> Luna's Secret Army
>  by Bronyxy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> 1 Twilight Makes a Discovery
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was the end of a hot and sunny day in Canterlot.  The few ponies that were around trudged through the dirty streets with their heads hung down.  A playful breeze caused sporadic dust devils to form at the corners of buildings, spinning litter and dirt into spiteful, roguish spirals that lasted a few short seconds before dying down again.

It didn’t used to be like this, but memories of happier times had been flushed away as surely as a giant hand had pulled the plug from a basin, leaving only dirty stains remaining.  Indeed, the stain that had spread across the land was the shadow cast by King Sombra, and his heartless influence permeated every corner of the carefree existence that ponykind had once taken as its right.

One of the figures in this neglected cityscape was trotting with more of a purpose than the others.  She was a young lilac unicorn mare, and the casual observer would have been hard pressed to realise that she had just finished a double shift as logistics officer, planning movements of everything from food, uniforms and equipment to the front lines.  She was tired, but she was happy, knowing that her contribution was making a big difference in helping The Cause, as the fight against King Sombra intensified.

No matter how hard she had worked, she held as prized the brief hour or two in which she could study at the end of her shifts.  She had no friends to speak of and thus was free to enjoy furthering her knowledge of history and magic.  She often wondered what it would have been like to attend Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, but since that prospect had never come her way, she was determined that lack of such an opportunity would not dampen her love of studying.

The young unicorn arrived at a white tower and climbed the spiral steps to get to her apartment at the top, opening the door into a large spacious living area, the upper portion of which was totally dominated by books.  Under less hard pressed times, she would have definitely found a niche as a librarian.

She pulled up a chair and carefully opened the book she had been reading for the last few evenings, placing the book mark neatly on the table.  Turning another page, she noted the chapter heading “The Elements of Harmony” and let out a fascinated “Ooooh” sound as her eyes lit up; this wasn’t something she had heard of before.

She read on, fascinated by the imagination of those who had contrived such a splendid myth, eagerly lapping up every detail of their unparalleled power.  Then she stopped in her tracks.  She reached a passage that stated they had had been last used over a thousand years ago by Princess Celestia to banish Nightmare Moon.

This was all fresh in her mind as she recollected the Summer Sun Celebration during which Princess Celestia had brought her sister back from the moon; Princess Luna having renounced the evil of Nightmare Moon on the spot.  She gasped suddenly as she realised that these stones were not a fanciful myth, but reality.  If they were even a fraction as powerful as the book suggested, then they may be useful in helping to vanquish King Sombra!  With that, she carefully bookmarked the page and packed this along with other important books into her saddle bag and fairly burst through her front door to seek out Princess Celestia.

The unicorn galloped through the streets towards Canterlot Castle, not even slowing to cross roads or go round tight bends; bowling past those few ponies who still remained about.  Her eyes were focused and she bared her teeth as she didn’t even stop to apologise to those whom she terrorised in the process.  Finally, she rounded a corner and hurtled towards the main entrance of the castle, straight at two guards on duty who watched her approach with their weapons prepared.  She pulled up at the last minute, finding her way barred, and shouted with the full fury of her pent up emotion “Let me in!  I must see Princess Celestia!  NOW!!”

“No Miss, we are under strict orders not to let anypony in unless by Royal appointment” replied one of the guards.
“I’m guessing you don’t have an appointment?” said the other.
“No.  Errr …” mumbled the unicorn as she suddenly realised that she could have said yes.  She mentally facehoofed at her stupidity and continued her tirade at the hapless guards who remained stoic and detached throughout her protracted outburst.

Inside the castle, Princess Luna was filling the sconces with lavender as was her nightly want, when the sounds of the altercation at the entrance drifted through the passageways towards her.  She pricked up her ears, alert for danger, but at the sound of a solitary young mare, relaxed, gently placing her sheaf of lavender on the floor and trotting off to investigate.

She arrived to see the guards patiently but firmly refusing to allow the lilac mare into the castle; it was the only excitement they had seen that day, but no matter how much this young mare appealed to them, they knew they were there for a purpose, and that purpose was to keep out uninvited guests like her.

As a product of good situational awareness taught during his training, one of the guards suddenly became aware of Luna’s gentle hoofsteps behind them and turned whilst the other kept his focus on the would-be gatecrasher.
“Sorry for the noise, your Majesty” he said saluting smartly “We can remove her by force if you wish.”
“That will not be necessary” replied Luna as she strode purposefully towards them.

The lilac mare stopped in mid flow, her eyes widening and her jaw falling open as a figure with regal deportment emerged from the shadows in front of her.  The remaining guard did not salute his Princess, but maintained a defensive posture, making sure not to give the visitor any chance to rush him.  He needn’t have worried however, as she was rooted to the spot, totally awestruck to be in the presence of royalty for the first time in her life.

“What, pray, is the meaning of this interruption?” asked the Princess with haughty detachment.
“P – P – Princess …” was all the unicorn could manage to say.
“We heard your demanding to meet with our Sister, did we not?”
“Yes, Princess” said the unicorn, her face glowing bright red as she suddenly realised what an exhibition she had been making of herself.
“And what dost thou demand of her?”

“I - I  have found out about the Elements of Harmony” she blurted out.  Both guards gasped whilst Princess Luna stiffened appreciably at mention of the instruments that had sent her to the moon, her glare focusing sharply on the young researcher.
“I – I – I’m sorry” said Twilight sheepishly, foreseeing everything in her life coming crashing down around her “But I read that they hold the most powerful magic in Equestria and I wanted to know if we could use them against King Sombra.  I’ve got my books right here …”
The guards held their breath, appreciating vividly that this meeting was about to swing one way or the other very quickly.

Princess Luna thought briefly.  She was angered to her core to be reminded of her fate as Nightmare Moon, and especially by one so young; so impudent!  However, it was possible that she may be on to something.  She looked at the researcher’s saddle bag bulging with books and made her decision.
“Very well.  Guards, this filly is to be granted audience with us.  You are to be commended for your diligence.”

The guards stood back and snapped smartly to attention allowing the lilac mare to pass.  Having appreciated the faux pas she had made in front of the second most powerful pony in all of Equestria, she took a moment for the offer, nay summons, to sink in.
“Well?” said Luna “Wouldst thou keep the Princess of the Night waiting?”
At this, the uninvited visitor was jolted from her stasis and walked timidly into Canterlot Castle as the personal guest of Princess Luna herself.

“Prithee, what is thy name, filly?”
“My name is Twilight Sparkle” replied the unicorn, a little more at her ease in spite of being led around the castle by one of the Royal Sisters personally.
“We shall be known as Princess Luna” came the retort.  There was no more smalltalk as the two ponies walked through a maze of corridors until arriving at a guarded door, outside of which burned two  torches, one either side.  Luna acknowledged the smart salutes from her guards and let herself in using her magic with Twilight following behind, taking in the shelves of books and arcane scrolls and the sparse furnishings.

Luna arranged herself behind a table and looked at her guest.
“Prithee take thine ease” she offered, gesturing with her eyes exactly where she intended her guest to sit.  Twilight felt the sheer power of command behind the eyes of her hostess and obliged, sitting directly opposite her, daring not to speak unless spoken to.

Luna stared at her guest, trying to make her out, just as comfortable with the silence between them as Twilight was not.  She placed her forelegs on the table, hooves together and rested her chin, looking down sternly at her.
“What hast thou discovered that demands an audience so late in the day?” she enquired.
“I’m sorry about earlier” Twilight started “But I thought you were Princess Celestia.”  She realised that she was saying all the wrong things again and decided to stop babbling and get to the area of her greatest strength; knowledge.  She outlined everything she had found and laid the book out as evidence.  Luna listened impassively throughout and when Twilight ran out of steam, folded her forelegs, heralding her impending comment.
“The Elements of Harmony were once wielded by our Sister and us, and latterly by our Sister as thou knowest.  However, we are both unable to wield their magic any longer and thus we have discounted their employ in the current battle.”

Luna turned towards a shelf and levitated a wooden stand atop which rested a crystal ball, summoning the artefact in her magic and placing it exactly between them.
“Hast thou urgent appointments this night?” she asked.
“No” replied Twilight.
Luna nodded her approval.
“Hast thou employ for The Cause?
“Yes Princess, I’m a logistics officer”
“Commendable.  Thou art relieved of thy duties tomorrow by Royal Command; verily thou hast no reason not to focus upon our spell this evening, Twilight Sparkle.”
Twilight was astounded.  What could Princess Luna want with her?
“Meditate upon the Elements of Harmony and naught else.”

Luna summoned joss sticks and incense to appear and then lit them with her magic before going to each of the four corners of the room in turn muttering strange incantations and leaving behind lighted candles.  When candles adorned each of the four corners, she extinguished the room’s lights and returned to her position in front of the ball.  Twilight was deep in meditation, so the blue alicorn issued no further instructions and cleared her mind to focus into the ball by the light of the candles.

As Luna concentrated, her eyes went completely white and shone with the intensity of the full moon, allowing her privileged access to her world and those of others, a magic closely linked to her talents as a Dream Walker.  She could see through the ball the image of the young unicorn before her, and as she drew deeper upon her magic, the picture began slowly to transform; Twilight looked the same, but wore a gold tiara studded with sapphires and topped with a magenta gem.  Drilling further into this image, she realised with shock that this gem was in fact one of the Elements of Harmony itself.

