The King of Swing

Chapters

Chapter 1: Through the Ice and Snow
Chapter 2: It’s Quiet in Town
Chapter 3: The Unexpected
Awareness
Chapter 4: Research Project
Chapter 5: The Finds
Chapter 6: Old Faces
Chapter 8: Living Accommodations
Chapter 9: Morning Pleasantries
Chapter 10: Where the Storytellers Live
Chapter 7: A Short Story
Grief

Chapter 1: Through the Ice and Snow

If one was asked to describe the most Northern regions of Equestria, a few words immediately come to mind.

One of those words is cold. Inhospitably cold. Nopony could think of a rational reason why Faust, the great and wise creator, would make such a place the way she did. True, Faust tended to work in mysterious ways, but this was widely considered to be beyond explanation. The humid, desert outback seemed to make more sense.

Between the sub-zero temperatures, seemingly endless white-out waves of snow, and the kind of animals that had somehow evolved to survive in that environment, it was widely considered to be one of, if not the most, unlivable area in all of Equis. The very idea of setting hoof in, or creating a settlement in such an area was considered suicide.

And yet, despite all that, three ponies were marching through the sleet and knee high snow piles, in an effort to reach such a settlement.

Radiant Hope winced as the howling wind whipped her face, tiny ice crystals cutting at her cheeks. Was definitely harder to get through the weather than when she had initially left.

Aside from the biting frost and snow that collected on her fur, there was also another feeling that made her feel even colder, no matter how much she buried herself in her coat.

And that feeling was Dread.

If Hope was honest with herself, she didn’t want to do this. She really didn’t want to do this. But she had no choice.

Sombra had lost himself to madness, to dark magic. He had effectively killed Princess Amore, and was now crushing the Crystal Empire in his totalitarian grip. In the end, she had no choice but to seek the aid of The Royal Sisters.

As unlikely as the outcome seemed, Radiant Hope prayed that the three of them could talk him out of this mess, and bring him back from the pit.

Celestia and Luna trudged alongside Radiant through the brutal winter world. Even though they were Alicorns, who were taller and more proficient in magic, they still struggled. This far north, the snow could go for days, weeks, sometimes even months or years without letting up even a little. Frost collected on their fur and the tips of their feathers. But they would endure it. They had a job to do, after all.

When Radiant Hope came barging into the Throne Room, throwing herself upon the floor and begging for their help, they couldn’t refuse. And they wouldn’t leave it to any average ambassador. This was an issue of the highest level of importance, and therefore, required their direct attention.

There were more than a few times that at least one of them had proposed casting a weather clearing spell, or strengthening the warmth charms they had to make their trip easier, but such suggestions had to be refused, unfortunately.

If they were correct, they were in the general boarders of the Crystal Empire. And if that were the case, then they couldn’t risk getting detected, especially not in the current weather, as they were trying to sneak into the Empire. Of course, that was assuming that they hadn’t already been found out and that there wasn’t an entire division’s worth of soldiers waiting for them at the edge of the city to capture them…

...or worse.

“Radiant,” Celestia called through the howling wind, “Is the Empire much further?”

Radiant thought a moment before looking back at the Sun Princess. “Assuming that we haven’t gone off trail, it should only be a little further ahead.”

“And if we have strayed from the path?” Luna asked, “Hypothetically speaking.” The Lunar Princess’s question drew worried glances from her fellows.

Radiant Hope gulped. “Then we’re probably lost in the snow…” A wave of doubt and fear came over trio.

Celestia shook her head, as if to shake off a cloud of worry around her head. “Regardless, we must press forward.”

“Agreed,” Luna nodded, “Lead on, Radiant.”

Nervously, Radiant nodded and continued marching forwards with the Princesses close behind.

As they pressed on, each of them felt a slight tingling sensation in their horns, which grew in noticeability as they continued forward.

“Sister,” Luna called, “Do you feel that?”

“Yes, sister,” Celestia replied “Radiant, could it mean that we are getting closer to The Empire?”

Radiant considered it. “Yes, I think it does.”

With new found hope in their mission, the trio followed the strength of the sensation.

However, Radiant glanced around her. The way the snow felt, the sensation in her and the Princesses’ horns. It seemed to imply that there was literal magic in the air. And not just any magic, for that matter. It felt like some kind of strange, powerful magic, that was spread out over a wide area.

She could only imagine what that meant. Was Sombra casting some large scale spell?

‘No, no, no. I must not think like that. Besides this doesn’t feel like dark magic.’

They continued to press forward for a few more minutes, when the party of three noticed something curious.

There was a light. A baby bluish, whitish light. It’s shine was dampened by the storm, but it could still be seen.

“What is…What is that?” Celestia squinted against the snow filled wind, as she tried to make out the sight. Judging from its position, it was definitely high above the ground.

“I…I think that might be the Crystal Palace!” Radiant answered.

“Then The Empire is not much farther,” Luna exclaimed, “Press on!”

And so they did. The three ponies put their all into every step they took, one hoof after the other.

As they marched, the light they were chasing progressively grew in brightness and intensity. It grew so bright that it almost cut right through the snow. The light then surged, before it started to dim.

The trio quickly became worried. They tried to push through the snow faster. That light was their only beacon of hope in the bitter frost.

Then there was the sound.

A low, distant sound reached their ears.

*BOOM*

It was concerning. It sounded like a cannon or (Faust forbid) an avalanche.

“Now what?” Luna groaned.

“Um, Your Majesties?” Radiant said, slowly pointing ahead of them. The Princesses look to where she was pointing. Their pupils shrunk. A dense wave of wind-blown snow was heading right towards them.

“Brace for impact!” Luna shouted as she leapt to Radiant Hope.

Before the pony knew what was happening, Luna grabbed Hope and pulled her close to her body, wrapping her wings around Hope to shield her from the oncoming snow.

Quickly and wordlessly, Celestia did the same, wrapping her larger wings around her sister. The snow wall hit them soon after the protective embrace was formed.

The wind made the temperature drop at least ten more degrees. And the snow, which had been hard to see through in the first place, now made it near impossible to see a hoof right in front of one’s face. Chills and frost racked the bodies of the Princesses, as their faces were battered by snow, and their feathers coated with ice.

Celestia started to shiver, and she could feel her sister’s body being to succumb to the wrath of the North. And if that happened, then Radiant Hope would soon follow.

Celestia squinted at her horn. The trio wouldn’t last long in the storm. Their bodies’ resistance to the elements had been chipped away at over the weeks of travel. The only way they would survive is if she casted a spell, any spell. A strong warmth charm.

‘If it’s the only way we will survive, then so be it.’ Celestia shakily bit her freezing lip and began to gather her magic. ‘I only hope that Sombra doesn’t notice.’ A sparkling yellow aura surrounded her horn, as she made ready to increase the power of their charms.

But before she could, something happened. Celestia felt the snow lighten up. And the cold became slightly less brutal. The Sun Princess waved it off as a moment that wouldn’t last.

But then it continued to grow less severe. Less snow, higher temperatures, lower winds. The storm wall they had been caught in pushed past them, continuing on. Suddenly there was light all around. Suddenly it was possible to see one’s surroundings.

Luna slowly poked her ice covered head out from under Celestia’s wings. She looked around at her now visible surroundings. It was still a bit chilly, and the ground was still layered with snow, but that was far more preferable than what she was experiencing less than a minute ago.

“Sister,” Luna looked up at her elder sibling, “Did you do this?”

“I...I didn’t…” Celestia was at a loss for words, “Radiant Hope, do you know what could cause this?”

Radiant peered out through the feathers of Luna’s wings. “I’m not sure. The Crystal Heart could possibly do this, but Sombra wouldn’t want to keep that around.” Memories of all the Crystal Fairs she spent in the hospital by a young Sombra’s side floated back into her conscious.

“Forgive me,” Luna interrupted, “But I feel that it would be best for us to take advantage of these fair conditions while they last.”

The sound of angry weather rumbled behind them. The wall of snow and wind that had cascaded over them a minute ago, was now slowly rolling it’s way back to them. Radiant gulped, and Celestia tensed.

“Agreed,” The Solar Princess stood up, “Let’s get a move on.” They stood up and began swiftly trotting through the new, tolerable conditions.

They didn’t need to run, but they couldn’t afford to walk either. The group’s pace was swift, but not a full gallop. As the storm continued to rumble and chase them, Radiant saw something come into view.

“Look!” She called, pointing ahead. Her hoof was directed at a glimmering collection of structures that shone in the distant daylight.

“Is that The Crystal Empire?” Luna asked.

“Undoubtedly,” Celestia confirmed.

“Then let us make haste, and get to it as fast as possible.” Luna said.

The trio picked up their pace. The sense of powerful magic surrounded them as they got even closer.

“Come on, we’re almost there!” Radiant said , breaking into a run.

“Slow down, Radiant!” Celestia called.

Another rumble from the storm came from behind them. The Royal sisters chanced a look. The storm wall had gained speed and would soon be bearing down on them at their current pace. Luna shuddered.

“Radiant, disregard that!” She shouted, “Sister, catch up with her!”

“Agreed,” Celestia said before going into a full gallop alongside her younger sister. Their longer legs allowed them to cover more ground and catch up to Radiant Hope rather quickly.

Stray hail and ice crystals flew from the strong winds of the storm towards them. The storm continued to gain speed, chasing the three, hoping to engulf them in its unforgiving frost.

As the Princesses continued to run, it was Radiant who found herself playing catch-up.

“Your Highnesses-Ah!” Radiant misstepped and tripped over herself, tumbling and kicking up a cloud of snow.

“Radiant!” Celestia called. She started to reach out with her magic, but Luna was quicker on the draw. The younger Alicorn grabbed Radiant with her magic, flinging her through the air.

Radiant landed on Luna’s back slightly dazed.

“Hold on!” Luna said as she and her sister resumed running for their lives. Radiant wordlessly rapped her front hooves around Luna’s neck trying not to fall off as they galloped towards the Empire, and away from the storm.

