//------------------------------// // Juxtaposition // Story: Divergence // by Seattle_Lite //------------------------------//    ════════════════════════════════ ► Divergence ◀ ════════════════════════════════     Chapter 10 Juxtaposition An MLP:FiM Fanfiction by Seattle Lite The leather-bound tome collided with the wall, a small cloud of dust and ancient parchment loosed from the impact. Weak magical lights flickered about the room, casting shadows on the chaotic array of overturned furniture. Scrolls and scraps of parchment littered the floor as though cast about in a frenzy. Before the book had time to slide down the wall, a chair followed it, breaking apart in a burst of polished mahogany and fine upholstery. Twilight Sparkle stood, her shoulders hunched and head hung low. She gasped sharply, catching her breath from the outburst. “Damn it all,” she hissed, her voice low and not meant to carry. A moment passed, and she raised her head. Her old chambers, those she had spent the better portion of her young life in—these same rooms filled with memories of herself and Spike living in happy, if focused, abandon—lay about her in disarray. Her gaze strayed to the shattered remnants of the huge hourglass that had once stood on a featured pedestal here on the second story interior balcony. It had been a gift from Celestia. Princess... Twilight’s eyes watered as she turned and looked upward; her voice was somewhere between a broken plea and a growl as she said, “Please. Give me something!” She stared at a framed picture on the mantle; the smiling faces of a majestic Alicorn and a Unicorn filly—her exuberance barely restrained—were caught in time, forever beaming down upon the room. Met only with silence, she gave a dejected sigh before turning her attention back to the business at hoof. Admittedly, said business had gotten somewhat out of hoof, but taking in the tumult of the room around her, she found she genuinely didn’t care. Such a thing would have shocked her, once. Horn bursting to life once again, she gathered up the precious few tomes and scrolls that held even an inkling of what she was searching for. Ancient Artifacts, Pre-Equestrian History, Hypotheses of the Alicorn—she stared down at them in contempt, already certain their pages held nothing but empty ruminations. But still, no stone unturned and all that. Her concentration was broken at the sound of deep voices from the first floor, outside the closed and still-locked doors of her old penthouse. The doors rattled as the locks were tested. Twilight assumed it to be the Guard; she had, after all, been less than subtle in her recent tantrum about the premises. She was, however, in no mood to be questioned at the moment. Gathering up the disappointingly small assortment of books that she had come for, she disappeared in a bright purple flash—the same way she had come. Blinking away the mild disorientation—Am I ever going to get used to that spell?—she found herself back in the dark halls of the Capital Library, where her search had begun less than an hour ago. She had been on her way down to the dungeons for an appointment long-overdue, when the impulse to search the huge library for any unfound clues regarding the Elements had broken her stride. She hadn’t intended to be long—a few minutes at most for a cursory inspection. Initially, it seemed her intentions would be thwarted. The evening was growing late, and the keepers of the library had adamantly refused public access. The scroll from the Council had changed their attitude quite abruptly. Frowning, she once more pulled the roll of parchment from its hiding place, tucked securely within her mane. The princess’ own royal sigil still held firmly to the parchment, magically resealing itself between readings. She broke it once again and spread it out on the table before her; her glowing horn casting just enough violet light to read. Without the whisper of an expression on her face, she stared at it, reading the flowing script of the princess’ own hoof for what must have been the hundredth time that night. Even when tucked away within her mane, the proclamation rolled over endlessly through her mind, the smooth paper burning against her coat. With a sigh—it seemed she was sighing a lot these days—she rose, returned the scroll to its hiding place and gathered up the sparse rewards of her side-trip. Turning, she headed out of the library, ignoring the searching gazes of the few night-keepers of the castle library, and headed back to her temporary quarters to deposit the books for later study. She had an appointment to keep.   ~~~~~ “I am going with you darling, and that is final!” Twilight stamped a hoof down against the hard marble, near her wit’s end. “Rarity, please try to understand! It’s not that I don’t appreciate everything you’ve done for me, how far you’ve come with me, but I don’t... There’s so much I don’t understand. I just need to talk to her alone. Please.” Rarity huffed, loosing a long-suffering sigh. “I don’t like it, Twilight. Do consider the circumstances! We have no idea which direction to properly approach this from. From what you told me about your meeting with the Council, and the way the guards treated Applejack...” Rarity paused, her eyes narrowed in anger at the vivid memory. “We have to reevaluate everything! A single misconception will land us up to our horns in even more confusion. This calls for delicacy and finesse.” Twilight’s ears went back; Rarity’s eyes went wide and she waved a hoof frantically as the other Unicorn drew a sharp breath. “I’m not saying that you lack those qualities, dear! I just want to be by your side in this... and yes, I have some questions of my own.” “I understand, Rarity. I just need to talk to her alone first.” Twilight grasped desperately for a solution, and offered, “Look, why don’t you come down and speak with Applejack first? Her position is far less complicated than Rainbow’s. We… we should be able to get her released soon.” “Oh, that’s marvelous! However did you manage that?” Rarity asked, her relief open. Twilight looked away—the patterned silk covering the large window suddenly fascinating—and scuffed her hoof against the floor, anxious to skirt having to delve into this new development too closely, and all too aware of the tightly rolled parchment hidden in the locks of her mane. “Yeah, so what do you say? I don’t want AJ to have to stay down there any longer than necessary, and you can talk to Rainbow Dash soon, I promise.” “Well... I suppose. Since it’s clear you won’t reconsider,” Rarity said, looking none too pleased, but willing to make the concession. Twilight sighed in relief. “Thank you.” Throwing a glance to the locked door of their chambers, Twilight asked in a much lower tone, “And... where are they? Did anypony see them?” Equally discreet, Rarity lowered her head and answered softly, “No, nopony asked any questions about our bags.” She turned, trotting to the large window Twilight had been staring so fixedly at a moment ago. For a second, Twilight wondered what the alabaster Unicorn was doing, but Rarity stopped below the drapes and gazed upward, her horn lighting. Magic sheathed the outlines of two saddlebags hanging from the rod that Twilight hadn’t noticed a moment ago. She gasped. “Rarity, did you turn the bags invisible? I had no idea you could do that!” Rarity ‘tutted’ quietly, turning with two very familiar and bulging packs ensheathed in her magic. “Oh no, darling, I just altered their appearance and texture, blending them into the curtains. Rather seamlessly, if I do say so,” she said, rather pleased with the impressed look on the magical prodigy’s