Angel of Justice: Blood Moon

As the newly returned sun warmed the Equestrian capital below, the palace was abuzz as the ponies within prepared for the inevitable.

Teams of pegasi guards zipped through the sky, heading off far and wide to carry orders from the princess of the night. Curfews were to be implemented in every township and village in Equestria, and guard presence was to be increased as much as feasible.

Even though it only served as a hollow comfort, silver weapons were dispensed and unicorn guards were told to, quote-unquote, ‘exterminate down to the last atom’ any undead ponies, alicorn or otherwise, through the use of fire magic. Coltridge and the other towns bordering the forest leading to the forgotten castle were also to be evacuated.

All of these measures were taken in the hopes of locating Dusk, and at the very least slowing his progress toward whatever goal he would set himself upon once he was freed by the night’s embrace. Slowing him down, to hopefully give time to discover a way to permanently kill him.

Laboring away at this, such an overwhelming task, were Sunspot, Glimmer Shine, Sparkplug, and Luna herself.

The four had made their second home in the Princess’s own study. All of their books and enough coffee to make an elephant go cross-eyed were delivered to the normally peaceful room. Celestia, Twilight, and Luna had all spent their fair share of time enriching themselves with knowledge and sipping tea to relax here, but now the space was filled with anxiousness, dread, and more than a couple verging nervous breakdowns.

Sunspot felt her eyes drying out as she stared at page after page of text. The only thing staving off her usual boredom was the impending thought of death. “Ughh… I wish Glitter was here. She always finds this stuff before anyone else.”

“I’m sure she wishes she were here just as much as you.” Sparkplug noted.

Luna poked her head up from her book and stole a glance at Sparkplug. Particularly, she was looking at the thick bandages around the gray mare’s foreleg. “How is your leg feeling, Sparkplug?”

Sparkplug looked over, a bit taken aback. It seemed as though even this far into her new career, she still wasn't used to being called by name by one of her rulers. However, her slight amazement faded as a twinge of pain brought her attention down to her foreleg.

“It still hurts. The spells they used on it are numbing it a little… but they said it would probably take a long time to heal.” She said, trying not to let her voice shake with the pain.

Glimmer, Sunspot, and even Luna all frowned sympathetically. Even though nobody wanted to say it, the sight of one of their own so gravely injured only reminded them of Tom. If he were alive, they could just use his powers to heal the gray mare, and even Glitterball, as they always had before.

Ever since their team had been formed, their human friend had always been a safety net for them. No matter how grievous and potentially life-altering their wounds, as long as they weren’t killed outright, they could always get back to normal with relative ease.

Now, their own fragility and lack of strength was glaringly apparent to them. How could they become so complacent with just letting the human shoulder the brunt of their struggles?

Pushing past their troubled thoughts, the group continued their study session into the afternoon.

Eventually, Sparkplug blinked and paused as something stuck out to her. She re-read the passage a few times, squinting her eyes before widening them. “Hold on… I think I have something here.” She announced.

Immediately, the others looked up from their own books to their gray companion.

“Tell us something good, Sparkplug.” Glimmer Shine said.

Sunspot snorted at the stallion’s statement. “Yeah, preferably something along the lines of ‘how to kill vampires for dummies’.”

“I don’t know if it’s anything like that, but…” Sparkplug paused tracing her hoof along the passages of text and reading them closely. “This talks about the different kinds of… something called a ‘vampire lord’.” She said before suddenly skewing her brow in confusion. “Huh…?”

“What is it, Sparkplug?” Luna asked, getting up and walking over to the gray mare.

Sparkplug lifted up the book, allowing the alicorn to gently take it up into a magical aura. “I don’t know what these words mean. San… sangwee…” She muttered, pointing out the text for Luna.

“Sanguis plastes.” Luna read off.

“What is that?” Sunspot asked, understandably confused alongside her companions.

Luna looked around at the three ponies before shifting her eyes down to the book. “It is in old ponish… or rather, latin, as the humans apparently called it.” She said, briefly struggling with the pronunciation she half-heard from Tom once or twice when they shared knowledge. “It means, blood shaper.”

“You know a human language?” Sparkplug asked, a bit amazed.