Radiant looked over Luna’s shoulder. “We’re almost there,” she said, “Just a little farther!”

The storm was practically nipping at their tails, and their back hooves world soon follow if they did not hurry. They were so close they could practically see the engravings in the Crystal ground of the streets ahead. Just a few more feet...

“Sister,” Celestia called, “Jump!”

The two Alicorns leapt forward towards the city’s border. Time seemed to slow down and all sound as they descended towards their target. The snow and hail seemed to move at a snail’s pace, twinkling a bit in the light. The wind sounded only like a gentle breeze as opposed to a howling rath. If one could ignore the look of wide-eyed fear on Radiant’s face, it was almost beautiful.

Time resumed passing normally as they crossed over into the city, just as the storm would have swallowed whole again. The trio hit the ground and tumbled across the street, ending in a groaning pile of wings, hooves and horns.

Luna picked her head up from laying on Celestia’s barrel. “Ugh...Did we make it,” She asked, “Or are we dead?”

“In my opinion-” Celestia began, before her sister cut her off.

“Never mind sister,” Luna slowly rose to her hooves, stretching out her spine and wings, ice flaking off of her as she moved, “My bones ail me far too much for this to be the afterlife.”

“Good to hear, Luna,” Celestia carefully rolled off her back and onto her stomach. She gave her wings a light flutter to shake the snow and ice from her feathers. “Wait, where is Radiant Hope?”

A little groan to the right of the sisters answered that question rather quickly.

“Ugh,” Radiant’s vision was a bit blurred, “Celestia, is that you? Is this the afterlife?”

Radiant’s vision cleared up just in time to hear Celestia say, “No Radiant. We are all alive and well, yourself included.”

“Oh, thank goodness,” Hope massaged the base of her horn. Celestia offered her hoof and help Radiant to her own. “Thank you, Princess.”Celestia simply nodded.

Her sister leaned over and whispered, “You could have said that we were in the afterlife.” Luna snorted, holding in a laugh.

Celestia gasped at her sister’s suggestion, “Luna!”

“What?” Luna said, “I felt that the situation could have used some levity.”

Celestia bit her bottom lip as she looked over at Radiant Hope. She turned back to her sister. “Perhaps save the comedic coping for later, sister?” Celestia said in a hushed tone.

Luna sighed, “Very well…”

The three ponies took a moment to look around. They had done it. By some miracle, they had made it.

They had made it to The Crystal Empire.

Luna turned to her compatriots, “So, what’s the plan?”

Author's Note

And so it begins... :trollestia:

P.S. If you have any complaints please tell me in a calm professional manner in the comments. I can’t fix problems if I don’t know what they are.

Chapter 2: It’s Quiet in Town

Normally, in the situation they were in, Celestia, Luna, and Radiant Hope expected to be doing certain things. They expected to be sneaking around corners, hiding in dark alleyways, and side-streets. They were under the impression that they would be ducking from the watchful eyes of patrols and civilians who would rat them out. It was only after the adrenaline in their blood ran its course that a strange and almost unnerving realization hit them.

The streets were empty and, most disturbingly, quiet.

Not a single piece of wind blown paper or suspicious tumbleweed in sight. And it was so deathly quiet, a pin drop could be heard.

What was even worse was the fact that it was broad daylight out. Not a dark cloud in the sky, not an inch of creepy mist to be seen. The visibility was so clear, they could see the base of The Crystal Palace down the street. It was practically 20/20.

Hope broke the disturbing silence between the three. “Where is everypony?”

Radiant opened her mouth to speak, but the words just wouldn’t come to her. She tried to think of all the places anypony could be, where they could all go.

None of the ideas she came up with were very positive.

“I...I don’t know…” Celestia let herself admit.

“Well they can’t have just vanished into thin air,” Luna said, “they must have gone somewhere.”

“Agreed,” Celestia nodded “We should start looking for clues of some kind. Stay on the ground and be carefully, there could be a trap.”

Luna and Radiant nodded their heads in agreement, and the trio started cautiously walking through the street.

Each of them went door-to-door, to every house on the block. They knocked on the doors. No one answered. They tried the knobs. All of them were locked. They even peered through every window. If the curtains and blinds weren’t drawn, all they could see were unlit living rooms. Empty armchairs arranged around cold fire places, accompanied by an entourage of shapes that they couldn’t make out in the shadows.

“This is far too strange!” Luna said throwing her hooves up in frustration.

Hope looked up and down the street. Her mind continued to demonstrate it’s uncanny ability to jump to the worst possible conclusion.

“Princess Celestia?”

Celestia looked away from the door she was about to knock on, and turned her attention to the pony that had brought them all this way

“Yes Radiant?” Celestia asked in her usual warm comforting voice.

“Do you think…” Hope couldn’t make eye contact, “Do you think everypony...is…?”

Celestia didn’t need to hear the end of the question. She knelt down to Hope’s height and placed a hoof on her shoulder.

“Now Radiant,” Celestia consoled “We mustn’t think like that. I’m sure there’s a better explanation for this than...that.”

“Indeed,” Luna said in agreement, “They cannot have just disappeared.”

Hope sniffled a bit, but managed to smile at the Princesses.

“Thank you,” She said, her optimism restored.

“You are most welcome,” Celestia said with a smile. She rose back to her hooves, and they all resumed looking for anypony.

As they continued up the street, towards The Crystal Palace, something caught Radiant’s eye. She couldn’t make it out completely yet, but there was definitely a strange, gray colored column with blinking blue lights on it. What was even stranger was that the column appeared to be situated right where The Crystal Heart should’ve been.

To say that the sight was mildly concerning would be an understatement.

“Princesses-” Radiant started before a dark blue hoof landed squarely on her lips to hush her.

“Wait!” said Luna in a hushed tone. Her ears were up and twitching, swiveling about like they were trying to pick up something.

“What is it, sister?” Celestia asked.

Luna waved a hoof at her sister, wordlessly demanding similar silence from her as well. Celestia complied, patiently waiting for what her sister was doing to be explained.

“Do you hear that?” Luna asked quietly.

“Hear what?” Hope asked.

“Listen!” Luna said through her teeth.

All three ponies fell silent, their ears up, listening for the sound that Luna was trying to bring attention to.

Then the Sun Princess and the unicorn’s ears twitched.

“That…” It was as if Luna knew they could hear it now.

There was a sound being carried on the wind. It was faint, could easily be missed if one wasn’t paying attention, but it was definitely there.

“What...is that?” Hope asked, her ears swiveling about, trying to pick up the sound better.

Her ears continued to swivel until a sizable chunk of her the sound reached her. It was coming from her left. It sounded a bit like…

‘Screaming!?’ Hope’s pupils became dots.

“Radiant,” Celestia asked, “What’s wrong?”

Hope didn’t acknowledge the Princesses. She just set her sites on the nearest side street and wordlessly bolted down it.

“Radiant!” Luna called, forgetting the fact that they were trying to be stealthy.

In a panic, the sisters gave chase to try and catch up with their companion.

Radiant had completely disregarded the whole plan she and the Royal Sisters came up with. She was to scared to even think about it. When she had heard that faint echo of screaming, she forgot everything that wasn’t finding out who was in trouble and what was going on. She continued down the side street following the sound. As she continued to gallop, the sounds got louder, and clearer. Hope only began to imagine the horrible sights that awaited her eyes once she reached the source.

But something became noticeably off as she ran forward. More specifically the sound, or rather sounds, themselves. There was a certain energy to them that seemed strange. They almost sounded...happy. Jovial even.

Confusion was added to Radiant’s concern.

She came to the end of the side street the noise was loud and clear. She rounded the corner, her eyes falling on the origin of all the “screaming”.

She completely froze…

Celestia and Luna continued galloping down the side street in pursuit of Radiant. They couldn’t leave her all alone. They were in enemy territory after all. And considering how close she and Sombra used to be, there was no telling what he would do to her if he found her.

“Radiant? Radiant?” Celestia called.

“Where are you?” Luna’s shout reverberated off the walls of the narrow street.

“Lower your voice, sister!” Celestia urged through her teeth.

“Worry about my volume after we find Radiant Hope,” Luna argued, though her voice was lower than it was a moment ago.

“Look, there!” Celestia pointed past her sister.

There was Radiant Hope, standing stock-still, an expression of disbelief on her face. The Royal Sisters galloped towards her.

“Radiant,” Celestia called, “Are you alright?”

Radiant blinked a few times turning to face the sound of her name being called.

“Princesses?”

“Radiant,” Luna said, “What were you-” Luna was interrupted by the unicorn pushing both she and her sister away from the corner, while almost putting her hooves to their mussels.

“*Shoosh!*”

“Radiant,” Luna pushed the unicorn’s hoof off her face, “What is going on?”

“Yes Radiant,” Celestia said, “Are you alright?”

Radiant was silent for a while, simply looking stunned.

“I…” she began, “I found where everypony is…”

The Royal Sisters looked to each other, waiting for Radiant to elaborate on her statement.

“And? What happened?” Luna demanded.

“Radiant,” Celestia leaned down to look the unicorn in the eyes, “Is something wrong?”

Radiant looked up at the Princesses, biting her lip. “I think it would be easier to show you…”

The Princesses looked at the unicorn, their confusion plainly on their expressions.

Radiant lead them to the corner she had just pushed them away from. Slowly, she motioned for them to poke their heads around the corner.

The Princesses looked around the corner, briefly wondering what Radiant could possibly have such a hard time explaining.

They looked out onto the main street. Their eyes became plates, and their mouths became unhinged. Their expressions went from confused to shock and awe, for they could not believe what they saw…

Chapter 3: The Unexpected

Shouting...

Hollering...

The pounding of many hooves on pavement...

And the blaring sound of instruments…

Everything you would expect to hear at a street party.

