"So he turned you down? After he kissed you?" Twilight asked Rarity as they sat the kitchen table drinking coffee.

"Yes, and after he made me..."

"Yes yes I heard you the first time. No need to repeat yourself. Maybe it was an accident, perhaps he didn't mean to make you- What in the world Morbis!?" Twilight exclaimed as a suit case landed on the kitchen counter.

"Pack. Now. Were going to Canterlot in ten minutes." His voice was strained showing his anger. Twilight hadn't seen him this angry in some years. Whatever it was it must have been something horrible.

"Whats wrong, did something happen?" Her question was answered when he threw a crumpled up note from princess Luna. She read the note over. Her eyes went wide as she continued."They were stolen?!"

"Yeah, goes to show how fucking useless the guard is. They think they know who did it, they found a body that wasn't royal guard. They believe the pony hid the elements and returned for some reason." Morbis said as he shoved his guns and ammo into a bag.

"Think it was Chrysalis? For all we know she was planning this for a while, after all we haven't heard word of her in a while." Rarity asked. Morbis stayed quiet for a while before turning towards them.

"To be honest, im not sure. It could be, but the only thing is that the body wasn't a changeling. Either it was someone trying to make a quick buck, or something strange is going on. Rarity, have you seen Haze at all?"

"Not since this morning im afraid. He went for a walk last night and didn't get back till this morning. My guess is that he is still asleep."

"Lazy piece of shit," He said under his breath "Can you go get him so we can get going?"

"Of course Morbis." Rarity said as she walked out of the library hastily.

"Haze, are you here? We're going to Canterlot and Morbis needs you to come with." Haze walked downstairs carrying two suitcases, each one packed with enough clothes for a full week.

"Yeah I know, I was just packing for us." He handed one of the suit cases to her and walked past her.

"Can we talk about this morning, Im sorry about I acted when you got back. Its just not every day you meet someone who can make you cum just by a single touch." Rarity was blushing slightly.

"It's fine, I shouldn't have done that. To be honest I didn't mean to do that... I meant to do a memory spell. I really don't like ponies getting in my business. Please don't tell Morbis, he'll have my ass for it."

"Don't worry, I won't tell him. In a way, it was a memory spell 'cause I won't forget that for a long time." She smirked before turning away and walking out the door.
'why am I acting like this to him?' She thought to herself. 'I hardly know him and Im already making remarks like that. By Celestia there must be something wrong with me.' She started making her way down the road towards the library.

Haze was left standing in the middle of the boutique with a blush across his cheeks. "Did she seriously just say that?"

The group was soon on the train heading to Canterlot. Shade and Starlight were arguing as usual, Fluttershy and Blitz were talking about animals, Scorch and Applejack were talking about how to harvest quicker and easier, Rarity and Haze were sitting next to each other not sure what to say, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were playing a game with cards, Twilight was trying to engage Morbis in a conversation. Morbis took glances at Rainbow Dash now and then. Things had been awkward between them ever since they went camping.

After an hour or so, the train slowed to a stop, pulling up to the train station. Morbis was the first one off and instantly began fast walking towards the castle. He hasn't been this pissed for a while now. The thing that really angered him was the fact that no one has infiltrated Canterlot in a hundred years. All he knew was that the guard had some questions to answer. Hell, the princesses as well.

As soon as he entered the Castle, confusion hit him like a sack of bricks. The main hall was decorated with banners, tables were laid out with platters on top of them, an Ice sculpture was placed in the center of the room.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?" He yelled, getting everyone to look at him. Luna was the first to take action by running up to him. She was wearing a dark blue dress with stars scattered around on it.

"Please keep quiet, we must not startle anypony. Collect your friends and meet me upstairs in my room."

Luna's room had furniture that was black and blue. Her walls, ceiling, and floor were painted black with constellations and galaxies scattered around to give the illusion of space.

"Now explain to us what is going on." Morbis demanded one they were all inside.