Even greater focus revealed images of five other ponies, each with a strong attachment to one of the other elements, making six in all.  Luna was straining to maintain a link with this alternate timeline and pushed as hard as she could to find names and see images, but the link was demanding more and more of her magic, threatening to close at any second.  Just before the portal snapped shut, it gave her one final piece of information which caught Luna completely off her guard.  She pushed back violently against the table and snapped out of her trance causing Twilight to awake startled.

“What – what’s wrong Princess?” she asked recovering her senses.
Luna did not answer immediately, but stared at her guest, rubbing her chin with her forehoof.  Eventually she broke free of her reverie and looked Twilight straight in the eye.
“Twilight Sparkle, what knowest thou about alternate timelines?”
“I’m familiar with the theory from ‘Rules of Causality 101’, but I’ve never done anything practical on those lines.”
”Thou art indeed well read, Twilight Sparkle.  Come, we will see our Sister now.  There is much need.”
“You mean Princess Celestia is here in the castle?” enquired Twilight excitedly.
“No - we must go to her.”

Luna extinguished the candles and the votive offerings, returning the room to its conventional lighting, then opened the door and issued orders to one of the guards who shot off to make hurried arrangements.
“Attend thy Princess, Twilight Sparkle, we have a busy night ahead” said Luna leading her out of the door and down another maze of passageways.  After a number of twists and turns, they emerged into a courtyard where a dozen pegasi in full battle armour waited.  They looked so imposing that Twilight felt overawed in their presence.  Not only that, but they looked different from normal pegasi.  Luna caught her staring and commented:
“They are Bat Ponies from our elite Night Guard; we only have the best for our personal protection.”
“What do we do now?” queried Twilight, utterly dwarfed by all those around her.
“Climbst upon our back, we are going to our Sister.”

Twilight started to shake in a mixture of excitement and fear, but did as she had been directed and got on to Luna’s back, holding on as best she could.  A pair of guards took off, one from each side, then two more, then Twilight felt Luna hunker down underneath her before springing into the air with graceful beats of her majestic wings.  Against what she thought would be possible, Twilight had managed to hold on and found herself soaring through the warm night sky flanked by six Bat Ponies on each side.

Adrenalin surged through her veins and a broad smile spread over her face; she couldn’t help herself; she just had to whoop in excitement!  Unseen to her, Luna smiled at the sound of her innocent joy whilst the Bat Ponies tactfully pretended not to hear.  The feeling was exhilarating and Twilight wondered briefly if the airflow would cause her smile to become stuck across her face forever, but quickly did some mental calculations and dismissed the idea.

They flew on through the warm night, passing over parts of Equestria where she had never even set hoof, let alone flown.  Finally, Luna spied fires on the horizon that signalled their approach to the Equestrian headquarters that lay within striking distance of the front line.  They began their descent still dutifully flanked by the Bat Ponies in tight formation, and levelled out just above treetop height.  Twilight watched spellbound as they flew frighteningly fast at less than the height of the surrounding hills and skimmed over trees, gaining a whole new respect for their precision flying skills.

Two guards flew off ahead towards the camp fires as Luna and the main contingent of guards hung back to await their return.  In a few minutes they came back escorted by a dozen white pegasi in full armour, Twilight and Luna now at the centre of a veritable armada of airborne fighting power.  Two of the white pegasi banked away and Luna turned to follow, the remaining flyers circling protectively overhead.

The ground grew closer and closer until Luna flared her mighty wings and alighted gently next to a large tent, the two pegasi not landing but following her down, then peeling off at low level, perfectly synchronised before circling up to join their colleagues above.  As Luna sat to allow Twilight off, the Bat Ponies all landed close by, whilst the pegasi remained aloft to ensure that the skies remained safe above their leaders.

Princess Celestia trotted out from the tent to greet her sister and quickly invited her and her guest inside.  Where the interior had just been full of advisers and planners, it was now suddenly empty, allowing the three of them to talk freely.
“Dear Luna, it is so good to see you again, but what urgent business demands your visiting me here?” asked Celestia.
“Sister, we should like to introduce you to Ms Twilight Sparkle; Twilight Sparkle, Her Royal Majesty, the Mare of Morning, Princess Celestia of Equestria, Protector of the Realm, Ruler of the Solar Court, Bringer of the Dawn, Empress of the Sun, and Monarch of the Day.”
“Joint Ruler dear Sister, as you well know” said Celestia with good humour in her voice.  Twilight looked in awe at this beautiful white mare whom she had seen so many times at a distance, but never thought she would be formally introduced to.  She was speechless, her mouth hanging open as the gears span round inside her head, simply refusing to mesh together to allow anything coherent to come out of her mouth.
“Was this your first flight Ms Sparkle?” enquired Celestia as an ice breaker.
“Yes your Majesty” said Twilight “It’s such an honour to meet you, but please call me Twilight.”
“Very well” said Celestia with genuine warmth “Twilight it is.”

“Sister” said Luna “Twilight Sparkle has brought to our attention the Elements of Harmony.”
“Yes, but had we not discounted them because we can no longer control them?”
“Correct Sister, but we have performed a working this evening with Twilight Sparkle and have found an alternate timeline to our own.”
There was a brief pause while Celestia let this sink in.
“Please explain further” she encouraged.
“In this alternate timeline, Twilight Sparkle hath gained mastery of friendship magic and employeth it with five other bearers to control the Elements of Harmony.”

Both Celestia and Twilight gasped at this revelation.
“Therefore Sister, if we can unite the same individuals then we may have a chance” Luna concluded.
“The war is going badly; we need a miracle and this could be it” said Celestia thoughtfully.
“One more thing, Sister” said Luna “The alternate timeline is dominant - we are the imposter!”
“That is good” said Celestia after a pause “Then Equestria is meant to be at peace.”

“Sister, we have names and descriptions of the five ponies we need.  Perhaps any that are here could be spared to return with us lest they be lost in combat?” asked Luna.
“A sound idea” agreed Celestia “Please provide the details to my adjutant and we will see if any of them is here.”
At that, an officious looking pony with thick glasses was summoned and Luna provided him with as many details as she had been able to glean from her meditation.  She was able to recount descriptions and some first names, but all-important surnames were in short supply.  She cursed inwardly that she had not been able to provide more detail, but consoled herself with the fact that she at least had something on each pony.  At the name of one individual, Rainbow Dash, the adjutant stared in surprised recognition, but the others would take some researching.

Rainbow Dash was famous.  She was a highly decorated flyer, leading an airborne fighting unit that had evolved from the Wonderbolts display team and now attracted the best pegasi flyers from across Equestria.  She had been awarded every medal for bravery that it was possible to receive and was respected by her team for both her skill and unswerving loyalty.

In spite of the hour, Celestia sent for the flyer’s Divisional Commander and continued catching up with Luna about the state of events both at home and on the front line.  In less than five minutes, a gruff battle hardened veteran pegasus stood before his leaders to receive the news that his star Unit Commander was required for a top secret mission.  He had been around long enough to know not to ask what it entailed, but there was no disguising the mixed emotions that flew across his chiselled features.
“Do you want her to report to you now, Ma’am?” he asked.
“Would it be a kindness to allow her to sleep?” enquired Celestia.
“She’ll be fine” he responded casually “I can go rouse her now if you wish.”
“Then yes, please” Celestia requested.
“We shall delay our departure until Ms Dash can join us” added Luna.
The Division Commander was surprised that Rainbow was so important that Princess Luna and her escort of fearsome looking Bat Ponies would delay their departure until she was ready, so dismissed himself promptly to get his star flyer out of her bed.

Ten minutes later a cyan pegasus in her combat suit reported and saluted smartly.  If she felt awe being in proximity of the Royal Sisters, she didn’t show it, maintaining instead a rigid military demeanour that shocked Twilight such that she forgot even to introduce herself.

The Royal Sisters exchanged a tender nuzzle then Luna led the way for Rainbow and Twilight.  As they walked out of the tent, the Bat Ponies joined, flanking the party as they walked to their take off point.  Rainbow exchanged looks with the Bat Ponies, both eyeing each other with professional respect; each knowing of the others exploits.

Luna allowed Twilight to climb on her back, then the first two pairs of Bat Ponies took off and Luna hunkered down once more, Twilight bracing herself for the launch.  Rainbow watched closely, taking her cue from the blue alicorn, and both rose as one, Rainbow slowing her ascent to match the rate of climb of the larger alicorn who had the extra weight of a passenger to consider.

Rainbow checked out the Bat Ponies’ formation flying and situational awareness skills and was impressed; these guys clearly knew what they were about.  But what, she thought, was so special about that lilac unicorn?  She looked nerdy and she certainly wasn’t military.  She didn’t look like her kind of pony at all, and Rainbow seriously doubted she would have any good war stories to tell; the Bat Ponies on the other hoof, well that was a different matter altogether.  She allowed speculation to bat to and fro across her mind as she flew, but was no nearer to reaching any conclusion when the end of their journey came into sight.

