The citizens of Cairode gathered nervously around the palace. They had been herded there by the guards, under 'royal decree'. As they looked around with uncertainty, what appeared to be Prince Nightshade walked out onto the palace balcony.
"Greetings, dear citizens." He smiled. "First of all, in order to alleviate any confusion, I must point out that, though I wear the face of your weakling former Prince, I am not him. I am your new ruler, King Black Thorn!"
The crowd was aghast.
"King?"
"What's going on?"
"Where's Prince Nightshade?"
"And who is that?"
Because Nightshade usually stayed in the palace, carrying out his royal duties, the citizens of Cairode had little experience with Black Thorn. Those who had, like Papyrus, had the good grace (or fear of Black Thorn) to keep the matter to themselves. Those who knew looked on with worry, while the rest were clueless.
"Silence!" Black Thorn roared. "That fool Nightshade is gone, and now I, Black Thorn, reign supreme! Now, as your new king, I am taking the liberty of issuing some new laws. First of all, anypony found loitering will be sent to the dungeon. Secondly, anypony found in possession of any object made outside of Haygypt will fined two hundred Bits. Thirdly, there will be a curfew set, effective immediately that requires you all to return to your homes by 5:00 P.M. Anypony caught outside after that time will be apprehended and beaten in the town square."
The crowd gasped in outrage.
"What lunacy is this?"
"Curfew?"
"Since when is possession of objects from outside the country against the law?"
"And now we move on to the important things." Black Thorn continued. "Henceforth immediately, fraternizing of a romantic nature between pony races is expressly forbidden. You will all stick to your own kind, just as nature intended. Transgressors will be punished severely."
"You can't do that!" One Earth pony spoke up boldly.
"Settle down, dear." His Unicorn wife whispered.
"No, I won't!" The Earth Pony declared. "My wife and I have been married for over ten years! Do you intend for us to just split up, when our only crime was falling in love?"
"I don't intend, I demand!" Black Thorn roared. "Guards, throw those two freaks into the dungeon!"
The guards complied, grabbing the pair.
"No, let me go!" The wife yelled.
"This isn't fair!" The husband struggled.
"Forgive us." One of the guards, who was among those Black Thorn had threatened into serving him, whispered. "We have no choice."
The crowd watched as the couple were dragged away, too lost in their own fear to help.
"And now for the big announcement." Black Thorn smiled. "All able-bodied stallions over eighteen are to enlist in the Haygyptian army immediately. You see, I have it on good authority that the rulers of Canterlot, the Crystal Empire, and the Changeling Lands are... indisposed, making this the perfect time to expand my empire, and spread our new, enlightened ways to those lands, and then, the entire world!"
The crowd was more shocked than ever.
"You would invade those lands?"
"That's tantamount to declaring war!"
"You can't do that!"
"QUIET!!" Black Thorn roared, his horn lighting up. The statues around the palace sprang to life, and stomped over to the terrified crowd. "I am your King, and you will do what I say! ...Or suffer the consequences of defiance."
The statues slammed their hooves together to emphasize the point. The crowd shrank back in fear.
"I hope I'm making myself clear." Black Thorn hissed. "This is the way life in Cairode will be from now on. Nightshade may have been too weak to reign a rabble like you in, but I'm not. Obey these new laws, fall in line, and give me the respect I deserve, and you'll all live long, pleasant lives. Understand? You can answer me by bowing."
After a moment's indecision, the crowd reluctantly bowed.
"Good. Other than that, just go about your pathetic little lives as normal." Black Thorn shrugged. "Black Thorn, out!"
Black Thorn walked back into the palace. The guards followed, and the statues returned to dormancy. The crowd muttered worriedly amongst themselves.
"Who does that monster think he is?" An Earth Pony mare growled.
"And what has become of our beloved Prince Nightshade?" A Unicorn mare asked.
"You don't think he's... dead?" A teenage Pegasus colt gulped. "Killed by that fiend?"
"I hope not." An elderly Unicorn stallion frowned.
"What will become of us now?" An Earth Pony stallion frowned. "Who can possibly save us in this time of need?"
"I'm sure somepony will come to our aid, and stand up to that fiend." The old Unicorn declared.
