Absolute Nightmare

The sun hung high over Canterlot as Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer watched the crowds of ponies entering Canterlot. Packed trains stopped briefly at the station to spew out more ponies than they looked like they looked like they could hold and then moved on to allow the next train to do the same. Pegasus after Pegasus landed at the various check-in points at the perimeters of the city. The streets were filled with bustling herds of tourists and visiting delegates.

Sunset turned to Twilight. “Doesn't this seem a tad extreme? The summit is like three days of boring meetings and negotiations for the visiting delegates. Why are all the tourists here?”

“They're probably here to see the princesses,” Twilight explained, standing up. “It's so rare for all four princesses to be together, especially for a public event like this. Princess Cadenza and Princess Radiant Hope sometimes don't even attend the Summer Sun Celebration or the Winter Lunar Festival or even the Grand Galloping Gala.”

Twilight grabbed a nearby scroll with her magic and began to read it for the tenth time in the past two hours.

“Oh, and there's the Wonderbolt performance preceding Princess Celestia and Princess Luna's opening sunrise tomorrow,” she added as an afterthought.

Sunset took one more look out of the window of Twilight's ivory tower and then trotted over to her friend.

“Are you really reading that again?” the orange unicorn asked the purple.

“It's such an important day!” Twilight said, not taking her eyes off her checklist. “With all the tourists here, and all the princesses and the representatives, everything has to be perfect!”

Sunset placed a hoof on the scroll and brought it down onto a nearby table. “Don't worry, Twilight. Everything will be fine. Especially with Spike and I helping you.”

Twilight let out a deep breath and calmed down for all of three seconds, before adopting a look of confusion.

“Wait. Where is Spike?”

The two friends searched through the piles of books filling Twilight's tower, calling out his name. A large heap of books on a chair toppled over, revealing a yawning Spike.

Twilight trotted over to her young dragon assistant. “Spike, why were you still asleep? It's midday!”

Spike dusted himself off and hopped down onto the floor. “Sorry, Twilight, but last night was exhausting. I was helping you get ready until three in the morning.”

Twilight's response died in her throat as Spike coughed out a plume of green flames. A scroll appeared out of the fire and Twilight caught it with her magic and read through it as Sunset approached.

“Come on, Sunset,” Twilight said, heading for the door. “That was Kibitz. We're meeting up with some classmates to check all of the preparations for tomorrow.”

Sunset and Twilight galloped out, leaving Spike to begin reshelving the mountains of books littering the tower.

Yet another train entered the Canterlot train station, and yet another crowd of ponies emerged from it, rushing to find something to eat or a place to stay.

Among these ponies was Daring Do, archaeologist, bestselling novelist, courageous treasure hunter, and, if her papers were to believed, a simple mailpony by the name of Phantom Tornado. She wore a beret, her identifiable black and gray mane tucked inside, a puffy green sweater and a long black skirt that covered her cutie mark and tail.

She and the rest of the crowd were herded into lines that led to security checkpoints. Royal guards stood at the exits and each pony would have to be approved before being allowed into the city. Daring wasn't worried. The princesses were aware of her appointment there.

She made it through the checkpoint without issue and entered the city, currently no less crowded than the cramped train station.

The city was abuzz with activity. Many storefront windows were lined with ponies excitedly looking at all of the designer fashions. Restaurants had lines of waiting parties that stretched the whole perimeter of the buildings. Parents carried their foals, sometimes two or three of them, on their backs for fear that they would get lost in the mass of ponies. The skies were filled with so many Pegasi that they had developed an impromptu system of aerial lanes and intersections to avoid collisions.

Daring slid her way past a group of Earth ponies in Stetsons and saw her destination: Pony Joe's Donut Shop.

Daring scanned the room as she entered the shop. It appeared much less crowded than most of the fancier restaurants, which was good considering the relatively small number of tables. Three burly Pegasi with sports-related cutie marks sat at a table by the window, making short work of an extra large box of donuts. A brown-maned unicorn with a bowl and spoon for a cutie mark was having what seemed like a very pleasant conversation with somepony who Daring assumed was Pony Joe. A pink unicorn with an exceptionally curly purple mane was sharing a meal with an off-duty guard, still in uniform. And there was mare Daring was looking for: a mare with pink and blue curls, sitting alone at a table in the far corner with a box of donuts waiting on the table in front of her.

“Sweetie Drops?” Daring asked, sitting down across from the mare.

Sweetie nodded, took a donut from the box, and slid the box over to Daring. “I take it you're 'A.K. Yearling.'”

“That's what it says on my books.” Daring said, opening the box. A photo was taped to the bottom of the lid. She took it and a chocolate donut and then slid the box back.

The photo showed a black-maned unicorn with a bright red horn standing at the outskirts of a dark wooded area.

“The pony in that picture, if he is a pony, is Sombra. He's got an extremely extensive criminal record. Thefts, assaults, and there are even a number of murders that were almost certainly committed by him.”

“What do you mean 'if he is a pony?'”

“Well, that's the odd thing,” Sweetie said, grabbing another donut. “He appears to be a simple unicorn, although with an unusual horn, but his record goes back centuries. If all the crimes attributed to him are his, then he's got to be somewhere in the vicinity of a thousand years old.

“He's had multiple aliases, and he's lived all over Equestria. In fact, given the lengths of time between some sightings, he's probably spent a decent amount of time living outside of the kingdom.”

Pretty much any other pony would be stunned by that information. Daring just rolled with it. Frankly, with a line of work like hers, that wasn't even the strangest thing she'd heard that week.

“Where was this picture taken?” Daring asked, reaching over for another donut.

“That's the Everfree Forest. If your books are to be believed, you're rather familiar with that area.”