The entire block, and many others, was teeming with ponies. All of them were standing around in their own little social groups talking the day away. Others were enjoying the food and drinks being sold by the vendors present at the event. All the while, a band sat on a stage playing music for the crowd. Trumpets, trombones, drums, and many more instruments sounded through the streets. Overall everypony was just having a good time, spending time with their fellow citizens, and keeping spirits high.

A unicorn walked up onto the stage as the band finished the song it had been playing, and the crowd clapped.

“That was some swell music,” the unicorn said, “Now everypony, our next performer is a pony who’s been singing and dancing through the music world, and doesn’t show any signs of stopping. Give it up for Steady Beat!” The name piqued the crowd’s interest.

An earth pony with a light brown coat, which could have been mistaken for orange, then clambered up onto the stage. The crowd clapped as many of them recognized him. The brown-coated stallion cleared his throat and began to speak.

“Hello! Thank you! It’s great to see you all,” Steady Beat waved at the crowd, “Today, I wanna try something. The song that me and the band here are about to play is meant to celebrate the everyday. The little things that make everything so great.”

Beat had the crowd hanging on his every word in anticipation and interest.

“So we figured, what better way to do that, than use some everyday objects as instruments?”

Everypony’s eyebrows went up, as Steady Beat motioned for a group of ponies to bring up a whole assembly of items.

Aside from the regular instruments like a piano or trumpet, there was a set of metal trash cans arranged like a set of drums, a box of empty glass bottles, even a typewriter.

“Is everypony ready for this?” Beat asked. The cheers of the crowd were more than enough confirmation.

“Alright then,” Steady Beat turned and pointed to the drummer at the cans, “Rhythm, can you start us off?” The drummer nodded and began to hit the cans with his drumsticks.

“I’ve got rhythm

I’ve got the beat

I’ve got rhythm in my heart and soul!

I’ve got rhythm

Hot and sweet

Sometimes rhythm makes me lose control!

Ohhh!

I want everyone

To have all the fun

That I have!

I’ve got rhythm

Shoo-ba-de-do!

Come on turn up and show what you can do!”

The crowd erupted with energy as the band really began to swing. Everypony was dancing wildly. Some dance alone, some were competing against each other. Many more danced in duos or even trios. All the while, Steady Beat tapped away on his back two hooves.

There was no particular style that the crowd of ponies stuck to. Their movements came straight from their hearts and the sheer amount of fun they were having.

As the band continued playing trumpets and glass bottles, two alicorns and one unicorn stared at the sight before them in complete disbelief. They had come all this way expecting to find an Empire of slave labor, ponies bound in chains, marching miserably through the streets.

Instead, they are met with the sight of a festival of some kind, and an orange earth pony dancing with a white mare on a stage, all the while a piano and a typewriter pinged and clicked away.

Mind you, the trio didn’t know what a “typewriter” was at the time, but that will change with time.

But what was almost as bewildering as the jolly state of the Empire was the dancing of the ponies, and, more importantly, the music they were dancing to.

Celestia and Luna had thought the works of Hoofgang Amadeus Mozart were eccentric, but this was something else entirely. The dancing was fast and wild. There was no starting position, no agreed style as far as they could see.

And the music, by Faust, it was loud. Filled with a kind of energy and speed that not even the most well-regarded of composers possessed, as far as they remembered. And they remembered quite a bit. Every horn blared and the piano rang as its keys were pounded upon. It all seemed nonsensical, without rhyme or reason, borderline chaotic. And yet everypony was clearly having fun.

The surprise the Princesses felt, however, was nothing compared to that of Radiant Hope.

To say she had been worried sick would have been an incredible understatement. She could recall many a night where she had vivid nightmares about what had happened to the Crystal Empire in her absence. She was expecting to smell death and misery in the air and see starving ponies laying on the pavement.

And yet, here was everything and everypony in front of her. Perfectly fine.

“Sister,” Luna said, looking to Celestia, “Does thou have any idea as to what is going on?”

“Unfortunately, I do not,” Celestia admitted.

Luna looked back to the celebrating ponies. Her eyes narrowed. “This must be the work of Sombra and his dark magic,” she began to charge her horn, “We must dissolve this gathering!”

The mentioning of Sombra’s name and Luna’s shifting snapped Radiant back to the conscious realm. She saw Luna start to step forward with the intent to disrupt the party. She quickly scrambled to push the lunar Princess back into their side-street hiding spot.

“Please, Your Majesty, don’t!” Radiant said in a hushed voice.

“Why?” Luna asked, “ You know who we are here to face, and what he is capable of. Why obstruct me?” Luna stepped forward, pushing against Radiant Hope.

“Because we’ll draw too much attention!” Radiant said pushing against Luna’s chest, “Two Alicorns can’t just walk out into the street. The Empire’s entire army will be on us.”

“I agree with Radiant, Luna,” Celestia put her hoof on Luna’s shoulder, “We must find another approach.”

Luna took a moment to consider the facts presented to her. Eventually, she conceded and dispersed the magic building in her horn.

“Very well, Ms. Hope,” Luna said, “We shall not disrupt the merrymaking of these ponies.”

Radiant was able to breathe with relief. “Thank you, Princess.”

“With that being said,” Luna continued, “What is it that you propose we should do?”

Radiant bit her lip. She didn’t really have a clear idea of what they should do.

‘Well then,’ Radiant thought, ‘Start with what we shouldn’t do.’

“Well,” Radiant started, “The two of you can’t just wander about in the streets. Do either of you have a way to disguise yourselves?”

Celestia wordlessly smiled, while Luna kept a straight, formal face.

Both Alicorns lit up their horns and a wave of sparkles washed over their bodies. When the sparks faded, It was no longer Celestia and Luna that stood before Radiant Hope.

Celestia was now a pegasus with a white coat and pink mane, while Luna now was a unicorn sporting a dark blue coat and dark grey mane.

Celestia smiled, “Will ‘Sunny Skies’ and ‘Starry Night’ be suitable substitutes?”

Radiant nodded, “Most Certainly.”

“So what are we to do with these disguises?” Luna asked.

“We need to figure out what’s happening here in the Empire,” Radiant said, “Maybe we should go about asking around when there’s less chaos happening.”

“If we are to do that, then you will have to wear a disguise of your own.” ‘Starry Night’ stated.

“I will?” Radiant asked.

“Indeed,” ‘Sunny Skies’ said, “If my sister and I were to be discovered, that would be one situation. But if you were to be recognized by somepony and they informed Sombra, I don’t believe I’d be able to guarantee your complete safety.”

Radiant looked down. She knew the Princesses were right. She did need a way to hide herself.

“Alright,” the crystal unicorn said, “I’ll see if I can come up with something effective.”

Radiant specialized primarily in medical magic, so she didn’t know much about illusion or transformation spells. However, she did at one point learn about a spell that flipped the colors of one’s mane and coat. She just had to remember how it went.

Shutting her eyes tight, she focused her memory and magic on recalling and casting the spell respectively. With a glowing aura, her baby-blue mane turned purple, and her purple coat turned baby-blue.

“Well,” Radiant asked, “What do you think?”

The disguised Princesses looked over the simple illusion. Radiant’s cutie mark and eye color hadn’t changed, but the visual distraction of her flipped colors drew attention away from those flaws. As long as nopony got too close or stared at it for too long, Radiant could probably get away with it.

“It will do the job,” Starry Night said, “Now let us be off. When nightfall is near, we shall begin to ask the locals regarding the current state of the Empire.”

“Agreed,” Sunny Skies nodded. She and her sister began to walk out of the side street and towards the celebrating crowd. She stopped at the corner, looking back at Radiant. “After you,” She motioned with a hoof.

“I’ll be right behind you,” Radiant said, “Go on ahead.”

“Don’t be long,” Starry Night said, as she walked out into the main street with purpose, “There is much that needs to be done.”

Radiant couldn’t shake a lot of feelings at the moment. The feeling that the situation was not only wildly different, but also out of their control. The feeling that so many things could, and would, go wrong. But most importantly, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something, or rather somepony, knew they were there…

Author's Note

For future reference, whenever I say "Sunny Skies" and "Starry Night", I am referring to Celestia and Luna in their respective disguises.

Just wanted to put that out there to clear things up.

Awareness

Within the walls of The Crystal Palace, a unicorn Doctor with an off-white coat and graying black mane and beard stood in a room with all the curtains drawn and most of the lights turned off. It was a bedroom, one built with luxury and Royalty in mind. The doctor pushed up his glasses as a complex machine whirred and clicked, printing equally complex medical data. The doctor poured over the printouts.

“Well doctor,” a deep gruff voice spoke up from the bed sitting in the dark behind the doctor, “How does it look?”

Dr. Wolfenstein took off his glasses and folded them in his hoof, before picking up the collected data.

“Vell, Sir,” the doctor said in a thick Germane accent, “I’m sure you are aware of ze saying ‘No news is gut news’, Ja?”

“Very much so, yes.”

“Vell, zat is not ze case here,” Wolfenstein said, “A lack of change in your condition is not ‘good news’. You’re not getting any better.” The doctor’s expression accentuated the faded but still visible scarring around his mouth and left eye.

“At least I’m not getting worse.”

“True, but zat is not an excuse to do nothing about it,” the doctor put his glasses back on and took a notepad out of the breast pocket of his lab coat, “I am going to have to increase your treatment level.”

“I’d fight you on that course of action, but that would get us nowhere.”

“Indeed,” Wolfenstein began gather up all the equipment he had brought, “I am going to bring zese results back down to ze lab for further analysis. In ze meantime, you are going to rest. I’m sure you have much verk zat you vish to get done tomorrow.”

“That I do.”

Dr. Wolfenstein began walking out the door and into the hallway, when he heard the pony on the bed wince. He turned back to see his patient’s horn and eyes glowing.

Wolfenstein gently put down the equipment he was carrying, and took a few steps towards the bed.

“Sir,” Wolfenstein asked, “Is something ze matter?”

