May 28th, 1001 Post-NMM, 5:50 A.M.

The day of the Beanbean kingdom ambassadors' visit to Canterlot had finally arrived.

The six mares that wielded the Elements of Harmony were on the platform of Ponyville's train station early in the morning, accompanied by their various family members young and old.

Applejack gave Big Mac a big hug, which her brother returned. "Make sure to take care of the orchard while Ah'm gone, Big Mac."

Big Mac broke off the hug and stepped back. "Eeeyup! No need to worry, AJ."

Granny Smith waved her walker. "Ah may be old, but Ah can still do some farm work too, ya know!"

Applejack chuckled. "Ah know, Granny. Ah just don't want ya to overwork or hurt yerself, that's all."

"And yer concern is appreciated, Applejack. But that doesn't mean Ah'm helpless!" Granny Smith called back.

Apple Bloom ran up and gave her sister a hug. "You'll be back soon, right Applejack?"

Applejack wrapped a foreleg around her little sister and pulled her in close. "Sure as sugar, sis. From what Twi said when she first told me about this visit last Friday, we shouldn't be gone for more than two days. So we should be back by tomorrow evening at the latest."

Apple Bloom smiled and nuzzled her sister's chest, before she pulled back and ran over to join Spike, who was with his own sister.

Applejack shook her head with a smile as she watched Apple Bloom bound away. "Look at her go, so full of energy even this early in the morning. It's not even six yet!"

"Ah sure wish Ah had that much extra energy right now," Big Mac said, before he gave a big yawn.

Applejack turned to her brother. "Had a rough night's sleep?"

"Didn't get to bed till about eleven O'clock or so," Big Mac confirmed with a nod. "Ah had to redo a bunch of chores over by the border of the Everfree Forest cause a few of its resident monsters decided to undo them for me. Repeatedly, in fact, at least until Ah shooed them away for good."

Applejack sighed. "Was it those darn Fuzzies again?"

Big Mac nodded. "They kept using those webs of theirs to mess up the fence line, as well as scatter the apples from their trees to suck them dry. They didn't get the hint until Ah bucked a few of them back into the forest."

Applejack winced. "Ah wish we could find some way to get those varmints to stop, or at least tone it down a bit," she said before she shook her head to refocus herself. "Ah should get going now, Mac. Ah'll see everypony when Ah get home tomorrow at the latest."

Big Mac and Granny Smith both waved goodbye as Applejack boarded the train. The older mare leaned on her walker for balance as she waved.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash flew around overhead as Scootaloo rode her back and cried out gleefully.

"WOOHOO!!! THIS IS AWESOME RAINBOW DASH!" Scootaloo yelled out as her excitement overflowed.

Rainbow Dash chuckled. "I know, Squirt. Now, hold on tight, because I'm about to do something crazy to end this off!"

Scootaloo made sure to not choke Rainbow Dash as she wrapped her hooves around her neck carefully to not fall off.

Once she'd felt her sister-in-all-but-name had a tight hold on her, Rainbow Dash maneuvered herself into a spin as she flew. She picked up speed as she spiraled through the air with a bright rainbow contrail that cascaded behind her in spirals. Once she judged she had enough speed, she stretched a foreleg straight out in front of her and pulled upwards as she angled herself towards a nearby cloud that she had saved from her cloud-busting duties just for this moment.

With a massive poof, Rainbow Dash pierced through the cloud and created a spray of scattered water vapor that completely soaked both herself and her sister. The moment she popped out the other side, she flared her wings wide and finished her spin. The morning sun's bright rays caught on the scattered drops of water and created dozens of mini-rainbows that sparkled beautifully, before they dissipated as they fell to the ground below.

Scootaloo looked around her in awe at the beautiful light show they had put on. Her wet magenta mane stuck to her head as she moved. "Woah..."

Rainbow Dash smiled. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

Scootaloo could only nod.

"I've been saving that one for my eventual Wonderbolts tryout, but I figured that I would show it to you as a special parting gift before I left today," Rainbow Dash explained as she flew back down to the platform.

When she landed, she crouched down to allow Scootaloo to climb down off her back. Before she could stand back up, Scootaloo tackled her in a hug, her hooves wrapped around her. "That was awesome!" The excited filly exclaimed.

Rainbow Dash smiled and hugged her back. "Nothing but the best for the most awesome filly I know, Scoot."

She enveloped her little sister with her wings and squeezed for a few seconds, before she unwrapped her wings and tucked them back in against her sides. "Welp, I should probably get on the train now. It'll be leaving in just a few minutes," she said as she walked towards the train.

"Bye Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo cried out as she waved her forehooves wildly.

Rainbow Dash turned and waved back, before she boarded the train and looked around the car. She spotted Applejack's hat by the window a few rows down over the crowds of ponies already in the car.

As she moved towards Applejack to sit next to her, she caught a glimpse of a familiar mane of bright pink by the back of the car. The mane, and therefore the pony it belonged to, visibly rocked back and forth in place.

Rainbow Dash quickly realized who the mane belonged to, and changed her course to approach her best friend.

As she passed by Applejack, she tapped her on the shoulder with a hoof. When Applejack turned to face her, she leaned towards her to be heard over the ruckus of the other passengers. "It looks like Fluttershy's not handling the crowd here well. I'm going to go sit with her."

Applejack nodded. "That's probably for the best. Ya know how to help her more than any of us, since ya've been best friends for so long."

Rainbow Dash gave Applejack a smile and her shoulder a quick pat, before she headed to the back of the car where her best friend of fifteen years had cocooned herself.

Fluttershy was already sat down in the back row on the other side of the aisle from Applejack, her wings wrapped around herself in a comforting self-hug as she shook and rocked in place. Her eyes were shut tight in an attempt to shut out the outside world around her as she breathed erratically. At the base of the seat she was on rested a fully customized first-aid kit that the kind mare brought with her whenever she left Ponyville.

Rainbow Dash sat down next to her friend. "Too many ponies?"

Fluttershy meekly nodded as a quiet whimper escaped her.

Rainbow Dash reached out with one of her wings and rubbed her friend's back in an attempt to make her feel better. She smiled as she felt Fluttershy's rocking and shaking slow from her gentle touch.

Fluttershy slowly rocked for a few more seconds as she slowly calmed down, before she leaned over and snuggled into Rainbow Dash's side under her wing with a happy sigh. The touch of her friend comforted her and made it possible for her to ignore the sheer quantity of other ponies she didn't know in the train car.

Rainbow Dash continued to rub circles into Fluttershy's back with her wing while they waited for the train to pull away from the station. The consistent stimulation helped to ground the shy mare and keep her distracted from both her stress and the source of her overstimulation.

Back outside the train, Rarity and Sweetie Belle were in the middle of transporting the older sister's luggage onto the luggage car.

Rarity had six suitcases enveloped in her blue magic aura as they floated towards the car. "Could you be a dear and bring the rest of my luggage over, Sweetie Belle? I couldn't quite grab them all."

Sweetie Belle nodded, closed her eyes to cut out distractions, and lit her horn. She wrapped her own green magic aura around the two suitcases that had been left behind on the platform and lifted them into the air as she focused intently on them.

Rarity smiled as she watched the fruits of her youngest sister's magic training.

Sweetie Belle walked forward towards the luggage car as the suitcases followed close behind. When she finally reached the edge of the platform where Rarity was waiting, Rarity stuck out a hoof and stopped Sweetie Belle so she didn't walk off the edge by accident.

Sweetie Belle opened her eyes again and looked around. She blushed when she realized just how close she had come to falling. "Heh heh, oops?"

Rarity smiled. "It's quite alright darling, I'm just impressed with how strong your magic is now! You really have been working hard on it lately, haven't you?"

Sweetie Belle nodded. "Yeah! I've been training my magic for three whole months now!"

Rarity's eyes widened. "Just three months?! Why, at this rate, you'll surpass me in no time at all!"

Sweetie Belle blushed. "I'm sure that I'm nowhere near your level, Rarity! You're so much more talented with how many things you can carry at once!"

Rarity shook her head with a smile. "Sweetie Belle, I can carry dozens of tiny sewing needles that barely weigh anything at all, and maybe half a dozen large strips of fabric all at the same time without losing my grip on something. And that's just quantity. You can already carry more than that in sheer weight, as you just proved with those heavy suitcases."

Sweetie Belle's eyes widened. "Really?"

Rarity nodded, before she lit her own horn and tried to pick all eight suitcases up at once. Six lifted into the air, but the magic aura that covered the last two sputtered and died before they had risen more than a few inches off the ground. The suitcases to clattered to the ground. "See? After only three months you've gone from barely being able to lift even just a few pebbles, to already being able to lift a third of my absolute maximum weight at the same time. And you only just turned twelve two months ago!" Rarity exclaimed.

Sweetie Belle gave a wide grin as a high pitched squee escaped her.

Rarity chuckled at the cute sound and ruffled her littlest sister's bouncy mane. "You're so cute."

Sweetie Belle pouted and batted at Rarity's hoof. "I can't help that my voice squeaks!" She said with a squeak. She blushed when she heard it.

Rarity shook her head with a grin. "A squee like what you actually did isn't a voice squeak, but rather an involuntary sound of excitement. What you just did there, however, very much was a squeak," She teased. She then glanced up at the Ponyville clock tower that was visible from the train station and frowned. "As much as I would like to keep chatting with you, Sweetie Belle, I'm afraid I have to get on the train before it leaves in five minutes. Bring those two suitcases onto the train and I'll guide you to where we drop them off."

Sweetie Belle nodded, before the two sisters picked up the suitcases in their magic and brought them onto the train. Sweetie Belle carefully stepped up from the platform and made sure that she didn't get her hoof caught in the gap between the train and platform.

Rarity guided her sister to the back car of the train where the luggage was stored. The two sisters lifted the luggage above the other passengers' heads as they walked down the aisle.

As Sweetie Belle focused on her suitcases, they bobbed up and down due to her lack of experience with their weight, the filly much more used to multiple lighter items at once. As the suitcases bobbed, they occasionally came close to hitting the passengers as they passed over them, to said passengers' disgruntlement.

Sweetie Belle looked around awkwardly at the annoyed passengers as she carried her two suitcases. She blushed and let out an uncomfortable chuckle. "Heh heh, sorry."

