"How do you feel, sister?"
The joyful flutter in Luna's voice spoke volumes about her relief to finally see Celestia without bandages for the first time in weeks.
"I'm fine, Luna. Stop worryi- oof."
Even the soft touch of Luna hugging her sister was enough to send fire through Celestia's chest. Despite the wound finally closing and doctors saying she was almost at full health even the brush of fur reminded the older princess how close she'd been to death.
"Easy," Celestia softly pushed Luna away and smiled, "I am still a little sore. It seems that the weapon did a bit more damage than a normal dagger should."
"I'm just so haaaaaaappyyyyyy-"
"Gnghghh."
"Oops, sorry," Luna untangled her front legs after hugging her sister thoughtlessly again.
Celestia couldn't keep scowling in pain when she saw the remorseful face of Luna. She knew her sister was overreacting. After all, Celestia had been taking care of royal business from her bed in the castle infirmary and later from the throne room as usual. Still, even she was happy to finally stop looking like an oversized Heart's Warming present and spread her wings.
"Come on, Luna, I'm all right. Actually," Celestia thoughtfully jumped a little on the spot, "I can feel all that lying and sitting going straight to my rump. I think I should start going to the castle gym soon."
"Don't you dare!" Luna looked pleadingly at her sister, "You almost died. No banishment, no imprisonment. You were so close to getting killed and I would have never seen you again so please, just for me, take it easy for a while."
"Luna-"
"Pleeeeeeeease," Luna's look would make a kicked puppy eat its own begging license.
Not knowing whether to smile or sigh the concern of her sister was heartwarming nonetheless.
"Fine, no lifting weights any time soon."
"Hey-"
"Nope, not budging. I need to move around so I don't become an old lady obsessed with cats. Do you want your older sister to start hoarding newspapers?"
With Luna's intake of air stopped by Celestia's hoof in her mouth the solar princess just kissed her sister's forehead.
"Thank you for helping me with Equestria, Luna. You've done a great job and I hope you aren't going to stop just because I am back to full strength."
"Of course not."
"I'm glad that's the case. Our subjects are apparently beginning to see your true nature and like it."
Luna blushed at the praise.
"But now," Celestia looked towards the morning sky, "it is my time to, as they say, shine. Have a peaceful rest, sister."
Hearing that, the lunar princess' mind turned to the inevitable. She nuzzled her sister once again and when Celestia's horn began shining brightly and the shadows of her room moved in accordance with the rising sun Luna set course for her own chambers.
For once she wasn't overly worried about her own dreams. Celestia's full recovery and her positive attitude sparked a joy strong enough to withstand the gloom of Luna's own head. Soon, she would have to talk to her sister about her worries for the safety of Equestria but this wasn't the time ruin an almost perfect day.
She tried to look at things from the brighter side. No matter what she would see her friend again, albeit not in the way she would prefer. A little white lie was preferrable to genuine misery. When she reached her room and fell to the bed she did so with a smile on her face.
This time she didn't surface in complete darkness but when the area became more visible she was sure the previous darkness would be preferrable. She knew this was just a dream but the white, powdery ground littered with craters was what she knew as true insanity.
The moon.
"I am sorry to have brought you here, Luna," said Sharp Biscuit.
Luna would never lose control in front of real Sharp but her subconscious sending her back here had some explaining to do.
"Why? Start explaining immediately or tomorrow evening I'm drinking half of the royal wine cellar."
"This... is an important memory for you. It drives you forward in many ways."
"It drove me insane."
The self-control in Luna's voice was made of pure steel, not to budge under any circumstances.
"Not exactly. That is the reason we're here. I was wondering why the evil Element bearers are so much more powerful than ours are. Do you know the reason?"
Luna's memory kicked in. She was now sure that Scream was on her own side more than anypony else's but fortunately her and Luna's side were currently very close. With that being the case she could almost surely believe the information given by the alicorn of Lust.
"The Elements considered evil aren't too inclined towards working together while ours are based on their synergy. That's why they are easier to use and draw power from but ultimately they are weaker."
"That is an obvious nonsense," Sharp shook his head, "Every Element is the same part of the ancient pact holding the same amount of power. All of them are equal outside of Magic. Why do the evil bearers seem stronger then?"
"They... don't have the same natural inhibitions as our ones and aren't afraid to use violence and force?"
Sharp grinned.
