A Dash of Hope

Chapters

Chapter II: Emerging Threat
Chapter III: Uncertain Future
Chapter IV: Fall of Harmony
Chapter V: Rude Awakening
Chapter VII: Shadow of a Doubt
Chapter VIII: Early Arrival
Chapter I: Evil's Return
Chapter VI: A Brewing Storm

Chapter II: Emerging Threat

“This way girls!” Twilight yelled as she led Rainbow Dash and her other friends though Ponyville, which was mostly on fire. Each house or shop they passed was either in full blaze or already burned to the ground. As they galloped, they dodged pieces of burning debris that had fallen from the engulfed buildings around them. The street was deserted of any other pony; those who hadn’t left already were franticly searching for family or friends in the burning inferno. Rainbow Dash watched the destruction with horror-filled eyes, but said nothing.

Eventually, Twilight stopped in the town center, which was already burned to nothing but ashes. A large pony stood amongst the ashes, watching the fire with a twisted smile. But it wasn’t just any pony, it was Princess Celestia. Not as the loving, caring co-ruler of Equestria, but as a dark, evil villain. “It’s Nightmare Moon,” Twilight explained as her friends stared in shock; “she’s back and she has taken control over Princess Celestia! And she’s calling herself Nightmare Sun!”

“Nightmare Sun” looked just like Celestia, with the addition of burning red eyes and a flaming mane instead of a multicolored one. She was shooting scorching hot fireballs from her horn and aiming at anything that wasn’t already on fire. “ALL SHALL BURN UNDER MY WRATH! ALL SHALL FEEL THE POWER OF THE SUN!” Nightmare Sun roared in a low-pitched distortion of Celestia’s voice.

“I don’ understand, Twi,” Applejack gasped as Nightmare Sun shot another fireball off toward a group of ponies trying to push a cart full of belongings out of town, “I thought we destroyed Nightmare Moon when we freed Luna.”

“I was almost sure we did too,” Twilight said in an ashamed tone, “But I was wrong, and we need to…”

Before Twilight could continue, Nightmare Sun took notice of them and shot a fireball strait in their direction. Everypony was able to dodge it; except Fluttershy. The fireball completely engulfed her and shot her backwards into the ground. “NO!” Rainbow yelled as she flew over to her smoking friend. Whether she was unconscious or…worse… she lay motionless in the small carter her body had made on contact. The smell of burnt fur was overwhelming. Rainbow’s eyes turned from fright to fury. She was going to make this monster pay. But when she turned around to face Nightmare Sun, she found instead that Discord was standing in her place.

“Hello once again my pesky little ponies,” Discord chided with a grueling smile. “You look surprised to find me here.” Keeping his gleeful smirk, he teleported next to Pinkie Pie and Applejack and put his arms around their necks. “You didn’t think that little stone statue would hold me forever did you? After all, I escaped it before. I’d think my appearance would be pretty expected by now.”

“Then ya’ also know yer’ going right back into it where ya’ belong” Applejack confidently retorted, hoping to break some of Discord’s will.

Discord let out a burst of uncontrolled laughter before responding. “Well actually, I was thinking we could switch things up. Add a little…chaos.” He snapped his fingers. “Tell me,” Discord asked with a quizzical face, “why do they call you ‘Earth Ponies’ again?”

“Well cus’ we have a special connection with the…” Applejack began before she realized that she and Pinkie Pie were sinking into the ground.

“Let’s see how you like being imprisoned in earth for eternity.” Discord leered manically.

Rainbow Dash rushed over to her submerged friends. Grabbing a hold of each of them, she reversed direction and pulled with all her strength. But nothing was happening. Soon, only their heads were above the sinking earth. “I don’t think this is what they had in mind when they called us Earth Ponies,” Pinkie Pie mustered in a frightened tone.

“Rainbow Dash, ya’ gotta keep fighting….don’ ya worry about us…,” Applejack let out before they both disappeared into the ground without a trace.

“Applejack…Pinkie!” Rainbow Dash franticly dug into the spot her friends had been seconds ago, but all she found was charred grass and dirt. Realizing she wasn’t getting anyway, she turned to her remaining friends. “Twilight, we have to…” but was stopped short by the scene in front of her.

Both Twilight and Rarity were locked in a duel with none other than Queen Chrysalis herself. Chrysalis was shooting a green bolt from her horn as Twilight and Rarity countered with a bright blue bolt. Both sides appeared to be getting nowhere, until Chrysalis’ eyes lit up. “I can feel the friendship between you…the love…” she breathed in a lusty tone, “and it gives me so much…POWER!” With that, her bolt grew twice in circumference and completely swallowed up Twilight and Rarity in one bright flash. They were blasted backwards into a nearby pile of rubble. At first neither of them moved, but then Rarity weakly open her eyes and turned to Rainbow Dash.

“Rainbow Dash… get out of here…save yourself,” Rarity pleaded. And then a second blast from Chrysalis silenced her forever.

Rainbow Dash lowered to the ground as she looked around. She was alone. Any courage left in her was easily countered by the urge to break down and cry, but she couldn’t give into it. She had to be strong; for her friends. Rainbow Dash pushed herself up into a fighting stance. Her self-assurance lowered instantly when she found Nightmare Sun, Discord, and Chrysalis all standing right before her.

The words of the unicorn in the woods came back to Rainbow as she stood solo in front of the three most infamous villains of Equestria. ‘A great evil is rising, and thou art the only one that can stop it.’ Rainbow Dash backed away as her foes closed in on her, now chanting.

“Only you…only you…only you!”

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“NO!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she sprung out of her bed, hovering above it a few seconds before realizing it had only been a dream. ‘Not a dream,’ she corrected herself, ‘a nightmare.’ It was only then that she realized someone was knocking at her door. Rainbow groggily flew over to the door and opened it. Standing before her was Fluttershy, thankfully unburned and very conscious.

“Oh, hello Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy said in her usual, soft tone. She was out of breath, as if she had flown as fast as she could to get here. “I didn’t wake you did I?” Something was wrong; her eyes gave it away.

“No, I was already awake,” Rainbow assured as she attempted to fix her untidy mane. “What’s wrong?”

Fluttershy looked down, only confirming Rainbow Dash’s suspicion. “That’s just it, I don’t know. All Twilight said was she needed us all at the library, and that it was really important. It has something to do with Princess Celestia.”

Rainbow’s eyes widened as her mind shot back to the dream, but she quickly hid it. Trying not to sound out of place, she asked, “There isn’t anything wrong with the princess…is there?”

“Twilight wouldn’t say anything else, but she sounded really worried. We should really get going.”

Rainbow Dash had never seen Fluttershy so persistent, with the exception of her incident after Iron Will’s demonstration, and she didn’t need to hear anything else. She followed Fluttershy as she took off toward the Ponyville Library.

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Rainbow trailed the chariot on a strait path towards Canterlot Castle. Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie sat in the chariot, which was being pulled by five of the Princess Pegasi Guard. Fluttershy flew close behind Rainbow. No pony had said a word since the chariot had left Ponyville. The morning air left a chill in Rainbow’s bones. Or maybe it was the fact that Princess Celestia had requested all of them for a conference that was too important to even wait for a train into Canterlot. Rainbow couldn’t even imagine how Twilight must feel, seeing how naturally anxious she was.

The moment Rainbow and Fluttershy arrived at the Ponyville Library, Twilight had rushed onto the already waiting chariot and they had set off. She had refused to say anything except that it was of the upmost importance that they got to Canterlot Castle. Even when Rainbow asked direct questions about what was wrong, Twilight just blew her off, too busy reviewing the letter she had received from the princess earlier that morning. They had traveled in silence ever since.

“We’re coming up on Canterlot Castle!” the lead pegasus yelled, breaking Rainbow out of her thoughts. Sure enough, Canterlot Castle loomed in front of them, casting a shadow that swallowed them up as they approached. The Pegasi flew up to the tallest tower and landed on a balcony that overlooked the entire town of Canterlot. Princess Celestia was already waiting for them, along with Princess Luna standing beside her. Both wore grim faces as they watched the chariot land. As soon as the chariot touched the floor, Twilight rushed out and went straight over to Princess Celestia.

“I gathered my friends as fast as I could,” Twilight pleaded as she looked up at her mentor, “I hope I wasn’t too slow. I don’t want you to think I’m not taking this seriously. As soon as Spike got your letter…”

“Twilight, calm down,” Princess Celestia responded in a practiced composed tone. “I wanted you to come quickly, but I didn’t mean for you to overwork yourself.”

“But in the letter, you said that…”

“Patience, Twilight. We’ll discuss everything in time.” Celestia turned to the lead pegasus guard. “Thank you, Captain Maverick. I knew I could trust you to get everypony here fast.” The chestnut pegasus nodded and took off with the other guard, leaving them alone on the balcony. Princess Celestia gestured for them to follow her, and then proceeded into the tower.

As they walked into the room, Rainbow Dash realized it must be Princess Luna’s room. There were star charts hanging on every wall, and there was a large bed with midnight blue curtains and a jet black headboard with stars etched into it. As soon as the last pony was in, Princess Celestia closed the balcony doors with her horn and turned to face the group before her.

“I apologize for this sudden summoning. I hope you realize I wouldn’t assemble you like this unless it was extremely important.” Celestia began as she paced before Rainbow and her friends. “As it turns out, I don’t know how serious it is myself, and that’s what makes it so imperative.” Celestia then turned to Luna. “Sis, perhaps you would like to begin.” Princess Luna stepped forward.

“If thou wish me to,” she said, giving her sister a small nod. “My night started out like any other,” she said, gazing into her own memory as she spoke, “by me creating it.” Luna levitated a model of the moon in front of her and studied it a moment before continuing. “I was just getting done adjusting the brightness of the stars when I felt it; tis something…hard to describe. It was like part of my night…was being absorbed by something. Like something was feeding off it. At first, I thought I was feeling things that weren’t there. It has happened to me before, even since…” Luna looked up at her sister apprehensively. Celestia gave a regretful look in return. “Anyway, after a while it went away, and I thought nothing of it. I continued my work with the night. Everything went according to routine…until it was almost time for my sister to raise her sun.”

Luna stopped, her eyes suddenly filled with horror. Celestia went over to her and put a comforting hoof on her shoulder. “Do you want to stop?” She asked, concerned eyes looking between Luna and the group in front of her. Luna looked down, trying to hide her pain. Eventually, she looked back up at her sister and gave a small smile.

“Tis alright, I can finish.” She managed in a small voice. She walked over to the lone window that was letting in a stream of sunlight and sighed. “I felt it again, only much more intensified. But this time it wasn’t just feeding off my night…it was feeding off of me.” Luna shivered. “It was horrible, but it got even worse. As my energy was slowly drained from me, it was replaced by…thoughts. The kind of thoughts I had when I was…her.” Luna didn’t need to elaborate; everypony in the room knew exactly what she was talking about. “I thought I was going to lose control, and fighting the thoughts seemed to suck up more of my power. And the waves of thoughts just seemed to grow stronger and stronger the rest of the night. But I refused to let them control me. By the time it was time for my sister to raise the sun; I hardly had enough energy or willpower to fly back to castle. Only when I entered the castle did the thoughts and the pain finally secede…” Luna breathed as she moved over to Princess Celestia, finished with what she had to say.

“Thank you, Luna,” Celestia said as she hugged the mare’s neck. “I know it was difficult, but you have described it better than I probably could of if it had happened to me. I’m very proud of you. You should see Nurse Swan just to make sure nothing is wrong. You know I lack experience when it comes to medical issues.”

“Thank you, Sis.” Luna said before weakly trotting out of the room.

“Poor Luna,” Celestia sighed as she watched her go. “She has been through so much already… and now this. When she came back to the castle, I could tell something was wrong. I tried asking her, but she wouldn’t tell me. I decided to let her get some rest, and I went to go raise the sun. Nothing abnormal happened, and I didn’t feel anything out of place…at first. But then, when the rays of my sun began to shine onto Equestria, I did fell something wrong. Normally, I can feel every city, town, and village that my sun rises over. It’s a special connection I share with everypony throughout Equestria. But as my sun rose over the last town, I felt something missing. I searched back over the land, and I found that my connection to the town of Hayton was completely gone from my mind.”

Celestia stopped and closed her eyes, her mind searching for something far beyond Luna’s room. After a few seconds she opened her eyes a lowered her head. “And still…” she continued, “I cannot feel it. It’s as if the entire town has been absorbed by something, just as Luna described about the night. I knew this must of been connected have been what Luna was upset over. I rushed over here as fast as I could, and Luna told me every horrifying detail. I contacted you immediately after that, Twilight.” She stood there as a single tear rolled down her face. Twilight rushed over to comfort her mentor. Celestia accepted Twilight’s hug and returned to her regel posture.

“How can an entire town just…disappear?” Rarity questioned

“I don’t understand how, but I know whatever it is the town is in trouble. I realize that whoever is doing this must want something. They might have taken the town to threaten me with. I can only hope no one has been hurt yet. If I send any guards, whatever is behind this might see it as threat, and who knows what might happen. And that’s what I need you for, Twilight. I need you and your friends to find out what has happened, and resolve this dispute in the most diplomatic way possible. I want more than anything to go myself, but I have an important meeting with officials from Manehattan about this very issue, and if I miss it, it could make this situation much worse.”

Twilight had listened intently the whole time, and as Celestia turned to her, she gave an optimistic smile. “Of course we’ll go, Princess. We want to help in any way we can.”

Princess Celestia nodded and levitated a map over to Twilight. “This will guide you to the exacted location of Hayton…if it’s still there. It’s no short trip, three days at best, so I suggest you return to Ponyville to pack some supplies. I also want you to take the Elements of Harmony. You might need them; I can only hope that you won’t.” Celestia looked over the whole group and nodded her head. “I have total confidence in you, Twilight. I’m sending you because I know you and your friends can handle anything.

Twilight took the map with her horn and studied it. She then rolled it up and took it in her hoof. “We’ll leave for Hayton as soon as we can.” Twilight confidently assured the Princess as she strode to the door, her friends following close behind her.

“And when we find Hayton, we’ll make sure to throw a ‘Welcome back to Equestria’ party!” Pinkie Pie shouted as she bounced behind Rarity.

Princess Celestia let out a short chuckle before calling out one last time. “Twilight…”

“Yes Princess?”

“Please…promise you’ll be careful”

Twilight let out one last smile. “Of course, Princess, don’t worry about us. We won’t let you down.” And with that they left, leaving Princess Celestia alone. When she was sure they had left, Celestia was able to let out the fear she had been hiding for Twilight’s sake.

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Rainbow Dash slowly gathered food and placed it inside the saddle bearing her cutie mark. She was trying in vain to keep her mind off what she was packing for. How could this be happening? The unicorn she had met in the forest hadn’t been crazy after all. She regretted ditching him without listening to what he had to say. But for whatever circumstance, she had to go through with this. No matter how much she was afraid, she had made a promise to the princess and her friends and she wasn't going to let them down. This thing had hurt Princess Luna and was threating Princess Celestia and Equestria as a whole, and nothing was going to get away with that. She looked down at the red lightning bolt that now hung around her neck and smirked. Besides, they were the Elements of Harmony; she should be feeling sorry for the enemy. Rainbow strapped the saddle tightly across her back. She trotted out the door and took one last look at her house; having a strange feeling she might not see it again for a long time. Convincing herself she was just being paranoid, she dove off the cloud and set off for the south end of Ponyville where Twilight had instructed them to meet. ‘Whatever this thing is,’ Rainbow confidently thought, ‘it messed with the wrong ponies!’ The thought, however, did little to still the fear she had deep inside her ever since the night before.

Chapter III: Uncertain Future

Morning sunlit hit the hooded unicorn’s face as he stepped out of the forest, but his features remained cloaked under darkness. He looked up at what was before him. An enormous house sat atop a puffy cloud, with a flowing rainbow river that disappeared into oblivion as it ran off. Since he hadn't regained enough power to cast a locate and teleport spell, he has to settle with the next best thing; an aura detection spell. From the spot of his first encounter, he had been able to trace the path Rainbow Dash had traveled, her aura growing stronger as he progressed closer to her current location. Judging by the large build-up of aura surrounding the house, the unicorn decided it had to be Rainbow Dash’s residence.

The unicorn sensed Rainbow had spent the night here, then had hastily left…and came back for a short time. After that, she had left again, stopped on a path not far away, and began following that path strait toward… The unicorn’s eyes shot open. ‘Not yet…she is not ready yet!’ he thought frantically as he sped down the aura path he was still tracing with his horn.

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Rainbow Dash watched Twilight and her other friends from above as they steadily galloped down the path, which had grown much narrower and curvier the farther they got from Ponyville. Twilight was observing the map Princess Celestia had given her and guiding her friends down the twisting path. They had made remarkable progress in a day, but at the cost of sleep. Twilight insisted that they should at least travel though the first night before they even thinking about sleep. Nopony had thought to highly of the idea, but the current situation stopped them from rejecting it.

“By this time tomorrow, we should be standing at the edge of Hayton” Twilight observed as she calculated their current position in relevance to the map.

“Please tell me we can at least get a few hours of sleep tonight,” whined Rarity, trying to keep her mane in its perfect condition with her horn.

Twilight considered for a second, then responded with an uncertain, “Perhaps.”

“Good, I was afraid I was going to have to throw you an ‘It’s time to sleep’ party. I don’t think any of us could go another night.” Pinkie Pie gasped, which was a complete contradictory to her usual upbeat tone.

Twilight stopped and spun to face the group behind her, glowering. “That’s what you think, isn’t it? That I’m going to push us all to the point of exhaustion!” Twilight threw the map down in anger. “Don’t you all see how serious this is? We’re facing what could be a new and very dangerous enemy and you’re more concerned with sleep…or your mane!” Twilight glared at Rarity at the last part, causing her to stop fiddling with her mane and cower under Twilight’s stare.

Twilight slumped to the ground and buried her face in her hooves, her elemental crown sagging to the side of her head. “I just don’t want to fail the Princesses.” Her voice was little more than a whisper now. “How can I be sure we won’t when we’re facing something so indefinite and unknown?”

The ponies looked down at their disconsolate friend, unsure of what to say. Finally Applejack spoke up. “Twi, you get up now,” she insisted. When Twilight didn’t budge, Applejack took her by her shoulders and raised her gently to her hooves. “Listen sugarcube, none of us think yar’ crazy. Wer’ all nervous, any wer’ just showing it in different ways.” Applejack looked back to others for support.

“That’s why I was messing with my mane,” Rarity confessed. “It’s my way of holding back the apprehension inside me.”

“I’m sorry Twilight, I didn’t mean to make you sad” Pinkie chided innocently. “I might I have seen myself do it, but my Pinkie Sense doesn’t work as well when I’m so jumpy.”

“See Twilight,” Applejack concluded. “Everypony is just as scarred as you, including me. They just don’… show it as much.” The others nodded in agreement.

Twilight looked around at all her friends gathered around her. Suddenly feeling foolish, she sighed. “I’m sorry I snapped at you, girls. I can’t control my nerves as well as you can. Especially you, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said as she looked up at the cyan pegasus. “You’ve hardly said anything this whole expedition. Or are you just that confident in us?”

Rainbow swallowed hard, hoping her friends wouldn’t notice her uneasiness. “You kidding…of course I’m confident. You think I’m scared of something that won’t even declare who they are? It’s too scarred of us, obviously. I almost hope talking with it doesn’t work, so I can get a little payback for Luna.” Rainbow held out her hooves and lashed out at an imaginary target. “There’s no reason to worry, Twilight. There isn’t anything we can’t handle.” She boasted and extended her hoof out to the group. “Together.”

Twilight grinned and put her hoof with Rainbow’s, as did the others. “Together!” They shouted in unison.

After levitating the map off the ground, Twilight centered her focus on the path in front of them. “Let go,” she said with new found coolness. The group continued down the path as it drew closer to Hayton. Rainbow Dash silently released the breath she was holding; thankfully her friends hadn’t seen though her bluff.

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Princess Celestia watched from a balcony as the recently-promoted Commander Maverick organized the hundreds of guards filling the courtyard into orderly groups. Normally, there wouldn’t be such a large number of guards in one place. This, however, was definitely not an ordinary occasion. Princess Luna, who had just woken up from her usual daytime nap, quietly joined her. They both surveyed the cavalcade of guards march before them; the setting sun casting a gloomy shadow on the courtyard.

“Are you sure you didn’t feel another mental attack?” Princess Celestia asked her sister, still concerned she just trying to hide it.

“Twas calm as the night before last.” Princess Luna guaranteed

“What of Twilight and her friends?”

“They were unharmed, but they traveled though my night without any slumber.”

Celestia nodded, expecting her star pupil to insist on such a quick pace. She was glad Luna could sense the individual feelings of a pony under her moon, just as Celestia could feel groups of conciseness under her sun. “At this rate, they will be at Hayton by tomorrow morning, supposing they at least rest tonight.” There was an evident pang of guilt in her tone.

“Is there something wrong?” Luna asked, knowing from the start that Celestia was distraught.

“Yes” Celestia admitted as she trotted inside the castle. “If you have no objections, I need you to accompany Commander Maverick and the Royal Guard under his command to Manehattan.”

Luna took in Celestia’s request with uncertainty. “But Sister, what has caused such sudden restlessness in you? Is Manehattan under attack?”

“Not yet…” the sun princess replied morbidly. “ However, I don’t think that will stay true for long.”

“Twas a threat made?”

“No, but there doesn't need to be one. You know that Manehattan is the closest city to Hayton.” When she received a confirmatory nod from Luna, she continued. “That’s why I wanted to meet with Mayor Smooth Horn and his personal consul in the first place. He said he would send a recon team to Hayton as soon as he returned to see if they could find out anything about what is going on. I was probing the area to track their progress. I could feel them all the way until they got to the town. Then they…disappeared, just like the town itself.”

Celestia paused for a moment, and the sound of marching hooves drifted into the room from outside. “In that moment before I lost them, I could feel something else. It was a very large group of beings, seeping from the blind spot that is Hayton; beings that…serve no loyalty to us."

Luna’s eyes widened as she understood what her sister was getting at. “Thou mean that…”

“It was an army…a massive army. None of the likes that I have ever felt. Something that makes the Changeling invaders look like a small gathering of school fillies. I had already instructed Smooth Horn to barricade the city with his guard force, but after what I felt today I see it has no chance to stand up against this new threat without the help of the Royal Guard.

The moon princess was now frantically pacing about the room.“But…Twilight and the others…they don't know. We have to warn them! We have to stop them before they get there!”

“She did not bring Spike along, so I cannot contact her. Smooth Horn’s messenger must have been with the recon team, as I have not gotten any responses from him. They are already too far away for even my fastest pegasus messengers to reach them in time. I have sent one to Manehattan but he won’t get there until this time tomorrow.”