face. Twilight was impressed, and said so. “Okay, good, go ahead and put them back up there. That should keep them hidden perfectly until we finally get a chance to really study them.” Rarity nodded, and a moment later the two Unicorns trotted from the apartment, Twilight leading. ------ The mares strode down the torch-lit corridors, two grim-faced guards to either side as escort. Twilight had never been to these depths of Canterlot castle before—indeed, she had been unaware the area was still being utilized at all. The sounds of licking flames and the rap of hooves on hard stone marked the only sound of the group’s passage. Something was up, and Twilight knew it. Just moments before, two Unicorns with the uniquely militarized cuts to their manes—but lacking the traditional armor—had galloped past the two mares and their assigned escort, startling the rather preoccupied Rarity and igniting a wave of suspicion in Twilight. She knew they had gone this way, as there had been no branches either left or right since entering this long, descending corridor. The same pair were now headed back the way they had come at a much more sedate pace, and as they passed—avoiding her searching gaze altogether—they exchanged nods with the two soldiers at her side, not breaking stride as they moved back up towards the castle proper. Rounding a bend, the incline leveled, and they came to a large door that swung open by the magic of one of their escorts. Twilight entered, and was struck with the overwhelming stench of molding hay, powerful disinfectants, and… something else, something acidic and repulsive. Two more guards sat at a table, a scattering of roughly hewn cards between them, the game momentarily forgotten as they watched the two mares and their escort. Rarity made a small, choked sound, sharing Twilight’s revulsion at the onslaught of the oppressive, thick atmosphere. Fighting back the urge to retch, Twilight firmed her resolve and moved forward, head held high. Diligently honed senses awoke as she strode past the rows of barred and bolted doors to either side; magic had been used here recently, and in great concentration. Her ears canted back and her brow furrowed as she focused, glancing from side to side as she separated the flavors of the castings into something she could attempt to identify. Healing! she realized. This is the residue of some incredibly intense healing magic. But it’s… overlaid? Not the same healing spell... She began to mentally run through the catalogue: There’s regeneration, sealing, mending, and... Wow, at least a half-dozen others I can’t even identify! There’s a veritable pool of energies lingering down here! Why would they—Her line of thought was interrupted as the guards drew to a halt outside one of the many barred wooden doors, gesturing with a hoof at Rarity to indicate this was her stop. Twilight and Rarity shared a nod, before the purple mare walked onward with her single escort, who led her around a corner.   If anything, this narrow corridor was even more forbidding than the dungeon proper. There were no side-cells here; the torches lighting the hall fewer and further between. Deep shadows pooled against the weak light of the flames. As they drew closer, Twilight discerned that the room at the far end of this corridor, whatever else it may be, was the source of the riotous healing magic; the air was so thick with the miasma of energy that she scrunched her muzzle—the taste acrid and sour against her tongue. The guard ducked his head, pulling a large iron key from the golden armor beneath his wing. The door unlocked with a heavy click, and he nosed it open without a word, gesturing that she go inside. Hesitantly, she stepped within. Although quite dark, the room was surprisingly clean—from what little she could see—as though it had been thoroughly scrubbed, and quite recently at that. The contrast of this cell’s pristine confines to the unkempt condition of the dungeon in general, and fetid stench in particular, would have under normal circumstances proven to be a formidable challenge to the Unicorn’s curiosity. At the moment, however, her attention was riveted to a lithe form curled up on a scattering of hay. The sky-blue coat and spectral mane were unmistakable. Twilight’s heart and mind went to war. Here she was. The mare who betrayed me, siding with evil incarnate, placing herself firmly against all that was good and true in Equestria, a furious voice screamed inside her head. A softer voice drifted up, seeking to still the rage. No, I don’t know that. She’s probably been manipulated... just as I was. Twilight flinched at that thought, the fury within her momentarily reeling away, seeking some defence to rekindle her righteous anger. And yet... Some odd sense, outside both her rage and confusion, made her feel like she and this mare were locked in some manner of... convergence; a dance of steps and rhythms whose pattern was just beyond her reach. The terms ‘foe’ and ‘ally’ seemed so… rudimentary for the reality of the circumstances that bound them, and she found herself unable to truly identify with either simplification as she stared down at the blue form curled up before her. Twilight frowned, suddenly wondering why the Pegasus still had not turned, had not acknowledged her presence. Surely she’d heard her come in. Was she purposefully ignoring her? Just like everypony else, came the bitter thought, faster than Twilight could suppress it.   Steeling herself, Twilight stepped forward, and raised a hoof to the Pegasus’ shoulder. ----- The metallic rasp of the key sliding into the lock broke the stillness, and the hated ‘click’ that followed boomed like thunder in her ears. At the first sound of a hoof stepping into the room, a tremor tore through her. She bit her lip, tasting blood as she viciously suppressed the shaking that began to wash over her. How many times? She had lost count somewhere back when they had stopped asking questions. She had fought, screamed, cursed and eventually, even begged. It shamed her to her core, but she had begged like a broken foal—lost, alone and terrified. Nothing mattered. That was clear to her now—they didn’t actually want anything but to hurt her, over and over, and over again. They proved that when, after several ‘sessions,’ they had brought in some Unicorns with stupid mane-cuts who had veritably bathed her with a gamut of rejuvenating spells. Not that they took away much of the pain, but they did knit her shattered bones and mend her torn flesh—they even somehow grew back the chunks of her mane the other bastards had torn out. At first she had been confused over the ministrations. Why keep healing what they want to break? The next ‘interrogation’ and its subsequent healing had solved the mystery rather elegantly. Now the only real question she had was: Why the fuck do they want to keep me alive so badly? The hooffalls drew closer. Dash took a mouthful of the rancid hay, biting down hard to strangle the treacherous mewling sound that tried to claw out her throat. He was standing right over her now, silent and looming. She could feel the malice radiating from him: his hatred, his desire to make her scream and plead, hard eyes betraying the pleasure he would take from it all. She felt a hoof press into her shoulder, and all thoughts of compliance, submission—whatever it took to avert the pain—fled from her like the deluge from a rain-heavy cloud. No matter the cost, a black part of her mind thought savagely, bursting to the fore as her vision went red, I am not broken. I’ll die before I break, and I’ll take this bastard with me!   