"Getting closer. The Elements shape the world around them but at the same time draw their strength from the bearers they change and, let's face it, ponies are naturally evil. Well, maybe not evil but definitely inclined to work for their own goals instead for the good of everypony. In the end it works as a self-feeding circle."
That was something Luna had to agree to. After all, if that wasn't true then the world wouldn't need heroes and leaders. What was the point of the entire conversation though?
"So you are saying the Elements themselves aren't more powerful but the bearers are?"
"Huh, am I? It definitely wasn't my intention. There are other factors for our Equestria to shake even without the bearers. I was hinting at the time when your sister pushed the evil Elements into the mirror world and stole the good ones for your one. She might have done that to draw strength from the good Elements to banish her own weakness."
"I'm not following you."
"I am saying your sister was weak at one time and that period manifested thousands of years later in your world almost dying. Out of fear she almost caused the deaths and enslavement of every single living being in this world. The invasion might have been orchestrated by Scream but the entire possibility of it happening falls on the shoulders of Celestia."
"Everypony makes mistakes. I tried to drown the world in darkness and she was there to stop me from doing that. She did forgive me and yes, she might not be perfect but she is as close as I can imagine anypony to be."
"I have to disagree. You were just a lonely pony at the time and she didn't even bother looking away from the ones licking her hooves to the one who needed her help the most. I think your being possessed by the Nightmare was more her fault than anypony else's. Had she just given you at least a little attention then none of that might have happened."
"Where are you going with this?"
Sharp's expression turned hard.
"I'm saying that your sister is just an another pony. She is weak and she needs somepony to correct her mistakes in the same way she does that for others. You should be the one."
"I know that. I am helping with-"
"Not enough! You need to gain enough power to counterbalance your sister so she can't just silence you like she did every single time you opposed her. You need to have enough power to prevent her from making mistakes. Equestria should have two rulers but currently it has got only one. You need to stop being just the younger sister and take Equestrian affairs into your own hooves."
"I can't-"
"Then nopony can. Your sister is incapable of protecting Equestria from the mirror world. You have no idea how to do it with magic but you at least have the inner strength to stop foalsitting your subjects and have them grow stronger. You could order increased military presence. You could be the iron hoof able to unite the world just like Sombra did and then you wouldn't have to be afraid of anything."
"I will not become a tyrant and end up like the shadow king."
"Did it sound like I said that? My mistake then. Your sister is here to make sure that doesn't happen but YOU need to make sure the exact opposite doesn't happen as well. Up until now you've been just a figurehead. I'm sorry to be so blunt but while I respect you personally you've always been Luna, never a princess."
Biting her lip, Luna looked around to finally understand the reason for her being brought here. This place was a monument of her failure and weakness. This place would haunt her forever but it would stay a reminder to drive her forward.
"I accept my responsibility. I will rule alongside my sister and I will make sure Equestria is safe."
"And if somepony stands in the way?" Sharp grinned.
"They will fall."
The surface of the moon disappeared.
In broad sense the Element bearers were well-known figures. They had attended a fair amount of official events and their pictures spanned the part of Canterlot castle accessible by casual visitors. Despite that, they still had their privacy and while almost everypony knew they lived in this average town their locations were still something Icy Gaze had to find.
His morning had been spent by watching the local asylum and he was beginning to doubt that his original target was there. The batpony was the right one though with her crippled wings, black and red color scheme and almost invisible cutie mark. The real deal had come with his close examination as he'd only found out that the girl was only working there. At least Icy had the location of one of his marks and if the batpony's schedule was the same as before then he now had hours to look around for the Bearers.
Now, where would be a good place to look? The town hall would surely have information about such high profile citizens but asking there would put somepony on his trail after they began disappearing. That would be something he'd have to deal with later as well. When one or two Bearers would disappear then the others would surely go into hiding. That mean he should start with gathering information about all of them first.
Icy needed a place for normal ponies to gather at and exchange gossip. Usually such place would be a tavern or a bar but none of them would be open at this time of day. To plan his next steps he decided to just wander around a bit. After a while he noticed a flower vendor looking at him, trying to whistle innocently when he turned his head. Mares often reacted to him like that, especially the single ones.
Smiling confidently he trotted towards the flower stand.
"Good morning, milady. Are you selling anything appetizing as well as decorative?"
The posh accent worked its charm and the mare almost fainted on the spot.
"I-I, so handsome... hnnghh. Selling food, pretty flowers..."
