Evening's Waltz

Chapters

A Royal Invitation
Best Hoof Forward
The Royal Dancefloor - Part 1
The Royal Dancefloor - Part 2
The Masquerade - Part 1

A Royal Invitation

At seven o’clock precisely in the evening Princess Luna walked out onto the balcony, one of many at Everfree Castle, her hard and icy gaze fixed on the eastern horizon, far beyond the vast Everfree Forest’s reach. The warm May breeze sent her wavy, pale blue mane flowing backwards behind her and away from her face. She spread her slightly darker blue wings and allowed a sudden gust of wind to rush through her feathers. At long last, she relaxed and her cyan eyes closed as a smile crept onto her lips.

She took in a few deep breaths of the sweet night air, allowing the fresh oxygen to reach her lungs. After a few minutes, she opened her eyes once again. The spirals of the long unicorn horn protruding from her forehead were surrounded by a pale blue light, which then shot off in the direction of the horizon. She watched as the sky slowly shifted to dark blue and purple; stars began to illuminate the sky and the moon crawled into its place.

Satisfied, Luna trotted back inside the castle. The bat pony guards stationed at equal distances along the corridor, each of them wearing the dark blue, purple and black armour of the Lunar Guards, nodded and saluted as she passed them. She smiled back and wished each of them a good evening.

“Princess Luna?” a voice called, interrupting her.

Her ears pricked upwards and she turned around, searching for the source of the sudden disturbance to the regular calm and quiet of the lavender-filled corridors. It was a light pink bat pony mare with a pastel blue mane and similar coloured eyes. Her fur and mane seemed unnaturally bright against her dark Lunar Guard armour. A sliver magical aura surrounded the tufted tips of her ears, and held a scroll next to her. The letter was written on good-quality parchment, wrapped in a black ribbon and sealed with purple wax. The pony ruffled her leathery purple wings as she looked at the Princess.

“How may We help you?” Luna responded in The Royal We, as she always did in public.

“Your Royal Highness, I have a letter for you,” the bat pony said, passing the scroll to the Princess, who plucked it from the air with her own bright blue magic and removed the seal, that she noticed was in the shape of a bat pony’s or perhaps a dragon’s eye, with a thin slit for a pupil, surrounded by crystals. It was a seal that she didn’t recognise. “I wish I could say whom it was from, Princess, but I don't even know who it is addressed to. I assumed it was for you.”

“If it is meant for somepony else, We shall ensure it reaches them,” Luna promised with a smile. The bat pony nodded, returned the smile and scurried back to her post.

Luna walked down the corridor as she untied the black ribbon, not needing to look where she was going as she had trodden the same path so many times before. The scent of the fresh lavender that she grew and used to decorate the castle each night was just noticeable enough to help her relax a little as she made her way to the throne room.

When she opened the scroll, it had incredibly neat hoofwriting that could almost be considered an art form. The letters were written in blood red ink that swirled and danced across the page. She bit her lip as she read the writing in front of her.

“‘Tis bad news,” she muttered to herself. “But does Tia know?”

She looked around the room, smiling at a pegasus stallion with a blue coat and a snow-white mane. “Nocté?”

The stallion smiled back. “Yes, Your Highness?”

“My sister needs to be informed of a… sudden turn of events regarding Aurora.”

“What has happened?” Nocté asked, his face falling.

“Do not worry yourself. I shall explain in a minute.”

Nocté gave her a nod of recognition, then fetched from a hidden desk at the back of the room a brown quill, a pot of black ink and a slip of paper, laying all three out on the flat surface before taking the lid from the ink pot and picking up the quill in his teeth. He looked up at the princess for further instructions. Luna spent a moment thinking about what to say to her sister before she opened her mouth to speak.

“Dearest sister, an odd letter has arrived at Everfree Castle addressed to the both of us, written in ink that looks like blood and a threatening tone. The author claims the ancient title of ‘the ruler of the Crystal Empire’, but I myself do not believe that it is Princess Amoré’s. As you are aware, I, like thee, have heard no official news from the Aurora Castle in months, and I am reluctant to say that she would do such a thing. Please, in the dream realm, allow me to talk to you, for it is urgent. Sincerely, your sister, Lulu.”

Nocté finished writing and his gaze turned back to Luna, his grey eyes inquisitive and slightly anxious. He wanted more answers - answers that Luna was hesitant to give so easily.

“We doubt it is legitimate,” is all Luna said. “Thank you, Nocté.”

The stallion gave the letter to her, and as her blue magic surrounded it there was a flash of light. The letter disappeared, and a burst of blue flames shot out of the room towards the nearest exit. In time it would reach Canterlot Castle, hopefully before Tia went to bed.

She thanked Nocté one last time before leaving the room and trotting to bed. Her bedroom had dark blue walls and light blue and black furniture. Her bed had a crescent-shaped cyan headboard that curved up into the air and over her head, with turquoise bedding. The room was lit with cool white lamps on black stands on either side of her bed. She got herself ready for bed, and before actually going to sleep she took a moment to look at the miniature portrait of a green bat pony stallion with bluish-purple eyes and a similar mane that sat on the bedside table.

“Wake up, Star. ‘Tis nighttime now. Time for you to brighten the sky.”

She crawled into bed, keeping the letter in her hooves; but didn’t fall asleep for a while, because the thought of the scroll’s contents played on her mind for a while. It wasn’t often that ponies turned to violence, but a letter threatening her, her family and her kingdom was, even by Luna’s standards, worrying and definitely unacceptable. And having turned four hundred and two years old only three weeks before, she had seen quite a lot in her life.

When at last she was able to fall into slumber, she found herself in a green void filled with glowing orbs of light, and surrounded by white doors, the letter on the floor next to her. This was a place she had visited many times now, a place where she felt comfortable. A place that she referred to as the dream realm, as she was, for reasons unknown, able to access the dreams of sleeping ponies and other creatures from here. However, this endless void held more secrets that she had yet to uncover. On occasions when she had nothing else to do, she would carry out experiments to test what she could and couldn't do in this strange place. But unfortunately she wouldn't have a chance tonight,

She picked up the letter, then spread her wings and took off, flying through the makeshift corridors created by the doors, allowing her senses to guide her to the right one. It took her a few minutes, but after a while she managed to deduce where the entrance to Celestia’s dream was in the huge labyrinth.

Within she found Celestia relaxing on a beach covered in tiny grains of pure white sand, lying down on her back with her wings spread out by her sides and her long pink mane and tail trailing across the ground. The sight made Luna smile. She knew that Celestia rarely had any opportunities to wind down in their waking lives, so the fact that she could have some ‘me’ time in the dream realm was a reason to be happy.

“Tia? ‘Tis I.”

Celestia started, and rolled over on the sand. She stood up, having to shake herself like a dog to get some of the sand off of her. Luna shielded her eyes with a hoof, then hugged Celestia.

“Sister!” the latter gasped. “You scared me!”

“Sorry,” Luna apologised, giggling. “Apart from the little jumpscare, how are you?”

“Not terrible, but worried. What is the matter?”

Luna handed over the letter to Celestia, who read it quickly, giving a few grim nods. “I see…”

“Shall we be concerned?”

“Definitely,” Celestia agreed. “This is not Amoré's hoofwriting. She and I are not as close as we once were, but after so long not hearing from her, and the rumours I have heard… Something has happened to Amoré.”