They approached Canterlot, Twilight feeling a thrill of excitement seeing it from the air, now a seasoned veteran of two flights and much more at home with the idea of flying.  The party performed a gently banking circuit around the city then followed the same landing procedure as before, Luna flaring at just the right point to ensure a perfectly smooth landing, Rainbow by her side.  Once Twilight had disembarked, Luna faced the moon and lowered it from the sky so that Celestia, miles away, could raise the sun and allow the day to begin.  By rights, daybreak should have happened over an hour ago, but Luna wanted to finish the journey under cover of darkness, so dawn had been delayed; being Princess of the Night did have its advantages after all …

She turned to her two guests, Rainbow smartly at attention while Twilight wearing the most enormous smile just wanted to bounce for joy; she had flown to the front line and back overnight, met both Royal Sisters and seen Luna lower the moon – she couldn’t have even begun to imagine such an adventure only a day ago!

A unicorn approached and Luna gave her orders, dismissing Rainbow and Twilight to the dining room and quarters in the castle where they could rest.  She wanted very much to rest too, but knew she had wheels to set in motion before he would allow herself to succumb to such luxury.  A waiter brought her a coffee which she pondered whilst the unicorn returned, having tended to the needs of her guests.  As she had with the adjutant in Celestia’s tent, she summoned her secretary and ran through the names and descriptions of the four ponies she wanted brought to the castle, emphasising the extreme importance of finding them, but not explaining why.

With outstanding affairs addressed, she headed towards supper and bed.
> 2 A Race Against Time
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Both at the front lines and across the towns and cities of Equestria, agents for the Princess chased up as many leads as they could to locate the four missing ponies but the meticulous record keeping that had been the hallmark of a well-run society before the Crystal Empire returned had been allowed to slip in favour of more pressing priorities.

The military, by virtue of its need to organise provided the first lead.  It also helped that they had a name to work with.  So it was that a messenger arrived at one of the Foot Regiments on the front line asking for a Miss Pie.  Upon receiving the request and noting that it was accompanied by Royal Warrant, the aide-de-camp quickly summoned two Miss Pies.  The two soldiers were clearly related by virtue of their similar looks, notwithstanding that one was uniform grey whilst the other was bright pink.

“Identify yourselves, please” announce the aide.
“Maudalina Daisy Pie, Ma’am!”
“Pinkamena Diane Pie, Ma’am!”
The aide smiled to herself; the description she had been issued included the word ‘pink’ in the narrative.  Whilst it may have been possible to take a wild guess based upon their names, visual confirmation removed any room for doubt.
“Maudalina Pie, you are dismissed.  Pinkamena Pie, you have been ordered under Royal Warrant to return to Canterlot.  You are to pack and await transport.  I have no idea what this is to do with, but I wish you luck and hope to see you back once you have done what you have been called back for.”
Pinkie and Maud exited together and exchanged a brief nuzzle.  No words were said before they went their separate ways, merely the silent reinforcement of their sisterly bond.

Twenty minutes later, Pinkie returned in battle armour with a kit bag by her side.  Her Commanding Officer read out a commendation of thanks for the work she had done whilst with the Regiment, then wished her well before directing her to a waiting pegasus.  Outside waited a chariot drawn by two pegasi of the Royal Guard.  This was a calibre of transport that she as a rock farmer and latterly a soldier would never have experienced, yet this was not what caught her attention, for circling in the sky above them were ten, maybe more armoured pegasi also from the Royal Guard.

The pegasus who had come to meet her ushered her briskly into the chariot then leapt into the air beside them, keeping close alongside them as some of the circling pegasi flew down to flank the chariot; the others maintaining combat air patrol above.  Pinkie was a little surprised at the attention she was receiving; such treatment generally being the preserve of royalty, but she took a pragmatic view of the situation and accepted it.

After a long and uneventful journey, the chariot descended and Pinkie caught sight of Canterlot for the first time; it looked like it was straight out of a fairy tale rather than the down to earth practicality of her home town of Rockville.

The escorting pegasi peeled away pair at a time and joined their colleagues who were now starting to circle above, one remaining pair leading the way down to a landing area within the grounds of the Royal Castle.  Down below she could see a dark blue pony with spangled mane and tail apparently waiting for them.
“She’s probably going to be pretty annoyed when she discovers I’m not royalty” she thought to herself.

The ground came up to meet them and Pinkie braced for impact but was surprised that the landing was so smooth she couldn’t tell when they actually touched down.  Luna walked the short distance to meet her guest and opened her mouth to speak.
“Here we go” thought Pinkie “One roasting coming up.”

“Pinkamena Pie?” enquired the Princess.
“Yes Ma’am” she responded.
“We are pleased that thou art safely arrived” continued Luna “Willst thou partake of refreshment before thou art directed to thy quarters?”
“Thank you Ma’am” she replied, starting to feel that perhaps this reception was for her; but why?

Rainbow Dash trotted out to intercept the castle’s latest arrival, attracted by the aerial activity and the arrival of a fellow fighter with whom she could trade war stories.  She started talking immediately and took over the role of escorting her from Luna who clearly had other things to attend.  In truth Luna was tired; this was the middle of her sleep period after all, but she had wanted to oversee the arrival of the third bearer personally; three down, three to go.

No more word came through from the military following their exhaustive searching, so effort was directed towards the civilian sectors.  Their first break came with a pony whose surname Luna had identified as Apple, immediately focusing on apple farms.  It turned out that the Apple family was large and well connected, but although they all seemed to know each other’s business, none of the family had heard of one Jacqueline Apple named by Luna.  Agents went from one apple farm to the next, frequently criss-crossing each other as they followed whatever leads they thought could help.  Finally, one of them came to the Sweet Apple Acres apple sauce canning works in Ponyville.

The unicorn in a black suit and tie walked through the boarded up village of Ponyville, seeing nothing but abandonment and desolation amongst what had once no doubt been a thriving rural community.  This was an image he and his fellow agents had seen all over Equestria; the story the same at each turn.  Had he not become so hardened to the constant hardship, such a catalogue would have tipped him over the event horizon of terminal depression.

He went through his well-rehearsed patter and showed his Royal Warrant to allow work to be suspended briefly while all members of the Apple family could be asked about this Jacqueline Apple who seemed to become more mythical with each passing day.

With the family all gathered together in a supervisor’s office, he asked the same questions that had proved to be fruitless every time he had asked them before; why should today be any different?
“So, Mares and Gentlecolts, I should like to know if you have heard of Jacqueline Apple?”

An old green mare giggled maniacally at mention of the name, and a powerful red stallion joined in with a deep rumble of a laugh while a young orange mare blushed deeply.
“Now who in tarnation said you could use that name?” enquired the young mare as the laughter continued to howl around her.  The agent, a city pony born and bred, looked taken aback, condemning this response as a country sense of humour.
“Hey now sugar cubes, jes you hold on there!  That there’s mah real name; I’m Applejack to everypony else unless I says otherwise!”
“Sorry ma’am” said the stunned agent “Jacqueline is your real name?”
“S’what I jes said.  You can call me Applejack like everypony else, ‘cept for mah friends; they jes call me AJ.”
“Is your name really Jacqueline?” asked a wide-eyed yellow filly with a large pink bow in her mane.
“Aw, don’t you go startin' too, yah hear?” came her big sister’s reply.  At this, the other two started howling uncontrollably.
“Miss Jacqueline, er, Applejack” said the agent with tangible relief in his voice “You are requested at the Royal Castle in Canterlot by Royal Warrant.”  The laughter stopped as abruptly as it had begun.
“Say what now?” said the mare sceptically with her head tilted to one side.  The agent showed her his warrant and allowed them all to study it.
“When?” she asked.
“Right now.  No need to pack; everything you could want will be made available to you, but please, the Princess is waiting.”  At this, all mouths fell wide open.
“Well what yah waitin’ for young ‘un?” demanded the old green mare.
“Yeah, OK Granny; I’m on it” said AJ more than a little confused.

The agent and the farm pony were on the next train from Ponyville to Canterlot and to pass the time, he asked if she knew anything about the other two names on his wanted list.
“No, I ain’t heard of no Fluttershy, but I do recall Rarity; she went to Manehattan last I heard.”
At this, he very nearly fell off his seat.
“C – can you describe her, tell me anything more about her please?” said the startled agent raising his notepad and a pen in his magic, the pages flipping over to a clean sheet.
“Well, shoot” said AJ “She an’ I, well, we never quite hit it off, if yah know what I mean.  She was plenty kind an’ generous an’ all, but she was a bit, you know, prissy; not the practical sort, yah know?” drawled the farm pony.
“Now I know that makes me sound bad, but it’s the honest truth” the farm pony continued “Perhaps it’s jes how she comes over, yah know; maybe if we’d gotten to know each other better I would see her different, like?”
“What did she look like?”
“Well Sugarcube, she’s about the same age as me, white coat, spotless white coat that is, purple mane an’ tail, always real purdy like.”
“How about family; surname, anything like that?”
“Don’t rightly know her sur-name.  She had a lil sis though; she an' Apple Bloom were regular friends.  Right sweet lil singer she was too, ‘cept fer when she would go sing ‘99 buckets of oats on the wall’ – ALL 99 VERSES real loud, if yah know what I mean?”