One particularly annoyed unicorn passenger impulsively swiped at one of the suitcases in frustration when it got too close to her head as it passed over her, which nearly caused Sweetie Belle to drop it from the painful feedback as her hoof collided with its side. The unicorn instantly covered her face with her hooves in shame when she saw Sweetie Belle flinch in pain.

Rarity noticed the mare's actions and shot her a withering glare. The mare quickly sent a guilty, apologetic look to the filly. "I'm so sorry, that was incredibly rude of me. Here, let me help you," she said as she lit her horn and stabilized the suitcases with her own magic aura.

Sweetie Belle shook her head and grit her teeth as she recovered from the slightly painful feedback. When she regained her focus, she took the suitcases back under her full control and sent a soft smile to the mare. "It's alright, you didn't mean to hurt me," she said, before the two continued down the aisle to the storage compartment.

Once they had set the luggage down inside the storage compartment, Rarity turned to Sweetie Belle. "There, all done. Now, you should get off the train before we leave, or else you'll end up stuck coming to Canterlot with us."

Sweetie Belle grinned. "That doesn't seem all that bad to me."

"Oh yeah? Just wait until you're stuck in the meeting with the ambassadors, unable to do anything but listen for hours on end. I'm looking forward to it because I want to build connections and learn about foreign fashion, but I also fully expect to be bored out of my mind for most of it. And if I'm bored by it, there's no way you'll be entertained," Rarity said.

Sweetie Belle stuck her tongue out in disgust. "Bleh. Okay, yeah, I see your point. I'll just stay here with Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Spike."

Rarity nodded, then pointed her hoof towards the exit. "The train will be leaving soon, so you might want to get off now."

Sweetie Belle gave her oldest sister a hug, then bolted off the train. She looked around for her sister and friends, and found them over by Twilight as they listened to the tail-end of her speech to Spike. She went over and sat down between Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, both of whom were just behind Spike as he wrote down notes.

"... And don't forget to feed Owlowiscious," she finished. She looked down at her gathered audience and chuckled. "That only goes for Spike, the rest of you don't have to worry about doing the library chores unless you plan on staying there and want to help."

Spike finished writing the notes he'd been taking. "Feed... Owlowiscious... Done!" He exclaimed.

Twilight smiled and pulled her little brother into a hug. "Stay safe, Spike, and I love you."

Spike returned the hug. "I love you too, Twi. Stay safe."

The two continued to hug, before suddenly the conductor's call rang out. "All aboard! Last call for the train to Canterlot!"

Twilight let go of Spike and walked towards the train. She stepped one hoof on the train and looked back. "Bye, Spike. See you later."

Spike and the Crusaders waved goodbye as Twilight stepped onto the train. She waved back, before she entered the train car and moved to go find her friends.

As Twilight looked through the crowds, a voice called out to her. "Twilight! Over here!"

Twilight looked over to the voice and saw a bright pink hoof waving her over above the crowd.

Twilight chuckled under her breath as she went to go join Pinkie Pie. "Of course you're already on the train, why did I expect anything else."

Twilight walked down the aisle until she was next to the excitable pink mare, where she sat down in the empty spot on the seat. "Thanks for saving me a spot, Pinkie," she said.

The train jolted forward as it left the station mere seconds after she sat down.

Pinkie Pie gave her friend a massive grin, before she wrapped her hooves around Twilight. "No problem, Twi-Twi!"

Twilight returned the hug with a giggle. "'Twi-Twi'?"

Pinkie nodded. "Yep! It's my new nickname for you that I just came up with! Do you like it?"

Twilight exaggeratedly hemmed and hawed for several seconds as Pinkie's dismay grew. "Do you? Do you do you do you?"

Twilight giggled once more. "Of course I do, silly! I'm just teasing you."

Pinkie sighed in relief. "That's good, I was afraid that you hated the nickname, which caused you to hate me, which would cause us to no longer be friends and then we can't use the Elements together anymore and we can't stop the next big villain and they win and take over the world and we get locked away in different dungeons and never see each other again!" She exclaimed with a massive gasp at the end.

Twilight frowned. "You know I could never hate you for something like that, Pinkie Pie. You'd have to murder somepony for me to truly hate you," she said. She then raised an eyebrow. "Have you?" She asked playfully with a slight smile.

Pinkie rapidly shook her head, then paused. "Um... Do monsters count? I've had to, erm, deal with a few in the past," she admitted with a wince.

Twilight shook her head. "So long as it was out of necessity and not malice, no, it wouldn't count."

Pinkie gave a sigh of relief. "Phew, that's good," she said as she wiped sweat from her brow.

The two continued to chat as the train chugged towards its mountainside destination.

A few rows back, Rarity hummed as she idly checked herself in a pocket mirror she'd taken out of one of her suitcases, along with a few other personal items, before she sat down. "Hm, hm hm, hm-hm hm-hm."

Applejack turned away from the window she'd watched the passing scenery through and faced Rarity. "What's that tune ya're humming?"

The sudden call startled Rarity and she briefly fumbled her mirror.

Applejack moved a hoof under the mirror to catch it if it fell. "Ya got it, Rares?"

Rarity nodded as she put her mirror away in her bag. "Yes darling, I've got it."

Applejack nodded. "That's good, I didn't mean to startle ya."

Rarity dramatically flapped a hoof. "Pshaw, it's fine. Now, what was that you asked?"

"Ah was just wondering what that song was ya were humming a second ago," Applejack answered.

Rarity shrugged. "Just a tune from this show I watch with my sisters on the TV, why do you ask?"

Applejack shrugged back. "It just seemed kind of familiar, that's all," she said. She then did a double take. "Wait, ya own a TV? Since when?"

Rarity giggled daintily into her hoof. "Since mother and father gave it to me for my birthday last month. They even splurged and included a full subscription to several international channels. I typically only watch it with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle when this show that Sweetie really likes is on after school."

"What's it about?" Applejack asked.

Rarity smiled. "I don't want to spoil too much in case you ever decide to stop by and watch it with us, which yes, is an offer, so I'll only give a brief summary. It's about Princess Peach, the ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom, being trapped by this flamboyant yet fabulous creature called Almond, along with his Bitter Brigade, in a theater that's hosting several different types of plays, and she gets different abilities from different outfits that she acquires in each play. Darling, let me tell you, those outfits are positively divine! I've caught myself making multiple dresses this past month alone that were inspired by this show, and they've been some of my best work, if I do say so myself."

"Huh, that actually sounds kind of interesting," Applejack responded. She put a hoof to her chin in thought, before she nodded. "Ah think Ah'll take ya up on that offer once we get back to Ponyville. Ah'm curious to see if Princess Peach in that show is anything like Ah remember her being."

Rarity snapped her mirror shut and put it aside, before she chuckled in disbelief. "I'm sorry dear, did you just imply that you've actually met Princess Peach before?"

Applejack nodded. "Once, seven years ago. Apple Bloom, Big Mac, and Granny Smith met her as well, actually. Ah can't say for certain how well Apple Bloom remembers her, or that day at all for that matter, but we did indeed meet her."

Rarity's eye twitched as she stared directly into Applejack's eyes. "Why did you never tell me you had personally met actual royalty before?!"

Applejack broke eye contact and stared down at the floor. "Because it's a day that Ah prefer to forget in general," she explained in a depressed tone as she teared up slightly.

Rarity's brow furrowed as she mouthed Applejack's earlier words to herself. "Seven years ago..." She gasped as she teared up and covered her mouth with a hoof when she realized what day she meant. "I'm so sorry Applejack, I didn't mean to bring that up!" She apologized as she wrapped a hoof around Applejack's withers and pulled her into a hug.

Applejack leaned her head into Rarity's side as she returned the hug with one foreleg. "It's alright, Rares. Ya didn't know until now."

Rarity shook her head. She used her magic to gently wipe away Applejack's tears with a handkerchief she'd also brought. "I still should have realized something was up when you mentioned that you met her seven years ago," she said. She squeezed Applejack once, before they both sat up straight again. "You don't have to come watch the show with us if you don't want to, I'd understand completely," she said with a shake of her head.

Applejack shook her head. "Nah, it's fine. Like Ah said, Ah really am curious to see if that version of her is anything like Ah remember her from back then. Ah think Ah'll even bring Apple Bloom with me, too. She can watch the show with her friends, and if nothing else, it'll give the three of them, four if Spike comes along as well, something to talk about."

Rarity gave a brighter chuckle than before. "I imagine that'll go over well, considering Sweetie Belle has been talking about wanting to someday meet Princess Peach for the last month now."

The two mares laughed together, before Applejack spoke up again. "Say, aren't those TV's super expensive still? How in the world did they afford something like that? And for that matter, where do ya even keep it? I've never seen it in the main room, and I doubt it's in the kitchen, right?" She asked, before she shook her head. "No, wait, that was rude and invasive of me. Ah'm sorry."

Rarity patted her shoulder. "It's fine darling. After my earlier faux pas, I admit I had it coming. To answer your first question, my parents could afford something like this because father is the manager of the Ponyville Pickers. And to answer your second question, I keep it in my room on the second floor. I don't want Sweetie Belle or Scootaloo to just sit around watching TV all day, so I make sure they can only watch what I've made sure is appropriate in advance and only when I'm there. After all, with hundreds of different channels freely accessible thanks to the special subscription service mother and father bought me, you just never know what they might stumble upon by accident."

Applejack blinked, before she nodded. "Huh, that's a pretty good way to do it. Also, yer father runs the Ponyville Pickers? Isn't that that one Hoofball team that recently won that major tournament a few months back, or something like that?" She asked.

Rarity nodded. "He's very proud of how far they've come in the past two years since they formed."

Applejack opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted when the train suddenly rocked as it hit a bump on the tracks. Rarity stretched out her hooves and caught her friend as she was launched forward by the unexpected jolt.

Meanwhile, at the back of the car, Fluttershy let out a whimper as the bump jostled and surprised her. She leaned further in towards Rainbow Dash, who wrapped her other wing around her to further support her.

Rainbow Dash looked down at her overstimulated and panicked best friend. She wracked her brain to think of something that could help, before she remembered something that's helped in the past. She rested her chin on top of Fluttershy's head and fully wrapped her forelegs and wings around her protectively. "It's alright, Fluttershy. You're safe here, nopony wants to hurt you. And besides, I'm here too, so you're doubly safe!"

