//------------------------------//
// Queen Moonborne Already Hates You 
// Story: Return to Equestria: The Rise of Roam 
// by Daniel-Gleebits 
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Return to Equestria: The Rise of Roam

Sunset Shimmer


An hour later, and Sunset and Twilight still hadn’t told each other half of what they had to say. Far too excited to remain in bed, Sunset was invited to take a tour of the castle.
Once she’d inquired after her companions, Sunset was astonished to hear that she’d been asleep for two entire days. 
“Some of our border recon teams let us know that the Roamans were on the move, so I grabbed the first wings that came to hand and took off to try and evacuate ponies before the Roamans could move,” Rainbow Dash explained as they took a turn along a hallway of tall windows.
“But Dodge City is in Equestria proper, isn’t it?” Sunset asked.
Rainbow’s lip curled. “Just cuz they don’t want our help, doesn’t mean we don’t give it,” she grunted. “Short story, we found you guys. And the creepy, floating, red-eyed one. Whom I saw you beat up with a store sign. Which I have to admit sort of confused me, since Twilight told me that she was your marefriend, or something.”
“Yeah, well,” Sunset muttered. “Relationship troubles.”
“And considering we found your two Roaman buddies and – for some reason – the Flim Flams dragging both of you towards some kind of big blue triangle-machine, we kinda figured they were trying to help you. So we brought them too.”
Rainbow Dash gave the carpet a dark look, as though she was remembering something unpleasant. “I was tempted to drop the mouthy one, though.”
“You might have done everypony a favour,” Sunset smiled.
As Twilight and Rainbow Dash showed her about the castle, Twilight was only too happy to give a much clearer explanation of events since she’d received the message in the journal so many years ago, even if it did involve a large, portable cork board, and half a dozen charts and graphs detailing things like populations mechanics and geo-political influence in the region. 
It transpired that the reason for why Twilight had sent the message was because of the outbreak of the mysterious plague. It had started in the south along the border with the Badlands during the war between Roam and the changelings, when the latter were pouring across the border to escape the inevitable genocide. No pony knew what the disease actually was, nor where it had come from. At the time, Princess Luna had offered asylum to the displaced changelings, offering them space in sparsely populated areas such as dense forests and mountain areas. As Sunset knew, this decision became political suicide in the coming years.
Given the proximity of these events, most Equestrians believed that the changelings were responsible for the plague, and public outcry against them, and against Princess Luna, ran high, until several years later with the outbreak of the war with Roam. The Roamans hit straight at the heart of Equestria, striking the capital city of Canterlot and capturing Princess Celestia. For reasons not entirely understood even to this day, the Roamans retreated shortly afterwards, and signed an armistice, pulling back the bulk of their military to their homeland.
With public opinion greatly against Princess Luna, Luna established Princess Cadence as regent of Equestria until such a time as Princess Celestia should return, or Princess Luna retake the throne. With Luna’s public support of the exiled changelings, and the plague now able to spread unchecked from the western half of Equestria without Princess Celestia’s control of the sun to stop it, the political situation in Canterlot rapidly deteriorated, necessitating the creation of the ruling Council, where power was divided between the Canterlot nobility, various city representatives, and Princess Cadence. 
During both the plague’s rapid spread, and the Roaman invasion, Twilight had been hard at work trying to find a cure.
“But how did you get infected?” Sunset inquired. Her eyes lingered a little longer on Twilight’s crystalline eyes, unusually shiny coat, and distinctively sharp teeth. The years had done little to her appearance otherwise, but her hair was pulled up into a business-like knot at the back of her head, and for some reason she was wearing glasses.
“During the early stages,” Twilight began, “we didn’t know what it was. We still don’t know if it comes to that. None of Princess Celestia’s scouts returned, and those that fled from it said that rabid ponies were attacking from the south west. When my friends and I went to investigate, well...” 
She gave Rainbow Dash a wan look.
“Fact is, we all got bitten and infected,” Rainbow finished. “By the time we figured out what was actually happening, it was too late. Except for Fluttershy at least.”
“Fluttershy?” Sunset repeated. “She wasn’t infected?”
“No,” Rainbow said through her teeth.
“It’s not a subject we like to bring up,” Twilight said uncomfortably. “She saved us. Well, she and Discord saved us.”
