Disclaimer: I don't own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic or any of the characters, nor do I own Team Fortress 2 or any of its characters. I do, however, own Copper Head and Captain Ajax.

Twilight was plagued by her dreams yet again, but the cause of her distress was that they were progressively getting more bizarre and more cryptic. They were the same as before, only now they seemed to focus on the slender, walking Mirror and the Knight.

The two appeared to be friends, walking side by side, and talking about something that Twilight could never quite figure out no matter how hard she concentrated. Then came (from as far as Twilight could tell) the turning point; the Knight abruptly turns away and begins talking to a Shadow while the Mirror looks about as if though it lost the Knight's whereabouts. The Shadow produces a book and gives it to the Knight, who in turn places it on its chest plate. It then marches about, angrily, causing an explosion of color and light with each enraged step, before finally bumping into the Mirror.

Twilight foolishly held her breath, foolishly because she was dreaming and had no need to breathe. Moreover, she KNEW she was dreaming, but this was as far as any of her dreams had allowed her to see before either her alarm woke her or the dream faded into something unrelated like most dreams do.

She drifted about anxiously, hoping that something would happen before she was interrupted again. "Come on. Come on, please, show me something new so I can figure out what keeps causing these visions…" she said aloud.

The dreams never really seemed to react in any way, shape, or form when she spoke, even when she wanted to have some impact. Like a different dream where she was late to a test…that she hadn't studied for! No amount of internal pleading made that overly-harsh, imaginary, instructor go any easier on her than if she had remained perfectly quiet.

The two entities stopped whatever it was they were about to do and instead looked over in her direction. Twilight glanced behind her. Nope, nothing. "Huh. I wonder wha- EEP!" Twilight turned her attention back around and came face-to-face with herself in the Mirror's reflective surface. She smiled timidly as she attempted to widen the gap between her and her apparition only for her flank to smack into the cold, metallic surface of the Knight's armor.

Before the startled unicorn could say anything in her defense, the grid on the Knight's helmet flew up and out popped a familiar pink face, her brilliant blue eyes beaming with their normal amount of hyper-energy.

+++++

Twilight bolted upright, an action that was restricted by her covers that she became hopelessly tangled in as she plopped onto the floor of the sleeper car that had been hauling Twilight and her friends from Ponyville to Canterlot.

Twilight managed to free herself from her comfy entrapment after a moment of thrashing. "Pinkie, I was just about to learn what my dreams were telling me!" Twilight said groggily, the adrenaline of her initial surprise having already worn off.

"Oh, sorry Twilight! Applejack said we needed to be up early so we wouldn't miss breakfast," said Pinkie with a little less enthusiasm. "Breakfast?" asked a formally snoozing Rainbow Dash before launching full-force from the sleeper car towards the dinning car, her mane and tail leaving the trademark rainbow steak as she flew through the air.

"Race ya!" With that, Pinkie launched herself with similar speed only leaving a trail of confetti in her wake as opposed to a rainbow.

"What time is- GOOD HEAVENS! Twilight, what happened?" the white unicorn exclaimed as she lifted her sleeping mask to check whatever uncouth hour she had been so rudely awoken before her beautiful sapphire eyes fell upon Twilight and her apparent predicament.

Twilight nervously fiddled with her mane. Did she really look that bad? Had the dream really impacted her that much? All these thoughts and more were shoved aside as an emergency makeup kit, brought to life by Rarity's blue aura, began to buzz around her head in an attempt to make her presentable.

After what seemed like a half hour, the beauty-magnifying devices ceased and retraced according to Rarity's will and found their intended places within the bright red box from which they originated. Twilight looked at her reflection in the car's window; her mane and tail had been straightened and untangled, its natural sheen casting a faint sparkling as did her Cutie Mark.

"Well", Rarity sighed as she looked over her work, "now that you look marvelous, I must away so that I can freshen up." Rarity gracefully slipped out from under her silk covers and trotted off to the bathroom, with a small battalion of makeup kits and hair products bringing up the rear.

