Rainbow Of Fate

Chapters

Act 1: The Re-Emergence
Cat and Mouse
Losing Hope
Shock, Grief and Revelations
Betrayal and Pain
Act 2; Downfall
The End of a Journey
The Truth
The Long Awaited Confrontation
Ideals, Reunions and New Problems
When is an unfinished television series like a little puppy?
Act 3; Past Ties
Broken Alliances
Revelations of Gold
War And Absolute Chaos
Confronting Your Past
A Golden Homecoming
Act 4; Birds Of A Feather
Dream Battle

Act 1: The Re-Emergence

In the centre of a distant star lies a long forgotten darkness known only to two ponies that still exist today. Of all of Equestria’s enemies, it is both the most forgotten and least comparatively impactful but it’s very memory is painful for those who remember it. For just under 1000 years, it has been trapped and unable to get free from its prison. Although many today have forgotten it, and few ponies from so long ago even knew of its existence to begin with, it indeed still exists and has managed to feed off of the darkness and despair that has been emerging in Equestria over the past two years. With each crisis, it’s power has only grown stronger and more formidable.

At around 10PM on one seemingly unremarkable day however, it feels a rush of energy which allows it to finally break free from its prison and rocket away in the direction of Equus. Whereas many other villains would feel evil glee or an intense desire for revenge upon thier release though, this being merely smiles and feels a great sense of accomplishment. “Tick tick, tick tock. I may be a thousand years late but the time is finally at hoof. Within the week, everything will be gone.”

Light years away, Ponyvile

It's a peaceful night with a brightly shining Moon where everything is almost completely silent besides the comings and goings of a few nocturnal animals and the occasional night worker. Given the late hour, very few creatures are still awake as Twilight Sparkle calmly puts a book away but she hears Spike coming downstairs. "Is everything okay, Spike? It's 2AM."

Spike has to stifle a yawn. "Just got a m-m-message."

Twilight takes it in her magic and he goes back to bed. Who would send me a scroll this late? Princess Celestia and the others won't be awake for several more hours and Princess Luna normally contacts me through my dream Now slightly worried, she opens the scroll and immediately recognises the hoofwriting.

Hey, Twilight!
If I timed this right, you'll have received in the early hours of the morning and I must have. I'm the coolest pony ever! Twilight rolls her eyes. Anyway, something happened earlier tonight and well... there's somepony you all need to meet. If you can have everypony in the Golden Oaks Library by 10AM this morning, you'll be the second awesomest pony in Equestria. And if you can make sure that the Crusaders are there as well, you're incredible. See you then.

The awesomest pony to ever live,
Rainbow Dash

Twilight examines the incredibly vague letter with a curious eye. This sounds like one of Rainbow's pranks but she's normally dead to the world by now. Why would she force herself to stay awake just for a prank? It sounds like something she would do on the one hoof but it would also mess with her training regiment on the other. After all, the only things that can compare in scale to Rainbow Dash’s loyalty are her ego and her speed. Twilight sighs; it's probably a complete waste of time and will only end in frustration but she decides to heed the request just in case. In the morning. As she heads upstairs for three hours sleep though, something occurs to her. Wait, how did Rainbow send that letter? And since when does she even send letters instead of coming herself? She decides to settle it later since she is much too tired to be anything other than delirious.

Later that morning

By the time that 10 arrives, eight ponies and one dragon wait in the main room of the Golden Oaks Library. Fortunately, it's a Saturday so the Crusaders don't have school and it's a slow day for the others as well. With Rainbow Dash being as fashionably late as usual, Rarity spends time sketching dresses with Spike helping give to pointers, Fluttershy and Applejack sit with Twilight, Pinkie Pie is... being Pinkie Pie as she prepares a party for the new arrival with the aid of her mane manifestation and the Crusaders brainstorm Cutie Mark ideas. "So, Twai. You said Spike received a letter this mornin' tellin' you to bring us all here? Did it say anythin' else of value?"

Twilight shakes her head but, before another question can be asked, there is a loud crash as Pinkie falls from her ladder and goes berserk. Her tail is twitching so hard that it looks painful and she is shaking so much that one could mistake it for a seizure. "Uh, Pinkie?"

"BIG! Something BIG is about to happen!" The other eight ponies and dragon share a look. Pinkie's Pinkie Sense always forewarns a danger and this is the worst reaction that they've ever seen her get. Before anypony can speak though, Twilight glances out a window and tries not to freak out.

"Uh, girls?" They turn to see the ominously dark outdoors and they all go pale. "B-but it was nice and sunny a second ago!" The Element Bearers exchange a nervous look. Only one pony has ever desired to turn night to day like this but she was stopped two years ago.

Before they can speak, Spike points outside. "Did anypony just see something move out there?"

Twilight chuckles nervously. "It's okay Spike, it's just another pony trying to find shelter."

He gulps and starts shaking. "Th-that wasn't a pony." The Crusaders cling to each other as memories of the Summer Sun Celebration play through thier minds.

As strange wooshing noises come from outside, even Twilight begins to get a slight nervous twinge. "Alright everypony, into the basement. It's the most secure place in the Library and we can hide there whilst I get a message to Princess Celestia. If we don't make it out of here, we can't help anypony." After the others nod nervously, they head downstairs single file with the Crusaders safely in the middle of thier group.

Everypony sighs with relief as they reach the basement and firmly bolt the entrance. The only ways in and out are the door and the easily defensible hatch designed to act as a fire exit. Scootaloo suddenly realises something. "Rainbow Dash was the one to set up this meeting and call us all here. You don't think she was..."

Scootaloo trails off but Twilight shoots her what she hopes is a reassuring smile. "I'm sure Dash is fine. She can easily take care of herself."

Scootaloo relaxes for a moment before perking up as she looks behind Twilight and gasps with joy. Twilight spins around to see Rainbow Dash herself walking out of the darkness. "Good morning, guys."

They all relax slightly with a deep sigh of relief as Scootaloo runs to her mentor for comfort. Even so, Twilight can't help but be confused. "Uh, Dash? How did you get down here without us knowing?"

Dash shoots them a sheepish smile and rubs the back of her neck. "When I was on my way over, I was jumped by these... things and barely managed to escape through the doors by kicking them open. Sorry."

"It's okay, we're just glad to see you're okay but what happened to the pony you wanted us to meet? They could be in trouble."

Rainbow Dash suddenly gets very nervous. "Sh-she ran away into the darkness when those... things attacked and I was unable to save her."

Twilight looks at her comfortingly but the door at the top of the basement stairs is suddenly thrown open from the outside. "TO ME!" Everypony huddles and they immediately teleport away.

After a few seconds of disorientation, everypony finds themselves in a clearing in the Everfree. "Wh-what do we do now, Twilight?"

The unicorn looks down with a sigh. "We contact the Princesses and hide out here, hoping that we aren't found until help arrives."

Rainbow Dash looks over determinedly, pounding one hoof into the other with a cocky smile. "Can't we just go and defeat her again like last time?"

Twilight shakes her head. "We defeated Nightmare Moon last time because of the Elements of Harmony but they're still stored in Canterlot Castle. Fighting her without them is much too dangerous and she appears to have help this time."

The rainbow mained pegasus doesn't back down. "But what about our friends? Our families? Nightmare Moon could be doing who knows what to them right this moment."

Twilight looks at her sadly. "As evil as she is, Nightmare Moon never tried to hurt anypony else that didn't directly threaten her last time she was around or even before when Princess Luna first turned into her. Unfortunately, we can't even risk spying to see what they could be doing because Equestria is doomed if something happened to any one of us."

Rainbow finally slinks down with a thud and comforts Scootaloo as she tries to hold in her tears. Having your greatest enemy return in full force, being terrorised and having to escape into the Everfree Forest have taken thier toll. Twilight looks over comfortingly. "It's okay, I've been working on a way to work out disguised evil such as Changelings."

She flashes her horn as Rainbow Dash's eyes widen in horror. "WAIT!" However, the spell is already cast and a wave of magic sends Rainbow Dash flying into a tree trunk.

They look over before gawking in horror. "What the?!!!"

Rainbow Dash is now significantly taller, sprouting a horn, wearing very familiar armour and has eerily familiar serpentine eyes. "Oh goosefeathers." The voice is distinctly Rainbow Dash's own but with an added eerie echo and booming tone underlaying it. "I suppose the time for pretences are over. You can call me Night-time Flare."

Immediately, Twilight throws an energy barrier up though she knows it won't be a match for Nightmare Moon's own magic. If anything, it's just to make herself and the others feel safer as Nighttime Flare just walks over to playfully prod the shield. "Really, Twilight? You know that Alicorns can go straight through your energy shields, right? Especially the coolest one of all." She calmly shatters the shield with her magic only to find herself alone. "Horseapples."

A shadowy mist crawls out from inside a hollowed out tree and appears before his Queen. "Should I send some of the others after them?"

Flare shakes her head. "No, they'll come to us eventually. Going after them now will only make things more complicated."

"You know that they are just going to summon help from the Princesses, right?"

His Queen smiles eerily. "Yes and that is exactly what I'm hoping for." Her looks turns severe. "Make sure the others know that I want no harm to come to any of them, Shadowfright. There will be consequences if any of them get hurt."

The eight remaining heroes find themselves in the abandoned Carousel Boutique which is thankfully still locked up tight. Rarity immediately ushers them into her sewing room whereupon she locks the door tightly. "What? I can't have anypony interrupt my work, darlings."

Noticing that Sweetie Belle hasn't spoken in a long time, they look over to see her on the verge of a breakdown so Apple Bloom gives her a hug despite shaking violently herself. "N-now wh-what?"

Twilight looks at the others nervously. "We contact the Princesses and then we get out of here as quickly as possible. We're no good to anypony if Night-time Flare catches us."

The others nod with agreement but Twilight groans as she knows what must be done. "If we get attacked, we have to split up."

Her friends reply with looks of horror and disgust. "Uh, Twai? Tha's a very bad idea. We should stick tuhgeter. 's safer tha way."

Twilight looks at them sadly. "If we stay together in an attack, we'll be much easier targets and less mobile. In pairs or small groups, there's a higher chance of us making it to safety. I don't like it but it's our best chance." The others slowly nod as Twilight summons a quill and scroll paper from a nearby drawer.

Earlier that morning, Canterlot Castle

Princess Celestia stretches herself out as she wakes up for her morning ritual. Looking outside, she smiles at Princess Luna's brightly shining Moon before using her magic to lower it. However, it remains stationary and only shines brighter than ever so her smile falters slightly in confusion. What the? She tries harder but the Moon just sits there. Is this one of Luna's pranks? Her smile returning, she rings a bell designed for emergencies and a Guard quickly arrives with a bow. "You called, Princess?"

Celestia nods "Please call Princess Luna to the throne room."

The Guard gets visibly nervous but nods anyway. "At once, your majesty."

A short while later, the Throne Room

After only a few minutes of waiting, Princess Luna storms in with an angry look. "What on Equus required you to wake us so early?! We just went to sleep!"

Celestia shoots her a calm but serious look. "Luna, did you deliberately prevent me from lowering the Moon this morning?"

Her sister's anger turns to befuddlement. "What? No, of course not. We lowered it like we always do and haven't done otherwise for a thousand years." She then tries to lower the Moon herself but even she fails to do so. "There's something stopping us from lowering it but the only beings capable of doing that are you and..."

She trails off as the diarchs exchange a look of dawning realisation before a Royal Guard hurries in with a well trained and maintained calm expression. "Your majesties, we've just received word that an energy shield has formed around Ponyvile. The Guards stationed there have been unable to get in and all contact with the Guards inside has been lost."

Princess Celestia's face turns grim. "Please summon the rest of the Guard and prepare for battle, Commander. Nightmare Moon is back."

Later, the War Room

Celestia and Luna are drawing up the plans for Canterlot's defence when a Guard knocks and enters. "Presenting their majesties Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Prince Shining Armour of the Crystal Empire!" Of course, normally the Princesses would leave their two peers alone and deal with the problem themselves. With the Element Bearers trapped though, and knowing all too well the colossal ecological threat Nightmare Moon poses, they had decided to act as a combined front.

When the other two rulers enter, Shining Armour still slightly woozy from the very long range teleport, they are tense. "Princess Celestia, isn't there anything we can do?" Celestia maintains her calm visage but worry bubbles under the surface. Before responding, she allows a pregnant pause to steel herself for the nightmare to come as she rolls her eyes. As co-ruler of the Crystal Empire and Prince Consort, Shining Armour is royalty so he doesn't need to use our titles. Even now, after being married for over a year, he still insists on some of his old Royal Guard traditions. It's nice to know that some things never change.

After that moment of respite, she shakes her head. "All attempts to contact Twilight have failed because messages refuse to be sent to Ponyvile. Whenever myself or Luna send them, they just reappear almost instantly. We've been organising plans to combat Nightmare Moon so we haven't been able to go to Ponyvile ourselves yet."

Cadance looks at her adopted aunts with a desperate hope. "But can't you just defeat them again?"

Celestia shakes her head. "I only managed to beat Luna once before with the Elements of Harmony but only because I surprised her. I shouldn't have been able to use them by myself and they're now bonded with Twilight and her friends which will only make things harder. There is a way to use them ourselves but only when we can get to Nightmare Moon. Until we can break through that dome, there's nothing that we can do to stop Nightmare Moon."

There is a slight moment of contemplation but then a scroll suddenly materialises before Princess Celestia. After exchanging a look, she scans it for curses before unveiling it and releasing a visible sigh of relief. "It's from Twilight." The sigha of relief from the other's are almost unbelievable. Clearing her throat, Celestia reads it aloud.

Dear Princess Celestia
I hope to everything that this gets through to you. Nightmare Moon is back and she's possessed Rainbow Dash. We're okay for the moment but she has taken over Ponyvile and we aren't safe. We're going to try and make for Canterlot to rendezvous with you. I hope to see you again soon.

Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle.

Princess Celestia looks up at the horrified looks on her fellow ruler's faces before standing. "We have to prepare for the worst and guard the barrier at all costs. We can't allow Nightmare Moon to leave Ponyvile so we must be ready for when she tries to force her way out. Until we break the barrier, Twilight and the others are on thier own."

As the others nod and get ready for the battle to come, Princess Celestia looks forlornly out the window at the just barely visible energy shield around Ponyvile. "Please stay safe, Twilight. We’re coming as fast as we can.”

Cat and Mouse

After fifteen minutes, eight ponies and a dragon grow worried when an answer isn't forthcoming. "You don't think Rainbow could have..."

Twilight shakes her head. "Of course not, there's no way she could completely defeat both of the Princesses. They must just be busy organising the defence of Canterlot in case we can't stop Nightmare Moon here. For the time being, we're on our own."

She then looks at her friends sadly. "If we get separated, we rendezvous at the train-line at 5PM and make our way to Canterlot as fast as possible. If we aren't there within ten minutes, assume the worst. Stop at nothing no matter what, we can't afford to let ourselves be captured for the sake of Equestria." She looks down with a tear in her eye. "No matter what they do to our family and friends, we can't jeporadise the safety of the entire world under any circumstances."

Realising the truth in what she says, Scootaloo's head drops as her friends comfort her."Wh-what'll happen to Rainbow Dash?"

Twilight looks at her sadly. "I'm sorry but we have to do whatever it takes to save Equestria. Rainbow Dash would want us to stop Nightmare Moon at all costs even if we have to banish her. N-no matter how much it may hurt." Scootaloo's eyes go wide with realisation as she nods sadly.

Turning to her other heartbroken friends, Twilight nods mournfully. "If we get separated, Spike will go with Rarity and Applejack can take the Crusaders. Spike and Rarity make an excellent team and Applejack is the strongest of us. Knowing Nightmare Moon, she'd use any opportunity she can get to lure us out." She turns to the Crusaders. "If anything happens to AJ along the way, bolt for the railway lines." They nod and the group very quickly but quietly leave the Boutique.

No-pony notices the unnaturally dark shadow from under the dressing table form into a familiar silhouette. The creature chuckles eerily before flying out a window.

The Golden Oaks Library

Night-time Flare is planning the next move with Shadowfright when she feels Nightmare Moon re-merge with her. How’d it go?

Everything is going according to plan. If we attack, they'll split up and head for the railway lines just outside town.

Flare smiles proudly. "Is everything ready, Shadowfright?"

"Yes my Queens."

Night-time Flare nods. "Excellent, you may begin but no injuries."

He bows his 'head.' "Yes your majesties."

Flare turns to leave but looks back for a moment. "And leave the Crusaders to me. They're scared enough as it is."

Shadowfright chuckles. "Thinking about creating your own little Nightmare Princess?"

The monarch glares at her second in command though it is accompanied by a cheeky smile. "Don't push it."

A few minutes later, near the center of Ponyvile

The small group slowly sneak thier way through the backstreets with Spike riding on Rarity's back in case they need to quickly flee. Every now and again, they are forced to hide in the darkness from the shadowy beings that they have overheard call themselves the Nightmare Shadows. Every time they have to hide, which is quite often as it turns out, they swear that the Shadows see them but then pass by with nary a turn of the "head." The fact that they can see thier friends and neighbours walking the streets almost gives them some small comfort even if the Shadows are everywhere.

Soon however, they reach the edge of town where there is no cover whatsoever and several Nightmare Shadow fly around the perimeter. They may not have wings but they can drift through the air disturbingly quickly; much more quickly than most ponies can run or fly. Clearly, Nightmare Moon anticipates thier escape but Twilight prepares to teleport as far away as possible.

"Hello again." Thier blood runs cold as they look back to see Flare flanked by no less than five Nightmare Shadows including one in particular that looks like a wolf. Immediately, the Element Bearers close in protectively around Spike and the Crusaders. Even so, thier "friend" gives them a welcoming grin as if she were Pinkie at the beginning of a party. "Come on girls, you know me. I couldn't hurt a fly."

None of her friends respond but start slowly backing away towards the fields. With a sigh, Flare gestures her head toward them and Nightmare Shadows swarm in from overhead. Twilight immediately recognises the dark magic they're trying to cast. "Scatter!"

They do so but Flare stops her army with a smile. "Let them go and stick to the plans. Fighting them will only make things harder."

Once they speed off, she allows herself to relax slightly with a sigh. Why must we do this? You know my way is much quicker and easier.

"Your way is quicker but I'd rather not traumatise my friends and family unnecessarily. Even after this is all over, the Crusaders especially will have nightmares for quite a while. This takes longer but may help ease them into this and I refuse to alter thier minds and make them accept this. Even if they hate us forever, we will have done what is best for Equestria."

Nightmare Moon groans. You always insist on doing things the hard way. It's a miracle you ever defeated me in the first place. With a chuckle, Flare heads in the direction that Applejack and the Crusaders went. I'm sorry for doing this guys but it'll all work out in the end.

Rarity and Spike race back through the center of town, hoping to lose anything that chases them through several sudden and sharp turns down alleyways. Unfortunately for them, the Nightmare Shadows are too fast and agile to miss corners or for them to get far enough ahead to vanish. "Hold on, Spike." He does so as she dives into her Boutique and slams the door before the two brace it with thier backs. To thier surprise, they just hear the Shadows walk over before growling and walking off.

"Now what? There's no way we can go back out there." Rarity pants for a few moments before walking over to a pretty but otherwise unremarkable rug. "Uh, Rares? This isn't the time to redecorate."

Rarity chuckles and throws aside the rug to reveal a trapdoor. "A little something that Twilight had me install after the Canterlot invasion. If we were ever to be caught off guard by an attack and are unable to use the Elements, me and Sweetie were to use a secret escape tunnel to get help. It leads us to directly beside the Royal Guard barracks."

Spike stares at the trapdoor incredulously for a long moment. "Why didn't we just use this earlier?"

Rarity looks at him worriedly. "Because we have yet to properly prop it up which I was going to ask Twilight to help me with this afternoon. There's no guarantee that the tunnel won't collapse on top of us."

Spike gulps. "What choice do we have? It's that or we let those things get us."

She looks at him sadly. "We don't. I just hope that dreadful tunnel doesn't ruin my hair. I spent an hour on it, you know." Spike fondly rolls his eyes before they enter the tunnel and firmly shut the trapdoor.

Below

Led only by the light from Rarity's horn, the two slowly make thier way along in silence. Fortunately, the tunnel is wide enough that they are able side by side which helps them feel slightly safer. Before they reach the half-way point of the tunnel, they stop for a moment but Spike's eyes widen in horror. "Uh, Rarity? We're standing still, right?"

She turns to him. "Of course, darling."

"Then why are our shadows still moving?" Sure enough, thier shadows are quietly creeping towards them from the wall so the two bolt for the end of the tunnel. In doing so, they often trip and fall on the uneven ground; getting coated in grime and covered in small but bleeding cuts. Oddly, the Shadows make no attempt to pursue and follow at a casual canter.

"Why would they sto-OOF!" Spike is thrown back as he slams into an invisible mass though Rarity manages to stop in time.

"What was that?!" She presses her hoof against the mass and it shimmers to reveal a crimson energy shield in front of them. Just from the raw power radiating off of it, they can tell that it isn't being cast by the Shadows behind them. "So the reason they didn't chase us into the Boutique was..."

The two exchange a look of horror as they realise the trap that they have been led straight into. Spike immediately throws himself in front of his crush and adopts a fighting stance despite how un-intimidating a baby dragon looks. "If you want her, you'll have to go through me."

The Shadows just chuckle before turning into dark grey mist much to the two's horror. Rarity desperately tries to teleport herself and Spike above ground or fire energy blasts but finds herself unable to do either as the dome's immense magic is interfering with her own.

As he sees his inescapable end slowly approaching, Spike turns to Rarity. What do I have to lose? It's not like I'm going to live long enough to regret this. "Rarity, I have to tell you something." Rarity looks at him as the Shadows seem to pause. "Ever since I first met you, I've always known that you are the most beautiful and elegant pony in Equestria. Since that day, I've always had a crush on you but have always been too afraid to admit it. Now that we are about to die, it doesn't matter anymore."

As he blushes hard at the admission, Rarity takes a moment to respond. "In all honesty, I'm not surprised. I've always suspected something since you help me without payment or even a proper thanks and you're always the first to offer help when I need it. I always though that it was just a friend helping a friend but after your birthday last year, I've known for certain." The two hug for the final time although what Rarity says to him next is drowned out as the Shadow Mist finally consumes them.

A few minutes ago, the Royal Guard Barracks outside Ponyvile

With preparations in Canterlot for the worst case scenario completed, the Princesses and Shining Armour teleport to the nearby Barracks where they set up a command post. Once they do, a dark green Pegasus in a captain's uniform runs up and salutes. "Acting Commander Light Brigade reporting for duty, your majesties. Our Commandant was in Ponyvile when the dome appeared so I'm the commanding officer in his absence."

Princess Celestia nods proudly at the nervous soldier for having taken such a responsibility. "Have we gotten anywhere with the dome, Commander?"

Light Brigade shakes his head. "Negative, your majesty. All attempts to penetrate the dome have failed. Energy blasts harmlessly fizzle out on contact, flyovers have proven that it encompasses the entire town and stops on the far side of the Everfree Forest, attempts to tunnel under it have been met only by the barrier continuing underground indefinitely and teleportation spells just make us reappear where we started."

Nodding, Princess Celestia turns away on!y for her legendarily calm demeanour to be replaced by a look of mourning. "Auntie?"

"Princess Celestia, what's wrong?"

Luna says nothing but gives her sister a reassuring nuzzle as she snaps back to her more stoic demeanour though the sadness remains in her eyes. "Rarity is gone."

The looks that pass over the others' faces are stomach turning and the Royal Guard Commander completely faints. "How can you be sure? She could still be-"

Shining Armour stops himself as he sees the pain in the Princess of the Sun's eyes. "After Nightmare Moon was defeated, I placed a monitoring spell over the Elements of Harmony to alert me if they are touched or if something about them changes. The Element of Generosity has gone dark and it only does that when its Bearer is lost." The four rulers exchange a worried look.

Meanwhile, near the center of Ponyvile

Instead of heading straight for the railway line, Pinkie Pie bolts for Sugarcube Corner as fast as she can. I have to get the Twins out of here. I... I know what Twilight said about stopping for others but if anything were to happen to them... I... Pinkie doesn't let herself finish that thought and keeps her hopes up since the area seems to be abandoned. Something that’s been kept among her small group of friends had been that, shortly before the Twins were born, she’d more or less become thier godmother. However, this was never officialised due to complicated legal reasons; largely because of the Cakes not being able to prove in court that she was a responsible enough mare for quite obvious reasons. It went over with Rainbow Dash about as well as you can expect but it’s the thought that counts.

Her breath catches in her chest as she sees the front door of the bakery blown open but is relieved to find the interior much like how she left it not 45 minutes ago. As she walks towards the stairs, nothing appears to be wrong aside from the dead silence surrounding her. Not hushed whispers, no hurried sounds to hide; nothing but the sound of her own hooffalls. "H-hello? Is anypony there?" She hissed so quietly that, even if there is, nothing would hear her anyway. Before she can worry much more, she finds herself outside the Twin's room and enters after taking a moment's breath.

As with the rest of the house, it is unchanged from how she left it but more worrying is that she can't hear the Twins breathing. M-maybe they got out in time. Maybe I'm worrying about nothing and can be on my way. As she turns to leave however, she freezes and her heart stops for several seconds at what she sees. No! Please, please, please no! In a cot, laid side by side, are Pumpkin Cake and Pound Cake very clearly not breathing. There are no sign of injury or foul play on them; it's as if they have just sent for thier early afternoon nap.

P-please, I'll do anything. J-just p-please bring them back. As the twins continue to lie there motionless, Pinkie feels her heart shatter as her mane becomes completely straight. "I-I'm s-so sorry! I-if I had known, I-I'd have..." She can't bring herself to speak as she finally breaks down. What use to Equestria are you if you can't even look after those you love?! You don't deserve your friends!

After several minutes of mourning, Pinkie Pie walks to the door. I can't do anything for them but I swear that Nightmare Moon will pay for this. As she is about to open the door though, she hears a sound that makes her heart skip a beat. "N-no, I'm just hearing things. There's no way-" The sound gets progressively louder; the sound of babies waking up. Hardly able to believe it, she turns with a massive smile as her mane regains some of its poofiness. "Hey guys! Aunt Pinkie is ba-" She stops as she sees that the Twins are both sitting bolt upright, staring right at her with thier curious eyes. Thier slitted, intimidating and bio-luminescent eyes.

NOPE! Pinkie immediately backs out of the room to find Carrot Cake leaving his room. "Pinkie? Is that you? Thank Celestia, we've been so worried. Ever since the Sun disappeared, we've been hiding and thought that they got you too."

Pinkie relaxes slightly at the realisation that Carrot is normal. "Y-yeah, we've had a hay of a morning."

Carrot Cake chuckles. "I'm sure, now come on. Let's tell Cup Cake know that you're safe and we can get out of here together. The sooner that we're away from Nightmare Moon and her Shadows, the better."

He turns and beckons Pinkie into the room but she stands there with a horrified expression. "Pinkie, what's wrong?"

"How did you know what they are called?"

Pinkie can see Carrot Cake try to invent a lie as she backs closer and closer to the stairs. As she does so, the shop owner's face falls as Pinkie's mane goes completely straight and she starts shaking. "Pinkie, it's not what it looks like." She turns and bolts for the front entrance and he watches on sadly as he hears her crash into something downstairs. Before returning to his wife, he directs a nod into the twins' bedroom.

Downstairs, Pinkie picks herself up after being stunned for several moments by her latest escape attempt of body slamming the front entrance. With the key missing, she's tried bucking where the door used to be and smashing windows but both are enchanted and she just bounce right off like they're made of rubber. Even the back door, the sink, the oven, the utensils drawer, the kitchen cupboard, the space between the oven and the wall, the sofa cushions, the freezer, the dresser and all of her other escape routes have this effect so she is completely trapped.

As she starts to contemplate what to do, she picks up some terrifyingly familiar wing buzzing and she looks up to see Pound Cake flying down at her. Despite everything that has happened, she can't help but smile proudly at him even as he begins to turn to mist. They've come so far and are so smart for thier age. They no longer need thier Aunt Pinkie.

Presently

As the four royals walk towards the dome in full battle armour, Princess Celestia again looks down sadly and the others immediately halt. "Princess? What's wrong?"

"They got to Pinkie Pie." Luna, Cadance and Shining Armour hang thier heads. Pinkie Pie was the kind of pony that can make any dire situation brighter just by association. The kind of pony that only comes around once in a generation.

After taking a moment to recover from the loss of another friend, Celestia looks at the others determinedly. "The best way for us to honour them is for us to make sure that we break through the shield and defeat Nightmare Moon once and for all. Thier sacrifices will not be in vain." Appreciating her stoicism in the face of such tragedy, they continue though Luna stays close to her sister in case she needs a moment.

None of them notice a familiarly coloured, barely visible mane as it peers down from a cloud house above. They truly have no idea what we've done, do they?

Flare chuckles. "No, they really don't. They're going to have one hay of a shock later." With that, they teleport back inside the dome to continue the chase.

Losing Hope

The Everfree Forest

Fluttershy manages to force herself to make her way towards Zecora's house. Strangely, she's encountered no Shadows on the way here as they all appear to be in Ponyvile. I-I hope the others are okay. Zecora must know what to do. Before long, she manages to find her way through to the familiar bent tree. Trying hard not to scream as she watches the shadows of nighttime birds pass overhead, she raps desperately on the door.

"Do you need to knock so hard on my door? I'm only on the first floor." Fluttershy nearly collapses with relief as the familiar zebra opens the door. "Ah, good day Fluttershy. You must come in before this frightful cold makes you cry." Fluttershy steps into the warm and familiar interior largely unchanged from her last visit. "Now, can you please tell me why I got quite the fright when I went outside and found that day had turned to night?" Making herself comfortable, Fluttershy recounts what she knows and Zecora's face gets grimmer with each passing moment.

"Of the return of the mare of Nightmares, I was unawares. Her actions are most unfair and my friends' suffering I cannot bear." After a moment to think and collect seemingly random ingredients, she rushes over to her cauldron and begins to work. "Fortunately, I have a very good notion for a potion. My potion will be rather thrilling and give Nightmare Moon quite the grilling." Fluttershy tunes out the threats as she watches Zecora work. Before long, she finishes and presents Fluttershy with a vial of swirling liquid. "On the pony known as Rainbow Dash, this potion you must splash. It will dispel that creature in a flash."

Fluttershy looks at the potion warily. "W-will this hurt Rainbow Dash?"

Zecora shakes her head with a promising smile. "Your friend Rainbow Dash this won't be harming and she'll be ready to help Applejack with her farming."

Forcing herself not to giggle at the zebra's random choice of words, Fluttershy turns to leave only for the door to be thrown open by three Nightmare Shadows led by a fourth but very familiar being. "The mighty Element of Kindness; the one who helped to defeat myself and Sombra and the one to reform Discord is huddling together in the woods with the village hermit. How sad."

Zecora throws an unlabelled jar at Nightmare Moon which passes right through her and slowly eats a hole in the wall. "Nightmare Moon, your time is over. The depths of Tartarus will be your enclosure."

However, the Shadows slowly advance towards them so Zecora and Fluttershy back away as the former's potions only do damage to her own house. Before any of them can react, Zecora shatters her bedroom window with a rock. "Fluttershy, you must exit through the window. I'll keep them busy, now go!"

Fluttershy is about to protest when Zecora points insistently. "The fate of Equestria lies in your hooves. Sacrificing yourself for me would not be something of which Princess Celestia approves."

With tears in her eyes, Fluttershy flees out the window but Nightmare Moon stops her subordinates. "Don't worry about her, I already have a surprise waiting for her when she gets back to her cottage."

Zecora's eyes go wide before she is magically picked up and pressed against the wall. She struggles but can barely move as the shadowy Alicorn goes eye to eye with the zebra. "Anything left to say?"

Zecora snarls at the face of her doom. "Whatever happens to me, soon your defeat shall be."

Nightmare Moon laughs in her face. "You seriously think that your little potion will harm us? It won't even give us stomachache." To prove it, she levitates a vial of the concoction over from the cauldron and drinks it to no effect. "Mmmm, tastes like blueberry."

Zecora's eyes go wide. "How?! You should be incredibly weak right now." Nightmare just chuckles before turning into a shadowy mist that engulfs the struggling zebra.

Terrified and crying over her friend's death, Fluttershy bolts for her cottage. I'll make sure that your sacrifice wasn't in vain, Zecora. I just need Discord to help us and we'll finish this. Slamming open her door, she disturbs Discord who appears to be trying to discover how many times it is possible to clone Angel. "Ah, Fluttershy!" With a snap of his claws, the Draconequus returns a scowling Angel to normal. "Where are my manners? Allow me to take your coat."

Before she can speak, the spirit of chaos appears in a butler's outfit and does a hand movement that somehow entirely removes her fur coat. "Shall I get our tea?"

He is about to do so when Fluttershy looks at him strongly. Not quite The Stare, not that it had ever affected him anyway, but enough to make him pause as she only used that kinda look when desperate. "We need your help, Discord."

The interested smile on Discord's face splits his head in two. Very literally; there's just a long line of teeth wrapping around that entire part of his head. "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh?"

Flutter shy holds up the potion. "Nightmare Moon is back and she got Zecora. We need to use this potion on Rainbow Dash and-"

Discord stops her with a disinterested wave of his claw. "You need help with that? No thanks. That wouldn’t even cause minor indigestion. Call me when you're ready for tea."

He prepares to snap away but stops when Fluttershy looks up at him pleadingly. "Discord, please. We need your help. If you won't do it for the others, please do it for me. We need to save Dash."

Discord roars with laughter and actually explodes with mirth before reforming with a wide grin. "You really don't know anything, do you? Have you ever stopped to consider that Rainbow Dash isn't doing this against her will?”

Fluttershy stares at him. “How would you even-“

Discord knocks on the side of his own head, knocking out his own brain which he swiftly eats back up. “I’ve been inside each of your heads, remember? I know how you think better than any of you.” He stretches in an overly dramatic way. “believe what you will, you’re about to find out anyway. TTFN." Before she can respond, he teleports away and leaves her in shock. So much shock that she fails to notice the mysterious mist blowing in around her.

Moments later, the dome around Ponyvile

As the four royals try to wear down the forcefield with thier magic, Princess Celestia feels another shattering change and has to stop. "Princess?"

She looks in the direction of the Everfree Forest. "They've gotten to Fluttershy." The news is somehow even more devastating than that of Rarity or Pinkie's downfall. Fluttershy is Rainbow Dash's oldest friend and the epitome of kindness in Equestria. If she is gone, then there's no telling what Nightmare Moon will do to the others.

Princess Celestia refocuses her magic and continues trying to overload the dome. "There are only two left now but neither knows it. We have to get to them before Nightmare Moon does, no matter what." After recollecting themselves, Luna, Cadance and Shining Armour renew their efforts.

Meanwhile, the far side of Ponyvile

Applejack guards the Crusaders inside an old and abandoned house as they watch the Nightmare Shadows looking for them outside. Faced with such a threat, even Scootaloo can't hold in tears of absolute terror and Applejack wishes that she could say anything to alleviate it. The simple fact is that they are cornered with no chance of escape and it is only so much longer until they are discovered.

Suddenly, they watch the Shadows leave until they hear familiar hooffalls outside. Acting quickly, Applejack pulls the Crusaders into a bedroom and barricades the door as they hide in the cupboard.

After a few minutes of searching below, they hear Flare come upstairs. Her steps are so quiet and unremarkable that you could easily mistake it for an ordinary visit to friends. "Guys, if you're hiding where I think you are, then you seriously need to pick better hiding spots." The four shiver at the familiar voice of a dead pony and Scootaloo bites back a whimper.

Instead of hearing her trying to get in, they hear the blockade be magically shoved aside and the door be casually opened. Horseapples, I should've remembered that she can use magic now.

"Hmmmmmm, where could they be? Could they be here?" They shiver at the playful voice as the pony opens a drawer. "Or maybe here?" They prepare to bolt as they hear Flare look under the bed right beside the cupboard.

"Oh. I know." Before any of them can react, the doors are pulled open to reveal Flare with a smile. "Hi guys."

Before she can act, Applejack bucks her in the face and pounces atop the stunned Alicorn. "Run!"

Apple Bloom has to be held back by her friends as she tries to help her sister. "But-"

Applejack looks imploringly at her sibling. "Go!"

The Crusaders bolt as if an angry Cerberus were on thier tails just as Flare manages to use raw physical strength to overpower Applejack. "This was your escape plan? Cower in a closet and hope to surprise my guards when they eventually found you? That's not like you, AJ."

Applejack tries not to shiver at Nightmare's use of Rainbow's playfully mocking tone. "You have me but you'll never get the others, Flare."

The Alicorn just laughs though, with her new voice, it is more of a cackle. "AJ, you and Twilight are the only ones left besides the Crusaders."

Applejack frowns. "You're lying."

"Use your honesty sense, you'll find that I'm telling the truth. You and Twilight are the only ones left."

Applejack does so and she feels her heart shatter. "G-guys, A-A'm sorry. Ah failed but the Crusaders'll be safe now." She manages one final defiant glare at the Alicorn. "You'll never win. Whatever yah do tah me, the Princesses will stop yah."

Flare chuckles. "I already placed a tracking spell on Scootaloo earlier and, with an impenetrable dome around Ponyvile, I can find them at my own pace. As for the Princesses, I wouldn't worry about them right now if I were you." Applejack fights desperately to escape even as Night-time Flare turns into mist around her.

A few minutes earlier, outside of the dome

As the three rulers take a moment's break to let thier magic recharge, they stare at the dome which is as strong as ever. "Now what? We've tried everything. There's no way through."

Princess Celestia turns to Commander Light Brigade as he turns from giving another set of orders. "How are the defences, Commander?"

Her subordinate bows. "Our forces are stretched thin and I am unsure if they will withstand a sustained assault."

Shining Armour approaches the inexperienced leader. "Haven't we called for help? There are regiments all across Equestria and surely the Wonderbolts can help."

Light Brigade shakes his head. "Yes sir but most of them are culling unrest over Nightmare Moon's return and only two regiments are able to respond. However, they're coming from the Badlands and won't be here until morning. The Wonderbolts are coming as well but they're currently in Griffonstone on tour. I don't know if any of them will arrive in time." Shining Armour nods as he turns back to the grim looking Princesses.

Before anypony can speak, Princess Celestia looks at the dome sadly. "Please, not another."

Celestia nods sadly. "The Element of Honesty has gone dark."

The looks of horror on Cadance and Shining's faces make Light Brigade feel ill. "Then that means..."

Celestia nods. "We just have to hope that Twilight found somewhere safe. The Element of Magic is still fine so she must be okay." Her niece looks relieved before going pale and pointing at the dome. Celestia turns and her heart sinks like a boulder. No!

Mere moments ago, not far away

Twilight desperately fires dozens of energy blasts backwards into her pursuers as she flees out of town and towards the railway lines. Her heart pounds harder as she finds that she can't see any of her friends around her but forces herself to keep running. Please be safe, girls. I don't know what I'd do without you.

She is so busy firing spells that she doesn't notice something in her way until she literally bounces right off of it. "Good afternoon, Twilight. It's delightful to see you again."

Before she can even finish, Twilight has already jumped to her feet and run around but is thrown back as she slams into the energy dome. "What in the hay?" She goes pale as she recognises a very powerful shield spell though she takes some comfort in seeing the Princesses and her brother on the other side.

They notice her as well and desperately gesture behind her and Twilight turns just in time to block an energy beam with one of her own. Only by drawing on her deepest reverses of magic is she able to manifest magic so close to a powerful spell. Nightmare Moon just looks simultaneously smug and slightly impressed. "Hmph, you're stronger than you look even without your friends. Too bad they can't help you, isn't it?"

Twilight shakes her head. "There's no way you could have gotten to them so quickly. You're lying." Nightmare just grins serenely so an unsettled Twilight looks back at Princess Celestia. The look of deep personal shame on her mentor's face reveals that this is no lie.

A mixture of emotions pass over Twilight's face; grief, sadness, disbelief, horror, depression, lost hope and finally anger. "I'll stop you here and now even if it costs me everything."

She is nearly deafened by a shrill cackle from the being. "Oh, don't worry. You'll be seeing your friends again very soon, my dear Twilight. Very soon." Before she can speak, Twilight is teleported away as everypony else watches on.

Twilight suddenly finds herself back in the Golden Oaks Library for the first time in several hours though little has seemingly changed. "Home sweet home." Twilight bravely rounds on Nightmare Moon to find that they are muzzle to muzzle so she takes a step back. "Surprised to see me again? It's incredible what one can achieve with a host willing to give you some of thier latent magic. "

Instinctively rejecting the information as a lie, Twilight takes in Nightmare Moon and realises something very odd. She's virtually identical to how Luna once looked though she now has streaks of rainbow in the night blue mane and tail and her eyes are the most different of all. They are the same colour as Luna's and retain the slitted appearance but now appear less angry and cruel than before and instead more... calm and almost friendly yet calculating. They have the look of something that is always analysing a situation to discover the best way to get what it wants.

Knowing how manipulative she can be though, Twilight takes a fighting stance and stares down the very bored looking Alicorn. "Do you really want to fight an Alicorn at the height of her power without the help of your friends?" She throws out her wings proudly. "If Celestia couldn't defeat me in her prime, what chance do you have with not even one thousandth the amount of power that I possess?"

Twilight doesn't respond so Nightmare Moon sighs as she fires a massive magical beam. To her credit, Twilight is able to block it with one of her own but it takes very significant effort whilst Nightmare just grins like a lunatic. "I'll tell you what, Sparkle; let's make a deal. If you win, I will bring back all of your friends and leave Equestria forever never to return. If I win though, you are mine to do with as I see fit."

Impossible, there's no way she's telling the truth. "How do I know that this isn't a trick?"

Nightmare Moon just chuckles. "What reason do I have to lie? If I wanted, I could obliterate you here and now before you can even draw a breath and there’s nothing you could do about it.” An involuntary chill shoots down Twilight’s spine. “If I just wanted to defeat you to get you out of my way, there is nothing stopping me."

This has to be a trap but I don't have a choice. I have to do this for my friends and for Equestria. "I accept."

Nightmare's wicked smile only gets wider. "Good, good. Let's see how brains match up with sheer power. I'll even give you a fighting chance just to make this more fun."

Nightmare Moon suddenly breaks thier magical duel and teleports them into a field near Sweet Apple Acres. Before Twilight can attack, Nightmare surrounds them in a shining purple dome that makes Twilight's magic feel more powerful than ever before. "A fun little spell I invented whilst a part of Luna. This field increases a unicorn's power a thousand fold to be roughly on par with my own."

Twilight just looks at her in disbelief. "Why would you put yourself at a deliberate disadvantage?"

The Alicorn cackles. "Because you're one of only seven beings to ever defeat me. Remember that I also have over a thousand more years of training and experience in battle than you have.”The Alicorn’s smile turns playful; the look of a being who knows that she’s already won. “Don't hold anything back; I certainly won't. Shall we begin?"

Before Twilight can respond, her opponent takes to the sky and rains down magical blasts that Twilight either dodges or teleports around them. Putting up a shielding spell is an easy way to lose since her magic cannot compare to the sheer raw power of an Alicorn. Grinning with glee, Nightmare Moon attempts a dive-bomb attack only for Twilight to dodge by a hair. "Impressive but we aren't through yet." Before Twilight can react, she is tackled as the Alicorn tries to pin her down and force a surrender.

To prevent this, Twilight fires an energy beam that forces Nightmare to counter with her own and get off of Twilight. She starts to feel slightly confident as the laser beam slams into Nightmare Moon's horn and does... nothing. Whereas this same type of attack once defeated Princess Celestia herself, Nightmare Moon is just sitting there grinning. On closer inspection, the beam is actually phasing through the back of Nightmare's head and shooting into the Everfree behind her.

Even as Twilight pours all of her magic into the beam, the Alicorn just waits calmly as the unicorn starts panting. "Oh, I should have mentioned. I cannot be defeated by anything other than the Elements of Harmony when I'm outside of my host. All I am is a conglomeration of shadows and you can't hurt what isn't really there. It's been fun but you're only going to hurt yourself the longer that this goes on. I'll put you out of your misery." Twilight immediately tries to terminate her laser but, before she can, the beam slams into her and she gets knocked to the ground and ends up skidding twenty feet as the dome disappears.

"That was fun but I always had the trump card." To her slight surprise, Twilight manages to force herself into standing as she takes a weak and easily blocked swipe at Nightmare. "Careful, you might hurt yourself."

Twilight sways. "I... will... defeat you... if it... kills me." She channels her remaining energy for a devastating blast, one that will instantly kill her from the strain but hopefully take Nightmare down with her. However, the dark Alicorn puts an inhibitor ring on her horn.

"You needn't sacrifice yourself unnecessarily. That blast wouldn't even have touched me and it would be such a shame to ruin such a beautiful field with your viscera."

Twilight looks at her in defiance. "I.. can't... let... you.... win... My... friends... would... never... let... me... give... up..."

Nightmare Moon cackles again before teleporting them back to Ponyvile Square. "Do you seriously think that I would waste such talented and brave if foolish ponies?" Twilight glares at Nightmare as she finally collapses, on the brink of passing out. "You need to stop or you're going to seriously hurt yourself. You don't want to abandon your friends, do you?"

