, zebras... Except for you, by the time we got there, the perpetrators had already left. We helped the Guard investigate and clean up, but my primary concern was getting you out of there and preventing another attack." Antoine sighed yet again, casting a glance towards the shield. "A quick costume change and as of right now, we are King Grackus' only defense detail. He is easy pickings for the rebellion while he is here in Equestria, and it is up to us to make sure they don't take advantage of it."

Hold on, Grackus was in Equestria? King Grackus, her uncle? Gilda could hardly believe it; Grackus hated being on Equestrian soil. It was literally in his royal blood to despise being among the court of rivals that he could never beat himself. Not to mention it was beginning to seem like these targets were rebels rather than some large scale crime bosses wanting to disturb the peace.

Of course, this was her father's affair, and something that could be handled by Griffia; so why had she not been dropped off at home, or some other place further from the spotlight? And where was her championship belt?

"So why am I here? Uncle Grackus would not let me on his security detail if I were to pay him a salary for it. Not to mention I would rather be laying low back at my place than watching my Uncle's back." It was mildly personal, with him keeping for a wife a griffon who likely still wanted his niece dead and buried.

"You are staying within a day's travel of me just in case anything else goes down," Antoine answered, shuffling in his seat some, "In the meantime, we are going to do some father-daughter bonding."

Gilda smirked and sat up, poking at her father's breastplate in jest. "You might be a trained fighter, but I have had some training of my own in the past few months. I bet I can lay you out flat, even with your armor on."

Antoine laughed quite loudly, rocking lightly as he did so. When he composed himself, he placed a talon to Gilda's forehead and pushed her back onto her backside. "That shit you pull in the ring is not going to work on a griffon like me. But, I will entertain you, and for your mother's sake, I won't leave you with too many bruises."

The two laughed, the driver likely not fully comprehending the joke. Nonetheless, the driver called back, "We are almost there. Best be all suited up Captain."

Gilda looked around the largely empty carriage; she could have sworn that it had been a large chamber earlier, but now that she took into consideration that this was a moving transport, she would have expected there to be far more inside. No sooner had she thought this did some of the walls shift and move, eyes blinking and some yawning with beaks wide.

Startled, Gilda scrambled to her father's unoccupied left side, at last on a seat.

Antoine chuckled, nodding towards the others in the carriage. "Yeah well, you guys know the drill. We're here to defend Lord Grackus while he is here in Equestria; the only moving things that are not targets are the Royal Guards, though if they make any moves on Grackus they also get dropped. So really the alicorn sisters are the only ones off limits, not like you could take them on anyways."

The griffons in the chariot chuckled, a few making a distinct snicker that suggested that the joke was not that the alicorn sisters were mentioned at all, but that he spoke as if all of that was not already common knowledge.

Reaching to the side and grabbing his shield, Antoine rose from his haunches, strapped it to his back, and gave Gilda one last critical look. Gilda could hardly keep from laughing, as the large shield, while it definitely sheltered his back with the emblem facing outwards, truly did look rather awkward once he was on fours.

She had to wonder how he managed to get it off of his back in time for any real fighting. It was almost as large as he was, and no doubt quite heavy to lug around. Antoine changed his gaze to looking around the carriage, the shapes of eight griffons stiffening in response.
"At first, we are going to cause a bit of a scene, but after that, I want you lot to be harder to find than Princess Celestia's-"

"We get it," one of the disguised griffons interrupted, putting on a black mask, "Play nice, and fight only if needed. What are the odds of Grackus being in danger while staying in Equestria's capital?"

"Better safe than sorry," another chimed as the carriage came to a halt, "I hear things really went from bad to worse after yesterday's magical mystery."

After this was said, the back of the carriage burst open to the sight of Royal Guard members, all armed, waiting outside. Antoine nodded towards every individual griffon in the back before stepping out first, the clang and shifting of metal accompanying him. With his oddly free tail, he gestured for Gilda to follow, which she did promptly.

Upon exiting the carriage, very soon Gilda realized that they would be sticking out very sorely in the city. It was broad daylight, and with the exception of herself and her father, the rest of the force wore very dark clothing more suited for nighttime. Much to her surprise, upon the griffons exiting the carriage, the remaining griffons wore very little body armor, instead being dressed in black shirts, pants, and beanie hats.

Hardly something Gilda would have previously called a royal guard, rather than a band of crooks preparing to rob the Equestrians blind.

One of the Equestrian Guard ponies took one look at this and frowned deeply. "Uh, Captain Antoine, you do realize we can't just let you all walk around the city like that right? Already you have drawn quite the attention..."

"I am aware." Antoine eyed various griffons and dragons who had stealthily began leaving the square upon their arrival. "I am very much aware."

The backup griffons had daggers and throwing knives visible on belts around their waists, much to the uneasiness of the Equestrian Guards. Their expressions revealed very little, but the way they gripped their spears in their hooves told a very different story about how comfortable they really were.

They weren't, and for the first time since she stepped out of the carriage, Gilda let a small smile creep across her beak. Her father's wings poked out on either side of the shield as he stared at the large castle before them, its towering spires looking as if they could scrape the clear evening sky above them.

"I presume the king is already inside?" Antoine asked one of the pony guards, to which the guard nodded in response.

He smiled, stretched out his wings, and gestured towards the castle. "Go with the Royal Guards to get acquainted with where we can and can't go. Understood?"

The darkly garbed griffons saluted, and headed off with a group of the pony guards, the latter of which trotted as if they were on knives.. Antoine then looked towards one of the remaining guards with a wide grin. "Now then, where is Charles? He is supposed to have already been here to greet us."

The pony tilted his head, clearly confused by the question. "Charles? There is no creature by that name here in the Castle."

Antoine's smile faded, and it was replaced by a scowl. "Take us to the king's chambers at once."

Grackus Bellamy

The pony led the duo into the castle, the grand double doors opening to the throne room. Here, Grackus lay atop a large cushion on the carpeted floor, locked in a match of chess with a serpentine blue dragon. Upon the entry of guests, the two looked up, with Grackus smiling wide.

"Brother!" he called out, rising from a cushioned seat, "How good it is to see you!"

Gilda had often tried to guess the avian background that created the oddly owl-like head of Grackus, his brown feathers running smoothly into a tan coat. Grackus had green eyes, very expressive for a griffon. He wore nothing, but Gilda assumed that the lack of formal dress may have been due to the nature of the situation. His lion body at least seemed relatively normal.

Antoine and Grackua embraced each other, though once Grackus got a good look at Gilda, he released his brother and put on a scowl. Seeing his neice hardly ever brought a smile to his face, and Gilda should not have expected this to be any different. "What is she doing here?"

"Gilda here is going to be a part of your security detail," Antoine explained with a sheepish smile, "Not to mention I need to keep an eye out in case either of you get into trouble again. The two of you can get along can't you?"

"As long as I can get a taste tester for my goblets," Gilda joked, flicking a talon towards Grackus, "No telling what Uncle might do if we're left alone."

"So this is your niece Grackus." The serpentine dragon looked intrigued, and had a wide, silly grin on her face. "The fruit does not fall far from its tree at all."

"Hmph." Grackus turned towards the dragon, arms folded tightly. "Nevermind her Dratina, she gets that from Equestria. Where were we?"

"Before you get back to your, um, business," Antoine interrupted, recapturing Grackus' attention, "Where is Charles? I sent him ahead of me in order to make sure that you had at least one guard the entire time."

Grackus shrugged. "Charles never showed. The whole teleportation incident that the Princesses refuse to elaborate on any further may have gotten him near anywhere in the world." Grackus seemed concerned, but not overly so, as he returned to his seat in front of Dratina. He cast a look back towards Antoine before asking, "How is the wife doing?"

"Mine is doing quite fine," Antoine started, stopping once he noticed their royal guard escort was still in the room, intently listening to the idle chit-chat of the foreigners.

Antoine looked towards the pony with a smile, and with a gentle nod asked, "You don't mind do you? We are about to discuss something rather sensitive."

The pony, likely less than eager about leaving three griffons and a dragon alone in the throne room of his rulers, hesitated. Dratina, using magic, levitated the knight piece on the chess board, knocking over and replacing a queen piece. "Check."

Grackus seemed surprised, and perhaps this exchange easing his fears, the pony guard nodded to Antoine and departed.

Once the pony was gone, Grackus and Dratina both changed demeanor, rising from their respective places and approaching Antoine with haste.

"Were you successful in eliminating the targets?" Grackus inquired, "Or did they get away?"

"While we failed to actually kill the suspects, we did manage to get a significant amount of information from their storehouse," Antoine explained, gesturing towards Gilda to join him on his right side, "What we know now for sure is that the rebellions are linked, and have intentions on overthrowing both royal families of our two kingdoms."

"We figured that," Dratina stated, a frown creasing her face, "What we don't know is how they are operating."

Gilda huffed in annoyance. If they had known that, why did her father risk life and limb? Seemed easier to just go off of speculation and start the head rolling.

Antoine did not seem bothered by this though, or at least he did not show it. "Indeed, they met with ponies, but prior to earlier belief, they were not meeting with Equestrians."

Grackus and Dratina both seemed confused, with Grackus shedding some light on the source of the confusion. "I don't understand. If they were not meeting with Equestrians, then who were they meeting with? There are not that many pony nations able to house ruffians capable of supporting a rebellion an entire seas away."

Antoine lowered his voice, and brought his head closer to both monarchs. Gilda found herself leaning in a few inches closer, though she tried to restrain herself from doing so. After all, this was not any of her business.

"They met with Crystal Ponies." Antoine leaned back from the whisper, the shocked faces of his audience giving way to disbelief.

In a hushed whisper, Dratina scowled. "Crystal ponies? Surely you are mistaken?"

"No, this adds up with the other report that I have received," Grackus mused, walking away from the small group and pacing the floor, "Indeed, they noted that many elements of our guard went to the Crystal Empire. The missing members of the Equestrian guard, however, ended up in both Griffia and Draconia in points where they were in significant danger. The only ones to benefit from a more weakly guarded Crystal Empire are the crystal ponies."

"That's rubbish." Gilda could hardly believe that such speculation could be considered fact for a moment. What would the Crystal ponies have to benefit from being less defended? "The Crystal Ponies were integrated into Equestria the moment they accepted Princess Cadance as their princess. Not to mention they are pretty docile."

Grackus turned violently towards Gilda, pointing a talon dangerously in her direction. "That is what you are supposed to believe. They accepted Cadance as their princess, but that does not mean that they accepted Celestia and Luna. Considering what could be gathered from their libraries, there is good reason for them not to be so pleased about being ruled, at heart, by Celestia and Luna."

Now it was Antoine's turn to be confused. "What do you mean by that? Celestia at least hasn't done anything worthy of any pony being suspicious of her actions, much less willing to be ruled by anyone else."

"There is an entire history in the Crystal Empire that was proven truth by recent events," Dratina explained, "When the Empire returned, the first opportunity to exploit their knowledge came when Celestia ordered that the library be both inspected and restored. Certain, interest groups, acquired the history section, and cleaned it of anything having to do with Pre-Equestrian alicorns."

"And you are going to claim now that said articles are now in your possession?" Gilda folded her arms, highly skeptical that there was no horse crap sitting in the room. The current conversation reeked of false information.

"Gilda," Antoine scolded, but Grackus put up both talons for silence.

"Continue to wallow in Equestrian ignorance. The Crystal Ponies know and have proof of it all." Grackus then turned towards Dratina, his scowl turning into more of a level expression. "We have to act, and soon."

"We should include the Equestrians in this," Dratinia advised, "After all, they can handle the Crystal ponies far better than we can."

Gilda rolled her eyes, not believing what she was hearing. These two would have been discussing plans to attack each other, let the public tell it. However, it was clear that they were not as uncooperative and antagonistic with each other as they allowed the general populace to believe. And now she was supposed to believe that they were going to try to work together in order to gang up on the Crystal Empire?

Equestria would never go for it. The Princesses, even if there was some truth to these tall tales, would never actually take action on it. Because if the crystal ponies, having went through the rule of Sombra, were willing to risk the anger of their monarchs, then the Equestrians would not be too far behind.

Antoine sighed and walked over to Gilda. He put an arm around her shoulders, and gestured with his head towards the two monarchs. "Well, before you worry about that, I think we have more pertinent things to attend to. As I was stating earlier, my wife is fine, but the royal family in general-"

Grackus snapped to attention, realizing what could possibly be coming next. "Now, you are not about to state that they, and more importantly, my mate is in danger are you? You should have went back to Griffia first instead of grabbing your daughter."

Gilda refrained from rolling her eyes. What good was a mate if the two could never produce offspring? Might as well call her what she was; wife and co-ruler.

"I hate to point this out now of all times, brother," Antoine sternly stated, staring Grackus down, "But Gilda is in line for succession if something were to happen to you. You are quite unable to produce an heir, so while keeping you alive is important so that it does not come to that, your wife is not on my priority list. If Gilda and you were to disappear or worse, be captured, Griffia would have a very serious succession crisis to work out."

"Couldn't you just take over?" Dratina offered, "I mean, you are royalty are you not?"

"I surrendered that right a long time ago when I wed," Antoine explained, removing his arm from Gilda's shoulders, "To put it shortly, Grackus was in denial about why he wasn't having any children until he finally got himself checked out."

Grackus roared, stepping towards Antoine with a less than pleased huff. "How dare you! Such information is private! Not to mention the mere mentioning of that-" He glared at Gilda, "Equestrian coming to the throne of griffons..."

Grackus and Antoine took a few steps towards each other, mere moments away from what Gilda interpreted as a scuffle.

"First of all, being a pony doesn't make you an Equestrian, loyalty does," Gilda rebuked, stepping between the siblings with arms and wings outstretched, "So you can stuff that where the chicks won't spawn. And secondly, I would not have had to grow up an Equestrian if it was not for your wife trying to get rid of me."

For a few moments, the room was thick with tension. Though she had felt fine earlier, Gilda feared that if a fight broke out, she would now very literally be caught in the middle of it. All thanks to her body acting before her head could consider the repercussions.

Flexing his talons, Grackus appeared ready to strike for a few moments when the throne room doors creaked open. All returned to a less than aggressive stance as none other than Princess Celestia entered the room, flanked by two guards. As usual, her presence demanded a change in atmosphere.

Despite appearances, the Princess clearly noticed the tension in the room, and had likely been listening in prior to entering. "I am not interrupting something am I?"

Her otherwise innocent question prompted a few glances between the griffons. Gilda was unsure whether to respond truthfully, sarcastically, or with a question of her own.

Antoine stepped up. "Just having a discussion is all Princess. I assume all is fine on your end?"

"Other than diplomacy, politics, and the increasing cost of sorting out this mess, I would say things are fine." Celestia smiled warmly, and even Gilda had to admit that she felt far less tense than she had mere moments before. There was something eerie about that pony, the way she could disarm even the most bitter with a mere smile. She clearly had centuries of practice behind her to have that kind of effect so seemingly involuntarily.

She walked along the carpet, noticing the chess game. Her smile grew wider. "Hm, if we have time, perhaps I can play the winner. Grackus, Dratina, I am sure you are aware that your guards are supposed to check in before setting up shop around my castle."

Antoine tilted his head to the side. "If I recall, my griffons did check in."

"Your griffons have the attention of the entire city, Antoine," Celestia assured him, her gaze resetting on Dratina, "Your dragons, however, have my attention. Dragons are not an uncommon sight in Equestrian, but ones that blend in with the buildings are more than cause for alarm."

"You have a sharp eye Princess," Dratina complimented with a smile of her own, "They are here for protection purposes. Obviously I felt that they needed to be more covert than griffons, or else they might attract the wrong kind of attention."

"If they are attracting my attention and not the attention of my guards while they are escorting me, then that is the wrong kind of attention," Celestia warned, her expression shifting into a small frown, " I respect that you wish to have protection, but understand that this is still Equestrian territory, and you are still foreigners. I do not want to get the wrong idea and believe that you are trying to take advantage of this situation."

Dratina did not respond, perhaps because now even Grackus was staring her down. Gilda would have joked about the dragon in the room of griffons and ponies being the most suspicious, but some inhibition held her back. There was a time and a place, and if she got another chance outside the presence of Princess Celestia, she would certainly tell it.

"It will be dealt with promptly, Princess." Dratina then slunk off in haste towards the throne room, avoiding eye contact with Grackus, as if she were a chick being sent to the far part of the nest for her misdeeds.

Celestia nodded, and continued her walk down the aisle to her throne. Taking a seat, she closed her eyes, the two guards whom had escorted her standing on either side of the throne. Like statues they stood, except the faint signs of breathing could be noted between the two. The temptation to poke them for a reaction was strong.

"Now then, I am going to presume that the winner of the chess match is on her way out," Celestia noted as Dratina exited, eyeing the small group still standing in her throne room, "So I am going to have to ask you all to find someplace else to discuss your private matters. I need my throne room."

"Of course," Antoine quickly stated, gesturing towards Grackus and Gilda, "We should be on our way. The guest chambers?"

"I know the way," Grackus growled, eyeing his brother, "And I know what that shield is really for."

A daggar had been thrown, striking its mark based on Antoine's furrowed eyebrows. Celetia warily watched as the two led the way out of the throne room, staring each other down the whole way. Gilda had not realized that there had been so much potential tension between the two. But she did know one thing for certain.

If they were going to fight outside the throne room doors, she wanted front row seats.

Much to Gilda's disapointment, Antoine and Grackus both maintained themselves until they reached the guest bedrooms.

The palace's guest bedrooms were sizable; so large in fact, that one had to ponder just how large the non-guest bedrooms were. After all, most guests were around the size of two ponies, maybe four max. The guest bedroom that they came to, just from the outside, looked large enough to accompany the entire Guard force that Antoine had brought, with just enough room for Gilda to have her own little corner. Antoine, Gilda, and Grackus approached the diplomatic guest room one after the other, the doorway only being large enough for one at a time.

However, Antoine waited at the door, allowing Gilda and Grackus to walk ahead of him inside. He did not smile again, but he did put on a friendly tone to explain himself. "I would love to stay, but I am sure you two have some catching up to do. If you need me, I will be in Canterlot."

"Thanks, that's very specific," Grackus growled, waving his left wing in dismissal, "Carry on with what you have to do. We'll be fine."

Antoine bowed and then closed the large door. Gilda only just now noticed that it was one of the few times in which Antoine actually bowed to his brother. Once the sounds of his footsteps died out, Gilda took in the sight around her. The Griffia crest was everywhere, from flags to the very pillars that held up the high ceilings. There were no windows, and yet, the light that emitted from the many wall mounted, torch-shaped lambs illuminated the room very much as if natural sunlight poured in through windows.

It was almost eerie, and not in the dark kind of way. In the "everything is too bright" kind of way. Noticing how acute shadows were in the room, Gilda eyed the single, king sized bed that had a single, silk red robe on it. Gilda grimaced as she imagined her Uncle in it, and then grimaced again when she actually watched him put it on.

The room was carpeted, in a yellow color no less. The walls were covered in the lamp torches, a single visible green door likely led to the single bathroom. Despite earlier projections, this space was not near enough for her to spend, alone, with her Uncle.

Gilda did not look forward to having to stay here any longer than she needed to.

"Well Niece, what do you think?" Grackus joked, hopping into his bed, bouncing a few feet before finally settling onto his back, "It is not quite like home, but you won't forget who sleeps here."

"Yes, I needed that reminder." Gilda frowned and slowly walked towards the bed, hoping that a roll-up version would be found if she kept walking.

Grackus reached under a large, fluffy pillow, a silly grin on his face as he began searching for something. "You know I don't dislike you as much as I let on right Gilda? After all, if I wanted you dead, you would have been twelve feet under already."

Gilda scoffed, at least in part because he had a point. Though his wife was not the brightest of the coop and pride, Grackus did at least have the competency to send the right griffons to do the right job. The way he could still give orders to her father was proof enough of that. "Whatever happened to six feet under? Twelve is a bit overkill."

"Oh you know, would not want your corpse to wash up in the wrong place would we?" Grackus finally stopped rummaging underneath the large pillow, and with a silly grin, drew out a single dagger. Gilda did not need a sixth sense to tell her that she had best not join her Uncle on the mattress.

"Being barren, and being king, is a very cruel fate." Grackus sat on the mattress, staring at Gilda with a soft expression. He played with the dagger, flicking at the tip and tossing it up and down as he continued. "Some sympathy would be nice, but all I get is grief. Now my family is in danger, and my best officer is wasting his talents protecting me..."

He paused, his eyes narrowing in on Gilda, as if taking aim. "And you."

The thick silence that followed only put Gilda more on edge. If Grackus wanted to throw the dagger, why didn't he just do it already? Must he drag things out like an over the top villain? Or maybe he needed to stop bluffing, before Gilda decided to take the first strike. They did not call her Lightning Strike for nothing. "Yes well, Pops already explained the situation to you. I am next in line if you croak, and if you croak, an Equestrian citizen will be in charge of Griffia. Imagine the shit storm that would come from that."

Grackus smiled and tossed the dagger carelessly to the side, its clattering on the floor as loud as glass shattering on concrete. Gilda assumed that wherever it had landed, it was not on carpet.

In fact, a brief second of realizing that odd fact caused both griffons to look to the foot of the bed, just in time to see a section of the floor close, as if it were a hatch of sorts. Grackus made a motion to hop from his place, but his entire body was shoved forward against his will. His body looked constricted, despite the fact that nothing visible seemed to be restraining him.

Gilda assumed magic, and rushed forward in order to aide him. However, Grackus, beak apparently still free, sharply pecked downwards, eliciting a sharp cry from whatever had assaulted him.

A green, serpentine dragon appeared, its body completely wrapped around Grackus, constricting him even tighter. His head now held in place, Grackus looked towards Gilda with an expectant look, as if she should come to his rescue.

Gilda contemplated it, and at heart, had decided against it; however, when she felt a tug on her rear foot, she found herself being dragged backwards and lifted from the ground. Wings flapping and arms flailing, Gilda attempted to strike at her attacker until she noticed a slight aura around her form.

Just as she noticed this, she was thrown towards the wall. Released from the magic grip for a moment, Gilda extended her talons out to get a grip on anything, only to find herself slamming into a Griffia wall flag stomach first. Though the wind was knocked from her, instinct allowed her to claw at the flag that had somewhat softened the blow, completely ripping through it before once again being levitated into the air against her will.

It was now that she wished she still had that necklace that her father had given her. Again she was thrown, but this time, she was hurled into the ceiling. Repeatedly she was smacked into the ceiling, mercilessly slammed into the hard surface for several minutes. Her vision dimmed, and by the time her assailant finally let her plop to the ground, Gilda had temporarily lost the ability to even stand.

She had not lost the ability to crawl, and she hastily scrambled towards the bathroom door. Before she could reach it, she was grabbed yet again by her hind feet, except this time, she could feel the jaws of a more powerful creature behind this attack. Dragged, Gilda scrambled with her front talons in a vain attempt to escape before the assailant flung her through the air.

Unlike last time, however, she landed squarely onto the king sized bed, the cushioned landing almost more painful than the hard floor. It was unexpected, and a shadow cast itself over her. Raising her head, Gilda noted the slumped form of Grackus, and the green dragon that had started the attack. The shadow, however, was cast by a griffon, with a blazing red uniform and a strange emblem on his chest. It was shaped like a lion, but it had both an eagle and a sword on the top and bottoms respectively. How in the hell the two had missed that in this room of yellow, brown, and green Gilda had never figured out.

Talons forced Gilda's arms upward, and feline legs pinned her own. Staring at her was another griffon, with blue head feathers and a nut cracking beak that curved more like a claw than something resembling a beak. Ocean blue eyes seemed to glare into her soul, and it was only now that Gilda noted a wide smile as well. At least someone was having a good time.

"Well then, this could not have worked out any better," the griffon cackled, pressing Gilda's arms further upwards, "You have any idea how long we have been waiting for just one of you? And just our luck, we get to have both of you."

In that light, maybe it was a bad idea to have two potential targets in the same room. Gilda knew she should have walked out with her father the moment he suggested that the two of them stay together. Nothing ever seemed to go right when she was around her folks.

"What do you want?" Gilda inquired, staring at her captor, slowly regaining both strength and her senses.

"From you, all I want is your body," the griffon chuckled, "Don't take it personally, but I need those talons of yours."

Gilda shifted around until she managed to free her tail from beneath her; though she could not see it, she knew what had to be done. Wrapping her tail around one of her captor's legs, she forcefully pulled downward. Apparently surprised by this, the griffon loosened his grip for just a moment, allowing Gilda to free her left arm. In a fluid motion with her previous move, she socked the griffon in his throat.

The griffon recoiled and clutched at his neck, gagging just as Gilda landed another one to his left cheek. The force from this blow cause the griffon to roll to the side, completely freeing Gilda and allowing her leverage. The dragon from earlier coiled up in preparation for striking, but Grackus stabbed the earlier discarded dagger into it. The dagger went all the way through, pinning the coiled beast to the carpet for a short time.

With an angry hiss the dragon lashed out at Grackus, who sloppily dodged the angry dragon's jaws. Temporarily stuck to the floor, the dragon worked to free itself, Grackus gasped for breath.

Hopping to her feet, Gilda grabbed the excessively large pillow and slammed it downward onto the upper body of the griffon attacker. She then flopped atop of it, much to the displeasure of the struggling griffon below. While she tried to keep the large pillow in place as to suffocate her quarry, Grackus shook his head clear just as the dragon freed itself, the bloody dagger now in the jaws of the dragon. If only Grackus had been strong enough to embed it all the way through the floor as well.

Even more riled up now, the dragon eyed Grackus for a moment before looking towards Gilda. In a moment, the dragon reared back and hurled the dagger towards her. Gilda flinched in preparation to move, but Grackus was closer, leaping into the air and slapping the hilt of the dagger downwards. While this did not stop it, this greatly altered its trajectory, the dagger embedding itself into the outstretched arm of the red suit griffon.

The griffon's howl was drowned out by the large pillow, the sound vibrations mildly irritating Gilda's stomach. Within that moment, the dragon used its long body to sweep Grackus' feet from beneath him, forcing him once again to the floor.

Trapped between suffocating , or attempting to anyways, the griffon assailant and dashing to her uncle's aide, Gilda pressed down harder in an attempt to finish the process, so that that would be one less attacker to deal with. However, the griffon had removed the dagger from his arm, and blindly thrusted at Gilda, narrowly missing her neck by mere centimeters. Had he merely went for an injury he might would have struck her sooner.

Realizing that it would be more dangerous to her to allow the griffon to retain ownership of the dagger, Gilda used the rest of her body to maintain pressure while her arms worked to seize the arm of her assailant. With his struggles becoming weaker, Gilda found it easy to exert enough force to snatch the dagger away from the griffon.

With the weapon now in her right hand, Gilda briefly looked towards Grackus and the dragon, the former once again trapped in a strangehold. With aim hardly practiced and with the hilt end in her grasp, Gilda hurled the dagger with as much force as she could muster, with the intent of hitting the dragon.

The dragon, perhaps with some sort of sixth sense, turned at just the wrong moment, turning what would have been a miss into a bulls-eye. However, the dragon's head was unscathed; Grackus, on the other hand, had taken the dagger right between the eyes. Time seemed to slow, as realization dawned on Gilda that she would have been better off killing the griffon with the weapon before rushing to help her uncle. The griffon below her finally stopped struggling, though the dragon did not stop squeezing Grackus, despite the monarch no longer putting up much of a fight.

Unlike the dragon, Gilda, perhaps more out of anger than necessity, took extra time to make sure that her victim was not merely faking. These extra few seconds seemed to last for an eternity, during which time the dragon finally released Grackus, whom fell to the floor seemingly in slow motion. As his blood gently pooled and stained the yellow carpet at the foot of the bed, the injured dragon quickly vanished yet again, likely using its camouflage magic again.

Before Gilda could react to this, the front door burst open, with none other than a member of the Equestrian Royal Guard entering. The pegasus' face had at first been in the form of a scowl, but upon seeing this scene, it instead turned to horror. Probably had come to ask them to keep it down.

"Wait!" Gilda shouted before the guard backed away and trotted down the hallway.

"Assassin! Griffon assassin!" The pony cried out in alarm, no doubt stirring up the entire castle in the process.

Panic overtook Gilda, as she saw that piece of the floor once again flap open at the foot of the bed. Not allowing the hatch to close and deny her pursuit, Gilda used her talons to raise it back up. Once it was open just enough, Gilda took one step into the darkness and plummeted down a narrow space unsuitable for wing flapping, darkness overtaking her vision as the floor hatch turned into the ceiling, it closing once she no longer held it up.