Twilight gave Sunset a wry look. “I suppose I can’t say something like that and not explain.”
“Too right,” Sunset said seriously.
Twilight shot another small look at Rainbow before beginning. “Discord was with us when we went to investigate. He and Fluttershy were separated from the main group, and when it became clear that the rest of us had been lost, he transported Fluttershy to safety. I frankly have no memory of what happened between then and their sacrifice. The plague rendered all those infected down to mindless creatures, acting purely on instinct.”
“Sacrifice?” Sunset asked, frowning. She had a sense of foreboding in her chest that she didn’t like.
“When the war was over, Princess Luna’s control of the sun was challenged by the Equestrian nobility,” Twilight explained. “Most Equestrians lost faith in Luna to perform Princess Celestia’s duties, and during the struggle, the plague was able to spread beyond the bounds Princess Celestia had set. To try to stop them, Fluttershy and Discord—“ 
“You can see for yourself outside,” Rainbow said in a hardened tone.
Twilight and Sunset looked at each other as Rainbow strode ahead, but Twilight said nothing more, and so Sunset allowed the subject to drop for the present.
The corridor they had been walking down ended at a large entrance hall. A grand set of stairs led down to the ground floor, where a roomy expanse gave way to deep blue and purple carpets, large hanging tapestries of the moon and twilit suns. To either side of the huge double doors in front of the stairs, were two statues of Celestia and Luna, rearing up to greet new arrivals. Celestia’s statue, white marble with a golden base, had a kindly face but seemed relatively plainly adorned. Luna’s statue was made of black marble with a silver base. Her features were a little more profound, with a serious and slightly tortured expression on her face, her black crown and jewellery made of what seemed to be obsidian and diamonds. 
The difference between the statues at a glance was not terribly noticeable, but if one looked closer, it was clear whom the artist had given more attention to.
Moreover, there was a third statue, this one sequestered in a niche set into the left wall. The only reason that it stood out was because it was at the centre of a number of large metal reliefs that put Sunset in mind of the stain-glass windows of Canterlot castle. All of them were made of a shiny silver metal, inlaid with gemstones to provide the colour. Between these reliefs stood this third statue, which was made of some kind of near-transparent, shiny purple material, like coloured glass. Sunset didn’t know what this purple stuff was, but noticed upon seeing it that the floor and several uncovered parts of the walls seemed to be made of it as well.
Sunset could tell that a different artist had made this statue. It stood on all-fours, and was not quite as sophisticated; its features were angular and rough-hewn, giving it a harsh, jagged appearance. Unfortunately, this made the features somewhat difficult to make out. It was certainly a pony of some kind, and had the structural anatomy of a princess. But who it could be, and why it was here, Sunset didn’t know.
“Are you coming?” Rainbow called from the door.
“Huh?” Sunset said stupidly. “Oh! Right.”





Sunset had expected to walk outside to a bright sunlight, feeling that she’d slept for a while. Then she remembered where she was, and the warm light of eternal twilight utterly failed to make her squint or flinch as the first sight of sunlight should. 
Last Light was not quite what Sunset had expected. Being less than seventy years old, she had expected it to be a lonely castle near to a small town, or even left utterly alone given Luna’s status in the opinions of the average Equestrian. But she’d underestimated Luna’s presence amongst those whom she’d sought to help.
Last Light was little less than a sprawling city, rivalling or so it seemed, Canterlot in its size. The castle of Last Light stood atop a high cliff overlooking the town. But that was where the comparison to Canterlot ended. The city itself was a strange mixture of edifices, some of them ostensibly the grand, fantastical buildings that the Canterlot nobility had indulged in for generations, others the fantasy-like houses Sunset thought she recognised as Ponyvillian. On the other end of the spectrum, however, was something of a shock. At first, Sunset didn’t recognise them as buildings, but as she stared down at the town, what they were became quite clear. 
Purple spires protruded out of the cityscape like stalagmites, rendered relatively none-threatening by the various curlicues and loops of the purple material from which they were made that gave the spires a whimsical, natural look. In and out of these spires, from ledges and between carved purple pillars, strode or swooped changelings and ponies, walking side-by-side through the city streets.