Twilight got up and stretched, arcing her back until it popped. She did the same with her shoulders and haunches before heading off to the dinning car to meet up with her friends. As she passed down one of the corridors, one of the many numbered doors slid open, and out stepped a familiar mint-green unicorn.

"Oh, hiya, Twilight. I'm actually going to the Gala tonight with Bon Bon- er, not WITH Bon Bon, but, uh…"

Twilight stifled her giggles while Lyra tried to come up with a better explanation. "It's okay, I know what you meant. I'm surprised though, I thought that we were the only ponies from Ponyville going to the Gala this year," Twilight said, gesturing towards the trail of confetti that littered the corridor and lead into the adjacent cars.

"I somehow managed to win the raffle this year! Pretty lucky I'd say," Lyra said sheepishly, she knew a bunch of other ponies were banking on winning this year too, so she couldn't take too much pride in being the only victor and then taking her best friend along with some second ticket she seemed to materialize out of her-

"Wait, you also said that Bon Bon is here too? Was there a second raffle?" Twilight looked past the mint-green mare into her room and saw a suitcase with three candies wrapped in blue and cream plastic on the side.

"About that, remember that little, 'situation' we had last Nightmare Night that I helped out with?"

"Oh…OH, I see. Well, I'm glad that you and Bon Bon got to come. See you later, 'Pyra'," Twilight said a tad quieter with a wink.

+++++

"So, Tia, what do you think of the dress?" The Lunar Deity said as she looked up from the book she had been reading.

"No reason, I just wanted to see if that dress was the only thing causing you discomfort," Princess Luna said as she examined her elder sister; it wasn't a pretty sight.

For as long as Luna could remember, the Royal Maids had pushed for her and her sister to wear an outfit "most befitting of a Princess" for each and every Gala made by the most talented tailor at the time (and with the rapid fluctuation of the fashion world that designer could change midway through a gown fitting). Back when their parents, King Starforge and Queen Everfree, were still in control of the throne before passing the metaphorical torch to their daughters and leaving for an extended vacation deep within the vast outreaches of space, the Royal Pony Sisters hatched a devious plan that would shake the foundation of Equestrian society forever; they showed up naked.

Now, this wasn't completely unheard of, since most ponies go about their daily routines with not so much as a hat and nopony bats an eye. But, when both of the Princesses arrive at one of the most important and exclusive social events in all of Equestria with nothing more than smiles on their blatantly guilty faces, then ponies start to take notice.

In stark contrast to what was to be expected, King Starforge followed his daughter's example and declared that those of the Royal Family could wear whatever they please at any given event, social or otherwise. It took a few years, but the Nobles started to catch onto the idea and dressed less and less formal each year until they finally settled on what was now traditional formal attire.

Sadly, even thousands of years after the law was enacted, the accursed pact the Royal Maids had apparently made with some ancient evil bound them to force new and constricting designs on the two Alicorns every year right before the Gala.

"I honestly don't understand why you let them do this to you, Tia," Luna said returning to her book. "It's not like you're going to wear it anyway."

"Yes, but…if I don't, the maids will force ANOTHER one on me." Celestia's words were strained. The hellish corset that she had been encased in had done a flawless job of rearranging her organs, both vital and unimportant, to resemble something that a foal might make while playing absently with molding clay and silly straws.

Luna simply rolled her cyan eyes and turned the page in her novel with her darkly-colored magic emitting from her dark sapphire horn that sat just behind a lock of her ethereal stardust mane. She readjusted herself on her pillow so that she was more on her side, not so that she would lay on her wing, but enough that her crescent moon Cutie Mark was now almost facing the ceiling.

…And what a ceiling! Deciding that she could save more face than if she was trapped with a bunch of tailors and the like in some salon, Princess Celestia had requested (demanded) that she try on her "gown for the Gala" in the privacy of her own chambers with only her personal mirror and her sister to accompany her.