“I know old ponish,” Luna said, offering the gray mare a slight smirk. She quickly read over the rest of the passage, her ears falling slightly as she did. “This passage seems to describe certain aspects of these so-called vampire lords. This… blood shaper, sounds like it matches up with Dusk’s capabilities.”

“Sounds about right.” Sunspot chimed in. “That creep was flinging his own blood around like it was going out of style.”

“Quite,” Luna said flatly. “Unfortunately, it seems that this passage does not go into great detail about them… certainly not as far as to describe any weaknesses.”

“Oh…” Sparkplug deflated, trailing her eyes down.

Luna chuckled softly, bringing the gray mare’s attention back to her. “Not to worry, Sparkplug. Your discovery has given us more than what we started with. And now…” She paused, lifting many of the other books, which all started to glow softly as she channeled her magic through them. “We know what to look for.”

The three monster hunters watched as all of the books’ pages started flipping wildly. The sound of paper shifting filled the air as Luna waited patiently while her magic worked.

“What are you doing?” Glimmer Shine asked, looking around at the books with a bit of surprise.

“I’m using a location spell to find the specific term of ‘blood shaper'.” Luna answered. “Normally, such a spell would be hindered by the sheer number of times any given word like ‘vampire’ would show up. However, sanguis plastes is a might bit rarer I would say.”

“That is so cool!” Sunspot laughed giddily, either out of the amazement of watching the princess at work or from the fact that she didn’t have to study anymore.

After a few moments, all of the books gradually stopped flipping their pages with no result. The group started to lose their enthusiasm from their newfound information. However, just before they gave up hope, one of the books off to the side of the table snapped open, holding its position hovering between the other books that were formerly in a pile with it.

Luna looked to the lone floating book, letting the others gently fall back to the table after they stopped flipping pages. Her brows narrowed as she recognized the cover of the book. “Oh no…”

“Oh no?” Sparkplug blinked. “Why oh no?”

Taking the book up in her hoof, Luna quickly read over the open pages before annoyance crossed her face. She tensed slightly and cursed under her breath before turning to the others and forcing herself to calm, though she still wore a bit of a wrinkled lip as she opened the book to show them.

There was a bit of text at the top of the page highlighted in a soft blue aura that read as the term Luna had searched for. The rest of the paragraph, however, was a completely unintelligible mess that didn’t look like a language, let alone old ponish.

“This is one of the tomes that was written in one of the codes that Raven Feather and her followers used. More than that, it is one of the codes that has proven… difficult, for us to decipher.” Luna explained.

Almost at once, any enthusiasm left the room. Sunspot, Glimmer Shine, and Sparkplug all felt their hearts sink. They were so close, only to have their breakthrough ripped away from them.

Sunspot planted her face into the desk in front of her with an annoyed huff. “I can’t believe that after all that’s happened… after everything we’ve been through… Raven Feather still finds a way to be a pain in our flanks!”

Meanwhile, Glimmer Shine was still trying to be somewhat on task. He looked to Princess Luna, or at least in her general direction as he drifted into thought about their possible options. “Is there any chance of us cracking that code?”

Luna sighed and shook her head. “Unfortunately, both my sister and I have attempted to solve this particular code. It is partially enchanted, so it has resisted our magical attempts, and it has proven far too complex for us to solve without some sort of key or cipher.”

“And… what about finding the information we need in another book from the mansion?” Glimmer asked tentatively.

“I’m afraid that we already have all of the pertinent books from the mansion that cover knowledge on monsters and blood magic,” Luna said, gesturing to the many other stacks of books littered on the table.

“I thought so.” Glimmer sighed and rubbed a hoof along his temple.

“Come on… there has to be some way to break this code.” Sparkplug suggested. “I mean, that girl Raven Feather knew nothing about this stuff before she found that mansion, right? She had to break the code somehow.”

“Yeah, well, she took that knowledge with her to the grave. Her and everyone else she knew.” Sunspot grumbled dismissively.

Suddenly, Luna twitched an eyebrow as her mind drifted from the pegasus’ words. She raised up and put the book down, catching everyone’s attention. “That… isn’t entirely accurate.” She said.