Considering he might have broken her, Icy steadied the wavering vendor with his hooves.
"I'm thinking about something light for breakfast and surely somepony with vast knowledge such as yourself would be able to help."
The demented giggling of the earthpony mare slowly began annoying the pegasus but he was sort of experienced in that department. When he gave her enough time by watching the products to gather her liquifying brain she finally spoke coherently.
"I have something special from my northern cousin," she nodded at blue flowers Icy had never seen before, "Blue roses grown in Stalliongrad. They are a bit pricy but they are considered a delicacy anywhere in Equestria."
"I'll take five."
"Oghhngm? T-That'll b-b-be ninety bits, sir."
Icy pulled out a small pouch which, as he knew from recounting his advance payment, held hundred bits.
"A hundred, keep the change and buy yourself something nice. If you can find something to fit your beauty."
When the mare began foaming at the mouth Icy knew he overshot a bit. He should give her a chance for paying him back. After all he didn't want her to begin spreading rumors about him so he had to look at least a bit normal.
"By the way," Icy sniffed the minty smelling, blue flower, "Where could a tourist like me find about local landmarks?"
"There's a tourist guide at the town hall-"
"I mean from ponies living here. They probably know way more then some pamphlet could tell me."
"You could ask around at the Sugarcube Corner. There are always some ponies there. It's a bakery where one of the Elements of Harmony works. That could be interesting for a tourist, right?"
"I will forever be in your debt, milady," Icy bowed to the blush-crimson vendor and bit off the petals of one of the flowers. He would never say it to the mare's face but the plants were definitely what one would call an acquired taste. Any normal pony would call it garbage. Still, he wasn't about to throw up so he munched up the rest and went in the direction the mare had shown him.
Despite his looks, Icy Gaze had a talent for being inconspicuous. It wasn't really cutie mark worthy but it was something he was able to learn through years of working in the Griffon Empire. After all, if a pony could seem right in his place among griffons then there really wasn't any higher peak of that skill.
A colorful building decorated to look like a sweet pastry appeared after a short walk. Theoretically anything could appear after a short walk in town of this size, especially because Icy was used to massive cities like Manehattan and the city states like Crystal Empire or the griffon ones. The smell hanging around the place proved that this baker was one specializing in sweet treats rather than ninety kinds of bread. Wincing, Icy remembered some of the more boring bakeries in more boring places.
His walking inside was once again followed by gasps from mares sitting at the tables and the burning stares of their male companions. Trying to feign interest, he looked around and trotted towards the counter where a pink earthpony with poofy mane of slightly darker color was serving the only customer currently being considered a queue.
"Hello, mister visitor," the pink mare greeted him cheerfully, completely failing to show the symptoms any other mare would present when faced with Icy Gaze, "I haven't seen you here before and I can't afford to throw a party for everypony passing through so have this as greetings."
The energetic monologue ended with her presenting a slice of cake on a platter in her hooves to Icy.
"Eh, thank you, miss," for once it was the pegasus who looked taken aback.
"Pinkie Pie, baker extraordinaire, Element of Laughter, your new best friend!" she grinned.
"An Element bearer, you say?"
"Yep! The Element of Laughter in the flesh," she poked herself few times.
"Interesting. Do you know about other Bearers? A simple tourist like me would love to know the sights of this quaint town and I think the famous Bearers constitute as such. Could you enlighten me?"
"Okie dokie. There's silly old me. I live here with the Cakes, they own this place and I help them take care of their foals and serve the customers from time to time. I also plan parties for anypony in the town."
"You seem like a lively pony," Icy nodded to her when she spread her hooves and smiled widely. The pony certainly seemed a bit strange. Perhaps she was an avid club visitor and still had some of the usual drugs in her bloodstream?
"Lively? You should see Rainbow Dash when somepony touches her hooves. She could put lightning to shame with how fast she can go. Oh right, she's an Element too, that's what you wanted to know. She lives in her cloud house on the northern outskirts of Ponyville and usually spends the time re-reading Daring Do books in this frosty weather."
"A bookworm?"
"What? No! She would kick you if she heard you say that. No, if you want a bookworm then you have to go see Twilight. She lives in the huge library. Well, castle now. She's out of town for the time being though so you can't go and see her."
"Oh," Icy faked a disappointed look.
"Awww, don't be sad. If you need somepony to comfort you then Fluttershy is the right pony. She is the Element of Kindness and lives near the Everfree Forest, just off the east road leading out of Ponyville."
