Chpt. 1: The Letter

“This is your last chance, punk. Come out or else I’ll drag you out. Piece by piece.”

My Faithful Student.

I call upon you and your friends to Canterlot to discuss matters of dire urgency and discretion. Make haste to the castle as soon as physically possible. Whereupon I will disclose more in person in the Throne Room. Tell nopony else of this meeting for the matter is too delicate and I must keep this as discrete as possible.

Your mentor, Princess Celestia

Twilight had read through the note a number of times, especially after she and her friends had gotten on the train to her home town. Awash with paranoia thinking of any and all reasons as to why the princess had to be so secretive, Twilight eventually came to realize that worrying about the letter did nothing for her. Setting the letter down at her lap, Twilight let out a defeated sigh before turning to the car to see her friends.

Catching Twilight’s attention immediately was the ever energetic Pinkie Pie, a pink on pink earth pony with the frizziest mane and tail Twilight had ever seen a pony sport. Her attire was a yellow t-shirt and overalls stained with flour, cake-batter and frosting; giving her the air of a party where-ever she went. “What do you think the princess called us for? Party? No wait… A surprise party!?” She lets out a gasp. “Do you think it’s a surprise party for Luna to welcome her back to Equestria after a thousand years of banishment? Cause I think that would warrant some super sneaky party planning for a party that big.”

“Whatever the reason, could ya calm down a tik.” Sitting next to Pinkie was another earth pony, this one with an earthy orange coat and golden hair done up in a tail, hidden behind a stetson. Sitting up, Applejack lets out a long yawn as she stretches her arms out, having been awoken by Pinkie’s non-stop bouncing. “Is it too much t’ask fur a little shut-eye?”

“Sorry Applejack, I’m just so excited and I just can’t hide it.”

“Ah reckon yur’ about to lose control there.”

“And I think I like i~i~i~i~t.” Pinkie’s sing-song voice only emphasized just how eager she was to get to Canterlot, contrasted to Applejack’s more reserved approach to the trip. With nothing but countryside and open grass fields for as far as the eyes can see, there wasn’t much in terms of sight-seeing. Standing up from her seat, Applejack takes the opportunity to find herself a new seat so she can nap without being disturbed.

Twilight sees Applejack moving to take the seats behind her, wanting a bit of piece before meeting with the princess. “Hey, Twi.”

“Yes?”

“Could ya be a pal an’ close yur blinds. Sun’s peakin’ through and its right in mah eyes.” Twilight was happy to oblige, lowering the shades for her window. Closing her eyes, Applejack lays back to try and get some sleep. “Thank you kindly, Twilight.” Settling into her nap, Twilight was soon met with Pinkie Pie taking the seat beside her.

“So, I was thinking, when we get to Canterlot, we got check out ALL the cool places you and Spike used to go to when you lived there and you can show us around. Ooh, do you know of any places we can get any sweet treats? I’m getting a little hungry and this train only has mini-snacks that are way too expensive and nowhere near filling.”

“I’m sure when the princess is done explainin’… whatever it is that she needs to explain, we can grab a quick bite t’eat.” Applejack said softly.

“Actually, I mostly spent my time in my study and had food brought to me by Celestia’s personal staff. Now, if anypony knows Canterlot, then Spike is the dragon to ask.” Twilight paused for a moment. “Speaking of, where is he?”

“He’s been helping Rarity in the next car over. She’s been stuck in the bathroom the whole train ride.” Pinkie recalled. “Sometimes he comes running down the lane to dig through Rarity’s bags then back to her.” The moment she finished explaining, the door opened to reveal a slender reptile come running down the lane. Spike was a young drake, barely reaching five feet tall. Despite not being a pony, he tended to dress like one, sporting deep V-neck shirts to show off his scales and custom made pants that did not tear easily due to his sharper features.

After some digging, Spike had plundered Rarity’s carry-on for gems, spool, and spare fabric; running back with the materials in hand to the mare he so desperately loved. All the while, the three mares couldn’t help but snicker at how easily Spike was at Rarity’s beck and call. “So, how long ya think that’ll last.” Applejack asked.

“Hopefully not long. Spike is only Fourteen years old; he has to know that Rarity is too old for him. Plus, he’s a bit of a sensitive guy, so the longer this goes on, the harder it’ll be when it comes time to tell him.” Twilight sounded a bit worried for her assistant, knowing that this was merely puppy love, but it was bound to end badly one way or another.

“Yeah, and I don’t think this is one of those sort of fics.” Pinkie added. As the three talked among themselves, the door to the car opened up once more. Half expecting to see Spike walking through, instead walked a set of pegasi carrying a small bounty of snacks.

“Hey guys. Snack pack comin’ through.” Moving on down the lane with a confident swagger about her was Rainbow Dash. Her multi-colored mane and tail kept in a swept state due to her constant need for speed, only emphasized by her choice in attire; a dark green set of running shorts and a tank-top. Simple, but aerodynamic. “Pinkie, some Cheezi-Doodles for you.” Passing her friend a bag of chips, she made her way down the line. “And some Dried banana chips for Twilight.

“Thank you, Dash.”

“And last but certainly not least, a jumbo pack of Sizzlin’ Snake-hide hay-jerky. Extra spice, just how ya like it, Aj.” Hearing what Rainbow had gotten her, the farm pony sat up and gladly took her snacks and immediately started digging in.

“Mmph, whoo… got a good zing to ‘em too. Thank ya kindly, Dash.”

“Honestly, you should be thanking Fluttershy. She thought everypony could use a bit of something to eat what with the long-ass trip. Plus, I got a good bonus from the weather team recently, so I figured what the hell.” Taking her seat opposite her friends was the shy, butter yellow pegasus of the group. Hiding behind her soft, pink hair, she’d open up a pre-made salad that was honestly nothing more than just lettuce, berries, and dressing. Careful not to spill anything on her favorite pink sweater, she’d quietly dig into her food and listen in on her friends. But when she heard her name, she turned to them with a soft fluster.

“I-It was nothing. I-I was gonna get something but then I didn’t want anypony else to get jealous. But then dash said she’d hoof the bill.”

“That’s mighty thoughtful of both o’ ya’ll. Hopefully ya got something for Rarity and Spike. Celestia only knows when those two will be done with… whatever it is they’re doin’.”

“You think the little guy finally nutted up and asked Rarity to do the dirty?” Rainbow quipped.

“First off, gross.” Twilight said flatly. “Second, still fourteen. And third, he’s kinda like a brother to me so can we avoid any talk of family doing… that.”

“Ah agree with Twilight on this.” Applejack says as she cleans her fingers free of any red flavor dust. “Granny got a little sloshed on the hard cider one night an me n’ Mac barely avoided hearin’ about the time she took our gran’ pappy out dancin’ behind the barn if’n ya catch mah meanin.’”

“Wait, are we not supposed to do that?” Pinkie gasped. “Oh no, have I been doing it wrong this whole time? AM I GOING TO JAIL?!”

“Relax Pinkie, nopony’s goin’ to the dungeon. Ah just mean that… ya know, they were uh… getting’ intimiate.”

“Ooh? Like hugging?” Everypony started to copy a flustered look Fluttershy had as they all didn’t really want to get into… that is except for Rainbow.

“It’s a special kind of hug, that is for sure.” Rainbow snickered.

“Um… Pinkie.” Fluttershy spoke up. “I-I think what Applejack means is that… she’s talking about sex.”

“Oh. Oh! OHHHH!~” Pinkie froze realizing what everypony was talking about. “Yeah, I gotta agree with Twilight on this one. Spike is a little too young for that kind of hugging. Though, if he doesn’t got a marefriend, I wouldn’t mind a little dating. Spike is a really cool dude. Though, the age difference will be kinda weird.”

“Can we please change the subject!” Twilight roared, not wanting to think of Spike and his personal relationships or anything related to that. Thankfully, as if Celestia had heard her prayers, the door opened wide revealing the dragon himself.

“Presenting, her radiance, Miss Rarity.” Stepping aside from the door, Spike gave way to the mare of his dreams. Stepping out to greet her friends, the alabaster unicorn stepped into the train car with such grace and elegance, it almost seemed like she had walked right out of a fairy-tale. And if not for her beauty, then the new outfit she had made for herself sure did. Made of a dark blue fabric that seemed to glow in the sunlight, emphasized only by the gold trimming that outlined her gorgeous creation. Showing off her work to her friends, gaining awes and praise with every motion she took.

“Well? What do you think girls? Too much? Too little?”

“Wow. Just… wow!” Twilight said, absent words. “Did you… make that?”

“Don’t be surprised, Darling. I make all my clothes.”

“Ah think she means if ya made that perdy dress in the bathroom.”

“Oh, well also yes. Its not my best work but considering I did so with time to spare, I think it came out rather nice don’t you think?” Rarity was beaming with pride with every step, only to find a seat next to Fluttershy and Spike finding a seat close to Twilight but where he can still be in view of Rarity.

“I don’t get it. Why go through all that trouble just to make another dress.” Rainbow asked, trying to understand Rarity’s reasoning.

“Its simple, really. This is to be my first trip to Canterlot and I wanted it to be a good first impression upon the ponies, as well as the princess herself when we meet her at the castle. I would have taken one of my more masterful works but alas, we were in such a rush I grabbed what items I could into a bag and used whatever I had packed in my frenzy.”

“I think you came out stunningly.” Spike swooned with a goofy grin. “Uh, I mean… the dress. The dress came out stunningly. That’s… what I meant.”

“Ah, thank you Spike. I can always count on you to be the wind under my wings.” Rarity smiled as she got comfy, only to recall something. Using her telekinesis, Rarity brought her bag down to sift through her things personally, bringing out a handful of gemstones she had packed just in case. While her dress had a sapphire pendant as the main focus on her attire, she levitated the left-over gems to Spike. “Here you are, Spike. A generous reward for my generous helper.”

Holding out his hands for the gleaming rocks, the purple dragon took them with glee. “Thank you. But I would have done it for free.”

“Nonsense. You have been running back and forth on this train to help me make my debut in Canterlot something worth remembering, and it shant go unrewarded.” Not one to argue with the logic, Spike smiled happily in his seat, ready to munch on each and every gem like a succulent piece of candy.

“So, what do you all think the princess wants with us?” Rainbow came to say, looking at her friends’ varying reactions.

“Whatever it is, I-I just hope its not scary.” Fluttershy shuddered.

“Could be another big nasty.” Pinkie said with a ready look to start boxing. “I bet he’s a big ol’ meanie that needs a good Pinkie Pie throw-down.”

“Hm, never figured you for the violent type, Pinkie.” Rarity says a little taken aback by Pinkie’s want for conflict. “Could be something else. Perhaps she requires our aid on some political matter. A diplomatic mission?”

“I doubt that.” Twilight shot down. “We only returned princess Luna to her former self less than a month ago. Plus, we don’t have much experience in political matters or function.”

“Well whatever it is, ah know we can handle it.” Applejack says casually.

“Hell yeah. Cause we’re awesome. If the princess didn’t think we couldn’t handle it, then she wouldn’t have sent the note to begin with.” Listening to Dash’s words, Twilight started to feel whatever anxiety and paranoia she had on the trip begin to lift off her shoulders. Because she was right; if the princess didn’t think they weren’t ready, then she’d never have mailed her in the first place.

“We will be arriving in Canterlot in 30 minutes.”

Hearing the voice on the intercom, the six friends readied themselves for whatever may come. Twiilight knew that whatever may come, she wasn’t to face this danger alone. Because she had six of the most amazing friends any pony could ever ask for.

Pulling into the station, Twilight and her friends step off onto the platform with what little they had taken with them. Almost immediately, the ponies were left in a state of awe at the glorious capital of Equestria itself. While Twilight had grown up in this very city, being away from it had revitalized a sense of wonder in her as she now saw it from a whole new angle.

“Holy-moly, this place is he-uge.” Pinkie was the one to vocalize their thoughts, if not simplified.

“The sparkle, the glimmer; I could not imagine a more fabulous city in all my wildest fantasies.” While Rarity took in the refinement and glamor of the city, her friends followed close behind her as the well-dressed mare absorbed the sights at her hooves.

“Ain’t been five minutes and we already lost Rarity.” Applejack says.

“Don’t worry. She’ll come out of it when we get to the castle,” Twilight responds. “Or she could get worse. We’ll see.”

“It was bound to happen. Best we get it out of her system now before the Gala in a few months.” Rainbow came close to Twilight, looking around the area, not exactly as enthralled with the place as the white unicorn. “But this place doesn’t exactly hold a candle to Cloudsdale. Just sayin’.”

“Do ah hear a bit o’ bias?” Applejack teases.

“Probably. Canterlot is pretty cool but I’m a pegasus and while I do like how high up the place is, Cloudsdale is more my kind of city. A lot more open space to fly around.”