Dropping what felt like some ways down, Gilda landed roughly on the ground. As her eyes slowly adjusted, she could hear the sounds of movement directly in front of her. Her forepaw aching at this point, Gilda limped into the darkness, the moist ground beneath her likely having been tainted by the dragon's blood in its most hasty retreat. Gilda merely using the sound to guide her movement, but before long, it stopped, and with it, Gilda's vision finally adjusted to the darkness.

She could see the form of the dragon, it having come to a stop. Its breathing had become shallow, and as Gilda approached, the dragon took one look at her before hissing. It uttered something unintelligible before dropping for the last time. Not wanting to stick around to see if the dragon would get back up, Gilda stumbled over the body before continuing her blind venture deeper within the cavern, her heart racing and fear releasing itself in an adrenaline fueled run.

Her earlier pain no longer bothered her. No, not with what that pony had seen. Not with what happened back there. She ran, and did not look back; even if her father had called for her right then and there, she would not have turned back.

Author's Note

I had mused over re-writing entirely the fight, but then I reasoned that I didn't have enough cause to.

Extradition

Extradition

The caverns went very quiet as Gilda finished up her tale. Sunset and Luna both were rather stoic, and perhaps their lack of immediate reaction disturbed Gilda far more than aggression from Luna. Gilda clutched at the jewel hanging from her neck, perhaps taking some solace in it.

Sunset had heard a variant of this story as well; however, a significant difference this time is that Gilda had not divulged the identity of the griffon attacker, as she had figured it out shortly after seeing his face. Why had she omitted that this time? Perhaps the griffon clearly stating that he wanted her talons might make the story less believable if the identity were revealed?

When Luna spoke, her skepticism once again showing in her tone. "So you want me to believe that, by some coincidence, the very dagger that had only your prints on it transferred that many wielders, and by accident ended up in the head of Grackus Bellamy? And that Charles Franks was a traitor who wished to kill off Grackus?"

Sunset now realized that, at this point, Gilda did not need to name the griffon. After all, Luna would have been among the ponies to know about the incident and those left dead in the room.

Gilda nodded in confirmation. "Yes. I would not learn till later, but Charles had indeed followed Antoine's instructions; however, he had made use of these caverns alongside a dragon co-conspirator. It is the truth."

"So you tell it," Luna scoffed, eyeing Sunset, "Dratina had a close call that day as well, though Celestia wanting to keep an eye on her paid off to her advantage. The evidence all points to you, Gilda, murdering both Charles and Grackus for reasons unknown. The dagger, the fact that you and Grackus had a mutual disliking of each other, and that your skill with daggers and level of alertness would not have been sufficient enough to throw hard enough to embed the six inch blade deep into your uncle's skull. The evidence does not match the story."

Gilda scowled and rose from her sitting position. "Listen, I didn't want my uncle dead, it just happened! We had our disagreements, but when shit hit the fan, we had each others backs till the very end."

Luna dismissed Gilda with a wave of the hoof, summoning a small host of guards in the process. "Yes well, as much as I would be thrilled to take your word for it, I do not believe you. However, I do believe that you have ventured these caverns before; and feel that it would be unwise to continue to detain you here."

Luna looked to the four guards who had come in, two pegasi and two unicorns. "Take her to the old Canterlot Prison-"

"Your highness," one of the pegasi spoke, hesitantly at first, "If I may interrupt, we have received a message from the Republic. They seek Gilda's release."

"How shocking." Luna leered at Gilda, who seemed genuinely surprised. "Your father wants you out of prison. Did they agree to our terms?"

The pegasus shifted uncomfortably, looking towards his comrades. None of them seemed eager to deliver the answer, so when Luna turned back towards them, the original speaker was thrust forward.

"They made a different set of terms. They say that if Gilda is released, then they will not have to come take her by force."

Luna's eyes widened, her wings flared outward, and the wind began to howl in response to this announcement. Sunset and Gilda took a step back from the Princess, lest she take her rage out on either of them. Gilda took the necklace from her neck and placed it around Sunset's neck.

"How dare they threaten Equestria, the audacity!" Luna stomped a hoof to the ground, a crack of thunder shaking the entire cavern, "Tell them that if they threaten Equestria again, I will personally reduce their new Republic to ashes as an example!"

Because of Luna huffing and puffing like an enraged bull prepared to charge, a few of the guards began backing away, pushing the talkative pegasus guard forward all the same. He shot a glare to his comrades, who merely responded with helpless looks.

After a few moments, likely upon realizing how she was acting, Luna calmed down, her breathing leveling, her wings folding back to their sides, and the wind calming yet again. The rattling of bones and metal became the dominant sound as Luna's eyes closed. She took a deep breath, and then shook her head. "Report to them that if they want to come and get her; they can have her. Place her in the old Canterlot Prison in the meantime."

The guards hastily surrounded Gilda and practically swarmed her, hooves and rope flying in an artistically precise fashion. All Sunset saw were the four guards for a few moments, until they backed off, revealing a hogtied Gilda, a scowl on her face. "Is this really necessary?"

The pegasus guard from earlier looked to his comrades with a snicker. "All we need is an apple in the beak and we would all be set for alicorn dinner. Anyone got a shiny red one?" The guards chuckled at the joke, relieving some of the tension that had been brought on by Luna's earlier outburst.

Luna shot her guards a look, which prompted all four of them to hoist Gilda and carry her out in haste. Before being carried out, Gilda called out, "Good luck Sunset! If they do execute you though, I am going to want that back."

It was at this point that Luna noticed the amulet around Sunset's neck and scrutinized it. Stepping forward some, Luna brought a hoof to the heart-shaped gem, a scowl written on her face. "If she thinks she is getting this back, then she must have been telling tales to herself. Pick up on your story where you left off, Sunset. Moonlight is being burned." With this, Luna strode back over to her side of the cavern.

Sunset sighed, though she felt an oddly renewed vigor in the pit of her stomach. Luna had not yet seemed to realize just what Gilda had passed back off to her. The alicorn amulet created from Cadance's magic, which would have came in quite the handy in her fight with Luna. Then again, she would have recognized it and confiscated it by then had that been the case, so in hindsight, perhaps not having it for that fight had been a saving grace. With these thoughts in the back of her mind, Sunset carried on, intent on distracting Luna from the seemingly inert jewel.

"Well, some time after we left the hospital, we went straight to Canterlot. By train. The ride there was uneventful, at least compared to my last train trip..."

Connections

Sunset sat in her train seat, looking lazily through the half-drawn window. The scenery was nothing extraordinary, and they had just stopped by some small town to pick up and drop off some new guests. They called the place Ponyville, and for some reason, Sunset cringed at the sight of the place. Perhaps in part because somepony mentioned Twlight, and the fact that she was absent from town, much to the disappointment of some of the passengers.

Fleur had sat across the aisle, and even as they journeyed on, she snuck occasional glances at Sunset with a worried expression. It was not until they entered the tunnel leading up the winding mountain towards Canterlot did Fleur make her move. Silently, like a predator in the night, one minute Fleur sat across the aisle; the next, she was sitting in the previous unoccupied seat next to her.

Sunset did not look her way, but did perk her ears in her direction. Her lecture sense were telling her that she was about to be engaged in conversation, whether she showed receptive signs of it or not.

"Sunset." Fleur stared at Sunset, as if that would convince her to turn and face her. From her reflection in the mirror, Sunset made sure to maintain a bored, uninterested expression. Her ears betrayed, however, that she did have an ear towards her riding companion.

When Sunset did not respond, Fleur carried on, as Sunset expected. "You know, throwing a fit and losing the grace of the Princess should have been below you. But I suppose you learned all the wrong things while under Celestia's tutelage. Even now I have noticed a few glares in your general direction from certain ponies on board. I even got a question regarding why you were on my ticket, some random unicorn."

Sunset snorted, attempting to suppress a retort. Her disguise had not been refreshed since leaving the Crystal Empire, and the dressing of her wounds had likely required washing her off in places. The rest of the paint, thus, had likely been washed off then, though her mane had remained untouched. She would not be recognized by most ponies, though Fleur was a high-class member of Canterlot, and her travelling with just any unicorn would itself draw some suspicion. "No one asked you to buy my ticket Fleur. I am quite capable of handling things myself."

Fleur sighed, her ears flattening to her head. "You have clearly shown an inability to handle yourself, considering recent events. How did someone of your skill get bested by a mare like Trixie? No offense to her, as she has her way with tricks, but you attended the most prestigious unicorn magic school in all of Equestria."

"Did you attend the funeral?" Sunset was uncomfortable with how she had been defeated by Trixie back then, so she felt a need to change the topic. It was not the best of topics, the passing of her father, but at least it would change the conversation.

Fleur nodded, surprising Sunset. "Both I and Lightning Dust attended Jet's funeral. Let us just say that all bets were off once the stallion was put in the ground."

Fleur laughed. Sunset didn't. Neither found it all that funny, and perhaps it was because of this that Fleur's laughter came off as incredibly forced. Sunset scowled. "What about Mom?"

Fleur seemed not to respond immediately to this, perhaps collecting the answer from her memories. " Neela was not pleased to see me at the funeral. One thing led to another, and she shortly joined her husband in the ground."

Sunset turned her head to face Fleur with a shocked expression. Fleur was dead serious, her deadpan expression revealing that. "What happened?" Sunset demanded, hardly checking her own volume.

Fleur turned her gaze to the cavern walls of the mountain, as if looking back on the events through the reflection of the mirror. "She lashed out and fell into the hole with her husband. She was promptly buried after it was clear she would not move again."

"You are leaving out alot of details," Sunset accused, "A pony does not just 'fall' into a grave and get buried alive."

"She was not alive when she dropped in." Fleur did not seem bothered by Sunset's accusation. In fact, she seemed empowered even. "The fortunes of misery were split, and Flash engaged Lightning in combat. He might would have killed her had it not been for my intervention. The two of us have not spoken from then until his request that I help you get to Canterlot."

Sunset was unsure of how to react. On one hand, it was clear that there had been foul play at the funeral. On the other, why would Flash associate with these murderers after what they presumably did to their mother? "So what is the deal? Why would Flash even go to you for help?"

Fleur laughed, truly laughed, as if the answer were obvious. "Sunset, your mother-law never forgave me for the infidelity of her husband. Frankly, I care enough about you not to risk allowing her rage to endanger your life. Beside, what is a mother for if she cannot help out her own daughter?"

Sunset channeled magic to her horn, feeling some spurs of magic coming on. The way she spoke, as if it were excusable all the same. To think that Fleur thought that she would just accept that, and just believe that it was in her best interests, was madness. And Sunset was all about putting down those who were mad. She had half a mind to reduce Fleur to ashes when the train exited the tunnel, and the entrance to Canterlot came into view, along with the bright light of day.

Fleur smugly tapped Sunset's horn with a hoof to dispel the spell. "Might want to put that away. Nothing screams 'Sunset Shimmer' like striking the hoof that aides you."

Sunset would have attacked anyways, but the sight of royal guards littering the train station caused her to be more wary. She would get Fleur later for having something to do with the death of the mare who had helped raise her, and the mother of her affection. But right now, here in Canterlot, she was stuck, and would have to play nice.

For now.

Canterlot had not changed much since Sunset had last been here. In fact, it was very much the same architecture-wise. However, royal guards were everywhere, and they seemed to be excessively thorough with their identity checks. Not just the ticket, but also submitting each pony to an identity spell. Even Fleur went through such scanner, and much to Sunset's surprise, she actually noticed a few cuts and bruises that were otherwise hidden from standard view.

When it came to Sunset's turn, the guard on station immediately squinted his eyes, as if he noticed already something off. "Yes, that is Sunset Shimmer," Fleur casually stated, "She is with me."

Sunset was mortified that Fleur had so openly spoke such, but much to her surprise, the guard nodded towards her and directed Sunset to pass through. Even as she did, just as she was passing the guard, the guard whispered, "Try anything and you will join your family in the ground."

Sunset was about to turn to retort when the guard levied his spear, mere centimeters from Sunset's face. Fleur, with a magical grip greater than that which Sunset was used to, pulled Sunset along onto the main street, and away from the guard.

With a hushed whisper, Fleur stated, "Sunset, walk a straight line here. Do not make yourself the big fish here."

Sunset would have retorted, as she was mildly insulted at being considered inconsequential, but she hung her head low instead. The streets of Canterlot were filled with almost as many royal guards as ordinary ponies. The elite were paying attention, even if they were pretending to be going about their daily business.

"What is going on?" Sunset inquired, keeping her head low and her mane covering much of her face, "You would think a threat had been made against the city just hours before we arrived."

"To put it shortly, the Market's investments in dragon migration spells had a huge payoff," Fleur explained, still in a hushed tone, "The dragons went a little far with it though, and now there are dragons and griffons and ponies in all the wrong places. Not to mention a changeling sighting in Ponyville."

Sunset stopped walking, rather startled by the last factor in particular. "Changeling sighting? I thought they had gone extinct."

Fleur looked at Sunset as if the mare had lost her mind. Fleur did not stop walking, but her face became an 'oh' as she realized the obvious reason for Sunset being unaware of the continued existence of changelings. "Right, you missed the wedding. Well, in short, the changelings are not yet extinct, as it seems one Queen remains. Anyways, identity issues are just the icing on the cake, as the strain of having foreign forces scattered across Equestria, and vice versa, is stirring up hostilities. It all comes together in a very blade twiching mix."

Recalling the madness back in the Crystal Empire and the way Celestia had handled it, or at least vocally anyways, Sunset had to agree that if that were going on all across Equestria, then no doubt it would be mayhem.

Walking through the streets some more, Fleur eventually made a detour from the bar bearing her cutie mark as its signature welcome sign and trotted into a dark alleyway. Once there, Fleur looked to a wall and lit her horn, tapping the wall gently with her horn. The wall pressed inwards and then upwards, revealing a previously hidden entrance.

Pressing past this, the two walked into the dark corridor, with only the light of Sunset's and Fleur's horn guiding them. "The guards are very edgy. Someone with your record would only instigate them further unless you lay low." Fleur advised. This suggested to Sunset that she might would be staying, wherever they were going, for some time.

Sunset yawned, finding the prospect of quiet alone time oddly comforting. "Yeah well, I have no issues with that. What is it that Flash needed done?" In the back of her mind, the large book that weighed down one side of her saddlebags had more of her attention than the current matter at hoof.

Fleur did not respond, not at first. Instead, the sound of their hooves were all that filled the space. While waiting for a response, Sunset took note of the oddly flat way in which they were walking; she would have expected to have started going down or up by this point, not to mention the constant echo that never changed in volume. If she did not know any better, she would assume that they were walking in circles.

"Sunset Shimmer, we need to talk some more."

Sunest frowned, the backside of Fleur not the least appealing side of her. "If it is not more information about why Flash asked you to help me out or what you are up to, then we have nothing to discuss."

Fleur stopped, and forced by the lack of knowing where she was, Sunset stopped as well. A cool breeze blew in from behind them, suggesting that someone else had entered.

"It was not my intention to put you on the defensive." Fleur did not turn around, much to Sunset's annoyance. "But it must be done. You are back in Equestria, and I wish to know what your plans are before we proceed."

Sunset rolled her eyes. "We do not have to proceed. I do not need your help."

Silence again. At last Fleur turned around to face Sunset, her eyes showing just the hint of tears. This of course did not faze Sunset in the least, except for some surprise at Fleur's apparent act. "Sunset, please. For your sake, tell me."

Sunset glared at Fleur, her temper beginning to rise with each passing moment of this facade. "I do not need to tell you a damn thing about what I am up to. If you want to turn me away because of that, be my host. I'll kick my trot in reverse before you can even make it to the end of this endless hallway."

Fleur's tears dried up swiftly, being replaced now by pupils tinted in bright red for expression. "Need I remind you that you are under contract? Trixie and/or Lightning Dust will be coming to put you yet again in the way of trouble; I would rather you stay out of trouble."

Why all the concern now? What about the night when Lucky had to explain to his wife's all pegasus family that somehow the two of them had had a unicorn together? Or maybe when Sunset first went into heat? Oh no, Fleur dis Lee was too busy maintaing her reputation in Canterlot, with her career and status to uphold.

Glorified rutter, Sunset Sunset though to herself as she gritted her teeth in anger, her horn light becoming a little brighter in response. "I will take blowing up trains and knocking over dragons over modelling and prancing around like a glorified object for pleasure. Especially with you."

Fleur gasped, a look of horror and dejection upon her face. Might would bring a filly to cry, but Sunset had no regrets about her statement. Indeed, she would have turned and walked away right then and there had it not been for a snicker behind her.

"Shots fired. Model just can't keep her image with this one."

The voice was familiar, to the point in which Sunset was annoyed that she could not immediately recall who was speaking. Fleur's horn lit up some more, revealing nothing but a small room with just enough room for the two to walk. In circles. Looking behind her, Sunset saw the speaker, the same pegasus from earlier.

Lightning Dust stood at the entrance with a large smile on her face. "So, Sunset, you ready for your first job?"

"No," Fleur stated matter-of-factly before Sunset could even begin answering, "She is not."

"Who do you think you are?" Sunset challenged, taking a step towards Fleur, "You did your job. Flash wanted me in Canterlot in one piece, and I got here." To be fair Fleur was her birth mother, but it was a little late to start acting like her real mother.

Did she really want to go with Lightning? Not particularly, but if Fleur was going to press her as she had been, then it was looking like the most favorable of options. Not to mention she needed to ask Lightning some questions, preferably in private.

Fleur frowned, but did not press further her opposition. She turned from the two and pressed yet another part of the wall with her hooves, revealing yet another opening. This one had a dim light in it, with a large round table just barely fitting into the room. With her magic, Fleur pushed the table further in and led the way into a spacious, though dimly lit, room.

Lightning and Sunset promptly followed, and once in the room, the dim light brightened until the entire room was washed in orange light.

Various photos hung on the walls, either taped on or having been nailed. Some had darts in them, others circles in various colors. Yet others looked as if they had been randomly drawn on in somepony's spare time. The large map on the table, however, without a doubt was of Canterlot. Sunset recognized the undetailed zone that consisted of Celestia's castle.

"Where is Trixie?" Sunset inquired. As she had signed her contract with that mare, she had expected to be seeing more of her, not so much Lightning Dust.

"Trixie will be joining us as soon as reasonably possible." Lightning reached under the table with a hoof, tapping the bottom fervently. A thick, hearty sounded in response. "Besides, we likely will not need her yet anyways. We may be taking a trip to Ponyville."

Sunset could not have been more displeased upon hearing this. "Ponyville? I get back to the second greatest city in all of Equestrian history and you suggest we go to that little village? Whatever for?!"

Fleur took a step back from the table, perhaps in order to distance herself from the situation. Lightning smiled, and from beneath the table she produced a black marker of sorts. Why it had taken her so long to retrieve the marker remained a mystery to Sunset.

"Well, our next job involves a new client, so we need to make sure we do it just right. You know why Canterlot is on high alert don't you?" Lightning circled Celestia's castle grounds with the black marker. "Apparently, there was an assassination right in the Princess' own home."

Sunset was taken aback for but a moment till she recalled the skill of security when she had last been in the castle; the only way this would be really shocking would be if it were one of the princesses having been assassinated. Fleur, however, seemed more than a little unnerved by these news, this likely being a surprise to her.

Lightning then took the marker in her mouth and drew a line from the castle grounds to the end of the table. She spat the marker back into her hoof, and pointed towards the end of the table. "The assassin, if he or she was still in Canterlot, would have definitely been found by now. If he or she was smart, they would've already hiked it to the nearest village to hide out."

"Wouldn't that be obvious?" Sunset pointed out. After all, had Celestia sought to imprison her rather than stifle her knowledge, then she too might would have retreated to Ponyville before taking the train someplace much further from her mentor's grip. Maybe she would have went all the way to Saddle Arabia.

Lightning shook her head, and, with the marker, placed an X presumably where the Castle Gardens were located. "No, because the assassin is not a pony. The assassin is a griffon. I saw the entire griffon force sent here to protect King Grackus being inspected and accounted for in the gardens on my way here."

"Were they all there?"

Lightning rolled her eyes at this question. "Obviously I did not fly down and ask, but from what I could see, they all were pretty angry. I highly doubt it was one of the ones in the garden."

"Betrayal comes in many shapes and forms," Fleur stated, inserting herself into the conversation, "Of course, I think the real question is why this assassin is even being sought after."

"Because they could go after Celestia next," Lightning pointed out, "Not to mention our client wants an explanation."

Sunset tilted her head, now very confused. "An explanation? I don't quite follow. Who is this client again?"

"Confidential." Lightning sighed, perhaps saddened by that detail. "Even I was not told. Whoever they are though, they want the assassin alive."

"So what's the catch?" Sunset asked, "I mean, do we deliver them to the castle or something?"

"Obviously if your client does not want to reveal himself or herself, then you cannot just drop the assassin off. It sounds like the Market has once again failed to verify the legitimacy of its clientele." Fleur walked back up to the table and slammed her hooves onto the map. "If I am to guess, whoever the client is, him or her must already know who the assassin is personally. That would explain how you are supposed to identify the assassin as a non-pony."

"Could be stereotype," Sunset offered.

Lightning shook her head. "Fleur has a point, I hate to admit it, but she really does. The client knows the assassin's identity, somehow, as a griffon. We're looking for a guilty griffon in Equestria, which can't be that hard."

"If he or she get to Cloudsdale, then they can blend in with other recently arrived griffons, you should know that." Fleur traced her hoof around the Canterlot train station. "You two will have to move fast in order to prevent that."

"If they were flying, trust me, they would have been downed by now," Lightning asserted, slamming a hoof onto the table, "Nobody gets past Cloudsdale security."

"Except you apparently." Fleur smiled coyly, Lightning going silent for a few moments.

By the time Lightning finally pieced together an appropriate response, Fleur was already walking away from the table, heading to one side of the room. It was lined with photos, most of them circled in black with an X through them. "Talk to Fancy Pants. I assure you, by now, he will have more information on this than the entire Royal Guard put together."

"How do you know?" Sunset turned to look at Fleur, skeptical that Fancy Pants would be much help, "And how would he know?"

"Fancy Pants is the most important unicorn in all of Canterlot, recall," Fleur retorted, gesturing with her horn towards the exit, "If he asks why he should help you, remind him that I still have two more solids that need melting, and you come on my behalf for one."

According to Lightning Dust, the griffons had been politely told to leave the city. With the griffon monarch dead beyond retrieval, the Royal Guard had been more than happy to demand that the griffons leave. The griffon's current leader, Antoine, starkly refused until the assassin was caught. Now walking through the streets, it was clear that the tension was high between the two groups, with the dragons oddly enough just managing to stay out of the spotlight.

A particular street led to a massive mansion, the golden gate announcing the beginnings of a lavish, and most expensive abode. Just beyond the golden gates was a massive garden, with a marble fountain in the middle. A statue of Celestia standing next to Fancy Pants topped off the statue, with two reared up stallions poised in the background. A labyrinth of grasses, shrubs, trees, and an assortment of other plants littered the garden. Canterlot ponies of all types loitered, idly chit-chatting or watching their surroundings with what seemed to be detached interest.

The mansion itself, from the gate, looked large enough to house the entire entourage, though it still did not quite compare to Celestia's castle. In Sunset's opinion, that was fine, as Celestia was far more important than Fancy Pants anyways in the grand scheme of things. Some would call Fancy Pants the most important unicorn in Canterlot. Sunset would concede that he certainly had to be the wealthiest.

Reaching the golden gates, the two guards standing entry gave Sunset a rather dull expression. However, when they looked to Lightning, their expressions became hostile. "Lightning Dust and Sunset Shimmer, what a surprise that you two would be seen together," one of the guards commented, "What do you want?"

"To speak to Fancy Pants, obviously," Lightning answered, giving the same glare that she was thrown, "Some of us actually have jobs that put us in harm's way."

The other guard scoffed and pointed his spear towards Lightning. "Grackus got assassinated right in the Canterlot Ambassador chambers; like hell if there is not harm in what we do. Anyways, you two are not coming in during my watch."

"Why not just ask Fancy Pants?" Sunset inquired, not wishing to start a fight, "If he permits it, then we can carry on. Otherwise, we will be on our way, and there will be no need to make a mess out of nothing."

The guards looked hesitant, but before he could answer, the golden gates opened, revealing a strangely garbed griffon. A sleek, black crow's head with the body of a midnight blue panther. His sharp, sea green eyes were narrowed, and his beak wrenched into a frown of scowling proportions. He wore a chainmail body suit with a steel breastplate, both riddled with runes that. Most unusual was the large, rectangular shield on his back, bearing a large emblem brazened upon it. The emblem was the Griffia insignia: a griffon grasping arrows and a scepter in its talons, arrows on the left and scepter on the right.

The two guards angrily turned their spears towards Antoine in a threatening manner. The target of their hostility had just shifted. "What are you still doing here?" one of them inquired, "You griffons were supposed to have left already."

Antoine did not make a move towards attacking them, but instead kept walking towards Sunset and Lightning on his way out. "Until my daughter and this assassin are found, I and my griffons are not going anywhere. If you intend on forcing us out, then we will have to assume that you all had something to do with this atrocity."

"We already told you, Captain," the other spoke, lightly jabbing his spear towards Antoine, "One of the palace guards noticed her standing over the body of Charles with Grackus merely feet away on the floor. They are still doing forensics, but that eyewitness report pretty much says that the assassin and your daughter are probably one in the same."

Antoine stopped moving, turning his head to look towards the pony whom had spoken. "And I am to believe that my Equestrianized daughter would do something so heinous? Perhaps had she been raised at home, or been in your guard, or if Grackus had been strangled. But Gilda does not even know how to properly wield a dagger, much less overpower two griffons of her own size with it on her lonesome."

The guards were not convinced. "Yeah well, what was seen is what was seen, and the evidence all lines up to it. If you all don't want to believe it, that is your business. Things were just fine before your kind showed up on our doorstep."

Antoine cawed and stalked off. Sunset cursed that the griffon didn't have a bit of fight in him; she would have loved to have gotten in and watched that clash, or at least had a suitable diversion for them to go on ahead.

Lightning sighed in seeming defeat. "Alright, can you at least let him know that we stopped by?"

The guards nodded, then directed for the two to leave. With haste, Sunset led the way, attempting to keep an eye down the main road for the gleaming metal armor. Perhaps, Antoine could give them more information on what they needed to know, without having to go through Fancy Pants, and without wasting one of Fleur's favors with the stallion.

Trotting down the road, Sunset was the first to notice Antoine's stalking, restrained posture as he moved along the road. He had indeed been angered by the earlier confrontation, so the last thing either of them wanted to do was gallop right behind him. First, they would call out.

"Antoine, is it?" Sunset shouted, watching Antoine stop moving, "The name is Sunset Shimmer."

Antoine fully turned around, his green eyes searching Sunset's features. Being studied in such a manner would have disturbed Sunset had she not bore in mind that this was likely one of the griffons assigned to protect the Griffian king.

"What is it?" he inquired, his eyes then turning to look Lightning over, "What do you want?"

"We wish to speak to you more about that matter," Lightning answered, inspecting Antoine with some scrutiny, "You mentioned your daughter and the assassin. Is it possible that the latter kidnapped the former?"

"Why do you want to know?" Antoine seemed unwilling to divulge much information yet, particularly not upfront.

Sunset decided on a different approach. "We are looking for the assassin, and believe that he or she may have fled Canterlot, making a search around town rather futile; we need your help in determining where they may have gone."

Antoine seemed to think on it for a moment before answering. "Have you considered checking the nearby town of Ponyville? I hear the Element of Loyalty lives there."

"What has that got to do with anything?" Sunset inquired, not quite understanding the message, "We are looking for an assassin."

"An assassin who may have kidnapped Antoine's daughter," Lightning elaborated, "If the assassin has nowhere to go, he or she may have forced his daughter into trying to come up with a place."

"And she did used to be friends with the pony named Rainbow Dash," Antoine added on, his eyes searching the skies, "If anypony would offer refuge if she escaped, it might be her."

Sunset could tell that Antoine and Lightning were putting their heads together and figuring something out, but they had failed to let her in on the big reveal. "Even so, we would only find the daughter, whom we are not looking for."

"She could offer a description of the assassin, or even lead to the hideout," Lightning mused, tapping a hoof to her chin, "It is a longshot, but staying here in Canterlot will do us no good."

"Why not just go to Ponyville yourself?" Sunset challenged, noticing Antoine preparing to walk off, "Isn't your daughter important to you?"

"If I leave Canterlot, my forces go with me," Antoine pointed out, "If we leave and this turns out to be an inside job, then diplomacy needs to be swift. And I am the only one of rank who can speak on behalf of what is left of the current Griffia government."

