Three weeks has passed since Moon Dancer had been given her first test.
Her tower had become a laboratory of sorts, filled with new books of the occult she had been stealing or buying. Sadly, none of them were reliable, and even the book of necromancy she used to summon Suok turned out to be a watered-down version of a real book of necromancy. Still, it was the best she had, and the best she would ever get by herself.

It was due to this that she kept failing her test repeatedly.
“Being a necromancer would’ve been easier,” she exclaimed with frustration as she walked up to the table where the fox’s body was lying down. “Okay, one more time.”

Moon Dancer lit her horn and lifted her right leg, and the white talons sprout out of the scars as her magical aura connected all the tips with a bright white line.
She placed her hoof on top of the fox’s chest, and started to recite the incantation she had been piecing together with the knowledge she had gathered.
A magical circle appeared around the fox, filling the tower with light, and at the center of it an image of an open eye appeared. Inside it was a glyph surrounded by a strange ancient writing that Moon Dancer was still trying to fully decipher.
The unicorn infused more of her magic into the magical circle, activating the rune and the writings around it. The fox’s body started to glow, and its lungs started to fill with air.
Moon Dancer slowly diminished her magical influx, hoping that the spell would be maintained without her efforts.
Suddenly, the air escaped from the fox’s lungs, and the its paw twitched.
Moon Dancer watched as her test subject slowly stood up, and looked up at her with cold, dead eyes.

The unicorn sighed. “Another failure.” She cut off her magic, and the fox fell on the table, back to being an inert corpse.

Thorax walked through the caves beneath Canterlot, constantly looking around in case some other changeling found him carrying a small covered basket. He picked up the pace and took the shorter route towards the cells, trying to be as silent as possible.
When he finally saw the guard he was meant to replace, he hid the basket behind some rocks and calmly walked up to him. “Your shift is over; you can go and rest.”

“Finally.” The changeling exclaimed as he gave his weapon to Thorax. “This is so boring. She just lays there, and I have to constantly check that she didn’t die in her sleep.”

“I could take your shift if you wanted,” Thorax offered, and the changeling looked at him suspiciously.

“Working two shifts for a prisoner? Do you have secret intentions with miss princess?”

Thorax face did its best to show a blush despite his black chitinous skin. “What?! No! What would I even–?”

The changeling laughed. “Forget it. You’re right, what would a softy like you do to a defenseless alicorn? However, as much as I would like to, you will have to ask the captain first. I suggest getting your brother to do it.”

“Will do,” Thorax responded, and the guard quickly left the room, wanting nothing more than to find a bed to rest. After making sure the coast was clear, Thorax went for the basket and walked up to the door of the cell.
Calling it a cell was kind of a stretch. They had simply covered a dead-end in the tunnels with their sap to make a wall that parted open with their changeling magic.
Thorax wasted no time entering the room, and immediately saw the pink alicorn of love laying on the floor. Her mane and coat were dirty and disheveled, but other than that, she seemed to be in healthy condition. One part because of her alicorn biology, and the other being Thorax’s actions. “I managed to get some more food this time, but it’s mostly bread. I hope you don’t mind.”

The alicorn’s response was to grab the basket with her hooves and start scarfing down the rations the changeling had brought to her, something he had been doing since she was captured.
Thorax simply waited patiently for her to finish eating, making sure to put any crumbs or leftovers inside the basket to leave no evidence of his actions.
After passing everything down with a large gulp of water, Cadence gave the hamper back to the changeling while muttering an almost inaudible “thank you”.
Thorax just nodded and walked to the door, but a mildly ragged voice stopped him.
“I know that you don’t have some ulterior motive. But I need to ask… why are you doing this?”

Thorax took some time to respond, but when he did, he looked at her in the eyes with complete honesty. “It feels wrong to just do nothing.”

Cadence’s lips formed a very small smile, and she did her best to give him a clearer thank you. Thorax nodded and walked out of the cell, closing the door behind him.

“Sleeping beauty finally decided to join the waking world.”