“BLASPHEMY!!!” Rarity cried out, scaring not only her friends but also the ponies close by. “I shan’t hear another word, Rainbow Dash. We are standing at the very peak of Pony culture and civilization. To say that any other place is better is just… just…” Rarity trailed off, trying to find the words to express how offended she was.

“Um… sorry, I guess. This place isn’t really my speed. No pun intended.” Rainbow explained, somewhat calming down recalling who Rainbow was.

“Hm, perhaps an overreaction. I sometimes forget that not everypony sees the world as I do. But surely Twilight can understand. She was born and raised here after all.” All eyes were brought to their friend, who started to smile nervously.

“Well… I didn’t really go out into the city that much. I mostly confined myself to the castle, specifically my old Study.” Rarity started to look a bit saddened at her friend’s response. “But I will admit, being away from Canterlot for a while has restored some of its whimsy for me. If only a little.”

“I suppose that will do for me. Right, I have had my fill; now I must see the palace. Ooh, my dear sister is going to be absolutely jealous when she hears that I was invited into the royal castle.” Rarity squeed softly as she took lead of the pack. Yet as they started to head towards the castle looming overhead, Fluttershy starts to take notice of her friend’s less than enthusiastic expression.

“U-Um… Twilight?” Fluttershy asks in her usual soft tone of voice. “Are you… alright?”

“Just my nerves getting the better of me. Don’t worry, I’ll calm down once we meet with the Princess.” Twilight responds with a half-hearted smile.

“O-Oh… I understand that.” There was a moment before she continued. “M-Maybe i-if you want, after we visit the Princess… perhaps we can head out to lunch together? You could… show us around your old home.”

“I’d love that actually, but most of what I know is limited to historical knowledge. If there was anypony here who could show us around, it’d be Spike.”

“In that case, I’m sure he knows where we’d all love to go.” As they all continued to chat among themselves, the trek to the castle grew shorter and shorter. The castle seemed all the more imposing in its majesty as the seven make their way to the gilded gates the surrounded the grounds. Seeing the entrance, Twilight stepped forward showing them the letter and the princess’s seal. The white coated mare in golden armor took hold of the envelop, looking at it skeptically.

“The princess is expecting us. I’m Twilight Sparkle and these are my friends.” Twilight confirmed. Without saying a word, the guard hands the note back to her.

“The princess is in the throne room. Go right on ahead.” The guard says in a stern voice.

“Thank you kindly, ma’am.” As Twilight bows in thanks, the gates to the castle open up to them, letting the mares onto the grounds. Stepping onto the finely crafted stone path, the band of mares could not believe they were actually about to step into the domain of the princess herself. “Come on girls, the princess is waiting for us.” Moving at a brisk pace, Twilight’s nervous nature gives her a boost of speed, causing the others to trot along after her.

The moment the last of them enter onto the grounds, the gates close behind the seven and the front doorway opens up. If the city of Canterlot was beautiful to look at, then the inner Castle was absolutely gorgeous in its craftsmanship. White on gold with hints of violet decorated the main entrance hall; displaying works of art, suits of ancient armor, and things that looked so delicate that Pinkie had to restrain herself from touching lest she broke something.

“Landsakes, maybe ah shoulda brought out mah Sunday best after all.” Applejack says with a hint of worry, all the while Rarity couldn’t help but feel her time spent in a cramped bathroom was all the more worth it.

“Don’t worry, Applejack. Despite what ponies may say, the princess is less interested in what ponies wears when meeting her rather instead focusing on their actions. She’ll like you, trust me.” Twilight’s words seem to ease whatever worries Applejack started to have, giving her friend some needed comfort after she did the same for her back on the train. Having been through the castle a number of times, Twilight knew the labyrinthian palace like the back of her hand. So much in fact, Twilight started to give a little tour of the place.

Yet as they all moved through the seemingly endless maze of hallways, Spike started to take note of something he felt was odd. Something bothered him as he too lived in the castle with Twilight and could recognize when something didn’t quite fit. Maybe not right away, but he did feel did not quite feel right. “Huh?”

“Something wrong, Spike?” Pinkie asked, not quite paying attention to Twilight’s tour lesson.

“The castle feels… empty.” Spike says, looking around. “There are usually a lot more staff members out at this hour.”

“Really? Maybe Celestia gave them the day off because she doesn’t want any snoopers getting in on this super-secret business stuff.”

“Then where are the guards?” Spike responded, showing that the hallway was unoccupied say for their own presence. “If something was going on, this place should be crawling with guards. Come to think of it, that mare in the front didn’t even bother asking for identification. She just… took Twilight’s word of who she said she was and barely acknowledged anypony else.”

“Weeeeell… maybe it’s because everypony knows who we are?” A quick turn down another hall and Twilight came to a full stop.

“We’re here.” Twilight stated. Looming overhead were a set of golden doors standing at what felt like a hundred feet tall, the six ponies and one dragon stared at the entrance leading to the very seat of power to the entire nation. Two guards stood as still as statues at either end, only breaking the façade by tapping their spears on the ground; triggering whatever mechanism allowed for such doors to be opened in the first place.

Slowly the doors opened, creaking and groaning as the mechanism struggled to move the very thing they were built to support. The moment they were able to squeeze on through, the mares slowly step inside the throne room. And just like when they entered through the gate, the doors closed behind them with a loud, rumbling crash. Twilight didn’t even notice as she moved to greet her mentor with a smile.

“Princess, we’re here!” The towering alicorn, ruler of the entire pony nation was hunched over with her back turned to her guests, but hearing Twilight’s voice announce herself she shot up and looked back. While the princess was always adorned in a brilliant purple dress with gold regalia to signify her status as ruler, the white alicorn was not as prepared for guests as they had expected. The six mares saw the princess’s cheeks puffed out with crumbs and pink frosting smeared across her face and gown, a surprised expression clear as day.

“Twah wighe?” Celestia says with a mouth full of cake. Holding up a finger to give her a moment to swallow, Celestia wiped her muzzle free of any debris from her private snacking. “W-What are you doing here? I wasn’t aware you were coming to visit.” Twilight and her friends looked to one another confused at the Princess’s statement. While Twilight handed over the letter to her mentor, Pinkie had gone up to see that absolute carnage the Princess had wrought upon a triple layer tower cake. Or at the least, what was left of it. Taking a sample for herself, the party pony smiled before taking a handful for herself.

“I received your letter this morning. It sounded urgent so we got on the first train to Canterlot.” Looking the letter over, Celestia raised a brow as she looked it over the letter, squinting her eyes to look at it as closely as physically possible. The moment the letter was read through, she turned to her student and said something Twilight wasn’t prepared to hear.

“Twilight, I didn’t write this.”

“W-What?” Twilight had more questions than ever now as she looked at the letter then to her mentor. “B-But I-“

“I think I’d recall sending a letter like this. If I had, I wouldn’t have let you see me savaging my gift from the Griffon embassy. And maybe save some to share with all of you.” Celestia says a bit embarrassed.

“Ish okay. Ah’m good.” Pinkie says taking a massive bite out of the clump of cake she had acquired.

“But… if you didn’t write the letter, who did?”

“I haven’t the faintest idea. The hand writing is practically identical to my own. Whoever sent this letter to you has a lot to answer for… or perhaps I can hire them to take some of the paperwork off my hands.” Celestia sounded a little put off that somepony was able to mimic her handwriting as she’s had more than a millennium to develop her own quirks when it came to her penmanship.

While the others were left to theorized and questioned about the letter, the doors to the throne room opened once again. Spike, having been the only one to hear it, turned around to see a lone guard standing in the wake of the massive doors. She stood still; bow drawn with a neutral expression from what Spike could see. The dragon watched as she slowly drew out a single arrow, an odd-looking thing that was not slender or straight like a common steel tip but with a large, black bulb sitting square at the end. “Girls… Girs!” Spike shouted, moving to grab onto Rainbow to shake her attention away from the rest Princess’s words.

“Spike, what are you”- She froze mid-sentence, seeing the guard taking aim. Drawing the bow back until it could not be pulled any further back. “EVERYPONY, look out!” Rainbow shouted to the others, getting all of their attention, just in time to see the arrow sailing towards them. In a flash of speed, it was not Rainbow Dash that acted first, but Celestia. Conjuring a wall of magic energies, Celestia created a barrier to keep the arrow from hitting her, her student, or her friends. As predicted, the arrow came to a stop when it hit the barrier, but also seemed to freeze mid-air in the place it had been stopped.

Suddenly the bulb on the shaft started to not just glow, but actively sap away the energies in the field, sucking it away and towards the device. It slowly starts to hum, growing brighter and brighter sucking away at Celestia’s magic. When Celestia cut her magic off, she felt drained and a little light headed; seeing that the arrow had become a miniature sun in her throne room, Celestia looked on in terror as the humming had grown into an ear-piercing screech. Twilight was about to use her own barrier but her line of vision was cut off when her mentor came around, wings stretched out with barely a second to spare, covering her student and her friends. Because the moment her wings were wrapped around them, the arrow detonated.

The explosion was heard all over Canterlot, maybe even further beyond. The windows were shattered, the decorative banners were burned, and the walls and floors were scorched with heavy burn marks. Twilight’s ears were ringing, like her skull had been rocked down to her brain-stem. Her vision slowly started to refocus whereupon she saw her mentor standing tall over her. “P-Princess? What happened?” Twilight asked but there was no response. “… Princess?”

Princess Celestia stood tall with her mouth agape, her breathing heavy and haggard. She stood still with only minor twitching from her burnt wings. The ponies she had protected were stunned after she had taken the brunt of the explosion. “Princess, are you… all…” Twilight’s words drifted away the moment she spotting something that seemed to drain Twilight of her color.

Blood.

The princess was bleeding and after the smoke had died down, Celestia finally collapsed and Twilight practically screamed in horror seeing the back of her mentor bloody, burnt, and with half of her wings having been fried. “CELESTIA!!!” Twilight shrieked, falling to her knees to catch her mentor. Twilight started to break down, her sobs seemingly echoing out into the courtyard outside while her friends stood in shock, seeing their beloved ruler in clear pain and hanging on for dear life.

“The elements have slain the princess!” The others turned to the doorway, seeing the same guard calling out. “The Elements have turned on us! Call the guards!” Rainbow Dash saw this mare running off just as the doors start to close again.

“Oh no you don’t!” Unfurling her wings, Rainbow sped off at blinding speeds. Her target had a head start but she knew it wasn’t nearly enough to escape her. Just as the doors were nearly shut tight, Rainbow had managed to slip on by after folding her wings and slipping through the narrowest of openings. Looking back, she saw that the two guards that had let them in were gone, but the one she was after was only down the hall.

Fueled by anger, Rainbow Dash continued to fly down the wide hallways, her many years of training as a flier coming in handy as closing the distance was easy. But the guard’s only means of evading her were the many, many turns and twists the castle had, causing Rainbow to slow down to restart all over again lest she run head first into a stone wall or something priceless.

Turning the corner, she saw the mare in gold armor but also a battalion of guards brandishing spears and bows. She’d slip on through the other guards, thinking that they’d slow Rainbow down long enough to let her escape. Ignoring the grounded guards, Rainbow Dash starts flying towards the pegasi that controlled the air. They had crossed their weapons to form a wall, blocking any means of getting through but Rainbow Dash was not to be stopped so easily.

With her eyes still on the running guard, Rainbow flapped her wings with as much force as she could muster, flying faster and faster with every motion of her powerful appendages. Charging the pegasi guards, she brings her arms up to her face and braces for impact. She felt the locked weapons try to stop her, she felt the steel poles make contact with her fore-arms and maybe break a bone or two, but she also felt the weaponry shatter into pieces as she barreled through them with a roar of anger. Her vision turns red, closing in on her target and then violently tackles her to the ground. “I’ll make you pay you pay for what you did the princess.” Rainbow growled, baring her teeth as she tried to hold the guard down.

“G-GET OFF ME!!!” The guard tried to throw Rainbow off but could barely move. It all seemed like Rainbow had single-handedly saved the day, but things weren’t that easy. For stepping out of a corridor was the other Princess of Equestria. Stepping out not in her regalia or a blue dress, but rather a loose-fitting T-shirt and sweat pants. Princess Luna had come from her daily slumber after something shook the castle and found one of Equestria’s heroes wrestling a guard. Conjuring up her magic, a deep blue aura engulfs Rainbow, pulling her off of the would-be assassin.

“What is the meaning of this?!” Princess Luna demanded, levitating Rainbow off the ground. “I have been roused from my slumber by an ear rupturing noise, the castle shaking; and what do I find when I leave my room? The Element of Loyalty attacking one of my sister’s guards. Explain yourselves.”

“Princess!” Rainbow tried to break free. “This punk tried to kill us and your sister.” For a moment, Luna had thought she had misheard or had momentarily gone insane. Because it sounded like she just said…

“Don’t listen to her, your majesty!” The guard slowly got up, cradling her wounded arm. “The elements… the elements have turned against us.” She hobbles closer to the Princess, getting behind her, which only made Rainbow struggle and thrash even more in Luna’s telekinetic grip.

