Twilight: the time between day and night. A time where the horizons blazed in red, orange and pink in one end and shone in differing shades of blue and purple in the other, it was the favorite time of the day for Princess Umbra. As customary for the morning, the jet black alicorn rolled off her pristine white sheets of her bed onto hooves and moved daintily to the balcony, giving her white whispery mane a cursory arrangement.
With the assortment of colors, how could she not love the twilight? Perhaps it was just a quirk of the three sisters. Her elder, Celestia, embraced the day and the sun and her younger, Luna, adored the night and moon. It was natural that she would like something in between. Indeed, it showed even in her cutie mark: a stylized depiction of a solar eclipse, a shadow cast between the sun and the moon. That said, her special talent was coordinating solar and lunar eclipses.
Fifteen minutes passed as Umbra stood on the balcony, soaking in gentle warmth of the early sun and the coolness of the late moon. At the appointed hour, her eyes fluttered open and her horn lit in a sort crimson glow.
The moon—emblazoned with the stylized head of a mare—sank below the western horizon.
“Good night, Luna.”
The sun—the head hidden the glare of the light—rose above the eastern horizon.
“Good morning, Celestia.”
Even after a thousand years since their banishment, a pang of sadness still nipped at her heart. Without further words, Umbra turned and made her way to the attached bathroom. Five minutes later, she was in her silver torc and horseshoes, refreshed and ready for the day. She threw the white painted door of her bedroom open, showing two white royal guards in their golden armors on opposite sides and a white bespectacled unicorn mare with coffee colored mane held up in a bun.
“Good morning, your highness.”
The mare bowed, eliciting a small smile from Umbra.
“Greetings, Raven,” she said. “What brings you here, early in the morning?”
Raven straightened up from her bow. “I bring a message from Twilight Sparkle,” she said, levitating a scroll with her magic.
Umbra blinked. “Oh, the archmage? I’m surprised that she didn’t use the services of her assistant, Spike.”
Raven adjusted her glasses. “She said Spike was out on an errand and the message is urgent and important.”
An unsettling feeling fell upon Umbra and smothered her good mood. When the archmage said something was urgent and important, she meant it. As one of the most promising students to have been accepted into the School of Gifted Unicorns and indeed, was the youngest unicorn to make archmage, with the exception of Starswirl the Bearded.
She unfurled the scroll and read:
Dear Princess Umbra,
It has come to my attention that the Prophecy of the Two Sisters is likely to come true in the next few days, even more likely during the Spring Day Celebration tomorrow instead of the Fall Day in September. Spike and I had been observing and logging the integrity of the seal on Nightmare Moon and it had been showing signs of weakening. I cannot say the same for Corona’s as I cannot directly observe the seal on the sun but I speculate it’s the same as the moon.
I have taken the liberty of increasing the level of alertness of the Royal Guard, in case of Nightmare Moon and Corona breaking free and wreaking havoc on Equestria in the next few hours. I hope you do not mind my overstepping of boundary but as the Archmage and Element of Magic, I felt that the issue was pressing enough to act on my initiative. The rest of the Elements are being briefed by the time you are reading this.
Also, I recommend that the relevant ponies be alerted for Plan Lavender as soon as possible. I fear we may be running out of time as it is…
Your Archmage,
Twilight Sparkle
Although outwardly frowning slightly, inside Umbra felt her stomach dropping through the stone floor. This soon? She levitated a scroll and quill and scrawled a reply:
Dear Twilight Sparkle,
I have faith and trust in your judgment. You have not let me down in your service as the Archmage since your appointment three years ago and of course, retrieving the Elements of Harmony from the Castle of Royal Pony Sisters in the Everfree forest.
I will do as you recommend and please keep me updated on the situation.
Your princess,
Princess Umbra
Rolling up the scroll, Umbra passed it to Raven. “Please give this to Twilight as soon as possible.”
Raven took the scroll into her magic, nodding. “Is there anything else, princess?”
Umbra scrawled a list of names and gave that to Raven. “Please inform the ponies on this list to be alert for Plan Lavender.”
“Yes, your highness.” Raven bowed and left.
Despite the two guards standing in front of her, Umbra had never felt so alone. Over the thousand years, she nary had the inclination to socialize at first, given that she had just banished her own sisters to the sun and moon. After she got over her grief, she was too busy. Twilight—that silly little filly—had tried worming her way into Umbra’s heart and even succeeded, somewhat. They still spent the Saturday nights watching the stars in the Royal Observatory.
Presently, elation warred with the growing dread that hung over her like a heavy blanket. Her sisters were returning… in disastrous circumstances. It was an ironic duality that left wanting to shake her head. The joy that bubbled in her evaporated but not before dredging up a piece of memory…
The quiet of the Royal Garden of the Royal Pony Sisters was broken by the shouting of a filly.
“The moon is far better than the sun!” Luna pressed her tiny muzzle against Celestia’s.