Celestia's room reflected her and the star that she maintained possession of; the ceiling itself was real gold that narrowed down near the ivory floor as it ran down the marble columns that surrounded the over-sized bed that Luna was currently resting. In short, it looked much like the Throne Room, only with a bed, a walk-in closet, and a bathroom addition.

"Okay, it's been on long enough," Celestia's horn lit up and with a quick flash of light, the outfit released its victim and crumpled lifelessly on the floor a few feet away. She sighed with relief as she took her first full breath in the past half-hour.

"So Tia," said Luna as she bookmarked her leather-bond text, "are you finally going to tell your dear sister what's really troubling you, or should I assume that the creator of that gown now resides in the dungeon?"

"What? No…I…*sigh* It's Twilight, she sent me a letter recently that she had lost The Bombinomicon," Celestia sighed. Luna's dark blue ears perked up at the mention of that book's title. In all of their years, neither of the two Royal Sisters had ever come across a spell book of such power, such design, such…vulgarity. Not only was it the only book that either of them had known to be able to talk, but it was also the only one that they couldn't extract any information from.

"Th-The Bombinomicon? She LOST it!? Shouldn't we dispatch some guards, or setup wanted posters, or-" Before the Princess of the Night finished her panic-attack, a brilliant white wing unfurled and wrapped around her frame. She looked up to see her sister giving her a reassuring smile that gave her almost as warm a feeling that she received from the heavenly down of Celestia's feathers.

The feathers were the same color as Celestia's pristine white coat and twice as soft. Her deceptively slender body weighed heavily on the mattress next to Luna's equally deceptive form, and just like Luna, Celestia's mane also flowed gracefully in the invisible solar wind created by the sun, the same star that decorated her flank as her Cutie Mark. The only real difference between their two manes other than length was that Celestia's mane contain three different colors that flowed in harmony with each other; never mixing or separating, Luna maintained that becoming the lone bearer of the Elements of Harmony for so long had something to do with that.

"There's no need to worry," Celestia said softly. "I'm sure Spike misplaced it, or it was put into storage and forgotten. Besides, even if somepony DID steal it, I doubt they would get much more out of that vulgar little thing than we did."

Luna said nothing. She knew her sister was right, she was always right. She felt the soft warmth of Celestia's elegant wings glide across her dark coat as the Sun Goddess stood, her signature jewelry floating through the air to meet her as she walked to the twin doors that stood between them and a small army of ponies that desperately needed to speak with her for one reason or another.

"I suppose." She smiled, "Although, I don't have a THING to wear, oh whatever shall I do?" They then opted to do something they desperately needed to: laugh.

+++++

Ponies from all around Canterlot had arrived earlier that day in order to change, get settled in whatever hotel they may be staying at, and maybe grab a bite to eat to tide them over until that evening.

It was interesting, really, how some of these ponies could go from looking like common citizens on the streets only to transform into something dazzling upon dawning their formal attire, the mares especially, although some of the colts did know a thing or two about how to dress fancy beyond a nice vest and bow tie.

While Princesses Celestia and Luna wouldn't be officially greeting guests until right before the Gala got underway, some of the caterers and Night Watch filed in long before to assure that everything went off without a hitch…unlike last time, when a group of mares had caused untold havoc in the span of about seven minutes. The reports the guards had to file stacked up to the expansive ceilings in droves after that carnage.

It was for this very reason that Twilight was on edge. Although she hadn't caused any of the wreckage personally, it was her friends that she had meet on her assignment to Ponyville that had, so naturally the normally high-strung Twilight was a little nervous. She desperately wanted to talk to the Princess in person, but after being her student for some many years, she knew better than to disturb her before the Gala…but this was important! Somepony had stolen The Bombinomicon right out from under her nose, and then got away scot-free, and with her teacher's rather vague advice of "don't worry too much about it", the urge to knock down the front gates was getting worse.

Fortunately, her friends had done a surprisingly good job of keeping her talented mind off of the subject, and instead focused on getting ready for a redux of the best night ever.