"You... killed... my... friends..."

As Twilight finally begins to break down from grief, the dark Alicorn gives a surprisingly warm smile and gestures behind the unicorn. As Twilight turns, Nightmare Moon turns to mist and engulfs her just as the Element of Magic screams in horror at what she sees.

At the same time, outside the dome

Work continues on trying to find a way under the dome as the rulers try to magically detect any weaknesses. Everything stops though as they hear a bloodcurdling scream which is abruptly cut off. At the exact same moment, Princess Celestia's eyes go wide and her mouth falls open. Realising what this means, Shining Armour and Princess Cadance's hearts stop simultaneously. No, there's no way she could have...

Celestia's head falls as she releases a sigh. "The Element of Magic has gone dark."

For a good fifteen minutes, there is dead silence as the news of the last hero of Equestria's death sinks in. Finally, Shining breaks the silence with a shaky voice. "Goodbye Twilight, rest easy, We'll finish what you started."

Slowly, work resumes as professionalism takes over and Shining and Cadance bury thier pain in thier work. As they do though, Princess Luna sees Celestia sitting and staring blankly at where they last saw Twilight. "Are you going to be okay, sister?" Her sister doesn't respond, instead swallowing a lump in her throat. Although Celestia has her normal serene expression, Luna can tell that she is holding back tears. "Is it possible that Twilight and the others have merely been banished like we were?"

Celestia looks straight through her sister for a few moments before shaking her head. "Even if they were, there's no food or water on the Moon and it is impossible to break a seal once it's placed. You only escaped because I sentenced you to just a thousand years exile. And that's assuming they weren't all sent to the Sun where they'd..." She clears her throat as her voice starts to waver and puts on a calm expression. "There is nothing that we can do except ensure that they didn't die for nothing."

When Luna only continues to look at Celestia worriedly, she returns it blankly. "If I could have just gotten to Twilight and the others slightly quicker, if I had found Nightmare Moon sooner, if I wasn't so useless, she'd be here with us helping to organise a defence. Instead, I've left Night-light and Velvet without a daughter and Shining Armour without a sister because I couldn't find a way to help Twilight. Because of me, our friends are gone."

Luna lowers her head but becomes even more worried about her sister as she looks up at the Moon with a completely broken expression."I-I'm so sorry, Twilight. I couldn't save you. Don't worry about your family. I'll ensure that they're well looked after and that you and your friends will never be forgotten. You were true heroes lost trying to save those you loved. May you all rest in peace forever."

Luna shivers at the tone of voice; the same kind somepony gives when delivering a eulogy but her worry only grows as Celestia's face morphs into a look of grim determination. "I swear on the Sun and Moon that I will not let Nightmare Moon hurt anypony else ever again. I swear it."

As her sister shivers at the dark promise, the Sun Princess turns and walks back over to the war table with her face once again perfectly neutral. However, Princess Luna knows that tone all too well; she's heard it a few times before and it has only ever led to very, very dark places.

Shock, Grief and Revelations

Five minutes earlier, Ponyvile Schoolhouse

With Applejack gone and thier sisters missing, as well as the surrounding area completely swarmed by Shadows, the Cutie Mark Crusaders have abandoned any attempt to escape and cling to each other in the darkest corner of the school. Ominously, they haven't heard of seen any or thier classmates at all on the way here and the building is completely abandoned. They've been taught that, if anything should happen in Ponyvile and they can't get somewhere safe by themselves, they are to meet at the school where they will be taken to safety by Miss Cheerilee but even she is nowhere to be found.

As her friends look to her for encouragement, Scootaloo just feels completely numb inside. Rainbow Dash, why are you doing this? You're my big sister, I love you and look at what you've done. Her face hardens as she comes to a fateful decision. Don't worry, I'll stick to your example and do what you would have done for me in a heartbeat. I'll be with you soon enough. Stepping away from her friends, Scootaloo takes a deep breath as she steels herself for what she is about to say. "Girls, when they find us, I'll keep them busy whilst you run as fast as you can."

Sweetie Belle looks at Scootaloo in horror. "No way. Scoots. We're Crusaders and we stick together no matter what. What happens to you happens to all of us. We're not leaving you to face down Nightmare Moon alone." Apple Bloom nods in firm agreement.

Scootaloo looks at them sadly. "Sweetie, Applejack was told to get you and Apple Bloom to safety no matter what and that responsibility now falls to me as the oldest." As the other Crusaders look on resolutely, Scootaloo sighs as she prepares herself to reveal a secret she has kept for a long time. One she has never told anypony, not even her aunts, since being sappy is the uncoolest thing ever. Since this will be the last time they ever meet though, what has she got left to lose?

"There's another reason, guys. You're not just my friends; you're the sisters I never had. With Rainbow Dash gone, I have to protect you. We're not just Crusaders, we're family and family protects each other."

The other Crusaders look at her sweetly. "Oh, Scoots." Before they can hug, they all jump at a bloodcurdling scream coming from nearby. "W-was that Twilight?!" Scootaloo is too shocked to respond.

Sweetie Belle begins to freak out. "But if they've managed to get Twilight, what if they've gotten to the others? What about Rarity?! I-I couldn't live without her. If anything happened to her, I-I don't know what I'd do." Apple Bloom and Scootaloo say nothing as they give her a hug.

Before anything more can be said, the windows are smashed in as three Nightmare Shadows make an entrance. "Found some!"

As the Crusaders back away towards the entrance, it's opened by a fourth and familiar looking Shadow. "You idiots, they're the ones the Queen wants to deal with personally."

At that, the Crusaders bolt straight into the street. "We'll head for your house, Sweetie." She sees the Crusader turn her head to protest but Scootaloo shakes her head. "We don't stand a chance by ourselves, especially if Flare is after us herself. Sweet Apple Acres is on the other side of Ponyvile. We can't risk encountering those things again. Let's just hope that your parents are still okay."

As they race past other Shadows, Apple Bloom turns to her older friend with a frightened look. "Why would Flare want tah deal with us herself? We're notta threat tah her."

Scootaloo looks back equally worried but focuses on running which allows them to quickly reach the familiar house. When they enter though, they hear a familiar laugh coming from the living room. "Oh mother, you can be so vulgar!"

Sweetie Belle perks up at the sound of her sister's familiar voice but Scootaloo stops her from running in joyfully. Something's not right here. Why would they just be sitting and talking pleasantly like it's any other day? We're in the middle of the apocalypse. Why aren't they trying to escape or at the very least stay quiet and hide? Slowly motioning her friends forward, they creep up to the open door and peer in. They have to hold in screams of terror at what they see.

Sitting directly opposite the doorway is Rarity or at least something that resembles Rarity. She has the same mane and tail as Rarity and even the same eye colour but her coat is jet black, her eyes are slitted and they appear to glow in the dim light cast by the Moon. Fortunately, she is too busy laughing with Hondo to have noticed them yet although they aren't as lucky with Cookie. "Good evening, girls. Please, won't you sit down?" Despite the very warm and welcoming tone, they shiver at her bio-luminescent eyes.

Slipping behind the door for a moment, the three exchange looks of horror. "Wh-what in the sweet name of Celestia are those things?! They look like Rarity and mom and dad but they can't be. Let's get the hay out of here." Just as they prepare to bolt, they hear what sounds like scales being dragged across wooden flooring. "What was that?"

"You know Sweetie, it's rude to ignore your mother when she asks you a question." They jump at the deep voice before spinning around and cowering. Coiled up in front of the front door is what at first glance appears to be an absolutely enormous snake. As thier eyes adjust to the very dim light though, they recognise the familiar purple and green scales as well as the familiar green spines that suddenly look much sharper and more threatening.

"Sp-Sp-Spike?!" The dragon shoots them his trademark grin although his new appearance makes it unintentionally menacing. Less of a smile and more of an “I’m gonna eat you in a second” taunt. Before he can speak, Rarity emerges from the living room and the Crusaders back themselves flat against Spike to get as far away from her as possible.

Rarity shoots the Crusaders a relieved smile. "Thank Princess Celestia that you're safe. We've been so worried about you three. Please, come join us for some tea." The Crusaders exchange a look of terror but realise that they don't have a choice. There aren't any windows except those behind Rarity and Spike is blocking the only exit. Exchanging worried looks, they walk calmly into the sitting room.

Outside the dome

Princess Luna watches sadly as she sees Princess Celestia pour all of her efforts into locating any weak-points in the dome. Although she was giving it everything before, now there is a cold deliberateness to her actions not seen since Sombra a thousand years ago. A cold, calculated demeanour synonymous with combating a powerful enemy who took something very important away from you. To anypony not very intimately familiar with the Princess, she merely appears to be hyper-focused on her task and as calm as ever but Luna knows better. When this is all over, I need to have a long, hard talk with her. This isn't healthy.

Celestia looks up at Commander Light Brigade who snaps to attention. "Are your men ready, Commander?" He nods. "Excellent, inform them to be prepared for literally anything. If Nightmare Moon can take down the Element Bearers with little effort, we don't know what her and her army are capable of." Light Brigade snaps a salute and marches away as Celestia turns her attention back to the war-table.

"Princess Celestia." She turns with a joyless smile to see a nervous but determined looking Shining Armour. "I request to be assigned to the forward defences. They'll need all the help that they can get." The look of horror on Cadance's face makes him wince though he maintains his serious expression.

Celestia's expression doesn't change as she responds in a firm but sympathetic voice. "Your request is denied." His look of shock gives her pause. "We need you here in the event of an attack and you're the strongest that we have besides myself, Luna and Cadance. We're the last line of defence between Nightmare Moon and Equestria if the Royal Guard can't hold the line." She shakes her head sadly. "I know that you want to avenge Twilight and the others but, if she were here, she'd be scolding you for taking such unnecessary risks."

She sees the hurt in his eyes and looks at him apologetically. "I know how hard it is to have lost your sister, I felt the same for over a thousand years, but we can't allow that to cloud our judgement. There will be time to grieve when this is over but we can't allow Nightmare Moon to have her way with Equestria. We can't let our feelings jeporadise Equestria. No matter how much it hurts."

Though the last part is muttered, Shining's eyes widen slightly as he hears the first vulnerability from his Princess though he soon returns to his stoic expression. "Understood, Princess." He then snaps a salute before walking away with Cadance.

Luna chuckles emptily. "He never will learn to call us by name, will he sister?"

Celestia doesn't respond for a moment as she watches her student's brother. "No Luna, he probably never will." Despite the attempt at a witty response, her voice is hollow and her small smile doesn’t reach her eyes as she gets back to work whilst Luna watches sadly.

Meanwhile, Cookie Crumbles and Hondo Flanks' living room

The Crusaders sit a sofa facing Rarity and her parents with Spike blocking any chance of escape. Although all four have warm and friendly smiles, all that the Crusaders see are cats that just cornered some mice.

After five minutes of silence, Rarity politely clears her throat. "Now, we need to go over something before Rainbow Dash arrives." She pauses as the Crusaders cling to each other at the mention of the Pegasus. "Sweetie, please. What are you all so afraid of?"

Rarity tries not to take it personally when her sister just looks up at her with a look of terror. Okay, that was a very stupid question. "W-what are you going to d-do with us?!"

Rarity reaches out to pull her into a comforting hug but Sweetie Belle recoils as if her hoof is an angry Cockatrice. "Sweetie, please let me explain. Nothing is going to hurt you or your friends ever again." The only response is a shiver from her sibling.

"It's okay, Sweetie Belle." Sweetie instinctively perks up at the familiar sound of Cookie's voice though her shivering continues. "Everything will be okay. This has all just been a big miscommunication and you'll soon understand. Please, calm down."

When the comforting words do little to alleviate the tension, Rarity sighs and exchanges a look with her parents before shimmering for a second. The Crusaders watch in disbelief as Rarity reverts back to her normal self but the slitted eyes give away that little has actually changed. "Is that better?" The Crusaders stop shivering as much but the nerves remain. "Now, I know that you all have some questions so we'll try and answer them as best we can."

The Crusaders exchange a worried look before Apple Bloom clears her throat. "Why do yah look like Rarity an' her parents?"

Rarity looks at them hopefully. "Sweetie, please believe me when I say that we are your family. I know we look a little different than before but we're still ourselves in the ways that matter."

Scootaloo looks defiantly at the fashionista as Sweetie Belle gulps. "Prove it."

Rarity takes a deep breath. "Remember when you desperately wanted me to go to the Sisterhooves Social but I refused because I would get dirty? You denounced me as your sister and declared Applejack as your new sister." She sighs at the memory. "We only mended fences when I posed as Applejack and competed in her place. It took me almost two days to get all the mud out"

Sweetie Belle is stunned for a moment but then looks over at Spike suspiciously and shakes her head. "Spike knows everything that happened; he sent our Friendship Report. He could just have told you that."

Rarity holds back a frustrated groan. "How about the time that you tried to retrieve a ribbon but ended up destroying my entire bedroom?"

Sweetie Belle looks conflicted. Only the two of them, thier parents and the other Crusaders know about the Ribbon Incident. Rarity gives a comforting smile. "I'm still your sister, they're still our parents and we still love you as much as we always have."

Sweetie Belle looks into Rarity's eyes, looking to an answer. Seemingly finding what she's looking for, she turns to Hondo and Cookie whose fur has gradually gotten darker during the conversation. "If you're my parents, why did you name me Sweetie?"

Scootaloo gives Sweetie Belle a confused look. "I thought it was because they called you a 'little sweetie' and the name stuck."

Sweetie shakes her head sadly as Cookie shifts nervously. "That was only part of the whole truth. After the Changeling attack, we decided this would be our safety question should we think that any of us were... compromised." She takes a moment to compose herself. "Rarity and Sweetie Belle weren't our only children. Sweetie had an identical twin sister."

Looks of horror cross Apple Bloom and Scootaloo's faces as Sweetie Belle looks down. Seeing his wife and daughters’ grief, Hondo Flanks takes over. "Sweetie Belle and her twin were born six months premature. Her twin came first but died within minutes." He swallows a lump in his throat. "We later found out that her lungs hadn't had time to develop properly and gave out from the strain." Hondo looks at his daughter with sad pride. "Sweetie came an hour later and her lungs were better developed so she survived."

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo are both in severe danger of swallowing flies. After all, how are you supposed to react to learning that one of your closest friends in the world was that close to dying at birth? After a moment passes, Rarity speaks up. "I was fifteen at the time and was the one to ultimately name Sweetie. Mother was going to call her Little Miracle but I convinced them to name her Sweetie Belle after she first opened her eyes and looked like the sweetest little foal we've ever seen. We called her 'mother's little sweetheart' since she went through a lot to get to us and look how she turned out."

Sweetie blushes in embarrassment as Rarity looks at her sister sadly. "Unfortunately, Sweetie's premature birth led to some other long term issues. Fortunately, there weren't any physical defects but you've probably noticed Sweetie's biggest... shortcoming."

The other Crusaders look confused for a moment before Apple Bloom's eyes go wide. "Then na reason that yah can't do magic propaly is..."

Sweetie nods with tears in her eyes. "Yeah, my magic has been stunted ever since I was born. The doctors say that it didn't have time to correctly develop so I'll most likely never be able to use my magic properly. Even if I can sometimes, it takes a lot of effort and I just don’t have the power to do it consistently." She doesn't get the chance to cry as her friends pull her into a hug.

After the embrace ends, Sweetie runs over to Rarity and embraces her as she begins to break down. "I-It's so good to know that you're all safe. I-I was so worried. Now we're together, we can all get out of here."

After a few moments, she trots back over to the other Crusaders with a slight spring in her step. "It's nice to see four sisters so supportive of each other."

Three heads snap to look at Cookie Crumble so fast that there's an audible crack and her heart sinks as she sees the pained expression on her daughter's face. "Mom, how did you know about that?"

Cookie laughs it off. "I meant that you are so close that you are almost like sisters. You remind me a lot of how Rarity and you are together."

There is an uneasy silence for a few moments before the door opens. The Crusaders recoil at the familiarly colourful pony looming in the doorway with a welcoming smile on her face. "Good evening, everypony."

Betrayal and Pain

As the Crusaders gaze in horror at the new-comer, Rarity shoots Night-time Flare a beaming smile as if she had come over for dinner. "Good evening, darling. Please, take a seat."

Flare casts a casual look over at the Crusaders before taking a seat on the floor despite Rarity insisting otherwise. "So, what're you planning to do to us?" Flare manages to suppress the urge to cringe at the harsh tone in Scootaloo's voice.

Rarity looks admonishingly at the Crusader who glares back. "Darling, is that any way to talk to Rainbow Dash? You two are so close."

Scootaloo shakes her head as she glares at Flare. "Whatever that... thing is isn't Rainbow Dash. It's just using her voice, body and memories. There's no way that Rainbow Dash would ever willingly do any of this." She looks back at her friends before resuming her angry look. "I can mourn later but I have others that I need to look after in the meantime."

Atta girl. Though she feels proud at her little sister's protectiveness, Flare bites her lip as she hears the empty tone in Scootaloo's voice. She has heard this many times in other ponies but only after they've lost someone that meant a lot to them. "And what would it take to convince you that I'm still the awesomest pony in Equestria?"

Scootaloo just shakes her head firmly. "Nothing. I know Rainbow Dash and everything you tell us will be lies. Just get on with whatever you want with us." Flare notices her sister side-eyeing a window with very clear intent. Pretending not to notice, she stretches out before eyeing the others who leave to give them some time alone.

Alone with Flare, the air becomes extremely tense as they look at the Alicorn. Turning to her sister by bond, Flare can't help but feel some pride at Scootaloo's defensive position in front of the other Crusaders. She knows she doesn't stand a chance against Nightmare Moon but protects her friends anyway. It's times like this where I wonder if she was accidentally given to the wrong parents and we're blood sisters.

Silence prevails for several minutes until the door behind Rainbow Dash opens. "Good evening, everypony. I hope I'm not too late" purrs an all too familiar voice as Scootaloo tenses. Turning to her other half, Nightmare Moon eyes the fillies in disbelief. "These are the Crusaders? I see that little's changed from the Summer Sun Celebration."

Although her tone is playful and upbeat, the Crusaders press themselves into the sofa as hard as possible. With a sigh of exasperation, Nightmare allows herself to re-merge with Flare who looks worriedly at her shell-shocked sister. "Scoots, I can explain." Her sister just looks up at her with a horrible look of terror, trauma, betrayal and lost hope even as she and her friends back towards the window. They'll only listen when they are like us, Dash. They're too scared to reason with. It's quick and it doesn't even hurt them. Flare releases a sigh just as the Crusaders reach the window before slowly turning to mist.

Looking back, Scootaloo manages to pick up and throw Sweetie Belle clean out the window and into the street with a burst of incredible strength. As she turns to Apple Bloom though, she looks at her friend sadly. "Go arn, Scoots. Take Sweetie and get the hay outta here." Scootaloo doesn't have time to argue so throws Apple Bloom Sweetie only for the window to magically slam shut before she can make her own escape. She turns to the mist to see the calmly smiling silhouette of Nightmare Moon fade back into the smog. As it lunges for her though, she spies an opening under the cloud and manages to dive head first out of the living room. I just need to get out the front entrance and I'm home free. We'll go to Sweet Apple Acres and get Granny Smith's help or maybe we'll take refuge at my aunts' house and-

Scootaloo abruptly rams into something and she jolts with fear when she sees what that thing ia. NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! "Going somewhere? Rainbow Dash wasn't kidding when she said that you're a fighter." Scootaloo dives into the nearest room and slams the door to find herself in the kitchen and face to face with a smiling Rarity.

Before she can speak, Scootaloo manages to dive through the kitchen window. As she looks around the field though, she sees neither of her friends nor any signs that they left. "Guys? It's me, Scootaloo. I escaped." The dead silence that follows her hisses only worries her more.

Before she can ask again, she is pulled into a bush and squirms until Sweetie Belle pulls her into a hug. "Thank everything that you're safe, Scoots. Those Shadows came after me but left when you appeared."

Scootaloo breathes a slight of relief but looks around after a moment as her heart sinks. "Where's Apple Bloom?"

Sweetie looks over at the house hopelessly. "Th-they got her. W-we were running and then one of those things c-c-caught her in that mist. I-I didn't stop and maybe I should have then she wouldn't have..."

Scootaloo runs a hoof up and down the back of her grieving friend. "There's nothing that you could have done for her, Flare has her now and you would only have been caught as well. We need to find a way out of here before they come back. It's what Apple Bloom would have wanted."

Sweetie nods before they turn but instantly freeze in place. "Hai guys." They can't help but stare in horror at the black coloured pony with an all too familiar red mane topped with a bow. "A-Ah know what it looks like but it's still me, Apple Bloom." The two prepare to bolt but hesitate as they can hear the genuine fear and hesitation in her voice. Before any of them can speak again, they are abruptly teleported away.

The Crusaders find themselves in a void full of floating land masses. Though they've never been here, it isn't hard to figure out the owner. "Good evening, I hope you didn't mind dropping in."

Scootaloo takes a decisive step back; even though Discord is reformed, he is still very unpredictable. "Why're we here? We're trying to get to safety."

Discord condescendingly waggles a finger at them which momentarily turns into a writhing snake. "Why would you want to do that? You're perfectly safe in Ponyvile." He stops thier protest with a patiently raised finger. "I know, that big scary Nightmare Moon is there but have you ever considered that she is still Rainbow Dash? That all that has changed is her appearance and abilities?"

Scootaloo just glares at Discord defiantly. "Rainbow Dash wouldn't have done any of this. She wouldn't invade Ponyvile, corrupt her friends, trap and scare us, or do... that to Apple Bloom if she had any control. Night-time Flare is my sister in body only." She looks down sadly. "Come what may, I'm getting Sweetie and Apple Bloom to safety if I have to die in the process."

Unexpectedly, Discord chuckles before pointing to Apple Bloom. "You're so afraid of Flare but you happily let a Shadow stay with you? Even though you have seen what they can do?"

Scootaloo looks back at her nervous friend. "She may look different but she's still the same underneath." Realising what Discord is trying to say, she shakes her head. "And no, that won't convince me. Apple Bloom has done nothing like what Flare did. Now please, send us back so we can get away."

Discord looks ready to protest but relents with a knowing smile. "Okay, I'll let you go but you'll soon see. One way or another." He teleports them away before snapping to Fluttershy's cottage for thier weekly visit.

The Crusaders find themselves right back in the hedge just to see Flare smiling down at them through the leaves. "Have a nice trip, girls?"

They spin around just to find Nightmare Moon behind them so they try to run to either side only to find an energy dome around the hedge. "Ah, ah, ah, no running away this time." Backed into a corner, Scootaloo backs herself up to the dome as her eyes dart around for an escape. Even if I can't get out, I have to save the others. I-I can't lose them too.

As she finds nothing, she fights to control her breathing as Nightmare Moon slowly approaches. "You three have been surprisingly hard to catch, well done." Scootaloo evens up the odds of bucking Nightmare Moon in the face. If I can hit her, maybe her concentration will be broken for long enough that Sweetie and Bloom can escape. When Nightmare gets in range, she bucks but it bounces off of a protective shield. "Nice try but we're not falling for that twice."

As the other Crusaders cower with thier hooves over thier heads, Scootaloo fights to get airborne. C'mon wings, even if you only work once in my life and never again, make it today. Please. As her attempts are met only by the pain she typically gets when straining to fly, her desperation only grows until she finds her wings magically restrained to her sides. "You don't need to hurt yourself, Squirt."

Scootaloo looks at her corrupted mentor with a snarl on her face. "What do you care?! You have us cornered so finish us!" Flare winces at the hatred plain to see in Scootaloo's eyes. Buried beneath the anger though is a deep sense of pain. When your idol apparently turns evil and hunts you and your friends down, how are you supposed to react?

Flare's heart sinks further as she sees a look of calm acceptance on Scootaloo's face. The type of acceptance where a pony knows that they won't survive and is about to do something stupid to try and save her friends. "Scootaloo, wait!" Before she can stop her, Scootaloo bucks Flare as hard as she can. Instead of being aimed at her body or face though, it's aimed solely at her horn which causes a very powerful wave of magic to slam into Scootaloo. In doing so, the dome falters just long enough for the other Crusaders to pass through.

The two look back when they are at a safe distance to see Scootaloo barely able to stand. "G-go!" The two break down as they flee to ensure that her sacrifice is not in vain.

As Scootaloo crumples, Nightmare does a magical scan of her body. "What she did was incredibly brave but the reflex has taken its toll. Sixteen broken ribs, both wings broken beyond any remote hope of repair, a fractured spine, two bfoksn hips, a neck broken at the base of her skull and all four legs have been shattered into powder. For most, hitting a Unicorn in the horn would be painful or at most cause a minor injury. Bucking an Alicorn though... It's a miracle that she's even still alive."

That's my sister. You can knock us down but you can't stop us for long. Nightmare Moon re-merges with Flare and the Alicorn steps closer to the broken filly who looks up at her with a look of strained defiance. "C-come to finish me o-off, Flare?" Flare allows herself to visibly cringe at the strain in her little sister's voice who fights to stay conscious through what must be unimaginable pain.

Flare shakes her head. "Your body is completely broken, Squirt. You haven't got long left but we can save you. We can make you whole again."

Scootaloo manages a defiant look as she glances over at Rarity and her parents who look mournfully at the broken filly. "I-I'd rather die than join y-you. My friends are s-s-safe and that's all that matters now." As her breathing becomes gradually more laboured, she manages to look up into Flare's eyes and speaks with a completely empty voice. "Y-you... k-killed... R-Rainbow... D-Dash... N-Nightmare. M-may... y-you... b-burn... i-in...T-Tartarus... f-f-f-forever."

Just as Scootaloo finishes, she finally passes out and Flare looks down at her sadly. I can safely keep her alive for another day and alleviate most of the pain but that's all. What happens to her after that is touch and go.

Her counterpart nods with a forced calm expression. "Do it. Do whatever it takes. I've come this far and I'm not going to lose her because of my own stupidity."

Outside of the dome

As the Princesses and Shining Armour watch the dome for any signs of breached entry, a private races up. "Your majesties, there's news." Forcing herself to not get her hopes up, Princess Cadance gestures for him to continue. "The eastern Guards sighted Nightmare Moon with a critically injured filly before both vanished."

Growing even more worried, and having a sinking feeling, Princess Luna steps forward. "Did they manage to get a description of the filly?"

The private looks confused for a moment before nodding. "Yes, Princess. She was a Pegasus, about three feet tall, maybe eight or nine years old, fuchsia mane, bright orange coat, and had unusually small wings for her presumed age."

Everypony's face turns grim but the look on Luna's face causes much greater alarm. "You know her, Princess Luna?"

Luna takes a breath. "Yes, her name is Scootaloo and she was one of the flower-maids at Cadance's wedding. She's also the filly we told you both about who we helped with her nightmares about the Olden Pony. When she admitted her fears to Rainbow Dash, they bonded as sisters and have been very close ever since." She takes a moment to put aside her personal feelings. "If Nightmare Moon knowingly harmed her though..."

Celestia nods mournfully. "If Rainbow Dash is even willing to hurt her own sister, who poses no threat to her, then she's too far gone for us to help. If we can't get through to her then we'll have to banish her for the sake of Equestria." She looks over at the dome. "All that we can do is hope that there is somepony left to rescue when this is all over."

Meanwhile, the Golden Oaks Library

Night-time Flare watches over Scootaloo as she lies motionless in the guest bedroom. They teleported straight here from Rarity's parents' house and Nightmare set up her protective spell but nothing has changed about Scootaloo's condition.

Although she maintains a calm visage, Flare is completely broken on the inside. If I had known that she would do this, I would've been able to stop her. No, I SHOULD have been able to stop her anyway! She's my sister! Blood or not I don't care. I'm a bucking Alicorn and I can't even stop my sister from hurting herself. She starts striking herself in the head with a hoof. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid.

When she goes in for a fifth hit though, she finds herself unable to move her hoof. Enough. Self-pity isn't going to help and will only make things harder for the both of you. You've done everything you possibly can for her and we can only wait. Scootaloo is strong. She'll wake up soon and then you'll both have a very personal conversation about everything. In the meantime, we have other things to take care of.

Flare nods sadly as Shadowfright to take this moment to enter. "My Queens, everything is in place for the next stage."

Flare nods regally. "Excellent, you may proceed." Shadowfright is about to respond when he sees who occupies the bed and his head lowers before he quietly leaves.

As Night-time Flare turns to let Scootaloo rest in peace, she looks back one last time. "I promise you Scootaloo, I'll find a way to fix you and Equestria will be even better than ever before."

With those final words whispered, she leaves the room and the hulking Nightmare Shadows guarding it before making her way into town.

Act 2; Downfall

As work solemnly continues at the staging post, even Princess Celestia gradually becomes more and more exhausted. After a day of stress and heartbreak, she's emotionally bankrupt and completely drained but refuses to rest. Seeing her sister subtly swaying side to side though, Princess Luna walks over. "Sister, you need to rest. You're completely exhausted and you need to be ready to combat Nightmare Moon in the morning."

Celestia shakes her head as she examines the battle plans for the four hundredth time that evening. "I can't afford to. Equestria depends on us and we can't afford to let ourselves be taken by surprise. I can't afford to fail my little ponies, not again."

Frustrated, Luna levitates the plans out of her sister's grasp who turns around annoyed. "None of us will be of any help to anypony if we're too weak to mount any significant defence when the time comes. You, Cadance, Shining Armour, and the Royal Guard need to rest. We'll stand guard with the Night Guard overnight."

Celestia looks at her sister incredulously. "Won't you just wear yourself out?"

Luna flashes a smile. "Something we picked up whilst imprisoned was the ability to siphon off lunar energy to keep ourself energised. Now, get some rest. We'll raise the alarm immediately if anything happens during the night." Celestia reluctantly nods and exchanges a look with Cadance and Commander Light Brigade before moving into her own tent.

As the Royal Guards slowly move into the arrangement of tents, the Night Guard leadership descends. Luna smiles slightly to see her second in command standing to attention. "Is everything in place, Commander?"

Commander Aegis Shield bows and nods. "The defences are in place and the Guard are ready, Princess Luna. All monitoring spells are still fully operational. If Nightmare Moon tries anything, we're more than ready."

After a very long and stressful day, Luna allows herself to chuckle at Aegis Shield's formality. Even off-duty, he refuses to call me anything but Princess even after I told him that he should call me just Luna informally. He and Shining should compare notes. she nods in acknowledgement and the Guards man thier stations aside from Aegis who takes up his post beside his Princess.

Ponyvile

Ponyvile Park

After the initial shock, many of the ponies that had spent the better part of a morning cowering in terror in thier homes have decided to continue thier interrupted schedules. The Shadows seem to pose no immediate threat, even if they’re rather intimidating looking, and Ponyvile is no stranger to everything from Dragons, to ancient enemies to Parasprites appearing so they just roll with it if it poses no apparent immediate threat.

After an afternoon picnic, seeing as school had been all but cancelled after all this, DiamondTiara and Silver Spoon calmly walk home for the end of thier scheduled sleepover. As they do, Silfer Spoon keeps an eye on the Nightmare Shadows as they calmly walk by. "What do you make of them, Diamond?"

Diamond Tiara scoffs. "They look different but they're the same as everypony else. Most of them don't even have Cutie Marks."

Before Silver Spoon can respond, the Shadows appear to receive a signal and immediately consume the nearest pony in mist. The two fillies exchange a look and race towards Rich Mansion as several airborne Shadows come after them as well. Although it almost completely exhausts them, they manage to reach Rich Mansion only to find the building in complete darkness. That's odd, mom and dad were home when we left.

As they reach the front door, the Shadows dive bomb them so Silver Spoon shoves Diamond inside and slams the door shut just as the Shadows reach her. "SILVER!" Diamond soon can't hear anything above the whirling of the mist outside as she breaks down. Sh-she sacrificed herself for me. She gave herself up so I could escape. She could have just let them get me and saved herself but she didn't. Silv, I... Thank you.

Before long though, she hears a gentle if timid knock on the door. "Diamond, are you still there?"

She freezes at the sound of Silver Spoon's voice on the other side. "Go away, I just saw my friend die and you won't get me too."

The voice on the other side of the door becomes shaky on the other side. "I-I know it sounds impossible but I'm still Silver Spoon. Bump, bump, sugar-lump rump." Diamond swallows nervously as she tries to bite back the urge to cry out. It-it must be just using her memories to get to me. Soon though, she hears sobbing on the other end which makes her stomach churn. It's am awful sound and one she could hear from no other pony.

She puts a hoof on the doorknob but hesitates for a moment. Do you really want to do this? Those things will get you if you go out there. "My friend is out there suffering. I'm not going to abandon her for anything." She throws open the door, runs out, and hugs Silver Spoon as the mist moves in.

Derpy's House

Dinky Doo watches from behind her bed as an enormous cloud of darkness encompasses the street outside and everything is plunged into almost total darkness. Outside though, she can hear multiple frightened screams get abruptly cut off by loud swooshing. Where's mom? She should have been back over an hour ago. I hope she's okay and hasn't been caught up in this. She shivers at the thought of what could have happened only to hear the front door open. Squeaking in terror, she dives under her bed and tries to be as still as possible.

"Dinky? Dinky, are you home?" Dinky almost cries out with relief at the sound of her mother's voice but something instinctively tells her to stay hidden. "I've got a surprise for you, Dinky. A wonderful, beautiful surprise I never thought possible." As Dinky tries to make herself as small as possible, she hears her bedroom door open and sees two hooves come towards her. She holds her breath but a head soon bends down to stare her in the face. "Found you."

Dinky nearly screams at the glowing yellow eyes looking right at her but stops herself as she recognises them. "M-mom?!" She finds herself scooped into a hug by her mother which she happily returns. Mom is a little different but I don't care. Mom is still mom. "Mom, thank goodness you're safe. I was so scared. What's going on?"

Derpy smiles even though Dinky can't see it. "Something wonderful. Rainbow Dash gave me a wonderful surprise that fixed my eyesight. No more slamming into walls for me."

As her fear has slightly subsides, Dinky notices that her mother's eyes are no longer criss-crossed and are instead completely focused on her. "That's wonderful, mom."

Dinky looks outside again worriedly as more screams erupt and Ditzy sighs. "Rainbow Dash's gift is what's best for everypony but they just haven't realised it yet. Sometimes, you don't understand how much you need something until you have it." Seeing the fear in her daughter's eyes, Ditzy rubs a comforting wing down the unicorn's back. "If you want, you can receive the reward too."

After a few minutes of serious thinking, Dinky looks at her mother nervously. "Will it hurt?"

Ditzy smiles reassuringly. "It's quick and completely painless. You won't even know what happened before it's over." Dinky looks at her mother one more time before nodding her consent. As her mother turns to mist around her, she manages to keep her nerves at bay by reassuring herself that her mother knows what's best for her.

Not far away

Thunderlane slams his front door shut and holds it closed with his body. Dear Celestia, those things are fast. He hears the creatures slowly stop trying to break down the door and fly away so he slinks down with relief. "Those-those things were doing such unspeakable things to ponies that I just couldn't... Maybe I should have..."

Thunderlane shakes his head. No, you're being ridiculous. There's nothing that you could have done for them and you would only have been caught yourself. He inhales and exhales twice before getting up. "Now I just have to find Rumble and-RUMBLE!" He realises that his brother may have been caught outside and begins to panic until he hears familiar movement upstairs. He races upstairs to find the door to his brother's room closed but the sounds of him waking up are clear. "Rumble, are you okay?"

He hears his brother jump from inside. "Thunderlane? Is that really you?" He opens the chained door and Thunderlane can't see inside. Before he can speak, the door shuts again and then reopens as he is nearly bowled over by Rumble. "Are you okay? I was with Dinky when suddenly day turned to night and these weird shadow things appeared so I ran and hid."

Thunderlane sighs with relief as he looks over his brother for sign of injury. Finding nothing, he puts Rumble onto his back as he spreads his wings. "Hold on tight, Rumble. I'll get us to Canterlot as quickly as possible."

Before he can take off, Rumble jumps off. "Before we go, I need to get something first." Confused, Thunderlane follows his brother into his room only to immediately regret it. Waiting for him is one of the creatures from outside sitting as quietly as if it had been invited. "Rumble, get back!" He tries to back out of the room only to find Rumble in his way. "What the?"

Thunderlane's eyes go wide as he sees his brother's eyes glowing in the dark; something he saw several times on the way here. Instinctively, he takes flight and bolts for the window just to bounce off of it like it were made of elastic. He tries again to the same result so he turns with a fighting stance to the creature as he prepares to launch at it. Before he can, he sees mist closing in around him and smiles with slight pride as he realises who is must be. Well done, bro.

Above the Ponyvile Sweet Shop

Lyra and Bon Bon finish sealing the doors and windows with wooden boards and the most protective shield magic that Lyra knows. "Are you sure this will hold them, honey?"

Lyra sways slightly from the strain of keeping so many powerful charms going at once. "It has to. Princess Celestia will be here soon; we just have to hold out until then."

Bon Bon catches her wife when she trips over her own hooves and helps her onto the sofa. "Lyra, this isn't sustainable. You're only going to hurt yourself even if we do stay safe until help arrives."

Lyra glares angrily at her beloved. "And what do you suggest?! There's no way out!" Seeing the hurt look on her wife's face, she sighs and looks at her apologetically. "I'm sorry but what can we do? I can't let those things get in. I couldn't live with myself if anything were to happen to you."

As they embrace, there is a loud bang against a window and Lyra jolts in pain. "Dear Celestia, those things are strong." With each slam, Bon Bon watches her wife strain to keep up the magical protections. "I'm o-okay, it just hurts a bit."

Bon Bon looks mournfully at Lyra as she tries to hold in tears of pain when the most powerful strike yet slams the window. "Lyra, enough! You can't do this!” Her voice softens after a moment. “I won't let you. I won't allow you hurt yourself just to keep me safe."

Her wife looks at her sadly. "I-I have to. If I release the spells, they'll get you."

Bon Bon takes Lyra's hoof in her own and looks her bravely in the eyes. "Then they'll get both us together." As Lyra cries out in pain at the next strike, she looks into her wife's eyes for the final time before they kiss and Lyra releases the spell. The next slam breaks in the window and the last thing either pony sees are each others' eyes before they are consumed by the mist.

Outside Ponyvile Town Hall

Mayor Mare forlornly watches her ponies getting consumed by the all encompassing mist. Some scream in terror, some try to run, some have panic attacks, some break down into tears, some cling to thier loved ones, some faint dead away, and others take the chance to confess thier feelings to thier secret crushes. As she watches the mist creep towards her, and knowing how futile trying to run is, she sits in place with a small content smile. "Well, I had a good run."

Behind Sugarcube Corner

"ATEEEEEEENTION!" The few Royal Guards left inside Ponyvile snap to attention before Commandant Hard Flank. "We may be stuck here but that doesn't mean we can just stand around waiting for rescue! Our mission is to stop those creatures and save as many ponies as possible! We can't rely on the Princesses this time so I expect professionalism!!! Do I make myself clear?!"

"SIR YES SIR!" Hard Flank is about to yell new orders at his men when he is cut off in surprise. Somehow, his men have started to levitate into the air and twirl around in big circles. I have got to lay off those drinks when I have work in the morning. The fact that ten fully armoured and quite large Guards of assorted builds and races are being spun in the air by what appears to be a yellow and orange newborn foal certainly isn't helping his view on his own sanity. I really need to get my head examined. He opens his mouth to deliver troop deployment orders just as a large cloud of shadow engulfs him.

Ponyvile Schoolhouse

Cheerilee slams the door shut and braces it against her back, breathing heavily after having ran all the way here. If it were up to her, she would have fled towards Canterlot the instant the attack happened. However, her duty is to rescue her students and damn her to Tartarus if she will forget that! As she looks around though, she sees no-pony even though the school is designated as a refuge. “Hello? Is any-pony here? It’s okay, it’s me.”

From under a desk gradually creeps out a familiar patchy colt. “Mrs. Cheerilee?”

Cheerilee breathes a slight sigh of relief. “It’s good to see you’re okay, Pip. Have you see any-pony else here?”

Pipsqueak shakes his head. “Nah, I ram here the instant everything went dark earlier. I haven’t seen anything.”

Cheerilee tries to take that as evidence that they found safety and not the… alternative. “It’ll have to do. Come on, let’s get to safety.” As she turns to leave, she fails to notice the mist coming from behind until she is completely consumed.

Ponyvile Theater

The crowd roars as Trixie pulls a magically compressed Pegasus out of a matchbox. "Thank you, thank you! The Great and Powerful Trixie loves you!” As it turns out, when the world goes to hay, ponies like to have something to take thier mind off the problem if it doesn't seem to pose an immediate threat. Fortunately for them, Trixie had just come off of a tour and been setting up another show so it worked out very well. Sure, the weird misty creatures that appear to be pure shadow are new but she let them in anyway. New races of ponies and creatures seem to be coming out the woodwork lately and didn't seem to be hurting anypony so she decided what the hay.

“And now for my last trick!” Just as Trixie prepares her coup de gra though, a spell she's been testing that'd allow her to teleport without a flash, her attention is drawn to a strange black mist creeping across the crowd. That isn't part of the act.

Ponyvile Hospital

Nurse Redheart forces herself to keep a straight face as her patients become increasingly distressed by what they can see outside. She has just finished helping to call down a colt with a broken leg who is worried about his mother when she bumps into Dr Plaster. "How bad is it, Nurse?"

Nurse Redheart shakes her head. "The patients are terrified and the foals are worried about thier families. I've sedated the worst cases to keep them calm but everypony else is on the verge of having a panic attack."

Dr Plaster node but, before he can respond, the distant but familiar sound of the front desk's bell ringing drifts down the corridor. "Please excuse me, Doctor." She hurried to the front desk with a patient smile. "I'm sorry but visiting hours ended over five hours ago. Can you come back to-"

She's cut off by a face full of Pinkie Pie. "Hi, Nurse Redheart! I'm sooooooo sorry for being so late but I was just so, so, so, so, so, so excited to get here that I lost track of time! I've got everything I need for my monthly "get well soon" party!!!"

Nurse Redheart shakes her head, passing off the mare's black coat as just another example of Pinkie's weirdness. "I'm sorry, Pinkie, but it's much too late for a party now. It's almost eight o'clock."

She sees Pinkie's mane start to deflate so she looks over at the party pony with a sorry smile. "B-but I always throw them a party on the first Sunday of every month!" Before Nurse Redheart can apologise again, Pinkie suddenly perks up. "Ooh, I've got an idea."

As Nurse Redheart is about to object, Pinkie turns into mist and passes around the nurse. As the mist drifts off down the hall, Redheart is too surprised to move. As she collects herself, she hears a frightened cry from Button Mash. Nodding to the security guard on duty, they hurry down the hall and burst in. "Pinkie, I must strongly insist that you-"

To thier surprise, Nurse Redheart and the guard don't find Pinkie scaring Button Mash but instead a large swirling mass surrounding Button's bed. The guard can barely believe his eyes. "Uh, what am I supposed to do about that?" At the same time, similar cries ring out from across the hospital including one that sounds like Dr Horse. Before either can react, the mist turns back into Pinkie Pie and reveals a black coated Button Mash who immediately jumps to his feet.

On instinct, Nurse Redheart rushes over and gently pushes him back onto the bed. "Steady there, you still have to heal."

Button Mash looks at here with a smile. "Pinkie healed me!" He wiggles his broken leg but, instead of wincing in pain, it moves perfectly normally.

Nurse Redheart is speechless as she hears Pinkie giggle behind her. "Night-time Flare sent me to make aaaaaaall the ponies in hospital better." The guard is paralysed with shock so Pinkie takes the opportunity to consume him next and Nurse Redheart takes the opportunity to leave. Since when could Pinkie Pie perform medical miracles? What is... No, you didn't just see any of that, you imagined everything after a stressful night. She breathes out before turning the corner to find a shadowy creature staring at her. She isn't even able to scream before being consumed.

Similar scenes play out all across Ponyvile at around the same time as Night-time Flare's plan starts to come to fruition. On the far side of town though, two exhausted and emotionally drained fillies flee towards thier final bastion of possible safety.

The End of a Journey

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle weave desperately around the clouds of mist that continually consume ponies and leave them just like Rarity. "Where're we going? This isn't the way to the railway lines."

Apple Bloom looks back with a nervous nod. "We cahn't escape, we need tah get tah mah house. Big Mac and Granny'll know what tah do." By this point, Sweetie Belle is completely numb and just wants to sleep so she doesn't even bother arguing. I'll take sleeping in a barn on the hardest mattress in Equestria at this point if it means I can just rest. I just can't take anything else.

Since they were already near the edge of Ponyvile, it doesn't take them long to reach Sweet Apple Acres and both nearly pass out from relief when they see a light on in the farmhouse. After taking a moment to calm thier pounding hearts, which feel like they’re about to rip from thier chests, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom trudge calmly through the front door.

They find Granny Smith and Big Mac in the kitchen, sitting in a pleasant silence after having apparently just drawn up plans for tomorrow as it’s the beginning of harvest season. When the kitchen door opens though, Granny's head snaps towards them and she glares sternly at her granddaughter. "Un wha time dah ya call this? 's pas' tenna clock an' we've bin worried sick. We were jus' abou' ready tah go out lookin' for ya."