"Hence the need for someone else to go in your stead," Lightning finished, nodding her head, "Now this is all making sense. That means we will have to come back doesn't it?"

Sunset understood with that last exchange. Antoine was most likely the client, and his need to hire ponies in the first place would likely stem from his need to stay in Canterlot. He couldn't afford to leave, not with things the way they were. Even if it had been an inside job, it was critical to keep lines of communication open with the Equestrian top brass.

Not to mention to keep potential conspirators in check as well.

With that, Antoine nodded and stalked off, not giving another word. Sunset turned towards Lightning, who watched the griffon go with a fascination that piqued her interest.

"Something wrong?" Sunset asked, snapping Lightning from her trance.

"Nothing at all. Guess we're taking a train ride." Lightning turned back towards main street.

Sunset grimaced at the thought of riding a train. She had just gotten off of one, and some inner instinct lamented the idea of endangering her life on one of those machines again.

"And with that, we left Canterlot and went on our way to Ponyville," Sunset concluded, stifling a yawn after she was done.

Luna's attention fully was on Sunset, though the princess' face revealed very little about her thoughts. Instead, an odd silence crept through the air, with even the wind bringing about stillness that forced Sunset to shift uncomfortably in her seat. Merely to hear the noise of her own rump on the floor felt better than sitting in complete quiet. Even the clang of the jewel on it golden chain.

When Luna did speak, it was with a finality of sorts. "I am done here. Get some rest, Shimmer; it may be the last that you have here in Equestria."

With not another word Luna rose and trotted off, leaving behind a mildly surprised Sunset Shimmer. She had not even finished her story, and Luna pretty much had dismissed her. Not to mention she had completely overlooked the possibility that the necklace that Sunset now wore might not be what it seemed at first.

Believing this night truly to be her last for a few moments, Sunset sighed, and looked towards the top of the caverns. She could feel a cold chill up her spine, the kind of chill that sent one bursting into tears. And yet, just a twinge in her chest, unlike almost anything she had ever felt before. It could not have been fear, she had felt that many times before.

Pain? Depression? No, those were all emotions that she had felt before. What was this new feeling that tore at her very soul, wrecking havoc on the remaining sanity that she had? It grated against her conscious, and threatened to shut down her very core thoughts. Whatever this emotion was, Sunset hated it more than anything else in the world. Trying to clear her mind, Sunset sought the answer for this strange feeling.

When nothing came to her, she realized that it was not a mere emotion alone. It was magic.

"I have felt this before." It was all she could murmur, a single twinge becoming a surge of emotion, one that, at last, she could identify.

Passion. Burning, searing passion. Excitedly, she smiled to herself as her frame became more full, her energy and health restored. "That sneaky griffon," Sunset muttered to herself, a fire alighting in her eyes. Bit by bit the magic had been reinvigorating her, and Princess Luna apparently did not notice this at all.

Without a moment more to spare in contemplation alone, she used magic to break free of her bonds, the chains clattering to the floor. She had risked the alicorn amulet in a risky gamble that could have easily went south, and had practically put herself up for the death penalty in order to return the prize to its forger.

Sunset frowned. Indeed, she was now free, temporarily. But rescuing Gilda would require help, help that she could not afford to leave the city for. She did not have time to find out where Lightning and Trixie were, or even if they were willing to help. She had to use her local resources.

A thought came to mind as she recalled a certain stallion whom had earlier visited her. "Flash Sentry." Yes, he could certainly help!

Even if she did have to hoof over the amulet, she could always take it back from him later, or track down the poor sap he sold it to. At this point, she had a friend to repay. Sunset stopped herself for a few moments. Friend?

Well, she had saved her life, twice now. It was only fair to place her in that category. Without another thought, Sunset set off deeper in the caverns in pursuit of the stallion who could help her.

Author's Note

Well, this is where things are about to get interesting, considering the re-direction made in Extradition. This is the first chapter affected by that change, and I hope it ends up paying off as a reward rather than a detriment to the story's direction.

Of course, at the end of this, what I actually, in jest, wanted to put as the final paragraph/stanza:

"Well, she had saved her life, twice now. It was only fair to place her in that category. Without another thought, Sunset set off deeper in the caverns in pursuit of the stallion who could help her, unwittingly screwing up the plot in the process."

Loyalty

Still hogtied, Gilda eyed her surroundings while the guards trotted down the main road. Being hauled off to prison in this fashion had been a fantasy and a fear of hers in the past, and in the darkness of a sleeping Canterlot, it seemed fitting that she also prepare for her own execution. However, it had been mission success. Within a short time, Sunset would be able to free herself from prison, hopefully link up with Lightning Dust and Trixie, and still have enough time to bust her out before sunrise.

As she was none too gently thrown hoisted towards the looming building that no doubt served as the Equestrian prison, it being rather small, humble, and lightly guarded, she could not help but reflect on how much faith she was putting in those ponies to at least attempt to break her out. It certainly had been a change from when she had first met the lot.

Getting into the Canterlot Caves had been one thing; escaping by accident had been another. After entering the cavern, Gilda had wandered for what felt like days in the Canterlot caves; they had been cold, dark, and very maze-like in construction. She swore more times than she could count before she literally stumbled her way down and out of the accursed labyrinth. It had been a graceless fall, with her wings barely lessening her fall as she crashed through branches, leaves, and all manner of things on her way down to the ground.

But finding her way to Ponyville had to have been the worst for her at the time. Bruised, cut, and exhausted, Gilda stalked through the empty streets of the small town, avoiding street lights as if they would expose her in a moment's notice, and bring about the entire Equestrian Guard upon her head. Or worse, attract the attention of the group those assassins had belonged to.

The last time she had been in Ponyville, she had not fit in very well by the end of the day. She did not expect anything different, and had been glad that it had been nightfall when she almost literally stumbled into the place. Despite her weariness, there was only one location that she could think of to take refuge in this time of need.

She did not need a guide to fly up to the cloud home, where the resident Wonderbolt aspiree lived. No, she did not need a map to know exactly how to get through the first main hurdle. Rainbow Dash's home was not locked down tight, nor was it generally open to visitors. Gilda knew that the moment she set talon on the cloud, Rainbow would know that she had an intruder.

So unlike her walk over where she attempted to hide herself from potential peering eyes, Gilda refrained from trying to hide or conceal herself. Considering the sort of trouble that she was in, that would only make things worse. No sooner did Gilda enter through the real front door did she come face to face with a fluffy living room and a cranky cyan pegasus.

"What are you doing here?" Dash's emphasis on "you" made it clear that she was not pleased to see her.

Not exactly shocked about this, Gilda replied, "I need a place to crash, if you don't mind Dash."

"I thought it was made pretty clear, that if you can't get along with my current friends-"

"I do not need to even stay any longer than sunrise." Gilda tried not to sound desperate, but these were dire times for her.

Dash's reaction, however, seemed to be attuned to this sense of desperation. The pegasus knew her well enough to know that she was not a begger, and that she would have sooner forced her way in than attempt to bargain.

Dash eyed Gilda suspiciously for this reason. "What trouble are you in?"

As much as she wanted to lie and say 'none', Gilda reasoned that it would not be long before Dash found out the truth, or at least some version of the truth. It was better to sugarcoat than to outright omit the facts, or so she believed at the time. "Got caught up in the middle of someone else's job up in Canterlot. Long story short, I've been framed for something that I did not do."

Dash stepped aside, a sort of unspoken permission that Gilda could enter. However, she was not through questioning the griffon, and did not yet close the door behind her, in case she needed to swiftly throw the wounded beast back into the wilderness. "How do you know that you have been framed? Maybe you are just jumpy because you actually did do it."

To be technical she did assassinate her uncle, but it had not been her intention. Nonetheless, knowing how dense Dash could be when it came to sorting out things of that sort, Gilda decided it was best to stick with the story she had constructed rather than deviate. "I need rest. One night, breakfast only if you are willing, and then I am out of your mane. Please? "

That last word nearly stung Gilda's tongue, especially since she was already inside the home, but it seemed to butter up Rainbow enough for her to nod. "Alright, one night, and that is it. If I catch you trying to lift anything I will send your feline ass to the moon and back. Got that?"

Gilda nodded, and after taking a few more steps in as to allow Rainbow to close her front door, Gilda collapsed atop the cloud floor. She did not even bother looking for covers, or rummaging for some sort of snack, despite her gently rumbling stomach. And of course, if she decided to anyways, thanking Rainbow Dash for her compliance could come in the morning.

She had slept very peacefully, considering the kind of day she had had. Her awakening, however, was to the strike of lightning and the roar of thunder, the latter of which actually being what disturbed her. Gilda shot awake, finding that she had been moved into a single room in the fluffy abode.

It was an oddly plain cloud, with no ornaments, propaganda, or even any signs of a door. If Gilda did not know any better, she would swear that she had been put into a panic room. She knew that Dash was not one to have a bare room for just any reason.

"Have a good sleep Gilda?"

The voice emanated from above, but when Gilda looked up, all she saw was more cloud. And yet, it sounded clear as day, as if the speaker were right next to her.

"Dash?" Gilda did not care much for pranks, particularly when she was the target of them. This smelled of a prank, one that Gilda could not afford to get caught up in.

One part of the wall parted, revealing Rainbow Dash standing with a smirk on her face. If Gilda did not know any better, she would assume that Dash was merely a step away from coming onto her. Well, to be honest, she was not so sure she did know any better at this point.

"Got some things in the mail for ya," Dash casually stated, walking towards Gilda, "Seems you are still using my pad for your mailing address."

Gilda had completely forgotten that she had put Dash's place as her residence when she had signed up for the tournament. The mare had never really made mention of it prior to now, nor took the trouble to come and find her to contest this issue. If it was an issue that is.

Dash stopped just a few feet from Gilda, as if the place had already been marked for this moment. "Just have to ask, did you intend on ever coming to get your championship belt?"

With a stomp of her hooves, a large and wide belt of sorts dangled from the ceiling mere feet above Gilda. The shiny gold plate had Gilda's face on it, engraved with the words: "Champion". It had a numerous splotches of blood on it too, however, and this above all else disturbed Gilda. She was beginning to get an idea of what this was all about."Did it come that way?"

"I don't know," Dash stated, growing more serious with every word, "How about you tell me?"

Gilda realized that if she did not start deflecting the heat, she was going to end up in a serious situation. Not that she could not take on Dash on her better days, but every part of her situation made it unwise to seriously injure Dash. She didn't need another life on her talons, presuming she could take it. Not to mention if she ended up losing she would still get in trouble for fighting her in the first place, and would only add further injury to her previous injuries.

"I know this looks bad, but I had nothing to do with, that." Gilda pointed towards the belt, assuming that incident was what she spoke of. Sure, the fights were known to get unclean at times, but the belt's shine and appeal was hard too decipher as a result of the crimson stains. "I was just there..."

"Yeah, I know."

Gilda gave Dash a confused looked. How did she know, and more importantly, what did she actually want to know if she knew that she was innocent of any doing in those matters? Or was this still a part of some very elaborate prank?

"The equicidal jerks who are responsible wanted you dead," Dash explained, now standing a breath's distance from Gilda, "Gilda, whoever they are, they are a real threat to Equestria. Unlike a potential assassin like yourself."

For the record, she had already assassinated once, but that had been unintentional, and bringing that up would not help her case. "What do you know of this?"

Rainbow took a seat on her haunches, gesturing with her wings for Gilda to do the same. Dash, wanting to have a conversation whilst sitting calmly in the middle of the floor? As suspicious as that was Gilda complied with the suggestion, and looked her former friend in the eye, searching for any warning signs.

"Due to the strange magic that threw everything out of whack, I ended up, temporarily, in the arena. They, whoever they are, were on their way out. They chatted amongst themselves about sending a "message", a signal. They figured with your death and the collateral, it would help advance whatever they had planning-"

"How convenient," Gilda mused, folding her arms.

Dash shot her a look of irritation at being interrupted. When Gilda relaxed her posture, Dash continued.

"I didn't recognize them as they were all in costumes and disguises, but one was definitely a unicorn. Gilda, who the hell did you piss off?"

Gilda rolled her eyes. How was she supposed to have known? Sure, she may have taken her match a little far in the opinion of some, but the following event seemed very planned out. Her actions could not have spontaneously spurred them into action. Not to mention if Dash had been there-

"How did you get back?" Gilda eyed Dash suspiciously, "Wouldn't they have killed off any witnesses?"

"Magic." Dash did not seem to feel the need to explain any further, until Gilda raised a brow in dissatisfaction.

"Hey, who's asking the questions here?" Dash challenged, putting a hoof to Gilda's chest provocatively, "Who are they?"

It was at this point that Gilda regretted not asking her father how he had even gotten there, much less how they all left with their lives. "Dash, I do not know who they are. I just know that they are probably the same ones who tried to kill me in Canterlot."

"You were in Canterlot?" Dash removed her hoof and seemed genuinely surprised.

That meant that she had likely not gotten the full memo for what she had actually been framed for. Or maybe the assassin reference had been the result of Dash not knowing the meaning of the word, and using it alongside "murder" without separating the victim's importance. Either way, all of this questioning made Gilda feel that she had overstayed her welcome, and might should have taken a nap out in the woods rather than endure further interrogation.

"Anyways, it was nice dropping by, but I really have to be going," Gilda stated, looking around the cloud room for an obvious escape route that did not involved going through the pegasus or the floor, "Thanks."

"Not so fast." Dash once again put a hoof to Gilda's chest as she began to rise. This time, Dash exerted enough force to cause Gilda to take greater notice and return to her sitting position. "There are some loose ends that we need to tie up first."

Oh great. She should have read the fine print when she allowed herself refuge with her old "friend".

"Apologize to Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, and then you can go." Dash removed her hoof and got back to all four hooves; her body was tense, as if at any moment she would react.

Gilda understood that this was not the time to take Dash as a joke. Going to her own fours as well, Gilda made it clear her opinion on the idea. "Listen, I can swallow enough of my pride to apologize to the softie, but like Tartarus if I am going to apologize to that pink interloper."

The tension in the room increased, as neither individual wanted to give ground. It remained like this for a few moments before the entire cloud home reverberated. It was subtle to the point in which none of the furniture shifted, but strong enough to cause Gilda to feel it acutely. Dash had another visitor.

Dash flew off, presumably towards the front door, in order to answer it. In this moment, Gilda figured now would be a good time as any to escape, and promptly turned in the other direction. However, before she could do so, curiosity got the better of her. Who would actually come to visit Dash by flying up and onto her cloud home? She only had one pegasus friend that she noted, with the others being unicorns and earth ponies respectively. And she knew dang well that that yellow pegasus would not have landed on the cloud hard enough to cause those vibrations. Whoever had come wanted Dash's attention, just as Gilda had last night.

Despite her better judgement, Gilda crept in the direction that Dash had been seen taking off. It was largely in vain, to creep around the cloud home, as her footsteps would not make much noise anyways, but habit was habit. And it was hard to break, even as she entered an open room. There were a few couches, a newspaper that had not been touched as of yet, and of course a fireplace.

"What does she need a fireplace for?" Gilda wondered aloud. Among insulation, clouds were exceptional. Not to mention how she even intended on fueling the fire. Reasoning that it was for mere display rather than usage, Gilda found her talons grasping the newspaper, rattling it noisily as she brought it up to glance at the headline.

Assassination! King Grackus of Griffia is dead, making him one of the last of the royal family to recently be executed.

Gilda squawked in surprise, at least in part because of the latter half. One of the last of the royal family? Who else had fallen prey to their enemies?

King Grackus Bellamy, along with Charles Bona the Second were found in the Griffon royal guest chambers dead, with the assassin believed to be Gilda Bellamy. An eyewitness reports seeing Gilda atop of the corpse of Charles with a terrified, guilty expression upon noticing the witness. Antoine Bellamy, brother and commanding officer respectively of the two victims, declined to comment.

Gilda grimaced. Her father had not bothered to suggest that she was in fact innocent? Not even a "let's not jump to conclusions here" statement? Gilda flipped through the pages fervently, searching until she found the remainder of the article. Skipping the summary of the previous page, Gilda's eyes grew wide as she read the next portion.

Antoine has recently called for a thorough investigation. Dratina, Queen of Draconia, proclaimed this a "great tragedy that must be looked into". Celestia and Luna both have yet to make a public announcement regarding the incident. Griffia is in turmoil over the latest lost of its leader, and according to our sources, they are demanding the return of both Gilda and Antoine, along with the bodies of the aforementioned victims. Again, Celestia nor Luna have made a public response, but it is presumed that they will comply with the latter request.

Gilda noticed the distinct lack of mention of who was supposed to be in charge back in Griffia now that Grackus was dead. For her, that would have been priority information; whoever wrote this article clearly did not consider that she would ever actually read it, much less be concerned about who was running her home country. Then again, it was an Equestrian newspaper.

A newspaper, in Rainbow Dash's home? How much had that pegasus changed since their friendship days to actually spend the effort to get a newspaper delivered to her home?

Gilda was interrupted from her thoughts by a crashing noise, very unusual considering that they were atop a cloud. Alerted, Gilda stalked over to the source, only to enter another chamber and see a tangle of mane and hooves as two pegasi dueled each other at the front door. One was Rainbow Dash, she could tell by the rainbow mane. The other, however, had a light blue coat and an amber mane, with brilliant gold stripes. Gilda noticed sunlight just across the scuffling mares; her ticket out was the still open door.

On one talon, she could help out Dash, but Dash seemed to have things handled; a swift hoof to the jaw sent the other pony sprawling into another room, with Dash very shortly pursuing. Without another moment to lose, Gilda made a break for the exit, passing by the chamber just long enough to get slammed in the side by a body about her size. She hit the opposing cloud-wall and broke through it, rolling atop the chamber that she had awoken in earlier, just mildly stunned.

The rainbow tail near her beak let her know the owner of the body that just stopped her from making her escape. Dash scrambled to her hooves, standing in front of Gilda defensively as the opposing pony entered the doorway.

"Dash, let's not make this any harder than it has to be," the other pony warned, narrowing her eyes at Gilda, "Gilda is a wanted criminal, and she needs to be brought in for proper investigation."

"You are a fine one to talk Lightning Dust!" Dash spat back, wings flared upwards as if about to strike, "I saw you there in the arena. You are in league with those murderers!"

Hold on a minute, didn't Dash just earlier state that she did not recognize any of the assailants from the championship match, and that for sure one of them was a unicorn, not a pegasus? Now Gilda's interest was piqued for certain, as now she was dealing with sompony involved in whatever was going on. This Lightning Dust for now held a special place in her mind. Gilda stood next to Dash, eyes scanning Lightning for any sign of backing down.

Lightning hesitated now, seeing as she was seemingly outnumbered. "Listen, Antoine wants her back safe and sound. If she keeps running, it is going to look worse than it is. Come on Gilda, you know that you can't run for very long here in Equestria. You stick out like a broken wing while it is daylight hours."

The species joke underlying the plea was almost enough to cause Gilda to charge at the pegasus. But she knew better than that, for up to this point, Dash had been the only one caught smacking the other pony around.

"I can take her back to Canterlot myself," Dash insisted, "I feel she would be much safer with me!"

Oh, so Dash did intend on taking her back to Canterlot to turn her in. Some friend. Gilda would have stated this coyly, but she had to acknowledge that both mares intended to take her in; she could not take on both of them, and she knew that she could not outfly Dash. She needed a distraction.

"Well, what's in it for me if I go with you?" Gilda inquired, trying to sound as on the fence as possible, "At least with Dash I can catch up. Plus, I know that she will take me straight there."

Lightning paused for a moment. Dash glanced over at Gilda before focusing her attention back on Lightning.

"I can tell you what is going on," Lightning offered, "In exchange for your cooperation. I might even can even ensure that you don't get the guillotine."

"The what?" Gilda had not heard of said machine, but for some reason, it seemed vaguely familiar to her.

"It's a method of execution that results in you losing your mind, if you catch my drift," Lightning explained, "Heads are already rolling. If you want to join them, go with Dash and get yourself turned into the Royal Guard. Or, come with me and be back in the talons of your father. Your call."

Damn, this was not where she wanted to be. She had hoped that Dash would interrupt and begin fighting again, but for once, the pegasus was being incredibly patient. Much to Gilda's detriment. Dash had changed quite the bit, and it was not the good kind of change as far as Gilda was concerned. It was the kind of change that made it harder to predict her actions. She could not answer immediately, for if she did, then that would leave her exposed to the wrath of the mare turned down. Not that that was a huge issue, as it would be 2v1 no matter her decision.

"There is no guarantee that you even know her father," Dash challenged, pointing a hoof towards Lightning and arching towards her, "She could be lying."

"Yeah, and you told the truth about not recognizing anypony at the arena either." Gilda reasoned now was a better time than any to bring that up, especially since it would delay her having to make her decision.

"At the time, I didn't!" Dash insisted, looking at Gilda through the corners of her eyes, "But when Lightning came knocking asking if I had seen you, it flashed back to me."

Gilda had yet to take her eyes off of Lightning, and could tell that the pegasus was slowly backing away from the duo. Which seemed odd, since Gilda was her target.

Just as Dash returned her attention to the intruder, the sound of fireworks sounded in the distance, the popping noise causing Gilda to jump. This resulted in Dash rushing forward, and Lightning retreating into the living room. Almost as if in slow motion, Gilda noticed a small rocket slowly break through the cloud floor.

"Oh shi-" she began before it burst into a brilliant array of color and sound. The bright flash, worst of all, had been blue in color, sending Gilda not just into a splitting headache, but also into a land filled with nothing but the color blue. Or at least, that is what her head was telling her.

Her ears ringing, Gilda relied on her sense of touch to stumble backwards, only to find herself being slammed in the front. Rather than hitting a wall, she went through the floor, once again reminding her of why most flying creatures did not tend to live in the clouds. Too unpredictable in stability when enough force was applied.

With the feeling of air all around her, Gilda struggled to get a grip on her tackler, which she successfully did. Finding the pegasus' wings, she managed to catch ahold and pry the pony a few inches from her, only for a hoof to make contact with her throat. Forced to release her attack and clutch at her neck in reflex, Gilda now flapped at her wings in order to try to get a sense of control over her descent. However, her wings seemed to be held by some force that did not have a definite texture, and before she could further react, her body became completely bound in the position she fell with what felt like rope made of straw.

Just her luck, for her vision was beginning to become far less blue, and her ringing ears slowly rang to the tunes of normalcy. Her headache hadn't left yet, but that didn't matter as her beak became restrained in a manner similar to the rest of her body, albeit, on a smaller scale.

Rather than crashing into the ground, she softly hit the ground, only to have complete darkness overtake her. Clearly having been bagged in some sort of sack, Gilda attempted to cry out in anger, but only could hear the muffled cries of a restrained beast. It was not a very appealing sound to her.

"What if that would have missed?" some mare lashed out, clearly not entirely pleased, "What if you would have actually hit her?"

"We are looking for the assassin, not the daughter," another mare curtly pointed out, "Neither of which we really need to bring in alive."

"Like hell if we don't Trixie," another voice, this one famailar, scolding, "Trust me, he wants his daughter alive. If she is brought to him dead, all hell is going to break loose."

"What is he going to do?" Trixie retorted, "Declare war on Equestria?"

"Mention our involvement in you know what."

At this point, Gilda decided it was a good time to struggle some more, perhaps in the hopes of getting her bonds loose. Since her talons had been tied around her own neck in a grasping fashion, she had very little ability to free herself by cutting her bonds with those. She needed to see where she was, to get her bearings. There had to be something nearby that she could use.

"Involvement in what?" the first mare inquired, "What else have you two done?"

"There is a market in Equestria for both the living and the dead," Trixie explained, "To put it shortly, I took care of the living department while Lightning Fuss here took care of the dead department. It's business, not personal."

Gilda attempted to screech out in dismay, but again her muffled cries went on deaf ears.

"Tch, I am not so sure hanging around with you two was my best bet," the unknown mare commented, "Fleur may have had her reasons for not trusting you."

"Oh please, Fleur is one of the receivers of the living department." A hoof sharply kicked Gilda in the stomach. Based on the voice, Gilda assumed that it had been Trixie's doing. "The streets of Equestria have alot of corners that need working. And Fleur can't keep her build and work them all herself."

"Fleur is actually not very fond of working corners," Lightning jested, "Hell, I remember when I first met her for my first assignment. I was less impressed with her curves than with her management skills. Never seen a funeral go south that fast in my life."

Gilda kicked out, feeling satisfied when her foot connected with some pony's leg, the sound of falling weight almost bringing a smile to her beak.

"Yeah well, we need to get this griffon out of here. No doubt Rainbow Dash will prove troublesome if we don't." Some grunting, and then a pause.

"So, how did we intend on, you know, hauling a griffon the size of one of us through Ponyville and onto a train to Canterlot without drawing suspicion?"

Trixie's question apparently stumped the other two, as there was a long silence afterwards. Even Gilda had stopped moving to hear what their response might would be.

"Hot damn, I didn't think that far ahead on this one," Lightning admitted, "I thought we would just fly her out, but the way Antoine made her out to sound, I thought it would be like, a kitten. This pussy is about as large as we are."

"Griffons are technically both avian and feline, so I don't think that's an appropriate label," the other mare pointed out, "Besides, I know of a place where we can at least hide out that is nearby."

"Oh really?" Lightning seemed intrigued at this if Gilda could go by her tone.

Either that or she was preparing for a sarcastic remark when Trixie cut in. "Either way, we need to get a move on. I think I saw a rainbow streak up in the clouds."

Despite her protests, Gilda was hauled over in the sack. The more she struggled, the less space she seemed to have to maneuver with, until it was so tight inside that she could hardly breath without moving the entire bag. As much as she now wanted her to, it seemed that Rainbow Dash would not be coming to her rescue.

"Let's take her to a public place nearby," the other mare spoke, "I have an idea."

Author's Note

I don't think that this title really fits this chapter as much as I had hoped it would. :/

Yet, I cannot think of anything better. I hope it'll come to me. Anyways, thanks for reading, there were fewer changes in this than I thought there would be, but that's for the better right? Fewer changes I feel I need to make, the easier it is to edit and review.

The Legion

Somehow, her kidnappers had managed to haul her all the way from Rainbow Dash's home to some public place, and not had drawn the immediate attention of every resident in town. Apparently, they had seen stranger things than a large, moving sack being dragged by three mares.

When light and fresh air flooded her temporary prison, the griffon found herself dumped onto a wooden platform. Magic levitated all manner of things, including boards and a curtain, from some unseen location. Gilda frantically looked around, only to spot Lightning Dust and one other mare. Apparently, either the third had bailed out, or was somewhere orchestrating this odd show of sorts.

This, and not the earlier scene, seemed to attract the attention of the townspony, who curiously approached the makeshift stage that Gilda found herself lying on. Still completely restrained, she too had to wait in anticipation for what these mad mares had planned.

Lightning turned towards the sun flanked mare with a frown. "Sunset, this is drawing more attention than I would have liked. I think some of the royal guard is starting to show up..."

"Just follow my lead," Sunset hastily stated, turning towards Gilda, "You are going to be doing most of the talking anyways."

Lightning did not seem pleased by this revelation, but before she could properly voice her opinion on it, Sunset began shouting out towards the gathering crowd. "Mares and stallions, today we bring a very special griffon before you today. We are going to inquire of her involvement in events that she has been accused of; all of ye shall act as witnesses to this act."

The ponies turned and looked to each other for a few moments, likely pondering whether this was an appropriate way to go about this. If Gilda could have responded then, she would have shouted no.

"Now then, Gilda," Sunset began, using her magic to remove the rope tying Gilda's beak together, "Do you swear to speak the truth and nothing but the truth, or so help the great evidence against you send you to the depths of Canterlot's prisons?"

Gilda snapped her beak in irritation, and would have began working on biting herself free when the unicorn used her magic to restrain her head from free movement. Stiffness quickly began taking ahold, much to Gilda's displeasure.

"Fine!" Gilda cried out, largely in order to convince the mare to release her head, "I swear to speak the truth and nothing but the truth, or so help the great evidence against me whatever."

The last part did not make much sense, but neither the crowd nor Sunset seemed to care. Once her assurance was given, Sunset released her head and slid her across the stage, all with magic of course.

"Now then, my first question," Sunset inquired, "Where were you when Grackus took a dagger to the forehead?"

"Objection!"

Sunsest looked up from Gilda, as if she would turn to ash the speaker of that word. None other than a bouncing pink pony boldly hopped on stage, her blue eyes and wide smile almost disarming enough to make one disregard the seriousness of the situation.

