What Remains

by themanesix

Rating: teen
Tags: Dark, Sad, Adventure
Length: 17344

Two years after the Changeling attack on Canterlot, peace has returned to Equestria. This can't las

It has been two years since the Changelings attacked Canterlot and as a whole, life is running smoothly. So it seems anyway until one night at the palace encounters events that lead to the largest threat Equestria has yet faced. One thing is certain, dark forces are at play and our heroes will need all the forces they can muster to stop the coming storm.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2012-11-05 16:25:14 UTC

The Past and the Present

Chapter 1:The Past and the Present

Silence was all Princess Luna heard when looking out the Canterlot Palace balcony one evening.  It had only been a few hours since the moon had risen into the night sky and she traded positions with her sister, but Luna didn’t mind, she had plenty to think about.

Two years had passed since her return to the world and subsequent renewal from Nightmare Moon into Princess Luna, but she had done little in that time to change conditions for her own perception.  Granted she was still recovering from her time on the moon, it was like the grogginess everypony feels when waking up in the morning, but with 1000 years of potency behind it.  While she had not been forced into slumber by her sister’s spell, it had been necessary in order to maintain her sanity.  One thousand years with nothing but the thoughts of an evil persona would have driven her to self-destructive madness and thus she induced a sleep upon herself to maintain what level of sanity still remained in her.

And then there was the night of her return.  While not entirely coherent, she had scattered memories from that night, of what she had tried to do and those who had saved her.  Her original consciousness as Princess Luna had been in an unknown state consumed by darkness and then the darkness had suddenly vanished, leaving her scared and alone.  A mind lost for part of a millennia suddenly returning to an unknown time.  Had Celestia not appeared moments after to see her…….she shuttered at the possibilities.

It still hurt to remember those times, when she became lost in her emotions and became one of the very creatures she and her sister had worked so hard to protect Equestria from.  The past had a great impact on her.  Even with Celestia’s re-acceptance of her back into palace life after all the chaos she had caused, Luna felt guilty both for her role as nightmare moon and her inability to aid her sister in the two years she had been back.  She hadn’t felt well or self-confident enough when the gala arrived, Discord’s return had left both sister’s powerless before him since they had only defeated him before with the elements which were now beyond them, placing Equestria’s safety onto the element bearers, and she had missed the Changeling invasion when Celestia requested that she deal with a sphinx that had been terrorizing Trotston while her sister covered the day.  She had been so excited to be able to do something, anything to help, until she got back.  While there were few ponies she would admit it to, Luna was ashamed that after being given a second chance after Nightmare Moon, she had been able to do so little to help her sister during true times of crisis.

As if that were not enough, her own image had barely improved since she returned.  Nightmare Moon was a result of her anger and resentment at the ponies adoring Celestia’s day and ignoring her night.  While her return was a freedom from an inner prison to her, not everypony, or many of them for that matter, were thrill by her return.  Luna had learned from her mistakes and there was little chance of her reverting to her evil persona, but she did hope to eventually be accepted by Equestria as a respected and capable ruler alongside her sister.  She desired this both for her own sake and so that she would have some authority citizens would respect, allowing her to better aid her sister.  To date that had been a dismal failure, having not intervened in three separate threats against the crown and her one public appearance during Ponyville’s Nightmare Night, while ultimately positive, had a shaky start to say the least.  She knew such reactions were to be expected but it was difficult to go into any civilization knowing fear would be the first thing on everypony’s mind.

As such, Luna had increased her diligence during her nightly watch.  Those opportunities to act had gone, no matter how bitter they were to remember, and she would do her part to ensure Equestria’s safety, even if right now all that she could manage was to give Celestia allowances for a good night’s rest.  She still wondered how her sister had managed such constant diligent attention during her exile.  She may be an alicorn with high endurance, but even she had her limits and between watching both the sun and the moon in addition to routine courtly duties and management Luna was shocked how well her sister had been upon her return.

Or so she had thought; what she learned later told a different tale.  While Celestia appeared normal to everypony else, the work was getting to her.  The alicorn’s extra endurance and power had made a great difference, but over the centuries they were getting to her.  To any normal pony, missing a few hours meant a hazy next day, for Celestia that was not an option, so to stay alert the difference had been made up from her magic reserves and with few extended sleeping chances between court, managing the daily twenty-four hour cycle, and the disasters that had hit equestrian, Celestia was more worn down then anypony knew.  It was the only thing Luna had been able to accomplish, and while it wasn’t much it gave her some comfort.

That being said, it still created a pressing matter at hoof.  Celestia had been drained when she returned and the attacks by the changelings and discord had not helped matters.  In fact what recovery she had made was nearly entirely lost during the battle with the Changeling Queen.  Based off what she heard and her sister’s thoughts on the matter they were lucky that’s all that occurred, despite the chaos it created.  The bottom line was no matter how good Celestia looked she was drained, which caused her and her kingdom problems because she could not act at full strength when needed, ultimately all because of her…..her actions those many years ago.  If was Luna’s fault that Celestia’s prized student and her friends were put in danger not just once to rescue her, but three separate times because Celestia could not deal with the threats in her weakened state…..her fault that something precious to her sister had been put in danger.

No she must put such thoughts behind her, Luna was here now and would do all she could for Celestia, which was for the moment keeping the night safe so she could sleep and recover.  As an alicorn her sister would recover faster than most, but 1000 years was a lot of time to make up.  That being said they should be in no immediate jeopardy: she was back to normal, Discord had been recently resealed and the changelings had suffered a blow that would set them back for years to reassemble, which accounted for a good portion of any large-scale threats.  The griffons could be hotheaded at times, but it was unlikely that they would cause any true trouble and the Everfree Forest had been quiet for years.  All in all it seemed like things would be peaceful, but even so Luna did not let up her attention.

It was then that she heard a knock on the door.  This surprised her for a few reasons: the sudden noise jarred her from her thought process, it was the middle of the night, and barely anypony ever came to see her….barely anypony trusted her.  “Thou may enter.”  While she had improved at her use of the royal canterlot voice and her grammar, she was accustomed to the olden speech and it proved a hard habit to break.  The doors opened to show a green pegasus with a brown and blue mane.  He was a bit unkept, but otherwise appeared fine, albeit looking somewhat worn.  It took Luna a moment to place the newcomer, but then she remembered him.  During her excursion to Troston, she had come across this pegasus en-route.  He had been exhausted and left in a bad way with unexplained injuries all over his body.  Luna had taken him to Troston’s medical center, known throughout Equestria for its services, before dealing with her mission.  It had been a good act on her part, but she had expected little from it.  Even in the pony learned who had aided him, Luna was familiar enough with her public perception and had assumed any form of gratitude would be lost in fear.  Taking all that into account, this was an interesting turn of events.

The stallion approached and bowed respectfully, surprising Luna further, any reverence she had received had been clumsy and shaky at best and seeing this pegasus before her acting normal, befitting royalty, rendered her speechless.  Nevertheless she gathered herself and spoke to the guest.  “Welcome citizen, thou’s condition seems to have improved since last we met.”  He responded in a calm, but rough voice, “Princess it is my honor to meet the mare who undoubtedly saved my life and for that you have my eternal gratitude.  When I awoke at the hospital and not in some obscure corner of Equestria, I persisted inquiries until I found out the identity of my rescuer and could personally thank her.”  Luna was even more surprised at his words, but recovered quickly, “Thou speak kindly, though I only did what was proper; I am actually surprised to even see thou, despite my aid to you, thou must know of my deeds.  Dost thou not fear me like the rest?”  The pony paused for a moment in response, but then looked at Luna with a dedicated expression, “What you say is not without some truth.  I was initially taken aback by what I discovered, however once my initial shock had faded, I found it a pleasant surprise and simply wanted to thank the individual who saved me.”  Luna stood there for a good thirty seconds without speaking trying to interpret this response; her confusion must have been pretty obvious too, because the Pegasus continued, “Princess, what is my cutie mark?”  It took Luna a minute, she was not used to being addressed in any kind of casual manner from somepony besides Celestia and her student, however once she gathered herself she looked upon his flank and saw what appeared to be a piece of paper and a magnifying glass.  “We see blank paper and an examination tool, what purpose does your question serve?”  “To answer yours your majesty,” he responded.  “My name is Final Gambit, and I was raised within Canterlot.  I do not wish to share the details, but once a great truth was kept from me, one that impacted my very existence and my entire world.  Since then I have been obsessed with finding the truth in all things large and small.  While you were Nightmare Moon, you are that mare no longer and your actions in saving my life show me that there is more to you than your past mistakes.  I have traveled Equestria seeking out mysteries and discovered many twists in my constant search for the truth and from such experience have learned not to judge a book until the final page has been turned or a mare by what she did 1000 years ago.”

Luna stood there for a moment unable to respond.  She had yet to experience an interaction like this.  Most ponies still feared her from her days of terror and others only gave public acknowledgement, but she felt the doubts that still dwelled within them.  The element bearers were more receptive, but they had seen her change and had interacted with her more than the average citizenry.  Gambit was different, however, he had no pre-established connection with her except her legacy, but was willing to look past that, something no outside adult pony had yet done for her.  She felt strange and yet familiar emotions within her, like pieces once forgotten, but then rediscovered.  She felt invigorated and was genuinely curious about this pony, not the false interest given as a diplomat or guest wants to share a store somepony has no interest in, but a true desire to understand both the pony who extended such a hoof in friendship, but what circumstances could create such an individual.

After realizing Gambit was waiting for her response, however, she gathered herself; even if she was confused she could at least welcome him.  “Your words are kind sir and they do more for us to hear then perhaps you could understand……..thank you.  We are glad to see you recovered, what is it you do Final Gambit?”  “I explore your majesty,” he responded quickly, “ancient pony tribes that wandered the planes long ago, temples and cites left abandoned, and the discoveries within, it is exciting work.”  “Perhaps, but it sounds like difficult and expensive work, there are locations such scattered to the corners of Equestria and sadly some are in such derelict shape as to be unlikely to yield anything,” the princess countered.  “At times,” Final replied, “but when I do find something, the publicity and results get me by for a time; I also supplement that by writing in my spare moments, have you heard of Daring Do?”  “We have heard the name before, those are your creations?”  “My pseudonym, fantasy adaptations of my adventures, I was just about to start the next issue when this unpleasantness began.  Thank you again princess for your assistance-“

He got no further as the princess noticed two things happening at once.  The first she felt more than saw, but a dome of magic had just enclosed the room the two were sharing.  While she was not directly affected by it, she could sense nothing outside the sphere, which immediately set off alarms as to what was happening OUTSIDE their isolated space.  The second was a blast of unicorn magic that went straight through her door and headed straight for her.  It was fast, faster than any normal unicorn could launch any beam, but not quite fast enough as Luna rolled to the side where she was immediately launched to the ground by the explosion that erupted from the wall the beam had collided with.  High level destruction magic, somepony was actually attacking her, IN HER OWN PALACE.  She quickly turned to glare at he would be attacker, whoever it was must have some high level training to have gotten that close without detection, not to mention whatever had happened to her guards.  Somepony with years of training, somepony with a grudge perhaps, somepony like……. “PRINCE BLUEBLOOD?”