“Huh?” Sunspot lifted her head from the desk to look at the alicorn. “What do you mean?” She asked. Then, as the gears started to turn in her head, a slow look of revelation, and then disbelief, came over her. “Wait… you’re not thinking about what I think you’re thinking about, are you?” She cocked an eyebrow at the alicorn.

“What is she thinking about?” Sparkplug asked before sighing and deflating a bit. “I think I’m confused.”

“Woah, woah, woah…” Glimmer Shine cleared the air before turning to the alicorn. “Princess… please tell me you aren’t talking about her?”

Luna merely gave a hesitant nod. “I’m afraid I am, Glimmer Shine. The only living pony that knows how to break this code… is Raincloud.”

While Sunspot and Glimmer Shine were shocked at the alicorn’s statement, their gray companion was just as lost as ever.

“Who is Raincloud, and why does that name sound so familiar?” Sparkplug asked, tapping her head pensively. “Wait… isn’t she one of the hooded ponies?”

“Yeah.” Glimmer Shine nodded.

“The same hooded ponies that used monsters to terrorize Ponyville, tried to kill all of you guys, and nearly overthrew the princesses? Those hooded ponies?” Sparkplug blinked, her mouth twitching upwards into a nervous smile.

“Bingo,” Sunspot added.

“And you want us to get her help?” Sparkplug gave Luna a look that silently communicated ‘if you weren’t able to throw me in a dungeon for the rest of my life, I would call you crazy.’

“Now, now, I understand your hesitance,” Luna said, gesturing a hoof to calm the trio, mostly Sunspot, down. “However, Raincloud did prove instrumental in our final victory against the entity that Raven Feather called on. She has been serving out her sentence with surprising… perhaps cooperation is too strong a word, but she has shown some willingness to atone for her crimes.”

“She can also rip a pony in half with her bare hooves, need I remind you,” Sunspot added.

“I am entirely aware of her capabilities,” Luna said before softening her expression slightly. “Look… I am not asking any of you to like this. You have every reason to be opposed to the idea. However… with my sister unfit to make such decisions, it is my judgment to make.”

There was an uncomfortable pause after that. Sunspot wrinkled her mouth and drifted her eyes away. Sparkplug seemed unsure of who to side with, or even if she should side with anyone. Glimmer was staring through the alicorn, his thoughts elsewhere for a moment before he finally focused on her.

“Princess… if I may,” He started uncomfortably. “You’re right… I’m not ok with this at all. But, it is your decision to make, and I’ll back you up however you want me to.”

Sunspot sighed to herself uncomfortably and nodded as she looked up finally. “Me too.”

Luna let a smile form as she looked at her two monster hunters and their newest addition. “Thank you. That means a lot to me.”

Glimmer Shine nodded passively before getting up and stretching. “Alright. When do we leave?”

“Actually, I want you and Sunspot to stay here at the castle and keep an eye on things. Sparkplug will accompany me to go see Raincloud.” Luna said, pointing to the gray pony, who was just as surprised as everyone else.

“Huh? Why her?” Sunspot asked, scrunching her face in disbelief. “No offense, Sparkplug.”

“No, I agree. Why me?” Sparkplug asked, looking to the princess of the night and forcing herself to ignore the anxiousness building inside her.

Luna simply smiled at the gray mare. “I had an idea for something, and I think you are the right pony for the job. That, and I’d like a little company to help me keep myself in check through Raincloud’s… unpleasantness.” She felt her eyes narrow at the mere thought of meeting with the pale pegasus again. Shaking these thoughts from her head, she stood up, grabbed the book, and turned to the door before pausing and looking back to Sparkplug.

“Come along, Sparkplug. Let us go see this old… er… what was the term?” She muttered to herself briefly before her eyes brightened with clarity. “Ah, yes… frenemy.”

Sparkplug and the others watched as the alicorn headed out the door. She turned to her two teammates, who could only offer her unsure shrugs in response, before sighing and getting up to follow the princess.

“I just wanted to hunt ghosts…” The gray mare mumbled to herself as she headed out of the door.

-A short time later-

When Sparkplug first joined the ranks of Spirit, she expected to see new places. She expected to get out, enjoy the far-off corners of Equestria, protect the innocent, and get to marvel at the golden sights of Canterlot.

She did not expect to be visiting Canterlot’s prison with Princess Luna of all ponies with her.