The gold-coated Pegasus rolled her eyes. “Nopony enters the Everfree Forest for fun. And nopony smart enters it alone.”

Sweetie Drops smirked. “Didn't you go in alone in Daring Do and the Legend of—”

“Well, yes, but—”

“And again in Daring Do and the—”

“Okay, okay!”

Daring pressed on in spite of Sweetie Drops' chuckling. “So we're going to go track this guy down in the Everfree? Why did we meet all the way in Canterlot?”

“Oh, we're not going to the Everfree. We're going to stay in Canterlot and make sure Sombra doesn't show up.”

“Wait. You called me, a professional treasure hunter, in to help you and your little organization with a 'matter of crucial importance,' and it's to stand around in Canterlot and look for baddies?” Daring said, standing up to leave.

Sweetie reached out and put a hoof on Daring's shoulder. “Calm down. We called you in because we're clearly dealing with something very strange here. And in four days, if Sombra hasn't shown up, we can go track him down.

“But all the princesses are here. There are nobles, and business leaders, and governing officials from every major city in Equestria. There are even representatives from Yakyakistan and Griffonstone. Security here is crucial.”

Daring Do sighed. “Let's get to work.”

“First we will make sure that the Wonderbolts are fully prepared for tomorrow's performance, then we need to check the catering, and then see to it that all of the meeting rooms are prepared and that there are no conflicts with the scheduled times for each event, and then after that comes the…”

Kibitz, royal scheduling advisor to the Royal Sisters, lead the group of young unicorns toward the Canterlot stadium, completely unaware that his words were falling on deaf ears. Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle walked close behind him, lost in conversation. Behind them were Minuette and Lemon Hearts, and bringing up the rear was Moon Dancer, meekly alternating between watching Twilight and Sunset and staring at the floor.

Moon Dancer wasn't a very social pony, usually preferring the company of a book to that of other ponies, but she had come to see Twilight as a kindred spirit. They were both very studious and inquisitive, and they had established a good rapport with each other during classes and study breaks.

However, Moon Dancer had so far found herself unable to ask Twilight about spending time together outside of class. The young student didn't usually have any issues talking with other ponies, but Twilight seemed to be joined by the hip with Sunset. Sunset appeared to be a nice enough pony, but she was a bit too brash and overbearing for Moon Dancer. She didn't particularly enjoy the prospect of interacting with Sunset even just to talk to Twilight, and she was almost certain that any time spent with Twilight would also include her best friend as well.

Moon Dancer was shaken from her thoughts when the roar of the Pegasi performing their maneuvers hit her ears as the group entered the stadium. The Wonderbolts were practicing their routine for tomorrow morning's performance, and Moon Dancer marveled at the routine. She wasn't really a fan of Pegasus aerial shows, or really any athletic displays, but the Wonderbolts were doing maneuvers she'd only read about and she found it fascinating to see them performed live.

The Lamassu Ascending Spiral! The Rainshower Slow Roll! The Artumeas Tailslide! The Icaranian Sun Salutation!

After performing the latter two, Princess Luna and Princess Celestia's favorite techniques respectively, they all flew side-by-side skyward, the vapor trails they left behind forming a curtain of smoke concealing the platform where the Royal Sisters would be waiting to lower the moon and raise the sun.

The smokescreen was promptly blasted away by an explosion of sound and color. A rainbow-colored ring of light erupted from the center of the blast. Moon Dancer briefly became worried the shock wave would damage the grandstands, but as soon as it reached them it dissipated as the glimmer of a protection spell appeared where it hit and raced down the circumference of the wall surrounding the field.

The source of the blast was a Pegasus, now spiraling upward towards the other Wonderbolts, a rainbow trailing her. When she met up with the rest of her team, they all shot back down through the multicolored tunnel she'd created. Coming out on the other end, they pulled up and landed on a semicircle of cloud lining the front half of the princesses' platform.

Applause broke out from the watching unicorn students. Moon Dancer was the one exception, eyes wide and lost in awe.

A Sonic Rainboom!!

Those were supposed to just be an old mare's tale! Moon Dancer had just watched a legend become real right in front of her eyes! This was incredible!

The Wonderbolts flew over to Kibitz and the students, and the unicorns broke off to go speak with the performers. One with a coat and mane the color of fire, apparently the leader, landed before Kibitz. Moon Dancer was still standing behind him, trying to shake herself from her wonderment.

“A fine show, Miss… Spitfire, is it?” said Kibitz.

“Yes, sir. Captain Spitfire. I take it from your applause that the performance was acceptable?”

Kibitz sputtered out a flustered “Yes, well, of course. A fine, fine show. Of course.”

Moon Dancer, mostly recovered, looked around for Twilight and saw her and Sunset speaking with the Pegasus that had performed the sonic rainboom. Her mane was, fittingly, rainbow-colored as well, and she noticeably had a different flight suit than the others, cyan with silver accents rather than blue and gold.

Moon Dancer made her way over to them, having just found enough incentive to risk a conversation with Sunset.

“—make turns like that in my sleep!” the Pegasus was saying. “In fact, last month I—”

“How did you do a sonic rainboom!?” blurted out Moon Dancer. She stuck out her hoof and added in a much softer tone, “Oh, um, hi. I'm Moon Dancer.”

“Rainbow Dash,” responded the Wonderbolt, forcing an awkward smile and shaking the blushing mare's hoof. “The rainboom is actually kind of my specialty. I've been doing it since I was a filly. It's how I got my cutie mark.” Rainbow, sporting a huge grin, pointed to her flank only to realize that her cutie mark couldn't be seen with her flight suit on.

“Oh, that's incredible! Did the Wonderbolts recruit you because you can do it?”

At this, Rainbow was the one to blush. “Well, actually, I'm not really a Wonderbolt. Not yet. I won a contest last year to perform at this show with them. I will be one someday though! Soon!”

