Verve

Vee snooted snootily along the much too blue hallways of Canterlot. Hmm… coffee, coffee. No, not a bean in sight. But in smell? Probably! Maybe. If there was some of the sacred brew, it was this way - yes, to the left! No, not that left, jerk-face! My left! Hmhmhm~

Dining room. Oh yes, a good start! Definitely a place to check - as she found a nearby cart with lots of free sugar packets to quickly pour in her bag. But serious matters, first! Wait, no, second - it had the little cream cups, too. She’ll be feathered if she didn’t dump all of this into her bag. D’ohoho~

But back to snooting - she ran her nose along the floor quietly, until a little door to the kitchen blocked her way. Oho? But it wouldn’t open to her snooting. Of course, the only solution was to give it a strong buck of her hooves - sending it right off the hinges, wonderful! Good work Vee, just like a proper heroic witch would do.

“Hey! I didn’t order a floor door - oh! A new pony!” A squeaky, hyper voice chimed - a poofy pink maned earth pony bubbling up at the sight of Vee. “Wait a rootin’ tootin’ second - I know you! You visited Ponyville five years, nine months, and thirteen nights prior! And you ESCAPED MY WELCOME TO PONYVILLE PARTY!”

Pinkie Pie immediately darted forward, reaching to grab the purple pegasus in her hooves for a tight hug. But that was a snoot too far! Nopony invades Vee’s personal space! Not unless she invaded their personal space first! Because all space is her space, especially in her shop, ‘cause she paid for it.

The pegasus darted above the hugging hooves with a quick flap. “One moment, Pink-fry. The coffee… it compels me.”

In seconds of Vee’s expert snooting, she found just what she was looking for - the clearly unprotected cabinet to the sacred stash of coffee. Gasping in delight, her snoot edged forward to open it - but the cabinet shook against her nose. Of course, it was locked. Good thing she keeps her trusty lockpick on hoof! Wait. No. She didn’t have any books nearby to use. But her eyes settled on the curious Pinkie below, hovering an inch down.

“You’re a pink one, right?”

“Yeah-huh.”

“Oho! Perfect! Do you have a stash of lockpicks on hoof, in case of lockpicking emergencies?”

“You bet your flank I do!” Pinkie Pie dug around in her mane, humming happily as she plucked a set of lockpicking tools from her mane.

“Oho! I like you already, Pink-fry!” Vee chirped, nearly drooling as she floated back up to the much too secret cabinet, ready for her payday. The Purple then remembered she didn’t know how to pick locks. In fact, neither did Pinkie Pie. Instead, she opened the small satchel to find a nice, big hammer labeled ‘Lockpicker 5,000’. Perfect!

SMASH!

The cabinet door fell right off, several bags of he royal coffee now resting in front of her. Gently, she snooted the lockpick back in place, and gave it back to the Pink.

“D’ohoho!~ Thank you, Pink-fry!”

“No problem, Purple-fry!” Pinkie smiled, as the pegasus snatched all of the coffee to drop right in her bag.

“OH! DO YOU WANNA HELP ME MAKE CAKE FOR THE ETERNAL NIGHT VICTORY CELEBRATION!?” Pinkie bounced up excitedly on the tile floors, her blue pupils and irises gleaming brilliantly in the moonlight.

“Hmhm? Oho! A splendid idea! But! Also terrible. Maybe. Probably! Instead, can you tell me if this smells like Dream Powder to you?” Vee offered her hoof - Pinkie Pie immediately diving her nose in for a sniff.

“Hm… yep! That’s dream powder,” the pink pony chimed, flashing a wide smile.

Vee waited patiently for Pinkie Pie to fall asleep. Then she remembered; technically, she was asleep. Just sleepwalking. I refuse to call it sleepclopping, Smols.

“Oho! That’s bad for the feathers. Hmhm. How do I wake you up… Aha! I know.” Vee dug around in the Pink’s mane - regardless of the earth pony’s giggling. She rummaged through it, ignoring the party streamers, cupcakes, and massive party canon that somehow fit inside - until she withdrew a small book. She flicked it to a random page, clearing her throat with a cough.