The immense structure was tucked away at the edge of one of the upper levels of the city, far away from any residential or commercial buildings. It bore a few banners with the insignia of the royal sisters and Equestria as a whole on it, but otherwise, it was devoid of any lavish decoration. Its architectural style wasn't exactly plain, so as to not look atrocious next to other buildings in the city, but it was clear from the more rigid designs and facets of the building that this place was meant for function rather than form.

Heading into the main entrance and passing through the various security checkpoints was relatively easy. As it turned out, when you had one of the royal sisters accompanying you, the city was your oyster, though Sparkplug would have rather not seen the inside of this particular oyster.

Displeased shouts and hooves clinking against bars could be heard in the distance before a guard silenced whoever was being a nuisance. The noises all echoed against the stone walls and linoleum floors, making the already oppressive space feel all the more like a cage.

Luna and her companion made their way further into the prison and away from the main holding cells. They found themselves in a hallway leading to a secluded room, and as a guard showed them inside, it was easy to see why it was so secluded.

Inside of the relatively small space, whitewashed by the lights above, was a room with a few chairs gathered before a window. Sparkplug could already see another room through the window, a barren holding area with a table and a set of chairs on either side.

And sitting in the chair furthest from them was a white-haired pegasus mare no older than Sparkplug. Pale grayish blue fur poked out of a black and white striped shirt, while the mare’s lower half was exposed, allowing a view of her dreary stormcloud cutie mark. Her hind leg was attached to the table by a thick chain, and she had a collar around her neck, which she was limply tapping to occupy herself as she stared listlessly at the glass window.

Sparkplug felt a bit intimidated by the blue eyes staring at her. However, the pegasus seemed to be staring through her. It was at this point that the gray mare realized that the window must have been reflective on the pegasus’ side.

“That’s her?” She asked, her voice sounding a bit hollow, as she turned to the alicorn behind her.

Luna nodded, wearing a reassuring expression as she noticed the unease in her companion. “Worry not. You are completely safe, and you do not even need to go in with me.”

Sparkplug breathed a silent sigh of relief and relaxed a bit, not showing this outwardly and instead focusing on her own curiosity. “You said you wanted me to… make something?” She asked, thinking back to the vague description she had received in passing as they walked down to the prison.

“Indeed,” Luna said before pointing at the pegasus through the window. “Do you see that collar around her neck?”

Taking a closer look at the collar, Sparkplug noticed a single line of symbols engraved into it that went all the way around. “Yeah.”

“That is what keeps Raincloud from using her shadow magic,” Luna explained, her voice a bit somber as she stared at the pale mare and let her thoughts wander.

“Shadow magic?” Sparkplug parroted. “Is that what lets her do all of that freaky stuff that the others told me about?”

Luna nodded. “It is indeed. Without that collar, she is one of the most dangerous individuals in Equestria right now.” She said with a sense of cautious respect in her voice that made a lump form in Sparkplug’s gut. It was like she was talking about a dangerous wild animal. “However… I believe that we may require use of her abilities, either in our research or in the coming battle with Dusk. That is why I brought you here, Sparkplug.”

“Wh… what do you want me to do?” Sparkplug asked, more confused than hesitant.

“You would consider yourself mechanically inclined, would you not?” Luna asked, receiving a small nod in return. “Well, I need you to build a variation of that collar that would allow us to break and reform that line of symbols as needed.” She explained.

Sparkplug looked to the collar again as the pegasus inside yawned and scratched at her chained leg. Already, the wheels in her head started spinning as different ideas came to her. “So… you want a way to unleash her, and then leash her again if she tries anything funny?”

“In a manner of speaking, yes.” Luna nodded, pleased that the gray mare was following along.

“Alright… alright… I think I can work something out.” Sparkplug said before gesturing with her hoof and muttering to herself in deep thought. “Those symbols just need to be in line like that?”

“Precisely. If that line is broken somehow, the symbols will lose their effect.” Luna said.

Sparkplug rubbed her chin curiously before giving a nod. “Ok. I’ve got an idea. It’ll take me some time to make.”

“Can you have it done by the end of the day?” Luna asked, her voice holding some urgency.

“I should… but I would need to start on it soon.” Sparkplug answered.