“Wow,” Sunset said. It was the only thing that seemed appropriate to say. “But... wait, where is this?”
“The Cliff of Galloping Gorge,” Twilight said.
“Really?” Sunset looked around. “But, isn’t Cloudsdale supposed to be visible from here?”
Sunset instantly knew that she’d again said something wrong. Rainbow’s face went stony again, and Twilight sighed.
“It’s not where it used to be,” Twilight said delicately. “When the Roamans invaded and captured Princess Celestia, their ventnavis fleet dispersed into squadrons to attack major Equestrian targets. Ponyville was one, as well as Baltimare and Cloudsdale. Since Cloudsdale is so important to the stability of the country, it was rebuilt further north close to the Crystal Empire. The Empire was supposed to be attacked too, but their defences were too powerful for the Roamans to penetrate before they signed the treaty.”
“And now it’s starting up again,” Rainbow sighed. “I’m not sure we could beat Roam as a single country. But two? Who generally distrust each other?” She shook her head.
“It’s not as simple as that,” Sunset said tensely. “A Roaman senator, somepony called Servillus, implied that the invasion is part of some great scheme.”
“Yeah. Your mouthy friend’s been saying something about that, too,” Rainbow huffed.
“He wishes to see Princess Luna about it,” Twilight elaborated. “He says that what he has to tell her could change the political—“
“Yap, yap, yap,” Rainbow interrupted. “That guy never stops talking. I think I can still hear him deep in my ear hole. Probably using some kind of freaky Roaman perma-lecture magic.”
“He’s a little eccentric,” Sunset admitted, feeling that to express her true thoughts about Script might not be entirely prudent.
“Err, yeah!” Rainbow snorted.
“Anyway,” Twilight said in a slightly raised voice. “Here we are.”
They’d come to the end of the cliff, and the outermost edge of the castle grounds. Amongst the neatly ordered grass, ornamental bushes, and rigidly maintained trees, what Twilight was referring to was something of a surprise. 
Standing in a square of dark mulch was a tall, crystal tree, wild-looking and apparently unmanaged; a thing perfectly calculated to stand out in every way amongst the blues, purples, and dark greens of the rest of the perfectly ordered garden. To Sunset’s mind, it looked like some lost treasure at the bottom of the sea. Yet she understood right away that this wasn’t crystal carved into the shape of a tree, but a tree literally made out of crystal. Every leaf on its hundreds of branches glistened with the purples, pinks, oranges, and blues of the twilit sky, casting a brilliance of ethereal light around where it stood, like some ghostly disco ball. 
The tree was a remarkable sight, something that Sunset would normally have marvelled at. In some far off part of her mind, she did have to wonder if the tree was indeed simply an eccentric art project, or if perhaps it was a species of tree that was made of crystal. But right now, she was more interested in what this had to do with Fluttershy, and her “sacrifice”. She was about to inquire into the matter, when she noticed that Twilight and Rainbow Dash were no longer at her side, but sitting on the side of the tree facing the cliff’s edge.
“It’s a cool tree,” Sunset admitted, walking up to the two of them. “But what exactly...” her voice tailed off as her eyes followed theirs, and her heart leapt up into her throat.
Sunset was immediately put in mind of one of those pictures where one has to cross their eyes to see the image hidden within. Amongst the glass branches and leaves, the figure was practically camouflaged, if it hadn’t been for the distinctive colouration. Even in crystal-form, Sunset would know the long, curling pink hair, the light yellow body, the peaceful expression. Her wings were spread, and she was frozen in a stance that made it look like she was floating. Her eyes were closed, her mouth slightly open, and stemming from some idiosyncrasy in the tree’s form, caused the captured light of the weak sun to concentrate within the graceful figure. For a second, Sunset honestly thought that she was looking upon some kind of angel or nature guardian.
“Discord was turned to stone as well,” Twilight said quietly. “Princess Luna returned him to Canterlot, where she thought Princess Celestia would have wanted him to be. But Fluttershy stayed here, to remind us...”
Sunset said nothing as Rainbow sniffed, trying to pass it off as a sneeze. Shocked as Sunset was to see Fluttershy, it wasn’t entirely just that she was frozen in crystal that was making her turn cold.
“Sunset?”
“Huh?”