“‘Twilight Sparkle becoming an alicorn was a terrible decision on Hasbro’s part, as it essentially made her an immortal Princess that would watch all of her friends die; while good for pony merchandise sales to small children, it was the first nail in the coffin for the brony community as some outright refused to acknowledge it happened’,” she read. Pinkie Pie’s eyes immediately cleared up in seconds - from light blue to a nice sentient black, she blinked away the sleep with a frown.

“Huh, what… hey! My book on Fourth Wall secrets! And -... oh no. Oh no.” She pressed her hooves to her temples in terror, screaming.

“NIGHTMARE MOON IS BACK! AND IT’S ONLY CLOPTOBER FIRST! AHHHHH!”

“Please don’t call it Cloptober, how many times do I have to say that?” Vee frowned, shoving the book back in Pinkie Pie’s mane. The Pink pony stopped in the middle of her panic, snapping to a smile and a giggle.

“Woopsie! Sorry pony-I’ve-never-directly-met-before!”

“Oh no, please - continue.” Vee began to preen quietly, as Pinkie resumed her screaming. During this time, the Purple set to work brewing up another batch of coffee to keep the Elements awake. Ooo!~ Can I be a strikethrough, tooooo?~ Pinkie, no!

FWOOSH!

“Oho! That… sounds terrible for the feathers.” Vee whispered, as she felt a thin wave of magic tickle her snoot. One she didn’t like to feel, at all. The bad kind of magic. The green kind. Wait, green magic was okay. It was red magic she didn’t like to feel, hmhm.

Arin sighed, as he carried the bloody-nosed pony down to the dungeons; swiping the jailor’s keys from the desk with a second thought. The last thing he needed was Flash waking up, and somehow throwing himself behind a shieldwall to give more orders. Just as he was dragging the unconscious stallion through the center hall - a peculiar sight caught his eye in one of the cells. Wait… was that a seraph? No - it… what?

“Hey! You! Are you an Inert, or a wingless Seraph? Why are you wearing a green mask?...” Arin called, as the green faced… seraph? Turned to face him.

“The fuck’s a seraph? No - better question, the fuck is a human doing here?! Shit, am I being saved from crazy horse land?!” The green-masked man shot up, darting to the bars of the cell. “Dude, the hell is up with you? You’ve got wings?! I want fucking wings! No fucking way, holy shit!”

“One moment.” Arin turned to the nearest empty cell that didn’t have a giant, gaping hole in it - and tossed the unconscious Flash inside. An angry grunt met his ears as the downed pegasus rolled across the floor. Free of the burden, he faced the ‘hu-man’ clutching the bars, crossing his arms in confusion.

“I am a Seraph from the world of Erenorn, hailing from the land of the Far Reaches. And you are?...”

“I’m Anon, legendary alcoholic and local terrorist of Ponyville. I guess I come from Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Used to be a janitor for a shitty kids animation company and local browser of dank memes on 4chan. I guess you’re not a human, after all - some kind of bullshit horse nonsense, I guess.” Anon rattled the door, staring through his green mask for mercy. He was sick of sitting on his ass in the cold.

“Uh… sure. We’ll go with that, Anon. What are you doing here?”

“Well, after a wine-binge with my only friends - alcohol and Berry Punch - I got sick of it being winter too damn early. That, and Berry Punch started to get all crazy about fuckin’... Nightmare Moon, or something. So I came up here to throw a bitchfit and demand more neetbux. One ass kicking later, and I’m here.”

Either Anon didn’t realize that Nightmare Moon had taken over, or he was outright immune to dream magic. Either way, he seemed entirely awake and cogent enough to consider his release.

“...Right.” Arin scratched his head, wings flicking in contemplation. “If I let you out of here, you’ll probably die, Anon. I don’t suppose you’re a fighter?”

“When I’m drunk off my ass? Yes. When I’m sober? Not so much. Tfw no alcohol. Dude, just let me out - Moonhorse can’t be this fuckin’ stupid. Maybe I can talk some sense into her, you know? At the very least, I can steal a bed that doesn’t hurt my ass. I’ve always wanted to poke around Sunhorse’s room, too. See what secret dildos she keeps in her drawers.”

“Er…” Arin hesitated with the key in hand. Well, the human didn’t have to fight. But maybe a few creature comforts were something Anon could find on his own. The deer wouldn’t shoot him on sight, at least.