Fluttershy let out a stressed giggle that helped her calm down slightly. She relaxed her tightly shut eyes somewhat and focused on the sound of her friend's breathing and heartbeat to distract herself from everything around her.

Fluttershy calmed down over the course of the next few minutes. She spoke up once she'd fully relaxed. "Thank you, Rainbow," Fluttershy said with a smile as she fully leaned her head against Rainbow Dash's chest.

"No problem, Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash replied as she kept her hooves and wings wrapped protectively around her foalhood friend.

With the aid of her past experiences in the matter, Rainbow Dash continued to do what she could to make Fluttershy feel safe for the rest of the train ride.

An hour later, the train finally neared Canterlot station. The brakes squealed as they greatly slowed it's approach.

Once it had finally slowed to a stop in front of the platform, the passengers within congregated near the exits as they began to make their way off the train once the doors opened.

Twilight teleported herself and Pinkie Pie off the train the moment it was fully stopped, which allowed them to skip the congregation and exit before anypony else.

Several ponies in the crowd around them glared jealously at the duo, before they turned their noses up at them and looked away.

Twilight looked around at them uncomfortably. "Wow, I don't remember ponies being this snooty when I lived here."

"That's probably because you never left your tower, silly!" Pinkie Pie said.

Twilight gave Pinkie a deadpan stare. "Gee, thanks," she mumbled sarcastically, before she did a double take. "Wait, I never told you about my tower, how do you-"

Pinkie interrupted her with a pointed hoof and a gasp. "Look! There's Dashie and Flutters and AJ and Rare-Bear now! Let's go greet them!" She yelled before taking off towards the friends in question.

Twilight stared at her retreating form for a second, before she shook her head. "Just accept it and move on, Twilight. Just accept it and move on," she mumbled to herself.

Twilight approached the others as Pinkie tackled them in a hug, her forelegs wrapped around them all in a one-pony group hug.

Six suitcases floated above the group enveloped in Rarity's blue magic aura, while Rainbow Dash and Applejack both carefully balanced one suitcase on their backs each. On Fluttershy's back was her first-aid kit, fully tied down with Applejack's rope. Pinkie's sudden hug nearly knocked the suitcases to the ground, but the bubbly pink mare managed to catch them with her mane and tail.

The four mares within the hug did what they could to return said hug, trapped as their limbs were, before Pinkie unraveled her forelegs and released them. She plopped the suitcases held in her mane and tail back on Rainbow Dash and Applejack's backs.

Rarity brushed the dirt from Pinkie's hug off and looked at the large mountainside city around her. A grin grew wider and wider on her face as her excitement also grew. "Eeeheehee! After all these years of working and making dresses, I'm finally in Canterlot!" She cried out as she pranced excitedly in place.

Rainbow Dash smirked at her and crossed her forelegs as she moved to hover at the front of the group. She raised an eyebrow at her. "Excited, are we?"

Rarity noticed and blushed beet red as she stopped. "Ahem, yes, I... do apologize for letting my excitement get the better of me like that."

Rainbow Dash's smirk turned into a frown. "That's not what I meant, Rarity. I just thought it was funny that you were freaking out like that over visiting some city," she explained. "I mean, I know it's the capital of Equestria and all, but honestly? Clouds- Mmph?!" She began before she was suddenly stopped by a field of magic that held her mouth shut. She rubbed her hooves across her mouth in an attempt to remove the field, to no avail.

Twilight looked around slightly panicked for a few seconds while Rainbow Dash tried to open her mouth. Twilight leaned close to Rainbow Dash's ear. "Don't say that Cloudsdale is prettier, the nobles here have a petty grudge against the city because their delegate always publicly brags about it every meeting. They can get pretty nasty whenever Cloudsdale is brought up as a result, so try not to, please? Nastier than usual, I mean," Twilight asked through gritted teeth, panic still visible in her eyes.

Rainbow Dash's eyes widened briefly, before she nodded. She mimed zipping her mouth shut to make a point.

Twilight returned the nod, before she removed her magic.

As soon as the magic was gone, Rainbow Dash repeatedly opened and closed her mouth to uncramp her jaw. "Oh wow, that does not feel good," she said. She then gave one of the nearby particularly snooty unicorns the stink eye. "Stuck-up jerks," she muttered under her breath.

Applejack looked around for the nearest clock while her friends continued to talk. She found one above the train station exit, and she grew concerned when she saw the time. "Hey uh, quick question. When are the ambassadors supposed to get here?" Applejack asked.

In response, Twilight pulled a folded letter out of her saddlebags. "Princess Celestia didn't say in the original letter, but thankfully she sent another one this morning with some more information on the matter," she said. She looked down at the letter and read it aloud after she unfolded it.

To my Faithful Student Twilight Sparkle:

As you were made aware of in our correspondence last Friday, today is the day the ambassadors from the Beanbean Kingdom are set to arrive. Yesterday evening, I received a letter from Queen Bean detailing when to expect the ambassadors, and they are set to arrive at eight A.M. today.

Interestingly enough, the same letter also included sheet music for the Beanbean Kingdom's national anthem. I must say, their taste in music is both fascinating and refreshing compared to the usual drivel the nobles insist that I listen to on a daily basis.

Don't tell them I said that.

Twilight folded the letter back up and stuffed it back into her saddlebags once she'd finished reading it. "There, see? We still have a bit of time. Right, Applejack?"

Applejack nodded. "Yeah, the clock says it's only just now seven A.M., so we have about an hour to get to the castle and unpack our suitcases. Well, for those of us who brought suitcases, anyhow," she said with a pointed look towards Rarity.

Rarity looked around, before she pointed a hoof towards herself. "Who, me? Why, whatever do you mean, darling?" She said as she fluttered her eyelashes rapidly. A few seconds later she broke down into a giggle. "Okay, I see what you mean. But these aren't just any suitcases, darling, these contain only the finest of self care and grooming supplies that money can buy."

Applejack just stared flatly at her. "Uh huh, sure Rares," she said sarcastically. She turned and walked down the street. "Just because we have an hour doesn't mean we can just dilly-dally all day!" She called back.

The rest of the ponies quickly ran to catch up with her.

As the group of six made their way through the bustling capital of Equestria, they each looked around at the different sights unique to the city, at least compared to their home of Ponyville.

Rarity eyed all the fancy outfits the various nobles wore and took mental notes on the current fashion trends. The fashionista paused briefly when she saw an unexpected sight. She tapped Twilight's shoulder with a hoof and motioned with her head towards the group of bipedal fungus-like creatures that were walking and chatting with each other on the opposite side of the street. "Twilight, am I going crazy, or are those Toads from the Mushroom Kingdom?"

Twilight looked over at where Rarity indicated and smiled. "Yes, actually. Toads and ponies started immigrating between Equestria and the Mushroom Kingdom a few years ago just after the alliance was officialized. Honestly, I'm a little surprised I haven't seen any in Ponyville yet, all things considered."

"Huh..." Rarity said, before she became focused on her thoughts as she walked with her friends. She occasionally muttered under her breath as she went, her eyes focused on the various fashions and different colored spots that adorned the white thing on each of the Toads' bulbous heads.

A moment later, Rarity spoke up once more. "Is that white part with the spots a hat, or is that part of their head?"

Twilight opened her mouth to respond, but paused when she realized she didn't actually know. "I- hm, you know what, that's a good question."

Pinkie Pie gasped next them. "I know! I'll just ask one of them!" She cried before she zipped towards one of the Toads with purple spots.

"Wait Pinkie, hold on!" Rarity cried out in vain, her hoof outstretched in a failed attempt to stop the hyperactive mare.

Pinkie Pie bounded to a stop next to the Toad. "Hi!" She chirped.

The Toad waved his hand excitedly. "Hello!" He greeted. "Are you new here?"

Pinkie Pie nodded her head so fast she briefly resembled a bobblehead. "Yeppers! It's me and my friends's's first time here in Canterlot!" She responded, before she turned her head ninety degrees. "Well, except for Twi-Twi, she used to live here!"

The Toad with purple spots laughed at her antics as his companions took a step back in horror. "You're pretty funny, what's your name?"

"Pinkie Pie!" The bubbly mare chirped with a great big grin that stretched across her face.

The Toad matched her grin. "Awesome! My name's Pranks T. Er! Well, it wasn't always, but it is now, and that's all that matters! You can call me Prankster!" The now-named Prankster introduced himself as he stretched out a hand.

One of the other Toads saw this and began to freak out. "Wait no don't-"

Pinkie Pie slammed her hoof into his hand to shake it. Immediately, both Toad and Earth Pony spasmed as an electric shock coursed through them both.

The two released their grips on each other and laughed as they saw the joy buzzers strapped to their respective hand and hoof. "I think we're going to be great friends!" Pinkie Pie managed to say through her giggles.

Once the duo's laughter had fully calmed down, Pinkie Pie bounced up as she remembered something. "Oh yeah! My friend Rarity, the white unicorn with the fancy mane back there," she introduced as she pointed a hoof towards the mare in question. Rarity waved with an embarrassed chuckle that could be heard even across the street. "Was curious about the white things on your heads with all the spots. Are they a part of your head, or are they hats?"

Prankster smirked and reached his hands up towards the white bulbous thing in question. The other Toads immediately covered their eyes and looked away. "It's both!" He cried as he plucked it right off his head and held it in the air.

Everypony in the vicinity that had the misfortune to look over right at that moment screamed in terror as they beheld the horrors that lie underneath a Toad's fungal blob. Several ponies fainted on the spot.

A second later, Prankster lowered the hat/head back down where it belonged. "And that is why we Toads prefer to keep our caps where they belong in public, most people tend to not be a fan of the sight," Prankster said with a barely-hidden smirk.

Pinkie Pie let out a stilted chuckle. "Heh heh, yeah, I can see why," she said. She gave her new friend a final wave, before she quickly spun on the spot and retreated back to her friends' sides.

The five mares waiting for her crowded around her. "Well, what's under the hat? We couldn't see because you were blocking our view," Rainbow Dash said.

Pinkie Pie turned and leveled Rainbow Dash with the most terrified expression she'd ever seen on the embodiment of Laughter. "GOOD." Immediately after, Pinkie Pie turned and walked down the street at a much more sedated pace than her usual bouncing self.

