The Crystal Empire, Main Street
Spike led a group of six ponies down the main avenue of the magnificent glistening city of the Crystal Empire. The crystalline road gleaned under the bright sunlight as the citizens went about their daily business. As they walked towards the large palace at the center of the city, they were approached by another group of ponies walking in the opposite direction. Two of the ponies were soldiers wearing silver armor while the other three were Twilight Sparkle, an alicorn with a pink coat, and a unicorn with a white coat.
"Hey!" Spike said loudly, waving down the road to Twilight. The two groups continued to walk until they met in the middle.
"Everypony, I'm so glad you're here!" Twilight said, relieved to see her friends.
"Wouldn't miss it, sugar," Applejack said, adjusting her farmer's hat. "Sounds like we gotta finish what we started."
"Twilight explained to Shining Armor and I what happened to Celestia and Luna," the pink alicorn said. "It's unimaginable that Nightmare Moon has returned."
"Did you know Celestia was also harboring an evil entity, Princess Cadance?" Starlight Glimmer asked. Cadance shook her head.
"Not the sort of surprise one would want to get," Cadance said. "I had no idea that the power that created Nightmare Moon was intrinsic to Celestia and Luna's magic."
"Come on," Shining Armor said to the others, "we should go to the palace."
"Wait...we still need one more..." Twilight said, holding up her hoof. Her tone of voice implied she was about to ask for something she didn't entirely want. She glanced over to Fluttershy, who nodded in silent understanding. Fluttershy closed her eyes and pursed her lips before whistling a short tune.
A cloud of smoke appeared from nowhere and once it dispelled, a strange creature was levitating in its place. His lanky, serpent-like body was a patchwork of several creatures; such as the paw of a lion, the foot of a dragon, and the horn of a deer. He was sitting cross-legged in a meditative position, his eyes shut as if he was in deep concentration. However, unusually, he was floating upside down.
"Be one...with the purple peanut..." he mumbled in monotone, reciting a mantra to help him concentrate.
"Discord..." Fluttershy said quietly, trying not to disturb him.
"I am...trying to...concentrate..." Discord droned, keeping the same monotone pattern as his mantra. He opened one eye slightly, peeking at the other ponies present.
"Discord!" Twilight raised her voice in irritation, not having the patience for the draconequus's usual brand of irreverence.
"Oh come on, Princess," Discord said, also in an annoyed tone, his yellow eyes now fully opened, "I don't come barging into your dimension demanding your attention, do I?"
"Actually..." Rainbow Dash started to say, alluding to Discord's previous chaotic jaunts.
"Discord, this is important," Fluttershy appealed to her friend. "We need all the help we can get."
Discord sighed. "Sometimes, Fluttershy, I think I let you do this to me..." he said, whimsically. He disappeared then instantaneously reappeared, now standing right side up. "I suppose I can spare some time from my busy schedule..." he said sarcastically. "And I had so much dusting that needed to be done."
Discord spontaneously dressed himself in a housekeeping outfit and had a vacuum cleaner appear at his side. He turned it on and pointed the hose attachment into the crowd of ponies. The hose began spewing large dust clouds, which set the group of ponies into a fit of coughing. Discord chortled lightly at his mischief. "Oh well, my itinerary is cleared just for you, Princess..." he said, smugly looking over at Twilight. Discord popped a desk calendar out of thin air then snapped his fingers, which instantly reduced the calendar to a small ball of flame. Twilight only responded with a furrowed brow while Discord maintained his sly, fang-toothed grin.
As the large group began trotting towards the palace, a familiar stallion's voice called to them from one of the side roads. "Room for a few more?" he asked. Twilight and company turned their attention towards the voice and saw yet another group of seven coming in their direction.
"Star Swirl!" Twilight said, enthusiastic to see the great sorcerer and his assistant Stygian. "You brought everypony!"
"Of course, Twilight," Star Swirl the Bearded said. "The Pillars swore an oath to Equestria and this is certainly the time to honor it."
"Rockhoof!" Applejack said, acknowledging the large aqua stallion with the full beard. "How ya been?" The two ponies approached one another and locked forelegs in a firm clutch of camaraderie.
"Somnambula!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, happy to see the peach-colored pegasus with the white headdress. Pinkie bounced excitedly at the sight of her friend.
"Pinkie Pie, it is good to see you," Somnambula replied.
"Flash! You're a sight for sore eyes," Rainbow Dash greeted, smirking at the sight of the armored pegasus flying with the others. She flew over and bumped hooves.
"We won't let Daybreaker tear up Cloudsdale again, right, Dash?" Flash Magnus asked with vigorous motivation. Rainbow Dash affirmatively nodded in response.