Luna read the letter again, frowning to herself. It was all just so… unnatural. At points, the writer seemed as though they were trying to be nice, and at others they were mocking and attempting to unnerve her and her sister.

Dear Princesses Celestia and Luna of Equestria,

I am writing to update you on the situation in the Crystal Empire and Aurora City, as you have been left in the dark in recent weeks. (Quite ironic, actually, considering that you are the governors of the sun and moon, but never mind that.)

I suppose that I should apologise for the unprecedented silence. The Crystal Empire has been going through some tough times, and I have put all of my focus on dealing with the issues on the streets, no matter how minor some of them are. That has left very few opportunities for me to re-establish contact with you, unfortunately, but no matter - I finally have a chance to change that.

Recently I have found myself in a strange position. The Crystal Empire is more than self-sufficient - even in the southern regions there is ample food and essentials for everypony, produced by crystal ponies for crystal ponies. Unfortunately, this means that I see little to no benefit in continuing with the existing Crystal-Equestrian trade deals. I am quite confident that you will see my point of view: why waste money on something that you already have? Perhaps others before me would have done so just to make the two of you happy, but I am more inclined to be honest, even if it is not the truth you wanted to hear.

And then there is the other issue that I need to inform you of. Both of you owe me something. Something that cannot be easily replaced. You have given me obstacle after obstacle to face, and now that I have succeeded in my task despite your best efforts I expect something back. Now the question is, what will I have to do to convince you to pay your debt?

Needless to say, I will need to speak to one of you, if not both of you. I understand that you have your own responsibilities, and don’t expect both of you to travel all the way to Aurora to leave your kingdom unprotected should some terrible danger descend upon your precious little ponies. However, I would like to talk in person, and it would be most wonderful if you would inform me of your arrival in advance. I, sadly, am unable to travel to Equestria at the present due to my own royal duties, but I shall make sure that the Crystal Empire’s capital is more than prepared for your arrival.

If you are able to, send me a letter in advance of you setting out on your journey here so that we can make some arrangements between us. You should already know the address.

Sincerely,

The One and Only Ruler of the Crystal Empire

It seems the author needs to be corrected on the meaning of ‘sincerity’, Luna thought to herself. But there were more important issues.

“Thoughts, sister?” she asked.

“If we go there at all, we shouldn't give any warning,” Celestia advised. “But I don't know how much we can trust this pony.”

“If you think it is safe, I'll go. I'm not as important to Equestria as you are.”

“Luna, that isn't true!”

Luna chuckled, “No offence, Tia, but whilst you can move the moon quite easily without me, I can’t move the sun on my own. If something happens to you, the world will be quite literally cooked.”

“You have a fair point, Lulu. Remind me to teach you how to raise the sun at a time when we are less busy. It could prove to be useful in future.”

“So, shall I go?”

“I'll leave the decision in your court, Luna. But whatever you decide to do, know that I have every bit of faith in you.”

The younger princess took a deep breath; a huge decision weighed on her shoulders. To stay in Equestria, despite the letter and the various tales that both she and Celestia had heard, but had once dismissed as nothing more than rumours and lies? Already in being so ignorant, ponies could have been harmed, and now that level of harm could spread to Equestria depending on how far this pony would go to settle the ‘debt’ that she and Celestia owed. Eventually she managed to make up her mind.

“I will go,” she sighed. “If all is true about the supposed coup d'etat, then I am needed in Aurora.”

“Will you travel direct from Everfree, or are you coming to Canterlot first?”

Luna thought about this for a moment. “Well, as I will already be leaving the castle, I suppose there isn't any harm in paying a quick visit. And of course, it gives us more time to prepare for whatever awaits in the Frozen North.”

“Agreed.”

The sisters embraced and bade each other goodnight, before Luna left Celestia's dream and allowed her sister some peace and quiet. Now began the task of patrolling the dream world, looking after ponies as they slept, and perhaps if she looked in the right places, she would have some answers.

Author's Note

Hello, everypony! :twilightsmile:

This is a prequel of sorts to a series of stories that I'm working on at the moment. However, it could also work as a standalone story, so you don't have to read my other stories before reading this. Actually, it would probably make more sense if you read this first. :twilightblush:

This has been written in hindsight, really, since the beginning of the first story didn't make sense. So I'm adding a bit extra to the AU, and my own personal headcanon on events in the MLP timeline.

I feel like this was probably a little rushed, but I've tried my best to slow it down somewhat. As always, any and all feedback is appreciated.

~ Angel

Best Hoof Forward

Cerulean Nocté was a remarkably well-respected stallion in Equestria. He had travelled much of the country, and other countries as well - the Crystal Empire, the Dragon Lands, Yakyakistan and Saddle Arabia to name just a few. He had a number of different law and politics-related university degrees to his name, could speak half a dozen languages fluently and another dozen with some additional thought and effort, and had met some of the most extraordinary ponies in Equestria of the time. He was even acquainted with William Neighsphere, the renowned playwright at the top theatre company “The Princess’s Ponies”.

Most ponies assumed that this was why Luna employed him as her personal assistant. To be fair, many of those reasons did play a part in her decision. But there were other reasons too, that were far more important than the ones known to Equestrian society.

“Nocté!” Luna called.

He sprinted into Luna’s study at her command. “Yes, Your Highness?”

The Princess of the Night was already wearing her saddlebags, her blue-black protective armour and her long black travelling cloak, ready to depart from the castle in a few minutes’ time. She had laid out various artefacts on a wooden desk that was painted blue and inscribed with her cutie mark, as well as different stars and constellations that only somepony with a keen eye or a talent for stargazing would recognise.

One of the items was a mirror with a gold frame, with a fleur-de-lis pattern; the second was a little clockwork amulet, appearing to be made of copper; and the third and final artefact was a plain brown book with both Celestia’s and Luna’s cutie marks on the front.

“We have made a few preparations, in case the situation should go awry whilst We are travelling,” Luna explained.

“What are each of these?”

She pointed at the mirror first. “‘Tis a scrying mirror, you should know the ones. They give glimpses into the past, present and future. Call Our name and ask Us how We are. The mirror will show Our location and what We are doing at that moment in time.”

She gently placed a hoof on the amulet next. “A spare Sun and Moon Amulet. If We are unable to control the moon for any reason, this amulet shall help anypony with magic to bring the dusk or dawn. The Lunar Guards shall be able to help you if such a situation arises.”

Finally, she opened the book to a blank page. “If We are in any danger, use this book to inform Our sister. ‘Tis faster than sending a letter. She will know what to do.”

“Yes, Your Highness. Is there anything else that I need to do whilst you’re gone?”

Now, Luna felt a severe pang of guilt at leaving Nocté behind with so many responsibilities at such a short notice, but she decided not to mention her emotions. Instead, she said, “Look after thyself.”

“You as well, Princess,” he replied.

She smiled wryly. “We shall, Nocté. We shall.”

They hugged each other, and Luna hastily passed a small slip of paper to Nocté, who tucked it under his wing. Without even reading it he had a rough idea of what it would say. Most likely it would be a brief reminder of everything that he had to do whilst she was gone, along with some other words of encouragement. The thought made the stallion smile. Luna had a lot of interesting little quirks and customs that made her, in his opinion, a wonderful pony to spend time with.