The agent was scribbling notes furiously as he listened.
“Sweetie Belle; that was her name.  White coated filly with pink an’ purple mane, all poufy like.  They didn’t stay in contact when Rarity left to help The Cause; there ain't much time fer readin' an' writin' these days.”
“Do you remember anything else; parents perhaps?”
At this AJ raised a forehoof to her chin and stroked it as she focused hard, brows furrowed in concentration above her big green eyes while she looked to the roof of the carriage for inspiration.
“Dang …” she uttered, deep in thought “Nope, never met them myself and I don’t recall Rarity speaking of them neither.  Sorry.”

The rest of the journey was spent relaxing in each other’s company, AJ getting to find out about his family, while he in turn got used to her country ways and started to find her truly endearing, if not a little forthright.

When they arrived at the Royal Castle, they were received by Princess Luna personally, delighted to have not only another bearer but also good leads as to where to look for another.  She showed the latest arrival through to a room where two ponies were busy trading war stories whilst a third was immersed in a book.  Since she knew nothing about the front line exploits of Equestria’s forces, she gravitated towards the mare who was reading.  At this point Luna left them.

Four down, two to go.

Whilst agents on the ground roamed across Equestria seeking to find any leads that could help them locate any and all the missing ponies, pegasi agents had only one target in their sights; the missing pegasus.  Since only pegasi could walk on clouds, they decided that Cloudsdale would be a sensible place to start enquiries, free from distractions of unicorns and earth ponies.  With nothing much to go on, they split into groups covering the residential areas, the weather factory and the Cloudeseum.

Those who had gone to the Cloudeseum were first to report back that this elusive Fluttershy had not bequeathed a legacy of sporting achievement and no record of her could be found as an athlete or a registered supporter.  Similarly, those who had gone to the weather factory found no trace of her either and discussions with groups of workers also yielded no new information.  Eventually, all groups set about following door to door enquiries; a painstaking and so far unrewarding process.

For days they made slow progress through the streets, marking off entire suburbs in their wake.  If indeed Fluttershy was a pegasus, she had left no discernible impression anywhere in Cloudsdale so far as they could see.  However, their job would not be done until they had checked every address, so they stuck doggedly at their allotted task, determined that by the time they had finished, if no trace had been found it was because she had no connection with Cloudsdale.

The agents had become used to hearing that nopony had heard of this elusive mare and in full expectation of receiving another rebuffal, an agent knocked at the door of another nondescript residence.  The door opened just a crack and a timid voice was heard from within:
“Yes dear?”
“Good morning Ma’am” responded the practiced patter “I am charged by the Royal Princesses to enquire whether you have heard of a mare known as Fluttershy.”
“Oh my.  She’s not in any trouble is she?  She can be a bit of a handful at times.”
“You know of her?” gasped the agent in surprise.
“Why of course dear, she’s my daughter.”
“May I come in and talk with you please?” said the black suited pegasus, startled at his good fortune.
“I’m sorry, you’ll have to wait for my husband” she replied as the door edged a little further shut.
“Of course Ma’am” said the agent, trying to keep his enthusiasm in check “Can you tell me where I might find her please?”
“No.  I’m sorry; you’ll have to wait for my husband.”
“Thank you.  I’m sorry to have caused you distress.  When will he be available please?”
“I have to go now” came the timid reply at no more than a whisper.

Frustrated, the agent stood back so this nervous mare and possibly also her husband could check him out from the safety of an upstairs window.  Then, he just resigned himself to waiting, for however long it would take.
He became aware of an occasional rustle of curtains as the morning turned into afternoon, but he just waited patiently.  He may have a Royal Warrant, but that didn’t justify his terrorising the citizens of Cloudsdale, no matter how difficult that may be.  Time passed and eventually he spied another black suited figure coming down the road towards him.

“Hey Bud” said the new arrival “Is this as far as you got today?  I thought you’d be at least a block away by now.”
“This is her home” said the first agent “I’ve been waiting all day for her mother to let me in.”
“What?” his partner said incredulously “All day?”
“The lady of the house is waiting for her husband before she will open the door to me.”
“All day?” repeated his partner disbelievingly, adding a cheap shot “You’ve not lost your touch then!”
“Real droll” retorted the agent with no hint of humour “Look, I’ll stay here.  You see what you can find out from the neighbours then go get the others.”
With this, the black suited pegasus set off to perform a full reconnaissance of the area.

“It’s like this” reported the agent to his patient colleague “The couple that lives here are Mr and Mrs Shy and the neighbours say that they are very, repeat very private ponies.  He apparently used to work at the weather factory if that’s any use.”
“Yes, yes it is” said the first agent “Round up the others and go back to the weather factory to see if they can trace any former work colleagues whom Mr and Mrs Shy may trust enough to talk to.”
“On it” came the response as the second pegasus sped off once more.

It was getting dark when a handful of black suited pegasi arrived escorting an elderly grey haired pony.  Lights were on in the windows of all the other houses except for this one.
“Oh, let me handle it” said the old-timer walking up to the door. He knocked, but nothing happened, then looked back at the black suited agents, rolled his eyes and shook his head.
“Hello Mr Shy, it’s your old cloud supervisor from the weather factory.  Look, I know you’re in there, but these guys outside come from Princess Celestia and want to talk with you; nothing heavy I promise.”
“He’s not here” came a timid female voice.
“Oh please, Mrs Shy” he continued “Nopony’s in any trouble and the sooner you speak to these nice ponies, the sooner they’ll go away. Otherwise they’ll be here all night, with lights …”
He paused, then added “… And the neighbours will all be watching … And I shouldn’t be surprised if journalists showed up …”
Slowly, the front door opened a crack and the old-timer beckoned the black suited agent who had been waiting all day for this moment.
“Thanks Mr Shy” said the elderly pony “Good to see you again.”  With that, he slipped inside the door and the agent followed.

Inside the unlit front room the two visitors caught the first shadowy glimpse of their host.
“Shall we turn those lights on?” asked the old-timer.
“Er … No” said Mr Shy “They’ll all be able to see in if we do.”
“OK; close the curtains first then” he suggested.
“But then I might bump into you in the dark” protested Mr Shy meekly.
“We promise we won’t move” assured the old-timer trying not to show the rising frustration he was feeling. He had known Mr Shy a long time, but had forgotten just how painfully timid he was.
“Well, only if you’re sure then.”
“Yes, we’re sure” he said “Please?”
Mr Shy noted the positions of his guests, then walked round them by memory, pulling the curtains closed as he went, before finally switching the light on.

The green pegasus stood timorously by the light switch as if ready to switch it off again if he didn’t like what he saw.  He wasn’t sure if he did like what he saw, but a familiar face convinced him that it might just be safe.
“Thank you” said the agent “Now can we talk please?”
Mr Shy looked to his old supervisor for approval and in return received a nod.
“Mr Shy” he began “The Royal Sisters have asked for your daughter Fluttershy by name.  Would it be possible to speak to her please?
“She’s not in” said Mr Shy quietly, looking down at the floor.
“Mr Shy” he said “You’re very brave stepping in to protect her, but there’s nothing to protect her from.  She’ll be fine.”
“Oh I’m not sure …” his voice trailed off.
“Mrs Shy” called the old-timer “You can come down now; it’s quite safe.”
They waited, then after almost two minutes, gentle hoofsteps sounded on the stairs and the pale peach coloured pegasus descended apprehensively and took her place nervously at her husband’s side, although it was not immediately clear who was supporting whom.

The slow drawn out process of gaining the couple’s trust went on until eventually they felt sufficiently comfortable to tell the agent where their daughter lived and worked.  As soon as the agent had this, he gave his excuses and left leaving the quaking parents with their old friend.  Desperate to get some movement into his wings after a long day of standing doing nothing, the agent briefed his team and in the fading light, they all took off for a farm to the west of Equestria.

Trained to fly under difficult weather conditions, the onset of night presented them with no significant problems as they were privileged to observe the majestic sight of the moon begin its ascent into the darkening sky.  Approaching their destination, the black suited agents split into two groups, one peeling off to the mare’s lodging address whilst the other kept on to the farm where they had been told she worked.

On descending to make their approach to the farm, the pegasi noticed that it was heavily populated by numbers of skittish herbivores that ran in all directions when they passed overhead.  Sheep.  They made a wide arcing bank to check out the lay of the land before circling back to make their landings in a space outside the many fenced off areas near to some outbuildings.  From around the corner of one rickety looking wooden shed, light spilled out from an open door, painting an arc of brightness on the ground.  A faint buzzing sound and some sporadic bleating focused their attention.  The agent who had interviewed Mr and Mrs Shy took the lead, walking round the corner to see a yellow pegasus sitting astride a three-legged stool shearing a particularly fluffy sheep.  She was speaking softly and reassuringly to the sheep and her talents were clearly helping defuse what could otherwise have been a rather fractious undertaking.