"Is that you, Meadowbrook?" Fluttershy said, acknowledging the blue earth pony wearing the green dress and beehive-styled mane. Meadowbrook humbly nodded with a gentle smile.
"Mistmane! It's been too long, darling!" Rarity said, making eye-contact with the elderly unicorn with the wispy gray-green mane and long, hooked horn. She trotted over and the two unicorns embraced.
"We're ready to do our part, Princess Twilight," Rockhoof assured the rest of the ponies. The others from Star Swirl's group nodded in agreement.
"Great, then let's talk at the palace," Twilight said to the assembled group.
As the collected group began making their way towards the palace, Star Swirl's glance was drawn to Discord's presence. Discord noticed the sorcerer glaring at him and gave him a heavily embellished bow.
"Star Swirl the Bearded...I presume," Discord said with flourish. "Your reputation precedes you."
"Are you...a draconequus?" Star Swirl asked.
"Why yes!" Discord said, steering into the attention he was getting. "It is I, the spirit of disharmony, the curator of chaos, the designer of disarray: Discord!" He struck an exaggerated pose while raising a flag on his tail that read "CHAOS".
"I...see..." Star Swirl said, trailing off with skepticism. He leaned over to Twilight and whispered in her ear. "Did you know he'd be coming?" he asked.
"Yeah..." Twilight whispered back with mild exasperation. "It's a long story..."
Star Swirl frowned slightly and raised his eyebrow but said no more.
The Crystal Palace, Throne Room
The large entourage walked through the doors into the throne room of Princess Cadance within the grand crystal palace at the center of the Crystal Empire. At the base of the throne, an orange stallion dressed in blue cloak covered in stars and a mussed orange mane and beard was playing with the daughter of Shining Armor and Princess Cadance, Flurry Heart, who was seated on a cushion. The little alicorn giggled when the stallion touched her nose with his hoof.
"Sunburst!" Starlight Glimmer called out across the room. The stallion turned around at the sound of his name.
"Starlight!" he replied, making eye contact with the other unicorn. Sunburst and Starlight met in the middle of the throne room and embraced.
"And how is my awesome niece doing?" Twilight asked Sunburst as walked up.
"Awesome and able!" Sunburst assured her. Twilight walked past Starlight and Sunburst and over to the infant alicorn and touched her nose to Flurry's, which prompted another joyous giggle from the baby.
"So what brings you all to the Crystal Empire?" Sunburst asked, now noticing the large party that was accompanying Starlight and Twilight.
"We are unfortunately faced with a grave situation," Star Swirl explained.
"We're...technically hiding out here," Twilight added.
"Gather around," Star Swirl requested of all present. All the ponies, Discord, and Spike stood in a circle around Star Swirl the Bearded. Star Swirl energized his unicorn horn and projected a beam of energy above his audience. Within it, Star Swirl was able to project his thoughts to the rest of the room.
"This is what we are up against," Star Swirl explained. The faces of Nightmare Moon and Daybreaker appeared within his thought projection. "Nightmare Moon and Daybreaker, the evil manifestations of Princess Luna and Celestia's alicorn magic. They have walled themselves inside Canterlot and seek to overthrow all of Equestria. They have all the power of the two princesses but with no restraint and no compassion. Together they possess some of the strongest magic in the kingdom."
Discord put his talon hand on his chin and smirked. "That is certainly a...fresh look for Celestia," he mused on his one-time enemy. He was quickly hushed by the rest of the room. "Phooey," he spat, unhappy with the reaction he got. Discord folded his arms and his facial expression changed to a miffed frown.
"We have gathered everypony here in order to strategize a way to save Celestia and Luna," Twilight Sparkle continued, stepping into the center of the circle. "With the help of the Castle of Friendship, our last encounter with Daybreaker ended favorably and we were able to restrain the dark magic and rescue Celestia. However, Nightmare Moon was reawakened in the battle with Daybreaker and she has released the seal on Celestia's magic, bringing back Daybreaker as her ally. Unfortunately, the Castle of Friendship is no longer an option to drive them back, meaning we must find a new method to save the princesses." Star Swirl's magical projection continued to display the scenes Twilight was describing.
"You are all here because of your strong connection to the forces of magic," Star Swirl said. "Either through the power you have directly harnessed or by magic wielded through the artifacts tied to Equestria itself. Until we find another way to amplify Twilight Sparkle's friendship magic and the power of the Elements of Harmony, we must assume that our collective magical strength is our only option."
"The ultimate fate of Equestria and all of ponykind is here in this room, with us," Twilight rallied her friends. "We won't rest until we have found a way to finally put an end to this darkness within Celestia and Luna."
All the ponies in the room stomped their hooves in a show of solidarity behind Twilight and Star Swirl.