They said one final goodbye, and Luna glided out of the room, walking through the halls of the castle until she reached the entrance. Waiting for her were two bat ponies in the usual Lunar Guard armour, with a royal carriage behind them. Usually, Luna would choose some other mode of transport, but the journey ahead was long and laborious, and so the Royal Guards would help her on her way.

Each of the guards saluted to Luna, and she nodded back. “To Canterlot Castle, please,” she said.

The moment she had all four hooves on the carriage platform, the bat ponies spread their wings, and took off into the sky.

The journey did not take as long as Luna had expected it would, perhaps because the wind was blowing in the same direction as they were travelling. All she knew was that the tall towers and spires of the castle on Canterlot Mountain grew ever closer as the minutes passed, and that her sister would be waiting for her to arrive.

And yes indeed, Celestia was waiting.

When Luna finally arrived she was welcomed into the castle by a few Solar Guards and servants, who quickly took the equipment that she had packed, presumably to somewhere that it would be kept out of the elements. She was taken to Celestia by one of the Solar Guards, although he left the moment that the sisters reunited, to allow them to have some privacy.

“Celestia!” Luna cried, holding her sister close.

“Luna! My goodness, we rarely see each other face to face these days.”

“I know, Tia.”

The two sisters spent a minute talking about how much they missed each other and fawning over each other, before they made their way to a small reception room of sorts, with two red velvet sofas positioned opposite each other and a miniature wooden coffee table between them with little room for anything else. It was a hiding place for them, whenever they wished to spend time together without disruption. There were a few of these rooms around the castle, in locations that very few ponies besides the princesses actually knew the whereabouts of. It had been Luna’s idea to add these when the castle was originally built, and they had definitely been useful from time to time.

Luna collapsed onto one of the sofas, noticing how comfortable it was as she rested her head on a cushion at one end. Celestia laughed a little at the sight, then took her place on the sofa opposite. “Lulu, how were your travels?”

“Pleasant,” Luna replied. “Yet… I am worried.”

“Why should you be, Luna? This may not be a problem at all. This may just be a group of ponies attempting to create an elaborate hoax to annoy or frighten us. And if it is something more serious, we are prepared for that scenario.”

Luna frowned. Celestia seemed a little too relaxed about the situation, and she sensed that it was potentially a front to hide her true feelings. “Still,” she continued, “what if something does happen, Tia? Nocté can only run Everfree Castle on his own for so long, and Equestria needs both of us.”

“Lulu,” said Celestia quietly and gently, “if, and only if, something happens to you, Equestria will adapt, as will I. But for anything to happen, the pony behind this would have to defeat both the Solar and Lunar Guards who I am going to send with you.”

Luna smirked. “Are you sure? Some of the Solar Guards whom I have had the misfortune to meet couldn’t stop an invasion of chickens in the castle.”

Celestia deadpanned. The so-called Celestia and the Cockatrice Incident of Discord’s nine-month reign a few hundred years ago was not exactly something that she remembered fondly from her youth. Perhaps it was part of why he was currently encased in a stone statue in the Canterlot Gardens as punishment for his crimes. Luna reasoned that it was probably something closer to revenge than punishment.

“Luna, I don’t need reminding of that.”

“Sorry, Tia.” She paused, not looking her sister directly in the eye. Although the Royal Guards were usually instructed not to speculate about ongoing issues or be too vocal about their opinions surrounding unresolved events, some of the Lunar Guards had engaged in a little speculation and filled the princess’ head with doubt. “I still… I’m still hesitant to leave Equestria so quickly.”

Celestia reached forwards to rest a hoof on Luna’s shoulder. “Luna, don’t worry so. I will draw up a few plans in case anything should happen, but before anypony harms you they shall have to deal with me. And remember, we still have the last resort.”

“The Elements,” Luna nodded.

The Elements of Harmony were referred to as ‘the last resort’ by the two Royal Sisters for a reason: they were powerful, dangerous, and had the potential to do more harm than good if used in the wrong way or for the wrong reasons. The sisters had a general rule that if there was anything else that could be done to protect Equestria from a threat, they would always choose that option over the Elements.

“So, is there an actual plan, sister, or shall I just see what happens?” Luna asked.

“I’m thinking of one as we speak. If we think hard enough, we should finish with plenty of time to spare before you leave.”

“Of course.” Luna looked at the door. “Are you going to sleep soon? We could discuss this in the dream realm.”

Celestia shook her head. “Maybe it would be better at a time when we are both fully awake. If I spend all night talking to you in the dream world, then I’ll wake up as tired as I was before I went to sleep.”

“I forgot that you are not as able to cope with the late nights,” Luna chuckled. “Never mind. We shall speak about it tomorrow, then, once we have both had a proper night’s sleep. But first we have to sort out the sunset.”

“Naturally.” Celestia stood up, smiling. “Goodnight, sister.”

“Have a peaceful night,” Luna replied.

The two sisters hugged, before leaving their little hiding place and walking to a balcony together where they could lower the sun and raise the moon. They helped each other to fill the sky with stars that night, creating a beautiful scene above the city of Canterlot and the rest of the world.

Afterwards, they went their separate ways, to sleep, to dream. Luna had a room identical to her one at Everfree Castle, prepared for whenever she may visit unexpectedly. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to fill the castle’s halls with lavender as she did back at Everfree, but she laughed to herself at the thought of poor Nocté trying to do the same.

She fell asleep very quickly that night, entering the dream realm as soon as she did so. The void was almost as beautiful as it usually was, but a sharp ringing nearly loud enough to wake her again filled her ears, and a thick black fog floated down the makeshift corridor.

A nightmare.

Luna took off and flew through the corridors like lightning, following the trail of black fog to its source. It had a foul smell, somewhere between the scents of decaying flesh and sewage. Luna had a general rule that the worse the smell and the thicker the fog, the worse the dream was, meaning that tonight somepony was in complete distress. As the smell grew stronger, she knew she was somewhere close.

She flew past a door, then doubled back, noticing that the fog was billowing from under it like smoke. It seemed to be pouring through a door bearing a cutie mark of the sun in glory. Poor Tia, Luna thought to herself. She must be in a state.

She walked through the door, where nothing but horrors awaited her.

She recognised her own form, tormented by the dream, weak and injured and slumped against the stone brick wall of a room dimly lit by flaming torches. She had a black eye, a broken wing and several visible open wounds where the blood had begun to clot in her fur. A hooded and cloaked figure stood before her, speaking too softly for her to distinguish any words but just loud enough for her to realise that it was a stallion’s voice. A long spiralled unicorn horn was the only feature that she was able to see clearly, but the rest of him was shrouded in shadow and that long black cloak.

Celestia had a large metal chain around her that was attached to the opposite wall and prevented her from walking more than five feet in any given direction. She struggled against the chain, to no avail, watching as the stallion paced back and forth, his gaze focused solely on the dream version of Luna. He walked close to the dream Luna, seeming to whisper in her ear. She gave a small nod, glaring at Celestia as she did so. Sickly green and purple magic surrounded the stallion's horn, and bolted towards Celestia-

“Enough,” Luna said sharply.

The beam of magic seemed to freeze in mid-air, halfway across the room. The flames that lit the room stopped moving, as did the shadows on the walls and floor. The dream copy of Luna and the stallion turned to statues, but Celestia remained able to move and speak.

“Lulu?!” she asked fearfully.