“GET AWAY FROM HER YOU BITCH!!!” Rainbow snarled, seeing the killer trembling behind Luna. “I swear if you touch one hair on her-“

“She’s crazy. It’s no wonder she and her friends killed your sister.” Luna felt her left eye twitch, processing everything she was hearing. While Luna was left stunned, Rainbow’s gaze never left the attempted murderer, the assassin sounded distraught but the blue pegasus could see the absolute look of jubilation on her face, especially when she drew out a knife.

“… You say that she and her friends killed her?” Luna finally responds.

“I saw everything, your highness. The purple unicorn tried to kill her sister by blowing her to pieces when her back was turned.” The assassin lied.

“Really now.” Luna’s sounded absolutely distraught with the information she had received. Yet while she was left vulnerable, the assassin held her knife firm, the guard drew it back. Rainbow cried out and warned Luna but before the blade even came into contact with her, a blue aura similar to the one restraining Rainbow manifested around the assassin’s wrist. “You must think I am touched in the head to believe that six young mares and a adolescent dragon can slay my sister.”

“W-What?” The assassin gasped, struggling to pull herself free.

“Do you think me a foal that was birthed the day before today, whelp?” Freeing Rainbow from her grip, Luna turned her attention to restraining the guard, keeping her limbs stretched out so she couldn’t pull anything out of her sleeve, be it metaphorical or literal. “Now, take me to thine sister, Loyalty. I must confirm this with mine own eyes.” Rainbow knew she wasn’t going to like what she saw, but if there was anypony that could help her, Luna would be at the top of that list.

Taking Luna back to the throne room, Rainbow and the princess arrived just in time to see the beginnings of her friends’ arrest. Though they fought and protested, getting the most resistance from the sobbing Twilight who refused to leave Celestia’s side. Luna bore witness to the scene of what was once her sister’s throne room now completely torched and ruined. But hearing the fighting of the Elements of Harmony was what caused her to speak. “CEASE THIS AT ONCE!!!” Luna’s Royal Canterlot Voice boomed forth, scaring the other guards.

She moved closer with the restrained assassin floating behind her and slowly moved to find her sister struggling to hold on for dear life. “Y-Your majesty!” One guard came forward to speak, taking a protective stance. “Please, step back! These mares have-“

“Be Silent, cur! Before I see you, all of you thrown into the dungeons.” Luna snarled, causing the guard to step back and away from the lunar princess. With her attention back on her wounded sibling, Luna came closer and lowered herself down to see her sister fully. She was missing a large chunk of her flesh, exposing bone. The blast had cauterized her wounds to stop copious bleeding. It was an absolute miracle that she was still alive at all.

“H-Hey Lulu.” Luna gulped, hearing her nickname coming from her sister, seeing her back badly burned and her wings nearly seared down to the bone caused Luna to develop a lump in her throat. She felt her fist trembling at the sight, her rage boiling over and wishing nothing more than to seek vengeance on those who had carried this out.

“Who did this to you, sister?” She did not respond verbally, but managed to slowly move her arm to point at the floating, restrained guard. Luna slowly followed her finger to her captive, her eyes trying to burn the terrified guard alive with her mere gaze alone. Standing back up, ready to explode in fury, Luna merely took a deep breath and spoke in the calmest voice she was able to muster. “All guards are to report to their barracks and remain there until further notice.”

The guards looked shocked to hear the lunar princess’s demand. “B-But your majesty. They tried to kill the princess.” Luna merely responded by pointing to the weeping Twilight.

“Does that appear to be the behavior of a remorseless assassin?” Luna said in a cold tone. The guards did not speak after that, merely residing to take their orders. “Anypony, and I do mean, anypony found outside their barracks until notified will be severely punished and tried as a conspirator to this foul deed. Unless you have been told to leave by myself and nopony else, I will see you dishonorably discharged of your station if you take so much as a hoof-step out of your barracks.” The restrained guard was pulled closer, keeping her away from the other guards so that they can leave without trying to take the assassin with them. “Now begone or suffer thine wrath.”

Not wanting to contest the princess, the guards do as she says, leaving the throne room and heading to their barracks. But as they leave, Luna’s mask of strength breaks and worry was clearly seen in her eyes. “Loyalty.” Luna turns to Rainbow, her voice starting to tremble.

“y-Yes?” Rainbow responded nervously.

“Please… go into town, find a doctor and bring them hear as fast as you can. Bring the entire hospital staff if you must. Just get my sister medical attention with haste.” Luna tried to sound calm and in control, but everypony in that room could hear her voice shake.

“Right away.” Unfurling her wings, Rainbow takes off and flies out of the window to find a doctor. All the while, Luna’s ire was directed to her single captive.

“You…” The assassin tensed up. “There is no name for the nightmare I have planned for you… but I assure you that you shall be screaming in it.” Everypony felt a chill run up their spine as Luna those words. “But… I am a merciful princess and I shall… lessen your punishment, if you tell us why you tried to kill my sister and blame it on the Elements.”

“What, can’t a mare kill royalty just cause she feels like it?” The assassin nervously chuckled, only to feel her restraints tighten, causing her to scream in pain.

“DO NOT TEST ME, WELP!!!” Clenching her fist, Luna’s magic starts to flare up as the armor around the guard starts to glow hot, causing the assassin to scream in agony as her armor started to melt and fuse together, becoming a momentary prison “You are either going to tell me what I want to know or I swear to every star in the sky, that I shall see you at my hooves begging for a swift death.”

“Princess.” Luna’s attention was drawn away from her target, seeing a scared pack of mares watching with bated breath. Applejack had moved closer to the princess, a terrified look about her after getting a second hand feel for the Lunar diarch’s wrath. “Yur startin’ to scare everypony.” Luna was about to say something, something to emphasize how she felt but the terrible looks she was getting from the elements started to remind her of something crucial. Something she swore never to be again, something she hated more than the mare that almost killed her sister.

Instead of exacting her vengeance upon the would-be killer, Luna instead lets her rage simmer down and move to stay with her sister, whom felt her approach and smiled up at her. “H-Hey Lulu.”

“Save your strength sister. Help is on the way.”

“Oh… thank goodness. I’d kill a princess for some pain-killers right about now.” Luna cringed at her sister’s poor attempt at humor.

“Must you? Even now?” Her sister deadpanned.

“Heh… i-if I’m going to die… I at least wanna do it with a smile. That way… nnngh… i-it would ruin… whatever my killer hoped to get out of my demise.” Celestia mused.

“Do not say such things. There will be much, much more terrible jokes to come.” Celestia couldn’t help but smile, turning her attention to her student.

“T-Twilight. Are you okay?” She nodded in response, barely able to speak. “I am… glad. It warms my heart to know you a-and your friends are unharmed.” She lets out a sigh of content, laying with the two ponies closest to her. In that moment, Luna turns to the unicorn with a determined look.

“You are the Element of Magic, yes?”

“I-I am.” Twilight said weakly.

“Then I will need your aid. My sister’s joke about nullifying pain has given me an idea.”

“I wasn’t joking about that part,” Celestia groaned. “I’d down an entire bottle like candy if anypony has any.”.”

“Still,” Luna continued. “I know a spell that could stabilize Celestia and I could use your aid for it. My mind is… troubled. But I know that if we work together, we may yet ease my sister’s agony. If only a little bit.” Twilight wasn’t exactly any better, but if she had somepony to help her with it, then she’d certainly try whatever Luna had in mind. “Now, do as I do. Think thoughts of calming water, the softest of clouds, and the smoothest of fabrics.” While Luna taught Twilight a new spell, the others kept their distance, letting Twilight perform her magics.

“I can’t believe that happened.” Rarity says, feeling her hands start to tremble “I-… We almost died back there.”

“Its alright, Rare.” Applejack says in a soothing voice, but was otherwise just as scared as the rest of her friends. Needing an outlet for her building frustrations, her gaze eventually settled on the assassin down on her knees. Her brow furrowed before approaching with her arms crossed. “Yur gonna tell us why ya wanted us dead back there.”

“Please, you aren’t nearly as terrifying as the princess.” The assassin said, much less terrified of the earth pony than the alicorn. Instead, she merely smirked up, trying to break free from her armor. “Don’t you got a farm you could be plowing… or a brother, you inbred country bumpkin.” Everypony around could hear Applejack cracking her knuckles.

“Why you no-good little-“

“Applejack, wait.” Coming up to her potential murderer, Rarity looked down at the assassin. Something had caught her eye watching the mare wriggle around in her restraints. “What do we have here?” Kneeling down, Rarity found a little something that her critical eye had picked up. “Now, I don’t know much about the royal guard, except that their armor is absolutely dashing.” Rarity starts to lean in, getting up close to the assassin’s hand. “But Rainbow Dash has had a fleeting interest, and its amazing what little things you learn when you have friends with different interests. Such as the jewelry policy when it comes to active-duty members.” Rarity’s focus was less on the prisoner and more so the ring on her left middle finger.

Taking the glinting ring from the earth pony, Rarity brought it closer to her eye for an up close inspection. Though it was merely a singular golden band, the gemstone imbedded into it caught her eye. “W-Wait, give that back! Th-That’s a family heirloom.” The guard pleaded.

“I know a thing or two about jewelry, darling. This ring is far too modern to be an heirloom.” Rarity says with a raised brow. “But this gem is something fascinating to say the least. Its so smooth yet glistens like polished amethyst. Yet at the same the color is off, the finish is too dull.” She turns her attention to Spike, who was sitting by a wall curled up and clearly frightened. “Spike, darling. I am in need of your assistance once again.” The well-dressed mare stands before Spike, bringing him out of his terrified funk. “Could you give this a taste dear. Do not eat it, merely taste it for me.”

“Hm? O-oh, sure Rarity.” The dragon takes the ring, giving it a little sniff. After looking it over, he plops the clue into his mouth like a piece of candy, only to then go wide eyed and spit it right back out. “EW! Ew ew ew, that is so gross!” Rarity had seen Spike eat a multitude of gems before but he had never had that sort of reaction to any gem she fed him.

“Got anything fur us, partner?” Applejack asks.

“That isn’t a gem, at least none that I’ve ever tasted.” Spike says to Applejack, looking a little green than purple after the taste test. “Ugh, and I really hope I never do after that.”

“This is getting all kinds of weird. Even more me.” Pinkie says, moving to fetch the saliva covered ring. “Maybe Twilight can tell us something about it? She’s a smart cookie.” Turning to their friend, focusing on a complex looking spell, the group approach her as both she and Luna are finishing what looked to be a magical bubble glittering with energies of blue and violet stars. Slowly the two lowered this bubble of magic onto Celestia’s back, causing her to let out a long coo of delight.

“Ohhhhh, yeah… that’s the stuff.” Celestia says, closing her eyes to revel in the effects of the pain numbing bubble.

“There, that will keep the pain down and lower risk of infection. All we can do is wait until Loyalty returns with the doctor.”

“Beg yur parden, gals.” Applejack catches their attention.

“Ah, Honesty I presume?”

“Its Applejack, ma’am.” She corrected. “Twilight, Rarity here found somethin’ on that guard. Maybe it could be important.” Hearing that of a potential clue, Twilight turns to the ring and starts to observe it, ignoring the saliva that was hanging on it.

“Hm, I’ve never seen this type of ring before.” Twilight says.

“Would you say it’s a family heirloom?” Rarity asked out of curiosity.

“Not likely. Too many modern crafting techniques; maybe one or two generations old at the very best. The Gemstone in the center seems to be synthetic by the looks of it. Not to mention the purity of the gold looks a bit off.”

“I saw that too actually.” Rarity added. “I’d say perhaps a impurity to save on costs?”

“That is likely.” Twilight confirmed. “But the symbol…” Looking into the gemstone, Twilight saw what appeared to be a crown of silver surrounded by a singular ring inside.

“What about it?” Applejack asked.

“I’ve never seen anything like it before. I’ve gone over a multitude of history books depicting heraldry, family coat of arms, and miscellaneous logos. Yet I’ve never seen anything even close to this.” Turning to the ring, Luna moves closer to look into the purple gem and her eyes go wide.

“… I’ve seen that mark once before.” All eyes turn to Luna. “T’was in a nightmare of a pony back when I was getting back into my duties as warden of dreams. I had no idea what it meant at the time, but if this assassin is connected…” Luna trailed off, pondering the meaning of this.

“Well, if’n it was in somepony’s dreams, then maybe they know something they can tell us.”

“If it were only possible, I’d ring out every single bit of information they possess. But alas, they are impossible to reach.”

“Why is that?” Twilight asks.

“Because I am quite positive that the pony is dead.”