"If you are going to do this right, then you might as well make up lawyers too! Where is Gilda's lawyer?"

"Good question," Gilda muttered, only to be silenced by a magical tying of her beak.

"Listen pony," Sunset growled, pointing a hoof threateningly at the pink one, "This is not a trial-"

"So you are holding a princess of a foreign country against her will for shits and giggles?" the bouncing pony happily announced the obvious flaw in what they were doing. "I mean, if you are here to help her, then at least release her of her binds. Otherwise, what you're doing kind of makes you look like the bad guys."

Damn. Gilda had never seen a pony deflate as fast as Sunset did, nor did she see a pony facehoof much harder than Lightning, who nearly knocked herself out with her own hoof in the process.

"Oh, my bad, I guess you are right," Sunset confessed, sounding about as remorseful as a bear caught eating a fish by a shark in the river, "This whole reformed thing is kind of hard to get down. That's what the Legion is all about ya know."

"Oooo, legion?" Pinkie's thrill was almost contagious, to the point in which Gilda could notice her beak binds beginning to loosen. "What kind of legion?"

"Lightning Dust here has been in this much longer than I have," Sunset continued, quickly sidestepping as to bring attention to a very distraught pegasus, "She can explain more. Go on ahead Dust, give them the low down."

"Err..." Lightning floundered, her ears flattening against her head as she sought for some sort of answer. Gilda, whilst this was going on, managed to free her beak. With Sunset still occupied, Gilda began straining to get just the tip of her beak towards her neck restraints.

"The Legion is a covert group," Lightning went on, clearly having found something to say, "Skillful Equestrians that are a little on the underhoofed side are granted a chance to be productive through the Legion. We get paychecks, you sleep well in your homes, and we learn a little more about harmony. The end."

Pinkie giggled, in a fashion that seemed to convince the crowd that there was some legitimacy as to what Lightning spewed in the heat of the moment. "Oh. So why not let Gilda join? Is being a thief and a big meanie worthy of going in?"

It was at this point that Gilda would have verbally lashed out, but her beak was too occupied with freeing her talons to respond.

"Well, first we need to know that she is not guilty of assassination," Sunset spoke, still not showing signs of having noticed Gilda's actions, "Can't let anypony in you know."

"Oh, I get it! Actually succeeding in killing royalty gets you disqualified, but failing gets you in? What do you do then?" Pinkie somehow had bounced her way right to Sunset's face; despite her rather bouncy and fluffy outside, Gilda could tell by then that she was getting at something with her line of questions.

"We would all like to know just what you have, and are, up to."

All heads save for Gilda's turned, and the crowd parted midway as a purple alicorn flanked on all sides by royal guard pegasi and unicorns strode through the crowd. Dash flew just overhead with an angry expression on her face. The cavalry had arrived.

"What now genius?" Lightning commented sarcastically under her breath while glaring at her partner in crime. Sunset scowled in response to her before turning towards the alicorn with an over-sized smirk that did little to betray her true feelings regarding her arrival. "Twilight Sparkle, nice to see you again. I am just learning about friendship and all, and getting paid to do it. Nice entourage by the way; where's your pet?"

Twilight leapt from the cover of the guards and onto the stage, hardly using her wings at all in the process. Gilda by this point had managed to loosen the bonds to the point in which her wriggling could actually start making progress.

"Sunset, in light of recent events, you showing up in Ponyville with a hostage is very suspicious," Twilight spoke, stepping ever closer to Sunset, "Considering you did try to kill me once, I think the possibility of you being the assassin is there."

"What?" Sunset seemed to take great offense to this. "I would not have left the dagger behind had I done it. Besides, the guards can account that I was not even in Canterlot yet at the time of."

Just as Gilda managed to free her talons, three royal guard pegasi pounced on her position, using her snapped bonds to retie her. Now with a few extra knots than before, Gilda was right back to where she started; except this time, she was in the hooves of the royal guard.

"Regardless, Dash has given me, and these guards, reason to suspect that you are up to no good," Twilight spoke, narrowing her eyes, "I am not one to hold a grudge, but association is too much for me. Both of you are under arrest." She gestured to both Sunset and Lightning.

"But we got hired to save Gilda in the first place!" Lightning protested as guards surrounded her, "Ask Antoine!"

"We can ask him when we get to Canterlot," one of the guards commented, "He and his griffons are still fucking there."

"Be gentle with her," Twilight cautioned the guards handling Gilda, "The griffons will screech foul if she comes back with bruises."

Gilda sighed in defeat. Well, on one talon, she would be seeing her father again. On the other, she was also going to be seeing the chief prosecutor of the land, if she even had a trial planned. She should have just sided with Dash from the beginning and gotten this over with. At least she would not have been restrained in such a manner.

Capturing the trio had been one thing; actually transporting them to Canterlot had been another. Despite the obvious chance of them escaping, the guards insisted that the three be carried by train. Unfortunately for Gilda, the guards watched them like hawks, and even Dash was not permitted to chat with her.

She was not sure if she had went from prisoner to death-row prisoner, as the guards treated her very carefully. They didn't cater to every whim like butlers but they tended to allow her some freedom in her cabin, as long as she made no sudden jerking movements. And looking out the window, seeing the passing scenery as they journeyed towards Canterlot, Gilda reconsidered the situation she was in. After all, it was not that bad, in hindsight.

Celestia was a fair alicorn. As long as she told the truth, she had nothing to worry about. She could have avoided this entire issue if she had just ran down the hall to her father instead of fleeing Canterlot through that dreaded cave system. Even if they required her too, she would not be able to find her way back through there.

Temporarily lost in thought, Gilda heard a sneeze, turning her attention to the guards, who for just a few moments had their backs turned to her. Trying to look uninterested, she turned her head around, only to hear murmurs start up. She had not noticed them before, but now she tuned in, hoping to catch snippets of information. They were quiet though, so it took a few minutes to adjust properly to their volume, tuning out any distractions that would hinder her hearing ability.

"Princess? She hardly looks like one to me. From what I hear from the Ponyville crowd, she is very unpleasant to be around."

"I dunno, she has been very civil so far. I think she is a bit misunderstood. Her father, I don't really trust though."

"Her father is more trustworthy in my opinion. Sure, he has not complied with our requests to leave, but he has gathered all of his forces in one place to make it easier to keep an eye on them."

A snort, just as the train began approaching the mountain that Canterlot rested on.

"The forces he is willing to tell us about anyways. As far as I am concerned, Antoine might have been a co-conspirator."

A third voice joined the previous two, butting into the conversation.

"Did you hear that rubbish that Dust spoke on stage? Legion, for the reformed. I bet the princess would have gotten a hoot out of that one."

"Well, call me crazy, but isn't Lightning Dust a member of the Pegasus Force? If so, is it possible that Spitfire actually did assign her to this?"

"Spitfire is captain of the wonderbolts, not of the entire Force," the third voice rebutted, clearly offended at the notion, "Not to mention she doesn't trust Dust any more than we do."

"Gilda has been staring out the window for a pretty long time now. Do you think she is listening in on us?"

Without thinking, Gilda shifted in her place, giving away her actions from the previous few minutes. The guards were rather silent for a few minutes, likely thinking on whether they wanted to continue talking or not.

The third guard to arrive in the conversation had no qualms about continuing. "Well, nevermind that. She is supposedly the victim here. Anyone else notice that Sunset Shimmer was there too?"

Gilda could feel attention being diverted from her to the new direction of the conversation.

"Yes, I noticed that too. She has quite the nerve to come back to Equestria and start up trouble this close to Canterlot."

"Word at the station was that she had come to Canterlot with Fleur Dis Lee. Why would somepony like Fleur associate herself with Sunset Shimmer?"

"Well, until her little outburst with the princess a few years back, Sunset was a prestigious student at Canterlot under the wing of Celestia; kind of like Princess Sparkle before she ascended. Maybe they knew each other from then."

As interesting as the conversation had been before, Gilda was slowly beginning to lose interest. This was turning not just into gossip, but gossip about her kidnappers, which was much less revelent now that she had been freed from their grasp. The trees were beginning to give way to stony ledges, and the cavern that would lead to the winding path up to Canterlot Station engulfed the entire train in darkness.

Going from broad daylight to merely the comparatively dim lighting of the train car startled Gilda. Leaping from her seat, she thought she heard a hiss from her left before leaping backwards. Hitting the back door of the train car, Gilda hardly had time to register her mistake before the clopping of hooves and armor announced the arrival of the three guards from earlier.

"Something wrong Princess?" one of the guards asked, the three of them surrounding her the best they could, "Something spook you?"

"It's nothing." Gilda attempted to play it off, but her body language likely did not match her statement. The other two guards looked to each other before looking at her.

"How did you leave Canterlot again?"

Before Gilda could respond, she heard a roar that shook the train car. The guards suddenly brandished weapons that they previously did not have on their person, and pointed them menacingly at Gilda.

Gilda would have lashed out had they not returned to daylight, and the guards returned to their more amiable appearances, looking both confused and concerned at the same time. It was as if the had not at all moved, nor brandished weapons in aggression towards her.

"You don't look so good," the second guard noted, looking her up and down, "You look about ready to pass out."

Gilda shook her head clear, now beginning to notice her racing heart, her tense bracing of the door, and the painful grip that she had had on the train car's back door. Releasing the car and retracting her wings, Gilda chuckled uneasily. "It was just a thing, happens when you're about to go to trial for something that you didn't do."

The guards seemed to accept this answer, reluctantly, perhaps in part because the intercom sounded, asking that all passengers take a seat in preparation for stopping.

As they strode off towards the front of the car, Gilda grasped at her chest, and gingerly walked over to her seat. What was that all about? There were not even any ponies involved in the attack; it would have made more sense for her to have seen a dragon and a griffon next to the pony guards. And had the guards not heard that roar as well?

Maybe it was a lack of sleep doing it to her. Either way, upon taking her seat, the train began to slow, showing the view of Canterlot station.

At the station was none other than a large entourage of royal guards. Every single one of them carried spears, a clear sign that this was not a welcoming committee. Gilda groaned, preparing herself mentally for the upcoming meeting with her judge and jury.

Indeed, the large group of guards had not been there to welcome them; they had been there to escort them straight to the palace. Princess Twilight and Rainbow Dash were among them, the latter hovering near Gilda.

Upon getting past the gates and the long hallway to the throne room, Gilda had become convinced that every guard in Canterlot had to be busy escorting them. Once in the throne room, Gilda noticed the excessive amount of stain glass windows depicting ponies and the history of Equestria. Many of them seemed oddly recent for the castle to have been constructed far more than a few decades ago.

Catching her attention, however, was the flowing mane of none other than Princess Celestia, who sat on her throne flanked by merely two guards, watching the procession enter. In front of the throne was a unicorn and her father, Antoine, both turning around to gaze upon the new arrivals. Unable to contain herself, Gilda started to rush forward when the guards restrained her, pulling her back into the large group of bodies.

"Ah, this makes things easier," Celestia stated with a smile, "Fleur, Antoine, you may go to the sides of the throne now."

The two hastily moved out of the way as Gilda, Lightning, Sunset, Dash, and Princess Twilight were thrust forward into the limelight. The smiling white alicorn nodded her head towards Twilight, who led the small group in a quick bow before launching into a short exposition.

"Princess Celestia-" she started before Celestia raised a hoof to silence her. The purple alicorn shrank back as her larger counterpart stared down at the group before her. Her eyes rested particularly on Sunset, who seemed less than eager to be in her presence.

"It is nice to see you are alive and well Sunset," Celestia greeted, thinning some of the tension in the room, "As well as all of you. I must ask though, why are you here?"

That was the million bit question, one in which Dash couldn't help but jump at the heels to answer.

"Lightning Dust kidnapped Gilda from my home, and along with Sunset Shimmer together tried to hold some sort of trial in Ponyville," Dash explained, fervently gessturing towards Sunset and Lightning. It was just now that Gilda noticed that the mare known as Trixie seemed to be absent from this meeting. Had she somehow dodged arrest?

Celestia turned towards Sunset with a raised brow. "Kidnapping?" The way she said it, she clearly was disappointed that it was not something more impressive.

Lightning jumped at the pause afterwards. "Princess, if I may have a word, we were hired by Antoine to retrieve his daughter and the potential assassin of Grackus. Because it was unclear if Gilda was just one or both, we had to use force in order to make sure nopony got hurt in the process."

"And staging a mock trial of a potential assassin would have solved what problem?" Celestia asked, not entirely sold on the tale.

"The problem of dragging a griffon the size of one of us out of town without anypony getting suspicious," Sunset explained, "To be fair, we could have calmly talked her into coming back, but again, we did not want to take any chances."

"I told you that my daughter was not the assassin!" Antoine interrupted, " I might would have been better off hiring Celestia's guard."

"Antoine, perhaps now is not a good time to speak out of turn," Fleur gently warned the griffon, "Besides, she has come back safe and sound. That's what matters here right?"

Antoine scowled, but one look from Celestia made him retract his show of displeasure.

Celestia then turned back towards Sunset and Lightning. "So, you were hired by Antoine to find Gilda. You did so. I fail to see a crime here punishable."

"Lightning was at the arena massacre!" Dash accused, barely waiting for Celestia to finish, "She was there!"

"Prove it," Lightning scowled, turning towards the pegasus, "I was in the barracks awaiting orders that evening. I have Sunset here as a witness that I was also busy with the other pegasi the night after."

All eyes went onto Sunset, who now had to provide her own testimony to add onto the story. Sunset nodded slowly. "I was on board a train from Canterlot when it derailed. I was rescued by Lightning afterwards."

Celestia's gaze hardened, this particular incident striking some sort of chord upstairs. "Spitfire informed me of the rather low number of riders accounted for. Is it coincidence that I have to believe that you are one of the lucky few to have been rescued?"

Silence, for not even Sunset dared answer her monarch. Gilda had a feeling that the answer was obvious to all in the room but her. Since when did Equestrian trains just 'derail'?

Celestia certainly did not seem very pleased. She looked up for a moment towards the throne room doors, which parted to allow a unicorn in.

"Fancy Pants," Fleur stated with a dead-pan expression.

Despite his name, the pony wore no pants, and perhaps a first for Canterlot elite in public, he wore no shirt either. He was being escorted by three guards, the pony himself having a bruise on his left cheek. Apparently, he had not come quietly, and Gilda could only speculate the reasons for that.

"Princess, may I ask what the meaning of this is?" he asked as politely as he could muster, it plainly clear that he was fuming beneath this facade, "Dragged from a most important affair-"

"Silence, Fancy Pants." Celestia was quick onto her hooves, striding down the hallway towards the pony with a dangerous aura. Not even the guards stood in her way, and even the ones near Fancy Pants cleared out. The unicorn's rage turned into concern, for Celestia not only stood at her full height, but also stood just feet from him, towering like an angel preparing to deliver judgement.

The sun just happened to catch the rays of the windows, casting a fierce orange glow over Celestia, as if the windows possessed no colors of their own. It was at this moment that Gilda even backed away from the alicorn. She had an odd resemblance to a nightmare from some time ago, and perhaps it was on everyone's minds. She could not put a talon on where she had seen the image before though, and why she was being reminded of it now. That orange coat, that posture, that killer's intent of a gaze all added up to something that did not traditionally speak "Celestia" to her.

"Fancy Pants, I have patiently allowed the Market to co-exist and operate within Equestria for many moons now. However, I left you all with one condition; you keep it subtle, and the crimes below capital. This sudden escalation of affairs, griffon captains hiring my ponies, trains magically derailing for now reason, and the senseless slaughter of innocents in a sports event that itself is barely legal, has the prints of the Market all over it." Celestia stared down the unicorn, who now seemed to be shivering in fright. Gilda would have joked about him shitting his pants, but because he did not have pants, the joke would fall on deaf ears. Plus, the atmosphere seemed too tense for that ice breaker.

Fancy could hardly speak, his own voice catching in his throat. "Princess, you do not think that the Market is involved in all of that. D-d-do you?"

"Who would stand to benefit from a host of ponies, dragons, and griffons going missing?" Celestia lowered her head to eye level, forcing the shaking stallion to tremble as eye contact was made. "More importantly who are the clients who paid so handsomely for you all to stick your necks out like this?"

Fancy Pants gulped, his gulp loud enough to be heard throughout the throne room. Almost everypony held their breath in anticipation for Fancy Pants' response.

"Well, you see Princess, I can't really give that kind of information out. Even to you." Fancy Pants flinched, as if Celestia would strike him down right then and there for his response. Celestia didn't do anything nearly as aggressive as that, instead opting to merely rise to her full height again. She took a deep breath, and then flicked her ears.

"I suppose I will have to begin making arrests then. I can not have an organization such as yours running about Equestria wrecking chaos and turmoil at will without the will to tell me who hired you lot for the job. I will have to begin with your-"

"The rebels!" Fancy Pants exclaimed, diving towards Celestia's front hooves in a pitiful sob, "The rebels from Griffia used the money from looting the Bellamy Palace to pay for the job! They merely wanted to get rid of Dratina and Grackus, no harm directly to Equestria, I swear!"

Lightning coughed, and many in the room gasped, including Gilda. Gilda noticed, however, that her father and Fleur did not seem in the least bit surprised, much less any other emotion. Then again, mayaps they were concealing their reaction with good reason.

"Market, Princess?" Twilight naturally would be the one to break the mood with a question like that, as if it needed to be asked at this moment, "What-"

"Fancy Pants, you are to disband the Equestrian Market at once," Celestia ordered, "You have one day to get the word out. Any further actions carried out in their name shall be considered a crime of the highest offense. Not even you will be exempt. Guards!"

The guards that had earlier scrambled from their ruler rushed to her side, as if she really needed their urgency in this moment.

"Escort Fancy Pants to his mansion and tell Queen Dratina that I need to see her. In private."

The guards scurried to obey, almost all of them gone within seconds save for the two that had been standing on either side of Celestia's throne. The lighting in the room returned to normal, and for just a moment, Gilda almost forgot the considerable amount of fear that had pervaded the room just moments before.

Celestia turned back towards the small assembly with a frown.

"Twilight, we will speak more on this later. As for the rest of you; I apologize you had to see that. Antoine, I suggest that you return home; if they are capable of hiring the Market to aide them, then they are truly a threat and must not be taken lightly."

"That is not a request, is it Princess?" Antoine spoke loudly and clearly, as if she would not get the meaning otherwise.

"No, that is not a request."

Antoine sighed, but looked hopeful, with a glance towards Gilda. "May I ask that Gilda stay here for a little while longer? Until things blow over?"

Celestia looked towards Gilda, and then back to Antoine. "That is acceptable, as she is considered an Equestrian by law due to how long she has lived here in Equestria. However, you must trust us to look after her. If any of your griffons are spotted in Equestria from the point after your departure, they will be dealt with as intruders. Understood?"

Antoine nodded and bowed. "Understood. Thank you, Princess." He then looked towards Gilda as he rose and exited.

Fleur was about to follow after him until Celestia looked in her direction. "Not so fast Fleur. Guards are going to be checking on your studio within the hour. I suggest you prepare release forms for any undocumented employees."

"Yes Princess." Fleur bowed and hasted in pace. Once she had left the room, this left Twilight, Sunset, Lightning, Dash, and Gilda with Princess Celestia.

Celestia closed her eyes for a moment, then re-opened them, focusing in on Sunset, Lightning and Gilda. "I am sorry you all got mixed up in this. You are all pardoned for the actions that I know of so far, including kidnapping. You may leave now."

Gilda had never so hastily bowed and fled a room without running in her life. Escaping the Princess' gaze was her objective, and she crossed the distance in a surprising amount of time. Dash and Twilight stayed behind, no doubt in order to get more information.

Once outside of the throne room doors, a sigh of relief escaped all in the hallway: Sunset, Lightning, Gilda and Antoine.

Gilda noticed that her father had that large shield again, having likely retrieved it in the brief time since he had left the throne room and Gilda's departure. Sheepishly he stepped up to Gilda with it, it becoming obvious what he had brought it for.

"I had wanted to give this to you after you won your match, Gilda," Antoine commented, "But, you know how things happened."

"Were you really involved?" Gilda asked Lightning, not yet ready to get her mind off of that subject, "Were you there?"

"No," Lightning said without hesitation, "That pegasus just wanted to frame me. I don't know why."

"Either way, what now?" Sunset bemoaned, "I am now right back to where I started. And Trixie still has our stuff."

"Speaking of Trixie, I better tell her the news," Lightning said, giving one last look to Sunset and Gilda, "Good luck."

As she departed, Gilda redirected her attention to her father, who had been intently watching this display. She would have missed his eye contact with Lightning had she not looked back in her direction just once before returning her attention to her father and his gift.

"What good is this shield going to do me if I can hardly even lift it?" she asked, less than enthusiastic about taking up the shield, "Not to mention I don't think I am going to even need it."

Antoine thrust the shield forward, mere inches from hitting his daughter square in the beak. Gilda flinched, and frowned as her father laughed at her reaction. "Gilda, just because Celestia said that the Market is done, doesn't mean that the ones whom tried to kill you are done. Besides, I promised you training, so the best I can do under these circumstances is to at least give you something to train with."

Gilda, though not genuinely pleased, accepted her gift. As expected, the shield, about as large as she was, had quite the weight to it; however, it seemed mildly lighter than she had expected it to be. While she fumbled to strap it to her back as a gesture of good will, Antoine looked towards Sunset, who had begun walking off after Lightning.

"Thanks for bringing my daughter back to me." He gave a small smile, and tipped his head in her direction. "Give my regards to the rest who aided you."

Sunset nodded, then continued her way out the door. Gilda sighed, her heavy load no doubt burdening her already weary body. Antoine chuckled and tapped the shield with an open palm.

"Guess the rest of us are headed back home. Stay safe Gilda..."

The Grid

Lightning Dust had had better weeks. Smoother ones as well. First, she had to backtrack to the Crystal Empire in order to rescue Trixie. That would have been cake, but Gilda insisted on attempting to rescue Sunset on her own, despite the mare clearly not intended on being rescued from her captor. The stubborn griffon went anyways.

Lightning Dust still felt obligated to save Trixie, so even going in alone, she had returned to the Crystal Empire as agreed upon leaving Trixie in the first place. Even now as she carefully maneuvered their large cloud transport above the cit of Canterlot, she could feel the moon eyeing her every move.

It was mildly unnerving. To her right was Trixie, the top of the transport having long been scrapped in favor of a more natural looking cloud. So far, it did not seem like they had raised any alarms.

"Trixie, you okay back there?" Lightning whispered. Trixie had been exhausted, hardly able to drag her hooves to the library and out the secret tunnels leading to the barracks. From there Lightning had to practically fly Trixie up to cloud cover, where they would make their get-away at last from the Empire. On the way, Trixie decided to take a nap, unwittingly falling into a full blown slumber.

"Mffmffmmm..." Trixie muttered, rolling over in the cloud till she faced away from Lightning.

Lightning sighed. Whether she liked it or not, she could not disturb Trixie, not now. Even with the alicorn amulet on, she had not likely recovered fully from fighting off the Crystal Guards on her lonesome. Peering over the side of the cloud, Canterlot seemed oddly peaceful, an idyllic place instead of one on high alert. This would make her job easier, presuming the guards were not just hiding out.

Finally spotting the building that was her target, Lightning slowly floated the cloud until it was just above the building. The sight of a large platoon of guards leaving the building brought on some relief. Lightning flexed and stretched her wings, wanting to be as fluid as possible in case they had left a guard or two behind. Some cracking and flapping later, and Lightning prepared to jump.

"Trixie is coming to."

Lightning turned her head to see Trixie stirred and awake, sleepily yawning as she got to her hooves, "In fact, Trixie slept the entire way while you flew. The great and powerful Trixie has got this."

Lightning was hesitant, at first, but seeing Trixie's eyes glow red and the amulet buzz to life with magic, she decided to be the last pony to try and deter Trixie. She could use a few minute of rest herself.

"Alright, just don't make too much noise," Lightning warned, "We are in Canterlot. One out of place peep and the Princesses will be on us faster than you can speak your own name. And no offense, but if it come down to it, you all are on your own."

Trixie chuckled and walked up to Lightning. With a hoof she playfully shoved her to her side. "Oh you would not actually leave us to our fate here in Canterlot would you? You would at least come to our funeral right?"

Thinking back, Lightning understood the joke, and chuckled. "As long as I don't have to bring a dowry."

"Weddings have dowries Lightning," Trixie corrected, rolling her eyes, "Now then, how is Trixie to get down without breaking every bone in her body?"

"Might would help if you had wings," Lightning retorted, flapping hers erratically, "That is why I was going to go."

"Trixie has a better idea," Trixie spoke, "And she has a trick for this one too. Lower the cloud."

Lightning hesitated, not entirely sure she wanted to draw the kind of attention a cloud descending on a building would no doubt provide. however, Trixie had already set her magic to work, so Lightning proceeded to lower the cloud towards the top of the building. Precariously at first, it was not until she heard Trixie grunting that she sped up the process.

Within a few minutes, they hovered just a few feet above the cloud. "Dissipate on 3." Trixie tensed, as if preparing to jump. "One. Two. Three!"

The cloud dissipated upon Lightning's command, the duo landing neatly atop the roof. Trixie ducked down, flattening herself against the top of the building. Lightning followed through with an inquisitive look. "Okay, so how do we get into the building from here?"

Trixie smiled, eyes aglow and a confident smirk replacing her earlier stress face. "Why, the front door of course. One moment."

Trixie vanished from view, presumably using an invisibility spell of some sort. It was now that Lightning realized that Trixie had likely made the cloud invisible earlier, but couldn't maintain it after jumping off of the cloud. Lightning sighed, impatiently waiting for Trixie to give some sort of signal.

"Come on in!" Trixie shouted from below, startling the pegasus into the air. She quickly descended to the open front door to find Trixie looking into the prison with a puzzled expression.

"Why did you shout?" Lightning inquired, searching in case any creature caught wind of it.

"Trixie sees neither prisoner or guards." Trixie led the way inside the constable, demonstrating with a hoof the empty station.

Lightning gasped upon realizing that Trixie was right. The cells all were empty, the front desk was abandoned, and it seemed as if nothing had been residing in here for at least a few days.

"Are we too late?" Lightning lamented, "Failure can't be this close to the horizon."

Trixie scanned the building before looking back outside. "The sun is rising. If Sunset or Gilda were being held here, then their time is probably about to be up. Oh well." Trixie began walking back outside, watching the sun catch hold of Celestia's castle and bathe it in beautiful hues of orange and yellow. "It was nice knowing them."

"Trixie!" Lightning scolded, "We can't throw our hooves up yet! They could still be alive!"

"And surrounded by more guards than the weight of all of the alicorns put on a scale," Trixie pointed out, "Even with the alicorn amulet, Trixie is not going to be able to fight them and the princesses off."

Lightning bit her lip. While Trixie had a point, they had not come all of this way for nothing. Lightning did not care much for failing her missions, and she did not intend on making this an exception. Failure was not an option. "Come on, have to find them."

Trixie rolled her eyes. "What reason do we have to endanger ourselves further?"

"Because that is our job." Lightning gazed towards the slowly rising sun, visualizing their objective in mind. "If we leave them now, what precedent does that set? Our cause dies due to our cowardice."

Trixie did not seem convinced, so Lightning continued with renewed vigor. "Down and out, neither of them had any other option for lifestyle. Redeemable at the price of their identity. Trixie, you recall the day we met right?"

"Trixie has never forgotten the day we met." Trixie stood next to Lightning, a small frown on her face. "On the brink of surrender. Struggling to return to the magician way of life, half starved and only a hoof swipe from eating you."

Lightning gave Trixie a look of bemusement. "An aspiring Wonderbolt rejected for her talents and ideals and a magician ready to resort to cannibalism. Damn, we have come a real long ways have we not?"

"Not really." Trixie chuckled and flipped her mane back, so that it would be entirely out of her face. "Trixie is still a magician and you are still a Wonderbolt Academy reject who cares more about her objective than her teammates."

"That is not true!" Lightning stomped her hooves in indignation, "I do care!"

"Oh, so you are not in it for the money?" Trixie sounded shocked, offended even.

"Trixie, I am sorry to say, but we are not getting paid for this." Lightning flinched, as if Trixie would have struck her the moment the words left her lips.

Contrary, Trixie merely laughed, a sparkle in her eye. "Oh, but we are getting paid."

Lightning now seemed confused, though she relaxed in stance. Trixie cast her glance from the Castle to Lightning Dust, a wide grin on her face. "By the time we get through with this, there will be no shortage of volunteers lining up at our desk. No shortage of employers wanting a job done. And no shortage of respect and fear from all those who sought to undermine our greatness."