Refusing to accept the truth, Luna pondered their options. When she failed to find any, she glanced up at Celestia in desperation. “But there must be something we can do.”

“No Luna, there isn’t.” Celestia voiced, riddled with remorse. “I can’t leave Canterlot unprotected… and you need to help Commander Maverick with Manehattan. As of right now, they are alone. It’s entirely my fault, too. I should have never sent them on such a perilous journey alone. I have too much confidence in them sometimes. They have done so much for us, that I sometimes forget their still just young mares. I was out of place to even think it was a good idea to send them.” Celestia eyes were now tear-stricken now. “Oh Luna…what am I to do?”

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Darkness was begging to crawl across the sky by the time Twilight finally decided it was time to rest for the night. They were now only about two hours gallop away from Hayton. Despite Twilight’s urge to finish the trip right away, her body couldn’t keep up with her spirit. The sighs of relief were evident as all six mares laid down on a grassy region directly off the path. Removing what food was left in their packs, they ate with little discussion. Everypony was too preoccupied with the thoughts of what they might face the next morning. Not even Pinkie Pie could find anything to say that would brighten up the disheartened atmosphere. When they finished their meal, they removed the bedrolls that had previously been vacant the entire voyage.

“Well I don’t know about you girls, I feel like I could sleep for a thousand years.” Rarity sighed as she gently laid her head down on the makeshift bed. She was asleep before anypony could even respond.

With a bittersweet glance at Rarity, Twilight herself yawned and laid down on the bedroll. “Well we should all follow her example. We need all our strength for tomorrow.”

One after another, the ponies fell into slumber; all, but one. That pony watched as her friends peacefully closed their eyes before slowly rising out of her bed and flying over to a wide rock that rose over their encampment.

“Sleep tight,” Rainbow Dash whispered to her friends before looking out into the forest around the site. They were too close to the danger zone to allow Rainbow to be comfortable enough to sleep. For her and her friends sake; nothing was going to hurt her friends, if she had anything to do with it. The lone pegasus silhouette watched over the fellowship as the full moon appeared in the western sky.

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In the same lunar light, Mayor Smooth Horn looked out over the city of Manehattan from his penthouse balcony. Even at such a late hour, the streets were still alive with ponies going to and fro. “Manehattan, the city that never slumbers…they sure weren't kidding,” he humorlessly chuckled. Sometimes he looked back on his life, and wandered if this is really what he wanted. Being in charge of a city that rivaled Canterlot in size certainly was not any easier then it sounded. But now wasn't the time to have second thoughts. Manehattan needed a strong leader to get them though the next few days. Even the best case scenario included panic from the public, as the town was going into complete lock-down the next morning. Strict curfews, no leaving, and no entering unless under extremely important conditions. Not only that, but the whole perimeter of Manehattan was to be barricaded and guarded. All this was to be in place by the rising of Celestia’s sun. Hopefully any objection to this creed would be resolved by the fact that it Celestia herself that decreed it. Celestia hadn't elaborated to much on why the city needed such a severe protection in his meeting with her the previous night, but he caught on that it was important.

The mayor’s thoughts were interrupted when he heard a knock at his door. “You may enter.” Smooth Horn called out as he returned to his desk. The door swung open and a silver unicorn with a long auburn mane entered. “Chief Dazzling Chainmail,” he nodded as the pony in charge of the general security of Manehattan trotted up to him, “I was hoping I’d hear from you soon. What could you find of the recon team?”

Dazzling’s breathing stopped; her gaze went down in uncertainty. After a few seconds, she let out the air she was holding and responded in a disappointed but professional voice. “I got as close to the site as I dared, but I didn’t sense anything; of the recon team or any other pony.”

Smooth Horn sighed and shifted his weight in the velvet chair. “You understand what this means, then. My messenger was with them. Without him, I have no contact with Celestia.”

“Yes, and it was my idea to send him with the team too.” Dazzling muttered. “I thought relaying the messages strait to Celestia would keep her up to date, instead of having to wait for the squad to return. I didn't take into account we would…lose the team. I’m sorry, I have failed you.” She bowed her head.

The mayor got up and slowly went over to the troubled mare. A mare he happened to have known almost all his life. “Daze, don’t be so hard on yourself.” Smooth Horn consoled, using the nickname he had made up when they were still filly school friends. “I agreed with you on the decision. We’re both equally responsible.”

“Yes, but I’m Chief of Security, it’s my job to think of everything before making those kind of decisions.”

Smooth Horn put a firm but confronting hoof on Dazzling Chainmail’s shoulder. “Never in past millennia has something like this happened. It would be unthinkable for me to expect you to know the team would vanish. I only fear what could have happened to them and what I should tell their families…but you let me worry about that. For now, I want you to return home and get some sleep. Tomorrow, we unveil the new orders from Princess Celestia. I want…no, I need everypony to be in their best condition for any problems the might arise.

Dazzling perked up a bit. “Your right,” she declared. “I’ll be back here by pre-dawn to receive plans for the launch of the new orders.” She began to exit, but hesitated at the door. Giving a shy grin, she added, “If anypony can get this city though this, it’s you.” With that she was gone.

The mayor trotted back out onto balcony and continued to observe the activity below. “I sure as Tartarus hope your right, Daze.” He thought out loud.

**********************************************************

“HAYTON: STRAIT AHEAD” An overgrown mahogany sign read as Twilight and her friends headed into the dense grouping of trees in front of them. Despite the sign, there was no indication that any town was in their vicinity. The path, which had transitioned into a brick road, was void of any pony, and the morning was as silent as a graveyard.

“We made it.” Rarity smiled as her eyes caught sight of the sign.

“We aren't there yet.” Twilight cautiously replied as she eyed the forbidding trees surrounding the path. The deeper the group ventured into the forest, the less sunlight that peaked though the trees. The trees themselves seem to be losing their natural green shade, despite the fact is was still the middle of spring. Except for an ad for the Hayton Flyers that blew across their path, it was eerily still.

“Something don’ seem right ‘bout these trees.” Applejack frowned as the path grew almost entirely absent of sunlight.

Rainbow Dash didn't like it either. Unable to take the anxiety any longer, she broke away from the group. “I’m flying ahead to find where these trees end.”

“Rainbow Dash, wait!” Twilight called out, but Rainbow was already speeding down the path.

Ready to end the mystery, Rainbow Dash continued accelerating. If there was an ambush ahead, she wasn't going to let her friends fall into it. She was too busy looking around for any possible danger to notice the thick, black vines completely blocking the path until she went crashing through them. The impact left her sprawling into the ground. Despite feeling slightly woozy, she didn't feel anything broken. She slowly dug her head out of the ground to look up at what was before. Her jaw dropped down in complete awe. What lay before Rainbow Dash was like nothing she had ever seen before. “What in Equestria is that!?” she gasped.

Chapter IV: Fall of Harmony

A swirling, black dome perfectly encircled what could only be the entire town of Hayton. Small bursts of darkness lashed outward into the air, as if it was alive, but the dome was clearly a conjured spell. As Rainbow Dash starred more thoroughly at it, she fearfully saw that it was slightly parallel to the spell Shining Armor used to protect Canterlot, and the one Princess Cadence used to protect the Crystal Kingdom from King Sombra. This, however, had a much more sinister appearance. Given the circumstances, she had no doubt of its purpose. It wasn't a shield to keep the town safe; it was a barrier to keep the town imprisoned.

“Rainbow Dash, are you alright!” Twilight shouted as the finally rejoined her friend. “We saw you crash and…” She stopped short as she caught sight of the dome. The unicorn’s eyes grew wide as she starred at the barrier. “Is that what I think it is?” she questioned nopony in particular. Each pony met the dome with similar response as they stepped out of the trees.

“ I've never seen anything like it.” Rarity murmured softly.

“What the hay are we gonna’ do now?” Applejack asked.

The group remained silent. After a few moments of consideration, Twilight addressed her friends with a stern gaze. “I’ll tell you what we’re going to do. We’re going to do exactly what we came here to do. I know this looks bad, but I have confidence in us. Remember what Rainbow Dash said? There isn't anything we can’t do together.” Twilight looked over at Rainbow Dash, who was sheepishly nodding. “Now all we have to do is get past this…obstacle…and we can finish what we started!”

"But Twilight, its so big...how are we going to get though?" Fluttershy peeped

"We have the Elements of Harmony. I bet they can help us out with this...thing," Twilight assured her.

Watching delightfully as her friends got into position, Twilight began to begin the invocation they had used few times before. But before the Elements could even start, they were interrupted by a deep voice that made the very trees around them shake.

“Thy effort to disrupt my magic is inadequate…I advise thou to HALT!”

All the ponies could do was to halt and quiver as the very ground beneath them shook. It was difficult to locate the source, but it seemed to emanate from the dome itself. Twilight frantically threw her own protection spell she had been practicing on the journey down around her group, waving her head around as she tried to spot the owner of the voice. When she saw no immediate threat, she slowly lowered the shield. A lifeless silence shrouded the clearing, until the air irrupted in the same slow, abysmal tone.

“Who dare approach me in such a manner? I command thou to name thyselves!”

“Just who do you think you are?!” Rainbow Dash reflexively responded before Twilight waved her off and cautiously faced the dome.

“My name is Twilight Sparkle, and these my friends, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash. We were sent here by Princess Celestia as representatives of Equestria, as she cannot meet you herself. We have come here to discuss negations; namely the release of Hayton’s residents. We come to you in the most diplomatic way possible, as hope we can talk peacefully face-to-face.” Twilight looked hopefully for the appearance of anypony, but none came. Only the same frightful silence as before.

“Twilight,” Applejack whispered while keeping a stern eye on the dome, “I don’t like the look of this.”

“Representatives of Equestria you say…” the voice returned. “I sense that thou art more than that.”

Without warning, the necklaces bearing the ponies’ elements, as well Twilight’s circlet began to levitate up in a veil of black aura. Twilight had to grab the circlet to prevent it from falling off her head.

A dry rumbling now developed from the barrier, which could be nothing but the creature’s laughter. “Yes…yes… I feel inordinate power in all of thou.” The tendrils of aura coming off the dome began to grow. “Thou will make for significant minions in the days to come…”

The words sunk into the group as they looked among each other in terrified uncertainty. Applejack was the first to break from the stupor and look up at the dome. “Just what makes ya’ think we would ever listen to ya’?” she asked defensively.

“I never indicated thou had an alternative.” The barrier slyly replied. With that, a small hole began to open up in front of them.

Rainbow Dash, who had been expecting an attack the entire time, desperately pushed her friends away from the dome. She then flew up to face the threat herself. “If you think we’re going submit to your threats, you have another thing coming,” she growled, a renewed courage beginning to rise in her.

More rumbling laughter came from the dome. “Thou believe that thou can conquer me. The very notion conveys boundless comicality to my soul. It seems the ponies of this age have forgotten who I am.” The dome let out one final sinister snicker. “But soon, every pony will know my name.”

That’s when six of the tendrils on the dome suddenly became projectiles. Each latched onto one of the pony’s heads. Rainbow Dash reached up to tear the thing off, only to find it had already sunk into her skull. With one last look up at the dome, Rainbow Dash’s mind, as well as those of her friend’s, fell into nothing.

**********************************************************

Dazzling Chainmail galloped though the crowded streets towards Manehattan Central Park. Virtually the whole city was heading to the same location. “I sure hope Mayor Smooth Horn is right about the park keeping ponies calm. If they decide to panic…” No, she couldn't think that way. Smooth Horn was right; when everypony hears that Princess Celestia thought this would be best for the city, they will understand and comply. After all, Princess Celestia always knew what was best for her ponies.

As Dazzling entered the large gate that marked the entrance to the park, she could see that the mayor was already standing on the large platform that was hastily constructed just a couple of hours earlier. The crowd of ponies waiting was already enormous, and there were still many ponies trotting in. She climbed up the stairs to Smooth Horn, who smiled at her before continuing to study his notes. Dazzling took her seat next to the podium and waited patiently while the crowd packed into the park.

When the last ponies were settled, Mayor Smooth Horn cleared his throat and stepped up to the podium. The casual chatter that had been flowing through the crowd ceased and all eyes fell to the platform. “Good Morning, citizens of Manehattan,” Smooth Horn began as he grimly looked out at his audience. “I wish it wasn't such bad news that I have been tasked to give to you. It seems, however, that is not the case.”

“As of this moment, there is to be no entry or departure of this city, and there is to be no pony on the streets after sundown or before sunrise. Let me express that these orders are not mine; they are direct orders from Princess Celestia herself, and their sole purpose is the protection of you and your loved ones.” The mayor paused as he surveyed the crowd, who were whispering in alarmed tones. Despite that, the crowd seemed fairly tranquil, and best of all, understanding. For that, Smooth Horn was grateful. “I will let Chief Dazzling Chainmail fill you in on the details.” Smooth Horn stepped down and nodded at the silver unicorn.

Dazzling stepped up and shyly greeted the ponies watching her. “As you heard, the city is going into complete lock-down. We would like to make sure everyone knows this is just out of precaution; no threat has been made…yet.” Dazzling caught a few questioning glances at the last remark, before nervously continuing. “We know that many of you have family in Hayton, and we understand why you object the idea of being forced to stay here; maybe some of you even wish to travel to Hayton yourselves. But let me tell you, it is simply too dangerous. There has been no response from the town since the incident. For those of you who have not heard, we had sent a recon team to Hayton to see if we could learn what has happened there; a team that included our messenger to Princess Celestia. We…lost contact with the team. Without them, we don’t have contact with Princess Celestia. However, when we were still in connection, the princess had stated that she was sending Princess Luna herself along with an entire platoon of Royal Guard to protect this city, and they are due to arrive by tonight.”

“Princess Luna?” the ponies whispered to each other. Dazzling Chainmail could understand their concern. Princess Luna wasn't exactly a public figure. Most citizens could only identify her from paintings of the dark times when she was known as Nightmare Moon. Not exactly somepony they wanted roaming Manehattan. Dazzling hoped that if any good came from this, the ponies of this city would see that Princess Luna has changed since then.

“I understand that this a stressful time for everypony,” Dazzling Chainmail added as she closed up the conference. “Our only wish is that you oblige to these new rules as best as possible, so we can make this incident as endurable as possible…for everypony. Thank you.” Dazzling Chainmail one last bow and stepped down to join Mayor Smooth Horn, who was giving an assured smile. The crowd stomped their approval as the assembly ended.

“I couldn't have said it better myself, Daze,” the mayor said as they walked out of the park towards City Hall. “You know, you wouldn't make a bad mayor yourself.”

Dazzling Chainmail grinned. “And take the job away from the greatest mayor Manehattan has had in ages?”

“I wish I had as much confidence in myself.” Mayor Smooth Horn sighed. They had reached City Hall by now, and Smooth Horn was reaching for the key to unlock the door.

Dazzling Chainmail stopped him and leaned closer. “What was that you said yesterday in your office? Never in past millennia has something like this happened? I think for something so outlandish to happen, and for you to keep complete order in the city, is a remarkable achievement. The citizens of Manehattan really do trust you. Look what you have gotten this city though so far. Nopony can replace you.” She adoringly smiled, slightly embarrassed at her sudden surge of compliments.

Mayor Smooth Horn returned the smile before grimly looking over her shoulder. “That’s just it Daze…I fear the worst has yet to come. I can only hope that I will be prepared when it does.”

Dazzling gently shifted his head back to hers. “You will be…and I’ll be there to help you in any way I can” she assured him.

The mayor looked into Dazzling’s compassionate eyes. “I wouldn't have it any other way, Daze.” And with that, their heads locked into a passionate kiss.

**********************************************************

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes as she slowly regained consciousness. The first thing she noticed was she had a pounding headache. The second thing she noticed was the red lightning bolt around her neck that represented her element was shining with an unexplainable intensity. The necklace sustained the glow for a solid minute before it finally died out.

At first, Rainbow Dash was engrossed by the display, but then she remembered where she was and quickly looked up to check on her friends. Her heart sunk when she saw that it was only Twilight that was lying next to her; her face perplexed in some unseen torment. Rainbow Dash desperately called out their names, and was greeted with nothing but the echoing of her own voice. Realizing she was getting nowhere, she knelt down next to Twilight. Whatever was going on inside the lilac unicorn’s mind it was hurting her. When shaking her didn't work, Rainbow proceeded to lift her onto her back. “Don’t worry Twilight,” Rainbow Dash promised, “I’m going to get you out of here.” But just as she was about to take off, she felt Twilight begin to move. Breathing a sigh of relief, she set her back down on the ground.

“Twilight, I’m glad you’re awake. Do you have any idea where everypony else is?” Rainbow Dash asked as she hovered up again in hopes to glance one of her missing friends. To her confusion, she heard no response at all. “Hey Twilight, I’m talking to…” That’s when Rainbow Dash caught a glance of Twilight’s eyes; except they weren't her eyes at all. Where she was usually meant with a light purple that matched the unicorn’s coat, she was greeted with nothing but a pair of expressionless black orbs; the pupil and iris were non-existent. “No…Twilight, what happened to you?” Rainbow Dash cried, only to get the same soundless result.

Without warning, Twilight abruptly turned her focus on the entrance in the dome; the entrance which Rainbow Dash realized was still present. She began a slow trot toward the dome, her gaze never wavering from her destination.

Rainbow Dash stood in dismay as she watched her friend mindlessly wandered toward the dome. Slowly, she came out of her stupor and dashed over to the shuffling unicorn. “Twilight, you have to snap out of it. Something isn't right. We have to leave!” Not to her surprise, Twilight made absolutely no response to Rainbow Dash.

If Twilight wasn't going to go herself, Rainbow Dash had to make her. Preparing herself for resistance, Rainbow Dash grabbed Twilight and heaved backwards. Carrying a pony’s weight when they weren't moving was one thing; pulling a pony’s weight that’s moving in the opposite direction is another. She only managed to stall Twilight’s progress until she found herself stuck in place. “Twilight…please…we have to go,” Rainbow Dash pleaded. She knew that if she let her friend go into the dome, she might not see her ever again.

But something else was wrong. The unicorn was moaning, and her face was in torment; the same expression she bore before she awoke from unconsciousness. Rainbow Dash loosened her grip, wishing for a way to confront her. “Twilight…” she began, until noticing Twilight’s horn was glowing. Her face was fixed in pure wickedness, directed entirely at Rainbow Dash. The facts came together a millisecond too late for the pegasus. Twilight let out a ball of pure energy the zeroed in on Rainbow Dash’s chest. She flew backward, wings offering no assistance as she crashed through a dead tree trunk and plowed into the ground.

Intense pain was all that greeted Rainbow Dash as she slowly rose from the dirt; both physical and emotional. Twilight was already heading back to the dome, not casting even a second glance back. Rainbow Dash got up to chase her, but she didn't make it far before her vision blurred. It was only then that she became aware of the large gash on head that was saturating her mane with blood. She could feel her energy draining along with the crimson liquid. All she could do was watch Twilight as she entered the dome, leaving her alone in the malformed clearing. That last realization that all her friends must have meant the same fate finally broke Rainbow Dash’s sanity. The bleeding pegasus collapsed onto the ground in a soundless wail.

“Merely one pony left,” the voice that had tormented the group previously declared in a proud tone. “One more…” the voice paused, as if realizing something for the first time. “Thou art…awake?” it asked. The confusion in the voice was evident; confusion that quickly turned to rage. “I command thou to come hither!” Somewhere in the fog of her suffering mind, Rainbow Dash knew the voice was speaking to her, but she remained in her feverish position.

The voice remained silent for some time, unable to understand how and why its control had failed. Eventually, with harsh, insincere authority, the voice responded. “Very well…If thou will not come to my side thyself, thou will be escorted here.”

From the same point Twilight had disappeared, a new group of ponies began to saunter towards Rainbow Dash. As they drew closer, she noticed that they had the same shadowy eyes Twilight had displayed; a sign that they were under the control of the evil monster that was hiding in his dome. They wore vests the presented the crest of Manehattan. Even the fact that she was in immediate danger was not enough to motivate her to leave, fight, or display any of the bold action she was accustomed to. She was broken, wishing only for the pain to end in any way possible.

The puppets were only a few meters away now. Rainbow Dash closed her eyes, preparing for the worst. Soon it would be over. She lay there in wait, not moving, not speaking. Only waiting.

But nothing happened. Confused, she opened her eyes, only to find her vision was nothing but pure silvery light. “Am I dying?” she thought to herself. She still felt the agony from her wound, and her heartbeat was slowing. “Is this how dying really is?” she pondered, before her mind once again slipped into darkness.

**********************************************************

Princess Celestia stood alone in her throne room, as she had requested. She needed time alone to process the events of the past few days. She was currently observing the window depicting the Elements of Harmony and their victory over Discord. Everything had seemed so hopeless then. Then, when all seemed lost, Twilight broke the trance that Discord had put on her friends and herself. All it had taken was a reminder about the magic of friendship by the use of resent letters that Twilight and her friends had written to Celestia. She had at least been able to help them in that aspect.

But for the first time, she, conjurer of the sun and co-ruler of Equestria, felt powerless.

Her uneasiness wasn't helped by the nagging feeling she was forgetting something incredibly important. First, her sister suffers a mental attack in which she feels a presence attempting to control her mind. Then, an entire town disappears from existence. To top it off, when she feels the town again, it is not her loyal subjects she feels, but an army of creatures to take their place. It all seemed so…familiar. Of course, that was absurd; nothing like this has happened in Equestria, she would have remembered it.

Princess Celestia was too caught up in her thoughts to even notice the swirling black form amassing in the center of the throne room.

“It has been excessively long, Celestia,” the form whispered, shocking the princess out of her contemplation. “I decided it was time we converse once again.”

Slowly turning around to face her visitor, Princess Celestia gruffly tensed her muscles. The creature that had caused so much trouble was standing before her…or at least an apparition of it. The form itself was fading between reality and oblivion, but its voice could be heard as if the real entity was in the throne room with her. “We do not know each other,” She responded coldly, attempting to control her anger.

“Come now,” the form retorted, “More than a millennia and a half has passed, but thou cannot state that thou do not recollect me.” Princess Celestia remained still, disarrayed. The creature carefully studied her reaction. “Thou truthfully do not remember me…Lord Plagueis?”

“I do not” Princess Celestia answered clearly. Nothing was hidden in her voice. There was no doubt what she said was true.

Lord Plagueis thought for a moment. “That leaves merely one possibility. Thou have chosen to forget.”

The words sunk hung in the air. Celestia began to deny the prospect of what he was accusing. She stopped herself when she remembered the sense she had just before her thoughts were interrupted…the sense that she was forgetting something important. “It doesn't matter who you are, or if we have meant before, Lord Plagueis. All that matters is that you will fail. Of that, I am convinced.