The other five shared a concerned look, before they wisely decided not to push the matter. They ran to catch up with their shocked friend, then matched pace with her when they caught up.

Over the course of the next several minutes, Pinkie Pie slowly returned to her bubbly, bouncy self, a grin as wide as her face plastered on her face.

Twilight turned to her friend once she noticed. "Feeling a bit better now, Pinkie?"

Pinkie Pie bobbleheaded in response. "Yeppers! I feel so good that I don't even remember what happened!" She cried out. "Please keep it that way, Twi-Twi," she muttered out of the corner of her mouth towards her friend.

Twilight paused for a split second, before she gave an awkward smile back. "Sure, Pinkie. I'll do that, heh heh," she said in an unsure tone.

The group continued on their way to the castle. As they went, Applejack made note of the food the various ponies and the occasional Toad were eating at the various restaurants around them in an attempt to distract herself from the implications of Pinkie Pie's words.

To the apple farmer's dismay, there were very few apples or apple-based meals in sight. In fact, most of the culinary contraptions instead consisted of what appeared to be different species of mushrooms.

"Well, that's a rather unusual sight," Applejack said as she watched one Toad take a bite of a mushroom that appeared to have a face on the stem. The mare paused for a second as an unpleasant thought struck her, before she shook her head and kept walking. "Ah don't want to know."

Rainbow Dash grumbled next to her as she looked up at the somewhat cloudy sky. "You'd think for something like ambassadors showing up from a faraway kingdom, they'd bother to actually have it be a clear day here!" She yelled out as she threw her hooves up in disbelief.

Fluttershy spoke up next to her. "Um, maybe they just haven't done it yet? It's only a little passed seven in the morning, after all."

Rainbow Dash scoffed. "Back in Ponyville, my team usually has the weather fully set up and ready to go by seven so long as there aren't either any unexpected schedule changes or rogue weather from the Everfree Forest."

Applejack smirked up at Rainbow Dash. "Unless, of course, a certain somepony decides to have a nap on one of the clouds during the day. Then the job never gets done."

Rainbow Dash glared back down at Applejack. "I've already told you, I have to get naps in during the day to keep up my energy! I'm still training each and every day for the Wonderbolts, you know! And that's on top of handling most of the day's weather when the rest of the team either slacks off or gets sick!"

Twilight lit her horn and separated the two. She glared at them both. "Quit bickering you two! We're here on official business as the Elements of Harmony! We need to be on our best behavior, at least for Princess Celestia, if for no other reason."

Pinkie Pie giggled as Rainbow Dash let out a squawk of outrage. "We're not bickering! We're just having a... Very spirited conversation!" She said, before she nodded to herself. "Isn't that right, Applejack?" She asked with a pointed look towards the mare in question.

Applejack shook her head. "Nope! We're bickering," she said matter-of-factly.

Rainbow Dash facehoofed and sighed as Pinkie Pie let out another giggle. "Really, AJ?" The pegasus mumbled under her breath.

Applejack picked up on her friend's mutterings and slung a hoof over Rainbow Dash's withers and pulled her in for a quick hug. "Aw, Ah'm just messin' with ya. Yer reactions are just too funny to resist."

Rainbow Dash pulled her face out of her hooves and rolled her eyes, before she briefly returned the hug.

The two separated after a second, and Rainbow Dash took to the air once more.

The trek through Canterlot proceeded silently from that point, until a few minutes later Applejack noticed a sign on one of the nearby buildings. "'T. Thyme's Shroomporium'? What kind of name is that for a restaurant? Is it even a restaurant?" She asked. She then noticed something else that stood out to her. "It seems like that Toad trying to get our attention," she realized.

The others looked over at her comment and saw the Toad in question. She was dressed in a fancy-looking chef outfit, complete with a light-green apron decorated with elaborately stitched patterns of thyme and a chef's hat that perched perilously on top of her yellow-spotted cap. A brown braid poked out from under the edge of the cap, which caused Pinkie Pie to flinch and look away when she noticed it. She waved in the air a shiny sterling silver ladle with a single tiny diamond set into the handle that sparkled like dew in the morning light.

The group approached, their curiosity too much to ignore despite the ticking clock of the ambassadors' upcoming arrival.

The Toad lowered the ladle when she noticed their approach and smiled. "Welcome to T. Thyme's Shroomporium, where only the best Mushroom Kingdom Mushrooms are used to create the finest dining experiences on this side of the world!" She welcomed with open arms, before she performed a dramatic bow with a flourish of her right arm, during which she twirled the ladle gracefully until it crossed in front of her chest. "My name is T. Thyme, how may I serve you?"

Fluttershy perked up at the mention of mushrooms. "Oh, you cook with mushrooms too? I sometimes make my own meals with the safe and edible mushrooms I find near my cottage."

T. Thyme stood up from the bow and shook her head. "Oh, nonononononono! I only use the best of the best for my meals, not common fare like one would find in the wild!"

Applejack raised an eyebrow. "What's the difference?"

T. Thyme smirked. "My Mushrooms have all sorts of medicinal properties, they taste phenomenally, and they drastically increase your lifespan!"

Applejack just doubtfully stared at the Toad. "Uh huh, sure."

T. Thyme tsked. "Fine, if you won't believe me, then I'll just have to prove it to you! One serving of Mushroom Tea for each of you, on the house!" She declared as she turned towards her restaurant.

Twilight glanced at the nearest clock she could find, before she gave T. Thyme an awkward smile when she saw the time. "I'd love to accept, but we're on a really tight schedule right now."

T. Thyme waved her ladle at her dismissively. "Nonsense! Just a single taste is all I ask, then you can be on your way!" They said before they entered the building.

The group of six waited uncomfortably outside for the next few minutes, before T. Thyme reappeared with a tray that held six cups. Steam curled up from the darkly colored liquid held within. "As promised, delicious Mushroom Tea, ready to drink!"

Fluttershy was the first to grab a cup, soon followed by Rarity once she'd seen her friend do so. The other four just stared uncomfortably at the fungal tea. Fluttershy brought the rim of the cup to her lips and took a single sip as Rarity did the same with her magic. Almost immediately, both mares' eyes shot wide open from the unexpected taste. "Oh wow, this really is delicious! Why, however do you do it?" Rarity asked once she'd put her cup back down.

T. Thyme smirked. "Just like a magician, a true culinary master never reveals her secrets. But I will give you this: this is a recipe that has been passed down through several generations of the noble Toad line Epidermophyton!"

Rarity oohed as Twilight's face screwed up in disgust. She quickly moved beside T. Thyme and whispered where she assumed her ear was. "You do realize that Epidermophyton is one of the fungi that make up infections such as Athlete's Hoof, right?"

T. Thyme sighed a great deep sigh that was filled to the brim with audible regret as she covered her face with her left hand. "I had hoped that by leaving the Mushroom Kingdom I could get away from people recognizing that fact. Alas, it was not to be."

Twilight put a hoof to her chin as she thought to herself. She spoke up a minute later. "You know, you could always go to the library that's down the street and study up on fungus names. Since you aren't in the Mushroom Kingdom anymore, there's no reason you have to stick with that name. Unless you want to honor your ancestors, of course," she amended.

T. Thyme's eyes widened with hope. "You really mean it?" She asked. "But won't I get in trouble for forging the name of a noble line?"

Twilight shook her head. "So long as the name you choose isn't already taken by an officially recognized noble line, neither the laws nor Princess Celestia care what noble name you call yourself. In fact, I have it on very good authority that Princess Celestia gets a kick out of hearing all the silly names ponies call themselves to try to sound more important than they are."

A hopeful smile broke out on the Toad chef's face. She spun around on the spot and ran inside her restaurant, flipped the 'open' sign to 'closed' and ran back out towards Twilight. "I have closed up my shop for the day and will now head straight there! Thank you for this chance, I won't forget this!"

T. Thyme quickly hugged Twilight, before she took off down the street. Twilight called out to the departing Toad. "Wait! The library I mentioned is that way!" She yelled. Unfortunately, T. Thyme did not hear her and continued to run the wrong way.

Twilight gave an awkward smile and an equally awkward wave. "See you later, miss Thyme," she called out before she rejoined her friends.

Applejack spoke up first when Twilight got back. "What was that about?" She asked as the group walked towards the castle once more.

"And what do you mean forging the name of a noble line isn't illegal? Wouldn't that cause all sorts of problems, as that would mean anypony can claim they're a noble?" Rarity asked.

Twilight turned to answer Rarity first as the group started to move again. "To answer your question, Rarity, I actually wondered that very same thing a few years ago, so I asked Princess Celestia about it. She told me that the reason she allows it is because she finds all the over the top fancy sounding made-up noble names to be so silly she can't help but laugh inside when she hears one. It isn't that much of a problem, because only legitimate nobles who've earned their title have any actual authority. And whenever a noble line stops behaving in a way befitting that earned position, she quietly strips them of that authority in a private meeting between herself and the current head of that family."

Rarity frowned. "Wouldn't that mean that neither the rest of that noble family or the public would know about their power being stripped?"

Twilight shook her head. "No, because the head of the family has to inform the rest of their line, as well as the public, within twenty-four hours, or else Princess Celestia will make their power being stripped public knowledge the next day through a less-than-flattering public announcement, usually through the papers in the form of a special edition print that lists every reason why they lost their status. No noble wants that, as there is no bigger stain on a noble family's reputation than public humiliation. Other than actual criminal convictions, of course," she added as an afterthought. She then turned to Applejack. "To answer your question, Applejack, Epidermophyton is a very common fungus that is one of the fungi responsible for infections such as Athlete's Hoof," Twilight explained to her friends.

Applejack gagged as Rainbow Dash guffawed. "Oh wow, that's rich! And she was just going around, claiming to be part of a noble line of Athlete's Hoof?! Bwa ha ha ha ha!"

Twilight shook her head. "Unfortunately, at least according to her, that is the name of her noble line. It's why she left the Mushroom Kingdom, so that the name wouldn't be recongnized for what it actually meant. Luckily for her, most if not all of the false nobles never put any research into anything that isn't specifically within their supposed jurisdiction as a noble, if they can even be bothered to do that much, so I was probably the first pony to recognize it for what it was," Twilight said.

