Shining Armor lay on the floor of his room with a textbook opened in front of him. The alabaster stallion hummed thoughtfully to himself as he studied, in an effort to drown out the ruckus from the backyard of his family’s Canterlot home. Outside, a small, lavender filly jumped about and drew diagrams in her sandbox, occasionally letting loose a twisted laugh.
Whenever his sister, Twilight Sparkle, would laugh, Shining would hum just a wee bit louder as he casually flipped his pages. Every so often, the magenta flash of her magical aura would brighten his room through the window, or a lavender blur would flash past the pane.
For several minutes he continued to read before realizing something was wrong. Marking his spot and closing his book, Shining Armor raised his head and listened. He listened, and waited. He heard nothing. The old adage, “silence is golden,” was very true for the young stallion. Unless, that is, the stallion happened to have a young, crazy, very intelligent sister. Under those circumstances, silence was very, very suspicious.
The floor creaked in the hallway outside of his room. Turning towards the open door, he listened.
“Pssst.” The soft sound of a little filly came from beyond, nothing yet entering the doorway. “Psssst. Big brother?” A smile crept onto Shining’s muzzle when a little, purple horn poked its way past the door frame, followed by his sister’s face. “Big brother? You busy?”
The stallion rolled his eyes and opened his textbook up back to where he had left off.
Twilight walked into the room and grasped his tail in her magic, trying to pull him away from the book. “B.B.B.F.F.! Come on!”
Shining huffed and closed his book. He planned on going along with whatever she wanted anyways, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t have a little fun with it. He glanced back at Twilight with a half-lidded gaze but went wide eyed at what he saw. The little filly was wearing a grin that could best be described as something out of the tales parents told their fillies and colts when they put them to bed on Nightmare Night. Did it just get colder in here?
Twilight walked slowly, right up to her brother, a grin crossing her muzzle from ear to ear and her eyes holding a mixture of mirth and something he never expected to see on her: mischief. She leaned in close and, with a sinister chuckle, she asked him, “Wanna help me take over Equestria?”
Shining leaned back from his little sister and looked her in the eye. On one hoof, he did have his homework to finish. But on the other hoof, it was Twilight. Seeing the determined look on her face, he knew there was really only one answer he could give.
“Down with the monarchy. Up with the empire! Long live—” he paused mid-speech. “Twily, what’re our new identities? We can’t take over Equestria as ourselves.”
The filly raised a hoof to her chin in thought. “Well… for you, I was thinking Crimson Strike. For me though, I’m not really sure. Maybe Midnight Whisper?”
Shining rolled his eyes and snickered to himself, “more like Midnight Feistypants.”
Twilight’s look changed from one of thought to one of shock as she raised her hoof and, after a moment, lowered it back down. “Hey! Wait a second, I don’t even wear pants!” She confirmed this by looking back to her blank flank and giving it a shake. “See? Back on track, mister!”
Shining sat upright and raised his hooves in surrender. “Alright, alright, you win! How about… Moonlight Tempest?”
Twilight sat on her haunches deep in thought. Nothing was ever simple, every angle had to be calculated. Hmmm… Moonlight could link me to the Mare in the Moon… scary. Tempest… blowing over Equestria… this could work… but most importantly: it sounds totally cool. “Moonlight Tempest it is!” The little filly jumped to her hooves and shouted with glee at her new persona. “Moonlight Tempest and her sidekick, Crimson Strike?” She glanced over at her brother who sighed and begrudgingly nodded his head. “Crimson Strike!”
“Come along, Crimson, there’s work to be done and princesses to overthrow!” With that, the little filly turned tail and bolted from her brother’s room. Shining trotted after her, making it to the hallway just in time to see a purple blur disappear around the doorway and into her own room. Walking in, toys and blankets were everywhere. An old toy chest was open and two small lavender legs dangled over the edge, while the rest of the filly was hidden inside. Twilight’s tail flicked back and forth as a muffled “ah hah!” emanated from inside.
Pulling herself back up and over the edge, she fell to the floor with an “oomf” before turning towards her older brother with a bundle of black fabric in her maw. Tossing one lump to him and throwing another over her own head, she stood back up, now bathed in a black cloak with the hood still up and over her, having gotten caught on her horn. “Try it on, silly!”
Shining picked up the garment and could immediately tell it was too small for him. “I’m not sure this will fit, Twily. Hang on a second, wait here.” Quickly making his way back to his own room, the stallion went through his closet in the hopes of finding a suitable costume for their activities. He wasn’t quite sure what he was looking for, but he did know that somewhere in all of his costumes from Ogres and Oubliettes there had to be something. Suddenly, he saw it. Much like Twilight’s, it was a black cloak and hood combo, but this one matched his new moniker so perfectly he knew it was meant to be.