“Ah, thou art under the same delusion thy ‘representatives’ were. I suppose that would clarify why thou commanded thy greatest fighters to me, so vulnerably. I pondered whether thou possibly had given up once thou learned that I was finally free. Needless to say, none of them can answer thy demand now, Celestia”

Princess Celestia’s eyes expanded. “What have you done with the Elements of Harmony?!” Any suppressed emotion she had was gone now. Even though the figure before her was just visualization of the real thing, she found herself in a hostile position.

Lord Plagueis simply sneered at the enraged princess. “Thou will see in time. Thy sister, however, is going to discover much sooner. In fact, she will meet the exact same fate they did, as will you.”

Princess Celestia had heard enough from her new nemesis.“I WILL NOT ALLOW IT!” The princess bellowed, shooting a bright magic ball of condensed magic at Plagueis. The wall of her throne room was the only thing to receive the blast, taking out a good chunk of a pillar as well. Above her she could feel Plagueis’ presence leaving the room.

“Enjoy these final days of freedom, Princess Celestia,” Plagueis warned as he left, “for they will be thy last.” With that, the apparition of Plagueis was gone.

Chapter V: Rude Awakening

Despite how exhausted he felt on the inside, Commander Maverick kept a resilient outlook as he flew ahead of the Royal Guard under his command. The three day march (or flight, in the case of the pegasus division) was nearing its end, and they hadn't stopped once. Maverick wasn't sure why he felt it was so vital to keep such a fast pace. Then again, he didn't really need a reason. Princess Celestia had assured him that it was very important, and that was all he needed. It was the same thing he would tell his troops if they asked the same question. That wasn't likely to happen; the Royal Guard wasn't known to question authority. This could either be a good thing or a bad thing. Shining Armor had been a well-respected leader, and ever since he resigned as Captain of the Royal Guard to focus on his new position in the Crystal Empire and opening the position up for Maverick, the chestnut pegasus had tried to fill his horseshoes. Even when Princess Celestia had promoted him to Commander (the first to ever be deemed this title in the entire history of the Royal Guard) he had tried to follow in Shining Armor’s hoof prints. After this assignment, though, his biggest priority was keeping his troops calm and focused.

It was no secret what was happening; the talk about disappearances of ponies and an entire town were spreading around Equestria like a wildfire in the Everfree Forest. Princess Celestia had seemed confident that the Elements of Harmony would take care of the problem, either peacefully, or otherwise. But Commander Maverick didn't share her confidence. Something big was about to happen, and they were caught in the middle of it.

“Something troubling you, Commander?” a reclusive voice came out of nowhere beside him.

Startled, Maverick defensively spun away, only to find the voice came from Princess Luna, who was now flying parallel with him. Slightly embarrassed, the commander returned to his spot and suppressed a scowl. To get the jump on a Royal Guard Commander was bad enough, but Princess Luna had managed to do it four times within their trek to Manehattan. “A better question would be what isn't troubling me,” he stated dryly.

Princess Luna nodded, understanding what he was going through. “I’m afraid it only gets worse. My sister just contacted me…” she stopped, as if she was still trying to comprehend the news herself.

Commander Maverick had a hunch what she was going to say, but chose to play ignorant instead. “More bad news, I take it?”

“Twilight and the others…have failed to negotiate with the enemy. As of now, they are believed to be captured or...” The princess didn't finish. The grief on her face was unmistakable.

Maverick closed his eyes. Even though he had expected something like this to happen, it didn't make the news any easier to swallow. “How does she know?” He asked, hoping to get something positive out of the update.

“Lord Plagueis contacted her himself, a few days ago.” Luna responded, her grief turning to resentment. “She just told me about it because she has spent the entire time trying to find Twilight and the others. She even sent her phoenix out to search for them, but he found nothing.”

“Lord Plagueis…” Maverick echoed. “This is the name of the foe that has caused so much trouble? I don’t recognize that name,” he noted, startled. He had spent hours in the Canterlot library; pouring over books of enemies of Equestria’s past. Not once had he seen the name ‘Lord Plagueis’ mentioned. “What else did he say?”

“He plans to overthrow my sister and me so he can take control of Equestria himself.”

“Then there is no doubt,” Commander Maverick concluded, “he will strike again. Manehattan will most likely be his target…and we will be the only thing standing between him and his goal.”

The alicorn reluctantly nodded. “I had wished battle would be avoided, but clearly it is eminent.” It was obvious she had hoped Twilight and her friends would succeed in a peaceful resolution with Lord Plagueis.

Maverick thought for a moment, trying to find some way to change the subject of the conversation. Finally giving up, he asked, “How do you think Mayor Smooth Horn is handling the situation?”

“If his reputation is truthful, I’m sure he has done the best any of us could wish.”

“I just hope we won’t get there and find that panic has already taken the city. Whether our presence will help ease ponies’ minds or not, it won’t matter if they are already in hysteria.”

“Well Commander, it seems we are about to find out,” Princess Luna said.

The pegasus gave her a puzzled look, and then he caught her gaze. “Yes, it seems we will,” he established.

Rising high above the grassy plains and knolls that bordered it was the city of Manehattan. With its lofty towers and vibrant shops around the town square, it wasn't hard to understand what drew so many ponies to the city. It was only about a 15 minute trout away from their current position. They had finally arrived at their journey's end. It was here that Maverick would finally learn if he had what it took to be Commander.

“Mayor Smooth Horn will probably want everypony to start fortifying the city as soon as we move in,” Princess Luna hesitated, “Perhaps after a meal. They should still have the city fully barricaded by the time my sister is raising the sun tomorrow.” She looked over to Maverick, expecting him to be relieved they had finally arrived. However, she found that he was anything but.

“Let’s just hope we are ready for whatever happens after that,” Maverick muttered grimly before flying back to inform the colts under his command that they had arrived.

**********************************************************

The first thing Rainbow Dash established as she became aware of her surroundings was that she wasn't in her bed, or her house for the matter. The ground was rough against her already aching head, and the air had a moist, musty scent to it. Past that, she couldn't tell anything, and she realized her vision was hazy. She let out a small groan. The last time she felt like this was after one of Pinkie Pie’s all-night parties. The festivity had lasted well into the early morning hours before everypony eventually dozed off.

Something, however, told her this wasn't the result of a party; mostly her sore head. Cautiously, she extended her hoof to inspect it. What she found shocked her back into reality. It all came back: the journey Princess Celestia had sent them on; the large, magic dome they had found imprisoning the town of Hayton at the end of that voyage; the threat made to them by whatever creature was hiding beneath the dome; and the spell Twilight had blasted her with before disappearing behind the dome and leaving her dying in the clearing. Rainbow Dash had been sure she would perish there... her cut had been bleeding so badly. The laceration itself seemed to have already closed up into a rough scar somehow, as if she had already had it for days. Putting it out of her mind, Rainbow Dash tried to remember what happened after that. When nothing came to her, she realized she still had no idea where she was or how she got there.

Gingerly rising to her hooves, Rainbow Dash once again surveyed her surroundings. As her grogginess faded and her vision returned, she saw that she was in a dark cave. The only source of light was a glowing crystal sitting next to her. She had been laying in some sort of makeshift bedroll that had been fashioned out of leaves and long grass. And it wasn't alone. A similar but larger bedroll was set up next to her. Anxious to get some fresh air, along with some answers, Rainbow Dash looked for an exit. She soon found that even walking was a challenge, but after a few attempts she reached her goal; a small tunnel from which she could feel a slight breeze. Leaning against the wall for support, Rainbow Dash made her way down the narrow passageway. She began to see sunlight bouncing of the rocks. Soon, the sunlight was so bright, she found herself blind once again. But she knew she was close, and with a few more labored steps, she found herself standing at the entrance of the cave… and right behind a cloaked figure that was intensely watching the sunset.

Rainbow Dash froze. The figure didn't seem to notice her yet. Gradually, she began to retreat back into the cave. She was only a few steps back when a familiar, rough voice caused her to stop in sudden recognition.

“I am glad thee hath awoken, Rainbow Dash. I was beginning to fear I had arrived too late. Even if I was not, it was closer than I would hath desired it to be.” The figure turned to face Rainbow Dash. His large, golden eyes were as unreadable as the rest of his concealed face. He looked just as he had the first time she encountered him in the clearing outside Ponyville.

“You…you saved me.” Rainbow Dash managed. A wave of mixed emotions washed over her. The most prominent was guilt. She had abandoned him in the forest, not believing what he had said. If only she had listened…

The unicorn moved closer, his eyes never leaving Rainbow Dash. “What I spoke of before still remains truthful. I need thee, as does the rest of this land.” He now stood over her, continuing his vigilant gaze on Rainbow Dash.

“That thing was what you tried to warn me about, wasn’t it?” Rainbow Dash tensely asked. She received a small nod from the unicorn. “Then it is my fault, what has happened to my friends. If I had just believed you when you told me, I could have stopped this…”

Rainbow Dash stopped as she felt the unicorn’s hoof on her shoulder. This time, his eyes were sympathetic; almost regretful. It was almost like he was blaming himself as well. “We cannot reflect about that presently. Right now, we must focus on what lays ahead. If we are to stop the evil we are confronted with, then we need all the time we can get.”

“What exactly is it we’re facing…and what did it do with to my friends?” Rainbow Dash demanded. She was tired of not knowing what was going.

The unicorn withdrew a few steps and closed his eyes. The air became uncomfortably quiet as he considered her questions. Just when Rainbow Dash thought he wasn't going to answer, the unicorn took a deep breath and spoke.

“The creature thee and thy friends indirectly encountered was Lord Plagueis. He is thy last of long-forgotten race of powerful beings. A race once thought to be gone eternally. His power extends beyond that of anything that has roamed this land. One of the most ghastly and malevolent forms of his magic is the ability to invade the mind of essentially any creature he chooses. This is thy curse he hath placed on thy friends, as well as thy entire town.”

The unicorn slowly looked over Rainbow Dash, taking in every detail before stopping at her rear. It took a few uncomfortable moments for Rainbow Dash to realize it was her cutie mark he was observing.

“And thee, Rainbow Dash, art thy only being that can stand up against this agent of darkness. It hath been predestined to be thus.”

The words slowly sunk in as Rainbow Dash attempted to hide her surprise at the cryptic unicorn’s sudden directness. She decided now would be the best time to take advantage of it. “And who are you, and why do you speak like you do?

The unicorn looked down. If Rainbow Dash could see his face, she was it would be tense. “My name…is Ageroth. I was a member of a band of warriors that protected Equestria. My dialect varies from thine dialect because I am not from this era. Just as Lord Plagueis is not. This is not the first time he hath attacked this land.”

Not from this era. Rainbow Dash waited for Ageroth to say more, but he looked away. It was clear that was all she was going to get from him. Still, it was more then she had expected to get, and more than she could handle. She was still trying to digest it all when she realized she was begging to get light-headed again, and had to find a rock to sit on before she collapsed.

“Art thee fine?” Ageroth asked, rushing to her side. It was the first time Rainbow Dash really understood how much this mysterious unicorn really cared about her.

“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just that this is a lot to take in,” Rainbow Dash attempted. Even without seeing his face, she knew Ageroth didn't believe her. “Well the gash in my head doesn't help either,” she added reluctantly.

“Yes, this is plausible. Even with the laceration sealed, I could not duplicate thy blood that was already spilled. This has caused thee to be unresponsive for three days.”

Rainbow Dash’s head shot up, the gesture causing a small surge of pain. “ I've been asleep for three days?!” Ageroth nodded, helping her back on her hooves. “That means this Lord Plagueis already has a three day head start on whatever he is planning next. We have to warn Princess Celestia!”

Ageroth’s head froze at the mention of Celestia’s name. “Princess Celestia…is she not queen?”

The question threw Rainbow Dash off. “What do you mean, ‘Queen’? Celestia has always been entitled as ‘Princess’. It’s been that way ever since the three pony tribes came together to form Equestria and Princess Celestia first came to the throne with her sister.” How could Ageroth know who Celestia was but not know that?

Ageroth pondered her response before speaking. “She rules over Equestria with Luna? Do thou mean they rule together?”

“Of course they do.” Rainbow Dash replied, still confused. How could this unicorn not know this? She stared at him, trying to read his thoughts. Something that was very tough to do without being able to see his face. Ageroth remained silent for a long time, seemingly lost in thought. Finally he returned her gaze.

“Thou must get some rest, Rainbow Dash. We can discuss more when thee awakens tomorrow morn.” His voice was strangely confronting, despite his typical rough undertone.

“Don’t you think I've slept enough in the past three days?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Thou art still weak, and a little more sleep cannot hurt. But before thee departs, I hath but one inquiry. How doth this sun exist?”

At first, Rainbow Dash thought she misunderstood the question, until she remembered his last one. “Princess Celestia herself controls the sun and the day, and Princess Luna controls the moon, stars, and night. Just as they always has.”

Ageroth slowly nodded. “Of course they have,” he muttered. “Goodnight, Rainbow Dash.”

“Goodnight, Ageroth…and thank you,” Rainbow Dash answered, just realizing she had never formally thanked him for saving her from Lord Plagueis. The unicorn only nodded before returning his observation of the sunset. Smiling slightly, Rainbow slipped back into the cave and her bedroll. Even though she had learned so much, she felt even more lost. She couldn't even think right as she pulled the cover over her. But she was begging to think it didn't matter. Even though she hardly knew anything about Ageroth, she felt safe with him. It was the safest she had felt since this entire nightmare had begun.

Rainbow Dash was still thinking about Ageroth when her eyes closed and she drifted into a much more comfortable sleep than she had before.

**********************************************************

Rising very quietly as to not wake the sleeping silver unicorn next to him, Mayor Smooth Horn trotted across his bedroom and out onto the balcony. Just like his office, it was the penthouse floor of the tower. This tower, however, was much taller than his office. From here, he could see almost anything going on in the city…if there had been something going on. The only activity Smooth Horn noticed was the building of the makeshift barricade the Royal Guard was making around the city. Other than that, the city that until recently never rested was lifeless.

Mayor Smooth Horn shuddered. There had been nights when he had trouble sleeping because of the activity below. He had wished that it would all just stop, and that for once in his entire life within the city, he could rest in complete silence. Now that he was actually experiencing it, he realized it was actually unnerving. It certainly didn’t make sleeping any easier. Not that his anxiety about the future of Manehattan wasn’t already depriving him of it. After Dazzling Chainmail had fallen asleep, he had laid there and listened to her calm breath. He brought him a little comfort to know that she wasn’t as nervous as he was; even if it was only because she didn’t know what he knew.

His mind flew back to the moment Princess Celestia and Commander Maverick trotted into Manehattan. Weary from travel, Princess Luna requested a place to rest so she could get ready for the night, while the others wanted a meal before getting to work barricading the city. Wanting to help in any way he could, the mayor arranged a banquet in honor of their arrival, complete with Manehattan’s finest stocks of wine.

About halfway through the feast, Mayor Smooth Horn was pulled aside by Commander Maverick, who had left his meal almost untouched. “I’m afraid I must deliver dark tidings.” Maverick murmured when he was sure no one could hear them. “While on our way here, Princess Luna was contacted by Princess Celestia. The Elements of Harmony, our last chance at a diplomatic solution, have been lost. Their current whereabouts and status are unknown. The only thing we are sure of is our new foe, whose name is Lord Plagueis, has a single goal; to invade and conquer all of Equestria.”

Mayor Smooth Horn closed his eyes. “Then Princess Celestia was right to send you here. If he strikes again…”

“Manehattan will almost certainly be his target,” Commander Maverick finished.

“What can we do?” The mayor asked, suddenly not feeling like finishing his meal still waiting for him on the table.

“An offensive strike on him is too risky. At least not when we don’t know what he is capable of. The only thing we can do is the task we were sent here to do: defend the city.”

“So in other words, wait and hope we will be strong enough to repel an attack by an enemy we don’t even know the capabilities of?” Mayor Smooth Horn concluded in a vexed tone.

“I don’t like it either, but it’s our only choice as of now.” The commander grumbled. “And you can’t tell anypony about this, not even her.” Maverick gestured at Dazzling Chainmail, who was dubiously eyeing the pair from her spot next to Smooth Horn’s. “The last thing we need is for this to get out to the general public.

“I understand.” The mayor said. He attempted to give the silver unicorn a reassuring look before returning his gaze to Maverick.

“I just thought you of all ponies should know, so you could mentally prepare for the future. Whatever the future is…” Commander Maverick said. Then, almost as suddenly as he had come, the pegasus flew off to begin preparation for the barricading.

Thinking back on the moment, Mayor Smooth Horn wished he had just told Dazzling Chainmail that moment. Even if Maverick thought she shouldn't be told, he trusted her with his life and thought she deserved to know. The only reason he hadn't done it yet was she still had hope. She still believed The Elements of Harmony would prevail and that the problem wouldn't get any worse. Smooth Horn just didn't have the heart to take that away from her.

Unbeknownst to Smooth Horn, a figure had landed next to him while he was deep in thought. “Greetings, Smooth Horn,” it exclaimed with a brazen voice that dazed the mayor out of his contemplation and drove him over a few feet. He even let out a small yelp. The combined noise caused Dazzling Chainmail to stir slightly, but she soon fell back into her deep slumber. Smooth Horn slowly looked over to find Princess Luna herself starring back at him with an obvious look of embarrassment.

“I must apologize,” she began. “Even after all this time, I sometimes forget that the Traditional Canterlot voice is no longer used.”

“It is alright, Princess,” Mayor Smooth Horn said. He gave the customary bow in an elegant and practiced manner, but his blush showed that he was equally embarrassed. “It’s just that you surprised me.”

“Yes, I seem to have a talent for sneaking up on ponies,” the alicorn admitted. “I assure you that it is purely unintentional.”

“Of course,” Mayor Smooth Horn said. “So, what can I do for you, your Majesty?”

Princess Luna laughed lightly. “There is nothing I require. I simply finished my work on the night and saw you were out here. Since you were already awake, I thought we could keep each other company. That is, if you didn't mind, of course.” Princess Luna’s face darkened a little. “It’s just that, there are few things worse to me then a lonely night.”

Mayor Smooth Horn was silent. He knew why she of all ponies would feel this way, and the thought made him uneasy. “I would love the chance to just talk to you,” he said reassuringly.

Seeming relieved, Princess Luna moved closer to Smooth Horn and sat down. Following suit, Smooth Horn levitated a chair next to her and sat. For a while, the two just sat looking up into the heavens. “A real magnificent sight, your night is,” Smooth Horn said. “Your sister did her best to match you, but even she could not replicate the splendor you create.”

Princess Luna blushed slightly, but shook her head. “It’s nothing special, really.”

“What do you mean nothing special? Why, Princess, there are more stars in the sky then there are gems in the earth. The citizens of Manehattan always remark at how beautiful the night sky is.” The mayor slowly observed the deserted streets below him. “That is, when they aren't forced to stay in their homes during it.”

Despite the small talk, Mayor Smooth Horn could still feel the tense air around them. The question that had been forming in the back of his mind since her arrival was almost unavoidable. The mayor knew he couldn't help bringing up the subject, even though he didn't want to. “What do you think is going to happen next, Princess?” he finally inquired.

Princess Luna looked down at him for a long, stagnant moment. She knew exactly what he was talking about, but even she didn't seem to know how to answer. Eventually she let out a sigh returned her gaze back to the metropolis.

“I wish I could give you a conclusive answer. For moon’s sake, I wish I could reassure myself with a decent answer. As it is, however, neither I nor Celestia are certain of anything…not even current events. Worst of all, we have no idea what happened to Twilight and the Elements of Harmony.” Mayor Smooth Horn nodded, for he too was troubled by the disappearance of The Elements of Harmony. The best he, or anypony, could hope was that they were at least still alive and well.

“It has all happened so fast,” Princess Luna continued. “Ever since my encounter with what I can only imagine as the mind of this Lord Plagueis, everything has descended into chaos. If Celestia is right, and this creature really does have an army, then there will be no other outcome but…war.” Just the mention of the word sent a shudder down the alicorn’s spine.

“I regrettably agree, Princess.” Mayor Smooth Horn injected. “There is no other way out of this. That was decided when this adversary attacked a peaceful assemblage of ponies sent only to reason with him.”

Princess Luna shook her head, not content with that reasoning. “I know it is true, but it still feels wrong. We are a peaceful nation, not a violent one. Equestria hasn't been at war since…” The princess broke off.

“What is it, Princess Luna?” the mayor asked, worried about her sudden pause.

“It’s…nothing,” Princess Luna said. Despite her best efforts to hide it, Mayor Smooth Horn could tell she was withholding something. She got up from her seat and began to pace across the balcony.

Wondering if he should press her on the issue, Mayor Smooth Horn chose his words prudently. “If you do not wish to tell me, Princess, I understand. However, I’m equally ready to heed you, if you want me to.”

After a moment of nervous consideration, Princess Luna nodded to herself and spoke. “It is something about both my sister and myself that nopony else knows. If I tell you, you must swear never to tell it to anypony else, unless I allow it.”

“I swear to it, your Majesty,” Smooth Horn promised, adding a small bow as a gesture of his genuine honesty.

Princess Luna sighed. “I cannot tell you if Equestria has been had a war in its past. I cannot tell you anything about the time before what I imagine as the begging of our joint rule of Equestria; around 1,500 years ago. For you see, neither I nor Celestia have memory of a time before that.”

Mayor Smooth Horn’s eyes widened. Was the princess saying what he thought she was saying? “Princess Luna…you mean…”

“I mean…we have no memory of a childhood, or parents, or our rise to power; if we even had any of those things. In fact, we don’t know anything about Equestria’s history before we began our rule. As far as we can tell, there was nothing before us.” Princess Luna’s face became somber, as if she were still trying to come to terms with this truth.

“What about books, scrolls, and the other ponies of that time?” Smooth Horn questioned. “Surely somepony knew about the time before your regime.”

“At that period of time, books and scrolls were nonexistent,” Princess Luna scowled. “As for the other ponies…they seemed to be in the same condition we were. That is the part that troubles me the most. Not once did anypony question their lack of memory; not even us. We just …accepted… the collective lack of memory and began working on forming the nation we now call Equestria.”

Mayor Smooth Horn was silent for long time. That meant Hearth’s Warming Eve was just an imagined story, and the entire holiday was nothing more than the glorification of a fictitious incident. Just like all the other stories and legends of early Equestrian history. Not one tale had any truth to it. The whole revelation was very chilling to the unicorn. “If that is true, then why does it bother you now?” he asked.

It was a simple enough question, but Princess Luna found it hard to answer. “That detail is still unclear to me,” she muttered. “All I know is that both of us started to become uncomfortable after we felt Lord Plagueis’ presence.”

Smooth Horn shuddered. “Then, that means he must have something to do with your lost memory.”