“Shut up Dawn,” Nightmare said with annoyance as her body appeared in the mindscape. “Stopping your little rampage and then healing Sunset from Luna’s attacks wasn’t easy.”

“I told you to not break the seals. You fucked us both.”

“We already took out Celestia, and Luna will soon fall too. This is just a minor setback.”

“Is that the punchline?”

“Sorry, do you have any ideas for how we can get what we both want?”

“No, so I will just keep pointing out your mistakes for now.”

Nightmare growled and laid down on her paper bed, trying to come up with a plan that could remedy the situation.

“So, now that we’re alone, what’s the plan Twilight?” Rainbow asked as the six friends traveled to the gala inside a carriage driven by Spike and two stallions they had hired.

Twilight took out a copy of the castle’s blueprints Cadence had managed to get for her and set it in the middle of the carriage. “Our priority is to get the Elements of Harmony. That will be your job Rainbow. You’re the fastest of us, so if a guard spots you or you accidentally set off an alarm you will be able to escape.” She then pointed at a room near the center of the castle. “Normally the vault would only open with Celestia’s magic, but since she’s still hiding, Luna had to break the vault open to get them. There is some sort of security in place, but it won’t be insurmountable.”
Twilight pulled a small bag out of her dress and handed it to Rainbow. “I charged these runes with some spells that should help you disable alarms, guards or locks, there’s a list with instructions inside.”

Rainbow saluted. “Got it. I won’t fail.”

Twilight nodded and turned to Fluttershy. “Since you’re our other flyer, I want you to look for Sunset in the dungeons of the castle.” The purple unicorn pointed at a small area at the bottom of the castle. “If you get spotted, pretend to be lost. The kitchens were destroyed during Luna’s supposed coup, so they moved them to a room close to the dungeons. It’s your best alibi.”

“What do I do if I find her?” Fluttershy asked.

Twilight pulled out a small crystal from her dress that was glowing with an orange aura. “This crystal contains a strong dispel spell. Sunset will surely have a magic restrainer on her horn, so just put this against it and it will deactivate it. Tell Sunset everything that we know and see if she agrees to escape with us or if she has a plan. Either way, tell her she has our full support.”

“Okay. I will do it,” Fluttershy said, taking the crystal.

Twilight nodded and continued explaining the plan. “I will be standing next to Luna during the night, making sure she doesn’t suspect anything, and I will send a message to all of you if she does.”

“What will we do?” Applejack asked, pointing at herself Pinkie and Rarity.

“We can’t all disappear from the party without raising suspicion, so you three will need to stay in the ballroom and keep appearances. However, if you see the chance to get more information about what’s going on with Sunset or anypony in the castle, don’t waste it. There’s still a lot we don’t know,” Twilight explained.

“Well, if there’s somepony who would know more than the average noble, it would be Prince Blueblood. I’m sure I can get him to talk about everything that’s been going on,” Rarity proposed as she made sure her hair and dress were in perfect condition.

“I can tell a lie from three meters away, so if I get somepony talking at the stand, I will be sure that they aren’t hiding something,” Applejack chimed in.

“And I will make sure that everypony is distracted with the party! Nopony will suspect a thing,” Pinkie declared valiantly.

“Very well.” Twilight took a deep breath to calm her nerves. “We’re really doing this.”
She looked at the determined faces of all her friends and steeled her resolve. “Thank you for being here. I couldn’t do this without any of you.”

Rainbow smiled. “Don’t worry Twilight, we have your back.”

“We’re here,” Spike announced as the carriage stopped.

Twilight sighed and stood up. “Good luck everypony.”

One by one, the six mares left the carriage and started their march towards the castle.

At the top of the tallest mountain in Canterlot, Sunset was watching the castle glow with the lights of the Gala.

“Every guard will be busy keeping an eye on the guests, and Luna has to welcome each of them as they arrive.” Sunset thought as she tore off the last bandage covering her body, showing no scars on her coat. “It’s the perfect moment.”
She looked to her right, where Philomena was sitting in wait. “Will you guide me?”
The phoenix gave a little nod before taking off towards the castle, and Sunset summoned her wings before following her.