Later that night, a few hours away from the official start of the festivities, Twilight asked permission from the guards standing watch out front if she and her friends could enter.

"Please? It's imperative that we see the Princesses as soon as possible," Twilight said, glancing up at the unflinching guards with the cutest face she could muster, swishing her touched-up bridesmaid dress from side to side. Despite Rarity's protests about wearing the same thing twice, she had finally caved in and simply made some additions to their bridesmaids dresses they had worn for the Royal Wedding.

The guards, however, were less than impressed. "Look, I know you think that we're just gonna melt from that face you're making, like I'm sure some of the other stallions must've, but nopony is gettin' in before the say-so from the Captain," the first one grunted.

"Yeah, so why don't you you just move along back to the end of the line. Who knows, maybe you'll even get in before midnight at this rate!" the second armored sentinel added with a snort.

"Oh, that's okay. We can wait…" meeped Fluttershy as she hid behind Rainbow Dash and Applejack. Twilight sighed, she knew the guards prided themselves with being able to reject almost anypony without so much as a bat of an eye, but Rarity had other plans.

"How DARE you!? Do you know who we are!? I am Rarity, and this wonderful mare standing before you is Twilight Sparkle, the Princess' star pupil!" The furious unicorn stamped her hoof as she told off the two guards who started to inch back to avoid her wrath.

"Twilight Sparkle!?" a familiar third voice rang out from atop the guard turret. Both of the guards recognized it too and quickly snapped back into attention as the clang of moving metal plates and hoofsteps grew louder from with the spiraling staircase. After a few moments of suspense, a tall, white stallion wearing purple and gold armor with a matching helmet stepped into the light. "Twily!"

"Excuse me, Mr. Armor," Rarity interjected, "would you kindly inform your two brutes over there that we are who we say we are so they can let us through?"

Shining Armor turned to face his guards (who at this point were trying to suppress the mini heart attacks from having stopped the Captain's little sister) and waved them aside, allowing the six Elements (plus Lyra and Bon Bon) to pass by with a slight "Hmph!" from Rarity as she passed.

The interior of Canterlot Castle was a site that only a few were ever able to enjoy outside of pictures and stories from others. Every surface had been cleaned five times over, the curtains had been sown earlier that week just for this one night, the food had been prepared by chefs from all around Equestria working together within the castle's massive kitchens, and some of the ponies had blown a lifetime worth of bits for outfits for this incredibly special night.

The eight mares from Ponyville were having trouble drinking it all in, Twilight and Rarity to slightly lesser extents since they had been more exposed to high society more than the others.

"Wow, look at all of these ponies! They're so…clean," Lyra half mumbled to herself in disbelief at that site before her. The castle courtyard where the ill-fated Nightmare Night had gone down was impressive to be sure, but the grand ballroom took the cake in terms of elegance.

As the Gala started to pick up, the mares split off to try and enjoy themselves in an attempt to make up for last year: Rarity (realizing that the nobles were nothing more than a pack of stuck-up elitists) decided that her time would be best spent mingling with the other members of the upperclass and maybe strike up a few deals with some of the designers. Applejack had similar plans, only she headed straight towards the kitchens for a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get tips from master chefs on baking, and to give them the heads up on just were to find the most delicious apples in Equestria. Fluttershy thought it best to avoid the animals altogether, but she did find a table closest to the stain glass windows that had a perfect view of the lush gardens and whatever critters might be running through them.

Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight took a completely different approach; they attempted to do the exact same thing as last time. Pinkie once more found herself on the dance floor, but this time, some of the other ponies joined in on the dancing, some of the colts even asked her to dance. Rainbow, her fangirl-ish side showing more than usual, went out in search of Spitfire, Soarin', or any other member of the legendary Wonderbolts. As for Twilight…

"PRINCESS! Oh, I'm so glad I found you!" said the lavender unicorn as she panted for breath. Celestia turned upon hearing the voice of her favorite student, her smile faltered somewhat upon see the look on her student's face.

