> Ascension
>  by King Ice
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Beginning
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Snowy Dawn proudly exited the throne room, still inspecting her wings. She… really did it. It was said that by being the Queen’s student, it would be possible to become an alicorn. She honestly thought it was a myth, but this just proved it wasn’t! She felt much different from before. Her power was greater, but she had better control of it than when she was a foal. Unfortunately, it looked like she still didn’t get her cutie mark. After all these years, the spots where it should remain blank. Did that mean she had no talent? It was a question that always remained in her head since she was a small filly.

They were still there, but she wouldn’t be able to deny that accomplishing so many things under the Queen’s guidance gave her some confidence. She knew what being an alicorn entailed. She would probably be chosen to rule one of Equestria’s districts, and if something were to happen to the Queen, then she would take her place. Equestria was composed of a single huge city that covered most of its territory. The more time passed, the more space they needed for habitations, forcing them to expend each city until they were all connected. Now, all of Equestria was separated into districts while at the very center of it laid Canterlot; the capital and also where the Queen’s castle was.

Knowing that she would be responsible for some of those areas made Snowy shiver. Canterlot was the embodiment of peace and order; the place in which the Queen’s eyes were said to be everywhere. Her presence was enough to fill any potential criminal with fear, making the capital very peaceful. However, that wasn’t the case for the rest of Equestria; and to think she would have responsibilities in these districts made Snowy shiver in fear.

Luckily, the moment she stepped out of the castle, someone she knew very well was here for her.

“Snowy!” A unicorn with an orange coat and a blonde mane suddenly embraced her. “I got out of my training the moment I saw that light! Are you alright? What happened?” She inquired while holding her tighter and tighter.

“C-Can’t breath… Rune…” Snowy managed to breathe out before being released and catching her breath. Now that her friend wasn’t just an orange blur assaulting her anymore, she could also see that she wore a golden armor while some kind of small halberd was strapped on her back.

“Sorry, he he. You look like you’re fine! You had me worried there,” Rune chuckled as she rubbed the back of her head.

“I didn’t notice…” Snowy whispered while a smile crept up her face. “Anyway, I’m better than fine! Did you notice anything different?” She asked while blushing as Rune looked at her from head to toe. Suddenly her eyes widened in shock.

“A-Are those wings?!” She shouted as she ran up to her and lifted her wings, checking them over. “You’re an alicorn! A-And you’re all white!”

“Now you notice my coat isn’t of the same color?” Snowy asked while chuckling. Rune could only blush in embarrassment.

“I noticed! I was just… joking. Anyway, I can’t believe it! My friend is an alicorn! Take that Midnight!” Rune shouted as she jumped on her alicorn friend again.

“I can hardly believe it, too! Hahaha, you’re going to make both of us fall down at this rate,” Snowy laughed as Rune let go of her.

“We have to celebrate that! Come on, let’s call the others! I bet they won’t believe what they’re seeing!” Rune exclaimed in excitement as she started running ahead only to stop in her tracks and turn around. “Unless you want to tell your mother first?”

“N-No, my mom can wait. I’ll let her know tonight,” Snowy answered, her mood dropping quickly the moment her mother was mentioned. “Anyway, I’m all for celebrating it. But don’t you have duties as the captain of the royal guard?”

“Pfft, those can wait. I don’t have anything important today, so I can get some time off for my best friend!” Rune replied, which brought a smile upon the alicorn’s face soon enough.

“Alright, I guess I can’t really refuse then,”

“Great!” Rune’s horn lit up as green smoke came out of it until it turned into a screen and faced the unicorn. They waited a few seconds until a face suddenly appeared into the smoke. It was a purple unicorn with a pink mane and a wide smile.

“Rune! It’s good to see you! You don’t call me out of the blue like that usually!” The mare greeted Rune. Her name was Mirage Dreamer.

“I know, but something we have to celebrate happened! Are you at your apartment right now?”

“Celebrate? Now this couldn’t be a better reason to cook some good cupcakes! And yes, I am!” Mirage answered, looking more excited than ever. Snowy couldn’t help but smile at this sight.

“Great! I already have Snowy with me; we’re coming right away. Call Azure and Blueberry, alright?” Rune asked as Mirage nodded.

“I’m doing it right away! See you soon!” Mirage replied as the green smoke vanished from Rune’s horn.

“Let’s go, Snowy! The sooner we get there, the quicker we’ll taste her cupcakes!” Rune licked her lips as she trotted down the castle’s stairs, closely followed by the new alicorn.

As Snowy and Rune walked through Canterlot’s streets to their friend’s home; she looked around. Not much has changed since she started learning under the Queen Twilight. The buildings were numerous and tall enough that they disappeared through the clouds. The sky, as usual, was darkened by gray clouds, blocking most of the sunlight. There were rare days when pegasi and unicorns managed to get rid of most of them. Unfortunately, today wasn’t one of these days. Although there were many pegasi flying above them; Snowy honestly wondered how there could be so many of them flying up there without any accidents. Granted they were experienced, but still.

“So… Did anything happen lately?” Snowy asked, breaking the silence between the two of them.

“You’d think being the captain of the Royal Guard would be hard, but honestly I don’t have that much to do,” Rune admitted as they walked through a huge crowd of ponies, some throwing glances at Snowy’s wings. “Canterlot is pretty peaceful, and unless something really serious happens in one of the districts, then the regular guards over there will do the work,” Rune explained as Snowy nodded.

“Well, it’s good if it’s easy then,”

“I mean... becoming the captain took a lot of work, but yeah it’s pretty much a job without many difficulties. Although I would rather want it to be hard,”

“Really?”

“Yep! Right now, it’s a bit boring. Besides, a lot of civilians think that we’re pretty much useless because of how little work we do,” Rune sighed as Snowy placed a wing over her shoulders. “Sometimes, I wish something would happen,”

“I thought you didn’t care what other ponies think of you,” Snowy smiled.

“W-Well… I don’t. It’s just that I wouldn’t want you to believe what everypony is saying,” Rune blushed in embarrassment as Snowy moved her wing away.

“You know me. I would never listen to somepony badmouthing one of my friends,” The alicorn smirked, making her friend smile.

“Yeah, it was a bit stupid worrying about that now that I think about it,” Rune admitted as she laughed softly.

“It’s okay; I know what it’s like,” Snowy replied softly as they continued on their way.

It didn’t take them long before they finally arrived in front of the building where Mirage’s apartment was. Thankfully, she lived on the first floor, so they didn’t need to take the elevator.

“Wait! Before we go in!” Rune stopped her from going in before looking around. Snowy raised an eyebrow as her friend ran inside a store nearby, and came out a minute later with a cloak in her magic grab. “Here! Wear this!” She handed it to the alicorn.

“Okay… But why?”

“We’re going to hide your wings and your coat, too. When everypony is there, you’ll take it off! It would be hilarious to see their reaction!” Rune explained as Snowy put the cloak on.

“Oh! I get it! It will be a surprise!” Snowy nodded, effectively hiding her body under the cloak. Realizing her head and horn could still be seen, she cast a spell, making her coat darker.

“That’s perfect! Let’s go!” Rune jumped to the building’s entrance in excitement as Snowy followed behind.

When they arrived in front of Mirage’s apartment door, she opened it immediately the moment they knocked.

“You’re already here? You really couldn’t wait to taste my cupcakes, could you?!” She exclaimed as she let them in. Her apartment was certainly colorful. Although the colors were a bit too… bright for most ponies’ liking.

“You said it!” Rune answered before leaving her halberd against the wall and looking around.

“Oh! And what happened to you, Snowy? It’s not every day that I see you wearing cloaks,” Mirage pointed out as Snowy waved with her hoof.

“It’s nothing; don’t worry. I just wanted to test something new. Her Majesty actually suggested it,” Snowy lied as she stepped inside.

“Well, if it’s Queen Twilight’s suggestion, then it probably is a good one!” Mirage smiled before turning around, seeing that Rune was already at the table where the cupcakes were. She was staring at them while drooling, clearly about to gulp all of them down. “Don’t you touch those, Rune! The others aren’t there yet,” Mirage said, then looked at Rune’s pleading eyes. “A-Alright, you can take one I guess,”

“Ha! Works every time!” Rune muttered to herself as she took a bite of one of the cupcakes. “Here! Take one, too, Snowy,” She handed one of them to her alicorn friend.

“Thank you,” She replied as she bit down on it.

“So, how did your day go, girls?” Mirage inquired as she walked up to them.

“Nothing special,” Rune answered before swallowing the last piece of cupcake she took.

“It was great; Her Majesty congratulated me on some of my assignments!”

“That’s amazing! I’m sure Queen Twilight will reward you with something soon! Maybe a party? We could have a lot of fun; although I’m not really sure about what you can do at a party…” Mirage thought out loud, putting a hoof on her chin.

“I’m sure she will, and I can tell you if there’s a party, you could always bake something. Working with Her Majesty’s personal chefs would be something,” Snowy pointed out.

“That would be a dream come true!” Mirage squealed in excitement while Rune snickered. Suddenly, a knock on the door was heard. Mirage jumped up to the door as if her home was on fire and quickly opened it. “Oh, you’re there! Come in, Azure!” She welcomed the pony happily as they came in.

“Looks like… ah... I’m not the last one… ah... to arrive,” Azure commented while she was catching her breath. Azure Glow was a pegasus with a dark red coat and a white mane.

“Um… You alright?” Rune inquired as Azure collapsed on one of the chairs.

“Yeah… ah… It’s… I had to-” Azure started explaining, still catching her breath before Mirage suddenly threw a cupcake in her mouth.

“Take this; I’m sure you’ll get better in no time!” She guaranteed as Azure gained a dreamy look while eating the cupcake.

“Hmm. That’s delicious. Nothing better than your food to get myself back on my hooves!” Azure complimented as she licked her lips. “What I was trying to say earlier was that I ran all the way here. Since I was all the way in district A, I was scared I would be late if I didn’t hurry the fuck up,” She explained before getting slapped on the head by a journal.

“Language, young mare!” Mirage scolded her while the pegasus rubbed the back of her head.

“Y-Young mare? We’re the same age!” Azure replied while looking angry; even though she was pretty much used to it. Snowy was sure she didn’t mind those remarks anymore.

“Why didn’t you use your wings?” Rune raised an eyebrow as Azure rolled her eyes.

“And get myself arrested by a wonderbolt again because I was flying without a license? No, thank you!” Azure crossed her front legs in annoyance as she remembered the last time it happened.

“What are you waiting for to get one, then? Weren’t you taking lessons?” Rune inquired as she grabbed another cupcake.

“I took the test once; and even after I had done everything perfectly, I still failed!” Azure complained while Snowy raised an eyebrow.

“Perfectly? Didn’t you make one mistake?”

“What do you mean?” The pegasus asked her only for Rune to answer instead of her.

“She means you probably failed because you crashed through a window,” She harshly said as Azure jerked back.

“W-Well… I was distracted for like… a second. And… that was because there were pegasi everywhere. It was the end of the day, so I think it was pretty unfair!” She explained while the three other girls simply stared at her. “Besides, the old lady living there gave me a cookie, so I consider that a win,”

“I can’t really blame you for failing since my mom got it on her second try…” Rune started before slowly snickering. “But you really should think with your head instead of your stomach sometimes,”

“H-Hey, I don’t eat THAT much! Tell her, girls!” Azure spun around to look at the other ponies in the room. Snowy awkwardly looked away and avoided eye contact. “Don’t look away! What is that supposed to mean?!”

“Now, no need to get worked up about this. If it makes you feel better, you didn’t eat as much lately,” Mirage pointed out.

“That’s-” The pegasus started only to be interrupted by the rumbling of her stomach. She quickly blushed in embarrassment while the others couldn’t help but laugh. Soon enough, she joined them, too. “Okay, I admit it. You win,”

Soon enough, another knock was heard, making them all turn around to look at the door. Unlike the previous times, Mirage wasn’t rushing to open it. Instead, she looked at the girls.

“Alright, that must be Blueberry. Now, as you all know, her work puts a lot of stress on her. Fortunately, this week is a free one during which she can rest as much as she wants to. So try not to mention her work or the factory, got it?” She explained as they all nodded in reply. Satisfied with this, she went to open the door. Blueberry was an earth pony with a dark brown coat and a yellow mane. She had bags under her eyes, and her mane was… a mess. She looked quite dirty, too. “I’m happy to see you, Blueberry! Come in! Everyone is waiting for you!” Mirage greeted her as Blueberry’s eyes widened.

“Work?! W-What are you saying?! Do I have to be working right now?!” She asked while looking around in a panic until Mirage quickly put her front hooves on her shoulder.

“No, no! I said, ‘Everyone is waiting for you’! You must have misheard it or something… Anyway, come in! There are cupcakes for everyone. I’ve got even some cookies ready!” Mirage clapped her hooves in excitement while Blueberry came inside.

“Oh, right. Yeah, I probably didn’t hear it right… I’m kinda tired, but that’s okay,” She said before going to greet the others. They were pretty much all used to her being so… tired as she put it.

“So… Since everyone is here, take as many cupcakes you want while I bring cookies!” Mirage exclaimed as she trotted in the kitchen.

The moment she came back, Azure flew above her head and grabbed two of the cookies before throwing them in her mouth while Blueberry took small bites of one of the remaining cupcakes. Rune snickered as she grabbed a cookie while Mirage had to hold the pegasus back from throwing herself on the entire plate.

“What are we celebrating, by the way? It must have been something to call us out of the blue like that. And I was enjoying a nice nap at that,” Blueberry commented as Azure stopped trying to steal all the cookies.

“Right, I totally forgot why we were even there,” She said as she landed back on the floor.

“Snowy and Rune wanted to keep it a surprise until everypony was there. So what is it, girls?” Mirage explained before looking at the two main guests.

“W-Well…” Snowy started, slowly getting a bit embarrassed by the sudden attention directed at her.