“It would seem that is the case,” Princess Luna agreed. “If this is true, however, then it is the cause of even more concern.” Princess Luna was even graver then before, and just the sight of her somberness instilled fright in Smooth Horn. “If this creature has lived long enough to be from that era…to be as old if not older than us… then we are dealing with something more dangerous then we could ever have imagined.”

Stillness fell over the balcony once more, and Smooth Horn could not find a response to Princess Luna’s forbidding warning. Unable to think of anything else to say, he cleared his throat and stood up.

“Well I have kept you awake long enough,” Princess Luna said as she prepared for departure. “I just needed to get that off my chest.”

“I am just glad I could help, Princess.” Mayor Smooth Horn said. “Besides, I can’t sleep anyway. My nerves won’t allow it.”

“Oh…I can assist you with that,” Princess Luna said. "After all, you of all ponies need their sleep." She began slowly moving towards an unsure Smooth Horn, her horn emitting a soft blue aura. As she touched the mayor’s head, his worry and anxiety seemed to melt away. When she was done, he let out a large yawn.

“Well Princess…you never fail to disappoint,” Smooth Horn said in a sluggish tone. Even after all the new things he learned in the past few hours, he felt like he could sleep for days.“Thank you, and goodnight Princess Luna,” He managed in to say

“Goodnight,” The alicorn responded, before gracefully taking flight off the balcony. “I wish I was able to use that magic on myself” she whispered to herself as she watched Smooth Horn groggily return to his bedroom.

As the mayor climbed into bed, he affectionately laid his forearm around Dazzling Chainmail. Before he drifted to sleep, he kissed the back of the unicorn’s head. “I don’t care how dangerous it gets,” he guaranteed he, “I swear I won’t let anything happen to you.” After one last sigh, his breath fell into the same relaxed pattern as hers.

Author's Note

Sorry this took so long...I just couldn't find the time to work on it. I hope to pick up the pace when summer comes around if I can.

Chapter VII: Shadow of a Doubt

The sun was at its peak in the sky by the time Rainbow Dash and Ageroth made it out of the forest. They were making decent time, but not as fast as she had expected. Ageroth had insisted on stopping frequently to make sure there were no threats around them. She wasn’t complaining though; better to arrive later than expected instead of not at all.

The mountain chain that separated Manehattan from the greater part of Equestria could be seen far in the distance. It was a large succession of mountains, but they were circumventing the bulk of the massifs coming from the south. There were only lesser knolls ahead of them. After that it would be a strait trot though flat grasslands to Manehattan.

After a couple of minutes of silent trotting, Rainbow Dash asked, “So from what you have seen and heard so far…how different is this time than the one you are from? Is it hard to get used to? I know I would go crazy.”

At first, Ageroth seemed to not hear Rainbow Dash, and she was about to ask again when he hesitantly replied. “My time functioned exceptionally different…in particular ways that thou would refuse to believe. ‘Tis dissimilar on such an extreme degree, I tend to question if it truly be the same land. Then I recall that if I do not act, that is condemned to change.” Ageroth offered nothing else, and was engaged deeply in his own thoughts. Something he seemed to be often.

Rainbow Dash sighed. It had been an odd journey so far. She had tried numerous times to get Ageroth to open up about his past or at the very least reveal some of his thoughts and emotions. And every time, Ageroth would respond with vague and obscure replies that offered little help for her to piece together. All that she could tell was that he was very different from any pony she had ever met. That was something she had known from the very start.

They both continued in reticence for another short stretch. The hills that had been close ahead were now directly in front of them. Before they began their ascent, Ageroth stopped. “Let us halt for respite. Thou mustn’t be burdened by so much exertion without cessation. Not with thine wound.”

“I feel fine,” Rainbow Dash mumbled. Deep down inside, however, she knew it was true and was relieved Ageroth had offered. They found a few rocks that were suitable for resting on and sat down. There had been some wild fruit back in the forest that Rainbow Dash was able to pack in her saddle. She decided now was the best time to eat, so she grabbed a piece to begin munching on. Noticing Ageroth watching her, she remembered he had been too busy searching for potential dangers to grab any. “Do you want some?” she asked between bites.

Ageroth eyed the fruit. “What be thine sustenance. I am unaccustomed to it.”

“It’s a dragon fruit,” Rainbow Dash replied. She took another satisfied mouthful out of the red fruit.

“Why doth it be titled so? Ageroth questioned. He eyed the fruit like it might come alive and take a bite out of him.

Rainbow Dash shrugged as she wiped bits of fruit off her mouth. “Some say because it looks like the fiery breath of a dragon. Others believe that some dragons actually have huge gardens of the stuff that they leave growing for centuries until they are large enough to feast on. They say they grow in Equestria because dragons sometimes drop seeds while migrating.” She stopped and let out a little giggle. “I don’t know which is true, but I always imagine Spike keeping his own little garden of dragon fruit.”

Ageroth’s glance shot up. “Thou…art acquainted with a dragon?”

“Well, a baby dragon,” Rainbow Dash admitted. When Ageroth continued to stare in disbelief, she suddenly remembered the legends she had heard as a filly about the dragons of the very distant past. They were said to have been a constant danger to Equestria; capable of burning entire villages to the ground in a single assault. She wasn’t sure how much of it was true, but the legends wouldn’t still be told today if they didn’t have some hint of truth to them.

“I don’t know about the dragons of your time, but they don’t harm us now,” Rainbow Dash assured. “Besides a few incidents and misunderstandings, both our races live in peace. I wouldn’t say we are close though; dragons still prefer a fairly independent existence and rarely interact with other species.” She paused. “Of course, there are always exceptions,” she added, thinking back on her little green and blue friend still in Ponyville. Poor little guy was probably waiting for a reunion that was going much longer than expected.

“I see…” the unicorn nodded, although he still sounded skeptical.

“Anyway…you should have some, it’s delicious.” Rainbow Dash withdrew another piece from her saddle and handed it to Ageroth.

Slowly reaching for it, Ageroth thanked Rainbow Dash before raising the fruit to his face. Right before it got there, it suddenly became shadowed, just like the rest of his face. This confirmed her suspicion that the cloak was enchanted to always hide his face. She heard a small bite, and saw Ageroth’s eyes light up.

“Thou hath not deceived me.” Ageroth confessed. “I determine thine fruit to be exceedingly appealing.” With a few more rapid nibbles, the dragon fruit was gone.

Rainbow Dash smiled. “Well, there’s more where that came from. Would you like another piece?”

Ageroth was about to respond when he froze. She saw his eyes dart to the edge of the forest. Before Rainbow Dash could ask what was wrong, he had her gripped tight against him. His horn let out a stream of golden aura that spread out until it engulfed the two ponies. The entire time, Ageroth’s eyes never left the forest edge.

“What are you doing? What do you sense?” Rainbow Dash asked. She looked about for clues, but her vision was somewhat obscured by the aura that was still draped around them.

“’Tis an illusion,” Ageroth replied back in a hushed tone. “We appear as a boulder on the exterior. Now be still.”

Silently irritated that Ageroth had not answered her second question, Rainbow Dash folded her forelimbs but complied. She followed his gaze to the forest in hopes she could find out for herself. But no matter how hard she squinted, she could see nothing.

They remained motionless inside the spell for a solid minute without anything eventful occurring. Rainbow Dash was about to ask if Ageroth had finally lost it when she saw a rustling in the undergrowth ahead.

At first it was just a couple of bushes…and then half a dozen… and eventually more than she could count. She could hear a rout of crunching branches that grew louder each second. Whatever was causing the noise was approaching them, and there was more than one of it. Knowing their previous encounters, it couldn’t be good.

Then, the first figure emerged from the bushes, quickly followed by several others. Rainbow Dash strained to see them properly, with both the spell and their distance playing a factor in her struggle. From what she could tell, however, they seemed to be completely normal ponies.

Rainbow Dash watched as at least twenty “ponies” appeared out of the undergrowth. She noticed they seemed to move together in some bizarre formation. The group only progressed a couple hundred feet away from the forest before collectively stopping, but it was close enough for her to finally notice their infirmities.

The jaw of everypony in the group was swelled outward, as if they had all been hit hard in the mouth. They all appeared to be earth ponies, or at least were before transformed into their current form. Rainbow Dash also noticed their eyes matched those Twilight had borne; both iris and pupil replaced with glassy black nothingness.

It was truly horrifying sight, and Rainbow Dash found it difficult not to look away. She wanted nothing more but for the collection of atrocities to go away. The group continued to stand there, surveying every segment of their surroundings. Finally, after coming up with nothing of interest, the not-ponies began to slowly turn back.

As they did, Rainbow Dash noticed something she hadn’t before. It was the “lead pony.” She had a bright pink coat that seemed familiar. The pegasus strained to see her mane, and saw it was also pink. It then clicked…she knew exactly who the pony was.

“PINKIE-,” Rainbow Dash began before catching herself. The not-Pinkie Pie stopped and turned her head their direction. Her mane had deflated from its usual fizzing appearance, but there was no doubt it was her. She was even still wearing the Element of Laughter around her neck. After finding no other signs of the source of noise, not-Pinkie Pie returned to her saunter with the other ponies as they returned to the forest.

It wasn’t until the last one returned into the undergrowth that Rainbow Dash let out the breath she was holding, leaving her gasping for air. Her blood turned to ice, and the reality of just how dreadful things were getting was finally hitting home.

Ageroth watched the forest for a few more moments until he was sure the group wasn’t going to return before releasing the spell. “We be able to speaketh now, so long as our tongue remains low,” he said as he looked down at Rainbow Dash. But she didn’t perceive him among the perturbing images tormenting her mind.

She would never forget those eyes. A pony that had dedicated so much of her life to the joy and happiness of not just herself but those around her…a pony Rainbow Dash had cared very deeply for…had just vanished. Her body was still there, but all the spirit, energy, and soul that inhabited that body was replaced with cold, dark, emptiness. She was nothing but a desolate puppet being used to perform malevolent deeds. Rainbow Dash knew those eyes would haunt her in her sleep.

It was a few more minutes before Ageroth was able to break Rainbow Dash out of her trance. “Art thou fine?” he questioned, concern rising up in his voice.

Rainbow Dash looked up, quickly wiping a tear off her face. “Yeah…of course I am,” she attempted with a feeble smile. “I just…I just got a little spooked by seeing so many of those…things. That’s all.”

Ageroth nodded his head. “They are known as Nibblers. I reason that thee knows of their origin.” He saw Rainbow Dash slowly nod her head, and continued. “Whilst they haveth no magical enhancements, a single bite will contaminate a victim with an abysmal poison that will poison a pony’s mind until they descend into Plagueis’ control. Tending to travel in populous gatherings, they can conquer their targets by sheer number.”

Running her hooves though her mane, Rainbow Dash let out a sigh. “That sounds like something Plagueis would create,” she muttered disgustedly.

“Indeed it does,” Ageroth agreed. “However, there be more that disturbs you. The pink one…thou knoweth of her, doth thou not?”

Rainbow Dash lowered her head. So Ageroth had caught that. “Yes…she was my friend, Pinkie Pie,” she admitted miserably. “Just a few days ago, she was with me as we approached Hayton. She had tried to keep our spirits up, even when things were looking so dire.” Rainbow Dash smiled. “Just like she always did.” Her smile quickly faded. “And now…she is one of those monsters. Any happiness she had is…gone.” There were more tears streaming out her eyes, but this time she made no effort to hide them.

Dropping his head to be level with Rainbow Dash’s, Ageroth met her eyes with his own concerned but resolute gaze. “I am acquainted with thy pain. There art many a time I even blamed myself for not preventing it from happening. ‘Tis a dreadful thing to see a companion you hath known an entire lifetime transmogrify into something so atrocious. I knoweth of it much too well, Rainbow Dash. It distresses me even at this moment, as thine pain prompts me of mine.”

Ageroth’s voice trembled with grief, confirming what he said was true. For the first time ever, Rainbow Dash got a gloomy but insightful look into Ageroth’s past.

“But thou mustn’t allow this pain to affect thy devotion to one’s own life,” Ageroth countered with strong conviction. “We must keep our focus on our quest if we are to liberate thy friend…if we are to save this land from Lord Plagueis.”

Rainbow Dash nodded. “I know, Ageroth. It’s just…I’ve never done anything like this without my friends. All my eagerness and courage comes from them. They’re always there for me. After all, together we are the Elements of Harmony.”

“The amulet the pink one…Pinkie Pie wore…it was very similar to thine,” Ageroth pointed out. “Be these the Elements of Harmony thou hath mentioned.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash replied, realizing she hadn’t explained them to Ageroth yet. “There are six of us. We all represent one quality of friendship that, when put together, can achieve remarkable things. Like Pinkie Pie, for example, represents the Element of Laughter. And I…I represent the Element of Loyalty.” She held up the red bolt to allow Ageroth a better look.

Ageroth examined the amulet in his hoof. “Loyalty thou say… interesting.”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “Well, it doesn’t do me any good unless the other parts are present. Not unless I’m with my friends.”

“I do not agree,” Ageroth retorted. “Thou hath no need to be with thine friends to represent loyalty. Moreover, thou still hath time to attain new friends.” He stopped. “I knoweth thou to hath already made one,” he added with a much more gentle tone. His eyes sparkled with encouragement.

For a long moment, Rainbow Dash didn’t know how to respond to Ageroth’s sudden spurt of kindness. Her decision was gripping him in a tight hug. “Oh Ageroth, you’re right. You’ve been as much of a friend as I could ever hope for.” She smiled, realizing she felt much better. “Just promise me that…you won’t ever leave me; that I will never have the pain of losing you too.”

Ageroth paused, but slowly completed the hug. “Thou haveth my word,” he vowed.

The two stood there in their embrace for a long time before Ageroth let go. “We mustn’t deferral our journey further. I hath no desire to complete it subsequent to nightfall.

“You and me both,” Rainbow Dash agreed as they began climbing the hill. She found herself surprised by her sensitive reaction. Normally she considered herself emotionally tough. Certainly not one to give hugs unless a friend really wanted one, let alone need one herself. Maybe it was the sudden separation from her friends that had caused her softness. Or maybe it was just how bad things were getting in general. Either way, she was glad she had Ageroth to help her though it. It was moderately confronting to know she wasn’t entirely alone in a world that was feeling less and less like her own.

Clearing his throat in the most professional way possible, Captain Greencoat opened the doors to the throne room and stepped in. The first thing he noticed was the two stone masons repairing the large hole in the east throne room wall. Princess Celestia still had neglected to explain how it had got there, but the captain decided it was best not to pry. It was no secret that the princess had been emotionally distressed the past few days, and he didn’t want to bother her with such inquiries.

Princess Celestia herself was viewing one of the many stain glass murals lining the throne room. As Captain Greencoat came drew closer, he observed that it was the one depicting the Elements of Harmony and their victory over Nightmare Moon. The princess didn’t even notice his approach; she was as detached as she was in their previous meeting. It pained the unicorn to disturb her, but he knew he had a job to fulfill.

“Your Majesty, I must speak with you,” Captain Greencoat said, elegantly bowing his head. The alicorn didn’t react, still regretfully eyeing the mural. The captain repeated his call; this time prominently louder while still keeping its regal manner.

Jolting back as if waking from a dream, Princess Celestia looked back with dazed eyes. It took her a moment to focus back onto Captain Greencoat. “Captain…” she laughed, “you snuck up on me.” She still appeared slightly distracted, but otherwise her typical self.

“Yes…I apologize, Your Highness,” the emerald unicorn tentatively replied. “I should have made my presence more clear.”

Princess Celestia smiled. “It’s quite all right,” she assured. “I assume you have more news for me.”

Nodding his head, Captain Greencoat pulled a letter from beneath his chest plate. “It is a message from Prince Shining Armor of the Crystal Kingdom,” he declared.

“Come now, Captain. You know Shining doesn’t care for us to state his prominence so,” Princess Celestia reminded him.

Captain Greencoat sighed. “It does not change the fact that he his royalty, and should be announced as such.”

“You’re right, Captain Tiberius Greencoat of the Royal Canterlot Guard,” the alicorn remarked with an innocent smirk.

Ignoring the satirical comment, Greencoat handed the scroll to the Celestia. “Prince Armor has offered to return to Canterlot to help with the current situation. He says Princess Cadence agrees he would be more helpful with his experience here than in the Crystal Kingdom.”

Celestia’s smile vanished as she took the scroll. “I appreciate their concern,” she said ambiguously, “but I’m afraid that would be a mistake. I cannot say for sure…but I have a feeling I may need them there for the time being.”

“Princess…?” Captain Greencoat questioned.

The princess closed her eyes and shook her head. “Let’s just hope that I am mistaken,” she sighed. The uneasiness was clear in her voice. Greencoat noticed her attitude was fluctuating rapidly, which made it difficult to see how she really felt.

“Was there anything else, Captain?” she asked, absently pacing between her throne and Greencoat. It was obvious she was still plagued with guilty feelings from the loss of the Elements of Harmony. Something that made Captain Greencoat very apprehensive to continue, even though he knew he must.

“Yes…Your Majesty…” he trailed off, still attempting to build enough nerve to speak. The respectable and dignified unicorn had never felt so inept in his long-established vocation with the Royal Guard. “Prince Armor…also wishes to know about his sister. He does not know of…her disappearance yet.

Princess Celestia stopped mid-stride. She put a hoof up to her face as if just realizing something. Slowly turning to Greencoat, she murmured, “In all of this mayhem, I have not even taken into consideration the families of the Elements of Harmony, have I?”

Knowing he was treading on thin ice, the captain quickly thought of ways to tell the truth while avoiding damaging Princess Celestia’s emotional state any further. “Princess, you have been under too much stress these past few days to worry about such things. Nopony can blame you for that.”

“Don’t try to sugarcoat this, Captain…” Celestia said with a humorless laugh. “You know as well as I do that it is yet another mistake I have made in this whole entire situation.” She thought for a second, and her brow fissured in concentration. “Fortunately, there is still a way for me to fix this one,” she resolved. “I will go and personally tell the families myself.”

“Your Majesty…” Captain Greencoat shrilled. “You can’t be serious.”

Princess Celestia nodded. “As serious as possible,” she replied. “I know in my heart this is what I must do.”

Rubbing the back of his head hesitantly, the captain struggled to find the right words. “Princess…” he disparagingly began, “I understand how much stress you have been under. And I also see why you may think this is your responsibility. But trust me, you are much too busy to worry about such trivial matters.”

“Trivial matters!” the sun princess thundered. She stomped over to Captain Greencoat, towering over him. “I do not take the emotional state of my subjects to be trivial matters, Captain!” She was angrier than Greencoat had ever seen her, and he found himself shrinking down at every word.

“I owe this to their friends and families,” she continued. “This is the very least I can do for my part in the disappearance of their loved one. And you can save any argument you think you may have, Captain, because it won’t do you any good. I AM doing this, whether I have your approval or not. Do I make myself clear?” She glared at the cowering unicorn, waiting for an answer.

Captain Greencoat attempted to regain a respectable position, but found he was unable to. “Y-Y-Yes, Your Highness…” he peeped.

The alicorn only grinned before turning and heading for the doors of the throne room. As she was opening them, Captain Greencoat heard her heave a long and weary sigh. “I apologize for that, Captain,” she said. “I feel strongly about my opinion, but I did not intend to be so ferocious about it. You are welcome to join me, but I’m sure you would rather stay and attempt to keep order here.” She saw the captain give a small, nervous nod. “It is probably for the best anyway,” she agreed.

Turning to leave, Princess Celestia remarked, “I fear this entire situation is beginning to bring out the worst in us, Captain. And despite all the difficulties we are already facing, it is likely to get worse before it gets better.”

The doors slammed shut, and all that could be heard were Celestia’s departing hoofsteps. Captain Greencoat was left alone in the room with the two stone masons, who continued to work as if nothing had happened.

“Somepony raised the wrong side of the sun today,” Greencoat quavered as he straightened his mane dusted off his armor.

The sun was in the process of lowering beneath the horizon, casting elongated, dusky shadows throughout the region. However, neither Rainbow Dash nor Ageroth needed the sun to see what lay ahead of them: the bright, expansive city of Manehattan.

“What did I tell you?” Rainbow Dash asked remarkably. “Quite a sight, isn’t it?”

Ageroth was silent, but the pegasus could tell he was amazed by the look in his eyes. After all, Rainbow Dash had been born in the current century and still felt a sense of marvel every time she saw the metropolis. She wondered how the citizens of Manehattan could ever get use to towering buildings and glamorous shops in every direction. Then again, they probably felt the same way about a pony being content to live in a rural settlement like Ponyville.

Rainbow Dash began to head for Manehattan, but stopped when she saw Ageroth wasn’t following her. “What is it?” she asked, hoping that he didn’t sense yet another danger ahead.

Ageroth shook his head, as if reading her thoughts. “We be not in danger at present,” he assured her. “I hath simply…envisaged a possible hazard I had not afore. Come hither.”

The unicorn started for a small pond about ten yards off the path with Rainbow Dash close behind. When he reached the edge of the water, Ageroth telekinetically plucked a group of reeds and brought them in front of him. He then turned to Rainbow Dash and began gradually running his hoof along her the back of head to her tail, making sure to avoid her scar.

“What in the hay are you doing?” Rainbow Dash protested. She was starting to become more comfortable around Ageroth, but this was a little too invasive of her personal space.

Rolling his eyes, Ageroth ran another hoof from the top of her back down to the bottom of her front hoof. “Calm thyself,” he said. “I am simply noting thy dimensions.”

“And why would you need to do that?” Rainbow Dashed asked, feeling little comfort in his answer.

Ageroth placed his hooves on either side of her body, taking a final measurement. “At Hayton, thou were struck with the same spell as thy friends, were thou not? By plausible circumstance, shouldn’t thou have experienced the same condition as they did? ”

“Well…yes,” she said slowly.

“But thou did not. Thou resisted Plagueis’ direct power. Something I have never observed before. I see it as evidence of thy destiny.” Ageroth sighed, turning his attention back on the reeds. “But I was not the only witness to your accomplishment.”

Slowly piecing it together, Rainbow Dash nodded. “You mean, Lord Plagueis saw it too. He knows that… I’m different.”

“Precisely,” Ageroth crossly replied. He began to cast a spell that transformed the reeds into an amorphous, wispy mass. “And he now finds himself facing something he never thought he would: a insusceptible threat…”

What Ageroth did next confused Rainbow Dash. It looked as if he literally grabbed a shadow from a nearby bush and added it to the mass in front of him. The mass began to take a new form. “He now knoweths of thine appearance, and no doubt desperately wishes to capture thee,” he bitterly spat. “And when Lord Plagueis desires something, he will halt at nothing to acquire it.”

The obscure muddle in front of them stabilized, and Rainbow Dash saw at once what it was. “Oh come on…” she protested. She was not eager about what Ageroth was proposing.