Celestia awoke with a start in her bedchamber, she had just sensed two pulses of magical energy.  One, she was shocked to realize, had been around her sister’s tower.  She would be immediately thinking of going to her sister if the second pulse she felt hadn’t been right outside her own chamber.  Barely having time to process these thoughts Celestia was cut off from anything as some kind of dome surrounded her.  This focused her attention to her door.  She could feel a presence outside the door and the pulses indicated it was probably a unicorn.  She also felt dark energy however, foreign and familiar at the same time, but that would have to come later.  Her doors opened.  Celestia was unsure how to proceed, this pony was obvious came here for a reason, but the form gave her pause.  It was a stallion she had seen many times before and one of the ponies she least wanted to confront like this.  His many was a mix of dark and light colors and he stood looking ready for anything.  That combined with her lack of information on the situation put her in a cautious state.  So she proceeded in normal form, on guard of course, to see where this encounter would lead.  She spoke one sentence, to an outsider it would have sounded like any other line the princess had spoken in the past, but to those who could look past that, it was laced with anxiety and focus.  “Do you have something to report Captain?”

The Monarchs' Resolve

Well, my project has been somewhat of a success, I have some of you intrigued anyway.  A big thanks to all who read and to the 2 of you I have following me, you know who you are.  Here is chapter two, hope you all enjoy.  Rate, comment, do u enjoy this?.....TELL ME.  Thanks

Chapter 2-The Monarch's Resolve

Miles away from Canterlot, a familiar lavender Unicorn awoke from her dreams.  Twilight Sparkle took a minute to gather herself, her room was as she left it when she fell asleep.  The bookcases were shelved neatly, her most recent reading acquisitions by her bedside, and from what she could tell nothing was physically out of place.  Then it hit her, her magical senses to be exact.  There were high magical energies pulsing from……from…… “Canterlot.”  Twilight was unable to conceive why so high level magical energies would be active in the middle of the night; no that wasn’t right, she could think of many reasons for such a phenomenon, few of them were reassuring.  Before she could figure out what to do next, however, she sensed a third energy from the palace, small at first but growly steadily.  Whatever it was, it was gathering energy, charging for something big.  That settled it, she had to act, but what to do.

“SPIKE,” she yelled, and her young dragon companion awoke with a start, launching himself off his resting place and onto the floor.  Once the baby dragon had gathered himself, he turned to Twilight with a blank look on his face.  “Twilight its 12:30AM do you mind telling me why I am awake?”  Twilight was shocked, “You don’t feel that Spike?”  “Feel what?” the dragon replied.  “All I feel is sleepy and cranky from being woken in the middle of the night when I should be resting.”  “Sorry Spike,” Twilight quickly replied, “but there is no time for that, I just felt massive energy fluxes coming from Canterlot and whatever they are, they are not good.  I need you to go wake up the others.  Get Rainbow Dash first, she and I are the only ones with a chance to get there quickly enough to affect……whatever this is.”  Spike was still unsure, “but Twilight, this could be nothing at all, why raise the alarm?”  “Because it IS SOMETHING SPIKE,” she quickly replied, “There are only so many explanations for this much energy suddenly being releasing at such an hour, and very few of them are positive, these outputs could level towns, plus…….I don’t know, but I have a feeling something really bad is about to happen.  I need to get to Canterlot: to help the princess, to get to the bottom of this, TO DO SOMETHING……sorry.”

Spike had tumbled back into the bookshelf as a result of the unicorn’s outburst.  He still looked unconvinced, but then his face straightened out.  “Ok Twilight, I can’t sense these energies you are talking about, but I can tell when you are committed to something.  I still think you are overreacting, but I’ll go wake the others and send Rainbow after you.”  “Thanks Spike,” she replied with a smile, “for believing me.”  “Hey what are friends for,” Spike responded.  “And Twilight…..in case there is something wrong, be careful, okay?”  “Thanks Spike….I will,” she said.  Those were their last words before Twilight teleported away, leaving Spike to run to their friends…..and hope that Twilight, the smartest unicorn in Ponyville and his best friend, was wrong.

……………………

The atmosphere in the tower room had risen to extremely tense levels very quickly, but Luna’s mouth may have still been on the floor.  What was Prince Blueblood doing in her tower, much less attacking her?  Luna had little time to process these thoughts as a volley of dark blue energy bolts came towards her, she was about to dip into another dodge roll when she realized her initial dodge and the blast had left her close to Gambit who was still recovering from the surprise attack.  If she dodged the attack the Pegasus would take serious damage and Luna did not like his odds when he was still recovering after recently getting out of the hospital.

Instead the princess raised a spherical shield around them and took the bolts head on, despite what she gleaned from the bolt’s power levels, Luna felt her powers could endure through them……until they hit her like the express train to Appleoosa.  Oh her shield held, she was not sister to Celestia and Princess of the moon for nothing, but she felt like she took a full charge tackle from a manticore into one of the Grand Hall’s stone pillars for each hit.  It enraged her that any pony, much less this privileged, stuck-up stallion who pranced around her sister’s court like he was in charge, would act in such a way against her.  She had seen more than enough of Blueblood, how did Celestia put up with him for all those years, to be annoyed by the horse.  Rallying her power, Luna gathered some of her own energy and pulsed a wave out across the room.  This took the prince by surprise and knocked him back into the wall.  She took the opportunity and sent the nearby table into the prince and pin him there.  Not skipping a beat, Luna slowly approached her attacker and spoke with the full authority of the Canterlot voice of olden years.

“THOU HAST INTRUDED UPON THIS TOWER UNBIDDED AND UNWELCOMED AND HAD THE AUDACITY TO ASSAULT US IN OUR OWN HOUSE.  GIVE US ONE REASON WHY THOU SHOULD NOT BE DESTROYED WHERE THY NOW RESTS.”  To her utter shock the Prince merely turned his head, faced her, and wore an evil smirk on his face.  With a voice that shook her to the bone, Blueblood responded in a voice she was extensively familiar with, for it was one of the few things the princess intimately knew.  The voice that she had spoken with herself for one thousand years, “Because you are a merely a shadow of what we once were, because despite all you believe you have gained, you are nothing before us.  We would know, you embraced us and became a force of Equestria for a millennia.  Even in exile you were feared and powerful.  We gave you strength and without it you cannot even support your kingdom much less defeat us……without us you are what you were before: weak, alone, insecure, and isolated.  You are unfit to rule, to fight, to exist before us and we will take what we desire.  What little you think you gained you will lose and you will despair in your thoughts of how you ever believed that you could stand against our full might.  Or you would if you were going to live.”

At that moment a few things happened.  The first of which was nothing at all.  Luna stood there in full shock and unable to move.  It was impossible, how could she ever hear this voice within the confines of reality, it was simply impossible and yet it was.  The second was Luna being unceremoniously tackled by Gambit, who had recovered from the prior blast and had become aware of the princess simply standing over the Prince while he was speaking.  Even though the princess seemed to be in control, Gambit’s instincts told him something was wrong and as the stallion’s words continued she seemed frozen.  He had called to her, but received no response; it was like he could not be heard at all.  He decided to act and went to get her out of the way when he felt a power influx.  Now gambit may not have been a unicorn, but he had come into possession of and had been in the presence of many a magical artifact and he know the feel of power.  It was faint but he noticed the pinned stallion gathered energy and feared the worst.  So he did the only thing that he had time to do, tackle the princess, which actually saved her life.  Finally Prince Blueblood’s horn unleashed a wide forward shot of power where Luna had been seconds prior.  Gambit’s tackle hit just before the beam went out and while he was not actually hit by the blast, the sheer force of its power sent him flying against the wall……hard.  He dropped down into a slump on the floor, unmoving.  The beam itself continued past and hit the wall behind them, completely destroying what was left after the initial volleys and leaving a gaping hole in the tower.  Most of the wall was disintegrated on impact and it falling pieces were caught by the ever-present shield dome.

It was then that Luna returned to her senses and surveyed the room.  She saw the complete lack of half of the wall, Gambit lying on the ground, and the Prince rising from the floor with a look of pure conviction in his eyes.  She realized that she should have died just then……and that her savior was in a heap on the floor……and that this being advanced towards her as if nothing had happened, it had never even acknowledged his existence…..the existence of the Pengasus who just saved her life…..that could now be…… “ENOUGH.”  Luna sent out another pulse wave and repined the abomination to the wall and experience a moment of immense anger and clarity.  What it was was, at the moment, inconsequential, what was evident was that this stallion had been possessed by an evil force.  Fueled by her anger and funneling all of her power she sent a razor beam of pure silver moonlight at the horse.  It passed right though him and he slumped to the ground, out cold.  What remained at the end of the beam was black.  A blot of darkness rapidly disintegrating into nothingness, however one speck, barely larger than the tip of her horn broke off and vanished into the night.  Luna collapsed on the floor as she felt the dome shatter and heard the pieces of room it had supported fall to the ground below.  Her guard immediately rushed in, apparently drawn by the energy fluxes.  She had to tell them; they had to know.  However, before she could say a word, Princess Luna of the night fell unconscious to the floor beneath her, unable to convey the horrible truth she had discovered.  Nightmare Moon had returned.

……………..

As Celestia stood in her bedchamber awaiting the captain’s answer, she tried to analyze the energy she felt radiating from Shining Armor.  It had no impact on his physical appearance and yet using magic she could sense it, almost as a dark layer over the stallion who may as well be family to her.  That is was she dreaded the most.  If this came to a battle, Celestia was worried about her ability to fight Shining armor without hurting her student’s sibling.  Armor was a talented unicorn in his own right and, although Celestia could have subdued him normally is needed, she was wary about this dark energy she could not place.  Before she could figure out anything definite Shining Armor spoke, placing one individual clear in her mind.