"Whoa, isn't it dangerous? Is she some kind of warrior?"
"Flutters? No way! She lives there with her animals who take care of minor nuisances and nothing serious ever comes out of the Forest these days. She nourishes and heals the little critters when needed and in turn they help her."
Icy made a mental note to buy some small things and flowers with heavy scents to cover his tracks in case he had to visit the place.
"Rarity is the next Element. Oooh, oooh, she would love to see you!"
"Huh, why?"
"You sound like somepony from Canterlot," warning bells began tolling in Icy's head when Pinke spoke. This pony might seem like a chatty idiot but she was taking every detail about him in. Still, the Canterlot society speech pattern played into his hooves well enough, "Rarity loves all that hobnobbing and royalty. She would also love to make a tuxedo or something for somepony of your type."
"My type?" Icy narrowed his eyes.
"Yeah, you're a noble right?"
"A lower class. No recognizable family."
"Sorry to hear that. Still, Rares would love to see you at the Carousel Boutique. You should visit her soon otherwise she's going to sulk all day thinking I haven't made a good impression of her for you."
Icy remembered seeing a building that sort of looked like the weird name Pinke said.
"The last Element is Applejack. She lives outside of town in the giant apple orchards. You can't get lost though. The only road going that way leads straight to her family's home."
"Eh. I wouldn't want to bother her with her family around," said Icy, meaning every word.
"Oh don't be scared. AJ is a bit too straightforward but Big Mac, her brother, is a great guy if you get to know him. Little Apple Bloom is a bit reckless sometimes but she loves visitors who can tell her stories about the world. Last pony living there is Granny Smith. A little tip - if she starts talking about her being in Canterlot just keep nodding and get ready for a long haul."
Too easy. Simply too easy.
"Thank you very much, young lady. I'll go and take care of this cake before the frosting melts," Icy bowed.
"Oh silly Canterlotian! You eat the cake, not take care of it."
"Haha, yeah. Silly me," Icy turned away and rolled his eyes. Still, free food was free food. Even with him being fairly rich right now he wasn't one to refuse an offer like that.
Who would be the best target? Pinkie lived with other ponies who would immediately raise an alarm if she'd gone missing and the same went for Applejack. Princess Twilight was out of town so she would have to be the last one and he would have to prepare a trap for her. Rainbow Dash was a name known even to him and it was tied to a mare of intense physical abilities. Rarity, as a dressmaker, was bound to get many visits from other ponies. The most obvious choice was Fluttershy then. Living out of town just with her small critters she presented the best target to at least measure the power of the Bearers.
Icy left Sugarcube Corner decided to sleep through the day to be fresh and rested for tonight's observation and, if luck was on his side, the capture of one of his targets.
The library square was more or less deserted and Icy was grateful for that. With everypony at their jobs there were no unpleasant witnesses to him accessing the mini castle and there was no chance of mistaking him for an assistant librarian and wanting to borrow something. His presence had to stay hidden though and the less he moved around the more likely his secrecy would be. He hadn't been awake for more than five hours but his body was trained to the strange rhytm of life and accepted the order to go to sleep in just few minutes.
Icy Gaze got ready to go outside again around midnight. Better time to hunt somepony would be closer to morning but in this particular case where animals would be involved that approach could fail. Both ponies and animals used to their daily routine usually spent the day doing whatever they did and went to bed at the same time. That was of course not true for wild animals but Icy suspected that somepony taking care of wounded creatures would have house pets and such critters around her.
As directed, Icy took the eastern road out of Ponyville and kept an eye out for any presence of buildings and ponies between the cheery 'You are now leaving Ponyville, the friendliest town in Equestria' banner and much less joyous panorama of twisted trees and impenetrable darkness of the Everfree. Even at night the stars were shining brightly illuminating a silouhette of a small cottage with garden of much greater size surrounding it from three sides.
Icy pulled out the mixture he'd prepared in advance for tonight's attempt. At first the general idea had been just to observe but now that he knew the place was completely dark and quiet he decided that wasting time and risking the princess returning before him finishing his mission would be pointless. The mixture was a scent bomb. Easy to make, cheap, and completely devastating. The glass vial surrounded by cloth only needed to be thrown on the ground and the overpowering smell would put the nose of any creature out of comission for few days.