“I hath concealed my appearance, for Plagueis knows of my form as well,” Ageroth countered. “It is time thou doth the same.” He then levitated the newly made cloak over to Rainbow Dash.

Reluctantly snatching the hooded garment, Rainbow Dash opened it up. It felt as if she were holding a very thin cloud. It looked identical to Ageroth’s; the only difference was that it was made to fit her smaller frame.

“I don’t get it,” Rainbow Dash cogitated. “What do you expect to find in Manehattan that would pose a danger to us?”

Ageroth shook his head. “That be just it…I am irresolute on that. One thing I am sure of, however, is that thou should not underestimate Plagueis. He be most cunning, and may hath a method of observing the city.” He gestured to the cloak. “I beseech thee to simply have belief this be the best decision.”

Sighing deeply, Rainbow Dash began to slip into the cloak. It felt as light on her body as it did in her hooves, like she wasn’t wearing anything at all. The garment also fit her implausibly well, which was a clear sign of its magical properties. She flipped up the hood, and found it was not unlike putting a pair of sunglasses on. Expect instead of a lens, it was a strong enchantment covering her face.

The concealed pegasus leaned over the pond to get a full view of her mirror image. Her eyes were the only visible features on an otherwise obscure figure. She felt a shiver go down her spine. “I don’t know how you can stand to be like this constantly,” Rainbow Dash said in marvel. “I suppose I won’t be flying anytime soon either.”

Ageroth’s reflection joined hers. “One grows accustomed to it,” he assured. He laid a hoof on her back, as he often did to give encouragement. “After all, it be merely a piece of attire.”

“I don’t know…” Rainbow Dash repudiated. Somehow, the figure staring back at her in the pond just didn’t seem to be her. Like she wasn’t just concealing her identity, she was changing it. But Ageroth was probably right; this was just another thing she would have to adapt to. “I’ll try.”

“That is more like it,” Ageroth said, nodding in approval.

Rainbow Dash thought for a moment, and let off an indiscernible smirk. “Must I speaketh resembling this as well?” she said in her best Ageroth impression.

Narrowing his eyes, Ageroth looked down at her. “Rainbow Dash…” he warned.

“I give forth my sincerest apologies,” she countied. “I did not intend to mocketh thou.”

Ageroth shook his head and began trotting back towards the trail. “Come…we waste time,” he muttered. But he wasn’t fooling her. Even as they continued on the path, Rainbow Dash could hear him desperately trying to suppress a chuckle.

The southern entrance to the newly enclosed Manehattan was routinely guarded by three Royal Guard members. However, one had been sent on an essential assignment to a small settlement up north. This left only two pegasi to guard the newly-formed gate that was made up of whatever scraps that could be found at the time. It had served its purpose so far, and there was no reason to expect it would be needed for any heavier use. At least that’s how one of the guards felt.

His comrade was not so confident. “Why were we the ones put at this post,” the light silver-blue pegasus complained. “If Manehattan was attacked, we would the first ones to be hit…probably in a surprise attack. We wouldn’t stand a chance.”

Rolling his eyes, the other pegasus turned to his friend. “Iceskidder, we’ve already been over this,” he said. “Manehattan is not going to be attacked. The only reason Princess Celestia sent us here was to calm anypony who is fearful enough to think it might happen.”

Iceskidder shook his head, irritated by the bright yellow pegasus’ brashness. “Oh…and how can you be so sure of that, Cloudstriker?”

“First of all,” Cloudstriker began, “it has never been attempted before, and never will be. Second of all, I’m convinced whatever happened in Hayton wasn’t an invasion. There is no tactical - or for that matter, practical - reason to do so. Not to mention its location. Who would have even have a chance to invade it…the buffalo herds of the Mild West?” He chuckled. “If that’s the case, I don’t think we have much to worry about.”

“Look, I’m not going to say it’s a sure thing, or even a probable one,” Iceskidder admitted. “I just don’t think we should dismiss it as a possibility. The truth is, we just don’t know what’s going on over there, and that’s what scares me the most.”

Cloudstriker snickered. “Well it wouldn’t be the first time you got scared over nothing. Remember when you had night duty at the castle and you raised the alarm because you thought you saw a dragon heading for Canterlot.” He saw his friend’s face redden and laughed even harder. “What did that dragon turn out to be again?”

Sighing, Iceskidder lowered his head. “Princess Luna returning to the castle,” he grudgingly answered.

“Oh, the look on your face when she landed to see what all the fuss was about…” Cloudstriker reminisced. “Priceless.”

Eager to regain his honor, Iceskidder replied “Oh yeah? What about the time I had a strange feeling about Princess Cadence?” His eyes widened in emphasis. “You know, the fake one,” he stressed.

For a moment, Cloudstriker was silent. Then he shrugged his shoulders. “Okay, so you were right about one thing,” he admitted casually. “It was probably just a lucky guess. Besides, you don’t really think it’s the changelings, do you? I think they learned their lesson when we kicked their flanks back to whatever hole they crawled out of.”

“Again, I think we should at least consider it.” Iceskidder said. “And if I remember correctly, it wasn’t us who beat them; it was Shining Armor and the real Princess Cadence. We don’t have either of them here,” he pointed out. “If the changelings were to try again…”

“Commander Maverick would be able to handle it,” Cloudstriker finished. “He may not be some prodigious unicorn or royal alicorn, but you can bet he makes up for it with other strengths. Princess Celestia wouldn’t make him a commander if she didn’t think so herself. Trust me…we wouldn’t have anything to worry about in an attack with him leading us.”

Raising an eyebrow, Iceskidder replied with a melodramatic, “Unless he is really just a changeling himself…”

Cloudstriker couldn’t find an appropriate response to this statement, and instead placed his face in his hoof. An awkward silence followed, with both pegasi contemplating their exchange. Cloudstriker broke the silence with a long sigh. “I don’t even know why we are having this conversation,” he grumbled. “I heard Princess Celestia sent the Elements of Harmony to Hayton shortly before sending us here. She didn’t publicly announce it for obvious reasons, but word eventually gets around among the Guard. I bet they have already fixed whatever is going on over there. Just watch, we will be heading back to Canterlot by tomorrow.”

Even the fretful pegasus didn’t have a negative retort to this. “Yeah, you’ve got a point,” he admitted. “I doubt there is anything they can’t handle.”

There was a strong manner of admiration in Iceskidder’s voice. Maybe it was even a little more than that. Cloudstriker had on more than one occasion caught his friend eyeing the group when they happened to be in Canterlot. One of the mares in particular - the cyan pegasus Rainbow Dash - seemed to interest him. It was one of the few things Cloudstriker didn’t tease Iceskidder about. After all, even he found that he fancied one; Rarity. The way her wavy purple tail curved down to her perfectly pared hooves…

Shaking his head vigorously, Cloudstriker trembled a bit. He knew he shouldn’t act like this in front of Iceskidder. It was bound to raise questions he was too chary to answer. Still, he couldn’t help but smile as he thought about the beautiful white unicorn.

Meanwhile, Iceskidder was preoccupied with something else. “Cloudstriker…” he whispered. When he didn’t get a response, he gave the yellow pegasus a firm shove.

“What…?” came a gruff yet distracted reply.

Instead of answering, Iceskidder just gave an urgent point at the path down below them. It was hard to see in the growing shadows of the evening, but with enough effort he saw what his distressed comrade was designating.

Two figures were hastily approaching the gate. Even considering the developing twilight, they appeared excessively obscured. They were obviously wearing cloaks.

“Oh great, what do we do now? I don’t like the look of those travelers…” Iceskidder griped. “Should we tell somepony?”

Cloudstriker held up a hoof. “Now just hold on a second. These are probably just a couple of ponies who haven’t heard about the act that limits any entry or departure of the city.” Contrary to his response, Cloudstriker did find their arrival quite odd. The regulation had been in effect for almost a week, which gave plenty of time for the word to spread to even the tiniest of settlements. And what were the hooded cloaks for? Maybe they were on a royal assignment that demanded secrecy.

As the figures drew closer, the guards saw that one was larger than the other, and had a horn emerging from the hood. Other than that, their eyes were the only distinguishable features the stallions could see. When he was sure they were within earshot, Cloudstriker called out, “Halt! Who goes there?”

The travelers stopped. There was a small, private discussion between them, and the larger figure began to step forward. The smaller one then stopped him, and what appeared to be an argument followed. After some tense, hushed conciliation, the larger figure stepped aside and the smaller one approached slowly.

“Hey there,” the now established mare called out. “My name is Scootaloo, and this is…uh…Night…trotter.” She looked back at her companion, who gave an encouraging nod. “Is there a problem?” She sounded innocent enough, but there was definitely an uneasy edge to her words.

Narrowing his eyes, Cloudstriker attempted to understand the duo before him. He looked back at Iceskidder for help, but he was too busy gawking at Scootaloo like a jumbled foal. Rolling his eyes, Cloudstriker turned back to the others. “I am afraid there is a problem, Ms. Scootaloo,” he stated authoritatively. “I have strict orders not to allow entry into Manehattan. No exceptions.”

Scootaloo shook her head. “But…you can’t.” The mare was clearly irritated. “You don’t understand…we have to get in. It’s very important.”

“I’m not the pony who makes the rules; I only enforce them. In fact, this particular decree came straight from Princess Celestia herself. So unless you wish to disobey your own ruler, I suggest you turn back and head home.” Cloudstriker raised an eyebrow. “That is, if your loyalties truly lie with her…” The yellow pegasus watched the hooded figures closely and waited for any sudden aggressive actions.

Moving forward, Scootaloo returned the stallion’s glare with startling determination. “Now you listen here,” she growled. “I have gone through too much trouble these past few days to have my loyalty questioned by some arrogant, self-centered guard. I would never deliberately violate Princess Celestia’s orders unless it was for a very significant cause, like the welfare of Equestria.” The angry pony was almost at gate now, and her companion was gradually following her. “Now my friend and I just so happen to be in one of those situations right now, so either you open this gate for us or you get somepony else willing to do it.”

Dismayed by her inimical warning, Cloudstriker retreated a bit before regaining his authoritative stance. It may not have been a hostile threat, but it was fairly close to one. He was about to threaten to detain the pair when he felt an urgent tap on his shoulder. Iceskidder had slid over to him and was pointing at the cloaked mare. “Call me crazy, but that pony seems very familiar. I think I know her from somewhere,” he whispered.

“Whatever you say, crazy,” Cloudstriker mocked.

“No, I’m serious,” Iceskidder assured. He bent over the elevated platform that held them and looked down at the still fuming mare. “Hey,” he unassumingly called out, “do you come around Canterlot often?”

Scootaloo’s glare abruptly cooled. She fumbled with a few words that didn’t come out as coherent speech. Nighttrotter leaned over and whispered something where her ear must have been and she nodded. “No, we’re from…Stableside. We don’t get to Canterlot much.” she cagily replied.

Iceskidder didn’t believe it for a second. “I’m sure I know you from somewhere. Maybe if you took off your cloak, I could see for myself.”

“Yeah,” Cloudstriker joined in. “What do you need them for anyways?”

This question really seemed to throw off the mare. Again, the unicorn whispered to her, but she seemed more reluctant to agree. “I…I’m a chicken,” Scootaloo bashfully murmured. “At least when I’m around crowds. Kind of self-conscious, I guess." She tried to act as if the entire outburst she had gone into just moments before hadn’t happened. “Same goes for my friend Moonwalker here. We just get nervous around lots of ponies, that’s all”

“You mean Nighttrotter?” Iceskidder corrected.

Scootaloo’s eyes widened. “Uh…right. Moonwalker is just my…nickname for him,” she said with a poorly made laugh that changed into a tense whinny.

“Well be that as it may, it’s only us around,” Cloudstriker reassured. “That’s not very many ponies. I think you can take off those cloaks…both of you.” It wasn’t a suggestion, it was a command.

The yellow guardspony was sure Iceskidder was just confused as usual and didn’t really know whoever stood in front of them, but it was providing a chance for both Cloudstriker and his partner to agree on the same action. After all, his friend had been right to some extent; whether there wasn't or somehow was a threat to Manehattan, it was best to absolutely know either way. And these ponies were definitely hiding something.

Nighttrotter was whispering again, but Scootaloo didn’t seem to agree with whatever he was saying. “Look,” she said as she brushed the unicorn aside, “I just don’t feel comfortable doing that. I’m sorry, it’s just not happening.” She raised her forelegs in a shrug that she immediately regretted. The gesture brought up her cloak and exposed her lower body for a second, which was all Iceskidder needed to finally put the pieces together.

“Celestia’s Mane!” Iceskidder exclaimed. “It’s you…Rainbow Dash!” He grinned and turned to his partner to brag about being correct. But he didn’t get the chance. The pegasus’ body froze before he managed to get a word out. Cloudstriker had a moment to give Iceskidder a questioned look and turn back to the hooded duo before he too experienced the same trance.

It was like someone had unplugged his brain from the rest of his body. He could still think, but any kind of movement or sensation was no longer possible. He was lost in a void of nothingness. This, however, only lasted a few seconds before Cloudstriker lost all forms of cognitive thought altogether.

A frustrated Rainbow Dash watched helplessly as the two sentries above her suddenly became immobilized. She didn’t understand what was causing their predicament until she looked over at Ageroth. His horn was letting off a small aura and his eyes were fixed on the captive guards. Their predicament was clearly his doing.

“Ageroth, what in Tartarus are you doing?” Rainbow Dash questioned.

Instead of answering, Ageroth gently took her hoof in his. Instantly, she found herself standing on the elevated platform only a meter from the paralyzed guards with only a rapid golden flash to indicate the change. The sudden change was very disorientating to the cyan pegasus, as well as remarkable. Twilight had, on rare occasions, teleported Rainbow Dash while practicing her magic, but never so quick and effortlessly on account of how much harder it was to teleport and entire pony that wasn't the caster. However, that didn't seem to be a factor for Ageroth, and he had even been able to teleport himself simultaneously.

While the mare was still recovering, Ageroth stepped over to the first inert guard, whose eyes were still glaring off towards the ponies that were no longer there. Leaning in close until he was almost touching the guard’s head with his horn, Ageroth closed his eyes in deep concentration. Rainbow Dash looked over just in time to see an intense spark fly out of the guard’s skull and into Ageroth’s horn, followed by small steady stream of golden aura between the two.

Nothing else happened for a few seconds, and Rainbow Dash was about to ask Ageroth what he thought he was doing this time. That’s when Cloudstriker’s eyes rolled back into his skull, and he collapsed onto the ground. Ageroth lowered his own head so he could maintain the connection. Other than that, he continued like nothing had happened.

Rainbow Dash stood feverishly rigid. She had an overwhelming urge to stop Ageroth and whatever horrible thing he was doing to the innocent sentry, but at the same time felt reluctant and even a bit fearful to interrupt her companion. As a result, she simply watched as the unicorn finished. After a few more tense seconds, Ageroth finally raised his head and opened his eyes. The guard was lifeless on the ground.

“Just what the buck do you think you’re doing?!” Rainbow Dash growled. Her anger was a bit impetuous, but she couldn’t help it. She had just witness her so-called friend harm, or possibly murder, an innocent guard simply because he was doing his duty. Even if the guard had been somewhat rude to her, it still enraged the pegasus that he harmed on her account.

“Still thyself, Rainbow Dash,” Ageroth whispered. “Thou words of malice hath not a purpose.”

Attempting to lower her temper, Rainbow Dash took a deep breath. It helped, but only marginally. The yellow pegasus was still motionless on the ground, and Rainbow Dash had assumed the worst. “Oh yeah,” she satirically agreed. “There is nothing immoral about killing Royal Guard ponies that have done nothing wrong. After all, they’re only trying to protect Equestria from a threat Princess Celestia has obviously become more worried about.”

Ageroth, who had been trotting up to the second guard, stopped and turned. “Kill? Doth thou thinkest I hath done so?” He looked down at the motionless yellow guardspony. “Hast thou not ever witnessed a Menscompos spell?”

Taking the perverse silence as a sign she had not, Ageroth put a hoof up to his indiscernible chin and nodded. “My apologies,” he began, “For had I been mindful of thine unfamiliarity, such insensitiveness would not be shown.” He returned to Rainbow Dash. “I give thee my word that this sentry remains unscathed,” he sincerely vowed. “I did not a thing but alter his cognizance.”

Rainbow Dash’s anger vanished and was replaced with confusion. “Uh…could you run that by me again?” she asked.

“I reformed his memory to disremember his happenstance with us,” Ageroth elaborated. “For thou see, a Menscompos spell allows for the caster to separate a pony’s mind from his or her body for a limited time to change it to a certain degree. This leaves the pony comatose, but only for a diminutive phase.” He paused. “It be most illicit, yet I believe this situation called for it. Now, prithee, excuse me whilst I finale the enchantment, lest it abate.

The unicorn walked away as Rainbow Dash considered what she had just heard. Could he really be speaking the truth? She had, of course, seen Ageroth do extraordinary things since meeting him, but this was by far the most unbelievable. Never had she even considered that it was possible to take such control over another pony’s mind. Not unless it was by some being such as Discord. She wondered if even the Princesses themselves could do it. If they could, Twilight had neglected to mention it.

Ageroth had begun to repeat the process with the other guard. That’s when a chilling thought entered Rainbow Dash’s contemplations. If Ageroth could alter somepony’s mind so easily…could she have been affected by the same spell? Maybe she was still under his influence in some way. After all, she could never be sure he hadn’t, which disturbed her greatly. For all she knew, everything that had happened to her since her first meeting with Ageroth could be some elaborate ruse that she had fallen for.

The question that had been present since the begging of her exploit had suddenly gained a darker importance to it. Who was this pony who seemed to hide so much from her, yet claimed to be a friend? More importantly…should she really be putting her trust into him?

Shaking off the feeling, the Element of Loyalty decided now wasn’t the best time to play on her misgivings. Instead, she gradually rejoined Ageroth as he finished the spell. When he opened his eyes, he gave an uncertain look to Rainbow Dash.

“What is it?” she asked nervously. For a moment, she feared the unicorn had somehow read her thoughts and knew about her dubious feelings of him.

Ageroth seemed hesitant to answer. “Well, the sentinel before us…he feeleth…” He stopped and gave Rainbow Dash another odd gaze before looking away. “Nay,” he decided. “It be not for my tongue to convey.”

Saying nothing more on the subject, the cloaked pony strode to the other end of the platform. The street below, which was thankfully deserted, held his attention as he looked for a spot to teleport to. When he had one in his sights, Ageroth held up a hoof. “Come hither,” he said while still focusing on the street, “whilst the guards remain cataleptic.”

Rainbow Dash, who had been looking at the silver-blue pegasus on the ground and pondering what it could be Ageroth found interesting about him, looked up. Her companion was waiting, but she found herself hesitant to comply. She may never get another chance to leave the furtive pony. The empty plains wouldn’t make for the perfect asylum to hide in, but she might be able to make it work.

The thought was ridiculous, of course. Even in light of her recent discovery, and how much the moors called to her – as did the chance to hide from the new terrors of the world – Rainbow Dash could quickly dismiss the idea. For better or for worse, she felt this was where she needed to be. It may be the only chance of ever seeing her friends and Equestria as they should be, and it would be cowardly to run from that chance. And she was certainly not a coward.

“Here goes nothing,” Rainbow Dash thought as she grabbed Ageroth’s hoof. With a flash, the two were gone.

Author's Note

Happy Nightmare Night everypony! :rainbowdetermined2:

Chapter VIII: Early Arrival

The entire throne room of the Crystal Palace was silent, but the tension could be cut with a knife. Prince Shining Armor was sitting down with his head in his hooves, trying desperately to cope with what he had just been told. His wife was beside him, resting her head on his shoulder as she confronted the troubled unicorn. On the outside Princess Cadence seemed okay, but she too felt sorrowed by Princess Celestia’s information. After all, Cadence had formed a very close bond with the purple alicorn that had only grown since she discovered her true form. But she had to stay strong for her husband.

“So she’s really gone.” Shining Armor eventually stated. “My Twily…” He shook his head, unable to find anything else to say.

Princess Celestia bit her lip. She knew it was going to be difficult to tell all the families herself instead by mail. Having to watch their emotions as they learned their loved one was missing was dreadful and it was really starting to weigh on her.

“Maybe her and the others are safe,” Princess Cadence offered. “After all, we have no proof that their mission has failed yet; only the words of this villainous Lord Plagueis. It may be a trick.” The pink alicorn looked over at Princess Celestia for support. “I mean, it’s at least a possibility, right?” she asked.

Given a small nod, Princess Celestia tried to be as supportive as possible. She knew, however, that it was a deceitful reassurance. The sun princess had hoped the very same thing the first day Plagueis had contacted her. But that optimism had been crushed when Princess Luna had confirmed she could no longer feel their sleeping presence like she had the night before. Just like the citizens of Hayton. If it was a ruse, then it was a very elaborate one in which Lord Plagueis had gone to considerable lengths to make it seem like The Elements of Harmony had failed when they really hadn’t after discovering them. Princess Celestia found this very implausible.

Shining Armor smiled and took Cadence’s hooves in his own. “Oh Cadence…always looking at the bright side of things.” She returned his smile and slowly caressed the nape of his neck. His grin gradually grew before disappearing entirely. “But I’m afraid this time, sweetheart, it is in vain.” The unicorn arose and paced over to a window which was composed of crystal (like many other things in the palace) and sighed. “Princess Celestia wouldn’t have come all this way if she wasn’t confident that it is true.”

Lowering her head, Princess Cadence pondered if she should use her special ability to make ponies feel happy and calm. Somehow it didn’t feel like it would be appropriate. Not knowing if a close family member was safe or even alive shouldn’t be pleasant experience. Messing with his natural grieving period could have serious consequences to his mind later on. She settled on no huge influence, but she couldn’t help to relieve some of her husband’s sorrow telepathically.

Princess Celestia also rose from her seat. “I’m so sorry it had to be like this,” she apologized. “I think the worst part is I can’t send anypony else to look for them yet. Not when we’re still so unsure about this new foe.” The alicorn gave Shining Armor an uneasy look. “I hope you understand…”

The prince was silent for a long time, but eventually nodded his head. “Of course,” he mournfully agreed. “As much as I wish we could, I understand it’s not worth losing anypony else over.” Shining Armor paused. “It’s not…what Twilight would of wanted,” he added.

Thankful that he recognized this fact, Princess Celestia let one worry off her chest. She was surprised but nonetheless relieved that Shining Armor hadn’t demanded to search himself. She needed him and Princess Cadence to remain in the Crystal Kingdom now more than ever; if not just for their protection, then for the protection of the Crystal Kingdom. Shining Armor must have known that too.

There was more silence, broken only by the occasional sound somewhere outside the palace. Finally, Shining Armor left the window and approached Celestia. “I appreciate you delivering this message to us personally,” he acknowledged. “I know how many other things you must have going on right now. It means a lot that you cared enough to do this.”