As soon as they entered the ballroom, Twilight and her friends split up.

Rainbow made a quick scan of the room until she spotted one of the Wonderbolts and walked over to him. “Hey Soarin, remember me?”

The Wonderbolt looked at her, not remembering which of the fans he had met she was, until he noticed the crown on her head. “I do! Rainbow Dash, right?”

“The one and only! The fastest pony in Equestria.” Rainbow said with pride.

“I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

“Yeah, I’m just that awesome. Are the rest of your team here?”

“Yes, they are in the VIP area,” Soarin said pointing behind him.

“Would you mind taking me with them? I would love to catch up with you all,” Rainbow asked, doing her best impression of Rarity.

Soarin looked conflicted. “I don’t know. It is for VIPs.”

Rainbow snorted. “And who would be more important than the fastest flyer in Equestria and the Element of Loyalty who ended the eternal night.”

Soarin laughed. “Can’t argue with that. Come, I will tell them to let you in.”

Rainbow followed him with a smile and made sure that the guards had seen her entering to the VIP section with the Wonderbolt.

Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie was running around the party, making a full 5D map of the place in her mind so she knew every possible entrance and exit. And once she was done, she gave a small signal to Fluttershy while she walked to the musicians that were playing for the guests.
She quickly whispered to each of them before going for a microphone and giving it a few taps to test that it worked.

“C'mon, everypony! I know what will make you shake those groove-thangs!” She shouted through the mic before the musicians started to play the music she had requested.

“You reach your right hoof in
You reach your right hoof out
You reach your right hoof in
And you shake it all about
You do the Pony Pokey meeting lots of folks with clout
That's what I'm talking about”

As her loud song caught the attention of everypony, Fluttershy sneaked through one of the doors and went deeper into the castle.

On the gardens of the castle, Applejack had put up a stand to sell her merchandise in a precise spot that let her overlook the entire garden where the guests were gathering, including the night-guards that patrolled both land and air.
“The security seems to be tighter on the outside of the castle. Are they making sure that ponies stay in, or do they want to keep somepony out?” She wondered before one pony asked for one of her products. Twilight had shared some popular recipes from Canterlot’s restaurants, and the farm mare had managed to replicate them with her apples. It was unpleasant for her to do this instead of her usual foods, but she couldn’t deny that they were working. “Sunset was right, these ponies only care about the looks.” After making her sell, she spotted Rarity approaching Prince Blueblood.

Before the fashionista could present herself, Blueblood turned around to face her with a smile. “Well hello, I am Prince Blueblood.”

Rarity smiled and made herself look flattered, which wasn’t hard for her. “I am–”

“Rarity Belle, the Element of Generosity, hero of Equestria and a very talented dress designer,” the stallion interrupted her before taking her hoof and giving it a small respectful kiss. “It’s an honor to meet you in person.”

Rarity was surprised at the attitude of the prince. “Didn’t Sunset call him a pampered idiot?” “I’m surprised you know so much about me.”

“Who wouldn’t want to know more of the most beautiful of the Elements?” Blueblood asked, looking at her eyes.

Rarity tried to not blush at his words. “You flatter me so much.”

“Do you wish for me to stop saying the unquestionable truths of the world?” the prince asked with an elegance that was everything Rarity had imagined him to be.

“I– I may want to hear some more,” Rarity managed to answer despite the effects of his advances.

“Then allow me to give you a tour of the gardens, I’m sure that a fine mare like yourself will be able to appreciate the work that it’s put to preserve its beauty,” Blueblood said standing at her side.

“I would love to,” Rarity answered with a dreamy smile.

Back in the castle, Twilight was slowly approaching Princess Luna, who was standing in front of a large line of guests who were waiting to be received by their new ruler.

“Welcome to the Grand Galloping Gala,” Luna said to one of the guests with regal formality, but her voice sounded hollow and lacking emotion, making her appear soulless.

“Princess Luna! It’s been so long since I’ve seen you,” the purple unicorn said as she stood a half meter at her side.

“It has, Sparkle,” the princess said with a totally different tone of voice, but she didn’t look happy with her presence. “Are you enjoying the Gala?”

