The roar of the crowds echoed in her ears as the ponies of Canterlot cheered at the sight of their new princess, Twilight Sparkle. It was a historic day for the people of Equestria; never before had anypony lived to see another of their kind crowned a princess. Celebration filled the air as the newest member of the royal family came down with her friends. All who were passed by Princess Twilight cheered for her.
All that is, except a unicorn mare hiding amongst the crowd.
She watched as the one she hated most trotted on by, singing a song with her friends. The sight of Twilight Sparkle disgusted her. She had done her so much wrong, and yet here she was, basking in a glory that was wrongfully given to her.
She spat at the ground, and began to walk away, her exit hidden by the crowd. Oh, if only Twilight hadn’t missed her presence...then perhaps she could have stopped her. Her presence wasn’t the only thing she missed, however.
Underneath her mane, her golden eyes glinted as she smiled. Soon...soon, everything will be just fine.
Several weeks later…
The mare sat down in the back room of the tavern, waiting patiently for the others. Originally, she had wanted to execute her plan by herself, but after seeing Twilight and her friends defeat the very essence of the Everfree Forest, she knew that she would need help. Her friends were the problem; with them by her side, Twilight Sparkle was untouchable. She knew she needed to find other ponies who felt as she did: betrayed, forgotten, left in the dark as another shined in the light.
She needed others who hated the Elements of Harmony.
The unicorn looked up as the door creaked open, and watched as six other ponies filed in, one at a time. They were all from different walks of life: some were artisans, others business ponies, still others working various jobs of...less desirable positions. They were unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies. These six ponies had nothing that could possibly unite them.
One by one, they each took a seat around the circular table that she sat at. A small candle was their only light, and it revealed only small flashes of their faces as it flickered: a glimpse of a muzzle here, a gleam of an eye there. The mare didn’t need to see their faces to identify them; after all, she had reached out to them personally.
Finally, one of the other ponies spoke up, her voice backed by an unusually large ego. “So...what the buck do you want?”
“Yeah!” Said another. “My brother and I are busy ponies you know.”
The stallion’s sitting next to him nodded his head. “We’re trying to set up shop somewhere in Rainbow Falls.”
“If you think ‘setting up shop’ is the same as conning ponies,” Muttered a mare to the left, “Then I suppose you are quite right.” This one had an air of condescendence about her.
The colt to her right grunted, then spoke in a Trottingham accent. “You’re one to talk. You’re as much a cheat as those to idiots.”
“Idiots?” One of the brothers growled. “Why, I’ll show you!”
The other got up as well. “Yeah, you show him, brother!”
The stallion only smiled. “You’re only proving me right; only idiots use such crude responses.”
“Why, you!”
A pegasus mare across the table sighed. “You know, this is taking too long. If we’re not getting down to business, then I’m leaving.”
The other pegasus nodded her head. “I agree. I don’t have time to hang out with you losers.”
The two got up and prepared to leave as the other four continued to argue. The mare who brought them together simply held her hooves together, before finally speaking.
“All of you...shut up.”
Her voice was clear, yet not loud. All of the talking stopped as she stood up, and the two pegasi halted at the door.
She turned towards the pegasi. “You two...sit down.” Immediately, they moved to their seats. She looked around at each of the ponies. “I gathered you all here because we are all different, yet the same.
“We’re artisans, athletes, business ponies. We are unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies. We are all from different places across this nation of Equestria.” She said, her gaze focused on the candle. “Yes, we are different indeed, but we are also the same.”
The cocky pegasus raised an eyebrow and smirked. “Really? All I heard was how different we are. I mean, I’m better than all of you so you’re kind of right, but that’s not the point. How are we the same?”
The mare grinned slightly in the candlelight. “You have all met the Elements of Harmony, correct?”
As soon as those words left her mouth, each of the ponies at the table stiffened. Some flared wings, while others silently cursed. Some looked into the darkness, while others would glare at the table. After they calmed down enough, the two brothers turned their gaze to the mare.
“Yeah, we’ve met the Elements.” One said, spitting on the ground. “Ran us out of business, they did.”
“Did it twice, too.” The other muttered, his coat bristling.
The arrogant earth pony to her left cleared her throat. “It’s obvious we’ve all had dealings with those ponies, yes?” She looked around, each of her compatriots nodding in turn. She turned her head back towards the mare. The candle flickered in her eyes, showing nothing but contempt. “What does it mean to you?”
She smiled. “What does it mean? I think that’s rather obvious.”
The Trottingham stallion gave her a confused look. “Obvious? Obvious how?”
The mare stepped into the light, revealing herself to be a unicorn. “Well, we all have the same hatred in our hearts, the same anger in our veins. We’ve all at one point fallen when one of them rose. We’ve tasted betrayal, felt the coldness of the shadow while they basked in the light.”
The other pegasus grew impatient. “And?! Are you just rubbing it in now, or are you going to tell us why we’re here?”
Once more, she smiled. “My friends, we are here for one reason and one reason alone.” She glanced over all of them before saying the next sentence with venom.
“We are here to tear down the Elements of Harmony.”
She was met with silence, then grins, then full out smiles. Soon, all of them were muttering agreement and then turned to their new leader, a pony who had united them in their fall.
She sat down and cleared her throat. “So...it begins.”