Princess Celestia only shook her head, not willing to accept such praise. “It’s the least I could do for my part in all of this,” she countered. “I have regretted sending Twilight and the others since the moment they left Canterlot.” The sun princess’ brow furrowed. “I can’t believe this one mistake…could have caused so much heartache and suffering.”

“Come now, Celestia,” Princess Cadence soothed, troubled by how much self-regret she sensed from her. “You mustn’t take so much blame on yourself. I’m sure you’ve already been told this, but you have yet to take it to heart.”

Cadence then stood and joined the two. Princess Celestia was looking away, clearly not swayed by the pink alicorn’s words. “Please,” she urged “I know how much you cared for them. Instead of worrying about the past, you need to look ahead. That way, when the time comes, we’ll be ready to save them.” She smiled warmly, while hoping desperately that she spoke the truth… that there was something left to save.

“She’s right,” Shining Armor joined in. “We’ve never dealt with this vile Plagueis before, so we weren’t prepared for him.” The thought of the villain caused him grinded his teeth in resentment. “But you can bet, when we are ready to face him, I’ll make him regret the day he ever messed with my family…”

“Thou have chosen to forget…” The words echoed in Celestia’s head. According to Plagueis, she had encountered him before; an encounter she had evidently removed from her own memory. But none of it made sense. Why - or for that matter how – would she have done this?

The alicorn brooded over the thought for a moment before turning her attention to the couple and smiling. “I suppose you two are right,” she decided. “It’s silly actually: I came here to help console you over the disappearance of the Elements of Harmony, when it turns out I still needed the same thing.” Princess Celestia shrugged. “But for what it’s worth…thank you.”

“I’m just glad we could help,” Cadence replied.

Princess Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Well in that case, perhaps there is one more thing you can do for me.” She gave her companions anticipative looks, and was pleased to find them enthusiastic. “I need both of you to begin working on your protective enchantments. You could practice them here, but make sure you explain why to the crystal ponies.”

At first the pair seemed confused, but it didn’t take long for Shining Armor to nod his head in agreement. Cadence remained puzzled. “But the Crystal Heart…” she began

“…Is meant to protect the Kingdom itself, I know,” Princess Celestia finished. “But I’m afraid in times like these we can’t count on things to go as they should. We have to take as many precautions as we can.” The sun princess shifted her eyes away from the couple. “And that includes the possibility of sending one of you away to help elsewhere,” she unhappily added.

Shining Armor stepped forward. “It would be me, Princess,” the unicorn asserted. “Cadence has stronger connection with the ponies here then I do. It would be wrong to send her away.” He gave Celestia a more delicate look. “Not only that, but she will be safer here.” The pink alicorn began to protest but stopped when Shining Armor gently kissed her and shook his head. “You can promise me this, can’t you?” he asked Celestia.

“Yes,” the sun princess assured, but she felt her heart sink as it did. The young couple- at least before recent news- seemed so happy together. Even now, it was evident how much they cared for each other. It would devastate her to have to separate the two. With luck, maybe it wouldn’t come to that.

Shining Armor nodded and turned to his wife, who still seemed troubled by the decision. At first, Cadence had approved of him leaving the Crystal Kingdom to help with the situation. But now that they knew about the Elements of Harmony, she seemed less willing to let him go. “Don’t worry, dear,” he told her. “I’m sure it’s a worst case scenario.”

“It is…” Celestia guaranteed. “As I said, I need both of you here for now.”

Cadence blankly stared off at the wall. “I…just don’t want anypony to take you away from me…not again.” The pink princess wasn’t in tears, but her voice trembled as she recalled the horrible days before their wedding.

“And nopony will,” the prince replied. “The queen of changelings may have gotten the jump on me, but I know better now.” Shining Armor came in closer. “I promise that nothing will ever come between our love again. I won’t let it.” He then clasped Cadence in an embrace that lasted a long time.

Watching the tender scene, Princess Celestia couldn’t help but smile. But underneath her joy for them, she felt something else. At first she was afraid it was jealousy, but found it simply to be loneliness. Would she ever find somepony she could embrace like they did? Just a few days ago, she probably wouldn’t have even thought twice about the subject. Now, however, with both Twilight missing and Luna gone, Celestia found herself dwelling more and more on the subject as she sat alone in her throne room. She pondered how she had gotten by all those years before her a certain purple alicorn had come under her teaching and her sister had still been banished to the moon.

Cadence frowned and glanced at Celestia. Realizing she must have felt her unfavorable feelings, the white alicorn quickly dropped the thought. The last thing she wanted to do was burden somepony else with her love life. Not when there were so many more important matters at stake.

“Right, well…was their anything else?” Shining Armor asked. He seemed mentally exhausted, which was a feeling Celestia could relate to.

“No, I think I have covered everything,” she sighed. It was certainly enough to dump on them for one visit. “I really should be going anyway. I still have Ponyville to visit before I am done.”

Before Celestia could turn to leave, she received a hug from Cadence. “Just remember you aren’t alone in this,” she whispered in the monarch’s ear. “Now, promise me that you and Luna will be safe. Equestria can’t afford to lose another princess…and I can’t afford to lose another friend.”

Returning the hug, Princess Celestia nodded. “I promise,” she replied. The white alicorn glanced up at Shining Armor, who still appeared downcast. “And I also promise to find a way to make this right again.”

Shining Armor gave her an appreciative look, but said nothing. He knew there was only so much that could be done at the present, and the primary thing was to hope for the best. As he watched Celestia set out, he wondered if she had accepted it too.

On her travels over the years, Rainbow Dash had seen her fair share of libraries, and she had been in some impressive ones. But nothing could prepare her for the colossal structure she found herself in. Not only did the Manehattan Public Library rise to an impressive four stories, but it stretched to fill most of the city block. All of this space was filled with bookcase after bookcase of various books and tomes, with an open area in the center that led up to a skylight. The building could contain several of Twilight’s treehouse libraries and still have enough room to house Princess Celestia’s throne room.

“Well here you go Ageroth…if you can’t find what you are looking for here then we have a problem,” she whispered. The librarian at the front desk seemed to be dozing, so the pair took the opportunity to discreetly trot further into the library. Ageroth already pointed out that they were going to spend the night here, so the less attention they got the better.

Luck continued to be on their side as they found the library to be mostly vacant. There was a pony sitting near the railing of the second floor, but she seemed too engrossed in her book to take notice of them. As Ageroth continued, Rainbow Dash kept an eye out for anypony else, but besides the sleeping librarian they seemed to have the entire floor to themselves.

Even with no prior knowledge of the library’s layout, it didn’t take long for Ageroth to find what he was in search of: the history section. It held some of the largest and thickest books in the edifice. Ageroth’s eyes lit up as he examined the volumes of the distant past. “’Tis fair establishment for my expedition of knowledge,” the unicorn approved. He wasted no time in searching through the books for ones that caught his attention.

Rainbow Dash figured Ageroth would be busy picking out books for at least ten minutes. Quietly slipping away, she went in search for a certain book. It had been mentioned as a joke earlier, but the more the pegasus thought about it the more she found it may have a more practical use.

After finding no sign of it on the first floor, Rainbow Dash crept upon the next. Keeping her distance from the still-reading mare, she continued into the maze of bookshelves. She smiled when she spotted the “Scholastic Resources” section, positive that this was where the book would be. Sure enough, without much effort she found the familiar red and silver binding in her hooves.

“A Young Pony’s Guide to Proper Speech and Grammar,” Rainbow Dash read out loud. Just the name itself brought on a surge of nostalgia. She would never admit it, but this book had been a huge aid to her while she was still a young filly in Cloudsdale. After seeing how much trouble she had in school, Rainbow’s teacher had given her a copy of the book. She had refused to read it a first, but eventually broke down and tried it. She soon found herself reading it all the time; at least when her friends weren’t around.

Proudly stuffing the book into her cloak, Rainbow Dash began trotting back towards the steps. If any book could help Ageroth learn to speak the modern language, it would be this one. That way, he could actually interact with other ponies without arousing suspicion (or at least more than their hooded cloaks already did).

As the pegasus passed one of the aisles, she caught something out of the corner of her eye that caused her to pause. Backing up, she took a full look at the alley of books. To her dismay, it was empty.

Rainbow Dash scratched her head. She could have sworn she saw…? Come to think of it, she wasn’t sure what. But whatever it was, it must have been her imagination. It had been a long day of trekking, after all. She could feel her eyelids beginning to droop as she slowly turned back and continued to the staircase.

By the time she returned to Ageroth, he had already collected a large heap of books - and a few tattered scrolls - that he casually balanced in telekinetic grip as he used his hooves to search for more. It was another minute of observing before the unicorn seemed satisfied with his collection. “I must proclaim to thee,” he began. “Never hath I perceived such an affluence of knowledge. I doth believe to have the requisite material to be assimilated with present times.”

“Well…almost everything,” Rainbow Dash corrected as she theatrically offered him the book concealed in her cloak.

Eying the book, Ageroth didn’t appear too impressed. “Art this but a juveniles’ textbook?” he asked.

The rainbow pegasus shrugged, as she had anticipated his doubt. “Hey, it was a big help when I was having trouble with proper speech. And, no offense, but thou need help even more than I did.” Rainbow Dash put explicit stress on “thou,” attempting to get her point across. She could tell he still didn’t believe it would help, so she got closer and conveyed a much more serious tone. “Please, Ageroth, just give it a try. It can do nothing but help.”

Ageroth grumbled a bit, but soon gave a nod of approval. “Perhaps thou bringeth forth a valid point,” he decided. Adding the book to his colossal stack, he began trot forward. “Now that I truly possess the information I require, let us discern sanctuary so I’m to enthrall it ere dawn’s preliminary glow.”

Trying to break down what the intricate pony was trying to say, her eyes widened. “You mean…you plan to have all of that read by tomorrow morning?!” she questioned.

With a mere nod, Ageroth continued trotting; still keeping an eye out for a secluded spot. Rainbow Dash was about to contest it, but stopped herself short. Somehow, she knew he could do it. After all, it was something Twilight could manage. Or…could have managed…

No, what was she thinking! Her friends were still alive and well: just enslaved by Plagueis. She was going to save them and end this terribly lurid reality. End it, so everything could return to how it should.

Ageroth came to a sudden halt, and Rainbow Dash almost went on without him. A timeworn door lay before them, half concealed by a bookcase. She would not have even noticed it if Ageroth hadn’t stopped. “I believe we hath found our sanctuary,” the cloaked unicorn nodded.

With a grunt, Rainbow Dash helped Ageroth push the bookcase to the side. Dust fell onto their heads, along with bits of cobwebs. The door clearly hadn’t been used in years, and whatever lay behind it was the perfect place for two ponies to go unnoticed.

Cautiously looking around to make sure their actions were still going unnoticed, Ageroth opened the door. Light poured into the room, but not enough to make out what lay inside past the door. The two slipped inside, Ageroth taking care to make sure the door didn’t slam behind him.

The only light source was the low golden glow of Ageroth’s horn as it held the books in place. “I think it’s safe to light up the room here,” Rainbow Dash offered. She remembered what he had said about magical light tending to attract 'unwanted attention,' but they didn’t have to worry about that here.

Thinking on it for a moment, Ageroth seemed to agree. In an instant, the room was flooded with conjured light, revealing at last the purpose of the room. It appeared to be some sort of private reading room. There were several desks, chairs, and even a few wingchairs, all of which were covered in dust and webs.

“This be adequate indeed,” the unicorn said as he blew off one of the desks and set the books down. A loud creak rang out, but the table held. A similar sound was formed as Ageroth sat down on one of the aged chairs. “Nary there a reason to postpone my studies,” he disclosed. Ageroth placed the glowing crystal on the desk, producing enough light for him to end the lighting spell.

As he began to read the first book, Rainbow Dash let out an impatient cough. Ageroth looked over, and then realized he had forgotten about her. “Ah, how fatuous of me,” he said as he drew one of the bedrolls they had used in the cave out of his cloak. “Feel free to slumber as extensive as thou wishes. I pledge to wake thee come it time for us to depart.”

Rainbow Dash nodded and took the bedroll, but she knew there was something she had to say first. It was something that had been on her mind since their incident with the guards. “Listen, about what happened back there at the gate…” she began. It was hard for the pegasus to put her muddled feelings into words. “It was wrong for me to assume what I did. I suppose I just got caught up in the moment and everything. I mean, when that guard hit the ground and didn’t move…”

She stopped and closed her eyes, trying to focus her mind. “I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m sorry for what I said, but…please warn me next time you’re going to do something like that. It really did scare me, and I don’t scare easy.” She tried to sound confident, but she realized the statement was becoming less and less true lately.

“Prithee not dwell on the matter, Rainbow Dash,” Ageroth answered. “Thou art not to blame for what came to pass.” He heaved a very immense and torpid sigh; one of somepony who had too much on his mind. “Though it may be the same land I left long, long ago…it dints the perception of an entirely different world to me. I hath copious actualities to study about present times. Nevertheless, I vow to presage thee in future events.”

Shaking her head, Rainbow Dash sympathetically looked at her companion. “I just wish I knew more about you and your past. At least then, I could understand what you are going through.”

A stern look formed in Ageroth’s eyes. “I declared before, as I will reiterate: thou doth not.” He looked away, but Rainbow Dash could still feel his firm gaze. “If thou were to know my past, thou would hanker for naught but to disremember the knowledge. I keep thee in obliviousness for thine own sake.”

Rainbow Dash felt a shiver run down her spine. The perplexing unicorn seemed confident his past would overwhelm her. Maybe he was right…maybe it was best to stop trying to find out about it. For some reason, however, she only felt a greater desire to uncover Ageroth’s secrets.

“Now rest, thou hath earned it,” Ageroth besought. The words were kind, but Rainbow Dash deduced they were also to stop her from asking any more questions.

Carefully laying her head down on the pillow, the speedy pegasus tried to clear her racing head. She knew that if she hadn’t been exhausted from their journey, she wouldn’t be able to sleep a wink. “Goodnight,” Rainbow Dash called out.

Ageroth began to say “Slumber wel-”but stopped mid word. “Goodnight,” he corrected himself. This brought a small smile to his companion’s face.

“It’s a start,” she thought amusingly.

The quite chirping of crickets- interrupted occasionally by the distant call of a cow or chicken-filled Princess Luna’s ears as she lay down in the field outside Manehattan. It was bliss to the weary alicorn, and the only place she could concentrate enough to raise the moon and place the stars in the sky. She didn’t hold any bitterness towards the city itself, but she could never call it her home. It was much too noisy and active to suit her reticent tastes. And there were far too many ponies running about for her to feel comfortable. This was something Luna wasn’t particularly proud of. After all, what kind of ruler prefers solitude as opposed to time with her subjects?

“Well, I suppose my sister balances it out for me,” Luna thought. The outgoing princess never missed a chance to be with other ponies, even if it meant delivering bad news like her latest excursion did.

As if on cue, a familiar voice rang inside her head. “What is it I balance out, dear sister?”

Princess Luna reared her head, but shortly laid it back down. Just like Celestia to pop in unexpected, even in her own mind. “Just the fact your wonderful personality makes up for my unsociable one,” she warmly responded.

“Oh Luna…if only you opened up and gave other ponies a chance, things would be different,” Celestia refuted. “Just look at what you’ve done with Nightmare Night for Ponyville. If you were to do more things like that, our citizens would adore you.”

Sending the mental equivalent of a shrug, Luna looked for an opportunity to change the subject. “Have you finished the daunting task of talking with the families yet?” she asked.

There was no response for a moment; only slight varieties of emotions that Celestia quickly screened. “I’ve just returned to Canterlot actually. I’m here with a new guest.”

A mental image of Twilight’s library home flashed in Luna’s mind. It didn’t take her long to figure out who her sister was referring to. “I hadn’t even thought about Spike and how all this might affect him,” she admitted.

“Neither had I,” the sun alicorn drearily added. “Like so many other things, the little purple and green dragon had been wrongly pushed from my mind. I certainly couldn’t leave him there. It’s only right for me to look after him. I owe him that much.”

Princess Luna nodded. Even she could understand how Celestia felt. After all, by his race’s standards he was still a baby. “Well, I’m glad you found somepony to keep you company,” she responded positively.

There was a small laugh from Celestia. “Goodness knows I need it,” she agreed. “Of course, that isn’t the only matter I had to resolve. Rarity’s sister, Sweetie Belle, had already been staying with her friend at Sweet Apple Acres. She was only expecting to stay there a few days, until Rarity returned. I had to inform her she was going to be residing their much longer than that.”

“That sounds horrible,” Luna thought as her heart dropped. “I don’t know if I could have done it.”

With a sigh, the sun alicorn contemplated. “This entire excursion is one of the hardest things I have ever done; emotionally at least,” she admitted. “Having to witness the pain and shock of each pony I visited and knowing it was my fault they had to go through it… I could never be peaceable while doing this.”

Celestia’s tone suddenly changed. “Despite that, I don’t regret doing it; not one bit. With every family I visited, I had a chance to comfort them, and offer them what relief I could. Something I couldn’t achieve with a letter or a messenger. No…this was definitely the right thing to do.”

Smiling brightly, Princess Luna was able to take one worry of her chest. She was glad her sister had finally found a way to release the guilt she had pent-up inside her, even if it was only some. The nocturnal monarch realized it was time to discuss what had really been on her mind, or in this case, what wasn’t. “Celestia, I know we discussed it some already, but…”

“Our memory loss, yes,” Celestia finished, proving she had been dwelling on the subject as well. “I suppose we can avoid it no longer.” There was a pause, as neither of them could think of where to start.

Luna sighed. “None of it makes sense,” she crossly began. How is it that we are only now realizing we can’t remember our childhood? It’s almost as if we are just now forgetting it…but somehow I know that’s not true.”

Conveying her nod of agreement, Celestia considered the circumstances. “I think I know what you mean,” she replied. “I am almost sure I have talked about my childhood to somepony, but I can’t even remember what I said. Whatever I told them couldn’t have been correct. It’s as if our minds had fake events to fill in the empty space.” She felt like she was finally putting the pieces together. “But now… the façade is wearing off: possibly brought on by recent events.”

With perked ears, Princess Luna realized what her sister was suggesting. “Wearing off… you mean you think it was an enchantment that erased our memories?”

“Perhaps; it makes as much sense as anything else. That isn’t saying much, though,” the white alicorn admitted.

The proposal gave Luna mixed feelings. It may be an answer to one question, but it also created several more. “Every spell has a caster. That means somepony wanted us to forget something,” Luna submitted. “Could it be Plagueis?”

“His arrival does seem to be what brought all this on,” Celestia thought, “but I don’t think he cast it. He seemed genuinely surprised when I didn’t know who he was during our brief encounter.” She shivered as she remembered the dreadful conversation. “He did mention something about ‘choosing to forget,’ but I haven’t the slightest idea what that could mean.

Luna couldn’t elucidate it either, but whatever it meant it couldn’t be good. “He must still be connected in some way. Was there anything else he said?” She felt her sister’s heart drop. He had said something else, but it wasn’t anything helpful. It was intimidation… some kind of threat.

“No, he said nothing else,” the sun princess lied. She clearly didn’t want to burden Luna with the threat. And Luna wasn’t going to pry either. She had some fairly decent presumptions as to what it was.

Deciding they had discussed enough, Luna thought “Anyway, you should rest sister. You have got be tired from traveling all day.”

Sending a small laugh, Celestia’s mood improved marginally. “I would be lying if I said I wasn’t,” she confessed. There was a small, awkward pause. “Just… promise me you’ll stay safe. Don’t take any unnecessary risks; I mean it,” Celestia conveyed firmly.

“Of course,” the Princess of the Night assured. She was slightly startled by her sister’s sudden urgency. What exactly had Plagueis swore to Celestia?

“Then I will leave you to work with the night, Luna,” Celestia said. “I hope to contact you soon.”

Princess Luna nodded accordingly. “Until then, may your dreams be those of happiness and peace,” she bestowed. With that, the connection terminated.

The dark alicorn was left with much to think about. If Celestia was right about their altered memories being the result of a spell, then she knew one thing. All spells could be broken…and that’s exactly what they had to do.

Groggily following his partner down the street, Cloudstriker tried to fully wake himself. He hated morning patrol almost as much as night patrol. Both occupied time he would much rather spend sleeping. But every member of the Royal Guard had their job to do, and complaining would get him nowhere.

The piqued pegasus tightened his armor straps and looked over at Iceskidder. Of course, he seemed not bothered at all by waking up so early. When he wasn’t jumping at shadows he also cherished patrolling during the night. The sky blue guard could go on for hours about the different stars, most of which Cloudstriker tuned out. This morning he was even quietly humming as he trotted.

“Where was all this energy yesterday evening?” Cloudstriker crudely questioned.

Iceskidder stopped humming and looked down at his hooves. “I don’t know what happened. I swear I hadn’t even felt tired,” he responded defensively.

Laughing, Cloudstriker casually punched his friend in the shoulder. “Well just be glad I woke you up before somepony else saw,” he replied. Even as he spoke, a nervous trickle ran down his nape. What he hadn’t mentioned was that he had been lucky enough to wake up before Iceskidder did. If somepony had noticed they had both been asleep while on duty, there would have been serious consequences.

It wasn’t long before the pair found themselves trotting across the bridge towards the outskirts of the city. Not long ago Manehattan had only encompassed the island itself, but recent expansion broadened the metropolis to the other side of the bay. This portion, fittingly deemed West Manehattan, contained mostly residential buildings, with the occasional shop. It had a much calmer quality, teeming with ponies enjoying morning strolls and children playing in the streets.

“You know, I’m going to be annoyed when we have to take down that pointless barricade soon,” Cloudstriker remarked as they neared the southern gate. “We worked for hours on end to put the damn thing up, only to have to take it back down when we head back to Canterlot.”

Iceskidder shrugged. “It really wasn’t that bad,” he replied. “Besides, we got one kick-flank feast before, so there is no room to complain.”

The yellow guard wanted to refute Iceskidder’s points, but he knew he couldn’t. That had been some of the best cider he had ever tasted, although he heard a few others saying some farm in Ponyville had it beat. Cloudstriker was still licking his chops when they arrived at the gate.

Taking one quick look around, Cloudstriker nodded and turned around. “As expected, there’s nothing new to report,” he yawned. Before he began walking, he noticed Iceskidder hadn’t moved. With an impatient sigh, he asked “What’s your problem now?”

Iceskidder didn’t respond for a moment. When he did his voice was noticeably low. “The guards…where are the guards that are supposed to be here?” he questioned.