The real Luna strode across the room to the hooded figure, artfully lifted a hoof to roughly where she assumed that his cheek was, and hit him across the face, hard. The resulting smack was a wonderful, satisfying sound to listen to; actually, it was music to Luna’s ears. He, along with the other features of the dream, disappeared, replaced by a serene woodland with a warm welcome light filtering through the green canopy to the forest floor.

“And I thought I was worried about all of this,” Luna muttered to herself. She was right. Celestia had indeed been panicking far more than she had let on.

“Lulu!” Celestia cheered, rushing over to hug her sister now that the chains around her had disappeared. “I - it seemed-”

“Real?”

Celestia nodded. “Yes.”

“No need to fear, Tia. It wasn’t real. Just a bad dream.”

“But what if it wasn’t just a dream?” she insisted. “You know as well as I that our magic presents us with visions from time to time.”

“True, but not every nightmare is a vision. You’re just worried, like I am,” Luna sighed. She knew that there was a small chance of Celestia being right, but she didn’t want to think about it. “Try to have a good night’s sleep, Tia. Try not to worry too much.”

“I’ll try, sister.” Celestia gave a half-smile.

Luna smiled and left the dream. She chased a few more, less horrific nightmares away; checked on a few ponies, including Nocté, who assured her that all was well at Everfree; then finally she returned to her own dream for a peaceful night’s rest.

She found herself in an endless wilderness, looking out across a heath that stretched for miles. All through the wild lands she watched as ponies frolicked and danced and sang under the light of the full moon, and as others observed the sky with wonder on their faces. One particular filly, a little greenish bat pony of about ten years old, soared into the air with dark purple bat wings, her purple mane and tail streaming behind her, whilst her father looked on with a fond expression below. Luna curled up on a soft cloud and smiled as she watched everypony relax and enjoy themselves, and most of all appreciate the beautiful night.

Author's Note

Hello, strangers.

This second chapter has been complete for literally more than a year I think, and I just sort of forgot about it because of school and stress and plenty of other things that aren't worth writing about here. Despite it being old, it's not all that musty-crusty; it still fits perfect with all of the lore of the Shadows and Stars AU as documented in my headspace, and it only needed a few edits here and there to make it flow better.

I'm excited to start writing Chapter 3, and I only have 1 week left of my exams. Although they are the priority, I'll be able to scribble down a few notes here and there in Google Docs and at the end of it I should have some fairly decent quality horse words for those of you who are interested even after all of this time. :)

Wishing you all well,

~ Angel

The Royal Dancefloor - Part 1

The next morning, Luna’s journey began. She and a party of six exceptionally skilled and experienced Solar and Lunar Guards, two of whom she knew were in the Corona Guard (the group of ponies of the highest ranks in the entire Equestrian Royal Guard) left Canterlot Castle together. Each of them was aware of the goals of - and the risks involved in - their mission, leading to a very serious overtone to their interactions with each other and the Princess whom they had sworn to protect. Of course a mission with such incredibly high stakes needed some serious, but it felt too serious to Luna and she missed her more relaxed interactions with Nocté and the guards in her castle.

She hated having to wear her midnight black suit of armour - it reminded her too much of some of the less pleasant times of her reign so far - and she hated having to carry her sword. She loved the sword itself. It was the finest she had ever owned: the metre-long double-edged blade was forged by one of her most trusted blacksmiths in the famous lava pits of the Dragon Lands. The handle had ornate bat wings carved around it. It was beautiful, but the problem was that it made her feel weak, as though she was acknowledging that somepony, somepony who she knew nothing about, not even their name, had more power than her. She was acknowledging that she needed armour and a sword and a group of six guards around her as protection.

The first part of the journey was through Equestria, from Canterlot to just north of Neighagra Falls. (She had considered travelling to Aurora City from the Galloping Gorge in the north-west of Equestria, instead of Neighagra Falls in the north-east, and following the dirt paths there, but had decided against it for fear that it would be too predictable in case the mysterious letter writer was really a threat to her and had given orders to somepony to guard the route.) They walked for a few minutes in between bursts of long-distance teleportation. However, once they were at Neighagra Falls, the border between Equestria and the Crystal Empire lay just ahead of them. Luna had decided that it would be unwise to use long-distance teleportation within the Crystal Empire itself, in case any magical surveillance was being used to pick up on energy disturbances, and also because she and her guards would have no idea of what awaited them in the places they were travelling to.

Crossing the border was surprisingly easy. While some parts of it were guarded by walls, other parts in the mountains were unprotected other than by the natural environment and lack of nearby civilisations. The seven ponies crossed the terrain cautiously. They spoke to each other very little, and the silence added to the nervous atmosphere as they wandered through the steep woodland territory and down towards the dark green grass of the floodplain.

Luna’s mind wandered, far more than she would have liked, to the memory of Celestia’s nightmare. In the dream, she had seen an imagined version of herself attacking Celestia. That image had been conjured by Celestia herself. Her older sister was… afraid… of Luna… attacking her? Luna couldn’t make sense of what the reasoning could be behind it. Perhaps Celestia was not conscious of the images being created in her mind, although even then it suggested an unconscious fear that had been repressed. But why would Celestia fear her turning against her?

“Alright, this is too silent for me,” one of the guards burst out all of a sudden. She was an earth pony Solar Guard in her thirties of pale mint coat and buttercream mane.

The others stopped in their tracks and looked at her.

“What? I’d rather have something to think about or concentrate on other than our extremely high likelihood of getting killed. Is that so wrong?”

One of the other Solar Guards, a stallion, let out a groan. “I told you to stay behind.”

“When I joined the Royal Guard I swore an oath to protect the crown and country, the same as you did,” she retorted. “I could hardly be a coward and refuse to help Their Royal Highnesses after they asked me.”

“We thank you for your services,” said Luna. She looked around at the group of six. “All of you have taken an incredible risk to assist Us, and We are grateful for your loyalty and willingness to help despite the danger.”

“You are more than welcome, Your Highness,” the Solar Guard mare smiled back.

“‘Tis worth mentioning,” added the Princess as the group began walking again, “We, too, were aware of the silence, and would appreciate the joy of a conversation, if any of you have something you wish to speak about.”

“Oh,” said the stallion who had complained about his friend.

“Well,” the first Solar Guard spoke up, “it would be a start to make sure everypony knows everypony else’s names. Of course we all know the Princess,” she nodded in Luna’s direction, “but I think apart from you and Shining Snow here,” she tilted her head towards the Solar Guard who had complained about her talking, “all the faces around here are new to me.” After a pause, she continued, “I’m Buttercup in case you were wondering.”

A Lunar Guard stallion with forest green wings cleared his throat. “My name is Oak Leaf.”

“Nice to meet you,” smiled Buttercup, to the annoyance of Shining.

“The name’s Courage,” the other Solar Guard said as he trotted in front of the group. He was a pegasus, with some unusual pale blue feathers mixed in with the silver ones on his wings.

“I’m Songbird Star,” a Lunar Guard introduced herself.

The final Lunar Guard, a mare with a sandy coat and a wispy blue mane, looked around at the group. “Wyvern Paladin.”

Songbird Star scrunched her muzzle at the name. “I swear I know somepony from the Paladin family…” She looked at Wyvern quizzically, and noticed a subtle difference in the appearances of their suits of armour. “Wait. Are you a member of the Corona Guard?”