The yellow pegasus was wielding her shears frighteningly close to the sheep’s skin, so the agent waited until she had finished separating the sheep from its woolly coat before interrupting.
“Good evening, Miss” said the agent emerging into the shaft of light where he could be seen.
“Oh hello” replied the yellow pegasus quietly.
“Do you know where I may find a pegasus known as Fluttershy?” he enquired.
“Oh my” she replied in little more than a whisper.
“I’m guessing that you may be the mare I’m looking for?” he persisted.
“Eeeeep!” she responded, tailing off into sounds too quiet to be heard.
“It’s alright – don’t worry” he reassured, but she ran off to hide in the comforting darkness of the shed.
“Just one of those days …” he thought to himself.

“Miss Fluttershy” he coaxed, “Do you like the Princess?”
“Yes” she whispered in a tone barely audible “She’s sweet and kind.”
“Would you like to meet her?” he followed up.
“Why?”
“Because she would like to meet you and has written you an invitation.”
“Oh?”
“I’ve spoken with your parents today and they’re quite happy for you to go” he said handing the Royal Warrant into the shadows of the shed.  She took it gingerly and read it.
“Oh gosh!” she said, tiptoeing out into the light once more “If she has written such a nice letter, I really should go.  But what should I do with these sheep?  I have got to shear them all before I go to bed tonight.”
”Don’t worry about that Miss Fluttershy, I’ve got some friends here who are skilled with sheep and would love to take over” he said standing back and turning to where the other agents stood “WOULDN’T YOU GUYS?”
“Oh, well that’s very kind.  As long as the sheep are safe and happy, then I’ll come with you.”

A couple of the youngest members of the squad were left as a gesture to placate Fluttershy, and the rest formed a guard around her as she lifted into the air humming little song to herself.  The pegasi agents were at first caught off guard by how slowly the young mare flew and almost crashed into each other, quickly adopting a more spread out formation to reduce the risk of collision.  Then their leader set course for Canterlot, and they all proceeded very, very slowly.

Fortunately the journey wasn’t too long a distance, which was just as well considering how slowly the group was moving.  Once they got near to Canterlot, two agents sped ahead to inform Luna of their discovery; they also requested a flarepath landing site for their timid young flyer in case she misjudged the approach and hurt herself, just to be safe.

As the party proceeded at butterfly pace Fluttershy saw the Royal Castle light up beneath her and began a gentle descent.
“Careful boys” she called out in a raised whisper “Don’t worry if you can’t keep up with me!”
Some of the pegasi looked at each other with raised eyebrows, but said nothing to dampen the spirits of the young mare who continued at such a slow speed, some wondered how she didn’t simply fall out of the air.

Luna stood ready to greet her latest bearer, rigid with rehearsed formality.  She was a little surprised at how long their approach was taking, but waited stoically for their arrival nonetheless.  Eventually the party landed and the black suited pegasi melted away as Luna advanced to greet her guest.
“Good evening Fluttershy” she welcomed.
“Eeeep!” was all the yellow pegasus could respond.  Luna looked quizzically, but noticed that her new arrival had developed a bright pink blush all across her face.

“Art thou well, Fluttershy?” she commented, fearing that the redness could be a disease.
Fluttershy opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came, so she nodded her head instead.
Luna questioned for a moment what rare characteristic this mare could provide to enable the Elements of Harmony, but dismissed the thought as quickly as it had arrived.  This was the mare she had foreseen, and as such she would not question the mechanism through which such powerful magic could be created.

Only one now remained unaccounted for; Rarity.
> 3 The Plan Comes Together
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The search for Rarity concentrated on Manehattan.  With no surname and little to go on, this would be the hardest challenge yet.  The unfortunate word ‘prissy’ had stuck, and some of the agents having been briefed on her characteristics had christened her the PWU (Prissy White Unicorn), but none would dare utter this in the presence of Princess Luna.

Most searches focused on the types of activities that somepony would do if they were not very practical and a little vain, but nothing turned up.  The unicorn who had first tracked down AJ recalled their train journey together and racked his brains for something that may give another clue to her whereabouts.  She had said something about a younger sister, hadn’t she?  Revelation dawning, it suddenly crossed his mind that the younger sister may not be old enough yet to serve The Cause, so could be free to indulge herself while her sister worked.  What was it she had said? – she was good at singing!

He rifled through lists of local businesses and looked up Stage Schools in the Manehattan area; it had to be worth a try.  Pulling together a list of those that remained open, he grabbed a well-worn map and marked red ink rings around the locations of the theatres and set off to find not Rarity, but Sweetie Belle.

The day had dawned wet, the weather less predictable than it had once been because so many weather ponies had been drafted into front line airborne attack units.  At every theatre he entered, he lingered to stay out of the rain a little longer, following up on any strand of information that came his way.

The stage schools still in business were run on a voluntary basis by retired actors and performers who were unable to contribute to The Cause in any other way, so provided unpaid foalcare for parents too busy to look after their foals while they worked.  The only entry requirement was that the fillies and colts had to display both a stage talent and the will to succeed.

In one theatre that had clearly once been grand but was now starting to tarnish with benign neglect, he had been waiting around to avoid going back into the rain when he had struck up conversation with an old crooner.  During the course of the retired performer’s reminiscences, he mentioned that in a recent competition, a young filly similar to the description had performed an astonishingly competent solo.  Some rummaging around later and the veteran singer dug out the leaflet that had advertised the event, but it was sadly scarce on detail; one thing catching his eye was the date – almost a year ago.

Returning to his map, he drew concentric rings around the theatre he was at and noted that there was only nearby that he hadn’t yet visited.  With his sense of expectancy rising, he paused only to check his bearings, then left the theatre with renewed enthusiasm barely cognisant of the rain falling on him; he had a lead!

A few blocks away his energy had depleted and his awareness of the bitter sting of the rain had returned, but it couldn’t be helped; the net was closing and he knew it.

He shook himself as he ascended the marble steps into the next theatre, another faded masterpiece honouring performers of bygone generations.  It smelled a little musty with lack of use, the large audiences it had been built to welcome having faded into the mists of time.  An elderly unicorn peered at her visitor kindly over horn rimmed spectacles on a chain around her neck.

“How may I help you, Sir?” she enquired, her disarming politeness overwhelming him momentarily.
“Thank you Ma’am” he started “I have been sent to enquire after a talented young filly, a singer by the name of Sweetie Belle.  Have you heard of her by any chance?”
She looked at him and a smile broke out over her face.  He didn’t know what was coming, but he hoped, no he prayed that it would be good.
“What is your interest?” she asked and he sensed a matronly protectiveness kicking in.  He withdrew the Royal Warrant and handed it to her in his magic.  She read it and he took it back, placing it carefully back in its protective envelope.

The elderly mare turned and beckoned him with a coquettish wink that belied her years.  She set off up some elegantly carpeted stairs that led to the back of a large auditorium, silently pushing the doors open and standing to one side holding the door for him to enter.  He edged forward, anticipation rising within him and looked down onto the stage hardly daring to believe what he may see.

A performance was underway and a small audience was being treated to a song and dance number with half a dozen fillies and colts dancing a complex piece of synchronised choreography behind a filly who was belting out a catchy song with supreme self-confidence.  She had a white coat, and although her mane was obscured by her costume, her tail was pink and purple!

“Good, isn’t she” whispered the elderly mare.
“You have no idea” he replied in a similarly hushed tone.
The two of them watched the rest of the performance together in respectful silence, both taking a rare opportunity to immerse themselves in a precious moment of shared pleasure.

As the performance came to an end, the small audience applauded loudly and the two spectators at the back joined in.  As the well-deserved applause died down, he turned to the mare:
“Was her sister here to see the performance?”
“Rarity?” she enquired.
His heart skipped a beat.
“Yes.”  He could say no more as realisation rose up from inside him and strangled any further interaction between his brain and his mouth.

She gestured with her eyes towards one of the adult unicorns filtering along the rows of seats to the exit.  He stammered over an expression of thanks that was at best incoherent, and made his way quickly to intercept her.  As he cut through the auditorium, the elderly mare’s eyes sparkled and she gave a knowing smile.

He caught up with the white unicorn who was wearing utilitarian purple overalls and a purple bow in her mane and spoke in a reverent tone:
“Would you be Miss Rarity?” he enquired, his heart in his throat.
“Why yes” she replied “How can I help you?  Only please make it quick because I should be back at work sewing overalls.”
He withdrew his Royal Warrant again and passed it to her in his magic.  She read it and gasped:
“Surely there must be some mistake.  I am a humble factory worker; it’s my sister who has the talent.”
“There is no mistake” he replied taking back the warrant “You are required as a matter of utmost urgency to report to Princess Luna at the Royal Castle in Canterlot.  Your employer will be informed and all your affairs put straight.  This really is of the utmost importance.”
“Canterlot, you say” she commented “I used to dream of going to Canterlot to meet Royalty.”
“Well, it’s happened” he confirmed “Please come with me.”
“I must bring Sweetie Belle” Rarity said.
“I expect we can catch her in the dressing room if we hurry.”

The two unicorns made their way backstage and Rarity went in to congratulate her sister on her performance.
“Thanks big sis” said Sweetie Belle “But I kinda wasn’t expecting to see you till tonight.  Don’t you have to be back at the factory?”
“No, we’re going to Canterlot instead” said Rarity.
“What, really?” she squeaked in excitement.
“Yes, your sister’s right” he said “You two are both going by personal invitation from the Princess.”
Sweetie Belle’s green eyes grew wide with anticipation, then she broke into an impromptu burst of song.

