The six ponies untangled themselves, and sat around in a loose circle in front of the castle gates, licking their wounds.
Pinkie Pie had lost her wig and gavel, and her robe was torn and tangled around her feet. She squirmed and kicked to get it off, and said, “That was fun! Let’s do it again!”
Fluttershy glanced back at the doors, then drooped until her muzzle pointed at the ground. “Poor Nightmare Moon. She’s probably crying in there, all alone…”
“Yeeeeaah,” Rainbow Dash said, sarcastically. She brushed herself off and hovered up into the air. “More likely she’s storming around, thinking up ways to punish the next pony she sees.”
“Oh, can anyone guess?” Pinkie Pie asked. “She’s… eating candy! Am I right? Did I win?”
Applejack looked up at Rainbow. “You could check. It’s not like the room had a ceiling. Or walls, really.”
Rainbow stared at her. “Flying into line of sight of an angry, lightning-shooting queen of darkness does not sound like a really awesome plan.“
“We can’t just sit here until we starve,” Twilight said, getting to her feet and striking a confident pose. “It’s time for plan B!”
Applejack looked at her curiously. “We had a plan B?”
Twilight started pulling random items out of her saddlebags, searching for something. “I wrote up a bunch of alternate plans, in case getting her to listen to reason didn’t work,” she said, finally stopping as she found a small notebook. “Here it is! Plan B… grovel.”
Applejack snorted. “I think Rarity had that covered.”
Rarity sighed. “And it would have worked, eventually. Everypony knows that anypony would do a favor for a friend that they’d never do for a stranger, no matter how loud. But no, you had to stomp in like a buffalo and ruin everything!”
“Plan C,” Twilight said loudly, cutting Applejack off before she could retort. “Take Nightmare Moon on a tour of Equestria, so that she can see all the ponies she’ll be hurting if she keeps this up.”
“She already took a tour,” Rainbow Dash said. “You know those Shadowbolts she sent around to every city and town? Part of her tail.”
Applejack laughed. “So you’re not even a real Shadowbolt?”
“I’m the *only* real Shadowbolt!” Rainbow Dash snapped back. “I mean, me and Fluttershy.” She looked over at Fluttershy, who was still staring longingly at the castle. “Okay, yeah, just me.”
Twilight flipped to the next page. “Plan D: Convince Nightmare Moon to help by… oh my,” she said, blushing a bit. Applejack got up and looked over Twilight’s shoulder at her notes, but the notebook slammed shut before she could see what had left the purple unicorn so flustered.
“It’s no use,” Twilight said. “All these plans assumed we’d still have access to the Queen. I’m sorry, Miss Apple. If she won’t even listen to us, well – I just don’t know.”
“If she won’t listen to us,” Applejack said, “then we’ll *make* her listen to us.”
“Oh yeah?” Rainbow Dash said, zooming over to get in Applejack’s face. “You and what army?”
“Girls!” Rarity said, in an authoritative voice. “Calm down. You’re all looking at this in the wrong way.” Everypony looked at her, waiting for her to explain. “Nightmare Moon isn’t refusing to listen to us – she’s sent us away to carry out her will. We have permission – no, we have a *Royal Charter* -- to find a way to replace the sun!”
Pinkie Pie looked around for her gavel, but had to settle for jumping up and down. “You’re right! That’s what she said! ‘Find a way to live with the eternal night.’”
“I… don’t think that’s what she meant,” Rainbow Dash said.
“But we *have* to, Rainbow,” Fluttershy said, softly.
Rainbow Dash sighed and shrugged. “If you say so…”
“Just think,” Rarity said, her enthusiasm undaunted, “Once we replace the sun and save the harvest, we’ll be the Most Important Ponies in all of Equestria!”
Applejack looked interested. “And if we’re the ones responsible for Equestria’s entire food supply, we could name our own price.”
Rarity frowned. “From those who can pay, perhaps.”
Applejack scowled. “Of course. I’m not going to let anypony starve. The rest can work off their debt.”
The two proud business ponies stared at each other. “It’s settled, then,” Rarity said. “Partners.” She spit on her hoof, and held it out towards Applejack.
Applejack rolled her eyes, but spit on her hoof and slammed it into Rarity’s. “Partners.”
“Give me a few minutes and I can draw up a preliminary contract,” Twilight said, searching frantically through her saddlebags for a quill and ink.