"Twilight, are you alright?" Celestia said quickly before turning to greet another pair of ponies, "Ladies! Welcome to the Gala!"

"Twilight, I- Welcome! The VIP section is just down that hall on the left! Sorry, Twilight. I realize that you must be stressing about what you told me in your letters, but I think I know how to help take your mind off it…" She bent down to Twilight's ear which swiveled to better hear whatever important instruction her ageless sensei had to offer. "Don't think about it. I want you to at least try and have fun here, and standing next to me while I'm trying to greet all of these ponies would bore you to tears. Why don't you try to talk to that…'Pyra' girl I saw walk that way not a minute ago?" the Princess said with a smile.

Twilight smiled back. She was right, and if the Princess wasn't worried, than neither should she. She bowed to her mentor before heading off in the direction Lyra had last been seen.

Twilight rounded the corner, a bobbing pink and blue tail caught her eye. It was Bon Bon! Well, that would certainly make finding Lyra that much easier, and as luck would have it, the mare in question was only a few yards away talking to a very familiar colt…

+++++

"I wish! No, a friend of mine back in Ponyville made it for me," Lyra said alternating her weight on her back legs so that her bright red dress swayed to the side ever so slightly.

"Well, I know remarkable work when I see it. You must introduce me to this Ms. Rarity, I would love to see if she could make me a new suit." The stallion brushed off the front of his red vest and straightened his matching tie.

"She's around here somewhe- TWILIGHT!?" Lyra stood back in shock as her potential date was suddenly tackled to the ground by a half-crazed, lavender mare with reckless abandon for her delicate outfit.

"I've got you! And I'm not letting you out of my sight until I get some answers!" Twilight barked as she pressed her hooves deeper into the chest of her prisoner. "Who are you, how do you know me so well!?"

"Wh-What are you talking about? I've even seen you before!" Copper Head coughed as he tried to wriggle his way out from under Twilight's surprisingly heavy frame.

"Don't you lie to me!" Twilight was practically screaming at the downed stallion, her eyes widening as she pressed her face right up against his.

"Twilight, what are you doing!? Have you lost your mind, get off him!" Lyra whispered loudly while attempting pry the lunatic mare off of the confused colt. Lyra succeeded, but in doing so she caused both of them to tumble into the table behind them, sending food and drinks in every which direction. The upperclass ponies quickly dispersed to avoid any of the stain-inducing items that were now flying rapidly through the air. Twilight stood and shook herself, shooting an angry look at Lyra before scanning the room for her escaped prisoner.

'Where'd he go? He was just here, he couldn't have just disappeared!' Sadly, Twilight was wrong; the elusive unicorn had once again slipped into the crowd and away from Twilight's normally watchful gaze. Lyra slowly hefted herself up and shook a stray pastry that had gotten lodged in her mane, but before she could give Twilight a piece of her mind, her horn began to burn with and intense heat.

"Nnngh…what- what's wrong? Why does this hurt so much?" She put a mint green hoof up to her horn, only to reel it back upon making contact with her Something Special ring. Normally, her diamond ring from another dimension stayed at a mild room temperature, but now felt about as cold as a snowflake that had been left on the stove overnight.

Lyra tried to remove the ring of fire with her magic, her hooves, sliding it against a table edge, nothing. The ring remained and so too did the burning. She couldn't take it any longer, she looked around the nearby buffet tables for- yes! That will do nicely! Lyra dove through the air and landed horn-first into a crystal bowl filled to the brim with punch. The pain subsided momentarily as the refreshing liquid crashed over her horn and head, but quickly flared up again after the initial coolness from submerging herself wore off.

'Why is it doing this!? Why is it burning? I need to get. It. OFF!' With that, the pain suddenly stopped, its reasons for doing so were just as mysterious as for why it started. Thankful that her ordeal was at an end (at least for now), she could focus on the more important task of fixing herself up and apologizing to anypony she may have drenched by mistake.

