Opening

It was a normal day in Ponyville.

The sun beat down on Applejack and her sister as they bucked the trees of Sweet
Apple Acres. She didn't mind the heat; she welcomed it actually. It made her
work harder. And it would make her enjoy her ice cold glass of apple cider that
much more. Applebloom was not so optimistic. "Applejack, why doesn't Big
Macintosh have to help harvest today?," she pouted. Applejack sighed and gave
the tree a buck. Ripe, shining apples cascaded from the branches, and fell into
Applebloom's expertly maneuvered basket. "Ah' told ya' Applebloom, Big Mac is
doing the taxes," replied Applejack. "But why can't Granny Smith do the taxes,
like usual?" Applebloom inquired. Applejack was losing patience. She must have
explained this once already. "Applebloom, you know Granny's no better at them
fancy mathematics than you or me. Big Mac is more useful in there than out
here." Applebloom frowned, defeated. She knew that this meant as much as twice
her daily farm work. AJ took notice of her sister's sad expression. "Cheer up,
sis," she said, glancing at the sky, "It's about time for lunch. Why don't we
head back to the house and see how Big Mac's doing?" Applebloom visibly
brightened up. "Okay!" she said.

It was a normal day in ponyville.

The clouds floated through the sky, peacefully resting on air. Nature had
decided that today would be a wonderful day for rain. The weather team had other plans. The clouds were darkening, drifting closer to one another. If they had
been faster, they may have managed to have a light sprinkle over town square.
But for a cloud, being faster than Rainbow Dash is a pretty tall order. She
swooped in, flying directly for the largest cloud. Putting on an extra burst of
speed, Rainbow punched through the cloud, dissapating it. Flying to the next
largest, she turned and bucked it hard. Rainbow Dash zoomed to the last of the
large clouds, and with a not-so-gentle push, sent it spinning towards Sweet
Apple Acres. "How was that?" asked Rainbow excitedly, "What was my time?" Cloud
Kicker checked her watch. "9.8 seconds." Rainbow Dash punched the air with joy.
Under ten seconds three times consecutively. If she kept this up, she would have
to invent a new word to classify how awesome she was. No, wait. Inventing words
sounded like Twilight's job.
"Whatever!" Rainbow exclaimed, "We have nothing else to do today. I'm going to
get something from Sugarcube Corner. Weather team..." she was prepared to say
'weather team dismissed,' but Rainbow noticed that it was only her and Cloud
Kicker. "Hey, where is everyone today?" she asked Cloud Kicker. The gray pony
raised her eyebrow. "They didn't come today because, as usual, you did the job
yourself. I only came to measure your time." Rainbow was impressed with herself.
Was she really that good? The doubts were erased as soon as they surfaced. Of
course she was! She was Rainbow Dash! She waz the winner of the Best Young
Fliers Competition. She was a hero of Equestria. She was... Hungry. Rainbow
hadn't realized the appetite she worked up. Oh well, she thought, only one way
to fix that. She sped towards Sugarcube Corner.

It was a normal day in Ponyville.

Fluttershy was just beginning her daily chores. She had already fed Angel, the
impatient bunny had awakened her for that express purpose. She checked the
chicken coop. The fowl were resting peacefully. Fluttershy counted each one to
ensure that none had wandered off in the night. One, two, three, four, five...
All twelve! Good. Now to check the mail. As she trotted to the mailbox, she
hoped desperately that the old mailpony hadn't mixed up her mail again. Being
too shy to correct the mistake, she now owned several editions of Playcolt, all
of which she had hidden without even taking a peek. She couldn't help but wonder
who was ordering them.
Regardless, the old stallion had delivered the correct mail. Fluttershy opened
her mailbox to find what she had been waiting for: Her monthly copy of Nature
Nurtures. The yellow pony gripped the magazine in her teeth and galloped back to
her hut. She bolted the door behind her. She did not want to be disturbed.
Relaxing, Fluttershy sank into her sofa. The animal lover was very happy to have
her new issue. She opened it hastily, pouring over every tip, suggestion and
how-to for animal care.

It was a normal day in Ponyville.

