Celestia's sun rose over the top of the Everfree Forest, bathing the massive spires and grand balconies of the Royal Castle in a warm amber glow. The new light of dawn quickly embraced the castle, shooting past it to cast its welcoming rays upon the nearby Equestrian Academy of Magic.
The expansive grounds stirred to life as the sun continued its upward march across the horizon, and for Corona Haze and her fellow Solar Rays, the new day brought with it a new beginning. True to their namesake, the elite corps of unicorns rose with their sun, and as the first streams of light trickled through her window, they found Corona sitting on the edge of her bed, stretching groggily.
'Does being one with the sun mean rising with it too? My head is killing me...' She grimaced as the echoes of last night’s study session unleashed a vicious headache in her temples. Her horn leapt to life with a brilliant glow, much more pronounced and audible than her magic had been just yesterday. She was mildly surprised to find that even her regular aura of magic had changed color; from a lime-green to a healthy, warm golden glow. 'Fitting, I suppose; though I will miss the green...' Corona smiled as she pulled the sheets and covers taut over her bed, taking great care to control the amount of magic that she put into the otherwise mundane task. ’Incinerating one set of sheets was bad enough.’ she added as an afterthought. After a warm bath and spending a bit of time in front of the mirror, Corona donned her cloak and slipped into the hall.
"Good morning, Corona!" Radiance's gentle voice greeted her. Her fellow Solar Ray was already dressed and ready, brimming with energy as she and Corona made their way down the hall.
"Okay, that's way too much energy for this early in the morning..." Corona quipped, casting a sidelong glance at Radiance.
"You know what they say, 'early to bed and early to rise makes a mare healthy, wealthy, and wise.' Really though, why so tired? You went to your room soon after the- Wait a sec, you didn't-”
"I only meant to read one book on advanced thermodynamics, I swear!" Corona grimaced as another wave of pain flashed through her head. "Yeah, yeah, I know..."
"The one chance you had to really take a night off..." Radiance mirrored the look on Corona's face. "At least I was up late for a fun reason."
"Yeah, how did the visit from your family go?" Corona perked up a little. Following the ceremony just yesterday, they had all been given the evening to socialize and mingle with any visitors who may or may not have come. Radiance had dashed off as soon as the ceremony was complete to spend time with her family, who had made it a point to attend despite their somewhat far-flung locations.
"It was good! The Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters was open for the evening, so I walked over with them and showed them around a bit. You know father, always interested in architecture..."
"Didn't he help build that castle?" Corona asked.
"He was mainly involved with laying the foundations for the castle, but he had a million stories about clearing away the vegetation from the Everfree, and how troublesome the creatures had been." Radiance rolled her eyes. "Nevermind that his oldest daughter had just been given the power of the sun by Celestia herself, no, he's got to go on about how limestone deposits are a pain in the flank to clear for the marble base they used..." She snorted derisively before taking a short breath. "But Mother... Well..." Radiance blushed a little, closing her eyes with a soft sigh. "It's always nice when your mother tells you she's more proud of you than she's ever been..."
"Yeah..." Corona's reply came as a slap to Radiance. Her friend flinched, sparing a brief moment to lay her hoof across Corona's withers.
"I'm sorry, that was insensitive of me..."
"It's alright, Radiance, really." Corona offered a brave smile, turning the corner from the dormitories into the academy’s Common Hall. "I buried them a long time ago. Just because my family wasn't there to see everything doesn't give me an excuse to be bitter about your time with your family."
"Still," Radiance simpered. "I'm sorry they couldn't be there for you..."
'Not physically, anyway...' Corona recalled the vision she had received the moment before stepping into the central chamber - a vision of her parents standing on an endless field of green, beaming with pride at their only child. That picture was still there whenever she closed her eyes. 'In a way, they had the best seats in the house.'
"Corona?"
"Hmm?" She came back from her reverie with a few blinks, the happy memory fading away and leaving an odd sort of warmth behind. 'It feels like the sun on my coat...'
"We, uh... Have an audience."
Corona and Radiance came to a stop in the middle of the room. Normally, the Common Hall was the main congregation point for students and sometimes even staff, and as such it was always alive with ponies coming and going to classes, meetings, or elsewhere. The hall was a gathering place, but also a space for quiet study, and that dual purpose was well-reflected in its decor.