The Manehattan Museum of Unnatural History was a niche location to visit but by far one of the more entertaining places to visit in the big city. Standing among the crowd of ponies was a young earth pony stallion. He stood tall with a soft smile adorning his scream colored coat, looking through all the bizarre discoveries that had been placed on display for all to see. In his hands, he held on firm to an advanced shutter camera that looked about the size of a first. Taking a few pictures, parting his shaggy black mane from his gentle blue eyes, the earth pony takes several photos of whatever he can in hopes of getting a decent pay check.

“Demo Reel!” A voice was heard, calling his name. Approaching the tall earth pony was a mare in a well-kept grey business suit. The green unicorn approached with a dull expression, signifying she was bored out of her mind. “I got all the goods on the latest exhibit for my fluff piece. You get any good pictures?”

“Sure did.” The stallion reaches into his favorite coat, bringing out a reel of film he pulled out of his camera. “Here ya go Lime-Wire. Ready for the Red-Room.”

“Fantastic. I need to get out of here before this old crap starts giving me wrinkles.” Demo chuckled at that.

“Oh come on, you’re not nearly old enough for that yet.” Demo says with a smirk.

“Psh, you’d be surprised. I’m already twenty-two and I feel like I’m nearing forty with all the busy work the boss is handing to me.”

“Oof, think you should ask for a day off?”

“Not unless I wanna eat and pay rent at the same time.” Lime says with a roll of her eyes. “Come on, lets head back to the office and get these processed. I’m sure you’ll want your peanuts you call a paycheck.”

“You go on ahead.” Demo says, surprising the green unicorn. “I think I’m gonna stick around a bit, take a few more photos for the personal gallery.”

“Really? You actually like this crap?”

“Hey, if it wasn’t interesting, nopony would have put it up in the first place.” Lime didn’t contest the stallion’s reasoning, too focused on her own work to badger Demo Reel on how he spent his personal time.

“Alright, whatever. Don’t go unleashing any evil curses.”

“If I do, I’ll make sure to share it with you.”

“Ha ha, so funny.” Lime-wire moves to the exit, wanting to head back to work while Demo was looking around the area, his smile fading to form a look of determination. Wandering the front of the museum for a moment, observing the exhibits he eventually grows a tad bored, moving to a bench to get off his hooves. He lets out a sigh and looks over a skeleton of a quadrupedal equine creature remade into that of a jungle exhibit.

“Hm… four legged ponies; where do these guys find this crap?” He muttered to himself. Leaning back, he sees a newspaper resting on the arm of the bench. Seeing it was one of the publishers he freelanced for, he moves in and grabs it to look inside. Though as he opens up, he feels a shudder move through his spine as he sees the front page.

‘Assassination Attempt at the Royal Palace! Princess Left in Critical Condition!’

Demo couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Closing his eyes and rubbing them a bit, he looks back down at the title and sees what the paper actually said.

‘Crime Spree Growing by the Day! Police Overworked and Understaffed.’

Demo knew what this means and what had happened. He knew he didn’t hallucinate what he saw and something had happened. Or was about to happen. “What the hell is going on out there?” The stallion whispered. Before he could question what he had seen, Demo Reel felt that same tingling sensation come over him once more.

Demo Reel sees flashes and visions of screaming ponies as the world drains of color. He sees images of two griffons looting the place and eventually that of a towering earth pony mare driving a sword down into his chest that rocks the stallion to his core.

Demo Reel feels his chest grow tight, feeling the phantom pains of what he saw playing out before his eyes. His breathing a bit ragged, he eventually steady’s himself before anypony notices him. Shaking it off, he sits up and looks out to the front of the museum where a band of familiar looking masked ponies were making their way to the museum entrance. Having been anticipating these frightful figures, he started to move away to get ready. “Been waiting all day for these guys.”

Chpt. 2: The Heist

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“You look like you got into a fight with a truck.”

The wall of glass that acted as the entrance into the Museum of Unnatural History explodes with a burst of magical energies. A powerful unicorn sorceress strides into the museum with the multitude of terrified ponies cowering before the gang of black clad assailants, each adorning a similar black mask with tinted lenses over their eyes to hide their faces. The unicorn leading the thugs however, wore a red mask with golden eyes, distinguishing herself as the one in charge. Raising a gloved hand in greeting, she started to speak with a calm, yet altered voice. “Greetings mares and gentlecolts. What a fine day it is to be out on the town.” Clapping her hands, two out of the seven goons that made up her band of thieves separated themselves from the others to start rounding up the terrified populace.

Some of them tried to resist but a quick smack across the face quickly quelled any sort of resistance. Especially from the towering earth pony who seemed to take pleasure in it. “I merely ask that you settle down away from my co-workers while we go on and-“ Before the Red-Masked mare was able to continue her little speech, the alarm to the museum’s security system starts to sound off. To which the masked mare’s horn starts to glow with a neon green aura. In a matter of seconds, the alarm was disabled, allowing the unicorn to continue. “As I was saying. If you would be so kind as to relieve yourself of any valuables that you may be carrying to us, you’d have our eternal appreciation and perhaps a means of getting out of this unscathed. However, know that any resistance will be met with force and I really do not wish to depart with blood on our hands today... but i shant let it keep me up at night either.”

The terrified crowd of ponies were corralled into the museum gift shop finding it just large enough to hold their hostages and to allow the towering earth pony mare to start going around collecting their belongings. All the while, the mare in the red mask turned to her cohorts. “You all know the plan. Misty Weather, search the place for other hostages, keep whatever you find on them.”

“You got it boss.” The pegasus of the group unfurls her wings and takes flight, moving through the two-story museum to search for more ponies to take hostage and maybe loot.

“Rail-spike,” The red masked mare turns to the massive earth pony acting as their intimidating figure to scare the ponies into submission and take their stuff. She lets out a grunt, momentarily pausing from her robbery of the ponies. “Keep watch over the hostages. Make sure nopony comes in or out, and if the cattle need to be disciplined… kill one or two.” Rail-spike grunts again, continuing from where she had left off. The red masked mare then turns to a couple of griffon twins. “Agatha and Delilah. You two get the fun job; looting the museum of anything and everything of value.”

“YUS! Told ya she’d pick us for the job.” Agatha says in pure jubilation.

“… Whatever.” The more dower sounding Delilah groans.

“At ease, you’ll still be splitting what you find with the others. Its only fair… but you will get first dibs on whatever you find, so make sure you find a lot of goodies for the class.”

“We’ll clear this place out in no time flat. Just watch.” The two griffon twins begin their looting, running through the place until her attention came to a scrawny unicorn stallion.

“And lastly, we have… you, Mud Mixer.” The stallion barely came in at five and a half feet, somewhat shaking under the gaze of his boss. “Normally I wouldn’t trust such an important job to a stallion, but thankfully its so easy a job that not even you can screw up. So, watch the front, keep guard, and let somepony know if you see any cops, guards, or anypony coming this way. Do you understand?”

“Y-Yes, mistress.” Mud Mixer says with a timid tinge in his voice.

“That’s a good boy.” The Red-Masked mare says in a demeaning tone of voice, only for it to shift to something more serious when addressing the final two. One being another unicorn and the other a hulking minotaur. “Obscura, Brutus; with me.” Motioning for them to follow, the Red-Masked mare and the remaining of her two hired muscle follow her through the museum.

While the thugs went on ransacking the museum, the towering earth pony went around with a bag collecting anything and everything she could find from the ponies. If it shined, shimmered or sparkled; into the bag it went. Eventually though, she came across a few resistant ponies. Even though she had given up her bits and gold rings, she was adamant on keeping a simple looking pendant. Rail-Spike took note of it, growling as she pointed to the simple piece.

“P-Please… i-it was my grandmothers. At least let me keep that.” Rail-spike growls again, this time bringing out a massive broadsword hanging from the sheath on her back to emphasize her point. Undoing the necklace, she tosses her last piece of jewelry into the bag before moving on.

While everypony was doing their job, Misty Weather soared through the air watching the two griffon twins taking everything they saw. Deliliah having taken the bottom floor while Agatha the top; yet all she had to do was keep watch and search for any bystanders. Eventually, something caught her attention. She saw one of the bathroom doors open, leading to the stallion’s restroom.

Descending to the first floor, the pegasus mare landed in front of the door and entered. Walking in, she starts to look around and muses at the clean scent. “Huh, so they are cleaner in here.” She says to herself, walking through the bathroom in search of whoever may be hiding inside. “Alright, I know you’re in here. Come on out and I promise I won’t hurt ya.” Misty waited for a response but she didn’t receive an answer. Letting out a sigh, she reached down to her thigh, taking out a jagged dagger. Moving to the first stall out of four, she kicked the door in, making a loud *SLAM* that seemed to reach the exhibit area outside. Alas, Misty was disheartened to find nothing more than a toilet waiting for her on the other side.

Moving to the second stall, she kicked the door in, finding another toilet waiting for her. Misty Weather furrowed her brow, kicking the third stall door with a bit more force, growing more agitated with her lack of results. She eventually made it to the fourth and final stall. “This is your last chance, punk. Come out or else I’ll drag you out. Piece by piece.” Once more, no response. With a shrug, Misty Weather rears her leg up and kicks the door in at full force, expecting it to hit whoever was inside.

But nopony was waiting behind the stall door.

Confused at the lack of results, Misty looks around the stall for a moment before sighing. “Dammit. I must be seeing things.” She turns away and heads to the sink, taking off her black mask to reveal a soft lavender coated mare behind it. She saw her deep blue eyes and the bags underneath. She got in close, pulling her eyelid down to see just how bloodshot her eyes in the mirror. “Oh yeah, definitely should have gotten more coffee for this.” Splashing some water on her face to help her wake up a bit, Misty felt a wave of refreshment wash over her, helping to bring her out of whatever funk she had landed in.

Standing back up, Misty sighs to herself before her attention was drawn to the broader image of the mirror. Her eyes go wide, her body tenses up and her mouth goes dry when she saw somepony else standing a mere foot away dressed in all black like herself. The main difference was that this pony wasn’t wearing a mask, only a cloth around their muzzle. “WHO THE-“ Before she could scream out her demand, the figure lunged for her and brought her into a choke-hold. Misty starts flapping her wings wildly, trying to shake her assailant off. Misty starts screaming but the figure holds their hand over Misty’s mouth, keeping her quiet so the others didn’t come running.

Misty suddenly feels a sharp pain against her back, causing her wings to cease any movement as they fall limp. The lavender pegasus starts to gasp and choke, feeling her body suddenly go weak as the pony begins to render her unconscious. Misty doesn’t recall what happened next but she knows that she was laid down on the floor gently while feeling a set of fingers against her neck. After that, Misty Weather passes out.

“Hey, Delilah!” Agatha called out from the top floor, having found a rusted silver crown, which now sat on her head. Hearing her name, the melancholic griffon moved into view with an ancient griffon war-axe in hand. “What do ya think? Don’t I look all royal and shit?” Without skipping a beat, Delilah responds with.

“Silver was mostly used for subordinate ruling spouses or lesser noble family members. Maybe if you were like… a male it’d work for ya.”

“Why do you gotta ruin my fun, sis?” Dejected, Agatha takes off the crown and tosses it into the sack of goods. “I’m sure Mud Mixer will like it though. Maybe give ‘em a nice treat before we get our turn with him tonight.” With that, Delilah goes back to her looting. As for Agatha, she starts to take inventory on all the cool things she had found on her floor. Half of a once golden shield said to have tanked a direct hit from Celestia herself, A hand mirror said to reveal ancient secrets with gems encrusted the back end minus the actual mirror part, and her personal favorite thus far; a banner of an ancient griffon Queen with gold sewn into the fabric. To which, Agatha was going to hang up in her room the moment they got back to the hide-out.

Humming a gentle toon, Agatha the griffon made sure everything was in order so she knew what she’d be taking before any of the others got a chance to think of what they wanted from the pile when she’d just look and grab what she wanted, leaving the scraps to the others.

*Klang*

“Hm?” Sitting up, Agatha moves to the side of the railing to see what had made such a loud noise. Yet when her eyes fell to the area where her sister was looting, she eventually saw the ancient war-axe on the ground. The same one Delilah was holding. “Uh… Delilah?” She called out with no response. Flying down to the bottom floor, Agatha slowly approaches the war axe and then towards the exhibit her sister had been looting. There she could see that it was a life sized replica of the Prench revolution where the nobles were marched to their doom via guillotine. Angry mannequin’s depicting enraged villagers holding fake torches were propped up as a recreation of such a dark time in the foreign nation’s history.

Yet when Agatha saw that the weapon of death was not depicting a King of Prance, but rather her sister, Agatha gasped and rushed to get her out. “Delilah!” She shouts, tearing the Styrofoam restraints apart with her sharpened claws and pulling her beloved sister before the fake blade could come to life. “Delilah! Come on girl, wake up.” Whatever had happened to her, she was down for the count and panic started to take over Agatha. “This is no time for jokes, sis. Come on you’re starting to freak me out.” No matter how much she shook, the griffon girl was not waking up.