Rainbow Dash trotted into Sugarcube Corner. It was the same as always. Same
comfy chairs, same sugary decorations, same Mr. Cake and same Mrs. Cake. But
there was someone absent. "Where's Pinkie?" Rainbow asked, trotting to the
counter. Mr. Cake sighed deeply. "She's dealing with an existential crisis right
now." he responded. "Again? That's twice this week! Have you been leaving her
with drying paint lately?" Mr. Cake shrugged. "What can I say? She's Pinkie
Pie." Rainbow let out an exagerated sigh. "Alright then, I'm going to take a
nap. When Pinkie solves her dillemna, tell her I'll see her tomorrow." With
that, the blue coated pegasus flew out the doors of Sugarcube Corner.

It was a normal day in Ponyville.

Rarity was just putting the final touches on her newest creation. It was an
extravagant dress, with a light gold cloth lined with deep velvet. Rubies were
set into the fabric on the back, forming a heart shape. The dress came with a
silver neckless studded with a massive sapphire. Rarity had no doubt that this
fashion would be all the rage in Canterlot. It was not as elegant as she would
have liked, but Hoity Toity would certainly be pleased. She stepped back,
admiring her handiwork. It was beautiful. It was perfect in every- wait, is that
a spot? Looking closely, Rarity realized that the had spilled a few drops of
blue dye on the side of the gown. She quickly used her stain-removing spell to
get rid of the unsightly blotch. There! All done. Just then Rarity heard a crash
from the kitchen. She groaned. Was Sweetie Bell trying to cook again? Rarity
poked her head in the kitchen and saw that her little sister had, indeed, been
attempting to make... Something. The result was a singed can of tomatoes, a
warped spoon, half-cooked elbow noodles and a comically mishapen carrot.
"Sweetie Bell, what in Equestria were you trying to cook?!" Rarity asked.
"Soup!" Said her sister with a smile. "Sweetie, ah- well, um- Darling, I-"
Rarity let out a sigh. "I'll clean this up."

Applejack was tired. She finished a full day's work in a morning, and she didn't
look forward to repeating it in the afternoon. The farmer pony sat in her bed,
grimacing at the thought of the work that lay ahead of her. On top of that, Big
Macintosh didn't seem to feel very good about the taxes. He was great at
mathematics, but he obviously prefered the hard, honest work of a farm pony.
Glancing at the wall clock, AJ determined that it was time to get back to work.
She stood up to trot out of her bedroom when something caught her eye. In the
center of her floor lay a scroll. Immaculately clean, it shone from her dusty
floor like a beacon. It bore the royal seal of Canterlot. But it was different
from the letters the Princess normally wrote. It was... Darker, somehow. But the
darkness didn't seem evil. Applejack was puzzled. What in Equestria could this
mean?

Fluttershy put down her copy of Nature Nurtures with a contented sigh.
Fluttershy already knew most of the tips in the magazine, but there were always
some new tricks. And Fluttershy was looking foreward to trying them out on
Angel! She scanned the room, looking for her pet bunny. But, in searching, she
found something else. In the center of her living room floor sat a scroll, bound
in dark blue cloth and sporting the Canterlot Royal Seal. Fluttershy frowned,
confused. She could have sworn that the scroll hadn't been there when she sat
down. How had it gotten there?

Rarity was exhausted from cleaning up her little sister's mess. Sweetie Bell was
a darling, but Rarity had never met another pony who could accidentally burn
soup. She collapsed into her favorite lounge chair. Her eyes drifted closed and
she was about to daze off when she felt something. It was a twinge, a feeling in
her horn. She knew it well. How could she not, being friends with Twilight
Sparkle? It was the feeling of magic. Opening her eyes, Rarity saw before her a
pristine scroll, bound tightly and bearing the royal seal. She also noticed the
magic softly radiating from it. It was different from the Princess's letters.
Whereas a letter from Celestia would practically burst with the glow of magic,
this letter had a glow more subtle. Rarity concluded that this letter could not
have been sent by Celestia. I wonder, mused the unicorn, Who sent this scroll?

High up in the clouds, Rainbow Dash was preparing for her daily nap. Her usual
resting spot was currently the place of residence for some bluebirds, so she
would make do with a cloud. Rainbow glided along lazily, looking for the right
cloud. Most of the clouds today were small, and not suitable for naps. And as
she searched, her eyes happened upon a strange sight. Resting atop a gray cloud
lay a pristine scroll. Rainbow flew in for a closer look. Her eyes widened. It
had the royal seal on it! But why was it on top of a cloud?