Twilight smiled. “I am, but I wanted to spend some time with you.”

“If it’s about my sister or Sunset, I’m afraid this is not the place to ask such questions.”

“What a surprise,” one of the guests said with clear animosity before walking into the party.

“I’m sure he didn’t really mean that,” Twilight said with sympathy for the princess.

“They’re just words Sparkle. They’ve said worse and they can’t hurt me,” Luna said, going back to her emotionless tone.

Back in the VIP section, Rainbow Dash had finished introducing herself to all the Wonderbolts she hadn’t met already, and when she was sure everypony could say she was with them, she sneakily got out of the ballroom through a window.
Rainbow then took off her dress and hid it in the castle’s masonry before flying up to another window, making sure to stay in the shadows so no guard could see her. Once she was inside again, she flew close to the ceiling of the hallways, making her way towards the vault.
She ran into a couple of patrols, but she managed to remain hidden and move away before she was spotted, however, it was keeping her away from her objective, and the more time she spent outside of the Gala, the chance of somepony realizing she was gone increased.
“Come on, where are you?” she grumbled before taking a turn, and she finally saw the vault.

It was at the other side of a long hallway, with six night-guards along its sides, standing firm and vigilant. The vault itself had its door torn open, but somepony had put up a magical barrier on the hole, and its shimmering blue color told Rainbow that it was probably Luna’s magic.

The pegasus took cover behind the corner and pulled out the bag Twilight had given her. “Let’s see if this works,” she said before putting one of the runes against her forehead, muttering a few words to activate it. The magical item glowed and a white mask covered Rainbow’s face and changed her colors to a dull grey, hiding her identity and keeping her head isolated from any outside hazards.
She then took out three runes with the same sigil written on them, and after saying a few incantations, she threw them close to the guards.
The thestrals ears detected the sound and immediately went on alert, two of them walking over to the source of the sound while the other four stood in place with their weapons drawn.
Rainbow took out two more runes and stood at the ready.

When the two guards reached the small stones the pegasus had thrown, the runes shined brightly and exploded into three big clouds of green gas. The two bat ponies started choking, and Rainbow immediately dove inside the mist, putting both runes against their foreheads, sending them to sleep.
Three of the remaining four guards started shooting their crossbows at the cloud while the last one pulled out a horn to sound the alarm, but Rainbow threw a rune at him that created a silence bubble, preventing the call for reinforcements. The three guards reloaded their crossbows and took aim at the pegasus, but Rainbow was faster, and flung another rune at them that sent a strong electrical discharge, shocking the three thestrals until they fell unconscious on the floor.
Rainbow saw the last guard charge at her with a sword in his mouth, so she dove down, barely dodging the blade, and sent a powerful double kick upwards towards his jaw, knocking him into the ceiling and leaving him out cold.

With the living security dealt with, Rainbow now had to break an alicorn powered shield.
“Let’s hope this works,” she said pulling some runes out.

Rarity was walking alongside Blueblood as he explained the castle’s history to her, along with all the artist and architects that had turned every corner of it into a piece of art.

“I just don’t get it, he’s being such a gentlecolt, did Sunset met him during a bad day?” the mare thought as they slowly approached the ballroom.
“I must say, you’ve made this night so delightful.”

“It brings me joy that you consider me such good company,” Blueblood said with a smile.

“Yes, it is a far cry from what I’ve heard of you. One clearly can’t judge a pony before meeting them.”

The prince looked a bit embarrassed at her words. “Yes, my younger years weren’t my best, I must admit. Luckily, with time, one can learn and mature.” Rarity nodded in agreement, and then Blueblood asked a question. “Who was it that gave you that impression of me? I would like to meet them and show them that I’m no longer such pony.”

Rarity got a bit nervous, but managed to hide it well. “Oh, it was a friend of mine.”

“One of the elements?” The prince questioned.

“No, it was… Sunset Shimmer.”

Suddenly, the mood of the stallion seemed to sour at the name. “Oh, yes. Her.”