Twilight gave her a sympathetic look. “Sorry,” she said, forcing a smile. “I know it must be a bit of a shock. Seeing her like this, I mean. It’s such a strange thing to have happened, but at the same time I’ve come to think of it as beautiful. I sort of feel I have to think of it that way.”
Sunset looked at Twilight, her heart skipping a little. Didn’t Twilight know? Didn’t Twilight understand what this was? 
But then, she thought Considering how I came across that information, and Princess Celestia being gone, maybe it isn’t so strange.
“So, if everypony else was infected too,” Sunset said, wanting to change the subject. “Are they here too?”
“Applejack is,” Rainbow Dash replied, a little of her smile returning. She nodded down off the cliff to several squares of land on the city’s northern tip. “Sweet Apple Acres was lost along with Ponyville, so Applejack rebuilt it here.”
“But everypony else is elsewhere I’m afraid,” Twilight sighed. “Rarity had to move to her shop in Manehatten.”
“Although she did have trouble at first,” Rainbow grinned. “What with the angry mobs, vandalism, graffiti—“
“Yes, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight interrupted.
“—city ordinances, petitions to Canterlot—“ Rainbow went on.
“She gets the picture, Rainbow,” Twilight said more insistently.
“—one or two break-ins, that one time when somepony put that weird story about her relationship with Spike in the newspapers, and—“
“Rainbow!” Twilight snapped. 
“Oh, yeah,” Rainbow cleared her throat. “Well, she’s settled now. The ponies there love her.”
“It did take a little while for ponies to get over the fear of her being a Nightlander,” Twilight said with a slightly sad smile. “But her reputation precedes the preconceptions. And it led Pinkie to her current goal in life.”
“What’s that?” Sunset asked.
“Well, she got together with Cheese Sandwich a few decades ago,” Twilight began.
“In more ways than one,” Rainbow muttered.
“They went on the road to spread cheer throughout Equestria as a double-act, showing normal ponies that Nightlanders aren’t the dangerous monsters they grow up thinking us to be.”
Sunset frowned. “Implying that you’re not normal?” she said, frowning. “I don’t see how that follows, just because you have an illness.”
Twilight blinked, and then her face broke into the first earnest smile Sunset had yet seen on her.
“I have a few things to discuss with you about that, actually,” she said cheerfully, bumping Sunset’s shoulder. “As a former student of Princess Celestia yourself, and all.”
Sunset smiled back, and then thought of something. “Oh, by the way. Where’s Spike? Isn’t he still with you?”
Sunset knew that dragons at least could live for many hundreds of years, so infected or not, he was likely to still be alive after seventy years. She was slightly bemused when Rainbow let out a snort.
“His Royal Appointedness, the Grand Steward of the Crystal Empire, the Great and Honourable Spike, the Brave and Glorious.” So saying in a voice that would have medieval heralds falling to their knees in tears, Rainbow finished by giving a deep bow and sweep of one hoof.
Sunset blinked.
“Wut?” she said stupidly.
“Get up,” Twilight said reprovingly to Rainbow, as the latter continued to bow, although also smirking herself. “Spike is currently the acting head of state for the Crystal Empire.”
Sunset’s mouth fell open. “Acting head... Spike is the...”
“Short explanation, please, Twilight,” Rainbow said, standing up properly and still chuckling.
“Well, when Princess Luna appointed Princess Cadence as Regent of Equestria,” Twilight explained, “both Shining Armour and Song Bright went with her to Canterlot. Shining Armour to lead the army as he had done under Celestia, and Song Bright to be a diplomat to Roam.”
“I’m sorry, Song who?” Sunset inquired.
“Cadence and Shining’s daughter, my niece,” Twilight explained. “This essentially meant that there was no pony with a legitimate claim to the leadership of the Empire.”
“Except Spike,” Rainbow put in.
“Well, no,” Twilight corrected. “He has no right to the throne. But he is a national hero, and is regarded highly by the crystal ponies, and so agreed to be the acting steward.”
“I’m so glad you kept me up to date on events back before all of this happened, or this might be really confusing about now,” Sunset said, rubbing her temple. 





