Flying in the darkness-filled skies, Midnight Sparkle continued her search for Flurry Heart. She has been searching for five days, but even with the use of her magical senses, she couldn't find her anywhere.

"It seems I have taught you too well, Starlight Glimmer. She must have made it to Everfree Forest with Sunset by now…" Midnight said as she continued to search.

Having searched everywhere far and wide for Flurry Heart, she received no clues on her whereabouts and she didn't know where to go from there. Having no other choice, she said,

"I may as well check on those royal pains back in the Crystal Empire…" Midnight said before teleporting back to the Crystal Empire.

Making it back to the Crystal Empire, Midnight flew up to the throne room where Daybreaker and Nightmare Moon were planning. Having seen Midnight come inside, Daybreaker snarked,

"How goes your search for the lost princess?"

"Have you found the princess yet?" Nightmare Moon asked.

"Starlight is much more clever than I realized. I haven't found a trace of her or Flurry Heart anywhere. There is also the chance that she met up with Sunset Shimmer, which boosts their chances of hiding their magic." Midnight surmised.

"Well, while you were out on your little scavenger hunt, our forces have engaged with the creatures in Manehattan and Los Pegasus. The struggle is still ongoing, but it is not looking good." Nightmare Moon reported.

"How so? If you two are able to imprison Discord in a stone statue, surely you can handle a measly dragons and griffins." Midnight jeered.

“And you think you can do any better? It has been five days since the Crystal Empire was defeated and we are nowhere closer to flaying that lizard alive!!!” Daybreaker shouted.

“Did anypony say that going to war would be easy? I have been flying across Equestria, trying to find the one alicorn who can bring our ambitions to fruition, and all that you have been doing so far is gripe about the loss of your kingdom! I’m starting to get a clear grasp of why you barely ever assisted in my struggles…” Midnight shrugged.

Hearing this, Daybreaker shoved Midnight into a wall and shouted,

“I was the one who gave you the assignment to making new friends!!!! Yet you threw away the one friend who had the means to vanquish my beloved kingdom!!!! Sunset Shimmer would have been a better student than you…”

“How about you let me go before I decide to send you back to the afterlife?” Midnight threatened with a smug grin on her face.

Disgusted by her look, Daybreaker threw Midnight to the ground and looked outside the balcony.

“I was a fool to have made you my student. When we win this war, I am going to skin you alive. That is my final promise as your princess.” Daybreaker hissed.

“I’ll make a note of that, princess…” Midnight insulted.

Before they could get into their squabble any further, one of the undead pony soldiers entered the castle. Nightmare Moon went over to hear the pony’s full report. When he was finished talking, the pony soldier left the throne room.

“Well?” Daybreaker asked.

“I have learned that Starlight and Sunset have started moving. And I don’t know why, but Flurry Heart isn’t with them.” NIghtmare Moon answered.

“What?! Where are they and why is Flurry Heart missing?” Midnight questioned.

“I am not sure. But that is not the only news that I received.” Nightmare Moon said.

“You mean there’s more?!” Daybreaker asked.

“The Shadow King’s forces have started making their move. The ooze has almost covered the entire land of Equestria and we are short on options now. And I can only say that Starlight and Sunset are using this chaos to their advantage while they are moving across the land. I have also heard a report saying that a unicorn with a broken horn was last seen fighting off a group of our soldiers.” Nightmare Moon inferred.

“Could you be referring to Tempest Shadow?” Daybreaker asked, feeling unnerved by her conclusion.

“Then we haven’t a moment to lose. You two assemble the soldiers and I will continue my search for those three. And I am going to make them confess their whereabouts of Flurry Heart, whether they are willing to or not. Starlight has interfered with my plans for far too long…” Midnight growled as she flew away from the throne room.

After watching Midnight depart from the Crystal Empire, Daybreaker turned to Nightmare Moon and said,

“Who in the name of Tartarus does she think she is?! We are the true rulers of Equestria, not her!”

“Have patience, dear sister. She is but a means to an end. When we finish killing that treacherous dragon, we will make sure that she suffers the same fate as him. If not, worse.” Nightmare Moon assured.

“I hope so. Because every second I spend with her, I am one step closer away from ripping her wings off! She betrayed everything that I stood for and brought me back into this maligned image! I want her to suffer for everything she did! By any means necessary!” Daybreaker lamented.

“We will. And I share your pain. If I had known she would use that weapon and her magic to further her studies of the ooze, I would have banished her from Equestria. I was a fool to have trusted her with that scythe. And that clown of a friend didn’t fare any well herself. Especially since she chose to live in denial of her friend’s true actions.” Nightmare Moon said, filled with regret.

“I guess we were both fools. Fools for allowing her the title of princess. Fools for allowing her and her friends the status of being the Saviors of Equestria. And fools for allowing her to be as powerful as we are.” Daybreaker said, looking outside the balcony once more.

“Yes. And those will be the crimes we will not ignore. Crimes that are now punishable by death!” Nightmare Moon concurred.

“Indeed. And we will see to it that she pays heavily for her transgressions against our kingdom.” Daybreaker said.

“But for now, we have a duty to fulfill. And that duty is to fillet that dragon alive.” Nightmare Moon said as she left the throne room.

“I couldn’t agree more.” Daybreaker said, leaving the throne room as well.

Going deeper into the underground, Daybreaker and Nightmare Moon went for a secret room which was heavily guarded and blocked off against anypony except for the Princesses. Heading inside the room, it appeared to be some form of safe and it appeared to be impenetrable. The Royal Sisters undid their emblems and inserted them into the slots, causing the safe to unlock. When it finished opening, the safe contained nothing but their armors. However, it also housed their personal weapons and there also appeared to be a vase filled with some form of red liquid inside.

“How long has it been since we drank from this, dear sister…?” Nightmare Moon said as she licked her lips.

“Far too long, dear sister…” Daybreaker said as she and her sister formed twisted smiles on their faces.

Author's Note

Since I am about 80% done with this arc, I have decided to publish each chapter every week. Once I fully finish this story, it will be every two days after the last chapter. But keep in mind that once it gets to the emotional bits, it might differ on the day. But in the meantime, enjoy this new chapter. And on a side-note, expect a review for the Helluva Boss Pilot me and my pal Saber watched. It's gonna be fun.

This is Ghoul. I'll see you on the other side.