Her wing snapped out in a blur, slapping the hoof up and away as she spun and lunged, quick as a striking snake. The manacle about her throat snapped tight against its short chain, jerking her back as the follow-up blow, intended to snap the neck of the bastard, drew short and missed, only clipping the Unicorn mare about the face, who reflexively jumped back with a squeak of pain and alarm. Dash’s eyes went wide in recognition. Twilight’s hoof slowly rose to her stinging cheek as the pair stood silently, staring, their minds blank as the silence stretched between them. “So,” Dash said finally, quietly. “I was wondering if you were going to show up.” She let out a harsh laugh that sounded half-choked. “Funny, y’know? I was really hoping for a while there that you wouldn’t be here... Almost believed it too.” Twilight’s muzzle twisted in confusion. “What do you mean by that? Would you rather I were dead or something?” Dash’s jaw hung agape at that for a moment, then she slowly blinked, looking Twilight square in the eye as she rose to her full height. “Yeah. Y’know what,” she said, her voice cold and even. “I think so. I’d rather you had died as the pony I thought you were... than see you here now, as the thing you are.” The words sent a shiver down Twilight’s spine. Rage lit her violet eyes, and she drew a breath, her muzzle curling to bare teeth. The next moment, both mares were screaming at one another at the top of their lungs. “You ruined everything!” “I ruined everything?! Who’s the idiot who ran off into the Everfree Forest in the middle of the night?!” Twilight paled, shaking at the memory. “You have no idea what happened that night!” “Neither do you, obviously! You just jump to conclusions, because you’re soooo fucking smart, aren’t you!” “I actually care about what’s happening here, unlike you! I actually care about what happened to Celestia!” Dash snorted. “Yeah, and that’s all you care about! You’ve got no idea how badly you screwed everything up, do you?” ”I was trying to fix things! Unlike you I’m all too well aware of what’s at stake here! What have you done to help?” Dash laughed in cold derision. “I protected you, you idiot! I stuck my neck out for you! Do you have any idea what they were going to do back there? No! You have no idea, even after everything you did!” “Everything I did? You betrayed us! You betrayed Equestria! You attack me, and then expect me to be happy with you, to stick up for you?!” “Oh, right, and I guess just dropping a wall on Fluttershy is okay? Is that how you protect your friends?” Twilight flinched, taking a step away from the Pegasus. “Tha-that was an accident! And you know it! I would never do that to her on purpose! I was scared, I had almost died that night—and worse!” Her ears flattened back against her skull. “Do you have any clue what’s hiding in that castle, what they’re doing?! Do you even care?!” Dash brayed, her eyes rolling upward. “Listen to yourself, Twilight. You’re freaking out on me, and I don’t even know what the hell you’re talking about!” Twilight jabbed a hoof at the chained Pegasus. “That’s exactly the point, Rainbow! You’re nothing but an ignorant, arrogant filly who doesn’t even question what’s going on around her! You’ve had your head so deep in the sand that you’ve been blind to everything that’s happened! You were offered a position and you didn’t pay attention to anything beyond your new-found, stupid, self-obsessed glory-seeking! You never understood the consequences of your actions! I actually looked into what was going on, and I’ve seen things you can’t even imagine! Do you even ever wonder why I ran out of the castle that night?” Twilight’s voice raised to a frenzied screech. “It was because there was a monster, a nightmare, in there, and it tried to kill me!” Dash had been holding her breath, a vicious retort ready to fire at the first break, but that last comment gave her pause over and above the outrage she felt at Twilight’s insults. One thing still needed answering though. One thing she would not let go. “Look... Twilight, I don’t know anything about that, but none of that is my fault, and none of that is any excuse for this, or what you tried to do to Applejack!” “I—“ Twilight paused, the hoof she had been about to slam into the ground hanging, momentarily forgotten. “Wait, what?” “AJ! In the woods! With your damn magic traps! That ice in the river? That could have killed her! And it would have, if it hadn’t been triggered by a fucking maticore first!” Twilight completely faltered at that, the next assault dying on her tongue. The blood drained from her face as she stammered, incredulous, “You… you followed me through the forest? With Applejack? I-I thought the Dragons would be—“ “Yeah?!” Dash screamed, her wings flaring. “Well, you were wrong! I had to beg Luna not to let the Dragons come after you for the Elements, but I guess after everything, maybe we shouldn’t have bothered!” Twilight’s eyes hardened at the mention of that name. Her focus narrowed, Dash’s inference brushed aside. “Luna. Princess Luna. That’s what this all comes down to, Rainbow. You’re a traitor.” She spat the words. “I trusted you! I trusted all of you! More than I’ve ever let myself trust any pony before! I wanted to care about you, to know you!” Twilight hung her head. “…Ancients help me, I still do, and now I know I can’t even trust myself.” “I’ll say! You should be in a damned mental hospital! Calling me a traitor?!” Dash yelled, her red eyes afire with rage. ”Fuck you, Twilight! You stupid, two-faced, limp-horned cow! You have no idea what I went through trying to get to you before—“ Rainbow Dash got no further. With a blinding flash of Twilight’s horn, she was slammed into the stone wall, held off her hooves with a magical force so strong that it was difficult to draw breath against her creaking ribs. Twilight was gasping, her head low and eyes glowing softly, her face painted with unrestrained rage and hurt. Dash grit her teeth against the pain, rough stone cutting into her back and a vice of energy tightening around her throat. “Heh,” she gasped out. “I knew it. You’re just like them. You think this hurts? Go ahead, bitch. Do your worst.” With that, she spat in Twilight’s face and closed her eyes, waiting for what she knew was coming next—she knew what to expect from Unicorns. To her shock, the magic that held her pinned off her hooves evaporated, and she found herself sprawled unceremoniously in the fetid hay. Jerking her head back and forth, she looked up at the mare standing over her. She expected to see malice, anger, a glint of promised violence shining from those violet eyes; not the confusion and dawning terror that filled them; not the tears that began to overflow those impossibly huge eyes. Finally, it had clicked. Twilight was shocked beyond thought, the driving impulse to punish had vanished in a heartbeat as her reeling mind put the pieces together: The strange stallion Unicorns, the air of unspoken communication between them and her own escort; the incredible saturation of healing magics that filled this place like a seething fetor; the look of pure, animal terror in Rainbow’s eyes as she had turned to attack, well before she could have known who was in the cell with her. Twilight felt her knees collapse beneath her, the stone cool against her belly. Her voice was soft, almost inaudible. “Dash... what did they do to you?” Rainbow’s tail lashed wildly in confusion and mistrust as she rolled to her hooves. “How?” she asked. “How are you here, and you don’t know?” “Dash, I swear to you,” Twilight said, trying to withhold a sob and failing. “I didn’t know. I didn’t know.” She held out a single hoof in supplication. How could they? Rainbow just looked at the hoof extended toward her, then down as the soft patter of her own tears resounded on the cobblestones. She looked up and met Twilight’s eyes; eyes that burned with agony and truth—no deception, just a silent plea for forgiveness. Slowly, Rainbow Dash rose to her hooves, looking down on the Unicorn that still held her hoof out, her weeping eyes hidden beneath her neatly cropped bangs. “How?” Dash repeated hollowly. Twilight looked up, meeting the blue mare’s eyes. “Rainbow, I was dragged here by soldiers working on vague orders left behind by Celestia. I didn’t even know you were here in Canterlot until an hour ago. I didn’t know that they...” Even now, she couldn’t bring herself to actually say it.  “W-what they were doing to you.” “You’re serious.” “I’m sorry, Dash. I’m so sorry! I never meant—I just needed to figure out what happened, and Luna, sh-she never said, never said anything. And I thought—I wanted to trust you, but I... Everything’s so out of control. Out of everypony’s control. I’ve been so powerless to help or understand anything, and... Dash, Celestia knew. She knew what was going to happen, and I can’t help but feel that she’s planned for everything.” Dash took a step back. “What? How the hell could she predict all of this?” “Celestia is... Rainbow, why do you trust Luna?” There was no accusation in Twilight’s voice, not this time. Even so, Dash frowned. “I... look, i just do. She knows what’s going on way better than I ever could, and I get it, you don’t think that’s good enough, but—” Twilight cut her off, standing up and wiping her eyes with a fore-hoof. “No, Dash. I know; I do get it. It’s… kind of like the same with me and Celestia. She knows what’s happening, and that makes you feel... safe. Be it experience or foresight or wisdom, she just understands everything. And she... oh, Dash, I didn’t want to admit it, but she knew. Celestia knew what was going to happen. She was counting on me and I... I failed, and she...” Twilight’s voice dropped to a whisper. “She planned for that too.” Dash lifted her hoof, and gently rested it on Twilight’s head, just to the side of her horn. "I… I don't know what's going on, Twilight. This... this whole thing is crazy. It's too big,” she muttered, shaking her mane. Her chain rattled. “Doesn't make any sense." Twilight sighed. "I… Me neither Rainbow. This whole thing… we've just been pawns. Celestia. Luna. This is their game, it always has been. We’ve been pieces that don’t even know what game they’re playing.” Twilight narrowed her eyes as she glared into a shadowy corner. Twilight leaned her head forward, resting her brow against Rainbow’s, and took a deep breath. “But no more. I’m done being used, and I think, for the first time in my entire life, I have my priorities straight.” She drew back, locking her friend’s gaze with her own. “I’m getting you out of here.” “How?” Dash asked for the last time that night. For the first time that day, Twilight smiled. ----- Rarity cast one more deeply concerned glance at the studious young mare as she turned the corner, disappearing down the further corridor with her lone guard. Her own escort grunted impatiently as he pulled back the iron bolt fastening the cell door, gesturing that she enter. Determined to not be cowed—disdain for the stallion etched in every line of her—she raised her nose high and stepped gracefully within. In the moment it took for her eyes to adjust, her ears caught the frantic scrambling of a pony rising to its hooves. She had just begun to make out the figure, planted squarely in a wide-legged, defensive stance, when said pony called out in shock. “R-Rarity?!” The past fortnight had confronted Applejack with more surprises and terrors than she thought she'd deal with in a lifetime. She and her timid—and now thoroughly traumatized—companion had spent hours huddled together, the screams of their friend still burning in their ears. What had begun as horror had quickly changed to a consuming rage that had kept Applejack warm throughout their imprisonment. It nestled now, in the pit of her stomach, giving her strength as she had contemplated what seemed inevitable—that when the guards came for them, decided it was their turn for the ‘questioning,’ she would stand firm. She would  be as unyielding as an oak in defense of her delicate friend,  who even now cowered behind her. In truth, though Applejack would scarcely admit it even to herself, the greater portion of her resolve to fight, and die here if she must, was drawn directly from the yellow-coated mare, and she was warmed by the sure knowledge that her brother would be proud.  All of the these thoughts fled her as the sinuous mare stepped hesitantly into the room, her leg and ears raised in alarm at the sudden scramble Applejack had made to interpose herself in front of Fluttershy and anypony entering the chamber. “R-Rarity?!” she gasped, stunned. “Wh-what in tarnation are you doin’ here?” “Applejack? Is… is that you? Are you okay?” Rarity questioned, squinting in the gloom. Applejack opened her muzzle to respond, but a pink and yellow blur shot from behind her, launching itself at the white Unicorn framing the door of the cell. Momentarily startled, Rarity reared back, prepared to defend herself, only to find a voluminous pink mane buried against her neck. Fluttershy’s arms locked about her with a desperate strength as she bawled into the crook of Rarity’s neck. Though struggling to breathe, Rarity reflexively returned the embrace, softly stroking her friend’s tangled mane, holding her close. ----- “Twilight… Applejack and Fluttershy, they say Rainbow Dash is being… tortured. Is it true?” Rarity asked tremulously. The pair strode up the corridor, their escorts trailing behind. Cold fury radiated with Twilight’s every movement as she stared fixedly ahead. “Yes,” she answered, her voice low and hard. “And it stops now. I’m going to the Council right now, and getting them all out of there.” She cast a murderous glance behind her, taking in the white stallions behind them. One had the shame to avert his gaze. “I’m getting us all out of here, before long.” Looking over to Rarity, she lowered her voice and said, “Listen, I need you to wait for me in our rooms—guard the Elements. If all goes well, the others should be back before I am, so bring them up to speed as best you can. I’m not certain how this meeting is going to play out, so we all need to be prepared to get out at a moments notice. Just... be ready for anything… and I mean anything, Rarity.” Rarity frowned. “And what about Pinkie Pie? Fluttershy and Applejack said she was with them, if you recall?” Twilight groaned. It wasn’t as though she had forgotten, she just… had a lot on her plate. “I have no idea. Do you have any notion of where she could have gotten to? Would she be holed up in the city somewhere, or maybe even have gone back to Ponyville?” Rarity was silent for a moment, considering. “Well, I somewhat doubt she’d have simply abandoned us, Twilight; it’s not in her nature. Unfortunately, darling, I honestly haven’t the slightest idea of what would be her nature to do in a situation like this.” “Well… I don’t know. Talk it out with the others and come up with something plausible, okay? Something we can act on.” Rarity arced a prim eyebrow as they approached the junction where they would split, Rarity to their rooms, Twilight to the Council. “Speaking of which, Twilight; just how do you intend to get them released in the first place?” Twilight shook her mane. “Not here, not now. I’ll tell you all soon.” With that, they parted ways. ~~~ Twilight’s ears peaked and she let out a surprised whinney. A cacophony of voices—raised in argument and alarm—grew louder as she stomped toward the central castle auditorium. Striding past the doors, Twilight saw the activity was largely centered around the Council’s table. She recognized several Nobles and Mages from her previous meeting, in addition to a tableau of ponies in sharp-cut military garb assorted about the table and clustered in small groups. Moving round the press of one group, she caught the strained words of one reporting Pegasus: “—no, sir, no word from any of the Wonderbolts. The captain seems to have disappeared entirely. Search teams have isolated the sight of the skirmish, but aside from some dried blood, there’s no sign of anypony. Trackers are combing—” Twilight didn’t slow, shouldering her way to the central table and doing her best not to step on any tails. She scowled impatiently as she arrived, shouldering her way in between two large stallions. “—coming in from all borders, without diplomatic envoy or notice!”   “Could it be an invasion? All at once?” “No sir, our scouts report that none of the incursions are of significant force… perhaps enough for raiding, sir, but nothing approaching the numbers required for occupation or real engagement.” “And has there been any report of raiding?” This, as the previous question, came from the same Unicorn Mage—Stargazer, she recalled his name was—who seemed to have seized the reigns of the crisis. A part of Twilight’s mind noted that she was unsurprised at the development. “Negative sir, not to our knowledge. The Griffon tribes swept in from their northern fasts, all thirteen clans have their banners represented. The Deer come from their Southern lands. They have stayed within the stretches of leafed groves and meadows in their travels. The Dragons have moved from their Western holds, though in far fewer numbers than the others. The Wolves…” The officer hesitated a moment, and Stargazer raised his eyebrow. “Yes?” “Well, sir, our reports of the Wolves are somewhat… sketchy, at best. Thick fogs have been rolling in from the high mountains of our northwestern borders, and have proven impervious to our Pegasi’s attempts to disperse it. Those teams that have been trying reported glimpsing movement at ground level, in the deep wood. So no, sir, I cannot confirm that the Wolves are on the move with assurance, but we must speculate that it is so given the other nations, though we cannot make any assumption to their numbers.” Having become the central conversation of the room, every ear was stretched toward it, and the silence that now reigned pressed upon the reporting officer. The steel-grey Mage appraised him with a raised brow, and every eye was upon him; the officer began to sweat under the attention. The impatient rap of Stargazer’s hoof upon the oaken table was a thunderclap in the stillness. “And?” he asked, his tone grim and imperious. “Sir?” Eyes narrowed, the Mage asked slowly, as though speaking to a foal, “Where. Are they. Headed?” “Er… well, that’s difficult to say for certain, sir, but our analysts’ best guess is that all the incursions are headed for…” The officer hesitated, his words coming almost in a tone of bafflement. “The Everfree Forest.” Twilight’s snort tore through the silence, nopony noticing the reporting officer’s wilting relief as the attention of the room left him... and turned to her. “Ah, Miss Sparkle. What timing. Please, come join us. Perhaps you could lend some insight into this turn of events.” Twilight stared for moment, her mouth slightly open. Then her face hardened and her ears laid back. “There are already Dragons at Luna’s castle, and you already know she had sent out envoys to make contact with bordering nations, and perhaps beyond. Though I can see how something actually happening can be such a surprise to you all.” Her voice turned low and vicious as she glared about her. “You know what else is a surprise? The fact that you have a young mare chained to a dungeon wall, and you’ve been having her tortured. Repeatedly. Then healed. And then tortured again!” She slammed her hoof down against the stone floor. “This is an outright violation of Celetia’s Marena Carta, held in trust for over six hundred years, and it stops now!” The silence was vicious. Shock and revulsion were etched across the faces of many present. The Mages held themselves in tight, expressionless control, though one and all they were staring at the assembled Nobles on the other side of the large table. The opulent Nobles fidgeted nervously. After a hissed exchange, the fat one—as Twilight was coming to think of him—cleared his throat. “I believe you must be mistaken, Miss Sparkle. We have, in custody, a suspected conspirator and traitor to the realm. She is being questioned. That is all.” “You’re lying! I just came from her cell. You have her chained to the wall on a bed of rancid hay, and you’ve been sending your healers in after your little sessions with her! The entire dungeon is saturated with the magic.” Murmurs broke out across the chambers. The half dozen Nobles clustered together, whispering heatedly. Stargazer stared daggers at the head Noble. “Farlflank, is this true?” he asked, his voice low and dangerous. Twilight watched as Farlflack’s face grew mottled, the gears in his head spinning wildly as he worked to construct an answer. She interrupted, pointing a hoof at Stargazer. “Are you saying you didn’t know about this? You expect me to believe that? I demand her release, immediately! Her, and the other two mares down there as well!” “Demand?” Farlflank hissed. “Who do you think you—” Again, Twilight cut him off, levitating the rolled scroll out of her mane and slamming it down on the table. She glared at them all, defiantly. Stargazer sighed. “Miss Sparkle, we shall release the other two into your custody in the morning. However, while half the Council was unaware of her horrendous treatment, which I assure you, stops now—” He paused, casting a murderous glare at the Nobles. “We cannot at this time release that one. She has admitted to serving the dark one, and may yet hold vital information as to the whereabouts of the Princess.” “She doesn’t know anything!” He stared back at her, implacable. “We do not yet know that.” “You, all of you, were charged with protecting Equestria's peace, but everything you’ve done since her disappearance runs contrary to Celestia's rule and what she’s always stood for!” The Nobles puffed up as one, and Twilight turned away in disgust, caring nothing for whatever they may have to say next. She stormed out of the chambers in a near gallop. ----- An hour later found Twilight trotting the dimly lit halls, her only company the echoing steps of patrolling guards or errant servants; she took note of none of them. Her head down, lost in thoughts of plans and counterplans, she wandered aimlessly. After a time, she found herself outside a pair of very familiar doors. At first, they looked odd, and she couldn’t put her hoof on it. The guards. Of course. Her hooves had carried her to the entrance to Princess Celestia’s private study, and there were always a pair of guards outside it, standing silent vigil. No more. Twilight stood before these wooden barriers for several minutes, staring blankly as memories washed over her. Finally, raising a hoof, she pressed against the door. A sudden flash of spell-fire made her jump back, startled, and the double-doors swung open. Nonplussed, curiosity taking the reigns and piercing her fugue, Twilight glanced left and right down the open corridor before stepping cautiously inside. All was as she remembered it, from the masterfully