This didn't do anything to lessen the smile on Moon Dancer's face.

Sunset spoke up. “Hey, Rainbow. Who's he?” She motioned to a nearby Wonderbolt stallion, light blue with a darker blue mane.

“Oh, that's Soarin. He's kinda Spitfire's second-in-command.”

“He's kinda hot,” said Sunset. “You two ever…”

Rainbow's blush returned, stronger than ever. “No! I, mean, I, uh—”

Spitfire called out for the Wonderbolts to regroup for a final run-through, and Rainbow Dash flew up to meet them so quickly that the wind from her takeoff sent Moon Dancer's glasses flying.

After checking on the statuses of twenty-two different conference halls and banquet rooms, even Twilight was beginning to get tired. Her hooves were starting to ache from all the walking, and the only things she'd eaten that day were some cupcakes that Sunset had taken when they were meeting with the caterers.

They were crossing a courtyard between building when Sunset nudged Twilight. She pointed to a group of royal guards on the other side of the courtyard.

“Hey, isn't that your brother?” Sunset asked her lavender friend.

Twilight's face lit up. “Yes! It's Shining Armor!”

Sunset slid over to Moon Dancer. “Hey, could you do us a favor?”

Moon Dancer slid her glasses up her muzzle, a little flustered. “Uh, what favor?”

“We need you to distract Kibitz so Twilight can go over and talk with her brother.” Noting Moon Dancer's uncertain expression, she added, “Come on, bookworm. It'd mean a lot to Twilight.”

Moon Dancer sighed, then ran up to Kibitz. “Mr. Kibitz, sir? I have something I need to talk with you about.”

Sunset motioned to Twilight and the two galloped across the courtyard.

Shining Armor seemed to be leading the royal guard in their drills, but upon seeing Twilight the stallion dropped everything and ran to meet her.

“Twily!” Shining called out, magically lifting his helmet off, his horn glowing pink, just a shade lighter than the color of his sister's magic aura.

“Shining!” Twilight said, running into his embrace. “It's been so long!”

Shining Armor chuckled. “It's been like two weeks, Twily.”

“Yeah, well that's too long,” said Twilight. “If you weren't always so busy with your dumb old captain duties…”

“Well maybe if you weren't so busy being some special royal protégé!” Shining Armor retorted.

The two siblings broke out into a fit of laughter.

“You must be Sunset Shimmer,” the beaming white unicorn said. “Twilight's told me all about you.”

He reached out a hoof for a shake but Sunset gave him a hoofbump instead. “I've heard a lot about you too. Captain of the guard, great brother…” She looked him up and down. “…a real fine stallion.”

Shining let out an awkward chuckle and said, “So, er, what brings you two here?”

“We're helping prepare for the summit. We're with Kibitz and some of our classmates,” Twilight said, looking back to their group. Moon Dancer had her copy of the schedule out, having apparently found many questions to ask about it. Minuette and Lemon Hearts were sitting in the grass, probably to rest their tired hooves. “How about you?”

“Just running drills with the guard. Security has got to be on point for the next three days. There's a lot of really important ponies here, and the crowds are huge. Hopefully the tourists would leave after the Wonderbolt performance.”

“Personally I like all the tourists arriving. I don't usually get many opportunities to meet new ponies,” said Sunset. She eyed an approaching guard approvingly. “Speaking off, who's he?”

“I'm Flash Sentry, ma'am,” said the guard, a light orange Pegasus. He turned to Shining Armor and whispered something in his ear.

Shining nodded and turned back to Twilight, giving her another quick hug. “Twily, Sunset, I've got to get back to work. It was great to see you both. Love you, Twily.”

“I love you too, big brother!” Twilight smiled.

Sunset waved goodbye to Flash. “See you around,” she said with half-lidded eyes, and then turned and walked away with Twilight, swaying her hips.

“Weren't you interested in Soarin like two hours ago?” asked Twilight.

“Who says I'm still not?” responded Sunset, nudging Twilight with her flank.

“I think Kibitz noticed we were gone,” said Twilight, meeting the old unicorn's disappointed gaze.

“Well, let's just say we were checking on the status of the security for the summit.”

“Good job out there, Rainbow Dash. Keep flying like that and you'll be an official Wonderbolt in no time.”

Rainbow Dash already had something of an ego. She liked to think of it as just being aware of how awesome she was. Regardless of what anypony called it, her head was getting a little big hearing all of this. Compliments from her heroes, the Wonderbolts? She was admittedly feeling a little cocky. Compliments from Soarin specifically? Well, she was over the moon. Not that she'd admit that to anypony.

She finished packing away her flight suit into her locker, idly wishing she could wear it around Canterlot, and turned around to find the locker room emptied, save for a green Pegasus. Rainbow recognized her instantly. She wasn't a Wonderbolt, but that wasn't for lack of trying.

“Lightning Dust,” Rainbow spat out, as if the name tasted bad in her mouth.

“Rainbow Crash,” Lightning said with a smirk. “Been a while.”

“This area is for Wonderbolts only,” Rainbow said, whipping Lightning with her tail as she passed her on the way out.

The orange-maned mare followed Rainbow Dash out, rubbing her nose with a hoof. “Well, you stole my spot on the team, so I think I have more of a right to be here than you do.”

“I didn't steal anything. You were reckless and you endangered every other contestant. You don't deserve anything to do with the Wonderbolts.”

“I'm banned for life, you arrogant little brat!” Lightning roared, jabbing a hoof into Rainbow's chest. “I had talent! My dream was to fly with the greatest Pegasus team in Equestria and I had the skills to make it! But then you and your stupid friends took all of that away from me!”