Trixie took a step forward, the light hitting her and causing a great amount of shadow to project behind her, sinisterly growing as did her volume. "From the bottom of the fucking order to the top of the bucking order! I do not know what you are in this for, Lightning, but I know what I am in this for."

Trixie smiled, her gaze resting once again on Canterlot Castle. "For the Great and Powerful Trixie, glory is payment enough."

Lightning, believing this to be some of Trixie's self-pep talk, shot a hoof into the air in agreement. "No guts no glory! Let's go save Sunset and Gilda!"

"Yeah!"

The two brought their hooves together in the air, a resounding clop ending their brief aside. They knew not the challenge ahead, but they did not plan on allowing it to stop them.

Once the moment settled in, Trixie put on a puzzled expression. "So, where do prisoners on death row go anyways when their time is up?"

"Well, in Cloudsdale, your wings would be bound, and you would literally be booted from the city to fall to your death," Lightning mused, "Considering Canterlot is not that high up, my guess is that we would find them near the castle."

"Then to Celestia's castle we go!" Trixie announced, "We should make haste before the streets fill with spectators."

"Actually," Lightning suggested, seeing the streets already beginning to show activity, "It would be safer for us to wait for more spectators. We will stick out much less."

When Trixie disappeared into the constable, Lightning gazed out towards the city once more, taking note of the kind of ponies that were emerging. Many of them had the look of royal guards, out of uniform it seemed. A few others resembled Canterlot elite based on their clothing, but the vast majority did not appear as if they were originally from Canterlot. In fact, with the appearance of crystal ponies, Lightning became very sure of this.

"Why are they even here-" Lightning mused. It was supposedly Sunset's plan, to go into the Crystal Empire and steal Cadance's magic for the sake of the amulet.

But Lightning had been in this occupation far too long to fully believe that. No, from the day they were all brought back together, she knew that something was off. She knew that there had to be another player or two in the game.

Lightning's home in Cloudsdale was modest, to say the least. It was a simple three room dwelling. A bathroom, a living room, and of course a bedroom, all three having recently been stripped of their Wonderbolt propaganda. How long had it been since they had escorted her from the grounds, much to the secret delight of her weaker counterparts? How long since her so-called friend practically swept the cloud from beneath her?

She had heard of Rainbow's intent on resigning. She had heard of what effect that had on Spitfire. And she was just as equally appalled that the Captain had believed that the pegasus would surrender her dream, just like that, from what she deemed a misconception. A misunderstanding.

Lightning spat into her trash can, her couch having long been the resting place for her brooding. She could never go back, and no matter where in town she went, the danger she had put her fellow recruits in continued to haunt her. None of them actually died, not to mention if they could not keep up, they were not fit to be among the ranks of the Wonderbolts.

But that was obviously just her opinion. Were it the truth, she would still be among the pegasi called upon to practice for mock airshows and combat training, in case the griffons ever set their sights on Equetria ever again. It was more likely that Discord would go on a rampage again than for the griffons to work up the feather to challenge Equestria again.

Things had been fine though. After her departure from the Academy, she had been swiftly picked up by a sprite eyed member of the Market, seeking potential. Talent. Cunning, determination, a willingness to do anything to get the job done. A pony like Lightning Dust, he said even. The stallion bore an odd resemblance to Shining Armor, but this pony was a pegasus and not a unicorn. When Lightning had asked of his cutie mark, he proclaimed that he had it tattooed to resemble the Captain's out of respect and admiration.

Horseshit, but Lightning did not challenge it. She needed bits, she needed adventure, and more importantly, she needed an ego stoker. Her first quest had been to escort Fleur Dis Lee to Las Pegasus and back to Canterlot.

Lightning shuddered. She had never imagined that it would be so difficult, the mare having so few determined foes. That other mare who so sought her life. Her intent had not been to kill her, but the wrath of a pegasus warranted swift action. And then her son, Flash Sentry, so swiftly disarming and nearly killing her with her own blade.

Lightning shuddered. She might should have considered the royal guard; it was clear that they were a cut above mere show-mares.

Ding Dunk.

Lightning lazily looked towards her front door, latched and bolted shut. Any visitors that rang her doorbell would be dissapointed, unless they spoke the reason for their visit. Waiting a few moments, Lightning scowled when the bell rang yet again. Whoever was at the door must be persistent, though they had yet to contend with the patience of Lightning Dust.

"What do you want?" Lightning called out, stretching out a wing as if to toy with her feathers, "Can't you hear me thinking?"

"It's Sunset Shimmer. I have got a job for you."

Lightning rose from her couch, now her curiosity piqued. That unicorn from back then, what was she doing here now? How was she even here? Abandoning her rationale regarding visitors, Lightning called back yet again. "Speak your business more specifically. I have not the time for games."

"Let me be more direct then. I wish to recruit you for my purposes, for my ambition," she continued to call, "If you are willing, I can reward you handsomely."

"I have enough bits to last me a decade," Lightning retorted, sinking back into her couch, "I do not need to be in a hurry."

"Perhaps your heart is in the wrong place, madame, for it is not wealth that I offer you."

That change in voice, almost even in tongue. Lightning's heart jumped, her chest stricken with an unfamiliar excitement. If she did not know any better, it was their last, and best paying client, at her front door, and not that ungrateful unicorn whom had left without so much as a "thank you for saving my life".

Lightning contained her excitement, however. She did not want to walk into an obvious trap, for already her guest had changed their voice one time too many. "Antoine? Aren't you supposed to be back in Griffia?"

"Considering the gaze you left me with back at the Castle, I think you know that I sincerely planned on hiring you again."

Lightning's grin grew wide, and she finally gave in to her more greedy if not senseless side, leaping from the couch and towards the door. Without a thought she found herself preening her feathers and ruffling her mane. At the time, it was a thoughtless act, but upon reflection, Lightning pondered what side of her brought that on. It was not like her clients hired her for her looks.

Opening the door, the guest was a rather surprising visitor. Indeed, Antoine stood in full armor, as if battle might visit him in the very street he likely walked to get here. No doubt he stuck out like a sore thumb in Cloudsdale.

"How did you do that voice thing?" Lightning inquired, studying his features, "You look more the type to claw your way in rather than suave it."

Antoine cocked his crow head to the side with a raised brow. "Voice thing? Madame, you must be hearing things, I did not change my voice. However, I wish to speak with you about a certain task."

"Come in, come in," Lightning invited, gesturing towards her living room, "No doubt you stand out so much right in the street."

"I do not wish to intrude."

"It is no trouble."

No, no trouble at all to allow him in. He did not come bearing bits, but for reasons unthinkable at the time, he certainly came bearing trouble. And ever since that run in with Flash Sentry at the funeral, trouble had made itself a constant and most faithful companion.

Watching Antoine as he looked around her abode, Lightning had been grateful not to have been home very often. Otherwise, it would have been mildly a mess-

"Wonderbolt fan?" Antoine jested, looking into a large pile that had served as a table of sorts in the living room.

Lightning growled at the mere mention of the organization. "Former fan. What's the job?"

Antoine turned around, fixing his eyes on Lightning. Seizure by gaze alone, both were rooted to the spot of business.

"A letter from Gilda tells me that she and Sunset are getting together tomorrow," Antoine spoke, "They intend on carrying out a task that I cannot speak of in such quarters."

Lightning deflated, beginning to catch the jist of where this was going. "You want me to keep an eye on Gilda right?"

"Wrong." Antoine was unblinking, and seemed to study Lightning's inquisitive features as if plotting out his next move. "Gilda suggested that your talents, alongside Trixie's, will be needed for success. The two of them discussed these matters in Ponyville of all places, so no doubt she is still absent on important details."

"So, are you hiring us, or is Gilda hiring us?" Lightning did not know what kind of credit Gilda had, but seeing as she was Antoine's daughter, the two might would share pockets as well.

"I am hiring you and Trixie." Antoine forfeited the staring contest in favor of gazing once again around her living room, taking interest in the bland room. "Your job is simple: reform the Legion, and demonstrate its continued ability to operate."

Lightning frowned, sensing an underlying joke that Antoine would only be able to tell if Gilda had told him about the trial in Ponyville, and Lightning's commentary on the Legion. "You realize that Celestia outlawed that?"

"For Equestria, yes," Antoine spoke, "Not for the Griffon Republic."

"Republic?" Lightning had checked just earlier that week, and there were no such things as republics in the world. "What is a republic?"

"A form of government ruled by elected leaders, who rule via law rather than whim," Antoine explained, a strange light in his eyes, "It is a fragile sort of rule where the leaders must be willing to abide by preset laws rather than their own personal agendas."

"Sounds like a bunch of crap," Lightning jeered, "How do you ever get anything done?"

"A chief executive limited in public permissions." Here Antoine smiled and sat on his haunches, putting a talon to his breastplate. "Consul, highest military authority in the land-"

"But on the leash of a bunch of pen pushers."

Antoine seemed stricken in his pride when Lightning had said this. She would recall the look of dismay, insult, and even anger that followed. "A balance of power is necessary to rule by law. Equestrians with their monarchical system of government would never understand."

"Right." Lightning strode past the still posed griffon and hopped back onto her fluffy couch, reclining strenuously as if to prove that she was ready to move on in topics.

The griffon shook his head and turned, walking until he stood over the stretched out mare. "Anyways, you comprehend your task? Make the Legion work, keep it together, and prove to the world its worth."

"Alright," Lightning nodded in compliance, "So, when do we need to set out to meet them?"

"Immediately."

Lightning frowned. She should have guessed that he would say that. Rising from the couch, she hovered a few feet before landing on her hooves. "Alright, let's get a move on then."

Wearing a long, hooded cloak in broad daylight in late summer was guaranteed to attract attention. As a result, both Lightning Dust and Trixie were relying heavily on the very thick crowd that had gathered, intending on blending in with the other ponies. As there were no identity checks, it would be a simple matter to view the ongoings from within the crowd.

A large stage of sorts had been put up, with various guards stationed all around it. In the middle was a single pedastal, the otherwise inert object likely being the location for the punishments. A griffon was placed there with no grace or precision by some royal guard pegasi, who promptly flew off to join their comrades in other places.

The crowd was hushed, which made it difficult to verbally formulate a plan of attack. As Trixie had predicted, there were guards everywhere; Luna had likely retired for the day, so that meant that Celestia would likely be presiding over the proceedings. The most powerful of the alicorns thus meant that even with the alicorn amulet, Trixie would be no match.

In short, as Trixie had put it earlier, if they managed to pull this off, there would be much glory to revel in. But oh the consequences if they were to try and fail!

"So the have yet to bring Sunset Shimmer out," one of the ponies nearby noted, "Seeing her get her just reward is what I came here for."

Some murmurs of agreement made it clear that Gilda being up there alone had not been the show's promise. Lightning would have laughed at the notion did the figure of Celestia approach from the rear of the crowd. The ponies parted ways, and hastily Trixie and Lightning ensured that they were not on the fringes of the aisle, lest the princess recognize them. Trotting behind her was not Sunset Shimmer, but a familiar unicorn all the same.

"Fleur dis Lee?" Trixie gasped in shock, the chains and shackles a very unfitting garment for the pony.

Trixie was not the only pony taken aback, and what used to be relative peace turned into a frenzied hub of chatter and inquiry, everypony under the sun wondering the same question as Trixie. What was she doing here?

"Well, this is interesting," Lightning mused aloud, "Look like Celestia is checking her list twice, better make sure we're not counted like rice."

Trixie gave Lightning a most irritated look. Some of the ponies around her actually laughed uneasily at the joke, though they too seemed to be taking this quite seriously.

Chrysalis

Sunset had wandered through the Canterlot Caves in search of Flash Sentry for quite some time before she finally stumbled upon him. In a large chamber filled with shattered crystal and the dim lights of crystal, Flash sat in the center in a contemplative state. Or so it appeared, from Sunset's point of view.

Cautiously she approached, a nicking fear raising the hairs at the back of her neck. "Flash, I finally found you! What are you doing?"

Flash did not seem to respond to that, and as Sunset crept ever nearer, something in her told her that there was foul play involved. Just as it seemed Sunset would leap atop of Flash to find the answer, the stallion slowly turned, revealing a very deep frown. "Sunset. You are here. With the amulet."

"And you are here, with your armor," Sunset jested, "Gilda is in trouble-"

"I know." Flash made eye contact with Sunset, the two locked in a gaze that Sunset could only describe as mesmerizing. At least, to her it was mesmerizing. "I know exactly how we can help her."

Sunset smiled wide. "That is great! What is the plan?"

"The plan is very simple," Flash explained, never breaking eye contact even as he approached, "You recall the creature that had been in the room when you stormed in?"

Sunset nodded, but also put on a look of confusion. Indeed, she recalled the black and green creature, but how Flash known that it had been there? Had the two had some sort of contact since then? "I do recall. What about it?"

"She is going to help us."

Sunset laughed, mostly out of disbelief. "One blast of magic sent that creature to the floor with Prince Shining Armor-"

"Did it ever occur to you as to why you are also blamed for his death when you left very shortly after snatching Cadance?" Now the two were mere muzzle distance apart, and it was at this point that Sunset realized the detached manner in which Flash was slowly coming to his point. Indeed, the death of the Prince had been an unfortunate side effect, but Sunset had assumed that it had been crystal ponies whom did him in.

"She has more than enough cause to help, if it in any way spites Twilight and Celestia," Flash explained, "The only catch, is that in order to do what we need her to do, she is going to need that amulet."

"So that is what you were offering at before." Sunset blinked, for the first time noticing that the brief break of gaze had a strange effect on her mind, as if it aided her in thinking more clearly. Thus, she outright broke eye contact, looking to the side in thought. "Alright, where is she?"

Sunset looked back at Flash, who smiled pleasantly in response to the question. "She will be arriving soon. There is no time to lose, so go ahead and take off the amulet."

Though Sunset might would have hesitated before, she found herself removing the amulet as commanded. Commanded? Sunset realized the oddity in that choice of description regarding the request, up until she found her actions ceasing to coincide with her thoughts. Rather than merely taking it off, she placed the amulet on Flash Sentry, which under normal circumstances would be nearly pointless.

Before she could protest, however, the weight in her mind crashed straight into the side of her skull, a splintering migraine replacing the resistant portions of her mind. It was now, and only now, that Sunset recognized a magic that she herself had once used before, though in a far different capacity.

But that did not make sense. The only one here in the cavern that could affect her, at this rate and with this intensity, was Flash Sentry, and he was a pegasus, more or less incapable of such magical manipulation. Of course, when green flames seemed to burn off his very flesh, Sunset was only mildly surprised to find the black and green creature from before, her hole ridden body sporting an extremely long and jagged horn.

Her green eyes were trained in on Sunset, and whether he liked it or not, she found it oddly inviting to give in to the now not so subtle manipulation. "Now, dear sister," the creature stated with a sinister grin, "It is high time we repay Queen Chrysalis for her efforts. It is high time for the changeling kind to once again see a glimmer of hope in its dismal experience, and to reclaim the land that was once theirs."

Sunset attempted to retreat, but her body refused to obey her directions. Instead, at the beckon of the Queen, she nodded mindlessly.

Chrysalis giggled, her horn brightly glowing an eerie green color. "Now with the alicorn magic of love, there is only one thing left to do..."

Fleur dismally walked on stage, and much to Lightning Dust's dismay, she looked more than a little broken in spirit. Her eyes were heavily bagged, her entire body barely holding up her weight. If she did not know any better, she would argue that the unicorn had went back to her old occupation just to make ends meet.

That was speculation, as she still seemed oddly clean for that to be the case. No, that was the sign of a mare in grief. What she was grieving over was beyond Lightning however.

"Mares and stallions, today I am brought before you for a special purpose." Fleur spoke loudly and clearly, very contrary to her body language's signal of weariness and disrepair. "To describe the history of the Market, and of the Legion, so that all may know and understand it."

"Dear Celestia kill me now!" Gilda bemoaned, much to the surprise of the assembly, "I did not skip history class with Rainbow Dash just to have to be tortured with it on my execution day!"

Some chuckles in the crowd were drowned out by Fleur's response. "This is not something you would have learned about in history class. At least, not in its entirety."

"This is going to take awhile," Lightning murmured to Trixie, "Come up with any ideas yet?"

"As you said, we have plenty of time," Trixie noted, eyes never leaving the stage, "They are probably stalling till the mare of the hour shows up."

Sunset Shimmer. Lightning gulped, hoping that they did not decide to execute her somewhere else. At least they would have a chance at saving Gilda either way, but until some of the attention of the guards was focused elsewhere, making a move towards the hogtied Gilda was going to be a matter of dice rolling. And Lightning was not a huge fan of luck.

"Patience," Lightning spoke, mostly for her own sake, "Something will no doubt happen to make this easier on us."

With no further interruptions, Fleur cleared her throat and carried on, the watchful eye of Celestia no doubt boring a hole somewhere in the unicorn's body. "The Market began during the chaos that was Discord's rule over Equestria. It was a merchant's guild intended to maintain trade despite the unpredictable nature of life. Nopony could predict the weather, no griffon could chart the seasons, and even dragons had lost their taste for gems. Naturally, with hardly anything, not even the currency, being reliable, the Market often had to trade goods other than money-"

"Stop!" The shout brought all attention to the skies, where a blur of random descended from the heavens. It landed onto the stage in a puff of smoke, revealing none other than Rainbow Dash.

Gilda squawked in surprise as Rainbow Dash swiftly freed her. Rather than fly free or even move entirely from the floor of the stage, Gilda found herself pinned by Dash, the no doubt stiff griffon in dire need of a good stretch.

"What did you do in the Crystal Empire?" Dash demanded, "What?"

"Err, princess...?" the guards did not immediately act, much to Lightning's surprise. Celestia shook her head to them before approaching Dash on stage.

"Rainbow Dash, what are you doing?"

Dash looked towards Celestia, bowed, and quickly began to report, "Twilight sent me here ahead of the news. The corpse of the stallion found in the Crystal Empire did not match Shining Armor, which means that he is still missing!"

"That is hardly surprising," Celestia pointed out, "The Crystal ponies insisted that Sunset Shimmer had taken the body with her. Twilight must have pieced something else together."

"She wanted me to question Gilda on what they did in the Empire!" Dash stated, "She thinks that the same ones who have been dropping foals off at her library are the same ones who were behind the incident in the Empire. If this is true, she thinks it could mean that half the guard is a threat!"

Some of the royal guard pegasi had looks of incredulity on their faces. The unicorn members, however, seemed more uncomfortable than in disbelief. Princess Luna, high in the clouds, came onto the stage with a presence that rivaled that of Dash's earlier entry. Her face spoke of urgency.

"Sister, Sunset Shimmer has somehow freed herself!" she reported, "The night guard is already beginning to lock Canterlot down. Additionally, Trixie and Lightning are in the crowd, so I suspect they may be up to something."

As if they were the plague, ponies shifted very quickly away from Lightning Dust and Trixie both, the latter standing out by the alicorn amulet she wore. Lightning frowned yet again, as her hooves had not been near fast enough to blend in with the crowd. Trixie too was taken completely off guard, and within seconds, royal guard pegasi had surrounded them.

"Trixie called it." Trixie shot a look to Lightning, whom was less than pleased to have blame pinned on her.

"Great, that means we can get all the answers!" Dash cried out as Lightning and Trixie were escorted upstage, "So out with it!"

"Rainbow Dash, I think we will take it from here." Celestia actually had a small, smug smile on her face. As if this were going exactly as planned for her. As far as Lightning was concerned, that was a very real possibility.

"Lightning Dust, Trixie," Celestia greeted, "Why am I not surprised that the two of you are here?"

"Because she wanted to watch Gilda's head roll!" Dash accused, pointing a hoof to Lightning, "Evil traitor-"

"Rainbow Dash, that is enough." Celestia stated this more firmly, and with a look to match, caused Dash to finally back off to the back of the stage. Celestia turned back towards Lightning Dust and Trixie, still smiling all the while. "Now then, I expect Sunset Shimmer to make her appearance within the next five minutes or so, and maybe Antoine Bellamy as well if we go ahead and actually begin Gilda's execution."

"I doubt Antoine is going to come here himself," Luna pointed out, "He would more likely hire Lightning Dust to go in his 'stead."

"Gilda, you already mentioned that you and Sunset never even met Shining in the Empire, despite the fact that he no doubt was there during the attack," Celestia noted, "Trixie attacked the barracks, drawing the attention of much of the guard. You also claim that you left without Shining Armor, a report that contrasts with that of the crystal pony account-"

"Wait," Luna interrupted, "Shining Armor was there with Cadance during the entire process, there is no way they could have kidnapped Cadance without running into Shining Armor. They were in the same room."

"Well, we never actually met Shining armor," Gilda clarified, "We just stepped over him and this black and green pony with holes in its body, clocked Cadance over the head, and made a break for it."

"Wait, what did you step over?" Celestia had tuned into something specific, and based on that description, Lightning was beginning to build a mental picture of what they could have potentially stepped over. After all, there were not that many dark grey and green creatures affiliated with the married couple.

"Jagged horn, insect wing, some natural body armor of sorts that made it hard to knock and keep it out of the fight," Gilda carried on, "A blast from Cadance after a swift shield drop from yours truly finally did the trick. Shining only took one hit to stay down for some time."

"Sounds like Queen Chrysalis was there." Celestia concluded with a worried expression, "If that is the case-"

"Then perhaps we should be doing identity checks right about now," one of the guards suggested, "We do have a large number of creatures gathered in one place."

"Would not do much good," Fleur pointed out, "It is not unheard of for changelings to be members of the Market, their ability to disguise themselves seamlessly a very useful ability in the occupation. If Chrysalis really is involved, you will only find her by her own design."

"Thanks, your encouragement inspires us all," Gilda dryly stated, " How about telling us something useful for a change?"

Fleur might would have smacked Gilda had the griffon not gotten to her fours. Lightning realized that what had been an execution setup was in fact turning into an opportunity. Chrysalis no doubt would provide more than enough of a distraction for herself and her team members once she showed up. Presuming she showed up, more like it.

No sooner did this thought settle in did an explosion rock the surrounding area. The gathered spectators scattered like zebras noticing a pack of hungry lions in the grass, while many of the royal guards gathered around Celestia and Luna. The explosion had come from the castle, and by the looks of it, someone was on a mission.

In this brief interlude, Lightning swiftly gave a signal with her wing; Trixie and Gilda both noticed it, and immediately followed her off stage. Despite the temporary madness caused by the explosion, several royal guards were still attentive, and swooped in to attempt to stop them from leaving. Trixie handled the unicorns with a few blasts of fireworks while Lightning and Gilda took on the pegasi guards. The vast majority were too busy defending the princesses to care that the prisoners were escaping, and both Princesses were in the midst of discussion.

It didn't matter to Lightning. She had one mission, and one mission only at this point. The guards' spears were very ineffective up close, so many had abandoned them once they had gotten a few hooves to the face. While this made it significantly more difficult to escape, Trixie's timely reinforcement sent the pegasi careening off-stage.

From there, the three made a break for it. Out of the corner of her eye, Lightning noticed the that the attacker seemed to know where they were going, which further strengthened the thought that Chrysalis had provided the much needed distraction. After all, she had attended the wedding of Cadance and Shining Armor as an alicorn, so she no doubt would have had access to areas normally quite off limits to other guests.

The crowd had dissipated rather quickly, and just as it seemed that they were in the clear, Sunset Shimmer and Flash Sentry dashed past them, heading straight for the stage. Coming to a screeching halt, Lightning turned to see them charging straight for the Princesses. Celestia burst from the stage and flew towards the castle, while Luna broke from her guards to challenge Sunset and Flash.

"Don't even think about it Lightning," Gilda warned, "She has the amulet, she will be fine."

"Actually, Trixie notices a distinct lack of jewelry on her," Trixie pointed out, "Where is the amulet?"

"I gave it to her," Gilda said, "What she did with it after I gave it to her is a mystery. Maybe that's the changeling queen?"

Lightning did not really care about the amulet. She cared more about getting them out of Canterlot. "Sunset, what are you dong?" Lightning called out, "Are you mad? Luna bucked your flank once already."

It was too late, for already Luna had landed in front the duo, the two staunchly refusing to back down. Finding Sunset's lack of return call, or speech at all for that matter, rather unnerving, Lightning looked to Gilda and Trixie for a possible solution to the problem.

"Princess, look out!" Trixie shouted, causing Lightning to turn back to the confrontation.

Luna, either due to Trixie's warning or from a sixth sense, dodged a few spears that had been lunged at her from behind. Somewhat startled by this development, Luna remained distracted just long enough for Sunset to fire a beam of magic at her. Though it hit her dead in the chest and sent her sprawling to the ground, the confused guard began fighting amongst themselves, each believing that the other had made an attempt on Luna's life, or was a co-conspirator all the same.

With Luna temporarily down and chaos the order of the guards, Lightning dashed over to Sunset, even as she seemed to be charging up another attack. "We need to get out of here, now, before Luna gets back up."

Luna already was back on her hooves, brushing off the small dark spot that had been Sunset's spell with a scowl on her face. "You are going to regret that move Sunset."

Sunset did not respond to either Luna or Lightning, and it was growing increasingly clear that Flash was in the same stump that she was. It did not make any sense, but Lightning was through attempting to negotiate with Sunset. If she wanted to stay and fight Luna, that was her business. Turning back towards the remainder of the group, Lightning had opened her mouth to announce that they were leaving without her.

She closed it once she noticed that both Trixie and Gilda had stepped up to flank Sunset and Flash.

Luna took note of her increasing opposition and flicked her ears. Eight members of the night guard immediately came to her side, looking far angrier than their Princess did. Lightning sighed, recalling her own words from earlier.

No guts, no glory. And with that in mind, she stood next to Trixie and took a deep breath. Why couldn't things ever just go according to plan?

Confrontation

Celestia had parted ways with Luna, intending on taking care of the intruder while Luna held down the situation at the rally. She was not surprised that all of this was happening at once, but she was a bit startled on how bold Trixie and Lightning Dust had been. Standing in the open without any sort of disguise? The two apparently had intended on being spotted, as otherwise it would make them seem rather dim.

Their efforts in the Crystal Empire proved that they were not dim in the least. Upon entering her throne room, Celestia found that it was in oddly good shape, a familiar alicorn standing and staring at the glass stained windows, awe struck. However, the pink alicorn was Princess Cadance, and that certainly did not add up.

"Cadance?" Celestia cautiously ventured, her senses entirely wired to her surroundings at this point. "What are you doing here?"

"Cadance" whirled around wide-eyed, as if caught in the middle of a shameful act. The necklace she bore, a pink-blue heart shaped gem with a golden chain attached, had an odd twinge to it. "Cadance" smiled.

"Ah, so you still do not recognize me-"

"Queen Chrysalis," Celestia corrected, slowly stepping towards her, "I should have known that you would get involved in this somehow. Did you set this all up as some elaborate payback plot?"

Transforming back to her natural form, Chrysalis gawked, but kept her distance from Celestia. Despite having the amulet, Celestia noted, Chrysalis did not seem eager to engage her as of yet. That was fine, she till had some answers to get before she sent the changeling to her final resting place.

"You could say that, but naturally, my priorities have always rested with dealing with my situation." Chrysalis found herself backed to the throne. She dared not take a seat, but she seemed more confident in being a few steps up, and thus being slightly above eye level of the tall standing Celestia. "After all, I have always despised my current kind with a resentment that landed me quite the trouble."

Celestia stopped moving, now more confused than fulfilled with the answer. "You despise changelings? What about feeding your subjects-"

"I did not actually expect to be able to overpower you back then," Chrysalis pointed out, noticing that Celestia had ceased advancing towards her. "All I wanted to do was to get rid of the last of the horde."

Now Celestia felt a deep pang of sickness in the pit of her stomach. To purposely throw away the lives of her very own, and seemingly enjoy it? "How wicked of you to take pleasure in such."

Chrysalis frowned, and for the first time since seeing it, Celestia noticed the jewel radiating, as if it were a magical relic of sorts. "I never claimed to take pleasure in it. Reversing this curse, I tried everything. I led the horde's army across foreign lands, conquered and destroyed entire races, experienced many defeats, two particularly crushing and both involving you in some way or another, and even attempted to mate a lesser of my old kind. And yet, I still remain the very monster I once persecuted in the streets."

Celestia channeled magic into her horn, having heard about enough of this rambling queen. "You stopped making sense the moment you mention a curse. However, if you want the curse to be ended so badly, why not just ask the caster?"

"Well, seeing as you blew him to several hundred pieces, that is not exactly possible."