Walking back into Twilight’s room, his sister gasped at his appearance. Before her stood a sterling white unicorn draped in a black cloak. The brim of the cloak was edged with red the color of blood along the base that gradually grew darker the farther up it went, until the hood was encircled with a red so dark it could have only been meant for his namesake—Crimson Strike. The collar also offered a unique feature, a thin, black cloth that pulled up and over the stallion’s muzzle. Tracing the contours of his muzzle however, was the same crimson threading, outlining the skeletal structure of his face, with two fangs stitched in where his normal canine teeth would be. “What do ya think, sis?”
Twilight’s jaw dropped. “Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!” She hopped in circles around her brother. “This is so awesome!” As if the lights had been flicked on, however, she regained her composure and sat in front of her brother. “I mean, yes. This pleases me. Truly a stallion worth keeping around under my new reign.” Trying as she might to hold an air of evil confidence, a sense of giddiness could still be heard under her voice.
“Very well, my… princess?” He looked at his little sister who held a hoof to her chin in thought. Twilight shook her head.
“There shall be no more princesses, under my reign. I am Mistress Moonlight Tempest!”
Shining leaned in and hugged his little sister. “Well come along, mistress. Cadance is coming over for a while while mom and dad go out. Don’t you think we should go get ready to,” he adopted an evil grin, “say hello?” He let loose a maniacal chuckle as she stared up at him.
I have chosen wisely. “Why yes, Crimson, I do believe we should prepare for her arrival. Muahahaha!”
***
“Kids!” Night Light bellowed from downstairs. “Dinner is on the table and Cadance is here!”
Shining’s voice echoed down the stairs. “I’m not hungry, dad!”
“Good to meet you, Not Hungry. But tell my kids to get down here before Cadance has to come get them!” He yelled back at Shining, chuckling to himself as he and Twilight Velvet walked out the front door. “Thanks for coming over, Cadance. I’m sure Twilight will be ecstatic to see you. Shining will probably be over the moon, too,” he said with a smirk.
Cadance blushed. “It’s really no trouble, Mr. Light. Sitting for Twilight is one of the most enjoyable things I can do with my day, getting to see Shining is just a bonus.”
“Well still, dear, thank you again. We won’t be gone too late.” Velvet gave Cadance a quaint smile before closing the door behind her.
Walking into the kitchen, Cadance could smell the home cooked meal in the air. Mmmm, corn on the cob, zucchini bread, mixed veggies, and mashed potatoes. This smells amazing! … Where are Twily and Shining? “Twilight, Shining! Dinner is on the table and getting cold!” She was answered with only silence.
Turning to walk towards the stairs, she gingerly stepped hoof onto the first step. A creak echoed up the stairway. It’s quiet. Too quiet. Each step she took up the stairs resulted in another low, foreboding, creaking sound. Cresting the stairs, she heard a rustle and saw a little purple and black blur disappear around the corner into the last room in the hallway. “Twilight, come on now, it’s time for dinner.” Quickly trotting down the hall, the filly’s laughter spread into the hallway. Cadance could hear that it was different though. It didn’t sound normal, it just sounded wrong.
Rounding the corner she saw the cloaked filly sitting in the corner with her back to the door. Her hood covered her head, but Twilight’s purple tail with that familiar lavender and pink stripe swished back and forth across the floor. As she stepped into the room and walked towards Twilight, a magenta wall of magic congealed around Cadance. She panicked as the filly began laughing louder in the corner. “Twilight, what’s going on? Let me out!”
“So good to see you again, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.” She turned around and a flash of magical lightning appeared, illuminating the filly’s laughing face.
Where’d that lightning come from? “Twilight, stop this!” A blur of movement caught her attention from her right. Stepping out of the shadow was Shining armor draped in a black cloak with the mask covering his muzzle. “Sh… Shining?” Cadance tried to step back, bumping into the wall of magic surrounding her.
“You see princess, the time for games has past.” Twilight’s attempt at an evil speech was overshadowed by her clearly-still-foalish voice. Nonetheless, she continued. “The princesses have driven the nation to despair, and today begins a new reign. A new regime. Today we will welcome a new era to Equestria!”
The fear in Cadance’s eyes began to overshadow her uncertainty. Glancing over to Shining she saw him pull the mask down. He winked at her and gestured with a hoof in a circle as if to say play along. Suddenly, Cadance’s entire demeanor changed. She smiled and nodded.
“Twilight, how could you!” She stepped forward with one hoof and attempted a regal pose. “Celestia is our ruler, and my aunty! I shan’t allow this!”