“It has something to do with that coat! Come on, show them!” Rune interrupted as she sent her an encouraging smile.

“Oh, yeah! I was wondering why she was wearing that. It doesn’t suit her at all,” Azure commented while nodding.

Snowy took her time and breathed out, then lit her horn and threw the cloak away as she also revealed the true color of her coat. All the other ponies in the room, except Rune, widened her eyes as they got a good look at her new appearance, and more specifically, her wings.

“W-What the hell? You have wings!” Azure flew at her to inspect them. Snowy was barely able to keep her balance as the pegasus landed on her back and looked at the wings closer. “And you’re all white, too!”

“When did you become an alicorn?” Blueberry inquired with raised eyebrows.

“Just today!” Rune was the one to reply as Mirage walked around the alicorn.

“Oh, you’re so pretty! I guess all alicorns being elegant wasn’t just a myth after all!” Mirage pointed out as Snowy blushed. Azure finally flew off her back and landed back on the floor.

“Screw the cupcakes and cookies! We got to have a real party! Bake a cake, Mirage!” Azure said while drooling.

“Right now? But it would take some time… Besides, I don’t have anything here for a party…” She answered before Rune placed a leg over Azure’s shoulders.

“It’s alright, Azure and I will go out and buy everything we need,” She said.

“I can help you bake the cake if you want,” Snowy added with a smile.

“And I can sleep on the couch!” Blueberry said excitedly.

“If you’re all for it, then let’s do it!” Mirage giggled as she walked to the kitchen, followed by Snowy. Meanwhile, Azure and Rune exited the room while Blueberry collapsed on the couch as if she hadn’t slept in years.

In the meantime, deep in the dungeons under the Canterlot’s Castle, small clouds of dark magic escaped a very special cell.
> Queen Twilight Sparkle
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Are you going out, Snowy?” Her mother asked as the white coated alicorn was about to open the door of their apartment.

“Yes, Queen Twilight wants to see me,” She answered as she spun around to look at her mother.

“Good, don’t disappoint her. We’re the only ones to have come this far in years, so maybe we could become royalty, soon!” Her mother explained in excitement. “I talked to Peppermint yesterday, you know. She was so jealous when I told her you were an alicorn now!” She added before chuckling pridefully.

“I-I’m sorry, mom. But is there a point to what you’re telling me?” Snowy inquired while shaking her head. Her mother frowned as she approached her.

“I’m just reminding you that you should be wary and avoid making mistakes. It would be embarrassing if you were to bring shame on me. On us,” She answered as she placed a hoof on Snowy’s head and caressed her mane. “I’ve always told you, didn’t I? The world is a cold and cruel place; if you’re not perfect… Then nopony will ever love you…” She whispered before letting go of her. “Honestly, you’re not thanking me enough for everything I did for you. I’m going out of my way to give you life lessons here. But since you don’t seem to care, you can leave,” She grumbled before turning her back on her daughter and going towards the living room.

“I… Okay… I’m sorry, mom… See you later,” Snowy stuttered before leaving their home.

“Pft… Ungrateful brat,” Her mother muttered under her breath right after her daughter left.

Snowy sighed as she exited the building. She rarely understood her mother, and no matter how hard she tried, nothing ever changed. One day, she stopped trying. Her mother had always been like this, so she wasn’t expecting her to change anytime soon. And honestly, she was mostly happy to have friends who supported her. And she thought the same about the Queen, even though she was harsh and demanding, she always understood her. The young alicorn would forever be grateful to Queen Twilight. Besides, she couldn’t deny she would love to see Midnight’s look when she would show her wings.

After several minutes of walking, she was on the castle’s ground. As usual, she waved and greeted them. Most didn’t answer and simply kept a straight face as well as a cold demeanor. Snowy didn’t really know why they seemed to be so distant, but she didn’t blame them. They must have had good reasons after all.

When she was walking through the castle’s corridors, stress and fear started filling her heart. She never knew how her meetings with the Queen would go. It mostly went well, but she was naturally always scared something would go wrong. That the Queen would give her an objective that she wouldn’t be able to accomplish or that she would fail her in some way or another. In her heart, she knew her majesty’s kindness knew no bounds; she wouldn’t want to disappoint her and see what she looked like when she was really mad. She reassured herself by remembering all the good times she had with the Queen. There was no reason something bad would happen. She was her student after all. And she had to be perfect.

Suddenly, now that she was in front of the throne room, the door was opened to let someone out of the room. Snowy let out a sigh of relief as she noticed it was Rune.

“Oh! Snowy! You’re here to see Queen Twilight?” She asked while the door closed behind her.

“Y-Yeah. What were you doing in there?” She inquired while trying not to sound nervous as Rune smiled.

“Giving her my monthly report,” Rune answered before looking at Snowy from head to toe. “Don’t worry, the Queen is in a good mood. One of the rare times I saw her smile!” She added before letting Snowy go past her.

The white alicorn breathed out as she went in, feeling more than ready after what Rune told her. When she entered, she was delighted to see that the Queen was indeed smiling. However, she didn’t rejoice too soon and hid her joy as she walked to her teacher. The Queen was taller than any other pony in Equestria, and that alone made her quite intimidating. However, those who had the ability to sense one's power in the field of magic would be able to tell that her magic knew no limits. As many feared her rule; she was truly deserving of the title of devil. But not to Snowy. The younger alicorn was seeing someone very different than what most described.

“Ah, I’m happy to see you, my student,” Twilight greeted her as Snowy bowed her head.

“I came as soon as possible,” She said as she raised her head.

“I know. How did your friends react when they saw you? Not mad, I hope,”

“Mad? Hum… No, they didn’t really have a reason to get mad. They threw me a party actually!” Snowy beamed as the Queen nodded.

“It’s good, then. Now, the reason I have called you here to talk about your new duties,” Twilight explained as Snowy gulped nervously. “Why don’t we talk about it over tea?” She suggested as her horn glowed, making the doors to the balcony open.

“I-I’d love to!” Snowy quickly replied as she followed her teacher out of the room.

The white alicorn was delighted to hear the queen’s suggestion since tea always had a calming effect on her. It was a great way to keep her from doing or saying something stupid, and avoiding disappointing her. When Snowy looked at her; all she could think was that the Queen seemed to be oblivious of her nervousness. She didn’t know if she actually was or if it was just a feeling, but the student would have preferred if she didn’t notice it. So she remained silent and waited for the tea to arrive. Strangely enough, Queen Twilight didn’t say much. Instead, she simply stared at her student.

The younger alicorn wasn’t sure how she was supposed to react. Was her teacher waiting for her to say something? Snowy was still hesitant, but even if she spoke when she wasn’t authorized to, she knew the Queen would forgive her; simply because she was such a merciful ruler. That was what she learned by staying with her. When she finally made up her mind; she opened her mouth, ready to speak loud and clear before she was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a door opening.

“Your tea, Your Majesty,” A unicorn maid announced as she placed the tea just prepared on the table.

“Thank you, you may leave,” The Queen said as the maid bowed and left. “I invite you to take a sip my student,” She brought the tea to her lips while her student did the same, slowly feeling more relaxed.

“Thank you for the tea, Your Majesty,” Snowy thanked her.

“You are welcome. Now… Those duties I’ve talked about…”

“Y-yes?”

“As you know if something ever happens to me, you will rule in my place. However, until that time comes -if it ever does-, you’ll be in charge of something else,” Twilight started as Snowy nodded. “You will be considered royalty from now on. And you will be my personal guard… Or rather right-hoof type of pony I should say. Nothing too difficult of course. At first, all you will have to do is guard some districts,” Twilight explained as Snowy’s eyes widened.

“R-Really? But I… I thought I sti-still had a lot to learn before having such a high position…” Snowy stumbled on her words while Twilight stayed impassive to her worried tone.

“I know, and that will be a good learning experience for you. As you know, Equestrians outside of Canterlot are slowly losing their faith in myself, they don’t believe in peace as much as old times,”

“That’s because they don’t know you! I’m sure if we gave them the chance to, they would see how great you are!” Snowy jumped on her seat while Twilight didn’t budge.

“Naturally. That is why I can’t blame them. There are billions of them, so I can’t speak to all of them individually. It is not their fault that they lack the wisdom necessary to see the error of their ways. It is our duty to bring them back to the light,” The ruler explained as Snowy nodded eagerly.

She knew it! That was exactly why she loved her teacher so much. She was always so benevolent and forgiving! How could Snowy refuse to help her, and to help these lost ponies see the light?

“You will start with an easy task at first. I wouldn’t want to overload you after all. I want you to regularly patrol districts A and B and stop any commotion you may see. Your main purpose is to bring order,”

Snowy did her best to keep her happiness hidden. Those districts were by far the most calm compared to the others. There weren’t that many crimes or issues, and that was also where Azure and Blueberry lived! She could sometimes take advantage of that to visit them.

“Understood, Your Majesty. I won’t disappoint you!” Snowy saluted her before realizing she almost forgot something. “Ah, right! About my wings… I think I need to learn how to fly. And should I know anything about how to take care of them?”

“Don’t worry. I can teach you everything about it; and when you’re ready, you’ll have to take the test to get your flying license. It should make your patrols easier if you know how to fly,” Twilight replied as she sipped at her tea again.

“T-Thank you, Your Majesty! I don’t know what I would do without you! I’ll do my best!” Snowy replied as she jumped down her chair and bowed. Suddenly, she widened her eyes as she felt something warm wrap around her. It was the Queen’s wings pulling her into an embrace.

“I know you will,” The Queen softly said as her student closed her eyes.

She wanted to enjoy her warmth the longest she could; her wings had always been comfortable. Unfortunately for her, the warmth surrounding her soon disappeared as Twilight stepped back a little.

“Now for lighter matters. Why don’t you tell me how life's going for you? Nothing bad, I hope,”

“Oh, hm… It’s great! My friends threw me a party yesterday! Thank you for worrying about me,”

“You are my student, after all,”

Snowy couldn’t stop herself from smiling before sitting back in her seat. Naturally, she spent some more time conversing with her teacher. As usual, it took her some time until she was relaxed enough to hold a conversation without stuttering or hesitating about what she wanted to say. She didn’t mention the few problems she had, but the Queen always looked at her as if she already knew, and simply waited for her to open up. Of course, that was just Snowy’s speculations, and she couldn’t be sure of it.

She didn’t want to bother the Queen too much; she was already so lucky to be able to talk to her so freely after all. She saw how her majesty was with other ponies: cold, distant and a mare of few words. It intimated a lot of her subjects, because they usually thought she was mad at them. They knew if she was… she could end their lives in a blink. Snowy thought their fear was completely ridiculous, though. And quite exaggerated, too! She spent a lot of time with the Queen; and she knew she would rarely get really mad.

After about an hour, the Queen had put an end with their little discussion since she had duties to attend to. Her job made her quite busy after all. However, now that she was outside the throne room, Snowy was suddenly reminded of her new duties. She walked past the guards while keeping her mood up and trying to keep herself from panicking. Right! The time when she kept worrying over nothing was over! Now she was a changed pony! She was an alicorn, and one of Equestria’s higher ups! She couldn’t lose her cool anymore!

“Hey, Snowy! So how did it go?!” A voice shouted right behind her, making her jump in surprise as she was woken out of her thoughts.

“No! I promise I won’t fail! I’ll do my best!” She screamed while spinning around to talk at the pony face to face, then realized it was actually just Rune. “Oh… It’s you. Right! Yes! It was great! No problem there! It’s just… you startled me, and… I have something to tell you. I think I’ll need some help,” She said as Rune raised an eyebrow, having not followed everything she said.

“Did the Queen give you an assignment?”

“Something like that. I have to keep districts A and B in check, so I was hoping you could give me some pointers since you’re the captain of the royal guard,” Snowy explained as Rune raised her eyebrows.

“Of course, I’ll help you, but I’m kinda surprised this is the duty the Queen gave you. Probably the thing I was expecting the least,” She replied as Snowy gave her a questioning look.

“Why? It looks normal to me,”

“Well… since you are an alicorn, it should mean that you are royalty, right? Royalty is supposed to stay in their castle, ruling over things. I feel like she just made a special kind of guard instead,” Rune answered while Snowy slowly thought about it.

“I-I mean… there is probably a hidden purpose behind that. Maybe I’m supposed to learn something… I’m not sure now that you’re telling me this,” Snowy looked down. As much as she thought about it, she still didn’t get why the Queen assigned her this role. But she was pretty sure there was a good reason behind it.

“Anyway, I can give you some advice, but I won’t be able to leave Canterlot today, so you’ll probably have to ask Azure to accompany you,”

“I’m afraid I’ll be busier keeping her from raiding the bakeries we come across than catching criminals, though,” Snowy chuckled, then joined by the orange coated unicorn.

Meanwhile, in the castle’s underground dungeon, a male royal guard was saluting. Like a lot of them, his coat was white, and his mane black. And although he was saluting, he didn’t look serious at all. No, he was ecstatic because he had finally done it! His dream of being in the royal guard was fulfilled! However, he still wasn’t at the top. No, his next objective was to be captain! The hardest part was probably getting accepted into the royal guard, but he was sure that he could easily surpass whoever was the captain now!

“Recruit Dyson! Are you listening?” Another guard said, who seemed to be much older than the recruit. He also was more serious; and the few scars on his face were making him more intimidating, which woke Dyson out of his thoughts.

“Ah! S-Sorry! I was… hum… thinking about something,” Dyson stuttered as he stepped back.

“Well, now the time isn’t for daydreaming, recruit. It’s your first day, right?” The guard inquired while Dyson nodded in response. “It doesn’t have a great start, does it?” He glared at the recruit, who simply smiled nervously.

“I-I apologize, but you see… it’s because I was thinking I could be the captain, soon. I don’t want to boast, but I have pretty much a phenomenal potential,” He replied while the guard stared at him impassively.