Lush carpets lined nearly the entire floor, plush chairs and couches were arranged in sets or around one of the five fireplaces that dotted the mahogany-paneled walls at various locations. The fires were enchanted to never go out, and would burn throughout the night to facilitate both the daytime and nighttime classes the academy students attended.
Now though, the only sounds in the entire hall were the swish of Corona's cloak as it came to a rest against her legs, the wayward popping of the fireplaces, and the muted whispers of the dozens of ponies that were staring with wide eyes at them both.
"Don't you all have somewhere to be right now?" She gruffly clipped. Like blowing out a candle, everypony suddenly jumped and began moving again, many of them muttering 'Yes, ma'am,' or 'Sorry, ma'am.' Corona glowered at their choice of words. 'Ma'am? Since when did we become ma'ams? Just yesterday we were students like the rest of them... And now-'
"Come on." Radiance chuckled, bumping Corona with her flank. "Silent Note wants to see all of us this morning."
"Right." Corona replied as she followed Radiance out of the Common Hall and into the largest of the academic wings that were attached to it. While the Common Hall was warm, inviting, and quiet, the brightly tiled hallways they now entered were bright, grandiose, and very noisy. Everything from the tap of their hooves to the shouts of hurried students echoed off the marbled floor, making the sounds all the louder in Corona's ears.
Leaving the Common Hall at their tails, Corona and Radiance walked in silence as they made their way down the well-appointed corridor. Marble columns soared dozens of feet upwards into a vaulted ceiling interspersed with wondrous mosaics and the occasional painting from Celestia or Luna's private collection. Doors lined the hall on either side, leading into classrooms, service rooms, or the occasional restroom. With the current term coming to a close in a few days, the hall was remarkable quiet on this morning - making the contrast with the ever-present calm of the Common Hall all the more striking. The strange sense of duality between the two wings of the building brought thoughts of the Shadows, and their upcoming ascension, to her mind. 'I wonder what they're up to...'
As if on queue, Cobalt fell into step beside the two, his hooffalls as silent as a feather floating on a breeze. If not for the presence of his magical signature, Corona wouldn't have noticed him at all. "Good morning, ladies." He tittered. "Quite the entrance you made back there."
"Save it, Cobalt." Radiance's warm mood turned cold almost instantly, as it nearly always did in the dusky stallion's presence. "Aren't you supposed to be preparing for your own ceremony? When is it, anyway?"
"It's a secret." Cobalt winked at them.
"Everything's a secret with you, isn't it." Corona deadpanned as she shook a kink out of her shortened mane. His continued vagueness frustrated her - to say nothing of whatever it is about him that rubbed Radiance the wrong way. Still, Corona couldn't help but give him a welcoming smile as they rounded another corner.
The Shadows were the lunar equivalents of the Solar Rays, but they so far had acted and operated like two entirely different entities. Where the Solar Rays were communal and friendly, Cobalt seemed to be the only member of the Shadows-to-be that wasn't cold, secretive, and aloof. 'Now that I think about it, I've only met two others besides Cobalt. Surely there's more of them than that?' she thought. After a group of almost annoyingly curious students passed them by, Corona spoke up.
"Hey, Cobalt, how many of you are th-"
Cobalt had vanished. Corona blinked at the empty area to her right that just moments ago had been occupied by the eccentric stallion.
"I hate it when he does that... And he's only gotten better at it over the years."
"Tell me about it." Corona whickered, snorting a little out of annoyance. "I miss the days when he would just conjure up some smoke and then go hide behind a pillar, thinking we couldn't see him."
"Come on," Radiance nudged her again. "We're going to be late."
They quickened their pace down the corridor, and as they crossed through another intersection, two of their fellow Solar Rays fell into step beside them; Mirabelle, a friendly and rather comely mare, and Flare Star, wearing her usual mask of determination across her hawk-like eyes.
The four mares exchanged nods and brief smiles, but said nothing otherwise. After so much time together - in labs, classrooms, and training fields - they were all but blood relatives anyway. Corona knew them nearly as well as family, and she knew without a doubt that any one of them would give their lives for the others without a second thought.