"But who can?" The teen Pegasus asked. "Who, I ask you? Who?"
Meanwhile, back at the house, the royals were busy discussing the plan to take back the palace. Most of them, at least; Starlight was sat in a corner, sulking. Day Light, still determined to ease things between them, wandered over to her.
"Starlight?" He asked tentatively.
"What do you want?" Starlight growled.
"To talk." Day Light smiled weakly.
"I'm not really in the mood, what with my family and friends being forced to hide from your dad's split personality come to life." Starlight scowled.
"I know you're still angry at me for keeping that from you..." Day Light admitted.
"Angry? Angry?!" Starlight growled. "Try furious!"
"I should have told you." Day Light sighed. "But I was too afraid of ruining what we have had together."
"Emphasis on 'had'." Starlight declared. "Even if we were still just friends, you should have told me. But you didn't. Do you know how many stallions have lied to me over the years? ...I thought you were different. I thought you were kind, and honest, a stallion I could trust..." She bit back a sob. "...But I guess I was wrong."
"Starlight, please..." Day Light pleaded. "I love you..."
"No, you don't" Starlight said nastily. "If you really loved me, you would have told me the truth. You would have trusted me, like I trusted you."
"But..." Day Light started. "But, you said-"
"Whatever feelings I had for you before- and I'm not saying they were all that strong -are gone now." Starlight told him. "Your lies chased them away."
"Starlight..." Day Light begged, his eyes tearing up.
"Just leave me alone." Starlight walked away. "I can't stand the sight of you anymore."
As Starlight left the room, Day Light fell to his knees, and wept, his heart broken.
In the next room, Starlight struggled to keep herself from doing the same.
"No, Starlight..." She sniffed. "Don't you dare... not over him..."
"Something wrong?"
Starlight turned to see that Sunset had entered the room, a look of concern on her face.
"Oh, hi, Sunset." Starlight wiped her eyes, trying to appear nonchalant.
"Are you okay, Starlight?" Sunset asked. "You look like you've been crying."
"It's just my allergies." Starlight lied. "All this dust, you see..."
"Uh-huh." Sunset muttered, not buying it for a second.
"Anyway, how are you holding up?" Starlight asked, glancing at Sunset's large belly. "I can't imagine all this running and hiding out is good for a mare in your condition. And that poor foal..."
"Don't you worry about us." Sunset put on a grave face. "True, this isn't exactly an ideal environment for an expectant mother, but I've been in worse places in my time." She rubbed her stomach. "And the foal's just fine. He's tough, like his dad."
"That's a relief." Starlight smiled. "On top of everything else that's been happening, it would be really awful if something happened to your foal."
"Thanks for the concern." Sunset smiled. "But we'll be just fine. By the way, I noticed you and Prince Day Light talking about something. How are things between you two?"
"Don't even say his name to me." Starlight growled.
"Still mad at him, huh?" Sunset asked.
"Of course I'm mad!" Starlight yelled. "He lied to me! Even after telling me he was in love with me, he wouldn't trust me with the truth! For a second there, I thought I'd finally found Mr. Right... But as usual, he turned out to be Mr. Wrong! I should never have let myself care for him like that in the first place!" Starlight sniffed, her eyes tearing up once more. "I just wound up getting my heartbroken... again!"
"I know were you're coming from." Sunset declared. "When Echo and I were searching for the pages of King Sombra's spell book, we slowly started to fall in love with each other. But I could tell he was hiding something from me."
"That makes you smarter than me, at least." Starlight huffed. "I had no idea Day Light was keeping any kind of secret, let alone one that big."
"Well, Echo's secret was something similar." Sunset admitted. "Like Nightshade, he had a 'dark side' that came out when he got angry; A savage beast that lashed out uncontrollably. But unlike Nightshade, he picked up this dark side trying to stop those from using Sombra's spellbook for evil. Unfortunately, the first time it happened, he ended up kidnapping a whole bunch of ponies from Canterlot."
"That was him?!" Starlight gaped. She had heard about the disappearances, and even rumors that a 'monster' was behind them.