Rarity shuddered. "For the sake of my dreams, I hope that I can find and build connections with the few actual nobles that do go out of their way to know more than the bare minimum."

"For that sort of thing, I personally recommend that you find a way to meet with Fancy Pants," Twilight suggested.

Rainbow Dash snickered. "Fancy Pants? A little on the nose there, don't you think, Twi?"

Twilight snorted. "A little, yeah, but he both actually cares about ponies around him, and he just so happens to be the Duke of Canterlot. If you want something done in Canterlot, you pretty much have to go to him."

"But what about Prince Blueblood? Everything I've heard about him says that's exactly the kind of pony that he is," Rarity asked.

Twilight rolled her eyes and fake gagged. "Oh, don't get me started on that foppish buffoon. He couldn't tell you left from right on one of his good days. Not just because he doesn't know them, but because he'd much rather go on a tirade against you for daring to even ask him something. He is by far the most stuck up and self centered twit I've ever had the displeasure of dealing with."

Rarity gave an awkward chuckle as she thought about her plans for the upcoming Gala in two months. "Surely he's not that bad, right?"

Twilight leveled a flat stare at her fellow unicorn. "He called Spike a lizard. To his face. With Princess Celestia in the room. And her chewing him out the entire rest of the day did nothing to curb his awful personality."

"And just like that, my plans for the Grand Galloping Gala have been altered: My goal now is to humiliate that pompous jerk as much as I can!" Rarity decreed with a dramatic twirl of her hoof that ended with it pointed into the air.

Applejack moved next to the vengeful unicorn. "If ya ever need mah help to do so, just ask. Ah'll be bringing mah family's best recipes for a food stall Ah plan to setup, and Ah'll make sure to bring extra pies just for him if ya need it."

"And if you want variety in your pies, just ask me!" Pinkie Pie declared from the other side of Rarity.

"I'm sure I could sneak in a cloud or two or five into the gala, if you catch my drift," Rainbow Dash said with a wide smirk and a wink.

Fluttershy looked uncertainly back and forth between her friends. "Um, should we really be doing this? Prince Blueblood is, well, a prince, right? We could get in serious trouble for humiliating him like this."

Twilight snorted. "He wishes he was an actual prince. No, unfortunately for Prince Prissy Pants, no relation to Fancy Pants thankfully, Prince Blueblood is his actual name," she said before she and the others broke down into giggles.

The six best friends continued to brainstorm ideas as they traveled through the city of Canterlot for the next forty-five minutes. Occasionally, their conversation caught the ear of a Canterlot citizen as they passed by, who stared at them with mild concern, but overall their journey to the castle remained uninterrupted.

As the group walked through the gates in front of the castle entrance, Twilight nodded to the two guards at the sides of the gates. "Hello again Phalanx, Paladin Shield."

The guards both returned the nod. "Welcome back, Miss Sparkle. Head right on in, the ambassadors should arrive sometime within the next few minutes."

As the group passed the entrance gateway, Applejack turned to Twilight. "How in the world could ya tell them apart, much less who each one was? They looked exactly the same to me!"

Twilight giggled. "They're supposed to look identical, that's the point of the disguise spell built into the guard armor. As for how I can tell them apart, it's a mix of years of knowing the guards around here, and the fact that the only two things not affected by the disguise spell are scars and aging," Twilight explained. "Case in point, Paladin Shield, who was the guard on the right, is much younger than Phalanx, the guard on the left. Phalanx himself has a thin scar on his face from a criminal that broke into the castle a few years back."

Applejack hummed in thought. "Huh, Ah hadn't noticed any of that."

Pinkie Pie giggled. "Really? Seemed pretty obvious to me," she said before she giggled again.

As the group continued through the castle grounds and entered the castle, they ran into another guard, this one a mare. "Hey Twilight, long time no see. Princess Celestia gave me the keys to the rooms you'll be staying in while you're here. Just follow me and I'll take you straight to them."

Applejack leaned over and whispered a question into Twilight's ear as they followed the guardsmare. "Another one ya know, Ah take it?"

Twilight nodded as she whispered back. "That's Kite, she helped babysit Spike when he was growing up before he moved in with my parents. I can tell because what I could see of the inside of her helmet was stained with red mane dye, and the disguise spell doesn't affect the inside of the armor itself."

Kite overheard Twilight's response, blushed, and lowered her helmet with her green magic aura.

The guard lead the group through the winding halls of the castle, until a few minutes later, they reached a hallway with six doors, three on either side. Each door had a plaque on the front that showed the symbol of one of the six Elements Of Harmony, which dictated who's room was which.

Kite lit her horn and levitated a key ring with six keys out of her armor that each also had a symbol that represented an Element Of Harmony on them. She focused for a few seconds, before a copy of each key appeared in the air in a flash of light. Twilight caught the copies before they hit the ground as Kite stumbled in place. "Phew, that's still exhausting," She said as she panted and took deep breaths. A moment later she shook her head and spoke again. "Anyways, here you six go, one key for each of you. Since they're all magically created fakes, each key will disappear after a few uses or so. Both for security reasons, and also because I only recently learned the spell," she explained as Twilight passed the keys out to each of her friends.

Twilight shot an impressed look at the guard once everypony had taken their respective key. "Was that Similo Duplexis? That's not an easy spell to learn! Even I struggled with it for a few weeks!"

Kite barked out a laugh. "'A few weeks', hah! It took me four months to even cast this once with Princess Luna's help, and yet you mastering it in a few weeks was struggling for you."

A downcast expression overtook Twilight's face. "I didn't mean to brag, I just think it's really cool to see somepony else using a spell that difficult and complex."

Kite shook her head. "I didn't mean anything bad by it, I'm just saying that you really are a magic prodigy. It's no wonder Princess Celestia took you in as her personal student," she said before she turned away. "I've got to continue my patrols now, you should get ready for the ambassadors' arrival. Another guard will be by to escort you and your friends to the throne room when it's time," she finished before she left the hallway.

Twilight waved goodbye to her old friend before she turned and looked around the hall. "Guess the others have already gone into their rooms," she said to herself with a chuckle. She headed towards her door and unlocked it with the key she was given.

As soon as the door was open, the key dissolved into a green magic dust that dissipated into the air. Twilight shook her head and walked into the room with a faint smile. "She did say it wouldn't last long, after all," she mumbled to herself and shrugged.

Twilight, as well as her friends in their own rooms, spent the next few minutes resting, unpacking, or otherwise getting prepared for the upcoming meeting with the ambassadors

Just as Twilight had settled down on the bed to rest for a few minutes, a knock at the door disrupted her planned catnap. When Twilight walked over to the door and opened it, she let out a gasp and hugged her brother. "BBBFF! When Kite said another guard would come escort us, I didn't think she meant you!"

Shining Armor returned the hug and chuckled. "I wasn't originally, but I knew I couldn't pass up the chance to surprise you like this, Twily," he said as he separated from his sister.

Shining Armor stepped aside and lead Twilight out into the hall where the rest of her friends already waited.

Shining Armor nodded at the gathered mares and turned towards the path to the throne room. "We've received word that the ambassadors have made it safely through the warp pipe from the Beanbean Kingdom, and they should arrive at the castle itself in the next few minutes," he explained as he lead them through identical hallways.

A few minutes later, Shining Armor lead the six into the throne room where Princess Celestia and an entourage of guards waited. Each guard held an instrument in either their magic aura or their mouth, in the case of non-unicorns.

"Princess Celestia! I have brought the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, just as you requested!" Shining Armor announced as they entered the room.

Twilight ran towards her mentor and leaned in to nuzzle her. "Princess Celestia!"

Celestia returned the nuzzle. "My faithful student, I am so glad to see that you and all your friends are doing well and have made it here safe and sound."

Twilight stepped back from the nuzzle. "Of course, Princess! Where would you like us to stand?" She asked as her friends and brother reached her.

Celestia pointed with a hoof off to the side of the raised throne platform. "I would like three of you to stand over there," she began, before she moved to point her hoof on the opposite side of the platform. "And the other three to stand over there. It doesn't really matter who goes where, just so long as it is split evenly between unicorn, earth pony, and pegasus."

Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Shining Armor moved over to the left side of the throne, with Twilight and Shining Armor next to each other in the spots closest to Celestia. Applejack stood next to Twilight opposite Shining Armor, while Fluttershy stood next to Applejack. Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash moved over to the right side of the throne, in that order from the throne itself.

Twklight frowned in confusion as she noticed something odd. She leaned over to Shining Armor and whispered into his ear. "Why don't any of the guards have their weapons? Shouldn't they be prepared just in case?"

Shining Armor leaned over and whispered back. "It's so that their presence doesn't get mistaken as an act of aggression, or worse, war."

Twilight nodded and returned to a more respectful standing position.

As if on cue, the moment the last of the six stepped into position, the arranged guards began to play their instruments.

As the music carried through and out of the throne room, two bipedal figures in yellow robes and with pea-green skin walked along the red carpet towards the throne.

One of the ambassadors was much taller than the other and kept her sleeves connected in front of her with her arms tucked inside. The other ambassador that walked behind her was much smaller than her and carried a red box in both arms that was half his own size.

The guards continued to play the music as the two approached the throne and walked up the steps to Celestia.

The taller ambassador stopped a few steps away from the ruling princess of Equestria. "I come bearing valuable gifts from her royal majesty Queen Bean, who wishes to improve ties between our two kingdoms," she announced.

On cue, the smaller ambassador walked up to Celestia, who stepped forward in preparation to receive the gift.

Off to the side, Pinkie Pie's entire body started to shake and vibrate at a rapid rate as her Pinkie Sense went off suddenly. "Wo-oo-oo-oah! Th-er-re's a do-oo-ozy com-ming!" The mare cried in alarm as she shook. Her friends that were familiar with her Pinkie Sense all tensed up in preparation for whatever the doozy could be.

The moment the smaller ambassador stopped moving, the red box in his arms opened on its own and a creepy doll on a jack-in-the-box style spring flew out towards the princess. A second later, the doll's mouth opened and spewed a putrid gas that rapidly flashed red and green into Celestia's face, to everypony else's stunned shock and horror.

The gas covered Celestia's head completely, which caused her to hack and cough as the putrid gas split into two separate clouds of red and green. The red cloud forced its way down her throat, while the green cloud crawled up her horn. The gas stained her once pristine white horn a sickly shade of green as it progressed upwards.