A few minutes later, the quartet of ponies arrived outside of Silent Note's temporary office, where the rest of the Rays were already gathered.
"Good morning girls." Ivory Shores greeted each of them in turn with a wide smile. Tall and with a svelte figure, she could turn heads wherever she went, but with her turquoise curls cut short and the vivid red mark of the sun on her forehead, she looked even more striking. Corona slowed, allowing the other three to step forward for a hug first.
"Good morning, Ivory." Radiance greeted the mare with a hearty embrace. "I hope we didn't keep you all waiting."
"Hardly! Silent Note isn't even in right now." Ivory replied, gesturing back to the office door they stood outside of. "I think Emberglow was the first to arrive, and she's only been here about ten minutes or so."
"No more than fifteen minutes." The ash-colored mare confirmed. "You're not late at all."
"See?" Ivory winked. "No trouble at all." Corona gnawed her lip as the other two mares greeted Ivory. Before the gorgeous mare could wrap her hooves around her, though, Corona held her own hoof up.
"Hang on a tick... What time is it?"
"Half past seven," Ember answered immediately, her horn projecting the image of a miniature clock into the air before her.
"Mon cheri, how did you do that?" Ivory asked in surprise.
"Oh, you mean the clock?" Ember replied as her now-golden aura nudged the clock closer to Ivory. "I discovered it by accident last night, while walking through the gardens. I couldn't see the clock tower through the darkness, and the moment I thought about it, a clock appeared in the air in front of me."
"Wow, now that is seriously cool!" Flare said as she waved a hoof through the projected time piece.
"Yes, it is indeed cool, but," Corona stepped around Ivory as the furrow in her brow deepened, "she said she'd be here at a quarter-past seven..." Her horn sparked to life as she grasped the brass knocker on the white office door.
"Corona, we already kno-"
*Wap wap wap!*
The sound echoed through the hallway, silencing the other Rays in an instant. Just as Ivory went to open her mouth to call her out, the door swung inwards.
"Come in, please." Silent Note's quiet voice wafted past their ears, ushering them inside. Corona couldn't help but grumble a bit as she led the others into the moderately-sized office before they all fanned out across the room. Silent Note sat behind a wide desk of what appeared to be birch, sipping from a steaming mug as her magic shuffled papers into loose stacks on her desk. The tell-tale scent of coffee hit her, and Corona tried to cover her scrunched up nose with a hoof. 'Ugh, I can't stand that stuff.’
"Good morning, everypony." Silent Note smiled over the rim of her cup, setting it aside gracefully. "I'm glad you could make it. Sorry for the delay, I was out handling some business."
"I didn't even see or feel her slip past us..." Ember muttered under her breath. Idly, Corona noted a nearby window open, the curtains fluttering calmly in a soft breeze.
"I trust that you all had a pleasant evening?"
"Yes, Ma'am." The twelve answered as one, their voices quiet but strong.
"Good. Well, forgive me my brashness, but..." Her horn leapt to life as she pulled open a drawer and withdrew a stack of folders. "I'm afraid it's straight to business." She distributed all the folders evenly, and Corona accepted her own with a mildly shocked blink. "Normally, the Crown would give you ample time to adjust to your newfound abilities, but unfortunately, the war waits for nopony. Our lines are holding, but our borders are being pressed from nearly all sides. These folders contain your first assignments as Solar Rays; they should contain all the information you need at the moment, so please act with haste." She tented her hooves on the desk, appraising each of them with her brown eyes. "A quick note, however... When you volunteered to become Solar Rays, you’ll recall that you also signed enlistment papers." 'Oh yeah...' Corona thought. She recalled signing the enlistment papers, but they were merely a tiny piece of the process she went through to become even a candidate for the Solar Rays.
"In addition to your title of Solar Ray, you are also assigned to the Unicorn Corps with the rank of Lieutenant. Along with your assignments is the name of a commanding officer you are to report to. Don't worry, we know you're still new to the whole military procedure, so once you arrive at your destination, just check in with your respective officers. They will assist you in acclimating to life in the military, and can direct you in your duties to the Princesses. Any questions?"
"Um," Ivory's soft voice interjected, her eyes on her folder. "We're not going to be staying here?"