“One of the newer ones, yes,” Wyvern answered. “I was promoted six or so months ago. I was actually supposed to be taking a few days off this week which is why I was in Canterlot. Usually my post is over in the Southern Caverns overlooking the Badlands.”

“Oh, that explains the accent,” said Buttercup.

Wyvern nodded. “Most ponies have trouble placing it. Most ponies are blissfully unaware that the Caverns even exist. They hear the name Badlands and assume that there is nothing there but uninhabitable desert land, when actually there are farms and orchards not so far away from the caves. It’s one advantage of being near the Hayseed Swamps: it’s not too far from water, which means food can grow there.”

“Do you know somepony called Diamond Paladin by any chance?” asked Songbird. “I did my Royal Guard training with her.”

“When I see my little cousin again I’ll mention that you said hello.”

They emerged from the trees and found themselves walking on the soft grassy marshland of the floodplain. It appeared to stretch for many miles ahead of them. The river channel circled around them from the north east to the west, and just north of the river was a village. Shining Snow pulled a map out of his saddlebags and checked it. “The last thing we want is to go anywhere near any towns where there could be enemies waiting for us. Due north west from here.”

“No need to worry us, then,” frowned Buttercup.

“Just being honest,” Shining grumbled. “Princess Celestia allowed the Corona Guards allowed to read a letter that was sent to Everfree Castle, supposedly from Her Highness the Crystal Princess, and compare it to a letter which we know actually came from her in early March this year, which was the last time anypony in Equestria heard from her. Either she has changed somehow, or else the Crystal Empire has a new leader who hates Equestria.”

“Hmm?” said Luna.

“Yes, Princess?” said Shining.

“This is news to my ears. When did Celestia take the letter from me, and allow the Corona Guards’ Circle to read it?”

“Last evening, just after moonrise, Your Highness.”

Luna turned to Wyvern next. “Is this true?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Luna frowned. “I never gave her the letter or allowed her to show it to anypony. Odd, but I am sure she has her reasons.”

Wyvern frowned at her.

“Yes, Wyvern?”

“I noticed that you stopped using the Royal We, Your Highness. It made me realise how serious you are. I should add that when I asked why you were not there, Princess Celestia’s reasoning was that you were busy, although after the meeting I saw you walking around without any apparent tasks to complete.”

The river channel lay just ahead of them. It was wide - not so wide that it would be impossible to cross, but enough that those ponies with wings had to fly across it, and carry their wingless companions. Luna observed the deep blue water flowing steadily in the channel as she soared above it. How free it looked; free to flow downstream as it pleased.

She also observed the distant village as she passed. Nothing looked too out of the ordinary. Not until she caught a glimpse of something strange between two houses.

It was difficult to see if it was a pony, or a statue of one. It was covered from head to hoof in what appeared to be black armour, making it impossible to distinguish its identity. In the place where the pony’s eyes should have been, she saw a solid glowing green light, and there were spikes covering various parts of the armour. It was gone in less than a second, but Luna took note of all of these details.

“Disguise yourselves,” she ordered.

Everypony landed safely on the ground. Their appearances shifted, starting with their armour turning invisible. The bat ponies’ wings grew feathers and their pupils dilated to make them appear to be regular pegasi; and Luna’s wings became invisible as well. It was not much, and would only last for a short period of time, but as long as they were conscious and wearing their armour, it would make it more difficult to identify them.

“Princess,” said Oak Leaf, “did you see it?”

She nodded gravely. “Coal-black armour with dangerous spikes along its sides, and those eyes… I have only seen such a thing on rare occasions.”

“I know that divination magic can sometimes cause a pony’s eye colour to change when they make prophecies,” Buttercup stated.

“But it would be foolish to assume it was something so benevolent as that, considering the context,” said Wyvern, who looked at Princess Luna knowingly. “I saw them move, although it was hard to tell if we were spotted. They were under the control of mind magic.”

Buttercup and Songbird Star unanimously gasped, while Shining Snow, Oak Leaf and Courage all wore deeply concerned frowns. Luna lowered her head to the ground.

A memory returned to her, of the first time she had seen such a thing. Discord was one of the first threats she and Celestia had faced as rulers of Equestria. To him, being the puppet master of the land had been an entertaining game, but watching ponies’ eyes turn yellow, blue and grey as he used his powers to manipulate them into harming themselves and others had had a lasting impact on both of the Royal Sisters, and they had also witnessed the fiend Grogar using similar powers on their subjects. After seeing its devastating effects, they had vowed never to use such evil magic themselves.

Luna looked up. She looked at her guards. A cold expression descended across her face.

“Keep moving, and be vigilant,” she instructed. “We are no longer dealing with Princess Amoré. This land now belongs to a tyrant.”

Author's Note

This was going to take too long to write if I didn't split it into two parts, so here's part 1 while I work on how to get Part 2 to flow better. Hopefully I'll be able to give our supporting characters some additional love in the next chapter or two before chaos descends.

~ Angel

The Royal Dancefloor - Part 2

The group continued walking, now mostly in silence. After having experienced the brief joy of a few spoken words, Luna hated the silence even more than she had previously. To some, it may have been peaceful - maybe in other circumstances she, too, would have enjoyed it - but there was nothing to distract her from her own thoughts.

Although her armour was now invisible to the naked eye, she still had her horseshoes on, which prevented her from feeling the soft blades of grass between her hooves. At her home in the Everfree Castle, she would never have thought of wearing horseshoes when wandering through the gardens or the forest. Everything felt so… wrong. So many horrible nagging doubts were cluttering her mind, ranging from comparatively minor issues such as how Cerulean Nocté was faring at Everfree Castle, to the fear of what monsters awaited her and her guards in the capital city of the Crystal Empire.

It took a while for the conversations to start up again. Buttercup and Songbird seemed to be the most talkative members of the group, and continued their friendly chatter between them. Occasionally, Wyvern, Oak Leaf and Courage added their own thoughts to the conversation, but Shining Snow stayed oddly silent. He frequently cast bitter glares in the directions of Oak Leaf, Buttercup and Wyvern, for reasons which Luna could only guess at.

As time went on, they noticed the landscape changing. The waterlogged ground of the floodplain was replaced by drier soil and different varieties of grass and flowers and trees. The temperature also seemed cooler than it had been a few miles before. They were making progress at last. It was enough to allow Luna to breathe a sigh of relief, and at last she removed her magical disguise so she could spread her wings and feel the breeze between her feathers again.

“Princess?” said Wyvern all of a sudden, snapping her out of her thoughts.

“Hmm?” she asked, while vaguely registering that Buttercup was busy talking to Songbird about living in Canterlot and working at Celestia’s castle.

Wyvern tossed a coin at the Princess, who caught it in her aura. “A bit for your thoughts,” she explained.

Luna smiled gratefully, but returned the bit to its owner. “‘Tis yours.”

“Still, there must be something on your mind, Princess.”

Eyeing Shining Snow and his unique Solar Guard armour, worn only by those in the Corona Guard who communicated most often with Celestia, she grimaced. She lowered her voice. “We consider it unwise to be so liberal with private matters here, though We appreciate your concern.”

“Of course, Princess.”

“I’ve always wondered what it must be like in the bat pony towns,” they overheard Buttercup saying cheerily. “It must be lonely in those little villages with no other ponies around-”

“It’s not as terrible as it sounds,” Wyvern interrupted. “The Caverns in the south have their own sense of community. From what I can tell from my visits there, Hollow Shades is equally as lively.”