The two fillies shy back guiltily. "Sorry, Granny. We've jus' hada very... tough day'."

Granny Smith nods mysteriously and pulls up chairs for the two Crusaders who happily enjoy thier first proper rest in hours. Despite the day they've had, it's frankly incredible how relaxing being around family can be. Granny adopts a cheeky smile. "Now, where's that friend o' yers gotten to? Scootaloo's usually naught that far behind you." The look that the two fillies exchange gives her pause though. "What happened? ‘N why d’yuh look like that?”

Apple Bloom struggles to speak through the lump in her throat. "Y-you wouldn't believe us. You'd think we were makin' it all up."

Granny Smith gives her a comforting smile. "Now you listen here, if anythin's happened, we need tah know. I promise tha' we'll do whatever we can tah help 'er, won't we?"

"Eeyep." The two fillies exchange a defeated look, sigh, and begin to tell the events of the day starting with them arriving at the Golden Oaks Library that morning.

One explanation later

Half an hour has passed passes by the time that the story has ended and another five pass in silence. Before long though, Granny Smith starts to chuckle as the Crusaders snap to looking at her. "Oh, that explainsa lot." The Crusaders just look at the old mare with tired defeat.

Instead of her dismissing it however, she exchanges a meaningful look with Big Mac. "We hava way outta town that even Applejack dunt know about yet. Firs' though, you two should get sum rest. You're both exhausted." The two try to argue but they are simply too drained so Granny gives them a disarming smile. "An' don' worry 'bout the Shadows. Me an' Big Mac'll keep 'em away until we're ready tah go. Makin' an escape attempt when you're plum tuckered out is too dangerous."

Sweetie and Apple Bloom want to protest but are almost asleep in the chairs so reluctantly agree.

Four hours later, outside the Dome

Princess Luna and Aegis Shield work quickly to try and exploit temporary weak-spots around the dome when a visibly exhausted Celestian Royal Guard flies over to them. "Pr-Pr-Princess Luna!" They wait patiently for him to catch his breath but his urgent look concerns them. "Your Highness, the army has swarmed Ponyvile. The scouts lost all visual contact with the town. It's covered in a large dark cloud of darkness."

After a moment of realisation, Luna's face becomes grim. "You've done well, rest easy." The surrounding ponies snap a salute as the guard obeys.

After he turns in, Aegis Shield turns to his unsettled Princess. "Princess Luna? What's going on?"

Luna looks rattled; something he has never seen before which honestly scares him. "Please wake Princess Celestia, Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armour immediately. This just gotten much, much, much worse."

Princess Celestia has long since adjusted to being woken up at the most ungodly hours of the morning by everything from a national crisis, to urgent matters of state that will effect Equestria's future, to the return of her ancient enemies, to the return of the Crystal Empire and due to Discord finding the idea of role-playing a cockerel at 2AM absolutely hilarious. The fact that she's been stressed all day certainly hasn't been helping her to sleep either.

As she emerges, she finds Luna pacing relentlessly in front of the map table. "I should have known! How could I not have immediately known she'd bring them?!"

Looking to her right, Celestia sees Cadance and Shining looking at her with equal concern. "Luna, what's wrong?"

Her sister looks at her with painful levels of fear and regret. "Celestia, there's something that we didn't tell you about before." Celestia manages to hide her growing worry and gestures for her to continue. "When we were Nightmare Moon, we created these creatures to use as our own army in taking over Equestria. They're beings composed entirely out of shadows impervious to most known forms of attack as they'll just pass straight through thier bodies. After banishing you and remaking the Castle of the Two Sisters, we were going to summon them to Equus and use them to consolidate our reign. Fortunately, we never got the chance thanks to Twilight and the others."

Celestia nods; she's heard all this before and it’s really just more for Cadance and Shining Armour's benefit. "What we never mentioned is that we instilled them with the ability to corrupt anypony into what are effectively mindless slaves. Ponies that retain thier original memories and personality but would do anything to protect us even at the cost of thier own lives. We saw it as an excellent way to show 'leniency' as a ruler whilst also stamping out resistance to my reign. Since they couldn't escape the Moon by themselves though, we didn't consider them a threat since we could easily stop them if they managed to escape. Now though... We wish we had gone to the Moon and dealt with them ourselves."

Her head sinks. "This is all our fault. Twilight and her friends have been banished or killed, Ponyvile is under siege and an innocent filly has been crippled or worse all because of our foolishness."

Celestia drapes a comforting wing over her remorseful sister as she tries to hold herself together. "We all make mistakes, Luna. The best that we can hope to do is solve them quickly so that our little ponies suffer as little as possible. We will finally bring down Nightmare Moon and finish what the others started. Our friends won't have died in vain."

After a few more moments, Luna calmly breaks free from Celestia's embrace and gets back to work as Shining Armour walks over with a hopeful look on his face. "Is it possible that Twilight and her friends weren't killed or banished but instead corrupted?"

Celestia thinks for a moment before shaking her head. "The Elements of Harmony completely protect them against outside corruption. Even when they're not being worn, the latent magic left inside them makes them immune to forced corruption. The only way for a Bearer to be corrupted is by using dark magic themselves, for them to willingly accept corruption or if another Bearer truly believes that they are doing the right thing and the Elements assess that thier intentions are truly pure. Corruption is impossible."

Two hours later, Sweet Apple Acres Farmhouse

After some needed rest, Sweetie Belle is woken by a disturbingly familiar voice coming from downstairs. Starting to shake again, she gently shakes Apple Bloom until she wakes up. "Wahz up, Sweetie? Iz 3am."

Sweetie gestures for her to listen and they hear an all-too familiar twang coming from downstairs. At once, the country Crusader is on her hooves. "Clubhouse?"

Apple Bloom nods and they creep downstairs just to find Applejack waiting for them. "Good mornin' girls, you're up rather early t'day."

Sweetie instinctively backs away from the farm-pony just to walk into something else. "Good morning." She turns to see Night-time Flare and cowers just to be magically picked up and taken into the living room where she is placed on a sofa with Apple Bloom joining her. As the corrupted ponies take a seat opposite them, for the second time in twelve hours, Sweetie looks for a way out but sees just how clearly the windows and doors are enchanted.

After a few more moments of tense silence, a shadowy mist leaves Flare and Sweetie tenses as Nightmare Moon materialises next to her counterpart. "There, it's been a long time but we can finally get down to brass tacks."

Sweetie manages to pluck up her courage as she glares at the creature. "After what you did to Scootaloo, you have nothing left to say to us."

Flare sighs with regret. "Scootaloo is still alive but currently in a coma in the Golden Oaks Library and crippled. We want to help her but she refused our help because she doesn't want to end up like us."

Sweetie gulps at the information but Nightmare Moon gently cuts her off. "You're scared of us and what we represent aren't you? That what we represent is akin to Sombra or Chrysalis and that we plan to brainwash everypony into submission?"

Sweetie slowly nods as she refuses to look away from the spirit who laughs. Unlike her many other laughs though, it's filled with genuine mirth instead of malice. "Have a look at Apple Bloom beside you. " Sweetie turns to her friend who looks very unsettled. "She's gone through everything everypony else did but you still keep company with her? She could have turned on you at any time but she never did. She is still your friend and can attest to that fact.."

Apple Bloom nods slowly. "It's true. Ah still feel like me. They're not influencing me and Ah'm still Apple Bloom. I only fled 'cause Ah was worried that they'd catch me and take over mah mind."

Sweetie shakes her head. "How can I trust you? You could have taken control of Apple Bloom whilst we slept and this is all some act to make me give in."

Nightmare Moon chuckles. "If I took control of Apple Bloom as you slept, why would we be having this conversation? I could just have had her change you in your sleep and I don't need your consent. And if I only took control of her just now, surely I wouldn't bother talking to you?[\b]"

Sweetie opens her mouth a few times but can't think of a rebuttal. "What happened to Scootaloo was an extremely unfortunate accident but we have every intention of helping her. The simple fact is that your friends and family now have much, longer greater lifespans as a side effect of the changes. We're merely extending the chance to enjoy eternity with them. "

Sweetie Belle grows increasingly nervous at the possibility of lies and manipulations but then looks at Apple Bloom to see the worry for her in the filly's eyes. "I-I don't know what to do. I don't want to leave my friends and family alone without me but I'm scared of what'll happen if i accept."

Flare perks up immediately. "Apple Bloom could always do it if it makes you feel better. Everyone who turns gets instinctive knowledge of how to turn other ponies."

Sweetie thinks for several long minutes before slowly nodding. "Do it. At worst, I'll be under your control but still with my family for a very long time."

Twenty minutes later

After leaving the Crusaders to rest, Night-time Flare and Applejack make thier way back towards Town Hall where they meet up with the others. "Is everything ready?"

Twilight nods but Rarity interrupts. "Darling, did you manage to find Sweetie Belle? I've been so worried about her. What if-"

Flare cuts her off with a smile. "She's fine, Rarity. She's staying over at Sweet Apple Acres tonight and she's joined us. I just had to convince her that we're not evil."

A sigh of relief leaves the fashionista as Fluttershy 'speaks up.' "Um, I received word from Zecora that the Wonderbolts just flew past the Everfree in the direction of Canterlot." She shirks back as all eyes turn to her. "Eep."

Twilight pats her on the back comfortingly. "The shield remains strong. So far, nothing has been able to even scratch it. Everything is going according to plan."

Flare smiles before turning to leave. "We'll begin in seven hours so please get some rest. Today's going to be quite... hectic. If anypony needs me, I'll be keeping an eye on Scootaloo." She turns into mist and floats away as her friends exchange looks of sadness at the filly's state.

Flare enters the Golden Oaks Library to find Shadowfright waiting for her with a wide smile. "My Queens, the Princess is waking up."

Flare nearly screams with joy but restrains herself; instead giving a respectful nod as she approaches the door. When she is about to open it, Nightmare Moon separates from her. "Are you sure that you can do this? You won't like what she has to say."

Flare shakes her head. "I can't keep hiding from my problems by putting them off or by burying my head in the sand. I won't sit by and watch Scootaloo suffer more than she already has just because what she has to say is going to hurt. It’s only right that she gets to doll some right back. I won't like what she has to say but I need to clear the air between us. If she hates me for the rest of her life, at least I won't be hiding anything from her. She deserves that at the very least."

Nightmare nods and goes back downstairs whilst Night-time Flare takes a deep breath and slowly enters the spare bedroom.

The Truth

Scootaloo stirs with a grunt and very gradually opens her eyes. Ugh, what happened? I feel like I was struck by the Ponyvile Express. She looks around to find herself in a bedroom within the Golden Oaks Library. “Did I fall asleep somehow and dream all of that?” As she tries to jump out of bed though, she finds herself completely paralysed from the neck down and starts to hyperventilate. "Oh dear Celestia, that was all real."

Her eyes zip to the side as the door opens to reveal Night-time Flare looking extremely ashamed of herself. Instead of fully entering though, Flare sits down just inside the doorway with her head hung. For ten minutes, they sit in dead silence.

Finally breaking the look, Scootaloo releases a broken sounding chuckle. "Well, you did it. Congratulations. You have me right where you need me and I can't even twitch my legs anymore." Her eyes grow fearful. "All I ask is that you make it painless. Please, if there's anything left of Rainbow Dash in you, please make it fast."

Flare's face gets progressively paler with each passing word and she feels like she's about to be sick when the filly's voice cracks at that final request. Scootaloo just ignores Flare's reaction passively. "Scootaloo, I know it's hard to believe but I'm still Rainbow Dash. I may look different and be acting strange but I'm still your big sister."

Scootaloo doesn't even dignify that with a response so Flare goes to speak again. "And don't start reminding me of my memories with Dash. You've already shown the ability to access other ponys' memories for your own benefit."

Flare sighs at the filly's tone. "Scoots, why would I ever want to hurt you? What would Nightmare Moon have to gain from attacking a random filly?"

Scootaloo just huffs. "I'm one of the last things that Rainbow Dash had which you haven't corrupted or destroyed. Killing me will sever all ties that Dash has to reality and you'll consume her forever."

Flare tries to get slightly closer as her heart flutters slightly. "You really do love me. I though it was just a close friendship but you really do view me as your sister."

The filly scowls. "You're Rainbow Dash only in body and voice." She gestures her head towards a window. "All that you've done out there, everything you've done to Twilight and the others, my friends, me? None of that is what Rainbow Dash would have done. My sister's dead and you're just parading around in her body."

Flare thinks for a moment. "But you've seen me and Nightmare Moon separate from each other."

Scootaloo shakes her head. "As far as I know, it can control you even whilst separated. I have no-pony's word to the contrary but your own. Now are you going to kill me or not?!"

Flare swallows a lump in her throat; breaking down won't help either of them. "If nothing else, I guess I should explain how we got to this point."

Scootaloo doesn't answer and instead just looks at the Alicorn blankly but her ears show that she is reluctantly listening. "This all started two years ago the day after we defeated Nightmare Moon."

Two years ago, Sugarcube Corner

After Princess Celestia allowed Twilight to stay in Ponyvile, Pinkie Pie of course threw a "Twilight Helped Save Equestria And Is Staying in Ponyvile!" party. What you didn't see, Scootaloo, is what happened after the party wrapped.

By the time that 10PM rolls around, almost everypony has gone home including Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy so only Rainbow Dash, Pinkie and Twilight remain behind. In light of the Summer Sun Celebration, a national day-off has been called for the next day to celebrate. As the latter two continue talking though, Rainbow Dash is contemplatively silent which Twilight soon notices. "Are you okay, Dash?"

Rainbow Dash chuckles nervously. "Just stellar, what could possibly be wrong?" The two give her disbelieving looks so she relents. "Okay so I'm just worried. Nightmare Moon was supposed to just be a legend to scare foals into staying in bed. I'm glad it brought us all together but how many other stories and legends are more than just old mare's tales? Is this just a one-off crisis or the beginning of something much worse?"

Twilight thinks for a moment before flashing a reassuring smile. "I don't think we should be too worried. If anything should emerge, we and the Princesses can put a stop to them." After a few more moments, Rainbow Dash smiles at her new friend.

If only it had ended there. I wish with all my heart that the greatest threats we ever faced from then on were Trixie, the Diamond Dogs, birthday Spike and the Parasprites. If that were true, none of this would ever have happened. That all started to change when Discord attacked.

One year ago, Canterlot Castle

"We are gathered here today to once again honour the heroism of these six friends who stood up to the villain Discord and saved Equestria from eternal chaos." Rainbow Dash watches the unveiling of the stained glass window showing thier victory over Discord. Even for the most egotistical pony in Equestria though, the victory feels almost... hollow.

The feeling continues for the rest of the day and into the train journey home the next morning. Discord nearly won just by playing with us, working some limited magic and whispering some carefully chosen words. Nightmare Moon tried everything in her power to stop us, Discord was barely even trying. We won because he got overconfident and stopped considering us a threat. If he had decided to do away with us, there would be nothing we could have done.

Rainbow Dash shakes her head as she flies home. You're worrying about nothing. Princess Celestia would never have allowed him to succeed. If push came to shove, she could have easily stopped him with Princess Luna's help or they could have at least restored our minds. As she reaches her house to decompress though, a small dark cloud begins to form in her mind. Though small, it's the type of doubt that never truly fades.

You could say that was the very beginning of what led us here. Ever since that day, I always had a lingering feeling that it was only a matter of time until what we had wasn't enough. The day when even the Princesses would not be able to stop the threat and Equestria would fall. If only I had known that the day I had been dreading would come only several months later...

A little over a year ago, Canterlot Castle

Rainbow Dash glares at one of the Changelings holding her in the air as the rest of her friends are marched into the wedding hall. When she sees Princess Celestia cocooned to a wall though, her anger turns into dread as the doubt goes from a small flame into a large fire. No.... The Changeling Queen looks blankly at the utterly defeated looking Princess. "You were saying? You do realize the reception's been cancelled, don't you?" She turns to her army of Changelings. "Go! Feed!"

As the army of Changelings fly out the door, the Queen mockingly approaches Twilight and raises the Unicorn's head with a hoof. "It's funny, really. Twilight here was suspicious of my behaviour all along. Too bad the rest of you were too caught up in your wedding planning to realise those suspicions were correct!" As that sentence sinks in, the full gravity of the situation strikes Rainbow Dash like a meteor even as the Queen begins singing. Everything we did... Everything we said to Twilight... We helped that thing do this. We played right into her hooves because of our own selfishness and personal wants overriding her friendship. And because of this, Canterlot is doomed. If we get out of this, I can't let history repeat itself. Never again.

The rest of the day seems to fly by. The Queen and her Changelings being ejected from Canterlot, the wedding, the farewell brunch, seeing the newlyweds off on thier honeymoon and eventually the journey home. In the meantime, Rainbow Dash is deep in introspection as the doubt continues to grow.

Thanks to that day, that swirling feeling of doubt grew by the day but I kept it in check by telling myself that it was a fluke. That what happened only got as bad as it did because of our stupid mistakes and decisions. That what happened that day could never come again because we would never make the same mistake again. And then... he came.

Seven months ago, Rainbow Dash's house

Even after one of the most stressful weeks of her life, everypony would be expecting Rainbow Dash to be having one of her usual naps or taking this as the ultimate opportunity to brag. Instead, the rainbow maned Pegasus paces relentlessly in her living room as Fluttershy watches worriedly. As she paces in silence, multiple nightmare scenarios play over and over again in Rainbow Dash's mind. "It's okay, Dash. We stopped Sombra and he can never return. We're safe."

Rainbow Dash scowls but looks apologetic when Fluttershy scoots back. "Sorry. It's not Sombra that I'm worried about. With every threat we've faced, things have only gotten worse and worse. First was Nightmare Moon and she was a right pain in the flank, Discord nearly destroyed our friendship and we only won because he got overconfident, then the Changelings managed to turn us against Twilight and very nearly won and Sombra... If Spike hadn't brought us the Crystal Heart in time..." She shudders. "What if we don't get lucky next time? What if the next threat manages to stop us or worse?"

Fluttershy shakes so Rainbow Dash wraps a wing around her second oldest friend. "But surely the Elements or the Princesses can stop them no matter what."

Rainbow Dash shakes her head. "We've needed the Elements three times since we got them and they've been kept from us twice whilst that Queen defeated Princess Celestia very easily. And look at Sombra; he came the closest out of them all and we only won because of a fluke. Let's face it Fluttershy; if anything happened to us and the Princesses, Equestria would be completely bucked." The two sit in silence for a long time afterwards.

After the defeat of Sombra, my doubt grew into a desire to find an infallible way for ponies to keep themselves safe if anything should happen to us. The kingdom's safety shouldn't be totally reliant on eight ponies. The Royal Guard are good fighters but are no match for beings like Sombra or Discord. The real turning point though came with our camping trip.

Five months ago, the Everfree Forest

Scootaloo plunges towards the river only to be caught in Rainbow Dash's hooves. "Gotcha!" Once they land, the rainbow maned Pegasus isn't happy. "What're you doing out here in the middle of the night?!"

Rainbow Dash instantly regrets the frustrated outburst as Scootaloo visibly tears up. After a few seconds though, she appears to look into the sky behind the stern looking Rainbow Dash before replying. "I'm so, so sorry, Rainbow Dash! I just wanted you to hang out with me and see how cool I was so you'd take me under your wing, teach me everything you know, and become like my big sister! But then you started telling those spooky stories and I got scared! I thought I heard The Headless Horse so I ran out here by myself, and... well, I guess you know the rest."

Rainbow Dash is momentarily surprised before smiling fondly and taking a look around. "Hey, I'm gonna tell you something but, if you ever tell anypony else, I'm gonna deny it. First time I heard those stories... I was scared too."

At that moment, revealing one of her oldest and most kept secrets, Rainbow Dash feels something special as the filly looks up at her in surprise. "You were?"

Rainbow Dash waves her hoof around vainly. "Sure! I mean, I got over it because I realized pretty quick that, if there was such thing as a Headless Horse, I could totally take it on."

As Scootaloo looks up at her in wonder, something urges Rainbow Dash into speaking the words that would change her life forever. "So, you're looking for somepony to take you under their wing huh?"

The filly nods so she pulls the filly into an embrace. "Yeah, I might be up for something like that."

The look on Scootaloo's face melts her heart. "Really?!"

Rainbow Dash looks down at the filly critically. "As long as you don't go falling into any more rivers in the middle of the night."

Scootaloo giggles. "It's a deal." As they embrace, something settles in Rainbow Dash's heart and mind.

i'm the Element of Loyalty so I'll always fiercely protect everything I care about as best as I can. When we bonded as sisters though, I gained something tangible to protect. A small orange and purple bundle of energy that has no hope of defending herself against the likes of Sombra or the Changelings. For a long time, my dreams revolved around fulfilling that goal which drew the attention of a certain mutual friend of ours.

Three months ago, the Dreamscape

Rainbow Dash is enjoying finally watching Scootaloo be able to fly when she hears a familiar pony politely clear her throat. "Having this dream again, Rainbow Dash?"

The Pegasus turns to see the familiar Princess of the Night and bows her head respectfully. "It's nice to see you again, Princess Luna. See anything interesting tonight?"

Luna chuckles as she walks over to stand beside the Pegasus. "Nothing unusual. Scootaloo is dreaming about making you proud with her own variant on a Sonic Rainboom. How’ve you been?"

Rainbow Dash smiles proudly. Someday, I'll make that a reality. "I've been doing awesomely. Scoots still can't fly but she's starting to properly develop the muscles she needs. She should be able to at least hover by the end of the year."

Luna smiles warmly and they watch the dream Scootaloo racing Spitfire. After the filly wins though, the former Mare of the Moon sighs. "We wish that we could say this is only a social visit but that would be a lie. We know about your secret research."

Rainbow Dash immediately freezes up. "H-how?"

Luna gives her an amused smile. "Page Turner ensures that either Celestia or ourselves are informed of anypony that enters the Restricted Section. She would normally stop them herself but she knew that you must have had good intentions." Her grin turns wry. "As for how we know what book you were reading, please make sure not to put the book in the wrong section next time. Incredible Magical Enhancements doesn't go in the same section as A Guide to Magical Gardening."

Rainbow Dash resists the urge to face-hoof at her own stupid mistake as images of being banished for researching forbidden magic race through her mind. "Wait, please. I-I can explain-"

Luna calmly raises a hoof to silence her. "You need not worry. We talked it over with Celestia and we were going to confront you about it. Since it was getting late and our night court had to begin though, we decided to wait until morning to contact Twilight. That night, we saw your dreams and your nightmares so we know what your intentions are. Know this; if you can find a safe and pain-free way of helping our subjects, you will have both our and Celestia's full support."

She allows herself a small smile at the surprise on Rainbow Dash's face. "We’re powerful but, as you saw recently, not infallible and we can’t be everywhere. None of us can so our subjects need ways to better defend themselves against a powerful enemy. Celestia in particular has been looking for just such a way ever since Equestria's founding. However, she had little time with her duties, especially after we were banished, so you may have a chance."

Rainbow Dash's surprise turns into a determined smile. "I promise you, Princess Luna, that I will find a way if it takes the rest of my life."

The lunar princess returns the smile. "We know that you will." She shakes hooves with the Pegasus before turning to leave. "We need to go, it's almost sunrise. Good luck but Rainbow Dash?" She turns with a severe but not unkind expression. "Be very careful. You're working with extremely powerful magic and power corrupts absolutely. We should know." Rainbow Dash nods as the dream fades out.

I trust Princess Luna, I know that she was speaking nothing but the truth and I intended to keep that promise or die trying. I spent months searching for what I wanted but found nothing until...

Two nights ago, 10PM, Moon Palace

Rainbow Dash slowly stretches out as she wakes up after another good night's rest. Wait, why is it still dark? And why don't I remember going to sleep? She opens her eyes and gazes in horror at the unfamiliar surroundings. It looks similar to the Castle of the Two Sisters but far darker and more foreboding. "Where the hay am I?"

"The Moon."

Rainbow's head snaps around to see an army of animal-like shadowy figures standing before her. "What the buck are you?!"

The lead wolf-like creature that appears to be the leader steps forward to be almost muzzle to muzzle with the Pegasus. Despite its threatening appearance, it's voice is almost monotone. "We're called Nightmare Shadows, my name is Shadowfright and we need your help."

Rainbow Dash's eyes widen. No way, we destroyed her! Didn't we? She immediately takes flight as the creatures look on. "If you don't mind, I'll be going now."

Shadowfright chuckles. "Going where? We're on the Moon and you have no way home without our help."

Rainbow Dash pounds one hoof into the other. "Then I'll just pound all of you until you decide to send me home."

Shadowfright chuckles again and gestures to the army behind him. "How do you expect to fight all of us by yourself and win?" Rainbow Dash huffs but reluctantly lands. "Good, it's nice to see you have some form of common sense."

Glaring at the creature, Rainbow Dash looks ready to launch at him. "So you have me. What do you want me for so desperately for that you had to kidnap me?"

Shadowfright laughs for a moment. "I guess you could call it a mutually beneficial arrangement. We need somewhere new to live and you will get all the power that you could ever want."

Upon hearing Red Flag #2, Rainbow Dash's glare only gets harsher. "Yeah, right. You're just trying to get me to give up my mind so you can take over Equestria. I'll bet that psychotic Moon Mare has something to do with this as well."

Shadowfright looks at her doubtfully. "We've been following you and your friends for a long time, Element of Loyalty. We've seen everything that you've done since you defeated our Queen. Are you telling us that you have no use for her kind of power? Not even to protect the ones you care about? We've seen you struggling to find a way to make all of those ponies happy and keep them safe but you've never found a way. All of your friends, your family, your family's friends, the twins of thoae shop owners; all jeporadised because of some poor planning."

Rainbow Dash grinds her teeth as she shakes her head. Don't listen to him, he's just trying to manipulate you so that they can make you hurt your friends. Seeing her internal struggle, Shadowfright goes for the deathblow. "Even a certain little Pegasus would die because you and your friends failed to keep her safe."

He smiles as something snaps inside of Rainbow Dash. "Excellent, you're ready." The last thing Rainbow Dash sees before she blacks out is a large black cloud of mist coming from under the floor.

An hour later

Rainbow Dash sits up with a groan only to accidentally bumps something on her forehead in the process. "What the hay?" She looks up in shock to see a horn. Aw, don't you like it? I think it fits one of one of Celestia's lapdogs quite well.

Rainbow Dash spins around at the familiar voice. "Show yourself!" The voice laughs. As you wish.

She turns to see a dark cloud of smoke form into an identical clone of the formerly corrupted Princess Luna. "Aaaaaah, it's good to be free again." She then turns with a very, very fake smile to Rainbow Dash. "Good evening, Rainbow Dash. I hope you've been doing well. How's the family?"

Even alone and virtually defenceless against her oldest enemy, Rainbow Dash immediately gets into a fighting stance. "How are you here?! You are supposed to just be Princess Luna's evil side which we stamped out years ago!"

Nightmare Moon approaches with a knowing smile. "'Nightmare Moon' was indeed just the name Luna took when she shed her former identity. About 300 years ago though, she began to regret her actions and tried to break free but her anger and hatred were too strong to simply dissolve, For most ponies, thier emotions are just strong feelings. For Alicorns however, they are extremely dangerous and almost have a mind of thier own. Didn't you ever find it strange that Luna was trying to all but destroy Equestria and kill her own sister just because she was jealous over the peasants appreciating day instead of night? That she never considered that ponies always did appreciate her night, just in a different way, and instead let her anger boil until it became uncontrollable? That she never even tried to talk to Celestia or the celestial courier about her growing resentment?"

Nightmare Moon releases a long, hard cackle. "Since the emotions couldn't kill Luna without destroying themselves, her most powerful emotions used her Alicorn magic to become properly sentient.” She smiles a very fang filled smile as the meaning of that becomes obvious. “She was trapped inside of me until you and your friends purged me and I was left on the brink of ceasing to exist. The Elements of Harmony cannot destroy, only banish. Something about how true peace cannot be achieved by mercilessly murdering the enemy." Nightmare chuckles. "Funny. They can't directly destroy but they'll happily let you cease to exist."

Rainbow Dash eventually hits a wall as she backs away from the being who chuckles jeeringly. "Aw, is the wittle pwony scawed of the big bwad Awicorn?" Rainbow Dash tenses as Nightmare Moon comes muzzle to muzzle with her. "Get used to it, we're together for a very long time." Seeing the look on the Pegasus' face, she smirks knowingly and walks away. "I know that you have a tendency to act first and think things through never but do I really have to explain it to you?"

Oh, hay no. I am not taking this from her! She launches at Nightmare Moon as fast as possible just to pass straight through and slam into a wall. "I rest my case. You can't strike something that isn't there. Don't they teach you ponies anything?"

Rainbow Dash rounds on the dark spirit as she shakes off the pain. "You think I'm going to let you leave?! I won't let you get to Equestria if it kills me!"

Nightmare Moon just grins. "How? I severely doubt that you'd do yourself in just to slightly inconvenience me. I could always pick another host like your friends or maybe somepony completely random." Her triumphant cackle makes the fur stand up on Rainbow Dash's neck. "And besides, I believe you had some things that you wanted to accomplish? Didn't you want to protect your friends and Equestria? In particular a certain flightless Pegasus you oh-so-kindly took under your wing because you felt sorry for her?"

The rainbow maned pony bristles. "You keep Scootaloo out of this. Your problem is with me, my friends and the Princesses. If you think that I'm going to listen to you just because you said the right things, you're crazier than Discord on Poison Joke. You and those Shadows are manipulative, psychotic, cruel, and irredeemable. Why should I listen to the creature that just admitted to being the living embodiment of anger and hatred? That came close to plunging Equestria into eternal night twice? That tried to kill me and my friends?"

Nightmare Moon's smile falls into a disappointed frown and she turns away with a huff. "I thought you would at least consider my offer. You're supposed to be the Element of Loyalty and isn't the greatest form of loyalty doing whatever you can to look after your friends?"

Emboldened by the clear threat, Rainbow Dash gets into the Nightmare Pony's face. "And what kind of friend would I be to willingly surrender to a tyrant whose only interest is causing pain and suffering?! You wouldn't know love and compassion if it bucked you in the face."

Nightmare Moon laughs long and hard as if this is all a big elaborate joke. "If that's how you feel. However, you aren't going to get rid of me and I doubt you'll be willing to spend the rest of eternity up here as your friends search for you until the days they die." She flashes the former Pegasus with a confident smile. "But consider this; there are other ways for me to get revenge than just mindless violence." With that, the Alicorn dissipates back into Rainbow Dash as she groans.

Midnight, yesterday
Rainbow Dash paces the "throne room" of the Moon Palace relentlessly. I can't just abandon my friends and worry them as I stay here for eternity. What kind of friend would I be? But I can't bring Nightmare Moon back to Equestria even for a short visit to tell my friends what happened. I don’t even know any kinds of communication magic and she’d never help me since she wants me to go down there. Even though the Princesses can stop her, there's no telling who she could hurt before they arrive.

At the same time though, nightmare scenarios run through her mind; Sombra returning and impaling her friends on black crystals, ponies in chains being forced to serve the dark tyrant, or Chrysalis draining her friends of all positive emotions and leaving them lifeless husks. What's more selfish? Abandoning my friends to keep them safe or leaving them exposed to any future enemies? Ones that could be even worse than her?

Part of her counters with images of Ponyvile in flames as Nightmare Moon joyfully watches the life leave Twilight through Rainbow Dash's own eyes. At the same time though, the images of destruction and misery return from before but more graphic and vivid than before. Her friends twitching in helpless agony on the dark crystals, ponies working themselves until they bleed for Sombra, the empty look in her catatonic friends' eyes... Enough. They're just images that Nightmare Moon's using to manipulate you. She wants you to think this way so you will go back to Equestria and she can get her revenge. They can always find another Element of Loyalty and they won't have to worry about your absence.

As she considers that though, her mind drifts back to Scootaloo and more images flash through her mind. Scootaloo being the one impaled, Scootaloo being beaten to the brink of death for not properly following Sombra's orders, Scootaloo being used as food by the Changelings, or Scootaloo being tormented by nightmares. Being told that Rainbow Dash never really cared about her, that she disappeared because she got sick of Scootaloo always vying for her attention, that she took Scootaloo under her wing just for the sake of social clout, that Scootaloo was the most pathetic excuse for a Pegasus ever to exist and being repeatedly yelled at as a worthless, pathetic, irritating, incredibly stupid, hopeless chicken unworthy of even being called a pony. The image of Scootaloo waiting for her idol to someday return as the hope slowly leaves her soul.

Nightmare Moon manifests once more. "D'aw, isn't that precious? You love the little whelp so much that she will ultimately decide whether or not you'll risk dooming Equestria. I'm touched, truly."

Ignoring the parasite, Rainbow Dash continues pacing. "You know, I don't have to be doing this. Consider this for a moment; if I wanted you as just a mindless host or only wanted your body to use like I did with Luna, why I have let you stay in control? Wouldn't I have just poisoned your mind or wouldn't you have woken trapped inside your own mind, unable to stop me from destroying everything you love? All I need is for your mind to be intact and I could pose as you for years before I take my revenge. There is absolutely nothing you could do to stop me."

Rainbow Dash's pacing gets harder and harder by the moment as Nightmare Moon smiles. "Look at it this way. You can either guarantee that Equestria will someday fall to a tyrant or take the risk that I'm being honest. The Elements of Harmony bond for life or until either their host willingly relinquishes control or the connection is forcibly severed if they are banished. Since you're now functionally immortal and refuse to leave, they can't replace simply give the Element of Loyalty to a new bearer and thus the Elements are useless. There are much worse creatures that myself out there which you have yet to meet. Tirek, the Storm King, the Pony of Shadows and many others will do worse than you could even imagine."

Rainbow Dash shudders; feeling the truth through thier newly formed connection. "Princess Celestia never mentioned any of them. You’re just inventing threats to manipulate me."

Nightmare Moon smiles. "As a being fully attuned with the shadows of Equus, it's interesting to hear what they have to say. Tirek is one of Equestria's oldest and greatest enemies whose currently sealed in Tartarus but Luna and Celestia decided that it wasn't worth worrying you all until it became relevant. They've never heard of or encountered the Storm King and the Pony of Shadows but the shadows know. They can only be trapped for so long."

The being shrugs. "Or maybe I'm lying and you're right. Maybe this is all a big plan to make you accept my influence so I can take my incredibly bloody and horrific revenge that’ll make Tartarus look like kindergarten. We can just sit back and enjoy the fireworks from here on the Moon. It's not exactly like immortals are pressed for time, is it?"

She smiles even more widely at the conflicted look on Rainbow Dash's face as she senses the brutal truth in those words. "And I'm just supposed to trust that you won't force control away from me and slaughter my friends and sister the instant that I reach Ponyvile? I'm a lot of things but I'm not that dense."

Nightmare Moon’s smile becomes ever so noticeably more strained. I expected resistance but this is getting ridiculous. "Let me put this to you bluntly then. You can either spend the rest of eternity here and absolutely doom Equestria and your friends or you can take a chance to save everything. But do you really think that, if I only wanted your body, I would have gone to all this effort to deceive you? Would have waited and argued this much without giving up and just taking over your mind? After-all, you've already seen first-hoof how easy it is for me to control my host without needing thier consent."

She holds in a laugh of joy at the conflicted look on Rainbow Dash's face. "Just remember, you have a lot more to lose than I have to gain. Your friends, your parents, those who rely on you for a proper climate and that little filly you call a sister. What chance do they stand without thier loyal friend? You want the power to protect those that you love and I offer it."

After the grandiose speech, silence falls as Rainbow Dash checks for any signs of a lie and sighs when she finds none. "Why me? Wouldn't you have wanted Twilight or Princess Luna again? I'm awesome but I'm no Alicorn or skilled magician."

Nightmare cackles. "Although I can take any host I please very easily, it works best with those emotionally compromised. Be it extreme anger and jealousy like Luna felt or intense sadness at not being able to fulfil thier dream.[\b]"

Dash glares right through her. “And what’s in it for you? No way are you doing this out of the kindness of your heart.

Moon flashes a fang-filled smile. "What better way to get revenge for sending me here than to see your friend's faces when we show them what happened? I also need a host to survive and you get to fulfil your dreams. We both win."

Rainbow Dash scowls. "Great, the best chance to keep everypony safe is from the creature that once tried to plunge Equestria into eternal night. I guess I don't really have a choice, do I? It's this or nothing."

Nightmare Moon laughs. "Correct."

Once the story is finished, ten minutes pass in complete silence as Scootaloo's face continually tries to decide whether to look shocked, honoured, or disbelieving. It eventually settles on the latter as her eyes grow firm. "Congratulations, you can spin a tale like no-pony's business. Whoop dee doo."

Getting nowhere, Flare prepares to break the news that Scootaloo definitely doesn't want to hear. "By the way, your friends say hi and hope that you get well soon. They love you too, you know."

Upon realising what must have happened, Scootaloo's face turns from its normal shade of orange to ghost white as she struggles to speak. "Y-you're lying. You're just doing this to torment me before you finally finish me off." The uncomfortable silence that follows tells her the truth as she struggles to keep it together. "First you take Rainbow Dash from me, then you cripple me and now you take my friends."

Something in Scootaloo finally snaps and the dam breaks as an entire day's worth of stress and fear catches up with her. "Why?! What the hay did I ever do to you?!" Flare approaches but finds herself stopped by the most hateful look that she has ever seen. "You're lucky that I can't move or I'd buck you from here to the Dragon Lands."

The cold tone in Scootaloo's voice hurts like a rusty knife as Flare's head drops and she moves towards the entrance. "When morning comes, I'll send them in Scoots. You'll need them before you-" Gulping before her voice can crack, Flare leaves just as Scootaloo finally lets herself break down.

Nightmare Moon is waiting outside the door as Flare exits though her face falls at her counterpart's look of pain. "I take it that it didn't go well?"

"Scootaloo is utterly broken both in body and mind. She blames you for 'killing' me, crippling her and all but destroying her friends. As far as she's concerned, you've consumed me so much that I functionally no longer exist and you're just using my memories to torment her. She just wants to die as painlessly as possible and even asked me to do it." With the last seven words, her voice cracks and the broken Alicorn slinks away as Nightmare Moon watches.

The Long Awaited Confrontation

Five hours later, Ponyvile Square

Night-time Flare stands in the center of town with a confident smile. "Is everything ready, Twilight?"

Twilight nods with a small smile. "Everything's ready, Rainbow. All that we need now are the Princesses and Shining." She looks down. "I only hope that they give us a chance to explain."

Flare smiles serenely. "They will because we won't make any attempt to provoke them. If they attack, we'll use only the minimum amount of force necessary to defend ourselves." She casts a new spell as she looks upwards. "And so it begins."

Presently, Ponyvile staging area

As the royals continue thier planning, Shining Armour instinctively throws up a shield spell. "Princess? The dome's collapsing."

Indeed it is so everypony braces for an assault. After twenty minutes however, nothing happens much to thier confused worry. "Now what?"

Celestia turns to Commander Light Brigade who snaps to attention. "Commander, please instruct the Guards to stand thier ground and make no attempts to enter Ponyvile. Nightmare Moon expects us to march right into her trap but we won't give her what she wants. With the dome gone, hopefully some ponies will be able to escape but be cautious. They may have been corrupted and be acting as an advance guard."

Light Brigade nods and leaves to relay thier orders as Celestia turns back to Shining. "Are we absolutely sure that no other help is coming?"

He shakes his head. "The Royal Guards from the Badlands arrived two hours ago but they won't be much help so spread out around Ponyvile. The Wonderbolts are also here but they function best as shock forces so we can't rely on them as much, The unrest is still keeping most of the Guard busy and the only other help that we have available is from the Crystal Guard. Unfortunately, it's too far to fly or teleport and it takes the better part of a day to get here by train. Even at full speed, they won't arrive for at least another two hours."

Celestia thinks for several moments. "Myself and Luna will enter Ponyvile and confront Nightmare Moon whilst you and Cadance stay here." She sighs as she sees the looks of worry and fear for her that wash over thier faces. "We need to prevent any of the Shadows from escaping Ponyvile. Even if we stop Nightmare Moon quickly, there's no telling the damage they could do first. With Luna's help, I can quickly bring Nightmare Moon down and end this. What will happen to Rainbow Dash remains to be seen but we'll deal with that later."

Luna nods in agreement before turning to thier equals. "The Shadows can't be weakened by traditional magic as it just phases straight through them but they can be weakened by bright lights or light infused magic. When exposed to enough, the shadow magic inside them retracts and leaves thier exposed bodies which you can attack normally." The Guards and royal couple nod as they turn back to the map. "Coming, sister?"

Princess Celestia takes a moment to gaze at the Crystal diarchy and smiles a deep, genuine smile as they hold hooves and nuzzle each other to calm thier nerves. When this is over, I'll find a way to keep them together forever. After everything they've done for Equestria and everything they've been through recently, they deserve it. I failed Twilight and her friends, I won't fail them too. I'll never let my family suffer again after what happened to... She shivers before turning to her younger sister. "Let's go."

A few minutes later

As the Princesses approach Ponyvile, thier concern only grows stronger when they can't see anypony about; be they Shadow, ordinary ponies, animals, Zecora, Spike or Nightmare Moon herself. Out of the corner of her eye, Princess Luna watches her sister subtly grow more worried and angrier. Constantly visually and magically scanning, it doesn't take them long to find thier way to the Golden Oaks Library in silence. "What do you make of it?"

Luna scowls. "We hate this. We've been halfway through town and found nothing. No-pony's run out for us to plead for our help, we haven't heard any screams, we haven't found any bodies and we haven't even been attacked yet. In all honestly, we were expecting to be ambushed the moment we entered Ponyvile if not sooner. This is far more worrying."

Celestia nods grimly but her ears perk up as she hears something coming from upstairs. "Luna, do you hear that?"

Luna listens as well and her face flashes between worry, anger, fear, hatred and determination. "If she's laid even one feather on her..." Luna storms into the Library and to an upstairs bedroom as Celestia follows at an equally sharp pace.

From inside, the sound of somepony quietly sobbing can be heard until she seems to sense thier presence as they hear a sharp inhale. "G-go away. P-please, leave me alone. H-Haven't you done enough?"

Though Celestia doesn't recognise the young voice, Luna's face has turned from worry to protective anger as she forces open the door. On the other side, Celestia sees a very vaguely familiar filly wrapped tightly in warm blankets and visibly shaking until she looks up. When she does, the look of sheer joy on her face is both heartwarming and stomach churning. "PRINCESS!"

Luna's expression switches between relief and poorly disguised disgust at the sight of Scootaloo's horribly broken body; hooves bent in the wrong direction, wings drooping as if every bone in them has turned to powder and bones visibly sticking out from her hooves. "Scootaloo, what happened?"

Scootaloo looks down. "I saved my friends but paid the price. They stopped the pain but... well, look at me.”

Luna turns a funny shade of green for a brief moment whereas Celestia's pokerface become ever so slightly strained. "Don't worry Scootaloo, this'll all be over soon and then we can help you."

For the first time in about a day, Scootaloo smiles with relief before it fades into a worried frown. "Princess? Rainbow Dash told me something that might be important." Princess Celestia smiles reassuringly and gestures for her to continue. "She told me about how she was looking for a way to better protect us from evil. A way that, if anything were to happen to you, we would be able to protect ourselves."

Looks of joint realisation pass over the Princesses ' faces. "We need to have a very serious conversation with her when this is over."

Scootaloo looks confused. "Why? Nightmare Moon took over her mind. What's she done wrong?"

Luna looks at her friend sadly. "Although Nightmare Moon takes complete control of her hosts, her power comes from a great desire that her host has. It's why she's been so selective in choosing her host and hasn't just taken the first pony that she sees. For us, it was a desire to make ponies appreciate our night by any means necessary. For Rainbow Dash, it's her desire to see everypony happier and better protected. The Elements protect thier Bearers from forced corruption but Nightmare Moon is extremely manipulative. She has a way with words, twisting your beliefs so you accept her 'help' even if you don't trust her. While Rainbow Dash didn't mean to do all of this, she'll need a reminder about the dangers loyalty can cause when it becomes obs-"

The conversation is cut off by the sound of the Library door opening and closing. Once second, Princess Celestia is there and the next she's gone. Princess Luna is about to follow but stops when she sees the panic on Scootaloo's face. "Please! Don't leave me here! What if one of those... things comes for me?!"

Luna is torn for a moment between helping a close friend in need and leaving for the greater good of Equestria before casting a light spell over Scootaloo. "This spell will prevent the Shadows from getting anywhere near you. I promise that we'll be back as soon as Nightmare Moon is gone, Scootaloo." Scootaloo nods nervously but gratefully as the Princesses head downstairs.

Moments earlier, the Golden Oaks Library's entrance

A shadowy figure enters the silent Library only to be blinded by a Sun-like flash and magically slammed into the wall. Not hard enough to injure or knock out the creature but enough to stun him. "Where's Nightmare Moon?!"

Despite Celestia's booming and severe tone, Shadowfright chuckles. "Queen Flare asked me to tell you that she's waiting for you at your former Castle."

Princess Celestia then knocks him out, stuffs him into the basement and magically seals it shut just as Luna appears.. "Was that Shadow-" She trails off and looks in surprise at something outside. Celestia follows her gaze and blinks in equal amazement. The Sun is slowly rising into the sky only an hour later than it normally should have. After exchanging a slightly confused look, and without another word spoken, the two Princesses take flight and soar towards the Everfree.