“Oh, I’m aware that your encounter was less than pleasant, but I’m sure that she would regret it if she met this new you,” Rarity said, trying to salvage the situation.

“I sincerely doubt it,” The prince said with disdain. “Unlike me, that mare is incapable of maturing. And that immaturity was what ended her life in end,” he added before entering the ballroom.

Rarity was shocked at his words, her jaw hanging low and unladylike. “What? How can he be so–?”

“He has been lying to you all night,” Applejack said, walking up to her side. “He’s hiding something behind all that gentlecolt nonsense.”

Rarity’s shock turned to anger. She not only had been played; she had wasted a lot of time caught in the stallion’s fake charms. “Come with me, we will get the truth out of him.”

“Right behind yah,” Applejack said before following her to the ballroom.

Fluttershy had found much less patrols than Rainbow during her infiltration, and her skittish and nervous nature kept her extremely alert and on guard, avoiding any confrontation like her life depended on it.
“Come on Fluttershy, you’re almost there,” she told herself to keep a brave face, but she was still shaking.

After descending a flight of stairs, she spotted the big iron doors that lead to the dungeons of the castle. She flew up to them and took out some lockpicks hidden in her dress.
Gilda had been teaching them all how to pick locks during the weeks leading to the Gala, wanting to help even if she couldn’t participate in the heist.
It took a few tries, but after a lot of effort, she finally heard the click of the lock, and she let out a sigh of relief.

“Fluttershy?” a voice asked behind her, taking her by surprise.
In a fit of panic, she pulled out the dispelling crystal and chucked it at the pony that had sneaked up on her.
The crystal bounced off the face of Cadence, who just blinked in confusion.

“Oh, I’m sorry princess, I thought you–” Fluttershy lost her words as the alicorn was engulfed in an orange light, and her body transformed into a tall, dark insectoid figure, staring down at her with fierce green eyes.

“You just made a very large mistake,” Chrysalis growled.

“Excuse me Prince Blueblood, but I would like to talk a bit more about your opinion of my friend,” Rarity said as she walked up to the stallion, Applejack standing close by and listening.

Blueblood turned around and gave her an apologetic look. “My apologies, it was very rude of me to talk ill of the deceased.”

Rarity took a quick glance at Applejack, who shook her head. He was lying. “I just wanted to say that you’re being quite unfair to her. I know the mare, and I can tell you she has changed a lot since you last met her.”

Blueblood did his best to not snort at her words. “I’m sorry, but it’s really hard to believe that Demon Child was nothing more than a menace to us all.”

“Demon Child?!” Rarity exclaimed.

The Prince rolled his eyes. “At least seventeen confirmed cases of accidental fires in the castle, some being suspected of arson, thousands of property damage, some invaluable pieces of art turned to ash, and a few servants with first degree burns. All in her way to adolescence.” Blueblood smiled at the look of shock in Rarity’s face. “It seems I knew your “friend” better than you.”

Rarity frowned and stomped her hoof on the floor. “You don’t know her! I don’t care what mistakes she made in the past, she’s a good pony, and she certainly doesn’t deserve jerks like you talking ill behind her back.”

Blueblood looked at her with suspicion. “You keep talking about her like if she’s still alive. Is there something you know?” Rarity’s anger immediately faded, and finding no words to defend herself, she tried to leave, but the prince caught her hoof with his magic. “I’m sure princess Luna would like to hear about this.”

“Get yer dirty hoof off her!” Applejack shouted, pushing him away from Rarity.

Blueblood dusted himself off and glared at the farm mare. “Say’s the pony that works in the dirt, picking apples with her mouth.”

“You clearly have no idea how apples are harvested, being too busy kissing yer own flank I bet!” Applejack shouted, getting the attention of the ponies around them.

“Young lady! If you can’t talk properly, please refrain yourself from speaking. Some of us are trying to enjoy the Gala,” one of the noblemares said with clear disgust at her words.

“Talk properly? Are yah serious? You fancy folk only care about appearances, no matter how rotten you are inside,” Applejack accused.

“You think because you wear some secondhand dress gives you the right to judge us?” Somepony in the crowd said with indignation.