Having checked in with the search organisers to tell them he had located the last pony required by the Princesses, the party of unicorns embarked on the next train to Canterlot.
“You know, it’s funny” said the agent looking at the white mare, still in her purple overalls “I was on a train a week or so back with a delightful earth pony named Applejack who told me about you.”
“Nothing bad I hope” Rarity quipped “Hmmm, Applejack, Applejack – oh yes, I remember.  Years ago.”
“I think she regretted not having been more closely acquainted with you when you knew each other back then” he replied.
“That was all before the return of the Crystal Empire and that wretched King Sombra” she pouted “Celestia only knows where we could have been otherwise.”
“Quite so” he responded enigmatically.  He felt guilty that he had been the one to add the PWU tag into the description of this kind and hardworking mare.  She behaved like a conscientious mother figure, who selflessly gave her little sister everything she could ask for, whilst working hard in a clothes factory, doing everything she could for The Cause.  The more he engaged in conversation with her, the more he felt drawn to her loving and generous nature; secretly hoping that the journey would last longer than it needed to.

Word had reached the Royal Castle that the final bearer had been found and Luna waited anxiously for her to arrive, the wait paralysing in its intensity.  She was the last piece in the jigsaw, and if the news from her sister was to be believed, possibly the last chance for Equestria.

A contingent of pegasi from the Royal Guard had flown to intercept the train carrying Rarity from Manehattan and had shadowed its progress from above; Luna had not wanted to take any chances at this late stage.  Further guards had gone to the station and provided an escort for the unicorns to the Royal Castle.  Once the agent had made the formal introductions and Rarity recovered from her knees turning to jelly, he retired to allow his Princess to proceed with the urgent matter in hand.  This was not the only VIP arrival scheduled for today.

Sweetie Belle pranced with excitement at being shown around the castle and was introduced to some of the Court’s colts and fillies as a distraction, while Rarity was led away to a room containing five other young mares.  When she entered, she saw a cyan coloured pegasus rolling around, crying with laughter and banging her forehoof on a table as a pink earth pony continued her impressions of famous Wonderbolts, while on the other side of the room three other ponies were still sorting out where they fitted in.  All conversations stopped and everypony rose at the same as soon as Luna walked in, although Twilight had to be given a gentle kick as she was immersed in a book.

The newest arrival was briefly introduced to the group, but then all present suddenly became aware that instead of leaving them alone to socialise, this time Princess Luna was staying with them.  Heady expectancy drifted in the air as they all realised that the reason they had been summoned was about to be explained.

The six young mares all remained standing out of respect while Luna eyed them from the front like a school teacher, the sheer dominance of her regality demanding their attention.
“Prithee takest thine seats together at the front” she requested and they all complied, moving as one into a compact group as requested.

Next, there was a knock at the door and Luna’s secretary entered.  A barely perceptible nod was exchanged between the two and next thing, a stream of muscular pegasi filed in, taking places behind the young mares.  Rainbow Dash was in her element, identifying the respective units from which these fighters had been drawn.  Then she stared in incredulity to see that a cohort of Bat Ponies was also coming in; these guys were awesome!

Once all were settled, Princess Celestia herself came in, the six mares in the front row all being stunned into silence.  With a nod of approval from Luna, Celestia spoke.
“Mares and Gentlecolts, thank you for joining my Sister and me today.  It is not a well-kept secret that the war with Sombra is not going well.  He has developed a means of mind control and equips his army with special helmets that force the wearers to do his bidding.  That means they fight without question, without fear and without rest, only stopping when they are dead.  Against such opposition, even our best fighting units are hard pressed to hold ground, and making progress is all but impossible.”

“Now; a brief history lesson.  A thousand years ago, King Sombra took over the Crystal Empire and enslaved the Crystal Ponies.  He was a tyrannical ruler with a heart as black as night and under him the once glorious Crystal Empire was turned into a dark land, devoid of love and hope.  Princess Luna and I challenged him and we prevailed, turning him to shadow and imprisoning him in the ice of the arctic north.  Sadly we were not quick enough and he cast a curse on the Crystal Empire that caused it to disappear completely.”

“A few years ago it reappeared and I despatched my niece Princess Cadence and Captain of the Royal Guard Shining Armor to reclaim the territory and banish him once more, but they never returned and we must assume them to be missing in action.”
“Princess Luna and I have tried to tackle him once more with our magic, but he has now grown too strong and we cannot beat him in magical combat.”

“One last hope remains, and that is to resurrect the Elements of Harmony.  These ancient and powerful stones were used by Princess Luna and myself to turn a powerful draconequus into stone, so we know their power.  When they were last used, it was by me alone against an evil that had overcome my dear Sister, and as such neither of us can wield this power again.”

“Princess Luna has tapped into an alternate universe, what she believes to be the dominant timeline, in which the Elements of Harmony are wielded successfully by six young mares.  Those six mares are represented in this timeline by the six of you in the front row, and Princess Luna believes that you and you alone will be able to harness the same power to defeat King Sombra.  We have no other options.”

All the mares stared open-mouthed at this last statement and Fluttershy let out a muffled “Eeeep!”

“The Elements of Harmony lie within the ruins of the old Castle of The Two Sisters, deep in the Everfree  Forest, and that is where we must go if we are to succeed.  We believe that King Sombra has got wind that we are about to try something and he can be expected to make our lives as difficult as possible, which could include sending forces to stop us.”

“You pegasi and Bat Ponies have been chosen because you are the best and most trusted combat flyers in Equestria.  We do not know what King Sombra may try to stop us, but we need to be prepared to fight in either light or darkness which is why we have called for two dozen of the best hoof picked pegasi and Bat Ponies.  This mission could be dangerous; if King Sombra realises the stakes, then he will be brutal in stopping us.  If anypony wants to step down, they may do so now and they will suffer no bad report or loss of status, but all those who stay must be aware of the risks they run.  This mission is strictly for volunteers only.”

As expected, nopony moved.

“Princess Luna and I will need all of our alicorn power for the magic to work and as such I will lower the sun this evening but not allow it to set, and the moon will begin its ascent but go no further.  This will allow Princess Luna and me to conserve our magical energy and provide an environment in which both pegasi and Bat Ponies will be effective.”

“As the sun will be low, the Royal Ophthalmologist has devised some protective optical wear to protect the sensitive eyes of the Bat Ponies.”  With this, she produced a cardboard box and withdrew a pair of Ray-Bans to a murmur of approval from the Bat Ponies.
“Whoa, cool and cooler!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash, although there were some unhappy murmurs among the pegasi.

“Finally, I will be in charge of the flight and Princess Luna will be in charge from when we land, including all the magical aspects.  Any questions?”

A pegasus from the Royal Guard stood.
“Yes?” enquired Celestia.
“Errm, Ma’am” he started “As the sun will be low, can we have some ‘protective optical wear’ too please?”
At this, Celestia brought out another cardboard box and just smiled.
“Thank you Ma’am” he said to appreciative murmurs from the other pegasi.
“Take off in one hour.  No, repeat no communication with anypony about any aspect of this mission.”
With this, they were all dismissed.

The young mares were apprehensive, especially Fluttershy who looked like she could wither on the spot.  Rainbow Dash on the other hoof just responded with one word “Sweet!”
> 4 Equestria's Last Stand
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

An hour later with both sun and moon sharing the sky, the Royal Sisters in battle armour stood before their cohorts of pegasus and Bat Pony guards respectively.  The young mares were kitted out for the journey, Pinkie and Rainbow Dash each in their respective unit’s combat equipment.  There were three chariots prepared; on the toss of a coin, two were to be pulled by two pairs of Bat Ponies, whilst one was to be pulled by pegasi from the Royal Guard.

Waiting for the off was always a nerve jangling time.  Fluttershy had wanted to run away, but Twilight had shadowed her since leaving the briefing and hadn’t even given her the opportunity to hide.

Celestia stepped forward and ushered the six mares to the chariots.  Rainbow Dash in her combat suit having already taken up position to fly alongside the Royal Guard was instructed in no uncertain terms that she was to get into a chariot and remain there until they reached the Castle of the Two Sisters.  She had huffed even though the order had come directly from the Ruler of Equestria, but forced herself against her fighter’s better judgement to comply.  One of the white stallions towing her and Pinkie gave her a knowing look, recognising the ingrained military desire to be combat ready and fly alongside fellow fighters.

The hour had arrived.  Pegasi from the Royal Guard keeping up their vigil overheard while the party of 48 guards and six charioteers made last minute adjustments, and then Celestia took a few steps forward with wings unfurled and leapt gracefully into the purple sky followed by the first chariot and then the other two in a vee formation with Luna at the rear.  Never in recent years had there been such a high value airborne convoy, or such an important one.

They made good time, the guards dividing their duties between close escort and combat air patrol, criss-crossing the sky above them.  They continued on their flightpath over the sad remains of Ponyville and onwards to the start of the Everfree, everything going smoothly.

Suddenly, a flight of Bat Ponies dived from their position high above, all eyes turning to see what was happening.  A pair of wyverns was coming up from the Everfree to cause trouble.  The few seconds it took for the Bat Ponies to engage gave everypony the frightening sight of these two large dragon like predators climbing towards the chariots.