Suddenly, laughter broke out. The guard, who looked more than serious earlier, was laughing while holding his stomach and stomping the floor. Just as Dyson opened his mouth to say something, the prisoners trapped in their cells started laughing, too. The recruit looked down in shame as the loud laughter echoed around the dungeon. After a whole minute, it died down as the guard started catching his breath.

“Ah… That… Ah… That was hilarious,” He commented before wiping a tear off his face. “Don’t get too cocky, recruit… Or too dumb in your case. Those are rookie mistakes only regular guards would make. Now that you have this position, think more thoroughly or else you won’t live very long, okay?” The guard warned the recruit.

“Okay…”

“Good! Now for your first task as a royal guard, you’ll be the one patrolling the dungeon today. All you need to do is check on the prisoners and make sure they don’t do anything suspicious. Sometimes give them water or food, just kidding, seriously don’t. The most important rule is to never go to the lowest level of the dungeon, alright?” The guard explained as Dyson looked around.

“I think I get it, but why am I patrolling the dungeon? Alone? I would think it would need a better security,” Dyson pointed out while raising an eyebrow.

“The guys in the cells here are behind the toughest doors in Equestria and are all unable to use their magic -if they had any- thanks to the Queen’s spell. Believe me, the really dangerous ones are the statues in the garden. Otherwise, it’s pretty peaceful there, except when they decide to insult you. Unless you go to the lowest level. Don’t!” He clarified as he shrugged.

“Oh, okay. And what’s that about the lowest level? What’s so special about it?”

“We can’t go there; it’s forbidden,”

“Okay, but why? What’s down there?”

“Nopony knows. Except the Queen, of course. All you need to know is that it’s forbidden, okay? That means not going down there!” He warned with narrowed eyes.

“Okay, okay! I get it already! I’m not dumb, you know?” Dyson looked offended as the guard started leaving, looking satisfied by his answer.

“Great! If you understand, then I trust you to fulfill your duties correctly!” He exclaimed before leaving Dyson alone.

The unicorn looked around him as he walked through the corridor. As the other guard had told him, these doors looked quite sturdy, he doubted even a minotaur would be able to put a scratch on them. He patrolled the place as he was ordered to. However, he quickly realized that nearly no time has passed since he started. It was mostly boring, and apart from walking around, he had absolutely nothing to do! Most prisoners were pretty quiet, too. And before he even knew it, he was leaning on his spear, ready to fall asleep at any second.

His eyelids were heavy, and forced him to use all the strength he had to keep them from closing. He kept telling himself that the heavy burden of keeping this place secure was on him, that the Queen herself would probably reward him! And all he had to do was to stay awake!

He fell asleep. After a few minutes of fighting it, he was now snoring so loud that most of the prisoners could hear him. Soon enough, his spear slipped and fell on the floor before rolling a few feet away from him as he collapsed on the ground, waking himself up.

“Uh?! I wasn’t sleeping!” He screamed as he quickly got back on his hooves and looked around, seeing that he was still alone. He breathed out in relief before noticing he didn’t have his spear anymore. Dyson looked around until it was finally in his sight. “There you are!” He muttered as he walked over to it. It seemed the spear was near some stairs leading deeper down into the dungeon. “That’s where the lowest level is supposed to be, huh? I wonder what’s the big deal...” He asked himself before looking left and right. “A quick peek never hurt anypony!” He told himself before going down the stairs.

One of the prisoners, who was looking through the bars of the small window on his door looked at one of the other cells.

“Did that guy really go down there?”

“Looks like it! Wouldn’t want to be him!” The other prisoner laughed.

Meanwhile, Dyson calmly walked down the stairs. It was a bit cold, but besides that, he was perfectly fine. He wasn’t worried at all since whatever was kept down there wouldn’t do much to him. It was probably tightly shut in a cell fitting for it. Taking a look at it wouldn’t be so bad. Moreover, he was pretty confident that he could beat anything in a fight!

He had no choice but to use a spell to illuminate his surroundings at some point since it had gotten too dark. He shouldn’t be surprised considering no one has been down there for years, so there couldn’t be torches or light.

“Oh!” He was finally there! The lowest level! It was much smaller than the others, but the one thing he noticed was the cell. It was the only cell on this floor. When he approached it, he quickly noticed it was unlike the others. Instead of a door, there were rusted steel bars, and inside it was… “A statue?! All of that for a statue?!” He blurted out.

It was the statue of a unicorn, whose expression was of both fear and pure anger. Besides that, there was nothing special in this cell except for some anti-magic chains attached around the statue.

“And here I thought there was something exciting…” He sighed before taking a longer look at the statue. “I have to admit she’s kinda bad, though!” He said to himself as he walked back towards the higher levels.

The moment he was gone, the statue’s horn gained a taint of purple. After a few seconds, a dark smoke came out of it and closely followed the guard that had been there, unaware that his mind was in danger.
> The Eater
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So wait… All you do now is walk around the city and pay attention that nothing goes wrong?” Azure inquired as she scratched the back of her head with one of her wings.

“Yeah, that’s pretty much it. Just like a guard,” Snowy answered as she looked around carefully, making sure she didn’t miss anything. She took this job seriously after all. Although, everything was normal for now. Even if it wasn’t Canterlot, district A was still pretty peaceful, the crime rate being quite low. It still didn’t mean she could not rest on her laurels.

“And you’re gonna do that every day? That’s super boring! You should do a job like mine! Plus it’s a lot easier,”

“But… You don’t have a job,”

“Exactly! That’s why it’s so easy,” Azure replied while puffing up her chest.

“I’m not sure that I want to know how you pay your bills,”

“I wouldn’t trade my secret anyway,” Azure chuckled proudly. “Anyway, do you have to do that every day? ‘Cause the job of a guard is more boring than I thought. Rune made it look so easy…”

“Well… I don’t really need to patrol around the districts. As long as I intervene and stop any criminal quickly, I could stay at home all day, but it wouldn’t be professional. I don’t want to embarrass the Queen,” Snowy answered. “Besides we should be thankful there’s no commotion yet!” She added right before an explosion occurred near their location, surprising them both as Azure turned to look at her.

“You had to jinx it, right?” Azure muttered before an earth pony came running to them in panic.

“Oh, thank Twilight, you are here! We need your help, Snowy Dawn! A bakery is currently being robbed, they even have a hostage!” The earth pony stated between two breaths as Snowy raised an eyebrow.

“A Bakery? Why would somepony rob a bakery? That’s dumb,” She pointed out while Azure widen her eyes.

“What?! What are they standing there for?! We gotta stop those monsters!” Azure shouted before taking off and leaving the alicorn behind as she flew to the scene.

Snowy barely had any time to shout her name before she was gone, so she simply decided to run after her in the direction of the explosion they heard earlier.

Meanwhile, at the scene, a crowd was gathered around the commotion. They surrounded three ponies, one of which was a unicorn and held an earth pony hostage while the third pony was a pegasus with a huge bag at his feet.

“Alright, pal! Let the hostage go! You have no way to escape!” One of the guards that surrounded them shouted as the crowd made out of civilians started recording the scene.

“A-As if!” The unicorn screamed in reply with hesitation. Looking in front of him, he saw a wall of guards, all holding swords and spears with their telekinesis. Moreover, their blades were all glowing brightly, some red, others orange or blue. The robber scoffed; they were mana-blades, which only meant that he would be screwed if he tried to fight. Looking up in the sky, there was a sea of pegasi flying around the buildings. His friend would be able to hide there, but he wouldn’t be so lucky. Maybe committing a crime in district A of all places wasn’t a good idea… “Hey! How much money is in there?” He asked his comrade as the pegasus grinned excitedly.

“At least 15 000 bits! I can’t even believe it!” He answered as the unicorn widened his eyes before throwing another look at the guards.

“That much? Who would have thought those rumors were true… They’re really paying a fortune for something to eat!” He thought before holding the earth pony tighter as his horn glowed. “I’ll let the hostage go if you let us leave the district first! And don’t chase after us!” He demanded as the guard that talked to him earlier rolled his eyes.

“If we don’t catch you, the Queen will. So let him go or else you’ll regret it… like everypony does,” The guard replied as the ponies in the crowd began muttering amongst themselves.

“Is her Majesty going to come?”

“I want to meet her so much!”

“Oh, those bad guys are so screwed!”

“Ya think I’m scared of you, mister baddie?” The freaking hostage said while smirking.

The unicorn clenched his teeth in anger. Were they all crazy? Why the hell was nobody afraid right now? He didn’t even want to know how the ponies of Canterlot were, if the ones here are so…

“Stop right there, villains! You will hurt these innocent sweets! Waaaa!” A voice screamed from above, making the unicorn robber look up.

Before he could even understand what was happening, a red blur crashed into the bakery right behind them.

“Ow! Alright… That hurts,” The female red pegasus groaned as she rubbed her head, before noticing she was sitting on pieces of cakes and other sweets. She suddenly jumped up in surprise and gasped. “Nooooo! Look at what you made me do! I’m a murderer!” She screamed as she tried to pick all the pieces up and reassemble them while the robbers looked at each other.

“Is-Is she retarded or something?” The unicorn inquired in disbelief as he glanced at the hostage, who only shrugged in response.

“You let your guard down!” Someone suddenly shouted, from behind. Unfortunately, the unicorn wasn’t able to turn around in time as the guard from earlier thrust his mana- blade right through one of his hind legs, making him scream in pain as the burning hot spear impaled and made him fall to the ground.

His partner shouted in shock before quickly grabbing the bag full of money and trying to fly to the crowd of pegasi around the skyscrapers. However, right as he was about to escape, a blast of magic suddenly hit his wings, slowly freezing them solid.

“AAAA!” He screamed as he let go of the bag and started falling to his impending doom. “Help!” Were his last words before someone grabbed him in a magical hold just as he was about to hit the ground. And even though he wasn’t hurt, he seemed he passed out because of shock.

“Thank you, Snowy Dawn,” The guard said as Snowy gently placed the pegasus on the ground before taking a look at the guard while Azure was still sobbing in the background.

“You’re welcome! After all, I couldn’t just-” She started while smiling before hearing the sound of someone crying in pain. She looked behind the guard and saw the unicorn robber, still laying on the floor and groaning.

His leg not only had a hole in it, most of it was also burnt almost to a crisp.

He had never felt so much pain in his entire life… All of it happened in under a second, but he still couldn’t shake off the feeling of the blade penetrating his body before quickly burning through his muscles and bones as incredible pain went through his entire body. He didn’t even receive the mercy of passing out… He felt pathetic, but he still couldn’t help but let out some tears of pain. Suddenly, a warm feeling washed over him as his leg got cold and wet as if it was in water. The pain was still there, but there was surprisingly much more relief. It felt… peaceful in a way. He managed to spin his head to look at his leg, and widened his eyes in surprise as he saw Snowy wrapping her magic around his injured limb.

“Don’t worry, it will feel a lot better soon,” She reassured him as her horn glowed brighter.

“W-Why are you helping me?” He stuttered, barely able to speak.

“Is there something wrong about helping someone who is in pain?” Snowy asked with her head tilted. “You looked like it hurt you a lot, so I couldn’t help it,” She smiled as he dropped his head back on the ground, enjoying her healing magic as he slowly passed out. “You can take him now, but be careful with his leg,” Snowy told the guards that lifted the robber up to take him into custody.

“Of course, My Lady,” One of the guards replied as they left. The guard she talked to earlier simply bowed down before joining them as the crowd of ponies started splitting up to what they were doing originally.

“Are you alright, Azure?” Snowy asked as the pegasus slowly stood up, wiping away her tears.

“It will take me some time to forget this-this murder, but I should be fine,” She stuttered as Snowy patted her head, trying to reassure her as much as she could.

“Thank you for stopping these robbers, Lady Dawn!” Someone exclaimed from behind them, making Snowy turn around and see a female earth pony wearing an apron.

“You must be the owner of this bakery. Don’t worry! It was my duty after all!” Snowy said with a sincere smile.

“Sorry for ruining your pastries,” Azure apologized while rubbing the back of her head.

“It’s alright, dear! I’m not mad, don’t be too hard on yourself,” The baker waved one of her hooves before turning her attention back at the alicorn. “Since you are here; I have a favor to ask you,”

“Go on,”

“Those kinds of criminal acts rarely happen, so the guards usually take care of it easily, but there has been… some kind of recurrent trouble lately,” The baker hesitantly said as she glanced around.

“Is it something serious?” Snowy inquired.

“A lot of ponies… including some of my friends, have been missing. The disappearances seem to occur during the night,”

“Missing ponies? Why weren’t the guards informed of this?” Azure asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I and several other ponies from the neighborhood tried to tell them, but they wouldn’t believe us. Mainly because of our testimonies,”

“What do you mean?” Snowy raised an eyebrow.

“Some have seen big shadows, creatures that didn’t look like ponies. Some monsters. Moreover, no one broke into their apartments,” The baker answered.

“It could be anything,” Snowy mumbled as she placed a hoof on her chin. Hiding in the shadows during the night wasn’t difficult since there were a lot less ponies outside. Only the ones with a pass could go outside after midnight, so it wouldn’t be surprising that ponies got kidnapped with no one here to help. “Thank you for the information. We’ll look into it,” Snowy assured her as the Baker nodded.

“Please, find them, my Lady. One of them was my husband… He never… came home last night…”

“I’ll do my absolute best, I promise,” Snowy swore as the baker was suddenly called away by a nearby guard.

“And “looking into it” means we’ll have to look after that monster tonight, right?” Azure asked as Snowy nodded cheerfully. Azure could only sigh

“You don’t want to do it?” Snowy asked with a smile, even though she already knew the answer.

“I wouldn’t have wanted to do it if I was scared, but I’m absolutely not! So I’ll do it… It’s just that I’m a little rusty since it’s been some time since we beat a monster’s ass. A bit of practice, and I’ll be back on track!” Azure exclaimed as she flexed her muscles.

“Great! I’ll call the others, and we’ll meet here tonight! You should rest until then; I still have to patrol, though,” Snowy said as Azure chuckled.