Sunset didn’t feel much like being given a tour of the city itself; Twilight charitably put it down to Sunset’s squeamishness about the changelings, and Sunset made no argument against it. The true reason, however, was nagging at the back of her mind. It seemed hard for even her to fathom, but what she’d seen had shocked her almost as much as everything else. And she only wished to see one pony at the moment because she needed an answer, right now, to a very important question. 
Twilight and Rainbow left Sunset to her own devices, telling her that she was free to go where she pleased, and inviting her to dinner with them that night with Princess Luna.
“Will you be there?” Sunset asked Rainbow in surprise. Then she blushed, realising how offensive the question was. Rainbow snorted and gave Sunset a condescending smile.
“Rainbow Dash is the captain of the Night Corps.,” Twilight explained, trying not to smirk herself. “Alongside Captain Teeming Glory of the Shadow Squad and Wing-Commander Alpenglow of the Velvet Battalion, they make up the head of the Nightland’s defence forces.”
“So yeah,” Rainbow said, giving Sunset an amused look. “I’ll be at dinner.”
Following that, Sunset really wanted to be alone.
She followed a path through the castle to a point where a long hall branched off into a number of rooms. Most of the main rooms had been shown to her, including the grand library and the state room, but several had not been touched upon. One particular area of the place she had noticed hadn’t been explored was the seventh floor’s northern side. The only thing Sunset knew of this was that it housed the second largest tower, something she’d noticed when standing on the observatory, which was the actual largest. 
Having been given no instruction as to any forbidden areas of the palace, Sunset felt no real sense of trespass as she made her way up the main stairs to the seventh floor. With her head buzzing again and again with the question she needed answering, she knew that she had to at least try to find Princess Luna.
As she had observed earlier, a great deal of the castle, perhaps even most of it, was made out of the same purple material she’d observed earlier, and which made the changeling spires outside. Sunset remembered the green-tinged underground walls and floor of the hidden chamber where she’d been held, and had to wonder why the change in colour. As far as she knew, changeling slime was green, end of story.
The architecture up here was in a way simpler than that below, less ornate and decorative. It was almost severe. Yet Sunset would not have called it plain. It was still grand, with great stone pillars holding up the high purple ceiling and walls, and wall sconces burned with blue flame. No guards stood here, giving the place an empty, lonely feeling that left the viewer feeling small and insignificant.
Or so it felt to Sunset. 
The lack of guards was strange in Sunset’s opinion, since through a simple process of elimination, she had established it in her mind that this must be where Princess Luna’s private living space must be. One would think there would be guards here if anywhere. 
Having never actually met Princess Luna before, Sunset only knew her through reputation, and the large number of decorative images she’d been surrounded by during her fillyhood in Canterlot. Her one visit to Ponyville back when she had decided to finally face her teacher again had not furnished her with a sight of the returned princess. Still, she was reasonably confident that she would recognise her on sight.
She was therefore rather surprised when, upon passing the second door, a tall figure strode out of a grand set of double-doors ahead. A circular area where ornate railings prevented ponies from falling down the seven-storey shaft to the floors below separated them as they both stared at each other across the chasm. In the dim blue light of the sconces, Sunset found it hard to tell who it was, but took particular note of the tallness, the folded wings, and the long horn and mane.
“Princess Luna?” she called, cautiously.
The figure didn’t move at first; it seemed to consider the question. Sunset wondered if perhaps she had offended the princess by so open a remark. Perhaps she should have bowed whilst addressing her?
Whatever the case, the figure apparently decided to approach her. It did so slowly, and, Sunset thought, a little strangely. Whether it was a trick of the light, or simply a peculiarity in the way the figure was moving, the princess’ dark form seemed to shift weirdly, like a shadow in fire light. For a second, she gave off a dim, purple glow, which Sunset took to be her trying to ignite her horn, but she seemed to second guess her decision, for it went out quickly again. 
“I’m sorry if I’m intruding,” Sunset said, taking a tentative step forward.
“Not at all, Sunset Shimmer,” the figure replied.
Sunset blinked. “Oh. My apologies, I don’t recall us meeting before.”
“We haven’t,” the figure replied. “But your reputation precedes you. My daughter has kept me abreast of your movements, and my sister always spoke most highly of you. Even during your exile.”