"What the hay are you doing to the princess?!" Rainbow Dash and Shining Armor yelled from their spots next to the throne. The pegasus mare flew up into the air and prepared to charge towards the ambassadors, while Shining Armor cast a shield that covered just the area around him and made himself invisible via light refraction.

The taller ambassador took both of her arms out of her sleeves and pointed her right hand towards Rainbow Dash before the mare could close in, while her left hand pointed towards the last spot Shining Armor had been seen. A black-colored lightning bolt shot down from above and struck the pegasus mare directly, while a second one struck the ground where Shining Armor had been, to no avail. The lightning bolt that missed blasted apart a chunk of the marble floor and created a cloud of debris that hindered the view of the area for everyone in the room.

"Eeeyah ha ha ha!" The taller ambassador cackled as Rainbow Dash screamed and crashed to the ground with a large burn on her side where the bolt had struck her.

The injured mare struggled to get up on her hooves, but was unable to and slumped back down to the ground. She shakily lifted her head up once more and braced herself with a hoof. "Why am I so heavy now?!" She cried in frustration, before her leg gave out and her head slammed back down into the floor with a crack.

"Rainbow Dash!" The other Elements cried out in horror as Pinkie Pie frantically ran towards Rainbow Dash. They turned towards the ambassadors and prepared to attack as the guards all gathered behind the ambassadors.

The taller ambassador removed her robes in an explosion of magic and threw her arms up into the air. "Eeeyah ha ha ha!" The now-revealed witch cackled maniacally as more bolts of lightning crashed down around the room and destroyed parts of the floor.

A few stray lightning bolts were lured to the instruments of some unfortunate guards as they attempted to throw them at the witch as makeshift weapons, which caused said guards to be struck by the lightning and rendered burned and unconscious. Their struck instruments were melted into slag by the heat of the bolts.

A strange object caught everypony's attention as it suddenly fell from the ceiling above where it had silently hovered unnoticed till now. It landed directly on the smaller ambassador's head, before he then explosively removed his own disguise and chortled just as maniacally as the witch had as his red cloak flapped in an unseen breeze. The headgear sucked up the green gas that now fully covered Celestia's head into its mouth-like nozzle, while the red gas cloud was pulled out of Celestia's mouth, which caused her to gag in visible discomfort. "Ha ha ha ha ha! I have chortles!" He declared as he continued to chortle.

As soon as the gas clouds had been fully sucked up by the headgear, it let out a burp and grinned as Celestia fell unconscious on the spot, her horn now fully stained a sickly shade of green. The attacker chortled once more, before he stepped back behind the witch and faced the gathered guards, the two now stood back to back.

The guards that remained unhurt attempted to charge towards the attackers, but were intercepted by a barrage of magical green orbs spat out by the headgear's nozzle in an oscillating wave pattern. A barely visible distortion in the air surrounded each orb as it flew that pushed small enough debris out of the orb's way. Each orb that hit a guard exploded on impact and burned the guard as they were sent flying backwards, while each of the distortions exploded outwards in a burst of magically sharp cutting gusts that sliced into their coats and flesh and opened wounds of varying severity. The orbs that didn't hit anypony also exploded on impact with the walls and ground with enough collective force to shake the entire room. Gouges multiple inches thick were slashed and sliced into the marble walls and pillars from the gusts alone, while the explosive part of the spell scorched everything it touched a deep sooty black. By the time the barrage had ended and the room had stopped shaking, most of the guards were heavily injured and unconscious, and the room looked like a warzone with marble debris scattered everywhere. The few that had managed to escape the nightmarish barrage mostly unharmed moved to pull their injured comrades to safety behind pillars or out of the room entirely.

Pinkie Pie suddenly appeared by the witch's side from a shield that was barely-visible in the debris cloud and tried to tackle her, but the witch reacted quickly and sent two prepared bolts of lightning down, one towards the mare and the other towards the shield as it tried to get away. The first bolt of lightning struck Pinkie Pie directly and sent her backwards, where she landed and skidded sideways along the floor. The second bolt of lightning struck the shield and instantly shattered it, which knocked the no-longer hidden Shining Armor unconscious from the painful magical feedback.

The witch glared down at the pink mare as she struggled to get up from the intense weight she now felt all across her body. "I've been waiting for you to try something, you pink menace!"

"Why are you doing this?! And for that matter, who are you?!" Twilight yelled from where she, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy had gathered in front of the unconscious Celestia. Applejack had gone to Rainbow Dash's side while the witch was distracted with Pinkie Pie, and with their combined strength, had managed to bring the heavy pegasus to her hooves and walk her over to their friends.

The witch cackled. "I am the great witch Cackletta, and what makes you think that I'll just tell you my plans?! At least, not without making you work for it! Eeeyah ha ha ha!"

Twilight snorted angrily as Applejack scraped at the floor with a hoof. The earth pony charged towards Cackletta and slammed into her side.

Cackletta grunted as she was sent backwards by the blow. "You're stronger than you look, but strength won't help you with this!" She cried as she suddenly sunk into her own shadow, which split into three and separated. A second later all three of the shadows formed into exact duplicates of Cackletta, all of which grinned widely. "Which one of us is the real Cackletta?! I'll even let you get in a single free hit to figure it out! Eeeyah ha ha ha!" They all taunted and cackled, before they stopped and stood eerily still, as if they had all became statues.

The now unnerved Applejack rapidly glanced back and forth between the three as she tried to figure out which one was the real deal.

Back behind the confused mare, Rarity lit her horn and focused on the marble debris. The mare transformed the large chunks of marble into more manageable, smaller marble statues of ponies in varying poses, some with sharp marble weapons and some without. The detail-oriented mare lifted up and launched the statue army of dozens towards the Cackletta clones from all directions around her.

Fawful blasted several of the statues as they approached, until one got through his guard and struck the middle Cackletta. The fake copy cackled and burst into a swarm of bats that all had Cackletta's head, which all flew up into the air.

"Look out!" Applejack cried as the bats rapidly swarmed her and her friends. While Rarity batted at the bats that seemed to swarm mostly around her in a blind panic and Twilight methodically blasted each one down with her magic, Applejack dodged around the bats that came down towards her. She attempted to land another blow on the witch, but the smaller attacker suddenly intercepted her as the rockets on the sides of his headgear propelled him towards her. His headgear spat a gusting green orb of magic at her point-blank that exploded on impact with her face and scorched it. The burst of wind blades opened several wounds all across her face and head, which caused blood to fly out of her injuries and splatter the ground beneath and behind her in an amount that greatly alarmed her friends.

"Applejack!" Fluttershy cried with tears in her eyes as she flew towards her heavily injured friend. She glared furiously at the smaller attacker as she stood protectively in front of the downed and bleeding Applejack. "Just who do you think you are, mister?! What gives you the right to do something like this?!"

The attacker chortled. "Fawful is my name, and I have CHORTLES!!! Ha ha ha ha!" Fawful introduced as he chortled gleefully and maliciously in Fluttershy's face.

Fluttershy angrily gritted her teeth. "I didn't want to do this, but you leave me no choice!" She said as she activated her Stare and stared directly into Fawful's swirly glasses.

Fawful smirked as his headgear leaned down towards the distracted Fluttershy's face from the side and spewed out another cloud of gas, this cloud a dismal shade of dark grey.

Fluttershy coughed and closed her eyes as the cloud of odorless gas fully enveloped her face. Over the course of a few seconds, the gas concentrated itself in and around her eyes until it had all vanished. Once her face was clear of the gas, she opened her eyes and began to panic when she realized she couldn't see anything. "I can't see! What have you done to my eyes?!" She cried as she stumbled in place while her now clouded eyes rapidly shifted around in a futile attempt to see.

Fawful chortled as his headgear grinned widely. "Worry not your pink head of prettiness too much, your eyes will get their seeingness back... eventually! Ha ha ha ha!" He taunted, before he floated off towards another part of the battle.

Fluttershy attempted to fly after her attacker's voice, but was unable to get very far before she crashed headfirst into one of the room's remaining pillars, which knocked her unconscious and split open a wound in her head that poured blood down her face.

During the time that Fawful had fought Applejack and Fluttershy, the Cackletta on the right raised an arm and pointed it towards Rainbow Dash as the mare tried to run towards the witch despite the extreme weight she still felt all over her body. She had managed to break out into a trot, but she was unable to dodge the bolt of black lightning that Cackletta summoned towards her from above. The bolt struck her back and knocked the pegasus unconscious with a cutoff scream of pain as another large burn bloomed outward from the impact.

"I'm sick of seeing you pathetic little pests getting up after my attacks. If you won't stay down, then I'll make you!" The other Cackletta on the left cried as she suddenly grew to several times her original size with a much more monstrous appearance.

The now monstrous and massive Cackletta roared as bolts of black lightning crashed down throughout the room. Dark holes in the ground pulsated nauseatingly as they appeared from beneath her large billowing cloak and moved towards each of the ponies still in the room.

Unable to move, the guards that hadn't yet been pulled to safety by their comrades, as well as the downed Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Applejack all fell into the holes. A few seconds later, they were slammed down towards the ground from above, where another hole had opened up above each of their original positions.

After the ponies each landed with a loud crack from the abrupt flight, a bolt of black lightning struck each of them for good measure.

"Eeeyah ha ha ha!" Cackletta cackled as she continued to inflict carnage and cause chaos. Her remaining clone burst into another swarm of bats that added to the madness as they flew around the room.

Rarity and Twilight dodged, blasted, and batted at the bats as much as they could, before eventually Rarity missed one and it bit her leg. Blood trailed down her leg as the wound quickly and visibly festered. "Ow! That hurt, yoouu..." She trailed off as her face turned green and she collapsed on her side, unconscious from the poison that now flowed through her bloodstream.

Cackletta noticed and smirked as she struck the downed unicorn with a bolt of black lightning that scorched her side. "Eeeyah ha ha ha! This carnage and chaos is music to my ears!"

Twilight looked around in absolute horror as all of her battered, bloodied, and burned friends laid motionless around her. Only their slowed, pained breaths showed that anypony in the room besides her was even still alive. She closed her eyes as her rage grew, before she finally snapped. A burst of fire erupted around her as her magic began to go wild from her rage. "You monster! How dare you do something this horrible, this heinous?!" Twilight cried as she launched spell after desperate spell towards the witch.