A changeling smirked, and an alicorn once again stopped, pausing in thought. Chrysalis was going somewhere with this conversation, and there were not alot of ponies that had been blown to bits in recent times.

"When did Sombra get the time to curse you?" Celestia was unsure of whether the changeling would speak the truth, but after her little interrogation of Fleur, she felt confident that she could discern truth from fiction rather well.

"Well, simply put, he did not appreciate an exiled alicorn meddling in his affairs," Chrysalis spoke, taking a step forward, "Nor did the changelings appreciate my most noble crusade. Put those two together and I was doomed before I confronted the tyrannical king."

Celestia ran through her rather short list of exiled alicorns, and quickly ascertain the character Chrysalis spoke of. However, it made no sense that she spoke as if she and that pony were one in the same. It was not possible to permanently change a creature's species so easily as to curse them.

Then again, Sombra had sent the Empire into a different dimension for a thousand years (Or propelled it into the future, she often pondered that possibility), so it would not be that far of a stretch for him and a changeling to together do such a thing. But it still seemed very far-fetched, and certainly not in the mood to be lied to, Celestia resumed charging magic to her horn.

"Do you have any last words before this begins? I am not in the mood to be deceived."

Chrysalis laughed bitterly, tossing her mane through the air in a gesture some would argue exemplified how uneasy she was. Celestia did not care, she had been prepared for an execution that morning anyways.

Chrysalis merely put on a small smile. "So be it."

Without another word to be passed between the two, Celestia sent a bolt of magic forward. Chrysalis leapt from her place, dodging the attack. Celestia's thrown room promptly went up in flames, revealing the type of spell that Celestia had in mind for dispatching the changeling queen.

Chrysalis then sent a blast of magic forward of her own, to which Celestia met with her. The two cancelled each other out, and it immediately became clear that Chrysalis had come to this fight once again charged with love. The only question was, from what source? last time it had been Shining's great love for Cadance. However, with their deaths, it could not possibly be from that.

This display of magical blasting went on for several minutes, each attempting to best the other in force. However, finding that she was gaining no ground with this direct path, Celestia instead began focusing her magic on less direct assaults. The morning sun through her windows responded with a scorching heat, one so intense that Chrysalis was forced to the carpeted middle section of the throne room. In response, Chrysalis charged straight towards the alicorn.

The light soon went from the smoking floors and mildly sinking windows to Celestia's horn, causing Chrysalis to fire a beam of magic. Not being so easily deterred, Celestia leapt into the air, using her wings to gain just the leverage to have the attack come quite close to grazing her underside. She then let loose the bright light in a flash of sorts, completely blanketing the room in a bright yellow haze.

Temporarily blinded herself, Celestia heard the less than pleased cry of Chrysalis, as she was no doubt struck by the literally blinding attack. Screeching in agony, the sound of Chrysalis rolling on the floor announced that she had hit her mark. Returning to the ground, Celestia blinked a few times, shook her head, and found her vision returning to normal. Chrysalis on the other hand writhed in a fashion akin to the crystal ponies all those years ago when Solaria had used a very similar move.

Celestia lowered her horn towards Chrysalis, only to find a tan-gold bubble shield erected over her form. While this no doubt would have been a pointless effort against Celestia's magic, her curiosity got the better of her in finding the castor of the spell. To her surprise, a white stallion dashed up to Chrysalis' form, concern written all over his face. The blue mane and blue eyes were very much a give-away, though the three crown cutie mark cast any remaining doubt as to the stallion's identity.

Fancy Pants of all ponies was attempting to help Chrysalis? As if this was not baffling enough, he looked at Celestia as if she had committed some sort of crime. "How could you?"

How could she? She hadn't even permanently scarred the creature yet. Better yet, what was Fancy Pants even doing here?

Fancy Pants shifted so that he would be between the still agonized Queen and Celestia. "Dead is a relative term. Only Kings stay in Equestria."

An interesting point, but not one that would avert the necessary measures. Despite Celestia's attempts of attempting to get a clear shot of Chrysalis, Fancy Pants constantly moved himself in the way, likely knowing that his bubble shield would hardly stop an attack from Celestia herself.

Mild frustration began to set in when it became clear that Fancy Pants would not simply stand down on the matter. "Step aside Fancy Pants, changeling, whatever you are. Chrysalis is my target, not you." Granted, anyone helping Chrysalis would have to be eliminated anyways, but she would reserve that for after she had dealt with the main threat, whom by this point had stopped writhing in pain.

"No!" Fancy declared, embracing Chrysalis so that his back was to Celestia, "I would rather burn a thousand times than allow you to destroy my beloved Chrysalis!"

"Fancy Pants, you are not making sense!" Celestia at least could not make sense of this behavior. Even when Shining Armor had been under the influence, he had been far less apt to defending Chrysalis, and more apt to just standing around like a mindless zombie.

"Love does not have to make sense." Fancy nuzzled the queen affectionately, causing the breakfast contents to nearly escape Celestia's belly in a rush. Fancy then narrowed his eyes towards Celestia.

"I guess I have no choice then." Although it was not in her best of wishes, Celestia was determined to get rid of Chrysalis by any means necessary. She let loose her blast of magic, despite Fancy refusing to move. The searing magic cut through Fancy like a hot knife through butter, though Chrysalis had by now recovered enough to roll out of Fancy's grasp and just out of danger's path. Her mane, however, caught afire, and with a swift cut with magic, Chrysalis had dropped the flaming hair directly atop of Fancy.

Fancy howled in distress as the flames scorched at his face, sending him sprawling back into Celestia's front legs. A less sturdy pony would have been knocked back, but Celestia held firm as her foe blinked rapidly, barely able to stand on her four hooves. Fancy had bought her time, that Celestia had to admit. But it was only time.

Time that was very rapidly running out. Once again Celestia prepared a blast of magic, but before she could let loose, Fancy sunk his teeth into Celestia's right leg in some desperate attempt to stall her yet more.

Startled to say the least, Celestia yelped and reflexively kicked forward, sending Fancy flying across the throne room and directly atop the remnants of the throne.

"This ends now!" Celestia declared. Chrysalis shook her head, and leapt back. Of course, Celestia had yet to fire her magic, and assumed that Chrysalis had just made the assumption because of her statement. Time could not be drawn out any longer though, as it was clear that the Queen was slowly, but surely, recovering from the earlier attack.

Once again aiming her horn, Celestia let loose a stream of magic. Chrysalis did the same, and for just a moment, the two clashed once again. This time however, there was no clear winner for several minutes, or so it felt like. Surprised that Chrysalis could hold out for so long, Celestia analyzed her foe one last time, noticing the gem radiating almost violently as Chrysalis pumped whatever strength she had left into this attack.

In that moment, it became clear now what was going on. "The alicorn amulet," Celestia scowled, "How could I be so blind? What else could you have possibly been using to power yourself? Cadance's love magic."

"About time you figured that out." Chrysalis cringed and grunted, showing some signs of wearing out, "It is unfortunate that you need love for it to work properly. Manipulation and force can only get you so far."

"Forcing ponies to have affections for you is not love." Celestsia began stepping towards Chrysalis, adding onto the queen's strains. "That is a kind of tyranny that even Sombra is not guilty of."

"Heh." Chrysalis was to her knees now, the combined blasts edging progressively closer to her horn. "Seems like I am not going to win this. Remind Aunt Luna that crystals do not readily lose their sha-"

The blast at last overwhelmed Chrysalis, sending her hurdling. Rather than smacking into the wall, she went through it, completely smashing through the wall as if it were made of paper. A rather loud crash could be heard as she made her landing. Celestia estimated that it was somewhere in the kitchens.

She galloped in that general direction, wanting to ensure that the job was finished. After all, assumptions is what allowed the Queen to return in the first place, and she was not a fan of repeating past mistakes. At least, not if she could help it. As she passed by her throne's former place, she cast a look towards the rubble, seeing a small horn poking from underneath it. Despite her desires to get rid of Chrysalis, the princess relented and used her magic to lift some of the rubble from Fancy Pants.

The poor stallion had blood trickling from his nose and enough bruises to change his coloration to a dark blue-ish color. His eyes fluttered open, his eyes still completely unfocused. "Mmh, what was that..."

While Celestia might would have stayed for his mutterings a tad longer, as the stallion was still alive and at least conscious, she did not want to delay any longer. She leaped through the hole that Chrysalis had made, using her wings to control her motion through the air, just in case the Queen managed a second wind somehow.

Lightning Dust had not wanted to fight against Luna. But for some reason, Sunset and Flash Sentry were determined to do so. And had somehow, without speech, convinced Gilda and Trixie to join in as well. Even before the two sides clashed, Lightning knew that she would need to avoid taking on Luna directly, and instead focus on the guards. After all, she could perhaps knock them out; taking on Luna was madness though.

When the guards clashed, neither side had weapons. By the time Lightning had swiped and missed her first punch, spears entered the fray. The pointed ends were being swatted around in an attempt to clear space in the air and ground for the night guards to fit in some form of order. And it was oddly working, as Lightning was spending more time trying to dodge the spear than actually helping in the fight. This futile effort continue for some time before Lightning distanced herself from the fight by flying higher in the air.

Already they had been outnumbered before, but with her absence, the difference was beginning to show. With Trixie and Sunset focused on fighting Luna, that left Gilda and Flash to handle the other ten guards on their lonesome. The two were in bad shape, and with the spear wielder in the mix, no doubt it was only a matter of time before one went down.

However, from above, she also noticed a rather strange sight. Royal guard members were fighting among each other, as well as other unmarked ponies. A few other griffons and dragons were added into the mix, though they seemed to be mostly spectators.

It was this moment that the absence of a certain pegasus bothered her. She did not have to ponder for long on where she went, the cyan hoof connecting with her jaw likely belonging to Rainbow Dash. The force sent her spinning, but she managed to remain in flight long enough to see the rainbow streak coming for another blow. Much more prepared this time, Lightning timed a punch just as the blur looked to overtake her.

Feeling satisfied as her connected with center body, Lightning watched as Dash veered up a few feet, and then swerved back down to face Lightning head on. "That was for getting me kicked out of the Academy you bitch!"

Dash came in for another punch, but Lightning dodged it, although she did not expect Dash's wings to deliver a sucker blow to her face.

"What's coming is for nearly killing my friends back at the Academy!"

Lightning growled, and before she knew it, she was in a duel not quite of blows, but of sheer speed. In flight, everytime she or Dash attempted to land a blow on the other, they either connected with each other or veered off and dodged, neither scoring a hit. This was an indecisive manner of going about this, but Lightning felt that she could outlast Dash, matching her punch and buck. As this went on, the two did a swoop pass of each other, Lightning going for a full body tackle.

Dash apparently had the same idea, and their combined momentum ended with them running smack into each other, their heads colliding with enough force to produce a brief blackout. When the lights came back on, Lightning felt a powerful migraine dominating her thoughts, the pain radiating throughout her skull. Her body refused to rise from its place, and her disorientation only served to add injury to insult as she crashed landed atop some equine body.

Using fireworks, invisibility, and whatever stray objects had landed in the fight, Trixie had been holding her own incredibly well; she would surely boast of it later, but she certainly felt that she was doing most of the work in this fight. Lighting Dust had ascended to do whatever it was she was doing, the ten guards would have surely overwhelmed them by now had Trixie not been intervening this entire time.

Unfortunately, it did not help either Sunset or Flash. Though at first it seemed that they could hold their own against the princess, it was becoming increasingly clear by how Luna was smacking them around - quite literally - that those two were not going to last much longer. And it seemed that everytime Trixie knocked down one of the night guards, some more just took its place. Unlike the Crystal Empire, however, these night guard ponies just kept getting back up, rather than they were being replaced.

Lethal force might would have helped with that, but that would have also fortified the others even more; Trixie did not want to risk it. She could note that they would have also been overwhelmed by now had it not been for the disorder among the rest of the guards caused by what appeared to be defectors among the group. Defectors was probably the wrong choice of word though, as it was more likely that they were former Market members than they were working for a separate country altogether.

Trixie dodged yet another spear thrust from that one night guard member who had actually brought a spear to a hoof and horn fight. As annoying as he was, Trixie had yet to be able to disarm, largely because everytime she focused in his direction, he forced her to move by thrusting the spear at her. The irritating guard had finally thrust one time too many when Trixie finally took her attention from the rest of the fight just to seize the spear with her magic.

The stallion, once forcibly disarmed, found himself being smacked with the blunt end, which seemed far more effective than the hoof beatings he had gotten earlier, and this time when Trixie brought the pony down, he stayed down for a good five minutes. Five minutes would have ran forever had Luna not taken the chance to buck Trixie in the side. Her breath knocked from her, Trixie rolled a few feet until she hit the base of the stage. Before she could recover, Luna stomped a hoof onto her, horn pointed point blank range at her face.

The bright glow of her magic made it clear that Trixie had become the next target. Rather than striking immediately and ending it, she instead pressed harder on Trixie's side, eyeing the alicorn amulet around her neck. "Where did you get that?"

Though it was hard to even breath with Luna pressed into her side, Trixie still managed to get out, "Zebrack."

Luna lifted some of her weight, allowing Trixie to gasp for air. The horn mere inches from her forehead, Trixie understood that that apparently would not suffice as an answer. Since Luna's guards were more than likely dealing with the rest of the group, Trixie also figured that Luna would press her for the answer, and then finish her off, having more than enough time to spare.

"Shortly after being bested, Trixie tracked down that zebra to her hideaway in the Everfree Forest. We had a brief chat, and Trixie went on her way without the amulet. Came back later with Lightning Dust and bargained for it."

"Bargained?" Luna seemed confused, rightfully so, as the idea of Zecora bargaining for the alicorn amulet seemed unlikely. After all, it was not just an ordinary relic. "What could you have possibly bargained for that would have gotten that zebra to just hoof over the amulet?"

"Why she got to keep it is the better question." Trixie cackled, but Luna did not seem amused.

"Take off the amulet. I am not above reducing you and the amulet to pointless pieces of ash and jewelry, respectively."

Trixie, beginning to feel sweat drip from her forehead, inquired, "Well, I have to take it off willingly, and you are kind of pinning me down-"

"Your horn mare." Luna had a no-nonsense increase in weight on the hoof keeping Trixie pinned.

"Just out of curiosity, why not just kill me and take the amulet then?" Trixie knew she was stalling for time already borrowed, but it sure beat giving up the amulet and getting reduced to ashes anyways.

"That would send the magic back to the creator of the amulet. Presuming the creator is dead, I believe it would return to the source of the magic in the first place. Either way, you would not get out alive with that option."

It seemed like a lose-lose situation. After all, there was nothing binding to Luna that she would not waste Trixie after the amulet is surrendered. After all, the alicorns had been prepared for an execution or two today, it would hardly be any different in practice. Then again, at least if she surrendered, there would be a chance of escaping this unscathed. Despite her mind screaming for her to take her chances, Trixie reluctantly began taking off the amulet, wrapping her magic around the clasp.

Just as the amulet clicked, a shadow overtook Luna. Hardly a second later, the alicorn had been slammed by the falling Lightning Dust with Luna's beam of magic shooting from her horn, giving Trixie a very close shave and the stage a shallow trench.

Trixie, putting a hoof to her head with the feeling that she had gotten overtly lucky, delayed re-donning the amulet just long enough for the same fate to befall her, Rainbow Dash dropping atop of her like a dead weight.

The Broken Arch

When Celestia stepped into the place where her foe had fallen, she found something most unusual before her. A confused Blueblood and a mare lying on the ground, in the dead center of a room filled with the cutie mark of the stallion.

"Princess Celestia," Blueblood bowed, eyeing the strange mare at his hooves, "This is not what it looks like."

"Where is Chrysalis?" Celestia peered around the room, though kept an eye on Blueblood in case Chrysalis had swiftly shifted forms.

"At your hooves." The mare spoke, startling Blueblood and Celestia alike. She pitifully rose her head, only for it to drop, as if a string had pulled it back into its proper place on the ground.

"What?" Blueblood seemed surprised, and with a cautious hoof, turned the mare over from her stomach to her side. There, still stubbornly attached to the mare, was the pink-blue, heart-shaped amulet. A crimson stained the floor and the pristine white coat, the grey and yellow mane bearing no semblance of the previous form it had taken.

"What is this?" Celestia demanded, stomping her hooves in anger, "Even so close to death you still mock me with your deception!"

The alicorn chuckled, magenta eyes meeting that of Celestia's with a twinkle left in them. With a smile, she croaked, "Give my regards to Sunset Shimmer."

With a final gasp, the pony finally ceded, becoming still, even as Celestia quizzically attempted to decipher the meaning of the message. In a bright flash, the gem shattered, releasing a large ball of magic. Celestia stepped back as it flew up into the sky, shattering the roof and sending debris down onto Blueblood.

Normally the prince would have been very distraught, but it seemed that his mind was elsewhere. The heart-shaped jewel shattered, leaving behind nothing but dust in its wake. Celestia looked towards Blueblood apologetically. "Perhaps I should have changed my aim, I did not expect you to still be here in your chamber."

"It is fine," Blueblood replied, looking about his ruined quarters, "I have come to expect madness whenever you call for a public event and invite any ruffian from outside Canterlot."

Celestia and Blueblood shared a laugh at the notion. Celestia then frowned, as she recalled that Fancy Pants was still in the throne room. "Well, I had best be off. Be careful now."

"Of course." Blueblood bowed, and Celestia took her leave from the room.

Leaping through the same hole as before, she went to her throne to find a limping Fancy Pants already on his way out. When he noticed Celestia he turned and limped a quarter of the way to her, Celestia trotting the remainder of the way. "Fancy Pants, how are you feeling?"

It was the question of the hour; Celestia might would have sworn that her magic had just went through his body only a few minutes ago. No such sign of that injury was on him, not to mention he very well should not have been alive after that.

"I feel like I was just thrown halfway across this hall. I have the most terrible of migraines, though it is naught in comparison to the one I had a few weeks ago."

"That is a good thing." Celestia would have rushed off to check on the status of things outside, but the mildly burned and bruised Fancy Pants was truly a sight for sore eyes. He would have to be attended to before she got hasty. After all, Luna could handle the matter for just a little while longer after all. Not to mention she needed to find out why he was not a dead stallion.

Back outside, the royal guard had begun to re-establish some semblance of order; many of the guardspony who had been acting strangely became dazed, just long enough for them to be captured. Crystal ponies, however, had begun to rally more in a group, and had quickly descended on the injured badly outnumbered and outmatched Gilda, Flash, and Sunset.

What made matters worse was that both Sunset and Flash suddenly went into a haze, dazed just long enough to be overwhelmed by the unarmed ponies. A blast of light flew from the castle, and descended upon the group, scattering the crystal ponies.

Sunset had regained some control over her body and mind, but the attack of the dazzling lights had only just begun. She had braced for the worst, but rather than meeting her end, she felt a surge of magic course through her body. In a bright, dazzling flash, she felt as if the very bones in her body would melt under the extreme heat that surrounded her form.

It was but for a few moments, and in that short time, she felt a weariness unlike anything she had ever experienced before. Exhaustion beyond comprehension. Her heart rate slowed, her vision fogged, and before she could stop herself, she hit the ground, once again losing all feeling and form.

Gilda shook her head clear, the dazzling lights from earlier more than enough to disorient her. Why there were crystal ponies surrounding them was a mystery, but hearing Flash gasp in alarm brought her attention to Sunset Shimmer. A few burning embers swirled around her, her coat having taken on the same crimson coloration that her mane stripes previously held. Her mane remained largely the same, and her horn had taken on the same color change as before.

However, what likely brought on the gasp from Flash were the newly attached pair of wings, their tips tinted a far darker crimson than her coat. When the mare stood, her eyes opened wide. Gilda sighed in relief, for the only thing off about her eyes was a mild blue glow. Had her eyes been also turned red or something of the sort, Gilda might would have had to inquire about what just happened.

Wait, what did just happen? "Sunset, are you alright?" Gilda inquired, rising to her feet and flapping at her wings, "You look, erhm, different."

"And different I feel as well!" Sunset boomed in a volume quite unnecessary considering that Gilda was hardly five pony lengths from her. "Tell me, what do you see?"

"I see a mistake that needs to be corrected."

All eyes turned towards Luna, who had brushed off Lightning Dust onto Rainbow Dash and Trixie and now approached Sunset dangerously, scowl on her face. "I knew we should have dealt with you before something like this occurred."

Luna took flight, as did Sunset, it becoming clear what was next to occur.

"I think we should move away from here." The crystal ponies were in unison on that, and scampered away from the upcoming battle. The wind began howling, and despite the sun shining as it normally did on a clear sky, a crack of thunder could be heard in the distance. Gilda, eyeing the discarded pegasi and Trixie, began to slowly creep over to them, fearing that one hasty move would have her be the victim of the first blast.

"So Luna, how about we have a proper round 2?" Sunset jeered, still not reducing her volume from earlier "This time as equals!"

"Foal!" Luna shot back with just as much volume and intensity, "I suggest you get in line, because I only have one equal!"

While Gilda would have loved to watch these two go back and forth, she found it more imperative to wake up Lightning Dust and Trixie. Dash was optional, but no sooner had she reached the trio did they all begin to wake at once. Convenient, as already blasts of stray magic began to fly about in a manner akin to a shower of arrows being careless shot at a single enemy of great speed and agility.

"You three had best get on you hooves," Gilda warned, prodding all three of them to help get the point across, "This is about to get nasty."

Dash's eyes focused in on the battle above, and her mouth fell open in surprise. "Wait, is Sunset Shimmer-"

"Yes, now let's go!" Gilda roughly hauled Dash from atop of Trixie. Lightning had managed to get to her hooves on her lonesome, though she held her head in pain.

"Where did you have in mind?" Trixie inquired, "Trixie has been waiting weeks to see Sunset Shimmer fight as an alicorn, and you are trying to usher Trixie away from it? To hell with it, Trixie is staying to watch if it kills her."

"Speaking of that, where is your alicorn amulet?" Dash was the only one to notice this, for some odd reason.

Trixie put a hoof to her chest, recalling that she had unclasped it earlier. "Buck, I must have forgotten to put it back on! Luna might have taken it."

Eyes back to the sky, Gilda became confident that Luna did not have it, or at least was not wearing it. As she flew about in circles and figure eights trying to blast Sunset, and the latter attempting to do the same, no sign of the alicorn amulet could be seen. However, the sign of the crystal ponies regrouping near the train station signaled the proper direction for Gilda to be headed.

"Well, if you want to stay and get blast-"

"Wait, what if Princess Celestia intervenes?" Lightning interrupted, staring up at the fight with a look of confusion, "Sunset cannot possibly take on both them, especially since she isn't acquainted to her powers yet."

"Wait, why is she flying so well?" Dash inquired, "Twilight had to literally learn how to fly before she could do even half those stunts. What is going on here?"

"When you are ascended to alicorn, your coat is not supposed to so radically change." The group turned to see Fleur walking off stage, having apparently stuck around for the fireworks. She looked exhausted yet still, but a renewed vigor had brought her onboard. "Sunset supposedly turned into a demon back when she stole the element of magic. I would not be surprised if a similar manifestation occurred when she stole alicorn magic."

"But she does not look like a demon," Gilda pointed out, "I mean, yeah, she got some crimson on her, but that doesn't make her a demon."

"This fight cannot continue," Fleur concluded, "Even if Celestia were to stay out of it, Sunset cannot win like this. She is likely not even conscious."

"Oh shit, are you speaking alter egos?" Flash had now joined the conversation, no doubt feeling left out with most everyone else grouping up and observing from a relatively safe distance. "Does that mean she might have a chance here?"

"Either their aim is pitiful or they are just dragging this out," Trixie dully stated, "They have hit just about everything in this square but each other and us."

"Flash, if she were to beat or worse kill Luna, Celestia would leave nothing left of her or us for that matter," Fleur pointed out, "I am concerned about my daughter, but bear in mind that Celestia cares about very little if anything more than she does her sister. Sunset literally cannot win, for if she were to 'win' in her fight, she would certainly lose to a wrathful Celestia."

"So how do we stop the fight?" Dash asked, "I can go get Twilight."

"No, Twilight would just fight Sunset as well!" Gilda pointed out, "And that would not help our cause."

"Who cares about you and your cause?" Dash challenged, pointing a hoof towards Gilda, "This is so much bigger than that you backstabber!"

"If I were to stab you in the back, you would know it," Gilda scoffed, "Besides, I'm more of a blunt trauma kind of fighter."

"Uh, is anyone else thinking that they are getting awfully high in the sky?" Trixie stated, putting a hoof to shade her eyes, "Sunset is holding out, but Luna has definitely got her in art. Even in flight Trixie can't shake that grace with a wand."

Lightning smacked Trixie in the back of the head, much to the unicorn's irritation. "What was that for?"

"We are not here to stargaze Trixie," Lightning firmly stated, "As Fleur said, we need to stop this fight. Which means we need to reverse whatever spell turned Sunset into this in the first place."

"That would kill her," Trixie stated objectively, "Not to mention we neither have the runes nor the spellbook."

"Well, Celestia confiscated the latter, but I think I have a better idea," Fleur stated, "I just need a few seconds with Sunset."

"Alright, here is what we are going to do, if you all are up for it." Lightning looked around to see any opposition. Naturally, Dash was the only one to really oppose this leadership call.

"And who is to say that you are not going to attack Luna while you are at it?" Dash accused, " Or cause a bunch of collateral."

"Please, those two would cause more collateral then whatever Lightning has planned," Gilda points out, "Now, if you do not want to at least hear her out, you can go ahead and fly on and get your princess out of her castle. If not, shut up and let her do her thing."

Dash oddly enough did not retaliate, and merely eyed Lightning suspiciously.

Perhaps now granted more confidence, Lightning proceeded. "Whatever Fleur is going to do, it likely requires her to have some 1v1 time with her... daughter." It apparently had just now sunk in what Fleur had said earlier, and though curiosity likely gnawed at her like an angry horse fly, she pressed on. "Anyways, in order to do that, we need to bring their fight back to earth. Only way to do that is to bring one of them closer to the ground. We do not have much time, because the moment Celestia enters the fray, we are all boned."

"Boned?" Trixie clearly was confused by the term.

Gilda was more than happy to enlighten their unicorn friend. "Boned equals screwed, fucked, so out of luck-"

"I think she gets it," Lightning broke in, "May I continue?"

Gilda nodded.

"Anyways, I and Gilda will fly up and mock fight with Dash until the two alicorns get comfortable with the thought of us up there. Then I and Dash will tackle Sunset to the ground while Gilda makes sure Luna doesn't come horn at the ready-"

"What the-"

"Let me finish." Lightning looked towards Gilda critically in saying this, her objection here for obvious reasons. "Trixie, without the alicorn amulet, you can still do tricks right? Help Gilda in any way that you can. Fleur, make sure that spell is ready for action, because the window will be small. Any objections?"

"Yeah, what if Trixie can't help me?" Gilda inquired, "I can not take on an alicorn by myself."

"You have doubt in the great and powerful Trixie, who covered your asses when you left without me?" Trixie put on a scowl, no doubt recalling that. "Least you could have done was come back with Lightning to get me."

"That's Gilda for ya," Dash commented.

"Save it Dash," Gilda commented, "Someone had to make sure Sunset didn't lose her head early, and give her the amulet."

"Time," Fleur gently reminded the group, seeing the two alicorns becoming mere dots in the sky.

"Alright, let's do this then."

Lightning Dust took a deep breath, in part to ease her headache, and in part to loosen her nerves. How to force Sunset to the ground had started out easy, just tackle her. However, now that she saw Sunset beginning to summon orbs of fire and throw them at Luna, whom nimbly dodged them, it was becoming more and more clear that such a straightforward plan would not work.

Just as the three, Lightning, Gilda, and Dash, took off, she also considered one more aspect. The royal guards, who no doubt were staying out of the fight simply because it was two alicorns going at each other, were not going to sit back and watch supposed enemies intervene in the fight. However, before Lightning's plan could get that far off the ground, a screech was heard as Luna at last landed a blast on Sunset.

Sunset dramatically lost altitude, with Luna in hot pursuit.

"Change of plans!" Lightning shouted, her mind working its gears to figure a solution, "Dash, you remember that tornado we made back at the Academy?"

"Yes, but like Tartarus if I am going to do it again with you, not with so many other ponies around." Dash seemed resolute on this. Since Dash was the only pony she had ever met that could keep up with her, it would be impossible to do the tornado without her.

"All it takes is two right?" Gilda looked resolutely towards Lightning, though the latter had to slow down in order to meet her gaze. "I am slower, but give me a head start and I think I can substitute."