While she tried and tried to wake her, Agatha started to develop the feeling she was being watched. Turning around to look over her shoulder, first the left, she saw nothing outside the exhibit. But when she turned to look over her right, she gasped when she saw a figure adorned in black hiding amid the crowd of fake villagers, sporting the same mask she and her friends wore. The figure lunges, going in for the attack. Yet Agatha wasn’t going down so easily, ducking under to protect her sister and letting the pony sail over her. Sitting back up, Agatha scurries out of the exhibit, leaving her sister on the ground to confront this stranger head on. She takes the massive war-axe with both hands, clinging to it and ready to start swinging. “C-Come out! I’m n-not afraid of you!” She lied. Agatha felt her legs shaking as she slowly circled around, looking down the hallway.

After three rotations, Agatha started to calm down, wondering if what she saw was real. Lowering her guard, she eventually starts to calm her breathing. “… M-Maybe… I hallucinated that pony.” She says, trying to rationalize what she saw.

“No. You didn’t.” Agatha felt something hitch in her throat, hearing the gruff tone of somepony close by. Looking up, Agatha saw the black-clad figure leap down from the second floor and tackle her down. After that, everything goes dark for the second griffon sister.

Letting out a long yawn, Rail-Spike stood at the entrance of the gift-shop, keeping guard over the various ponies. She had her sword drawn, at the ready in case anything came to surprise them, or use it on the ponies if they got out of line. But while she was prepared for a fight, she wasn’t quite prepared for dealing with her hostages, feeling a tug on her pant leg. Turning her attention downward, Rail-spike saw a small little pegasus colt with his legs crossed. She didn’t have to be a genius to know what that meant.

“I gotta go.” The little colt says in a pleading tone. To which Rail-spike points to a corner. “B-But everypony is gonna see.” The towering mare rolls her eyes behind her mask and grunts again, pointing to the corner.

“Come on, let the kid use the bathroom.” A mare says.

“You’re already robbing us, at least let the kid keep his dignity.” Another mare says. Letting out a drawn-out groan, the towering mare turns to the scrawny stallion.

“Mud.” She grunts, catching the stallion’s attention. Coming over to her, he nods to her as she pushes the colt towards him. “Bathroom. Take. Go.”

“Uh… a-alright. Come on kid.” Mud Mixer takes the young colt away, leaving Rail-spike to do her job without having to deal with the kid. She hoped her boss was almost finished with her ordeal so she didn’t have to keep baby-sitting.

About fifteen minutes go by and Rail-Spike starts to get a little suspicious. Things had grown quiet. A little too quiet for her liking. She hadn’t seen Misty Weather for some time, half-expecting her to come back to the front to chat it up with Mud, who had yet to return. On top of that, she couldn’t quite hear the eager pillaging of the two griffon sisters any longer. She started to debate whether or not she should leave her post to find them, but she soon heard the sound of hoof-steps approaching that put her a bit at ease.

Turning the corner was the little colt, quickly returning to his family. Yet Mud Mixer was nowhere to be found. Confused, she steps away to look down the wide hallway, seeing nopony there. Her attention eventually turns to the colt, sitting in his mother’s lap. Rail-spike slowly stomps her way towards him, looming over the colt like an angry beast. She takes off her mask, revealing a stern looking mare with grey fur with various scars of pink flesh decorating her face. “Where… friend?” She growls, looking the colt down with her one good red eye.

“The scary pony took him.” Was all the colt said, clearly shaken by something he had seen. The ponies start to chat among themselves, clearly curious as to what was happening in the museum. “H-he said that I-I was told to give you a message.”

“What… message?” Rail-spike grunted.

“He said that… you are next.” The room goes quiet, the towering earth pony looking almost offended at the remark. She started to grit her teeth in rage, ready to take her aggression out on the colt. She took her sword in both hands, the colt’s mother shielding her son protectively while the others start to gasp in horror.

*THUMP*

Rail-Spike froze, having heard the sound echo out from the museum floor. Everypony did. Nopony moved, nopony breathed as they heard it again.

*THUMP*

Lowering her sword, Rail-spike slowly turned to face the exit as she slowly made her way out to look what was making the noise.

*Thump… Thump*

The noise was getting faster now. Stepping out into the lobby, Rail-spike saw the cause of the sound coming down the steps leading to the second floor.

*Thump… Thump… Thump.*

Rail-spike raised a brow seeing what looked to be an old ball made from animal skins bouncing down the steps, making a loud *Thump* down each one as it did. Eventually, its momentum started to die down, going from a bounce to a simple roll across the tile flooring. The earth pony mare watched as the ball came rolling to her hooves. She gave it a little kick, seeing that it did nothing.

*THUMP*

Picking up the noise again, Rail-spike turns around to see a black clad pony holding a similar ball. And before she can do much of anything, the pony throws the ball into her face the second he gets a clear shot, making a loud *THWACK* as it makes contact with her exposed face.

“GAH!!!” Stumbling backward, the mare holds onto her face trying to stabilize herself but her hoof comes down on the first ball, causing her to starts stumbling over herself. To seal the deal, the black clad pony comes rushing towards her, leaping up and taking her down with a powerful clothes-line attack. Rail-spike feel the air leave her lungs as she falls back against the ground hard. But she wasn’t going out without a fight.

As the black clad pony moves to try to knock her out, Rail-spike grabs the figure and throws them aside with a loud roar. The figure catches himself, sliding across the floor, slowly standing back up just as Rail-Spike scrambles back up to face the attacker. Gripping her massive sword in both hands, the mare goes in swinging like a mare possessed. Hearing the fight break out, the hostages start to move over to watch. They see the towering mare attacking a normal sized pony, who seemed to dodge and weave around her attacks with the utmost ease. With every swing she makes, the stranger either steps aside or ducks underneath the slab of metal she called a sword, and with every failed attempt the black-clad figure delivers a quick succession of punches along her sides, thighs, or arm-pit. They were outmatched when it came to sheer strength, that much was clear with how absolutely muscular the earth pony mare was but that didn’t mean the other figure was beating their fists against a brick wall.

With every miss, Rail-spike felt the punches come and it all started to add up. But that’s what the figure wanted. For as long as she was focused on him, her attention was away from the hostages. Eventually, some of them figured this out and started to creep towards the exit. They’d motion for the others to follow. Most of the ponies were eager to leave but there were the few that wanted to see how this ended. They watched with bated breath as this pony came in against this towering behemoth of a mare, armed with only his hands in this seemingly one-sided fight.

Eventually, Rail-spike decided to start attacking low, bringing her blade down as she tried to attack the stranger to where if he ducked, he’d be left vulnerable or get caught in her attack. It almost seemed like she had this pony where she wanted them but that came to an end when she watched the figure leap into the air, propelling themlseves off of her sword to spin around and them deliver a mean round-house kick to her face. Rail-spike felt a tooth leave her mouth along with a spray of blood the moment she felt the hoof make contact with her.

Falling to one knee, the audience of hostages still around watched as this behemoth of a mare was struggling to stay up. With every ragged breath she took, Rail-spike eventually turned her attention to the hostages and nearly blew a gasket when she saw them running out the door. “NO!” She roared out, standing up to attack the now terrified ponies. “GET BACK… GET BACK IN!“ Running like an unstoppable juggernaut, the ponies all watched in horror as this crazy mare came after them next. The ponies that chose to remain were regretting their choice but her opponent was not done. Out-maneuvering her, the black-clad stranger slid on by her and swept Rail-spike’s hooves to trip her up.

Rail-spike made contact with the floor and she did so hard once more. Turning over, she groaned in pain only to see her sword had been thrown into the air and was now falling fast towards her. Bracing for death, Rail-spike closed her eyes waiting for the painful sensation of cold steel piercing her flesh. But it never came. Opening her eyes, she did find her blade but now in the hands of the black-clad figure, having leapt into the air to catch it before it even touched her. The ponies watching began to cheer, thanking their hero as the black-clad hero brought the blade to her throat. Rail-spike groaned, lamenting her loss. “Make… quick.” She growled, expecting him to kill her. To which, the figure responded.

“Alright.” Maneuvering the blade in their hands, the figure drew the blade back and thrust it downward. Rail-spike let out a scream half-expecting her own death but instead found the blade mere inches away from her face.

“W-What?”

“Good night.” The figure growled before driving their fist square into Rail-spike’s face, knocking her out. Once the fight was over, the black-clad figure turned to the ponies, who were now slowly exiting the gift shop.

“I-Is it over?”

“Are we safe?”

The figure started to receive questions like that on mass. Then came the repeat questions he’s heard a number of times.

“Who are you?”

“Where did you come from?”

“How did you do all those crazy moves?”

“Are you seeing anypony?”

More and more questions and ones the they were not about to answer. Instead, silently gesturing to the exit for them to leave. Once they had done so, the black-clad figure moves to head out to find the leader and her thugs. Disappointed that they didn’t get any response out of the masked hero, the ponies instead decide to head out. “Who the hell was that?” One mare asks.

“You don’t think it was Her, right? Like… she’s just an urban legend.” Another mare says in disbelief.

“Wait… you don’t mean-?”

“Don’t say it.” A third pony says a bit frightfully.

“Oh, I’m gonna. You are all thinking it.” The mares walked out but one froze with a confident smile about her. “That my dear fillies… was The Miss Manehattan in the flesh.”

Demo Reel could not have played that any better than he did. Having taken out the thugs one by one, he had gotten the hostages out with nopony getting hurt. At least if he didn’t count the various creatures robbing the place that he had rendered unconscious with slight bruising. Still, with none of the hostages harmed, the black-clad stallion saw this whole operation going belly-side up for the looters and was about to confront the last of them. After that, he’d let the police take care of the rest while he slipped away unnoticed.

Having gone deeper into the museum, the stealthy earth pony comes to find two doors laying on the floor after being torn from the wall. He can even see large chunks of metal attacked to the hinges along with the hydraulic mechanism that kept them from slamming shut. ‘Oh. This doesn’t bode well.’ Demo thought to himself, turning to follow after the last three thieves. His hooves were light, moving silently through the concrete walkway without making nary a sound. The well-lit museum gave way to poorly illuminated corridors with a musty scent of mold in the background. Not only that but the wide, concrete corridors suddenly lead into a well lit storage area.

Keeping to the shadows, Demo Reel crept closer until he could see three figures bickering among themselves in an open space without any means for him to slip on in and take them out. He watched carefully, observing the three until he had his chance to strike. “I’ve waited long enough. I’m not sifting through an entire fucking dragon’s hoard of useless bullshit just to find some stick, Red.” Demo could hear somepony speaking in a clearly angry tone.

“Be patient, Brutus. I know it is here. If the others did their job, the cops will not be here for some time. The alarm spell was disabled and even if they do show up, the fodder will give us plenty of opportunity to leave through an exit of our own making if need be.” Demo Reel listened in to this other pony, a mare by the sound of it. Her voice sounded unnatural, distorted and changed somehow. Peaking from around the corner, Demo watched three figures bicker among themselves. Or rather two figures bicker while the other waited about with clear disinterest if her body language gave anything away.

Standing among them was the red-masked mare, looking through the assortment of boxes. “So how are you expecting me to find this stick you want. Do you want me to go full bull in a china-shop here?” Brutus sounded like he was threatening the Red-Masked mare, standing over her in a menacing fashion.

“Normally yes but the artifact is millennia old and could be delicate. I do not want to risk unnecessary damage.” The red-masked mare said. “Fortunately, that is what my student is here to aid you with. Obscura, my sweet.” The robed figure among the trio nodded, stepping aside to start muttering an incantation. She starts to wave her hands in the air, making assorted hand gestures that caused her horn to glow with a green aura similar to her master’s. Soon, her horn began to manifest a beam of light similar to that of a flashlight. Shining it towards one of the boxes, the mare slowly moves along the massive wall, scanning box after box until one of them started to glow.

“There.” The Red-masked mare pointed to the box, to which Brutus went to fetch. Using her magic to shift the boxes above it, holding it up while Brutus slid out their target with the utmost ease. He set it down on the ground as carefully as possible but it was clear just watching him that “careful” was not part of his vocabulary. The moment the box was placed gently on the concrete floor, Brutus tore the top of the crate off with such force and brutality that the nails holding it in rocketed out of the wood and into the distance. Digging into the thick hay inside, the minotaur found the contents and pulled it out.

“Uh… boss. This doesn’t look like a Stick.” Holding up the contents, Brutus presents a white mask with a red smile crudely painted upon where the mouth should be.

“No.” The Red-Masked mare said unamused. “It doesn’t surprise me that this place may actually have magical artifacts other than the one I seek.” With a curious look, Brutus looks to the mask. Taking off his own mask revealing a gruff old bull, he starts to slip it onto his own face but it is pulled away by Obscura magic to keep him from doing something he’d regret. “Don’t use magic items without knowing what they are first, Brutus. It could be cursed for all you know.” With that said, Obscura tosses the mask away, hearing it shatter upon contact with the ground.