As the first of the Bat Ponies closed in, one of the wyverns shot forth a bolt of fire that blinded his attacker’s sensitive eyes just before he felt the incinerating blast of high powered flame and tumbled out of the sky, smoke trailing, until his remains impacted the forest floor. His colleagues powered into the wyverns, incensed by the loss of one of their own and pounded them mercilessly, a flight of pegasi piling in to join the fight.  Whilst there may have been rivalry between the pegasi and the Bat Ponies, when the chips were down they displayed a close bond of mutual support and neither would accept the loss of one of the others without extorting a very high price from their attacker.

The fight raged on, another Bat Pony being torched after having got too close to a fire bolt and ending his fight spinning down out of control until he speared in to the forest below.  One of the pegasi got too close to a wyvern’s claws and never felt the impact when he was smacked over the head by a swing from its powerful foot, his world ending in painless darkness.

The mares who had never seen combat before were shocked and sickened by the full horror of what they saw unfolding around them and hid behind what little safety the chariots could offer.  Rainbow Dash just wanted to get out and help her fellow fighters but a knowing Princess Celestia turned back to issue a firm “NO”.  Rainbow wept with unrestrained frustration, while most of the other mares wept in fear.

Finally the guards cut through the tendons in one of the wyverns’ wings and it fell out of the sky with a blood curdling scream.  Its partner put up a short resistance then turned and fled to avoid the same fate.

Luna was the first to notice it.  She sensed a chill and turned around to see the sky darkening and a horde of Sombra’s pegasi bearing down towards them.  Too late she realised that the wyverns had been a diversion and now all their top cover was down at low level – they were defenceless from above!  The whole sky seemed to shake with a deep sinister laughter, Sombra’s laughter; he was coming for them.

“SISTER!” Luna screamed, causing all those in the chariots to look round and see the frightening image of dozens of helmeted pegasi diving down onto them from behind.  That, however, was not the sight that scared them most, moreover it was the inky blackness spreading over the sky with green eyes set with demonic red irises leaving purple smoke trails behind them; an image born in Tartarus itself.

Celestia turned in response to her sister’s cries and gasped at what she saw.
“DIVE!” she ordered and the chariots entered a crash dive causing their occupants to experience negative g as they hung on for their lives.

The guards who had been fighting the wyverns could now also see the impending attack from above and struggled back to provide defence to the chariots with their precious cargoes.  They knew they would be too far away as the first wave of attacks hit, and that their colleagues who had stayed behind to protect the chariots were hopelessly outnumbered.  It was a disaster.

Of those guards still with the chariots, two groups now peeled off, leaving a bare handful to provide close support.  Those that had just broken ranks could be seen flying furiously to get into position to take the diving attackers from the side, whilst four others were adopting a near-suicidal head on approach, forming up closely together to act as a giant fist and smash into the first wave of attacks and break it up.  As the enemy got closer every pegasus and Bat Pony could see that their attackers all wore the same helmets with a ghostly green glow emanating from each of the eye slits.

Each of the four heading straight towards the diving horde aimed for the wings of an attacker as a head-on body to body impact would surely kill both ponies given the closing speeds.  Just before impact, they folded their wings to minimise risk of personal damage, their armoured bodies now nothing more than solid projectiles smashing headlong into their opponents.

The strategy had been risky but it had paid off, as three masked pegasi were seen to tumble out of the sky, one of the guards having missed his target.  Those who had made impact felt dazed and winded but wound themselves up for the next attackers while their colleagues below flew in to tackle more.

Those ponies still gaining height following the wyvern attacks could see that their colleagues had been fairly successful with their improvised tactics, however one masked attacker was still diving down towards the lead chariot.  In sickening slow motion it impacted the left pegasus, breaking his wing and knocking him out.  His pegasus partner pulling on the right side felt the impact and looked as the chariot dragged steeply to the left and began diving.  He noticed in shock that his partner’s head was lolling about in the airstream, while his wing fluttered uselessly above him.
“We’re going in!” shouted the stallion who was harnessed into what had now become a lethal deadweight.

Pinkie the soldier had stared death in the face before and remained calm as Rainbow grabbed her and spread her wings, pulling her clear.  The cyan pegasus looked at the other two chariots and could see AJ and Rarity holding each other, eyes wide and mouths agape, whilst in the other Fluttershy was sobbing uncontrollably with her face buried in Twilight’s coat.  At least AJ and Rarity looked like they were able to help accept their new arrival, so she flew above their chariot and deposited Pinkie carefully beside them.  Then Rainbow went off to join the fight.

Celestia turned to see the chariot enter a spin with a struggling pegasus still trying to keep aloft, but the battle was futile and the end inevitable.  Then she saw Rainbow just about to intercept a masked attacker and lit her horn, freezing her in a holding spell.  She would have saved the charioteer too if she could, but was only able to address one target at a time and Rainbow was the most important. Nonetheless being forced into making this unenviable decision made her furious, it had cost one or maybe two lives unnecessarily.

“Sister, take over!” she cried to Luna who moved forward to lead the two remaining chariots.
Celestia meanwhile dragged the seething Rainbow maned mare and dumped her with Twilight and Fluttershy with a very stern expression.  She had been forced to use her magic and was really angry now, joining in the battle and blasting any and all attackers that got too close, while the remaining guards tackled many more.  The battle was claiming about three attackers to every guard reflecting the skill and experience of the hoof picked pegasi and Bat Ponies, but their numbers were reducing.  In the distance, she could see the Castle of the Two Sisters.  Just a little bit longer …

The chariots were skimming the tree tops, occasional thwacks to the chassis and wheels bearing testament to the fine margin that kept them in the air.  A few masked attackers screamed by chased by a pegasus or Bat Pony, but mostly the attackers were behind; Rainbow Dash watching as the aerial carnage continued in a deadly aerial ballet.  She was impressed by the courage of the guards against the numerically superior attackers but also at the power and majesty of Celestia knocking down scores of them all by herself.

Finally, they skimmed over a ravine and landed a stone’s throw from the ruined castle, Luna urging the shocked ponies inside whilst unharnessing one of the Bat Ponies who would then be able to release his colleagues to join the fight.

The castle was forbidding, but Luna knew her way around intimately as it had once been her home.  She galloped ahead with the others in tow, making her way to the room where she knew the Elements of Harmony to be.  Hurriedly, she laid out the magical items she needed and set a scroll in front of her, issuing commands as to how the room should be set up.

Meanwhile, back over the Everfree, the last of the masked pegasi had dropped and Celestia counted her remaining guards.  Less than a dozen, and that included the four Bat Ponies who had been pulling the chariots!  It had been carnage, and they certainly couldn’t handle another assault without reinforcements.

Down on the forest floor, a flash of gold caught her eye and she banked down to investigate followed by the guards.  As she got closer she could see it was a pair of white pegasi tangled in the remains of the chariot that had been brought down during the combat. She flared and landed as close as she could and walked over.

The sight that greeted her told its own story.  Having lost his colleague, the remaining charioteer had clearly attempted a landing, but the chariot had caught and bounced, snapping his tethered body as it overturned.  Although he looked like he was only resting, the unnatural angle between the front and rear parts of his body betrayed the severity of his injuries under the skin.  The white stallion was still breathing, but she knew immediately that his injuries were beyond even her magical power at this stage.

Celestia drew up close to him, speaking softly in his ear.
“End it” he whispered, his breathing laboured.
She lay down beside him and cradled his head more tenderly than any lover he had ever known and slipped her dagger from its scabbard.  She pressed its point against his chest, his coat puckering with the pressure she was applying.
“I’m ready” he whispered and looked deep into her lilac eyes as she rammed the blade into his body, twisted it and pulled it out again.
She held him and spoke softly as the life drained from his body, her face being the last thing he ever saw.  When his eyes finally glazed over, she gently drew down his eyelids and carefully lowered his gallant head before getting up.
She gave him a last look, then saluted him and turned away to take off, her white coat now soaked in crimson.

Pegasi and Bat Ponies alike bowed to Celestia with renewed respect.  They were fighters, they knew that this meant they could fall in the line of duty, but each wished that when their time came, they could die bravely and be blessed to take their last breath in the arms of one of the Royal Sisters.  No words were exchanged.  None were needed.

Celestia made the short flight to the castle with no further incident, the remaining guards, numbering only eight, barely sufficient to mount a bodyguard.  Upon landing, they posted themselves two at each face of the building to ensure that they were not surprised again.  She strode up the familiar stone steps and into the Great Hall before trotting upstairs to where she knew the others waited.

The purple light of dusk showed through the windows and candles burned brightly inside, their light glinting randomly off the individual tiny panes that made up the remaining leaded windows. At the sight of her blood drenched sister, Luna paused, shooting her a look that asked “OK?”
She nodded imperceptibly, not willing to elaborate.
“Sister, I had to call upon my power in the fight” Celestia offered “We barely won, and would have certainly lost otherwise.  I apologise.”
“Our powers remain intact, so we can steer the spell, but we shall still need to draw upon thy magic to deliver the necessary power, Sister.”
“I will do my best.  Please direct me as you will.”