“Oh,” said Buttercup.

“If anything,” Wyvern continued, “Lunar Guard posts in towns like Canterlot are worse. There isn’t much entertainment for those who are off duty, since the majority of places shut before evening. Except for the bars, of course.” She eyed Oak Leaf with a smirk.

“Excuse me?” he frowned.

“I remember having to have stern words with you over the appropriate amount of drink to have when wandering around off duty early in the morning. It was… about two years ago, I believe?”

Oak thought for a moment, then his eyes widened as he realised. “Oh! Now I remember you.”

“Have you forgiven me yet?” she grinned.

“Of course. It was years ago. I’ve moved on.”

“Moved on to the Canterlot Barracks, while the rest of your old coworkers still give me a headache every now and then with the noise they make when they’re off duty,” she joked.

Shining Snow let out a crude snort. “Well, the Solar Guards don’t behave like that.”

“Really now?” huffed Songbird. “I’ve seen Solar Guards in ridiculous states late at night.”

“At least it isn’t the majority of the guards who behave like that.”

“Neither do the majority of Lunar Guards behave irresponsibly,” Wyvern returned. “Most of the time, only the new recruits behave like that, and it gets stopped quickly enough when they lose a day’s wages for the trouble. Also, you should learn to recognise when something I say is a joke.”

“Tch.” Shining Snow turned his back on the group and continued walking in silence.

Buttercup rolled her eyes. “Of course. Acting like a foal as usual.”

Shining Snow turned back to glare at her. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me. You're acting like a foal again.”

“You-”

Courage the pegasus cleared his throat. Buttercup and Shining both looked at him.

“I have a suggestion,” he said quietly. “We are almost at the Crystal Mountains. Once we arrive there, we should set up camp and rest for the night, so we can clear our minds and be prepared for tomorrow.”

“I agree,” Luna told the group. She could sense the quiet tensions between members of the group and wanted to prevent an argument arising from any other disagreements. At least all of the guards would listen to her.

They wandered a little further, through more grassland with the occasional few trees. There seemed to be less of the deciduous, hardwood trees in this area, and more evergreen varieties, such as pine trees with their needles and wooden cones full of seeds scattered across the ground around them. At one point, Oak Leaf stopped and leaned down to pick up a pinecone between his sharp, pointed teeth, looked at Shining Snow and threw it through the air. It missed, and hit the back of Wyvern’s head.

“Ouch,” she said involuntarily. She pulled the pinecone out of her hair. Putting two and two together, she turned around and grinned at him. “Private Oak Leaf, why did a pinecone just launch itself through the air at the back of my head from your general direction?”

“I have no idea.”

“I should hope not,” she jested.

Courage the pegasus flew a short distance ahead of the group and returned to them with the news that he had found an ideal place to stay for the night. He led the group up the gently sloped mountain path to the spot: an entrance to a small but spacious cave, about half a metre from the ground where they stood, and mostly hidden from view by some pine trees and other vegetation.

Luna used her aura to illuminate the cave as she stepped inside. From the steady, pale blue light, she could tell that the walls, floor and ceiling were mostly smooth and slate grey. It was not the most ideal in terms of comfort, but it was in terms of being secluded, hidden well and easy to guard, and they had brought a few blankets with them on their travels in preparation for having to stay in such a place.

Satisfied, she smiled. “Perfect.”

They began to remove their saddlebags and attempted to create a more comfortable space using the few provisions they had brought with them. They set their thick, insulating blankets down on the floor around them, and proceeded to eat a small amount of their food rations for the journey. Now, the relative quiet felt comfortable to Luna at last, as she ate her food and attempted to taste the few faint flavours that the meal held. Perhaps she had grown a little too used to the lack of wars and uncomfortable journeys and unseasoned rations over the last couple of hundred years. Technically, Equestria was still not at war - not officially, so far - but the thought of someone leading a rebellion against Princess Amoré and then using the mind control spell on the Crystal Empire’s ponies was enough to convince Luna that a severe conflict was on the horizon.

Luna did not even know Princess Amoré very well. Amoré was always welcoming, but she was a friend of Celestia first and foremost. Luna was very careful about whom she made friends with, and some of Amoré’s laws had seemed a little… off, in places. Her policies surrounding the restriction of the use of certain types of magic by those mages in the lower classes seemed unnecessary, and some of her other laws regarding the freedoms of visitors to the Crystal Empire and minority groups living there had also made Luna feel somewhat uncomfortable. Yet Celestia had remained close friends with her all the same, and there had never been an indication that Amoré would dare to use dark magic on her subjects. Whether she liked Amoré or not, she knew that the Crystal Princess was unlikely to ever be so desperate for power to make such dangerous decisions.

“So,” Songbird asked her peers, “since we’re probably in enemy territory right now, who’s taking the first watch?”

The guards looked at each other, none of them particularly willing to volunteer themselves to be deprived of sleep for even longer.

Eventually, Buttercup relented. “I’ll do it, just so the rest of you can sleep.”

“Wake me up in two hours,” Songbird told her.

“Alright.”

The other ponies retreated to their separate parts of the cave. Songbird and Oak Leaf fell asleep quickly, while everypony else took some time to make themselves comfortable. Luna left the cave to watch the setting sun, and cast the spell that allowed the moon to rise. She thought of Celestia, and Nocté, and all those whom she had left behind at Everfree, and did all she could to ignore the doubts and worries and homesickness which she felt.

She re-entered the cave, saying a brief goodnight to Buttercup as she went. All of the others were either sleeping already or trying to do so. Wyvern Paladin had discarded her blanket on the floor, and was now sleeping while hanging upside-down from the cave ceiling, with her tail wrapped around a small piece of rock that jutted out from the wall. Her sky blue wings were curled around her for warmth, and she had a small smile on her face. Luna herself smiled at the sight. At least one pony had found some comfort and relaxation.

She settled down, trying to make herself comfortable. It took some tossing and turning, and some consideration of how best to position the blanket to enjoy both warmth from the cold and comfort from the hard floor, before she finally felt able to relax.

A short while after, Luna heard somepony standing up and trotting to the cave entrance. She opened her eyes. Shining Snow sat down next to Buttercup. Neither of them turned to look at each other.

“You should be asleep,” Buttercup commented.

“I tried,” said Shining. “I had too much to think about.”

“Such as?”

“You,” he admitted. “I never would have thought we would be forced to stay in the same space again.”

“As I said before, I’m only here because it’s my job. I swore to protect the Princesses, and in return they promised to give me enough money to survive. If I had had the choice, I would probably have turned this down, but a deal is a deal, and realistically it would be difficult to find a job anywhere else.”

“True,” Shining answered. Then, “I still miss being with you.”

“You didn’t when I had to go and work in Baltimare for a few weeks and you invited another mare home to spend a night with you,” she said bitterly.

Oh, Luna thought. That explains a few things.

“…I asked for that.”

“You did.”

“Well, I wanted to apologise, again. I never meant for it to happen. I had far too much to drink-”

“And to think you were criticising the Lunar Guards earlier, when the way you behave is no different.”

“Again, I apologise.”

“As you should.” Buttercup leaned against the cave wall. “Is there anything else you want to say to me?”