At the same time, the Castle of the Two Sisters

Flare turns to Applejack with a smile. "Are they ready?"

Applejack returns the grin for a moment before looking down sadly. "All's ready tah go, Ah just wish there was an easier way."

Flare's smile fades into a neutral expression. "So do I." She looks out into the woods. "It'll all work out in the end. They may begin."

A minute or so later, Ponyvile Staging Area

As Princess Cadance and Shining Armour continue observing the skyline, they feel thier heart rates accelerate as they see a cloud of solid shadow head towards them from Ponyvile. Immediately drawing on each other, they throw up a powerful shield spell which is infused with light to encase the Shadows in a giant dome. They breathe a sigh of relief when the Shadows don't start trying to breach the dome but are slightly unsettled when the Shadows just linger. Waiting for something. Eerily, they hear Commander Light Brigade chuckle. "That's our cue."

Before the Solar Guards can react, an illusion spell over the local Royal Guards drops and the others are suddenly swarmed by shadows. As the Shadow cloud gets closer to the two rulers, Shining looks over at his horrified wife. After a split second of indecision, he begins charging a spell as Cadance glares at him furiously. "SHINING ARMOUR! IF YOU DARE, I'LL -" Before she can finish, she's already been forcibly teleported away just as the mist consumes Shining Armour. The last thing on his face is a sad smile. I'm sorry, Cady. I couldn't let them hurt you. Equestria, the Princesses and the Empire need you far more than they need me. Take care of our people well. I love you and I always will.

A few short moments later, the Everfree Bridge

The Princesses land on the Everfree side much to Princess Luna's surprise. "Sister, why are we landing here? We're so close."

Princess Celestia doesn't turn. "If we try to approach our old Castle by air, there's a high likelihood that we'll be struck out of the sky before we can get close enough. We don't know what Nightmare Moon is planning so we can't afford to be slowed down or injured. If we can approach on hoof, we may have the chance to surprise Nightmare Moon."

Forcing back a worried look at Celestia's cold and determined tone, Luna nods but there's suddenly a bright blue flash as thier neice suddenly appears before them. Before either of them can question it, they notice a look of pain on Cadance's face. "What happened, Cadance?"

Shock and worry slam into Luna as Cadance looks up blankly for a moment; a very similar look to the one Celestia had earlier. When she speaks, she is visibly holding back tears. "T-they got to the Ponyvile Guards before we arrived. I-it was a trap and we all walked right into it. They got everyone including S-Shining."

Instantly, a subtle frown appears on Princess Celestia's face but it's very presence worries Luna as her sister races away without a word. "Was it something I said?"

Luna sighs as they follow. "Celestia hates losing those that mean a lot to her, even more than most ponies. She hasn't been like this in a very long time. She knew that she'd have to say goodbye to them someday but was always hoping it'd be a long time. Although she never admitted it, she was always worried that, every time they went to save Equestria, one or more of them wouldn't come back. They were formidable and she has always had absolute confidence in thier abilities but all it would have taken was one unfortunate magic blast or a very minor miscalculation at a key moment and they'd be gone. If it wasn't for the greater good of every living creature on Equus, she wouldn't have done it. She still blames herself for the untimely death of somepony she deeply cares about and now she's feeling it again sixfold."

Cadance's look of worry only increases. "What happened?"

Luna hangs her head. "His name was Legionary Phalanx but it isn't our place to say much else. Our relationship with him was strictly professional and, as you can guess, didn’t end well. All we'll say is that he died long before his time, that what happened hurt Celestia a lot and that she continues to blame herself for it today. It's one thing to lose somepony to the ravages of time, it's quite another to lose that somepony to an enemy. It's why she forces herself to be so stoic as well as part of why she couldn't use the Elements after we were banished. She’s been like this for so long that no one remembers that she used to be much more... open instead of reserved. Celestia’s lost over a thousand partners in her time but there's always that one pony you feel you were made for. The one you could spend the rest of eternity with and be happy. We believe she truly found her soulmate and then lost him long before his time. Losing the love of your life and one of only three beings that you had ever been truly close to… changes a pony."

Cadance nods understandingly but they then almost walk into a grim looking Princess Celestia. "We're here."

Inside the ruins

As the three Princesses enter into what was once the throne room, they find themselves face to face with a very familiar and immensely smug looking being. "Good day. I hope you've been-"

Immediately, Nightmare Moon is forced back by a massive energy beam from Celestia; bright but not blinding flashes of light visibly streaking through the energy. "It's over. You're going to release Rainbow Dash and then you're going straight into the Sun where you can never hurt anypony ever again. I made the mistake of believing you were destroyed once. I won't be making that mistake again."

Despite the Princess' tone making it clear in no uncertain terms that she is deathly serious, Nightmare Moon smiles as if she just told a side splittingly funny joke. "Come now, I thought you were supposed to be the benevolent Princess and Luna the-"

She finds herself blasted into a crumbling wall. "Release her."

Nightmare Moon just smiles as she gets back up. "Touchy, touchy Celestia. Is that any way to treat your other sister?"

Despite an even expression and a calm tone, Celestia's voice is as bitingly cold as the Arctic North. "You are not my sister. You're a parasite that tormented and held my real sister captive for three hundred years."

Nightmare Moon just smirks. "Whatever you say, sister. It hurts, doesn't it? Knowing that you failed your friends, Ponyvile, your 'daughter' and your beloved neice's-"

This time, Nightmare Moon is blasted completely out of the room and into the chamber where the Elements were once held. "I hope you do realise that, by banishing me, you'd banish Rainbow Dash as well since we're one and the same? Tell me Celestia, are you willing to banish one of your only friends just to stop me? Is that what you want?"

Celestia is almost literally burning with hatred but her eyes become nearly imperceptibly sadder. "What I want is you gone forever and, if it means protecting the rest of Equestria from you, so be it."

Despite the Princess' hatred being so great that it's almost a physical force, and the intense pressure from the energy beam, Nightmare Moon approaches with a foul smile. "Really? If you're so sure of yourself, why haven't you already banished us? Why are we standing around chatting? Surely, if you meant what you said, I'd already be on a one-way journey to your beloved Sun. Is is possible that you can't bring yourself to save Equestria because it would hurt your dear friend?"

When she's almost muzzle to muzzle with Celestia, the dark pony stops and her expression becomes a sneer. "What would your little ponies think of you now? The big, strong Princesses that are absolutely unbeatable can't even protect one small town or thier own friends and now the almighty Sun Princess can't bring herself to sacrifice one pony for the sake of her kingdom. I wonder how much faith they'll have in you when Tirek escapes or Chrysalis makes her return. Pathetic."

Seeing her sister seething, Princess Luna advances on her doppelganger. "Is this why you came back? To insult us and get petty revenge?"

Nightmare Moon snarls at her 'twin.' "I came back because I needed a way to survive and your beloved Element of Loyalty just so happened to need a solution to her dilemma. Thanks to her, I even made you pay. Made you feel the same sense of utter crushing failure that I did when they banished me. Makes you feel absolutely awful, doesn't it?"

Nightmare Moon throws back her head for one long, triumphant, mocking, painfully loud and glorious laugh as Princess Celestia starts to let anger show on her face. "Tell me Luna, how does it feel to fail the ones that helped save you? To know that they saved you from me but you can't do the same for them?" As the younger Princess glares, Nightmare Moon turns to Cadance. "You know, you almost impressed me Cadance. You managed to defeat an entire army using just the power of love and held off his royal pain in the flank but you couldn't even save your beloved husband." Smiling at the youngest Princess' burning anger, she turns at last to Celestia who has a face like thunder. "And pray tell Celestia, how does it feel to fail your friends so spectacularly? To know that you let down your beloved student when she needed you the most? That even Solar semper invictus herself can fail this badly? And you had such great aspirations for her future. Like mother, like daughter as they say. I've watched it secretly eat you up inside whenever you sent them to 'save' Equestria. And now, you were helpless to stop me. In the same way you were hopeless to save Legion-"

Before Nightmare Moon can finish, over a thousand years of repressed emotion combined with a mixture of grief and burning hatred finally boil over. With a resounding and almost deafening bang, Nightmare Moon is sent flying over three hundred feet from an almighty slap. Whilst the shadow pony staggers back to her hooves, Celestia's eyes burn with hatred. "Shall we?" Still sightly stunned by the sudden burst of anger from the usually calm Solar Princess, the other two Alicorns channel thier magic.

For her part, Nightmare Moon just smiles knowingly. "Look behind you."

The three instead prepare to unleash thier combined magic until they hear an all too familiar voice. "Princess?"

Ideals, Reunions and New Problems

For an excruciatingly long five minutes, there is nothing but completely dead silence as the Princesses process what they see. Luna is pale, Cadance is horrified and Celestia appears simultaneously surprised, angry, and distressed. Twilight walks closer at a cautious pace. "Princess?"

Almost immediately though, she and Nightmare Moon find themselves knocked back by an invisible force. After righting themselves, they find that the Princesses are gone. "Cowards. No matter."

Twilight walks over. "Now what?"

Nightmare Moon just smiles. "We continue trying to help Scootaloo. There's a few surprises waiting for them when back at Canterlot Castle."

Scant moments later, the Throne Room

Luna end Cadance abruptly appear as the latter looks to her aunt in confused horror. "What the hay was that?!"

Luna looks grim. "That was what a corrupted pony looks like. That would be what anypony that opposed Nightmare Moon would have ended up looking like if we had won. Things have just gotten a lot more painful and complicated for all of us."

Cadance looks at Luna hopefully. "If we banish Nightmare Moon, won't they just go back to normal? Dark magic spells only last as long as it's creator. Or won't the Elements purge the darkness inside them?"

Luna shakes her head. "When we created the Nightmare Shadows, we made sure that any corruption would be permanent. Dark magic does fade with its user but the Shadows corrupt a creature down to thier very inner magic. It's why the Elements could save us but the Crystal Heart couldn't do the same for Sombra. We used dark magic, Sombra was consumed and became a living part of it. The Elements and Crystal Heart purge dark magic and leave the good behind but they just banish the entire creature when there's nothing left to save. This was ultimately supposed to be a final act of vengeance in case anything happened to us. The corrupted ponies would attack indiscriminately until they either killed everypony or were killed themselves. We still held a grudge against our subjects for 'disrespecting' the night. How it rendered the Elemental protections useless though, we have no idea."

Cadance looks up with an almost desperate hope. "Can't we just talk them down once Nightmare is gone? Fluttershy managed to redeem Discord after-all."

Luna shakes her head decisively. "When a pony is corrupted this deeply, who they become is left completely up to the whim of the corruptor. They can be anything from the same pony they were with a newfound loyalty to a completely feral and mindless husk whose only job is to kill. Knowing Nightmare Moon, they've become little more than bodies masquerading as who they were just to torment us. She wants us to lose all hope so we either can't or won't use the Elements. By comparison, Discord was never truly evil. What he did long ago and last year was awful but that's just in his nature. Being evil requires malice, anger and actual intent to cause harm whereas Discord is just annoying though he can hold a grudge. He does what he does for fun and because he needs it in order to exist at all. It just so happens that his idea of 'fun' is either extremely inconvenient or completely detrimental to everypony else. Calling Discord as evil as Sombra or Nightmare Moon is like saying that the Timberwolves are pure evil just because they need to eat us to survive."

The conversation is then cut short when Celestia enters with a familiar chest. Before she can speak though. Cadance looks at her aunt in mild frustration. "If we were going to use the Elements, why didn't we take them with us before all this?"

Celestia sighs. "Because they can only ever be used once by anypony other than those they are bonded with or they just refuse to work. It was more or less a security measure to ensure that no-creature could use it for less than noble reasons. We could have just blasted down the dome with them but would then have had to fight our way through her army and defeat Nightmare Moon whilst exhausted. Only the Elements have the power to banish them all but we only have one chance so we kept them here under heavy guard to prevent them from being captured. As you saw, it turned out to be a good idea. Myself or Luna could have summoned them in an instant had Twilight and the others made it out safely but now we need to regroup."

Almost immediately, there is a firm knock at the door. "Come in."

To thier surprise, Aegis Shield is the one to enter with a deep bow. "Your majesties, the Night Guard and Wonderbolts have arrived. The Shadows have yet to leave Ponyvile but it's only a matter of time."

Luna nods gratefully to her right-hoof pony. "Thank you, Commander. Please tell the men to get what little rest they can. We'll be on the move as soon as possible."

Cadance takes a moment to look at her aunt. "How?"

Luna chuckles emptily. "When we create our Guards, we use a lesser form of dark magic to enhance them and give them that appearance. Works wonders with intimidation and apparently vastly enhances thier life-spans. The Wonderbolts must have been too fast."

As Aegis Shield bows and leaves to prepare, Celestia levitates the Elements onto each of them; Kindness and Magic onto herself, Laughter and Generosity onto Luna and finally Loyalty and Honesty onto Cadance. For the sake of wearability, the necklaces have once again become leg armour with Celestia wearing the Element of Magic in place of her own crown. "There, this should help spread out the energy drain. We'll be needed to help out in the aftermath and can't afford to be too weak." Cadance could have sworn she saw her aunt subtly shudder for just a moment when putting the Elements on for the first time in a millennia. Her reaction is as if she were struck by a very sudden Arctic breeze or she were doing something she isn't entirely comfortable with. Before she can check, her look has been replaced by one of grim determination. "Remember, they may look like our friends but they're not anymore. We're doing what we must to protect everypony else. We can't allow this to spread."

When the three turn to leave though, there's a loud supersonic bang as Night-time Flare bursts in through a side door, does a loop-dee-loop and lands. Wary, Cadance and Luna aim thier magic towards the new Alicorn even as Flare takes a moment to deeply bow. "Aw, c'mon. Is that really necessary?"

Celestia looks at Flare severely. Not an angry or frustrated glare mind you but instead a deeply disappointed gaze. Coming from her though, it's kind of like being slapped in the face. "Considering recent events, yes. We can't trust that you aren't here to attack us." Her gaze turns hopeful. "Please Rainbow Dash, fight it. We don't want to have to do to you what I did to Luna because, this time, you won't be able to come back."

Flare sighs. "Princess, I'm still me. I'm not here to take over Equestria, I'm here to help everypony else."

Luna trots forward. "Rainbow Dash, we know that you probably mean well but you must have heard the old saying. The road to Tartarus is paved with good intentions. Nightmare Moon is an excellent manipulator; she could sell water to a drowning pony. Look at everything that's happened; Nightmare Moon is free, Scootaloo is crippled, and an entire town has been corrupted. This has to stop, one way or the other."

After visibly wincing at the mention of Scootaloo, Flare eyes the Elements knowingly whilst the three Princesses just look at her blankly. "Look, I know that how I did it was... less than great but this was the best solution I could find."

Celestia frowns critically. "The Elements, the Crystal Heart and the eight of us are more than capable of stopping any threat. We wanted to help our little ponies so that they can defend themselves until we can help."

Flare returns the expression. "And look how incredibly well that turned out with the Changelings. You were defeated, we were captured, the Elements were completely useless without us, the Royal Guard were helpless and that Queen came horribly close to turning Equestria into an all you can eat buffet. If not for Princess Cadance and Shining, I don't want to even imagine what could have happened."

"Queen Chrysalis."

Flare turns her gaze to Luna. "You know her?"

Luna nods grimly. "Celestia and us share an... eventful past with her. Although you certainly have a point, we can't condone everything else. One way or another, Nightmare Moon will be gone by nightfall."

Cadance is next to speak. "What was your plan, Rainbow Dash? Run around Equestria and forcibly corrupt everypony whilst scaring them silly?"

Knowing that this conversation is going around in circles, and getting an urgent mental tugging sensation through her connection with Nightmare Moon, Flare decides to reveal the real reason she is there. "Hate to fly but I'm needed back in Ponyvile. Before I go though..."

Flare casts a quick spell and flies back out through the main throne room doors. The two stationed Guards move to intervene but Celestia calls for them to stop. "Trying to stop her without the Elements is futile when we need the energy for the Nightmare Shadows as well. We need to wait until we're ready to move on the ent-"

Her voice trails off as she spies some unnaturally dark shadows in the corner of the room seem to vanish as a very familiar stallion approaching them with a nervous trot. "Cadance?" Sharing a look, Celestia and Luna back off slightly; staying close enough to help but giving thier niece a moment.

Shining Armour turns his gaze to his wife whose body is tense but she wears a completely unreadable expression. "Cadance, I-" He walks right into an energy shield. "Cadance, I'm still me."

After a very long and very uncomfortable silence, Cadance fires off a spell which makes Shining Armour drop like a basket of apples. After a moment of awkward silence, Luna approaches the body. "Is he...?"

Cadance shakes her head. "He's just under a very powerful sleeping spell and won't wake up until tomorrow afternoon. Once this is over, I'll deal with him." She turns to Princess Celestia. "I know you said that they're beyond saving but.. I have to try. If not for myself, for Night-light and Velvet. It might be completely hopeless but I have to be sure."

Seeing the hope in her neice's eyes, Celestia nods reluctantly after a moment but only after putting a magical inhibitor on Shining's horn. "Please just remember that you might not be able to save him, Cadance."

Cadance nods sadly. "Then I'll put him out of his misery. It's what he would have wanted." After taking a moment to teleport her husband to the dungeons and take a deep breath, Cadance turns her attention back to the matter at hoof. "Any idea why Rainbow Dash left in such a hurry?"

Celestia shakes her head and the three Princesses begin the final preparations before confronting Nightmare Moon one last time. Around half an hour after the impromptu visit however, a Wonderbolt messenger suddenly soars in and hoofs over a scroll before collapsing in exhaustion. Exchanging a mixture of concerned and confused looks, Celestia unfurls the scroll to read it aloud.

To Princess Celestia\Princess Luna\Princess Mi Amore Cadenza
I can only hope that Marathon Flight reaches you as quickly as possible. The Nightmare Shadows have left Ponyvile and are headed towards the southeast. The residents of Ponyvile have stayed behind in the town and don't appear to be doing anything unusual. What are our orders?
With respects
Crystal Skies.

Celestia looks up completely baffled. "But the only things southeast of Ponyvile are Rambling Rock Ridge, Baltimare and..." She trails off for a moment when a rather horrifying realisation comes to mind. "The Dragon Lands."

Luna looks at her sister curiously. "We're not sure that Nightmare Moon's corruption would work on dragons. Thier type of magic is much different than a pony's."

Celestia shakes her head. "Even if that's true, or they are headed to Baltimare instead, we can't afford to take that chance. We can't afford to lose more ponies and, if the dragons were turned against us, there would be mass devastation. We have to move, now." The possibility of gigantic, feral dragons at least as big as Spike was on his birthday last year torching Canterlot and hunting down her ponies to eat makes her breath hitch.

Exchanging a look with the other two, who begin preparing themselves for a long and fast flight, Princess Celestia abruptly teleports to the war room. Upon arrival, she finds that the leading elements of both segments of the Royal Guard are busy arguing over the best defenceive strategy. After a moment of stunned silence, they bow. "Commanders?"

Aegis Shield and the Day Guard's commanding officer Solar Strike step forward. "Yes, Princess?"

Celestia allows herself a small smile at how they can go from arguing like schoolyard foals to regimented, disciplined professionals in seconds. "Please organise a regiment of your best soldiers to be ready to move as soon as possible. The Shadows are on the move towards Baltimare and the Dragon Lands so we can't afford to wait." The two Commanders nod professionally and bow before hurrying away to organise the force. "Everypony else will be needed here in case this turns out to be a trick. Remember, they are weak against light." The rest of the Guards nod as she teleports back to the throne room to sure up the city's defences.

About twenty minutes ago, Night-time Flare's house

Arriving at thier previously agreed meet-up location, Flare finds Nightmare Moon waiting impatiently in her living room. "What's wrong?"

Nightmare Moon looks grim. "Scootaloo is gone."

When is an unfinished television series like a little puppy?

During the confrontation in the Castle of the Two Sisters, Ponyvile Hospital

During the chaos surrounding the collapse of Ponyvile's shield, Scootaloo had been transported to the nearest medical facility in the hopes to do literally anything to try and help her. Of course, given the protective spell placed by Luna earlier, it had taken several of the more resilient Shadows a while to actually get her there but better later than never.

Considering everything else that's happened over the last day or so, things seem relatively normal on such a wonderfully sunny morning. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle have gotten up bright and early to try and visit her. With the night shift having ended, the nurse on duty at the front desk is a blue Earth Pony mare with a bright orange mane. Despite being muzzle deep in a stack of paperwork, she looks up,with a smile when the door effortlessly swings open with a light green glow. “Good morning and welcome to Ponyvile General Hospital. How can I help you?"

Apple Bloom nods with a friendly smile. "Gud mornin', Nurse Aider. We heard Scootaloo wus moved here las' night. Is she okay? Can we visit her?"

Nurse Aider's face appears to switch to being very sad for a moment but soon settles on professional and welcoming. "We aren't sure if she's improved yet, I'm afraid. If she's awake and willing to speak to you though, I don't see why you can't visit. Follow me." She leads the two down a side corridor until they come to a rather unremarkable looking door albeit one guarded by two formidable looking Shadows. "She's in there." The Crusaders move to enter but she stops them with a low voice. "Please remember that she might still be asleep and I have to warn you to not wake her or make too much noise this early in the morning. It may be almost noon but some of our patients still need the rest and I really don't want to have to ask you both to leave."

The two Crusaders nod sincerely. "We promise."

Nurse Aider gives them a suspicious gaze, knowing thier tendency to cause trouble all too well, before letting them by and turning to go back to the front desk. She only gets halfway down the corridor before hearing two piercing screams so she rushes back. "I warned you. I'm afraid that I'm going to have to ask you to l-" She trails off as she sees the Crusaders staring at a Scootaloo sized depression in the bed but without a Scootaloo actually in it. She turns to inform the Guards but one has already flown off to find help.

Within five minutes of the Princesses teleporting to Canterlot, Nightmare Moon walks into the hospital room looking displeased. "Can either of you tell me how a filly, that can't even move, can just vanish from a heavily guarded hospital room?" The two Shadows look rather guilty as her glare harshens. "I won't be asking twice."

The shadow on the right is visibly shaking. "W-we don't know, your highness. We've been standing here this whole time and heard nothing." After a few moments of glaring in disgust at her minions, Nightmare Moon closes her eyes and draws on the shadows in the room. Where did the filly in this room go?

Darkness is here. It is coming. Beware the shadows that breathe and the darkness that can move. Not really understanding the message, but getting a very bad feeling, Nightmare Moon turns to the guards. "Assemble the Shadows immediately and have them ready to leave in half an hour. We have a new problem."

"Yes, our Queen." As they fly away as quickly as possible, Nightmare Moon can't shake off a feeling of both déjà vu and impending doom.

Flare's house, after the meeting

For a moment, Flare's brain seems to completely shut down before rebooting and she chuckles. "Good one, I thought for a moment there that you said she's disappeared from right under our faces."

Nightmare Moon doesn't crack a smile. "I did."

Despite her growing worry, and being able to feel the being's sincerity through thier connection, Flare glares at her in disbelief. "But Scootaloo can't even..." She gulps. "How could she be kidnapped without us even noticing?”

Nightmare Moon huffs. "All I know for certain is that, to get past out wards and guards, it has to be powerful and unnatural."

Flare grows more worried. "But why would anything go after her? What did she do to them?"

Nightmare Moon resists the urge to face-hoof. Some things will never change. "You're kidding, right? Since you first wielded the Elements, without counting myself, you've made enemies of Discord, Sombra, Chrysalis and her entire army of Changelings. If they can't get to any of you, who better to target than a close friend of one of thier enemies? And what's a more perfect time than when the kingdom's in disarray?"

Dash's eyes go wide at the thought. "Where is she?"

Nightmare Moon responds with a grim look. "The good news is that I can track her using the suspension spells I applied last night. They won't wear off until tonight and they say she’s somewhere near Griffonstone."

Flare almost doesn't want to ask the next question. "And the bad news?"

The present, the edge of Canterlot

After the rather disastrous couple of days that they've had, the Princesses are running very low on energy; Princess Luna being the worst off after having gotten no sleep whatsoever the precious night. Still, for the sake of everypony else, they've drawn on thier last reserves of energy and some power from thier magical sources to give them just energy for a cross-nation pursuit and termination. "Is everypony ready, Captain?"

Due to changing shifts and obvious fatigue, Aegis Shield has been replaced by his deputy Silent Knight whilst Solar Strike stays behind to lead the Guard staying in Canterlot. "Yes, Princess." Despite the fact that the only real ponies that can affect the Shadows are Unicorns or the three Alicorns, and all ten Guards that were going with them are Pegasi for the sake of speed and flexibility, over fifty Guards have volunteered for what could very well be a suicide operation. His expression turns nervous for a moment although only an expertly trained or very ancient eye could notice. "Sorry for asking but what's keeping the Elements from sealing us away as well? Sorry to ask but-"

He is cut off by a proud smile from Celestia. "It's good that you asked, Captain. The Elements can tell good from evil, they'll just wash over you harmlessly." Silent Knight nods gratefully, hating to have to ask but feeling obliged to on behalf of his men. With a hoof signal, the entire wing take flight and soar towards the southeast.

Presently, in the skies near Baltimare

As Flare rockets in the general direction of the tracking spell, manifesting as a form of pressure in her head that shifts sides depending on the direction it's coming from, her worry can only grow. I just don't get it. What kinda creature would go after Scoots? Why not any of us?

It's easier to grab a filly than a full grown mare and she can't move so she's easy to keep captive. There's- MOVE! NOW! Flare narrowly manages to avoid getting clearly cut in two by an enormous shining energy beam although the Shadows aren't as lucky. The instant that the beam strikes the mass, it utterly explodes as if a bomb had just went off with Shadows flying in all directions and Flare herself getting knocked back several hundred feet when one of them slams into her. "What the hay was that?!"

As fifty three silhouettes approach with the Sun behind them, Flare feels her heart sink. No, not now. Of all the times, it just had to be now. Princess Celestia eyes the smaller Alicorn with an unreadable expression and speaks with the tone of a judge passing final sentence. "Rainbow Dash of Ponyvile; you are guilty of treason, kidnapping, slavery, assault on a filly, performing dark magic, assault on the Royal Guard, conspiracy to conquer Equestria and brainwashing. If you surrender, you will be spared banishment to the Sun."

In that moment, Flare doesn't see Celestia; kind, benevolent and beloved Princess of Equestria. She sees Celestia; extremely protective and aggressive defender of Equestria as well as skurge of any and all evil. The living embodiment of the two heavenly bodies that keep the world in check and one of the most powerful and feared beings on Equus. She gets the feeling that this concession is only being offered because of her important role as a Bearer.

Chuckling nervously, she begins inching her way backwards with a sheepish grin. "That's a very tempting offer, Princess, but Scootaloo needs my help real quick. I swear, I'll be right back." With that, she takes off like a bat out of Tartarus towards where the tracking spell is leading her. She knows that she has just made a major mistake but the alternative is being thrown in the dungeon where anyone would dismiss her worries for Scootaloo as attempts at manipulation.

As the Shadows begin to recover though, the Princesses exchange looks of agreement before channelling thier magic in an all too familiar way. After just a few seconds, a familiar rainbow-like energy washes over the fields and Shadows below. For a brief few moments, as the Elemental Rainbow swirls around the Shadows and banished them, it seems like Flare has a chance but then it rockets towards Flare Having seen first-hoof how insanely fast those rainbows can travel, she knows that she has no hope of outrunning it but pure self-preservation instinct urges her forward.

A mixture of fear, instinct, new-found Alicorn power and a desire to save Scootaloo allow her to break the sound barrier and Rainboom in record time but it still isn't enough. Almost on a whim, she barrels towards the woods and corkscrews several dozen times but the beam doesn't even bend; just passing straight through the trees harmlessly. Perhaps more concerningly, the beam isn’t even going that fast… relatively speaking. It’s going fast enough to keep up, which is still well over 800MPH, but not enough to overwhelm her as if it knows that the speeds Flare is travelling at cam only last for so long.

Gradually running out of steam, since the Sonic Rainboom usually takes a lot of her energy to perform as well as the already considerable exertion and two days with no sleep. she decides that the best idea is to perform a wing-over. With some of her last reserves, Flare climbs as fast as possible straight into the air. With the beam following suit, she soars as high as her body can take the massive reduction in air pressure before pitching downwards at an almost 270 degree angle and skyrocketing away towards Baltimare itself. Understandably, the Baltimareons are more than a little surprised when a rainbow roars across the sky after a tiny black speck. Despite her best efforts however, the rainbow is relentless and the nearly completely vertical dive means that she has to dodge buildings so Flare is rapidly losing momentum. Unfortunately for her, although Alicorns possess much greater stamina and endurance than your ordinary pony, thier wings can only take so much abuse which is exasperated by the winds which feels like dozens of brick walls repeatedly slamming into her Radius.

Finally, about half a mile outside of Baltimare, Night-time Flare's wings cramp and lock-up so she begins a nosedive into the ground. She attempts to flap her wings but the only response that she gets is an excruciating pain; having completely sprained her coracoid.

Seconds before her borderline ultrasonic speeds would have made her into a puddle though, the Elemental Rainbow washes over her and she finds herself being pulled upwards at an impossible speed. No, no, no, no, no! I'm needed here! I can’t leave yet!! She struggles with all of her energy, and with some lent by Nightmare Moon, until she reaches the edge of the atmosphere. She then immediately realises that, if Princess Luna couldn't escape the Elements for roughly a thousand years, then what chance does she have?

As she reaches the edge of the Gildran Line, she very rapidly gains momentum until she is basically an incredibly fast pony-shaped rocket. Her final thoughts before slamming into the Sun are ones of regret. Scootaloo, I'm sorry that I failed you. Please be safe.

Near Baltimare

After almost five minutes of waiting, the Princesses can feel the rainbow finally catch Flare so they allow themselves to float down and catch thier breaths. Even for immensely powerful Alicorns, using the Elements (especially with the amount of energy required to banish such a large army) is akin to an intense and extremely thorough workout or a flight around the entirety of Equestria three times over. Being the least used to such a drain, only having really experienced such from her and Shining Armour's love nuke a year earlier, Princess Cadance is almost floored by the exertion. "Is... it... over?"

As much as she'd like to mourn and move on, Celestia shakes her head. "No, we still have to decide on how to handle Ponyvile." The other two Princesses exchange sad looks only for both to notice Captain Silent Knight standing very defensively. "What's wrong, Captain?"

He doesn't respond but Cadance's eyes especially go wide at a low pitched buzzing sound coming from nearby. "No." She immediately throws up a shield spell as several hundred familiar insectoid shells pop up around them.

Not even Alicorns are likely to be capable of fighting hundreds if not potentially thousands of powerful enemies even when they aren’t worn out from two days of never ending stress and little to no sleep. Even so, the army doesn’t strike and instead parts to reveal an even more familiar sneering visage. "Hello, Celestia." The sheer amount of venom in that one word's delivery could kill six hundred ponies and a Discord five times over.

For several long moments, there is nothing but silence. Whereas Princess Cadance is simultaneously enraged and extremely confused by Chrysalis' continued existence, Princess Luna and Princess Celestia seem only mildly surprised. After those moments pass, the Changeling Queen regards the youngest Princess with disdain. "I take it you never bothered to tell her that I was still alive? With such wisdom, it’s no wonder I got so close last year."

She is forced back by an energy beam from Celestia before managing to effortlessly deflect it into a nearby tree after just three seconds. Instead of being angry at the affront though, Chrysalis has the same smug but slightly deadpan expression Cadance grew to hate so much during the wedding. "Really, Celestia? You're surrounded by hundreds of my children and you still want to attack me? After what happened before? It’s been almost two thousand years and so little has changed."

Suddenly, something Luna said earlier clicks with Cadance and she turns to her aunt who just seems utterly disgusted by the Changeling. "What are you doing here, Chrysalis?"

The Queen just looks at them blankly for a moment before scowling. "We live here or at least we used to. Your little war in Ponyvile has been causing the Guards to patrol constantly and they've come dangerously close to our hive." Her scowl turns into a foul, hungry, predatory smile. "Since you're trespassing on our home, and on my sovereignty, I see no reason why we can't defend our t-"

Before she can finish, the Changelings find themselves blasted back by a powerful magical shock-wave; slamming hard into the nearby trees and being stunned for a few moments. Even Chrysalis herself is momentarily winded before everyling recovers to find the Guards and Princesses gone. "Humph, so be it. They who fight but run from a greater power may live to see one more hour."

One of her lesser lieutenants approaches with a deep bow, practically kissing the dirt with how low he is bending. "What's next, my Queen?"

Chrysalis just smiles. "What else, Pharynx? They're exhausted, depleted, divided, demoralised and thier precious trump card is now worthless whereas we are well rested and need a new home. Even for me, fighting all three at once is hopeless even if they are tired. For now, we will plan and organise but soon we'll have everything. When the time is right, we strike and Equestria will be ours at last." And then, for no other reason than because Chrysalis is Chrysalis, she lets out a long and vicious cackle for good measure.

Act 3; Past Ties

Tenderhoof Gomer has not been having a very good few days. Waking up for his shift in almost pitch darkness despite it being 8AM only to find the Castle on high alert and the return of an enemy from Equestria's very distant past (again) is almost routine by now. Being put on throne room duty due to short staffing when he has only ever patrolled the corridors and city whilst in constant fear of attack though? Having the Princesses repeatedly appear and disappear, as well as the aforementioned return enemy rush right by him earlier, certainly hasn't been helping but nearly being crushed under fifty Guards and three Princesses when he makes another routine sweep of the throne room almost breaks him. "Private!"

Only years of training allows Tenderhoof to keep from cringing at the authoritative tone in his commanding officer's voice. "Yes, sir?"

Silent Knight may be a Night Guard but he still has absolute authority over both branches. "Tell Solar Strike to send a division to Baltimare. The Changelings have made thier hive just outside the city."

Once again, experience allows Tenderhoof to bite back any apparent worry. He'd been on duty near the School for Gifted Ponies when they attacked and never had he felt more simultaneously scared and utterly helpless. "Sir yes sir!"

As Tenderhoof rushes away, almost too quickly and eagerly, Silent Knight excuses himself and his Guards to get some food. Making a three hour flight in just under half an hour and then being teleported straight to Canterlot really takes it out of you. "As if we haven't got enough problems. Will she ever stop?" Celestia gingerly places the Elements inside thier chest, all having now gone dull and looking rather dead just like they were two years ago in the Castle of the Two Sisters.

Cadance looks at Luna who is equally grim. "How's she even alive? That fall should have been the end of her or at least left her badly injured. She looks perfect!y fine."

Luna sighs. "If it were that simple, she would’ve been stopped a very long time ago. Changelings don't just use love to survive and for thier magic; they can use it to heal. As thier Queen, Chrysalis has the greatest healing ability we've ever seen. She can recover from any wound as long as she's still alive to do so. Even if she was completely crippled after that fall and unable to even twitch her wings, as long as she was still alive after impact, she could fully heal in just an hour by burning off whatever love she had left over after defeating Celestia. We always had a feeling that she'd be back one day, especially after multiple patrols never found a body. Changelings have never been ones to take and bury the dead; they just leave them to be consumed by nature and deem them utter failures. If she were dead, we would have found her eventually.”

She sighs although whether it is wishful or regretful is hard to tell. “It’s the same reason that she’s lasted so long; her healing ability means that she can’t die from old age since she just repairs any natural decay. It’s why she was so brazened during the wedding; when you can heal almost any injury in just moments, what do you have to fear? A defeat like the one you and Shining Armour dealt her is more of an inconvenient setback than a crippling and decisive defeat. Since she knows that we aren’t barbaric enough to do her in permanently, she fears nothing."

Cadence thinks for a moment. “How can we be sure it was even her? Couldn’t one of her subjects have just destroyed the body and posed as her instead?“

Celestia decisively shakes her head. “I’ve felt her magical signature many times before and I felt it again just now. There’s no doubt whatsoever that it was her.”

After a long and exhaustive two days, and finally away from the ever watchful gaze of her subjects, Celestia allows herself to collapse. As it turns out, even Alicorns that can draw on the powerful fundamental energies that make life possible have a limit. "We need to rest before we decide how to handle Ponyvile. We know what we must do..." She shudders for a moment at the thought of banishing so many innocent ponies, including five of her friends. “We can’t afford to hesitate for long. Chrysalis will know we’re vulnerable without the Elements or your love attack and she’ll take full advantage of it. She has the advantage of being rested and well prepared; we’re exhausted and very vulnerable but I’ll die before I let her have the throne."

Her peers nod as they also take a moment to decompress. After a few minutes of calm silence, Cadance looks at Celestia curiously. "What happened between you three? Both times now, I felt something between you. You were once friends, weren't you?"

Celestia looks down with uncharacteristic shame. "Chrysalis has always been just as ruthless and ambitious as she is today but she also used to be kinder and didn’t seem to have her treacherous goals. She was once a very loving, protective mother and Queen who just wanted the best for her subjects. At least, she seemed that way but even back then she showed some of the same evil she possesses today. In many ways, she was my first real friend besides Luna though she never admitted such. We have our subjects of course but it's hard to be proper friends with those who worship Alicorns and consider themselves naturally inferior to us. They’re always trying to lightly trot around us, trying not to offend us whereas Twilight and her friends saw us as that and as normal ponies."

Cadance looks at her aunt understandingly but then asks the obvious. "Exactly how old is Chrysalis?"

Luna shakes her head. "We don't truly know, she never told us, but she's at least almost two thousand years old. The Changelings themselves have been around at least as far back as Equestria has; they were the fourth founding tribe after all." She smiles slightly at the surprise on Cadance's face. "Given thier appearance, and what eventually happened between us, history often left them out and time has gradually forgotten about thier role. There a reason why, up until recently, they were considered a myth designed to scare foals much like we once were, ” Her tone turns momentarily humorous. “After all, how many ponies would believe that Equestria was in part founded by the same love consuming creatures that attacked us a year ago? We were the first to know about thier existence in almost three thousand years."

Celestia appears to be reminiscing for a moment. "Since we've got some time, I see no harm in saying what happened." Her voice grows quieter for a moment. “About one of our greatest failures.” With a clearing of the throat, she adopts a very storyteller-like tone. "We first met Chrysalis roughly three hundred years after becoming Princesses. We had defeated Discord just a few years earlier but this was still roughly six hundred years before Sombra. When we first met Chrysalis, we were exploring the Everfree Forest near what is now Appleloosa to search for any other potential threats..."

1700 years ago; 300 ADC

The eastern side of the Everfree Forest

For what must be the sixteenth time in as many minutes, a much younger Princess Luna gets a thorny branch to the face. "Sister, needeth thou convey us in this direction? Thou knoweth there art easier ways than right through the forest." Physically, she is just a very slightly smaller version of how she looked immediately after being freed from Nightmare Moon.

Princess Celestia laughs and pokes her sister playfully. "Cometh on, Luna. Doth thou mean to tell us thou claim to be stronger than us but cannot taketh such a minor hit?" Compared to her younger sister, Celestia is quite substantially different from how she is in the present; looking rather like a white coloured and slightly bulkier version of Princess Cadance. Neither Princess has the seemingly eternal wind in thier manes as both just look like normal pony manes and are dressed in light armour; minimal enough to be easily manoeuvrable but still thick enough to protect thier vital organs.

For his part, Captain Halberd has grown to just accept that the centuries old deities of Equestria can act just like eight year old fillies sometimes. His soldiers call him jaded; he argues that it’s experience and emotional flexibility. Even so, his train of thought nearly makes him fall headfirst into a strange opening in the ground. “Thine majesties? I hath found something."

Almost immediately, the two Princesses become dead serious and walk over only to stop in disbelief. "Tis just a hole, Capt-" Luna cuts herself off as they hear a faint buzzing coming from somewhere deep below. "That ‘tis... new."

Celestia tries to remember if she's heard that sound before but draws a blank. "Indeed." She turns to Captain Halberd who snaps a salute. "Captain, Formation Alpha." As it turns out, Formation Alpha is "hide in the bushes and be ready to protect the hole from potential flanking manoeuvres." Even so, Captain Halberd is understandably worried and looks to his Princess who looks comparatively serene. “‘Tis fine, Captain. We wilt be okay.”

With a bright flash, the Elements appear on her and Luna which seems to ever so slightly relieve some tension in Halberd’s body. “Please be careful. We may not be able to help thyselves.” The two Princesses nod before flying down below.

As it turns out, the hole is actually several hundred feet deep and clearly deliberately dug instead of naturally occurring. It’s so deep that it takes almost a full minute to reach the bottom which is in and of itself a bizarre sight. The bottom of the hole is actually the entrance to a tunnel lined in this weird thick green substance. It’s similar in both appearance and texture to leather but seems to be glowing a light puke green; brightly enough that the Princesses don’t even need light spells. “ What the Tartarus ist this?!”

As the two walk deeper, the weird buzzing sound from before only seems to get progressively louder until the corridor terminates in one enormous chamber. In the very centre of the room sits a very odd sight; an easily six foot tall, black insectoid… thing sitting on a throne made out of the same weird material as the walls. As they enter, the female looking creature looks up at them angrily and begins making a series of weird insectoid clicks and clacks. At once, what must be at least three hundred slightly smaller and less bulky versions of the creature pour in. Once Celestia and Luna stand flank to flank though, braced for an attack, the apparent leader makes a series of disgusting sounds that can only be described as a mix between violent choking, retching, puking, strangled choking and clearing one’s throat. “'Tis this better?”

Hearing such a normal female voice come from such a creature, even if it possesses a weird clicking sound underlaying it like an accent, quite surprises the Princesses. “Thou canst speak?”

The crowned insect just scowls at them. “Just because we looketh like insects, we should not be able to speak Equestrian?” Her scowl turns into a sneer. “What art the Princesses of Equestria doing down hither?”

Luna looks hard at the royal insect. “Thou knoweth of us?” The insect lets out a harsh laugh before one of her apparent subjects steps forward in all too familiar armour. The two Princesses bristle angrily. “Thou wilt pay for hurting our subjects.” They begin charging the Elements to banish the royal even as the other insects poise to strike.

“To maintain peace, thou must always carry thyself with professionalism and absolute integrity. Ne’er forget that and we may yet seest more of thou, Squire Halberd.”

Celestia and Luna stop to stare at the armoured being. “Where didst thou hear that?!” The idea of torture to get valuable information crosses their minds but too little time has passed for that to be possible.

The insect smiles a familiar but rarely seen nervous smile. “’Tis what thou told me when I first met thou, Princess Luna. I was just a mere squire’s colt at the time but thou saw potential. Thou give each recruit their own piece of counsel after all.”

The two Princesses’ incredulous gaze makes him squirm for a moment though before the royal insect speaks up. “Thither ne'r was a ‘Captain Halberd.’ ‘Twas always Shell keeping an eye on Equestria for his Queen.” Captain Halberd? bows to his rulers before backing away into the crowd. “We wilt ask again; whereforth art thou hither?”

Luna just glares at the apparent Queen. “We are making sure thither are nay threats to our ponies. Clearly, we were correct. Stand down or be banished,"

The insects close in and poise to strike but their Queen stops them with a raised hoof. “Thou know we art hither now but pray tell. What wilt thou doeth about it?” Although the Princesses are far from intimidating looking, to say that thier reputation of being both immensely powerful and very good at crushing enemies precedes them would be a severe understatement.

Luna turns to Celestia who seems deep in thought. “What are thou?”

The Queen huffs. “We are called Changelings and we are thier Queen, Chrysalis.” Queen Chrysalis turns back to sit on her throne. “We hast no quarrel with thou so thou hast five minutes to leave or thou wilt be treated as hostile invaders. We doeth not want a war if we can avoid it.”

Whereas Luna appears ready to seal her in stone, Celestia is deep in thought. One of her lesser known and now mostly forgotten abilities is a form of minor empathy which allows her to be an excellent judge of character. She acts tough and fearless but she’s scared of us. Her subjects don’t obey her out of fear; they follow out of love and respect. Perchance we’ve found a new ally. “Wait, Chrysalis.”

The Queen stops to turn with a harsh glare as Luna gives her sister a funny look.”What?”

Celestia approaches with a smile. “How about an alliance?”

Chrysalis just stares at her. “Thou jests.”

Celestia shakes her head and extends a hoof. “We saw past thou’s appearance. Thou art a truly kind Queen that just wants the best for her subjects. We would be honoured to have thou as an ally.”

Chrysalis looks Celestia in the eye for several long moments then turns to Luna. The younger Alicorn looks torn between trusting her sister and being ready to rip Chrysalis’ head off. Finally, she turns her head to her children who show absolute faith in her decision before sighing. Come what may, we must do what’s right for our subjects. “And we wouldst art honoured to accept thy generosity.” The two royals then shake hooves firmly.

“You’re an empath but you didn’t recognise her sinister intentions last year?”