“Just stay out of the entry hall, and try not to get yourself killed. It’s a warzone up there.” He clicked the keys together - jiggling the lock as it gave way in a moment’s notice. The anonymous man nodded his thanks, before jogging up the corridor.

“See ya, birdman! Have fun doing whatever.”

What a strange, strange creature, these… ‘humans’ were. But before he could contemplate it any further - the world beneath him began to shake.

FWOOSH!

Instantly, he felt the tingle of nature magic soak into his skin; eyes darting open as he realized what just occurred.

“The Feywilds…”

Tempest’s armor rattled as she hesitated by the library door - leaning an ear in to listen. Crying? Why?...

Gently, she pulled the handle - slipping inside with a flick of her short tail. She lifted the visor from her helm, taking in the dark halls around her. Unlike before, with the moonlight streaking in brilliantly - thick curtains had been draped over the windows, shutting out all light save a single burning candle.

“Twilight? Are you okay?...” Tempest called quietly into the dark, the small form of the alicorn shifting as silence followed.

“Go away,” came a sniveling response.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Princess. Talk to me.” The commander spoke quietly, stepping to the familiar table they sat at, not more than a few weeks prior. Or a week, in Twilight’s time.

“I’m a failure. I failed Nightmare Moon - I let Rainbow Dash escape, I couldn’t even find where the traitorous Princess went… I’m useless. I… I don’t deserve these wings.”

At that, a pit formed in Tempest’s stomach - as she reached for the candle with her teeth. Quietly, she lit several more across the way - bringing light to the shadowy dark.

She almost wished she didn’t. Twilight had plucked every feather from her wings - flight feathers included, leaving behind nothing but large, purple nubs. Blood had spilled as a result, as the thick pinions had a high demand for energy - leaving the pillowcase beneath her smothered in crimson.

“By the stars, Twilight, why?...” Tempest approached quietly, before her flanks fell to the floor. Mere inches from her former rival, the tall Unicorn gently offered her a hug. Twilight refused, turning away.

“Just stop. I’m a failure. I… I couldn’t do one simple thing. I-I… I’m not worthy of wings, I-I shouldn’t be here… let another loyal pony serve. I deserve to die…”

Tempest wanted to just… grab her, and snap her out of it. But that wouldn’t work - not now. She needed a gentle touch, she needed… a friend.

“You’re not a failure, Princess Twilight. I’ve studied everything about you, to find your weaknesses - and in my time, I rarely found any. As every mistake you’ve made has been a stepping stone for your success. The friendships you’ve made, Twilight, have been the hallmark of your character. Don’t you remember?”

When no response immediately came, Tempest pushed on; thankful she had been observant of her enemies long ago. “In your fight with Chrysalis, you saw through her disguise - but nopony believed you. Regardless, you didn’t give up hope. You pushed on, with Cadence by your side - and you and her both managed to expel the changeling invaders and save the wedding. Remember that?”

A sniffle, as Twilight turned an eye to face her.

“When Discord reappeared and sought to bring chaos, you and your friends - you all failed. But a stream of letters came back, to remind you of who you are. Of every piece of your past you were built upon - the bedrock of your lessons. And it worked, and your hope helped save your friends and gave you the chance to take Discord down once more. You recall this, too, don’t you?”

“I-I… I recall.” Twilight faced her, the blue in her eyes fading.

“And when Tirek seized all the remaining magic of Equestrians, and everything seemed to be lost - you had a choice. Give up all of the alicorn magic in Equestria for your friends, or keep it - and watch them suffer. And you chose your friends. You were there for them, you gave everything for those you cherished - and the Tree of Harmony gifted you the power to defeat Tirek, and return magic to the land. Right?”

“Y-Yes… Tempest, I…”

“And now, everypony needs you again. The world needs you. And do you know why?”

The quiet alicorn looked deep into those ocean green eyes, before a faint flash cleared her own irises of the lunar magic deep within. She nodded, jumping forward to engulf Tempest in her hooves. “Nightmare Moon is back. And we have to defeat her again.”

The Commander hugged on tightly, nodding. “You do remember, Twilight. You remember who you are. And why you deserve those wings.”

Before the moment could carry on, the castle beneath them shook.

FWOOSH!

“W-What was that?!” Twilight squeaked, as Tempest felt a faint wave of Fey magic tingle over her sensitive horn.

“Something bad, Twilight. We need to get to the Throne Room, now.”