The darkly colored unicorn laying on the bed slowly turned their head towards one of the windows in the room. A small, thin beam of light was able to gently slip through the crack between the curtains.

“I sense something…” the unicorn said, “I sense a magic that I do not recognize.” He continued staring at the window. His eyes narrowed, focusing on the light seeping into the dimmed room.

“And that’s not all,” the unicorn continued, “there’s something else there as well. A presence that I have not sensed in a long, long time…

“…But I can’t put my hoof on it…” The unicorn returned his gaze to the ceiling.

Dr. Wolfenstein sighed. He went over to a large cabinet, and opened it. He looked to the shelves labeled “Treatment Records”.

The unintentional pun still made him a little sick.

His eyes went over all the names until he found what he was looking for.

His magic gently pulled out a square paper sleeve, before removing the contents of it with similar care. A large, black disk was held in his magic.

The doctor carefully floated the disk over and onto a gramophone. The reader needle gently touched down on the rim of the record, and the music began to play.

“Please, Your Majesty,” Wolfenstein said, “Get some rest.” He re-gathered his things, and gently closed the door on his way out.

The music that was playing filled the room with its calming tone and restful energy.

It took a few minutes, but eventually, King Sombra drifted off to sleep.

Author's Note

Can we get 5 likes for a decent reveal and a Germane doctor?

Chapter 4: Research Project

The party had ended some time ago, and the sun had started to set, but that didn’t mean that ponies weren’t still lively and full of glee. Some could be seen window shopping for things from flowers to furniture. Others simply stood at street corners taking to their friends. And looking into the windows of houses revealed an a whole new realm of mundane, domestic life and activities that was endlessly intriguing to observe.

And of course, it was impossible to walk down any street without at least hearing a street musician.

Radiant Hope couldn’t help but find herself staring at almost everything she saw. It was all just so different from how she had left it. Even when comparing it to her much earlier memories, from when Princess Mi Amore was in power, they still didn’t seem to quite reach the level of openly displayed joy that she was seeing around her.

And it all bothered her because she didn’t know why everypony was so happy.

‘Was Sombra overthrown while I was away?’ Radiant pondered, ‘Oh goodness, is he dead!’

Radiant couldn’t help but gulp in fear of such a thought.

“I am quickly finding it difficult to believe that the pony we are in search of is ruling over this Empire.” Starry Night said.

“As am I, sister,” Sunny Skies said, “But I cannot deny the fact that there is something amiss here. And it is definitely something magical in nature.”

“There must be somepony we can ask.” Radiant said.

“Yes, but it can’t be someplace too public,” Sunny Skies pointed out, “We’d risk getting spotted.”

The three ponies looked around for somepony, anypony, that they could ask about the current situation.

As the sun continued to set, and most ponies went home. They came across a spot that looked promising.

It was a large building, a bit older looking than those around it, seeing as it was made of polished stone and not fully cast crystal. It had many large windows, most with their curtains drawn.

The most important thing about this building though, was the sign that stood right in front of it. The sign read: “Crystal Empire Public Library.”

“This certainly looks promising.” Sunny Skies said with a smile. She very much enjoyed reading as a pastime.

They approached the Library’s front door, only to be greeted by a small sign hanging in the window that read: “CLOSED”.

Radiant sighed. Of course the place most likely to hold the answers to most of their questions was closed.

“It was a nice thought.” Radiant said, mostly to herself.

“It would appear that an alternative means of is required.” Starry Night’s comment got the attention of her two compatriots.

“Sister,” Sunny Skies asked with trepidation, “What do you mean by that?”

Starry Night simply smirked, before closing her eyes and focusing magic into her horn. Her body began to dissipate into a blue cloud of stardust.

Sunny Skies panicked and lit her disguised horn, wrapping her cloudy sister in a gold magic bubble.

“Luna, what are you doing!?” Sunny Skies whispered harshly, forgetting to use fake names.

“We need to get into this library, and you are preventing us from doing so.” ‘Starry Night’ argued.

“Your Highne-Night,” Radiant corrected herself, “What you are doing is breaking into a building. This is illegal!”

“Do you, or do you not want to uncover what is happening here in The Empire?” Luna asked.

The disguised unicorn and alicorn took a moment to consider what Luna was saying. Neither of them wanted to also the intrusion of a public building, but the need for answers and the completion of their task superseded their legal obligations.

‘Sunny Skies’ looked around to make sure nopony was around. She closed her eyes and, with a sigh, let the cloud that was her sister out of the bubble.

The cloud of living stardust slipped through the thin gap between the locked front doors. Once through, the dust re-materialized as ‘Starry Night’ inside the library. She quietly twisted the door handle, and opened the library.

The ‘unicorn’ could barely hold back the smirk on face as she saw the agitated expression upon the face of her ‘pegasus’ sister. It was a look that communicated “Do not. Speak. A single. Word. To anypony. About this. Ever.”

Radiant, however, had an expression of fear and worry that one would expect from a pony on their first time committing a crime. With sweat being to form on her brow, she followed Sunny Skies into the library.

The trio slowly walked past the library’s unoccupied front desk and up the stairs towards the reason (or reasons) that they had broken in there in the first place. Their way was lit only by horn light.

When they got to the top of the stairs, they looked out at the shelves upon shelves of books that filled the dark halls.

“So,” Radiant asked, “What do we do now?”

“We must find anything that can provide us with a better understanding of The Empire’s current state,” Sunny Skies said, looking about the dark shelves.

“The history section would be of the most use.” Starry said.

“Then we get to the history section, and find anything remotely related to Sombra,” Skies ordered, “Who ever finds it first, signal.”

“What if somepony spots us?” Radiant asked, shaking just a little bit.

Sunny was silent for a moment. “Let us try and avoid that possibility.”

And so the three ponies began their search quickly and quietly.

Chapter 5: The Finds

If nothing else, the search of the library was mentally taxing. Obviously searching through any large place in near pitch black conditions is generally difficult, no matter how well organized it is. That wasn’t the only reason it was difficult, however. The hollowing silence of the library, along with the lack of lighting, made the entire ordeal unnerving. The deafening silence made each pony hyper-aware and accentuated every tiny sound. The shadows in their horn-lights seemed to dance and act alive, causing a bit of paranoia to to rear its head. And the seemingly endless maze of bookshelves began to induce a slight sense of claustrophobia.

This was especially true for Radiant Hope, whose fear and anxiety was rising by the second. Her eyes and mind played tricks on her, as she jumped at the movement of the shadows, fearing that something, or more appropriately somepony, would creep out and grab her. At times, she had to put all her willpower into not screaming. It also didn’t help that the library’s layout had changed since she had last been there.

‘It’s all in your head Radiant,’ She constantly assured herself, ‘There’s nothing in this library accept a large number of books...and maybe a night guard...but that’s nowhere near as bad.’

All three ponies continued searching the shelves and shelves of books for anything vaguely related to history.

After about 15 minutes of quietly creeping around corners, finally something changed.

Radiant eventually came across a section of bookshelves that had rows of sectioned studying tables in between the shelves. She looked to the shelves on her right and shined a light on the title of one of the books.

It read: The Complete History of-

That was all Radiant needed to read for her to realize where she was in the library. She nervously looked around her, making sure nopony was nearby. She then focused her magic, seeking out the 2 disguised Princesses. She sent out her signal, and then returned her attention to the history books on the shelves.

Radiant finished reading the title of the book she had first looked at.

The Complete History of Crystal Agriculture

Not what she needed, but again, the fact that she was in the History section was a solid start.

Radiant began slowly walking along the shelf, her eyes carefully scrolling over the titles of every book, searching for that was about The Empire’s more recent history.

She heard hooves quickly, but quietly, hurrying over to where she was. For a moment, Radiant feared that a guard was coming. In a brief panic, she ducked under one of the tables and dimmed her horn-light.

The sounds of the steps got closer and closer. Radiant saw lights shine on the spot she was just standing in a moment ago. She briefly closed her eyes, only listening.

Until, she heard a pair of familiar voices.

“Radiant?”

“Where are you?”

Radiant breathed a sigh of relief. Of course it was Celestia and Luna. Slowly, she crawled out from underneath the table, making sure to not make too much noise.

Luna tilted her head and arched an eyebrow in confusion. “What were you doing under there?” She asked as Radiant rose to her hooves.

“I thought you were night guards,” Radiant sheepishly admitted.

Celestia shook her head, “Never mind that. You did the right thing.” She looked at the shelved books around her, “So this is the History section, is it?”

“Yes,” Radiant confirmed, “I don’t know how big it is overall, but we are in it.”

“Well then,” disguised Luna said, “Let’s get searching.”

The three then began scanning the shelves for any books on The Crystal Empire’s recent history, or Sombra himself.

They came across history books of all kinds. The history of Equestrian military, the history of architecture, and several other odd topics.

It felt almost dream like to Radiant sometimes. She saw so many titles and so many authors that she adored and read endlessly before she left. It took her back to the days when she would spend hours sitting in the library’s original layout. She could feel the ghost of a smile tug at her lips, as she glanced over or skimmed through some of the books.

Sadly none of the books were recent enough. The events they covered only went up to two years before her birth.

“Dang it.” Radiant cursed under her breath. She went on searching.

As she continued searching she noticed a few other things about the new layout of the library. Mainly that the history section was a lot larger than she remembered. And there seemed to be quite the emphasis on the preservation of historical documents and that there be public access to said documents.

This became most apparent when she came across 7 volumes of document transcriptions in a row.

There also seemed to be a recurring theme with these documents.

Many of them were thesis’s or speeches on the ideas of freedom, liberty, personal agency, and happiness. Some were old, some were new. Some were by college students and professors, others by public speakers and politicians.

It was an odd trend for sure, but perhaps it didn’t mean anything.

Radiant groaned at the lack of progress. “Why are none of these copies more recent?” She sighed.

“Well, books do take a long time to write.” Celestia said, as she searched through the shelves on her side.

“Sadly, that is not a helpful fact, considering our situation.” Luna responded, placing a book back on its shelf with an annoyed expression on her face.