“All Alicorns have some minor form of empathy but you have the strongest out of all of us. The easiest way to explain it for myself and Luna is that we get a minor inkling of thier true intent but it’s really little more than instinctive prodding. Due to our past, Chrysalis is well aware of our abilities and hid it well; only breaking character when angry. I passed it off as just stress from the upcoming wedding since that’s all I could detect. Imagine if my assumptions were wrong and I had instead confronted you for being understandably anxious. Without much more than a hunch, a very shaky hunch, I didn’t want to accuse you of possibly plotting treason. It doesn’t forgive how I treated Twilight but we can’t change the past. I paid for that mistake with my failure and I never intend to make the same mistake again.”

About a month later, Canterlot

Compared to its modern glory, Canterlot is much more… quaint and is barely any bigger than Ponyvile is in the present if not slightly smaller. Aside from being attached to the side of a mountain, the settlement is quite unremarkable; a spattering of buildings but no castle or even town hall. Even more unusually, the majority of residents are Pegasi as they founded it as a weather staging post around two hundred years ago. For the first time since it’s christening though, the Princesses are paying a visit to this small town to welcome Equestria’s newest residents. “Thou are sure this was a good idea, sister?”

Celestia chuckles. “Thou should hast more faith, Luna. Chrysalis wants only the best for her children, we can feel it.”

As the Princesses approach the rear of Canterlot though, they come across a rather stomach churning sight. “Just because the Princesses trust thou, doth not mean we doeth!”

“Get out! Thou wilt be the end of us!”

“Thou wilt just use us as meals!”

At the sight of the two posted Changelings being harassed by an army of extremely angry looking Pegasi, who look to be about to lynch the shapeshifters. Luna snarls whilst Celestia doesn’t look much better. Luna may not completely trust Chrysalis but, if there’s one thing she hates more than anything else, it’s shortsighted and unfounded bigotry. ”ENOUGH!”

The lead Pegasus, a burly looking thug with a scowl that almost looks printed onto his face, turns with a mocking laugh. “Looketh, two more of those things.” His scowl quickly turns into one a look of anger. “How darest thou impersonate thier majesties! Thou wilt-“ He is abruptly cut off as the Sun fades to almost pitch blackness for a moment before brightening back up and the entire group hit the floor in a united bow. “Princess! We-We are sorry for our rudeness. We thought they were-“

Celestia turns to Captain Halberd. “Captain, if thou please?”

Halberd nods before forcing the group into marching formation. “What?! But we-“

Celestia cuts off the brute with a cold look. “We wilt not tolerate abuse of any creature, especially when they hast not earnt it. The Changelings art citizens of Equestria like each of thou. Crimes against them wilt get the same punishment as if thou were abusing a Unicorn or Earth Pony.” She gestures her head as Halberd and his men frogmarch the crowd to, ironically enough, the Changeling Dungeons as Canterlot lacks any of its own.

As the Princesses follow after, getting thankful nods from each of the relieved guards, they emerge into a simply massive area. The interior of Canterlot Mountain has been converted into a colossal cavern made up of easily ten foot thick rock and small holes covered by that weird green substance. Shell quickly returns and leads them through a long series of caverns before reaching the final chamber. Aside from a few jagged ends, the chamber is rather smooth but a familiar throne looms in the very centre. “The Princesses are hither, mine Queen.”

“Thanketh thou, Shell.” The Changeling exits with a deep bow. “Good e'en, we trust thine journey went well?”

“Aye.” Despite her having spoken twice, the Princesses are unable to make out Queen Chrysalis seeing as she appears to have turned completely translucent. “Is everything alright, Chrysalis?” They hear the Queen chuckle before she becomes visible again but definitely doesn’t look the same as before. Instead of the black chitin and almost rotting visage, her holes have been filled in and she appears to be a bright green insect with a blue “mane” and tail around the same height as present day Celestia; making her tower over the two Princesses although she still maintains the same basic shape. “Chrysalis?!”

The insect smirks playfully before speaking in the same very familiar voice. “Surprised? ‘Tis how we art supposed to look; we becometh this when we hath gained enough love. What thou saw before is how we looketh when we art starved." Her smirk turns into a frown. “'Tis not easy to obtain due to certain factions.”

Luna nods. “So we saw. Some Pegasi were harassing the Guards outside.”

Chrysalis nods. “We know, we felt it through the hive.” Her foul gaze turns to the Princesses. “And we assume they got off without any punishment?!”

Celestia looks shocked for a moment before shaking her head. “Nay, they art currently in thou's dungeons.”

Chrysalis breathes a slight sigh of relief before looking apologetic. “Sorry, we have just been getting this abuse almost every day since we arrived. We hast made sure to ne'r attack, that would just give them more to use against us.” Her scowl fades back into the welcoming smile after a moment. “But enough of that. We believe thou wanted to meet withal us.” Luna nods and pulls out a thick wad of legal documents.

An hour later, the documents are filled out but Chrysalis invites them to a mysterious place. Exiting the throne room, they climb some stone stairs and reach a specially cut-out area of the mountain where a makeshift balcony has been constructed. “We callerh this Unity City.”

Strangely enough, Unity City bears a striking resemblance to modern day Ponyvile aside from the houses encrusted with that weird leather-like substance and the abundance of Changelings. Despite this, what must be at least two hundred ponies can be seen mingling with and chatting with the Changelings like you would any other pony. More than few have become just as colourful as Chrysalis and some even now are consumed in a weird blue magical field. “A small, hidden and secluded town for our peoples to mingle and make merry without fear of judgement. We think this should art enough to satisfy thy requests.” Both Princesses nod happily and all three monarchs just stand and watch the settlement for a while.

About a year later, the Crystal Empire

Chrysalis flies down beside the royal carriage with a deadpan expression. “Nice abode.” With the Changelings having properly settled in, and the radicals at least quiet for the moment, the Princesses have invited her to a fair in the Empire to commemorate the newly integrated species. Since the Crystal Empire is notoriously accepting of other species, it was decided to hold the celebrations there.

Luna chuckles. “Thou need a hāligdæg, Chrysalis.”

Chrysalis rolls her eyes. “When our job is to help our species survive from one day to the next, we do not hast time to have a hāligdæg.

She walks off further into the Empire as Luna frowns. Even though it’s been over a year, Chrysalis has yet to lighten up very much and she still seems to be in the same “us vs them” survival mentality. Celestia chooses that moment to step down from the chariot, having finished arranging accommodations for their Guards. “She wilt art fine, she might finally art able to relax now we are hither.”

The two don’t get far into the Empire before finding Chrysalis who appears to be in pure ecstasy. “What is that? This place… it is… incredible.”

Celestia is very confused for a few moments before smiling. “Remember the Crystal Heart?” Chrysalis nods after a moment, having been told of the artefact before coming here. “We were not joking when we said that it keeps the Empire prosperous through love and friendship.” Chrysalis nods and watches some subjects that she brought along for diplomacy mingling with the Crystal Ponies.

Although the Crystal Ponies don’t treat them any differently than they would ponies, the slight anxiety on Chrysalis’ face is almost imperceptible behind her now blank expression but Luna gives her a reassuring smile. “They shall art fine. The Crystal Ponies doeth not judge others for their appearances and thy people can just feed off the Crystal Heart.” Chrysalis nods but then makes her way towards the Crystal Castle in silence.

As the three royals make their way towards the Throne Room, after the Guard allow them entry. Chrysalis stops to stare at a stained glass window. “Is everything okay, Chrysalis?” She points at the image; a large pink Alicorn who is around the size of modern day Celestia blasting some very familiar images. After a few seconds, it clicks. “Thou art the Shadow Creatures?”

Chrysalis nods with a slight shudder. “Queen Carapace was our grandmother. The only one who ever cared for us as a mere nymph.” About six hundred years ago, during the Crystal Empire’s founding, Princess Mi Amore Crystalia had uncovered a hive of insectoid creatures that seemed to be building an army right under their hooves. Threatened by the Alicorn, the creatures had defended their home but it had been taken as an act of war and Crystalia had responded with equal force. With overwhelming force and the element of surprise, the hive had been culled and the Queen violently struck down when she killed sixty Crystal Guards with a single attack. The species had never been identified, since the existence of the Changelings had been lost to history by then, but it’s clear to see the resemblance.

Before either Princess can speak again, Chrysalis takes a very deep breath and enters the throne room. Like much of the Crystal Empire, very little has changed from the present aside from the blues being replaced by a welcoming shade of light pink. Sitting on the throne is a frankly enormous Alicorn, easily ten feet tall and pink all over besides a bright golden mane not dissimilar to Blueblood’s. “Presenting Princess Celestia and Princess Luna of Equestria and Queen Chrysalis of the Changelings!”

Almost immediately upon entering, Chrysalis finds herself restrained with rather excessive force as the Princesses feel their minds being lightly but firmly probed. “So, the reports were true. Thou hast aligned thyselves withal them.” Chrysalis resists the urge to wince. Princess Crystalia’s default speech volume seems to only be a few decibels below the Canterlot Voice even though her tone is neutrally bland.

“We remember thy kind well, they’re nought but troubleth.” When Chrysalis doesn’t respond, knowing that Crystalia is trying to provoke an extreme reaction, Crystalia steps down from the throne with a commanding glare. “An thou think we shall let thou taketh over Equestria or our Empire, thou have-”

“ENOUGH! Queen Chrysalis is thine guest and we expect thou to treat her liketh it!”

Crystalia stares at Luna for a long moment. “So art it but remember this, Luna. Greed and ambition know nay limit.” She taps her hoof six times on the crystal floor and an important looking pony enters with a deep bow. “Pen Stroke wilt beway thou to the faire.” Her glare never leaves Chrysalis until the throne room doors close.

Celestia sighs. “We’re sorry for Crystalia. She-“

Chrysalis silences her by calmly raising a hoof. ”’Tis fine. Unlike those Pegasi, she has good reason to not trust us. We would not trust us either an we were in her hooves. So long as she refrains from trying to hurt us or our hive, she can think what she wants.”

Despite the rather eventful entrance to the Empire, the faire itself is fairly unremarkable. Compared to Pinkie Pie’s almost two thousand years later, this one is far more generic; some small carnival-like games and a banquet mostly filled with small talk which Chrysalis mostly finds dull. To round things off, the royals are led to a large expanse of land on the edge of the Empire where they plant several colourful flowers and trees as a sign of unification and alliance.

Near the end of the ceremony though, Celestia nudges Luna who looks up to see a sight that warms their hearts. A Changeling nymph is playing with a Crystal Foal like burgeoning friends, several Changelings are bantering with some Crystal Ponies and Chrysalis is smiling. They’d seen her smile a few times before but nothing quite like this. It isn’t a forced political smile, one that is the forced patient facade one wears when only half listening to somepony’s stupid request, one that screams “I’m listening but please go away”, a calculating smile, one that disguises anger or one that is sarcastic or mocking. It’s a genuine smile from the heart, the kind you give when you see one of your lifelong dreams finally come true.

“That garden you planted. Was it…”

“Indeed, it eventually became the Crystal Flower Garden. It started as a sign of solidarity between our three kingdoms and eventually grew into what it is today.”

A few weeks later, the Dining Room

For the first time in years, the Princesses have a hole in thier schedule and enjoy some nice tea with Chrysalis who’s been spending much of her time massaging relations with other ponies. “So Chrysalis, how did thy people come to be?”

Chrysalis stares into the bottom of her empty cup. “None of us are quite certain but possibly some form of mutation. An our old tales are to art believed, the first Changelings were born liketh any other ponies.” Her expression turns to anger for a brief moment. “Because of how we looketh,” she gestures to her colourful form, “We were ostracised and abused until we were forced to leave pony society. Eventually, those who hated us died off and future generations grew to accept us as strange looking but friendly creatures. We e'en helped to form Equestria alongside the three ‘normal’ tribes.”

She smiles at the surprise on the Princesses’ faces. “Let us just say that the Earth Pony who wrote of that meeting really did not liketh Changelings. We were born just as another Queen, the five hundredth our hive has yet seen. The best yet if we may say so.” She refills her tea with a conceited smile. “And now, ‘tis only fair that we ask thou the same question. How did thou both come to rule Equestria?”

Celestia nods. “‘Tis not much to say that thou would'st not already know. We were born from the union of a powerful Earth Pony and a very capable Pegasus. I was born a Unicorn and Luna a Pegasus and we both proved powerful so Starswirl chose us as his students. We first discovered our talent when, due to Discord’s interference, Equus refused to rotate so we would hast all boiled to death had we not forced the sun to set.”

She takes Luna’s hoof sympathetically. “Luna’s history has been rather… ignored by history. E’en before we gained the Elements, we were fighting Discord on a regular basis as Starswirl’s students so he decided to try and drop the Moon on us because he found the idea funny. Luna saved us by forcibly moving it back into orbit which allowed her to ascend.”

After processing the information, Chrysalis nods and they continue thier small talk for the rest of the night.

1500 years ago, 500 ADC, the Everfree Forest near the Castle of the Two Sisters

Chrysalis hits the ground like a sack of bricks weighed down by a thousand castles. “Yield!”

“Never!” Chrysalis fires off another green energy beam as she gets back to her feet but has to roll when it becomes overpowering. Another beam comes straight for her which she only just has enough time to harmlessly deflect with an energy shield only to then be struck from behind by another that acted like a boomerang. “Lucky hit.”

Celestia smiles. “Thine turn, Luna.” If you had woken Chrysalis up that morning and told her that she would be spending the afternoon sparring with the Princesses, she would have had you thrown out on your flank. After waiting for Chrysalis to catch her breath and nod to confirm that she’s ready, Luna immediately takes to the sky to utilise her preferred method of combat; aerial warfare. Not one to let herself be so easily overwhelmed, Chrysalis follows swiftly after and so begins a long winding chase through the Forest.

Although nowhere near as large as today, the Everfree is still over four miles wide and just as dense so navigating through the trees is difficult. At the same time, Chrysalis has to deflect or dodge repeated energy beams from Luna which aren’t powerful enough to injure but more than enough to knock back if they make contact. Chrysalis decides to try one of her favourite attacks; gaining as much speed as possible before overtaking Luna, banking upwards through the canopy by using her magic to destroy the branches and then using her momentum to carry herself back down to the side of Luna for a side attack. Unfortunately for Chrysalis, due to the speeds that they’re travelling at, she doesn’t notice a very thick tree in her way. Slamming into it, there is a heart stopping crunch before her momentum sends her flying backwards through several thinner branches and getting impaled on the last.

“CHRYSALIS!” Luna immediately banks around and flies back to the mangled Changeling just as Celestia arrives; having been observing the fight from a safe distance.

“What happened?”

Luna swallows regretfully. “W-we were just flying firing magic when she tried to bank over us but hit a tree branch and was thrown back. We swear we did n-“

“Get… us… off…”

The two Princesses turn in amazement to the mutilated Queen who appears to be angry with them instead of struggling for every breath. “Get… us… off… of… this… branch.”

Surprised but deciding to heed her final request, Celestia gently pulls her body off of the branch which leaves a six inch hole straight through the Changeling’s chest. “Chrysalis, we art so s-“

Luna trails off and the two Princesses stare in a mix of shock and amazement as the Changeling begins shifting. Her broken back snaps back into place with only a slight grunt, a large crack in her horn closes up, the torn stump-like twigs that were once her wings regrow their feathers and bend back to normal and a twig that got stuck in her right eye during the chaos pops out as it heals. With a light snap of the neck, Chrysalis rises to her hooves and looks at the gobsmacked Princesses with the same fiendish grin she would wear much later after defeating Celestia. “Surprised?”

Indeed they are. “How?!!!”

Crysalis rolls her eyes. “'Tis love burning of course. It can heal any injury if we survive for long enough.”

With that over and done with, the three decide to call it a day and return to the Castle of the Two Sisters for a rest before Chrysalis makes the return trip. “Thou art one of only two creatures to ever be a match for us and-” She sees Chrysalis bristle slightly although she hides it well. “Is everything okay?”

“We art fine, just tired.” Despite the wording, Chrysalis realises she snapped at Luna.

Although she hates herself for it, Celestia uses her empathy to probe her friend’s emotions and finds a deep seated anger hidden well by indifference. “Chrysalis, we cannot help thou an thou wilt not tell us what ‘tis wrong. Please, we can try and help thou.”

Chrysalis appears surprised. “How did thou- She narrows her eyes and growls at them with a raging fire in her eyes. “NEVER doeth that again! Understand?!”

Despite the extremely disrespectful tone, Celestia nods apologetically. “We art sorry but we were worried about thou. We wilt doeth anything possible to help thou.”

Chrysalis’ glare eventually relents as she glares at the floor for several moments. “Fine. Doth thou remember those radicals from when we moved into Canterlot?” The two Princesses nod; that charming bunch had been banged up for the rest of their lives when they were caught about to dissect a Changeling who they had managed to knock out. “They were not the last of thier ilk. Multiple Changelings have been receiving demands to leave Equestria under threat of death.”

Luna is completely outraged. “Give us names and we wilt do what we can.“

Chrysalis smiles slightly. “We thank thou. ‘Tis much appreciated.” She spreads her wings and heads to the balcony. “We grow tired of this, goodnight. Grammercy for the duel. It was the most fun we hast had in years." She flies off but the Princesses still exchange a worried look. They know this can only go one way and are almost helpless to stop it.

1100 years ago, 900 ADC, The Castle of the Two Sisters' throne room

Princess Luna scowls deeply. "An thou art suggesting what we think thou art, we art sure that Queen Chrysalis would love to hear what thou hast to say."

Duke Red Tape returns the scowl with a noise not dissimilar to a puking sound. "I doeth not seeth how thou can stand those abominations. They are leeches who mean to destroy everything we hast built!" Clearly seeing that he's getting nowhere, and seeing the Guards ready to throw him into the dungeon, the Duke of Canterlot exits with a sneer. "I was hopeful that thou would seeth greater senseth than thy almighty sister but thou art both deluded. Thou hath not heard the last of me.”

After the throne door slams behind the Unicorn, Luna sighs as she lowers the Moon. Within minutes, she has closed court and goes to eat supper with Celestia. The elder Alicorn looks up with a smile when she enters. "Good e'en, Luna. How goes our kingdom?" Her smile falters as she sees that her sister is wearing a look as if she just tasted something absolutely foul. "Not well then."

Luna nods. "Red Tape decided to try and 'resolve our problems' by going behind thine back and appealing to us instead."

Celestia's expression turns into an uncharacteristic scowl. Of all the nobles Equestria has ever seen, Red Tape has got to be one of the most vile and unpleasant; making the very stuck-up Blueblood look like Pinkie Pie if she was crossbred with a cuddly teddy bear. If regular nobles are known for thier conservatism, Red Tape is known for his bigotry and corruption and has proven to be about as likeable as Tirek. Known for his lavish buck-backs and excessive lobbying to benefit no-pony but himself and his friends, the noble is very powerful and had to eventually be kicked out of power by the Princesses themselves when he tried to block a motion for Changelings to gain the same legal protections as ponies. Every pony deserves the right to have thier say but they can’t allow it to make around a third of the total population suffer. "Did he say anything else?"

Luna shakes her head. "Only that we are both foals for not listening to him and that we hast not yet seen the end of it."

Celestia's scowl deepens. "We hast to warn Chrysalis."

"She already knows." As the two Princesses turn to a chair which had been drawn for Luna earlier, the air shimmers and reforms to reveal a visibly stewing Chrysalis. "Doeth not worry about hearing from him ever again. He shant be seen after tonight.”

Celestia shakes her head at the livid Changeling. "An anything were to happen to him, his like-minded compatriots would hast everything they need to unleash a war on-"

Chrysalis slams her hooves down on the table. "And we would respond in kind! Just as thou did not tolerate the likes of Discord and Tirek attacking thy subjects, we wilt not tolerate him tormenting us." She turns to leave. "in the interest of both of our peoples, I wilt overlook this once. The next timeth however, we wilt doeth what we must. What we should hast done from the start."

As the Changeling warps away, Luna turns to her grim looking sister. "This is not going to end well."

"Agreed. The question is, who will give first?"

"But... why? Why would anypony act like that?! They didn't do anything!"

"At the start, as disgusting as it sounds, it made some level of sense. Most of our subjects had lived through the chaos that Discord had brought and were wary of strange creatures they'd never seen before. Letting such creatures that look like they do into their midst where they can strike at any time, and knowing that any form of love and friendship will only make them stronger, many were understandably wary. However, those Pegasi and some especially disgusting nobles were just the vocal minority and almost all ponies grew to accept the Changelings over time."

"If things had stayed that way, the invasion would probably have never happened. What happened next was nothing but absolutely disgusting. It all started to go horribly wrong about two hundred years later...”"

Broken Alliances

About two months later

As far as meetings go, today's is mundane to the point of boredom as the three rulers exchange financial information. “Mining is up 22 percentile in Canterlot. We would liketh to congratulate thou and thy people for thine hard work, Chrysalis.”

“We thank t-“ Chrysalis is cut off when her calm expression turns into a most horrible scowl. Just as suddenly, the Princesses find themselves abruptly teleported to the “city” of Everfree; the de~facto capital of Equestria. Compared to Ponyvile, it is significantly bigger; completely reaching all the way to where Fluttershy’s cottage would later be although it’s still more spread out comparatively. Although it’s a very rudimentary “city,” which is more like an absolutely tiny village with only about one hundred residents and buildings mostly built from stone, it’s a very cosy and homely town and the kind of place where everypony knows everypony.

Spattered amongst the stone buildings lay small huts made out of a combination of stone, wood and that weird green muck (now known to be called Hive Armour) where Changelings can be seen enjoying activities with their friends that range from board games to leg wrestling. Celestia is about to ask the obvious when they hear a blood curdling scream and Chrysalis hurries away; now possessing a scowl that could curdle milk.

After weaving down a few more streets, they find themselves in a filthy back alley close to what now would be the Apple Family homestead. Once there, they see a crowd of assorted races huddled around something. Most disgustingly, several are wearing Guard armour and both Princesses can recognise a few from when they graduated from the academy. Although what they have is hidden by the mass of ponies, Chrysalis’ face morphs into an expression of unimaginable rage. Before either Princess can react, they watch as some kind of magical dome explodes from the midst of the crowd; slamming them against the sides of the building and leaving them either unconscious or writhing in pain.

Luna is about to rightfully ask “what the buck?!” when she sees something that makes her stomach churn. Lying in the centre of where the crowd once was, and bleeding a quickly growing circle of bright green blood, lies a Changeling that can’t be older than eight. With a feral scream of rage, Chrysalis levitates the nymph onto her back before teleporting the thugs and then herself away before the Princesses can stop her.

About half an hour later, the Everfree Hospital

Celestia and Luna hurry into the critical care wing whereupon they find two very angry and and burly looking Changelings that are built like mountains standing outside one particular room. "The Queen wishes to seeth both of thou. Now." Despite the guard speaking as if the Princesses were a nasty stain on his hoof, Celestia just nods and they enter.

Immediately inside the door, sitting beside the nymph who’s currently in critical condition and on life support, sits Chrysalis who wears a completely blank expression. "Chrysalis, we cannot possibly express ho-“

Chrysalis silences Luna with a raised hoof but it takes a very long time for her to speak. When she does, the Princesses expect explosive anger and her to be screaming at them; demanding blood vengeance. Instead, and perhaps more worryingly, her voice is very quiet and calm so she ends up sounding heartbroken. “We trusted thou and this is how we hast been repaid. We should never hast trusted thou. We should hast known that thy Guard was full of ponies liketh them. We wilt deal withal this ourselves because we can only trust ourselves.”

She looks back to the nymph with visible pain. "Her parents refused to move three days ago. Six others hast been found executed after they refused the demands and any true friends of mine subjects are getting the same demands.” She turns to Celestia with a chilling expression. “An thy ponies ever doeth anything liketh this again, if they layers a feather on one of my children or thier friends, we wilt not be so kind. ‘Tis our only warning.”

“That’s so…”

"Agreed. We would have ensured that those beasts never saw the light of day again but neither us nor Celestia ever saw any of those animals alive again. Podomere narrowly survived the attack but Chrysalis was never quite the same after that day. Whatever friendship we had before was all but gone and all three of us knew this would only end one way. What we found about a month later only served to confirm that fact."

Around a month after the attack, Canterlot

Celestia and Luna trot through Canterlot where they ominously find several houses visibly vandalised and/or abandoned with some others completely levelled to the ground with apparent and brutal force. As they enter the Changeling Hive, Shell's grandson Plastron greets them and they head towards the throne room. Over the past century or so, the Changeling Hive has become significantly more crowded than before with many ponies moving into the hive itself. At first, it was voluntary and even a sign of trust and good will between the two kingdoms. Because of the so-called Brethren of Ponydom, Chrysalis has always been wary about letting ponies in but many ponies have genuinely befriended her subjects so she allows it. At first, it was a small trickle since living underground is so different but many have fled here in the past month due to the death threats.

To put it bluntly, things have only been getting worse since the attack as the Changelings have begun closing themselves off from anypony they aren't already familiar with. Even those vouched for by thier friends are treated with suspicion unless they prove thier loyalty by aiding Changelings against hostile ponies. As for the other ponies still in Eqiestria, the deep bloodstains left over from the alley-fight and the rumours of fictitious but horrific sounding crimes committed by the Changelings has driven up resentment and fear. The fact that the Brethren make up some very important figures in society, as high as the Grand Duchess of Manehatten, hasn’t been helping seeing as they can easily spread their rhetoric. Even in the relative safety of the Hive itself, every few feet has a heavily armed and powerful looking stationed Guard as if anticipating an attack.

Upon arriving at the throne chamber, which has gone from being an open passage to being protected by a very heavy iron door, they are immediately ushered inside by two very dangerous looking Guards. Inside, the Princesses are disgusted to see what appear to be pony skeletons being thrown into what smells like acid. More disturbingly, Chrysalis is watching the sight with the same expression which a scientist would wear whilst watching an interesting experiment. “Chrysalis?! What on Equus doeth thou think that thou art doing?!”

The Queen chuckles early but doesn’t turn. “Doeth not worry, these are not thy beloved ponies. They are the monsters that committed that war crime from a month ago. Such crimes are dealt withal only by execution; sucking them dry of thier feelings until they are lifeless and disposing of what ‘tis left. Thither is nay more a fitting punishment for those that hurt the hive than to help us to sustain it.”

Even the usually stony faced Celestia is visibly grimacing. “Chrysalis, this is barbaric.”

Chrysalis finally turns with a menacing grin. “Barbarism is what they did to Podomere, this is righteous retribution. Oh, doeth thou want to seeth what those things did?” As if on cue, a familiar nymph emerges from a side tunnel and both Princesses are dismayed to see the poor thing struggling to put weight on her right leg which has been mangled almost into a stump by the attack. “She and the attackers are lucky that we got thither before they grounded her as well. Thou do not want to imagine what they would hast gone through an they did.”

The smile on Chrysalis’ face brings rather nightmarish images of unspeakable horrors to the Princesses’ minds. “‘’Tis this wherefore thou called us hither? To disgust and try to intimidate us?”

Chrysalis sits down on her throne with a smirk. “Nay, we recently got some tidings about the Brethren.” The two Princesses visibly perk up. “Indeed, they are headquartered in Everfree City and hast been ever since they were founded. How fortunate that thou just ne'r happened to notice them.”

Recognising the accusation for what it is, Celestia shakes her head. “Thou art wrong, Chrysalis. We ne'r knew.”

The Queen sneers for a moment before adopting a diplomatic tone and posture. “An thou doeth not speaketh in falsehood, we assume that thou intend to let us accompany thou?” Just as Luna is about to answer affirmatively, a predatory glint appears in Chrysalis’ eye. “And that, in the fairness of our treaty, thou wilt allow us to administer whatever punishment we see fit upon them? They committed all of thier crimes against us after all. Ponies have no say in this whatsoever.”

The Princesses share a look that says it all. Neither option is good. One allows for torture and could give Chrysalis the wrong message and the other could incite a civil war against some potentially devastatingly powerful beings. After a long moment, they reach the unfortunate but only truly mutually “beneficial” resolution that they have. “We doeth not liketh it but we doeth not hast a choice. Thou may come BUT thou must art careful to refrain from hurting any-pony innocent.”

"........."

"...How bad did it go?"

"We assume you've heard of the Everfree Blast?"

"But that would mean... Oh, dear Celestia no."

About a week after the meeting, Everfree City

Due to the fear of information getting out to the Brethren, the Princesses stay completely shtoom about the meeting to even thier most trusted Guards. When the agreed upon day arrives, they had conveniently arranged for a private meeting with King Borealis of the Griffon Kingdom as a cover and wore nothing more than the standard light armour they usually wore when going anywhere potentially dangerous. By using perception spells, they manage to infiltrate the city undetected and meet up with the Changelings just outside the Hive before quickly making thier way to the hideout.

Despire being the headquarters of a major terrorist organisation, the actual location is a medium sized hut smack bang in the centre of Everfree City. If you were to look at it, it would appear like any ordinary single storey hut not dissimilar in shape to Fluttershy’s from a long time in the future. Upon knocking down the door though, a familiarly smug and rather ugly mug is waiting for them inside. “Ah, good morn Princess Celestia.” As with many nobles, he pointedly ignores the “inferior” Princess Luna. “Hast thou come to seeth our greatest weapon in the war against-“

Red Tape’s welcoming smile dies and turns into a deep and vile scowl as his eyes fall upon Queen Chrysalis who looks ready to rip his head off. “So, the foul abominations hast brainwashed thou too. Doeth not fear, I shall release thou.”

He picks up a device similar in appearance to a magical inhibitor ring but is violently slammed into a wall with an audible crack by an absolutely livid Queen. “THOU! THOU ART BEHIND EVERYTHING! THOU CAUSED ALL OF THIS!!!” If Chrysalis was angry before then now, she is almost feral with sheer rage.

Despite the rapidly increasing pressure on his larynx, Red Tape just smiles as if he had just achieved a major victory. “And the disgusting creature finally shows itself. Anon, every-pony wilt seeth thou all for the abominations thou really are. Thou can dispatch me but we are everywhere and wilt ne'r stop until we dispatch every last one of thou.” His smile turns into the most horrible triumphant grin. “And thou hast just made everything so much easier.” The next few seconds all seem to happen in a flash and before ether Princess can step in. Red Tape slips the inhibitor device over Chrysalis’ horn, there is an audible crunch, Red Tape’s body hits the floor like a sack of bricks, Chrysalis’ horn begins spraying random sprays of gold and black energy as she lifts into the air, there is a sudden white flash and everything goes black.

Princess Celestia finds herself waking up in what she slowly recognises as Canterlot Hospital. “What just happened?!”

“PRINCESS, THOU ART AWAKE!” She turns to see her young, enthusiastic Guard Captain Ensis Ferum as his professionalism takes over and he bows. “Princess, thou hast been asleep for almost two days.”

Celestia’s eyes widen and she bolts upright only to be eased back down by a familiar purple aura. “Calm thyself, sister. We hast been lowering the sun and moon these past days.”

Celestia turns to see Luna who has looked better; a visible large cut under a mound of bandages and a blackened eye. “What happened? The last thing we remember is Chrysalis’ magic going out of control.”

Luna is visibly angered. “Whatever device Red Tape used was able to somehow turn Chrysalis’ own magic against her and maximise it as an explosive force.”

Celestia’s eyes widen, knowing how much power Chrysalis must have built up. “‘Is every-pony alright? Are the residents safe? What about the Changelings?”

The look on Luna’s face makes her heart sink. “‘Tis gone, sister. Everfree City is gone.”

Celestia stares at her. “…What?”

Ensis Ferum steps in with the tone one would expect when delivering a tragic report. “The blast annihilated the surrounding area, Princess. Any-pony or Changeling within a two thousand meter radius of the blast was vaporised instantly. We first knew of it when the entire Castle shook to its foundations and nearly collapsed. We found thou and Princess Luna buried under rubble and rushed thou both hither anon as possible. We think we saw Queen Chrysalis limping away towards the Everfree but she refused help when it was offered.”

Celestia falls back into the sheets, devastated. Two thousand meters encompasses the entirety of Everfree City and a good chunk of the nearby Everfree. The only thing that compares is the knowledge of what this all means. “So, they hath won then. This ist exactly what they needed to turn our little ponies against them and we can’t do anything to stop them.” All three ponies hang thier heads as they realise that they have well and truly lost.

Five days after the Everfree Blast, the Castle of the Two Sisters

Given her sister’s rather nasty injuries, which include a broken wing and two broken legs, Princess Luna has taken up thier royal court duties but certainly isn’t enjoying it. Instead of earnest requests or annoying but passive nobles, she has a quartet of annoying nobility whining at her about the recent blast. “Princess Luna, thou hast to do something! Thou cannot allow them back into Equestria! They could do that again! We have to-“

”ENOUGH!”

The assorted ponies flinch and look in fear at Luna who looks so angry that she’s almost steaming. “What happened was a well planned attack by some very evil ponies. Neither us nor our sister wilt hear any more of this! Are we understood?!”

Duke Ferdinand, who once happened to be a close friend to Red Tape, sneers at the Duchess of Dreams as if she were a particularly bad smell. “And what of those disappearances a few months ago? Were those just the work of the ‘Brethren’ as well? ‘Tis mine understanding that several Guards are among those missing. Wherefore would the ‘Brethren’ target normal ponies? Wherefore should we not retaliate in kind?

Luna meets the sneer with a more calculated politician’s blankness but her tone is acidic. “Thou speaketh treason, Ferdinand.”

The Duke of Manhattan chuckles. “‘Tis not treason an we doeth not betray thou, Princess. ‘Tis merely retribution and exactly what they deserve.” As the Guards close in to arrest him, the demented duke turns to leave. “ I shall returneth later to speak withal the real Princess. This one is clearly a defective pretender.” He barely finishes that sentence before he finds himself violently catapulted from the room and deep into the Everfree by an absolutely livid Princess Luna.

“We doeth not know how thou tolerate the likes of him. We would just crush his skull and art done withal it.” Luna’s head snaps around at the sound of the familiar voice to reveal an almost demonically angry Queen Chrysalis. “An we were thou, we would keep an eye on him. Thou ne'r know what might happen an he ever acted on his desires.” Before Luna can respond to the dark threat, Chrysalis vanishes in a green flash of light.

“What happened then?”

“…”

“Auntie?”

“…”

“…Absolute chaos.”

Roughly two weeks after Duke Ferdinand’s meeting

Suffice to say, waking up to a loud explosion which was powerful enough to throw her out of bed like a sack of bricks was not how Princess Celestia had pictured starting the day. “Sister!”

Celestia looks up to see her equally worried sibling getting up from the balcony floor. “What was that?!”

Luna is grim. “It came from the direction of Canterlot.” Both Princesses know all too well what that must mean so quickly get into thier armour; not even bothering with the usual regalia. After issuing some quick orders to Ensis Ferum, they immediately take flight towards Canterlot with the strongest and fastest Pegasi at hoof.

A journey that would typically take about two hours is made in less than ten minutes but they arrive to find Canterlot in utter carnage. Everywhere they look, all they can see is fire and families huddling in fear of thier lives but no sign of the Brethren or the Changelings anywhere. Spying that the smoke is coming from deep inside the Canterlot Hive, the Princesses assign many of thier Guards to search and rescue as they and Commander Bird’s Feather enter the tunnels.

Inside is what can only be described as absolute devastation. Meter thick chunks of Hive Armour have been blown off and the charred husks of various Changeling shells lie around them. “What happened hither?” The answer is swiftly delivered as a Changeling races out of a nearby tunnel with a foal on thier back; followed close behind by at least thirty bloodthirsty looking ponies who are all armed to the teeth. Before any can strike though, Luna immediately casts a spell that forces them into a coma-like sleep.

The Changeling nods and they now recognise him as Plastron. “Thank the Queen that thou art hither.”

“What happened?” Despite the harsh tone, Luna’s face clearly shows sympathy.

Plastron shakes his head. “They came out of nowhere last night and besieged us. They’ve put a magical dome over the Hive so we can’t teleport out and they’re picking us off one by one. That explosion was an attempt to level our Hive. Queen Chrysalis was at the centre of that blast. Please, help her.”

The Princesses nod; leaving Bird’s Feather behind to defend thier friend before heading towards the much travelled centre of the Hive. The chamber itself is almost unrecognisable with half of it completely collapsed but all they find are love sucked bodies strewn around and uncountable remains of Changelings. And when I say remains; I mean remains as many are only identifiable because of the thin remains of chitin on thier eviscerated bodies. Knowing where Chrysalis must have gone, they find thier way to the makeshift balcony. Upon arriving, they find Chrysalis watching with a blank expression as Unity City burns to the ground. Most disgustingly, many Changelings or “traitors” are either left inside to burn or dragged out and savagely beaten to a pulp by an army of ponies.

Unsure of how Chrysalis will act, the two adopt subtlety defensive positions and wait for her to speak. There’s not much to gain in provoking an ally after all. Once she does finally speak however, her tone is almost withdrawn and detached with how quiet it is. “We try and doeth what was best for our people and looketh what happens. We try and art nice to them and looketh what happens. We try to hark to thier counsel and seeth what happens.” Her voice gets blatantly angrier. “We try and treat their ponies fairly because it would benefit us all and looketh what happens.”

The fact that thier former friend is apparently ranting to herself and hasn’t even noticed them yet is more than a little concerning for the Princesses. “Chrysalis…?”

The Changeling Queen finally seems to notice them but doesn’t turn. “Tell us, did thou know that this would happen? That this would happen anon?” When they take a moment to respond, Chrysalis finally turns but the Princesses feel thier hearts sink as they see a look of uncontrollable and irreconcilable anger on her face. This isn’t just anger over the war crimes below; this is anger directed specifically and very personally at them. ”DID THOU?!!!”

Luna is visibly distraught by everything going on but Celestia appears slightly more restrained. Although this is an attempt to appear calmer and hopefully de-escalate the situation, Chrysalis seems to take this as something much different because her eyes narrow into pinpricks. Before either of them can react, Chrysalis roars towards them and body slams both into the wall with enough force to wind them. As they recover, she casts a spell that flashes almost as brightly as the Sun. Once it clears, every single pony down below whether friendly or enemy drops like a sack of potatoes and starts writhing as the Princesses watch in horror. “What the Tartarus dost thou think thou art doing?!”

Chrysalis just smiles although the glow from the fires below make it appear almost demonic. “Replenishing what was taken.”

The two royals watch in horror as a familiar black hardened substance starts forming on the ponies. “Stand down, Chrysalis.”

The Queen shakes her head. “Nay, we wilt not. As thou just saw, our magic has many uses and we wilt doeth withal them what we liketh.” A grin that would become all too familiar in the future forms on her face. “And now, we shall demonstrate what happens to those that hurt us.”

Only now do the Princesses notice Duke Ferdinand strung up against a wall, having been hidden behind an apparently movable section of Hive Armour. At first, he appears as an innocent captive but even his pleading and innocent expression can’t hide the crusted green blood around his hooves. Even so, as Chrysalis turns back to the diarchs, she finds herself slammed into a wall by Celestia’s magic. “Thou support this filth?!”

Celestia calmly walks closer to the absolutely livid Queen. “Of course we doeth not but thou art heading down a dangerous path, Chrysalis. What thou hast done is abominable but we want to help. We can make things right again. Please, let us end this together.” She extends a hoof, wearing a pleading expression to emphasise how much she wants her to accept the hoof.

Chrysalis stares cross eyed at the hoof for a moment but Celestia is then slammed backwards into Luna by a magical blast, sending both sprawling. “THOU JUST DOETH NOT GET IT!!! THERE IS nay peace to art had! WE TRIED THAT and thou hast seen what came of it!” She closes her eyes for a moment and releases a very cold chuckle. “An we cannot make our way in Equestria anymore, we shall just taketh it. An ponies wilt not provide us the love we need, we shall just taketh it.” In an instant, green fire travels across her body and she is once again the black chittined being she once was. “And, an thou two stay in our way, we shall crush thou underhoof liketh bugs.” For just a moment, her tone seems to lessen in severity and almost seems to become pleading. “An thou art verily our friends, please stepeth aside and let us do what we have to.”

In thqt moment, if it wasn’t already apparent, the Princesses realise that thier friend is gone and adopt much more defensive postures. “We wilt not let that happen. Please, hark to reason.”

Instead, Chrysalis snarls. “So shalt it be.” She instantly fires off a massive energy beam which Celestia counters with one of her own but both are held at stalemate. Celestia is unable to overcome the Changeling but Chrysalis lacks the energy reserves to overcome her due to the fighting across her Hive.

After a few more moments of silent straining, Chrysalis feels herself weaken ever so slightly and is unable to stop the beam from throwing her to the floor. As she recovers, she tries to fire another laser but finds her horn charred and burnt into uselessness. Refusing to give up, she launches at Celestia only to be bucked into the wall by Luna and dazed for several moments. As she staggers back to her hooves, in pain but as resilient as ever, she spies the now Elements of Harmony adorned Princesses. “Yield!”

As any-pony familiar with Chrysalis would know, she is never one to flee from a fight; especially not one that she thinks she can win. However, she isn’t stupid and knows all too well what the Elements are capable of as well as that attacking directly is pointless. With her self-preservation and Queenly instincts screaming at her to live to fight another day, Chrysalis fires an energy blast into one particular point in the ceiling. “She who fights and runs away will live to fight another day. Another day, ponies.” Before Celestia and Luna can blast her with the Elements, the Hive begins collapsing around them and they are forced to teleport out.

As they look towards the remains of Unity City though, they watch it collapse and violently implode in a massive blast. “Doeth thou think they escaped that?”

After the day that they’ve had, Celestia just feels ill. “We hope so, Luna. We hope so.” By the time that proper help arrives from the surrounding area, the Princesses have collected themselves although little help is needed inside Canterlot itself as every-pony is either dead or has already fled. Though they remain stoic and unemotional over the course of the day, they would privately mourn the loss of thier first true friend. The sudden explosion of Unity City would later be discovered to have been a deliberate magical attack; likely to remove any evidence of where the Changelings may have gone.

Celestia had been careful to take Duke Ferdinand with them when they left the Hive and he later ended up being sent to Tartarus for his crimes. However, he was the only one convicted as the other Brethren members had all either already died in the raid on the Changeling Hive, been turned into Changelings and disappeared with Chrysalis or were never able to be identified. Surprising absolutely no-pony, with thier ultimate goal fulfilled, the terrorists were never heard from again but the Princesses would never stop searching for the Changelings for the next thousand years.

The present

For a good half an hour, the throne room remains in silence until Luna eventually breaks it. "Ponyvile exists today instead of us choosing not to rebuild Everfree City because that place has too many horrible memories to ever consider it. We sealed the old Hive shut and most ponies later came to believe that it was thanks to a mining accident and that Everfree City no longer exists because of the Everfree Castle’s abandonment. What happened is best left forgotten because it would make most ponies feel sick to their stomachs. One of the worst crimes in Equestrian history was done not by ourselves, Sombra, Discord, the Changelings or Tirek. It was done by our subjects."

Cadance is visibly struggling to speak with a heavy green tint to her face. Eventually, she finds her voice as more clicks into place. "Your duel. That anger, that hatred..."

Celestia nods, very visibly physically and emotionally drained. "Chrysalis still blames me for everything that happened that day and seems to have taken my muted reaction as indifference, tolerance or even worse; endorsement. As Equestria's figurehead and most widely respected Princess, at least at the time, she saw me as implicit in everything that happened. To her, I was either too soft in not punishing them hard enough or I was supporting thier atrocities and letting them get away with it. When I had to step in at Unity City, she finally lost any trust she had left in me.”

She lowers her head in shame. “Admittedly, my terrible choice of words also didn’t help. The fact is that I didn’t act when I should have against the Brethren and i didn’t punish them severely enough when they were discovered. I just trusted that things would sort themselves out so I did nothing and ended up creating a monster. It’s one of my greatest failures." Her gaze turns wistful after a moment. “Her burning hatred became all too obvious when I was stuck in that accursed cocoon."

Roughly a year ago, whilst our heroes are headed for the Elements of Harmony; the Aurora Realm

Every pony has thier own inner safe place where they go after experiencing trauma; be it physical or mental. Cadance's is on the Crystal Empire's balcony with her husband, Luna's is enjoying a nighttime picnic with her friends and Celestia's is within a weird "foggy" starry blue void like area. "Does it hurt, Celestia?"

The Princess turns with a frown to see the Changeling Queen who is smirking triumphantly. "Does it hurt to see yourself fail? To watch your ponies see you fall, knowing you failed them? To know what it feels like when your own mistakes can cause so much suffering?" Over the last thousand or so years, the clicking undertone has slightly faded but it’s still present and her voice is as loud as ever.

Despite the Changeling's smugness, Celestia doesn't even bat an eye. "That was a very long time ago, Chrysalis. I would’ve let you back into Equestria in an instant if you asked."

The Changeling lets out a harsh laugh. "And be kept firmly under your hoof forever? Both of us know you’d never take your eye off me. You’d never trust us to not replicate what happened before and be ready at a moment’s notice to summon your little brainwashed pet project and her friends to strike me down and doom the Changelings. Without me, they’re doomed. That’s not peace Celestia, that’s being careful that we don’t tread on your hooves the wrong way for the rest of time.”

Celestia mostly ignores her. "If you hate me so much, why not just attack me in my sleep? You clearly have the motive and the means. Why go to all this effort?"