“I won’t need rest; wait until tonight, ‘cause next time you see me, I’ll be able to kick through a stone!” Azure exclaimed arrogantly before flying off, not leaving any time for Snowy to answer. However, it didn’t even take five seconds before Snowy heard a loud crash several feet away, coupled with a few ponies screaming at something.

It didn’t look like she was going to get her license anytime soon…

Luckily for Snowy, the rest of the day passed without anything major happening, leaving her some space to think about this mysterious kidnapper and to prepare some kind of plan. First, she and her friends had to meet in district A around midnight.

Naturally, they all responded positively and were happy to help. Besides, some of them missed taking on challenges to protect ponies or even Equestria as a whole.

“I hope you didn’t forget your night pass this time, Azure,” Rune teased as the pegasus grumbled.

“Of course, I didn’t! It happened only once, okay?”

“Looks like only Blueberry is missing,” Mirage pointed out. And just as Snowy was about to reply, the earth pony came into view from far away, calling out to them. Since she didn’t walk very fast, it took a couple of minutes for her to arrive, looking as tired as usual.

“I hope I didn’t make you wait too long… I just… finished only an hour ago… and the train was late,” She said, finishing with a yawn as Mirage raised an eyebrow quizzically.

“An hour ago? But it’s 2 a.m,” She pointed out as Blueberry smiled wide.

“I know, right? They let me… finish earlier than usual today,” She replied in a joyous tone as Mirage looked at her worriedly.

“So, since we’re all here, I guess I should give you these,” Snowy spoke up as she handed them necklaces with a green gem on them.

“What’s that?” Azure asked as she put the necklace on.

“It’s a necklace with a gem that should serve as a locator if the right spell is used. That way, Snowy and I can track any of us if there is any issue,” Rune explained as Mirage and Blueberry looked at their respective necklaces both in understanding and in awe while Azure chuckled nervously.

“You’re making it sound like we’re splitting up…”

“That’s because we are!” Rune replied enthusiastically.

“Wow! It’s amazing what you can do with magic today,” Mirage commented. Even if she was a unicorn, she wasn’t really focused on learning magic after all.

“What? I’m sure we don’t need to split up…” Azure muttered while looking around.

“Well, from what Snowy told me, it’s the best course of action. It’s around this hour that whoever the kidnapper is will look for targets, since there aren’t many ponies around. And if we’re alone, they would be most likely to strike,” Rune answered as the pegasus rubbed the back of her head.

“Wait… So we’re bait…”

“Don’t worry about anything, Azure! You’ve been training, right? I’m sure you could kick their ass easily! I believe in you,” Snowy beamed as Azure tried to look away.

“D-Damn it… I can’t say no to that face… Alright! I guess splitting up isn’t such a bad idea...” Azure admitted.

“Great! Also, most disappearances happened in this neighborhood, so look only in this zone,” Snowy instructed as they all nodded in confirmation before splitting up.

Being the only one not moving yet, Azure sighed.

“Guess it’s just you and me now,” She muttered, talking to her necklace. The first few minutes, she spent them walking on the main streets, where there were still a few ponies and some guards walking around. But even then, a deadly silence hung around her.

It was no surprise, since ponies weren’t usually friendly at this time of the night. And the few changelings she saw pass by were even less so. It wasn’t like she was scared or something; she just had a bad feeling.

Moreover, she hated going out at night. With that red coat of hers, strangers always thought she was evil or something… When the night was dark and cold while the stars were hidden behind the clouds was the time for evil forces to leave the shadows they were hiding in. Azure could easily be seen as one of them, after all.

“This is so boring… But I guess I should be grateful nothing’s attacked me yet…” Azure mumbled under her breath before looking around and setting her sights on a female unicorn nearby. “Hey!” She suddenly called out to her.

The unicorn turned around and immediately stiffened as Azure approached her.

“Sorry to bother you, lady. I was wondering if you saw any-” Azure started, only to be interrupted by the unicorn’s shaky voice.

“S-Sorry, but I’m not interested in whatever… you are suggesting,” She replied, stepping back a little.

“What?” Azure raised an eyebrow. “I was just asking if-”

“I-I’ve got to go!” The unicorn suddenly walked away, leaving Azure behind.

“Jeez, what’s her deal? Can’t even ask ponies if they saw a big monster walking around anymore?” Azure asked herself. “Then again; I guess it’s not something hard to miss unless it’s…” The pegasus widened her eyes in realization. “Wait a second! I bet it was the changelings I saw earlier! These guys can change into whatever they want! And they must have been looking for their next victim! Ha! I’m so smart!” She exclaimed, proud of herself, as she ran back to where she came from.

Finding those changelings would be easier said than done, but she figured the best place to search was a dangerously dark and isolated alley, since it was the ideal place for them to hide in. However, it came to no surprise that there was no one except herself there. No changelings in sight. However, she didn’t give up on this yet. They must have gone to another creepy alley! Just as she was about to turn around and run out of here, a rocky voice made her legs shake from behind her.

“What do we have here?”

“It looks like a delicious prey,”

Azure slowly spun around and saw two hulking figures looking down on her. They were minotaurs! She quickly jumped back as one of them tried to grab her. His hand travelled fast and even made cracks on the floor as it was slammed against it. Fortunately, the pegasus still had good reflexes.

“So you’re the ones kidnapping ponies?” Azure glared at them.

“Was it that easy to figure out?” Minotaur 1 asked as the second one smacked him on the head.
“Don’t confess to the crime, idiot! Hurry up and catch her!” Minotaur 2 shouted at him as the first one rubbed his head in annoyance, then charged at her.

“No way you’re catching me, morons!” Azure chuckled as she jumped above him and started flying.

“You idiot! Once they fly, there’s no catching them!” Minotaur 1 reprimanded his partner.

“Hey, it wasn’t my fault! She was faster than I thought!” His partner grumbled.

“I’m not running away! I’m gonna kick your asses!” Azure warned cockily while flying higher. These guys couldn’t leave the ground after all, so all she had to do was hit them without giving them any time to rest, then fly high enough to dodge their hits. Now was the time to use her wings as she always should have! Unfortunately, she ended up hitting her head against a metal pipe so hard it made her brain tremble as she fell down, her vision spinning.

The second minotaur simply stretched out his hand and caught her in his palm, before wrapping his hand around it.

“Well, that was easy. I guess she’s dumb or something,” He pointed out.

“Good for us. Let’s take her to the bar. I think Boss is going to be satisfied with this one.”

She didn’t know how long she was unconscious for, but by the time Azure woke up, she was behind bars. Trapped in a cell, fortunately big enough for her to stretch her legs, but also filled with the stench of death. She quickly moved her wings to her snot as she looked around. The cell she was in had blood-covered walls and what looked like pony bones lying around. However, she quickly noticed she wasn’t alone.

She along with four other ponies were chained by their neck to the wall. All of them were earth ponies, and they looked like they were bruised all over, surely because they resisted.

“Where are we?” She asked only to be met with silence. The others kept their heads low, some crying in despair. However, one of them looked at her after some time.

“We’re not sure… I think I saw them taking me into a bar, so that may be the basement. We-We were all captured tonight,” The pony explained with a shaky voice.

“We look like we’re the only ones here, though… And there’s only five of us… Are the other kidnapped ponies…” Azure didn’t dare finish this sentence as she clenched her teeth in anger. How could those beasts… She suddenly pulled on her chain, not caring if she hanged herself while trying to escape, which attracted the attention of the other ponies. Even though they mostly gave her a look of pity as they have given hope quickly.

Suddenly, Azure realized something. Something was pressed around her neck, and she wasn’t thinking of the chain the minotaurs put on her. No, that was her necklace! If she held on a bit longer, her friends would come for sure. Easy!

“It looks like you are all awake,” The minotaur that caught her said as he walked towards their cell, then looked at her. “You are lucky. The Boss loves pegasus wings, so you will get to go first,” He explained as he opened the cage, making everyone run to a corner, away from him as he approached Azure. Naturally, she stood her ground and didn’t let feat show on her face.

“I know my wings and I are pretty hot, but I’m not interested,” Azure warned him as he raised an eyebrow.

“What are you- We are going to eat you, well the Boss is. You’re gonna be his personal meal tonight,” He explained as Azure’s eyes widened in shock.

“You’re what? I-Is that a metaphor for something sexual?” Azure asked as the minotaur deadpanned while staring at her, then freed her from the chain before grabbing her by the neck and leading her out of the cell. “W-Wait! Don’t!” Azure screamed while kicking around.

“Why do you ponies always struggle so much? You are going to die in a few decades anyway, so just let us take you as food,” Minotaur grumbled as he turned right and walked towards a door at the end of the tunnel they were in.

“I’m sure you have a reason for doing this!”

“I’m hungry,” He answered.

“M-Maybe you had a dark and tragic past that made you like this! C-Come on! Why don’t you tell me your story! It’ll make you feel better!” Azure tried to convince him as he entered the room they were walking to. She suddenly gagged at the sudden smell. Several tools were hanging on the wall, but in the middle of the room was a big table covered in blood. The minotaur, ignoring her, grabbed a butcher knife before throwing her on the table. Before she could even move away, he grabbed her neck and held her in place as he forcefully unfolded her wings. Finally, he raised his butcher knife. “A tragic event! There must be something like that!” Azure screamed while kicking around even more than earlier, but still unable to escape.

“Tragic event?” The minotaur asked, lowering his knife a bit down. “Well... there was something…”

“Right! Of course! Something really horrible that would make you eat something as adorable as me!” Azure nodded ferociously.

“My mother told me a few years ago that I was adopted. Kinda changed my whole point of view on family. I mean, we’re not blood related, so did she care about me?”

“W-Well, you know. That’s not something u-unusual… Especially considering giving birth to more than two kids in a lifetime is forbidden. M-Maybe if she chose you, t-then you mattered, you know. B-Besides, she still raised you, didn’t she? A f-family isn’t limited to blood…” Azure nervously replied as the minotaur looked like he was thinking about it.

“You know… You may be right. I think I’ll call her back after all these years… I wouldn’t have missed her if I didn’t love her after all,” The minotaur smiled as Azure smiled in return.

“Great! I’m glad I helped, so could you let me go, please? Your grip is kinda hurting me,” Azure explained as she was met with silence. The minotaur was staring right into her eyes. “That conversation totally changed your mind about eating me, right?”

“Not really. I’m still gonna kill you, but I’ve got to admit it was nice talking to you,” The minotaur replied as he raised his butcher knife again, ready to bring it down.

“Oh, come on!” Azure screamed as she contemplated her last moments. She was disappointed that this was how she was going to end, but the only thing she regretted was not telling her friends how much she loved them enough. “If those are my last words, then I-”

Crack

“Huh?” The minotaur looked up in surprise, while Azure did the same after seeing she wasn’t dead yet. Small cracks appeared on the ceiling before slowly expanding. “What the fuck is happ-” He started, only to be interrupted by the ceiling crumbling.

Azure widened her eyes as an orange-colored mana-blade suddenly came down and impaled the minotaur through the skull, before getting even deeper in and going through the table beneath his head. Luckily, it didn’t hurt the pegasus, who was a bit further up. The blade that pierced the minotaur belonged to a huge hell bard, one big enough for a regular minotaur to wield at least, but she already knew who it belonged to.

Even if the impalement hadn’t killed her soon-to-be murderer, the heat of the blade would have done the job, since it was so hot that smoke was coming out of her jailer’s skull. The minotaur’s eyes were an empty white void as his body collapsed on its knees.

“We’ve arrived right on time!” Rune Blaser exclaimed in happiness as she jumped down from the hole in the ceiling, closely followed by her other friends.

“Are you alright, sweetie?” Mirage asked worryingly while Snowy looked apologetic.

“I’m sorry, Azure. We should have been faster to realize you were kidnapped,” She said while looking down in shame.

“... You should rest if you need to,” Blueberry added before Azure jumped on them.

“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!” She repeated while kissing Rune all over her face, then hugged all of them, using her wings to facilitate the task. “You saved me, and that’s all that matters! I love all of you so much!” She cried tears of joy.

The girls looked at each other, mostly happy that they managed to prevent the worst from happening. After calming a bit down, Azure quickly explained the situation and what was happening here. Rune looked mostly serious and angry while Snowy and Mirage were shocked and horrified, the alicorn was deeply saddened by the fact that she wasn’t even able to stop this from happening in the first place. Blueberry was strangely impassive…

“W-We have to stop them even if…” Snowy wasn’t able to finish her sentence.

“Even if we have to hurt them a lot, right?” Rune added as Snowy looked at the corpse of the minotaur, then slowly nodded. Rune already knew how Snowy was. Using violence wasn’t something she liked. Rune placed a leg over Snowy’s shoulder, then looked at the others. “You said they had a boss, right, Azure? If we don’t hurry up, they’ll start wondering what this guy is doing,” She said while pointing at the corpse.

“Rune and I could take care of him,” Snowy started before Azure could answer. “You three should free the other ponies trapped here and take them to a safe place,” Naturally, the three of them nodded with confident smiles.

“Are you sure, Snowy? You don’t have to,” Rune reassured her as Snowy shook her head.

“I have to do this. We’ll try to get this over quickly, girls. I’ve already taken a lot of your time with this late mission,”

“Don’t worry about that, Sweetie! We’re friends after all,” Mirage assured her.

“Death wasn’t even that scary anyway,” Azure flapped one of her wings dismissively.

“I probably would have been at work, anyway,”

“T-Thank you… W-We should go,”

“We’ll kick the guy’s ass before you girls can even free the others,” Rune stated arrogantly as she and the alicorn started walking out of the room. She, of course, didn’t forget to take her hell bard out of the minotaur’s skull.

They quickly split up, Snowy and Rune going to the opposite side of where their friends went. It wasn’t long before they arrived in front of a door, which was reduced to splinters by one of Rune’s magic blasts, then entered the room. Inside were around ten minotaurs, and one who was completely white and sitting on a chair, munching on a bone while holding a pony’s skull in the other hand. Naturally, they breaking down the door attracted all the attention to themselves.

