Stars hung in the heavens like shards of diamond. The full moon glowed amongst them, cloaked by midnight and a single roiling storm cloud that stayed stubbornly near it, having escaped the pegasi.
Canterlot was peaceful, the placid moonlight bathing the white and gold palace in a sheen of blue. Until, suddenly, the lonely cloud moved at last, snaking over the moon until only the stars' faint light remained. Already long shadows grew and engulfed most of the city.
Inside the palace, on a great bed, slept Celestia. Even in sleep, her mane and tail floated on the solar wind, their ethereal light casting a multicolored shimmer over gold-trimmed white bedding. The leaves outside had discarded their green garb for the red tunics of fall, but the night was still warm enough that the princess had elected to sleep on her blankets rather than under them.
The tumultuous years before Equestia's current peace had taught Celestia to be a light sleeper. So, when a faint hum like an upturned hornet's nest crept into the serene room, she twitched from slumber. Her ears flicked ever so slightly towards the noise.
"Oh, you can open your eyes. I know you're awake." There were more rustles and then a derisive snort. "Shame, really, I was hoping to just sit here with my mouth open. There's so much love left to curdle around you it's sickening."
Gritting her teeth, Celestia rose from her bed, horn beginning to glow.
"Since you've taken the trouble to break into my chambers already, can I offer you some tea?" Celestia cocked an eyebrow towards the darkness, but drew in a sharp breath as a black form approached from the shadows, slitted green eyes glowing.
"Oh, I trust you remember me, princess." The word was spat like a curse.
"You!" Celestia's amethyst eyes widened. The power around her horn brightened then compressed into a tiny inferno of magic. "Leave immediately! I will not allow you near my ponies. You've done enough damage."
"Oh?" The changeling queen smirked. "Is that any way to greet an old friend? Well, don't worry, princess, I'm not here to harm your precious subjects. Yet. I just have a little message; you do believe in diplomacy, don't you?" Her voice was drenched in sarcasm. "How could you tell your court that their precious pony princess had attacked an envoy?"
"Breaking into my private quarters is hardly within protocol." Celestia's voice was deceptively placid and allowed only the slightest lilt of displeasure to find its way into her tone. She could sense the words were honest, but if Chrysalis hadn't come to wage another war, what other motives could she have?
The queen shrugged, knowing her hooves were already on thin ice. "Oh, but I wanted to talk to you privately. After all, I wouldn't want to scare your precious ponies with the knowledge of your approaching anguish, now would I?"
"You do realize that could be taken as a threat?" Celestia's voice was still placid, but her eyes were hard and her body tensed. She knew questioning was pointless, that Chrysalis delighted in her grasping at straws.
"Oh? My apologies if it seems that way, princess. It's not intended as a threat. It is a promise, and I always keep my promises…"
"Is that so?" The power around her ivory horn pulsed.
"Oh yes. When everything you know is unrecognizable, when your sister and subjects are gone, when this land is leeched and dead, remember my promise."
Celestia's eyes narrowed and the tightly compressed magic at the tip of her horn detonated. A roiling plume of pink fire blazed forth, blasting toward the queen. Moments before it hit, green magic twined around Chrysalis and the pink blast rushed harmlessly over the walls and carpet, leaving no trace of itself.
A burst of magic beside her sent a chill up Celestia's spine. A black muzzle pressed so close to her ear that sharp fangs clipped it. "I'll make you watch and endure every minute of their suffering. I would kill you were you not the sun. The death of the sun would doom us all. You will see everything you love vanish before your eyes, princess. When the land is bleached, when your people are loyal to me or have fallen resisting, when your shoulders are slumped and weary, I will watch and cherish every minute of your own personal everlasting hell. "
Then Chrysalis was gone without trace, leaving Celestia quivering ever so slightly. She drew in a deep breath, steadying herself, working her neck until all visible signs of tension were gone. The price of her position was to remain stable and strong in all eyes but her own. She took a moment to take inventory of herself: her stance was steady enough, she wasn't shaking—good.
"Guards!"
Nopony came bursting through the door, no scrambling of hooves over thick red carpet. Nothing.
Celestia frowned, an expression usually foreign to her. She had been protesting the night shift for an eternity, but one thing was for sure—they never fell asleep on the job. Ever. The discipline the sun guards possessed never ceased to amaze her, rivaling even her own.
Drawing in a steadying breath, she stepped forward, a slight frown on her muzzle. She swung the large doors open with a glow from her horn.
Celestia's eyes widened. For a moment she thought a cockatrice had found its way into the palace, but that was impossible. The guards weren't stone. Instead they were encased in a shimmering green substance, and the sickly hue made Celestia's stomach churn with nausea. A poisonous liquid dripped from the frozen ponies and met the carpet, smoldering like acid.
Celestia grimly channeled power into herself. She raised her head and released a resonating call, louder than the royal Canterlot voice. "The palace is to go into lockdown. A squad of guards is to escort our best medics to my quarters immediately. Everypony else is to wait in their quarters until further notice. I want a pair of guards in each end hallway. Do not let anyone enter or leave. This is not a drill."
The power in her horn flickered like a fading flame before vanishing. Celestia sighed, studying the guards. Their condition baffled her, even after millennium of magical study. The only signs of violence she could find on either stallion were small, eerily perfect circular wounds. They hadn't even had time to bleed before they'd been frozen.
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Celestia paced—something she would never do in front of another pony, save Luna. There was nothing there. No evidence except for a lingering chill and two frozen guards. She had sent a letter via Spike a few moments ago, asking that the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony come to the palace. Spirit Rain and Battle Storm, two of her best guards, were out of action and dead for all anypony could tell. As much as she hated to put Twilight and her friends in danger, they could well be her only hope for the capital's safety.
Moments felt like hours, until at last a familiar bout of green flame released a scroll. Before it had fallen halfway to the floor, Celestia snatched it in a flare of magic. She lost no time ripping the ribbon away.
She was expecting to find Spike's usually impeccable writing, but instead found a untidy scrawl. Her eyes widened as they trailed over Spike's hurried script, heart lurching. A goddess had no one to pray to. She was the light that many a pony had begged to end their own personal darkness. For the first time in over a thousand years, Celestia wished that there was something more out there—something for her to pray to.
Princess, I'm really sorry I don't have the time for a long reply. It's me, Spike, and we're sort of busy right now. Twilight's vanished! We can't find her anywhere, and without her the Elements wouldn't work anyway. Again, I'm really sorry. We all are. I'll let you know if we find anything else. If there's any word, I'll make sure you hear right away. Sorry about this, I really am.
Spike
The queen's plans had already sprung into motion, and she'd promised to turn the palace into a living hell.