“I was wondering, if… if you would forgive me enough that we could be friends again.”

Buttercup was silent for a few moments. She gazed up at the moonlit sky. “It honestly depends on how much I can trust you not to betray me like that again.”

“It will never happen again,” Shining promised. “I swear on my life.”

The two of them looked at each other for a silent moment.

“I’ll take your word for it,” Buttercup sighed. “Now, go and get some sleep. You’ll thank me tomorrow.”

Luna closed her eyes and pretended she had been asleep throughout the entire conversation. She heard the hoofsteps of Shining Snow travel past her, and allowed herself to drift off into sleep.

In the dream realm, she encountered Nocté. His dream showed the interior of what appeared to be the mess hall of Everfree’s Lunar Guard barracks. The ponies in the dream around him were merry, and the bat pony mare opposite him, sporting a fiery red and orange mane in sharp contrast to her slate grey coat, was beating him and the other figments of the dream around him at a game of poker. Luna cleared her throat, asking for his attention.

“Your Highness!” he grinned. The dream ponies all beamed up at her and addressed her.

“Nocté,” she smiled. “Is all well at Everfree?”

“Indeed,” he nodded. “The castle is in good order. The castle guards miss you and are greatly anticipating your return, but they understand the reason why you had to leave so suddenly. All is well. Apart from my poor luck at poker, of course.”

Luna chuckled into her hoof. “Oh dear. And…” she hesitated. “I can assume everypony else is at peace?”

“Equestria is quite unconcerned by the turn of events,” he nodded.

“Good. The last thing We would have wanted was for panic to spread across the country.”

“You have nothing to worry about, Your Highness. Every earth pony, unicorn, pegasus and bat pony is at peace.”

Luna smiled. Such a statement was statistically unlikely to be true, but she understood the message he was conveying. “Many thanks. We shall report back to you tomorrow night, once again after moonrise, if all is well.”

“Stay safe, Your Highness.”

“We shall,” she answered.

With her mind cleared of most of her doubts and few nightmares to stop, Luna allowed herself to rest within her own dream. She chose to dream of a cool winter breeze and a warm fire in the hearth and the comfort of a nameless, faceless stallion from what felt to her like aeons ago by her side.

Author's Note

All hail the side character development arcs! :rainbowlaugh:

On a serious note, the threads of the story are weaving together. I made a slight edit to the main story description to align it more with the direction the story is travelling in, but this tale in the Shadows and Stars universe is blossoming just as I hoped it would. I hope you, the reader, are enjoying this journey as much as I am.

~ Angel

The Masquerade - Part 1

Luna stirred to the sound of bat wings and gentle bickering. Surprisingly, she was not the first one awake. She recognised the voices of Wyvern, Oak Leaf and Songbird talking animatedly about something.

Sure enough, when she opened her eyes, they were gathered near the entrance of the cave. Songbird and Oak were sitting opposite Wyvern, and all three of them were grinning madly.

“I still think pears and apples are the best fruits out there,” Songbird was saying. “When they ripen up, they’re delicious.”

Oak Leaf shook his head and swallowed a mouthful of his breakfast rations to say, “You are in denial.”

“When this is over and you get a holiday, come down to the Caverns,” Wyvern responded. “You should try a mango. Trust me, apples will never taste as nice as a ripe honey mango on a summer’s day.”

Luna sat up and cleared her throat. All three guards turned their heads towards the princess, and tried not to laugh from embarrassment.

“Is there something wrong?” she smiled at them. “Is it Our mane?”

“No, of course not, Your Highness,” Wyvern answered quickly.

It was true. Despite being so far from her castle and her servants and having only the most basic of essentials with her, and having slept the entire night on a cave floor with only a single dark silver blanket - although it was a very thick, soft, warm, Lunar Guard approved blanket - to provide any comfort for her, not a single strand of Luna’s short, pale blue mane was out of place, and she looked as regal as ever.

“Then may We inquire as to why you three appear to be so amused?”

Songbird glanced at her peers. “Your Majesty, my friends here are saying that they prefer something called a mango to apples and pears and all the other delicious types of fruit growing in Equestria.” She frowned at them. “What even is a mango?”

“An oval fruit. Their skin can be red, yellow or green depending on the variety and how ripe they are. Inside they’re usually yellow or orange, and are slightly fibrous. They taste delicious.” Wyvern glanced at Luna. “Have you ever tried one?”

Luna shook her head. “No, We have not.”

“When we finish this little mission, if you have some time when you are less busy with your royal duties, maybe you could visit the Caverns and try one.”

“We would love to,” Luna answered honestly. Then, with a little less honesty, she added, “However, We are often too overwhelmed with the amount of royal duties We have and the ponies wishing to see Us to travel far, except when there is a political significance to such a journey, such as this one.” Luna was unable to find a tangible reason as to why she felt compelled to lie; she simply lacked the motivation to travel to such a distant place and spend time with ponies. She never spent time with anypony, so why would she change that all of a sudden? All that would do is draw Celestia’s attention, and with it, questions.

Luna couldn’t tell where these thoughts were coming from, but thought better of analysing them. She had work to do.

The three bat ponies woke up their Solar Guard companions. Shining Snow was less than enthusiastic about the early start, but everypony in the group packed away their belongings and prepared themselves to leave the cave without too many complaints.

They left the cave, but waited for a few minutes as the Solar Guards gulped down some food and Luna lowered the moon to allow the sunrise to take place. Her spell to move the moon above and below the horizon was the only exception Luna had decided to make to her general rule of avoiding powerful magic while within the Crystal Empire’s borders. Even though it could have been done by Celestia, or by unicorns and bat ponies using the Sun and Moon amulet, she felt the need to cast the spell herself, since she was still able to, just to ensure that it was done properly.

Their journey continued. The weather grew bitingly cold. The terrain was rocky, snowy, mountainous, and devoid of all life forms as far as any of the ponies could tell. Each of them were grateful for the enchanted, insulating clothes which they wore beneath their armour to protect them from the hostile conditions, short-lived though they were. They were taking the easiest route possible, through a valley between two mountains, where there would be less snow and less uphill terrain.

“So,” Buttercup began the conversations, “how did everypony sleep?”

“Oddly comfortable,” Courage answered, stretching his wings.

“I can say the same,” Shining Snow agreed. “A cave floor is a cave floor, but the blankets made it bearable. They must be enchanted.”

“I sleep in a cave most of the time,” Wyvern grinned. “Beds are for the city ponies.”

“You didn’t exactly sleep on the floor, though, did you?” Songbird objected, giving her a pointed look.

Wyvern glanced at her. “I happened to notice the rock jutting out there. I have wings, and a tail. I can hang upside down comfortably enough, and I prefer sleeping that way. It had my name written all over it.”

“I was going to sleep there.”

Wyvern smiled wider. “Inner Circle advantage. I rest my case.”

Neither Oak Leaf nor Songbird could argue with her, though they too both wore smiles on their faces.

They continued walking, shivering, those of the group with wings moving them to allow their blood to continue circulating properly. Luna tried to admire the scenery to the best of her ability. Her sister’s sun shone off the snowy mountaintops, nearly blinding them when it shone through the clouds and highlighted the deadly beauty of the pure white snow scattered across every surface. Luna could hear her every breath, and see the little puffs of the air leaving her lungs, but she was able to feel gratitude for her armour and her shoes on this occasion for preventing her hooves from freezing.