Rainbow slapped her leg away. “You think that's my fault? You were the one who completely disregarded the safety of everypony there. You were the one who actively sabotaged your competition. You were the one who almost hurt my friends! Don't blame me and don't you dare blame them. This is on you.”

Lightning Dust was so furious that Rainbow half-expected steam to come out of her ears. The enraged Pegasus reared back, wings extended, and thundered, “Do you think you're here because of your talent? You're only here because of your pretty little light show! You're a pathetic little weather pony and the only impressive thing about you is what you leave behind when you fly away!”

A flash of anger ran across Rainbow Dash's face, but it just as quickly vanished as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Well, even if that were true, I'm the one who'll be flying with the Wonderbolts and you're the one who'll be sitting in the stands.

“And now you can watch the 'pretty light show' as I fly away.”

Lightning Dust stood there fuming as the honorary Wonderbolt rocketed away, leaving a rainbow trail as promised.

Lightning screamed and kicked a hole in a nearby wall.

“We'll see who's flying with the Wonderbolts tomorrow, you pretentious little…” She couldn't even think of a strong enough word, so she just ended it with a loud growl.

“Trixie, are we ready?”

A blue unicorn wearing a long purple cape emblazoned with stars emerged from around the corner of a nearby building. The wind was blowing her cape up, revealing a cutie mark of a wand emitting a crescent of glittering magic.

“Tonight's the night, Lightning,” the newcomer said with a grin. “He's just arrived, and he has them. We're ready.”

After hours of walking around Canterlot on the lookout for Sombra or other signs of trouble, Daring Do and Sweetie Drops decided to take a break. Luckily they managed to find a decent restaurant that miraculously had some available seating.

Daring stood up from her seat in the waiting area when a waiter approached to lead them to their table. “Come on, Sweetie—”

The tricolored mare jumped up and cut Daring's statement short with a swift kick to the knee.

The waiter gave the pair a smile and motioned for them to follow him. “Come on, you two.”

After a moment, Daring realized how that must have sounded. Her cheeks reddened, her face looking a little odd since she was still wincing from the kick.

After the two took their seats in the veranda behind the restaurant, Daring immediately inquired, through gritted teeth and using a few very crude words, as to why Sweetie Drops had just randomly assaulted her.

“You almost used my name. My real name.”

“You have fake names?” Daring asked, raising an eyebrow.

“You're one to talk,” Sweetie said, rolling her eyes.

Daring didn't change her expression, and after a few moments Sweetie sighed and explained.

“The agency I work for is top secret. The only ponies aware of its existence are the Royal Sisters, the agents, and a very select group of consultants we recruit for our most important missions. You're lucky enough to be among those.

“Sweetie Drops is my real name. It's also the name I can only use when talking with other members of the agency.

“A couple years ago, there was a major changeling invasion in Manehattan. We were called in to track down the changelings and stop the invasion before the public ever found out about it. We failed. I'd rather not go into details, but the whole operation went south. I was forced to adopt a new public identity.

“I'm now known to most as Bon Bon. I run a simple candy store in Ponyville. Just a boring old pony, blending into the background.”

The waiter showed up again to give them their drinks. After he left, Daring spoke up.

“So, no one knows your name? Everyone you meet, all your friends, call you by a name that isn't yours? You can't tell anyone? What about your special somepony? Do you have one? A spouse or a colt- or marefriend?”

“Bon Bon” stared down into her drink, stirring it absentmindedly with her straw. “Yeah, no one knows. And, yes. I have a marefriend. Her name is Lyra. She's a musician. She plays the lyre, and her music is so beautiful. She doesn't even use magic! With just her hooves she makes the most beautiful songs you've ever heard.”

She looked up to see her new Pegasus friend had also become rather interested in her tea. “So, um,” she went on, “how about you? Anypony special in your life?”

Daring looked out into the crowds of ponies passing by. “No, nopony special. Actually, nopony at all.”

“Nopony? Really?”

“I'm used to living under an alias. My situation is worse, though. Or, well different,” she corrected. “Differently bad, I guess. You live in a bustling little town with a marefriend and all your friends. I know it must hurt to hear them call you by some fake name, like they don't really know you, but really, they do. Even if they don't call you Sweetie Drops, it's Sweetie Drops they know. It's Sweetie Drops that Lyra fell in love with.”

Sweetie was smiling the biggest smile, wiping away a few happy tears that were threatening to run down her cheeks.

Daring continued, “My life isn't like that. The ponies I'm most familiar with are usually thieves or killers or trying to set off a volcano or something. All enemies, no friends. The only reason I have an alias is to have a name to put on the cover of my books.”

“Why do you do it?” asked Sweetie. “If you've got to live some secret life, why do you write about all of your adventures and market it as fiction?”

“To get the truth out,” was the simple response. “For one thing, I've seen amazing things. Ancient cities and feats of magic most people wouldn't believe. Plus, most of what I uncover is from civilizations long past. It's all things that ponies today have never heard of, and all too often, it's stuff there's no written record of at all. I have to make their stories told.”

“Wow. That's—”

“Wait! Sweetie, have you noticed that guy before?”

Sweetie turned to look into the crowd. “Which guy?”

“Stallion. White. Snowflake cutie mark.”

“Oh, him. Yeah, I think I've seen him a few times today.”

Daring stood up. “I think he's been following that mare. The purple unicorn. Cutie mark's hard to describe; it probably represents magic. He's been a few ponies behind her all day.”

The Pegasus leaped over the railing and trotted through the crowd toward the white Earth pony. Sweetie Drops tossed some bits onto the table and hopped the fence too.

Within seconds the two had maneuvered their way through the mass of ponies and made it to the stallion in question. Sweetie flashed a badge (Canterlot Guard Special Investigations Unit) and the pony calmly let them escort him into an empty alleyway, but not before taking one more glance into the crowd to locate the heliotrope unicorn.