Brutus kicks the empty box aside, giving him plenty of room to fetch a second box once another magic aura was found. But in doing so, it gave Demo Reel the cover he needed to get closer. As he did, the stallion started to formulate a plan to try and take these three down. One on one fights were easy enough but with two unicorns and a clearly pissed off minotaur, this was going to require surgical precision.

“Found another.” Obscura says. Peaking from over the box, Demo watched as another box starts to glow but it was a bit higher up than the last one. Thus, combining their efforts, the Red-Masked mare and her student used their telekinesis to take hold of Brutus to lift him up into the air. It was only about six feet but that alone gave Demo Reel an idea. And upon seeing it, he starts to feel a tingle form along his spine.

Seeing another box glowing at the very top of the pile of boxes, he watches the two mares lift Brutus up high. He brings it down down and upon opening it, the Red-Masked mare stands triumphant with what appeared to be a staff of some sort. The vision soon ends after that.

Shaking his head, Demo Reel knew when he had a chance to attack, and merely waited. As the second box was set down, Brutus tore the top open to reveal a tribal artifact of some sort. Pulling it out, he shows the brightly colored wood carving. “This doesn’t look like a stick. I’d say more of a trunk.”

“It’s a buffalo war totem.” Obscura says. “Ancient tribes used them to hang the heads of their enemies off the wings of the eagle head as a means to honor their fallen ancestors.” Obscura says in a dry tone of voice.

“… So not the stick we want then?” Brutus asks.

“No. Not the stick we want.”

“Okay then.” Brutus tosses the ancient artifact aside like trash and then kicking the empty box away. Already Demo Reel was having a pretty good path getting closer to his targets. But after taking another step, Demo Reel gets that familiar tingling sensation along his back and watches the whole world drain of color once again.

Demo Reel sees the Red-Masked mare, her uniquely designed face covering sticking out even in a vision devoid of color. She turns around the bend and sees Demo Reel. “What are you doing here?!” She shouts, holding out her hand to grab him by the throat and lifting him up into the air.

The vision ends with Demo Reel feeling phantom pains from the tight grip the Red-Masked mare had around him. Or rather will have around him. Acting quickly, Demo slowly backs away just as the Red-Masked mare starts to wander around the area. Feeling a nagging sensation of being watched, the leader of the thieves looks around as she feels the paranoia start to sink in.

Demo Reel had slipped into the first box which was on its side. Keeping his breath steady and his back against the edge, he waited patiently to either get caught or to begin his attack early on. Demo waited for that familiar tingle against his spine, hoping he’d learn something but nothing came. He already felt that he was about to be done for the moment he was discovered.

Seeing her robes come into view, Demo was about ready to spring into action but heard Obscura call out. “Master, I found another one. Its all the way up at the top so I’ll need your help with it.” Feeling his breath freeze, Demo waited and waited for a response. And then, when he watched the mare’s robes leave his view, he let out a restrained sigh so he didn’t give himself away at the last second.

“I am coming my student.” Returning to her apprentice, both Obscura and the Red-Masked mare used their powers to lift Brutus up high again. This time going as high as they could. By now Brutus was about twenty feet in the air, give or take a few inches and that was when Demo knew it was time to attack. Reaching for his belt, he grabbed one of the few tools he kept on him. Taking what looked like a modified soda can, he started to give it a few good shakes, already seeing a chemical reaction beginning inside once the metal started to distort.

Leaping over the edge, Demo Reel revealed himself just in time to see Brutus sliding the box out longways before slipping it onto his shoulder. But if he played this right, he’d be having one nasty fall but not so much that it’d kill him. He knew Minotaurs were tough and he knew that it’d take a large fall to take down a large opponent.

Throwing the expanding soda can at the unicorns, the silvery canister did not erupt with a sugary beverage but rather exploded out with a massive cloud of smoke that covered the entire storage room with a thick cloud. Demo Reel made sure he had his face covering fastened under the mask he had stolen from the pegasus mare in the bathroom and went in fast. He targeted the Red-Masked mare first, rushing her last known location, Demo Reel goes in full force. Once he saw that red mask, he leapt into the air with a front flip but grabbed hold of her head before slamming them both onto the ground. Demo felt the intense pain shoot through him but he was able to ignore it. The leader not so much as he heard Brutus scream suddenly followed by a *Klang*.

Confused as to what was happening, the terrified minotaur held on for dear life as the box he was holding now his only life line. Looking up, he saw that when the magical aura holding him up failed, the box was now resting on one of the ceiling supports, holding both Brutus and the box up. “Guys! HELP!”

Down below Obscura had shifted her attention to the black-clad figure in the cloud of smoke, practically choking on the thick, chalky fumes that surrounded her. Feeling her fingers crackle with energy, Obscura threw several magically charged bolts of energy into the cloud. She heard a few sounds of wood being shattered or objects breaking but nothing that sounded like a pony being hurt. “Show yourself coward!” She wanted it, and she’ll get it.

Rushing her from the smoke, Demo Reel readied his two fingers for a close up attack that he knew would render the unicorn helpless. Once she was in view, Demo Reel swiped at her face, tearing her mask off. Thinking that her attacker had missed, Obscura’s revealed face showed a mare with a chilling smile eager to do some harm. “Ha! Got you now, bastard!” Seeing her hand crackle with energy once again but Demo was anticipating that. Feeling the tingle in his spine, Demo watched as a brief scene flashed before him.

Demo Reel rushes the enraged unicorn, his index and middle finger drawn. He lunches for Obscura as she launches a powerful bolt at Demo Reel’s chest as it sizzles through his clothes and burns his flesh.

The vision ends and he knows what to do. Mimicking himself in the vision, Demo Reel has his index and middle finger extended, knowing where to strike. And just as Obscura was ready to finish Demo Reel off with a point-blank blast of magic, Demo Reel watched her arm carefully extend out but he was ready. Swiveling around her arm with some fancy hoof-work, the stallion avoided her attack with ease before driving his fingers towards the base of her horn. The magic she had built up in her hand was thrown into the air, where it had struck the box Brutus was holding onto.

Though it only made a small hole in the side, that was all that was needed to feel it begin to crack and splinter. “Oh… Oh no.” Brutus groans, feeling the box slowly lower him until finally the box snapped in half. “AHHHHHHHH!!! Brutus falls to the ground with a loud *Thud*, the box and its contents landing right on top of him. Knocked out, the bull lays motionless in the debris while Obscura stumbles back holding her sore horn.

“M-My magic? What did you do to me?” Demo wasn’t about to answer that as he merely tilted his head in response. “I’ll make you pay you bitch.” Trying to summon her magic, getting only small flickers and sparks in the process, the once sadistic mare now had a look of horror on her face as Demo slowly approached. “G-Get away from me. M-master!” She calls for help but gets no response. Demo Reel rears his fist back, ready to add another knock-out to his list for the day. Throwing his punch, Obscura closes her eyes tight waiting for the inevitable impact.

But it never came.

Seeing the black clad fist frozen in mid-air, Obscura sees the stranger restrained before her in a green aura not her own. As the smoke begins to settle, Obscura sees her master standing up her hand outstretched. Demo Reel struggled and tried to escape, rearing his other arm out to attack Obscura but that arm too was held in the Red-Masked mare’s grasp. And then, his whole body. “My dear Obscura. Needing your master to pull you out of the fire again, I see. How troubling.” Obscura didn’t care, she slowly backed away from the attacker as her master came to inspect the black clad figures. “You’re not one of mine, even though you’re wearing one of their masks. Who are you, little pony?”

Looking over the figure, the Red-Masked mare saw that rather than decent equipment like the thugs she had hired, this pony merely wore civilian clothes spray-painted black. She started to giggle in amusement that six of the most hardened criminals she could scrounge together and her own apprentice were taken out by a stranger in street wear. “You’re certainly not a mercenary, or a ganger. Hell, I doubt you’re even a guard under cover.”

“Whoever she is, she’s dead.” Starting to feel her magic return, Obscura slowly charged her magic to attack their prisoner.

“She?” The Red-Masked mare starts to put things together looking at the figure. “Oh? Then perhaps we are in the company of an urban legend. Are you by chance Miss Manehattan?” Again, no response from Demo. He didn’t care if the ponies thought he was a mare, better for him that they did since it kept him from being suspected. That is until he felt a hand move to grasp his groin, getting an “Eep” out of him. “Oh! Or should I say… Mister Manehattan.” Demo was rather glad that he was wearing a mask right now or else she’d be able to see his intense fluster.

“Wait, you telling me that I got my ass handed to me by a stallion?!” Obscura says with clear offense in her voice.

“It appears so. He’s certainly a dying breed, isn’t he?” The Red-Masked stallion tittered. “Shame, he could have given some lucky mares some decent foals one day. Should have stayed in the bedroom, little colt.” Holding Demo tight, the Red-Masked mare stepped aside to let Obscura have her fun. Struggling and trying to escape, Demo knew he had no means of getting out of her grip.

“Ohhhh… what happened.” Sitting up, Brutus rubs his sore head, feeling around until he finds that one of the massive horns he had decorating his head had been snapped off during the crash. He gasps looking around and sees it under some sort of stick by the looks of it. Swatting it away, the panicked bovine tries to place it back on as if it was just going to snap right back into place.

Feeling something make contact with her robes, the Red-Masked mare looks down and her eyes go wide behind her cracked mask. Obscura was ready to get up close and personal with Demo Reel, her hands sizzling with power as she moved her hand to his new mask to watch his eyes boil in his skull. But she’d never get the chance. “WAIT!” Obscura pauses.

“Master! Don’t edge me here, I’m so close to watching this little fuck squirm in.” as she says that, her master feels her grip on Demo falter. Seeing his chance, Demo rips his arm free and uses a wide strike to hit the mare’s arm and push it into her chest. She screams out and backs away. For a moment, Demo feels like he has a chance to finish this off and as he runs across the room to leap into the air, he feels the same grip surround his body but it felt so much different this time.

Standing in triumph, the Red-Masked mare was now holding a staff made from dead wood. At the top of its shaft was a black gemstone held in place by roots clinging to it greedily. The green aura that once surrounded Demo Reel was now a murky shade of purple and the grip was so much firmer. “You’re quite the wily little thing, aren’t you?” The Red-Masked mare teases. “I should kill you for what you did to my student, but now that I have what I came for and you are but a nuisance to me.” Throwing Demo Reel aside, the stallion goes crashing into the middle of the crates, sending most of it toppling over. “Since you inadvertently found my prize for me, I’ll be gracious and let you keep your miserable life. Know your place, stallion; next time I shan't be so kind. Obscura, Brutus! Lets get out of here.” Pointing the staff towards the wall, a ball of dark magic condenses at the tip before it erupts into a powerful explosion that smashes through the farthest wall of concrete, creating an exit out into the side of the museum.

Digging himself out of the crates, Demo can already feel something was broken but the pain didn’t seem to stop him. Panting as he emerged, looking at the escape the three thieves had made, he growled in defeat having let the leader and her two subordinates escape with their main target. To make matters worse, Demo Reel heard the oncoming sound of police sirens in the distance and knew he had little time. Instead of chasing after the Red-Masked mare, he’d head back to the bathroom and plant himself as an innocent bystander that had gotten roughed up by the ponies. He’d have to make some modifications to his clothes to show that the wounds matched; if he remembered correctly the pegasus had a knife on her. That would have to do for now.

Princess Celestia watched as her mentor was wheeled out on a stretcher, the doctors frantically racing the princess somewhere they can properly treat her wounds. All the while Luna and the Elements watched as their beloved ruler was taken away. Twilight felt a stone form in her stomach, feeling like her entire world had been shattered in a mere flash. She still felt tears running down her face, matting her fur as she let out the occasional sob. “My little ponies.” Luna says softly. “Follow. If I am to tell you of this tale, let us do so where nopony may hear us.” Offering her hands, Luna felt the ponies gather around to form a circle.

With a flash of light, Luna and the Elements vanished from the throne room, only to appear in a darkly lit bedroom. The teleportation spell was quick and easy, and there wasn’t any chance that they’d be followed. “The story I am about to tell you may not be for the feint of heart. If you do not wish to hear my words, I shall create a bubble of silence to grace you with ignorance of its contents.”

Fluttershy felt tempted to take the offer, and she almost did. But, even after what she had seen, she knew that she had to hear this. No matter how terrifying it got. So, wishing to get this over with, she took a seat, ready to hear whatever horror story Luna was about to speak of. After which, one after the other, everypony else did the same, sitting close to the butter yellow pegasus.

“We came here ready for whatever Celestia had in store for us. Now… we want nothing more than to help bring whoever hurt her to justice.” Twilight said with a dark determination.

“Very well. Listen well, all of you. This tale begins two weeks from this today. A mere seven days after my purification at your very hands. I had just taken up my duties as Warden of dreams once more. Getting back to my old duties was trying at times, but I had learned much from the ponies of the land. And it is thus that I met him. That I bore witness to the final moments of the stallion who perished in his own nightmares.” The elements looked on in fear at the idea of nightmares able to kill somepony. “These are the final moments of a pony i only knew for one knight. The dreams of a one Demo Reel of Manehattan.”