Chrysalis sneers. "Because I want to break your little ponies. If I just replaced you, everything would continue as normal but nothing would change and Luna would discover us anyway. I can defeat her just like you but then I’d bring your faithful slaves down on our heads who have overcome ridiculous odds before. And you forget, your subjects are the reason why I became an exile. If I just took your throne discreetly and then revealed myself, I wouldn’t have the pleasure of watching any hope of salvation fade from thier souls.”

Celestia continues her even tone despite the hostility. “You’re blaming every-pony for what a handful of monsters did over a thousand years ago. Should I consider all Changelings pure evil because of your actions and stamp them out just as violently?”

Chrysalis snarls. “I've been watching you and your ponies, especially that student you’ve been grooming into a soldier for years. Because that’s what you do, isn’t it? You gaslight and manipulate others so you can kick your hooves up and let them do all the work. Anything your little ponies don't understand, they shun or try to completely drive out like that Zebra shaman. They don’t even get on well with each other or need I mention how easily I split them up? The time they decided torturing thier friend to knock her down a peg was a good idea? Or maybe being tricked into fighting over tickets, most of which you were withholding just to teach them a lesson? And then you have the dangerously stupid and overconfident nymphs like that ridiculous, overinflated, blue pixie in a gaudy magician's outfit or outright dangerous stupidity like the Want-Need-It spell.”

“All flaws that are fine in moderation and I’m sure your children also possess.”

“We haven’t committed genocide and everything disgusting about ponies back then has only gotten worse with time. Your kind hasn't changed at all, they’re just as foul and cruel as ever. ’There’s one of those lovesucking freaks, let’s kill them before they kill us.’ All that’s changed is that they’ve grown softer. Perfect food for us. Your little ponies deserve nothing less than to see you and Luna fail before they become dinner." A disgusting smile appears on her features. "And why wouldn't I crash the Princess of Love's wedding? It makes for a nice backdrop to my triumph, don’t you think?”

Her smile returns. "And what better way to hurt you than strike on one of the best days of your life? To see one of the most happy moments of your existence come tumbling down around you? Don't worry, I won't be exterminating your little ponies and I won’t let the likes of Sombra or Tirek hurt them… much. They're too valuable a food source to just ‘stamp out’ as you so eloquently put it. I'll just be giving them the exact same treatment they gave us. A hoof for a hoof, an eye for an eye, a carapace for a carapace. A kingdom for a kingdom. The only solution to the likes of the Brethren is violence so that is how your subjects will be treated. They helped teach us that."

Celestia has finally had enough. "You're no better than the Brethren were. You're just a hateful sadist hiding behind the appearance of wanting to help your people. If you truly wanted what was best for them, you’d have at least tried to speak to me. You’re using the same tactics and rhetoric of the Equestrian Defenders; you’ve just supplemented Changelings for ponies. Part of the reason any of that happened was because you started turning ponies into lifeless husks! Would you expect them to react in any way other than fear?!”

Chrysalis has started walking away but stops when she hears the Princess snap at her. After a very brief moment, the Queen speaks without turning in a completely calm but bone chilling tone. "I stopped caring about anything you had to say the day that Podomere was crippled. You and Luna failed us but at least she showed some emotion; you don’t even pretend to care. Everything you seemed to do for us, it was just to remove us as a threat wasn’t it? That’s all you’ve ever been; a manipulator who doesn’t give a single shed about who you have to hurt. You fight against the likes of Discord or Sombra but you’re not better than them; they’re just more upfront about it. I’m glad Luna turned on you, it’s exactly what you deserved and so much more. You’ve gotten weaker, Celestia. That’s why I’ve won and you’ll have to live with it just like I had to live through one thousand five hundred years of exile.”

Chrysalis chuckles as she turns to Celestia with a lopsided but definitely horrible smile. The sheer amount of cruel excitement and sadism is enough to make the Princess feel ill. “When I'm finished, your 'faithful student' and her friends will be begging for the end and you will endure every single second of it. You will see everything you’ve built and ever loved turn to ash just as I saw our best chance at survival disintegrate before my eyes." With that, Chrysalis walks away and Celestia feels herself waking up.

Four days later, the Dining Room

Between repairing the fallout from the wedding, and the second wedding shortly thereafter, the Princesses haven’t had much time to talk. With Shining Armour and Cadance on the way to thier honeymoon though, and Twilight and her friends on the train back to Ponyvile, they finally get half an hour to themselves but Luna notices that Celestia is being oddly quiet. “Is everything okay, sister?”

She takes a moment to respond. “We failed, Luna. We messed up royally.”

“Everything worked out okay. Chrysalis is gone and everypony’s safe again. She failed.” Despite this, Luna knows that that isn’t what Celestia meant.

“We should never have been in this position to begin with.”

Luna looks at her softly and takes her hoof. “It was both of our failings, sister. We bare equal responsibility for our inaction.”

Celestia shakes her head. "No, I bear sole blame because I continually fail to act when I need to. I knew I should have acted, should have at least tried to do something, but didn’t even try when I should have known better. I was slow to act against the Brethren and I was slow to see your growing resentment. Three times, I was too slow to stop what a newborn foal could have seen coming and paid the price all three times. I gave the opportunity, the Brethren just took it. Your only mistake was not challenging me at the time.”

“We all make mistakes, both of our mistakes were simply poor timing. What we said that night a thousand years ago wasn’t true, sister. You do care, you were just afraid of causing further trouble. Racism can only end one way when it comes to such radicalised ponies. Any action you could have taken may have just gathered support, the Brethren claiming we were brainwashed like Shining Armour. It was a lose, lose situation.”

Despite the comforting tone, Luna can see the poorly disguised depression in her sister. “To have done what she did, and what she did recently, Chrysalis must have always been like this. All the Brethren did was bring out the worst side of her.”

Celestia seems to consider that for a moment. “Unfortunately, we’ll never know but the other Changelings didn’t deserve what happened. I just want to make things right but we’ll probably someday have to put her down like we did Sombra. There’s no reasoning with her and the only way to stop Chrysalis is probably to banish her.” With that, she finishes the last of her meal and they begin thier usual nighttime ritual.

The present

As the tale winds down, Luna takes a moment to breath. "What’s worse is that Chrysalis was right about one thing in her rhetoric. We will never be able to take our eyes off of her; she’s just too dangerous and ambitious. We believe she genuinely wants to help her children but she’s also extremely controlling. After what happened last year, more than a few Changelings split off from her hive to hide out as ponies. Many had longstanding identities as deep cover agents and they wanted to resume that life when the big coup failed. It’s not the Changelings we have a problem with, it’s her.”

She casts her eyes down. “We liked to think that there was once some good in her since she only ever acted in ways that would benefit herself and her hive. If she ever had aspirations of conquest, she had dozens of chances over the time we knew her to take us out or cocoon us but she never did. Every time we went to her hive, there was nothing stopping them from overwhelming us with sheer numbers but she never tried. Even a year ago, we used to think there was something left of our friend but… well, you know what happened."

Celestia sighs as she gets to her hooves. "Since last year, we've been searching for her but part of the problem is what we'd do with her if we did find and trap her. If we imprison her and use an inhibitor, her subjects would most certainly try to free her. The toll of such an invasion could be devastating. We could banish or petrify her but we have no idea how that would affect her Changelings. Thier only crime is obeying thier tyrannical mother and wanting food. What she did was unforgivable but we won't possibly doom an entire species for the crimes of its ruler. Even if we could still use the Elements, they wouldn’t make her kind again. They worked on Luna because she had grown to regret what she had done; Chrysalis wants this. She chooses to be evil, regardless of whose fault it was for what happened. Even the Elements of Harmony can’t save what isn’t there. It’s exactly why they could save Luna a few years ago but banished her to the Moon a thousand years ago."

Even though she is feeling the last two days catching up to her, Celestia somehow retains her regality despite visible fatigue. “I suggest that we get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a very… eventful day.” Luna and Cadance nod in agreement but the former stops for a moment when they turn to leave. “Is something wrong, Luna?”

Luna casts a powerful ward and detection spell before shaking her head. “It’s nothing. We just thought that we saw something.” She stares hard into a dark corner for a moment before following them out of the Throne Room.

After the Throne Room is vacated and sealed for the night though, a very wide and toothy smile appears from that same corner. “Such chaos and I never had to even lift a single hoof. They’ve gotten weaker and far more vulnerable. Everything will fall into place soon enough. See you soon, Celestia.” Instead of a cackle or a laugh, or even gloating some more, the being simply smiles before fading away.

Revelations of Gold

Although Celestia’s rest that night is indeed refreshing, her dream is anything but peaceful. Within her dream, she finds herself in a field outside Appleloosa staring at an enormous tornado of dark purple energy that climbs into the sky until it’s no longer visible. It takes several moments of staring to notice it appears to be tunnelling into the ground and disappearing below the surface of Equus and her heart sinks as she realises where she’s seen it before. Within mere moments of that observation though, Celestia watches the very surface of her world slowly fragment and crack before violently imploding with enough force to fling her deep into space. If that wasn’t bad enough, the sense of Déjà vu only increases as she watches the particles slowly begin to recombine like one would imagine a planet to do as it forms across millions of years.

“Celestia… Celestia… It’s time. That which was lost to you has risen once more. The return of Aurum.”

Celestia sits bolt upright in bed with an impending sense of misfortune as she caresses her forehead thanks to a developing headache. She has heard that voice twice before and the fact that these past warnings immediately preceded her and Luna’s first encounters with Discord and eventually Sombra isn’t helping. Whenever that voice appears, chaos and evil always follows not long after. But I destroyed him. I watched him die. She shakes her head. There’s no use worrying now. We’re ready for whatever’s coming and we’re got more pressing problems. Until we get a lead, we can only search for him. With Chrysalis probably getting ready to attack, we can’t send our entire army to search. When Aurum makes his move though, we’ll be ready. I put him down once, I’ll do it again. She and Luna then perform thier bi-daily duties but an intense sense of both longing and foreboding fills her soul.

Around twenty minutes later, Canterlot Castle's dining room

After the hellish couple of days they’ve had, a good breakfast is exactly what the three Princesses need. Sure, they’re not exactly out of the woods yet what with the corrupted ponies, Chrysalis probably planning an attack and Aurum being somewhere out there but even this brief moment’s respite is much appreciated.

Even so, everything must come back to the matter at hoof as Cadance shakes her head. “What I don’t understand is why we can’t just find Chrysalis through her dreams.”

Luna thinks for several moments, trying to figure out how to explain it. “The Changeling hive mind creates a form of mental barrier. We wouldn't be able to access it without trial and error but Chrysalis forbade any form of mental probing so we never got the chance. The most we can tell is thier general location.”

Cadance looks at her aunt curiously. “How specific?”

“We can tell that they’re on this side of the planet at least. All we’re able to trace is the vague location of the block, not where it’s coming from.”

Deciding that no time is better than the present, Celestia cuts to the chase. “Another old enemy named Aurum decided that now would be a good time to make his return.”

Although she doesn’t say it, the look of Cadance’s face says it all. Bucking Tartarus, how many old enemies does she have? “Why haven’t I heard of him? Nightmare Moon, Sombra, the Changelings; they've all been foalhood tales but not Aurum?”

Celestia looks ashamed for a long moment. “Because I personally ensured that any record of his existence was scrubbed. What happened wasn’t a grand battle, a betrayal like Chrysalis and nor was there anything mythical about it like Discord or Nightmare Moon. It’s a simple story of a broken heart and crushed dreams. The last time I saw him, I thought he was torn apart by the Elements. I never thought I’d have to worry about him ever again.” With that, she finishes the rest of her breakfast in silence.

???

It is very hard to describe what waking up from an uneasy sleep to find yourself in an unfamiliar location and still paralysed is like without experiencing it yourself. The closest thing to compare it to is like waking up with sleep paralysis only there is no escape and that sinking sense of imminent danger is actually real. Not helping is that, despite the cave being silent aside from her breathing, there is an incredibly unpleasant and oppressive feel to where she is. "H-hello? W-where am I?"

For a small moment, the only response is her own echoed voice until a deep and almost demonic chuckle resounds throughout the cave. Immediately, Scootaloo's fur stands on end as her instincts scream at her to run. "Home, Scootaloo. My home." The voice is extremely bizarre; distinctly male but underlined with a feminine tone and accompanied by a distorted reverberation that makes it sound like the creature is yelling at her down a very long tunnel. Scootaloo's best guess is that it's been magically distorted but, given the different villains that have appeared in Equestria for the last two years, anything is possible. In spite of the almost welcoming tone however, as if she was being cordially invited into a friend's house for dinner, there is an undeniable underlying menace to the voice. The kind of menace one can only find when a truly evil being has everything exactly as they want it and knows it.

To say the least, she’s frankly scared because who wouldn’t be when trapped by whatever the hell the voice is? Then again, she certainly won’t let that show. Fighting to keep her voice stable, Scootaloo glares in the vague direction where the voice came from. "Y-you can come out, Changeling. I'm not afraid."

Another eerie chuckle. "You think I'm that Queen that thought it was a good idea to try and take over a city with three Princesses and six of the most dangerous ponies in the realm present? Don't insult me. She's a hard-headed foal."

Despite her fears, Scootaloo takes after her mentor by grinning cockily into the darkness. "Yeah, right. She's the foal when you just picked a fight with the most awesome pony in Equestria. Rainbow Dash is coming for me right now and will kick your flank into next-"

The voice suddenly appears right behind her left ear. "The same pony that left you like this?" Scootaloo resists the urge to flinch. "And before you mention your Princess friend, she's a little busy taking care of the mess in Ponyvile. They won’t realise anything’s wrong until it’s too late."

Scootaloo scoffs at the voice. "If you're so sure that they won't come after me, why even bother taking me?"

The voice seems to be grinning a very vile grin. "Because what use is winning without an audience? And what better an audience than the little flightless sproglet who happens to be both a close friend of the saviours and the personal student of Moon? Moon’s little heir apparent, if you will?"

Yeah, because a single lesson that she gave me five months ago is definitely the same thing as what Twilight’s been doing for ten years. "Good luck. You’ll still have to fight the Princesses and they'll crush you."

Despite the insolence, the voice is still filled with glee. "With everything going on with Ponyvile and the Changelings, they’ll only find out that I'm here when I want them to. By then, it will be far too late to stop me." Although the statement contradicts everything that she knows, Scootaloo still feels a sharp shiver run down her spine as the voice chuckles confidently. “But first, let's see what your honorary sister has been doing. I'm sure she’ll be here any moment now." Almost as soon as it finishes speaking, a large fiery screen forms from magic appears besides Scootaloo. Looking into it, she can see a severely dimmed version of the Sun with a very familiar visage on it’s surface.

Scootaloo's heart sinks for a brief moment but her expression hardens. "Nice try but now you're just trying to trick me."

The voice just chuckles darkly. “Maybe, maybe not. Why don’t you try to stand?”

Scootaloo rolls her eyes but is shocked to find herself able to. “What?!”

The voice seems to be smiling although the aura is unpleasant. “Dark magic. What use is a witness when they’re no fun to play with?” A shining light appears in the distance, appearing to be a cave opening. In an instant, Scootaloo bolts for it and the voice makes no attempt to stop her. Upon crossing the threshold though, her body sways for a moment before it crumples into a sack of flesh and bones. “So much like your mentor, it’s almost sad.” She finds herself teleported back in front of the screen before she can even look around as the voice sounds triumphant. “In due time, everything will be exactly as I want it. If they try to stop me, I always have some… insurance that they’d never want to endanger. Always useful to have somepony that a lot of very important ponies care about at hoof. Until then, I’ve got some things to do so enjoy the show.”

The voice seems to fade away but Scootaloo is too busy realising something. Throughout its entire speal, it had never cackled or boasted once. Every line was spoken not with arrogance or smugness but an absolute and almost worrying amount of confidence. The type you only hear from a player that has all of the cards in thier favour and is just waiting to play thier winning hand. Before she can dwell on it for long, the energy screen switches to show an unfamiliar doorway with three very familiar ponies standing outside it.

Momentarily, Twilight Velvet and Night Light’s house

As the parents of two of the most important ponies in Equestria, and given thier hostage value, a pony may expect the two ponies to batter down the hatches or evacuate to a safer zone. That pony would be surprised therefore to find the two ponies mostly chilling out at home. Threats to the very state of Equestria are almost a common occurrence by this point and they know thier children can take care of themselves so they just keep thier heads down until it’s over. When they hear a knock on thier door though, they exchange a look as they weren’t expecting any-pony today.

Not knowing what to expect, Velvet approaches the door with a knockout spell ready but stops when she sees the Princesses standing outside. Without a single word, she ushers them inside but Luna waves aside any attempts to bow. “Come now, there’s no need for that. You’ve both more than earnt the right not to have to bow in private.”

They nod and the Princesses take seats in the seating room. After a brief moment of rather uncomfortable silence, Night Light shifts in his seat. “Not that it’s not good to see you but what’s going on?” Another uncomfortable pause. “Princess?”

Celestia takes a very long moment to think as her mask weakens ever so little. How am I supposed to tell them?! They’ve all but lost Shining Armour and Twilight because I wasn’t good enough. AGAIN! I didn’t act in time to stop Nightmare Moon and I left him and Cadance alone. I should have known she could have gotten to them but I didn’t consider it! Nearly five minutes after they sat down, Celestia finally speaks. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.” The sheer defeated tone in her voice worries Velvet and Night Light as she begins.

One abridged account of the last two days later

Once she finishes, the room is left in a very strained silence. Night Light and Twilight Velvet are unreadable; thier expressions someplace between shocked disbelief and being on the verge of tears. “Is-Is there any chance they’re still themselves?”

Luna takes a small moment to respond. “It’s entirely dependent on Nightmare Moon but we won’t lie to you. It’s very unlikely given what they did to us last time. This was planned and coordinated; she knew exactly what she was doing. We’ll do what we can but we can’t promise anything.”.

They nod and Celestia gets up. “I think they need some time. We’re needed elsewhere.” The other Princesses leave as well but are abruptly teleported away the instant they go outside.

Faster than they can blink, they find themselves in a weird void-like dimension filled with floating islands that Luna and Celestia immediately recognise. “Of all the-“

There is an abrupt crack and only a quick blast from Cadance prevents them from being crushed under an enormous boulder that came out of nowhere. “Sorry, just needed to get some mining done up here.” They look up to see Discord wearing what can only be described as a mix between a miner’s outfit and a bomb officer’s protective suit.

“Are you done? We’ve got places we need to be.” Celestia speaks with the tone of somepony that’s seen waaaay too much of Discord’s crap.

The Draconequus pouts. “Killjoy.” With another snap, all three abruptly find themselves sitting at a Alice in Wonderland table. “Sugar?”

Luna bats away a dancing piece of sugar. “Why’re we here? Just so you can annoy us?”

The chimeric being rolls his eyes so hard that they appear to pop out of his head for a moment. “Really Lulu, you need to have some faith. I’ve come to deliver a message.”

Cadance can’t help but raise an eyebrow. This may be the first time she’s met him but Discord is a notorious pain in the flank. “Which is?”

The Draconequus raises two talons with a familiarly mischievous smile. “First, you three need to be more open minded about what happened recently.” He smiles even wider as the Princesses have to slam the tops of thier heads back down because they started floating away. “Not everything is quite as they seem.”

“And how would you know?”

The Draconequus tuts, sounding a lot like a mother deeply disappointed in thier children. “You’re asking someone who once used mind control against those same ponies how he knows what mind control looks like? I’ve seen everything the last few days, you know.” About to see an objection, he continues. “And what do I have to gain from lying to you?”

Celestia glares at her supposedly reformed former enemy. “Asks the being that feeds on distrust, chaos and insanity. You thrive in this type of environment.”

The God of Chaos waves a claw. “You’re too kind but believe what you will. Before you go though…” His evil grin that he has used so many times makes an appearance. “You need to tell them the truth soon, Tia. He’s back and you know it.”

Luna and Cadance look to Celestia who glares daggers into her former enemy. “And yet I can’t see you making any effort to stop him or help us.”

Discord’s smile widens to literally encompass his entire head. “Just because I won’t attack Equestria anymore doesn’t mean that I have to help it. It’s far too much fun watching you run around trying to stop them. And besides, I recall that one of the reasons you petrified me was because anything I did to help only made things worse.”

Luna glares. “What about Fluttershy? I thought you were supposed to have reformed.”

Discord rolls his eyes so hard that they land in Luna’s tea. “I have no doubt that those weapons of mass affection you love to use so much can carry the day. Oh wait, you can’t. Oh well, I know from experience that you’ll find a way. You always seem to. And if not, I’ll probably intervene but this is far too much fun to just stop early.”

After the reminder that Discord will always be selfish and even sometimes cruel no matter how reformed he is, the Draconequus smirks. “Oh, but look at the time. I’ve been keeping you too long and you’ve got places to be. Bye.” And with no further words, he snaps them away.

The outskirts of Ponyvile

Celestia suddenly finds herself standing with Luna just in front of the bridge to Ponyvile. Despite it having been around 8AM when they left Night-light and Velvet's house, it now appears to be around 11 but that's Discord for you. Cadance, however, is nowhere to be seen. “Do you think she’s okay?”

Celestia nods. “Knowing Discord, she has probably ended up with Shining Armour back at the Castle.” With that, they enter the small town to find a somewhat surprising sight. Admittedly, they didn’t know quite what they were expecting from what should be a town of feral ponies. What they definitely weren’t expecting was for things be going as normal as ever. Putting aside the clearly transformed appearances of the residents, they seem to be going about thier normal routines as if it were any other Wednesday morning. As if the situation wasn’t complicated enough.

Quite frankly, they were expecting to find the town slowly tearing itself apart with maybe a few small holdouts which... well, it wouldn’t relieve the pain of what they’d likely have to do bu it wouldn't make it easier to justify to themselves. Now, the situation has gone from having to banish a town of victimised but unsalvageable ponies for the greater good to having a town of still apparently civilised victims. At first, they assumed they’d be jumped when they got too far into the town to easily escape but any acknowledgement of thier presence is a simple bow and the appropriate greeting.

By the time that they reach the Golden Oaks Library, thier concern has only grown. They won’t banish innocents unless they absolutely have to but aren’t sure that they can reason with the corrupted. Without a word, they exchange looks and knock on the door. Almost immediately, they find themselves muzzle to face with a large snake so they tense until recognising his eyes and colour scheme. It serves as a good reminder of what could have happened had they not struck first yesterday. By comparison, Spike wears a warm smile. “Good morning, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna. Twilight’s waiting upstairs.”

As he makes himself busy, the Princesses head upstairs only for Luna to stop by an open door. “Luna?”

Seeing the worried look on her sister’s face, Celestia peers into the guest room from yesterday to find it empty. “We will find her, Luna.”

With a nod, they slowly make thier way into Twilight’s room where the find the librarian who appears to be trying to alphabetise her personal collection for the hundredth time. After everything that’s happened, something so Twilight-y is almost a relief but neither have the chance to speak before Twilight notices thier presence. Despite her rather altered appearance, she smiles as widely as if this were any normal surprise visit. “Good morning, Princess.” Her smile falters after a moment as she looks around and sees the pile of books that more resemble a dragon’s hoard than the contents of a library. “Oh my gosh, this place is a mess! Can you come back again in like five minutes?”

Despite literally everything that’s happened, Celestia can’t help but smile. “It’s fine, Twilight. We just need to talk.”

After another glance around, Twilight nods and leads the way to the kitchen. “I assume you’re here to talk about… this?” Celestia nods but doesn’t speak. “It’s… odd to say the least but the test results are certainly interesting. The potential applications are-“ She cuts herself off with a small nervous giggle. “Maybe I should start with what happened.”

Two days ago, Ponyvile Square

As the mist clears away to reveal the transformed Twilight Sparkle, it goes without saying that she’s having just a slight meltdown. She’s going to turn me against Princess Celestia! She’ll make us hurt ponies! That’s what she wanted after all! Princess, Luna, Cadance, Shining; I’m sorry! It take several more moments of freaking out to realise that she still retains her semblance of self. “Huh?”

“Was that fun?” In a split second, Twilight spins 360 and unleashes the most powerful blast she can manage even if it isn’t much given her physical weakness. To no-pony’s surprise, it phases straight through Nightmare Moon’s face… and blows out half the side of a building. Nightmare Moon smiles wickedly as Twilight stares at her hooves. “Gesundheit.”

Speechless for several moments, Twilight re-adopts a defensive stance. “What did you do?!”

Nightmare Moon just stares at her. “I thought that would be obvious. You’re completely exhausted but you still managed to destroy half a building even at your absolute weakest.” Before Twilight can respond, a mischievous smirk appears on the Alicorn. “Oh, Rarity? Spike? You two’ve got places to be.”

Before any-pony can speak, both are already gone but she finds herself staring down The Stare. “Where’d you send her?”

Despite the off-putting glare and oddly severe tone for Fluttershy, Nightmare Moon waves it off. “Her parents are visiting town and they’ve got some ‘catching up’ to do.”

She was expecting a response or another attack but instead there is a blinding purple flash and the seven others in the square are gone. “Surprise, surprise.”

What comes next should be no surprise to anypony that knows Twilight. The next hour or so of the afternoon is a blur for the Main 4. A number of scans, magical readings, blood tests, physiological examination and being hooked-up to machines that only Twilight knows the function of. And what is the end result of such rigorous testing?

“From what I can tell, we’re the same as before biologically but our natural attributes are massively augmented to beyond anything I’ve ever seen.”

Applejack rolls her eyes but it’s accompanied by a smile. “Coulda told ya that myself. Buckda wall earlier in frustration an’ it sent a crack that ran the entire length of the building. Watt I really don’t get is why Spike looks like that? Shouldn’t he just look something like the one Fluttershy dealt with?”

Twilight reexamines her readings once more. “I don’t know, there’s nothing I can compare his physiology to. My best guess is that, since a dragon’s tail is unnaturally strong and prehensile, his anatomy was changed so his body would have the optimal musculature for its intended function.”

She is about to say more when she notices the others looking at her rather blankly. “A dragon’s tail seems to be the strongest part of thier body when they’re growing up so most of his anatomy was changed to give it as much power as possible. Or maybe it’s just the effects of the dark magic. I’ve only got one case study.”

Applejack stares at her. “Wait, how’d yah even doah DNA test on Spike when he’s not here?”

Twilight shrugs. “I’ve spent some time trying to understand dragon physiology on Spike’s behalf ever since his birthday last year so I have some blood laying around. I got the newer sample because he cut himself earlier and I got some dried blood to test. It’s less accurate than fresh blood though.”

Seeing the others’ understandable worry, since you don’t have to be a genius to know that screwing with DNA and anatomy isn’t a very good idea, she reviews her notes once more. “Stranger still, his body registers the same as ever. It’s the same as if he were hatched this way despite the rather drastic anatomical alterations. Maybe it had to do with his accelerated hatching, I have no idea. Whatever happened to Spike doesn’t seem to have had any negative side effects though I’ll need to study this further.” With some of the more immediate questions out of the way, she gets around to the most glaring. “Now what?”

Pinkie finally decides to speak, having spent the last five minutes silent and oddly deep in thought. “I say we wait and see.”

Applejack stares at her. “Beggin’ yer pardon but we’re jus’ gonna let Nightmare Moon do as she pleases without tryin’ tah stop ‘er? After everythin’ she did tah Princess Celestia and almost did to Equestria? After she possessed Dash?”

Fluttershy decides to take that moment to ‘speak up.’ “I think Pinkie’s right.” She winces as all eyes turn to her but pushes through her timidness. “Twilight already tried to fight her and she ended up losing. She’s an Alicorn but none of us are so we may not stand a chance without the Elements or another advantage. She might not hold back next time.” She shivers at the next thought. “And what’s to stop her from possibly taking completely control over us if we oppose her?”

Applejack flinches. “Ah didn’t thinka that but we cahn’t jus’ letter have her way with Ponyvile. We’ve gotta do something’ ‘cause who knows what she has in store fer every-pony else?”

“’We should do something. Should we do something? But shouldn’t we do something?’ It’s amazing you ever get anything done with such indecision.”

Acting on sheer survival instinct, Applejack bucks only to instead strike a small coffee table which explodes into splinters. “Ged out!”

The towering Alicorn with a nasty smile may be a very imposing sight but Applejack refuses to let that show. “Is that any way to speak to your guest? You believe so strongly in family, shouldn’t that extend to your guests?”

“‘Guests’ don’t corrupt thier hosts an’ brainwash thier hosts’ friend!” If they were anywhere near the same height, Applejack would most assuredly be getting in Nightmare Moon’s face right now.

Nightmare Moon just smiles before turning to an equally indignant Twilight. “[b[Tell me, you’ve been doing tests for almost two hours now. Did you find any trace of mind control or forced coercion?”

If looks could kill, Nightmare Moon would be a mound of bones by now. “That magic’s only detectable when it’s in use. It’s hard enough to detect even when it is in use.”

The dark Alicorn smiles at Twilight in an eerily similar way to her mentor. “Very good but why would I give you any free will whatsoever? Why would I give you the chance to oppose me? Now, if you’ll excuse me, there’s some last minute preparations for me to see to.”

Once she’s gone, Fluttershy turns back to Twilight. “N-now what?”

Twilight thinks for a long moment. “We’ll have to wait. Trying to stop her without the Elements is too dangerous so we have to time it perfectly.”

Her friends nod in agreement but none of them particularly like the idea.

The present

After another moment of awkward silence, Celestia nods and adopts a more business-like tone. “I assume you’re wondering where Rainbow Dash is?”

Twilight shakes her head. “Since we haven’t heard from her, I assume she’s already been banished.” When Celestia nods, Twilight’s head falls. “I was afraid of that. It’s going to happen to us too, isn’t it?”

The uncomfortable pause that follows isn’t helping. “We really, really don’t want to Twilight. We’re just worried that Nightmare Moon’s magic has turned you against us. That all of this is just an act as part of a greater scheme.”

Twilight doesn’t need to be a genius to realise the obvious. “You came here to banish us, didn’t you?”

The very uncomfortable moment of silence that follows is enough of an answer. “Only if we had to. If we had to choose between banishing Ponyvile or potentially putting all of Equestria at risk of attack by corrupted ponies, we’d have to choose the majority. Now though, we’ll have to convene.”

Seeing how visibly uncomfortable that makes Twilight, and deciding to consult with Cadance before they make any moves, Celestia changes the subject. “Where’s Scootaloo?”

Twilight’s discomfort only amplifies. “None of us know. We took her to the hospital yesterday morning but she vanished soon after. There was no evidence of a break-in and the Guards didn’t hear or see anything. She was simply there and then she wasn’t.”

For a moment, Celestia falls silent as she seems to suss out whether Twilight is hiding something before nodding. “We have some idea as to who may have taken her. Queen Chrysalis is making her return.”

Twilight is confused as she tried to remember where she’d know that name from before her eyes widen. “That Changeling that ruined the wedding?”

Luna nods. “Indeed, she knows we’re divided and we can’t use the Elements without Rainbow Dash. We need to be ready.”

After a few more minutes of talking, Twilight excuses herself to warn the others and the Princesses take thier leaves as well. Suffice to say, they’ve got a lot left to do and need to compare notes with Cadance.

???

Scootaloo stares at the floor long after the vision has already ended. I know that thing’s got to be lying but why do I feel like he’s right?

“Finally confronted the truth, have we?” Scootaloo manages to resist the urge to jump this time. “Good, you’re getting used to it. You’re going to be such fun.”

Scootaloo glares off into the darkness. “Are you always going to be this annoying or what? If I could get my hooves on you-“

She’s cut off by a deep, joyful laugh but with an underlying tone of menace. “Then you’d be vaporised before you could even more an inch. You’re easier to read than an open book enchanted with a speak and spell.

Once again, taking a cue from her mentor, Scootaloo beats nary a visible eye. “Who are you?!”

The voice chuckles but is this time underlined with bitter anger. “You wouldn’t know me because Celestia destroyed any record of my existence long ago after sealing me away on Pona Centarus. You can call me Aurum.”

Almost immediately, Scootaloo’s mind is cast back to a lesson Cheerilee had given on other languages. Mind you, she spent most of that lesson trying to stay awake at all but that name rings a bell. “Your name is Matin for gold? What kinda name is that?” More oddly to her, she may never have met an Istallion but Aurum speaks with a mild Trottinghamanian accent which she knows definitely isn’t anywhere near Vistally.

Aurum just laughs unpleasantly. “Things are about to get interesting, Scootaloo. Why don’t we watch?” Aurum's voice falls silent and Scootaloo is left to watch another energy screen. before his voice falls silent and the energy screen reappears.

Around half an hour into thier journey back to Canterlot, Luna directs Celestia to land in an empty field. “Is something wrong, Luna?”

Luna eyes her curiously. “Who is Aurum? Why haven’t we heard of him before.”

Much to her surprise, she watches Celestia flinch uncharacteristically. “Please doeth not fret, Princess Luna. Nay matter what may come next, nay matter how thou may feel repressed or ignored, know that Princess Celestia and I are hither. Thou doeth not need to suffer in silence.”

At once, a look of painful regret passes over Luna’s face before they continue with even greater haste. No more words need to be spoken as both know all too well what happened. One threat is neutralised but two more wait in the wings.

Before they go more than a few miles, they end up slamming into an energy barrier. "Again?" When they look high into the sky though, they feel thier hearts fall to the floor. At first, it merely appears to be like a very weird sunset with the night sky slowly crawling across the horizon from towards Manehatten.

However, there are several major problems with that idea. It’s only 2PM, neither Princess has begun the night ritual, there’s a low pitched buzzing noise and using a telescope would reveal the “darkness” to consist of hundreds of black masses converging on a single point. Ponyvile.

War And Absolute Chaos

Around half an hour ago, Canterlot

Cadance blinks as she suddenly finds herself in the Canterlonian dungeons opposite her still unconscious husband. Unknowingly like her aunts before-hoof, she knows she was sent to Chaosville at around 10AM but the Sun’s position suggests it’s now almost 2PM. Before she can do much else, Shining Armour steadily wakes up and rubs his head. “Ugh, I feel like I was hit by a train.” He looks around to see his surroundings and then a rather uneasy looking Cadance. “Uh, hi honey?”

Even after everything, the same slightly lopsided nervous smile still manages to melt her heart. “What happened?”

Shining Armour sighs. “Not much. After I saved you, I just remember a weird freezing cold wind-like sensation wash through me and I suddenly look like this. I demoted Light Brigade until we can get to the bottom of this and was rallying the rest when I was consumed by another dark cloud. Next thing I know, I’m in the throne room in front of you three.” His eyes widen. “What about Twily and the others? Are they okay?”

Cadance feels some relief in that. “Rainbow Dash has been banished to the Sun for what she did and Aunt Celestia and Aunt Luna are probably seeing to the others now.” He looks at her weirdly. “Discord.”

He nods in understanding but, before anything else can be said, Solar Strike walks in with a bow. “Your highness, the Princesses have returned and want to speak in the throne room.” Cadance nods and follows him out though not before she and her husband hug through the bars. Nothing happens until after they’ve reached the throne room and Solar Strike has heralded her. Once she passes the threshold and the doors have shut behind her though, she looks around the throne room in horror.

From wall to wall, there appears to be a mix of the rooms natural decor and a strange leather looking substance which glows faintly green even in broad daylight. More alarming though is the sight of green cocoons hanging from the walls containing an assortment of ponies wearing Royal Guard armour of both divisions and even some wearing noble outfits. More immediately problematic though is the sixty or so Changelings splayed out across the throne room and a familiar giant sitting atop Princess Celestia’s throne. Most sickening is that Chrysalis is just sitting there happy as Larry with the largest manure eating grin that Cadance has ever seen. “Good afternoon, I hope you had a nice journey. How’d you like the place?”

The Canterlonian Plains

With a sickening crack, another Changeling hits the floor like an metricton of bricks but another fifteen immediately take it's place. Even whilst they are blown away by a shock-wave, another torpedoes into Princess Celestia who is knocked back at least thirty feet. "This is worthless!" Indeed, an Alicorn’s power is mighty but even it has a limit and the hordes of Changelings never seem to end; wave after wave arriving from the direction of Canterlot.

Right next to her, a writhing pile of Changelings go flying to reveal Princess Luna. "We’d bet our throne and crown that she planned this. She'd have known we'd have to go to Ponyvile and struck whilst the Castle was almost undefended."

Celestia narrowly avoids a nasty stab wound from a Changeling who she then backhoofs into several others. "Agreed.” Hissing from a lucky shot to her side, she blasts a path straight through the army through which they charge just to get some momentary breathing room. “If we’re not careful, we’ll be overwhelmed.”

As the Changelings close in, menacingly slowly because they know they have an incredible advantage, Luna gives a slightly lopsided smile. “Like old times then?”

Celestia returns the smirk before the two Princesses stand flank to flank, unable to do much else but fight.

Back in Canterlot

Cadance gets thrown across the room once again as Chrysalis yawns. “Come on, Cadanza. Are you holding back or you really just that helpless without your husband? Maybe I just had to wait a few decades to take over the Crystal Empire once he died.”

Cadance doesn’t respond, instead firing off a blinding light that lasts for several seconds and allows her to magically slam down Chrysalis. “Ooh, looks like you do have some spunk after-all. Congratulations.” Even so, Cadance gets the feeling thst she’s just toying with her. She then blasts Chrysalis against the wall but she just seems to smile before throwing the beam back into her.

As Cadance narrowly avoids slamming into the base of the throne by beating her wings, Chrysalis approaches with a wide smile. “Tell me, Cadance. How did you expect a duel between the Princess of Love and the creatures that feed on love for power to end? If Celestia couldn’t defeat me after our long history together, how did you expect to stand a chance? You got lucky last time but I don’t intend to make the same mistake twice.” Cadance rolls to avoid Chrysalis stamping on her horn and attempts to spear the Changeling only to be forced into rolling when the Queen deflects it and bucks.

Rapidly running out of options, and horrendously outnumbered, Cadance teleports away. “Get down to the dungeons and secure Shining Armour. Take as much help as you need. I won’t be foiled by the same ponies twice.

One moment, all Shining Armour can hear is loud bangs so defaming that it’s heard this deep underground and the next his rather dishevelled and bruised looking wife is standing before him. “What’s happening up there?”

“Changelings.”

To his mild surprise, the door swings open and his inhibitor shatters but he has more immediate concerns. “Again? I thought they’d vanished.”

Before Cadance can respond, the cell door explodes inwards and twenty five Changelings burst in. “Seize them.” And just like that, for the third time in thier lives, the two find themselves fighting for both thier own lives and the lives of everypony in Equestria.

Ponyvile

Even as a second army of Changelings looks over the town, it looks almost completely abandoned; any outdoors stalls or equipment left sitting where they just seemingly moments ago. Admittedly, the Changelings had hardly been subtle when arriving but they were expecting ponies running around like beheaded cockatrices instead of just an eerie silence. One of the two Commanders eyes the town from atop a nearby hill curiously. “I don’t like it.”

The Changeling next to him scoffs loudly. “You never like anything, Thorax. Let’s be honest, what’re the ponies gonna do? They can’t use the Elements, Cadenza is doomed and thier royal pain in the flanks will only last so long. We’ve got the easy job.”

Pharynx then turns to the three hundred strong strike force behind them. “We split into groups of between five and twenty and search everywhere. Remember, the Queen wants the Bearers alive and as unharmed as possible but the rest?” A horrible, predatory, fang-filled smile emerges. “We feast.” With a roar of mutual agreement and excitement, the army descends upon the small town.

The first group to reach thier target is a group of ten that reach the Crusader treehouse because it never hurts to have valuable hostages if you run into significant resistance. Sneaking a peek through the window, the leader finds a white and purple filly sitting there sketching something on a sheet of paper and gestures to his comrade to break the door in. And in it does go but the Changeling finds himself magically picked up and thrown a full three leagues. “What the?!!”

Five more rush in but then get sent comically flying when the first gets bucked and then falls into the others. "Fine then, let's do it the hard way." Diving in through the windows, he casts a powerful sleep spell just to have it dodged and get blown back. How’s a foal even doing this?! They’re no better than nymphs! Sick of this, and then having to watch another Changeling get comically bowled out the door like a hoofball, he channels most of his absorbed love into a single powerful attack. Aiming directly at the floor, he fires a powerful laser to bring down the entire treehouse only for it to rebound and knock him away.

A shield?! How’re they powerful enough to generate a shield that big and strong?! What are these ponies?! He looks around to see his remaining two Changelings lying splayed out on the floor. “What happened to-“

“Ahem.” The Commander turns but the last thing he swears he sees is a purple maned but dark coated pony before he’s struck over the head and knows nothing more.

High above, Apple Bloom drops down from a spot atop the treehouse. “Tha’ was awesome! Ah wanna do it again!”

She and Sweetie Belle then have the same thoughts but thier flanks are still blank. “Aw, I so thought we had them.”

Not very far away, a swarm of thirty Changelings descend on Sweet Apple Acres itself. Thirty may seem like overkill but the Apples are also notoriously stubborn and strong so they waste no time in breaking down the front door. Spreading out through the house, it doesn’t take long to find Granny Smith rocking in her chair but the weird colouring of her fur gives a moment’s pause. “Are ponies supposed to look like that?”

“Who cares? Get her!”

“NNNNOPE!” Before any of them can turn, the pantry door flies open and the last thing many of them see is an enormous pony jump out before his hooves connect with one of them. Said Changeling then takes out a fairly sizeable chunk of its friends as it goes flying and leaves a very large crack down the sidewall.

The sole Changeling left standing turns to flee only to meet a knockout spell from the hall. “Barbarians.” From upstairs, a significant struggle can be heard to the point that it sounds like the house is about to come down around their ears.

Before Rarity can go and help though, a visibly exhausted Applejack emerges; looking like a complete mess and even a blackened eye. “Oh Nelly, there was a lotta them. Even got sum lucky hits in the varmints but Ah showed ‘em.”

As Rarity follows her friend back towards Ponyvile, chatting all the way about different treatments for a black eye, a smile appears on Granny Smith’s face.

Another group of ten descend on Sugarcube Corner because what harm can a bunch of bakers and thier infants be? The group split up, half going upstairs to the bedrooms and the others going to the cellar as they can hear work going on in the lower reaches of the building. Once they arrive though, the lead immediately feels an intense gnawing on his hoof. "An alligator?! How’d an alligator get down here?!" He flings off the gator who slides down the wall but doesn't seem harmed and just blinks at them blankly.

"Must be that party pony's pet that Pelt mentioned. Whatever, we'll finish up here and skin it for the H-" He ends up getting decked by a baking tray to the face. “Ok, I don’t care what the Queen says. When i get my hooves on her, I’ll-“

What he was going to do to Pinkie Pie shall never be known as he suddenly flops to the floor; a large, ugly purple bruise on the back of his head. Looking up, the Changelings stare at the pink party prepper using her punch permeated tail like a propeller. “Hi!” One of the Changelings tries to tackle her but she bounces out the way. “Oooh, are we playing tag? You’re it!” She nudges one in the side and bounces away, causing his friend to accidentally blast him unconscious. “No play fighting! Play nice!”

Pinkie tut tuts at them as one dives at her only to be restrained and tied down in the blink of an eye. “What?!”

“Quick knot! You have no idea how many presents I have to tie up!” Now down to two, the Changelings try to blast her unconscious but she bounces around like she’s made of springs. In the meantime, Carrot Cake sneaks up on the distracted Changelings and bucks one unconscious.

These ponies are mad! Completely plucking mad! The final Changeling manages to escape into a cupboard just to find it filled with butcher’s knives, a meat carving table, an oven, some cupcakes laid out caringly to one side and finally what appears to be blood smeared on the walls. NOPE! I'm getting the others and we're burning this place down! He turns to bolt only to slam into the door-frame so hard that he gets a concussion and knocks himself out.

Carrot Cake looks at his apprentice with slight wariness, noting the copious amounts of red icing and borrowed equipment from Red Meat. “Where’d you even get the idea for that? This is just... twisted.”

Pinkie just grins from ear to ear. “Because the author is kinda a foal himself.”

As usual, Carrot Cake just shakes his head in disbelief at the fourth wall break whilst they head upstairs. “Is everything alright, honey?”

They reach the master bedroom to find a most bizarre sight awaiting them. Four Changelings lie unconscious and tied up on the floor, what appears to be confetti from Pinkie’s party cannon strewn around the room. The fifth is being thrown around in a weird game of Catch between Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake. Like godmother, like godchildren apparently.

Fifteen Changelings descend on the cozy cottage outside the Everfree. They’d planned to only take three because Fluttershy is a… less than formidable fighter but then remembered who her new friend happens to be. Before they can even reach the cottage, three get carried away by an assortment of animals including a bear and two reindeer before any of the others even noticed. Upon entering, they find themselves observing the absurd sight of Discord the almighty God of Chaos enjoying a cuppa with Fluttershy. “Do any of you mind?! We’re trying to enjoy our tea. Come back again in ten minutes.”

The Changelings find themselves abruptly teleported out so they break down the door instead and go in firing. “Oh please, don’t they teach you manners? Please, take a load on. We insist.” Six immediately find themselves forced to the ground by invisible but utterly unmovable weights and three more find thier horns clogged with stone and hooves merged into the ground. “You Changelings are hardly even worth the effort and yet old Swiss Cheese still somehow defeated Sunbutt.” Two more launch at Discord who now looks like a jail warden just to be immediately plucked out of midair like specks of dust and throw in a cage which he immediately teleports… somewhere. “So uncivilised.”