“Twilight is no more, dear Cadance. I am Mistress Moonlight Tempest, and you will bow to me!” Her horn sparked in an attempt to garner some sort of reaction from Cadance, but quickly went out. Seeing this, Cadance pretended to resist what she assumed was the filly’s attempt to make her kneel, before dropping to her front knees in a bow.
“You’ll never get away with this! How do you expect to be able to take on the Royal Guard, much less Princess Celestia?”
“So glad you asked, my dear Cadance. You see—” Twilight’s monolog was cut short by a rather inequine growl that came from her stomach.
Shining Armor stepped forward. “Pardon me, mistress. But rather than reveal your plan, what say we leave her to squirm while you partake of the feast downstairs? Conserve your strength for the battle to come.”
A smile graced her muzzle. “You’re right, Crimson! No need to explain ourselves to her. Come! Grab your food, but bring our prisoner hers as well. I shall imbibe and return momentarily.” With that, the filly bolted out the door and towards the kitchen.
As soon as she was clear, Shining dropped the shield surrounding Cadance and walked up to her, giving her a nuzzle which she eagerly returned. “Sorry I couldn’t warn you ahead of time. She was having too much fun to leave.”
Cadance giggled. “Oh it’s no problem… Crimson?”
Shining stood a tad straighter. “Crimson Strike! The glorious sidekick to Mistress Moonlight Tempest, soon-to-be ruler of Equestria!” They both stared at each other before breaking out in a shared laughter.
“Crimson! Come get your food and bring some to our prisoner!” Twilight’s voice echoed up the stairs.
“I’ll be right back, Cady.” Glancing around the room he leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the nose before sprinting out of the room. Cadance gave a content sigh.
***
After returning with Cadance’s food, she and Shining both enjoyed what time they had to talk and catch up—sharing some slightly-too-affectionate nuzzles, if Velvet had anything to say about it—while Twilight stuffed her muzzle with the wide assortment of foods her mother had prepared.
When dinner was over she had also done the dishes and put the food away. After all, being an evil overlord was no excuse to be messy.
The clop of her hooves on the stairs signaled Shining Armor to replace his magical shield around the alicorn and get back into character. As the tiny unicorn rounded the corner, still draped in her cloak, she approached her sidekick. “What say you, Crimson, has the prisoner given up any valuable information?”
“No, my mistress. I’m afraid she has stayed rather tight-lipped about any weaknesses the princess may have.”
“Well then, Crimson, are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
“I think so, Moonlight, but where are we going to get one dozen banana-cream pies and an alligator at this time of day?”
Twilight stared at him blankly.
“What?”
“No… no, Crimson.” Maybe I haven’t chosen wisely. “We shall have to resort to more invasive inter—” the front door opened and slammed shut.
“Kids,” Night Light called, “we’re home!” Velvet and Night walked into the kitchen and, while thankful that it was spotless, were curious as to where the trio was at. Night Light walked casually up the stairs and to Twilight’s room where he saw his two kids with Cadance trapped. “Is this uh… hmm.” Rubbing his neck and looking at his hoof he slowly backed towards the door. “Would you look at the time, we just, ahh…”
Twilight pounced on him, wrapping her hooves around his foreleg and refusing to let go. “Stop him, he’s a spy for Celestia!” Cadance and Shining Armor both fell to the floor laughing as Twilight attempted to pull Night back into her room and take him to the floor.
“Aagh! Yee goddesses! Help, she’s got me! Honey, send a distraction, anything!”
Velvet heard the ruckus and laughed to herself. “Well, alright,” she yelled back. “I suppose that whatever is going on up there is going to keep everypony too busy to have some of the fresh baked cookies we picked up on our way back!”
Twilight stopped and immediately sat on her flank. “I want cookies.” Without even removing her cloak she jumped over her father, that she had finally managed to take down and ran down the stairs to her mother. Night looked at Shining and Cadance and raised an eyebrow.
Shining removed his hood and the face mask and shrugged. “She was having fun taking over Equestria, what can I say?” Cadance only giggled. All three of them trotted out of the room and down to the kitchen table, where the filly was grasping a rather large oatmeal raisin cookie in her magic and dunking it in a glass of milk.
Shining Armor sat down next to his sister and stared at her. She looked up at him and he just glanced between her and the cookie in her grasp.
“What? Don’t give me that look, even evil rulers take breaks for cookies,” she said with a smile.
“Whatever you say, Moonlight. What say tomorrow, now that we’ve conquered the first princess, we focus on something a bit more local. Say… taking over the school so I don’t have to turn in the homework I was trying to do earlier?”
Twilight sat very still and placed her cookie on the napkin in front of her. Turning her head with the most serious look she could manage, she deadpanned. “Let’s not get carried away, B.B.B.F.F.”