"We had this ball planned for some time, if we were to cancel the ball it would would suspicion and everyone may catch on to the fact that something is wrong."

"But shouldn't the ponies deserve to know the facts?" Twilight spoke up. Luna walked over to her and put her hands on her shoulders.

"There are things in this world some should never know. This is one of these things. Now onto business. My sister and I need you all to keep an eye on the ball and make sure that no trouble occurs." Luna said as she paced around the room. "We have all the proper attire needed for the night." She said to the mercenaries "Twilight, you and your friends will wear the dresses Rarity made for you." Everyone looked between each other before agreeing to attend.

"Can we see the clothes?" Haze asked, getting a nod from the princess. She opened her wardrobe and pulled out a suit. The suit was rather plain. They were simple black suits with a blood red tie. The thing that made them great was the fact that they were made of silk.

"Well go on, get changed and head downstairs. The ball will begin in two hours."

While everyone got dressed, Morbis was busy loading pistols for his team. Because of how tight the suits were, they wouldn't be able to conceal SMGs let alone rifles.

"Morbis, hurry up and get ready. All you have been doing is loading guns." Rainbow Dash said as she threw the suit at him. The tone of her voice screamed she was upset with him. He finished loading the last pistol and suited up. Suits weren't normally his thing, but if Luna needed him to he wasn't going to argue.

"Looking classy boys." Luna said as she walked in the room. "You don't have to participate in any dancing or anything, I mainly want you all to watch over the ball and try to enjoy yourselves. Now go on, the guests are arriving."

The team walked down the corridor towards the main room. There were already several ponies inside, having conversations, drinking wine and eating.

"I'm gonna go watch the front, large groups aren't my thing." Scorch said before taking off.

"Im gonna go look for the girls." Haze said before walking away, leaving the rest behind.
It didn't take him long to find them, they were standing next to the sculpture having a conversation. He walked up to them and noticed a white stallion with a blonde mane talking to Rarity.

"Come on now Rarity It's been years, I promise you that I have changed." She scoffed and looked away, thinking of a way out.

"Will you please leave me alone, Im here with my..." She saw Haze walking towards her and was instantly struck with an idea. When he was close enough, she grabbed his arm and pulled him to her side. "Im here with my boyfriend as you can see. Now im afraid we will have to be off."

"Now hold on Rarity, I'm not quite sure I believe that you are dating this low life." Just as Rarity was about to give her response, Haze jumped in.

"My friend, what do you do for a living?"

"Do you even know who I am? I'm the nephew of Celestia, I do not need a job." Haze leaned towards him and whispered in his ear.

"I kill several ponies and creatures for a living, I could easily get to you with ease. I wouldn't kill you right away, no I would enjoy myself with slow torture. Just keep that in mind next time before you fuck with my girlfriend." Haze pulled away and noticed that somehow his face turned even more pale. He slowly backed away without saying a word. "That's what I thought." Haze turned to Rarity and gave a small smile.

"Thank you for going along with me on this," A tune caught her ears and she smiled as an idea came to her. "Would you like to dance?" Haze listened and noticed that the music was for slow dancing. He took her hand and walked her to the dance floor. Haze held one of her hands with his left hand and put his other hand on her lower back. She held his hand and put her hand on his shoulder. Haze took the lead. First stepping forward, to his right, back one step, then to his left. Each step they took, they turned in a circle.
Soon everyone was joining in with their own dancing partner. "You never told me you could dance." Rarity said.

"You'll be surprised with what else I could do." Rarity Looked away and blushed slightly. She looked back up at him.

"If you don't mind me asking, where did you learn that spell?" Haze chuckled at the memory of where he learned.

"Lets just say I had a perverted friend who liked to play tricks on others." Rarity laughed and looked him in his eyes.

"Thank you for dancing with me... and getting that horrible pony away from me. I swear if you didn't come along I was going to end up doing something I would regret."

"Hey, you should know I would do anything for you." He brought his hand up to her face and caressed her cheek. She leaned into it, closed her eyes and smiled.