The last turns to grab Fluttershy just to find himself paralysed. “How dare you try and hurt innocent ponies! You should be ashamed of yourself. You will sit down and be quiet if you know what’s good for you.” Much to the Changeling’s shock, he sits his flank down and does nothing as Discord chains him up.

“Nothing! We’ve been at this for ten minutes and nothing!” Thorax throws over a sewing table inside the Boutique. “Where could she be hiding?!”

“Probably getting her hair done at the spa or something equally intelligent.”

The four Changelings get a nice chuckle out of that until they hear someone enter through the barely standing front door. “What have you done?! My work! My home!” As Rarity stares in horror at what she sees, the Changelings smirk in anticipation; waiting her to have one of her infamous fainting spells. Instead, her face contorts into one of uncontrollable rage. “I’ll make sure that you regret that.” She seals the exits shut and magically picks up a sewing machine before the next several minutes are filled with loud crashes and yells of pain.

The single largest contingent of Changelings, a good fifty strong force led by Pharynx, break down a familiar door and wake up a rather cross looking owl. “Now where’s Twilight Sparkle?”

“Hoo?”

Owlowiscious has to fly out the window as Pharynx fires at him. “Spread out and find her but be careful.” Before anything can happen though, a tail lashes out from the nearby cupboard and knocks ten away but whatever the creature is is already gone by the time they fire into it. “is everyling alright?” Eight of the ten nod but the others are out cold. “Good, we find that thing and we crush it. It’s too dangerous to even feed on.”

Frustration practically seeping from every pore, Pharynx leads his army to Twilight’s room upstairs where they find the unicorn reading A Thesis On Alicorn Biology. He sends two of his strongest Praetorians to tackle her but they end up walking into a shield. “Figures.” The entire swarm moves in to strike but many end up getting swatted away by a tail; now revealed to belong to a long black and green snake-like creature. Is that the dragon she’s supposed to keep as a pet? These ponies are so plucking weird.

As the most competent Changeling in his group, Pharynx manages to get around the shield and pounce on the pony. “Gotcha!” As he leans down to bite her with a paralysing venom though, Twilight shimmers and vanishes. Constructs? He turns just in time to stop a laser beam from conking him out only to be slightly surprised by what he sees. Was she always black?

Determined to put her down, he channels every ounce of energy he has into the beam but it doesn’t budge an inch. But the only thing able to stand up against our magic when it’s at its strongest is… His eyes widen as he realises why she looks like it only for his magic to be overwhelmed and he only feels himself slam into the bed before going unconscious.

Lieutenant Razorwing can hardly believe what’s happening to her. Taking Ponyvile Hospital was incredibly easy which should surprise no-pony; it’s a building full of injured or sick ponies and doctors and nurses that have never been trained to fight after-all. It’d be an achievement if they had failed quite frankly. Sure, a few of her soldiers had been knocked out by an assortment of drugs but they’d taken it with relative ease. Now though? How many would expect a foal of possessing the power to knock down a full grown Praetorian with one kick? To sum up, things shortly thereafter went to Tartarus in a hoofbasket with even the most pathetic looking nurse managing to decimate the Changeling guards, far too quickly for it to even properly register.

As the last Changeling standing, Razorwing hates to admit it but she flees instinctively although whether it’s a need for reinforcements or for self preservation she is unable to say. She’s so focused on fleeing that she doesn’t notice another Changeling being thrown at her from a barn far below.

These tales of small victories are but a select few of the dozens of scenes that play out across Ponyvile. What was supposed to be a complete curbstomp victory and glorious feast for the Changelings is rapidly turning into a stalemate but more gradually, it’s turning into a complete route. In certain other parts of Equestria however, things aren’t going anywhere near as smoothly.

The Canterlonian Plains

For the fifth time in as many minutes, Celestia has to throw off a mound of Changelings as Luna does the same. “We need an edge, Luna. This is getting ridiculous.”

Luna nods so she shoots high into the air which allows the Changeling army to launch at Celestia once more. In moments however, Luna rockets back down from what must be the Gildran Line and dives just above the heads of everyling with a loud noise like a crack of thunder. Doing so creates an enormous tidal-wave like effect where all are violently thrown into hoops and Celestia barely has time to magically secure herself to the ground. When the dust settles and Luna lands, both set about trying to bring down the enormous energy shield but once again fail. "What 'tis that foul shield made of?"

Registering her sister's slip back into Old Equestrian as a sign of clear frustration, Celestia shakes her head. "Pure love, the only force stronger than magic. An entire Hive’s worth." Indeed, the sheer amount of love magic in the forcefield is so potent that it's almost enough to give a Unicorn or Alicorn a headache from sheer magical overload. Magic itself is derived from strong emotions and pure love is the strongest emotion there is so trying to penetrate it is kinda like trying to knock over a sturdy house with a very light shove. Usually, the only way to make such a shield disappear is to defeat the caster but that’s obviously not an option here.

Most crushing, it makes them realise something; Chrysalis is putting everything into this attack so it’s all or nothing for her. She’s desperate and that only makes her more dangerous than last year. Of course, they try to just teleport through it instead but just end up teleporting randomly on this side. They attempt to fly around but end up hitting never ending barrier and digging gets the same result. Without much recourse left, and the Changeling army around them starting to recover, they head back to Ponyvile and see what they can do.

Canterlot Castle, Throne Room

Even in her moment of triumph, Chrysalis looks out in frustration towards Ponyvile. They’re much more trouble than I expected but who cares? Even Celestia can’t handle thousands of us so we’ll brute force it. They’re divided and the Elements are useless so we’ve already won. We just have to make them realise it. Knowing Cadance and her husband, they’ll be here any- There's a loud crash as the throne doors slam open with enough force to rock the Throne Room. Right on cue.

Turning to them, she grits her teeth at the small pile of Changelings left behind them. Nymphs, it always falls to me to solve thier problems. As the royal couple stop before her, both clearly expecting an ambush, Chrysalis wears a forced smile. “In some demented way, getting here’s an achievement I suppose. It’s almost romantic in a way. I’ll make sure to bear that in mind as Celestia watches what I do to you.”

Shining Armour stares down his tormentor. “Give up and we’ll consider a lighter punishment.”

Chrysalis can’t help but almost cry with laughter. “GIVE UP?!!! Why would I surrender?! A victor doesn’t surrender as they’re on the cusp of victory! Canterlot is mine, Celestia and Luna will fall, your beloved sister as well and you both will regret what you did.”

“No matter what you throw at us, we’ll always bounce back. You can’t just force a surrender using violence.”

Another foul grin. “The Elements are unusable, I’m stronger than any pony in existence, Celestia and the Bearers couldn’t stop me and the Crystal Heart will only make me stronger. How do you have any chance of stopping me?”

Cadance fires off an energy beam which Chrysalis deflects with a wave of the hoof. “The same way we did before. If not us, somepony or creature would bring you down.”

Chrysalis shakes her head dismissively, as if they just suggested something extremely stupid, before descending from the throne and walking over to look over the pair. “Since you’ve been so kind, I’ll extend the same offer to you. Give up and it’ll be much less painful. You might even be allowed to stay in adjoining cells if you grovel enough.”

Once thier expressions express the obvious sentiment, Chrysalis flashes a foul grin. “Then I'll just crush both of you under-hoof and force thier surrender. They’d never endanger thier beloved niece and brother and, once I’ve got the Empire, nothing WILL EVER be able to stop us. But first, let’s make things more interesting, shall we?” Chrysalis suddenly teleports all three of them into Canterlot. The instant she does, she body slams both before the teleportation flash can even dissipate. “Now, you either fight or I level Canterlot. And you know I can, don't you Cadance? You must’ve heard the story about what Red Tape did. Want to see if I can do it by myself?"

Her answer is a magic blast to the face but Chrysalis shrugs it off and spreads her wings dramatically. “Cmon then, Cadance. Let’s see if you can put your bits where your mouth is.”

As she takes flight, Cadance quickly follows whilst Shining can do little more than watch and throw up a barrier. It’s very clear that she’s trying to use the fact Shining Armour can’t fly to her advantage and thus exploit an ancient racial disadvantage they’d had during the ancient days of fighting Pegasus. All the same, they can’t let her just pelt them from above so he can only watch helplessly as Cadance up through the clouds and out of sight.

High above in the sky, it’s almost a tornado of black and pink whirling around as both royals try to get a definitive hit against each other. Cadance’s magic fails to penetrate Chrysalis’ thick chitin if it even hits at all but she’s also much too small and nimble for Chrysalis to touch. One thing to remember though , Chrysalis never plays fair as Cadance feels a Changeling rockets down from below and strikes her in the stomach although she returns the favour by bucking it back down to Equus.

However, this small opening gives Chrysalis the chance to blast her clean through a cloud bank and onto a storm cloud that had been scheduled for Canterlot later that evening. “You truly are a one trick pony, Cadance. You defeat us but can’t stop Sombra and now you’re utterly defeated.” As Cadance gets back up, Chrysalis towers over Cadance like a monstrous mountain of malice. “What should I do with you? Cocoon you like Celestia? Torture you like the others? Turn you into a husk? Or maybe I’ll just control you like I did Shining Armour. Ah, the Princess of Love as my slave. Or maybe I should take Twilight Sparkle instead to ensure she’ll never be a problem again? Oh the poss-“

Chrysalis isn’t able to finish as she’s suddenly blasted back by a bolt of lightning. “Huh.” She looks over to see blue lightning surrounding a slightly glowing Cadance which she’d been too busy gloating to notice. “You know, that actually tickled. Such a rarely used Pegasus talent but your ancestors always did love thier thunderstorms. Maybe this could actually be fun after all ." She channels all of her energy, glowing visibly green as her smile turns from insane to almost feral. “Bring it on.”

With a loud crack, Cadance takes off so Chrysalis unleashes a devastating beam that annihilates the thunderstorm but Cadance does a barrel roll right under Chrysalis who avoids a bucking by soaring to the right. For several moments, she and Cadance stare each other down before clashing several dozen more times, both emitting blinding flashes of light as thier magical areas collide like two meteors before breaking apart. Each time, neither can gain an advantage and instead just end up sending painful reverberations through thier bodies so they begin the constant banking and turning dance.

After a few more minutes of nothing being accomplished, and for but a second, Chrysalis let’s her guard down as she bankrolls in an attempt to get behind Cadance. Instead, she pays the price when she’s blasted down and into a wall of trees. Visibly bruised but still smiling, Chrysalis gets up to casually dust herself off. “Impressive, genuinely impressive. But you forget, I’m the one with the army.”

At once, some nearby shrubs abruptly turn into Changelings which Cadance successfully fends off only to be speared through the leg by Chrysalis’ horn. As the younger ruler recoils in pain, Chrysalis takes the moment to back hoof her and blast her into a nearby wall which immediately collapses atop her. “And thus it ends. Goodnight.” She raises a hoof to bring it down on Cadance’s head only to get body slammed back a few paces. “The cavalry. How droll.”

Helping his injured wife to her hooves, Shining Armour glares down the Changeling. “One last chance. Surrender.”

Chrysalis responds by firing off a large green magical beam which Shining reflexively counters with one of his own. In mere seconds though, it is already a very significant mental struggle to just maintain the beam as Chrysalis is clearly probing and toying with him. “Foal, Celestia couldn’t beat me so what chance do you have?!”

Cadance supports her husband with a beam of her own which finally seems to still the energy beam. “And thus the Princess of Food joins in. I’m not letting that happen again.” Two Changelings dive in and repeatedly try to knock either of them down, forcing them into having a wide berth between each other. “Checkmate.”

As she tries to force her beam to take them down though, nothing happens. “What?”

“There’s something about friendship you’ll never understand, Chrysalis. Friendship can come in many forms, in many types and traits but one thing it’ll always posses; purity.”

Chrysalis scowls. “Enough.”

“Love is merely a stronger form of friendship but you’ll never understand. Love and friendship are just food and meaningless to you, aren’t they?”

“SILENCE!” Chrysalis pours all of her energy into her beam which finally manages to force its way towards the couple. For just a moment, it appears that she’s won until she realises something’s very wrong. They should have slammed to the ground by now but they’re just standing there which makes no sense until the tense moment breaks.

In an instant, black energy forces its way out of Shining and pure golden energy out of Cadance. “What?!” Chrysalis terminates her magic beam but is unable to escape in time before the beam slams into her and there’s a loud crack. Chrysalis struggles to stay grounded as the energy pushes against her, parts of her chitin starting to crack under the pressure, “N-no! Not again! I won’t… I won’t… I-“ With a deafening boom, whatever’s in that energy breaks through her defences and the Changeling Queen disappears as she is violently thrown through at least a half dozen houses by the force of the blast.

When she finally recovers, now visibly mangled and tattered, she finds herself looking up at the Crystal Rulers. “WHAT WAS THAT?!!!”

Cadance smiles down at the Queen. “Pure, focused love from the Crystal Heart itself. Even Changelings can’t handle something that raw. Shining used his corrupted magic.”

Chrysalis glares them down but realises something after a moment. “My Hive… Why aren’t they responding?”

“Because they’ve either already fallen or are in full retreat.” Chrysalis immediately turns and tries to blast a hole straight through Celestia but her horn fizzles out; overloaded with magic and charred. “Give up.”

Chrysalis stares at the severely bruised but otherwise fine Solar Princess before teleporting to Canterlot. In the meantime, Cadance and Shining look around; watching the streets sadly as they see how the magic battle ended up devastating the surprising area. As her exhaustion and pain catches up to her though, Cadance wobbles and Shining catches her. “C’mon, let’s free the Guards and get you patched up.”

Appearing at the bottom of a hill overlooking Ponyvile, Chrysalis canters to the top. She’s bluffing. I’ll rally my children and I’ll wipe that smug smi- She stops and stares in shock at what she sees. “NO!” She watches in dismay at the sight of Changelings either fleeing into the horizon or being rounded by Guards. “NO!”

She tries to fly into town only to be forced back to the ground by a familiar orange aura. “It’s over.”

Chrysalis stares at the devastation before her. “What’s going on?! I’m supposed to be winning! Your ponies are supposed to be helpless without their Elements!!!”

Celestia steps forward resolutely. “What you’ll never understand. Chrysalis, is what ponies can do when you threaten their livelihoods. They’re capable of incredible acts, with or without special artefacts.”

No! I’m not giving them the satisfaction! We’re too close to fail now! Watching her dream fall apart before her very eyes, and with frankly nothing else to lose, Chrysalis channels so much magic into her horn that it becomes almost as bright as the Sun. The strain is absolute agony but she hears it with a completely demented grin. “Then I’ll take you with me! Even if I can’t win, how will they cope without their great protector? Something else will crush them!”

Before she can unleash the attack though, she receives one final energy blast to the back of her head. Combined with the strain of the channelled energy and fatique from the fight earlier, it makes for a rather anticlimactic end to the fight as Chrysalis crumples and Luna flies down. “Is everything okay, sister? What about Cadance and Shining Armour?”

Celestia takes a moment to respond as she sadly regards her fallen friend. “They’re okay. Cadance got skewered at some point but she’ll get it seen to. How are things here?”

They look out over the small ruined town. “Not much has changed. They’ll repair and make do like our little ponies tend to.” She turns to Chrysalis and winces at the very large crack down Chrysalis’ horn. “What do we do with her?”

“We send her to the dungeon and decide what to do next.” Celestia’s tone turns sorrowful. “We may very well have to deal with her permanently if we can’t make her see reason. She’s too dangerous to be kept free.”

Luna nods and they get to work restraining her as the Sun sets on another day in Equestria. Little does anypony know, today is merely the first of several more days of mayhem yet to come.

Confronting Your Past

With the Changeling invasion over, the Changelings either imprisoned or in full retreat and Chrysalis in the dungeon, the repair works to Canterlot and Ponyvile can begin. The Royal Guards that aren't either injured, drained from the cocoons or searching for captives of the Changelings have been called in and promised extra time off as a reward. They’re horrendously understaffed as a result and manage quite well with aid from the Crystal Guard. Whilst Princess Cadance and Shining Armour help out in Ponyvile, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna coordinate the repairs in Canterlot, As they help to repair a barely standing house though, Celestia turns to leave. “Something wrong, sister?”

Celestia turns to her sister and shakes her head. “I’m going to have a word with our prisoner. We need to set some things straight whilst we have a moment to breathe.” Luna nods and returns to her work as Celestia takes a deep breath and continues on.

Canterlot Dungeons

Having been laying back in the bed looking bored, Chrysalis turns with a sneer as Celestia enters. “So you defeated the freak that you once called your friend. Congratulations. Soooo impressive. Well done, your majesty.” She does a mockingly fake bow.

“What do you want, Chrysalis?” Even the famously patient Celestia is at the end of her rope with the Queen.

Chrysalis‘ snarl turns into a scowl. “I want to see you torn down and made to pay. You’re nothing more than a manipulative monster and always have been. Everything you touch suffers and dies so why’d you think your faithful student and her friends will be any different? You can’t lie to me, Celestia. You’ve been growing her into your little successor for a long, long time now.”

She smiles at the surprise on Celestia’s face. “What? Did you think I wouldn’t notice the multiple tests and trials you put her through to ensure she ascends to Alicornhood? After you told me how you yourselves ascended? Everything you’ve ever done for her, you’ve done for your own good. First, you had her save your sister from her own stupidity and then you turned her and her friends into your own personal hit-squad to be flung at anything you don’t agree with. Next, you’ll browbeat and gaslight her into ascension to become a stronger lapdog before all but forcing her into your role so you can take a well earned rest?"

The smile turns into a resentful sneer. "You pretend to love her but it’s all a means to an end. If she ever questions you, you’ll send her to the Moon like your so-called sister, force her into exile like us or maybe she'll be a cautionary tale of crossing you like Discord became. You act like she’s your daughter when she’s no more special to you than any other Grunt in the Royal Guard. She just happens to hold ever so slightly more importance to your greater plans.”

Celestia’s gaze harshens. "How do you even know all this?"

Chrysalis flashes her fangs. "Because I'd have to be a very stupid nymph to not keep an eye on the ponies who defeated an Alicorn during thier first time saving the world. Within less than 12 hours of meeting for the very first time, I might add. Ponyvile's a transit town between Canterlot, Appleloosa, Las Pegasus, Dodge City and many more settlements. No-pony would notice one of my disguised children dropping by for a few days. Drop by, get a room somewhere, stick around until there’s something notable to report and then move on to Canterlot."

She then scoffs, apparently to herself as it is unprovoked. "How Twilight buys anything you say, I will never know because all you do is manipulate her. The gaslighting, the poorly disguised manipulative wording, the gala, what you did and said at the wedding, that one time you decided to mess with her using those tickets for no reason, Sombra who you could have crushed in fifteen minutes; less with Luna’s help. Even when he was directly endangering the Crystal Ponies? How about the time you decided to torment that pathetic coward by making her think she was killing your Phoenix and nearly gave her a heart attack when the bird exploded. What? Was Sparkle’s last test going to be that unfinished spell you've kept locked away?"

Celestia takes a very brief moment ti calm down from the thorough chewing out. “Why do you even care? Twilight and her life has nothing to do with you. How does this affect you in any-“

Chrysalis slams herself against the bars with a snarl. ”BECAUSE YOU ALLOWED US TO BE FORCED INTO EXILE FOR 1500 YEARS AND NEVER EVEN CARED!!! ALL WE HAVE EVER BEEN ARE PAWNS IN YOUR SCHEMES!!!”

She calms down after a moment. “Do you really think that I only hate you because of what the Bretheren did? No, they just helped us to see that you’re a manipulative monster who never cared. You stood there, uncaring as my children and some of your own ponies died because we’d proven resistant to your lies. Everypony else is a pawn to you and anything that challenges your ideals is an enemy that needs to be stamped out. What happened with the Brethren, at the wedding and yesterday happened because you never have and never will care. What I promised to do to 'your beloved' Twilight and her friends was completely sincere.”

She glares at the Alicorn in disgust. “I wanted you to see your ultimate plot fail because you should have learnt from what happened to us or Nightmare Moon but no. You’re still manipulating those around you for the ‘greater good’ when in reality you could do everything yourself. Is it because you hate her or are you just lonely as an immortal? You disgust me.” She takes a moment to breathe. “Even in here however, I’ve still won.”

Chrysalis’ anger turns to smug self righteousness. “You have two options, Celestia. Keep me locked up and my children will rescue me and I can promise you, the toll will be high for your little ponies when I’ll escape anyway. The other is to banish or petrify me, doom the Changelings and prove that I was right. Whatever happens to me and my people, you’ll always be no better than Sombra or Tirek. A pretender whose only interest is themself and thier own interest, damn morality or anything that gets in thier way.”

Pot calling the kettle black. Celestia’s neutral expression remains but, somewhere deep down, it hurts to hear this from a former close friend. “There’s still a third option, Chrysalis, and you know it.”

Chrysalis laughs. “What? Join your people like before so we can lock hooves in a big dance and throw a singalong? How deluded are you?” Her smile becomes completely deranged. “And why would I even believe we could get along?! The Brethren acted as they did with no provocation other than hating the mere concept of a Changeling. After everything we’ve done, why would your ponies treat us any different? Especially with those directly descended from the bigots like that stuck-up foal you call a nephew.”

Celestia already has an answer prepared. “Because of the Changelings who left you for a better life.”

Chrysalis chuckles darkly. “Ah yes, the little traitors. Tell me, how’re thier dismembered remains looking nowadays?”

Instead of a response, Celestia generates an energy screen.

Six months ago, Manehatten

Palp is immensely nervous as he makes his way back home. Quite frankly, he’s absolutely terrified of how things will turn out when he’s coming home for the first time in almost six months. It’s not like he has another home to flee back to anymore.

You’ve made your choice. If you so dare to make your way back here, you’ll be treated the same as the ponies you long for. May Harmony have mercy on your soul.

As cruel as Chrysalis can and has been, she’s still his mother and hearing those words from her hurts severely. More than anything else though, he’s worried about how Stars Above will react. Five years ago, he’d been sent as the planted spy for Manehatten but ended up meeting a local stargazer which became something more over the last few years. As he reaches the edge of the city, he turns into his alias Clear Sky; an unremarkable green Pegasus with a light blue mane not dissimilar to his true appearance.

When he arrives at his house though, the first thing he gets is a hard slap from a very angry marefriend. "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! You've been gone for MONTHS and I heard NOTHING! I thought... I thought I lost you to the Changelings! When I heard about the attack, I-I..." Star finally breaks down and hugs him. "Thank Celestia you're safe. When I saw what happened, I-I…”

Clear Sky rubs her back until she calms down. “It’s okay, I’m sorry. It’s just been hard trying to get messages out after what happened.” Star looks into his eyes with unimaginable joy. “The other Guards have to screen everything that gets in or out. I think my message got lost.”

Star nods understandingly since, as far as she knows, he’s just a lieutenant in the Royal Guard. “Please, come in.” Clear smiles and the reunited couple renter the house with the largest smiles.

What neither see is that Stars Above’s brother, Windows Cleaner, had been in the woods for a stroll earlier and seen Palp transform. The first thing he does is to immediately head for the local Royal Guard barracks.

After a hearty dinner, Star notices the slightly dour mood which he’s been trying to hide. “Is everything okay?”

Fortunately, Clear Sky had already prepared an answer. “Whilst in Canterlot, I ran into my family.” She nods sympathetically, having heard that he was somewhat estranged from them which is in reality only half a lie. “My mom’s disowned me for abandoning them after everything they’ve done for me.”

He finds himself pulled into another hug. “I’m so, so sorry Cleary. Just know, you’ll always have me and I’ll never leave you.” She ends the promise with a kiss.

In that moment, Palp feels a deep and inexpiable joy deep within himself. In that moment, he doesn’t think he’s ever been happier. I obeyed my Queen and was willing to destroy everything I have here, just for the sake of power that I don't need and food I already have in swathes. I’m an idiot but I’m an idiot who’ll die before I let anything hurt Star.

Just as suddenly as the moment begins however, Stars Above pulls away violently and he opens his eyes to see her backing away from him and looking absolutely terrified. For a moment, he’s confused until he looks down. Black, hole filled hooves and he can feel his horn back on his head. “Oh, flock.

The next morning

Princess Celestia lands on the outskirts of Manehatten and is led to the rarely used dungeons after the common platitudes. Normally, it’d be left up to the local judiciaries to decide what to do with minor incursions like this since the Princesses act more like an overarching authority than micromanaging dictators. However, Clear Sky has been a member of her Guard for almost ten years and matters that directly involve the Canterlonian Royal Guard make thier way to her. Having a Changeling infiltrate the Royal Guard, no matter how minor thier rank may be, is a serious security issue.

When she finds his cell though, she also finds a very defeated looking Changeling sat before her. “What’s your name?”

Palp chuckles emptily. “Palp.”

Celestia waits a moment for him to elaborate. “Well, haven’t you anything to say for yourself?”

Another empty chuckle. “And what am I supposed to say? That I had no say in what happened a month ago? That my Queen brainwashed me into following her orders and I was a mindless, helpless puppet forced to participate in her attacks? That I never wanted to help my mother take over Canterlot? That I regret trying to help my own chitin and blood survive? Do you want me to lie?”

To Palp’s slight surprise, Celestia’s tone remains soft. “What we want to know is where Clear Sky is. We can arrange your repat-“

“If I go back, it’s a death sentence. She hates me just as much as any of you ponies because I’ve left the Hive for a better life.”

Celestia blinks but isn’t exactly very surprised. “If you help us to find Clear Sky, I’m sure we can arrange for you to settle down somewhere.”

Palp chuckles emptily. “You want Clear Sky? You’re looking at him. There never was a Clear Sky. I invented him based on an illustration from ‘A Tale of Two Stables.’ I was sent to infiltrate your Guard eleven years ago and then became the Manehatten spy after being assigned to the reserves.”

After a very long, painful moment passes, Celestia turns to the door. “There’s somepony who wants to speak to you. Be aware, I’ll be waiting right outside if you try anything.”

Once he nods, she leaves and is replaced by Stars Above. Palp can’t even bring himself to look her in the eye but can tell that she’s deeply disappointed in him. “You lied to me.”

Even though her tone is calm, Palp cringes. “I… I don’t know what to even say, Star. What we did in Canterlot was unforgivable and I was scared to say anything. I-I don’t know why my disguise dropped, I was just so happy.”

A long moment of dead silence ensues as he feels her looking him over. Several things leap out to Star; Palp’s eyes are the same shade of deep violet as before even if they’re now compound eyes, he’s the same height as Clear Sky, he’s very strong looking like his Pegasus counterpart, he has random spatters of green around his body which are identical to Clear Sky’s fur. Even his voice is almost the same except for that underlying clicking noise. For a moment, she thinks it’s a trick but then remembers how the inhibitor prevents them from using magic and thus using any disguise techniques whatsoever. “Why couldn’t you trust me? You know I wouldn’t have cared.”

“Can you honestly say that, if you had seen me like this right after we first met, you wouldn’t have fled in terror? You’ve heard the stories and you’d only have suspected me more after the attack on Canterlot.”

Star is silent for a while. “Why do it? Why would you turn against us?”

A tear drips from Palp’s eye. “My family are starving, Star. I can’t just leave them and, even if I did, I’d die with them. We’re all connected.” He taps a hoof to his head. “By the time I’d realised how stupid of a mistake that was, I was already on my way down here.”

Star swallows nervously. “Do you regret it? You know, tying to take over?”

Palp still doesn’t look her in the eyes. “Yes, with all my heart; yes. I don’t know why, I just think some small part of me thought I could help my Queen and then rejoin you as a ‘subject.’ I didn’t want to lose you, Star. I just didn’t have a choice.”

Deafening silence follows for the next few minutes is enough of an answer until Celestia renters. “Anything?”

Star shakes her head. “He says he is my colt-friend and it’s hard to explain but it just… feels like him. You know?”

Celestia nods as Palp looks up with a slightly hopeful expression. “How do I prove it?”

“Where’d we first meet?”

Palp sighs with a nostalgic smile. “The same day that I first came to Manehatten and I decided to take the time to stargaze. You had the same idea with your telescope.”

Star’s nod confirms it. “And how did you ask me out?”

Palp blushes. “In one of our stargazing sessions when I spied the Summer Sun Triangle. Chrysalis, I couldn’t stop blushing.”

Star seems conflicted and looks to an unreadable Celestia who looks at Palp intensely before speaking. “It wouldn’t be the first time a Changeling defected from thier Hive. There’s been at least fifteen in the last two weeks and those are only the ones we've discovered.”

Palp seems to perk up a bit. “Meaning what?”

“Meaning that you pose no apparent threat and could be allowed to continue your life. We have a problem with Chrysalis and her generals, not any Changelings that want to return to thier normal lives. We don’t punish those who are hungry and desperate, just the most egregious offenders.” She does stare him down severely for a moment though. “But be aware, we’ll be keeping an eye from a distance.”

Palp nods. "Th-thank you, your highness. I promise I'll ne-" He isn't able to finish and Stars Above lets out a shriek as he glows and seems to distort in a weird blue magical field.

Stars Above's eyes water as she watches what could very well be her coltfriend’s death unfolding right in front of her. “W-What’s HAPPENING to him?!”

Celestia smiles very warmly. “Something wonderful.”

When the distortion ends, what stands before the two ponies isnt the same black and holed creature. Instead, there sits a strange bright red chitined creature. It has Palp’s eyes and Clear Sky’s green “mane” but lacks any holes or fangs, appearing much more like a healthy young insect. Said insect stares at its own hooves in shock. “What… What just happened?”

With a warm smile, Celestia lets the cell door swing open. “The same thing that happens whenever a Changeling willingly reciprocates love and accepts what they are. You’ll never need to worry about feeding on love ever again.”

Palp’s eyes water and that quickly develops into him crying. “Th-thank you.”

Celestia waves him off. “I did nothing, it was all you and Stars Above. I just helped you accept the true potential of a Changeling.”

With that, she turns to leave but shoots back her signature disarming smile. “Goodbye, Palp. If what you’ve said is true, you won’t need to worry about me again.” And with that, she’s gone but Palp barely notices as Stars Above bowls him over with a tackle hug.

The present

Celestia turns to a bored looking Chrysalis. “That was a compilation of my own memories and those of Palp.”

The Changeling looks at her very blankly. “And I’m supposed to buy any of that? At least you have a good imagination.”

Despite this, Celestia watches her release a very subtle sigh and spies a light in her eyes. The light of a mother relieved to see her child safe even if it's buried behind Chrysalis' usually unhinged gaze. “You know, I’m starting to wonder. You cared about Twilight and her future, you still care about your children even after some of them left you. I think there might still be something left of my friend.”

Chrysalis just chuckles sourly. “You really are a nymph, Celestia. The Chrysalis you knew died the same day that she watched her home, her people, turn to ash as she watched helplessly and you did nothing.”

Deciding to drop the matter for now, Celestia gets to the other matter at hoof. “Where are you keeping Scootaloo?”

Chrysalis outright laughs in her face. “How would I know? Last I heard, she’d been crippled by the Element of Loyalty.”

Celestia glares at her for me friend. “And we’re just supposed to take your word for it?”

Chrysalis grins until all of her fangs are visible. “If I had a hostage, don’t you think I’d have used her as leverage by now? What would I have to gain by not using her to blackmail you? It’s no secret that Luna and your precious slaves care about her after all. But I’d be careful if I were you. There’s clearly something else coming and it’ll most likely accomplish what we couldn’t.”’ With that, the Changeling lies down on the cell bed and refuses to speak anything else to the Princess.

As Celestia emerges into Canterlot itself, she finds Luna directing a mix of Night and Solar Guards in removing the rubble strewn across the streets. “Anything, sister?”

Celestia shakes her head. “Chrysalis won’t listen to reason and gave her ultimatum. We either banish her and doom the Changelings or we’re at war.” As Luna shakes her head, she prepares to deliver the other bad news. “She doesn’t have Scootaloo either. Any luck finding her in the Dreamscape?”

Luna shakes her head regrettably. “I can tell that she’s alive but there’s some dark force blocking me. It’s different from the Hive mind; much darker and more dangerous. Whatever has her, it’s very powerful.” Despite the vagueness, both she and Celestia already know who that being is very likely to be.

Celestia nods and she joins in with helping the others but, just as they finish up, Aegis Shield hurries over with a bow. “Your highness, there’s a stallion asking to meet all four of you in the throne room.” Before Celestia can walk away though, he speaks again. “I’ve got a bad feeling about him, a very bad one. One minute, there was nothing and there he was right in the middle of the room the next. It’s like he teleported but he’s just a Pegasus.”

A dark shadow crosses over Celestia’s face for but an instant. “Please put the Guards on high alert and lock down the Castle. Nothing gets in or out except ourselves, Princess Cadenza, Shining Armour or the Guards.”

Slightly surprised, Aegis salutes and hurries away with the other Guards hot on his hooves. “Sister, if it’s him…”

“Then I’ll do what I must to stop him. If he won, the result would be catastrophic.” And without another word, she blinks away to Ponyvile. All that’s left behind is a very worried Princess Luna, worried for both Scootaloo and her sister.

Around half an hour later, the Throne Room

Much to thier confusion, Cadance and Shining had been told to suit up in full battle armour which is unsurprisingly weird when dealing with one pony. Once they enter the throne room, they find themselves facing a silver coloured young Pegasus stallion with a cobalt blue mane, golden eyes, and a rather odd Cutie Mark. It’s a bright yellow shield with its armourial bearing being a planet struck through with what seems to be a phoenix feather. Despite him smiling and bowing reverently, there’s just this… palpable ominous feeling that surrounds him. “Good afternoon and thanks for meeting with me. I-“

Before he can properly begin, and before his mild Trottinghamanian accent can even properly register, Celestia blasts him across the room and into a stone pillar. “You.”

Despite being shot into the pillar with enough force to leave a very large crack running straight down it, the stallion gets to his hooves as if it were a light shove. More oddly, instead of a pained grimace, he’s smiling and shaking his head with a chuckle as if he were just greeted with a warm hug from an old friend. “Nine hundred and seventy five years and you still haven’t changed a day, Celestius Sol Invictus. And you’ve even made new friends.” He smiles at Cadance and Shining Armour but it’s just a little too wide. “This is going to be oh so enjoyable.”

For a moment, nothing happens and Cadance and Shining stare in confusion at the now maniacally smiling Pegasus. Then, the shadows from around the room slowly begin to leak in and consume the stallion in a tornado of dark energy. The wind generates enough current to force the rulers to use thier magic to stay in place;. However, this is only momentary as the shadows part to reveal a strange… thing standing where a normal Pegasus once stood.

It’s vaguely pony shaped but as black as a moonless night only to then switch to a physically mature dragon, a Griffon, a sea serpent, a Timberwolf, a Yak, a Changeling and an assortment of other species too numerous and quickly switched out to list. With every blink, he’s a different species and it loops whenever he seems to run out. Oddly, no matter how big these forms should be, it always remains the same general build as the stallion that had just been before them; roughly as tall as Luna and built like a brick house.

When the eyes open though… They’re remarkably normal except for a very visible coldness and almost dead-behind-the-eyes kinda look. They look like the kind of eyes you’d imagine a corpse to possess but there’s a definite calculating intelligence visible within “it’s good to be back.”

A Golden Homecoming

Unwillingly but instinctively, Cadance and Shining Armour feel a thrill go down thier spines. Whatever this entity is, it screams danger. It’s a very weird and difficult feeling to describe but it’s deep and primal even though they don’t know why. However, Luna seems unaffected and Celestia looks at Aurum as if his mere existence is a horrendous crime against ponydom. For his part, Aurum just smiles from ear to ear. “Ah, I gather they never found out about me then?”

Despite the amused tone in his voice, the look in Celestia’s eyes could boil stones into puddles of water. “I watched you die.”

Aurum chuckles but his eyes glimmer sadistically. “Did you forget, Celestia? The Elements cannot destroy, only weaken or banish because killing isn’t harmonious. You taught me that yourself, oh great Princess.” He does a melodramatic and overly theatrical bow of respect. “The Elements stripped me of my power and trapped me on Pona Centauri but I survived. Your little tests and mind games with your student allowed dark magic to fester and allowed me to drain its power and return. Now, I’ll finish what I started and fulfil that promise we made so long ago.”

Shining Armour steps forward to look the… thing in the eyes. “And what are you?”

Aurum’s foul smile changes to a very odd look; almost like he’s regarding a lesser mortal or an interesting insect that he crushed under-hoof. “Ah yes, the former head of the useless Guards and the newest Princess’ plaything. They pretend to love but we’re really just mating poles to use and discard. Some things will never change.”

Cadance steps forward as well. “Answer him.”

“And the wife as well. What an honour to meet such royalty. Tell me, how’s it feel to be married to a mortal?” He turns his distasteful gaze to Celestia but it’s accompanied by a wry grin. “Inviting another Nightmare Moon situation, aren’t we?” When his eyes fall upon Luna, for the first time since they entered the room, his face turns into a very dark expression. One of deep, visceral, undeniable but also inexplicable hatred. “And then there’s the maggot herself.”

With a moment to think as Aurum and Luna stare each other down, Cadance senses something and her eyes widen as she feels something between Aurum and Celestia. Something long faded and barely present but still lingering, at least from Celestia. I’ve felt that before. But if that were true then… Oh no. Then again, the look on her aunties’ faces suggest some past history and he is apparently from the same era which Nightmare Moon originated from. “I thought he died.”

Aurum turns with a smile as he shifts back to his Pegasus shaped form. “And the other bit finally drops. Nice to see she didn’t forget about me but she does love talking metaphorically.”

Celestia glares at the Pegasus then suddenly turned Timberwolf. “It wasn’t a metaphor, Legionary. The stallion I loved is dead, he’s been dead for the past 975 years. What you’ve become is just a husk using his body and voice.”

Aurum shakes his head and tuts condescendingly. “A touching sentiment but a pointless one. I’ve got other things to do.”

Shining Armour narrows his eyes at the creature. “And you think we’re just gonna let you trot out of here?!” He charges his magic, amassing all of his energy for a single, powerful knockout spell.

“Oh, please.” Instead of attempting to move, Aurum becomes his weird Pegasus-like form once again and begins vibrating his wings until they’re a blur. Needless to say, seeing a fully grown stallion vibrating his wings without taking off like Scootaloo tends to do is a rather… odd sight. Celestia however seems to recognise danger and the next few seconds pass in a blur.

Celestia magically shoves Shining Armour aside and fires off a laser… just as pure black energy beams emerge from Aurum’s primaries. The three lasers clash for but a moment until deflecting off and bouncing away from each other, each flying into nearby walls. “ENOUGH!”

Shining Armour stares at the hole left mere inches from his head. “But that’s impossible! Pegasi can’t do that!”

Aurum wears the largest manure eating grin that you can possible imagine. “All ponies possess the exact same type of magic as each other, each species just channel it through different areas. For Unicorns, it’s in thier horns, in thier limbs for Earth Ponies and Pegasi through thier wings. These abilities manifest differently because each area has its own purpose; mental spells for horns, strength and toiling the Earth for limbs and wind and air management for wings. You and your family just use magic in its rawest form because a horn is a fantastic focal point. Pegasi and Earth Ponies are capable of the same but it takes a lot of training, practice and patience to learn. Without a horn, we have to all but force the magic to those parts of our bodies to use it in a more direct way.”

Does he ever shut up? He’s like a walking book. “And how’re you planning to try and take over?”

Aurum just smiles at Shining Armour condescendingly as if he were a deeply ignorant foal. “Simple, I’m giving you all exactly what you want.” The only one not slightly confused at the announcement is Celestia. “Indeed, you’ve all got your own deepest wishes haven’t you?” He looks from left to right. “Shining Armour wants his subjects to be happy and keep his immortal wife company. Cadance, much of the same and for those with feelings for one another to just come out and say it.” The somewhat patient look turns to disgust as his gaze turns to the younger of the two sisters. “You want to get closer to your subjects and desire equal respect to your elder, much better regarded sister.”

And his gaze finally turns to Celestia who looks ready to strangle him. “And you just want everypony to be happy. For your daughter in all but blood to just be able to enjoy her time without worrying about the next freak with hegemonic desires. To finally be able to rule your subjects without other threats coming to ha-“

He finds himself slammed once more into that pillar, this time by Cadance, which finally collapses on top of him. As he climbs out, with little more than a few scratches on him, she glares down the not-stallion. “And you plan to make us all happier by taking over?”

“No, I plan on starting over from scratch. Between Tirek, Sombra, Chrysalis and many others, Equus is too tainted and endangered for true peace. It and Tartarus need to be purged and reshaped for the sake of everything. Don’t worry, you’ll all thank me someday.” With that, he turns and makes ready to fly away.

“We’re not letting you leave!” Shining Armour and Cadance channel thier magic only for it to be broken apart by Legionary’s own beam.

“Do you seriously think I'd have come here if there remained the slightest chance of you stopping me? Three, two, one.”

With a powerful rumble and loud boom, the entire area is plunged into darkness for a brief moment. Not just the throne room but all of Canterlot since the Sun is blotted out for several seconds. When light returns, an enormous tornado of pure black magic has erupted from the ground on the train tracks just outside the city. “Two days until they reach the core and it’ll all be over.”

Celestia picks up and hurls him like a frisbee. “If you think I’ll let you win, Legionary, then you’re very sorely mistaken.”

And the shadow just turns into his Pegasus form to stop and hover in midair. “Unless you can find me, or find a way to stop all nine tornadoes in the next two days, I’ve won. And if any of you try anything I don’t like…”

Aurum’s voice seems to crack and break for a few moment. “I'm afraid Rainbow Dash will find out I'm not as tough as she thinks I am.”

One particular pair of eyes widen and then glare. “Struck a nerve have I, Moon? I don’t even understand why you care. You’ve met her once and even that was very brief. Then again, you always have been rather clin-”

For his troubles, Aurum finds himself blasted back into his own tornado and thus soon after flung away but he almost immediately recovers. “Just for fun, here’s a clue. Gheibh thu mi anns an t-seann choille faisg air far a bheil na measan air an giùlan.“

All four royals make to blast him fully out the sky but he instead rockets away in an enormous explosion. The three Alicorn’s make to fly after him but there’s then a flash as he disappears. “What’s he mean?”

“You can find me in the ancient forest near where the fruit is borne. We’ll send some Guards to Appleloosa just in case. He could be just about anywhere in Equestria or beyond.” Luna turns to make good on her promise only to spot the retreating flank of Aegis Shield who’d been watching in case he were needed.

Celestia nods to her peers. “In the meantime, I’ll send a letter to Twilight. There’s a lot we need to do.” Whilst she gets on with that, the other three rulers begin strategising where to search first.

???

Since the end of the battle against the Changelings, Scootaloo’s been busy trying to dig her way out through the wall to no success. “Enjoying yourself?” This time, she actually does jump at Aurum’s voice behind her. “Chip away all you want, these walls are at least ten hooves thick.”

Scootaloo takes immediate notice that, although she’s already seen what he looks like by glancing at the magic viewing screen, the room’s still pitch black. “Too afraid to show your face?”

Aurum chuckles but the mere sound makes the room shake. “Nothing gets past you, does it? But where’s the fun when you can see me coming?”

Scootaloo stares at where she thinks his eyes would be. “Why’re you even doing this? What do you have to gain as opposed to just taking over?”

“I thought that’d be obvious. Equus has faced constantly escalating and seemingly never ending threats as long as sentient life has existed. Believe me, Nightmare Moon is the least of the many problems your kind will have to face in the future. I merely want to help relieve ponies of that and create a utopia.”

“And what’s in it for you?”

Her answer is a deep, resounding chuckle that makes Scootaloo’s blood feel like ice water. “Equus needs to be controlled and monitored so it’ll never happen again. Who better than me after Celestia proved herself useless?

“You’re insane!”

“No, insanity would imply mental illness and delusion. I’m fully capable of making good on my promises.”

Put off by his God complex, Scootaloo thinks of a good response. “Why wouldn’t you just be erased as well?”

“Because Tartarus would be spared and all dark magic comes from there. As long as dark magic exists, so will I. Tirek is already out there right now after Cerebus’ escape and that Minotaur’s the last of Celestia’s old enemies. It’s all working in my favour, now I just have to wait.”

“What even are you?”

Aurum’s voice darkens. “I was once a normal pony but you can largely thank your Princess friend for what’s happening now.”

Once again, Scootaloo glares down the very wrong pony. “She isn’t my friend; I barely even know her. I’m no different than anypony else she’s met.”

Aurum’s fang filled smile seems to illuminate itself in the dark. “And yet she was still angry enough to outright attack and try to kill me when I brought you up.” Getting nothing but a glare from the filly, he seems to turn and sit before the energy screen.

Within an hour and a half, Canterlot Castle’s dining room

It took a while but all nine ponies wind up around the table though no explanation was needed as Celestia’s letter said all it needed to. Even so, as Celestia gathers her thoughts, the others are deep in a conversation about frankly what the Tartarus is happening. When she’s gathered her thoughts, she taps a glass with a spoon to get thier attention. “First of all, I’m sorry that we have yet another problem to deal with so soon after the last.”

Fluttershy manages to bring herself to speak. “Um, excuse me.” Despite Celestia’s gentle gaze, she partially hides behind her mane. “Why would it be your fault?”