Sunset hesitated. She was suddenly a great deal less confident of herself. If Sunset had learned anything of Princess Luna from all that she’d ever read of her, it was that she tended to be rather more cautious than her sister, a little less trusting. If that were the case, then Sunset considered that she had reason to be nervous.
“Do not look so worried, Sunset Shimmer,” the figure said, rounding the divide between them. “Your past grievances have been dealt with, and your character vouched for. You have nothing to fear from me.”
Even closer, Sunset found Luna’s details difficult to make out. Her midnight blue body shimmered in the flickering blue light, but not nearly so much as her star-laden mane. It flowed out like a living thing, seeming to reach out with wispy fingers. Her eyes, large and shining, resembled sapphires resting in moonlight.
Her expression was stern, but not unkind. It was a royal face, which if the casual observer didn’t already guess at, was left in no further confusion by the shining black crown behind her horn.
Sunset bowed, her forehead barely an inch from Luna’s sparkling shoe. 
“Why do you come up to this floor?” Luna asked, tilting her head shrewdly to one side. “Alone.”
“To speak to you, your highness,” Sunset replied. “I... I hope you won’t find it rude of me to ask, but it’s important.”
Luna raised her eyebrows. “And what question is this, Sunset Shimmer?”
“It’s about Fluttershy,” Sunset said tensely. “I wonder if you wouldn’t mind telling me—“
“That is a very serious topic, my little pony,” Luna said, somewhat sternly. She took a step around Sunset, circling her, apparently taking in every inch of her. “You will find many here are reluctant to broach the subject.”
“Yes,” Sunset said, distracted by Luna’s observation. “Well, it’s really more to do with... with... Princess?”
Princess Luna pulled back her head. Sunset could have sworn that she’d heard Princess Luna take in a deep breath, as though trying to smell her.
“With what?” Luna prompted, beginning to circle her again. 
“Erm... well, it’s about...” she paused again as Luna pressed a hoof lightly against Sunset’s chest, like somepony feeling for a heartbeat. “Is there something... wrong?” Sunset asked, resisting an urge to pull away.
“Not at all, Sunset Shimmer,” Luna replied casually. “The cursed one in the dungeon. She is your marefriend, right?”
Sunset’s heart began to race. Twilight had told her where Sonata was, and more surprisingly, that it was by Sonata’s own request that she was where she was. After asking after Sonata’s well being, Sunset had endeavoured to put Sonata temporarily from her mind until she could get to grips with things. As she’d feared, the mention of her name struck deep.
“M-My apologies,” Sunset stammered. “But if it’s all the same to you, I’d rather not discuss that.”
“It’s a simple question,” Luna said, sounding impatient.
“But I don’t—“ Sunset began. Then she paused.
Now it could have been nothing at all, to be honest, but something about the way Luna was speaking was giving Sunset pause. Again, she’d never spoken to Luna, but Twilight had told her all about her. A lot about her, including her tendency to speak in an outdated  way. Of course, it was perfectly possible that she’d changed in seventy years, but that wasn’t the only thing catching Sunset’s attention. Luna’s shoulders were beginning to hunch, and her expression was oddly rigid. It was almost as though she was angry about something.
“Is there something the matter, your highness?” Sunset asked. 
Luna seemed slightly discomposed by the question. “N-No,” she said, her tone slipping for a split second. “No, I simply wished to know whether you...” she paused under Sunset’s steady gaze. “Do not stare at me like that,” she said, her tone darkening.
“If I might ask, princess,” Sunset asked, her eyes not wavering. “Do you know what Fluttershy’s fate means?”
Princess Luna’s expression hardened. “Of course I know what it means, pony,” she sneered.
Sunset’s eyes narrowed “That’s a curious thing to call me,” she observed. “Perhaps you’d care to explain Fluttershy to me, then.”
Luna snorted, albeit in a very princess-like way. “That knowledge is not for the common ponies to know.”
“No, it’s not,” Sunset agreed. “But you know. And I know.”
The princess’ eyes widened. “You know?” she demanded.
Sunset nodded. 
“I don’t believe you,” Luna said flatly, moving around to the side of Sunset. “You’re lying.”
“If you were really Princess Luna, you’d know that I knew. Who are you?” Sunset asked, not letting her eyes off of Luna’s face.
“Impertinent—I am Princess Lu—“
“Did you know that all ponies possess the innate ability to become alicorns under extremely specific circumstances?” Sunset shot at her.