"Sorry everypony. My, uh, horn acts up sometimes. I hope I didn't- Hmm?" Midway through her general apology, something small and cold bumped against her back hoof. Lyra turned to see a small, metallic, capsule with a flashing red light on either end. "What is that?"

+++++

"Welcome to the Gala, it's so wonderful to see you again!" Princess Celestia said with a warm smile as the two ponies before her bowed and trotted past her. "You know, if you don't show yourself, I'll do it for you," she said to the empty space to her right.

"I'm warning you, I told you not to cloak yourself at social events like this…Welcome to the Gala!" Celestia bowed to the stallion who quickly rushed past her after an awkward bow of his own. "Alright, you asked for it…" Celestia's regal horn became enveloped in a bright yellow glow before discharging a quick burst of magic off in the direction she had been talking.

"OW! Alright, alright, I yield…" said an irritated voice from the area where the small energy ball had collided. A dark blue aura engulfed the immediate area and formed the outline of Princess Luna, who flickered back into reality much to the surprise of a passing maid and the pony next in line to be greeted. "WelcometotheGalait'ssogoodtoseeyou…" Luna mumbled quickly before averting her gaze and shuffling over next to her older sister.

"Well, that's a start, but it might help if you look everypony in the eye…and actually try to smile," Celestia finished with a smile of her own to get her sister on the right track. Luna looked bashfully up at her sister, then switched to nervousness at the sight of the next mare in line.

She inhaled. "WELCOME TO THE GRAND GALLOPING GALA!" Luna's voice reverberated throughout the castle, ponies as far as the South Tower stopped what they were doing to look off it the direction of the noise. The frightened mare smiled as best she could before running off towards the ballroom. "Oops…uh, who was that, Tia?"

Celestia said nothing, instead she kept her beautiful magenta eyes trained on the aqua mare that hastily rounded the corner upon noticing the Princess' intense glare. "I could have sworn I greeted her already," she said so quietly that only Luna was able to hear.

"Couldn't she have just, I don't know, left to go get something and then came back?" Luna said raising a eyebrow.

"Yes, but she would have been escorted by the guards back in the other way, not through here. I'll speak with Ajax once he-"
Celestia froze. There, down the steps talking to Fleetfoot, was the EXACT same mare Celestia had just greeted. Luna saw it too, but before either of them could act, a thunderous explosion erupted from the ballroom. Followed by another, and another, and another, and another.

"Your Majesties! We need to evacuate you and everypony else immediately!" came the deep voice of Captain Ajax, his personalized blue and gold armor clanking as he maintained a steady gallop towards the Royal Sisters. Ajax was a large pony, a Clydesdale to be precise, with his coat and mane dyed the traditional white and blue.

"Captain, what vile sorcery doth assault our ears, speak anon!" Luna blurted, her panic getting the better of her and her speech patterns.

Ajax paused only for a moments before turning to Celestia. "Your Highness, something has gone terribly wrong, we're under attack!"

+++++

The ringing. That was first sign that told Lyra she wasn't dead, yet. But that was ALL she could hear; a sharp, ringing that blocked out whatever else might have been going on. The second sign was pain, more specifically, the burning sensation that now made its way all along her hind legs. She tried to move. She felt her legs moving, but not whatever they might have been brushing against. She was getting nowhere, she needed to open her eyes…it would be the final indication as to whether or not she had truly meet her maker…on the steps of the castle only to blasted to smithereens by some dumb capsule.

She decided not to drag it out, and forced open her large yellow eyes. Nothing. Well, not "nothing", there was a powerful white glow everywhere she looked…and a large, shadow making its way over to her. As the shadow got closer, features became to form; this thing was no pony, in fact, it didn't walk like anything Lyra could compare it to other than human.