The voice was a bit high, but grating; that combined with the evil energy, but how could that be?  “Ah Princess Celestia, it has been awhile.  We won’t bother trying to fool you, you already realize something is wrong with Shining Armor……we have placed him under our control and  he did provide a nice shortcut into your chamber.”  Celestia was still surprised, but to her credit hid it well, “So you return Queen Chrysalis, but why show yourself directly to me, you already proved you are better than that from your assault during Shining Armor’s wedding, did you simply want revenge on the pair or are you here for me.”  The Changeling queen laughed at these words, “You think those are our goals, come now you are smarter than that Celestia, you must realize that this is different than our normal mind abilities, our plans and your situation run deeper than you realize, but that matters not.  What does matter is how you will survive fighting your better; we have already bested you.”  “As you said this is not your normal doppelganger ability, so you most likely do not have access to that power and even if you did I have fought you before, I will not make the same mistakes twice.”  The queen laughed once more, “You think that experience actually means anything Celestia, it’s true this power is not Shining Armor’s love, this power is greater than that and it is something you will not stop.  En guard, guardian of the sun, let us see if you can live through this night.”

And with that Armor launched at the princess with immense speed; just like at the wedding, their horns locked, but with the running start Celestia was pushed back.  The princess could feel it, whatever this energy was Chrysalis had grown in strength…..Celestia did not want to think what the power level truly was; she would have to be clever to win this fight.  Celestia stopped meeting the lock dead on and shifted her weight to push the captain to the side; he faltered giving Celestia a few seconds to regroup in the center of the room.

It was then that she had an idea.  Before the captain recovered, Celestia placed a magical mark right beneath her, invisible to the eye, but there nonetheless.  She had to keep Shining Armor busy not to notice, but she could not hurt Twilight’s brother, she owed her student too much for that.  Celestia sent a blast towards Shining who had to move quick to dodge the strike.  The fight then became a flurry of movement.  Celestia had to dodge a green magic beam, that uncomfortably reminded her of their prior fight.  She took to the air, since Chrasilis was controlling shining armor and not there herself she had air control, which gave Celestia an edge…..or so she thought.  She barely got into position when the queen sent out a wave of green energy, which Celesita was a second too late to raise a shield against.  At first it seemed to do nothing, but then she fell right to the ground and had to leap to the side to dodge another energy bolt.  “Don’t take us for a foul Celestia, did you think we had not considered that.  That wave disables any flying as long as this shield bubble endures, we won’t let you be having the advantages……that’s our job.”  Celestia barely had time to think as beams crisscrossed the room.  Both combatants kept on the move as the room and its furnishings were torn to shreds by various energy blasts and marks and indents were left everywhere on the walls.

It was time to start making a move, Celestia suddenly shifted her ammo, and a golden net shot out towards the captain.  Before it could ensnare him, however a green shield was raised and it fell to the ground harmlessly.  “We were waiting for your attempt at a non-violent victory Celestia.  Can you even bring yourself to harm your student’s brother, or will you break her heart to live another day?  These tricks will not work on us.”  Celestia ignored her and kept creating nets, bolos, and other snares, each either being dodged or shielded against.  It was getting harder to dodge.  Although she kept moving, crafting snares out of magic took a bit more time and energy then simply blasts, Celestia hoped this would work.  Her thought were interrupted when one of the blasts his a little too close and she was thrown to the side.  Shining Armor was on her in seconds and she became pinned to the wall.

“Any last words Celestia before we enact out revenge and rid the world of their great leader,” asked the queen.  Without saying anything Celestia gathered energy into one focused blast.  The queen was surprised, but quick enough to raise a shield and while the energy pushed her back it did no real damage.  “We win Celestia, we can sense it, this is all you have left and we can take that and more, we will win, you will die, and Equestria will be ours to rule.  Perhaps we’ll conquer your student’s town first….what was it again, Ponyville?  How quaint, but it works as well as any and she will cry for her beloved mentor to save her only to be left alone.” Despite everything that was going on Celestia’s eyes met with the queen’s with a glare that would have put Fluttershy’s stare to shame.  “You will not win today Charsails, you will not defeat me, you will not conquer Equestria, AND YOU WILL NOT TOUCH A SINGLE HAIR ON MY STUDENT’S MANE.”  “As if you can stop us.”  “Look down.”

One second before she said that Celestia had sent a pulse out and it took that second for Shining Armor to look down, taken aback by the Princess sudden calm, and it was then that the mark was noticed.  While still focused on the shield stopping Celestia’s attack, the mark activated its magical attraction aura.  All the snare constructs that Celestia had thrown around the room suddenly rushed towards the center of the room…..right where Shining Armor was.  While some were blocked by the preexisting shield and others destroyed by Celestia’s beam, the horse was hit by no less than seven nets and four bolas, leaving the horse trapped on the ground and held by magic sealing snares, which the princess had also imbedded in the works.

Celestia approached her captain as the horse struggled to escape the bonds.  “don’t think power is all there is to battle Chrysalis, and never underestimate how far I will go to defend what is precious to me, now release Shining Armor.” The queen laughed. “We admit it Celestia that was clever, you may have won this round but our plans do not stop here, they go much deeper and we can still rob you of your captain.  UNTIL NEXT WE MEET PRINCESS.”

Shining Armor’s body began to shudder and Celestia’s face became a veil of fear.  She had to save him.  The princess did all she could.  She gathered everything she had left and fired a golden beam through the stallion.  He immediately stopped shuddering and lay still with a blot of darkness at the end of her beam.  Just before vanishing completely, a small bit broke off and vanished into the night.  Celestia slumped, exhausted as the barrier collapsed and her guards rushed in.  “Guards raise the alarm and get the captain to……..the hos…..pital.”  With that sentence went the last of Celestia’s consciousness and she fell to the ground before her men.

…………..

Twilight appeared in the Canterlot gardens exhausted.  She did not want to think of the distance or number of times she had teleported, but she made it.  It was dark around her, but she could see lights from the castle and an unusually large one from one of the towers.  As she scanned the area she realized that two of the energy pulses had vanished and for that she was concerned.  She hoped the princesses had taken care of whatever had happened, but she needed confirmation.  It was then she realized the third pulse was still there and worse she was right on top of it.

She looked around and saw nothing at first, but she had come to act, so Twilight followed the energy signature.  It led her past a few turns and to the statue garden.  It was at that moment that she felt fear.  The still rising energy was in front of a statue she knew all too well and below it was an old earth pony she recognized from her time at the castle, the old gardener.  Twilight did not know how a non-unicorn was gathered such energy and right now she didn’t care.  She ran towards him fully intending to stop him magically or otherwise when the energy was released……right into the statue.  “You are too late Twilight Sparkle.  Now we free the imprisoned host back into the world.”  “Who are you,” the unicorn asked, “ and what are you doing here in the gardens?” “Well now that the energy has been delivered simply stalling you my dear, I know you did not enjoy our first engagement, but we promise you more than chocolate rain and subtleties will come from this encounter.”  Twilight couldn’t believe it, they had defeated him, he was right in from of her, but every fiber of her being was telling her this was the evil that had nearly defeated the princesses, this was the embodiment of disharmony, this was….

Just then a single crack appeared in the stone.

Spirits of Disharmony

Ok, a couple of announcements before this chapter starts.

1.  As you may have noticed, it has been awhile since the last update.  I do not intend to abandon this story, but with the things I have to do in the real world and my own procrastination, do not underestimate it, there will be no constant update schedule.  That being said, I will attempt to decrease the time between updates.

2.  This is an apology actually.  A friend of mine read chapter 2 and mentioned it had some errors.  I went to fix them which may have caused the story to update and get people excited when there was no new chapter, if this happened I am sorry.

3.  I have a dark tag on this and that will not change.....how dark this will get, we will see.  If you want something truly dark I recommend reading "The Immortal Game" which should satisfy all your dark needs and also probably where I got the quick start concept from

4.  I do not own anything MLP other than my story/OCs.....owned by Hasbero.....don't sue me

5.  This story, while written by me is ultimately enjoyed by you.  I thus humbly ask you to comment/read and review in the comments below.....thanks in advance and now onto.......

Chapter 3-Spirits of Disharmony

Twilight was in shock.  Discord was sealed back into stone after his brief, although by no means quiet, escapade two years age; not only that, but she was staring at said statue before her very eyes.  She was in conflict, the facts that she knew to be true and what she was seeing before her were reaching two separate conclusions.  Despite these facts, she knew without a shadow of a doubt that she was speaking to Discord.

“You should see the look on your face……..priceless,” Discord taunted, rolling on the ground.  “We had almost forgotten how amusing you were to be around…….almost.  You remember what fun we had last time…..breaking you, oh the possibilities this moment represents, but we digress for it has already been set into motion and not even you, Twilight Sparkle, can stop it.”

Finally bringing herself together from the being before her who, despite the voice and attitude looked just like the Palace’s groundskeeper, Twilight faced down the creature.  She could not…would not accept this as Discord.  Despite her uncertainty there was one thing that could not be denied,  “You can’t be Discord, I’m looking at his statue behind you.  You may be like him, but I see his prison so spill it, who or what exactly are you?”

“Your worst nightmare Twilight Sparkle, but all that in due time.  Your presence here is a surprise; your magic must have improved to have not only sensed the magic at work here, but also traveled to Canterlot before the festivities were finished……well done.  For your efforts you have gained the esteemed honor of witnessing our source’s release…unless you make their mistake and try to stop us.”

It took Twilight a moment to comprehend this comment, but when she did there were no words to describe her shock.  The unicorn hadn’t even realized it, but she had been so focused on the disturbance and finding out what was going on, but she had developed tunnel vision.  Even when this happened, she was smart enough not to actually turn away, but sensed her surroundings with her magic…..she felt ill.

Bodies littered the area, some obscured by the darkness and one no more than a hoof’s length from her.  The grass was dark, not its normal green and Twilight knew it was not just the night’s darkness.  They were knights; it was obvious by the armor still attached to their forms and the occasional scattered item discarded to the side.  Despite all her control the unicorn’s face suddenly adorned a look of base uncensored horror and then she threw up.

As her senses kept expanding onward they had reached some of the nearby statues, meant to be memorials to actions and moments of Equestia’s history.  Many held items such as flags, banners, instruments, and other items the respective moment called for, and to Twilight’s disbelief many of them were now tipped with corpses, impaled upon those memorials of triumph and giving the statues a sinister glow.  It had become a garden of death, a dark counterpart to its original sun-filled companion that Twilight had known so well growing up.