Daring began the interrogation. “What's your name?”

“Double Diamond,” the stallion replied, in a voice neither mare could place, but which led both of them, upon trying to describe it, to think of the same word: “righteous.”

“Why were you following that mare?”

“I think there's something wrong with her. Something evil. Like, dark magic.”

Whatever they'd been expecting, it wasn't this.

Sweetie found her voice first. “Why do you believe that?”

“Well, I'm a professional skier,” Double Diamond began. “I was skiing in the Crystal Mountains when I happened upon a house all by itself. I would've ignored it, but then I saw black smoke begin creeping out of the windows.

“I figured there was a fire, so I ran over to help. But when I got there I saw that the smoke was magical, and it was all around that mare. She was asleep and this black smoke was just flowing out of her. Or, into her. It was hard to tell.

She was talking in her sleep about nightmares and Canterlot and the Royal Sisters. So, I followed her here to keep an eye on her until tomorrow. I'm hoping have an opportunity to discuss this with one of the princesses during the summit.”

“Well, today's your lucky day,” said Sweetie. “We're taking you to them tonight.”

Being a member of the royal guard was a stressful job, and being the captain was obviously even moreso. Shining Armor had quickly taken to unwinding with a drink after his shifts. Just as quickly, he'd taken to Fuchsia Fizz's as his bar of choice.

It was there, sitting at the bar gulping down his second mug of hard cider, that he ran into two old friends.

“Shining Armor?” called out two stallions at once. One was an earth pony with a tan coat, a black mane, and a pair of cherries for a cutie mark. The other was a brown Pegasus with a bright blue mane and cutie mark of a blocky stylized… something.

“Cherry Fizzy? 8-bit?” Shining said, a big smile on his face, a little lopsided from the alchohol.

The pair lead Shining to a booth, Cherry having to keep him from stumbling on the way. Cherry ordered a light cider, 8-bit ordered a root beer, and Shining ordered a water at the behest of his friends.

“Shining, you really can't hold your alcohol can you?”

“Hey, this is the hard stuff!” Shining said indignantly. “It's got like bourbon, or, or gin, or something.”

8-bit chuckled. “Do you usually drink like this?”

“No, I just needed to, uh, wind down tonight, I guess.” Shining said, gulping down water. “There's all the stress, ya know, with the summit, and there's Twilight, and…”

“Your sister?” asked 8-bit. “What's wrong with her?”

“She's just, like,… You know, it's just that I don't see her much anymore. I'm the captain and she's one of the princesses' special students, and I just don't trust the other one.”

8-bit and Cherry waited for clarification, but Shining just stared ahead drinking his water. After about fifteen seconds of awkward silence, Cherry waved a hoof in front of Shining's face. “The other one?”

“The sisters' other student. Like, their other special one. 'Progé'.” Shining said, slamming down his mug hard enough that the ponies nearest them jumped.

“Er, you mean 'protégé?'” asked 8-bit.

“Yeah, her. Sunset Dimmer… Shimmer!”

“So, what's wrong with Sunset Dimmer-Shimmer?” said Cherry, earning a chuckle from 8-bit and uproarious laughter from Shining.

After his laughter finally died down, Shining answered, “She's just so, so, ya know… she's a troublemaker. She troublemakes.”

“I wouldn't worry about Twilight,” said 8-bit. “She's a smart girl. She isn't like you were in high school,” he added with a wink.

“Oh, you went to high school together?” asked Cherry. It just occurred to him that they hadn't even shared names, but in their defense, Shining made for quite a distraction.

“Yep. We're both Canterlot Academy alumni.” 8-bit gave Cherry a quick hoofbump. “Name's 8-bit, by the way.”

“Cherry Fizzy. Nice to meet you.”

“How do you know Shining Armor?” 8-bit asked, finishing the last of his root beer.

“Oh, we met in basic training. We both served on the guard for a while, but while he moved on up the chain of command, I became a soldier. We didn't see each other as often after that so we ended up breaking up,” Cherry explained matter-of-factly.

“Wait, you two dated?” 8-bit turned to Shining. “You're bi?” 8-bit wasn't upset by that fact, though he was a little peeved that Shining hadn't ever shared that with him.

Shining, who had spent their tangent of the conversation staring at his reflection in the small amount of water still in his mug, again burst out into wild laughter, apparently having thought of an even funnier joke than “Sunset Dimmer-Shimmer.” He eventually managed to calm down enough to share it, giving a little wave and sputtering out “Bi-bi!”

8-bit and Cherry sat dumbstruck for a moment before they burst into incoherent laughter and joined Shining in his hysterics. Soon, they were being escorted out of the bar with tears in their eyes.

“We've got to keep this night going,” 8-bit managed to get out. “Hey Shining, you ever play Oubliettes and Ogres with your boy toy here?”

Cherry, remarkably, managed to laugh even harder at that. “Oubliettes and Ogres? Shining Armor, you dork!” He gave Shining an affectionate shove, and the intoxicated stallion went stumbling forward.

Shining whooped. “Party at my house!”

Double Diamond was a simple pony. He was from a small town, and as a professional skier he spent most of his time in mountain cabins and hotels. He definitely wasn't the kind of pony one would expect to see standing before the princesses of Equestria.

As Sweetie Drops and Daring Do (or as he knew her, Phantom Tornado) introduced the princesses to both him and the problem at hand, he looked around the elegant throne room, finding himself unable to meet the alicorn princesses' gaze.

The walls bore a number of stained glass windows. Some depicted scenes from Equestria's history, while others featured simple patterns and panels all of the same color; Double Diamond assumed the latter were placeholders should later events prove significant enough to earn depiction in the royal hall.