“That is not true, Luna,” Celestia said, unflinching from the outburst directed at her, despite barely larger than Luna. “As we all know, the moon need light from the sun to shine.”
Luna gritted her teeth. “Without the moon and the night, the sun will never look so pretty in the mornings and evenings!”
Umbra looked demurely from her elder sister to her younger sister. “I like it when the sun does that, and the moon too…”
The three alicorn fillies have been arguing for the past several minutes, started when Celestia made a little proclamation of her love of the sun and a disparaging comment about the moon.
Still, Celestia looked no more perturbed than before. “Without the sun’s warmth and light, the world will shrivel and wilt and nothing will grow.”
Luna stomped her little hoof. “With the sun around all the time, the world will also shrivel and wilt and nothing will grow because it is too hot!” She turned to Umbra. “You have been rather quiet, big sister. What say you?”
Umbra shrunk back under the combined scrutiny of Celestia and Luna. “I think both of them need each other…”
Luna frowned. “That is not helping either of us, Umbra.” She pouted.
Umbra shrank further, her eyes staring into Luna’s. “But it is true… Without sunlight to reflect with, the moon can never show its beauty to the world.” She set her hooves and turned her eyes to Celestia. “And though the sun gives warmth and life to the world, without the moon and the night to cool things down, as Luna said, the world will die as well…” A determined look crossed her face. “So the sun and moon are inseparable, just as the two of you are, big sister, little sister.” Umbra looked at Celestia and Luna in turn.
Luna stared, unconvinced while Celestia showed nothing as usual, until a grin broke out on Celestia and she giggled.
“Come here, the two of you.” Celestia pulled Luna and Umbra into a hug and nuzzled them.
“Your highness, are you alright?” the low voice of her guard brought Umbra out of her reverie.
She looked up to see two pairs of concerned eyes looking at her, their heads slightly bowed. A small placating smile appeared on her face. “I’m fine, my guards.”
“Yes, your highness.” The guards straightened but their eyes never left her.
Umbra took a left and proceeded in the direction of the throne room. There were plenty of things to be done, including the final preparations of the Spring Day Celebration.
***
Twilight was right was her idle thought as Umbra lay sprawled on the cobbled street, her ears ringing. She coughed, a puff of soot escaping her mouth. She shook her head, trying to clear the ringing to no avail.
It was the next day. The Spring Day Celebration had begun without a hitch, thanks to Twilight’s organization and management—Umbra could never unthankful to her Archmage’s talent and skill—and things were smooth, too smooth, in fact. It wasn’t until the main event of the day: a solar eclipse when things went wrong.
Just as the sun and moon reached their zenith, a blinding flash erupted from both celestial bodies and froze them near totality of the eclipse. Two bright streaks, one brilliant deep blue, the other blazing orange, slammed onto the city square of Canterlot. The impact knocked Umbra and everyone in the vicinity to the ground.
Dazed and struggling to her hooves, she was soon surrounded and shoved in the direction of the south tower. She caught a glimpse of two jet black alicorn mares, brilliant blue mane on one and blazing orange on the other. Plan Lavender had begun as the laughs of two crazed ex-princesses echoed in the city.
Plan Lavender had went rather badly and ended with the tower obliterated and Umbra in her current position. Twilight would have said that the outcome fell within her expectations, give or take a few percentages. If she was here.
Umbra struggled to her hooves for the second time this morning. There were no guards around to help her up this time and she stumbled and nearly fell flat on her face. She regained her balance as the rush of air roared in her ears. The sounds of battle boomed in the distance as she gathered her bearings. Umbra turned to the east and started her way towards the Grand Hall in the middle of the castle. She needed to find the Elements of Harmony.
“… Princess!”
Umbra turned just as Twilight slammed into her in a hug, nearly flooring her.
“Oh, I thought you were…” She squeezed her tightly.
Umbra smiled and returned the hug, giving her Archmage a nuzzle. “I’m fine.”
She looked past Twilight’s back at her gathering allies. Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, the friends Twilight made and the rest of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony when she was sent to retrieve the Elements.
Umbra returned to Twilight. “Are the Elements safe?”
Twilight broke the hug and flicked a few tears off her eyes. “It’s with us right now and Nightmare Moon and Corona haven’t caught on yet.”
“Good.” Umbra rose and straightened her torc and tiara. “We must proceed to the Grand Hall. I will continue to hold them there.”
Twilight nodded. “And we will activate Plan Omega there.”
Umbra sighed. “If I succeed…”
A lavender hoof pressed onto her barrel. “You will, princess. I have faith in you too,” Twilight said, smiling.
As they turned to the direction of the Grand Hall, there was a maniacal laughter above them.
“Where do you think you’re going, Umbra?” Nightmare Moon sneered.
Umbra threw up a shield just as Nightmare Moon loosed a blast of magic from her horn, ricocheting off with a flash of red.