Celestia sighs. “Because Aurum is someone I knew very personally a long time ago. What happened between us was… an awakening incident after all and entirely my fault.” She looks specifically to Twilight and her friends. “You’ll remember how I acted when Luna returned to herself.” They nod.

Princess Luna! It has been a thousand years since I have seen you like this. Time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together, little sister. Will you accept my friendship?

Celestia looks down, looking oddly guilty. “There’s a very unfortunate reason I said it like that. Before Luna’s breakdown, I became, for lack of a better term, conceited and too proud. It’s one of those things I did without even knowing it which caused Luna’s resentment. She was frustrated but I never seemed willing to listen and… well, you all know what happened. What happened between all three of us is tied directly into what happened with Nightmare Moon.”

Cadance looks to her aunt confused. “How’d he stand up to our magic? Thats impossible.”

Celestia sighs. “We’re powerful but not without equals. Chrysalis can beat me at her most powerful but Aurum is different. What you saw earlier was a soul corrupted to its very core by dark energy. For all intents and purposes, he’s the living embodiment of darkness.”

Shining Armour shakes his head. “What about Sombra then?”

“Sombra was a pony that used dark magic and bonded to it but he’s still in there. Aurum is dark magic itself given sentience. It controls him completely and utterly. The only reason Aurum hasn’t destroyed Equus yet is because his encounter with the Elements, the strain of breaking free and the exertion of returning left him weakened.”

After another small moment, Applejack speaks. “An’ what was Ore-um? He dunt sound like jus’ any ol’ pony tah me.”

Celestia nods. “He was a talented pony, a very special pony who I last saw explode when I struck him with the Elements. In a manner of speaking, he is still dead. What he was, what I used to love, is gone and replaced by… that. All that’s left is a complete monster." She takes a breath. "But enough of that, we've got other problems."

With a swoosh, Celestia unfurls a map which has glowing spots over seemingly random areas across Equus. "Eight tornadoes in total. One in the statue gardens, one just outside Ponyvile, one in the ruins of the Everfree Castle, one close to Appleloosa, one in the frozen north, one near Cloudsdale, one in the Dragon Lands and one in Griffonstone, Whilst the Royal Guards search for Aurum, we need to try and find a way to stop those tornadoes. If we can, we can buy time."

Twilight looks at her mentor curiously. "How'd you stop them before?"

"I didn't really. They stopped because I defeated Aurum." Casting that memory aside, she waves around. You'll need to split up, no-pony goes alone and none of you can get too close."

“But 's eight of 'em and only three groups o' us."

Celestia nods. "Even if we manage to defeat just one of those tornadoes, we'll buy ourselves extra time although I don't know how much. We need to move quickly but carefully."

Twilight nods. "Fluttershy and I'll handle the one near the Everfree ruins."

"Ah'll take Pinkie tah Appleloosa's tornado."

Rarity's eyes positively gleam. "And I get to join royalty and go to Trottingham. The fashion's just darling th-" She notices the odd looks, giggles slightly and grins sheepishly. "Sorry."

"Myself and Luna will also join you. You may need it, especially you two.” She looks at Applejack and Pinkie Pie. “Neither of you can fly or use magic so you’d have a hard time were he to intervene." With the plan set, Celestia stands; her eternal blank mask re-assumed. “So we’re clear. We find Aurum and we stop him by any means necessary. Just… please be careful. Don’t underestimate him, don’t do anything foalish, watch each other’s backs and don’t take ridiculous risks. There's nothing more dangerous than a fanatic who has the power to back up what he says."

???

After another two hours of tediously chipping away at the wall, Scootaloo’s hooves are sluggish and almost impossible to move. “Tired yet? Will you finally do something actually valuable with your remaining time instead of wasting it?”

“How’d you even plan to stand a chance against everypony anyway? There’s thousands of us and one of you.”

A deep laugh follows. “Your friends have had a lot of adventures so tell me. What have they found which could give me an advantage? Here’s a hint. 'Where the brambles are thickest, there you will find a pond beyond the most twisted of vines.' Ring any bells?”

Scootaloo’s eyes narrow. “Twilight and Big Mac sealed that shut months ago. And besides, they were easy to stop in the end.”

“Sealed by just a boulder I might remind you, one easily broken with strong enough magic. Thier idea only worked so long as no-one knew it was there in the first place. It’s all about stalling and wasting thier time, remember? And if one or two of them get hurt in the process, it won’t matter much longer. Soon, everything will be just perfect.” For the first time since she met him, Scootaloo feels a legitimate shiver pass over her as the entity cackles malevolently.

Act 4; Birds Of A Feather

Around three hours after the meeting, the ruins of the Everfree Castle

Between the high winds preventing them from flying or teleporting straight to it and the Everfree beasts being more riled up than usual, it’s late afternoon when Twilight and her friends arrive. Upon doing so, they find themselves looking at the ruins of the ruins; most of the formerly standing rubble now reduced to mere dust or pebbles by the powerful winds.

Only her magic and the furious beating of Fluttershy and Luna’s wings is keeping any of them from being sucked up as well. Twilight fires off magic but, somehow, it ends up being caught up in the intense wind and flung harmlessly into the ground. “WHAT?”

“THIS ISN’T NORMAL WIND! IT’S MAGICAL WIND SO IT CAN INTERFERE WITH OUR MAGIC! WE HAVE TO WEAKEN IT!” Despite being immediately next to each other, each of them is forced to yell at the top of thier lungs (or in Luna’s case, use the Canterlot Voice) to be heard over the deafening wind.

Fluttershy meanwhile has been trying to follow any form of pattern in the tornado. At first, it seems completely nonlinear and scatterbrained. However, millennia of Pegasi optical evolution and with vision trained to spot nomads as tiny as hedgehogs from miles in the air allow her to spy something key. “IT SEEMS TO BE BLOWING TO THE RIGHT FOR THREE SECONDS AND THEN T-“ She’s cut off as she gets blasted back and almost off the edge of the precipice by a black energy beam. “FLUTTERSHY!”

“DEFEND! DEFEND! DEFEND!” Luna and Twilight are forced to dive away as a familiar being lands between them. Luna immediately fires a knockout spell but Aurum dodges by taking flight and Twilight narrowly cancels it out. “DEFEND! DEFEND-!”

Aurum ends up getting tackle slammed by Fluttershy and sent launching back into the tornado. "YOU WERE SAYING, FLUTTERSHY?"

"THE WIND SEEMS TO BE BLOWING TO THE RIGHT FOR THREE SECONDS AND THEN TAKES A MOMENT TO SWITCH!"

Luna seems to think for a moment, gaining a small confident smile. “YOU’VE GOT A GOOD EYE! I’LL NEED YOUR HELP THOUGH! FLY IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION TO ME AND DON’T STOP!” Never let it be said that Fluttershy backs down when her friends need her since she and Luna take to the air and are immediately hit by what feels like a brick wall of almost solid air. Despite the massive force of wind, they manage to just barely strain themselves enough to fly around the tornado; Luna because of her Alicorn biology and Fluttershy because determination, preservation instinct, hope and a little fear can make you accomplish incredible things. The display is almost hypnotic if Twilight weren’t busy trying to stay anchored under the now even greater wind force.

As Luna and Fluttershy manage to complete exactly 241.7 rotations each, by her calculations anyway, the dark energy tornado seems to wither slightly and weaken. As the wind begins following the path of the winged ponies, it very slightly lessens on Twilight; enough for her to be able to focus her magic on something besides survival. For her many flaws, Twilight Sparkle possesses a mind and it takes only a few seconds to come up with a plan.

Just as the storm starts to gain momentum again, finally throwing Luna and Fluttershy to the sides like they’re scraps of paper, Twilight unleashes the most powerful offensive spell she can think of.

See, normal tornadoes obviously emerge from thick thunder clouds so Twilight makes the assumption that the top of the tornado would be where it’s weakness lies. Her magic flies like a hyper-sonic arrow and, since the winds haven’t gained enough strength to inhibit the flow like before, it strikes clear through the upmost spiral of the funnel. For a few tense moments, nothing seems to change until the whole area shakes with enough force to throw Twilight off her hooves. Fortunately, a magical reflex allows her to stop from going over the gigantic crack beside the Castle.

Looking around, she sees the Castle completely levelled, friends winded but unhurt and there’s a certain natural problem now missing. “We did it.”

Indeed, there’s now just an easily 20 hoof wide hole in the ground where the tornado once sat. It’s not the end but having one less concern is relieving until she feels Aurum land from the sky right on top of her. “DEFEND! DEFEND! D-“

Beginning to draw together some conclusions, Twilight immediately teleports him away with an attached tracking spell as a bruised Fluttershy and Luna wander over. “Um, where’d you send him?”

Feeling her tracking spell suddenly disappear, Twilight’s suspicions are confirmed. “The Mirror Pool.”

???

Aurum chuckles. “One clone and one tornado down, five tornadoes and several hundred of me left to go.” Scootaloo tries to strike him from behind with her rock but ends up being blocked and thrown across the room like a rag doll. “Fighting to the end. Admirable.”

Getting up with a grunt, Scootaloo keeps her distance. “I dunno why you’re so confident. No way they’ll let you win.”

“Ah yes; an unending stream of terrified and virtually useless ponies, the five Elementless Element Bearers, the lovesick Alicorn and her doomed to die husband, the heartbroken and vulnerable Celestia and the mentally unstable Moon. I’m just terrified. Really shaking in my hooves.”

“And what is your problem with Princess Luna anyway?”

A low growl emits from the corrupted pony. “A Princess is meant to look after and protect her nation, Moon tried to all but destroy it. Not for any real reason or because she had to, just because she was jealous and petty. The Princess I respected is dead, replaced by a ‘redeemed’ husk of an abomination. As for the rest, Celestia and Cadance have thier own inner demons as well. All past and future Alicorn’s all have the same possibility to turn. The only solution is rebirth and a newborn world needs to be guided.”

“You hate her just because of a bad decision which she’s trying to make up for? That’s pathetic.”

Aurum growls. “She tried to destroy Equestria, something I’d been protecting for decades. Bring about an eternal winter and bring the Windegoes down on our heads; destroying what the eternal winter doesn’t. She even hurt her sister’s soul, especially with what she said. That’s beyond unforgivable and nothing she’ll do will ever make up for it. If I even decide to recreate her for the new world, she’ll be very different. Almost unrecognisable as the same pony.”

How delusional can one guy possibly be? That’s the most pressing thought in Scootaloo’s mind as she gets in his face. “You’re doing the exact same thing. Hello?!”

The dark pony shoves her away. “Foal, I’m trying to save Equestria. She wanted to all but destroy it just so she could satisfy her own ego. She wouldn’t shut up about her dissatisfaction back then and I wish I’d had the power to stamp the life out of her then and there.”

This guy’s pontification and speechifying is beginning to get on Scootaloo’s nerves. “And what if you don’t like the next ‘better’ world? You gonna destroy that one too?”

“If necessary but it’s like the old saying goes. Ponies sometimes will never accept what’s best for them until they’re forced to. Even Celestia needs to change dramatically. Moon’s holding her and Equestria back from true greatness.

Scootaloo laughs in the corrupted pony’s face, growing confidence. “Prove it.”

Aurum seems to smile. “Look at it this way, it’s been over two thousand years since she took the throne and yet Mrs. Perfect Princess has done little besides keep the world intact. The Dragons are still a problem, the Changelings just caused major damage and most of them remain at large, the Windigos are just itching to cause unending destruction. Griffonstone’s a rotting hole, Seaquestria lives in fear from an icy freak and those’re just a few examples.”

For somepony who's been sealed away for a thousand years, he seems oddly knowledgeable. “So what? We can’t do anything about it.”

“Celestia’s weak and useless, strung up by her own feelings. Instead of doing anything to try and mend relations with the Dragons or help Griffonstone or deal permanently with the army that can and has hid in her midst for centuries, she sat on her flank for a thousand years mourning her dead sister. Ponykind and every other creature have stagnated; content in existing segregated from each other whilst living on fear of attacks that've only been worsening over time. If Moon didn’t exist, imagine what she could have done. A utopia that never was because of emotional vulnerability but that I intend to create and guide.”

Seriously, how does this guy know all this? Scootaloo stares at the fascistic silhouette. “You really are that far gone.”

Aurum growls. “I prefer to think of it as an enlightened, more accurate, not clouded perspective. If you saw things the way I did, seen first-hoof how Celestia’s emotional side has held her and the world back, you’d think she was better off being far more ruthless too.” Another chuckle because he just seems to love doing them. “And I have an advantage Moon lacks?”

“The ability to be far more annoying and repetitive than she ever was?”

That gets a chuckle from the being. “No, the ability to draw dark magic straight from Tartarus itself. I’m not limited by light. The only reason Equestria was plunged into night was because her powers work best at night. Mine can work day or night, significantly reducing how long my spell will take to complete.”

After a moment of silence, as if he’s processing the superiority of his own vision, Aurum continues. “When I have my way, it’ll be a utopia. Imagine; Ponies of all types, Dragons, Changelings, Minotaurs, Diamond Dogs, Griffons, Yaks, Parasprites, even Timberwolves. All living together in perfect harmony, there wouldn’t even be a need for the Elements of Harmony to have ever existed.”

“We can work towards all that without destroying everything, y’know?”

Aurum laughs. “Oh, please. Ponies haven’t been assertive enough snd the other species are either too aggressive or too unintelligent to ever consider an alliance. Some… retooling is necessary.

Scootaloo finally seems to relent; realising that she’ll get nowhere with the delusional, cataclysmic, bigoted and slightly fascistic psychopath. “Who were you anyway? You and Princess Celestia-“ And then she remembers what he called Celestia a minute or two ago.

Aurum laughs in such a way that, were it from anypony else in any other context, would be endearing and pleasant. Instead, it comes across as patronising. “Give the filly a medal, she can read the most obvious signs imaginable. I know her better than anypony still alive. Ever since my enlightening, she’s always been ashamed of her husband.” He smiles as he hears the muffled gasp from Scootaloo before going back to work. However, she does take note that he seems to hate being called insane and files that thought away for later.

The Frozen North

If Twilight and her companions are having a bad time, her friend and family aren’t having any better. On top of the horrendous wind speed and risk of being hit by flying debris, the air’s also frigid and snow the size of thier torsos repeatedly pelts them. Only one of Shining Armour's spells is keeping him and Rarity grounded and even then, only barely with the snow just making getting a good grip even harder. As they stand looking at it though, Rarity gets an idea and whispers (well, yells) it into Shining’s ear who looks at her like she’s insane but goes with it anyway.

After communicating the idea to Cadance, Shining Armour casts the most powerful shield spell that he can to cover them on all sides. Following that, Cadance fires some magic consisting of pure, focused love magic towards the tornado which the magic winds fight but Rarity uses her years of sewing experience to guide the magic. Directing it almost as easily as if it were a threading needle, she manages to brute force it through the wind and into the tornado; almost collapsing with exhaustion after the fact because using such an amount of magic at once can drain anypony.

The reason for the shield becomes very apparent as love magic and dark magic don't mix. Explosively so. If not for the shield, they'd have either been pulverised or buried under a mountain of snow. As is, they get a massive, painfully cold rush of air as well as specks of snow from behind but everything subsides after a moment. None of them notice an Aurum clone get picked up by the blast and sent flying far into the distance until he's out of sight.

Shining stares at Rarity as he catches his breath. “How… how did you do that?”

The alabaster Unicorn smiles modestly. “It’s simple, darling. It's something Twilight once taught me since I'm the only other one of our friends who can do magic. Being able to take control of a spell and aiming it has sooooooo many uses."

Appleloosa

How things go down in the little marketing town is slightly different from how they go in the other tornado areas. Namely, Celestia, Pinkie and Applejack as well as a platoon of Guards arrive to find Aurum already in the process of causing terror. Just as he crosses before Caramel’s house though, he gets shot with a cannon, bounced on by Pinkie, tied by a lasso and thrown towards Celestia. “DESTROY! DESTROY!”

As it looks like he’s about to blast Celestia, Applejack manages to twirl him like a lasso in a cowboy movie and throw him into an apple cart. If there’s one thing especially good about Pegasi, it’s that thier aerodynamic bodies make them very light compared to ponies and slightly easier to throw around in such a way. As she rugs on the rope to try something else, she’s met with an every beam to the face. Almost fifteen full years of hard farm-work and being hit by Rainbow Dash have hardened her skin so to speak but it still bloody well hurts to get slammed into a brick house. As she recovers her bearings, Aurum advances with a cruel smirk. “DESTROY! DESTR-”

Aurum gets well acquainted with one of Applejack’s signature bucks, sending him soaring into a house hard enough to leave a permanent imprint. “An’ stay d-“ She gets blasted back into a wall, this time hard enough to wind her. Aurum soon finds himself pushed to the ground by Celestia but manages to force himself up and towards Applejack nonetheless. “DESTROY!”

Just as it looks like Applejack will be knocked out, a familiar pink mass slam tackles Aurum straight into the tornado. "PINKIE!" Just as it looks like she'll leap in after him, the tornado completely vanishes to reveal Pinkie sitting atop an unconscious Aurum. "Wuh? How...?"

The peppy, perky, pink, un-precocious party pony plinks Applejack with a perky smirk. "Simple, you just take the center ring from the tornado and it all fades." She holds up what looks like a large black-grey hula hoop but Applejack looks like she's about to have a stroke.

After the past few days that she's had, Celestia can't help but giggle. Not an appropriate time perhaps but you have to take what you can get. "Well done, it was... unconventional but it works." One of these days, I really need to knight these six. Without need for prompting, the accompanying Guards throw the clone in chains; powerful wing restraints and magic designed to nullify a Pegasus’ natural abilities being overlaid. Not a spell Celestia likes to use for obvious reasons but it very occasionally comes in useful.

As they turn to leave though, the ground lurches hard enough to rock Celestia, send Pinkie Pie head over hooves and force Applejack to use a nearby tree to stay upright. "Now what?" And another lurch manages to knock all three flat on thier faces.

Moments ago, ???

For the first time, Aurum sounds legitimately impressed. “Hmph, seems your friends aren’t as useless as they look.”

Scootaloo looks at her captor cockily. “And now they just have to find us. There’s no way they can’t get here before the tornadoes get through. We've won.”

“All they’ve done is slightly prolong thier own recreation. Observe.”

To the horror of Scootaloo, and very likely everypony watching, the tornadoes rematerialise and continue digging. “WHAT?!”

Scootaloo can only imagine the manic grin Aurum must be hiding. “That’s the thing about dark magic. It’s ever evolving and learning, unable to truly be dissolved or destroyed until the caster is as well. You’ll doubtlessly have heard about the late King Sombra’s dark crystals. With each defeat, it learns and it evolves as would any sentient creature.”

“…Did you seriously just say that dark magic is alive?”

Aurum seems to be smirking as he adopts the same kind of lectureous tone he used earlier with Shining Armour. “All magic is to a certain extent. Not in the same sense that we are, it doesn’t think for itself, but it can learn and adapt as necessary. Dark and light magic are twins, you know. It’s just that dark magic has none of the restrictions or limitations as light magic so it can adapt much more fittingly and drastically.”

It’s at this moment, listening to the ravings of a cataclysmic lunatic with a saviour complex and feeling utterly hopeless what with the unstoppable tornadoes, that Scootaloo comes to a realisation a pony of her age never should. The only way to stop this is to stop him. They might not be able to find and stop him in time. It’s all on me and there’s gotta be something stopping Princess Luna or somepony from finding me. I’ve got to destroy it so that, no matter what he does to me, they’re all safe.

The image of Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom cowering as the ground beneath thier hooves breaks apart crosses her mind. Like any self-respecting creature, Scootaloo has an instinctive fear of death but the idea of her frie-no, her sisters by bond being annihilated solidifies her plan in her heart. Whatever happens, I’ve gotta give them all a chance. I’ll act tonight.

Dream Battle

I won't regale you with the secondary attempts to stop the tornadoes since it’d be redundant but, as stated earlier, the same ideas don't work twice and our heroes are eventually forced to withdraw for the night. Looming doom or not, trying to plan without any sleep is a recipe for disaster. Thankfully, with how much they’ve worked out today, they’re all basically dead to the world the instant they hit thier pillows. Luna meanwhile has had to cast a special spell where her body sleeps and rests whilst her mind protects her subjects’ dreams. Turns out that having tornadoes looming on the horizon that will kill you if not stopped within a few days can cause intense nightmares to even the most hardy of ponies.

However, the free ponies aren't the only ones having unpleasant dreams as a certain filly is making good on a promise made earlier. While she may be flightless in the real world, and crippled outside of Aurum's magic on top of that, just about anything is possible in the Dreamscape. Now where is it? Something must be blocking me from Princess Luna.

The handy thing about Pegasi is that, largely due to factors dating all the way back to when the three tribes were in constant war with each other, they have incredible eyesight as they’re biologically designed to operate potentially miles in the sky. What were once supposed to spot enemy formations and weapons though now scan the sky and landscape for any form of inconsistency or momentary “glitch in reality” that could give away a weakness. There! Around the border of the Gildran Line, for only a second or so, she can see the tiniest possible crack of blue energy perhaps only half a hoof or so wide.

“Going somewhere?” A familiar shape appears high above, blocking her way to the crack. “Can’t make it too easy, can I?”

“How’re you here? Only Princess Luna can enter dreams!”

“While that may be true, what are dreams but a figment of the mind? To put it simply, dark magic can affect the mind in more subtle ways than outright corruption. Mental barriers is one of them.”

Scootaloo glares daggers into the smug Pegasus. “I dunno how things were a thousand years ago but one things for certain. I’m getting past you and altering Princess Luna. I’m gonna help stop you, whatever it takes or whatever happens to me.”

Aurum smiles. “The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Come on then, show me what the apprentice of the ‘greatest flyer in history’ can do.”

For a brief moment, Scootaloo does nothing and it almost looks like she’s given up. Unlike the real world however, Scootaloo has three major advantages over Aurum here. 1. He doesn’t control her mobility. 2. It’s her dream so she can do what she wants and 3. If there’s one thing you should never underestimate, it’s the imagination of a foal; especially one determined to protect those they care about.

The first of these lessons becomes painfully clear as Scootaloo suddenly appears next to Aurum and bucks him in the gut. As he grunts and spins on her, she’s suddenly on his other side and strikes him on the back of the head. This happens around twenty more times, the Pegasus becoming gradually more bruised until he manages to catch a strike mid-swing. “Impressive.”

He tosses her towards the ground only for Scootaloo to vanish and Aurum abruptly finds himself in Sugarcube Corner. “SURPRISE!” Before Aurum can even turn, he gets blown back by a Pinkie Pie cannon blast straight to the face and strikes the forest floor once more. As he recovers, he finds himself in the middle of an apparent battle with the Wonderbolts where he manages to receive a black eye before blasting them all away. This is fun. Maybe I’ll even have to start trying. It’s considerably annoying having your power handicapped by being in somepony else’s mind but it’ll get the job done.

Looking up, he gets swept up in an Elemental Rainbow which, even in the dream, causes major pain until he manages to break free only to then get tackled and mauled by Timberwolves. A very sadistic imagination for a filly, I must say. Blasting them until even the wood disintegrates, Aurum receives an electric shock of at least 2,000,000 volts which is enough to knock him down and allow Scootaloo to get a considerable amount of distance into the air. Once he recovers though, he cuts her off and the battle commences once again.

A storm abruptly apparates but, this time, Aurum’s ready and manages to dodge the lightning only to be struck by Scootaloo going at the speed of a rocket. Knocked back, he gets caught in an giant spider’s web and then thrown to the ground via another collision to find himself face to face with an Alicorn Scootaloo. “Playing pretend?”

The only response is a magical wave strong enough to launch him back but he soon corrects himself with his wings and they launch at each other. In an indescribable mass of flailed limbs, both come off with only a few scratches and bruises and they continue making cheap hit and run attacks to little effect. After an apparent eternity, just as the time for sunrise approaches in the real world, both fire a final blast to try and overpower the others. However, with how worn down both are, they end up just cancelling each other out now matter how hard each pushes. With two opposing forces matching for an extended period of time, the power of good magic and dark magic, the end result is inevitable.

From the epicentre of the two blasts meeting erupts a massive bright green energy wall which expands outwards with enough violent force to send both Scootaloo and Aurum flying back and slamming into the ground. As Scootaloo recovers, she is angered to see Aurum charred and winded but still strong, “Commendable, well done. If you were older and your technique more refined, you could even make for a worthy defender of Equestria. You’re certainly bullheaded enough. For now though, you’ve lost.”

Her ideas spent, Scootaloo just sits down in defeat as she reverts back to her normal Pegasus form. "Fine." She glares a hole straight through the triumphant ancient Pegasus. "Don't think you've won. I know the others will stop you."

"Sure they will." Aurum sits his flank down. "So, how'd you like to kill a few minutes until daybreak?"

Scootaloo thinks for several moments. "How'd you come to meet Princess Celestia?"

The older Pegasus smirks. "I first met Celestia seventy years before Moon devolved. Around ten years after Sombra was sealed away and the Crystal Empire vanished.”

"You don’t look seventy. My dad looks older than you."

Aurum laughs deeply at that. "in those days, I could have joined the Guard at an age not much greater than the age you are now. As for my rejuvenated appearance, the miracles of magic at its finest. Now, if you’ll let me continue, I met her when Trottingham was founded since she or Luna usually came to officiate foundings. Tradition and all that…”

1070 years ago, 1930 ADC.

The outskirts of Trottingham

Instead of travelling by chariot, Princess Celestia flies down with four Royal Guards in order to be more mobile if they were attacked. Over the last few hundred years, she and Luna have only grown; now more resembling her modern self and thier manes have gained the magical wind quality although Luna is still physically the same albeit a foot or so taller.

As far as small, newly founded towns go, Trottingham is rather unremarkable. A spattering of crudely built standalone houses, six shops of various types and a makeshift town hall which is little more than a large, glorified shed. Almost immediately upon arrival, a deep scarlet Earth Pony mare in a mayor's outfit and four lightly armoured ponies of assorted races walk over and bow. "Hail Princess Celestia! Princess of the travelling lamp and day! I am Municipal Manager, mayor of our humble hamlet."

Celestia laughs at the excess. "Rise. There ist no want for that. 'Tis a time to unbend and bray out."

Municipal Manager chuckles and blushes with embarrassment. "Right, sorry." She turns to her guards. "Attennnnnntion!" They snap to it, stiff as a ruler. "Please pardon them 'em. We only hast two dozen ponies living hither and they're the meetest we hast. They only finished training three days since." Going down the line, she lists them off name by name. "May I introduce Spearhead, Testudo, Chain Mail." She comes to the end of the line, standing in front of a young but sturdy looking bright silver Pegasus with a cobalt blue mane and golden eyes. "And this is Legionary Phalanx." All five nod respectfully before parting to let the Princess and her personal entourage through.

As Municipal Manager talks endlessly about how grateful she is for Celestia's presence, the Princess slowly tunes her out. Thou hark this once, thou hast known 'em all. Within very short order, they come to a basic but fortified looking building with reinforced metal walls that make the building look like a mixture between a normal house and a fortress. "I be sorry yet, since 'tis getting late, we hast to postpone the celebrations till tomorrow. Prithee accept mine deepest possible apologies. This should'st be hopefully comfortable for thy majesty to sleep 'i tonight." After making sure that Celestia and her bodyguards are comfortable, the Mayor leaves for the night with Spearhead and Chain Mail standing guard outside the house.

The next morning

With a not very Princess-ey grunt, Celestia stretches out before applying her regalia and leaving the house to find that Testudo and Legionary Phalanx have already swapped shifts with thier comrades. The burly looking pair stare at her for a moment before prostrating themselves. "Good morn, Princess. Didst thou sleep well?"

Rolling her eyes fondly, Celestia gestures for them to rise. Although they expect to be reprimanded for thier non-professionalism, Celestia just laughs to thier mutual surprise. "Surprised? Weret thou presuming something more formal?" They nod as she chuckles before casually walking off in the direction of Town Hall. Legionary and Testudo exchange mutual looks of 'what the hay?' as they scramble after her.

It takes until they reach town hall for Celestia to turn to the Guards who appear to be trying to look anywhere but at her. “Is thither something wrong?”

Testudo looks at Celestia like she just accused him of high treason. “ N-nay, thine highness. Everything is just fine, ‘Tis just mine first day timorous.” Legionary nods hastily, tongue apparently too tied to speak.

For a moment, there is silence until they notice Celestia shaking like a tree in a powerful wind. For a moment, the think she’s angry until they notice she’s trying hard not to laugh. “Thou wilt both hast to get used to it an thou art to guard us. Thou both need to slacken.” Whilst she wanders off, the Guards exchange another look before scurrying right after.

An hour or so later

After an hour of preparation, the two dozen or so residents of Trottingham gather in what passes for Trottingham Square but is really more just like a large open field between the many houses. “Salutations and good morn, our little ponies. We trust thine all had good rests.” A deafening roar is her response. “Good, good, thou hast all built a quaint little community so far out. ‘Tis to be commended.” Another roar. “And without further delay, we henceforth christen this hamlet Trottingham. May it live long and prosperously.” She fires off a spell that generates fireworks, causing an absolute fervour from the crowd. “And may the celebrations commence.”

With the party in full swing, Celestia spends her time milling around and confetti with whoever she pleases. Out of the corner of her eye though, whereas Testudo is striking up conversations with anypony he can, Legionary is kinda just standing around awkwardly. “Ist everything okay, Legionary?”

The Guard jumps and tries to hide a blush. “Sorry, thine highness. I am not the most open pony; especially around fremde." Indeed, at least a hundred new ponies have turned out just for the sake of rubbing withers with royalty and perhaps finding new and lucrative opportunities to profit off the new settlement.

Celestia gives him a calming smile. "And what an thou art made acquaintance?"

Legionary shakes his head but she can both empathically detect and see in his eyes an interest. "Nay, I cannot. I am hither to protecteth thou."

Celestia chuckles. "We shalt seeth." Indeed, for the rest of the day, she would spend equal time conversing with the assortment of ponies whilst also introducing Legionary. At first, it had been slow since she needed to see if he was uncomfortable but he quickly hits it off with a few and they get on like a house on fire. After that though, due to shift changes, they don't interact again and Celestia leaves early the next morning. Little does she realise in that moment, that would be very far from the last time they'd meet.

Five years later

After the annihilation of Everfree City, the main Royal Guard headquarters has been moved to the edge of the developing large town of Canterlot. On this warm but overcast day, the Princesses observe thier newest recruits. It’s very necessary but it's an old standing tradition albeit one less common by the modern era due to the sheer numbers of recruits. “Greetings and salutations, new private of the Guard. ‘Tis an honour to welcome thou to the Guard, Steel-eye Span. We hope to see great things from thou.”

With one swift and we’ll practised motion, the Unicorn removes his helmet before bowing fully to the ground. “Steel-eye Span reporting and awaiting thine command, Princess of the travelling lamp and Princess of the revolving body.”

After the 200th recital of the traditional if somewhat meaningless exchange, Celestia and Luna reach the end of the line. “ Greetings and salutations, new private of the Guard. ‘Tis an honour to-“ Celestia trails off for a very brief second as she notices the proud but respectfully stanced silver Pegasus before her. “-welcome thou to the Guard, Legionary Phalanx. We hope to see great things from thou.

Like his comrades before him, the Pegasus doesn’t miss a beat as he performs a full body bow. “Legionary Phalanx reporting and awaiting thine command, Princess of the travelling lamp and Princess of the revolving body.” With that, the training Captain marches the recruits away as Luna approaches her sister. “‘Tis something amiss? Thou reacted strangely to that Pegasus.”

Celestia chuckles as they head towards the makeshift dining room. “Twas nought, sister. Thou remember that we told thou about the nervous Legionary Phalanx?” She can’t help but burst out laughing at the intense confusion and then “oh” expression on Luna’s face.

Over the next few days, Celestia and Luna return to the Castle of the Theee Sisters with a small platoon of the new recruits on rotation. Very little worthy of remark ends up happening though as Celestia’s very busy finalising a treaty with King Grover. It’s only five days since when she’s strolling through the gardens that she bumps into Legionary again, literally. “I am sorry, thine highness. I shouldst hath been looking wherest I was going.”

Celestia smiles as she gestures for Legionary to follow her. “‘Tis fine, we art the bigger pony. An anything, we art the ones who should pray forgiveness. How hath these past few days been for thyself?”

The young corporal shifts nervously. “Good, good. Thineself and Princess Luna hath crafted a masterful training regiment.” He glances around. “How has it taken so long to build a castle though? Surely, thine castle wouldst hast been built right after the loss of Everfree City.” He flinches, feeling like he just stepped over a proverbial line.

Celestia glances around nostalgically. “Contrary to what many believe, the primary reason Luna and ourself are moving at all is because Canterlot is a better location. Being in the middle of a forest ist not conducive for our many subjects who cannot fly, hmmm?” She looks over at her impromptu companion with a motherly smile. “And what about thou? Surely, thou hast some stories to tell about thy past.”

Legionary blushes modestly. “Thither is nought to say, honestly. Mine parents are Earth Ponies that run a small rock farm outside Trottingham and I've nay siblings. Mine great, great grandfather was a Pegasus though.”

Before Celestia can continue the conversation further, the clock strikes two. “ Please accept our humblest apologies but court must recommence. We hope to seeth thou again.”

With a bow, Legionary watches her walk away. “‘Twas an honour, Princess.”

A few months la-

The present

Aurum snaps out of his reminiscence as he realises he’s been tricked; Scootaloo soaring into the sky. Okay, that was kinda clever, I’ll give her that.

Knowing that Aurum’s gaining on her, and needing some extra “oomph” to get through the barrier, Scootaloo pushes herself beyond what she thinks is possible. Which is saying something considering this is all one big dreamare. In moments, she feels a massive boost skywards and looks back to see a coloured dome of purpley-orange explode behind her. Even though it’s a dream, she can’t help but smile with proud delight as her momentum manages to smash through the barrier and into a white void filled with doors. Some embossed with the names of her friends and family, many she doesn’t recognise. “Now where am I?”

“The realm between dreams, the Corridor of Consciousness, Moon’s Path. Whatever you want to call it, it’s where your friend goes to travel between dreams.” She glances back to see Aurum looking simultaneously frustrated and very surprised. "I have to admit, that was a good idea but unfortunate. Eighteen hours to go and we've got new problems to take care of."

With no time to call out, and doubts Luna would even hear her if she did, Scootaloo tries to project her thoughts as hard as she can. As she fades back into the waking world, she has but one thought. I just hope Princess Luna got the chance to find me.

The next morning, Canterlot Castle

Princess Celestia has barely gotten up for the morning, done her daybreak ritual, had a stretch and gotten her regalia on when her door slams open which makes her jump easily two hooves into the air. For a split second, she thinks she's under attack as the door has hit the wall hard enough to leave a hole in the wall but she turns to see an excited looking Luna. "I've found them!"

Barely ten minutes later, the assorted leaders and protectors of ponydom have gathered in the throne room with newfound gusto. After a very brief explanation of what happened, Luna pulls out a map and generates a magic square over a large section of the southern Everfree. “She was cut off before I could track her any further but she’s somewhere here.”

Twilight stares disbelievingly at the map for a moment. “But the only place they could be in that part of the Everfree is the…” She trails off for a moment and then face-hoofs. “You’ve GOT to be kidding me!”

On the side of a cliff, somewhere in the EverFree

Scootaloo sits, looking out over the landscape with Aurum beside her. “Ironic, isn’t it? They search for us tirelessly and the last place they think to look is right here.”

“Where are we?”

Aurum looks at her with an unpleasant grin. “A partially forgotten cave which your friends probably last thought of well over two years ago. You surely remember how a dragon tried to sleep here and engulfed your little town in toxic smoke. We’re sitting right where your timid friend decided to make a stand.”

He looks back at the large cave opening behind them. “They brought down the ceiling to ensure it’d never happen again but it’s a simple enough fix with dark magic. I just needed to clear the rubble and rearrange the minerals and then seal the exit with rubble once more. For all intents and purposes, flying overhead or even trying to access the cave would prove useless.”

"Why here?"

Aurum laughs. "Because I felt it was fitting. It's one of the first place your friends properly bonded after-all; if I recall, the whole dragon incident was only around three weeks after Moon was 'redeemed.' They first became friends in the Castle of the Two Sisters but that's too open and obvious a place to hide and the ticket adventure was in Ponyvile itself." He shrugs. "That and the cave makes for a nice big hiding spot that's difficult to access."

And once that moment passes, he turns back to a defiant Scootaloo. “In some ways, I have to commend what you did. It was genuinely impressive and I’m smart enough to admit that. However, it’s pointless in the end.” He gestures vaguely towards the Sun. “They have eighteen hours left until my victory and it’ll be hard enough for them to get here with a tornado so close by. And then of course, you have my army and there there just so happens to be a convenient hostage they’d never wish to endanger.”

"You can't seriously believe you're doing the good thing, can you?"

"A necessary evil. Didn't you aunts ever teach you that what doesn't hurt you, only makes you stronger?"

It's almost sad to see such a noble goal twisted by evil. "Please, end this."

The much older Pegasus stares down the cliff, clearly preoccupied. "...No, I won't. You don't know the kinds of things happening around the world at this very moment. A magic eating centaur on the loose, an ice tyrant causing misery wherever he goes, a Cutie Markless cult led by a delusional sociopath, vines threatening to destroy the fabric of peace itself. If you saw it, you'd be helping me.{/color}{/i}"

Scootaloo just stares at him; not really sure what to make of him. For somepony trapped on the Moon for almost 1000 years, he oddly seems to know a lot. Aurum picks up on this as well. "As for how I know, it's surprisingly easy to use a prying spell or two. Enough of a concentration of misery or evil and it's practically screaming at me to look."

"Then help us. Help us protect Equestria."

The Pegasus finally turns to look at her with a dark look. "From the same foes over and over? They'll never stop and they'll only get more and more violent with each and every attempt. Everything you've grown to love is nothing before them and I'm not going to sit back and let my former home be destroyed when I can solve everything."

"And take out everypony in the process."

"Later to be reborn the same as ever, just with much fewer concerns. It's a blessing in disguise, a mercy frankly. When you're a physical embodiment of magic, time becomes irrelevant. Time is magic, magic controls time so perception can shift. The stronger your magic, the easier it is to predict or even see into the future. How'd you think Celestia always seems overly ready for threats?"

Because the signs of them appearing have been pretty obvious? “You sure you won’t remove anything else you decide is… undesirable?”

“What your aunts and other like-minded ponies do with thier time is thier business. I’m a saviour, not a bigot.” He seems to be ignoring that this entire scenario kinda contradicts that but whatever. “Believe me, the future doesn't look pretty, even some time travel stuff in the slightly distant future. A quick reset and remoulding, that's all it takes. Think about it, no more threats or massive worries beyond the mundane; you'd even be able to fly. All dreams well within the realms of possibility. I don't want to utterly destroy Equestria; I want to rebuild it even better than ever."

"You'd be messing with every single creature's mind."

Aurum flashes his fangs in a smirk. "Evil is a mere matter of perspective, you know. From her perspective, Chrysalis has been doing the right thing. I'm at least leaving most intact, just removing the dissidents that can't be salvaged."

"This is just outright evil. Hurting everypony like that is unforgivable, whether you think you're doing the right thing or not."

"Like your beloved mentor was doing just a few days ago? Besides, very soon, it won't even matter." And with that, Aurum has apparently had enough of this conversation since they both end up heading inside the cave that immediately seals shut again.

Canterlot Castle

As tempting as it would be to just march up to the Dragon Cave and blast Aurum into the next millennium, the eight defenders have to tread carefully. Aurum's powerful, has the advantage of having had several days to booby-trap the area around his base, likely has his own army and then there's the matter of the hostage as well.

Even if the lack of Flare makes the Elements useless, Twilight and her friends bring them anyway because it's entirely possible they have some unknown powers. They've never been used in a full-out battle before after-all and especially never without being used to banish or petrify. The suiting up is done in silence but the fact Celestia apparently had custom built armour for Twilight and her friends raises some slight alarm.

As a towering Alicorn in almost blinding shining armour, Celestia looks imposing aside from her gentle gaze. “Any questions?”

“Does Aurum have any weaknesses? A weak-point or limitation?”

Celestia smiles at her slightly nervous student. “Although he can use magic more directly than a Pegasus, he’s limited to magic attacks, some self-designed observation magic and the native abilities of Pegasi. Wing magic lacks the focus to grant telekinesis. As for weaknesses, they’re the same as any Pegasus; cripple his wings and he’ll be reduced to using his bare strength and wit. Be careful though, his attacks are powerful and he knows how to use them well. He won't go down easily even if his army does.”

Applejack shakes her head. "Ah hate to be a negative Nelly, Princess, but Ah see one majer problem. Outta the five’ve us, only Fluttershy can actually fly."

Twilight smiles. "Easily solved. I'll just case the butterfly spell again."

"Yeah, remember how well that went las' time? Rarity nearly met’er end there 'n' then."

Rarity blushes at the memory. “Only because I got too close to the Sun. I made the mistakes of Picarus Titanus once, none of us will again.” Applejack shrugs and accepts that answer because, realistically, they don't really have much of a choice unless all but one of them want to pretty much be sitting ducks.

"Are you... okay? It must be hard."

Celestia gazes out the window, not daring to meet anypony in the eye. "It's a lot easier than I'd like it to be. Legionary Phalanx died the day he became Aurum so this is no different than stopping Sombra or Chrysalis. But if I'm being honest?" She turns her gaze to Flutershy who feels her heart sink a bit at the sad look in the ruler's eyes. "It does hurt, of course it would. However, there's no other alternative and this is for his own good anyway. Maybe he'll finally rest in peace afterwards but that's all for later."

With that, there are no more questions as they complete final preparations. Just as they prepare to go and rally the Guard, Aegis Shield knocks and enters with a bow. “Pardon my intrusion but at least two full legions of Changelings have just arrived.”

Celestia resists the urge to regally face hoof. They seem to have an incredible talent of showing up at the worst possible times. “We’ll deal with them, just make sure Chrysalis stays imprisoned.”

To her surprise, Aegis isn’t anxious or worried about another invasion; more confused. “That’s the thing. They’re just lingering peacefully outside the city and thier Queen’s asked to see you.” The nine other ponies exchange confused looks.

Within a few minutes, they enter the throne room with defensive but not hostile stances because it's probably not a good idea to provoke an attack from the army right on your doorstep. If they come in peace, coming across as overly hostile and distrusting will only end badly and if they come to conquer, it's best to appear unprepared.

Waiting calmly opposite Celestia’s throne stands a Queen that bears a very striking resemblance to Chrysalis. Unlike the other Queen though, she’s much bigger; easily a good two heads taller than even Celestia and, whereas Chrysalis has a blue membrane, hers is a deep orange. Whereas the smaller ruler has a piecing gaze that looks right through somepony and makes “lesser” beings wither, this one has a more motherly but also calculating gaze that makes the recipient feel like she’s trying to find a weakness all times.

Upon seeing them, the hulking Changeling smiles. “Good morning. Thank you for seeing me without lashing out first. Me and my Hive are truly thankful.” The Queen bows respectfully to the slightly bewildered Princesses.

Most immediately striking to Celestia, besides the Queen’s appearance and very thick accent, is the incredibly stilted and formal way of speaking. “Who are you?”

The Queen adopts a proud royal posture. “We’ve been known by many names but our most well known is probably Queen Carapace.”

No way. Cadance trots forward. “You don’t happen to know Chrysalis, do you?”

The scowl in the Queen’s face that immediately follows the question makes nine collective withers rise. "Our treacherous granddaughter. She develops a pathetic petty grudge and then risks her entire Hive for the sake of payback. She couldn’t just wait in hiding and absorb love like the rest of us. No, she just had to endanger our whole species over triviality.”

Even Celestia is visibly surprised to be seeing the not-very-dead dead Queen. "How?"

The Queen laughs but, unlike her granddaughter, hers is far more warm and good natured even if it does carry some of the same regal arrogance. "With all due respect Princess Celestia, that's none of your business. I don't ask about internal affairs between ponies and I ask you extend the same courtesy.” Despite the less than friendly shutdown, her gaze and tone remain even. "I am here with a dual purpose however. To aid you against your scorned husband and to assess the viability of an alliance with the Greater Council of Changelings."

The Changelings seem to have become a train. You anticipate one, ten come at once apparently. "Just how many Changelings are there?"

Despite the exasperated tone in Cadance's voice, Carapace just smirks. "Far more than just Chrysalis and her Hive. She’s doesn’t even have the largest or even most powerful Hive. She's just the most vocal and open but it's all for later. In the meantime, we’ve got a Pegasus to catch.”

Although Celestia isn’t 100% comfortable trusting Carapace, knowing that she could be doing this just to take Canterlot for herself whilst the Princesses are vulnerable, she won’t look a gift pony in the mouth. A gift pony that could come back to bite her later when they’re not in mortal danger but “the enemy of your enemy” and all that. “Agreed. Your help is very much appreciated, Queen Carapace.” Carapace nods and bows respectfully.

And it is with that, not an an hour later, that a veritable army heads out of Canterlot. Twilight and her friends, the Princesses, Shining Armour, the Solar Guards (whilst the Luna Guards stand guard over Canterlot) and the Changelings all head for the Everfree.