embroidered maps of the wider world, down to the plush violet rug at her hooves. Every book on the shelves, every scroll on the three desks, lay untouched. Twilight’s muzzle scrunched. Something wasn’t right here. And then it hit her. This place... hasn’t been searched. I don’t... why? They should have gone through these rooms as thoroughly as they rooted out her bedchambers. She shook her mane, long hairs snapping at her neck as she fought against the mental fog that surrounded her. The answer was there. Right on the tip of—The doors! The seal. It was a barrier, one of the princess’ own making. That’s why they couldn’t get in. Twilight raised her hoof and looked at it quizzically. But how... she must have imprinted a bypass. For me. Nopony else. Twilight wasn’t certain what to call the feeling that rushed through her. She wasn’t certain anything she felt these days could be defined in any of the simple and certain terms of her youth. She whipped around, a phantom sound from the halls pricking her ears. With a thought, the doors were sheathed in a violet glow and closed. As they latched, the fiery hue once more overlaid the frame, and Twilight had a moment of panic that she they’d not open again. With a huff, she prioritized that as a problem for later. She had more than enough immediate concerns as it was. She moved through the room, her hooves dragging through the thick carpet. Her eyes fell upon a small couch, tucked in a nook with its own desk—minuscule compared to the other two on the far end of the room—and shelves on either side. Her spot. Where she had snuggled and slept and studied while her teacher went about her daily business of running the country. She did so much. And still made time for me, Twilight thought with a tinge of wonder. The center of the room held, as it always had, a single dais. Rising elegantly from the floor in a spiral of white marble stood the symbol of Celestia’s rule—the sun. Identical to the one the princess bore on her flank, if a bit more embellished. Twilight strode up to it, gazing at the sharp edges and flowing curves of the stylized sun wrought from solid gold. With a sigh, she lowered her forehead to rest against the dias. Golden light suffused the room, pouring like a river from every corner of the room. Blinded, Twilight yelped and backpedaled, a hoof raised to her eyes. Her hind hoof snagged on the carpet, and she tumbled to the floor. The blinding light subsided, and Twilight squinted; brilliant after-images burned into her eyes. Disoriented and blinking, she struggled to her hooves, looked up, and forgot to breathe. There before her, its form rapidly coalescing, stood a being of pure light. Horn, wings and mane solidified from the motes of magical ambiance, and there she was—Celestia. The Alicorn stood, tall and majestic, unmoving as stone. “P-Princess?!” A ripple of energy passed through the apparition like a wave. Its whole body flickered, and it blinked. Princess Celestia looked down upon her student, and spoke in a voice that echoed, as though carrying through an enormous cavern. “Oh. Dear. I suppose it has come to this.” Twilight’s jaw hung, and for a moment she was unable to move, save but to stare in wide-eyed shock as her legs threatened to give out beneath her. “Twilight.” That voice. It was Celestia’s voice. “My dear student.” Tears ran unchecked down Twilight’s muzzle. “Princess? Is-is it… wh-what are you?” Celestia stared down at her sadly. “An echo.” “What—I-I don’t understand.” “I am what I have left behind, Twilight. This image, this imprint. I left it here; for you, and you alone.” Twilight rapidly blinked her eyes clear, scrubbing a hoof across her face. The specter continued in the princess’ voice, “This was the last I was able to leave behind for you.” “P-princess, what happened to you?! Where is—where are you?” Now that Twilight took a moment to observe her—It, she corrected herself—more closely, the body of the magical image was slightly translucent, a conglomeration of swirling motes of golden light. “How are your friends? Are they not with you?” What? Twilight hesitated, thrown by the sudden, and seemingly nonsensical, aside. “I… Princess, that’s not… tell me how to help you! Tell me what happened!” “The five are gathered here with you, Twilight. I can sense them, but… No. That’s not right.” The luminous brow frowned down at the Unicorn. “The threads have nearly been severed.” “Princess? What does this—“ “Their names. What are they?” the specter asked abruptly, urgently. Haltingly, she recited: “Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack… Rainbow Dash.” She frowned. “But I don’t see what—“ Again, Twilight was interrupted. “Then you have everything you need.” “Everything I need?” she repeated. “But the Elements, I still don’t—“ Again the frown. “Did you not find them at the old castle?” “I-I think so? There were five stone orbs, but there are six Elements!” The specter nickered. “So you gathered them together. Were your friends not with you? Were you not together?” Twilight cocked her head quizzically. “Sort of? I mean, not at the time—“ Celestia hung her head. “Then the Nightmare reigns. How have you managed to survive? How long has Equestria been in darkness?” “I—what? Princess, your sun has been coming up every day,” Twilight said, frowning. The artifice rippled in shock, its eyes wide. “What? How is that possible?” Twilight took a halting step forward. “Princess, your sister. Luna. Nightmare Moon. She’s been raising the sun.” The entire room went pitch-black. Twilight cried out in surprise and lit her horn. The dais before her pulsed and seemed to tremor, before lighting once more in the blinding flash. Once again, the not-Celestia stood before her, looking down with a gentle smile. “Twilight. My dear student.” “Princess? What just happened?!” The Alicorn construct tilted its head. “How are your friends? Are they not with you?” Twilight’s tail lashed. “No!” she shouted. “Why won’t you tell me anything?! What are you!” Celestia lifted a glowing hoof. “An echo. I am my feelings for you, Twilight. No more.” “Your feelings for me? How is that—Do you have any idea what’s going on?! I need more than your feelings! I need you! Equestria needs you!” The specter flickered again. “Have you... made any friends yet?” Twilight almost screamed. “Princess, where are you?! Nightmare Moon is loose, your government is going crazy, and every—“ The room went dark once more. Now Twilight did scream, not in fear this time, but frustration. Once more, her horn lit the room. Once more, the pedestal flickered to life, bringing the magical hologram with it, shimmering weakly.   “Twilight. My dear student.” “What am I to you?!” she screamed at the fading image, her horn blazing. “My faith.” With a final brush of magic, the spectral image faded to nothingness, the room darkening but for the light of Twilight’s own horn. She watched by the purple light as the golden sun crumbled to ash, disappearing into the thick carpet at her hooves. Twilight hung her head, her jaw clenched. She let her horn go out. “Shackles…” she whispered into the darkness. “Shackles and shadows… strings and light. I’d have followed you. I thought you were truth itself. I’d have followed you with my whole life.” She began to weep, unrestrained sobs racking her. ----- With a weariness she could hardly bear, Twilight pushed through the doors to her rooms. A moment ago, she’d have thought herself beyond any further shock, beyond any more surprise. The explosion of pink pony suddenly in her face proved her wrong. “Twilight ohmygoodness it’s so good to see you I’ve missed you so much and look everypony’s here, well almost everypony! I couldn’t get to Dashie yet cuz those bad ponies are still watching her super-close but I promise—“ An orange hoof was shoved into Pinkie’s mouth, which she took amazingly little note of, continuing to mumble at high speed. “Howdy, Twilight,” Applejack said with a smile, tipping her hat. Twilight stood, stunned and speechless as she took in her suite, so large and empty when she and Rarity had arrived, now packed to the brim with mostly smiling, colorful ponies. Her heart swelled with sheer joy as she took them all in. Fluttershy was nestled against Rarity, and looked as though she had been weeping heavily. The delicate Pegasus still managed a genuine smile around her tears as she greeted Twilight. Rarity herself looked terribly strained, one hoof wrapped around Fluttershy, stroking her mane comfortingly. Twilight couldn’t help the huge smile that broke across her face. She felt… rejuvenated, here amongst these ponies. She galloped forward to embrace them all, and they welcomed her with wide arms and open hearts. For a time, they all just held one another, even Pinkie content with the wordless solace as they breathed a communal sigh of relief. “Twi, much as Ah’m glad to see ya, Ah don’t like this,” Applejack muttered, casting nervous glances toward the door. “This’d be the first place Ah’d look for a bunch a escapees.” “I must say I agree, darling. This reunion is wonderful, but far from tactful.”   Twilight blinked, looking blankly at Applejack. “What? ‘Escapees?’” “Yup!” Pinkie chirped, practically glowing as she hopped over to the large, double-doored armoire, and swung it open. Still beaming at Twilight, she kicked out one hoof behind her, striking a panel. A square opening slid back and away, revealing a tunnel behind her. Twilight’s mouth dropped open. “Pinkie! Wha-how… how did you know that was there?!” Twilight’s mind raced as Pinkie just smiled at her. “Are there more? There are, aren’t there? And the network leads outside, doesn’t it?” Applejack answered, “Yeah, an’ down to the dungeons. That’s how she got me an’ Fluttershy out an’ up here. Now look, Twi, we need’a scoot before the search gets goin’.” She looked around the room, meeting each pair of eyes. “Y’all know this’s gonna be one a the first places they’re gonna look.” The others voiced their agreement.   Twilight Sparkle heaved a sigh. “Even if they do, it’s okay. I just ordered your release anyway.” “Bwaaaaah?” For the first time Twilight could recall, Pinkie Pie actually looked shocked. A strained grin pulled at her lips, but it soon faded as she lit her horn, a violet glow parting her mane and sliding out a tightly rolled scroll of parchment. Without a word, she broke the seal and floated it to the group. Rarity’s own magic took hold of it and held it open. Twilight watched—cringing slightly, suddenly terrified of their reaction—as the girls clustered together to read it. Naturally, Pinkie read aloud. “I, Princess Celestia, hereby decree:  "To immediately secure the Unicorn, Twilight Sparkle, my personal student, currently located in or near the township of Ponyville. There will be five others with her: two pegasi, two earth ponies, and one further Unicorn, all of  whom my student will identify. It is paramount they be brought within Canterlot Castle and protected against all threat.   “Furthermore, as of this moment, Twilight Sparkle is hereby granted a seat on My High Council, at My right hoof. In the event that I do not return within a period of one year, Miss Sparkle is to be instated as Regent of Canterlot.          ~Princess Celestia” Silence dropped like an avalanche over the room. Twilight felt small as a mouse as four pairs of incredulous eyes swept from the parchment to stare at her. Her ears laid back as she tried to shrug, letting out a strangled half-laugh—“Eeh-heh.” ------ The night had grown truly late as the girls stayed huddled together, deep in their own counsel. They had agreed to much, most notably Rarity’s adamant assertion that magically notarized copies of Celestia’s decree be made up immediately and sent out to every city in Equestria, lest the city junta attempt to stifle the information. Pinkie nodded vigorously. The girls lay in a circle on the carpet, facing one another. Applejack voiced another concern—albeit in a lowered tone, as Fluttershy had fallen into a fitful sleep a short while ago—much more vehemently: “Y’all have to get Dash outta there, Twilight, an’ Ah mean now,” Applejack demanded with a stomp of her hoof. Twilight’s brow wrinkled in concern, but she shook her head. “I tried, AJ. That’s the one thing they won’t budge on; they’re convinced she’s an agent of Luna. And…” She faltered for a moment before continuing, “Are they completely wrong? Honestly, AJ, aren’t you as well?” Applejack bristled, right on the edge of completely losing her temper. “Gall damn it, Twi! Right now, Ah ain’t no agent o’ nopony. This whole thing has gone belly up, an’ right now ain’t nothin’ more important than friends and family. Once we get that sorted, Ah can start worryin’ how Ah fit inta all this—” Applejack hesitated, before pointing a hoof at squarely at Twilight. “An’ you too, for that matter.” Twilight opened her mouth to argue, but Rarity interjected. “Forgive me, darling, but I must agree with Applejack on this.” Twilight shook her mane. “I’m sorry, but you’re both wrong. Don’t you see—we need to sort out allegiances first, if only to remove suspicion from our friends and family!” Rarity made a sound of agreement, and even Applejack dropped her fierce glare to the carpet as she ground her teeth. Pinkie raised her head from her crossed hooves. She had been listening intently, only making sounds of agreement until this point, and proceeded to derail the entire speculative process. Naturally, she opened with a chuckle. “Girls, aren’t we forgetting something?” she asked, her brows raised at the lot of them. “You’re all assuming Luna is just gonna sit in the Everfree and everything else is just keep going on rolling along like it always has.” She cocked her head and wiggled her ears. “Do you really think that’s gonna happen?” Applejack and Rarity shared a somber look, each considering the implications of that. Twilight however, was staring vacantly out the window. “…Twi?” Applejack hesitantly prompted her. Twilight blinked slowly. “I have… nothing. I have nothing in my heart that doesn’t hurt. Nothing for my mind to rest upon that doesn’t lead to self-recrimination or a desperate longing…” She raised her eyes, and took them all in. “Nothing but you.” For the briefest moment, a spark flickered in the eyes of the four mares. Even Fluttershy stirred awake, her ears perked and alert as she raised her head to lock gazes with the five other ponies. She opened her mouth to say something, when a loud bang at the door made all the mares jump. In a panic, Applejack, Pinkie and Fluttershy dove under the nearest four-poster bed. Haltingly, sweat beading her brow, Twilight went to answer the door. Expecting soldiers, she was surprised to see a tired-looking servant. “Miss Sparkle, I am sorry to disturb you at such an hour, but the High Council requests your presence immediately.” ----- The High Council was fully assembled within a private antechamber. The moment she entered, the servant shutting the door behind her, Stargazer greeted her. “Miss Sparkle. Thank you for coming. There has been a... development.” Twilight cocked her head, taking a place at the far end of the table. “Wolves!” one of the Nobles all but screeched. “Wolves at the gates!” Stargazer snorted. “Not quite at the gates, but close enough. Over a dozen have appeared within