Cackletta shrunk herself back down to her regular size to better dodge the spells that flew throughout the room as she ducked and weaved between them. Every once in a while, she would hold out her arm towards Twilight and summon a bolt of lightning to her position.

Over the course of the battle, Twilight had watched Cackletta attack. As a result, she dodged away from her current position whenever she saw the witch aim towards her. The entire time she made sure to keep up her barrage of spells and never gave Cackletta a chance to catch her breath.

As Cackletta continued to dodge Twilight's barrage, she grew angrier and angrier, until after she'd sidestepped one of many lasers, she let out a scream of frustration. "Nnngh-GYAH! Enough of this nonsense!" She cried out, before she raised both arms at once pointed towards the ground next to her.

Two shadows split off from her own and moved to where she'd pointed, before two more clones of herself rose out. The instant they were fully formed, Cackletta raised her arms dramatically and split them apart into swarms of bats that charged towards Twilight.

Twilight charged her horn and waited until the bats had approached her, before she teleported behind Cackletta and fired a laser from her horn towards the spot on Cackletta's side that Applejack had tackled earlier in the battle.

Cackletta let out an actual cry of pain as she held her side with an arm. Smoke billowed as the smell of burned flesh permeated the area around her. She gritted her teeth as she raised her other arm towards Twilight once more, who dodged the summoned bolt.

Twilight smirked as she continued to dodge Cackletta's desperate attacks. Twilight powered up her horn again as she readied another laser.

An unnoticed green orb suddenly collided with the side of her head that sent her flying to the side and canceled her built up spell as she was knocked unconscious.

Cackletta shot a grateful look towards Fawful as she leaned on her uninjured leg and held her side. "If you hadn't caught her off guard like that, she might have actually beat me there."

Fawful grinned back and chortled. "Ha ha ha ha! As if someone of the narrow-mindedness could spoil the delicious mustard of our plans!"

Cackletta cackled in response. "Eeeyah ha ha ha! I suppose you are right," she said as she summoned her flying jet-powered throne. The flying throne flew in through the unnoticed hole in the ceiling behind one of the pillars that Fawful's headgear had previously created and used to sneak into the throne room prior to their arrival.

The witch climbed onto her seat as Fawful soaked in the view of the destroyed throne room around him. "I have the pleasure with the outcome of my recent spell experiments!" He exclaimed with a chortle. Once his laughter had died down, he eyed the unconscious bodies of the ponies with a manic gleam in his eye. "Should we kill them?" He asked as his headgear charged up an attack.

Cackletta flinched very slightly and quickly moved a hand to her injured side before she shook her head. "No. If they're dead, then whatever forces remain can go after us with more resources that they would otherwise be forced to spend to keep them alive," she explained. "Instead, we shall leave them alive, so that they may watch in horror as we awaken the star from its slumber and lay waste to this putrid world."

Fawful nodded as the charged blast dissipated from the headgear's mouth. "I have the understanding, mistress Cackletta," he said, before he frowned. "But perhaps we should do something to stop them from catching after us themselves once they have been healed? After all, they now have the knowingness of how we fight."

Cackletta hummed in thought. "You are correct, that would be most wise," she said. A moment later she grinned. "And I know just the spell to do the trick."

As the witch flew around on her throne towards each of the downed Element Bearers and touched a curved finger to their spine, a small bolt of yellow magic jumped from her finger to the pony. When she touched Fluttershy's spine, the pegasus jolted as she was struck by the spell.

Once Cackletta had finished with each one, she nodded. "There, that should keep them out of our way."

Fawful looked closely with his specialized enchanted glasses at the magic infused in each pony, before he grinned. "Ah, that spell. Now, not even the Herbs of Refreshing will be able to help them, so long as you keep the spell running. I have impress!" He said with a wide grin. He then turned towards the unconscious form of Shining Armor. "However, I believe that that one would pose a serious threat with those shields of his if allowed to chase after us with this knowledge," he said as he pointed a finger towards him.

Cackletta eyed Shining Armor's body. "Yes, that would be most unpleasant to have to deal with after everything else," she said as she tapped his spine. "That should do it," she said as she grinned.

Fawful looked around the area as he made certain they were done, before his eyes settled on the downed body of Twilight Sparkle. "That one's magic was unexpectedly of the excellence, even compared to what we'd heard about her during the planning of our plans," he said as he approached her. His headgear's nozzle spun once, before it spat out the cloud of green gas that was sucked up from Celestia's horn. The gas cloud enveloped her horn and quickly turned it a sickly shade of green over the course of seconds.

Once Twilight's horn matched Celestia's, the headgear sucked the gas back up. "And now she won't be a threat at all! Ha ha ha ha!" Fawful chortled.

Cackletta clapped her hands together once. "We need to leave before that other princess arrives, even just going off the rumors alone she's strong enough that I don't want to pick a fight with her like this," she said as she motioned towards her injured side.

Fawful's headgear's rockets lit up as he flew up to join his mistress. "Should we take the pipe of warping, or take the route of scenic?"

Cackletta thought as she idly pointed an arm towards one of the stained glass windows and blasted it into shards with a summoned bolt of lightning. "Do we know where the other half of the warp pipe's connection spell ended up after we blew up the one in Beanbean Castle Town on our way here?" She asked as she brushed shards of glass off her damaged robes.

Fawful shook his head. "Unfortunately, even I, with all my knowledge of the pipes of warping, have no way of knowing where the connection could have gone. For all we know, it could be somewhere in the Darklands, or worse, near those mustachioed morons."

Cackletta frowned. "Then it's not worth the risk," she said, before she shrugged. "Besides, the scenic route should suffice. After all, what are they going to do to stop us, send their guards?! Eeeyah ha ha ha!" Cackletta cackled as the two flew off towards the distant Beanbean Kingdom to the east.

Kite marched as she patrolled through the winding halls of Canterlot castle. The guardsmare looked side-to-side as she walked, and every few steps she looked up and eyed the arches above her to make sure nothing and nopony could get the drop on her.

Her ears perked up as she heard familiar voices come from around a corner ahead of her. She strained to listen as she approached the corner.

"...get help!"

"...too strong!"

"...the Princess is..."

Alarmed by what she could make out, Kite quickly rushed around the corner and stared in horror as she beheld the group of injured guards in front of her. The vast majority of the guards sported several burns all across various parts of their bodies, with several also bearing slash wounds that still bled. The more severely injured guards were being carried by the others that could still walk. A single guard out of the bunch had managed to come out of whatever altercation there had been unscathed. "You, Private!" She called out to the uninjured guard. A pegasus Private, based on the lack of markings on his armor. "What's going on, what happened to all of you?!"

The Private looked towards her as he carried one of the injured guards on his back. His eyes widened and he quickly saluted with a wing when he realized who she was. "Second-in-command Kite, ma'am!" He called out.

Kite quickly saluted back. "At ease, Private," she said before they both put their hoof and wing back down. "Now, what's the situation?"

"The ambassadors were imposters, and they attacked Princess Celestia!" He gasped out.

Kite's eyes widened as she took a step back in shock. "What?!" She shook her head to refocus. "I'm going to need you to tell me more. Just keep it to the most important parts, and make it quick."

The Private nodded to her and quickly explained what had happened as the group continued to move.

"...and now we're taking the injured over to the medical wing," the Private finished.

The moment the Private had finished talking, Kite took off down one of the adjacent halls. "I'm going to go get Princess Luna and let her know what's happened!" She called back as she ran.

Kite bolted down a familiar path through the halls towards Princess Luna's personal chambers. She made a single quick detour to pick up her signature kite shield from the otherwise empty barracks along the way. She stopped when she reached the ornate lunar-themed door of the night princess's personal chambers.

The Second-in-Command of the Royal Guard slammed her hoof into the door in a coded signal pattern. "Princess Luna! It's an emergency!"

Not even a full second after Kite had knocked and called out, Luna appeared next to her in a flash of teleportation light. Luna looked towards Kite with a serious look on her face. "Where?"

"The throne room, the ambassadors were imposters and attacked Princess Celestia, as well as everypony else in the room at the time," Kite informed.

Luna opened her wings up and got into a battle stance as she lit her horn. "Stand next to Us, we're teleporting in."

Kite quickly stepped to Luna's side, before they vanished in a flash of light as Luna teleported them both into the throne room.

Both Kite and Luna stared in horror for a second as they beheld the carnage that greeted them upon their arrival. Every single remaining marble pillar that once stood proudly along the walls of the room now featured deep gashes scored into their structure. Several of the pillars had been felled at some point, the room now filled with debris both on the ground and clouding the air. Scattered throughout the room were the injured bodies of several guards, along with the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. The floor and walls of the room were scorched black, with the red carpet that ran from the entrance to the throne having been shredded and scorched all along its length. Up in front of the throne itself lay Princess Celestia's unmoving body.

Kite's training kicked in, and she immediately went around the room and checked the pulse of each unconscious pony she found.

Luna gasped the moment her eyes locked onto Celestia's unconscious form slumped in front of her throne. She instantly flapped her wings and took off towards her at full speed. "TIA!" She cried out when she landed next to her.

Luna briefly reached out to grab her sister, before she stopped the moment she realized that moving her could be disastrous depending on her injuries. Instead, she crouched down, rested an ear against Celestia's chest, and listened closely for several seconds. She breathed a sigh of relief when she heard her sister's slow-but-steady heartbeat. "Celestia is alive!" She called back to Kite, who had been doing the same thing for the other injured ponies in the room.

Kite looked towards Luna from her spot by Applejack in front of the throne platform. "I have checked everypony here, and they are all alive and accounted for!" She called out with a salute. The guard noticed something alarming out of the corner of her eye and looked towards the wall with the stained glass windows. "Princess Luna, look! One of the windows is broken!"

Luna flew towards the broken window and frantically looked everywhere she could see. "We don't see any- Wait! Out there by the horizon!" She cried out as she spotted two forms rapidly retreating from the castle in an easterly direction. "We will intercept those foul, wretched monsters and make them regret daring to harm our precious sister and subjects!"

As Luna spread her wings and prepared to take off after the retreating forms of Cackletta and Fawful, she heard a voice speak up from nearby. "Pr... Princess Luna...? Is that you?"