Luna trailed her eyes over to the one-way glass and the pegasus behind it, adopting a flat expression. “Worry not… this won’t take long.” She said, already walking over to the door at the back of the room.

Sparkplug watched as the alicorn approached the door and paused in front of it. She lifted a hoof and rested it on the handle, seemingly working herself up to actually opening it. Finally, she took an even breath and entered the room.

As soon as Luna entered, the pegasus chained to the table and the guard at the back of the room looked up to her. However, whereas the guard quickly returned to a passive stance staring ahead, Raincloud kept her gaze squarely directed at the alicorn.

“Well, well… if it isn’t her royal highness, Princess Moonbutt.” Raincloud lifted an eyebrow. “You came all this way to see little ol’ me? You shouldn’t have…” She deadpanned.

Luna twitched her brows downward at the pegasus. “Good evening, Raincloud. I see you haven’t changed at all since we last spoke.” She noted flatly as she made her way over to the table, opting to stand rather than take a seat.

“So… long night?” Raincloud asked, noting the alicorn’s injuries. “Y’know… I might not get out much, but even I could tell it was dark for way too long. Everything ok up in high society? What, did Celestia get lost?”

Luna blinked, not removing her thoroughly annoyed stare from the pegasus for an instant. Raincloud didn’t seem fazed in the least.

“What? Did she die or something? Is that why you came to me?” Raincloud snorted. “Sorry, but I don’t do the whole bringing back the dead thing… personal rule… also, I can’t do it, so there’s that.”

“My sister’s health is not your concern, Raincloud,” Luna said. “Although, you are correct in assuming that your services are needed.”

“And why exactly should I help you? You know, I’ve been in here for a while now, and I haven’t complained…” Raincloud said before skewing her expression a bit. “Ok, maybe I complained a little bit, but that’s beside the point.” She leaned back in her chair, putting a foreleg over the back. “Give me a good reason why I should help you.”

“Need I remind you that you are serving time for a very serious list of crimes?” Luna raised an eyebrow.

Raincloud squinted in faux disbelief. “What? Aww… come on, what’s a little attempted murder and conspiracy to overthrow the crown between friends?”

Luna snorted and adopted a stern look in her eyes. “I do not have the time or the patience for idle chatter with you. Will you help or not?”

“Jeez... touchy today, aren’t we?” Raincloud muttered. “Alright… let’s at least stop beating around the bush. What do you want?”

“What I want, is to recruit you to assist us with defeating a vampire lord,” Luna explained, not even batting an eye.

Raincloud blinked. “Pardon?”

Instead of answering, Luna lit up her horn and reached into her saddlebag. She produced a leather-bound tome, which the pegasus immediately recognized to be one of the books from the mansion, and opened it to a page before putting it on the table and scooting it forward.

“We believe that this passage describes the entity we are battling,” Luna said as she watched the pegasus pick up the book and give the pages a once over. She seemed to actually be making sense of what she was seeing, so that was a good sign at least.

As she got further down the page, Raincloud cocked an eyebrow and drew air between her teeth. “Yikes… that is one nasty customer.”

“That is one way of putting it,” Luna noted.

Raincloud set the book down and looked back to the alicorn, her eyes half focused on her and half lost to thought. “So, you want me to help you kill one of these?”

“Assuming this passage is about what we think it is, yes,” Luna said. “Naturally, you can translate it for us and we can confirm our suspicions after we have made an arrangement.”

“Mmhmm…” Raincloud made an odd noise with her mouth as she leaned forward. “And what’s in it for me?”

“Is your survival not enough of an incentive for you?” Luna narrowed her eyes at the grayish-blue mare.

“Pfft… why should I be worried? I’m nice and safe in here, and I seriously doubt that you’re cruel enough to go dangling me in front of this thing without a way to defend myself.” Raincloud said, tapping her collar pointedly.

Luna merely stared at the pegasus, a thoroughly unimpressed look stuck on her face. “The individual that has afflicted himself with this condition,” She tapped the book, “has a bit of a distaste for anyone who isn’t an alicorn. If he succeeded in killing us, he would eventually turn this city upside down looking for food sources and ponies to torture. It wouldn’t be long before he found this place and everyone inside of it.”