“What are you doing here?” One of them shouted as the white minotaur, most likely the boss, remained silent.

“To arrest you, but I guess asking you to surrender would be pretty useless, right?” Rune answered as the minotaur glared at her.

“Rock was supposed to be over there… What did you do?” He asked, as Rune simply smirked as a response. The minotaur clenched his teeth, then started charging at her with a scream. He couldn’t even make contact with her before Snowy jumped in front of her friend and blasted him with a magic blast that made him collide with the wall all the way at the back of the room.

The minotaurs took a step back in surprise as their comrade slid from the wall to the ground, his chest having burn marks. He still looked alive, but unconscious.

“As I thought. This is the Queen’s guard dog,” The Boss said as he looked at Snowy, then pointed at the unicorn. “And this is the captain of the royal guard. Don’t be afraid. In the end, they are still from a weak race,” The Boss reassured his men as they looked confident again.

“We never get to have an easy job, do we?” Rune asked herself in annoyance as the minotaurs surrounded them.

“It’s okay! Together, we are unstoppable,” Snowy said, making her friend smirk.

They said nothing more as the minotaurs all charged at them. The two ponies easily teleported away as the minotaurs hit each other.

Every time one of them charged at Snowy, she simply jumped out of the way and blasted them away with her horn hard enough to render them unconscious. It wasn’t long before most of them had burn marks all over their bodies. And on Rune’s side, she was much less merciful as she used her hell bard. She didn’t hesitate to skewer their legs, arm or even their shoulder with her burning blade, making them feel hell itself with every hit. Naturally, she purposefully avoided any vital points so that she could arrest them properly.

The pain coursing through their bodies was enough to make them unable to move. Either by falling unconscious, or being too busy rolling on the ground because of the intense pain.

“You. Damn. Ponies!” One of the last minotaurs screamed in anger as he attempted to punch the alicorn, only for her to dodge all his hits. She lit her horn, indicating to him, she was going to attack. He quickly brought his arms up to shield himself; however, this time she didn’t use a magic blast, but instead a freezing spell, which was quick to freeze both of his arms together in front of him. “C-Cold!” He stuttered as he tried to move his frozen limbs.

“Time to sleep, big guy!” Rune shouted as she kicked him on the back of his head, making him collapse instantly. “Phew… That easier than I thought it would be,” She breathed out before turning her attention back to the Boss. “Alright, surrender. You’re under arrest… What was your name again?”

“Strong. Arms,” He replied as he looked at his fallen comrades. It made him clench his teeth to see them struggle so much against mere ponies. And the ones still crying in pain like little girls were even worse.

“D-Did your parents name you that, or is it like a pseudonym or something?” Rune asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Rune, that’s rude,” Snowy scolded her lightly. Before Rune could say anything else, Strong Arms roared as he stomped the ground.

“I’ll take care of you myself!” He shouted as he charged at them.

Even though the attack came as a surprise, the two friends still managed to dodge in time as the minotaur crashed into the wall, creating a dust cloud. When he was visible again, two big holes, created by his horns, on the wall could be seen. Snowy didn’t wish to give him any time to charge again, and simply shot a beam made of magic. However, much to her dismay, the beam hit him head on without doing any damage.

“W-what happened?” She stuttered in worry.

“You think your puny pony magic can do something against my fur?” Strong Arms taunted as he jumped at them.

Snowy jumped back and avoided the blow before casting a freezing spell, which had little to no effect like the last one. The shock that overcame her because her spells were useless against him was enough to make her lose her focus and get kicked in the head so hard she was sent flying a few feet away.

“Snowy!” Rune shouted before attempting to slash the minotaur. He dodged her first blow, then tried to counter with a punch, which she dodged. Rune was a very agile unicorn and was talented enough to avoid getting hit. With his size, it was like trying to kill a fly.

Even though he hid it well, it annoyed Strong Arms a lot. Fortunately for him, he was still experienced enough not to get hit by those damn mana-blades. No matter how talented she was, he still had an advantage in size and brutal strength. Her slashes and thrusts were fast, but all he needed was an opening.

Rune jumped on his fist and used to propel herself in the air before using her magic hold to throw her hell bard right into Strong Arm’s forehead. That was the plan until he managed to grab the hell bard by its handle.

“Uh oh,” Rune muttered before getting punched in the snout. Her back hit the ground multiple times before coming to a stop. “Fuck… This guy’s punch feels like getting hit by a train. My brain’s all shaken up…” She thought as she tried to stand up again.

“You ponies are so weak!” Strong muttered as he walked towards her.

“Stop right there!” The minotaur was suddenly surrounded by various Snowy clones, all having a determined look on their faces. However, he didn’t look worried, even when they all jumped on him. He simply swung Rune’s hell bard around and easily killed most of them, turning them into white smoke as they disappeared. He threw the hell bard away as he saw only the original remained, and quickly grabbed her by the tail before she could do anything.

Snowy didn’t even have the time to put a barrier around her as she was swung on the ground over and over again. Even though her back almost broke, she still found the energy to cast another spell and shot a sticky slime in Strong Arms’ eyes, making him cry in anger as he threw her away. The minotaur pulled on the slime hard enough to get it off his face.

“You are annoying,” He grumbled as vines suddenly came out of the ground and wrapped around his arms and legs, holding him in place. He spun his head and saw Rune with her horn lit.

“Snowy’s not the only one who knows to cast spells,” She stated with heavy breaths, still haven’t recovered from the earlier blow.

“That won’t be enough!” He roared, ready to tear off the vines, only for Rune to let out a war cry as she threw her hell bard right into his chest, making him scream in pain as he fell to his knees. Rune immediately let her guard down as she sat on the ground to recover some energy. The fight was probably over after all.

Strong Arm’s body felt like a furnace as the mana-blade burned his organs with a heat he had never felt before. The pain was tearing his body apart! However, it wasn’t only a bit of pain that would stop him! He growled as he ripped the vines off him, then approached Rune.

“Ah… Ah... How is he still standing?” Rune muttered in annoyance while breathing heavily as she lit her horn to cast a spell; however, it only flickered like a broken lamp. His punch must have injured her horn!

“Not so good without your puny magic, right?” He chuckled as he continued to move, even with the hell bard still inside him. Right as Rune was about to run back, Strong Arms quickly stomped on her tail, keeping her from moving away. “Look here, guard dog! I’ll snap her little neck!” He shouted, blood running down his mouth.

Snowy widened her eyes as she slowly stood up. Her friend was going to die, and she couldn’t even protect her because she was too weak! The realization hit her like a train as she remembered how they met, then how Rune’s mother would feel. The disappointment she would see in her mentor’s eyes. And most of all, the void that Rune’s death would leave in her heart. And when she looked at this minotaur and what he planned on doing; anger rose as her blood boiled. Her eyes immediately started glowing in a bright light as her white magic flared against her body, releasing sparks.

“Don’t touch her!” She screamed, her mane flowing up in the air.

“You don’t understand, do you? Your useless magic can’t do anything,” Strong Arms growled, getting annoyed with the light show.

“S-Snowy… Calm down! It’s gonna be okay!” Rune tried to reason right before the alicorn fired a beam of light. The unicorn quickly ducked and protected her head. Even if the beam wouldn’t have touched her, being so close to it could still be dangerous.

“Huh?” The minotaur managed to muster before the beam, which was larger than the ones before, went right through his chest and hit the wall behind him, digging a hole in it. Strong Arms screamed in pain while his organs got roasted before getting completely vaporized. When the beam was gone, only a huge hole remained.

The minotaur vomited blood as he fell to his knees again, remaining unmoving, while Rune’s hell bard fell on the ground, seemingly intact from the attack. Rune looked at Snowy, then at the minotaur, his eyes were completely blank. And having a hole like that in the chest, it wasn’t likely that he survived.

Meanwhile, the alicorn’s mane went back to normal as the light disappeared. Snowy collapsed on the floor in a loud thud.

“T-That was close…” Rune muttered, about to go check on her friend until a hand wrapped itself around her neck. “H-How!” She breathed as she kicked around. Strong Arms panted, growling like a savage beast as he looked at the unicorn he was holding.

“Soon… Soon… You will see… what I saw… Hehehe… You ponies… will understand, too… and will eat each other,” He managed to say before letting go of her and feeling down. This time, life had definitely left his eyes.

“That was weird…” Rune mumbled, grabbing her hell bard into a magical hold. The weapon suddenly shrank back to its regular size as she strapped on her back and ran to Snowy. “Thank you,” She whispered as she made sure she was okay, then held her up with one of her legs.

“What happened here?” Mirage asked as their two other friends entered the room with her.

“Hey, we helped the others find the exit! Wow… Guess they resisted, huh?” Azure pointed out as she looked around the room. “You might need to go to the hospital, though,”

A smile crept up Rune’s face as she joined her friends, Blueberry coming over to her to carry Snowy on her back.

Meanwhile, in Canterlot.

Dyson grabbed a beer out of his fridge as he yawned.

“That royal guard job is more tiring than I thought. Can’t even feel my legs,” He muttered under his breath as he opened his beer.

“Not that you are very good at it,” A voice chided out of nowhere.

“What the-? Who the hell is talking?” Dyson snapped his eyes open as he looked around his room.

“Only the most powerful unicorn in history. But you can call me Celestia,”
> Midnight Candy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“The most what in history now?” Dyson inquired as he looked around. “And where are you? If you are a b-burglar… Know that I am a royal guard!” He added with his legs shaking.

“How did you even join them? Anyway, as I said; I am the most powerful unicorn in history, Celestia,” The voice answered in annoyance.

“I-I’ve never heard of that name before! S-Show yourself!” Dyson shouted as he grabbed his spear into a magic hold before the blade started glowing blue.

“You’re still not getting it? I am in your head, you imbecile! I am the statue that you saw in the dungeon,” Celestia explained as Dyson started rubbing his head.

“In my head? How did you get in here?! How can you even fit? Get out!” He panicked as Celestia let out an audible sigh.

“This is going to take a long time…” She muttered before making a stomping sound, which halted Dyson’s movement. “Now listen carefully. My body isn’t in your head, only my spirit is. And honestly, I am surprised that I managed to enter your mind while I was so weakened. However, now that I am here, I realize it is simply because you are as slow as a rock and as weak-willed as an ant that I was able to do this,” She explained as Dyson rubbed his head.

“Wait… DId you just call me an idiot?”

“Yes, but you should feel honored that I decided to inhabit your empty skull. And even if you are a fool, you still have valuable information. Looking at it, I realize the world has changed a lot since my imprisonement,”

“What? You looked through my mind? You are violating my privacy, lady!”

“Relax, would you? I don’t care what you do every night, disgusting pig,” Celestia replied, causing Dyson to be a blushing mess.

“W-What do you mean? I don’t do anything at night! G-Get out of my head, would you?” Dyson screamed before realizing something. “Wait a second… since you were in the dungeon, you are a bad guy, right?”

“Pri- Urg I mean, Queen Twilight imprisoned me simply because she was afraid of my potential. She refused to give me what was rightfully mine and she decided to trap me in this dungeon because I didn’t accept that. However, it’s time for you to do something smart for once. Help me free myself, then when I dethrone this fraud, you will be one of the first members of my great army,” Celestia explained as Dyson scoffed.

“That’s some villain talk alright! No deal, criminal! I’ll talk to Her Majesty so she gets rid of you, then I’ll enjoy a well-deserved promotion!” Dyson exclaimed in excitment before his head suddenly heated up as if it was ready to burst. “AAAH!”

“Try it and I'll fry your brain, maggot. Now that my spirit left that dungeon, I can easily find another body to inhabit!” Celestia threathened him as he held his head in pain.

“Alright! Alright! I get it! Please, stop! I-I won’t say anything!” He screamed as he started rolling on the floor when the pain suddenly stopped.

“Good. You know your place, now. You will learn quickly that it is better to serve me than Twilight. The promotion you want will never come true, be realistic. It’s quite obvious that you have no value or talent in the eyes of your superiors. I looked through your memories after all. However, with me, you will finally feel accomplished! Your dreams will be fulfilled. If you are loyal to me… of course,” Celestia explained as Dyson slowly nodded.

Even if her deal sounded sweet; he still wasn’t convinced. But it wasn’t like he could do anything right now. One wrong move and he was a goner! When he became a royal guard, what he wanted was prestige and an easy life! Not whatever he is living through right now!

“O-Ok, but I-I want you to be straight forward first! You’re talking about fulfilling dreams, and… I don’t even know what you’re really planning for me!” Dyson stuttered as Celestia hummed.

“I guess it wouldn’t hurt telling you. When I become queen -no- empress, you will become my right hand pony, the one who will execute my orders the most, and naturally, the pony who will have more privilege than anyone else in Equestria. Money would never be a problem for you anymore, and… you will probably have a lot of success with the ladies,” Celestia replied as Dyson’s smirk grew more and more while he already imagined himself swimming in a pile of gold, surrounded by the most gorgeous mares of Equestria.

“Alright… This is acceptable,” He said, trying not to sound too excited while Celestia rolled her eyes.

She was appaled by the trusting nature of this guard. Although she wasn’t sure if he was trusting or just an idiot. He had no way of knowing she would even keep her end of the deal. But it didn’t matter in the end as long as he followed her orders.

“Good, the first thing you’ll need to do is grow more powerful, then we’ll try to dispell the Queen’s spell imprisoning me,” Celestia explained as Dyson raised an eyebrow.

“How am I supposed to do that?” He asked before receving a pang of pain for not adressing her with enough respect.

“All you need to do is go where I tell you to go. I will cast the spells myself and your body will do the rest,” She replied as Dyson nodded.

“Alright… That seems easy enough,”

“Good. Then I’ll hope you are hungry, because you have a lot of magic power to consume,”

“Yeah! I’m ready! Wait, consume what?”