Sure enough, when Cloudstriker looked up at the guarding platform, he too saw it was vacant. And it was never supposed to be vacant. “Huh, I hadn’t even noticed,” he admitted. “Why would they leave their post? I mean falling asleep at it is one thing, but downright abandonment has to be guaranteed dismissal from the Royal Guard.”

“And just what makes you think they did it on their own accord?” Iceskidder asked. His voice was nothing more than a whisper.

Ignoring him, the Cloudstriker began sauntering back the way they came. “Come on, I guess we should tell Command about this.” His tenor and behavior highlighted his lack of urgency.

His companion was not so willing to leave it at that. He flew up to the platform to see what else he could find. Cloudstriker rolled his eyes and looked at the imaginary watch on his forearm. While investigating, Iceskidder looked out over the wall. What he saw caused his eyes to widen, and a shiver run down his spine. “Get over here…now,” he demanded.

“Oh, did you find something Sherlock Horns? Is it the murder weapon?” Cloudstriker mocked. His friend never failed to take everything out of proportion. At least he was able to get a good laugh out of Iceskidder’s foolishness. “You know, it is a wonder you didn’t pursue a career in theater,” he added. “You would no doubt excel at creating the false drama the scenes required.”

Sending an angry curse down to Cloudstriker, Iceskidder continued. “This is serious! There is a huge storm cloud heading straight for us.”

Once again, the icy blue pegasus proved his point. “A storm you say! Well what are we waiting for? Sound the alarm…barricade the gates…assemble the entire Guard!” Cloudstriker flailed his arms around before narrowing his eyes and ending the charade. “Come on, Skid. Get down from there before you make even more of a fool of yourself…if that’s even possible.” Iceskidder was heading from absurdly funny to mildly annoying very fast.

Heaving a long sigh, Iceskidder lowered himself to the ground. “Do you even read the Cloudsdale Weather Report like we are supposed to!?” he fervently questioned. “They have nothing but sunny, clear skies scheduled for the next few days.”

“Ok, so they got the forecast wrong: big whoop.”

Iceskidder gave Cloudstriker a look of pure disbelief. “You really don’t get it, do you!?” he shouted. “The Cloudsdale Weather Report is never wrong! After all, how could the ponies that make the weather possibly give a false forecast of it?” His shook his head; amazed that Cloudstriker didn’t realize what he was saying. “Besides, I’ve never seen a cloud like this before. It’s just so…unnatural. I’m positive it shouldn’t be there, and you should be too.”

“Hey, I don’t appreciate your tone,” Cloudstriker replied bitterly. The irrational guard was clearly talking down to him.

“Well I wouldn’t use it if you ever took me seriously! I mean, would it kill you to just believe me for once instead of always doubting me!?” Iceskidder growled. “Now go up there and look at this cloud for yourself.”

Cloudstriker was beyond taking him seriously. “No, you delusional foal,” he snickered.

The loutish reply was the last straw. Iceskidder slammed into Cloudstriker, knocking him to ground and sending the air out of his lungs. Then, standing over him, he raised his hoof in preparation to smash it into Cloudstriker’s face. But he stopped, managing to reign in his sudden rage. “Fine, be that way! I’m going to get somepony who actually cares about the safety of this city,” he declared.

Without another word, Iceskidder was gone. Slowly pulling himself up and rubbing the dirt off his armor, Cloudstriker crossly watched the departing guard. “He’ll be back,” he muttered to himself as he caught his breath. Iceskidder had been lucky to catch him unprepared. He contemplated how he was going to get back at him for this; most ideas involved thrashing him with something rigid.

They were calling out to her. It was too dark to see anything, but she could hear the voices in the distance. But not just any voices: they belonged to her friends. And they were calling out for help.

She tried finding them, flying as quickly as she could in their direction. However, it was in vain. No matter how fast or how far she went, they never got any closer. Nonetheless, they still cried out. They were in grave danger, and they needed her help. But she wasn’t strong enough to save them. She should be over there with them, but instead she was here.

They were going to perish because of her…because she wasn’t there for them…

Rainbow Dash awoke with a gasp. Sweat was pouring down her face despite the fact that the room was quite chilly. She looked around and saw that Ageroth hadn’t moved from his spot. He was looking over at her now with a concerned look in his eyes.

“It’s okay, just a bad dream,” she explained. She found that she had to take deep breaths just to calm her thundering heart.

Slowly nodding, Ageroth returned to his reading. The unicorn had inexplicably stayed true to his word; he had read all night. Rainbow Dash would have liked to question him about it, but her nerves wouldn’t let her concentrate on anything.

Thinking for a moment, she asked “May I step outside for a moment? I’ll promise to be right back.” Hopefully a stroll around the library would help calm her nerves.

Surprisingly, Ageroth approved her request without any protest. He didn’t even look up from the book he was reading. Maybe he understood why she wanted to go, or maybe he was too caught up in reading. Either way, Rainbow Dash took the opportunity to get out the door before he changed his mind.

The library still seemed empty, but the cyan pegasus made as little noise as possible as she traveled down the halls. She saw there was a tiny amount of light streaming in through the skylight, showing it was early in the morning. Rainbow Dash would have liked to sleep longer, but her troubling nightmare had taken care of that.

As she continued past the countless bookshelves, she wondered if she would ever achieve peaceful sleep again. How could she after what she had witnessed the past few days? What disturbed her most was what her subconscious self had thought before waking up. How it was too late for her friends and that there was no hope of saving them. Surely that wasn’t the case though; Ageroth had said they could be saved if Plagueis was defeated.

On the other hoof, maybe her subconscious was trying to resurface the fears she tried so desperately to bury. Ageroth never elaborated what he meant by save. Would she rescue her friends from Plagueis only to find that the there was something she couldn’t set free? Like a scar that would never heal…or a part of them that just wouldn’t be the same again.

Perhaps Ageroth didn’t even know the answer to that question. It could be that he said what he did to get her to come with him. After all, she knew she would have never left Hayton without the other Elements if she wasn’t convinced it was the only way to make everything right again. Ageroth might have known that too.

Rainbow Dash’s thoughts were interrupted by her growling stomach. She was reminded that she had only had a few pieces of Dragon fruit to eat in the past four or so days. There were still a few left, but she hoped they could get some more food before they left Manehattan.

After about 15 minutes of pacing, she found a table and sat down. Her heart had returned to its normal rhythm, but her mind was still fixed on her nightmare. The unrelenting hush of the library didn’t provide a distraction from it either. Rainbow Dash thought about going back into the room with Ageroth, if only to have somepony to talk to. As it turned out, she didn’t need to.

The silence was broken by a door slamming open and frantic hooves heading her direction. Rainbow Dash only had enough time to stand up and turn around before Ageroth rounded the corner and took hold of her. He continued on at an unbroken pace; not saying a word as he dragged her through the library. His eyes were locked on one thing: the exit.

Rainbow Dash didn’t resist him, but instead tried to get his attention. “What’s wrong Ageroth?” she asked. When he didn’t respond, she repeated the question with a more forceful tone.

The unicorn was still voiceless for a moment, but then shook his head. “What be wrong, is I hath not heeded my own counsel.” The words came out in a hostility that he seemed to direct at himself.

The pair arrived at the front doors within seconds. One push established that they were locked. Without hesitation, Ageroth charged up his horn and released the magic in a powerful blast. The doors stood no chance and blew open. A twisted piece of metal was all that remained of the lock.

After a few strides outside, Rainbow Dash decided it was enough. She broke free from Ageroth’s grip, causing him to come to a skidding halt. “What happened to drawing as little attention to ourselves as possible?” she questioned. “What is all of this?”

“That matters not any longer,” came a regretful reply. “Our only concern now is departure from this city.”

“What’s the sudden rush?” she asked, but felt foolish as soon as she did. She knew the reason he wanted to leave. She could see it in his eyes. But she didn’t want to believe it. “You…don’t mean…”

Ageroth gave a solemn nod. “I advised thee not to underestimate Plagueis, but I have perpetrated that same fault.” His gaze seemed to focus on something only he could see. “I assumed we would have time before he sent his forces unto this place, but I was imprudent to do so. His conquest begins now, by the light of dawn…”

Somewhere off in the distance, there was a deep roll of thunder.

Chapter I: Evil's Return

The sun shone on the on the grassy field, only interrupted by the shadows of tall trees. The spring breeze blew though the budding plants and leafing trees. It was perfect weather for flying. At least, according to the cyan pegasus soaring though the air high above the clearing.

Rainbow Dash loved days like this. Not only had the pegasi cleared the sky of any clouds, there was a breeze that was just the perfect speed to allow her to reach her top speeds. Of course, she didn’t need the help of the wind to go fast, but it didn’t hurt. The tops of the trees below her were just blurs as she sped at speeds any pegasus would be proud of. But she was just getting started.

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Far away, in a not so bright valley holding the ruins of a long forgotten castle, something much more sinister was taking place. At first the valley was quiet and uneventful. But that changed when the space above the ruins exploded

A wormhole opened up in the midst of the explosion, throwing two beings out at a tremendous speed. The beings were lock in tight grip of one another, neither able to let go. They hit the ground with such a force, it would have smashed them into pieces had they not been frozen in a magical barrier.

Just as swiftly as it had come, the wormhole closed up, leaving the two beings lying in a huge crater next to the castle ruins, which were now even less intact. At first neither moved, frozen in the position they had entered the world in. Then, one of the beings shattered out of the spell and sat up. At first, it took in its surroundings with an uncertain gaze. After determining that they were real, it shot up with a triumphed grin. It was in awe that it was finally free, after so many years. With no time to waste, it morphed into a cloud of darkness and faded into the night.

When the pony that was still lying in the crater finally managed to break the barrier and sit up, a different emotion crossed his face; despair. He had failed everyone; he hadn’t been strong enough to hold that vile creature for eternity. He got up, head hung in defeat. It was over, they were all doomed. He had only postponed their fate, he couldn’t stop it.

A surge of anger shot though his body. Just because he had failed at holding the monster didn’t mean he was going to go down without a fight. He prepared to chase after the cloud, but then stopped short as he felt a presence like he never had before, far away.

It was a strong presence that shone like a beacon of light in the darkest reaches of a cave. And it was destined to vanquish the dark forever. The pony’s eyes lit up. It wasn’t over! There was one who could defeat the monster once and for all. But she wasn’t ready, not yet. Suddenly filled with hope and purpose, the pony charged up his horn. He hoped he had enough power left to cast a locate and teleport spell. When he felt the same presence tugging on his horn, he knew he had succeeded. With a flash, he was gone, leaving the valley as quiet as it had been before.

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With her mane flat against her neck, Rainbow Dash shot upwards at a ninety degree angle at tremendous speeds. She was about test a new move of hers that was sure to impress even The Wonderbolts. She called it the Swirling Rainburst. First, she flew up to a high altitude. Then, she would start spinning in a wide circle slowly descending towards the ground. Eventually, when she was close to the ground, the circle was tight enough that it created a wind tunnel. When Rainbow Dash was about 50 meters from the ground, she suddenly reversed directions and shot up though the small opening of the tunnel.

The effect was far better the Rainbow Dash could of ever imagined. She reached a speed that was not far behind a Sonic Rainboom, but that wasn’t the big the amazing apart. She was defying gravity to a full extent; completely weightless as she sped towards the heavens above. And she loved it the whole way. She felt so wonderful; so free. Nothing controlled her while she was flying. In the air, she was the master.

Rainbow Dash continued to rise until she was past even where the highest clouds would pass over the ground, had there been any. She continued until even the air seemed to freeze onto her face and decided she shouldn’t go any further. No pony had ever passed too high above the clouds, not even Princess Celestia. ‘Maybe someday…,’ Rainbow Dash thought hopefully as she dropped back down to the ground.

As Rainbow Dash touched down in the meadow, she realized the Swirling Rainburst had taken a lot out of her. She could barely move her wings. She had been flying most of the evening and Celestia’s sun was almost below the horizon. She was so tired she didn’t even notice the hooded unicorn approaching her until he was right in front of her.

When the unicorn came into Rainbow Dash’s sight, she jumped back so fast she tripped over her back hooves and fell down into the clover. The hooded unicorn heisted, and then waited for Rainbow Dash to get back on her hooves before speaking. “Art thou the one named Rainbow Dash?” he asked with a heavy accent.

Right away, Rainbow Dash could tell there was something different about this unicorn. He appeared out of nowhere, no sound, no anything. It didn’t faze her that he knew her name; lots of ponies knew her name. But the way he was dressed was what made her the most uneasy. He was wearing a jet black cloak that covered all of his body and cast a shadow across his face that hid all the features except his eyes and the tip of his horn. The cloak didn’t seem to be made of any kind of material Rainbow Dash was familiar with. She was so lost in his appearance, she had forgotten he had asked her a question, and it took the unicorn to ask again for her to answer.

“Um…yeah that’s me,” Rainbow Dash managed with a small smile.

The hooded unicorn’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Excellent, then thou must come with me at once. We hast very important things to discus.”

“His accent…is so much like Princess Luna’s,” Rainbow noted to herself as she continued to back away. Suddenly her wings didn’t feel so tired. Meeting a strange pony in the woods that wanted her to come with him wasn’t setting right with her.

“You know… it’s getting late, I really should be hitting the hay,” Rainbow said as she lifted off the ground. Being late, however, was only half the reason she wanted to leave.

Immediately, the unicorn’s expression changed from joy to rage. “NO…THOU MOST COME WITH ME! I COMMAND IT!” The tone alone sent Rainbow flying backward in fright, nearly hitting a tree in the process. Realizing he was only scaring Rainbow Dash, he stopped a moment to regain some sanity before continuing.

“I apologize for upsetting thou, but thou most listen to me. A great evil is rising, and I believe thou art the only one that can stop it.” With a pleading look, he waited for a response as Rainbow took in what he was saying.

Rainbow knew what she needed to do. With a confident nod, Rainbow declared, “Well let’s go then. Just give me a second to…OH NO WHAT IS THAT!” Rainbow pointed behind the unicorn in a frightened stare. The unicorn whirled around, horn charged, ready for any creature that posed a danger. However, he scanned the forest for anything at all, but found nothing. Turning around in a confused gesture, he asked, “What art thou speaking o…,” before realizing he was alone the clearing.

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Rainbow Dash was already out of sight of the clearing. She had left the second the unicorn turned around, and she didn’t prepare to stop until she got to her house on the outskirts Ponyville. She didn’t know what was wrong with the strange unicorn in the wood and she didn’t care. All she wanted to do was to go home and forget the encounter ever took place.

When she finally caught sight of the cloud her home sat atop of, she was exhausted. She had been flying non-stop for 20 minutes after her wings were already tired from practicing all afternoon. Rainbow touched down softly in front of her front door and let out a large sigh. She couldn’t get the conversation with the hooded unicorn out of her head, even when collapsed down onto her bed.

“He was just some hermit pony who went crazy from living in the woods too long,” Rainbow whispered to herself as she closed her eyes. But as her eyes closed, her mind wouldn’t stop repeating what the unicorn had said.

“A great evil is rising, and I believe thou art the only one that can stop it.”

**********************************************************

Back in the forest, that same unicorn was trying to locate Rainbow with the same spell he had used before, but found he was too weak. He needed to rest before he could perform it again. With an agitated sigh, he trotted away to find some shelter. He would find her again. He just hoped it wouldn’t be too late…

Chapter VI: A Brewing Storm

Rainbow Dash slowly rose from her bedroll, yawning while doing so. She had to admit, Ageroth was right. She felt better thanks to just one additional night of sleep. However, she knew it would be awhile before she regained her full strength, thanks to the amount of blood she lost. She looked around, hoping to see Ageroth, but she found the cave empty once again.

“He must be outside still,” Rainbow Dash muttered to herself. Taking the opportunity of her solitude, she decided to inspect the strange glowing crystal that was illuminating the cave.

It was unlike anything Rainbow had ever seen. The gemstone had a light blue appearance, and its shape was flawless; it showed no sign of any imperfections that generally appeared on carved crystals. If Rainbow Dashed watched close enough, she could swear she even saw symbols emanating from it. When she touched it, the light grew brighter, as if responding to her presence. Rainbow Dash withdrew, and the light regained its former shade of blue. She shivered. It was almost like the crystal was a living being.

“If Rarity was here, she would probably have a panic attack just thinking of all the outfits she could use it in,” Rainbow Dash thought, then immediately regretted it. Thinking of her friends only deepened the void that formed in their absence. Carefully stepping over the gemstone, Rainbow Dash preceded down the passage that led to the cave’s exit. Now that she was thinking clearly again, she realized she had many more questions for Ageroth. He got off easy when Rainbow Dash almost passed out, but now she was determined to get the full explanation of what was going on. Of all the events that occurred ever since he appeared next to her on that day in the clearing.

As she progressed further down the passageway, Rainbow Dash noticed something strange. The smell and feel of the air from the outside was getting stronger, but there was no light to indicate that she was getting closer to the exit. The cyan pegasus had to feel around to prevent herself from bumping into the cave walls, as the light from the crystal had already faded away. Finally, she rounded the last curve she remembered going around before she was blinded by the light outside, and found her problem instantly. The cave entrance was completely gone.

“How is that possible!” Rainbow Dash roared in her head. The entrance had just been there the previous evening. How could something like that just disappear? Worst of all, she could practically taste the trees and other plants that were located outside the cave, as if they were deliberately trying to mock her. If this had been their goal, they were succeeding.

Slowly approaching the newly formed wall, Rainbow Dash looked for any indication of a door or any device that would move the wall, but there was nothing. No sign that an exit ever existed, even though she knew this was the exact spot she had been earlier. Frustrated, Rainbow Dash decided the best course of action was to punch the wall.

Instead of the hard thud she should have got, her hoof went entirely through the wall with no opposition, causing her entire body to tumble forward. Rainbow Dash thought about catching herself, but she was already hitting the ground before she had time to actually move her other hoof. A small shot of pain shook across her head, mostly centered on the large cut that was still trying to heal.

After recovering from the impact, Rainbow Dash realized she was in fact lying outside. Right at the exact spot she had talked with Ageroth. Being stuck in the cave so long had messed with her internal clock, but the low sunrise in the distance signified that it was still early in the morning.

Grateful that nopony had been around to see her embarrassing nosedive, Rainbow Dash flew up and dusted herself off. After making sure she hadn’t reopened her gash, she slowly turned to see how she had gotten though the wall. For the second time since she woke up, she found herself both astonished and confused.

Just like the inside of the cave, there was no exit at all, just a solid crag of rock. Or what appeared to be a solid crag of rock. Rainbow Dash slowly approached the wall, this time gradually putting her hoof up to the rock. Just as she expected, it went straight though, as if there was nothing there at all.

It must be a spell Rainbow Dash conceived, seeing no other explanation to the deception. Normally, something like this wouldn’t startle her so much; she had seen Twilight do amazing things with magic. But this illusion was unconditionally flawless. The consistency of the wall fit perfectly, with not one texture or edge out of place. Not to mention that there was no trace of aura that a magic spell generally caused. The only way anypony would ever tell the wall was fake would be to physically walk through it. Or…fall through it, in her case.

It had to of been Ageroth who cast the spell. The only question was where he had gotten off to now. Giving the wall one last dumbfounded look, Rainbow Dash decided to explore her surrounds. Her wings felt like stiff wood after not being used for almost 4 days, but after a few unsteady attempts she was able to glide over the ground at a reasonable pace. The action brought a small smile to her face. She was glad to feel the cool wind though her mane once again.

Another strange detail Rainbow Dash realized was that even after all that time, she felt no hunger at all, and was not as thirsty as she should be. She saw a small stream cutting its way through the trees and decided to quench what little thirst she had. Had she been under some other type off spell that protected her from hunger and thirst? The list of questions she wanted to ask Ageroth never seemed to end.

After a few sips, Rainbow Dash continued with her surveillance of the environment. There was no doubt she was in a forest. Not as dense or dark as the Everfree Forest, but still fairly thick with no ending in sight. Rainbow Dash wondered if it was the same one she and her friends had passed through before finding Hayton.

Her friends. A large hole opened up in Rainbow Dash’s heart, eating away at all her feelings and leaving nothing but miserable emptiness. It wasn’t right…she should be with her friends, even if that meant being captured by the insidious Lord Plagueis. Why should she be free when they were imprisoned, going through things she just didn’t have the will to imagine.

“No, I can’t think that way!” Rainbow Dash contended to herself. She had escaped for a reason, and she was to never going to stop until her friends were safe again. Not until everypony was safe again. And she wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of that.

Rainbow Dash was so deep in her thoughts that she didn’t even noticed the sky. She was broken from her daze when she heard a low, earth-shattering rumble far off in the distance. Being a pegasus, she instantly recognized the sound; it was the boom of thunder. She looked up and saw the sky had grown dark far off to the south, but the trees blocked her from seeing much past that. She flew up higher to get a better view, using her hooves to prevent the branches from hitting her wound. Slowly flying past the tree line, Rainbow Dash expected to see a small rainstorm like most pegasus formed when the land needed it. What she saw instead took any shred of normalcy she still felt about the rapidly shifting world around her.

It was a cloud all right; a tall violent mass of pure black storm cloud. The entire form was slowly rotating in a vortex shape over a spot far in the distance. The most terrifying quality was that it seemed to be literally growing by itself; sucking in the blue morning sky and replacing it with more black clouds.

The very sight of the storm was disturbing to Rainbow Dash. There was nothing natural about it. The entire vortex broke every rule she knew about clouds, weather, and how a pegasus controls them both. It was clear the cloud created in some other manner. After getting past the shock, and observing the entire scene very carefully, she spotted the only thing that could make the experience worse.

The dome covering Hayton was directly under the vortex. The black swirling mass was constantly becoming harder to see as the sky around it darkened. Despite the fact that it had to be miles away, the massive size of both objects allowed for Rainbow Dash to see the monstrous display. She knew it couldn’t be a coincidence; Lord Plagueis had to be responsible for the horrid abomination of a storm cloud hovering over the dome.

Rainbow Dash became conflicted. Part of her wanted to fly forward and get a closer look, but the other part of her told her that was an insane notion. Her curiosity was about to get the best of her when she found she couldn’t move at all. There was just enough time for her to see a bright gold aura around her body before she was gliding back through the trees. The trapped pegasus attempted to resist until she realized who the aura belonged to.

“What doth thou thinketh thee art doing?” Ageroth asked. Rainbow Dash didn’t need to see his face to know he was angry. He kept her in his telekinetic grip, his eyes never leaving her.

Rainbow Dash couldn’t find a response. She hadn’t thought what Ageroth might think about her leaving the cave. After a few attempts at defending herself, she found it impossible and had to settle with a very weak answer. “I…I just wanted to stretch my wings,” she managed, trying to add a shrug. This, of course, was impossible while still being immobilized by Ageroth’s magic.