As she looked up again at the creature before her, she looked weary and beaten.  Granted she was tired from the teleportation spells that had got her here to Canterlot, but this was something more.  Her eyes seemed both full and deep and her face seemed to darken; to an outsider one would have thought she had walked a thousand miles.  She did not understand what was before her eyes and if there was one constant about Twilight Sparkle it was the need to understand everything.  “Who are you monster?  You are not discord, he said himself that he does not turn ponies into stone and thus would never do this to anypony.  He was twisted, diabolical, chaotic, and warped, but even he would commit these…...  Even after everything he did there were no casualties during his escape.  He caused us torment unspeakable that no pony should endure and yet I find this a small thing compared to what I now see.  So answer me one question, what are you?”  The last words came out a whisper for it was all she could manage as met its eyes.

It only smiled.  “Ah Twilight Sparkle, as usual so lost in your theories you can’t see or accept what is in front of you.  We could inform you of our nature, but that would be telling and besides you should already know what we are, in fact you should have seen us coming, but we digress, for we are about to receive company.  Come join us in welcoming back the Spirit of Disharmony.”  As it spoke, the crack began to lengthen and travelled up the statue’s legs into his torso, but then stopped once again.  “It seems we owe you an apology, this seal is more resilient then we believed, but no matter with time it too will crumble, just like your friendships during our last encounter, just like the world when we are done.”

“NO, I won’t let you,” Twilight suddenly became alive with focus.  She still looked dark and hurt, but her eyes were filled with pure dedicated purpose.  No matter what this thing was Discord was being released in front of her and she had to do all she could to prevent that.  The unicorn planted her hooves in a sturdy position and send out a beam to give some strength to the statue’s seal.  It barely made it half way however, before it was stopped by a green shield created by Discord.  “Were we unclear, nothing shall interfere with his release.  You could have witnessed a great moment Twilight Sparkle, but now you shall simply die like the rest.”

The shield had barely dispersed when a solid green laser was shot from where his horn would have been and in the same time span was met with an identical purple one emanating from Twilight’s horn.  The two met and for a moment and it seemed they were at a standstill.  “You won’t succeed, the princesses will stop you, my friends will stop you, I WILL STOP YOU.”  “No my little pony you won’t.  We give you credit, any normal unicorn would have buckled at first contact.  That you have anything left in you at all is a testament to your study under Celestia, but even after our work on the seal we have enough power to beat you.  The princesses will not save you, we have already dealt with them and your friends are back in that backwater grouping of houses you call home.  You are alone, and alone you have no chance against us.  Good bye Twilight Sparkle, we had a blast.”**

With that more energy seemed to pour into the locked powers and Twilight began to lose ground.  The shot grew closer and closer.  “I’m sorry everypony, I’m sorry Princess, I couldn’t do anything,” Twilight whispered.  Right before the beam broke through and stuck her horn, she closed her eyes and waited.

The second she did, the unicorn heard a popping noise and the pressure stopped.  Shocked but relieved, Twilight opened her eyes to see what had changed and was rendered speechless when she saw the creature slumped against a nearby statue covered in…..was that confetti?  “Stop hurting Twilight you meanie pants.”  Utterly lost Twilight turned to meet the source of the voice she had heard thousands of times before.  “PINKY PIE?  What are you doing here…..not that I’m complaining?”

The pink earth pony was standing in the entrance of the low, but being regrown hedge maze.  Even in the middle of the night she was easy to make out in the darkness by her pink coat and mane.  Next to her was her now infamous party cannon, which had garnered quite a reputation as the fastest known way to prepare a party anywhere in Equestria, although it was rumored somepony was trying to develop a rival to it, smoking from the shot it had just fired.  “How did you get here, what are you doing here, HOW DID YOU GET THE PARTY CANNON HERE?” Twilight rushed towards her friend only to bombard her with more questions.  She was grateful for being saved, but now she had to worry about her friend’s safety and she doubted that…..thing was down for good.

“Why silly willie, I’m here to help.  Spike came around and woke me up and told me where you went so I came to find you.  Good thing too, once he woke me up, I was shaking like crazy, there was goona be a doozy and so I got here ASAP and just in time that pony was going to force you to take something.  You shouldn’t force someone to take something, you just convince them.  Maybe he is just cranky, do you think he needs a party?  I brought the cannon.”

Even with what she had experienced and the scene around her, Twilight could not help smiling, “Thanks Pinkie, I needed that.  How did you get here though?  I sent Spike, but I though Dash was the only one who even had to possibility of getting here?”  “Dash never told you that story?  I could always get ahead of her when she was running away from me.  Don’t worry, she’ll be here shortly.”  Even knowing Pinky’s pinkiness that was a lot to take, “But how did you do it, nopony is faster than Dash?”  “Secrets,” Pinky replied.  Twilight sighed but accepted it.  As she learned from trying to comprehend her “Pinkie sense” some things with Pinky simply could not be explained.  Still there was the matter at hoof, “Pinkie it’s good to see you and thanks for your help, but you need to get out of here.  This pony.....whoever he is, is very powerful.  Go to the castle and check on the princesses.”  “But Twilight, I want to help,” her friend persisted.  “And I appreciate that Pinky but…”

“Saved by the party animal of your motley crew, eh Twilight.  It has been too long Pinky, would you like a party?  Our last one had such a profound impact on you after all.”  Pinky hop gasped, “Twilight could you hold him for a minute?  I need more supplies if I need to throw him a party.  Let’s see I’ll need at least four of all my special surprises, a bajillion balloons, and cupcakes…..lots and lots of cupcakes.”  “Uh Pinky, not the time,” Twilight said in a worried tone.  “While we would love to have a cupcake Pinky I’m afraid that you two are about to reach your limit and crash….one way or the other.  Take a look.”  Twilight quickly turned, the cracked had moved up the statue’s body into its neck.  If this was actually happening, they did not have much time.

“You must realize how futile this is.  Twilight let us entertain the possibility of your victory over us right here right now.  It would mean nothing.  You are exhausted as it is.  Even if by some fluke you defeat us, you have nowhere near the amount of energy needed to restore that seal.  So why don’t we all just sit and await the return on one of Equestria’s oldest sources of power?”

“No, I won’t give up, I will stop you,” Twilight immediately responded as she charged the possessed pony.  Even running on reserves at best, Twilight couldn’t just let this happen, but she really hoped the princesses would arrive soon.  She tackled him and the pair tumbled to the base of Discord’s statue.  Before she could do anything, however, she felt herself being lifted into the air.  “Twilight, Twilight, Twilight are you sure you have the right element?  You truly are loyal to a fault when it comes to the princess.  But honestly, you are a fool to think you can defeat us and it shall be your final mistake.”  “Let him go you meanie,” Pinky cried as another shot was launched from the cannon, just to have it seemingly vanish.  Pinky only had a moment to ponder this as she was hit by her own shot, which had been teleported behind her and caused her and the party cannon to tumble into a nearby statue.  “PINKY,” Twilight yelled, but could do little else.

“We would advise you to focus on yourself Twilight.  Your friend is fine….for now, not that it matters.”  Then it began.  Twilight felt something…alien reach inside her and she began to feel…..weaker.  It took her a second, but the unicorn realized that she was being drained, but not just of magic, this went farther.  She was being drained of power, of strength, of something deeper and innate to her.  Twilight was suddenly very afraid.  She had to think fast, but it was getting progressively harder to do so; then it hit her.  Pulling her focus on one spell she reached for the energy and suddenly Twilight found herself falling.  She had no time to recover and thus hit the ground hard, feeling completely exhausted.

“What did you do Miss Sparkle?,” the being spat.  Despite everything that had occurred, Twilight could not help but grin.  “It’s your….own fault,” she panted out.  “You tried to drain me of everything…..that connected our magic…..which I just sealed.  I had difficulty controlling….my magic as a filly….Celestia taught me to lock my magic temporarily in case it ever got out of control……again.  You trying to completely drain me……bridged our powers enough for the….spell to affect you as well……Your magic should return in a few hours…..long enough to settle and expend any excess……and long enough for you to be detained and become well acquainted with the Canterlot dungeons.”

He laughed.  Twilight could only look on as it laughed.  Despite everything, despite her efforts, despite her rendering him temporarily powerless, he laughed. “Bravo, Twilight Sparkle bravo.  You never cease to amaze us and we’ll admit we did not see that one coming, but all you do is prove our point.  You have brought this to a draw and with your own magic sealed, you cannot stop the seal from breaking.  Face it child, YOU HAVE LOST, and it looks like in more ways than one.”

Just then two spots of darkness, barely discernible against the night sky came out from the castle and into the pony before Twilight.

………….

Impressive as always Twilight, the being thought.  Locking both their magic when they had gotten careless, well she wasn’t the princess’ student for nothing.  Just as they were responding to the unicorn’s ploy they sensed it.  The others were returning, this would be their complete victory after all.  One of the blots reached them moments before the other, and suddenly the picture became clearer.  They had overestimated their abilities.  While their plan would continue regardless, having Luna still in play meant another element to account for and, WHAT THEY BOTH WON OUT.  The thought screamed it its head as the second darkness joined the form.  Wonderful…..just peachy, there goes the element of surprise and both Celestia and Luna were still alive.  Why the anger?  This result had been expected, planned for even, and yet the hope remained that at least one could have been felled this night and saved so much trouble.  No matter, they could be dealt with.  Even with the turn of events there was nothing to stop the source’s escape and, although weakened, with the shard’s reunion came power and more importantly magic.

………….

Twilight suddenly became very frightened for three very important reasons.  One, she was now completely done.  Oh she would put on a good face and not back down, but ultimately the magic lockdown had left her rather defenseless.  She could try to physically defend herself, but she was no Applejack; not to mention she was physically exhausted from the night’s events.  The unicorn knew she might be needed when she left to rush to the palace, but this had pushed her to the limits.  The second reason was that the creature was right.  She no longer had any hope of stopping Discord’s release.  Whatever this thing before her was, it had ultimately won and all she could hope to do was survive.  Third, magic aside, she became very unnerved when the pony before her seemed to absorbed pieces of the night.  Magic abilities locked or not, she could sense negative energies off those blots and she was uncertain she could survive any more surprises tonight.

What happened next caused the unicorn to freeze.  It was nothing abnormal; the pony before her only spoke, but its voice had changed.  What had been a deep crackling drawl was now deeper and holding great authority.  It was the voice of something more than the pony before Twilight Sparkle, even resigning to the chance that this was Discord, it was the voice of something heralding only darkness.   A sinister grim appeared upon its face.