Of course, if he accidentally bit through it while picking the lock on the door he would probably throw up his breakfast along with his stomach and most of his insides.
Even somepony of his experience and confidence was shaking to the tips of his hooves while exploring the keyhole in the starlight. Fortunately, it seemed that his previous assessment of the situation had been correct and nopony was awake at this time.
*Click*
Hiding the lockpicks and ready to immediately throw the scent bomb, he pushed the door open. Thankfully, the hinges didn't emit a sound causing Icy to send a silent prayer to whatever deity was listening. Before opening the door wide he melded into the shadows one more time and pulled out something most ponies had never even heard about. On first glance the two tubes were socks made of steel mesh just like some lighter chain armors of guards everywhere but there was one small difference. The pads around hooves were made from a soft silk providing exactly the same amount of protection as a wet paper towel but making Icy's hoofsteps on the wooden floor of the cottage almost noiseless.
Finally prepared, he snuck through the ground floor, spotting nopony even remotely resembling a pony. He was anxious about going up the stairs as it would allow somepony knowing about his trespass to cut his head clean off but that was the only remaining way and he couldn't stop a deep breath escaping his mouth when nothing of that sort happened. The upper floor was more an attic than anything else but it hosted what he'd been looking for, a yellow pegasus mare with pink mane... hugging a white bunny tightly in her sleep.
Looking around gave Icy the general idea that the room was filled with cages and any quick movement would result in dozens of birds and other critters bursting out in a cacophony of noise. The problem lay in the fact that waking up one animal would immediately wake everything else up. Once again he thanked the stars for the chatty earthpony's description of Fluttershy's surroundings that allowed him to think of his escape plan beforehoof. He just had to execute it properly.
Pulling out a cloth and a bottle of ether, he knew the scent would make something wake up soon so he didn't bother with overdoing the dosage. In the worst case Fluttershy would spend more than few hours unconscious. He threw the cloth over his target's face, hoped it would work fast enough and pressed it against her muzzle right after jumping the entire distance from the stairs to the bed with the help of his wings. The burst of air immediately sent everything into overdrive. Chippering noises, squeaking and even growling from the shadows made Icy bite his lip as he hoisted the unconscious pegasus on his back. For a second he thought he might have bitten through the vial he was holding but nothing of that sort happened and he didn't bother with concealing his presence further as he jumped down the stairs.
Don't bite down! Don't bite down! Don't bite down!
Something swiped at his hind legs, leaving a red mark but not cutting tendons. It took all Icy's self control not to bite down at the shock and pain but the self-preservation instinct prevailed. He was sure now he had only seconds before dying to whatever was getting ready to pounce at him.
Turning around, he didn't even bother aiming when he spat out the vial into his hoof and hurled it at the dark shadow that instinctively caught it with its mouth. With no time to celebrate the painful screeching and gurgling noises behind him he ran straight towards Ponyville with his cargo. The lingering cloud of nasal death should spread around the cottage and prevent anything from following and tracking him. In about a day, here in fresh air, the smell would disperse and nopony investigating the kidnapping would be any wiser.
Morning left Twilight itching to immediately go and visit Shieldbreaker but she was sure rushing things was the worst idea a wannabe friend, or a diplomatic ally, could have so she mustered all her self-control to just waste the day away by thinking, walking around and observing the life of the village. No too surprisingly, it was a dull one.
Pine Hills might have looked like nothing wrapped in nowhere but in truth it was the first outpost of civilization where weary travellers could take a break after passing through the Everfree Forest on their way from the mainland. Still, stories of caravan guards at the inn about fighting hydras and pony militia groups hiding in the Forest were as useless to Twilight as they were overexaggerated. Only one thing was reassuring and that was the lack of tales about changeling agression. It seemed that queen Chrysalis was true to her part of the bargain at least.
The day slowly rolled over and when the influx of ponies at the inn signalled the work day was done Twilight stopped reading one of the books she'd brought with her and left to do what needed to be done.
This time her knocking on Shieldbreaker's door didn't cause his marefriend to swallow her tongue and after short exchange of affection she guided Twilight to the commonest of common houses. With a weak blue shimmer the door clicked. Twilight grinned as her head obediently pulled out the details of the security spell. It was simple but effective. It wouldn't have stopped her, of course, but any casual visitor would find it impossible to break in.