“Well, maybe dying wouldn’t be so bad?” Raincloud said, tapping her hind hooves against the floor restlessly. “I mean, hay, it can’t be much worse than staring at a set of bars day in and day out.”

The alicorn felt the muscles in her neck tense as she growled under her breath. She felt like the pegasus was trying to get her to strangle her, and it might have been working. Finally, she sighed and rubbed a hoof along her face before lowering her head slightly.

“Very well…” Luna huffed, looking up at the mare through her brows. “What do you want, Raincloud?”

Raincloud smirked impishly. “I thought you’d never ask.” She chortled before adopting a serious expression. “I want a book from the mansion.”

Luna reeled her head back and gave the pegasus a wary stare. “Hast thou lost thine mind?”

“Relax… I’m not after any spells or junk like that. I don’t even care about the book itself… I want something that’s inside of the book. A personal item, if you will.” Raincloud added.

“And just what is this personal item?” Luna asked.

Raincloud quieted down abruptly and adopted a look in her eyes that was unexpected to the alicorn. Discomfort.

“I’m… not at liberty to say,” Raincloud stated, trailing her eyes to the side.

“Raincloud, I know you must understand that to even consider this request, I need to know exactly what you’re asking for,” Luna said.

There was an irritated grumble, though it was softer than the displeased noises that usually came from the pegasus. Somehow, behind the stony and indifferent exterior that Raincloud had near constantly, Luna could make out a bit of sadness.

“It’s something important to me. Is that good enough for you?” Raincloud said at last.

Luna silently watched the troubled mare for a moment before softening her expression. “If we get this item for you, you will help us?”

“Yeah…” The pegasus nodded. “I’ll give it a shot. But you should know, if the thing in this book really is what you’re fighting, we’re in for a rough time.”

“Believe me when I tell you that you have no idea,” Luna said. She stuck out her hoof begrudgingly, half expecting to be ignored. Raincloud looked at the alicorn for a moment before slowly reaching out and making contact. They both gave a single, firm shake as their deal was struck, however tenuous it might have been.

Back at the castle, Rainbow Dash was still asleep in her shared room with Fluttershy. However, while the yellow mare was somewhat peaceful in her slumber, Rainbow seemed to be having more of an uneasy rest.

Rainbow Dash fitted and fidgeted as her eyes rolled under their lids. Finally, she came to her senses and opened her eyes, only to find her vision blurred by tears.

There was an intense feeling of bittersweet sadness in her heart as memories of her dream still flashed before her. She could still feel the warm embrace of fur against her chest and hear the smooth familiar voice in her ears, but all at once, the realization that it had only been a dream hit her, and it hit hard.

“Blue Bolt…” She whimpered softly, letting the sadness out in a silent cry as her throat tickled and the tears fell down her face. After a few quiet sobs, she wiped her eyes and sat up. She stared at the covers for the longest time, just processing existence and everything that had happened.

Over in the other bed in the room, Fluttershy slowly opened her eyes as well. After blinking a few times and adjusting to the light filtering into the room through the curtains, she stretched and sat up in bed.

As the yellow mare rubbed her eyes and looked over, she was surprised to see that her friend was awake as well. Not only was she awake, but Rainbow Dash was hugging herself and staring down gloomily, her eyes glistening with freshly spent tears.

“Dashie…?” Fluttershy called, her voice still finding a hard time past her dry throat.

Looking up and realizing that she wasn't alone anymore, Rainbow Dash quickly turned away and wiped her eyes again. “Oh… hey, Flutters. Morning there.” She said, trying to hide a sniffle and failing.

Fluttershy frowned as she watched her friend forcing a neutral exterior. “Are you ok? You’re crying.”

“What?” Rainbow blinked, faking surprise as she checked her cheeks with a hoof, only to ‘discover’ that they were damp. “Yeah, yeah… I’m fine. It was just some stupid dream or something.” She puffed some hair out of her face and licked her hoof so she could straighten the mischievous mane.

Noticing that her friend was still worried, Rainbow Dash stretched and hopped out of bed. “I don’t know about you, but I need some fresh air and sunlight. How about we take a quick fly around the castle and then grab something to eat?”