“We must keep looking, sister,” Celestia said, extracting yet another book to search through, “There must be at least some semblance of an answer here in this library.”

Luna rolled her eyes, but went on searching.

The trio went on for what felt like an hour. Hoping to find something, and getting nothing in return.

Radiant walked between the towering bookshelves, praying for something, anything, that could help.

She got what she wanted sooner than expected.

As she read over the titles of all the books, she ended up entering a different sub-section of the library.

The books here were thick, but didn’t have proper titles. Instead there were years stamped onto the spine of each one.

Curiously, Radiant looked to the section separator. It simply read: “Newspaper Archives”.

‘Newspapers! That’s it!’ Radiant thought, as she carefully pulled the first “book” of the shelf. The year on the spine was the current year, but strangely there also seemed to be other binders with years yet to pass on their spines. Radiant didn’t think much of it. She magically signaled the Princesses, before turning her attention back to the matter at hoof.

The Princesses approached.

“What did you find, Radiant?” Celestia asked.

“Well,” Radiant began, “These are collections of news stories.”

“Recent information. Finally, something of use in this establishment!” Luna said, earning her an eye roll from her sister. She didn’t notice, though.

Celestia took the binder in her magic, scrutinizing it. “Let’s get this over to a table and have a look inside.” They carried it over to a nearby table, and Radiant slowly lifted the cover.

As Radiant opened the binder, she could feel the preservation spells radiating off the paper. Whoever compiled this clearly wanted to make sure it, and its contemporaries, would stand the test of time.

‘That or the apocalypse,’ Radiant almost found that mental quip funny. She cleared her throat and began looking over the preserved newspaper pages.

She skipped over the first few pages, since they covered the weeks and months before Sombra took over. She went straight to the month, week and day after Sombra’s coup.

She was expecting to see a horrifying picture of Sombra on the front page, accompanied by a shocking headline.

Instead she found a single sheet of paper that read:

“Newspapers were discontinued almost immediately after ‘The Coup’. No drafts of papers to be printed during the age of The Old Regime are believed to exist.

“Newspapers resumed printing with the beginning of ‘The era of Liberation’. All of the following newspapers are from this era.”

The explanation on the paper confused the trio as they read it. What did it mean? It was easy enough to guess that “The Coup” was when Sombra took over. But what was “The era of Liberation”?

“This is...strange to say the least.” Luna said, arching an eyebrow.

Radiant, meanwhile, was starting to get a tad panicky.

‘It doesn’t exist…?’ She thought to herself. Wordlessly she reached out over to the shelf to grab the next binder. She brought it up to her face and read the spine. The year on it was three years later.

Celestia shook her head. Luna rubbed her eyes. Radiant just stared with her mouth agape.

Her pupils shrank and her brain flipped. Three years? How was that even possible. She was aware that it took her one, possibly two months, to get to Celestia and Luna. There was no way in her mind that it took three years to get the Princesses and come back.

She quickly opened the binder. The first paper had a big celebratory front page.

“Newspapers Back in Print!!!” The headline read.

Radiant looked at the date on the corner of the page. Indeed it was three years later.

She quickly flipped a few pages forward. Another headline: “Economic Reform Program Announced!” There was a cartoon of ponies rebuilding a destroyed bank.

Another headline: “Radio Show Ratings are Through the Roof!”

‘What in the world is ‘radio’?!’ Radiant thought in her panic.

Radiant furiously flipped through the pages until she froze on the headline of the last page of the binder. One that made the entire trio go wide-eyed.

The headline was: “Crystal Orphanage receives 60 Million Bit Grant from the Imperial Treasury” The headline alone was shocking, to Radiant especially.

But it was the accompanying photo that really made the three drop their jaws.

There, standing in the photo, was King Sombra.

King. Sombra.

He wasn’t wearing his ermine trimmed cape. Nor was he wearing a large flashy crown. Instead, he had a simple metal headband, with one or two jewels for good measure. As for his clothes, he was wearing a black, cape-top overcoat, and probably a high-end dress suit underneath. The steel armor boots that he always wore were still visible, and he probably had a chest plate under his coat. Still, all things considered, it wasn’t a very “Royal” look

In the picture, Sombra was hoofing over an officially signed, stamped, and sealed Imperial grant to the orphanage caretaker.

Radiant didn’t know who the new caretaker was, but she did recognize an aged Miss Chestnut, the original caretaker, sitting in a chair with a cane next to the younger one.

But strangest of all, ignoring the crown, the clothes, and the hefty sum of money, one thing stood out the most. A detail that would easily be missed if one did not look carefully.

Sombra was smiling.

It wasn’t a cruel, malicious smile, or one of insanity. It was just a simple, small smile.

It was that little smile that officially broke the trio of ponies.

‘How is this happening,’ Radiant questioned frantically ‘Why is this happening? Faust's sake, What is even happening?!’ Radiant was completely in the thralls of confusion as she stared at the photograph with utter-disbelief. Her thoughts were going round and round endlessly, filled with questions that had no answers.

Radiant was so lost in thought that she didn’t immediately feel or hear Celestia nudge her or call her name.

“Radiant? Radiant?” Celestia gave the crystal pony’s side a firm push.

Radiant blinked, and shook her head, turning to look at Celestia.

“Still with us?” The sun alicorn asked.

“Y-Yes,” Radiant said hesitantly, “I’m just a little surprised…and confused.” She looked back at the Newspaper Record shelf. She gulped at the sight of more binders with future years printed on their spines.

“I just don’t understand,” Radiant said, “What happened in the time that I was gone?”

“This perplexes is as well,” Luna said, bringing the page up to her face to scrutinize, “From what you said, Sombra had done some insidious things. Yet, in this picture, he seems to quite charitable.”

Radiant looked around at the many packed shelves. “Maybe there’s an explanation over in-”

“HEY! WHAT’S GOING ON HERE?”

The trio froze, feeling the light being shined on them, and hearing the shout behind them.

Radiant gulped, “Oh dear…”

Author's Note

Sorry this took so long. :twilightsheepish:
Please leave your comments, questions, and concerns below.

Chapter 6: Old Faces

“Don’t you move a muscle!” The night guard ordered. The three disguised ponies, not wanting to be actually arrested, complied.

“Turn around. Slowly! No funny stuff!”

The trio did just as they were told, slowly turning in place to face the night guard.

“Sunny Skies” looked to her sister. She could tell that “Starry Night” wanted to just hit the guard pony with a black-out spell and be done with it, but was choosing not to. For now, at least.

“Now, down on your stomachs. Slowly!”

Sunny Skies looked over the guard as she brought herself to the ground. The light being shined in their faces kept her from making out his face, but it was definitely a unicorn stallion. Judging from his voice, he was in his late 20’s or early 30’s. The aura around him indicated that he was a seasoned magic user.

The night guard walked closer to them, lowering the brightness of the light spell radiating from his horn.

“What, in the name of Faust, are you three doing here at this hour of the night?”

Radiant was shaking. They had been caught. What she had wished wouldn’t happen, did happen. Her imagination started running wild all the terrible things that could happen now.

Sunny Skies answered the guard’s question. “We were looking for a book, good sir.”

“After closing hours, in the middle of the night,” the guard said, “Forgive me if I find that hard to believe.”

“It is the truth.” Starry Night said.

“You’re either rotten book thieves, or procrastinating university students,” the guard snorted, “And I have no tolerance for either of them.” The guard pointed in the general direction of the front door. “Up and out with ya!”

“But, I…I-” Radiant started to protest.

“Ya either leave and fail your class, or stay and get arrested,” the guard cut off, “I don’t care which.”

Radiant’s stress and confusion finally boiled over. “I just want to know what’s going on!!!”

Her voice echoed in the dark, empty library. The two sisters expected the guard to snap back at her with some kind of rebuke. Instead, silence came over the space.

“...Hold on a second,” the guard said, his tone communicating deep though and recollection. The guard moved the ball of light from the tip of his horn to the left of his face. “...Radiant?”

Radiant blinked in surprise. She looked up, and saw something she’d never thought she’d see. A face that she recognized.

“Night Light?” Radiant asked, needing to know if she was right. She was.

“Radiant!” Night Light exclaimed, magically turning on the lights in the history section, “What are you doing here? Where have you been? And why are your colors flipped?”

“I’ve been…away.”

Night Light arched an eyebrow, “Away?”

“It’s complicated,” Radiant said, “What are you doing here?”

“I work here,” Night Light said, “This is my job.”

“You work as a library night guard?” Radiant asked, “I thought you hated reading.”

“Well-”

“Ahem,” Starry Night interrupted, regaining the attention of the two unicorns, “Is it fair of me to assume that you two know each other?”

“Oh, uh, yes,” Radiant replied, “We were classmates occasionally. We weren’t friends, though. More like…acquaintances.”

“Wait, no,” Night Light shook his head, refocusing, “I’m mad at you! Who are these ponies, why did you break into the library, and why are your colors flipped?”

Sunny Skies and Starry Night looked to each other as Radiant looked to them for ideas.

Sunny Skies turned her attention to Night Light. “Well, for your second question, we were looking for information on recent events, as we are in need of clarification and context for the current state of The Empire.”

“And my first question?” Night Light

“In regards to your first question,” Starry looks up to her horn as magic began to swirl around her and her sister. A bright light enveloped the two, causing Radiant and Night Light to shield their eyes.

When the light faded, the security pony looked back to where the tall pegasus and unicorn had been, only to be greeted by a jaw dropping sight.

Standing there before him, barely three paces away, were The Royal Sisters. Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna.

Night Light stood there, dumbstruck. He couldn’t believe his eyes. In fact, he didn’t believe them, as he shook his head and rubbed his eyes.

“Okay, very cute trick. Of course, you do realize now that I’ll have to turn you in. Impersonating Royalty to evade consequences is a serious crime.”

Celestia smiled while Luna frowned.