the last hour. They are keeping to the hills surrounding the city. They have made no attempt to communicate, going so far as to melt into the shadows when our soldiers have gone out to ask their business. Yet still they sit and watch the city, doing nothing more.” He frowned. “We were hoping you might be able to shed some insight on what they are doing here. Their presence is somewhat... ominous, given the circumstances.” Twilight furrowed her brow, staring at the crackling fire at the side of the room in thought. “I really have no idea...” She bit her lip in thought, her disgust at all present momentarily forgotten. The sound of a throat clearing startled everypony. A corner at the far edge of the room filled with swirling shadows, and from the darkness stepped a mint-green Unicorn, her eyes glowing a soft, golden hue. A scent of pines and old forest filled the air. Into the stunned silence she trotted, right up to table. Gaping faces stared at her, the expressions slack and wide-eyed. With perfect nonchalance, she levitated a pitcher of water over, choosing an upturned and empty glass, and filling it. Setting the pitcher carefully down, she took a deep drink. “Ahh. Mm. Thank you.” Once more, she cleared her throat and smiled. “I’m sorry, you were saying?” Farlflank recovered. “Guards!” he called, and the doors burst open, three armed and armored stallions rushing into the room. “Arrest this mare!” Grinning even as they advanced upon her, Lyra tilted her head back and to one side. Caught in the firelight, the silver necklace flashed; it was a pendant fang, emblem of the Wolf nation, and sigil of their ambassadors. Stargazer held up a hoof, forestalling the soldiers, even as he stared with deep suspicion at the Unicorn. Wolf magic was nothing to trifle with, and he had never, in all his experience, known a pony to wield the shadows. “Sorry, immunity.” She chuckled, and it seemed her teeth were sharp in the firelight as she stared across the table at them all, challengingly. “My lords,” she drawled in mocking deference, “forgive my intrusion. I come bearing you a message, as is my station.” Her horn flared with a verdant luminescence, and she turned to look upward. Her magic grasped the long-hanging curtain of a window and jerked it away. The light of the fire shrunk in on itself as a shaft of pure moonlight shone down like liquid silver, pooling about the center of the table. Everypony’s eyes were riveted to it. A Noble cried out in shock as something began to take swirling form within the pale beam of light. With a flash, a scroll materialized, floating above the table. With faltering magic, Farlflank grasped the scroll, and read aloud. A moment later, utter pandemonium ensued. The Nobles flailed about, screaming wildly at one another. The Mages rose as one, three running directly from the hall as Stargazer barked orders to two of the soldiers. Twilight was frozen in place as she heard him issue rapid commands for martial law, the total lockdown of Canterlot, and preparations to evacuate the city. She sat in a haze of shock as he strode from the room. Farlflank’s panicked voice cut through her daze: “Kill her! Go now! Execute the traitor before the demon comes to reclaim her! If she’s dead, it has no purpose here!” Twilight reeled as if struck. “What?!” A young, pimple-faced Noble nodded frantically and rushed from the chamber. “Wait! Are you—you can’t do this!” Farlflank’s eyes bulged; spittle flecked his muzzle. “Yes we can, and must! She is a threat to us all! It all makes sense now, it’s all been a plot, all of you—” Twilight turned away from the madpony, only absently noting that the mint-green Unicorn was nowhere to be seen. In a blind panic, she summoned her magic, and disappeared in a flash. She reappeared with a stumble, almost falling into the wall. Rarity jerked her head in shock. “Twilight! What are you—” Twilight focused, bringing every light in the room up to full. Rarity and Applejack were laying on the bed, Pinkie and Fluttershy staring out the window. Fluttershy turned, her eyes wide. “Twilight, what’s going on? There are fires lighting all along the city walls, and guards are running everywhere!” “No time!” Twilight almost screamed. “We have to save her! They’re going to execute Rainbow Dash!”   ~~~ Even the chaos of the great cities can never touch the underlying serenity of the world—a reflection often lost by those who dwell in them, their lives wrapped, parcelled—and often warped—by the dramas that surround them, no matter how petty they may be. This was, however, a thing not far from the mind of the contemplative Alicorn as she canted her dark wings, drifting low and landing softly on the rolling plains beyond Canterlot proper. The moon above was full and huge, bathing just the right aspect of mercurial light upon the grasses to make them shine like lakes of silver. The stars flickered above in symphonic counterpoint to one another, her favorite constellations particularly bright tonight. Scuffing the earth with a hoof, and breathing deeply its rich scent, Luna smiled. She exhaled softly. It was a good night. Unless one lives in Canterlot, it would seem, she noted with a measure of bemusement. Her keen eyes caught the flurry of ponies running frantically back and forth along the walls and watchtowers, as torchs and magic-light flared within the city itself. Poor children, still so obsessed with the perfection of means, unto the utter confusion of their goals. Sedately folding her wings against her sides, her ethereal mane moving with the light breeze that swept the moonlit plains, Luna began to move toward the gates of her sister’s greatest city. It was a city meant for the day, its spires and towers built to catch the light, to shine brilliantly beneath the sun. It moves in stages, the life of the day—seen and experienced from as many angles as there are ponies to live it. The night, though—the night is always old. The flames erupted from everywhere and nowhere. Springing from the ground and bursting to life in the air, the conflagration completely enveloped her. The grasses around her turned to ash in a heartbeat, and the very rock and earth lost their hard edges as they began to melt into slag. No less than two dozen Unicorns lined the wall of the city, their horns glowing brightly as they worked in concert, lending their magic to the huge ball of flame. For perhaps five minutes, the spell burned at an unbelievable intensity—its power ebbing as, one after another, the Unicorns began to fall from the effort, some simply losing consciousness where they stood and dropping to the ground, their companions crying out as they moved to help them. Finally, even the most powerful of them released the spell, a thick smoke rolling upwards from where the flames had burned. The eyes of every single pony were riveted to the midnight-blue Alicorn, superheated air rising like mist from her unblemished coat. The ponies arrayed along the wall noted, even through their terrified disbelief, that there was but one change to the Alicorn as she resumed her casual pace towards the city—her large, blue-green eyes had narrowed ever so slightly. Princess Luna had come to Canterlot. --AN-- Dear reader, If you’re with me to this point, then I can only admire your fortitude, and be thankful that you remember this little tale. It’s been over a year getting here, and it’s been a hell of a ride. Let me go ahead and just say the next update is not going to take another three months—I have the next chapter and the closing epilogue already close to wrapped up... minus that occasionally complicated scene-building. Till next time—cheers, Seattle