One window showed Princess Celestia and Princess Luna standing to either side of a bearded unicorn in a long cloak and tall pointed hat. A crown floated above each of the princesses' heads, surrounded by a magical aura matching the one emitting from the unicorn's horn. Above the trio were three ponies, one of each tribe, and above them were the sun and the moon, the sun surrounded by the same aura around Princess Celestia's horn, the moon surrounded by the same from Princess Luna's.

The princesses of the Crystal Empire each had a window of their own as well. Princess Radiant Hope was depicted, wings outstretched, over a field of ponies. Rays of blue light shined down upon them, and the ponies looked toward the alicorn with looks of hope and joy. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, meanwhile, was shown with her wings held high over her head. She had a small pale blue heart on her chest, and a much larger version of the heart floated between her wings, projecting light in all directions.

The only other notable window showed the Royal Sisters flying above a bizarre looking beast. It was some gargantuan monster, judging from how it dominated the window and dwarfed the princesses. The beast was a solid gray, and the princesses, the celestial body associated with each shining behind them, were blasting the creature with multicolored beams of magic. Double Diamond had no idea what event that was supposed to represent.

The princesses called him forward. The sisters were sitting on twin thrones situated on a circular platform. The platform was golden, save for a silver crescent on the edge, upon with rested Princess Luna's throne. Princess Luna's throne sat upon the golden portion. In his anxiousness, Double Diamond didn't recognize the pattern as representing the sun and moon. To either side a crystal throne had been constructed, the one on the right emblazoned with a heart and the one on the left with open wings. Both were empty at the moment.

Double Diamond stepped forward and bowed. He'd never been in the presence of royalty, and he hoped he was behaving correctly. After a few moments he heard Sweetie Drops clear her throat and he jolted back up, and directed his gaze at the windows again, embarrassed.

“Double Diamond,” began Princess Celestia. “Please tell us everything you can remember about the incident you shared with these two.”

“Yes, your highness. Well the mare's name is Starlight, if she was being honest when I overheard her,” said Double Diamond, suddenly very self-conscious about his accent. “When I first saw her, she was covered in this thick black smoke. It was pitch black, and it didn't even really seem like it was smoke. It seemed kinda solid.

“She was asleep, and she was tossing and turning like she was having a nightmare. She was speaking really calmly though. She talked about coming to Canterlot and “letting him out.” She also talked about you, Princess Celestia.”

The sisters shared a worried look.

He continued, “And then, after it was all over, the smoke flew away. It was like it was alive. It just flew up into the sky and disappeared. Then Starlight woke up and then the next morning she left and set out on her trip here.”

“And you followed her here without her knowing?” asked Princess Luna.

“Yes, I just couldn't stand by and let something bad happen. So I followed her here hoping to meet with you and warn you both. I know you can handle anything she could do, but I didn't want anypony to be hurt by whatever she was planning or whatever that smoke was.”

The sisters shared a hushed conversation. Then, turning back, Princess Celestia asked “Is there anything else you can remember, Double Diamond?”

“No ma'am,” he replied, performing a much shorter bow than his first.

“You three may leave,” said Princess Luna.

The three gave one more bow before departing. In the hall they passed two unicorns, one purple and one orange and red, being led by an older cream-colored one. Meanwhile, in the throne room, the princesses had called over a nearby royal guardsman, telling him to increase security in the statue gardens.

Sunset Shimmer wasn't a fan of formal dinners. She didn't like eating tiny portions with one of ten forks, and she didn't like wearing frilly dresses, and she really didn't like having to listen to boring dinner conversations. She was willing to suffer all of that tonight, though, for a chance to dine with all four of the princesses (oh, and Twilight, too.)

The six mares were sitting around a round table in the Royal Sisters' private dining room. Unlike almost every area of the castle, this room wasn't filled with gold trim or ornate statues or detailed stained glass windows. It was a simple marble room, and the only pieces of furniture were the table and chairs, and a large china cabinet against the wall. Two flags, those of Equestria and of the Crystal Empire, hung on opposite walls.

The princesses of the two kingdoms conversed about policies and foreign relations while the two unicorns watched, sipping from their tiny bowls of cucumber soup and marveling at the foreign rulers and their beautiful crystal coats. Equestria and the Crystal Empire were essentially sister nations, but it was very rare for any of the princesses to actually visit their neighboring state. Twilight and Sunset had only met either of the Crystal Princesses a hooffull of times.

Princess Luna directed the conversation to the subject of their guests. “These two young mares are our personal students. They are both very talented at magic, and their grades are superb. They are both destined for great things, I can assure you.”

Sunset and Twilight introduced themselves by name to the Crystal Princesses. They talked at length about their studies and the more notable and impressive feats of magic they had performed, until Sunset steered the conversation to a new subject.

“Princess Radiant Hope, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, would you mind if I asked you a somewhat personal question.”

“What would you like to know, dear?” said Princess Radiant Hope.

Both of her teachers shot her stern and disapproving looks, but Sunset pressed on. “If you don't mind my asking, how did you two become alicorn princesses?”

Princess Luna and Princess Celestia both seemed to be deciding whether to apologize on Sunset's behalf or berate her, but Princess Hope held up her hoof, her patient and motherly smile never leaving her face, and began her story.

“I was born over a thousand years ago in the Crystal Empire, back when it was a single city. It was a beautiful city though, and it was ruled by the kind-hearted and benevolent Princess Amore.”

“No relation,” Princess Mi Amore interjected.

Princess Hope continued. “She ruled the Empire with love and care. She actually was responsible for the very first Crystal Faire. But then, when I was still young, tragedy struck.