"That is nuts!" Dash insisted, "Gilda, you could hardly even race with me, what makes you think you could handle it?"

"I would rather try than get captured again," Gilda pointed out.

Lightning noticed that, as she had been concerned about, winged royal guards of both shifts had taken to the air, and were in hot pursuit. Pretending to fight with Dash was supposed to be happening right about now, but this arguing had made it difficult to stay on track. Even if they did start to fight with her now, Dash would very quickly have backup from the royal guards.

"Alright, go ahead." With the nod from Lightning Dust, Gilda set off.

Not shockingly, Dash looked as if she prepared to intervene. Lightning would have moved to block her, but a blast of magic split between the two, causing them both to veer off their intended course. This was fine, as now all Lightning had to do was to join the formation that Gilda had slowly, but surely, begun to whip up.

Flying in, the difference in flight speed became apparent almost immediately. Lightning slowed her pace, even as the wind cut against her eyes. She could not see Gilda's progress, but she did know that her plan was not shaping up as she had intended. Though it took much longer than usual, a wide spinning vortex began to form, the tornado surely taking up form. At this much slower speed, Lightning had much better control over the relative direction of the tornado.

That would prove a shallow victory, for even as she directed it upwards, the sound of cackling flames began to sound.

"That is not a part of the plan." Trixie had observed things going from bad to worse, with Gilda and Lightning Dust veering off to start the creation of a tornado. Dash, along with many of the guards, flew away from the tornado, especially once it began to pick up in intensity. Sunset, recovering from her earlier hit, turned her fall into a nose dive straight for the tornado. Rather than flying through it, she launched several fireballs towards it.

"No no no!" Trixie clamored, Sunset attempting to fly back upwards. But whatever force had possessed her apparently did not have the flight strength of her pegasus counterparts, and instead got sucked into the tornado as well. From there, the flames ignited the tornado into a bright vortex. Luna managed to avoid being caught, but the tornado began spinning madly out of control, descending ever closer towards the stage and hurling its creators from its grip.

Fleur and Trixie did not need much more of an indication in order for them to hastily gallop away, narrowly avoiding the sucking winds and fiery winds. Fleur skidded to a halt, and began heading towards the tornado. Trixie continue to gallop, using her magic to attempt to prevent Fleur from being sucked into the vortex. She lost her grip on the mare though, and just as it seemed she would fly to her doom, the tornado dissipated, leaving a burning stage, a flying unicorn to land roughly onto the stage, and Sunset Shimmer.

Gilda and Lightning Dust literally dropped from the sky, with Dash not far behind to catch and reduce their fall. While she floated them more gently to the ground, Trixie could see the smoke rising from their coats, their close call no doubt going to be recalled for some time. With that done, Trixie trotted over to where Sunset was literally shaking off the ashes, her body seemingly unharmed by the flames.

Upon closer inspection, however, it was clear that she had suffered some nasty burns, though nothing fatal it seemed. Fleur hopped onto the stage, and from the corner of her eye, Trixie spotted Luna descending for the killing blow. Or blows, she was unsure of how many it would take to finish Sunset off at this point, nor did she really want to find out.

Channeling magic to her horn, Trixie fired off a small blast of magic, it bursting into a colorful fireworks display. This distracted Luna just long enough for Sunset to shake off her stunned state and rise again to her hooves. Before she could re-engage, Fleur had arrived onto that section the burning stage, meticulously avoiding the flames as if they were sentient being capable of reaching out to her if she got too close.

Since the mare was flammable, that would not be a very far-fetched assumption. Trixie turned to look back towards Gilda, Lightning Dust, and Dash, seeing that they were at least moving, trotted to reinforce Fleur. The royal guards, despite their earlier inclination to intervene, now seemed drawn to the train station.

Taking note of that Trixie backed off as a particular flame lashed out at her, as if her interference would be a most fiery experience. She attempted again, this time realizing that the reason for Fleur's actions was not just because the stage was on fire; the still not on fire parts were scorching hot, and practically burnt the hooves to touch. Leaping from the stage, Trixie reasoned that Fleur must have lost all feeling in her hooves to be able to walk on that stage in that manner for as long as she did.

She attuned her ears to what sounded like somepony singing. She did a double-take, and realized that Fleur indeed was singing to Sunset. Despite the cackling of the flames, despite what looked to be an inevitable consuming of both mares, Fleur stood atop the pedestal and sung, horn brightly lit all the same.

The singing voice reminded her of a mother attempting to soothe her foal after a bad night of foul dreams. The lyrics seemed more attuned to a melody intended to soothe the foal back to sleep.

Rest now dear one, mother's here. Though the fires of affliction surround us, fret not. I am not always there to hold you, but I am here now. So take flight monsters from your worst nightmare, and let rest overcome you. Sleep now, my love.

Much to Trixie's surprise, Sunset actually seemed to be drifting to sleep. She returned to her regular color scheme, and as if the fires around her were a chorus of sorts, she plopped onto the stage with a smile on her face, even with Fleur merely repeating the same verse yet again.

Trixie had heard of hypnosis before, but that was the only explanation for what she just witnessed. Fleur nuzzled Sunset just Luna arrived, the flames dissipating with her landing.

"Your timing could have been better, but I won't complain." Luna had a small frown on her face yet still. "Now step aside. This must be done."

Fleur did a full 180, defensively blocking Sunset from Luna's visage. Seeing as Sunset was both in a low posture and curled up, it was surprisingly effective despite the two nearly being the same size as each other. "She is calmed now-"

"And when she wakes up and sees herself as an alicorn, she will no doubt plot and scheme." Luna's frown seemed to grow. "That short engagement may have been her under the influence, but that does not excuse what she did to get here. This ends now."

Trixie then noticed something very odd. The sky indeed was blue, but it was taking on an ever brighter blue, and rapidly as well. She could also feel a powerful magic, one that she could only describe as that from a relic of sorts preparing to let loose its power.

"If Trixie might suggest, maybe Sunset is not the only problem that we have here?" Trixie was naturally ignored, despite the growing strength of the presence.

"If you wish to destroy her, you will have to go through me first," Fleur declared, "I beg of you-"

Luna sighed, her horn lit. "Always the hard way with unicorns." With her own magical strength she shoved Fleur aside, the smoldering stage beginning to creak under its burden. "Worry not, she will not suffer long."

Gilda, Lightning, and Dash galloped to both of Trixie's flanks, the first two arriving a whole minute after Dash had.

Gilda had several clean patches in her coat, her wing feathers were ruffled, scorched, and otherwise touched by fire. Lightning merely had a few burns here and there, but otherwise seemed to be in better shape than Gilda. Dash was, naturally, unscathed.

"What happened?" Gilda demanded to know, "Why is Sunset taking a nap when Luna is about to execute her?"

"Fleur apparently sang her to sleep," Trixie suggested. She had not felt drowsy by the song, but it was the fastest way of explaining to them what just happened.

"Damn, who's side is she on then?" Lightning prepared ready to charge, but Dash put a hoof out to deter her.

"If you guys want to leave, you might as well. Sunset is done."

"Wait, where is Flash Sentry?" Trixie had noticed this only just now. The stallion had not been included in the plan, and already they had completely overlooked his presence altogether. They searched around some before they noticed that he was now on stage, dashing straight towards Luna and Sunset.

"Don't tell me-" Lightning started.

Just as Luna let loose her magical blast, Flash stepped in between the two, upon impact being flung off and behind the stage. He made no yelp, no cry, merely the sound of him rolling and landing on the ground.

"Flash!" Fleur cried out vainly. Luna was already preparing another blast when a streak of blue light shot out from the direction of the train station. Faster than the eye could blink, the blast struck Luna, sending her careening off into the castle, smashing through one of the walls and disappearing from view.

Dumbstruck for a few moments, Trixie could hardly register this oddity when Lightning exclaimed, "Get Sunset and let's buck out!"

"What about Flash?" Dash inquired, as if she were among those Lightning had addressed, "Do you even care?"

"I do care Dash, but I care more about getting my team off of the table before the next spin." Lightning did not allow any further room for disagreement as she set off into the air, likely to prepare their means of transportation. Since it was a clear day, Trixie personally wished Lightning good luck with that and once again approached the stage. Gilda stayed behind while Trixie levitated the still sleeping Sunset in her magic, hovering her up and away from the still cackling flames.

Fleur stepped between the two with a critical look. "Luna and Celestia are the only reasons I am going to allow this. Take good care of her."

Trixie nodded, not entirely out of compliance, but more out of desire to get a move on. Fleur stepped away, and Trixie hopped off stage with Sunset in tow. Dash scowled at Gilda and then flew off to address Flash. Fleur moved in that general direction, and Gilda scowled at Dash in return. Trixie saw no point in this, since obviously Dash would not have seen it by now.

Much to her surprise, Lightning Dust had already returned, though she did not come with a cloud. "Well, the train station and cloud are out. Looks like we're taking the long way out of here."

"Do we have that kind of time?" Gilda inquired, "It will not take them long to return attention to us."

"Considering that the entire royal guard is engaging crystal ponies at the train station, I think we have very little to worry about in that regard," Lightning pointed out, "Whatever that blast of blue magic was, it came from those crystal ponies."

"Then let us make haste!" Trixie announced, rearing up, "Sunset is not going to carry herself!"

Aftermath

"... And that is all that I know regarding this." Fancy Pants concluded as Celestia finished tying another set of bandages around his waist. "I swear it."

Celestia rose and sighed. She had not expected to hear as much as she had, but now it was all becoming too clear. No matter how many times they attacked it, that shadow never ceased to rest and let well enough alone with the living.

"Fleur had that book and Sunset's saddlebags. She even willingly allowed a changeling into her occupation. She is almost as involved in what is going on as Sunset is."

"Well you know the saying Princess," Fancy Pants chuckled, "Like mother like daughter."

Celestia sighed. She had never cared much for that saying, particularly back when there were still ponies who remembered what her mother was like. "Either way, all of these coincidences are adding up to one thing. Sombra's warning. The crystal ponies treachery would have hardly been a problem had the Market not dipped its talons into the matter."

"Well, you did outlaw it in Equestria, and crossing the sea was not much of an option," Fancy pointed out, "Most simply dissolved and blended back in. Others, like Fleur, were outright ruined by it. I still don't see why they would want Shining Armor and Cadance out of the way."

"Their removal were orchestrated in order to return those back to the question of who would rule them," Celestia mused, "As we have seen in just these past few days, they are not too keen on being ruled by myself and Luna directly."

"Well, they do not have much choice." Fancy Pants sat back onto his haunches, pawing at the floor. "Without the crystal heart, they are just a bunch of regular earth ponies with a complaint."

It then occurred to Celestia that, during all of this hubbub, she had instructed her guards to keep a lookout for any suspicious activity. Now that it seemed to her that things were winding down, now would be a good time to investigate as to why crystal ponies had come to Canterlot in the first place.

"Princess!" a voice shouted, redirecting Celestia's and Fancy's attention to the hole that had been earlier made. "There is an issue!"

"Spit it out Blueblood." Celestia had hoped that he had already left the castle, but it seems that he was still lurking about.

"Princess Luna's room has been ransacked!" Blueblood said in alarm, "It does not look like they took anything material, but a great amount of magic has gathered outside."

Celestia tilted her head. "How did her chamber get intruded upon in the first place? Are there any guards in this castle still?" She would have to do some serious inspections on the quality of her royal guards after this was over.

"Well, that is the thing, the castle is completely abandoned," Blueblood sheepishly stated, "In case you have not noticed, it is very quiet in here, and very loud outside."

"Hm." Abandoned? Well no wonder no guard had yet to inform her of some terrible disaster. Just as her thoughts wrapped around disaster, one flew right through her castle walls, sliding over her carpet, rolling up in it, and ending up as a bundle at her hooves.

That disaster, however, looked an awful lot like Luna. Celestia hurriedly unrolled the carpet to reveal Luna, with a particularly bad scorch mark on her side. "Luna!" Celestia cried out, "What has happened?"

Luna's eyes fluttered open for a few moments before closing again. Upon close inspection, it was clear that it was a magical strike to her side that had sent her flying into the castle in such a fashion.

"I must have underestimated Sunset Shimmer," Celestia spoke aloud, "If she is capable of this."

"Should we leave?" Blueblood inquired, seeing Celestia's facial expression go from pleasant to morbid in far less time than he preferred.

"I will attend to Luna. I want everypony to find her-" Celestia paused, and then looked to Blueblood. "Find them. All five of them. And tell the Captain of the Guard to report to me at once."

Blueblood nodded and fled the room, the brooding alicorn not one to be tampered with. Celestia channeled magic to her horn, and began working on healing Luna's injury. Though it was not lethal by any means, it had been strong enough to physically leave a mark. "I should have personally executed her when I had the chance," Celestia grimaced, "First a changeling appears as an imposter of my daughter Nimba, now Sunset has the power to severely injure Luna?"

Fancy Pants wanted to leave right behind Blueblood, but proximity disallowed him from simply leaving without drawing Celestia's attention. As a result, when he tried to creep from the room, Celestia shot a look to him. "Fancy. You are not back in my graces, but I have something for you to do. Take that corpse to the library. There should be a group of ponies with Princess Cadance's body there; drop that corpse to them. They shall know what I want from it."

As much as Fancy wanted to ask if he really had to do such a thing, Celestia's intense stare convinced him not to disagree. The stallion scampered to obey. Celestia gave another look to Luna's pained face, ears folding back.

if you must betray them, put them out of their misery, lest their hatred and vengeance make you slaves once more.

Sombra's words echoed in Celestia's head again. No, Sunset could not have gotten strong enough for this. Not yet anyways. Luna's room being sacked, her possession of the Crystal Heart, and more importantly, the fact that Sunset still should have been incredibly weak stacked that this could not have possibly been done by Sunset.

There was only one other explanation then. One other conclusion that justified what she was about to order. "Always the hard way," Celestia sighed, stroking her sister's mane tenderly. Luna had had the Heart, but Blueblood had clearly not noticed it anywhere in her room. Presuming she kept it in her chambers, that meant that the crystal ponies had stolen it during the mayhem.

And if that was their plan all along, using all else as merely a distraction, then that meant that they were capable and willing of far worse than theft of what was rightfully theirs. And that was something that could not be allowed to continue.

"Where are we going?" Gilda inquired as the group ended up at the train station.

Crystal ponies and royal guards alike were fighting, a large, blue, heart-shaped gem apparently being the center of attention.

"Well, we are not going to be able to fly out of this," Lightning pointed out, "We are catching the train. Whether these ponies like it or not."

"Defend the Heart!" one of the crystal ponies shouted, putting up a rather bold defense around the heart. The guard, mostly content to have the thieves contained, hardly noticed the sizable group that boarded the train.

Trixie and Lightning went to the conductor's car. A mare of about mid-age was at the helm, and she seemed surprised to find a glowing horn pointed directly at her head.

"Get going. We do not have all day." Trixie threatened.

"Err, I was ordered not to go anywhere yet," the mare stated calmly, "the guards do not want to risk any ruffians escaping Canterlot. If you attack me, you will only draw attention to yourselves."

Trixie had no trouble blasting the mare in the face, though she more of dazzled her than killed her. Replacing the dazed mare as conductor and merely pushing her aside, Trixie and Lightning Dust soon found a problem in their logic, other than the possibility that the mare had spoken the truth regarding attention.

"Err, do you know how to drive a train?" Lightning inquired.

"Um, no, that is not in Trixie's trick book."

Pulling the dazed mare up from her position, Lightning threatened, "Tell us how to operate the train or we will have to get lethal!"

The mare shook her head clear, and seeing Trixie ready up another blast, she reasoned it would be less time consuming to tell them. "It is very straightforward. That lever there controls both the speed and the pace of the train. Only thing you have to worry about is warning passengers of unfavorable conditions-"

Lightning hurled the mare from the train car before she even finished. With an eager hoof, she pushed the lever forward, starting the engine on the train. "Oh, so it is that kind of train," Lightning commented, "I should have known. I don't think it takes two to operate."

"I will keep an eye on the back," Trixie looked out, just in case they had indeed drawn any attention, "Put us on full blast."

The train began pulling away from the station, slowly but ever so surely. The guards, noticing this, cried out for the conductor to stop. Lightning merely pushed to full throttle, rocketing the group out of the station and on towards the first tunnel of the trip. Trixie was thrown forward to her destination, her momentum stopped by Gilda, who managed to catch her by the tail before she could go flying out the back train car and back to the train station.

"Easy there Trixie, we don't want you leaving us so soon," Gilda jested as she returned the mare to stable ground, "What pony drives this thing like this? I think my stomach might have shifted places."

"Lightning Dust is driving."

"Oh great," Gilda moaned, "Fortune favor us for this ride, and let it not be our last."

Flash lay unmoving where his body had rested for the past few minutes. Fleur put a hoof to his muzzle in solace. Dash merely stood in stunned silence, confusion riddling her face.

"This, is her brother?"

Fleur moved her hoof further down to his neck before lowering her head to his still open muzzle. He was still breathing, though rather shallowly.

"Thank Celestia you wear armor wherever you go," Fleur scowled, using her magic to lift him. "Rainbow Dash is it? Help me get him to the infirmary-"

Flash coughed, spurts of blood landing on Fleur's muzzle. Dash gasped, and Fleur gently lowered him back to the ground. His eyes opened, his gaze resting on Fleur.

"Figures you would be the one standing over me," Flash joked, "You did say you would let me join my parents in Las Pegasus one way or another."

"I did not intend on this to happen!" Fleur shot, unwittingly raising her voice, "Celestia came into what used to be a thriving parlor and practically ordered me to surrender incriminating evidence about my own daughter! How was I supposed to know that she would turn into a demon from some mystical force?"

Flash hacked and coughed, that temporarily serving as the response to Fleur.

"Nobody is blaming you," Dash pointed out, "It is just that you looked pretty ragged for a model. Just saying."

Fleur shot Dash a look, but not before Flash began speaking again. "Naw, you look better stress, broke, and ready to cry. I can see why Dad hopped on that flank. Heh."

He coughed some more, and with a hoof prodded Fleur's stomach. "Fleur, you know Chrysalis right?"

"What is your request?" Fleur inquired, dodging the question.

Flash chuckled, and then said, "You know that mare that you sold Sword for the sake of the Crystal Tavern?"

"They were one in the same."

Dash seemed surprised, but Flash merely chuckled. "Figures you would already know that. But what you don't know; is that that mare is laying in Celestia's castle right now."

Fleur neighed in surprise, catching even Dash off guard with her reaction. "What? But how-"

"I don't have enough time to fully explain," Flash cackled, coughing up a storm inbetween sentences, "Ask Lightning Dust when you catch her next about that. But as for Shining, do not be shocked if he ends up in griffon talons by tomorrow."

"What value is his body?" Fleur inquired, "I do not understand, two dead ponies-"

"Neither of them are actually dead are they?" Dash's conclusion brought a smile and a nod from Flash, even as he rested his head back onto the ground.

"Dash, tell Spitfire to go back to the Crystal Empire Barracks. Before the invasion."

"Invasion?" Now Dash was the one confused, but rather than give an answer, Flash merely closed his eyes. Fleur sighed, and once again picked him up in her magic.

"We have delayed enough. We need to get him some proper attention before he dies for real. Sunset would never forgive me if I just watched him die trying to explain all of this madness to us."

Much against his better judgement, Fancy not only complied with Celestia's order, but also made sure not to drag the body the entire way. The alicorn-looking creature clearly had some issues, for already her wings were beginning to fall apart at the seams, and her horn seemed about ready to snap from the weight of death.

Not to mention the body was beginning to smell. That combined with the noxious fumes from the library nearly dropped the stallion like a fly. When he burst open the grand doors leading to the study, he found that the center of it was occupied by eight ponies, all studying Cadance's body as if it were some sort of science project.

Hell, for all he knew or cared at the time, maybe it was.

"Celestia ordered me to drop this off to you," Fancy declared, dropping the body to the floor in front of him while trying to contain his breakfast, "Now if you excuse me, I think I need a few showers."

"Fancy Pants!" one of the ponies called, "Are you returning to Celestia anytime soon?"

As much as he wanted to say no, he knew he would have to pass by her throne room on his way out anyways. "Yes."

"Tell her that this pegasus has been identified," the pony announced, "She is not Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. She is Dusk Wind."

"What, who?" Now Fancy Pants was interested, though his breakfast attempted to make an escape once more. "What does that mean?"

"It means the body that Lightning Dust threw off the cloud was not who it was dressed up to be," one of the ponies retorted, showing the snapped off horn as a sort of proof, "No lie though, we were fooled at first sight too. It was not until we did the identity test did we notice the cutie mark beneath the disguise was off."

Good old identity test. One of the few of Starswirl's prototype spells perfected by Celestia that Fancy knew a decent deal about. "Well, Celestia thinks that this corpse here may prove to be a surprise. It used to be Queen Chrysalis, but that is hard to believe really seeing as it is now-"

"That is definitely not a changeling," one of the ponies scoffed, "Fool, dead changelings revert to their normal form."

"Fool?" Who did that pony think they were calling 'fool'? "I will have you know that I am merely the messenger, not the composer."

"Anyways," one of the earlier speakers broke in, eager to prevent a confrontation, "Bring the corpse over here. We shall do a nobility test first, since, you know, it looks like an alicorn and all, even if only just hardly"

"Who would we compare it with though?"

"Celestia and Luna obviously."

Fancy Pants rolled his eyes and levitated the corpse towards the table as the pony investigators removed the other body from their study table. For it being a corpse holder, it was surprisingly clean and devoid of excessive decay. Fancy was mildly impressed by this, the cleanliness of this profession.

Setting it down, he backed off as the table suddenly became a rune-riddled pedestal, magic surrounding the corpse.

A bright flash of green light, and then a brief darkness, after which the library doors slammed shut behind Fancy. Alarmed, he began backing away once the pedestal began glowing ominously, revealing a group of changelings. One stood out among them, and it was not just because it was the tallest.

"It can't be-" Fancy turned and prepared to attempt an escape, but magic already had his tail. With a strong tug, the stallion was hauled back towards the table.

"Guards!" Fancy shouted once before being silenced by a magical muzzle. Flipped onto his back, the stallion could only helplessly accompany the corpse atop the pedestal, much to the utter delight of the changelings surrounding him. The tallest of them, the green and dark grey one who was supposed to be the creature next to him, hopped onto the pedestal, standing like a hunter having finally cornered its prey.

Chrysalis put a hoof to Fancy's torso. Small bits of steam began to emit from his form, and the unicorn let out a muffled cry, Chrysalis' magic preventing any exclamations from escaping.

"My my dear, Celestia left quite a mark on you," Chrysalis mused, "I suppose you cannot defy death for much longer lest I extend my spell-"

Fancy's pleading eyes might would have struck at her heart chords, but as the stallion had long realized, he was not dealing with an ordinary female. He was dealing with a predator who sought anything that moved as its prey. Once content that the stallion would not scream, Chrysalis removed the magic muffler.

Though he felt like shouting, the agony of literally dying urged him to steer her away from entirely undoing whatever spell she had cast on him. "How, what is this madness?"

Chrysalis responded by stopping her hoof trace halfway down his belly, a small frown on her face. She looked towards the corpse next to her, who began looking less and less like an alicorn and more like an earth pony with poorly sewn on props. "My top mare, able even to seduce the likes of you. I will miss her, but she served her purpose at the Crystal Tavern, stirring up dissent and concerns. Unfortunate that she enjoyed both sexes; her jobs were bested only by yours truly."

Perhaps only now hearing Fancy's question, or making it seem that way, Chrysalis tapped her hoof in that single spot on Fancy's heavily heaving chest. "Oh yes, I must thank you for taking Celestia's attention for a few precious seconds; I prefer not to do my own stunts you see, and after Celestia had hurled me as she did, I went with plan B. Hence, the dying mare who temporarily took my place in disguise."

"That must have been rather fast."

Chrysalis laughed, and to Fancy's anguish, so did her changeling entourage. It had been bad enough hearing Chrysalis' laugh, but the other changelings had a laugh more akin to that of a large set of bee drones buzzing in unison into a set of miniature microphones.

"As I said, plan B. It is a good thing Celestia did not bother asking me any questions; I know very little about Prince Blueblood, but I do know what he looks like."

The light in the room began to dim. Fancy Pants attempted to direct attention to his injuries, but Chrysalis merely continued, apparently lost in her own self-perceived cunning.

"Disguising that mare was the easy part. Joining Celestia's autopsy group was a matter of forgery and Market payoffs. That whole story I told to Celestia I came up with just shortly before she confronted me. Except perhaps keeping Shining alive and failing to secure Cadence, I would say I have been perfect in judgement up to this point. Now, almost everything has fallen into place."

She put a hoof tenderly to Fancy's stomach, running it up to his muzzle like a predator measuring the proper place to cut open its prey. The rest of Fancy's injuries finally gushed opened, the stallion gasping painfully, his last breathes beginning to be recalled as a brief flash of his life came into view.

In his dimming vision, he heard the chatter of changelings, and felt a set of teeth sink into his left hoof.

Some hours later

"You lost an entire train?" Celestia could not believe what she was hearing. The crystal ponies and the crystal heart had been rounded up, but somehow, both the train and the ponies she so sought were gone?

The guardspony shamefully hung his head low. "We are sorry your highness, but containing the crystal ponies kept us from actively pursuing it. And the dangerous speed with which it left."

Celestia sighed, nodded, and waved her hoof, dismissing the guard. Her throne room had hardly been repaired in the short time since things had climaxed, but Celestia felt like wrecking it some more. The targets of her aggression had escaped, her Sister was in the infirmary, her crystal subjects were in outright rebellion, and to top it off, it was clear to her now that much of the Market had been resentful for her decree and had a large part in all of this. So many of them had stirred up trouble with the guards, half the guard had to be arrested for both treason and for going against royal decree.

It was clear to her now that her dream regarding Sunset had been more symbolic than literal, but Luna had dismissed its significance altogether. And like a foal, she had too. Then of course, her captain of the guard just had to be late, several hours late at that. How difficult could it be to find one pony with armor different than that of the rest of the Guard?

Her patience was wearing very thin when a pony dressed in a brown cloak entered her throne room. Celestia had been just a few tipping points from telling the pony another time. But that was not how a princess should act, so Celestia entertained the temporary audience.

"My Lady, we have the results from both autopsies," the mare spoke, removing her hood to reveal a bald head and a pair of bright yellow eyes. The coat was a dingy tan, almost as if the pony had been fashioned to stick out for this very moment. "You might not like what you are about to hear."

"Go on." Celestia did not like it when she was warned that she would not like the message. It tended to ruin the reception of said message.

"The good news is that the pink pony is not Princess Cadance, meaning that both Shining Armor and Princess Cadance are both technically missing and not confirmed dead," the pony reported, "Along with that, we have confirmed that the mare made to look like her can be traced to Fleur's former, um, pleasure house and bar. The bad news is that the alicorn corpse is legitimate."

Celestia felt lumps in her throat begin to build. "Legitimate? How so?"

"As you know, every creature has both a magical signature and DNA. The former is useful for living subjects, but the latter is definite, and proves that she is very much related to you. Could even be a foal, if you ever had offspring. Strange, she did not seem to have a cutie mark on her flank. It is baffling that our records cannot ID this pony specifically-"

"Thank you for your report." Celestia cut the pony off and dismissed the pony.

"Would you like to take a look at the body at least-"

"Burn it." Celestia motioned with her horn the hardly hinged throne room doors. "Leave not one trace. Not one word of this to be spoken understood?"

"Yes your majesty." The pony hastily departed, either out of eagerness to carry out the order or fear of further hesitation inciting anger.

Celestia found tears welling to her eyes, and her teeth coming together in a grinding fashion. Her two on post guards kept their eyes forward, but no doubt they were wondering what had so quickly bothered their princess. Celestia ceased her teeth grinding almost as quickly as it had begun, a new resolution coming to mind.

It was time to have a chat. "Guards, if anypony comes in here seeking an audience, have them make an appointment for at the earliest three days from now." She gave that simple command, and then teleported in a bright yellow flash of light.

Straight into Luna's room. Despite earlier being unconscious, the now awake alicorn was more than a little upset that she had been interrupted just before she could finish Sunset Shimmer. She seemed eager just to get the chance to soon leave her hospital bed, and get back into the main fight. That's about when Celestia appeared in a bright yellow flash at the foot of her bed.

"Sister!" Luna greeted happily, rising from her resting place, "I think I will be back in shape in no time to help you out-"

"Luna, Fleur had the book that contained the spell that Sunset used on Cadance. I can tell simply by having read mere portions of it." Celestia did not beat around the bush on this matter for any long; it was time to get this resolved right here and now. "And recently, the crystal ponies stole the crystal heart from your chambers, and are clearly in rebellion."