“Ah, a questioning type,” Celestia commented, “Very good.”

“I hate ponies like this.” Luna grumbled.

Radiant looked to Night Light, “Light, I know this is hard to believe but these are actually Princesses.”

Night Light chuckled, “Riiiight. And I’m a pegasus.”

“Light, I’m serious!” Radiant pleaded.

“Look, Radiant,” Night Light sounded a tad annoyed, “I know that you’re not usually the type to lie, but the only way that these two could convince me that they are the Princesses is if ‘Celestia’ over there teleports me to the surface of the sun, and then ‘Luna’ rockets me to the surface of the moon, climaxing with me getting sling shot right back here to where I stand.”

The two Royal Sisters initially looked shocked by Light’s statement. But they soon turned to each other with mischievous expressions.

“Radiant,” Luna said, walking up to Night Light, “Could you give us a minute.”

“Uh, Princess,” Radiant asked hesitantly, “What are you do-”

“Just stand over there, this shouldn’t take long,” Celestia took a hold of Night Light and gave him a smile, “Hold tight.”

“What are you do-” Celestia, Luna, and Night Light suddenly vanished in a flash.

Radiant had no idea what had just happened. She just stood there in silence, waiting for something to happen.

After about half a minute of standing there, Radiant started to make her way over to a shelf to read a book. Then there was a bright flash, as Celestia and Luna reappeared. Standing between them was a stunned, speechless, shaking Night Light.

Radiant looked to Light, then to the Princesses.

“What did you do to him?” She asked.

“He described what it would take for him to believe that we are who we are,” Luna explained, “So we did exactly that.”

“You wha-” Radiant fumbled over her words, trying to pull together what the Princesses had jus done. “You can’t be serious! Is he going to be alright?”

As if in an attempt to answer her question, Night Light let out a groan, as he started to collapse and fall to the floor.

Celestia caught him, lifting his unconscious body onto her shoulders.

“Oh dear,” the sun Princess said, “I think that might have been a bit much for him.”

“You think so?” Radiant said almost sarcastically.

“Let’s get him onto one of those library couches,” Luna suggested, “See if we can get him to recover as soon as possible.”

“You’re not going to use dream magic on him, are you?” Radiant asked with concern.

“I doubt it would help at the moment,” Luna said plainly, “So no.”

Night Light groaned as his eyes began to open and return him to the realm of consciousness.

He rubbed his head, everything felt fuzzy.

“Oh my head,” Light let out a long yawn as he rubbed his eyes, “Everything aches.”

He blinked a few times to clear his vision, “Oh goodness, that a weird dream. Wait dream? Oh no, did I fall aslee-?”

Light froze. When his vision finally cleared, he was greeted by the sight of the two Royal Alicorn Sisters sitting at a table reading books, and Radiant pacing back and forth in front of the bookshelves containing preserved newspapers.

As if they could sense that he had awoken, all three ponies turned to look at him.

The four ponies just seemed to stare at each other for a while, with Night Light looking between the sisters and Radiant.

His gaze finally settled on Radiant.

“It wasn’t a dream, was it.”

Chapter 8: Living Accommodations

Luna was fairly sure she would have won if Night Light hadn’t come in to abruptly end their card game. Still, they couldn’t stay there forever. So, they donned their disguises and exited the library.

“So, Light,” Radiant asked, “Where do we go from here?”

Night Light straightened out his everyday vest, “I’m gonna go ahead and assume none of you have any Imperial currency, or money in general, right?”

The three disguised ponies looked to one another, none of them being able to say “yes”.

Light sighed. “In that case, it would appear that you guys are staying at my place”

Radiant looked shocked, “Wait, what?”

“It is awfully nice of you to make such an offer,” Sunny Skies said, “But we couldn’t possibly impose upon you-”

“Do any of you have a better idea?” Light asked, receiving silence as an answer again.

“Then follow me,” he said, “My place is a little ways away. Walk quickly, but don’t run. And we get stopped, let me do the talking.”

Light led them down the dark streets. They went past houses filled with the sound of domestic life, and street lanterns glowing in the night.

As the continued past closed up shops, the distant sound of marching hooves came to their ears.

“Wait,” Light stopped walking, as did the rest of the group.”

“What is the matter?” Starry Night asked.

Night Light didn’t say anything.

The sound of marching got louder as it got closer.

“Let’s go this way.” Light turned left on a corner.

“Light, what’s wro-” Radiant began, only for Night Light to cut her off.

“Look, it’s unnecessary stress, time, and excuses. Now do you want to avoid getting caught or what?”

The three disguised ponies complied, and followed Light down the path.

It took them a bit of walking to get to the building, since it was in the outer sectors of the Empire, but they managed to get there. It was a simple two story building that fit right in with many of the other buildings they had passed.

Light walking up to the front door of the building, pulling out his keys and taking hold of the handle. He briefly paused, looking back at the the ponies he had been escorting.

“What is it, Light?” Radiant asked.

“Until we get to my room,” Light said in a slightly hushed tone, “Don’t make a sound.”

“Why?” Radiant questioned.

“Just. Don’t. Okay?”

‘Sunny Skies’ gave a small bow, “We shall be as quiet as possible.”

Night Light nodded, and slowly opened the door. He guided the three ponies into the foyer, before motioning for them to go up a flight of stairs on their right. The trio of newcomers went up first, with Night Light behind them. They were all incredibly quiet, until ‘Starry Night’ put her foot down on a step, and it gave a quite noticeable creak.

Starry almost back pedaled and Light winced. Almost immediately after the stairs groaned, a voice called out from behind the closed door at the bottom of the steps.

“Night Light,” called the voice of an old mare, “Is that you?”

Light sighed. “Yes, Ms. Penny, it’s me.”

“What are you doing back so late?”

“I work the night-shift at the library, remember?”

“Oh,” Ms. Penny said, “Of course. Do forgive me.”

“It’s no problem Ms. Penny,” Night Light began to motion for the rest to keep going.

“Um, Night Light,” Ms. Penny called, “You haven’t brought anypony home with you, have you?”

The three disguised ponies froze, looking to Light, who was tense. He took a breath and looked back to the closed door.

“No, Ms. Penny,” Light assured, “No pony but myself.”

“Alright then,” the elderly mare said, “Sleep well, Night Light.”

“You to, Ms. Penny.” Light quietly hurried his compatriots up the stairs to a door at the top.

“Sorry about that,” Light apologized.

“The fault is mine,” ‘Starry Night’ said.

“We can play the blame game some other time,” Light said, “Right now, let’s get inside.” He fiddled with his keys some more, before he found the one he was looking for. Inserting the key, he unlocked the second door, revealing a dark room inside.

The trio was dubious. “It, uh, looks very cozy.”

“Oh, right,” Light stepped into the doorway, taking hold of a knob attached to a pipe on the wall with his magic, and twisted it, “Forgot to turn the lights on.”

An arrangement of crystals hanging from the roof lit up, illuminating the room.

The trio of disguised ponies looked around the now illuminated room with awe. Specifically at the glowing crystals on the ceiling.

At the Library, they had been too busy figuring out what had happened in the Empire to ask how Night Light lit up the Library. At the time they figured it was just some kind of spell. But this…this was something else.

“Home, Sweet Home,” Light said, letting out a happy sigh, “I’m gonna go wash my muzzle. You guys make yourselves comfortable for a bit.” He made his way over to the washroom.

Radiant and the Princesses slowly walked into the living room.

The room wasn’t the most tidy or neat space any of them had seen, but it certainly wasn’t the messiest. There were a few dirty dishes and cups sharing the coffee table in the center of the room with opened letters and random bits of paper work. There was a small shelf unit positioned under one of the two windows in the room, with house plants placed on the top shelf, close to the window.

On the lower shelves, one could find a collection of small books & novellas. Some were mystery, others adventure, with the thicker books on the bottom shelf being history books.

In regards to furniture there was a single, worn armchair and refurbished couch in the small living room. Both of which were positioned around the coffee table. The fabric was faded and the cushions were a tad disheveled, but the space wasn’t unlivable.

“Well,” Luna said, “I’ll admit, this seems rather cozy.”

“It’s certainly not what I expected,” Celestia confessed, “Then again, much of what we’ve seen and heard today isn’t what we expected.”

The solar Princess turned to their unicorn companion. “What do you think, Radiant?”

Radiant didn’t answer. She was too lost in her thoughts to hear. She was staring at the glowing crystals on the ceiling that lit up the room. The sight of them made her question a lot of things. Aside from them raising the usual questions of “What’s going on here?”, “What’s happening?”, and “What else has changed?”, the crystals also raised another question: “Why do these seem so familiar?”

By all logic, they shouldn’t seem familiar. After all, Radiant had never seen an enchantment where somepony turned a knob on a wall and caused crystals to glow. Yet, they did. The light didn’t feel new. She had seen light like this before. She just couldn’t put her hoof on it.

“Radiant?” The voice of Princess Celestia broke Radiant from her deep train of thought, bringing her back to awareness again.

“You’ve been zoning out often. Are you alright?”

“I…” Radiant put a hoof to her forehead, trying to ease the headache she was giving herself with her endless pondering. “I think I just want to get some rest.”

“Good,” Night Light emerged from the doorway that lead to the bathroom, a towel over his shoulders, “Because I was just about to ask who wanted to sleep where in the living room.”

“Radiant, how about you sleep on the couch,” Celestia proposed.

“Oh, no,” Radiant shook her head, “I couldn’t possibly ask you to sacrifice your comfort for-”

“My sister and I are perfectly capable of making ourselves comfortable elsewhere,” Luna interrupted.

“But…I-”

“You just offered the couch by Royalty,” Night Light interrupted, “Are you going to take it or leave it?”

“Alright, alright,” Radiant caved, making her way to the couch.

“Here,” Night Light tossed her a blanket and pillow.

“Thank you…”

Luna looked to her older sibling. “Now then sister, shall we tough it out to see who gets the chair?”