Fluttershy hesitated for a moment. Her frown lessened slightly, but still remained. “Ok. That sounds nice.” She reasoned, throwing her blanket off and quickly making her bed before joining her friend in heading out of the room. At any rate, she was happy to help the cyan mare with getting her mind off of everything for a while.

The pair stepped out into the hallway, briefly admiring the newly returned sunlight. It seemed like just moments ago that they wondered if they would ever see the sun again.

Just as they were about to walk off, however, another door opened in front of them and a groggy-looking pink pony walked out into the hall. She turned and noticed the two pegasi, her previously dreary features brightening, though not to the degree that they usually did.

“Morning, sleepyheads.” Pinkie greeted, her voice still a bit drowsy and perhaps holding a bit of gloom from earlier. Still, she seemed to have cheered up, even if only a little.

“Morning, Pinkie.” Fluttershy smiled, pleased to see her pink friend somewhat returning to her usual bouncy self. Her mane and tail had even puffed out again.

The pink mare looked between the two pegasi curiously. “Where are you guys off to?”

“We were gonna get out and do some flying before breakfast, but I guess we could just skip that and head straight for breakfast if you want to join us?” Rainbow offered, recognizing that familiar look in her friend’s eyes.

Hearing this, Pinkie’s face lit up. “Ooo, that sounds great! I found this new place down in the business district that’s supposed to be really good.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.” Rainbow Dash nodded. “Come on, let’s get down there before they stop serving breakfast.”

“Uh… Rainbow, isn’t it already a bit late for breakfast?” Fluttershy asked, though truth be told, it was a little hard to tell what time it technically was right now.

“Fluttershy, with everything we’ve been through, I think we’ve earned an omelet or two, and Princess help the poor sap that tries to say no to us,” Rainbow said as she started walking down the hall.

Pinkie giggled at the thought of Rainbow Dash going ham on some chef, while Fluttershy merely cringed with worry. She didn’t want her friend getting kicked out of another restaurant in Canterlot, especially after the souffle debacle just a few months prior.

After a few minutes spent walking down the grandiose halls, Fluttershy and Pinkie found themselves behind their friend by a fair distance. Rainbow had been keeping ahead of them just enough to be out of conversational distance. It could have been her eagerness to get outside and get some food, but somehow Fluttershy didn’t believe that.

Looking beside her to Pinkie, she found the pink mare watching Rainbow as well with a similar uneasy expression. Perhaps noticing her subtle frown and occasional glancing, Pinkie leaned in close and whispered in her ear.

“Is she ok?” Pinkie asked.

Fluttershy darted her eyes to check if Rainbow was watching them before turning to her pink friend. “I… don’t think so.”

“We should make her feel better.” Pinkie suggested, ever helpful.

“I’m not sure how we could…” Fluttershy’s eyes dulled.

Pinkie lifted a hoof pensively and hummed, the cogs already turning in her head. “Ooo, I know! We could go borrow some spare strobes and have a strobe fight! That oughta cheer her up!” She perked up at the thought, while Fluttershy merely gave her a wary look.

“I don’t know if Glimmer and the others would be comfortable with us misusing their equipment like that,” Fluttershy said.

Pinkie didn’t seem fazed in the least. “It’s not misusing if it serves a purpose. Especially an important one. Cheering up the both of you is pretty important, don’t you think?” She reasoned.

Fluttershy wrinkled her mouth, unable to deny the pink mare’s point. “Well, yes, it is really important, but…”

“Hey.” Rainbow Dash called from up ahead. The pair looked up to see her standing in the opening to the entrance hall, looking back at them with a raised brow. “You two coming, or are you just gonna stay here and chat?”

“Uh…” Fluttershy felt her face heating up uncomfortably as she darted her eyes between Pinkie and the pegasus, unsure of what to say.

Pinkie placed a foreleg around the nervous mare. “Of course we are! We’re right behind you!” She waved and smiled enthusiastically.

Rainbow gave the pair an odd look for a moment. She then shrugged and chalked it up to Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie and simply turned around. “Well, hurry it up. I’m starving.”

Fluttershy deflated with relief as she watched her friend walking along. She was glad that Pinkie was quick on her hooves. Looking beside her, she noticed the party pony looking back with a convincing pout and begging eyes.