“And so it comes together, with more delays than expected, but my goals are proceeding nonetheless.  You see my little pony this has been planned since your victories long ago, a few inconveniences will not stop me.  Do you even realize what has occurred this night?  I fought you, the guards, both princesses and still  my goal  will be achieved.  Your magic lock was clever, but it only sealed the section before you and while much of my magic has been used already, I have enough for this.  Enjoy the view Twilight for it shall be the last thing you do.”

And with a flash Twilight was gone.

…………….

Time seemed to slow momentarily.  Twilight did not know quite what had happened, until she looked down and saw…….air?  “I’ve been teleported…..UP!”  Just as she came to that realization, it brought another, she was falling……and there was nothing she could do.  So this was how it ended: Twilight, faithful student of Celestia and talk of the court, dead on impact through being teleported by a deranged pony, sigh.  She thought of her teacher, her assistant, her friends…..Celestia had been right.  She had never said it outright, but being sent to Ponyville was one of the best things that had happened to her….. “thank you princess, thank you Spike, thank you my friends.”  These thoughts had taken no longer than a few seconds but Twilight was only getting close to the ground.  She closed her eyes.

…………..

It was finally coming into view.  Anypony could see the outline of Canterlot for miles in all directions, but for Rainbow Dash the details of the city could begin to be distinguished from the general shape of the city.  “Why couldn’t that egghead wait a few minutes to explain this to us, now she has got everypony concerned?”  Rainbow tried not to think too hard, it was only worrying her excessively and she knew that, but it wasn’t working.  Spike had used Twilight’s balloon to reach her house and called out for her.  It had taken a few minutes to get her up, and she was having such a nice dream too, when the irritated rainbow mare had forced herself up to answer the night call.  She had been ready to give the dragon a piece of her mind, but the second she opened the door Rainbow was drowned out as the dragon quickly related what happened.  He had barely finished before Rainbow Dash had taken off towards Canterlot after her unicorn friend.

While such a journey would drain most pegasi, Rainbow was in good shape.  Being weather manager forced her up early sometimes, one of the aspects of the job she hated, but between that and the constant need to be on call to respond to dangerous weather pressures, she could be up on a moment’s notice.  Some of those storms were bad too.  There were entire days when the team had to be out in order to control the systems that went unchecked over the Everfree before they reach Ponyville.  Those were some of the hardest days and Rainbow was always exhausted afterwards.  That being said it was those factors that were helping her now.  All those long days had built up endurance and she could last much longer than some other pegusai.  It was the combination of that and the speed training she constantly put herself through for her spot on the Wonderbolts that allowed her to get to the Canterlot gates in such a short time, but now she was really worried, there was no one at the gates.

This was unheard of, Rainbow may not have been much for politics, but even she knew that even in peace there were always guards on the doors, if for no other reason than to check the goods coming into the city and keep the peace.  “Why couldn’t the egghead be wrong….just this once?,” and yet the very sentence was absurd.  Twilight was the most knowledgeable pony she knew, and had good instincts to boot; she had been right every time it had counted.  Why would tonight be any different?  She had to find Twilight, if the unicorn did beat her here, then she would have the answers.

The city itself seemed to be eerily quiet.  Rainbow did not live in Canterlot, but being an element of harmony had resulted in her spending a fair share of time here.  Canterlot had a night life.  Plays were performed, concerts attended, bars filled, and several other activities and yet there was barely anypony on the streets.  Rainbow decided to go higher to get a better view,  “What is going on here?,” a flash.  She caught it out of the corner of her eye; a flash in the sky above Canterlot Castle.  Even though she was still miles from the castle, away Rainbow thought she heard a cry through the air and somehow knew that her friend was in trouble.  “Hang on Twilight.,” she said, as she flew down and towards the castle, there was only one way to get there in time.

Rainbow had spent days perfecting the sonic rainboom.  At the wedding, Rainbow had broken the barrier extremely quickly and without the downward angle.  However, what few knew was that she had actually done a few circles around a back tower to build up some speed before that; the rainboom required some extreme speed to pull off and that velocity needed buildup.  She had spent countless hours making sure she could do it under almost any circumstance.  The biggest problems here were the lack of time and space.  There was no time to go higher and even with her training, she needed some space and downward gravity didn’t hurt either.

Luckily the flash was high above her, so she had some time, but even with that it would be close.  She sped on with the street coming closer and closer.  It happened, just above the roofline, she broke the barrier.  Luckily due to the slowdown from pushing through the barrier almost put her at a neutral reset, it was how she made extreme turns when she pushed through.  Even with that she was flying at street level for a moment before gaining altitude.  Windows shattered, carts were strewn asunder, and the few elite still out were thrown to the sides, Rainbow didn’t care in the least; her friend needed her and that was all that mattered.

................

It was a complete and utter disaster, no question about it.  First-lieutenant Shadow was trying to figure out what was going on.  With Captain Shining Armor nowhere to be found, he was next in command of the royal guard.  The return of the Night Princess had prompted changes with many matters, mainly finding fair ways of dividing the kingdom’s responsibilities, which Princess Celestia seemed almost too willing to share.  Since Celestia’s guard was already established and in force, they obviously retained formal control, but she had allowed Luna’s troops the second-in-command.  This was good in theory, but the problem was First-Lieutenant Shadow had no experience.  Ever since his appointment, any true threat had been dealt with by the elements of harmony or the Princesses themselves.  The only time the guard had yet to see true action was during the Changeling invasion which, to Shadow’s shame, had given him nothing as he had been ambushed at the start of the conflict.

Now suddenly everyone was looking to him for direction and he had no idea what to tell them.  They had suddenly been cut off from both Princesses and his command could do nothing to the sphere of dark energy before them.  It had been humiliating, but they could do little but wait.  When another energy had been confirmed in the gardens, he managed to focus himself long enough to send a squad to investigate and report, but his first duty was to his rulers, so he stayed by the shield.  He had just been about to send another party to the gardens, the first one still had not reported back, when the shield before him came down.  He was outside the Princess Luna’s quarters and immediately rushed in, only to find both her and another pony unconscious.  Before he even acted he saw a similar dome come down through what had been the back wall, why is nearly half the room gone?  Focus Lieutenant, take care of what’s in front of you.

“You two, secure the princess and get her somewhere safe, call the doctors immediately.  Have the other two checked out too, but detain them.  At best they are bystandards that can tell us what happened, at worst they are guilty of an attack against the crown.  I’m going to check the other site.”  He did not wait for their response before he spread his wings and went off to what appeared to be CELESTIA’S BEDCHAMBER.  “Of course, what else could possibly go wrong?”  He found the scene similar to the one he had just left, but the surroundings were more intact.  “You solider, what happened here.”  The guard turned to him and replied, “We have no idea Lieutenant.  We couldn’t do anything as we were shut out by some kind of dark barrier and our efforts to break it were met with no success.  When we tried to force it, we were shot back.  Some are still out.  It finally came down on its own accord and we found Captain Shining Armor and the Princess inside.  She started ordering us to take Shining to a hospital but collapsed before she could say more.  Are there orders from Princess Luna, sir?”

I wish there were soldier.  “Princess Luna was found unconscious as well.  There was some kind of altercation in her chambers.  You said Shining Armor was here?”  “Yes sir, he seems to have been involved somehow, but we just don’t know anything yet,” the solider responded although slowly.  I can’t blame him for that, if I wasn’t supposed to be in charge…….focus.  “I’ve already ordered physicians to look at the Princess, gathered them all in one room and lock it down.  I’ll send them up when they arrive and they can attend to everypony.  This is crazy enough as it is and I have no solid information.  The LAST thing we need right now is mass panic throughout Canterlot when they see us admitting the Princesses.”  “Yes sir.”

Ok, whatever happened seems to be over, now if I could just hear back from the garden everything should be accounted for. A flash, he saw it out of the corner of his eye and turned.  Something had flashed in the sky, but he couldn’t discern what.  Moments later came an explosion of color from over Canterlot headed straight for them.  I had to open my mouth.Before he could do anything however, the streak circled and seemed to land on the gardens.  What is going on down there?  Ok everything is settled here, which leaves one thing to do.  “You three, come with me, we are going to find out what is going on here.”  With that they headed off to the castle gardens.

…………….

It came as a rush.  A sudden change in direction and the feeling of hooves under her, the direction also changed from vertical to horizontal.  Twilight opened her eyes and was stunned.  Rainbow Dash was holding her as she left a complete rainbow in her wake; she started to cry and embraced her friend.  “Rainbow, I thought that was it for me…….I thought…..I thought.”  “It’s alright Twilight, I’ve got you.  Just give us some warning next time egghead.”  She smiled, “thank you, but it’s not over something is trying to release discord.”  “DISCORD!!!!,” Twilight nearly jumped as her friend screamed the name.  “Yes, we’ve got to go get pinky and figure out something.”  “What’s Pinky doing here?.....you know what never mind, but we need to help her.”  With that the Pegasus circled and landed back where her confrontation began and where it waited.

“Will wonders never cease?  First laughter and now loyalty saves you.  You are one very lucky mare Twilight Sparkle, but tell me why come back?  Has it not been made apparent that you are outmatched?  Or do you want to die?”

“Whatever it takes, you will be stopped.  Even if I can’t beat you, I won’t let you hurt my friends,” the unicorn retorted.  “Ummm Twilight, is he who you have been having trouble with.  I mean I know you aren’t exactly a physical fighter, but he isn’t even a unicorn, how……ow.”  “RAINBOW,” Twilight called.  The pegasus had been interrupted as a blast that sent her to the ground.  “Foolish, but I guess I can’t expect everypony to recognize me.  Now why don’t we pick where we left off Twilight, with me draining you dry.”

Just then it happened.  Energy; new energy and yet so very familiar, emanating from……. “no.”  “Why hello everypony, did you miss me.”  There on the pedestal where the statue was a moment before was Discord, looking no different from his previous break-out.  Twilight’s face wore an expression of hopelessness.  It’s over, we were being pushed handling……whatever this was, but now DISCORD.  Pinky is still out cold and Rainbow Dash can’t defeat them alone.

“Why the long face Twilight?  We are going to have so much fun when I get back.”  “Back?....You’re……leaving?”  “Well yes dear, you see as much fun as it would be to catch up, I’ve been able to witness this little skirmish of yours since my prison started to break and I must say I am deeply distressed.  As you so correctly pointed out, ten points for that by the way, I do not turn ponies into stone and I certainly don’t condone killing them……where’s the fun in that.  Now this entity wasn’t lying, I would know.  I do sense myself in him and that GIVES ME SUCH CONFLICTING EMOTIONS.  Another of me…..think of the possibilities, oh the chaos we could wreak….and yet something is very wrong if my principals have fallen this far.  Besides you have no idea the crick in my back after not being able to move, I have to get that checked out.  So you just collect your friends and move along.  I look forward to our quality time later on.”

