"And...checkmate!" Trixie cried, lifting up her rook from the chessboard and utilising it to knock over Starlight Glimmer's king.
"Drat! You...you get me every time, don't you?" Glimmer said sadly, but she was still smiling. Trixie was unaware of how one really plays chess; she had been swerving her rooks in a diagonal direction and her kings two spaces at a time all the way through! Just then, there was a knock at the door to Trixie's diminutive home. Not a regular, friendly, casual knock, however—this particular knock was as loud as a Timberwolf's roar, and instantly denoted panic, urgency and a significant quantity of anxiety.
"I'll get that," Glimmer said thoughtfully. She trotted over to the door of the trailer and opened it. Standing there was Princess Twilight Sparkle, her former mentor. However, what immediately struck Glimmer and Trixie as odd was that she was not smiling, or even standing still. As a matter of fact, she looked no better than she had when she had been unable to pinpoint a lesson of friendship to write to Princess Celestia about in her weekly letter four-and-a-half years ago. She was also wearing her official crown, which was certainly not commonplace.
"Starlight!" She was panting, as if she had been running. "I need to speak to you...alone!"
"Err..." Starlight could not help but feel awkward. "Anything for you, Twily." The two hurriedly exited Trixie's caravan, closing the door behind them. Trixie, of course, after noticing they were heading to just outside one of her trailer's windows, instantly crept over there (the opposite side of the room!) and decided to eavesdrop.
"Why are you...?"
"...wearing my crown?" Starlight nodded. "I'm here on official royal business, that's why." Twilight then told Starlight everything Celestia and Luna had told her and her friends.
"If he comes," she whispered dramatically. "Would you join the fight? Your magic is incredibly power, Starlight, we can't afford to not use it against him!"
"Twilight, you know my answer is a resounding yes," Starlight assured her. "I...I'm sorry...this is just a shock for me...and...and..." Twilight put on hoof very gently to Starlight's lips, signalling her to be quiet.
"I know. I'm shocked, too, but I can't begin to imagine how Celestia and Luna are feeling right now..."
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Scootaloo zoomed down the deserted Ponyville street on her trademark vehicle, her best friends Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom - renowned as the Cutie Mark Crusaders for years - following as closely as they could manage behind her.
"Hey!" Sweetie Belle shouted to her friend. "Isn't that Rainbow Dash?" Scootaloo ground to a halt. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle trotted rapidly up to their friend.
"I'd recognise her even if she were a whole mile away!" Scootaloo responded enthusiastically.
"I'm sorry, Spitfire," Rainbow Dash was speaking with the captain of the famed Wonderbolts flying team. "I can't make it."
"Can't make a tour, huh? That's...unlike you, to say the very least."
"I know, I know," Rainbow Dash was evidently not enjoying the fact.
"May I ask why?"
"Uh..." Dash hesitated, and then came to the wise decision that it was best not to tell anypony anything about Spatium. "Personal reasons. Okay?"
"Well," Spitfire took out a clipboard and pencil and began to scribble. "If you're absolutely sure." And with that, she soared off, literally as quick as a flash. No sooner had the blinding-bright-yellow Pegasus gone, then another, much smaller one had approached Rainbow Dash.
"What was that all about?"
"It...I..." Rainbow Dash hesitated yet again, and then decided to adopt Applejack's policy of honesty.
"I...can't tell you. I'm sorry." And with that, she flew away from the trio of fillies.
"We've gotta take up another kind of crusading!" Sweetie Belle cried.
"Huh?" Apple Bloom and Scootaloo said together.
"Finding out what this is all about! Perhaps our sisters would know, Apple Bloom."
"Why are y'all so darn desperate to find out, Sweetie Belle?"
"Because it sounds important! What if the princesses are recruiting our sisters and their friends to do battle with foes akin to the likes of King Sombra?"
"We've never had the chance to join in on one of the big fights!" Scootaloo sadly admitted.
"Exactly." said Sweetie Belle. "And this time...whether they agree or not...our sisters and their friends are gonna need all the help they can get!"