“Run!” she yelled to the others. “I’ll hold her off.”
Twilight and her friends took off.
“You think you can defeat me without the Elements?” Nightmare Moon let loose another blast. “I will take my rightful place as the Queen of Equestria and you nor Celestia shall hold it!”
Tears welled in Umbra’s eyes. “Luna, stop this already! Can’t we just be the sisters we are when we were fillies?”
“None of the subjects cares about me, just Celestia!” A table flipped against the wall as Luna stormed around her bedroom.
Umbra lay on her stomach on Luna’s bed, watching the rant with worried eyes. “I am sure that is not true, Luna.”
Luna rounded on Umbra. “Then explain to me why the petitions and audiences from the citizenry have dropped sharply for both our courts in the past six months?”
Umbra’s ears flattened. “The world is at peace, Luna. It is natural that domestic problems tend to be things that happen in the day, not during night time. Moreover, my court handles general civil disturbances and disputes and summer is the lull between the spring thaw and fall harvest.”
Luna did not look convinced. “That does not explain why even the Night Watch, which is my domain is now handled by the morning court, Umbra!”
Umbra blinked.
“You see the seriousness of the problem now, big sister?” Luna’s face filled Umbra’s vision. “Celestia is slowly and quietly taking away both our powers and duties and she must be stopped!”
Umbra shrunk back. “Are you sure we are not able to talk this over?”
“Yes.” Luna stood and walked to the door. “I will not let you usurp my rightful place, Celestia…” she muttered.
The dark splotch of Luna’s cutie mark crept up her body just as the door slammed shut. An unsettling feeling fell upon Umbra. Was I seeing things?
Another blast bounced off Umbra’s shield. She broke the shield and loosed a magic shot of her own, meeting Nightmare Moon’s and exploding in a flash of violet. When the smoke and colors faded, Umbra was already gone, leaving a fuming Nightmare Moon.
***
Twilight shut the door after her friends have galloped past. The Grand Hall was empty except for a red carpet stretching from the door to the raised stage. The place had been used over the years for various functions, parties and of course, weddings. Now, it was going to serve another purpose: a massive amplifying circle for their endgame.
Twilight levitated a chalk and quickly and neatly scrawled a magic circle. She was careful to mark the six inflow points where they would draw the ambient magic into the circle to power the spell. She wouldn’t want the spell to rip itself and any poor soul inside the circle apart when they start casting, moreover the fact that the caster was their princess. Unlike the more permanent and stable version destroyed by Corona in the south tower, this circle was temporary and would only last for just several minutes until either the chalk burned off or the caster ran out of magic.
Now all we need is the Princess… Twilight shuffled on her hooves and she and her friends waited. Within a minute, a red flash erupted and Umbra appeared in the circle. Twilight heaved a sigh of relief and stood.
“We are ready to begin, princess.”
Umbra nodded to Twilight and lit her horn. The chalk echoed with the same color, muted by its white. “Please hide yourselves.”
Twilight and her friends nodded and dispersed. With a flash of Twilight’s horn, they all disappeared from view, courtesy of a veil. Umbra smiled and poured more magic into the circle. The circle was glowing bright red now and in a minute, a dome formed, shooting a beam straight up the sky into the hovering sun and moon.
The red glow quickly suffused the two celestial bodies, freezing them in place. Two cries of frustrations roared across the burning city. Umbra held her magic steady as the spell locked the control of the sun and moon out of Nightmare Moon and Corona’s hooves.
They would find the place quickly and sure enough, within thirty seconds of the cries, the roof of the Grand Hall tore open in twin blasts of blue and orange. Umbra squeezed her eyes shut and maintained the flow.
The Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters was in ruins. Umbra rose from the rubble that had pelted her painfully. She had no choice. She had to get to the throne room, where the Elements were held… Explosions boomed in the distance as Celestia and Luna fought, trading blast waves of magic with each other and destroying the capital piece by piece.
She did not remember how she got to the throne room; everything was a blur through the tears and the pain. She collapsed onto the hidden panel of the storage compartment and lit her horn. The panel slid away and revealed the stand holding the Elements of Harmony.
Her horn lit again and the Elements floated up and around her. Gathering her last reserves of strength, she flew up and up into the night. Panting heavily, she let her magic flow through the jewels, activating the Elements.
Umbra opened her eyes. This time the sneering faces of Nightmare Moon and Corona were replaced with faces of shock and horror. The rainbow beam crashed down upon them.
“Give me my sisters back!”
And everything turned white.
Author's Note
So, this is my entry for The Most Dangerous Game Contest. It wasn't the original idea I started with but this was something I could finish in the rather short timeframe (of just over a day) I had left since the original idea turned out to take too long to finish. Hell, I almost didn't finish this entry either and submitted it just one minute before the deadline. I'll have to do an overhaul on this thing after the contest is over.
Hope you enjoy the story. 