Chpt. 3: The Nightmare

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”Your technique is improving but your stance is sloppy as always.”

Luna found herself afloat in the void of stars, a place of calm and serenity where the troubles of the day were unable to reach. Since her banishment, Luna was merely a bystander in this realm of dreams; unable to interact with and guide her subjects, only acting as a watching specter at best. Free from her imprisonment, the Princess of the Night was once again able to take up her charge and properly fight back against the dark that dwells in the minds of the common pony-folk.

But a thousand years is a long time to be away, and though Princess Luna had watched her ponies grow in their dreams, the modern world had become a slight fascination that often acted as a distraction for her. Wonderous creations the princess never thought plausible, only a fleeting flicker of imagination in the minds of the exceptionally creative. Carriages that propelled themselves via magic crystals for fuel, devices able to capture a single moment with but a flash of light, and newfound delicacies with flavors completely unthinkable for the lunar monarch to even consider trying.

Yet with everything that had changed over the years, there were always the aspects of life that were eternal. Many times Luna had come across dreams of ponies longing for companionship. The struggle to find a mate, to stave off the fear of loneliness was one Luna herself understood and was a challenge dating back to the beginning of pony kind. Yet even back before she had become Nightmare Moon, the shortage of stallions was a minor issue, but now it had grown to where it was a very noticeable and very real situation that needed to be taken care of.

The longer Luna stayed inside the realm of dreams, coming across more and more mares, the stronger her suspicions that she had returned to a time where the male gender had gone completely extinct or were rather rare to encounter. This was something Luna needed to talk with her sister about when she awakened; until then, Luna had a job to do.

Closing her eyes, Princess Luna channeled her magic along her horn, casting out her senses like a wide net into the aether. Her divine gift to sense the emotions in ponies was key to helping her find those under duress. In a matter of seconds, she got what she was looking for. Luna turned her attention to a random direction in the void and propelled herself through the sea of stars as if she were weightless. Passing by countless little balls of light she barely even registered, she eventually came to find one that did not shine like the rest. Instead, Princess Luna beheld a small ball of deep purple that radiated with a foul smoke.

Seeing the telltale signs of a nightmare in progress, she focused her magic onto the little ball of light and her surroundings slowly started to change. The starry void gave way to a new sight that Luna had not quite seen before. Where once Ponies had gathered and worked in a guild hall to discuss matters to their faction, that had changed for the modern place of work; The Office Building.

Observing ponies scurry about like ants in a frantic environment, she watched them pass through her like ghosts, unaware of her presence. For the most part, they were but featureless mannequins, acting as background props to this hectic scene so it was easy to tell they were part of the dream. ‘Hm. Must be around here somewhere.’ Luna thought, scanning the area for anypony with any actual features to them.

Walking around this new environment, Luna searched for her charge but also took her time to experience what it was like to be in such a hectic environment. Looking into one office, Luna saw one of the few ponies with any actual features; a stout mare Luna almost mistook as a filly but her voice and ranting and ravings, as well as her overuse of profanity and gibberish, told her that this was another simulacrum of the dream itself. Most likely somepony close to the one having the dream.

Another figure came into view, that being a green unicorn mare dressed in a gray skirt and revealing top purposefully unbuttoned to reveal her sizable breasts. She had a pen and clipboard in hand, looking for something as she passed cubicle after cubicle, hunting for something. “Come on out, Demo! I just want an interview.” Seeing this eager mare, Luna approaches her with a stoic expression, standing in her way in an imposing fashion she could muster.

“Greetings, We are-“ The green mare passes through her like a ghost, not even registering Luna’s presence. “… Talking to a simulacrum. Get it together, Luna. This isn’t thine first dream walk.” She chides herself, looking around the office only to see something peculiar. Somepony down one of the halls zig-zagging through the area trying to remain undetected. Following the stealthy figure, Luna raised a brow in curiosity.

Approaching the cubical the figure had ducked into; Luna turns to look inside and sees a tall earth pony stallion with a cream-colored coat and a shaggy black mane with a tail to match. He huffed and panted, trying to keep his breathing steady with his back against the wall. Having looked over the wall, Luna also saw that the stallion was quite nude. ‘A fear of indecency maybe?’ Luna thought. ‘Or mayhaps exposure of some dark secret?’ Seeing as the stallion was hiding his stallion hood with some paperwork casually taken from a desk, her brow slowly rose a few centimeters in thought. ‘Perhaps he is merely shy.’

Feeling a presence haunting him, the cream-colored earth pony eventually turned to the towering alicorn silently watching him. The two made eye contact, an air of awkwardness forming between the two as Demo Reel beheld the princess of the night so casually ogling his naked body. “… Get out of here, this show ain’t free.” Luna was taken aback by the stallion’s tone of voice but let it slide this once since she was still becoming known to the public and the stallion probably didn’t know who she was yet.

“Thou hast nothing we haven’t seen before, colt.” Luna shoots back.

“Regardless, it's rude to stare.” Demo Reel retorts, getting a disapproving growl from the princess. Luna was prepared to scold the earth pony before somepony else called out for the stallion’s attention.

“Demo Reel!” The stallion tenses up, hearing the familiar voice. Luna turns around to spot a green unicorn sporting a wide grin and a look of hunger in her eyes. “I know you’re in here~.” Her tone was sultry and alluring, making the stallion all the more tense. A small smile forms on the princess’s muzzle as she turns to the stallion hunched over in a cubicle.

“A friend?” Luna asked.

“Kinda sorta.” Demo whispers, practically sensing her approach. “She’s a reporter I get paired with at this one publisher. She’s a friend of sorts but sometimes when her stallion doesn’t sate her needs, she can get quite… grabby.”

“Come on out so I can get a feel for that cute little ass of yours. The boss says she wants a new article on the body of a workin’ stallion. Be a good boy and I’ll give you a little treat~.” The green unicorn approached the cubicle, about ready to find the naked stallion cowering in the corner.

Before she has the chance to lay her eyes on the stallion, Luna casts a spell to protect the frightened pony, manifesting a wall of illusion to hide Demo Reel from her view and give them time to chat. Thus, when she does turn the corner, the green unicorn finds nothing but an empty cubicle, and leaves to continue her search. Demo Reel however saw the mare through the one-way wall of magic, seeing her look right into his eyes before turning back to head down the walkway. “A rather interesting sort.” Luna says, watching her go. “Woulds it be so bad to let her interview thee?”

“No way! If she does that, my life is over.” Demo Reel says with a look of horror. “Nopony can know.”

“We are sure it’s not so bad. Thine stallion-hood could be appealing to many a mare regardless of its size or shape.”

“What are you talking about?!” Demo Reel responds in a raised yet utterly confused voice.

“Does thou attempts to avoid thine friend whilst covering your sword not mean you are ashamed of your girth?” Luna asked, gaining a confused look from the stallion.

“… No. No, it does not.” The stallion says flatly.

‘Well, there goes that theory. Metaphorical meaning then.’ While Luna contemplated the meaning of Demo Reel’s Dream; the stallion was once more on the move. Watching him dash from one cubicle to the other, Luna merely followed him down the maze of cubicles in a more casual manner, letting the mannequins pass through her with little to no need for stealth. Taking note of this, Demo Reel starts to look over the blue alicorn looming over his shoulder.

“Why are you following me?” Demo asked irritably.

“We are Princess Luna, Guardian of the-“

“I know who you are, your highness.” Luna was stunned to hear that, learning that he had been speaking in such a disrespectful tone all this time knowing full well who she was. “I mean why are you following me, specifically?”

“Thou art having a nightmare.” Luna answered a bit begrudgingly. “We had come to aid thee in confronting your fears.”

“It’s appreciated, your highness. Truly, I am flattered you’d take the time to come here and help but you’re wasting your time with me. There are probably ponies out there with worse nightmares than I.” Demo Reel says, keeping his eye out for anypony he recognizes. “But now that you mention it, I should have known this was a dream. Last time I checked, clothing doesn’t melt off your body like snow in a microwave oven.”

“We should hope not. That seems to be a terrible function to have to cover thy self.” Luna says. “But if thou do not confront your fears, then you shall be doomed to suffer these night terrors for the rest of your days.” Luna couldn’t help but be a little extra dramatic, but even still the stallion didn’t seem all that phased, or showed he actually cared.

“Hm. I think I’ll manage. Just gotta… keep my distance from Lime-Wire and I’ll be alright.” There was a long pause between the two; while Demo took a peek over the walls to see where he was going, Luna was left with her mouth agape, processing the stallion’s response.

“Thou… do not want our help?”

“No. I appreciate it, but I’m fine. Really.” Another pause as Luna shook her head to ward off the sudden stupor.

“Of all the fanciful things I have come to find in my return, a pony suffering a nightmare and doesn’t want our help is by far the most outrageous.”

“Sorry if I offended you, your grace. But I’m used to it by now; this is what I come to expect when I sleep.” Luna sputtered, trying to come up with a response, yet this situation was not something she had ever prepared for. Thus, instead of endlessly bickering, she came to respond with a different approach.

“Then what art thou doing then?”

“Looking for an exit.” Demo Reel says, dropping the papers that covered himself in favor of getting a better grip on the wall. As he scans the area for his way out, Luna stands by until he is ready to take her words seriously. “There you are.” The stallion spots a pair of doors on the far end of the hallway. Getting the lay of the area in his mind, he starts to move for his means of escape.

Dodging and weaving among the crowd, keeping himself low and out of sight, he was all but invisible to the denizens of the dream realm with exception to Luna. She had her eye on him and waited for him to come to his senses. Alas, as she followed close behind, her vision somewhat drifted down below the metaphorical belt and she felt her cheeks redden seeing something… dangling between the stallion’s legs.

Following Demo Reel like a specter and trying to keep her eyes above the waist, watching the nude stallion make his way to freedom only to suddenly stop when he heard a familiar voice. “Come on, D. At least give me the juicy details. We’ll keep you anonymous, super swearsies.”

“What will thou do? She appears to have blocked thine path.” Luna says, seeing that the green unicorn was the final obstacle from freedom.

“Can’t you just… make me invisible or something?”

“The last time was merely a mercy to give thee a moment to understand what must be done. Now we see that the only true path to freedom is honesty.”

“You don’t understand.” Demo Reel says with a tinge of hesitation. “If she finds out what I’m really like… if she knew the real me, there will be no coming back. My life as I know it is over.”

“If thou do not confront her, then the nightmares will never be over.” Luna warns, seeing Lime Wire stand ready as if expecting Demo Reel to pop out at any minute. Looking hesitant to move from his cover, he turns back to Luna with an uncertain look about him.

“You’ll be there in case things get bad… right?”

“We will be here to keep thee safe. Now go… she is waiting.” With a soft groan, Demo Reel steps out from around the cubicle wall, slowly approaching the mare with her back still turned to him. Taking his time at first to approach, Demo Reel cleared his throat to catch Lime Wire’s attention. Trembling with every step he took, the stallion gathered what courage he had and sighed, ready to begin. “Remember, tis only a dream.” Luna calls out.

Clearing his throat, Demo Reel stood before the green unicorn. “Uh… Lime-Wire.” Demo Reel began. “I’m sorry I have been avoiding you, and I’m ready to do the interview.” There wasn’t any response from the green unicorn, standing stalk still upon hearing the stallion speak. “I just hope we can keep things professional between us. I know you and your herd are quite happy, and the last thing I want is to ruin what you have.” Silence continued as the background noise of the office space faded into a low droning hum. Nearly a minute goes by without nary a response from Lime Wire as she stood with her back turned and her arms at her side. Demo Reel took a small step forward, curious as to what was wrong. “Lime-Wire?”

“… You lied to me.” She finally responded. “… You lied to all of us.” Luna felt something was wrong. Looking around the office space, the various faceless figures had all suddenly stopped in their tracks, their featureless faces all turned towards Demo Reel.

‘This isn’t right.’ Luna thought to herself, moving closer to Demo Reel to bring him away from Lime-Wire. Though a sudden and grizzly crunching of bones brought the lunar princess to a halt, seeing that the green unicorn’s head had suddenly twisted in a full 180 degrees to focus her attention on the startled stallion. Frozen in place, Demo was frozen in place as he saw his friend’s distorted grin stretching from ear to ear. Her maw left agape as it twisted around her clearly broken neck, her eyes sunken in and milky

“Demo Reel, retreat unto us! We shall protect thee.” Backing away slowly at first, Demo Reel eventually turned to return to Luna. All the while the Lunar Princess readied to produce a barrier spell meant to keep nightmares at bay but something was wrong. Princess Luna knew that earth ponies may not be the swiftest of the three tribes but Demo Reel wasn’t that far away when they started. Seeing he was still running for his life, Luna saw that the room had stretched outwards from her, creating quite the distance between her and him. In fact, the floor itself seemed to be doing all it can to bring Demo Reel to the now monstrous facsimile of the stallion’s co-worker as she now scuttled around on twisted limbs akin to some horrid crustacean.