“Princess Amore was assassinated. The empire awoke one day to find her dead, killed by an unknown assailant. Nopony knew who the culprit was, and nopony ever found out.” A darkness crept across the princess's face, but in an instant her bright smile returned. Sunset wondered how much of her sunny disposition was genuine.

“After that, the Empire was ruled by a council of elected officials. I, meanwhile, had moved to Canterlot to study under the princesses. I was where you are now, a thousand years ago, and look at me now. Your destinies truly will be remarkable, I believe.” This brought a smile to the students' faces. However, Sunset's carried none of the warmth that Princess Hope's did.

“You see, I had displayed exceptional skill in healing magic. It's how I got my cutie mark, in fact.” She proudly displayed her mark, an odd golden symbol, showing two snakes curled around a staff, topped with wings. “It is a caduceus, a symbol of medicine. I had displayed the ability to heal almost any injury or illness.

“Then came the next misfortune. The council ruling the empire decided to expand its territory. This soon had brought them into conflict with the neighboring nation of Yakyakistan. Before anypony realized their mistake, war had broken out.

“Many ponies and yaks died in the war. It lasted for three years. Then, finally, the princesses were able to talk the yaks into agreeing to meet to discuss the possibility of a treaty. I went with them, and I ended up trapped in the middle of a battle when things went south.

“It was there, in the middle of war, that I discovered the true scope of my abilities. Seeing all the violence and death around me, something in me awakened and I projected a burst of magical energy that enveloped the entire battlefield. I could do nothing for the dead, but all of the wounded, no matter the extent of their injuries, were instantly healed, pony and yak alike. The Yakyakistan royalty were eager to speak with us after that.

“And that feat of magic is what earned me my wings,” she finished.

Sunset and Twilight sat there wonderstruck.

Princess Mi Amore spoke up. “I guess it's my turn now. My story isn't nearly as impressive though.”

Princess Hope patted her shoulder reassuringly. Princess Mi Amore began, “I was found as a filly by Earth ponies. I was a Pegasus, and I was an orphan. To this day I have no idea who my parents are or where I came from, but the Earth ponies raised me as their own.

“Living alone near our village in an old cabin was an evil enchantress by the name of Prismia. She possessed a powerful magical artifact which amplified the negative emotions she carried. Soon the growing darkness inside her drove her to cast a wicked enchantment which drained the love and compassion from all the ponies in our village.

“I knew I had to do something, so I went to her cabin to confront her. I was a Pegasus and so I could do no magic myself, but I had to try. Luckily, when I entered the cabin, I realized that the magical necklace Prismia wore which amplified her negative feelings could also amplify my positive ones.

“I have the ability to spread love wherever I go. I'm literally able to create feelings of love and cooperation with my magic. This is an almost unheard of ability. With the necklace enhancing my abilities, I was able to inspire love in Prismia. The ability to create love where it had never existed was impressive enough to earn me my horn.

“Soon after, I was adopted by Princess Hope and taken to live in the Crystal Empire. By then it had grown to the huge empire it is today. I ruled alongside Radiant Hope, first as her daughter and pupil, then as her equal.”

The table was silent for a few moments, nopony sure how to follow those stories. Then the waiters came bringing the next course in the next tiny bowls, and the conversation turned once again to the food.

“Princess Sunset Shimmer.”

Sunset's tower was similar in dimensions to Twilight's, but instead of resembling a library, it instead looked like a lived-in dorm. Which it was, really.

Shet stood in front of a full-length mirror she had just enchanted. Her reflection wore an ornate crown up her head and long, full alicorn wings on her back. Her reflection's hoof held a long golden scepter topped with a tiny recreation of her head.

She was savoring her self-appointed fantasy title. “Princess Sunset Shimmer. Sunset Shimmer, Her Royal Highness. Princess Sunset Shimmer, beloved ruler of all the light touches.”

Sunset, in spite of herself, twirled, admiring Princess Sunset's royal gowns.

She jumped in shock when the door behind her flew open. A tall, dark figure stepped through the doorway, eyes glowing red in the shadows.

“Hello, dear,” greeted Sombra, dark magic flickering around his horn.

Shining Armor awoke to the sound of urgent constant knocking on his front door.

He slid out of bed, trying not to wake up Cherry. Oh, right. That happened. They had been playing Oubliettes & Ogres with 8-bit until around midnight. Then, 8-bit left for home and they… kept playing.

Shining made his way across the floor, avoiding the games he'd left lying around and the creaky floorboards, and slowly opened the bedroom door with his magic, only to hear “Who the hay is knocking at this hour?” Shining facehoofed. He made it downstairs and to the front door without issue.

Whoever was knocking hadn't stopped since they'd began. Opening the door he saw the familiar face of a blue and white unicorn mare. “Minuette?” It was one of Twilight's friends.

“Shining Armor!” said Minuette, urgency in her voice. “You have to get to the statue gardens now!”

“What is it?” said Shining, wiping his eyes.

“You've got to stop them! Sunset's in the gardens, and Twilight is going—”

“Who is it?” called out Cherry from the top of the stairs.

Shining turned and answered “It's one of Twilight's friends. Apparently there's an emergency in the gardens. Sunset is doing something and Twilight's there.”

Suddenly, there was a flash of white light, blinding Shining's darkness-adjusted eyes. When his vision returned he turned to see the source of the light, only to find an empty doorway.

“Minuette? Are you okay?” Shining looked out the door and down the street both ways, but didn't see any sign of her.

“Come on, Cherry. We're heading to the gardens.”

Twilight lay in her room, reading Advanced Elemental Magical Practices by moonlight. Spike was already asleep, curled up in a basket by her bed, but she was too anxious about the coming day to even consider sleeping.

She was just finishing the chapter on advanced heat protection spells when something outside caught her eye. Standing up and approaching the window, she saw Sunset being led away toward the Canterlot labyrinth by a large, black unicorn. Even from her tower she could see his piercing red eyes.