“Woah,” Buttercup gasped suddenly as she walked around a makeshift corner in the base of a cliff on the side of the mountain. She stared up at a spectacle which the others were unable to witness.

“What is it?” asked Courage. He, the other Royal Guards and Luna trotted up to her, and each of them reacted with the same surprise at the sight which met them.

On the other side of a set of train tracks to where the ponies stood, and within a translucent smoky-coloured magical dome, was a large town, with almost all of its buildings made of dark red, darker silver and pure black crystals. The tiniest specks of moving figures could be seen in the gaps between the buildings. At the civilisation’s centre, black crystalline towers rose towards the sky, competing with the mountains to reach higher into the sky than they could, and almost touching the heavens themselves. In a way, the sight was beautiful, but it also filled Luna’s heart with deep fury and heartache for the ponies trapped within the corrupted city. The last time she had visited - less than a year ago - the city had shone in a rainbow of colours, with warm rubies, rose quartz and orange citrine highlighting the sea green, pale blue and pure dazzling white snowflake design which the city was built around. The central palace was supposed to be a brilliant blue, but it was now pure black. In the area surrounding the magical dome which protected the city, enormous black crystal spikes had risen from the ground in seemingly random places, adding to the dangers of the already hostile territory.

“I visited here with my family, five years ago,” Songbird spoke with wide-eyed shock. “How could it change so much, and so quickly?”

“Dark magic,” answered Wyvern. Her eyes scanned the landscape. “I have seen with my own eyes what this magic is capable of, and how it affects ponies and their surroundings when it is used. Then again, what I witnessed was not anywhere near the scale of this. An entire city, under the power of such a spell…” She turned to Princess Luna. “I can only guess if you have seen anything resembling this before.”

Luna clenched her jaw. For the second time in as many days, the harsh memories of Grogar’s callous cruelty and Discord’s deranged mind games confronted her. The destruction caused when the centaur Tirek came across to Equestria, hungry for power after his banishment from his own kingdom which he betrayed, also came to mind. He mostly used regular magic, but it was with dark magic rituals that he had stolen the magical power from innocent ponies and other creatures, and had used it to lay waste to the Equestrian landscape to attempt to seize the country for his own. Somehow, whoever was now in charge of the Crystal Empire seemed to embody the worst traits of three of Equestria’s greatest foes. Luna felt sick to her stomach.

In answer to Wyvern’s comment, she quipped, “I have encountered something similar, yes.”

All seven ponies were silent for a minute or two.

“The plan?” asked Oak Leaf eventually. “Do we stay in one large group, or split into groups of two or three?”

Shining Snow and Wyvern Paladin shared a look. “So,” Shining started, “we are on the outskirts of a city protected by a magical barrier-”

“As well as the cold and the crystals,” Wyvern added.

“It is unlikely to be a simple diplomatic mission, considering the lengths this pony has gone to so far-”

“There will most likely be trained soldiers waiting for us, potentially under the control of dark magic-”

“There are only seven of us-”

“Seven trained warriors, most of whom have had experience on the battlefield-”

“But still only seven of us, and maybe hundreds of them, and a tyrant at the city centre who uses dark magic-”

“And civilians who we need to try not to hurt but who could also be under the magic’s influence-”

“It’s a suicide mission,” declared Shining. He looked around at all of the other ponies. “If we are even able to find a way into the city beyond that barrier, the odds are against all of us making our way out again alive.”

“But if we do nothing,” said Luna, “an entire country is under the reign of a tyrant, who felt more than comfortable with threatening my sister and I. This pony has potentially caused serious harm to Princess Amoré, and I doubt after their use of mind control over her subjects that they would have even the slightest hesitation in doing the same to the ponies of Equestria.”

Shining Snow eyed the princess warily. “Your Highness, you - one of only two alicorns in Equestria - would risk your own life - and the lives of six highly trained Royal Guards, I might add - for this, rather than retreat to the safety of Equestria and return with an army?”

“You almost sound scared,” Buttercup said sarcastically. “You did swear to protect Equestria and the Royal Sisters and to follow their orders like the rest of us did, didn’t you?”

Shining Snow glowered at her. “Be quiet. This is serious.”

Luna held up one of her wings to interrupt their argument. “If we bring an army, we may as well say my sister and I are declaring war on the Crystal Empire, which would have far greater consequences for everypony in the long run, especially if the war came to last for several years.” She shook her head. “That will not do. I, myself, swore at my coronation as Princess of Equestria to do what was morally right for all of ponykind. Groups of soldiers led by myself have been outnumbered with equally poor odds before and still fared better than the opposition in the end.”

She took her sword, held it in her aura, and ran her hoof, covered in her black armour, along the silver metal. “Ancient history books refer to me as the Grogarian Butcher for a reason.” She fell quiet; the memories of the horrors of those battlefields plagued the back of her mind. “I say… Give the unarmed civilians mercy, but do what must be done to survive. We will find our way to the city centre, and enter the castle.”

“It will be risky,” said Wyvern, as she traced a line through the snow with her hoof. “But… We might just be able to do something.” She glanced at Luna. “Your Highness. What about when we find our foe in the city centre?”

Luna thought back to around twelve years before the final letter she and Celestia received from Princess Amoré arrived at Canterlot Castle. She thought of a time when a pod of Sirens attacked the coastal city of Baltimare, and those most adept at the art of wielding a sword had been recruited to defend against the beasts, and a younger sandy bat pony, with her pale blue mane tied back behind her head, leapt through the air towards the jaws of one emerald green sea monster and swung her sword hard enough to remove the draconic beast’s head swiftly from its shoulders, saving the lives of many ponies who would otherwise have been lured to their fate in the water’s depths or snatched from the beaches and headlands. She remembered how the then shy, socially awkward mare had insisted on not answering anypony’s questions about how she had achieved the feat, and had begun her journey home as quickly as possible, in order to fade into the background and resume a peaceful life. Luna had almost forgotten the pony responsible for that incredible action; almost, but not quite.

“Each of us is skilled in hoof-to-hoof combat, in addition to wielding our weapons of choice,” said Luna. “I am surrounded by some of the best sword fighters of this century and the last.” Luna looked at Wyvern directly. “Wyvern Paladin, you and I will face whoever is behind this evil magic.” She turned to Shining next. “Shining Snow, you will be in charge of defending us against the guards or other security which may be in place.” She glanced at the rest of the group. “You will assist Shining Snow in defending myself and Wyvern Paladin from any additional threats while we confront the Crystal Empire’s supposed new leader.”

“And… and if we’re captured?” Songbird hesitated.

“Remember your confidence, and remember why we came here. It was for a diplomatic meeting, in response to a letter sent to Everfree Castle, and you were asked to travel with me for the purpose of protection only.”

The group was silent for a minute. They each looked south, towards Equestria, then north towards Aurora.

Wyvern Paladin stretched her wings, then stood tall and wore a smile - or grimace - of determination on her face. “Well, there isn’t a point in waiting…” She looked around at her fellow guards and at Luna. “Shall we?”

Courage nodded. So did Buttercup, then Songbird, then Luna, and finally Shining Snow.

“Well then,” said Luna in a bitter tone, spreading her wings wide. “I suppose it is time for some… diplomacy,” she pronounced the word ever so carefully. With her sword held in her magic, she began walking across the frozen landscape towards the border.