Celestia smirked. “I don’t see why not.”

But before they could begin whatever competition they had in mind, blankets fell over their heads and pillows were thrown squarely at their faces.

“Luna’s smaller, she gets the chair. Celestia, you’re on the carpet.” Night Light had swiftly intervened.

“What!?” Both sisters responded, clearly somewhat upset.

“My house, my rules, no roughhousing.”

‘Oh by Faust, I just ordered about The Royal Sisters,’ Light thought giddily without change in his stern expression, ‘This is amazing!’

“Very well then,” Luna sighed, slowly walking over to the armchair, while Celestia made herself comfortable on the floor.

Light gave her an extra blanket to be a makeshift mattress.

“Alright then,” Night Light said as he turned off the glowing crystals, “Good night everypony.”

The four ponies then lay down their heads and began drifting off to sleep.

One unicorn mare, however, was finding it difficult to keep her eyes closed. Even if she managed to drift into dream land, she didn’t think she’d like what she’d find there.

Author's Note

Behold! :pinkiegasp: A new chapter! :pinkiehappy: I hope you like it. Oh, and don't worry! If everything goes according to plan, the upcoming chapters should begin the part of the story where the characters (and the audience) begin to learn what happened to the empire.

Also, I've just gotten an idea for a writting contest, but I have no idea how to host one, or if the idea is any good. If you all could provide any insight on the procedures that would be great! :twilightsmile:

Chapter 9: Morning Pleasantries

Radiant Hope awoke in a cold sweat, shivering with fear. Her eyes darted about, trying to remember where she was. Her panic subsided as she realized that she was at Night Light’s house, sleeping on his sofa.

Radiant sighed, shaking her head. Her nightmares had always left her in a shaken state, but on the return trip to the Empire they only seemed to get worse. Little by little, day by day, eating away at her.

‘Stupid, sleep depriving, night terrors,’ Radiant cursed, ‘What time is it anyway?’

It was only when she looked down at the floor that saw, to her horrified amazement, that she had woken up before Celestia.

‘Oh, Sweet Faust, it is beyond too early for this.’

Radiant looked over to the cozy armchair Luna was resting in with some annoyance.

‘You’d think Luna could help the pony sleeping across the room from her.’

Radiant contemplated going back to sleep but decided against it. She figured it wouldn’t be long until the sun rose, with Celestia following close behind. So she slowly got up from her spot on the couch and quietly made her way over to the kitchen area to set up some tea for the morning. She found the kettle in one of the cabinets and filled it with water from the sink. She moved to set it to boil, only to find that she had no idea where to do that.

“Would you like me to show you how to use the stove?”

Radiant almost jumped and dropped the kettle she was carrying.

“Oh, Night Light, it’s just you,” Radiant breathed with relief, “Goodness, you scared me.”

“And you wouldn’t be up at this hour if you weren’t.” Night Light commented.

“Well, I…guess I didn’t have the most restful sleep,” Radiant admitted, “Being back here brings back memories…and not all of them good ones.”

“I hear that,” Night Light took the kettle in his magic and set it down on the stovetop he had mentioned earlier. He then turned a knob on the large metal box and with a click, a few small flames came up under the kettle.

Light eventually noticed Radiant looking on in amazement.

“A lot has changed since you upped and left.”

“I can see that.”

“Good,” Light said, as he pulled a box of tea and a bag of coffee grinds from the cabinet above the sink, “You can start compiling a list of questions you’d to ask.”

“So that I can have them answered, correct?”

“Correct.”

Light motioned over to a chair in the corner of the small open kitchen that was close to Radiant, as he took a seat in one that was opposite to it.

The two unicorns sat down waiting for the kettle to whistle.

“Do you usually get up this early?” Radiant asked.

“No,” Light confessed, “Not so early that Celestia herself is still asleep.”

The two couldn’t help but chuckle at the reality of that comment.

“Goodness, you’ve definitely changed,” Radiant said, as her amusement died down

“Really now?”

“You weren’t this sociable back in the day.”

Radiant’s face couldn’t help but fall a little. Those four words: “Back in the day,” made her sound old. Heck, they made her feel old. Yet here she was. A unicorn mare in her mid to late 20’s talking to a pony who, judging from the newspapers, should at least be in his 50’s, but appeared to only be in his late 20’s or early 30’s.

Radiant looked to Night Light. “The ponies you’re going to take us to see today,” she said, “They’ll answer all my questions?”

“Better than I can.” Night Light admitted.

It was at that moment that the kettle began to slowly build up its whistle. Both of the Princesses began to stir, wincing and turning in their blankets.

“Once we’ve all had breakfast, I can take ya to the ponies we need to meet.” Night Light said, placing 4 mugs on the counter.

Luna and Celestia groaned as they couldn’t help but wake up at the sound of the kettle.

“I’m kind of scared what the answers will be.” Radiant admitted.

“Odds are you’re not going to like them,” Night Light said, “But, that’s the truth for ya: It’s unpleasant.”

Night Light looked over to the waking princesses, then over to the kettle.

“Speaking of unpleasant.” Light turned off the heat, silencing the kettle.

The Royal Sisters slowly rose to their hooves. They looked over to Night Light with dry eyes.

“Morning,” Light greeted simply, “Bathroom is that way. Tea or coffee?”

“Tea, two shots of honey.” Celestia groaned.

“Coffee, black.” Luna grumbled.

After coaxing Luna to get off the armchair she had been happily sleeping on, having breakfast, and having the Princesses and Radiant dawn their disguises, the four ponies went out into the streets, Night Light leading the way.

“They don’t usually congregate in the morning,” Night Light said, “But considering the questions you all probably want to ask, it’s best to head over a little early.”

As they went through the daylight streets, Radiant watched as ponies went about their morning business.

Ponies happily went up and down the streets, picking up coffee at shops that hadn’t existed before she left, dropping off their goals at whatever school they were enrolled in, before going to work wherever it was they were employed. All the while, the sounds of music being played could be heard from every open window of every house.

It all seemed remarkably mundane.

Too mundane, considering the state the Empire was in when she left.

It felt like she was in some kind of hypnotic dream.

So hypnotic in fact, that she didn’t immediately notice the duck sounding horn being honked behind her.

“Hey, I’m trying to drive here!”

The shout made Radiant scramble to the sidewalk, just in time to see a closed black carriage, pulled by nopony, drive by.

Light rushed over to help Radiant to her hooves. “Crazy drivers. You alright?”

“T-That carriage, it-”

“Didn’t have any pony pulling it. Yes. Welcome to the future.”

There was something off about the entire situation. And if she was right, they were on their way to get answers.

“Um, Light?”

“Yes, Radiant?”

“If I may, who exactly are going to see?”

There was a pause as Night Light gave a sigh. “We’re going to see some storytellers.”

Chapter 10: Where the Storytellers Live

The four ponies came to an old house on the far side of town.

Night Light climbed the steps to the front door, his three disguised compatriots following behind him. With a deep breath, he knocked on the door in a rhythmic pattern.

About a minute later, an oak-wood brown unicorn with a thick, groomed, gray handlebar mustache and beard, graying, low cut, blonde mane, and tail, opened the door.

It was another face that Radiant recognized.

‘Dusty Pages?’ Radiant thought.

“Good morning, Dusty,” Night Light greeted.

‘The old professor from the Crystal Empire Graduate Preparatory School!’ Radiant thought, trying to keep her realization to herself.

“It’s been a while since you’ve been around to visit,” the professor said, scrutinizing Night Light.

“Well, I’ve been busy doing my job,” Light responded, “May we come in?”

“We?”

“*sigh*, I brought along some friends.”

Light stepped to the side, allowing the professor behind to see his three tag-a-longs.

“Well as long as you all promise to behave yourselves.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Please, come inside all of you,” the older unicorn said, “I was about to make some crumpets.” They followed the professor into the house, Radiant being more cautious than the others.

The interior was vastly different from Night Light’s living situation. It was suitable for a professor. There were plenty of bookshelves, filled with literature on a variety of academic subjects. There were proper door ways that separated most of the rooms. It wasn’t anything spectacular but it was more of a house than Night Light’s dwelling, which was more of a large attic.

Dusty lead them to the kitchen, where a cup of tea sat on the table.

“So,” the professor said, “To what do i owe the pleasure of this visit?”

“Professor Pages,” Night Light started, letting out a sigh, “I have a biography and would like to see the editor.” Night Light said, to the confusion of the still disguised Radiant and Princesses.

Dusty’s face became very stern and serious. He glared at Radiant and the Princesses, then back at Night Light.

“Are you sure they’re trustworthy?” He asked in a hushed tone.

“I’m beyond sure,” Night Light assured, “Now: I’d like to see the editor.”

Keeping an eye on Night Light’s accompaniment, Dusty slowly went over to one of the locked cabinets close to the sink. Using his magic he reached into his pockets and pulled out a key.

Inserting the key into the lock he twisted it and revealed an empty cabinet. He then reached in, grabbed a hidden handle on the floor of the cabinet, and pulled up revealing a hidden staircase.

Radiant, ‘Sunny Skies’, and ‘Starry Night’ all looked on in surprise.

Dusty stepped aside.

“Guests first,” he said, motioning towards the hidden passageway.

Slowly, the four ponies crawled in and started their way down.

After about a minute of going down the dim steps, they eventually reached the bottom. And through a narrow hallway they

It was a large room, filled with chairs, arranged in a semicircle. It was like a little theatre, only there was no discernible stage. There were dim crystal lights along the walls, collectively providing enough light to adequately light the space.

“Welcome,” Dusty said, “To The Citizens’ Historical Memory Society.”

“Now who, might I ask,” Dusty pointed to the three ponies that Night Light had brought along, “Are you?”

The four ponies looked to each other, with Night Light looking to Dusty Pages.

“Professor, you’re gonna want to sit down…”

After helping the professor recover from a serious case of hyperventilation, Radiant, Night Light, and The Royal Sisters managed to get Dusty to the point where he could speak calmly and clearly.