"You wouldn't do that spell here would you?"

"Of course not, I'm going to do something better than that." He leaned forward and gently pressed his lips to hers. She was in total bliss, she was thrilled that he was kissing her. The last one was just a distraction, but this was for real. After a few seconds, he pulled away and smiled. His smile was cut off as his mane was pulled from behind. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Morbis pulling him away from the dance floor. Once they were out of sight, Morbis pinned him against the wall with his arm up to his throat.

"What in the FUCK do you think your doing!?" Morbis asked in an angry tone through bared teeth.

"Enjoying myself, Isn't that what Luna told us to do?"

"I doubt she meant sucking face with the ones were supposed to defend you stupid fuck." Haze pushed him away and rubbed his throat.

"Look, I don't get in your business so why should get into mine? Your just pissed off cause you know your incapable of loving anyone!" The response from Morbis was a simple right hook to Haze's jaw. Haze quickly recovered and lunged at Morbis, tackling him to the ground. Several strikes landed on his face. Morbis blocked one punch, struck Haze in the throat and pulled him off him. Morbis got to his feet and pulled out his pistol. Before he could point it at Haze, his legs were sweeped and he dropped to the ground. Haze pulled his pistol out and pointed it at Morbis just as he pointed his at him. They both stood there panting, not saying a word. The last thing either of them wanted was to pull the trigger. The thing that broke the silence was the sound of two hammers being cocked back.

Scorch and Shade stood next to them pointing their guns at them. "Put. your. guns. down." Shade demanded. Haze and Morbis slowly lowered their guns and let out a sigh of relief. Haze pulled his friend off the ground and dusted him off.

"Are you both okay?" Scorch asked. They looked at each other and nodded. "Alright good. Now we're gonna leave you two be, but were gonna be watching both of you." Scorch and Shade put their guns away and walked away, only looking back once.

Haze glared at Morbis before walking back towards the main room. He walked passed the refreshments table and snatched a bottle of wine and continued towards the balcony.

"Hey you can't take that!" the pony managing the refreshments yelled

"Fuck off and mind your job!" Haze yelled before slamming the door closed. He leaned against the railing and began gulping down the bottle. The night air was cool against his coat and the sky glistened with stars, he had to respect Luna's work, It was a work of art in his eyes. The sound of a door clicking open caused him to turn around, Morbis walked out holding a bottle of wine as well.
"Didn't the guy tell you you couldn't take that?"

"Yeah but I told him to fuck off." Haze chuckled at his response. He found it weird how much they all think alike. They both stood there in silence, drinking the wine and looking out at the night sky. Haze felt the silence went on for too long.

"I'm sorry that I lost control, I don't know what I was thinking." Morbis placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It's alright, we all have our moments of weakness, you just need to face facts that you can never be with her while you work with us. Perhaps when and if you retire, you can be with her. But until then, your loyalty remains with us."

"I know... Have you ever had your moment of weakness with Rainbow?"

"I almost did, luckily I stopped her from doing anything."

"And if you weren't with us?"

"I would have wrecked that shit." They both bursted out laughing at the comment. "Anyways, I'm gonna go back to the party, make sure everything is okay." Before he could go in, Haze grabbed his collar and pulled him to the railing.

"Is it just me or are those some kind of soldiers?" On the road leading up to the castle was a squad of some kind of soldiers. The thing was, Haze recognized them very well. They wore the same uniform as the soldier he fought in the castle when he went to retrieve the artifacts. Haze and Morbis ran back inside and began looking for Luna. They found her talking with her sister.

"Princesses, we have a major problem. Unknown soldiers making their way to the castle."

"Gather your men and guard the front door. Sister, come with me." Before anyone could move, a bright flash and puff of smoke appeared next to the sculpture. Out of the smoke from the flash, a creature emerged. The creature had body parts of different animals.

"Good evening everypony, wonderful night isn't it?" The creature spoke. The expressions on every ones face showed fear and shock. The mercenaries had looks of confusion while the girls and the princesses glared at him. "What, aren't you all happy to see me once again?"