In mere minutes Twilight was bolting through the castle halls toward Princess Celestia's room. When she arrived she threw the doors open without a second thought.

Celestia jolted awake. “Twilight!”

“Princess Celestia, I am so sorry for this but Sunset is in trouble!” Twilight pointed out the window toward the labyrinth and the statue garden, where the faint lights of magic spells could be seen.

Immediately, Celestia was out of bed and next to Twilight. A golden magical glow appeared around her horn, and it grew to form a bubble around the two. They disappeared in a flash of light, leaving a small cloud of smoke in their wake.

They reappeared in front of the entrance to the castle labyrinth, a huge hedge maze on the edge of the statue gardens, an outdoor area filled with stone sculptures of ponies and other creatures. The area was dominated by a huge statue of a ferocious beast appearing to be made from an amalgam of different animals. The beast's body ran the full length of the labyrinth, effectively forming a wall, his head and the tip of tail inches apart, forming an arch over the entrance.

Unconscious royal guardsponies were scattered around the gardens.

Celestia and Twilight had teleported just outside of a circle formed by five ponies. Sombra was one of them. Removing the cloaks hiding their faces, three more of them were revealed to be Lightning Dust, Trixie, and the unicorn Double Diamond had identified as Starlight. The last unicorn was Sunset Shimmer.

“Hello, Celestia,” said Sunset. “We're thinking it's long past time for a revolution.”

“Sunset Shimmer! What do you think you are doing?” Celestia roared, her voice so forceful and booming that Sunset's flame-colored hair was blown back. Neither she nor Twilight had ever heard it before, but they both knew from their studies that this was the traditional royal Canterlot voice.

Celestia stepped forward, her golden flames of magic crackling on her horn. She never got to do whatever she had planned, however, as she was struck from behind by a blast of magic.

A blast of magic from a unicorn couldn't possibly cause any real harm to an alicorn, but it did cause her to drop whatever spell she was planning to use. Celestia turned to face her attacker.

“I'm sorry, Princess Celestia,” said Twilight, her horn still glowing a bright pink. “This isn't anything personal.”

The look of betrayal in Celestia's eyes said otherwise. Rage melted away into sorrow and disbelief. For the first time in their lives, her two students saw their princess cry.

Twilight stepped forward, completing the circle of ponies. A magical glyph, shining a deep blue, appeared under them, with the six traitorous ponies standing in circles lining the outside and Celestia standing in the dead center. Tendrils of energy raced up Celestia's legs, forcing her to her knees. A few raced up to her horn, forming a cocoon blocking all magic.

Trixie brought forth a large burlap sack. She opened it and six black gemstones floated out and each flew through the air to rest above one of the six rebels. Each gem then changed color and shattered to pieces. The shards then reformed into gem-studded silver necklaces, or in Twilight's case, a tiara.

Celestia's expression was a mix of fear, betrayal, and confusion. “The Elements of Harmony? How did you…”

“These aren't the Elements of Harmony,” explained Trixie. “Though, they do have the same source.”

Sunset smirked. “We can thank dear Sombra for that. All this power, and it only cost us one tree. In situations like this, you've got to expect a few broken eggs.”

Celestia's eyes grew wide. “No! You can't have… Do you have any idea what you've done? Why would you do something so foolish?”

“It's a simple lock and key scenario. We couldn't get the key so we made a duplicate,” said Sombra, looking toward the immense statue circling the labyrinth.

Celestia went from fear to sheer terror. “No! You mustn't! Do you have realize how many will die if you do that?”

“We're just setting our friend free,” said Lightning Dust.

Before Celestia could question that statement, Shining Armor and Cherry Fizzy galloped into the garden.

Shining charged up for an attack, but then stopped dead when he saw his sister. “Twilight! What are you doing?”

“I'm sorry Shining. This has to be done.” Twilight began to float into the air, and the others followed suit.

Flashes shot out from the five necklaces, sending out light copies of the gemstones. Two ends of a grayscale rainbow emerged from Starlight's gem and flowed through each of the other's before both ends met in Twilight's gem.

Shining tried to cast a spell, but it disappeared instantly in the magical maelstrom created by the ritual. He called out for his little sister, and kept firing spell after spell futilely into the storm. Tears stung his eyes and were promptly blown away as they reached his cheeks.

The black and white rainbow shot out from Twilight's gem and flew into the mouth of the stone leviathan. Starting from where it hit the beast's mouth and traveling back down the rays of light, the rainbow began to turn a deep, dark black, as if the light had become shadow. As the darkness hit each pony, they were engulfed by it, and it brought about a physical change in them.

Although none of them grew new wings or horns, all six ponies grew to an alicorn-like size. Their coats and manes all darkened in color, save Starlight's coat, which lightened to such a pale purple that it brought to mind the visual of an off-color bone. The streaks in Twilight and Starlight's manes began to glow, as did Sombra's red horn. Crystals grew around Sombra's hooves and formed pieces of armor. Sunset's hair flickered and shifted like fire, Trixie's resembled smoke, and Sombra's mane moved as if blown by the wind, its ends simply fading away like shadows. Elecricity crackled in Lighting's mane and coat, and lights twinkled in Twilight's, like stars in the night sky.

Celestia screamed over the storm of magic, “No, you can't! You must not release Discord!”

Twilight, her voice unnaturally clear over the roaring winds, answered simply. “We're not releasing Discord. We're releasing Nightmare.”

The rainbow dissipated, the six ponies floated back to the ground, and for a moment everything was calm.

Then a surge of black magic shot out of the stone Discord's mouth and toward Celestia.

Sunset smiled a sadistic grin.

“All hail the queen.”