“Secondhand? How can you say something like this is secondhand?” Fleur De Lis asked astonished, standing beside Rarity and pointing at her dress.

“Where’s security? they should kick these mares out immediately!” Somepony shouted, getting the attention of more ponies in the ballroom.

“Everypony calm down, these mares are the ones that saved us from Nightmare Moon, they have the right to be here,” Fancy Pants said as he stood in the middle of the conflict, trying to defuse the situation.

“Well they aren’t doing anything to stop her now! She became our ruler after that useless unicorn killed herself!”

“You take that back before I buck your teeth in!”

The ballroom quickly turned into a shouting match between the guests, with the guards trying to put order but being too outnumbered to calm them down.

As the shouts became louder and the risk of it turning a full-on brawl increased, the arriving guests looked at the lunar princess with disdain.
“I see that you can’t even organize a Gala, our kingdom is truly doomed,” one of them said before they started to leave in indignation.

Twilight winced at his words and looked at the princes to offer some kind words, but she saw that she was still keeping her stoic, emotionless face.
But then, she heard a very faint sob.
“Princess, are you okay?” She asked getting closer, and to her surprise, she stepped inside an illusion bubble surrounding the princess, making it disappear.

The real Luna didn’t have a stoic, unfeeling stare looking down at her subjects. She was crying.
“I’m trying my best,” she whispered to herself as more tears ran down her face.

“Princes Luna I–” Twilight tried to console her, but when the lunar princess noticed her, she teleported away in shame.

Pinkie Pie, having seen everything from afar, couldn’t stand watching so much unhappiness, especially from the princess that was being unfairly judged.
With a look of determination, she bounced off towards the top of the castle, looking for the one pony who could fix all of this.

With all the aggression happening at the Gala, one of the statues in the gardens started to break down, revealing a patch of brown fur underneath it, and a sinister laugh could be heard coming from it.

Philomena flew into one of the rooms of the castle, and Sunset followed close behind until they finally reached their objective. The Crystal Mirror.
Sunset walked up to it as the phoenix landed on the top and sat down, staring at its reflective surface.
“I want you to show me exactly what I want,” she commanded, and to her surprise, her reflection on the mirror started to change.

In a matter of seconds, the image has transformed into Sunset wearing the element of magic on her head, but the gem that represented it had been bent until it resembled her own cutie mark. The rest of the elements floated around her, but they weren’t in the shape of the cutie marks of Twilight’s friends, they had gone back to their original forms.

After a few more seconds, the mirror went back to showing Sunset’s reflection.
Realizing that she could influence what was shown, the unicorn stood still for a few moments, thinking about her next request.
“What’s wrong with me? What stops me from making friends?”

The reflection warped, and Sunset’s eyes widened.
The image was of herself suspended in the air, her body tied tightly from hoof to neck by a spiked blue chain. A similar orange chain was piercing her chest, and a third, red chain was coming out from the middle of her forehead.

“What does that mean?!” she asked the mirror, but it simply went back to showing her reflection.
Sunset bit her lip, trying to make sense of what she had just saw. “It hasn’t shown me as a monster yet. Maybe I managed to change that part of my destiny.”
“How can I achieve what I want?” she asked, but she wasn’t surprised when the mirror didn’t change. “I guess I have to figure it out for myself.”
Sunset let out a long sigh and started to think about what to do. She wanted guidance, but the mirror wasn’t giving it to her, it just showed what she wanted to hear.
And right now, she wanted to know one thing.
“If I manage to fix things. If I manage to find friendships and be at peace with myself and others. What would my future be?”

The mirror started to change, but before Sunset could see the image of her request, a voice called out to her from behind, making her turn her back away from the reflection.

Had she remained looking at the mirror, she would’ve seen a patch of burnt dirt with three things laying on it;

The molten golden crown of Celestia.

A burnt purple magician’s hat.

And two long dark boots adorned with flames of dark scarlet.

Author's Note

Decided to split the chapter in two. Sorry for the long wait

Have a nice existence.

I will be watching you.