And just like that Twilight felt them leave.  Discord flew over the pony and his claw went right through him.  When it reappeared there was pure darkness in his claw, deeper than any color she had seen and he flew off into the night clutching it.  Twilight felt a sense of relief and exhaustion.  They were alive….it had been the worst night in recent record, but they were safe and that was all that mattered at the moment.  “Would somepony care to explain to me why I just witnessed Discord flying off into the night?”  Twilight looked to her right and saw four guards, three in Celestia’s golden armor and one in Luna’s black workings.  The dark Pegasus stallion before her had a confused but stern look on his face.  “I would sir, but frankly I think I’m completely spent.  Would you be so kind as to bring us to the castle?  Thank you…..goodnight.”  With that Twilight fell to the ground and spoke no more.  Shadow facehoofed.  “That has to be a record.  Somehow in one night the castle has been breached, both Princesses, the Captain, and five unidentified ponies are unconscious and this Pegasus looks about to join them.”  He sighed, “Bring them along men it seems answers will come tomorrow.”  It was only then that he noticed the rest of the garden and the dark scene it displayed.  “Why me?”

Disheartening Reunuions

....And its been awile hasn't it.  Technically I did follow through, The last update was October 8th....but yeah.....need to do better ideally.  I had an idea to get this up on the 31st, hope everypony had a great Nightmare Night, but that didn't happen....

I'm also going to preempt the question-Discord is now in the character roster.....y?  As you are probably starting to understand by now or at least have a guess, my villian in a bit different.  I only have 5 slots for characters and since I couldn't fit all of them, I did not put any....and I didn't want to spoil it either....however, the real discord is around now and he's going to be a pretty big part so now he's here.....bear with me this is my 1st fic on this site.....comments are welcomed

so for now "Remember remember the 5th of November," I won't ponify it, but for anyone who doesn't know that reference look it up....it's a great movie.  Also, since I didn't wear a costume and ate the candy I did get ahold of, I'm going to assume this chapter, even late, is enough for Nightmare Moon....granted she could have just waited in which case.......But my possible doom is not why you are here.  You are here for.....

Chapter 4:

Disheartening Reunions

It happened slowly.  She heard small sounds around her and talking in the room.  It took a minute to gather anything and the princess felt sore, tired, and less surprising than it ought to be, drained.  She was supposed to be a beacon of magical power and a ruler, but too many times, especially recently, this vision had been broken by cold reality.  It was shocking at first.  Events transpired over the past years, that left her unable to act.  The princess smiled for a moment, her ponies surprised her in this respect.  Having been seen as a leader for so long, she did not know how her subjects would react to seeing her be brought low and yet they had.  Even in her most obvious moment of defeat before Chrysalis, they made no complaints to her retaking the throne upon the changelings’ defeat.  She was growing accustomed to it, but it was still hard for her to acknowledge that despite her abilities, she could not defend her ponies from every threat to their kingdom.  A sense of that knowledge had been what led her to rely on her student and the elements, but that had to change.  Yes the elements were powerful, they defeated evil, they were a force of good, but she had to prove she could rule a kingdom.

Even if nopony said anything, she had to prove she could be a defender to them, for her people……for herself.

She felt the soreness again as she tried to move; it had been some time since she felt like this, “Ugh.”  She had barely gotten her eyes open when she saw movement by the door.  Somepony had just left and there were four guards by the doors, two from her contingent and two from her sister’s.  As she processed this her gaze swept over the room and she was filled with fear.    It was one of the side rooms, generally utilized to house some of the staff who were constantly needed to maintain Canterlot Castle.  Judging by its size, it was one of the larger ones, probably shared by a small group of ponies with similar duties.  It was lightly furnished with a large window at the back looking out onto the city and the lands beyond.  What truly caught her attention, however, were the occupants.  Around the circular room were, excluding herself, her sister, student, student’s friends and fellow elements of harmony: Pinky Pie and Rainbow Dash, royal guard captain, fellow noble Prince Blueblood, and….she actually did not know the last two occupants.  When she saw them, she feared the worst, but after a moment, even from across the room, saw them slowly breathing and gave a sigh of relief.  Even with that knowledge, she rushed onto the floor and over to the beds across the romm.   It was then that it started to come back: the attack, the presence, Chrysalis, and the energy sphere.  How did this happen….I’ve failed again.

She turned her head for a moment and looked out the window.  “Guard how long have we been unconscious?”  Her guards, who had been approaching, stopped.  Their faces became tense as if they did not like having to answer the question.  Diligence and training won through however, and one looked right at her.  “It has been fourteen hours since the attack your highness.  That would make it about three in the afternoon…….are you ok your highness?”  Celestia looked frozen.  IT’S BEEN THAT LONG.  Celestia’s mind was racing.  Even with two years with Luna’s return, too many ponies were still fearful of the princess.  The last thing the court needed was the citizenry thinking Nightmare Moon had returned again on top of dealing with…..whatever had attacked the castle last night.  She reached for her magic…and nearly fell.  In fact she would have, had the guards not been close enough to catch her.  “Please Princess don’t overexert yourself.  While we were not witnesses to the events, that state of the room gave us an idea of what happened.  The castle has been locked down and everypony involved has been accounted for here.  The room has been watched since the incident and, while we were worried, the physicians assured us you were only unconscious.  Strangely, but thankfully, that’s the case with everypony here.  We’re hoping your stories will enlighten us as to what happened,” the guard explained.  “I appreciate your concern, but even if that is the case, the citizens will panic.  I must fix this,” Celestia responded.  “We are dealing with the citizens your highness.  They did panic at first and, while I cannot account for every city across Equestria, we were able to calm Canterlot.  Princess Cadence returned not long afterwards from her dealings in the town over and found the guards shortly after the incident.  First Lieutenant Shadow explained what he had learned.  She gathered the public and managed to curb their initial frantic reactions.  She is trying to send word to the major areas now.”

To the guard’s credit, he maintained the princess’ gaze, which lasted for a full thirty seconds before she sighed.  “Thank you for your concern, if Cadence is working with the ponies then perhaps we can survive one day of night.  Please though tell me what happened to everypony?  What happened to my sister?  What is my student doing in Canterlot, much less here being overlooked?  What happened to Prince Blueblood?  Who are these other ponies?”  As she asked these questions, the princess moved to check on Luna and Twilight, who were luckily situated next to each other.  Her sister was actually spread across two beds, she realized she had been across three as she peered back at where she arose from.  Her face was a mix of sympathy and anger.  As she noticed before they were breathing, which pushed her worst fears away, but as she looked at them others came flooding in.  Who did this….who or what could even do this?  Even accounting for my sister’s exile, no normal pony could compete with her, much less leave her in this state.  Twilight how did you even get here and how did you get wrapped up in this?  Wait I sensed two energy spikes, thus there was at least one other individual other than my attacker and if there were two, there could have been more.  The guard next to her was about to answer when the chamber doors opened again.

………………..

“It’s official, this has been the worst night ever.”  First Lieutenant Shadow was looking at his reflection in the bathroom mirror.  He had taken his helmet off for a moment and his face supported his statement.  It was slightly longer than most and his eyes currently had bags forming from being up all night.  Well that wasn’t quite it, he was used to that being assigned to Luna’s guards and thus in turn the night shift, but that combined with the events of the night, which it technically still was, had left him at a loss. Why did it have to be so big…and so quick?  I couldn’t do anything.  I’m supposed to be SECOND IN COMMMAND and what happens… I play clean up.  Two attacks on royalty, sections of the castle either destroyed or tattered and the……the garden.  He still shuddered at the thought.  His first night in command and he caused the death of twenty ponies, counting the squad he ordered to the gardens and those covering the area who had noticed what was going on and tried to intervene.Focus Shadow….you couldn’t have known….and that’s the problem isn’t it.  It was too, even since Shadow joined the guard he had been a model soldier.  Maybe not the best at everything, but he had always been present when needed, and a few times when he was not, obeyed orders, and even aided in settling some minor squabbles.  He worked hard to be a good soldier and so, when Princess Luna appointed him the position, he had been thrilled.

It’s just…..the real thing is so different.  Upon his appointment he had spent much time with Captain Shining Armor learning some of the additional duties that came with rank.  He had been instructed on procedure and priorities, VIPs, and situational actions.  He liked the Captain, Shining Armor may be a soldier, but he was open, approachable, and a good teacher.  Shadow soon grew accustomed to his new status, but he knew somewhere that there was more to it than that.  He asked the captain about it one day and was surprised by the response.  “Have you spent much time studying Equestrian history Lieutenant?,” the captain had asked.  “No sir, not outside major events,” he replied.  “Even with that knowledge you should know that we have not been engaged in any full-scale war in ages and any other crises happen quickly and suddenly.  I have seen few extreme moments myself, in fact most of my position is paperwork and dealing with aristocrats like Prince Blueblood.  In those that I have, events happen quick and without planning.  You have to learn to trust your instincts, discern what you can, and act.”  “And if I act poorly sir?”  “Then you accept it.”  “But how can I do that……if I made a mistake in such a situation….”  “There could be extreme consequences,” the captain concluded.  Shadow was shocked, “how can you be so calm about that?”  The captain waited a moment and then looked right at him.  “Princess Celestia has kept this country at peace for many years and with Princess Luna’s return, there is twice as much protection for the citizens.  When the time comes of which you speak, there will be only you.  Even with their powers, I have seen Celestia’s concern at times.  She looks fine in court, but there are powers even she is concerned about.  When those choices come, both princesses will be unavailable at best and if no decision is made then innocent ponies will pay for it.  That is what you must accept as a part of your position.”  He stopped and if Shadow’s face was shocked before it was completely pale now.  He began to hyperventilate when he felt a hoof on his shoulder.  The captain was smiling again.  “Why do you think you were chosen for this post?  I will tell you now that whatever reasons you thought are incorrect.  While she has been seen little as of late, I have spent some time with Princess Luna and she told me a bit about herself.  To an extent their personalities relate to their powers.  Celestia is strong and kind, but is constantly the ruler and figurehead.  Her powers are rigid, to an extent, and straightforward.  Luna’s are more emotional.  She is more connected to feelings and sublime elements; she is good at seeing things.  She saw something in you and she trusts you.  Think about it.  She just returned from being gone for one thousand years and she put you, whom she barely knows, second in command.  She may not even be able to tell you the exact reason, but she knows that when the time comes, you will do what is needed,” and with that he walked away.