As the shadow stood next to her, a sudden yank on her collar pulled her away from the mysterious being and out from under the downed light that had been shining right in her face. "Lyra! Lyra are you okay?" The male's voice that belonged to whomever had just saved her said. Lyra looked around, ponies were screaming, running every which way. Even Bon Bon, Twilight, and the other Elements fled the scene, no doubt to try and find the Elements of Harmony and/or the Princesses.

"Copper Head…ohhh, what happened? Wha- AAH!" She winced as her burnt leg scraped against some rubble that shot pain all along her leg. Copper Head dragged her behind a chunk of what used to be a marble column and had her sit the way she preferred. "My leg…"

"It'll be alright, that's just a small burn, I've suffered plenty worse," he said with a quick smile as he peered over the makeshift cover. "Stay here."

"BWHAHAHA! NOW LAUNCH ONE OVER THERE! YES, NOW THERE! OHHH, I LOVE EXPLOSIONS!" The Bombinomicon jittered as its host continued to lob grenade after grenade at terrified ponies, scrambling guards, and random bits of scenery that looked just a little bit too smug for there own good. Demoman simply grunted in approval, his un-patched eye still glowing bright green from Chrysalis' brainwashing. "HEY, THOSE PONIES OVER THERE ARE TRYING HELP THAT ONE THAT GOT ITSELF TRAPPED, WE SHOULD HELP THEM. DEMOMAN, WOULD YOU KINDLY ASSIST THEM," the evil book cackled as his monster raised his Grenade Launcher and aimed it straight at the unsuspecting ponies that were frantically trying to aid a couple that had been trapped under another destroyed column. He squeezed the trigger, and…

The barrel of the Launcher was stuck by an unknown gunshot that moved it over and fired the dummy bomb harmlessly out the window (well, harmless until it went off and woke up every critter in the gardens).

"You've caused quite enough damage here tonight, Tavish," said Copper Head, a silver revolver floating next to him.

Copper Head smiled, not a happy smile like most ponies were skilled at, but a devilish grin that showcased his flawless teeth. "You don't recognize me, Bombinomicon? I'm hurt."The Bombinomicon's tiny red reds widened as a smoke cloud originating from the unicorn's white horn enveloped him, slowly raising until it was twice as tall but half as wide.

As the smoke cleared, the unicorn known as Copper Head was no more, save for the paper mask with his likeness on it that was discarded to the floor. In his place, stood a thin human who looked none too happy. His suit was the same as the one Copper Head had been wearing (only with matching pants); a thin striped brick-red suit with a white dress shirt underneath that complimented the brilliant crimson tie. He wore slightly darker red spats and leather gloves that latched perfectly to his hands, the right of which was holding a very long, silver revolver that had intricate engravings on both sides. The man's scowl was largely masked by a crimson balaclava, with only openings for his eyes and mouth, which had a cigarette hanging loosely to one side.

"Just put your weapons down and walk away," he said pointing the Ambassador revolver right at Demoman's head. They sat there for a moment, neither wanting to make the first move…

So naturally, Twilight made it for them. "Wh-What? YOU stole The Bombinomicon!?" she said, her eyes darting back and forth between the two as the similarities of this strange situation and her dreams began to dawn on her. The two humans, both distracted by the mare's poor timing, looked over at the speaker only to whip back around while firing their respective weapons.

Spy dodged a grenade and rolled behind the barrier where he had placed Lyra…only to find the unicorn in question MIA. Another bomb grabbed his attention, which he retaliated with by nicking the brainwashed Scot in the shoulder with a hastily fired round from the Ambassador. Spy was so preoccupied that his keen eye didn't even notice the discarded red dress that had been ripped to shreds lying scattered under his polished shoes.

Demoman, even in his zombified state of mind, he knew that going head-to-head with Spy in an area with this much cover wasn't going to work in his favor for what he hoped wouldn't be a prolonged battle. He flipped his Grenade Launcher onto his back and withdrew his Eyelander, the cursed broadsword glistening in the brightly lit ballroom, and the Chargin' Targe; a small wooden shield with an orange cross painted on the front like a target.