The next day, the five friends were having lunch together at the Bannered Mare, with Azure surprisingly eating a lot less than usual while Blueberry was drinking cofee. Unfortunately, the drink didn’t seem to reduce the size of her eyebags.

“You don’t have to be worried so much, Snowy!” Mirage smiled as she looked at the alicorn’s downed expression.

“Queen Twilight herserlf let you take a break, you can lay off the work for a bit. Besides, even Blueberry got to take a break for a day,” Rune reassured her while Blueberry looked ready to pass out.

“I-I know, but I feel like something bad is taking place somewhere and I’m not doing anything to stop it…” Snowy muttered as Rune put a foreleg over her shoulder.

“Hey, you can’t be everywhere at once. Plus, arresting ponies is kinda my job, let me worry about that for you, okay?” Rune retorted, which seemed to be enough to make Snowy smile.

“I guess you’re right… I’ll try to think about something else…”

As if suddenly waking up, Blueberry noticed Azure just finished her plate of food.

“Are you alright, Azure? You only ate… five cakes…” Blueberry noted as Azure smirked.

“I know, it’s impressive, right? I’m on a diet now ‘cause I’m hoping it’ll get me my flying license,” The pegasus answered while flexing her wings.

“I’m sure you’ll succeed this time,” Mirage encouraged her as Blueberry widened her eyes.

“Did someone say promotion? Is my break over already?” She gasped as Azure managed to make her sit back down right before she could run away.

“You know, I’m starting to think your work isn’t healthy, Berry,”  Snowy stated worriedly while Blueberry shook her head.

“Don’t worry… I’m fine… Besides, I’m pretty sure my boss will give me a promotion soon,” The earth pony replied with a genuine smile.

The other girls were never sure whether she genuinely thought that or was simply saying it so they wouldn’t worry about her too much. Sometimes, Snowy felt really bad when complaining about her responsibilities since the others had their fair share of problems.

“Oh! Would you look at this! If it isn’t Snowy and her… less than intelligent friends!” Someone exclaimed in a mocking tone. Rune immediately recognized the voice and frowned, grumbling to herself before turning around while the others looked in the same direction.

The speaker was a blue unicorn, as old as Snowy and Rune, and wore a white cape bearing the crest of Twilight’s school for gifted unicorns. It was Midnight Candy, someone well known to Snowy and Rune.

“Leave before I break your snout! Now isn’t the time to bother us,” Rune grumbled as she stood in her face.

“Yes, yes, I’m happy to see you too, Runey. Still more muscle than brain,” Midnight smirked, not threatened or worried at all as the orange unicorn lit her horn.

Azure slightly moved her chair aside while Blueberry kept drinking her coffee as if nothing was happening. Snowy and Mirage, on the other hand, were quite worried. No one used that nickname except Rune’s mother, and even her closest friends wouldn’t try to.

“Alright, don’t blame me if you end up crying!” Rune shouted before getting restrained by white wings.

“Don’t let her get to you, Rune. It’s probably what she wants, anyway,” Snowy whispered while holding her friend. It looked like it was enough to calm her a little.

“Keep your guard dog on a leash next time, Snowy. Besides, I came to talk to you,” Midnight said as she turned her attention to the white alicorn as Rune started pacing around to avoid jumping on her. Her hostility towards her was no secret. “I would congratulate you for your… tranformation… But I don’t respect you enough for that,”

“You made it pretty clear already,” She muttered while looking down.

“We should leave,” Azure suggested, only to be completely ignored.

“I won’t take too much of your time. Seeing you here is a good opportunity. Queen Twilight, even in her deep wisdom, has made a mistake. Not just because she chose you as her student, but especially because she made you an alicorn,” Midnight stated as Snowy frowned, not liking one bit that she doubted the Queen’s decisions.

“I worked for this, Midnight,” She argued as the mare scoffed.

“Worked? Please. You were lucky and everypony knows it. You’re spineless and worthless. That’s why I decided to challe-” Started Midnight as Rune opened her mouth to interrupt her, only for someone else to do it.

“Hey! Don’t you have enough of hurting her already? Don’t you have anything better to do?” Mirage intervened as she stepped in front of Snowy, glaring at the blue unicorn.

“Who are you again?” Midnight inquired as she looked over.

“Mirage Dreamer, and I am her friend!” She said proudly while Midnight simply looked unimpressed.

“Good for you, but I don’t talk to low class unicorns. Now if you would-”

“Aren’t you the one that failed Queen Twilight’s test?” Mirage asked as Midnight widened her eyes.

“What?”

“What I can see is that Snowy is the Queen’s student and you aren’t. And I guess you found nothing better to do than belittle somepony that succeeded where you didn’t. And unlike Rune, I don’t hate you. And I am sure Snowy doesn’t either,” Mirage said as Midnight stopped scowling, gztting curious while Snowy raised her eyebrows in surprise.

“Oh? And why is that?”

“Because she actually sees good in you, and probably pity because you probably go to sleep every night hating yourself because of your failures and jealousy. And that wouldn’t happen if you actually had friends you could talk to. Something you don’t have since you keep being an ass- I mean… rude to everyone you meet. And I’m sure we could be friends if you would just let us show you,” Mirage said as all her friends were staring at her in surprise since she wasn’t known to swear, which she almost did. Midnight, on the other hand, was fuming.

“You finished your fourth grader speech already? I was planning this for Snowy at first, but I guess I can teach you a lesson first. I demand a Veneficia Twila! And I challenge you… Mirage, is that it?” Midnight didn’t wait for her response as all the unicorns around them turned around in surprise, staring at the commotion in shock.

This was enough to make Mirage shut down, unable to reply while Midnight left. Azure and Blueberry looked at one another with eyebrows raised.

“Hm… What did she just do?” The pegasus inquired as Snowy sighed.

“A Veneficia Twila… It’s a challenge between two unicorns. At first it was a simple magic duel, but it changed into a challenge made of three different events by the unicorn that issued the challenge. Only a noble can issue it, though…” Snowy explained as Rune grumbled in annoyance.

“I guess since her father was the captain of the royal guard, then she has the right to do it… Dammit, you should have let me kick her face in, Snowy!” Rune complained as she was doing her best not to grab her helbard and run after Midnight.

“I-I’m sorry… I wasn’t expecting she would do this…” The white alicorn said, downcast as Rune’s eyes immediately softened at the sight.

“I didn’t mean it that way…” Rune started only for Mirage to inteerupt her by nearly fainting, only to catch herself on a chair.

“W-What am I going to do?” She asked, ready to hyperventilate at any second now.

“I don’t understand… The worst that can happen is… that Mirage would lose, right? Midnight probably… wouldn’t stop bragging… But that’s about it,” Blueberry said in confusion before yawning.

Snowy and Rune looked at one another while Mirage was catching her breath.

“There is a reason no unicorn called for a Veneficia Twila in years… It’s because the winner gets to decide the loser’s fate. It can be anything. Ranging from making them do a humiliating dance in front of everypony to… death,” Snowy revealed, which quickly made Azure and Blueberry gasp. “I-I know Midnight… She always hated me, and would probably not hesitate to hurt one of you to get to me… I don’t want to believe she would request such a fate because I truly think she can do good, but on the other hand… I really don’t know… Either way, it’s not going to be good,”

“What! We can’t let her do that!” Blueverry exclaimed as if she suddenly woke up from a nightmare.

“Once the challenge has been issued, it can’t be refused… That’s the law,” Mirage muttered under her breath loud enough for them to hear. “I have to win at least two of the three events, and one of them is already an automatic loss…”

“Don’t be so pessimistic! You’re gonna destroy her!” Azure encouraged her only for Rune to shake her head.

“Mirage is right. There is always a magic duel as one of the events. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have much of a chance against Midnight. Although, I would easily kick her ass. Believe me, she’s stronger than she looks. You have to rely on winning the other two events,” Rune said as Mirage nodded in agreement. 

“We can only hope they will be something I am good at,” Mirage said as she sighed.

“It’s alright. The moment we learn about what the events are, we’ll help you get ready!” Snowy assured her. “Right, girls?”

“Of course!”

“I’ll even ask for some advice from Her Majesty! She must have seen a lot of Veneficia Twila,” She added as Mirage smiled.

“I don’t know what I would do without you, girls,” She said as she couldn’t help but hug the alicorn, suddenly giving the need for everyone else to join in a group hug.

Far from here, Midnight teleported herself in front of Twilight’s school for gifted unicorns, surprising a few students that have been walking near her. She ignored their gasps of surprise, already knowing most of them wouldn’t even talk to her the moment they would see the scowl on her face. She slammed the school’s door open before walking through the corridor, easily making a path in the sea of young unicorns.

“H-Headmistress Midnight!” Someone yelled out behind her.

Midnight knew it wasn’t a student, but one of the teachers. Even so, she didn’t stop moving forward.

“Wait for me!” The teacher said as she finally managed to catch up to her. She was a unicorn, much older than Midnights. But even if the headmistress was younger than her, she looked at her with respect. “I am glad you are back. Some students have been disrupting my class for an entire hour! Do you want me to send them to your office?” She asked as Midnight shook her head.

“I will see them later, but I need to be alone for now. Tell your other colleagues the same, please,” She replied as the teacher stopped in her tracks, watching Midnight’s back while she was walking away. She was smart enough not to question her.

Midnight should be proud of what she accomplished. Being the headmistress of Twilight’s school for gifted unicorns was an honor and a testament of a unicorn’s talent in magic. Ever since she got this job, she only improved the school, it was bigger than ever and had more and more students as years passed. The walls were as clean as the first day it was built, no stains or scratch could be found anywhere.

Even though there were some troublemakers, discipline was one of the most respected aspects of the school. She truly believed she changed this place for the better. However, she couldn’t help but feel hollow as she entered her office. She didn’t just make a building better, ponies here actually respected her… or even feared her. Everyone knew how much of an honor and how good of a position it was to have this job. She had nothing to envy from anyone. And yet…

She looked downcast while looking at her desk, on which was a picture of her late father. She suddenly lit her horn, before lighting the few candles in her office, only illuminating it a little. She always prefferred the atmosphere of candles over a light bulb after all. And this still wasn’t enough to put her mind at peace.

“I let my pride get the better of me again, father. It is only a minor setback… I will teach a lesson to Snowy’s friend first, then…” Midnight sighed before she decided to pace around. “If you were there, would you be proud of me? What I hate the most about this question is how much I’m afraid of the answer”

I’ve always been the perfect foal
Never failing to reach my goal
Always made my parents proud
To me, everyone should have bowed

She sang proudly, holding her head high with filled with determination.

Then she came…
Driving me away from my destiny !
Bringing shame to my name !
And ruining what could have been my legacy !

She continued, stomping the floor in anger as she sneered and lit her horn.

I will be in second place no more
And take what should have been mine
From now on, I will shine !
And have a God as my mentor
Finally, Father
I will be worthy of being your daugther

She suddenly tore a piece of her office’s wall, revealing a secret hole behind it, in which there were various pictures of the white alicorn.

I have reached the epitome of my power
No alicorn will stop me from taking what’s mine
This pipsqueak shall fall from atop her high tower

She gritted her teeth, before staring arrogantly at the pictures and quickly turning them to ashes as magic flowed around her.

I’ve always been the perfect foal
Never failing to reach my goal
Always made my parents proud
To me, everyone should have bowed

And yet… Snowy
The perfect little unicorn
Student to The Supreme Queen
Overshadowing everything

Some of her mane fell over her eyes before she glanced back at her father’s photo.

Watch, Father
As I finally accomplish
What I was meant to do
Soon, the little alicorn will be gone !

It’s time to say goodbye, Snowy !
While I take what’s rightfully mine
For I am the Great and Powerful Midnight !

She laughed in bliss as her cape flailed behind her back, her magical power surging out of her body, threatening to burn everything it touched.

“Snowy will know fear when I destroy her little friend, and her turn comes… The Queen will finally see my worth… They all will. So watch your sweet little daughter,” She said as the magic flowing around her settled down while she regained her calm.

Midnight sat at her desk before taking out a piece of paper and writing something on it. This would serve to formalize the Veneficia Twila. It would be read directly by the Queen herself, and she would approve of the events Midnight chose, then inform her opponent of them. The headmistress would have loved for it to be a complete surprise, so Mirage would have no time to prepare something against her, but it didn’t really matter. In the end, she would still win.

She took one last look at the events she wrote down, before glancing at her father’s picture. Then, she put the piece of paper in an envelope, and finally shot a blue beam of magic at it, directly sending it to the Royal Palace. She would have to wait a week before the first event begins, and by the time it does, all of Canterlot will know about it. All eyes will be on her… including the Queen’s. When she beats Mirage and any other unicorns Snowy might be close with one by one, she will finally get her due after all these years.
> Royal Meal
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“We’re really lucky that the first challenge is a cooking duel!” Snowy exclaimed as she high winged Azure, who looked happier about the fact that she was going to taste great food rather than the challenge being easy for Mirage.

“Midnight should have done her research better! You’re going to kick her ass with that one,” Rune encouraged Mirage as she slapped her back. However, the unicorn still looked uncertain.

They were all in Mirage’s apartment after waiting for her to receive the information about her duel with Midnight. As it turned out, the first one was a cooking event, which was Mirage’s specialty.

“Are you okay, Mirage?” Blueberry inquired as Mirage shook her head, then sighed.

“No, I’m not. Frankly, I don’t work well under pressure, and I only have two days to think of a good enough meal…” Mirage answered as Azure raised an eyebrow.

“What are you talking about? You’re the best cook I’ve ever seen! You can just get anything from your shop and that should be enough!” Azure reassured her as the other girls focused back their attention on their friend.

“I can’t just take something random out of my store! Judges from all over Equestria will come to taste what I’ll cook, it needs to be something special! Besides, I don’t think Midnight would have issued this event if she wasn’t any good at cooking,” Mirage explained as Snowy put a hoof under her chin.