I just hope everypony we got up to the castle quarters will be ok.  He did care for their wellbeing, it was why he served under Princess Luna and by his oath and convictions he would do all he could to help Princess Celestia, but they needed answers too.  They had no solid information on the details of the attack, something they desperately needed.  Focusing on his eyes her saw that they looked…vague.  Shadow needed to stay active, but he also needed to rest at some point.  Thankfully Cadence’s return from sorting out a political matter a town over helped quell some of his fears.  She took command…like I was supposed to.

The mirror came back into focus again.  He saw how ragged he still looks, but his base appearance was still discernible.  While he was not black, like most of the night guard, his coat walked the line of dark blue/purple, which nopony could distinguish between in the dark anyway.  His mane complimented this, boasting a shaded dark forest green, in certain environments further increasing his stealth.  He snickered a bit; that was one aspect that surprised many ponies, himself included, everypony with the will and determination was welcome to the guard.  Despite the royal guards being white/black, that set-up was mostly for a show of unity and force at the capital.  Outside of the large cities, especially in some of the border areas, ponies of all colors could be seen in uniform.  Outside of that, many soldiers were sometimes given less obvious orders, such as acting bodyguards or monitoring situations.  The amount of ponies working on hand was more extensive than almost anypony knew and yet somehow new recruits were always funneled to the right position for them.  It was like searching for one’s cutie mark all over again, finding where they fit in the system. I thought I had found mine.

Suddenly the door flew open and a guard rushed in.  “There you are First Lieutenant, Princess Celestia just regained consciousness; outside the room you’re the first to know, sir.” Ok think later, be a guard now.  “Good, I’ll go back to the room and see the Princess, go inform Princess Cadence about the news,” and with that he left and headed back to the chamber.  As he opened the door, he saw the Celestia was indeed conscious again, finally some semblance of order will be back.  The other individuals, however, were still out cold, but they did not appear any worse, which was a relief; he would take any good news at this point.

He bowed as he approached, “Princess, it is a relief to see you awake.  How are you feeling?”   “If I am honest, I am still somewhat weary, but there are more important matters at hoof.  You are Luna’s commander, yes?”  “First Lieutenant Shadow reporting, your highness.  Despite recent events, order is slowly returning and Princess Miamore Cadenza has taken temporary command during your recovery.  If I may be so bold princess, do you remember anything about last night?”  The princess paused a moment.  “It’s coming back, I was attacked in my chambers.  I was able to claim victory, but the effort exhausted me….wait.  Did I not order Shining Armor to be taken to a hospital?  Lieutenant, what are we doing here?”  GULP“That was by my order your highness.  The last thing I wanted was to cause Canterlot to panic, if they saw us admitting not only one, but both princesses into said location, well you can image the reaction.  I had everyone brought here and had the physicians called for.  They declared that there was no vital damage to anypony here, although the Prince and the pink one seem to show signs of a concussion.  Without a need to risk exposure, I had the room secured.  We have been waiting for you to rejoin us and perhaps tell us what happened…..I can only apologize.  This was a failure on behalf of the night guard…..and I claim full responsibility.”  He looked down, this was a moment he had been dreading.  The princess was very kind and slow to punish, but Canterlot Castle had been challenged by infiltration, two ruling members had been attacked and the princess’s student was awaiting the moment she would awake; this was a serious matter and he truly hoped it would not cost him.

“Rise loyal guard,” said a voice from behind the princess.  Celestia turned her head and the Lieutenant looked up at the same time, both seeing Luna slowly rising from her bed.  Celestia was to her side in moments, “Luna are you ok, are you hurt?”  “I am fine ….considering.  I was more concerned about you, but those matters in a moment .  First Lieutenant Shadow, We admit, we do not know of what transpired outside the sphere I was in last night, but we know you would have done nothing to intentionally aid whatever forced its way into our castle last night.  We also know, to the loss of some of your pride sadly, that the guards could not have prevented this.  Raise thy head and look at me.”  He did so and saw a light look on her face.  “Two years is a long time to some.  Compared to mine own exile it should be barely a blink of an eye.  These have been a long two years.  We have had to adjust quickly to modern lifestyles, coexistence with the populace has been…..tenuous at best, and I have felt useless at times due to the attacks.  Such events could cause one’s time to stretch and, while these things have hurt mine self, they are not the only reasons the years have been long.  We have met, albeit not many, a few souls who have embraced mine own existence, made friends, seen the joy and flourishing that our exile allowed to come to pass, and met ponies like thyself who put their very being into their actions.  So calm thyself, unless you committed high treason by aiding in the assault, you have nothing to fear….you didn’t do that did you?”  Shadow quickly became flustered, “Of course not your majesty, I would never do such a thing!”  “Then there is nothing to concern thyself with.”  It took the lieutenant a moment, but he composed himself, “Thank you your highness.”  A smile appeared on Celestia’s face, “My sister speaks the truth lieutenant, and it seems we have tales to share, for I faced an entity myself.  To get the full story, however, it seems we will have to wait.  There are many ponies here and each holds a piece of what happened.  I am simply relieved that there seems to be no true or lasting damage.”

Now Shadow was a soldier and generally did well at looking the part.  As such he could keep a straight face in almost any situation.  Weather it was the princesses’ perception or a break on his part after the weight of last night, he never knew, but somehow, right after the statement was said, a question was asked.  “Lieutenant, what were the consequences of last night’s attack?”  A question by Celestia should not be ignored, he knew that and it was his duty.  “Men, I think between the princesses and myself we have the room covered.  It’s been awhile since the attack but the rest of the castle still needs help.”

The princesses said nothing as the guards went out to follow orders.  He waited a moment, took a breath, and spoke.  “Everpony here is fine and should recover.  The attack itself resulted in extensive damage to Luna’s chambers and various marking on your chambers as well Princess.”  He turned his head away….gulp here I go.  “Outside of this room however, there were……I won’t sugar coat it causalities.”  The Lieutenant faced his rulers again.  They continued to wait, but their faces had become paler. It’s no wonder.  Ever during the changeling invasions there WERE NO CASUALITIES and I’M the only reason there are this time.  “I sent a squad to investigate a third energy source that was coming from the statue garden.  The entire squad I ordered there and a group of other guards, who I can only assume came to investigate the commotion, were found….dead on site.”  He paused again, admitting failure is hard enough in general….but THIS.“Lieutenant,” Luna cut in, “We see that this is hard for thou, but please, how did they die?  As uncomfortable as this is, we must understand it to grant us aid in preventing future calamities.  I see your pain, but thou did not know what was there, thou art blameless.”  BLAMELESS.  “HOW CAN I BE BLAMELESS?  I GAVE THE ORDER……I caused their deaths.”  Another pause.  “That is simply more proof that I chose correctly in assigning thou.  We knew several in such a position from the past, some care not at all for the ponies that they ordered unto death.  They were…..effective, but empty on the inside.  They warped their inner harmony to come to terms with their position.  If thou dost nothing else, do not become like them.  By thou’s reaction, we would guess these are the first souls thou hast lost; it is hard, but tis the burden of those with responsibility.  Too many have lost sight its meaning, but the guard’s oath is not just a formality.  Lieutenant, what did thou swear when you entered into the ranks?”  He remembered that day well, it was one of the great shifts of his life.  “I place myself in service of Equestia and its rulers, to the harmony of the kingdom, to the safety of its people, to the preservation of its laws and principles, and to the defense of its continued prosperity.  To these I pledge my will, spirit, mind, and body until the end of my days.”  “Thou remembers the words, but dost thou understand its true meaning.  Everypony who enters our service dedicates their entire being to the defense of Equestria.  War has not been a concern for centuries and mine sister and I would prefer to keep it that way…..seeing ponies die in one’s name is something nopony should have to experience.”  A tear came across the sisters’ faces before Luna continued, “that being said, your promotion came with the duty to accept such a condition.  It is the unwritten burden of the privileged; the station is not without price.  Yes, we find esteem and possibilities for simply routine actions, however the true cost comes during times of crisis.  The burden falls to us and those around us, thyself included, to lead, to fight, to make the choices that nopony should have to make….., because if we don’t then the future is all the worse for our cowardice.  Lieutenant, you are not a coward for feeling guilt, I am pleased that you do, for that means thou comprehends the weight of the decisions upon you.  It is a hard road to walk, but keep true to those morals and feelings, use them to fuel your drive and actions; these are the mentalities and actions that have defined great ponies across time, this is the potential thou possesses.”

He really couldn’t respond to that.  It reflected so much that the captain said to him all that time ago and yet somehow it still did not feel like enough.  Yet, here was one of the rulers of Equestria comforting him, saying that this feeling of fear…..nay bordering cowardice, was a good thing?  “Thank you, your highness, yet your words do not change the facts.  Twenty soldiers died under my command last night…….I will think on your words however.”

“You always did feel you had to do more and push yourself, not that I should be complaining mind you.”  Everypony looked to the side from where the voice came from.  “It’s good to see you again Shadow, although I wish it was under better circumstances.”  It took him a second, but immediately the Lieutenant’s face lit up.  “Gambit you travel crazy pony, what in Equestria are you doing here?  Last I heard you were preparing for a tribal expedition with the Zebras.”  Gambit arose from his bed, albeit somewhat shaky, and the two embraced each other.  “Well I did, but I ran into some…..detours on the way back.  I ended up in quite a mess, until the princess here found me in the middle of nowhere and brought me to the hospital.  After I recovered, I asked and found out it was Princess Luna who rescued me and came here to thank her.  My timing must be getting rusty…or perfect depending on your perspective, because that put me here just in time for….whatever happened last night.  Forgive my manners Princesses,” Gambit turned and bowed to them, “and please forgive this pony for dropping stance, we haven’t seen each other in a long time.”

Celestia was the first to answer back, “It is no trouble.  You obviously have been though much together and your happiness only brings me joy, despite the circumstances.  As for last night, well we were inquiring as to that ourselves, but it seems answers may come soon.”  Shadow looked around, oops; I need to be more aware.  Between his own outburst and the noise his reunion with Gambit had created, there were sounds of stirring throughout the room.  Everypony was slowing joining the world again.  “By your leave Princesses…..”  “At ease Lieutenant, there will be much information to cover and titles will just slow us down.  Our names will suffice,” Luna interrupted him.  “By your leave Luna and Celestia, may I send summons to the rest of the bearers?  They arrived this morning and while Cadence calmed their fears, they would like to see their friends again.”  Celestia smiled, “please do, and request Cadence to join us as well, these are events she should be aware of.”