"I'll admit, I was surprised when I first saw Echo transform." Sunset declared. "And before I saw that, I wasn't pleased that he was keeping secrets from me. But after I saw what he was hiding, I could understand why he did it. Whenever he lost control, ponies got hurt. He didn't want to have to think about it any more than he had to."
"You weren't mad at him any more?" Starlight asked.
"Of course not." Sunset smiled. "Because I knew that Echo was still a good stallion. And I also knew that it can sometimes be all too easy to succumb to the darkness within."
"But it's not Day Light who has the problem." Starlight countered. "It was his father."
"Exactly." Sunset nodded. "Day Light just didn't want his Nightshade's shame to be broadcast any more than it already was."
"That's all well and good... except Nightshade had already told everypony else!" Starlight growled. "I was the only one out of the loop!"
"I'm sure Day Light didn't mean to hurt you." Sunset declared.
"Well, he did!" Starlight yelled. "It's not the lie that hurt the most... it was that he didn't trust me enough to tell me! What, did he think I wouldn't be able to handle the truth? I would've been okay with it!"
"He didn't know that." Sunset pointed out. "For all he knew, you could have rejected him in disgust."
"Well... I... he..." Starlight stuttered, trying to think of a fitting argument. "Look, I don't want to talk about him anymore. Please, just leave me alone..."
"Okay, Starlight." Sunset sighed. "Just... think about I said, okay?"
Starlight didn't answer. With another sigh, Sunset left the room.
Meanwhile, Day Light had just finished crying. He rubbed his red eyes, and sniffed woefully.
"Rough day?"
Day Light turned to see Echo enter the room.
"Oh, it's you, Professor Alchemy." Day Light sighed. "I, er, was just..."
"Bemoaning your current romantic woes?" Echo smiled knowingly.
"You could say that." Day Light sighed. "Though 'romantic' could be stretching it, since Starlight wants nothing more to do with me..."
"I know." Echo nodded sympathetically. "I couldn't help but overhear your little... discussion."
"I don't blame her for being angry." Day Light admitted. "I should have told her about Black Thorn, but I was just so afraid that the truth would drive her away."
"I can sympathize." Echo admitted. "You see, young Prince, I too once kept a dark secret from a mare I had fallen in love with."
"Sunset?" Day Light asked.
"Indeed." Echo nodded. "But keeping the secret from her was wrong of me. Because, as it has a habit of doing, the truth came out. Fortunately, Sunset accepted my problem."
"If only Starlight could do the same..." Day Light sighed.
"I'm sure she'll come around eventually." Echo assured Day Light. "I could tell you two shared something special at a glance."
"Maybe then, but not now." Day Light frowned.
"I thought the same thing after Sunset and I had this terrible argument." Echo recalled. "An encounter with dark magic brought our more callous and blunt sides to the fore. We both said awful things, but what I said hurt Sunset to the core. For a time, she wouldn't even speak to me unless she had to. But as time went by, she slowly grew to forgive me."
"You think Starlight will do the same?" Day Light asked hopefully.
"Perhaps." Echo mused. "Just give her time."
"I guess it couldn't hurt." Day Light sighed, gazing in the direction Starlight went. "It couldn't be any worse than continuous rejection..."
"That's it, young Prince." Echo smiled. "Don't give up hope. When all around you is darkness, hope is the light that illuminates our path."
"If you say so." Day Light shrugged. "Thanks for the pep talk, Professor."
"Any time, my young friend." Echo smiled, as he left the room.
Outside the room, Echo crossed paths with Sunset.
"How did it go?" Sunset asked.
"Quite well, I think." Echo smiled. "You?"
"Not so good." Sunset frowned. "But I think I might be getting through to her. We'll see."
"Lucky for these two we overheard their argument." Echo smiled. "Otherwise they'd both be languishing, with nothing but broken hearts for company."
"And that would be just terrible." Sunset nuzzled him. "Good thing the Professor of love and his assistant were here."
"So true." Echo cuddled her back, taking special care to stroke her stomach. "And how is my little fellow today?"
"He's doing great." Sunset grinned. "Despite the below-average accomodations."
"It's such a shame." Echo sighed. "You deserve the best, and not being stuck this dusty old hovel."
"It's okay." Sunset kissed him. "As long as I have you, I'll always have the best."