"Of course not." Silent Note blinked in shock. "Your duty is to Equestria, and right now, Equestria is at war. You're required out there, supporting the front lines, helping the wounded, raising morale, or whatever else is required of you." Silent Note gestured to the map on the wall behind her. "What good would twelve of our best mages do if they spent the war here in the middle of the Everfree Forest? As I said, we regret not giving you time to better acclimate yourselves, but the situation grows more critical by the day. I urge you, those of you who can, leave as soon as possible. Some of you," Silent Note's eyes flickered to Corona for a second. "May have a day or two to prepare yourselves. Unless I'm mistaken, Ivory..." Silent Note's lips spread in a smile. "the next transport to Vanhoover leaves in two hours."
"I..." Ivory shuffled her folder open, her eyes blinking in disbelief. "I suppose I do..."
"All of you have your assignments. I'll be here to answer questions, but I suggest you get going." She stood from her chair, smiling across the desk at them. "Remember that wherever you go, the light of the sun goes with you. Go and shine that light to every corner of Equestria and beyond."
"Psst! Hey, Corona!" Radiance pulled her aside as the twelve ponies shuffled out of Silent Note's office. "C'mere."
"What's up?" Corona closed her own folder and stepped over to her friend.
"Check your orders, I think we may have the same ones..."
"Huh?" Corona gave her a confused look before opening her own folder, and she too was shocked to find a single sheet of paper with two lines printed on it.
'Corona Haze -
Report immediately to Archmage Sunspot.'
"I... What?"
"See?" Radiance showed off her own folder, frowning slightly. She had the same two lines of text. "What's this all about?"
"I don't know... Hey, Mirabelle, got a second?" Corona managed to catch the mare before her with a hushed word. Mirabelle arched her eyebrow as she turned back to them. "Any idea what this is about?" She asked as she passed her own folder over to her.
"That's odd, I'm off to Baltimare." She said, opening her folder to show a much longer set of instructions printed across multiple pages. "Here, take my address." She floated a quill from her saddlebags and copied the address on her orders onto both Corona and Radiance's folders. "Let me know what they've got you two doing. Gotta dash, but take care!" She tucked the quill and her folder back in her bags before trotting away. ’This is strange indeed...’ Corona chewed her lips as she wondered what was going on.
"Come on." Radiance drew her out of her thoughts. "The note said immediately..."
"Yeah, but, right now right now?" Corona blinked.
"Do you really want to keep the Archmage waiting?"
"A wise mare wouldn't."
"GAH!" They nearly jumped out of their skin at the new voice before tripping over themselves in an effort to turn around. They finally turned around and were cowed into silence immediately. Sunspot towered over them, standing in the exact spot that Ember had occupied mere seconds before. 'H-how did he?'
"A-Archmage..." Corona swallowed past her apprehension before sweeping into a low bow.
"Oh for pony's sake..." Sunspot snorted as he snatched Corona's chin with a hoof and forced her gaze up from the floor. "You can dispense with the formalities, both of you. Now come on, I have something for the two of you."
"Y-yes, sir..."
"What did I just say about formality?" Sunspot had just turned to leave, but he swept back around to loom over her. "Call me Sunspot, for star's sake. I may be your Archmage, but I am not your commander, nor am I your foalsitter. Now come, this is important."
"O-okay." Radiance nudged Corona forward as Sunspot spun on his heel, his cloak billowing in an arc behind him before sweeping away. Corona followed quickly, Radiance falling into step at her left. Sunspot set a very quick pace, yet his hooves made no sound as he breezed down the corridor. Corona and Radiance had to nearly gallop at times to keep up with him, and their hooves were not nearly as silent against the hard floor.
"Sunspot, where are you taking us?" Radiance asked after a short while.
"You'll see, don’t worry. You two are lucky, I might add; some of your fellow Solar Rays got boring deployments. Honestly..." He snorted. "Sending Mirabelle to 'bolster morale and assist with recruiting.' That mare could de-feather a griffon in half a second."
"You mean we're lucky because we're... Not getting a boring assignment?" Radiance asked.
"On the contrary," He chuckled. "You're both lucky and unfortunate. Patience, ladies. After tonight, all will be explained."