Demoman's feet began to glow as he sped towards Spy, the air rippling behind him as the energy worked its way up and infused itself with the blade of the Eyelander, which hissed with delight at the thought of claiming a head so soon after being drawn. Tavish drew closer and closer, tunnel vision took over his already hindered sight. He was so focused on smashing Spy into oblivion that he didn't even notice a similarly charged Equestrian barreling right towards him, her bovine horns aimed directly at his chest.

"WHAT THE-? LOOK OUT! WE'RE GONNA HIT THAT-" The Bombinomicon's warning was too late as the crit-boosted crime fighter plowed headlong into Demoman's gut, throwing him off course and crashing into a banquette table. Spy looked up, this courageous pony seemed familiar, although he couldn't place exactly what made him think that he had seen her before. Was it the hind leg bandaged up in what appeared to be part of a dress? The lyre Cutie Mark on her otherwise mint green flank? The painted cow skull that she wore as a garish helmet? The bronze shield that was still crackling with red energy?

"Who are you?" he said cooly, not sure whether or not he would have to try and stab his way through that menacing shield.

The pony turned around and stuck a pose that suggested heroism. "I'm Pyra: Defender of Justice!" she said proudly. Spy was stunned, had he REALLY just been saved by some pony as…crazy as she appeared to be? Pyra quickly turned and called out to one of the passing guards that was trying to help evacuate a wounded colt. "You there! Do you know where the Princesses are?"

The door on the other side of the room flew open as a mass of dark bodies where deposited on the once pristine floor, all of whom were moaning in pain after a sound beating. From the smoke emerged the Royal Sisters with Ajax and Shining Armor on either side, all of whom were sweating and breathing heavily.

"I didn't think the Changelings would try something so…bold. They're usually more devious than this," Luna said as she wiped her brow and bonked one of the more lively creatures on the head. "Good catch noticing the doubles, sister."

"Something tells me he might have had something to do with it, look!" Demoman stood drenched in whatever had been in those punch bowls, his stoney gaze now transfixed on the Royal newcomers.

"*GASP* A TALKING GLUE STICK!" The Bombinomicon said snidely. "HMM, EIGHT AGAINST TWO EH? AND I IMAGINE THAT A FORTRESS SUCH AS THIS MUST HAVE GUARDS THAT AREN'T BUSY CLEANING UP OUR LITTLE WELCOME PRESENT. DEMOMAN, LET US DEPART."

Demoman nodded and blasted an unnecessary hole right next to the perfectly good one he had made on his way in.

"Oh no you don't!" Pyra, having recharged her Splendid Screen with her magic, charged once again towards the bipedal terrorist and his anarchist cookbook.

The next few moments happened in slow-motion, at least for Pyra: As she got within striking distance, the cyclops reached out with his free arm and actually managed to grab hold of the Splendid Screen latched onto her back. He then proceeded to use her own momentum against her and sent her flying into Spy, who until that moment had gone unnoticed in his attempt to backstab his former teammate. The Bombinomicon laughed heartily as it and Demoman escaped into the gardens and into the cold starry night.

"After him! Do not let him escape!" Luna shouted as the assembled members of her personal Night Watch sprung into action and tore off after the human.

"I'm sorry, I did all I could," Spy apologized as he helped Pyra to her hooves. She dusted herself off and stared blankly into the distance. One of the few things she had to remember her far away friend had been stolen right off her person…by a person. Actually, come to think of it, that man DID have the same colors as Pyro…he even had the yellow stencil in the same spot. Could be that this slender man might also be…?"

"Oh, we're best friends! See?" Pyra tilted her head towards him to show off her Something Special For Someone Special. Sure enough, the engraving on the side said "From: Pyro".

With all that had gone on that day, the only response Spy could give upon receiving information that Pyro was indeed friends with a talking, candy-colored pony was a small snort. Followed shortly by passing out cold.

Twilight's Demoman Devastation

by Darrtaa

Chapter 4: Tonight At The Gala