Spells like these were uncommon in Ponyville where everypony knew everypony and thievery was a myth more than a social problem but in big cities there were unicorns capable of creating scrolls holding magical charge selling these spells to earthponies for one-time use whenever and wherever. Twilight had wanted to delve into the secrets of delayed spells and scrolls but with her being connected to the greatest source of magical power in the world she still had enough trouble manipulating the force within herself.
The inside of the house was as common as the outside with the exception of notable lack of furniture but the important was what lay hidden in the cellars beneath it.
Twilight gasped when she saw that the cellar was just an entrance to a cavern system lit by weakly shimmering globs of blue goo. Breaky's marefriend didn't even stutter and led Twilight through the complex of intersections with absolute certainty, something Twilight was quickly losing because finding her way out would be downright impossible.
In the end, right as she entered a more decorated cave with chiseled walls made to look like a catacomb room instead of a natural formation, she was sure the caverns spanned the area underneath the entire village. Twilight's horn felt her magic slowly drain away without her order and be sapped into sets of blue crystals, no... blue goo shaped into crystals, on the walls that began glowing with stolen magic to illuminate the place.
Her worry disappeared with the knowledge that this wasn't some prison designed to hold mages but just a clever design decision by the Nightmare changelings. Her worries returned immediately when she saw a changeling queen walking slowly towards her. Sapphire blue eyes, dark blue chitin, mane, belly plate of lighter shade of the same color and the bronze streaks running through the belly armor were an indisputable proof that this was the young Nightmare queen, Guiding Light.
She wasn't happy to see Twilight... at all.
The purple alicorn bowed politely.
"Uh, greetings. I was sent here by princess Celestia to find out how your hive is doing," said Twilight and immediately filed that greeting as possibly the dumbest thing said by a diplomat, ever.
Fortunately for her, Guiding Light was no politican either.
"We're doing pretty fine and nopony has complained yet. Why are you really here?"
"The princess is worried you might not adhere to the peace treaty between changelings, Chrysalis' changelings and ponies."
"What are the details?"
"Eeerm... mainly that changelings don't eat ponies without an arrangement and in turn ponies don't hunt changelings?"
"Done. Anything else?"
Even to the dumbest of the mentally gone it would have been obvious that Guiding wasn't exactly thrilled by the visit even after the main concern was sorted out.
"Well, I have to report to the princess how things are going and I already have the mayor's surprisingly good side of the story. Care to share yours?"
"There isn't anything to say. When your Nightmare Moon-"
"Princess Luna."
"Whatever. When I found out she sentenced my dad to death I ordered all Nightmares to leave their temporary homes and follow me. Aside from the one in the Crystal Empire each one did. I didn't have a plan aside from getting as far from the corrupted alicorn as possible before she decided to enslave us again."
"Princess Luna would never do that."
"You obviously have no idea about the darkness inside her."
"I was there when we defeated Nightmare Moon using the Elements. She is just a normal pony, well... an alicorn. She isn't some evil monster and she's stood by and protected Equestria from all evil... unlike your traitor father."
As soon as the heated words left Twilight's mouth everything froze. The gentle buzzing sound permeating the air everywhere any sort of changelings gathered stopped immediately with the sharp intake of breath of Guiding Light.
"What did you say?" the young queen hissed.
"I said Luna had nothing to do with Blazing Light betraying us and switching sides to help Sombra succeed during the second invasion!" Twilight had to stand tall for the princesses. She had to show the queen reason and bring her to reality. She had to...
...dodge immediately as Guiding leapt at her and swung her front legs, leaving few strands of Twilight's mane floating in the air. The queen had sharp blades on the inner sides of her legs that slid out and would have decapitated the alicorn had she not avoided the blow.
Thoughtlessly, Twilight tapped into her magic reserves and sent a bolt of force to fling Guiding away. She had to roll away this time as the spell failed to even stagger the changeling. Right, Blazing Light had a distinct ability to steal magic and his offspring inherited the strange trait at least to a certain extent.
There wasn't time to remember the Nightmare that had spent time at her library assisting her in experiments as a flurry of wild swipes left Twilight bruised and lacerated but still with enough focus to teleport behind the queen and stomp heavily down at her back.
The failure was obvious in seconds as Guiding's hind legs bucked up and sent Twilight flying. The alicorn of Magic realized that contesting Guiding's physical abilites was completely out of her realm of possibility. Still, Twilight was sure that while Guiding knew a little about magic there was no way the princess of Friendship would lose that way.