"After tonight?" Radiance had barely closed her mouth when Sunspot swept out of the hallway and through a door that had escaped both hers and Corona's notice before. A long, curved stairway arched down into the darkness before them, and Sunspot flew down it without a sound, his hooves a blur as he descended at mind-boggling speed. Corona and Radiance shared a quick look before galloping after the Archmage, their cloaks billowing behind them.
After almost a half an hour of the frenzied flight through the academy, Sunspot had led them up a staircase and into a dimly-lit room, the light of a single fireplace sending dancing light all over the interior room. There were no windows, and Corona couldn't help but feel as if she had just been taken underground for the duration of the day, but it couldn't have been later than a quarter past eight in the morning.
Along the way, Corona and Radiance had gotten an extremely rushed tour of the labyrinthine underground of the academy. They passed by underground laboratories and classrooms, storage rooms, and one room that looked like an additional kitchen. 'At least I hope that was a kitchen.' Corona mused as she had ran past that particular room. Past that, however, the rooms they passed were unlabeled, and of suspect usage. Corona and Radiance shared more than one dreadful glance as they failed to make any sense of the darkened rooms they passed near the end of their seemingly marathon run through the bowels of the complex.
Sunspot turned to them, his tall frame silhouetted against a door at the far side of the room. "Wait here. We have fourteen hours until nightfall. I suggest you get some rest if you can, ladies. It's going to be a long night."
At that, he left, the door slamming shut in his absence. Corona rushed to the door after him and poked her head out into the hallway with a question already on the tip of her tongue. Sunspot was gone though, and Corona stared out into a completely empty cobblestone hallway.
"Ponyfeathers." She grumbled, closing the door once more. "I hope he isn't like that all the time."
"Emerald says he is." Radiance sighed, unclipping her cloak and draping it over a nearby chair. Corona took her first good look at the room as she retreated from the door. Despite it being in the interior and only lit by the fireplace, it seemed inviting. The lack of natural light lent it a slightly suspended quality, as if it were separate from the time of the world around it. The wall opposite the fireplace was lined with bookshelves, each of them filled with dusty, well-worn tomes. A quick browse of the titles revealed a varied collection of reference material, spell manuals, star charts, history books, research scrolls, and even a small collection of fantasy novels.
Aside from the shelves, there were three low-slung couches, two recliners and a large table with four regular chairs. Her eyes itched, and the smell of the fireplace made her head a little fuzzy.
"How late were you up last night?" Radiance asked, glancing over her withers as she went to warm her hooves at the fire.
"Well into the night... Almost three in the morning." Corona groaned. She was glad the sun had woken her, else she easily could have missed their appointment with Silent Note that morning. Now, though, the lack of sleep and the frenetic run through half the castle complex were catching up quickly, and it was all she could do to keep her eyes open.
"Sheesh. Take a nap, Corona. I'll wake you up before nightfall... That's when he's going to need us again, I think."
"Yeah... That sounds like a good idea..." Corona yawned and crawled up onto one of the low couches, taking a moment to unclip her cloak and drape it over herself. Between it and the comforting warmth of the fire, sleep overtook her quickly.
"-rona... Hey, Corona, wake up..."
"Hmm?" Corona muttered, her eyes opening to reveal a thin sliver of the fire-lit room. "Wha? What's up?"
"It's almost nightfall." Radiance smiled and pulled her hoof away. Corona hadn't even noticed that she had been shaken awake. "Here, I got you some food."
"Hmm? Oh, thanks." Corona stretched and lifted her cloak off, draping it over the back of the couch with a soft groan and a rather loud pop from her neck. The scent of hayfries and fresh-cut lettuce wafted past her nose, further rousing her senses.
"Sorry, I couldn't get any breakfast food..."
“Oh, that’s more than alright. This looks great.” Corona said as she moved to the nearby table and dug into the delicious looking food. "Where are we, anyways?"
"I managed to look outside when I went up, and you’re not going to believe this, but we're in the castle." Radiance sat opposite Corona, nursing what looked to be a glass of orange juice.
"The Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters?" Corona looked up with wide eyes. "I didn't even know the sub-levels came all the way over here... It's almost two miles away on ground level."