“Actually, I think I have an idea of what you could prepare for the challenge!” Snowy commented as Mirage turned her head to her. “A grilled seaquestrian eel! It’s a royal meal accompanied by potatoes from gryffonstone as well as serpentine sauce. The dessert that usually goes along with it is really great, too! Golden chocolate-flavored crystals from the Crystal Empire!” Snowy explained as Rune’s mouth started watering in hunger right before Azure’s did the same.

“You’re making me hungry just by talking about it, Snowy,” Rune said while licking her lips.

“I’ve never heard of that dish before…” Mirage pointed out while pondering about the meal.

“It’s not surprising. As I said, it’s a royal meal only the Queen would enjoy. And even then, she only gets one prepared once every decade or so because of the rarity of the ingredients,” Snowy explained while Rune nodded.

“Snowy and I were actually lucky enough to get a taste of it, it was so good! From what I’ve heard, only a really talented cook can make it without ruining it, so you already got this in the bag,” The unicorn added as Mirage paced around.

“I don’t mind trying to cook it, but… how am I going to find these ingredients? I need to have them in two days, so there’s no way we can buy any of these in time,” Mirage sighed as Snowy smiled and put a wing over her neck.

“Don’t worry about it, I can take care of that! Working personally with the Queen herself kinda has its benefits!” Snowy replied with an eager smile.

“You would really do that?” Mirage inquired.

“Of course! Meanwhile, the girls can help you research how to cook that meal! I… um… wasn’t very successful at preparing it myself… Her Majesty kinda saved the castle’s kitchen from being burned down,”

“You cooked with Her Majesty?!”

“Of course! Is that hard to believe?” Snowy responded as Mirage snickered.

“Well no, but I never thought Her Majesty would ever do the cooking herself. Honestly, I’d be interested in cooking with her someday! It would be such an honor…” Mirage retorted, making Snowy smile.

“I’ll definitely tell her about it! I’m sure she wouldn’t mind taking a break from her royal duties. They must be tiring,”

“I sure wouldn’t mind tasting whatever you two would prepare!” Azure commented with her watering mouth. “A meal from the Queen herself… must be yummy!” She added dreamily

“I think you should send a message to the Queen right away, Snowy. Better not waste too much time,” Rune pointed out as Blueberry widened her eyes at the mention of wasting time.

“I’m so glad to have you all… but I don’t think I like having such an unfair advantage. I basically have the Queen herself helping me out!” Mirage lamented while Azure was trying to hold Blueberry back from running off to her job.

“It won’t be. Believe me, you’ll need all the help you can get. I don’t like it either, but when it comes to Midnight, there’s no such thing as unfair,” Snowy explained as Mirage raised an eyebrow.

“Snowy’s right. It doesn’t look like it if you don’t know Midnight as we do. But she has the same connections as her family. And she’ll use them all just to find the rarest ingredients she can. I wouldn’t be surprised if she cooks something even rarer than our dish! As hard as that sounds,” Rune added, making Mirage sigh in acceptance.

“Okay, I believe you. I’ll use all the help I can get then,” She conceded as Snowy lit a horn and teleported away before coming back several seconds later with a book in her magic grab.

“I have the recipe in this book, so I guess you should start by learning it while I talk to the Queen,” The white alicorn explained as Mirage took the book.

“Thank you, Snowy,” She grinned as she opened it.
The other girls soon joined them to see the recipe, too while Snowy watched them with fondness. This reminded her of a time when she was only a filly. When she had been the Queen’s student for a couple of years and when she decided to cook something herself for the first time. Those were such good memories…

Several years ago

“Oh, my Twilight! Please, Lady Dawn, let me help you!” The cook, a green male unicorn, said worriedly. He was Chef Strudel, the Queen’s personal cook.

“Y-You said you would just oversee what I’m doing in case I hurt myself! It won’t be a good gift if I don’t make those cupcakes on my own!” A small filly lamented with a sad look on her face while the cook looked nervous.

“You will have to excuse me, Lady Dawn, but I wasn’t expecting you to make so many fires! The whole castle will burn at some point,” The cook replied as he looked down at the black and burned cupcakes, then at the burn marks all over the kitchen. “Let me bake those cupcakes, and you can tell the Queen you made them yourself when you give them to her,” He added as Snowy had a downcast expression.

“But… I-” Snowy fumbled before she was cut off by someone else.

“There will be no need for that,” A regal voice spoke up, startling the two ponies. Snowy’s lips curled upwards as she recognized who it was while the Strudel gasped in fear.

“Y-Your Highness!” He exclaimed as he nearly fell on his butt before swiftly regaining his composure. “I-I didn’t mean to fool you or anything! I…” He started explaining himself only for Twilight to raise a wing.

“Do not worry, my little pony. You have done nothing wrong. You only wanted to help my dear student, after all, didn’t you?” She reassured him as he nodded, albeit a bit hesitantly. “It is noble of you, but I will take it from here. You may leave and take a rest for the trouble she caused you,”

Snowy watched with awe as the cook left after bowing and thanking the Queen. She was always impressed with Twilight. She was mighty and stood proudly in a manner that inspired respect and devotion. Yet, she was kinder and gentler than anyone Snowy had met before. 

The Queen looked around the kitchen, noticing the burn marks and the failed attempts at cooking cupcakes while Snowy fidgeted nervously.

“Uhm… This was supposed to be a surprise… I’m sorry if I ruined your kitchen, Your Majesty…” Snowy apologized as Twilight’s cold expression turned warmful.

“Don’t worry about the kitchen. As long as you are safe, it’s alright,” She replied before lighting her horn. Snowy opened her mouth, amazed, while Twilight’s light enveloped the whole room and fixed all the burned pieces of furniture. “Good as new! Now, about that surprise… May I know what warranted it? I don’t think I did anything to deserve cupcakes specifically prepared by my student,” She added while Snowy blushed.

“Of course, you deserve it, Your Majesty! You made me your student, and… You’re always so kind to me. Even if you’re harsh with your lessons sometimes,” Snowy explained as Twilight looked at her with soft eyes. Snowy wasn’t used to it much since the Queen was always cold and showed little emotion during lessons or in the presence of other subjects. But Snowy knew the real her… Every time they were enjoying some time off alone, Twilight would be kind and understanding. She would be a good listener while Snowy talked about her problems at school, and she would even hug her sometimes. The young filly never had anyone to do all those things for her. No one to reassure or comfort her during hard times. Still, she wished for more. She knew it was selfish, but the Queen rarely talked about her talent in magic. She never said she was proud of her. She never congratulated her when an assignment was done. She wondered if the Queen was even satisfied with the unicorn’s abilities… “Plus, tomorrow is your birthday, and I thought sweets would be an awesome gift,” Twilight widened her eyes in surprise at that.

“My birthday… I forgot it was tomorrow, but it certainly would have been a nice surprise, Snowy,”

“You forgot? But it’s a national holiday! Ponies in all of Equestria celebrate it every year!” Snowy exclaimed in surprise as Twilight chuckled.

“When you are as old as I am, you tend to forget your birthdays. I’m not even sure that’s even the correct date anymore, but it is the one I gave to my previous counselors,” Twilight explained as Snowy fell silent. She could hardly imagine forgetting her own birthday. That was sad… But The Queen didn’t seem to mind so much, so she supposed it probably wasn’t that bad. “Well? What are you waiting for? Go get the ingredients we need from the storage room, those cupcakes won’t be made themselves,”

“A-Are you going to help me?” Snowy asked in shock and surprise.

“Of course. It could be entertaining, and I wouldn’t mind helping my student,” She answered as her student gasped.

“N-No! I shouldn’t make you do this! Y-You’re a queen, Your Majesty! It’s…” Snowy started rambling only to be stopped when Twilight put a wing on her shoulder.

“A queen I may be, I am also your mentor. You need help, don’t you?” Twilight’s eyes met hers as the small unicorn opened her mouth in stupefaction and stayed silent for a couple of seconds.

“Y-You really won’t mind helping me?” She questioned. Twilight shook her head before walking toward the dirty kitchen counter and cleaning it with a single spell.

“Since the cook isn’t here anymore, I don’t have much of a choice, do I? Besides, I actually wanted to make some cupcakes, too. It is quite a strange coincidence, don’t you think?” Twilight retorted as Snowy understood the message soon enough.

“O-Ok! I’ll get what we need!” The unicorn said excitedly as she ran to the storage room.

She came back a couple of minutes later and set the ingredients on the counter.

“Good. Why don’t we start by putting flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl and mixing it?” Twilight suggested as Snowy followed her instructions. “Be careful not to spill any,”

“You even know how to cook… How are you so good at everything, Your Majesty?”

“I wouldn’t say I’m good at everything, but the longer you live, the more skills you tend to learn,” Twilight answered as Snowy sighed.

“I wish I knew how to make cupcakes, at least… Every attempt was a disaster. So, I don’t think I’ll ever get better, no matter how much time passes,” She said desperately.

“I didn’t know you could see the future. You’ll have to teach me some time,” Twilight smiled as Snowy widened her eyes.

“What? I… I don’t know how to see the future…” She mumbled hesitantly.

“Then how can you be so sure you will never improve?”

“Well…”

“This may surprise you, but I was actually in your shoes once. I had no idea how to cook and nearly burned down every kitchen I was in. If it weren’t for some of my friends doing the cooking for me, I would have starved,” She chuckled under her breath.

“I don’t mean to offend you, Your Majesty. But I have a hard time believing you…” Snowy replied as Twilight put a wing over the filly’s back.

“I am not as perfect as you may think… But you still have a lot of time to understand it. Why don’t we focus on those cupcakes?”

Snowy had no retort as she continued following Twilight’s instructions. Naturally, the Queen helped her several times throughout the process, especially when it came to using the oven and making sure nothing was getting on fire. Cooking with her had been more fun than she thought it would be. It was true that she was strict a lot of times, and sometimes more easygoing. However, for the first time, she acted like a friend. Snowy wouldn’t dare call her a friend to her face, though, since Twilight was her mentor and queen. Still, it didn’t stop her from thinking of her that way.

“All we have to do now is wait,” Twilight said as she turned the over on.

Snowy stayed silent for several seconds. She didn’t honestly know what to say since she didn’t spend that much time with the Queen usually. Especially not to have fun like this. She couldn’t help but look up, and before she knew it, she spoke.

“Your Majesty,” She called out to her, attracting her attention.

“Yes?”

“Earlier you said that you forgot your birthday… I guess it’s hard for me to imagine because… I don’t even know how long you’ve lived… But it must have been a lot… Did you forget other things, too?”

“Of course. I can’t remember every single detail of my life just as nopony else could,” Twilight replied as Snowy looked hesitant.

“No… I mean… You talked about your friends, so I was wondering if there are ponies you forgot, too. It’s the first time you talked about your personal life…”

“It is, isn’t it?” Twilight whispered as she looked up in thought. “Obviously, I forgot small and unimportant matters over time. I’ve done and seen so much in my life. The friends I had. The ponies I knew. They aren’t small or unimportant. I can safely say that I remember every single one of them,” She answered.

“All of them?”

“Oh, yes. Around five centuries ago. There was a mare named Summer Wood who owned a music shop here in Canterlot. She loved playing violin and even taught me a few things. Our lessons were quite entertaining,” Twilight spoke fondly as Snowy listened to her in silence. “I had a student named Star Chaser. Now that was millennials ago, but I still remember how shy and introverted he was at first. Even more than you! He was quite clumsy, too. And I think he had a crush on me. He was quite good at elemental magic,” She continued as she remember his apprenticeship under her. “And Spike… He stood by my side for thousands of years and protected Equestria for just as long. He was kind and cared about his friends more than his life. He was strong, but him being a gigantic dragon probably helped,”

“A dragon?!” Snowy exclaimed in shock.

“Indeed,”

“I thought they were extinct…”

“He was the last, unfortunately,” Twilight’s expression turned somber as Snowy seemed deep in thought. “What is the matter, my little pony?”

“Well… It’s just so weird to me… All those ponies -and that dragon!- lived so long ago. Yet you talk about them like you just saw them yesterday,” Snowy answered as Twilight remained silent. The small unicorn smiled. “They must have been amazing!” The Queen nearly widened her eyes in surprise, truly not expecting such a response.

She swiftly regained her composure and placed a wing on Snowy’s back while giving her student a small smile.

“They were,” She replied. Both master and pupil stayed silent for a few seconds until the silence was broken by the sound of ringing.

“Oh! That must mean the cupcakes are ready! Right?” Snowy inquired as Twilight nodded and lit her horn, turning the oven off and getting the cupcakes out of it.

“Yes, and they look delicious,” She said as she handed them to the short unicorn, letting her smell them. “Today may not be my birthday, but since the surprise is already ruined, we may as well feast now. What do you think, dear student?” The Queen asked as Snowy froze for a second, surprised by the suggestion, before quickly nodding in excitement.

She could safely say that up to this point, this had been the greatest of her life as even her mother had never done anything this nice with her, which was why she still remembered it years later.

Back to the present day, Snowy continued to watch her friends in amusement as they discussed the challenge Mirage will have to face.

“You know, the magic duel may not be an automatic loss. I’ve got nice moves I can teach you! Plus… If none of them work, I’ve got a secret strategy that works every time,” Azure stated as she leaned down and whispered the last part in Mirage’s ear.  Unfortunately for her, Rune was already aware of what she was about to say.

“How many times do I have to say that farting in your opponent’s face isn’t a real or viable strategy. It literally never worked every time you’ve tried it!” Rune slapped her own face as she said it while Azure rolled her eyes and huffed.

“That’s because it still needs some improvements! But it’ll work you’ll see,” She retorted while Blueberry walked up to Mirage.

“I don’t know much about fights, but can you bring a weapon in that duel?” The earth pony inquired as Rune stopped her discussion with Azure the moment she heard the word ‘weapon’.