Luna's head snapped towards where she heard the voice. "Who's there? Speak up again so we may find thou!"

"Over here, it's me, Fluttershy. I think I'm by one of the pillars," the voice weakly called out once more.

Luna and Kite rushed over to the source of the voice, which turned out to be the wounded but awake Fluttershy.

Kite crouched down and brushed some debris off of Fluttershy's body. "What happened, Fluttershy? We know the ambassadors were imposters, but how did this happen?" The guard asked once she had made sure that Fluttershy's head wound wasn't severe.

Fluttershy turned towards the voices and opened her eyes, which caused both Luna and Kite to gasp when they saw her once green eyes clouded grey. "And what happened to thy eyes, young Fluttershy?" Luna asked in surprise.

"One of the attackers, Fawful he said his name was, hit me with this strange gas that took away my sight. He said I would get it back eventually, but considering everything he and his mistress Cackletta, the other imposter, did, I'm not sure I believe him," Fluttershy said with a deep frown. Her clouded eyes teared up as everything that had happened started to truly hit her. "I-I don't want to go blind! I want to be able to see all my animal friends again, and all my pony friends! I want to see again!" She cried out as she began to sob.

Luna wrapped the crying pegasus in her wings as well as she could without jostling her and potentially making her head wound worse. "There there, Fluttershy, it shall be alright. Our best medics will do everything they can to restore thy precious sight," she comforted.

When Fluttershy attempted to move to return the hug, her sobbing redoubled when she was unable to move even a full inch. "I can't move! Princess Luna, I can't move!" She began to cry out in a panic through her sobs.

Just as Kite opened her mouth to say something, the trio heard the stomping of approaching hooves. Kite looked over at the entrance while Luna continued to comfort Fluttershy and smiled when she saw the group of medics entering the throne room. "Speaking of the medics, they're here right now, miss Fluttershy."

Over the course of the next half hour, the gathered medics inspected and cared for the injured and wounded that couldn't be moved until they were in a more stable state. Eventually, they managed to bring everypony into the hospital wing to be further cared for until they had awoken.

Inside the VIP hospital room where the Elements of Harmony, as well as Shining Armor and Princess Celestia, had been brought in for treatment, Luna sat next to Fluttershy's bed. The pegasus mare had calmed down greatly over the passed half hour, and was no longer on the verge of sobbing. The Princess of the Night gently rested a bare hoof on the edge of the pegasus mare's bed. "Tell Us everything you remember from the attack," she calmly and patiently requested.

Fluttershy attempted to nod, but her movements were so minor that even Luna could barely see them from directly next to her. Over the next several minutes, Fluttershy explained everything she could about the attack up until the moment she fell unconscious.

Once Fluttershy had finished, Luna frowned. "Is that truly everything thou remembers about this grave attack? There is nothing else that thou can tell Us?" She asked.

Fluttershy shook her head as much as she could, the movement only just barely being visible. Tears formed in her eyes as she recalled the memories of what happened after. "No, I actually came to about a minute after I fell unconscious. I knew that if Cackletta and Fawful realized I was awake, they would go after me again, so I played dead for as long as I could. I didn't move or make any sounds until after I heard your voice, Princess," Fluttershy revealed.

Luna's eyes widened. "So, that means thou heard everything after that point?" She asked hopefully.

Fluttershy gave up on trying to nod. "Yes, I even heard them talking about their plans once Twilight had been taken out. Fawful asked Cackletta if he should kill us, but she said it would be better to leave us alive so that you would be forced to waste resources on us."

Luna growled in anger. "Those FIENDS! Is there truly nothing that is sacred to them?!"

Fluttershy spoke up once Luna had finished speaking. "Early on after Fawful knocked out Twilight, they mentioned something about a star, and that they wanted us to watch as they, and I quote, 'awakened the star from its slumber and lay waste to this putrid world.'" She quoted.

Luna gasped and scramble backwards as panic filled her eyes. "They can't possibly mean... NO! They must be stopped before it is too late!" The terrified Princess began to run towards the room's exit, her magic forgotten in her panic.

Before Luna could leave the room though, Fluttershy spoke up once more. "They also mentioned that they blew up the other end of the warp pipe to Beanbean Castle Town, and that the connection could be anywhere. Does that mean anything to you?"

Luna paused and frowned as what Fluttershy said managed to distract her from her panic spiral. "If my understanding of warp pipes is correct, then that means the pipe they took to get here could now lead to any unconnected warp pipe within a certain range. But if that's true, then we have no way of safely chasing after them!" Luna cried out as she stomped her hooves on the tile below in frustration and anger. "And on top of that, they wish to awaken one of the most dangerous opponents that We have ever faced! Their insanity knows no bounds!" Luna ranted to herself.

Just as Luna had finished her rant, Kite ran into the room. "All the guards have been accounted for and brought into care!"

Luna sent a smile Kite's way. "Ah, yes. Finally, some good news," she said, before she called out in a more regal manner. "Bring every able-bodied guard to Us at once! We must make a plan to go after those fiends!"

Kite saluted Luna. "Yes Princess!" She cried before she turned and ran back out the door.

Luna began to pace back and forth in the room as she waited, before a voice caught her attention. "Princess Luna?"

Luna's head shot towards the source of the voice. "Twilight Sparkle! Thou hath awakened!" She cried in relief.

Twilight struggled to move in response. "Why can't I move?!" She cried as panic slowly crept into her voice.

"Um, I think Cackletta did something to paralyze us. She mentioned that she didn't want us following after them now that we knew how they fought," Fluttershy answered from her own bed.

Twilight stopped trying to move. "She used a paralysis spell?! Those are incredibly dangerous! If cast wrong, they can very easily result in permanent paralysis!"

Luna frowned as she approached the angry Twilight. "It is to our knowledge, thanks to the information brave Fluttershy managed to obtain, that they could not have possibly cared less if thou are paralyzed for life. At least, that is our understanding of the situation."

Twilight gasped in horror. "No! I can't be stuck in bed for the rest of my life! I have so much I still want to do with my life! And what about my friends?! What about Rainbow Dash, she needs to be able to fly!" She rambled as she spiraled. She gasped as another thought occurred to her. "What about Spike?! I'll never be able to hug him again!" She cried out, before she moved her eyes to face Luna. "Can you send him a letter, Princess?"

Luna shook her head. "We're afraid we do not know the spell that sister uses to communicate with thy dragon brother, Twilight Sparkle. We can however send him a letter through the normal means, but it will take some time to arrive as everything has been thoroughly disrupted by this assault."

Twilight struggled to nod, but gave up after a moment. "That's more than good enough. So long as I can still see him, that's more than good enough."

Luna nodded. "Then once Kite has returned with the rest of the guards, we shall prepare the letter for thou."

Twilight smiled, the most movement Luna had seen from either her or Fluttershy so far. "Thank you, Princess Luna."

A few minutes later, Kite returned, this time with three guards in tow. "As requested, every able-bodied guard has been brought here!"

Luna turned and stared in dismay at the four total guards in attendance. "Is, is that really all that We have left?!"

The four guards nodded. "Unfortunately, we are all the guards that weren't present during the attack," Phalanx said.

"We were told to stand guard at the gate, while all the other guards were meant to be greeting the ambassadors. We were all under the impression that it would be a ten minute task at most," Paladin Shield spoke up.

"And I was ordered to patrol the nearby halls in case of break in or sabotage," Kite said.

"I got lucky and managed to avoid getting hit during the attack," the Private Kite encountered in the hallway said.

Luna frowned at the Private. "What is thy name, Private?"

"Compound Compass, Princess Luna!" Compound Compass said with a salute of his wing.

Luna briefly returned the salute. "At ease, Private Compound," she said. She then turned to Kite with a frustrated glare. "Why aren't there more guards?! In my time, there would be several companies in reserve, ready at a moment's notice!" She complained.

The guard quartet shared a look, before Kite faced Luna once more and cleared her throat. "Um, Princess Luna? Equestria hasn't needed that many guards in hundreds of years."

Luna snorted. "So, peacetime has dulled our kingdom's once mighty blade," she muttered. She frowned as she thought for a minute. She pointed a hoof towards Phalanx and spoke up. "Phalanx, We need thou to go through the warp pipe to the Beanbean Kingdom, see where the connecting spell landed. Paladin Shield, thou art to stand guard outside the pipe and make sure nothing dangerous returns instead of Phalanx. Kite, We request that thou gather as many of the supplies that we have been gifted by Princess Peach of the Mushroom Kingdom as thou can and bring them all here so that the medics may use them as they see fit. Bring the healing potions from our mysterious friend as well," she ordered.

The named guard trio saluted. "Yes Princess!" The three ran off to perform their ordered tasks once Luna had returned the salute.

Compound Compass watched his fellow guards leave the room, before he turned to Luna in confusion. "What about me, Princess?"

Luna faced Compound Compass with a determined look. "Compound Compass, We have a very special job for thou. We need thou to take this letter We shall write to young Spike in Ponyville to the post office. Once thou have completed this task, thou art to return to Us to receive new orders."

Compound Compass saluted Luna once more with his wing. "Yes Princess!"

Luna saluted back, and the two quickly headed off in the direction of Luna's chambers. Along the way, Compound Compass took multiple wrong turns where Luna had to guide him down the correct path, until finally, several minutes later, they finally reached her personal chambers.

Luna went inside to write the letter while Compound Compass stood guard outside the room.

Once Luna had written the letter, she came back out and gave the finished letter to Compound Compass. "While thou delivers this letter, We shall stay in our chambers and formulate a plan of attack against these monsters that dare to threaten our wonderful world. Do not lose this letter or delay its arrival, for it is a very important missive."

Compound Compass took the letter with his wing with a nod, before he ran towards his destination, the letter tucked safely against his side.

Luna retreated back into her personal chambers and headed straight for her bed, before she flumped down onto the incredibly soft sheets, grabbed her pillow, and screamed and sobbed into it for several minutes as the stress of everything caught up with her.

Author's Note

I deeply apologize for how long this chapter took, it was a nightmare figuring some of these things out. I can't and won't promise that it won't happen again, bacause my writing speed is slow and I know it, but I can promise that I won't stop writing this story until it is truly finished, whenever that may be.