"I know, didn't seem that long, did it? All of those twists and turns..." Radiance chuckled. "But yeah, I'd recognize that fountain anywhere. Father took a whole hour to look at it last night."
"Sheesh..." Corona rubbed her head. "I was out a long time..."
"You needed it. I took a good, long nap too. Almost six hours."
"Any word from Sunspot, then?"
"Nothing yet." Radiance grimaced. "Makes you wonder why he's called us over here..."
"Indeed." Corona finished her pseudo-breakfast and washed it down with cool water from a nearby pitcher. Radiance fetched a book from the shelf, opening it halfway and reading intently. Corona mirrored her, but kept the book levitated in front of her while she stretched.
An hour later, right when they'd thought he would, Sunspot opened the door.
"Sleep well, ladies?" He asked, a faint smile on his lips.
"Yeah," Corona muttered. "But why did you-"
"You're about to find out." Sunspot cut her off, sweeping a hoof into the hallway behind him. "Come with me."
Corona and Radiance gave each other another bemused look before donning their cloaks and following Sunspot out into the dimly-lit hallway. He made quick time through the halls, though this journey consisted mainly of stairwells than anything else. For being the Princess' palace, Corona half-expected the stairs to be made of diamond and alabaster, but she found their hooves crossed nothing but cobblestone and the occasional wooden hallway. They were cramped as well, to the point that the Princesses would probably have to duck to fit. She guessed these were the service halls, and if anypony would be familiar with them, it'd be the Archmage.
Sure enough, when Sunspot led them through a short, stout door, it was into one of the most extravagant hallways she had ever seen. Even better than the ceremony chamber she had been in last night, this hallway seemed to be a general thoroughfare, and she could see why it was so resplendent.
It led directly to the throne room. 'A hallway fit only for a Princess.'
"Come now." Sunspot grumbled as he marched swiftly down the hall towards the massive double doors that led to the throne room. "We haven't got all night."
"R-right..." The two of them picked up to a trot to catch up to Sunspot as he opened the doors with his magic. Corona looked through the opening and pulled up short at the threshold. 'What the hay?'
It was totally dark in the throne room. Not just dark, but an all-encompassing dark, one that seemed to swallow every ray of light that came through the open door.
"Don't tell me you two are afraid of the dark." Sunspot chuckled, ushering the two Solar Rays inside. "You'll be fine. Uncomfortable, but fine..."
Corona couldn't see an inch past her muzzle, and as she stepped through the door, she felt as uncoordinated as a foal taking its first steps. She shuffled and tripped, catching herself only to stumble again two steps later. Radiance was no better, the two of them pressing together almost out of habit to stay oriented. 'And of course,Sunspot's nowhere to be found.' Corona thought with no small amount of annoyance.
"Alright, that's enough of this," Corona grimaced, her horn glimmering faintly. "Can't see a thing..."
"Woah!"
"Hey, put out the light!"
"Sheesh!"
The brief glimpse that had been afforded her was all but lost in an instant. Corona saw a ring of ponies, maybe as many as ten or so, gathered in the middle of the throne room. But even the brief illumination had highlighted only a portion of the area around her. In their midst was another figure, and even the ray of light she had conjured hadn't revealed it. Now, shrouded in darkness once more, she felt even more lost and scared than she had upon seeing the unnatural blackness.
"My apologies." Sunspot's voice came from her side, making her jump again. "I must have forgotten your nightlight."
"Well can you blame me?" Corona hissed through gritted teeth. "I can't see a damned thing in this darkness!"
"Well, I suppose you don't see as well in the dark as I do... Look, just follow me, and be quiet." Sunspot laid a hoof on her withers, guiding her through the darkness off to her left. She couldn't see anything still, but following Sunspot's gentle touch, they soon arrived at what she would guess was the wall to the left of the doors they had come through. The inky blackness disappeared for half a moment, throwing a small cone of her world into relief. Sunspot stood before her, his horn glowing faintly. In a small sphere around them, the marble finish of the throne room was thrown into stark relief. But it wasn't just the three of them inside that sphere. Corona's eyes went wide.
"Pr-rincess Celestia!"