"We're with ya, Twilight," Applejack said, speaking on behalf of Twilight's circle of friends. "Celestia and Luna have done so much for us, we owe it to 'em."
"The Crystal Empire pledges its efforts to saving the princesses of Equestria," Shining Armor chimed in for the denizens of the Crystal Empire.
"The Pillars of Equestria are the guardians of this land and there is no place for tyrants as long as we stand together," Flash Magnus said, speaking for the Pillars of Equestria.
Discord remained silent amidst all the show of support. Fluttershy noticed Discord not participating and gave him a slight nudge with her hoof. Discord looked down at his friend and saw the passion and desire in her eyes. "Oh very well..." Discord said, conceding with a roll of his eyes. "Count me in if things are truly so dire."
"Thank you all," Twilight said gratefully. "Luna and Celestia have given too much for Equestria to be left to such a terrible fate."
"So what's the plan, Twilight?" Princess Cadance asked.
"I...don't know yet," Twilight said, having run out of motivational words. "This is going to require research."
"Well our library is always open to you," Cadance reassured her. "We will commit whatever resources we can." Cadance and Shining Armor trotted over and gave Twilight a hug. A single tear fell from Twilight's eye.
Canterlot Castle, Front Lawn
A large crowd of concerned Canterlot ponies were gathered on the front lawn of the Canterlot Castle. A legion of soldiers were standing guard in front of the castle doors.
"What's going on?!" one asked.
"Where are the princesses?!" another demanded.
"Are we under attack?!" a voice from the back of the crowd shouted.
"Ponies of Canterlot!" a booming voice from above cut through the squalor and quelled the crowd chatter. Everypony looked up to the balcony facing the front lawn. Nightmare Moon and Daybreaker stepped out and looked down at the crowd outside.
"You have probably noticed the shield enveloping the city," Nightmare Moon said to the crowd. "We are here to tell you that there is no need to be concerned."
Another round of murmurs began rippling through the crowd.
"What happened to the princesses?"
"Is that...Nightmare Moon?"
"Who is that with her? Did she corrupt Celestia?"
"The shield will be lifted once we have been able to address certain external...'pressures'," Daybreaker announced.
"However, more importantly, we have come before you to usher in the new age," Nightmare Moon continued to address the crowd. "The era of the two princesses has ended. Equestria no longer need fear living under weak-willed, compromised leaders. Our rule will bring a sweeping change to Equestria, one that shall lead us into a period of expansion and greatness."
"Who are you to say that?! Where's Luna and Celestia?!" one angry crowd member shouted up to the balcony. The unicorn raised his hoof in defiance as he spoke.
"Luna and Celestia were clueless fools who had no understanding of what real leadership is!" Daybreaker snapped back, slamming her front hooves onto the balcony railing. "You are witnessing the dawn of Equestria's glorious next chapter!" Daybreaker opened her large wings and took flight, descending down into the crowd to look the dissenter straight in the eye. The crowd parted around the lone unicorn who spoke out as Daybreaker flew right up to him. "Of course if I'm not being clear enough, there are certainly examples that could be made..." she trailed off threateningly. The now-withdrawn protestor winced as Daybreaker's menacing face was right up against his, her flame-like mane casting an intimidating shadow over him and causing the blue complexion of his coat to fall to a visible pale. Daybreaker let out a malicious cackle as she turned away and flew back up to the balcony, her point made.
"Regardless of how any of you feel," Nightmare Moon continued once Daybreaker had returned to the balcony, "Equestrian law decrees that royal authority is given to those with power over the sun and moon." In an instant, Nightmare Moon magically cycled the sky into night, raising the moon and stars as a demonstration of her power. Daybreaker then took over and returned the midday sun to the sky, erasing the starry backdrop and flushing the area with bright sunlight. Everypony shielded their eyes from the sun thanks to the rapid shifting of dark and light. "I see no room for dispute..." Nightmare Moon said conclusively. "So long as order is maintained, the status quo will go unchanged. But we are not to be tested."
"What happened to Twilight Sparkle?" a mare's voice called out. "She would never stand for this!"
Daybreaker once again laughed with contempt. "Your 'precious' Princess of Friendship stood no chance against us and ran away with that old coot Star Swirl the Bearded. She knew what she was dealing with, the sooner all of you come to the same conclusion the better."
"Twilight Sparkle is the last remnant of the old order, the final symbol of Celestia and Luna's ineffectiveness," Nightmare Moon said. "Once she is no longer an issue, we will have truly stepped out of the shadows of the past and embarked on our new trajectory. It is on this day that the 'Empire of Equestria' is founded and it is on this day that we shall henceforth be known as 'Empress Moon' and 'Empress Daybreak'!"
The two sinister alicorns laughed in unison from their balcony as the fearful populace looked on with terror.