“The Princesses…Here…In my basement…This is quite awkward.”

“Um…Professor Pages,” Radiant spoke up.

“And Radiant,” the Professor exclaimed, “You disappeared for so long most thought you were dead. Where did you go?”

“I went to get the Princesses.”

“Why?”

“That can be discussed later,” Celestia interrupted, “Right now we have something to ask of you, Professor Dusty Pages.”

Dusty stood to attention, looking up at the Solar Princess.

“Of course, what do you require?”

“We seek an updated history of The Crystal Empire regarding recent events,” Luna explained, “Oddly, we could not find anything in the library.”

Dusty Pages rubbed the back of his neck. “That would make sense, considering how most books that contain The Empire’s most recent histories are still being drafted.”

“Can you fill in the information gap?” Radiant asked.

“Personally, no,” Dusty admitted, “There are so many layers to it that I couldn’t adequately cover the topic.

The three roaming ponies almost sighed with disappointment and dismay.

“However,” Dusty continued, “I am aware of who can.”

Radiant perked up. “Who?”

“I’d have to call a large early meeting, but I can have some of the other members fill in the blanks.”

Radiant couldn’t help but hug her old professor.

“Thank you, Sir! Thank you!”

“My pleasure,” Dusty coughed.

Radiant released Dusty who looked over to Night Light.

“Night Light, I’m putting you on record keeping for this meeting.”

“What?” Night Light protested, “You mean you still haven’t filled that position? I haven’t even been to one of these meetings in months!”

“When you turn in your thesis, Night Light, then you can complain.”

“*sigh*, Yes Sir.”

“Right,” Dusty Pages said, “I’m off to call a meeting!” He ran off up the secret stairs to reach his writing desk and begin drafting a statement.

Radiant was bubbling was bubbling with nervous anticipation. Finally, she was going to get her questions answered. Although, she feared that she may not like what she would hear.

Ponies of all kinds gathered in the secret meeting room. Some were excited to be there. Others were confused or grumbles about the surprise invitation. Some worried that something terrible had happened, and others were indifferent.

Dusty Pages walked up to the room and addressed the assembly.

“Friends, I have called this emergency meeting today because there has been an interesting development.”

There were some murmurs in the crowd as Dusty spoke.

“There have been some special arrivals in The Empire, and they have requested our help.”

Confusion continued to build in the audience.

“I’ll let them introduce themselves.”

Everyone’s confusion turned to shock as none other that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna walked into view and stood before them.

There was star studded silence as everyone in the audience tried to process the sight before them. One pony raised their hoof to ask a question.

“Yes, they are the real thing, not imposters.” Dusty answered before the pony could ask.

The silence didn’t last much longer, as soon after Dusty answered, the room erupted into a frenzy of joyful shouting, hyperventilation, and a barrage of questions, all at once.

“Order! Order!” Dusty called. Sadly no one was listening.

Then Celestia lifted up her front right hoof, and brought it back down onto the floor. The echoing *slam* silenced the entire room.

Dusty could only sigh, “Thank you.”

‘This is like teaching lecture classes all over again,’ the professor thought.

The pony who had raised their hoof earlier rose again.

“Yes?” Dusty called.

“Who’s that trying to hide behind Princess Luna?” The pony asked.

Dusty looked over and could clearly see who it was from he stood.

“*Sigh* Alright can we keep the freaking out to a minimum this time?” The professor requested.

Out from behind the Lunar Princess, Radiant Hope slowly stepped into view.

Rather than causing a ruckus though, Radiant’s appearance instead elicited a quiet gasp from the assembly, and question filled murmurs went around the room.

“I am aware that you all probably have a lot of questions, but those will have to wait,” Dusty said, regaining the assembly’s attention, “At this time they have requested that we help them fill in the blanks and explain what has happened here in the Empire up to this day.

“Does anyone want to start us off?”

There was silence for a moment, until somepony in the back called out, “I will.”

They walked to the front of the room. They were an old, but apparently fit Earth Pony. His complexion had apparent wrinkles, but his body wasn’t out of shape. His white coat and trimmed black mane made him easy to see in the dim space.

“My name is Charcoal, and I'm one of the oldest ponies here.”

The professor, Princesses, and Radiant walked from the front of the room to a set of empty chairs reserved for them.

Charcoal walked to the front of the room, and faced the assembly. He cleared his throat and prepared to tell his story…

Author's Note

This is where the cronology of the story gets weird...Sorry.

Chapter 7: A Short Story

Radiant, Celestia, and Luna (having long dropped their disguises) all sat on the library sofa while Night Light paced back and forth in front of them. At this point he had developed a pattern. He would pace left and right, mumbling to himself for a while. Then he would sit down and rub his temples, maybe close his eyes or stare off into space while doing so, before returning to pacing and mumbling.

After watching this routine for about a minute-or-so, Radiant cleared her throat. “Uh, not to be rude Light, but your pacing is getting a bit annoying.”

Light whirled around to face her. “I’m sorry, I’m just trying to process an insane amount of information here!” He snapped, “Not only do you disappear, out of the blue, for years, you come back out of nowhere.

“On top of that, you also bring along the two highest figures of authority in all of Equestria! Please tell me you realize how ludicrous and absurd that is!”

“Look, I get it! You have questions! But I’m pretty sure I have more than you and that they’re a lot bigger,” Radiant shouted, “So can you please stop pacing so that we can both get the answers we want?”

A blue aura surrounded the two bickering ponies, and lifted them up and away from each other. They kicked and struggled in the air before realizing who was doing it.

The two unicorns looked to Luna, who regarded them with an unamused look and an arched eyebrow.

“Are you two done?” The Lunar Princess asked.

“Yes, Your Highness.” The two unicorns said, as if they had just been scolded by their mother.

“Good.” Luna places the two unicorns back on the ground.

“Now, how about we work out our problems peacefully, so that we can all get what we want?” Celestia looked to Radiant, “Radiant why don’t you go first?”

Radiant looked to Celestia in confusion. “What? Why me?”

“Because I have the distinct feeling that his questions are easier to answer than yours.”

Radiant sighed, and looked over to Night Light.

“I’m guessing you want to where I’ve been, how I got back, and why the Princesses accompanied me?”

“Well, yeah,” Light confirmed.

Radiant pulled over two chairs and a small table with her magic. She motioned for Light to take a seat.

“Well then, brace yourself,” Radiant said, calling on her memory to recall everything it could, “I think it started the night after I got my acceptance letter from Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns…”

She told him everything.

She told him why she ran from The Empire. Why she sought out the Princesses in the first place

She told him how she trudged through the frozen tundra and camp out in caves. How she pressed through thickets, hillsides, and mountain cliffs, all in order to reach The Royal Sisters.

She told him how she pleaded for their help. How the three went back through the lands she traversed to reach The Empire. The snow wave, the running, the wild beasts she had to avoid.

She capped her story off by briefly summarizing their entry into The Empire and what they saw before entering the library.

Night Light stood there dumbfounded.

Radiant simply waited for him to respond.

“Okay,” Night Light said, “If it weren’t for the fact that I know that you’re a well meaning friend, the first part of the story, the whole reason you went and got the Princesses, would probably force me to have you arrested for conspiracy against the crown.”

“That actually leads into what I was going to ask,” Radiant said, trying to condense all her questions into one, “What happened in the time that I was gone?”

Light rubbed the back of his neck, “That’s a simple question with a not so simple answer.”

“Well,” Celestia roze from the couch, “Would you happen to know where we could get the answers we seek?”

Light thought for a moment, “l…I think I might…”

Radiant practically jumped over to him, “Really! Where?”

“Calm down,” Light pushed her back and down into a chair, “I can’t take you there right now.”

“Why not?” Radiant questioned.

“Because they aren’t meeting tonight!”

“...‘They’?” Luna asked.

Night Light sighed, “Look, it’s complicated. I can definitely take you tomorrow. Until then, you’ll have to wait.”

Radiant bore a look of disappointment, “Alright…but I better get the answers I’m looking for!”

“I’m fairly sure you will,” Light said, “For now, until my shift is over, you can wait in the staff office.”

Night Light lead them back towards the front of the library, over to a door that read “Staff Only”. He pulled out a key and unlocked the door

“In ya go,” Light said holding it open for the trio.

The three ponies walked into the lit room and took seats around the table in the middle.

“My shift ends in 15 minutes, so…don’t destroy anything, okay?”

“Wait,” Radiant called before Light closed the door, “What will we do for 15 minutes?”

“Uh,” Night scratched his chin before pointing to a shelf, “We’ve got chess and cards over by the lockers. Do what you will with that.” He then closed the door and walked off into the library to return to his job.

“‘Lockers’?” Luna questioned, as she turned in her seat, only to see a line of small metal closets.

“I’m guessing that those are the lockers.” Radiant said, a bit unsure of herself.

“And if that’s the case,” Celestia reached over to a shelf on the wall, “Then these must be the chess set and card deck.”

Celestia opened the box housing the cards, and began to use her magic to shuffle them in the air. “How about a nice game of 8’s?”

Author's Note

Sorry that this took so long to get out. I've been busy with life, school and other projects

Also due to my new project, "The Long Nightmare", Expect updates on this story to be slow, or for this to go into hiatus.

Have a lovely day everyone! :twilightsmile:

Grief

“You can’t save them…”

“You couldn’t save them…”

“You won’t save them…”

“You can’t save them…”

“You couldn’t save them…”

“You won’t save them…”

“You can’t…”

“You couldn’t…”

“You won’t…”

“You can’t…”

“You couldn’t…”

“You won’t…”

“Can’t…”

“Couldn’t…”

“Won’t…”

“Can’t…”

“Couldn’t…”

“Won’t…”

“Can’t…”

“Couldn’t…”

“Won’t…”

“Can’t…”

“Couldn’t…”

“Won’t…”

…

“YOU WILL NEVER SAVE THEM!!”