“I didn’t even think of that! I could definitely lend you something!” The unicorn exclaimed while Mirage rubbed her chin.

“I don’t know… Isn’t it supposed to be a magic duel? Can I really use a weapon?” Mirage questioned until Snowy put a hoof on her shoulder.

“I’ll ask Her Majesty if you’d like,” She suggested as her friend smiled.

“Thank you, Snowy. That will help so much,”

“Great! Now that’s settled, let’s talk about this recipe! I can’t wait to see how a royal meal is cooked!” Azure licked her lips as she lifted herself a few feet off the ground by flapping her wings.

While the five friends were enjoying their time alone and preparing Mirage for her challenge against Midnight. A lone stallion walked the streets of Equestria, far from their location. The street was littered with trash while several ponies slept on the ground with ragged bed sheets to cover themselves with, and bottles of alcohol. The buildings were also smaller than in Canterlot and had multiple cracks running across them.

“So this is a district?” Celestia asked inside Dyson’s head.

“Yep. You never been to one?” He inquired out loud. Even if most ponies would find it weird, the ones living there didn’t care about each other’s business. And they certainly wouldn’t question Dyson if they thought he was crazy.

“The idea to set up districts was brought up only a few years before my imprisonment. This place really looks like garbage, though, compared to Canterlot,”

“Not surprising. District F is located in the south, which has fewer resources and received less development. And the fact that it borders Changeling Kingdom’s territory sure doesn’t help,” Dyson explained as he kicked an empty can out of the way.

“This will only make it easier for us. There is more easy prey here. Besides, I’m feeling an acceptable magic power in a nearby alley. Go to it now,” Celestia ordered as Dyson obeyed with no complaints.

Soon enough, he reached the alley Celestia directed him to and found a homeless-looking stallion going through a trash container. He was also accompanied by a smaller pony, which seemed to be a young filly. While the stallion was an earth pony, the filly’s horn was noticeable even in the dark.

“There were two of them! They’ll make a good meal, especially the unicorn. She has quite the potential in raw power,” She chuckled as Dyson gulped before walking closer to the two ponies. They seemed to have heard his steps since they quickly turned around.

“Sorry, buddy, but I was here first. There are some other trash containers further down the road if you want,” The stallion said before Dyson could speak while the filly hid behind the homeless pony’s legs.

“Sorry, but I’m no… Exactly here for trash,” Dyson replied as he looked remorseful. The other stallion narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

“Good. Don’t move, so I can cast the spell,”

“Do you need help, perhaps?” The homeless pony asked as he stepped back.

“Who is that, daddy?” The filly asked fearfully.

“I don’t… But you do,” Dyson said as his horn glowed in purple color.

“S-Sir… Stay back!” The homeless pony warned as a beam of magic was shot from Dyson’s horn and hit him straight in the chest while purple tendrils floated around his body. he screamed in pain as the filly widened her eyes in horror.

“D-Daddy!” She cried as she stood frozen in place only for another beam to hit her two while the first one was still connected to her father. “AAAAH!” A burning feeling went through her body as if she swallowed fire. The more time passed, the lighter she was. It was like they were removing something from her! She was getting weaker and weaker with no answer as to what was happening to her.

“I-I’m sorry!” Dyson apologized while siphoning their magic. Soon enough, both ponies he trapped opened their mouth and eyes wide while a blue smoke escaped from them and moved to his body.

“Good! More! We need to take all of it! Until they’re empty husks!” Celestia laughed in delight as her essence pulsated into Dyson’s head.

The royal guard’s lips quivered while his legs shook as he watched the filly and her father slowly dying. Their magic was getting weaker while their bodies started looking lifeless as if they’d been dried off any fluids. You thought he was happy about this?! He wasn’t! That looked terrifying and painful! He didn’t want anyone to suffer through that! And he wanted to inflict it on someone else even less! But it wasn’t like he could stop it, could he? Even if she was nothing but a voice in his head, Celestia was much more powerful than him. It was probably the most potent magic he felt besides’ the Queen’s. How could he ever hope to face something like this?

Finally, the stream of magic stopped as the bodies fell to the ground. Their eyes were blank, and their jaws hung down while their corpses looked dried up. They were nothing but empty husks, devoid of magic and life.

“That… Was scary…” Dyson commented as he suddenly felt a surge of power. “But I feel stronger!”

“Of course, you do! That was the point of absorbing their magic in the first place! When you get strong enough, you’ll be able to free me. Don’t get ahead of yourself, though. You’ll give me back everything you’ve absorbed when the time is right. This is my magic, after all,” Celestia answered as Dyson gulped and nodded, not wanting to anger her. “Good. Now let’s look for more prey. I can’t wait to get my revenge on the princess and that student of hers,” She chuckled as the royal guard looked uncertain.

“There’s something I’ve been wondering… Wouldn’t the Queen just turn you back to stone?” He inquired while Celestia stayed silent for a few seconds.

“Pfft! As if! I’ve had plenty of time to study the spell she’s used on me. I’ve got it all figured out already! Unfortunately, only Twilight knows how to cast it, but I still managed to learn to dispel it. I won’t be changed back to stone, I can assure you,” She answered smugly before leading him on another trail.

These two first victims weren’t enough to prepare him for what was to come because no amount of killing would ever make him used to it.

Bonus section

A day in Blueberry Marron’s life

Another morning, another day of work. Blueberry yawned as she climbed down from her bed after only a few hours of sleep.

“I better hurry up if I don’t want to be late…” She muttered as she grabbed a brush and brushed her brown coat and her yellow mane. Well… ‘Brushed’ was a strong word considering all she did was run her brush across herself a few times before stopping. She ignored the many unbrushed spots and left her bathroom.

She was lucky to live in Canterlot; however, her job was in District E, which meant she had a long walk to it. Of course, they were many means of transport she could use, and she did. Unfortunately, none of them led her directly to the front of the factory she worked in.

She was one of the many workers in the Screw and Bolts Industry. You would think working in such a famed incorporation would be an honor and a privilege. She didn’t hate her job, but she wouldn’t exactly call it a privilege either. The factory she was in made various mechanical components for many machines throughout Equestria. Some were used in trains while others served as a power source for holding cells in prison. The fact that it was so varied also demanded versatile workers and a lot of time.

That was why she was expecting a potential promotion. She was hard working and spent most of her days in the factory, multi-tasking. As usual, she started working on engines. The factory was noisy and hot, which was why she never wore a uniform to shield herself from anything dirty. She could accept getting dirty if it meant she wouldn’t die of overheating. Moreover, she still wore a helmet!

“Hey! Blueberry! Get down here!” A pony shouted from down the stairs leading to her station. She looked down and immediately widened her eyes as she realized it was the manager.

“Y-Yes?” She responded hesitantly.

“The boss wants to see you! Don’t make him wait!” He replied before walking away, not leaving her any opportunity to answer.

The earth pony gulped as she went downstairs with her legs shaking. She didn’t meet any of her coworkers’ eyes. Mainly because most of them were busy with their own work to pay attention to her. But she was still expecting some comfort to reassure her. Usually, no one was called into the boss’ office to receive good news. It was the opposite. Still, she was hopeful since she had no idea what she could have done wrong.

His office was small and mostly empty. He only had a desk, a few chairs, and a computer. A large transparent glass allowed him to see most of the factory and its workers. Looking at it, Blueberry realized there was little that could escape his sight. She couldn’t help but wonder if he watched her sometimes. It was a scary thought. The pony sitting at the desk was a male earth pony with a grey coat and a few rocks as a cutie mark. His mane was only a darker shade of grey, and several wrinkles were spread out across his face. He called himself a business stallion, but he certainly didn’t look like it. Especially considering how ill-mannered he was. Still, his name was known by many: as Roder Pie Stone.

“Come in, come in,” He said as Blueberry closed the door behind her. “Sit down. Blackberry, is it?”

“Uhm… No. Actually, my name is Blue-” She started only for her boss to cut her off.

“Right! Right! Well, Blackberry, I have great news for you!” Roder exclaimed while smirking as Blueberry widened her eyes.

“Y-You do? I was… actually hoping… to-” It seemed the slow and tired way in which Blueberry spoke was quick to make Roder impatient as he cut her off again.

“I’ve been watching everypony’s progress closely, and I must say, you impress me! The logs say you’ve worked 24-hour shifts the last week!” Roder explained with excitement in his voice.

“Oh… I’m happy you noticed… I thought I could… do that every… two weeks… But…” Blueberry yawned, stopping mid-sentence.

“Yes, yes, and I think you deserve a reward. Here, we respect hard work and our workers! That is why I decided to name you ‘employee of the month’!” Roder said as he placed a framed picture of her on his desk. “I’ll ask Scottie to put it on the wall right away if you have no issues with this picture,”

It wasn’t that she had no issues. Frankly, that picture didn’t make her look good. Her hair was a mess, and it looked like she hadn’t slept in months. She didn’t care about her appearance, but if she knew her picture would be put up somewhere, she would have at least used some makeup. That wasn’t the main problem, though.

“That’s… great, sir…” She said hesitantly.

“Are you sure? You don’t look happy about it,”

“I am,”

“If you don’t like it, you can just say it, you know!” Roder retorted angrily as Blueberry shook her head.

“No, no, no! I like it… It’s just that… Well, I was expecting something else,” She admitted as Roder gained a look of realization.

“Of course! How could I forget? Here, take this,” He said as he threw a bag of bits in front of her, making Blueberry smile in delight as she looked through it.

“Uhm…” She started, nervous and hesitant. “That’s my usual pay,”

“Indeed! You get your pay three days in advance! Isn’t that great?”

“Well… I was hoping for a promotion or… Or a pay raise…” Blueberry explained while scratching the back of her head.

“A-A promotion?! A pay raise?! T-This must be a joke, right?!” Roder sputtered offendedly as Blueberry recoiled back.

“N-No… I thought that I deserved it… After all the work I’ve done… 24-hour shifts aren’t… easy,”

“Oh, please! Do you know how much I’ve worked? Back in my day, I would spend 27 hours a day in the factory! And I’ve never complained or demanded better pay!”

“27?”

“I’ll give you better pay or… a promotion when you deserve it, and it’s not gonna happen anytime soon with that attitude, missy!” Roder slammed a hoof on his desk as Blueberry looked downcast.

“Alright…” She said miserably while Roder stared at her with an eyebrow raised.

“Since I feel a little bad for you… Maybe we can have a deal. Extra work, and you’ll have a raise,” He suggested as Blueberry’s eyes lit up. “You see, sometimes I get a lot of work to do in this office. It’s long and tiring, and it really isn’t a thing someone my age should do. I think you could help from time to time. I’ll call you once or twice a day, and you can help me… relax. You see where I’m getting at?” Roder asked while smirking as Blueberry stared at him.

“No,” She said firmly as he cleared his throat.

“I have some things that need polishing-”

“No,” She said again as firmly as earlier.

“S-See… There are a lot of dirty spots underneath my desk that need cleaning,”

“No,” She repeated again before silence settled down for several seconds.

“Dammit! Here’s your raise! One bit! And nothing more!” He groaned as he threw the coin at her, which she caught between her teeth. “Now get the hell out of my office and get back to work!” He ordered her as the mare left his office.

The rest of the day went as usual for Blueberry. Doing the same repetitive tasks over and over again before transporting various goods on her own. It wasn’t that hard for her since it wasn’t her first day. She had a strong body, so manual work became easier and easier over time.

“No 24-hour shift today, Blueberry?” A coworker asked as Blueberry yawned.

“I’m kinda sleepy, so I thought it would be best if I went to sleep,” She answered.

“You should rest. You deserve it,”

Blueberry didn’t reply and simply quickly finished her work before checking out and leaving the factory with her bag of bits around her neck. She held the coin that was supposed to be her raise and sighed in disappointment. Right when she was about to put it back in the bag, a small hoof stopped her. She lowered her eyes to see a filly holding her leg.

“D-Do you have a coin, miss? I am so hungry,” She said while keeping her tattered rags from falling off her. Blueberry only stared at her eyes for a couple of seconds, but it was enough to persuade her. She dropped the big in the filly’s hoof, making her smile. “Thank you, miss!” She thanked her excitedly while Blueberry grinned.

“Please, miss. Do you have some for me, too?” Another pony said; this one was much older. He looked even more miserable than the homeless filly! And Blueberry couldn’t help but give him a bit, too. “Twilight bless you!” He thanked her.

“M-Me, too! Please,”

“Only enough to buy me a meal!”

Before she even knew it, she was surrounded by beggars, pleading to her with clear desperation in their voices. All she had to do was refuse and walk away. This was her hard-earned money, after all. However, she couldn’t. Their eyes were filled with sadness and despair. Who knew what they’d been through? And if she could make their day a little better, then she was happy. So she gave them bits. She gave them so many bits that all the beggars left, happy and content with what they got. Unfortunately for Blueberry, by the end of it, her bag was completely empty. She shook it upside down, hoping at least one bit would magically appear, but nothing came out except dust.

“I… Didn’t need it anyway…” She sighed as she threw the bag away. She was ready to go home. Suddenly, something beeped. She looked around while the beeping continued, then searched through her mane until she found a necklace. Suddenly, a green smoke came out and formed a small mirror depicting one of her friends, Mirage. “Oh, Mirage… What can I do for you?” She asked as the unicorn smiled.

“Rune just called me and apparently Snowy has a surprise for all of us! Do you think you can come? They’ll be in my home,” She said as Blueberry’s lips curled upwards.

“Of course! I just finished my work… I’ll get there as quick as I can…” She yawned as Mirage smiled happily.

“Great! We’ll be waiting for you! I’ll prepare some cupcakes, too!” Mirage replied as she hung up, the green mist fading away.

Blueberry put the necklace back in her mane and breathed out. This was a hard and long day. Maybe a little miserable and sad, too. Still, it couldn’t be so bad if she got to see her friends at the end of it. Sometimes, they were like the only lights she could see, and she was… kinda fine with it.