"Where is this going?" Luna had picked up on the displeased tone in her sister's voice, and could tell, "Which book pray tell was it?"

"The House of Umbra: Dark Magic."

Luna's eyes widened. She still had her version locked away deep in the Canterlot Caverns. If Celestia had found another copy, then it would have had to have been only one other version. "The original?"

"The original, sister." Based on Luna's expected reaction, Celestia knew for sure that she had been intending on hiding this from her. "I get that you wanted me dethroned, but to want me completely destroyed? To plot with Sombra of all ponies? Even worse, you helped establish his slave network?"

"Sister, before you get angrier than you already are," Luna put her hooves up, not up for a skirmish much less a fight, "That was a thousand years ago. It was the past. I had a change of heart, Sombra did not, so we did what we had to do-"

"Sombra is dead now," Celestia pointed out, "But he is long from a past problem."

"Listen, I am the first pony to have wanted Sombra to live, but he was too far gone-"

"Because you betrayed him!" Celestia paced the foot of Luna's bed with a frown, " It says so right in the preface. Luna, the two of you were charting out an Empire together! And then one day you turned on him based on my suspicions? No wonder the stallion vowed to destroy us!"

"It was not like that," Luna clopped her hooves together for emphasis, "With Sombra making the Legion and using it to enslave his populace, and his rather forceful approach to practically everything, I realized what a mistake it would have been allowing him to be King of anything, much less Emperor. He would have enslaved all of Equestria, and considering that we had to beat Discord just to prove that we were worth having as rulers again to the pony races, there would have been no repairing those relations if Sombra would have been in charge."

"Why did not you just tell me after you returned?" Celestia now was in tears, "Why? And what of Nimba?"

"She poked around where she should not have," Luna pointed out, "You had exiled her for some of the same reasons I turned against Sombra. Besides, you did not think Sombra would just let her kill him would you? He had to make her pay somehow, and the changelings were very eager to see her blood spill-"

"Is that why you did nothing when she sieged Canterlot?" It was a jagged question, one that Celestia now felt had been the real question that she had been trying to find an answer to. "Is that why you hardly even cared when I told you that a shape-shifting queen had actually defeated me in battle using the love of Shining Armor?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Luna was a bit confused now, for Nimba should have been long dead by now, regardless of how that end would have been met. "And I so did care afterwards. That is why I was so concerned with security regarding Shining Armor and Cadence shortly before the due time for their foal."

Celestia blinked back any extra tears, until the salty dripping became a steaming path along her coat. "Your orchestrations have cost us two alicorns too many Luna. That book, and any other copies, are to be destroyed this very night. Are there any other copies?"

Luna frowned. "Now hold on, my personal copy is all that I have left from the Sombra that I fell in love with. You cannot just decide to burn it-"

"I can and I will," Celestia declared, "Unless you are still planning something which you need that spellbook for."

"That book is part of the reason I could figure out Nightmare Moon was behind the dreaming incident," Luna pointed out, "That darkness has been handled, hopefully for good, and I wish to hear nothing of you burning my book. Do you not trust me?"

For a short while, both sisters passionately stared at each other, neither giving ground on their cause. Did Celestia trust her sister, with this newfound evidence surfacing at how well-thought out Luna's original plan of getting rid of her had been? How the spell meant to remove her from the equation had been instead used on Princess Cadance? Celestia snorted and turned from Luna with a determined look on her face.

"Safeguard your copy. As for the original, it shall be the first and hopefully last book that I ever burn to ashes."

Celestia stormed out of the room, her tears beginning to fall once again. Between her subjects and Guard acting questionably towards her, this was the last time she needed to also have a conflict with Luna. But in one shape or fashion, Luna could be indirectly blamed for the inciting of these incidents. She and Luna jointly had irritated the crystal ponies, but Luna had left the royal couple conveniently right before Sunset and Gilda made their move, and Luna had not bothered to tell her that her daughter was a changeling.

Celestia shook her head clear of these thoughts. Blaming Luna would not solve anything, and would probably make them worse. No, objectively speaking, the real problem rested in her reluctance to execute Sunset. Had she done so, at least she would not have had to worry about an alicorn with questionable morals making things worse with her desire to be a princess with subjects. She and Luna could have both taken on Chrysalis, and perhaps that matter also would have went differently.

This was as much her fault as it was Luna's. There was only one clear course of action to settle at least one of these issues.

She needed to put the Crystal Empire back in its place, its boldness in sending crystal ponies to carry out its will into the very heart of Equestria, the most powerful country in the world and no less even with the recent regime changes to the East, rang of folly and ill-will.

They needed to be reigned in, even if force had to be used.

Author's Note

Well, I am not 100% satisfied yet, but I'm certainly more satisfied than when I first let off with this story.

For the Record

For the Record

"Keep going!" Sunset Shimmer shouted, panting inbetween breathes, "Stop for nopony!"

Gilda did not seem to need this encouragement, for she was not only carrying Princess Cadance, but also a large shield that was nearly as large as she was. The fact that she was dashing at full speed and only a few steps behind Sunset Shimmer itself was a miracle. However, she was running out of breath, and responding to Sunset would have simply been too much.

Through the hallways of the Crystal Palace, the duo raced against their pursuers, who were slowly gaining on them with every twist and turn. Gilda was practically dripping in sweat from her exertions. She wanted them to find the rendevous point soon, her burning limbs threatening to give out under the extreme stress that they were put under.

Sunset eyed a wide open door, a cool breeze emaneting from it before two crystal guards stepped in front of it, spears levied at the duo.

"Move it!" Sunset lit her horn and fired several beams of magic at the guards. Much to her surprise, they swatted the beams away with their spears, and slowly began advancing forward. With the guards behind them catching up, confident now that they could see that they had boxed them in, Sunset went through her head of her available options.

The forward guards were fewer in number, but they possessed enchanted spears designed to resist magic and other enchanted items. That included Gilda's shield, and in her current state, the griffon would not be able to best even one of the guards let alone two. With options running out, Sunset shouted back at Gilda, "Just keep running for that door!"

With magic focusing in on her horn, Sunset let loose a small green ball, its ascension stopping just short of the ceiling. When it stopped, it burst, sending green light in every single direction, the crystal surroundings reflecting and refracting the light in ways that illuminated the entire hallway.

Startled for just a moment, the sound of clanging armor and bashing heads resounded as the guards found themselves blinded by the flash bang attack. Sunset, recalling the location of the guards, once again fired two stun blast in their general direction. The sound of their spears dropping was a relief that the two had not thought to move location.

Nearly tripping over the the guards, Sunset found herself in the frigid air of the room connected to the balcony. What room exactly that was was not important in the planning, but the fact that it led out to the open air where Lightning Dust could pick them up was important. "Gilda?" Sunset called out, her vision slowly beginning to focus in.

Realizing that the griffon not calling out was probably a result of her running, Sunset chanced looking back for a visual confirmation that she was still right behind her. Gilda, though stumbling and having even more difficulty than before, was indeed behind her, blinking rapidly. However, she was almost entirely spent, and her speed decreased dramatically, her uncoordinated steps signalling imminent collapse.

Using her magic, Sunset took the burdens of Princess Cadance and the shield from Gilda and levitated them towards the balcony, where a large grey cloud concealed much of the air beyond the immediate balcony area. "Lightning, we're coming in!" Sunset called, slowing to a mere trot so that she could focus on her levitation.

The dark cloud opened to reveal a fluffy compartment of sorts, complete with cloud benches and a large circular space in the center. On the far side of this space sat Lightning Dust, hoove embedded into the very cloud and wings flapping energetically. The confused look on her face concerned Sunset. "What is wrong?"

Lightning Dust snorted. "What's wrong? The Griffon Peacekeeping Forces are skirmishing with the Wonderbolts is what is wrong. That and I do not see Trixie with you two."

None too gently Sunset hurled the princess and the shield into the cloud transport, diverting her attention to helping Gilda. With her weight greatly decreased, the griffon showed a renewed vigor, but so did the crystal guards nearest to the door. There was no time to wait for Trixie to show up.

"We will have to pick her up at point B." Sunset rushed over to Gilda, using a hoof to support the exhausted griffon. "Get a move on Gilda."

Gilda shot Sunset a murderous look, but indeed picked up the pace, her head turn allowing her to also notice the guards recovering from the earlier stun attack. Using magic, Sunset shoved Gilda the remainder of the way before hopping towards the cloud. However, rather than touching stable cloud, Sunset's hoof went through it, and for a few secondss, Sunset found herself weightlessly dropping into the dead cold air. Her descent was cut by a pair of talons wrapping around her tail.

Facing the very long way down to the Crystal Palace's base, Sunset felt dizzy even as Gilda pulled her up into the cloud. Casting the cloud walking spell on herself, Sunset scolded her rather careless action, as it had almost cost her her life. The cloud then closed, granting an eerie darkness to the transport lit only by Sunset's horn light.

"I could have sworn we brought some chains somewhere," Sunset murmured to himself, searching the transport.

"Fuck it," Gilda breathily exclaimed, plopping down atop of the princess' back as if she were a cushion of sorts, still trying to fully catch her breath from before.

"That'll do for now I guess." Sunset was not too picky on how the princess was secured, only that she was secured for the upcoming spell. "Where is Trixie?"

A part of the cloud opened up, a portion to Lightning Dust's left, letting in ample enough light and blistering wind to cause the duo to shiver. Looking down, Sunset searched the courtyard for any sign of Trixie. With no flare of sorts, Sunset bit her lip, it becoming apparent that the unicorn was not at point B either.

"I guess we will have to meet her at C then," Sunset concluded, "That is the only reasonable option."

"Sunset, if we descend to get Trixie at the library now, we are not going to make it out of here," Lightning warned, "Once the griffons explain why they are here, which is likely not to pick a fight with the Wonderbolts, our little adventure here is going to be on the top of their list. Trixie can handle herself, we need to get gone."

Noticing Cadance beginning to stir, Sunset cast a bolt of dark magic at Cadance. The suppression spell grew tiny dark crystals on her horn, preventing her from magically making an escape. Focusing on the decision at hoof, she weighed her options. She needed to finish the spell, but at the same time, leaving Trixie behind could open up problems for them later. If they all got caught, then there was no saving any of them, but if only Trixie were captured, they could at least rescue her later once they had recovered.

"Alright, get us out of here," Sunset answered at last, "I will go ahead and start the spell."

No sooner had Sunset spoke this did the cloud rock, nearly sending the unicorn through the opening. "It is going to be a bumpy ride," Lightning warned, "I hope that spell doesn't have a time limit on it."

Sunset hoped that too, considering how high they were about to go into the sky. Taking off from the balcony, the opening closed, Sunset lighting her horn as she levitated Gilda's shield to the center of the transport. To the rhythm of Lightning's frantic wingbeats and panting, Sunset recalled the spell's final runes, the likes of which began glowing on the shield.

With a blast of red magic, the runes reacted madly, the light illuminating the entire transport, warming up the interior to a more comfortable temperature. With this signal, Gilda dismounted from Cadance's back; the princess reared up, but red tendrils had already sprouted from the shield, lashing out and constricting the alicorn princess' limbs, wings, and muzzle. Levitating her above the shield, Sunset stepped back with a wicked grin. "Gilda, you have the jewel right?"

"It is in position," Gilda called out, lazily gesturing towards the blue heart shaped gem next to her. A golden chain was attached to it, making it resemble a necklace more than the object that it was about to become.

Despite all the preparations being ready, Sunset hesitated. Here she was again, tampering with dark magic, messing with princesses and their magic. Was she really going to risk the inevitable consequences from what she was about to do? Draining an alicorn of their magic in order to create a relic was not explicitly written to be against the law, but no doubt Celestia would treat it as she did all such offenses. If they were caught that is.

Noticing her hesitant, Gilda jeered, "If you are going to do it, sometime this evening would be nice. Otherwise, we can return the princess and only face jail time for kidnapping and conspiring to murder royalty."

The sarcasm stung Sunset's ego, which could not believe that she was hesitating. After what she had went through to get to this point, now she was unsure of whether she would finish it? Still hesitating, Sunset was not encouraged very strongly by Gilda's words.

Lightning, however, seemed to have a different approach, her face showing a mixture of determination and grim realization. "Trixie may or may not get rescued after this. If the worst should happen and we meet her in the afterlife a few years from now, do you really want to tell her that you didn't follow through despite her sacrifice?"

"Mmmmph!" Cadance protested, no doubt speaking foul of the logic.

However, this restored Sunset's resolve, and she looked up towards the alicorn with a bittersweet smile. With a flick of her horn, the tendrils turned into a bright pink color, absorption and sapping the alicorn of her magic. Her struggles started off strong, but with each passing second, they grew weaker and weaker, the mass of energy transferring into the gem at about the same rate as the tendrils sapped it. Before long, Cadance ceased to resist at all, and it was at this point that the spell ended.

The gem shone brightly, and as Gilda's sparkling eyes suggested, it was not truly a gem to behold. It had underwent a color change though. Some of the remaining magic surged into Sunset Shimmer. Feeling a power that she had been denied long ago, Sunset smiled wide, a laugh coming towards the back of her throat.

However, before she could celebrate for much longer, the entire transport rocked. This time, Sunset was very much so thrown from the cloud, with Gilda not reacting near fast enough to catch her this time. Startled, the unicorn found herself face to face with both the empty evening air and starry ground. Right on her tail was what appeared to be Princess Cadance, though she dropped like such a weight that Sunset highly doubted that the alicorn had rushed out of the cloud after her.

Using her magic, Sunset levitated herself, slowing her descent, just in time for the starry ground to meet her. Literally, for a hoof lashed out, striking her first in the stomach. Breath knocked from her, Sunset flailed in an attempt to hit the intruder, but the next strike to her left cheek sent her spinning towards the ground. Disoriented, Sunset did not even have the chance to confirm whether the cloud transport had left without her before yet another blow came, this time straight to the base of her horn.

Yelping in pain, Sunset attempted to let loose a blast of magic at her aggressor. She missed, and yet another blow struck her square in the back. Next came the ground, which was apparently closer than it first appeared. The ground kissed her harder than she had ever been kissed before, rattling loose any senses that remained intact from the aerial assault. Sunset blinked, realizing that she was staring at grey. This was not the ground, but yet another cloud that had somehow managed to break her fall.

Since the spell had apparently not worn off, Sunset began to question how she ended up in this predicament in the first place when the beating resumed, the next strike hitting her right flank. Thrown from the cloud, the mare found herself completely at the mercy of her starry maned attacker, who seemed to be striking at her in a blind fury. Her cheek, her stomach, both flanks, anything that the attacker could get a hoof to was struck. Unable to defend herself, when the actual cold ground did greet her, Sunset barely comprehended it. She temporarily passed out as she rolled across the landscape, her attacker temporarily letting up the relentless assault.

Author's Note

Originally, I did not intend on having a prologue. However, after some time working on the story, I realized that it would be beneficial to have a sort of prologue, detailing earlier on in the story the event that is closely tied to the central conflict of the story. So there it was, and the remaining story format will switch to a more flashback style narrative.

Junior Speedsters Flight Camp

Roughly a decade ago...

Young Gilda had not been very different from her older self. Rather quick to anger and less than pleasant around those she saw as annoying, the Junior Speedsters Flight Camp had been the last place she should have been placed.

Consisting largely of ponies, with a few griffons for appearances sake, the Camp was a brothel of annoying fillies and colts, all pegasi, who sought the chance to learn how to fly, as if that did not come natural to them.

It was a bright sunny day up in the clouds (as it usually is at this part of the atmosphere), with small cloud cabins set up all over the area blanket of clouds that formed the ground above ground of Camp. Cloudsdale was hardly a day's travel away, but adult pegasi and griffons alike patrolled the area for any stray campers. After all, at this stage, falling off the cloud was the number one cause of mortality, or so the statistics suggested.

That didn't stop supervisors from having this camp so high up though, and as Gilda noted as she passed through the center of the cabins, all aligned in a perfect circle with a well in the middle, it did not seem to deter them from leaving the young campers to themselves either.

The well was more of a visual gimmick than an actual well. Gilda took a look down the well and noticed that it was a straight drop down to the ground. She could hear the sound of beating wings, a sure sign that someone was keeping an eye on this spot. Just in case one of the campers got overly curious.

A group of fillies began to approach the square, all of them the same relatively monotone set of colors. Grey, dark blue, obsidian, and ooh, there was even a red one among them! Gilda assumed that the gray one, who was the center of the attention, was about to prepare to announce their ambitions of being the best flyer in all of Equestria, or some corny speech to that effect.

Contrary to that, the filly instead pointed towards one of the cabins. With a nod, the group marched straight into the cabin. Curious, and having nothing better to do, Gilda decided to follow, intent on finding out what was so funny about an empty cabin.

Or supposedly empty cabin, that is. When Gilda walked up the steps and followed the fillies inside just short of the door (which they had not thought to close behind them), she soon noticed a few sleeping griffons; the fillies had a megaphone on standby, no doubt preparing for a rude awakening, and then a quick scampering outside where they were out of reach.

Gilda cawed rather loudly, awakening the sleeping griffons. The fillies turned rather ghostly as the none too happy griffons saw and understood the imminent prank they were about to fall prey to. Gilda smiled, slammed the door, and latched it from the outside. Screeching and screaming could be heard inside, along with the sound of the megaphone amplifying the lion's roar of angry griffons.

Gilda snickered, feeling rather satisfied with how that went. She always thought it foolish to have a latch on the outside, but now she could see the usefulness of trapping residents inside. Three griffons vs six fillies should have been an easy match, but Gilda reasoned that the fillies would not have the mob mentality to gang up on the griffons nearly twice their size.

Walking away whistling, Gilda found herself nose to nose with a cyan pony with a rainbow mane; a young Rainbow Dash. Blank flank, typical of ponies this age, she also had a sneer, as if she knew something that Gilda did not.

"You got a staring problem pony?" Gilda practically growled the words. Most ponies would have already started backing off, but not this one. Rainbow Dash, from the get-go, had been quite different from most of the ponies she met on a regular basis.

"No, stalking is clearly a problem you have." Rainbow took one of her tiny hooves and pressed it against Gilda's beak, in a mock scolding, " It is rude to follow other ponies on their pranks and ruin them."

"Oh yeah?" Gilda swiped the hoof away and glared at the young pegasus. "Look who's talking. What are you, the miniature version of Captain Hurricane? Begone before I throttled ya."

Rainbow snickered and got on her hind hooves, prancing around while batting her hooves forward, punching the air between the two. Her tiny wings were flared outward, and the cocky pegasus declared, " A future Wonderbolt isn't scared of some bully too afraid to do a prank of her own. How about you put your talon where your-"

Rainbow would never finish that sentence, as already Gilda had connected her balled up fist to the young pony's jaw. The force sent her tumbling down the stairs in a comical fashion. Gilda strode downwards, stepping over the down pony with flare rivaled only by her better trained royal counterparts back home.

"Future Wonderbolt my tail feathers. Better get back home to Mommy before you get real hurt-Aaaaeeee!"

As fate would have it, Gilda had turned her back to the wrong pony. Rainbow had chomped down on her tail, and though her incisors were hardly anything to bat an eye at, the pony's molars were made for grinding. When Rainbow began trying to grind at her tail, Gilda hopped and screeched into the air, running about in circles in the square with Rainbow still attached.

"Let go of my tail you-"

Again Gilda was interrupted, this time by the inconveniently placed well earlier mentioned. Over the side both she and Rainbow went, tumbling down the narrow well until both bodies became wedged in tight near the bottom. The dizzying drop alone almost made Gilda's head spin, but the discomfort of having her outstretched arms and legs supporting both her and Rainbow put a strain on her.

Not to mention Rainbow now was directly on top of her wings, making it all the more difficult to attempt to get the leverage in order to escape the well.

"Well damnit, will you let go of my tail now?!" Gilda shrieked, much less concerned about the agonizing pain in her tail, and more concerned about a tumbling fall from the clouds.

"Mro!"' Rainbow protested, biting down even harder, eyes closed and hooves wrapped around Gilda's frame. "Mum mem mo!"

Her arms and legs were beginning to wobble, and combined with the incredible weight on her shoulders, Gilda could tell that this would not end well. In her lament, she shouted aloud, "Why could they not have had this camp on the ground?"

Luna laughed aloud, in the kind of way that made one question what the joke was in the first place. Gilda had not been joking, and her confused expression brought the point across quite well that she had missed it. Sunset snickered a bit as well, for no other reason than the thought of one of Equestria's greatest current fliers clinging to a griffon for dear life near the bottom of a well in the sky.

Then again, it was crazy enough to might actually be true.

"What's so funny?" Gilda demanded.

Luna wiped an imaginary tear from her eye using a wing, composing herself just long enough to answer, "The image of Rainbow Dash clinging to you to keep from falling out of the sky is what is so funny. Other than that, I don't see a major hole in your story."

Gilda huffed, her earlier mood having been rocked by this accusation. "Hole? It is the truth!"

"Maybe we should find Rainbow Dash in order to verify this," Sunset added, "Even I have to admit, that is a pretty difficult concept to wrap your head around."

"Whatever." Gilda turned from both ponies, indignant that her story amused them due to potential accuracy issues. "If you want to hear the rest of it, I am going to demand an apology first."

"Well then, that means a shortening of the time before your extradition to Griffia." Luna had become serious again.

Gilda mused it over for a few seconds before folding her arms in surrender. "Point taken."

So there they were, wedged between a tough space and the seemingly endless drop down when Gilda roughly shifted Rainbow in an attempt to free her wings. "I can't hold us both much longer! Use your wings!"

Rainbow flapped once, and sure enough, Gilda could feel the weight beginning to lighten off her shoulder. Before she could sigh in relief, her paws slipped, sending both tumbling from the well and into the open air. Gilda screeched in terror, flapping her arms and wings in an attempt to start to get leverage.

While her wings caught some air, they seemed uncomfortably damp, and didn't seem to be doing their job properly. Before Gilda could attempt to figure out why, she hit a cloud with a thump, feeling Rainbow slam into her back, teeth still gripping her tail.

Though in more pain than she dared to recall, the griffon took her foretalons and pried the cyan pegasus from her injured tail. Holding her by the wings, Gilda might would have tossed her over the cloud had the pegasus not been laughing at her at this point.

"What's so funny?" Gilda demanded, "You almost got us both killed!"

Rainbow seemed more amused than ever, laughing even harder. Gilda threateningly held Rainbow over the side of the cloud, very far from amused. When Rainbow realized that she was literally dangling by her wings over the edge of the cloud, she regained her composure. "It was supposed to be a pretty cool joke, prank, but then we fell in the well and I kind of panicked and lost control..."

Gilda would have let go right then and there had she not taken a moment to digest the full meaning of the sentence. Gilda, startled by this, eyed Rainbow with some scrutiny. "Were you set up to do this?"

Rainbow shook her head and folded her arms. "No, it's fun to watch other creatures' reactions. I think you tipped the scale by falling into the well though."

As it sank in the intent, Gilda removed one of her talons from Rainbow' wings, the remaining one firmly gripping the pegasus. Rainbow looked down, looked at Gilda, and understand what was at stake.

"Alright, I get it, messing with your tail and taking a piss on you might have been a little far, but you did leave those fillies in a locked room with griffons bigger than them."

Rainbow spoke as if endangering her very life evened the score somehow. Gilda would have snapped had a mare not descended upon them at that very moment. A pegasus, of course, nearly twice their own size with an orange coat and a dark purple mane. Her aqua eyes seemed to be trying to take in the information.

"Girls, we put that well there for aesthetics and practice; the two of you should not be horseplaying around there."

Gilda would have protested, but Rainbow beat her to the punch. "Ms. Whippe, to be fair, that well is very easy to fall into. It is just our height."

Ms. Whippe rolled her eyes and began directing the cloud back towards the camp, pushing it along as sh econtinued her scolding "Had you two not been horseplaying in the first place you would have noticed the well and not fallen in like you did and scared yourselves pissless."

Gilda was somewhat taken aback by the word choice, until she recalled that a certain pony had indeed lost control of herself back there. Thankfully there had not been any crap added ontop of that, or else the smell would have clued her in just early enough to have released Rainbow to the open air.

"And guess who is going to have to bathe the two of you when we get back to camp?" Whippe continued her rant, eyeing the two troublemakers with a scowl.

"You?" Rainbow, still held by her wings by Gilda, attempted to ease the still present tension.

"Oh Rainbow Dash, sometimes I really wish you paid that kind of attention in class."

Gilda snickered, despite everything. Although the pony had nearly made them both statistics, she had to admit in hindsight; it would have been humorous had she not ran into the well. Or better yet, if the pony had started the prank farther from the well. Setting Rainbow Dash down onto the cloud next to her, the two had their backs to Whippe, a small smile emerging on Gilda's lips.

Yeah, that last one on that list sounded like something she could correct. "Rainbow Dash is it? You realize that this means war between us?"

Rainbow looked to Gilda with a wide grin on her face. "Rainbow 1, griffon zip."

"It's Gilda, and you will find out the hard way why griffons don't play. Cause we play to win." Gilda leered down at the pony, who did not seem at all deterred by Gilda's slight height advantage.

This whole time Ms. Whippe seemed to be ignoring the two; either that or contemplating what she had done by inadvertently saving their lives.

"The ensuing prank war was history," Gilda concluded, "Took Ms. Whippe three days to get the smell of horse piss out of my coat, but it sure as hell had been worth it, till she traded me for the pink one."

Sunset had begun to nod off; not due to the length of the story, but simply due to the fact that she had grown somewhat bored, as she had heard a variant of this part of the story once before. Luna, on the other hand, remained wide awake, and upon noticing Sunset's drowsiness, commented on it.

"Well, while I am sure Rainbow would tell it a little differently, I'm sure it would not entertain Sunset Shimmer any greater. Now then, what did you do for a living before all of this Market and Legion nonsense?"

Gilda seemed taken aback, as if this question had caught her off guard. "For a living? Well, after Camp, it dawned on me that I needed a new source of income; things were getting rough back home, and they either wanted me home in the crosshairs and fed in their house, or not at all fed from their house. Pops objected, but his word only got so far when he was under the authority of Uncle Grackus."

Gilda sighed, rubbing her cheek fondly, as if that kindled memories. "Dash joined up with the weather team, but as a griffon instead of a pegasus, it was a little harder finding a job. After all, national security reasons made it unlikely for a foreigner to get to work in the weather factory, much less know Equestria's yearly weather forecast."

Luna nodded in understanding before Gilda continued. "So, I went with plan B and hustled some in the cloud filled streets of Cloudsdale. Stallions and mares alike couldn't keep anything to themselves, so there was plenty to sell and buy. Only issue is, couldn't report my income since it was a little less than on the legal side."

"Buying and selling Equestrian citizens, no matter your citizenship, is illegal," Luna pointed out, "Not to mention something I doubt would have been going on for very long."

"Yes well, thanks to legislation that Celestia made some time ago, I was soon out of that job too." Gilda closed her eyes and sighed again, her voice rising slightly in volume with each passing minute. "No job history I could report, a Griffia-Equestria dual resident, and a griffon, finding a job that didn't require me to drop my standards was quite difficult. Rainbow defriending me in my time of need did not exactly help either."

Gilda sniffed, wiping an imaginary tear from her eye, as if the upcoming part was painful to her. "It was hard at first, the only friend I have ever known no longer being a call away. I went from sad to angry to confused back to sad again in minutes. I get that I insulted her back then, but to outright disown me like that?"

Gilda spat off to the side with a scowl. "Took my anger out on the first moving thing that even remotely resembled Rainbow Dash. Didn't need the right color, just a set of wings and a cyan body. Funny thing is, when they found me beating up some random pegasus in the alley, rather than calling the guards, the Market decided that I would be replacing her in a fighting match."

Luna's ears twitched, the only sign that she had even a mild reaction to this monologue. "Fighting match? Celestia only recently permitted those again, with more strict regulations of course in order to keep it civil."

Gilda nodded with a coy smile, this time obviously preparing for a comment that she had been withholding for a very long time.

"Frankly my dear Princess, regulations didn't do a damn bit of good that evening. The evening several months later where the world got turned upside down; the evening where I would become a champion. And of course, some shit had to hit the fan when I wanted to bask in my own glory..."

Author's Note

A chapter or so ago, I had Luna instead of Celestia being the princess at this part; I may or may not have left remnants of that switch in this chapter. Nonetheless, the flow was still largely the same, so going back was not too difficult.

Next chapter is a chapter that I had intended on making independent, originally, but then figured it would work great in LoS as a backstory addition for Gilda.