"Shh." Corona could still barely make out the elder Princess's form; her radiant glow was all but muffled by the surrounding darkness, casting her magenta eyes in a stark, almost brilliant relief. She sat on her haunches against the wall, a faint smile on her lips. "They're starting soon. Watch..." Stunned into silence, Corona could only turn her head to follow the Princess' gaze out into the darkness. The sphere closed around them, sealing the four intruders in pure blackness yet again. But this time, they were definitely not alone...
Corona stared wide-eyed as a faint glimmer of light pierced the darkness. Wisps of a dark silver magic wafted through the air like water in a stream, and as the silvery glow expanded, Corona could finally see the silhouette of another pony, this one in the middle of the circle in the room's center.
She barely held back a gasp as her mind translated what she saw.
'Princess Luna.'
"Welcome, my friends... My brothers and sisters in the night..." Luna's voice was nothing like Corona had ever heard before. The formality, the sheer volume, both were gone, and in their place, Luna's voice was low as a whisper, as heavy as an anvil. Yet Corona had no trouble hearing the Princess' every word, as if the words were carried on the darkness itself right to her ears. "Thank you for being here on this night, to bear silent witness for these few, these brave ones who have taken up my mantle and embraced my sacred Night." The Princess continued to speak, the light intensifying only moderately. Corona could see the other ponies in the ring now, their features clothed in shadow, but the lines of the muzzles and forelegs made out in faint lines of silver-grey on black.
"My apprentices… When Equestria called out in her time of need, you answered her call, but in a way, you did so much more besides. You not only answered your nation's plea, you forsook the world of light you all know and love, instead opening your minds to the Night. You took the shadow into your heart, bore the weight of its eternal burden on your backs without complaint, and without hesitation." Luna seemed to not move even an inch as she spoke. "We have watched your progress from the start, and know that we are most pleased with your efforts. Tonight, my apprentices, you will join your solar counterparts to become more than just unicorns or mages...
In the faint aura of light, Corona saw two blazing cyan orbs come to life. 'Her eyes...'
"Tonight, you will become Shadows." Luna emerged fully now, yet every feature that her glimmering horn revealed, it concealed just as much. 'The moon walks among us...' Corona thought as she looked on in amazement.
Luna's ethereal mane wafted about her head mysteriously, an inky void of blackness that blended in with the darkness around her. Yet her body was illuminated with a soft, almost tender white glow, from her slender, young face to her flowing gown. Stars glimmered in the fabric as she moved, entire galaxies and constellations slowly shifting in a slow, intricate dance across the dress. Beneath it all, her dark navy coat looked as near to black as it could be in the light, but stood out from the shadow.
"We are at war," Luna continued, her voice growing minutely. "The griffons have shed Equestria’s blood on her own soil. They have leveled our oldest city, killed thousands of innocents, rent families and friends asunder..."
Corona suddenly felt a chill up her spine, as if somepony was looking right at her just then. 'Am I imagining things, or did Luna just look at me...?'
"They kill without mercy, torture without fear of retaliation, and fight with a fervor born of magic darker and more sinister than my own." The light around her continued to grow along with her voice. "They're butchers, and killers, and warmongers." The light grew brighter still. "Thieves and vagabonds!" She reached a fever pitch, the light shining bright enough to illuminate the entire throne room now. Corona sat, stunned, as Luna's head lifted high, tears streaming down her beautiful, regal face.
Her wings flared at her sides as Luna stomped a hoof on the floor, the cracking of the tile beneath her echoing throughout the throne room.
"Truly, they know not the hell that they have condemned themselves to."
Then the blackness returned, leaving only the faintest, glimmering pinprick of light at the tip of Luna’s horn.
"But we are not like them." Her voice returned, a gentle murmur; a whisper after a great act. "We are smarter, and more compassionate. We have the capacity to forgive and move on from our wounds, having learned and grown stronger for them..."
The light returned until the circle of twelve ponies stood out clearly, each of them wearing a dark hood that covered their eyes. Luna stood in their midst, a sad smile on her lips and tear stains on her muzzle.