Luna directed the ponies to a circle described on the stone floor with five head sized stones in the middle, each bearing a distinctive individual mark.  She directed the young mares to stand on the perimeter, forming a semicircle facing inwards towards the stones while her sister stood on the same perimeter circle facing them.
“I can’t help but notice we have only five of the six Elements” observed Celestia.
“Patience, dear Sister” replied Luna "We may not wield the power of the Elements any longer, so we are denied the sixth Element. We believe it will appear, but not to us.”
“I sure hope you’re right” said Celestia under her breath.

The blue alicorn lit her horn and walked slowly round the circle reciting incantations and lighting bowls of incense at regular intervals.  Having completed a circuit around the marked perimeter, she turned to stand next to her sister at the front, facing the stones.
“Light thy horn please, Sister.”

Celestia complied and Luna closed her eyes, her horn glowing a deeper, richer blue, her aura reaching out to the stones and each of the six mares.  As the bond grew stronger, so a yellow aura from Celestia’s horn was drawn in, building power.

The two alicorns gritted their teeth as the power required by the spell demanded more and more energy from them, but gradually the stones began to move, levitating from the floor and starting to spin in a circular orbit, gaining speed.

Just at that moment one of the pegasi guards burst in to the room.
“Princess, King Sombra’s attacking again and we can’t hold him!”
“Just a little bit more ...” said Luna under her breath, her coat glowing in the sweat of her effort.
Celestia’s forelegs were buckling under the strain of maintaining the level of her magic, tears rolling down her muzzle, but she dug deep and gave it everything she had left.

The whirling stones then began to glow in different colours and merged into one, leaving a rainbow coloured ribbon in its wake when suddenly there was a blinding flash as the Elements of Harmony drained the last of the power from the two alicorns and cut their magical links, throwing them aside and casting a protective dome over the six chosen mares.

All six mares found themselves being gently levitated in the magical embrace of the Elements as the multicoloured ribbon coalesced into beautiful gemstones, each one gravitating towards its rightful bearer.  Once each stone had bonded with its bearer, each found themselves being gently returned to the floor and the protective barrier rolled back.

Just then the roof was ripped off the castle, leaving the room they were in suddenly exposed to the dusk sky; but it wasn’t the subtle shade of purple they had got used to, moreover an inky blackness with enormous green eyes and red irises.  A low rumbling laugh filled the skies and a strong wind whipped around the room blowing out the candles and scattering the smouldering incense, but all those within the circle were protected and it had no effect.

Twilight turned to stare into the face of their enemy, not afraid, but possessed of a newly discovered courage, flanked by five other equally resolute ponies, each wearing a glittering new necklace.
“King Sombra!” she shouted “You have caused pain and misery to reign over this land.  Many good ponies have died and you are responsible.  While I cannot bring them back, I BANISH YOU!”

With that, her eyes burned the most brilliant white and a stream of vibrant coloured light shot from each of the six gemstones, merging into a splendid multicoloured trail forged from the power within the Elements of Harmony and the six mares who wore them.  The rainbow trail shot out to Sombra making him howl in pain and shock.  The spell flashed around him, wrapping him in tight spirals, but he retaliated by summoning black crystals to sprout out, piercing the rainbow ribbon and threatening to cut it to shreds.

In response, the ribbon span round him faster, choking the crystals and shattering them as they reappeared, closing in on him ever tighter as he cast his spells more and more frantically.  Then with an echoing howl of rage and frustration, the rainbow ribbon formed into an unbroken multicoloured ball, enveloping him and his dark magic, silencing his final screams before shrinking in on itself, smaller and smaller, finally reducing to a tiny dot and blasting him into oblivion in a spectacular flash of light.  He was gone.

The pegasus guard stared in disbelief.  The instant King Sombra had vanished, the strong wind had stopped as quickly as it had arrived and the darkness lifted, allowing the sky to drift back to its familiar dusk purple.  He looked into the room and saw that both Royal Princesses along with the six special mares were unconscious on the floor. Princess Luna had been right; these mares were special.

A few hours later, the mares and alicorns were starting to wake.  Reports were coming in from all over Equestria that the mind control helmets used to maintain Sombra’s armies had deactivated with Sombra gone and none of the ponies was eager to continue the war; they were all just glad the nightmare was over and wanted to go home.

“Princess Luna” asked Twilight “The Elements of Harmony are powered through friendship magic aren’t they?”
“Yes” replied Luna “Thou are correct.”
“Then how did we make it work?  I mean, we barely know each other and we’re all so different” queried Twilight.
“Do not be constrained to think in the linear realm.  The friendship that the Elements of Harmony called upon was but a future echo of the friendship you six will come to share, not something that has been nurtured in the past.  You will all become firm friends, that much is clear.  If not, you could not have carried off what you did so successfully.”
“I’m still not quite sure what you mean” said Twilight.
“Don’t you think that the adventure you have all had over the last few days is a good basis to start a friendship?” chipped in Celestia “After all, it’s a pretty impressive shared experience – you did just save Equestria!”
At this, Twilight blushed.

“Nice tiara, by the way” said Celestia with a sly wink.
“What ...?”
“We suggest thou lookest in the mirror” said Luna “Thou hast discovered the sixth Element.”
“A crown fit for a Princess?” added Celestia, allowing a mischievous smile to cross her face while Twilight rushed off to find a mirror.
“Sister!” chided Luna with a shocked look “Transport through the realms is our province; it is not thy domain.  By what right dost thou intercede?”
“You talk in your sleep” said Celestia and playfully booped her sister on the nose.
> Epilogue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the time it had taken for all the ponies to recover from their spell working, teams of pegasi messengers, medical orderlies and stretcher-bearers had arrived at the Castle of the Two Sisters.  Those with medical expertise were directed pick up the fallen from the aerial battle over the Everfree, whether they were from friendly or hostile forces; there was to be no discrimination.

Luna leant in close to whisper something in her sister’s ear and Celestia nodded.
“Twilight Sparkle” requested Luna “Prithee willst thou attend us?”
The young unicorn trotted over, now no longer overawed at being in the presence of Royalty.
“Thou hast demonstrated great knowledge of magic and its applications” Luna began “And we are most impressed.”
Twilight blushed bright pink at the compliment.

“We have the ability to direct magic inaccessible to any other in Equestria” Luna continued “Thou hast shown a rare gift with magic and we believe that thou, above any other of our subjects, should be given the opportunity to explore these realms under our tutelage.”
“What she means” said Celesta, translating “Is that she wants to take you as her private student.  I suggest you might want to say ‘yes’.”
“Oh, thankyou thankyou thankyou!” Twilight stumbled over her words and rushed to give Luna a big hug.
Initially a little alarmed, Luna wrapped a foreleg tenderly around the neck of the young mare as she nuzzled in close.
“I think that’s a ‘yes’” said Celestia.

Once the medical teams had confirmed they had done all that could be done, Celestia led the six mares and the surviving guards out to the two remaining chariots.
“Mares and Gentlecolts” she began “I have received word that parties are breaking out across Equestria, and I believe that you have earned your share.  Let us not dwell here, but head for Canterlot to join in the celebrations.”

Of the 54 guards that had begun the adventure, there were now only three of Celestia’s guard and five of Luna’s Bat Ponies.

As a mark of respect to Celestia’s charioteers that had been lost in the battle, she requested that two of her remaining guards may be allowed to pull Luna’s second chariot.  Her sister accepted of course, and two stallions of the Royal Guard and two Bat Ponies were harnessed to the chariots ready for their passengers.

The six mares walked out to the chariots, three in each, Rainbow Dash not putting a hoof out of line this time.
“Rainbow Dash” said Celestia, summoning Rainbow to her at the front of the convoy.
“Would you like to fly alongside with the guards?” she enquired.
At this, all the guards stood to attention and saluted the cyan pegasus who returned their salute smartly whilst inside she was screaming “Ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh!”
She took up position on the right hand side next to a white coated stallion of the Royal Guard, a big smile spreading right across her face.

Celestia and Luna took off first and flew in perfect formation with two chariots behind them, two Bat Ponies on their left side, a Royal Guardspony on the right along with Rainbow Dash and a Bat Pony at the rear.

When they arrived over Canterlot, they could all hear the cheers and the applause rising up from below.  The chariots and the guards peeled off to land and Celestia turned to her sister:
“Time for some grandstanding I think” she said.
“Verily Sister, thou hast read our mind again” replied Luna, and then added with a smile “Art thou certain thou hast not mastered magic of which thou should be telling us?”
They banked and soared gracefully over the city, perfectly synchronised in all their movements, providing a most wonderful display for the inhabitants, who were now finally freed from the yoke of oppression and cheering the victorious Royal Sisters.

At a reception later, Twilight approached Luna to talk about the future echoes of friendship that had powered the Elements of Harmony.
“Each of the bearers hath a special attribute of which thou may or may not yet be aware” said Luna “Thou willst be aware of the loyalty shown by Rainbow Dash in battle and Pinkamena Pie’s ability to make her laugh.  What thou dost not know is that our agents have reported traits of honesty, generosity and kindness demonstrated by the others.  The Elements of Harmony have chosen their bearers and we have chosen thee to enhance thy magical skills; this is how Equestria will be remade.”