This only seemed to anger the cloaked unicorn more. “Does thee forget what I hath said?! It be much too dangerous for thee to wander about!” It was the first time Rainbow Dash had seen Ageroth actually outraged, and she wished she had remained unacquainted to the experience.

“Why does thou insist on getting thine self into peril?” Ageroth continued. “An agent of Plagueis can discover us at any time!” Then, as if signaled by his words, Rainbow Dash heard the most dreadful sound she had ever heard.

It was something mixed between a shriek and a loud moan. Like somepony had tried to scream, but stopped halfway and decided to howl like a timberwolf. Only she had never heard such an abysmal sound from a timberwolf, much less from a pony. It still sounded far off, and Rainbow Dash didn’t see the source of the cry. As far as Rainbow Dash was concerned, it could stay that way.

It seemed Ageroth’s feelings were mutual. Before she could say anything, Rainbow Dash found herself pushed up against Ageroth’s back as he sped through the forest. The trees almost blended into a blur as he gained speed. Rainbow Dash was amazed the unicorn could move this fast. Even Applejack would have a hard time keeping up with him.

Applejack. Rainbow Dash would have gone into another miserable fit if her mind hadn’t been focused on watching for pursuers. She hadn’t seen anything yet, but if she listened closely she could swear she heard the flap of wings. .

Ageroth remained silent as he ran, keeping his eyes fixated on getting through the forest in front of them. Judging by their course, they were heading back to the cave. Rainbow Dash was too afraid to ask anything. There was no doubt about the wings now. The creature let out another shriek, this time much closer. The scream seemed to eat away at her very strength of mind, leaving her feeling hopeless. They weren’t going to make it, they should just stop now. Rainbow Dash couldn’t believe she was thinking such thoughts, but she had no control over it.

Luckily, Ageroth didn’t seem so easily discouraged. The scream only seemed to reinforce his effort. And it was paying off too…Rainbow Dash could see the rocky bluff that contained the cave. If they could just make it there before the creature caught up…no, they were already caught, they needed to stop now. Rainbow Dash groaned, unable to understand her unwanted thoughts.

They were closing in on the cave. It couldn’t be more than 100 yards away. But it was all over. Rainbow Dash could hear a crashing sound as the creature began to descend into the forest canopy. It was already too late. They weren’t going to make it.

Rainbow Dash closed her eyes, unable to process her competing beliefs. All she heard was Ageroth’s hooves on the ground the breaking of branches from the presence above them. She dared one last peak from one eye. She saw a dark figure’s hooves poking through the trees. The rest of its body was rapidly bearing down on them. There was no doubt the creature was equine in nature, but it seemed abstemiously deformed. Rainbow Dash was about to let out a shout of terror when her entire world went dark.

For a few distressing seconds, Rainbow Dash thought she had passed out or had been manipulated by some form of dark magic like she experienced back at the dome. She then realized that her face was buried in Ageroth’s cloak as he stood as inanimate as a statue. They had made it into the cave, but the danger wasn’t over yet. In the chilling silence, she heard the creature land right outside the hidden entrance. It let out loud, distinct, inhales. Could the creature really smell them? Frustrated, it let out the loudest shriek yet, causing Rainbow Dash’s ears to painfully ring. She felt the urge to yell back, tell the creature where they were. It was too late anyway, it had already found them.

Ageroth, however, was determined to interfere with Rainbow Dash’s decision. He held her even tighter against his cloak, ending any chance for her to make a sound. The creature sniffed around a few more times, before letting off one more call that sounded like a cry of defeat. With the sound of the creature taking off and flying away, everything was silent once again.

It was a full minute before Ageroth released his telekinetic grip on Rainbow Dash. She realized that when the creature left, her head had cleared up. She knew it hadn’t really been her trying to give up and get them caught. It must have been another form of dark magic connected with the creature that had messed with her thoughts.

“What was that thing?” Rainbow Dash finally asked. “And why did I feel the urge to allow it to get me?” Although unsure if she really wanted to know, she knew she should be informed in the likely case that they meet a creature like it again.

Ageroth seemed out of breath, and his eyes were closed as if he were concentrating on a past memory. When he responded, he sounded very tired and worn, like had aged with the very encounter with the creature. “The creature with which we hath absconded from is a Screecher. Formed by manipulating the mind of an innocent pegasus. Undeniably the work of Lord Plagueis, for I have witnessed it countless times before. A shriek from such a beast drains the will of resistance from its victims and replaces it with altered thoughts, making them easy quarry to be captured for its master.”

“You mean, any pegasus he captures is turned into that thing?” Rainbow Dash questioned. The thought that what had been chasing them was a misshapen pegasus doing the bidding of Lord Plagueis against his or her will was sickening. Especially combined with the fact that it could have been Fluttershy; trapped in a wicked curse that forced her to do things she would never freely do.

Ageroth nodded. “‘Tis but a mere sample of his power, for he is capable of much more wicked atrocity. And he shall demonstrate it as his control of the land strengthens.” He slowly began walking toward the back of the cave. Rainbow Dashed followed impulsively, but she was still caught up in the horrifying new development. By the time they had reached the glowing crystal, she decided they could nothing else before rescuing her friends from Lord Plagueis. She couldn’t stand one more day of knowing they could be turned into monstrosities at the hands of the sinister fiend.

“Dost thou now understand to never leave unaccompanied?” Ageroth asked. He seemed less angry, but still had a critical tone to his voice. “For thou hath yet to learn of the new dangers that roam these lands.”

“But you did the same thing,” Rainbow Dash argued

“Correct,” Ageroth said, “but I knoweth how to stay unbeknownst to such adversaries. Thou doth not.”

Rainbow Dash lowered her head. “I’m sorry, Ageroth,” she said. She hadn’t thought twice about leaving. She had taken for granted the fact that Equestria was a safe and peaceful place, as long as you stayed away from certain areas. Now that was changing rapidly, and it would take some time for her to get used to it.

Ageroth sighed. “Dwell little on the subject, for I do know thee meant no harm. However, I must beseech you to avoid further solitary excursions.”

“I know that now.” Rainbow Dash nodded. “That’s why we need to stick if we’re going rescue my friends.”

“No, we mustn’t” Ageroth said. His eyes closed as he waited for her response.

“No?!” Rainbow Dash repeated. Somewhere deep down inside, she knew she shouldn’t get mad at Ageroth. But an anger that had been developing ever since she lost her friends was finally letting itself out. “What do you mean no? Those are my friends, Ageroth! I can’t just sit back and let that monster twist their minds until they are lost to his evil. I want to help fight him. If what you say is true and I am the only that can stop him - which you haven’t even explained how that can be true yet - then I want to help you. But not until we rescue my friends.”

Ageroth sighed, but didn’t act surprised at her outburst. Maintaining his calm stature, he responded in his strange language. “Thou hast mistaken my pronouncement as callous. I firmly assure thee that deduction is fallacious. For I know thou feels obligation for thine friends release, and want nothing more than to ease thy distress. Be that as it may, rescuing them be a misplaced desire. For even if we were successful in winning them from Lord Plagueis, his slaves they would remain.”

“What do you mean?” Rainbow Dash painfully asked, dreading the answer.

“Once Lord Plagueis hast planted his seed of malevolent corruption on whomever he selects, there is nothing to save the unfortunate soul. ‘Tis an eternal affair.”

Rainbow Dash’s heart lowered. “Is there really nothing we can do to save them?”

Ageroth looked down at her, his eyes blazing with firmness. “Only the annihilation of Lord Plagueis will free thine friends and all others under his control. As I hath earlier stated, it is imperative to keep thee safe for this very reason. Thou is vital to this all, Rainbow Dash.”

“But why me, Ageroth?” Rainbow Dash asked. She was glad there was some hope for her friends, but she had hoped for something more short-term. Not something that could take Celestia knows how long. Not something where she played such a crucial role in without understanding why. “Why couldn’t it be you? You seem to know a lot more about this entire situation then I do. You seem to be far more likely to stop such a threat. Why not anypony but me? I may be strong while with my friends, but without them I’m just…a regular pegasus.”

Rainbow Dash thought for a second. “Well…maybe a fast pegasus, but I don’t think that helps me against something like Lord Plagueis. Against him…I’m powerless.” She sadly looked down at the red lightning bolt that still hung on her neck, wishing the other Elements of Harmony were still there to help her.

Ageroth trotted over and gently put his hoof on Rainbow Dash, just as he had before. “No, Rainbow Dash,” he assured. “Thou art anything but powerless. And thou will recognize it when the time is right. That, I pledge to thee.”

Rainbow Dash felt a sudden peace by the unicorn’s words. She may not know or understand what was happening, but she felt a lot safer doing it with Ageroth. Despite his shrouded appearance, she felt like he was the only pony she could trust after recent events. She was even beginning to accept knowing next to nothing about him as a tolerable condition. But that wouldn’t stop her from trying to find out as much as she could.

“I believe you,” she said. “I can’t explain why, but I accept it. Can you at least tell me a little more about yourself, though? Like why you have that cloak, and how you seemed to have skipped over centuries of time to this age, and how you are connected with Lord Plagueis?” Rainbow Dash didn’t have high expectations, but it was at least worth a shot.

Ageroth’s eyes lowered, the strange light from the crystal making them especially golden. “I must apologize on behalf of my cryptic form. I do not mean to retain so much from thee. However, the less thou doth knoweth of me, the better we both remain.”

Sighing, Rainbow Dash gave up. She was determined to find out about Ageroth’s past, but now was not the time. “Fine then, Mr. Mysterious, what’s our next move? I doubt you plan for us to fight Lord Plagueis from this cave.”

Ageroth shook his head. “We haveth not what we require to combat him yet,” he responded.

“And what exactly would that be? Rainbow Dash asked.

“Thou shall learn in due time,” Ageroth responded vaguely. “At the present moment, there be a much more pressing matter we must attend to.”

Rainbow Dash simply glared, wondering if he was even willing to share that information.

“Due to my abrupt arrival into this time period, I knoweth little of this era’s more recent history, endeavors, and current geographic state. I believe our next move should be to visit an archive of texts so that I may become better erudite of the present time period.”

Rainbow Dash gawked in disbelief. “So…let me get this straight…while Lord Plagueis grows in power and strength, does who knows what to my friends, and prepares to invade Equestria, you want to go to a library and read history books!”

Ageroth let out a tolerant sigh. “I haveth understanding of thine attitude. It seems very trivial given current circumstances. But I beseech thee to recognize how important it is that for me to understand current events. Perhaps I may even learneth this age’s dialect.”

Rainbow Dash had to admit, she was getting annoyed by whatever language Ageroth was using. Although she could mostly understand him, she felt like she was missing out on some things that she wouldn’t if he were just speaking normally. She also couldn’t blame Ageroth for wanting to know more about present-day Equestria. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to one day wake up in a time that had passed on without her. Judging by his words and his lack of knowledge about common things, Rainbow Dash figured it must have been many centuries in Ageroth’s case; a fact that still astonished her.

“I suppose you’re right,” she finally admitted. “I still don’t like the idea of sitting around and reading while Lord Plagueis is still active, but you do deserve to know more about the present. Did you have a library in mind?”

Ageroth paused, and let out quick burst of amusement. It sounded bizarre to Rainbow Dash to hear laughter from the typically staid unicorn, but quickly found she liked deep rumbles of amusement. “As fate hath transpired,” he said as he attempted to regain his normal demeanor, “I am not acquainted to any archives existent in thine era. It would be of great benefit for thou to assist me in that aspect of our expedition.”

Rainbow Dash could feel her cheeks redden, embarrassed that she had overlooked such an obvious detail. Of course he wouldn’t have a preference of library when he probably didn’t even know where the towns and cities of modern Equestria were. She thought for a second, remembering their location compared to Hayton and the sun. From that, she gathered they were north-west of the plagued town by roughly three or four miles. Her mind envisioned that point on a map of Equestria, and tried to think of the closest settlements. The answer came to her in prominent certainty.

“Well, we can’t be too far from Manehattan, from what I saw earlier.” Rainbow Dash responded. “That would definitively be our best choice.”

Ageroth seemed less sure. “And why doth thou thinketh that?”

“Manehattan is one of the largest cities in Equestria, and probably has the second to best library. It’s only inferior to the Canterlot Library, which is much too far away to travel to now. Manehattan can’t be more than a day’s trot from us.”

The mention of Manehattan’s size only seemed to upset Ageroth. “Art thou certain this city is our only choice?”

“Well there isn’t anything else that wouldn’t take days to get to,” Rainbow Dash answered.

Ageroth slowly nodded his head. “Very well, let us make haste to Manehattan.” He began telepathically rolling up the bedrolls.

“Now we’re talking,” Rainbow Dash said though a smirk. “But why the sudden change in pace?”

Ageroth levitated the bedrolls into his cloak, which seemed to cause them to vanish. Yet some other mysterious form of powerful magic. “It is nothing. I merely wish to finish this task hastily. As thou hath expressed, we cannot afford to expend any additional time.”

Rainbow Dash nodded. She couldn’t agree more with that statement. She turned to collect her own belongings, which she realized were only an empty saddlebag and the Element of Loyalty hanging around her neck. As she strapped the saddlebag back around her, she caught Ageroth studying the crystal still upright on the ground. Remembering her own curiosity about the gem, she decided to ask about it.

“What exactly is that thing?” Rainbow Dash asked as she came up behind Ageroth. She was sure she saw the symbols deriving from it now, although she could never focus on one before it vanished.

“Twas a gift given to me long ago,” Ageroth replied. “A jewel enchanted by a very gifted acquaintance. The dangers this crystal protects us from art excessively bounteous, but for now let it be known as a guardian of our very thoughts and actions. It can protect us from the shrieks of a Screecher, along with many other forms of dark magic. On account of its expediency, I keep it in possession as habitually as I can. Yet an additional motive to stay close to me.” He slipped the crystal into his cloak, plunging the cave into darkness.

Rainbow Dash waited for Ageroth to illuminate the cave with his horn. However, the unicorn took her hoof and began to carefully navigate through the dark passages. “What’s all of this for?” she asked, confused. “Can’t you just magically light the cave up?”

There was slight pause in Ageroth’s movement, but he quickly continued. “Excessive use of magic is much too great of hazard to use; primarily due to our isolation. Whilst my crystal halts most forms from detection by adversaries, some magic may still be detected by Reapers. Illumination spells art among those that they can.”

“Let me guess,” Rainbow Dash ventured, “Reapers are unicorns that fall completely under Lord Plagueis’ control?” She was begging to see a pattern this new world of monstrosities.

“Thou art correct.” Ageroth replied. “Along with perceiving magic, Reapers hath an ability to use magic to subdue victims: draining them of vitality and spirit. This makes them exceptionally challenging to defeat in battle. However, unicorns must be under control for a prodigious amount of time to become corrupt enough to develop into Reapers.”

“Great,” Rainbow Dash grumbled. “What about alicorns?”

Ageroth’s eyes gave her a questioning glance “What of them?”

“What do they become when they are under full control?”

“It…is best not to talk of such things unless required to.” Ageroth said, looking away.

Hoping desperately not to meet Twilight in whatever horrible form she might have become, Rainbow Dash continued with Ageroth. She was glad when they reached the end of the cave and stopped at the imitation wall.

“I must say, I have never met anypony that is as skilled at making fake walls,” Rainbow Dash added, trying to ease the tension. “It almost stopped me from leaving.”

Ageroth only narrowed his eyes. “Thou still departed,” he pointed out, which only raised a shrug from the pegasus. He touched the wall with his horn, which immediately caused it to vanish, letting in blinding sunlight and leaving no trace of the convincing rock that had been there moments before.

Rainbow Dash took in the sunlight gleefully until she noticed something strange. A section of the sky was much darker than the rest; something she would have noticed the first time she left the cave if it had been there. She flew up to get a better look, but immediately regretted it. It was the same vortex she had seen over Hayton, only so much larger it was begging to cover the sky of the far surrounding area. “What kind of cloud is that?” she asked bleakly.

Ageroth seemed to know what she was speaking of, even though he couldn’t see it. “Tis the Mark of Plagueis. Thou hath just to be ill at ease. It be a tempest conjured up by the foul beast, as he and his forces prefer darkness, and is sure to be followed by his might and desolation of this land.”

“Next time, remind me not to ask,” Rainbow Dash said sullenly. With that, the pair began their tramp to Manehattan.

**********************************************************

The sun shined bright on the streets down below, but Princess Luna was protected on the covered balcony that she stood on. She was grateful of the room that Mayor Smooth Horn had provided her with. It reminded her of her own room back in Canterlot with its lofty position and quiet, tranquil ambiance the nocturnal princess relished.

However, even under this ideal condition, Princess Luna was still fretful. Watching the activity below her did give her an effective distraction, if only a momentary one. The city truly was nothing like the rest of Equestria. There were so many different ponies congregated with the biggest population of griffons, mules, and even the occasional zebra populations in any city under the Equestrian flag. It formed a unique and eccentric culture that was always changing and never failed to surprise.

Of course, recent events had put a damper on the usually lively city, or so the princess had heard. Royal Guard patrols almost outnumbered the citizens on the streets, and all special events usually held by the city had been postponed until further notice.

Even after all of that, everypony still seemed to have stayed calm and acted as if nothing was amiss. Princess Luna admired their diligence, even if it made her a little gloomy. She couldn’t help but remember the time long ago, when she had clashed with her sister over dominance of Equestria. Entire towns had turned to absolute pandemonium and catastrophe had been rampant throughout the land. In her absence, Celestia had mended the land, and created a peaceful and strong nation. Her sister had achieved this all by herself; all without her.

Princess Luna lowered her head. When she had truly come back, after her encounter with the Elements of Harmony, Princess Celestia had acted delighted about her reunion with her. And Luna had believed her, as she felt the same way. But the more she saw of how well Equestria had prospered since her departure of the land a thousand years beforehand, the more she began to doubt Celestia’s relief at her return. Why should Celestia be glad about sharing the throne with her once again when she had done so well alone? What had she done except make things worse?

The midnight alicorn remained focused on the subject until she forced herself out of it. She couldn’t think like that, Celestia would sense something was wrong. After all, her telepathic link with her sister tended to share more than just the words she intended to send.

Clearing her mind completely, she slowly let her mind reach out, searching for the connection to Celestia’s mind. It took a moment, as she rarely found herself this far from her sister, but she found the familiar consciousness without too much effort.

“Hello once again, Luna,” Celestia’s warm voice resonated in Luna’s head. “I am glad we can speak once more. The castle feels empty without your presence.”

“As am I, sister,” Luna responded, concealing her recent thoughts. “I thought it would be proper to contact you about our progress in Manehattan.”

“Of course, what do you have to report?” Celestia asked.

“Everything seems to be proceeding without issue. The citizens have accepted the new rules without any protest. I must say, given the circumstances, I believe the situation is going as well as we could have ever hoped.” Luna picked out a squad of patrolling Royal Guard below her. As they passed by a local market stand selling fresh fruit, they were stopped by the merchant.Before they could do anything, they were each handed a bundle of what must have been assorted fruits. With an encouraging gesture, the merchant sent them back on their way. Luna smiled. “Yes, certainly as well as we could hope for. The adjustment hasn’t ruined the city’s spirit. If anything, it has only made it stronger.”

“That is such heartening news in these dark times.” Celestia said. Luna could feel her smile, but it soon faded. “I assume there have been no more new developments on Hayton.”

Luna sighed. “I’m afraid that situation hasn’t improved. We still haven’t seen any indication - good or bad - that anything has changed. As much we want to learn more, Commander Maverick and I have agreed that it is too risky to send anypony else. Not after…” Luna stopped. She could feel the guilt growing inside Celestia, and knew continuing would only make it worse. She had a feeling it was still too late.

“After I sent Twilight and her friends on the assignment they never returned from?” Celestia asked abysmally.

“Yes…” Luna thought, wondering if she should have lied. It wouldn’t have helped; Celestia would have seen right through it.

“Oh, how painfully obvious my error is to me…now, when it is too late to fix it,” Celestia began despairingly. “How could I have been so blatantly arrogant to the point of putting the ones I love at such risk? My total and complete disregard for their safety and well-being has not only put them in danger, but Equestria in the process. They very well may be the key to stopping this new threat, and instead of making sure they had a fair chance against him, I played them right into his hoof…or whatever appendage he has. How foolish it was…” Celestia stopped, her anguish overtaking her words.

Unsure of what to say that could help, Luna did her best to convey her empathy and comfort. When her sister had calmed down, Luna said, “Despair not, sister. Your sun still shines bright over this land, as does my moon at night. As long as we are still in power, we will not give in to the forces of evil. We WILL defeat Lord Plagueis. That, I am sure of.” Luna thought she sounded honest enough. She only hoped her small pockets of uncertainty were hidden well enough in her own consciousness.

“Your words…are very comforting to me, sister,” Celestia managed. “Just promise me that no matter what happens, you stay safe an out of harm’s way. I just couldn’t bear the thought of losing you again. In fact, maybe you should leave…come back home…”

“No, that is not necessary,” Luna reassured. “My presence gives the citizens here something that they cannot afford to lose right now: your faith. If I were to leave now, the ponies and other residents would see that you think it is not safe here. I know you do not want that.”

“But Luna…” Celestia began.

“You do not need to worry about me; I promise I will be fine.” Luna could feel that her sister was apprehensive, but she also knew Luna was right.

“I suppose you are correct.” Celestia finally admitted, giving in. “Just, promise you will contact me often, and inform me if anything changes.”

Luna smiled. “I promise not to leave you in the dark,” she thought.

“That’s something, coming from the princess of the night,” Celestia managed, even giggling a bit inside.

Even with some of her humor back, Luna could tell her sister was still troubled; certainly not in the mood to mentally converse much longer. “Goodbye, Celestia. I will contact you soon,” she thought.

“Goodbye, and be safe.” Celestia replied. With one last mental projection of fondness, the connection detached and Luna’s mind was silent once again.

It really was a shame; Luna had hoped to discuss their collective memory loss of their distant past. But not when her sister was so emotionally weary. Perhaps it was a discussion for another time.

The midnight princess got up and slowly made her way to her bed. It was time for another restless day of sleep. She didn’t want to admit it, but she really did miss her bedroom in Canterlot next to her sister’s. Even if she did have her doubts about Celestia’s thoughts on her return, she was still the only pony Luna felt she could really open up to. While they could still communicate telepathically, it just didn’t feel the same; especially with Celestia’s mind clouded with her current burdens.
Just when Luna was about to slip under the covers, she heard an abrupt knock.

“Mayor Smooth Horn has offered you to join him for breakfast, if you so wish to, Your Highness,” a voice sounded from behind her door. “He knows that you must sleep during the day, and does understand if you chose not to come.”

A small grin appeared on Luna’s face. Maybe there was another pony she could open up to after all. “Tell him I will be there shortly,” she called out to the messenger before heading into the bathroom to prepare for her breakfast with the mayor.