"To each of you, I preach compassion and empathy. To be strict, but not unforgiving. To be hard, but not merciless." As she spoke, a fog began to emanate from Luna's hooves; the blue-grey mist flowed out from her like water, drifting around the legs of each of the twelve unicorns in turn. Luna's horn glowed more intensely, a twelve-sided ray of light reaching out to each pony in the ring. As if on a silent breeze, their hoods blew off of their heads, revealing the twelve faces. Corona saw Cobalt, his eyes closed solemnly as the Princess' magic touched him, filling him with its power and energy. "The night is nurturing and calm," She spoke evenly so all could hear. "It is a cruel mistress, but it also accepts anypony seeking its embrace, and will gladly give them light and shadow in equal measure.
"These are dark times." Luna said quietly. "Now, my Shadows, my Children of the Moon, I send you forth with the blessing and the power of the Night. Use it wisely, use it justly, but above all..."
Luna raised her head as fresh tears fell down her muzzle and pattered against the floor. Her eyes opened as more of her magic poured from her towards the twelve, and in them, Corona could almost feel the blackness of space shoot right through her.
"Use it to show the world that there is always a light in the dark."
"Remain here." Sunspot's voice came to Corona as a whisper. The light from Luna's horn had passed away, but the sphere from earlier returned, revealing the tile they sat upon in a soft, muted light. Sunspot and Princess Celestia stood before them, faint smiles on their faces. "We will return in a moment." At that, they melted into the blackness, gone from their view.
Radiance pressed to her side, but Corona almost didn't feel her. Luna's words floated back to her. 'There's always a light in the dark...'
She found a scowl on her lips, unsure of how it got there.
Only a few minutes had gone by before the inky darkness faded away completely, throwing the throne room into a soft, muted light. A full moon hung in the sky outside, coming in through a series of stained-glass windows at the opposite end of the throne room. A small entourage of ponies stood in the middle, where the ring of twelve had been just a few minutes ago. The ring was gone, replaced instead by both Princesses, Sunspot, and...
"Cobalt?" Corona mused, cautiously stepping forward. "Hey... How are you feeling?"
"Humbled..." Cobalt's face radiated calm thoughtfulness, but he still managed a faint smile for her. "But happy. That was… That was intense."
"Wasn't it?" Radiance joined Corona in the small group of six, the three unicorns standing opposite the Archmage and both Princesses. "Congratulations."
"Thank you both." Cobalt wrapped the two mares in a hug, the three of them smiling faintly.
"I do hate to interrupt such a happy moment, Cobalt," Sunspot interjected. "But I'm afraid you won't be able to join your fellow Shadows at the pub tonight." The three broke their embrace to turn towards the three most powerful ponies in Equestria, their expressions much more sober now. "There's a reason we've asked the three of you to remain behind for a while... Princess?"
Celestia stood and stepped towards them, a sad, knowing smile on her lips. "It's my understanding that the three of you were among the top of your respective classes." 'We were?' Corona asked in her mind. 'I mean, Cobalt I can see; he was always finding ways to outdo the rest of us, but me? Radiance? I know Ember was at least as strong as Radiance, if not more so...’ She spared a quick glance at her friend before Celestia continued. "As such, we've seen fit to send you on a... special assignment."
"I wasn't joking when I said you were both more lucky and less fortunate than your counterparts." Sunspot stepped forwards. "What do you three know about the magic the griffons used to attack Trottingham?"
Silence reigned for a moment, but Corona could have sworn she heard the gears whirring in her friend's brains. She racked her brain for a moment, searching for some morsel of knowledge relating to the mysterious green orbs that had been reported by the few survivors two years ago, but she quickly realized that she had nothing to go on.
"I’m sorry, but I don't know anything." Corona admitted, and Cobalt and Radiance nodded their agreement.
"Then you're in the same position we are." Luna spoke calmly. "We know nothing of the magic used against Trottingham. Typically, any spells would leave a telluric resonance, as you all know. But the few investigations teams we've sent to Trottingham either came back empty-hoofed, or not at all."
"Thus," Sunspot raised his head high, looking down on them. In his eyes, Corona saw a mixture of emotions. Pride. Sympathy. Compassion. "We're going to send our best and brightest - the three ponies who've excelled more than their classmates, who have shown more devotion to their studies than any other Solar Ray or Shadow we've had volunteer to date."
"Prepare whatever supplies you need." Celestia said, her tone much more sober and quiet. "You leave for the ruins of Trottingham immediately."