“Umm… let’s shelf the strobe fight…” Fluttershy said before her resolve melted away as her bouncy friend drooped her ears. “For now, anyway.”

Immediately, Pinkie flipped her expression upside down and beamed happily. “Yay!”

Catching up with Rainbow Dash, the pair joined her in walking toward the front doors. They couldn’t wait to get back out into the city and enjoy the day, especially after everything they had been through. They just needed to forget about their problems for a while and spend time with each other.

However, before they could open the doors themselves, the doors creaked open as the two guards outside pushed them apart, welcoming in a small entourage of ponies, foremost of which was Princess Luna. Sparkplug was also present, along with a couple of guards, who were escorting a certain pegasus mare.

A certain pegasus mare that was immediately familiar to Rainbow and her friends.

Raincloud paused and looked ahead at the three mares, who were all locked to the spot and staring back at her. “Oh, great...” She sighed.

“Hey! I remember you!” Pinkie stated, pointing an accusatory hoof at the gray mare, who seemed to be in hoof cuffs. “You’re that big meanie that tried to kill us!”

“To be fair, my brother was the one that tried to kill you, puffball. I tried to kill your friends… big difference.” Raincloud deadpanned.

“Oh…” Pinkie paused briefly, contemplating Raincloud’s logic before returning a glare to her face. “Well, you’re still a big meanie!”

Raincloud crinkled her eyes in annoyance. “You know, the whole trying to kill you thing is still on the table if you want.” She said before getting a nudge in the side by Sparkplug. She glared at the earth pony, causing a nervous flinch and a slight repositioning away from her.

Rainbow Dash produced an irritated sigh as she looked at Princess Luna. “What is she doing here?”

“Hey, I thought you liked me or something?” Raincloud interrupted.

“I visited you like twice… once because you asked for me, and once to try and reform you into a functioning member of society instead of… you.” Rainbow narrowed her eyes sarcastically. “You almost killed me and my friends. I sure as hay don’t like you.”

“Well, good… the feeling’s mutual,” Raincloud grumbled as she looked to the side.

Luna glanced between the pale pegasus and the three mares sympathetically. “I am sorry, girls. I did not expect you to be here right now.”

“Isn’t she… umm… s-supposed to be in jail right now?” Fluttershy asked, hiding behind Rainbow Dash as she stole a nervous glance at the blue pegasus. Even if Raincloud was without shadow magic, she was still afraid of her.

“Normally, yes, Raincloud would be incarcerated,” Luna said, “but in light of our… situation with Dusk, I thought it prudent to use all of the tools at our disposal.”

“Did you just call me a tool?” Raincloud blinked before skewing a brow.

Rainbow Dash wrinkled her expression at the pale mare before turning to Luna and sighing. “Princess… I really hope for all our sakes that this doesn’t blow up in your face.” She said before looking back at her friends. “Come on, girls. Let’s leave them to work. They obviously have their hooves full right now.”

Fluttershy and Pinkie watched their friend leaving out of the front door. Soon after, Pinkie followed behind, blowing a raspberry at Raincloud as she passed, uncaring of the glare being shot into the back of her head.

“Uh… Hi... Heh heh-” Fluttershy sweated nervously as she saw Raincloud shifting to look over to her. “W-wait for me, girls!” She called after her friends before hurrying off.

Once the three mares were gone from view, Raincloud shifted her attention to the group escorting her and the palace around her. “You know, this place is a lot fancier looking when it isn’t covered in blood and scorch marks. I wish we had your cleaning guys back at the mansion.” She smirked before getting a hoof roughly clamped onto her shoulder.

“Move along, Raincloud. We have work to do.” Luna reminded, nudging the pegasus forward in a not so gentle manner.

“Yeah, yeah… keep your tiara on, Moony. I’m going.” Raincloud grumbled as she reluctantly walked forward.

Meanwhile, Luna sighed and leaned in closer to a nearby guard. “Can you please send all the coffee and headache medication we have to the study?”

The guard was quick to give a stoic nod. “Right away, Princess.”

Sparkplug watched as the alicorn and the guards followed close behind Raincloud, making extra sure that she stayed on track. “This… is going to be a long day.” She muttered to herself before following after.