"Hard to argue with logic like that..." Echo smiled, giving her a kiss of his own.
Back at the palace, Black Thorn was approached by the guards he had sent to find Nightshade.
"Well?" He asked.
"We, ah, have yet to find the deposed Prince yet, my King." The guard said nervously.
"You what?!" Black Thorn snarled. "You dare to return to me empty-hooved?"
"We have already searched half the city, sire." The guard quivered. "It should only be a matter of time now."
"Time is the one thing I don't have!" Black Thorn roared. "I have big plans being set in motion, and I don't need Nightshade ruining them! Now get out there and find him!"
"Y-yes, sir!" The guard gulped. He charged out of the throne room, leaving the irate Black Thorn behind.
Shortly afterwards, a squad of guards reached the house the royals were hiding in.
"This looks like a decent hiding place." The lead guard declared. "Let's move in."
Using magic to open the door, the guards entered the house, which was... empty. They searched upstairs and downstairs, finding nothing of interest, save for a chair made out of grey crystals.
"These kinda looks like the crystals that bat-winged guy was using." One guard noted. "They probably were here at some point."
"Well they're not here now." The lead guard groaned. "Let's keep searching."
Moments after the guards left the house, the crystal chair started quivering, then collapsed as Sleight burst out of it.
"Took 'em long enough." He snorted, pulling several cards out of his waistcoat. "Okay, they're gone!"
Sleight flung several cards to the floor, then lit up his horn, causing the cards to turn back into the royals.
"Good thinking back there, Sleight." Twilight smiled. "You really saved our saddles."
"Man, Caboose was right... there really was a lack of chairs in there." Dusty mused.
"I had no doubt in my mind that my husband could pull it off." Chrysalis smiled fondly. "Sleight can always be counted on to find a way out of a tight spot."
"Hey, credit where credit is due." Sleight said humbly. "Flash was the one who spotted those guards coming from upstairs."
"What can I say?" Flash smiled. "I may not be a Royal Guard anymore, but I still have the moves."
"And Echo made that little hiding place for me." Sleight added. "Smart thinking, by the way."
"My pleasure." Echo grinned.
"As much as I hate to break up this mutual admiration society, we still need to figure out a way back into the palace." Blueblood declared, using his magic to close the front door. "Without being seen, I might add."
"That could prove difficult." Nightshade admitted. "Black Thorn knows the palace as well as I do. He will no doubt anticipate us sneaking in from the back or side entrances."
"Then what do you suggest?" Celestia asked. "We can hardly just storm in through the front."
"I think I know a way we can sneak in." Day Light declared. "And it's a way nopony but me knows about."
"Really?" Red Rose pondered.
"Yeah." Day Light nodded. "There's this secret passageway behind one of the tapestries in the south corridor. It leads under the palace, and out through an old well on the edge of town."
"That's it!" Nightshade smiled. "That's our way in!"
"Way to go, Day Light!" Constell cheered.
"Great idea." Sunset nodded, before turning to Starlight. "Don't you think?"
Day Light looked at Starlight hopefully.
"Yeah, not bad." Starlight shrugged. "Better than nothing, I guess..."
For a moment, Day Light was crestfallen. Then he remembered what Echo had told him, and knew that Starlight still needed time to forgive him.
"And best of all, our magic is almost back up to full power." Cadance smiled.
"One more night of rest, and we'll be ready to take on Black Thorn." Luna declared.
"And get you your kingdom back." Twilight told Nightshade.
"Let's just hope it's that simple..." Nightshade said warily. "Who knows what diabolical tricks Black Thorn has up his sleeve."
"Nothing all of us can't handle." Shine said confidently. "Black Thorn may have dark magic, but we have numbers, and heart. He won't stand a chance."
"That's the spirit." Red Rose smiled. "Together, we will overthrow Black Thorn, and restore peace to this land."
"Of course we will." Nightshade smiled. "Black Thorn will pay for every misdeed he has ever committed, even if it is in blood and broken bones!"
"A little dark, but sure, I'm game!" Constell grinned.
"Then let's put the finishing touches on our plan." Shining Armor declared. "It won't be long until sundown, after all."
The intrepid royals went to work on their strategy, as the day of reckoning neared ever closer.