"Discord, how in the world did you escape?!" Celestia shouted. Haze mentally cringed.

"You see Celestia, every prison has it's flaws. My prison's flaw was the elements of harmony believe it or not. But enough about that boring subject, I think it's time to liven this party up a bit." The doors bursted open, allowing several soldiers to charge inside. The soldiers began aiming at the guests. "Now let me clear things up. From now on, I am the ruler of Equestria and you are all my subjects." He announced to every one.

"Well I think you got another thing coming." Morbis said while the rest of his team aimed their guns at him. "I suggest you and your men leave before things get messy."

"Oh Morbis, you and your team are so foolish." He replied with a smile.

"What? How do you know who we are?" The creature chuckled and stepped closer to them.

"I know more about you than you think, I could even tell you the things your princess has failed to tell you." He said as he looked at Luna.

"What are you talking about? Luna tells us everything." Discord began laughing uncontrollably. He wiped an imaginary away and sighed.

"I'm guessing she told you that huh? Tell me, who are you?"

"We are the mercenaries of the shadow, we are the ones who defend Equestria, we are the ones who..."

"Oh shut it, your only partially correct. Do you know why neither of you have a cutie mark?"

"Because we haven't found our special talent."

"How precious, more lies," He said as he turned to Luna. "Would you like to tell them, or should I do it?"

"Discord please, don't tell them!" She pleaded. She got down on her knees and clasped her hands together and continued pleading to him.

"Very well, I guess I will tell them... Or better yet." Discord snapped his fingers, giving a soldier the signal standing behind Celestia to hit her with the butt of his gun. As soon as she hit the ground, Discord was instantly in front of Luna. He grabbed her horn, restricting her magic, and lifted her off the ground. "My dear Luna, or should I say, Nightmare Moon."

"Don't call me that, I'm not her!" She yelled as she squirmed around.

"Not on the outside, but on the inside, you are very much her. Accept who you are." Discord dragged his claw across the side of her head. Her eyes glowed a bright white as a dark blue aura began swirling around her. Morbis and his team began feeling a strange force inside of them. Before either of them could question it, a large explosion of smoke appeared where Discord and Luna were standing. In Luna's place stood a mare with a dark black coat and a sparkling blue, flowing mane. Her eyes were turquoise with purple eyeliner. "Welcome back my dear Nightmare Moon."

"L-Luna?" Blitz said hesitantly. The feeling inside began growing stronger.

"No Blitz, I am Luna no longer." She finished with a chuckle.

"Do you feel that?" Discord began "That feeling inside? Do you know why?" The mercenaries shook their heads, getting an amused smile from Discord. "You are not who think you are."

"That is correct my dear subjects. Believe it or not, you are part of me." They all looked between each other. "Allow me." She raised her hand and emitted a swarm of magic to surround them. Crescent moons appeared on the back of their hands. A ring of magic circled the base of their wings while ancient letters appeared on the horns. "Do you see now? In a way, you are only a spawn from me." The team looked at themselves and each other in disbelief. "I brought you into this world on my own free will, gave you memories, a life, everything you wanted. But now, I'm afraid I no longer need you." She raised her hand and began charging a spell. Before she could fire it at them, a flash of purple took over their vision and they appeared in the orchard outside of Applejack's.

"What the FUCK just happened!?" Shade spoke up. All the aura around them disappeared.

"I'll tell you what happened," Morbis spoke up. He was sitting up against a tree smoking a cigarette. "We were lied to our entire lives. And we fucking fell for it."

"Come on, we need to fix this somehow." Blitz said as she offered him her hand.

"DON'T YOU GET!" He started "We. are. nothing, and that's all we will ever be." He got up and walked away into the orchard. Blitz sighed and looked at the group.

"I guess it's up to us... Hey where's Haze?"

Author's Note

Well here we are, more antagonists showing up. Thanks again for sticking with the story. Till next time everyone!