“What? Of—Of course I know that. What are you implying—“
“You know that?” Sunset demanded. “Then you wouldn’t say that I was lying?”
Luna paused, her lips quivering. She and Sunset stared at each other for a long while, their eyes cold and penetrating.
“Who are you?” Sunset repeated slowly.
Luna didn’t move or speak, but simply stared like a statue. It seemed to Sunset that she grew larger somehow, although she probably didn’t. Whoever this was, they still gave off a somehow regal air.
Luna let out a grudging sniff of approval. “Very clever, Sunset Shimmer.” She took a step or two backwards, retreating out of the greater light of the sconces. 
The first thing that Sunset noticed when Luna changed, was that she shrunk, which was a little anticlimactic given the ominous tension. She dropped about a head, so that she was only barely taller than Sunset herself. The second thing that she noticed were the distinctly insectoid features of the gauzy wings, the slit-pupil eyes, and the black body.
“A changeling,” Sunset muttered, not a bit surprised.
“Not just a changeling,” not-Luna said in a slightly higher voice than Sunset was expecting. “I am the Queen. And you,” she went on, stepping back into the light. “You and that creature are enemies of my people.”
Sunset tensed her muscles, ready to cast a spell as the gangling figure advanced. She was very thin, with a purple mane, wings, and tail. On her head, behind a curved, solid horn like a bent obelisk, rested a black crown, the front-most prong of which, Sunset’s keen eye noticed, bore a crescent moon. The changeling’s royal purple eyes narrowed, and her horn sparked with eldritch energies. Sunset’s own horn sparked with power, contesting the blue and purple light growing as the fizz of magic grew in the air.
“Enough!” boomed a voice from up the corridor.
The purple and turquoise lights of Sunset’s and the changeling’s horns was suddenly blotted out by a spectacular white light, and a new figure appeared in the hallway. 
Tall and imposing, her wings unfurled and her eyes appraising, what Sunset took to be the real Princess Luna appeared on the scene. Not only did her horn glow with the godly aura of her alicorn magic, but another good indication of her identity was how quickly the changeling dropped to her knees.
Princess Luna cast her gaze upon the bowing creature, looking faintly out of temper. “I am disappointed in you,” she said coldly. “I expected better, after what we discussed.”
The changeling queen didn’t immediately reply, but bit her lip, avoiding using her sharp canine.
“You discussed it, mother,” she muttered resentfully. “That monster hurt my citizens.”
“We shall speak of this later, Moonborne,” Luna said in a sharper tone. “Should I find that you have done anything else in this secretive way, we shall have stronger words.”
The changeling’s mouth thinned. She gave Sunset a last look of hearty mistrust, and turned away, marching away in the slightly stroppy way that Sunset associated with sulky teenagers.
Princess Luna remained silent until the distant sound of a large door closing reverberated down the hallway. Then she turned her brilliant midnight blue eyes on Sunset. Sunset had to admit that the changeling had at least done justice to Princess Luna’s domineering presence. 
“My sister’s former student,” Luna said in a slightly wondering tone. “I have to say, I am intrigued.”
“Your highness,” Sunset murmured, bowing again.
“You saw through my daughter’s disguise,” the princess went on. “You should be aware, Sunset Shimmer, that my daughter has not been well disposed towards you since your passage through Gauzeville.”
“If I might ask, princess,” Sunset said. “Maybe Twilight forgot to mention something, but...” She paused, trying to think of a way to phrase her question without sounding rude.
“How did I come by a changeling queen as my daughter?” Princess Luna asked, smiling slightly. “It’s a long and complex story, and one intimately related to how events stand at present. But,” she said, giving Sunset a shrewd look. “I believe that you have another question to ask me. Regarding knowledge you ought not to have.”
Sunset didn’t allow her gaze to falter. The knowledge she had was indeed that which she ought not to have. Like much she’d learned behind Princess Celestia’s back. But that didn’t matter. Not now.
“Do you know why Fluttershy turned to crystal?” Sunset asked.
“Of course,” Luna replied without hesitation.
“Then I have just one other question,” Sunset said, trying to keep her tone respectful. “Why haven’t you told Twilight?”


- To be Continued