In the back room of Sugarcube Corner, a bright pink pony stood completely still,
her glazed eyes staring into the distance. She blinked, coming out of her
trance. The bowl doesn't stop existing, Pinkie Pie realized, it just becomes
less organized. Her once blank face broke into a familiar smile. Who would have
thought that dropping a bowl on the ground could start an existential dilemna!
Pinkie leaned down and began to collect the shards of ceramic that once
contained her lunch and put them on her tray. The bowl, or rather, the lack of a
bowl, would come out of her salary of course. Pinkie knew that, and she was
happy with it. She placed the last bit of ceramic on the tray and turned to the
site of the accident. Before her eyes Pinkie saw a scroll, bound in dark cloth
bearing the royal seal. When had that gotten there?

Five ponies, all far from each other, grabbed five scrolls. Five ponies broke
the seal and unwrapped five scrolls. Five ponies read:

PONIES,
I wish to speak with all six of you regarding a matter of great importance. I
will be in Twilight Sparkle's library at nine o'clock.
The fate of Equestria is in your hands once more.

Luna

Twilight Sparkle opened her door to see her five friends standing before her.
They seemed concerned. "Uh, hi girls," said Twilight hesitantly, "What brings
you here?"
"Darling, you did receive the Princess's letter, correct?" asked Rarity.
Twilight had a rush of clarity. "Oh! I see. You wanted to discuss what Luna
might be up to."
Applejack looked at her curiously. "Uh, actually Twi, we were going to just let
her tell us."
Aaand there goes the clarity. "What do you mean?" The unicorn asked, "Did you
invite Luna here?"
"Didn't you get her letter?" asked Pinkie, "She said she was going to come to
your library at nine o'clock to talk to us!" The party pony giggled excitedly,
"She said it was SUPER important."
Twilight's eyes widened. "Oh no no no no NO!" Twilight shouted, "This is bad.
This is very, very bad. Girls, listen to me-"
The clock struck nine. And suddenly, Luna was standing there. She had
teleported, but not in a brilliant flash like most ponies. It involved no smoke,
no awe factor. One moment she was not there, the next she was. The six mares
stared for a moment, mouths agape. Breaking the silence, Luna spoke, "Greetings,
friends. I apologize for calling you all on only a day's notice." Twilight
gritted her teeth. Luna seemed troubled, but she continued. "The matter of which
I speak to you is of great importance. The fate of Equestria depends on this."
The six friends were disturbed and intrigued. Is Discord back?, wondered
Applejack. Is it the Changelings? Thought Rainbow. "Is this a fanficton?" asked
Pinkie. The ponies in the room looked at her, confused. "Mmm, yep, definitely a
fanfiction. Carry on."
Luna continued, "Before I tell you more, you must swear to never tell another
pony this information."
The mares were hesitant. How could they swear to keep a threat to Equestria
quiet?
Pinkie Pie stepped forwards. Giggling, she swore, "Cross my heart and hope to
fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. I promise!"
Rarity took a step forward as well , and said, "I will not tell a soul,
Princess. Trust me, I can keep a secret."
Applejack stood her ground, but swore nonetheless, "Ah promise, yer Highness."
Fluttershy cowered on the floor. She had always been terribly afraid of Luna. "I
p-p-promise," Fluttershy managed to say, regardless of her terror.
"I swear I won't tell anyone, Princess!" Shouted Rainbow triumphantly, as if
there was a contest to see who could swear the loudest.
"Good," Said Luna. "Now, Twilight..."
Luna turned to the student. Twilight's horn was glowing violently. "Twilight?
What-" The purple unicorn let out a blast of dark purple magic, striking Luna in
the chest. The Princess flew backwards, knocking into a bookcase. An avalanch of
books fell on the dark pony.
A chorus of voices cried out at the suddenly violent unicorn.
"Twilight! What in tarnation did you do that for?"
"Twilight! Oh dear, what did you do? You could have hurt the poor Princess."
"Oh no! Of all the worst things that could happen, this is The. Worst. Possible.
Thing!"
"I really hope this isn't a grimdark fanfiction."
"Twilight! What the heck! You just shot a Princess!"
Twilight held up her hoof, silencing them all. "Earlier, you asked if I had
gotten the Princess's letter," She said, "And it's true. I did get a letter
today. It was from a Princess. "She turned to her friends. "But while you got a message from Luna, mine was from Celestia. It had three simple words on it." Twilight put on a grim, determined expression. "Beware of Luna."