Shadow found a guard without going very far and relayed the orders to him.  Upon reentering the room, all the ponies had arisen from their beds and Celestia was trying to calm everypony down, especially one in particular.  “WHERE AM I AND WHY ARE NONE OF MY ATTENDANTS AROUND, SOMEPONY TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED.”  “Blueblood.”  “What time is it, oh no I must have missed all my appointments, I’ll have to reschedule with the minister.”  “Blueblood.”  “Why am in the same room as all these other rifraf?  Does nopony understand my position?  Why I…”  “PRINCE BLUEBLOOD!”  The while unicorn turned around to see the princesses; his face fell.  “Your Magesties…..I did not see you there.  Truly, I could never consider you….”  “Enough Blueblood.  Last night was an event for all of us.  We are attempting to gather what happened.  Based on your comments you don’t remember anything?”  Blueblood regained some position, being faced with something he could answer, “I am sorry your highness, but I can be of little aid here.  The last thing I remember was have the most delectable evening with some of my cohorts before going off to bed.  The next thing I know, I am here.”  The Princess sighed, “Very well Blueblood, you may leave.  I do advise you to be open to the guards.  Much transpired last night and they have much to deal with right now.”  “As you command, your highness,” and with that he left.

Rainbow Dash was the first to speak, “Wow he is a pain.”  Celestia smiled, “Believe me, there are days when he gives me such a migraine, but he is efficient when he wants to be.  Anyway, we shall move onto the matter at hoof.  Lieutenant, everypony in this room was related to the attack last night correct?”  “That is my assumption your….Celestia.  Everypony here was found at the site of one of the energy spikes, but I cannot account for the events that transpired there.”  Deep breaths lieutenant, you are possibly about to find out just what did….everything last night.  Take the princesses’ advice, learn and persevere.  “Very well, now I will say this in advance.  Last night was chaotic and, unless I hear irrefutable proof to the contrary, nopony is to be blamed for the night’s events.  However, the fact remains the castle was breached, therefore I ask all of you to be straightforward with us and recount everything you remember.  Needless to say, what is about to be said is a matter of national importance.  A few of you here are not normally privy to such information.  I ask either your word to remain silent regarding what you know and/or are about to hear or to speak first and depart.”

“If I meh yer highness,” came a gruff voice from the back, that bore similarities to AJ’s.  I em a simple castle gardener and, with all respect, I like to keep et that wey.  Like that feller who left, I have no memory tween efter I went to sleep last night and where I em now.”  “I appreciate your openness, very well you are free to go.  I do ask the same of you though.  The soldiers have much to do, please do not disturb them.”  “I won’t git in their way.  Thank you.”  And with that the group decreased by one again, but Celestia sensed Twilight’s unease as he left.  Before the door closed, however they were joined by an influx of ponies.  “Celestia, Luna, Twilight, thank the heavens you are awake!”  Forgetting the rest of the ponies present, Cadence, Luna, and Celestia, as well as the elements and Spike right next to them, embraced each other and a general feeling of euphoria swept over the room.  “Darn it Twi, why couldn’t ya wait for us.”  “Darling we got here as fast as we could, only to arrive in the midst of this…chaos.”  “Twilight, please let us know a bit sooner next time….if that’s ok.”  “Twilight, you had be so worried, I got everypony as fast as I could, but…..”  “You did fine Spike.”  The mare was all smiles on seeing her friends.  “I’m sorry girls, but I had to move quickly, I felt power fluxes at the palace and I just had to get there to see what was going on…..,” her smile vanished, “even if I only got my friends hurt.”  “Hey no frowning, egghead.  You followed your instincts and that takes guts.  Besides, it’s going to take more than that to keep Pinky or I down.”  “Yeah Twilight, don’t worry, although Princesses, have any of you seen my cannon?  I need it to set up the REUNION PARTY.”

Celestia smiled, “There will be plenty of time for parties later, for now we must learn what happened last night and everpony here has a piece of that tale.  You are all welcome to stay as it concerns you all as well, although, I will inquire about you my little pony.”  Celestia indicated to the stallion Lieutenant Shadow had recognized.  Shadow answered first, “Celestia, if I may, he is an old friend and honorable.  I trust him with my life.”  “That is good to hear, but I would hear the answer from his own mouth.  I reiterate, what is about to be discussed will be highly sensitive to the kingdom’s safety.  If you do not want to be involved or cannot remain silent on the matter, I would ask you to tell us your side and leave with the rest.”  Gambit smiled, “With all due respect Princess, I couldn’t leave now if I wanted to.  I’m always on the lookout for a mystery and this is hooves-down the largest one I have every come across.  Aside from that, Shadow and I go way back.  I may not be a guard, but there’s no way I’m leaving him to deal with this by himself.  Somepony has to watch his back; it’s the last thing he thinks about.”  “We would vouch for him too sister.  He was with us last night and proved himself to be of fine character.”

Celestia smiled, “very well.  Gambit, was it?  You have my trust.  Captain, do you recall anything from last night?”  Shining Armor stepped forward, “Not much your highness, I was around the castle doing a surprise inspection on supplies and conduct.  I thought I sensed…..something, but I didn’t notice any cause for it….and then nothing.”  His face fell, “I’m sorry I can’t be of much aid princess.”  “Do not despair captain, we know little about what we face; any information is relevant right now.  Now Captain, I want you to remember what I said previously before we proceed, unless clear evidence is given I place blame on nopony for the night’s events.”  Shining Armor nodded with a slightly confused look on his face.  “Based on your testimony combined with the two ponies who left us, am I right in saying there were three attacks last night?”  The room went quiet.  Just what happened while I was stuck outside that dome? “That is correct Celestia.  I was outside Luna’s dome when it broke where your sister, Prince Blueblood, and my friend were all out cold.  From there I flew over to the second location, which proved to be your cambers, housing you and Shining Armor, in similar conditions.  A few minutes later brought me to the garden where the landscaper was with your student and her friends.  The pink one was already out and your student followed shortly after.”  A grin appeared on his face.  “I actually knocked the Pegasus out myself.  She was clearly as exhausted, but refused to take help, despite our control of the situation.”  “SO THAT’S WHAT HAPPENED.  Why I outa….”  “Rainbow, now calm yerself.  That sounds just like something ya would do and based off how everpony here looks, AFTER resting all that time, ya should be thanking him.”  “I will also assume, for the moment, that the attacks were indeed similar.  Therefore I ask, who faced these threats, and who were they?”

Silence.  “Sister, Gambit came to visit my room to thank me, we found him in need of aid en route to Trotston dealing with that foul Sphinx.  While we were conversing, Blueblood broke into the room and assailed us…..We would not be here to tell the tale were it not for our Lieutenant’s comrade.”  One second passed.  “WHAT,” Both Shadow and Shining Armor erupted, “PRINCESS PLEASE……let me go detain him….”  “That will not be necessary, while the body was the Prince’s, the spirit was not…….I do not know how this can be, but words were exchanged between mine self and the assassin…….We were attacked not by the Prince but by our own persona…..we were attacked by Nightmare Moon.”  Celestia’s face grew pale, “So more than one old foe has returned.  Once more Captain, I reitherate, I place no blame without true proof.  You attacked me in my chambers last night.  Just as Luna says, the body was yours, but not the will.  For me it was the changeling queen, Chrysalis.”

At this news both Cadence and Shining shuttered, everypony in the room had had enough dealing with changelings to last a lifetime.  It was then that Celestia turned and noticed Twilight shivering and back away.  “No….not them too…..There’s just no way…..Alone they would have been……but them too.”  Celestia immediately rushed over to Twilight, followed closely by Shining, “Please my faithful student calm down.”  She tried to bring Twilight into a hug, but the mare only pushed back.  Shining Armor stepped in, “Twily, talk to me.  Whatever happened, I won’t let anything happen to you.  We will face whatever it is united.”  “That’s just it, the last time that was almost not enough….and that was just with him.”  Celestia’s eyes went wide.  “Twilight please, tell us what happened.”

Moments passed; Twilight gulped.  “I felt magical energy pulses in Ponyville coming from Canterlot.  I knew something was wrong…somehow and I had to get here.  I sent Spike to wake the others and teleported into the gardens…..I found the landscape pony who left earlier there….along with…oh heavens.”  She needs help.  “The gardens were something out of Tararus Celestia,” spoke Shadow from behind them.  We still need to finish making the area…..permissible again.  My squad and some others were skewn across the landscape…..many impaled upon the statues decorating the area.”  Great…now I need help.  Twilight began again, “It may have looked like the gardener….but how it acted…I knew….even though it shouldn’t be possible.  It was Discord.”  After everything that had been said it seemed like the worst had revealed, but this news brought a new expression of fear on Celestia’s face.  Everypony was wearing the face she had at the previous revelation…but this.

“Your majesties…..I never finished my report of the consequences of last night.  There was one more thing….a statue is missing from the gardens.”  ………  “I confronted him in the gardens……right in front of….he….he,” Twilight was in tears now.  “He tried to drain my body dry…sob...of magic….of everything.  I used your failsafe method princess….with…..with our energies so connected, I sealed him too….and then……two blots, darker than your night Luna.”  Twilight had recovered somewhat and took a breath before she continued.  “They joined him and his voice….it became something from a nightmare.  It teleported me above the castle……if Rainbow hadn’t come when she did……I would not be here.  We descended back.  Pinky had arrived earlier to help…from where….well she is Pinky.  It hit Rainbow and would have……..then he broke out.  It had used a spell before I arrived to start the process…..I failed you Princess, I couldn’t stop him…….Discord…..saved us…..said something that it was him….but not him….I have no idea.  He wanted to deal with us on his own time……..he snatched the darkness out….and left…..right before the Lieutenant showed up.”  That was it, she was done.  Twilight collapsed against the wall and without having a scratch on her looked worse than anypony else present.

Nopony knew what to do.  Nopony knew what to say.  What could be said?  What could be done?  They had been defeated, exiled, and imprisoned and yet the testimonies pointed to three of Equestria’s greatest threats on the loose and….working together.  It was spike who broke the silence.  “Twilight….I…ugh.”  Spike suddenly collapsed and the ponies gathered snapped out of their trance.  Fluttershy rushed over.  “Oh my goodness, what’s wrong?”  “It feels like…..but it hurts…..burp.”

On the floor lay a black scroll.