The problem was, as she quickly realized, that any complex magic was impossible to cast when the enemy was significantly faster and able to sense her presence even after teleportation. That meant Twilight had only one way out and that was overwhelming Guiding's magic resistance with sheer power.
Twilight had no time to estimate the correct flow of magic and began firing barrage after barrage towards the cloud of dust rising around Guiding. Through her vision slowly blurring by sweat dripping from her forehead she noticed the cloud wasn't moving.
That was when a sharp stab of pain ran through her horn as something hit her right at its base. Dazed and with the cave around her swaying, Twilight realized something was holding her legs and there was a hoof pressing against her horn. Dread washed over her as her eyes revealed she was being held by other Nightmares.
Guiding Light slowly stood back up and stumbled towards Twilight, swaying and spitting green blood out of her mouth. She looked at the Nightmare ready to snap Twilight's horn in two.
Twilight's mind raced but the only conclusion was that she would lose her magic, everything that made her who she was. She would be useless to princess Celestia. She would never again be good enough for her friends and she would have to find a new occupation. Perhaps princess Celestia would be kind enough to let her run the library in Ponyville? Perhaps she might go and work at Canterlot airship loading docks...
When Guiding Light saw the tears flowing freely from Twilight's eyes she nodded. There was no reason for changelings to communicate with words when they were this close.
"I really want to silence you forever for spitting your lies, alicorn," growled Guiding, "but all that would bring would be war and our inevitable demise so... consider yourself lucky. We don't mean anypony any harm. We don't mean to start spreading as we know what it leads to. In the case our bloodline continues it will be with the consent of the ponies around us. Your solar princess has nothing to fear from us. As for the other one..."
She let the concern unanswered and her horn glowed, sapping more of Twilight's strength.
Darkness overwhelmed the purple princess.
The phoenix feather on princess Celestia's desk burned brightly and a letter formed from the flames. Bearing a star seal belonging to Twilight, Celestia didn't hesitate and unrolled it.
Dear princess Celestia,
My meeting with queen Guiding Light didn't work exactly as I expected but I'm sure she isn't doing anything suspicious in Pine Hills. The villagers like the Nightmares and, honestly, the place is more peaceful than any of the ones where changelings tried to settle before. I think there is no reason for me staying here further unless there is something else you want to know.
Is there anything else?
Twilight Sparkle, your faithful student.
Celestia flashed a smile. During the short time Guiding Light had spent observing Canterlot official business by her side she'd proven herself to be capable and a strange combination of peaceful and deadly. The princess was glad she hadn't misjudged the young queen.
Levitating a quill herself, she summoned a blank piece of parchment as well.
My dearest pupil,
I wish you would stay in Pine Hills for few more days to observe the daily life of changelings around ponies. I still feel a presence similar to her hive in the castle and I know that their ability to strike fear into the hearts of ponies can pierce even through the strongest defenses. I would hide and investigate but I cannot afford any panic in Canterlot, especially this soon after my recovery. Even if I tried then Luna would probably drown in the paperwork.
I know your position there might put you in danger in case Guiding Light is lying but I feel there is more you can do to forge warm relationship between her and us even with the... misunderstanding.
Celestia, your fellow princess.
The little joke at the end was supposed to lift Twilight's spirit and Celestia was sure it would work, at least a bit. It should also motivate Twilight that no matter what the difficulty in dealing with somepony she had she should never leave a matter unattended without examining it from all sides.
Celestia's wings cracked as she spread them inside her room. The night outside was beautiful and she fancied a little exercise before going to bed. Walking out on the balcony, she buffeted the snow away and leapt into the air.
Just one lap around the castle and then she would be off to bed.
She knew something wasn't right when the ground in the depths below her began wobbling. Celestia had never suffered from vertigo, could her recovering body consider her flying a danger?
One of her wings froze for a second before moving again but she was able to stop herself from falling. Cold sweat began running down her sides. She had to get back to her room, that place was safe, protected by wards. Celestia's legs went numb as her brain suddenly began sending messages about what would happen if she were to plummet to the ground suddenly.
With wings moving slightly out of sync she was still able to go halfway back before feeling the touch of magic around her. She wasn't a coward, she was an excellent aerial acrobat. There was nothing to fear even at this height. Just realizing that was enough for an alicorn of her power to recognize a fear spell in effect and break it.
Before she could wipe the sweat off her forehead her world shut down mid-flight.