Watching the stallion struggle to come closer, Luna was about to drop her barrier conjuration to drag the stallion to her but instead he ended up surprising her a bit. As the false-friend let out a beastial screech, Demo Reel tensed up and leapt from the tread-mill of a floor and up onto the top of the cubicle. Balancing on the thin line he had, he started to run along the thin trail of barricades until he got close enough to the princess, upon which he dove right to her. Just in the nick of time as well as the mangled mare was making her way much, much faster than Demo had done. Though once he was close to her side, Luna stretched her arms out to manifest a magical wall in which no manifestations of the dream could even hope to penetrate.

Trying to catch his breath, Demo Reel is brought back to what was happening by the sound of a loud thud against the wall of magic. Turning what caused it, he found the snarling pony beating and thrashing against Luna’s magic barrier. “THIS IS YOUR FAULT! YOU ARE TO BLAME!!! YOU ARE THE ONE WHO CAUSED ALL OF THIS!!!” Seeing her misshapen features, Demo Reel instinctively backed away until he was at the hooves of the princess, who merely glared at the beast with an undaunted sense of determination.

“YOU SHALL NOT HAVE THIS COLT, MONSTER!” Luna’s Royal Canterlot Voice shook the very building around them as her eyes radiated with powerful magic that Demo Reel couldn’t even begin to understand, “BEGONE FROM THIS PLACE!!! With a burst of light, the beast was defeated with the utmost ease. The snarling and berating came to an end and with it, Luna dropped her Royal Canterlot Voice to turn to the terrified stallion. “Ease thine woes, Demo Reel. She is gone.”

Looking up from the floor, Demo Reel saw that the monster wearing his friend’s face was gone with nary a trace of her left. Slowly he got back to his hooves and felt the warm gaze of Luna on him. “Thanks. I… uh… I didn’t mean for you to get involved with that.”

“Tis but our duty.” Luna says dismissively. “But… what did it mean by it being thy fault? Have thou wronged this mare in some fashion?” Demo tensed up.

“I’ve been ‘wronging’ a lot of ponies. Lying to their faces for as long as I can remember.”

“A life of deceptions is no life to live, sweet colt.” Moving to caress his cheek, Luna smiles warmly at the stallion. “Be true to thy comrades, and if they truly be thy friends, they will accept you no matter what.”

“But… what if they don’t accept me? What if they hate who I really am?”

“Then they were never truly your friends to begin with.” Luna stated bluntly, leaving Demo to consider her words. “I do not know what sort of woes trouble a young stallion such as thee. These horrors should not plague thy dreams. A wonderous life you should have, dreaming of your herd and the foals you sire with them, of a happy home; that is what a young colt such as yourself should have when coming unto the realm of dreams.”

“You have no idea how much I would love that actually.” Luna smiled at his response. “I thank you for your visit and… if you hadn’t come when you did, I’d certainly have another sleepless night.”

“We merely protected thee from thine own woes. Tis still your duty to see that they are thoroughly routed from thine dreams.”

“I’ll see what I can- NNGH!” Demo Reel suddenly doubles over, falling to a knee. Luna tries to catch him but finds her hands pass through him. “Y-You need to go.” Demo grunts out, a hand at his head as he winces in pain.

“What is happening? Are thou alright?”

“GO! Leave N-Now!” Demo stood up, panting and grunting as he felt the world around him shake and shutter. The office area they were surrounded by began to crumble and fall apart. The walls slowly melting and reforming, the office cubicles sank into the ground below as they were replaced with tattered furniture and rotting hardwood floors. The faceless figures in the cubicle faded from existence until only Demo Reel and Luna were the only ones left, and as it came to an end, the office ambience changed to that of a rural neighborhood in the dead of night.

Slowly, the light returned and the two now stood in a rundown old home that seemed abandoned. “What in the world?” Luna whispers to herself, turning back to Demo Reel to see that he too had changed. No longer in the nude, he now stood fully clothed in pants, a plain white shirt and a peculiar jacket with a large bit of back fluff hanging off his neck like a big fuzzy cape. In his hands was a device Princess Luna had come to know as a camera in her more recent ventures in the dream realm. “In all our years I’ve never seen a dream change so… dramatically before.

“I have.” Demo Reel says with a dazed expression about him. “Happens practically every night for me.” The stallion stumbles to his hooves, soothing his aching head.

“Where art we?”

“Manehattan, Southern side of the Bronco Heights.” Demo Reel says without pause, looking surprised by his own answer.

“Have you been here before?” Luna inquired, curious as to what had brought about this sudden development.

“Yes… and no.” Not really in the mood for riddles, Luna returned to the stallion with a sigh of frustration.

“As peculiar a development as this is, I feel thy nightly trials have plagued thee long enough.” With her right hand aglow with her deep blue aura, Luna was ready to end the nightmare and grant Demo Reel a peaceful sleep after his first nightmare. With a wave of her hand, she focused her magic unto the dream realm and cast out the image of the rundown building. Upon opening her eyes however, Luna found that she and Demo Reel were still in the rundown home. “W-What is this?!” Luna tried once more, waving her hand to cast the dream aside.

But it did not phase or budge or do anything. In fact, this dream was utterly unresponsive to her commands. ‘We are the Ruler of Dreams!’ Luna thought to herself. ‘Since when has a dream not done as we command?’ While she was fixated on her frustration, Demo Reel slowly made his way through the house. Catching the stallion moving forward, Luna followed close by. “And where does thou think they are going?”

“To investigate. I’ve been staking this place out for weeks.”

“For what purpose would a little stallion such as thine-self desire with a place such as this?” Luna motioned to the rundown living room, showing the torn-up couch and mold infused carpeting.

“I… don’t really know. I just know that something weird has been happening here.” With that said, Demo Reel moves away from Princess Luna, snapping a few pictures as he explores the house. While Demo Reel followed the pull of this new dream, Luna was deep in thought.

‘This doesn’t make any sense. No dream has been able to withstand thy magic before.’ Luna followed close to Demo Reel, occasionally hearing the snap of his camera. ‘We’ve banished nightmares that have fermented for months in the minds of ponies and yet we cannot even manifest my will in this place. The only time that’s happened is when…’ Suddenly Luna comes to realize what this was. “This… This is a memory.”

“That’d explain the lack of weird shit and why I’m back in my clothes. Or… I guess that counts as weird.”

“What is weird is that memories do not pop up so violently, unless they are repressed in some manner.”

“I can see that. This place definitely seems like something I’d re-“ *SNAP* “PREEEEEEeeeeee…” Falling through the floorboards of the house, Luna moves fast to the hole where Demo had fallen through and sees the stallion on laying on his back.

“DEMO REEL!!!” Luna rushed to the edge, peering inside to see the stallion on his back. “Art thou alright?” She doesn’t get a verbal response but a groan of pain will suffice since it meant he was alive. Then again, this was a memory so on some level she already knew. Seeing the hole was too small for her, Luna looks around the home for some way down. Looking through the house, Luna finds the stairs down into the basement and rapidly descends, trying to squeeze her oversized alicorn form through the narrow passageway.

Reaching the bottom, Luna arrives just in time to see Demo Reel picking himself up. “Stars above, that was a nasty fall.” Luna tries to lift Demo up with a bit of telekinesis but soon finds that not even Demo Reel was able to be affected by her magic. ‘Should have known.’ Luna mentally grumbles.

Only able to watch Demo Reel pick himself up, Luna’s eyes go wide when she spots something very clearly wrong with Demo Reel that caused the deep blue alicorn to lose some of her color; Demo’s knee was bending the wrong way. “Ugh, you’re telling me. Oh! Look at that.” He picks up his leg, seeing it was now floppy and unresponsive. “That’s not good.” Luna practically gagged seeing Demo Reel’s broken leg being held aloft like some prized trout.

“That looks unpleasant. We should hope it has healed.” Luna says, causing Demo to pause.

“Uh… yeah. It's alright. Kinda walk with a limp now sadly.”

“Thankfully this is but a memory and not the real thing.”

“Yeah, but it was, is, real. The pain is certainly still fresh in my mind, that is for sure.”

“Thou art in pain?” Luna asks in a bit of worry.

“Oh yeah. I am in… a LOT of pain.” Demo Reel chuckles, struggling to stand up. “Fortunately,” Demo grunted. Luna was unable to aid him, forced to watch the stallion pull himself up to his one good hoof as he crawls up a wall to keep himself upright. “I have been blessed with an unnaturally high tolerance to pain. The adrenaline also helps too.” Moving his hand around the wall, Demo starts to search for something. After some blind fumbling in the dark, he eventually finds the light switch. Flipping it on to illuminate their area, the two ponies were expecting to find a storage area or some abandoned space. But what they found instead will remain with Luna for the rest of her life.

Beds.

Medical Beds all lined up in a row. Luna walked forward counting eight of them and on each one was a pony, emaciated and pale with surgical scars decorating their bodies. Yet at the side of each bed was a container of some unidentified liquid that was used to contain a severed horn that had been removed from the heads of each pony. It was only after seeing the jars that Luna realized that these ponies were all unicorns. “What madness is this?”

“Looks like… mmph… somepony’s fucked up medical clinic and/or laboratory. That or somepony’s got a really morbid hobby.” Demo Reel says, hopping his way forward balancing on the beds that lined the basement. It wasn’t until he made it to bed number three that something caught his eye; a journal. Hobbling his way towards the small book, he saw that it was made of a soft linen-like covering with a silver buckle to contain it. Though the book’s outer design was simple with a purple shade of color, the buckle itself was that of a crown of sorts held in a circle.

Popping the buckle off, Demo Reel sat on the side of a bed to flip through the pages. Luna moves in close, taking a look for herself. “What has thee found?”

“A journal of somepony’s notes.” Inside the book the two saw pictures and sketches of pony anatomy, specifically unicorns. “I can’t quite make out the writings. It's all… scribbly. I don’t think it's even written in Equestrian.”

“Let me see.” Moving the book to the side, showing Princess Luna the journal, the mare squints her eyes to try and make out the awful penmanship. “We think that is Old-Ponish.”

“Are you able to read it?”

“We are a tad… rusty, as you say these days. We dost recognize a few of these words.” Trying to decipher the old language, Luna runs through what little of the dialect she was able to recall after so many centuries. There were only three words Luna was able to decipher, those being “late”, “quota”, and “living”. “These turn of events do not sit well with us. Demo Reel, what happened after you found this book?” Thinking she could ask Demo what happens further in the memory, she patiently waits for his response.

But there wasn’t any.

Luna notices that Demo Reel’s hands are quite shaky and turns to face the stallion, seeing a dazed look about him. “Demo Reel? what is wrong?”

“N-Nngh…” Luna was about to speak when she saw a trickle of blood seep down his mouth. Standing up, Luna watched the stallion drop the journal to the ground. His arms gave out, revealing an elegant blade piercing through his chest.

“Demo Reel!?” Confused and shocked at what she beheld, Luna watched as the blade was pulled out of Demo Reel’s back, vanishing into thin air as if a ghost had claimed the stallion’s life. Falling to the floor, Luna rushed to his aid trying to help him up. ‘We do not understand.’ Luna thought, trying to scoop Demo Reel up but she merely passed through him as if she wasn’t there. ‘This can’t be a memory or a dream. Dead ponies don’t dream! What in the world is going on?!’

Watching Demo Reel sputter and cough up blood, Luna felt the memory or dream or whatever this was start to fade away. The basement around them slowly started to melt and burn like a photograph that had been set ablaze. “Hold on, Demo Reel. We’ll get you out… somehow.” Luna uses every bit of energy she had at her disposal; calming spells, healing magic, even trying to convince him that this was not real. But she could not deny that this was something else, something that not even she in all her centuries had ever once come across.

“L-Luna…” Demo sputters, seeing the stallion look up at her with pleading eyes. “H-Help… me…” For all her power, Luna had never felt more powerless watching the visage of Demo Reel burn away as the dream came to an abrupt end. To say the princess of dreams was left in shock was an understatement as she now stood dazed in her field of starlight, having everything she knew about dreams come into question.

“After that, we took a small break from our duties to mentally recover. If my ponies are able to last a thousand years without us, then we were sure that they’d last a few days more.” Luna had finished her story, telling the six mares and one dragon of the story.

“That was…” Twilight started. “Certainly what you said it was.” Twilight brought a hand to her forehead, feeling the sweat against her coat while Spike clung to her like a frightened cat.

“Wait, where’s the happy ending?” Pinkie asked. “A story should always have a happy ending?”

“Ah don’ think this was that sort of story, sugarcube.” Applejack says to her friend.

“What about Demo Reel? What happened to him?” Twilight asked, wanting to know more.

“We are unsure. We had looked into his records and found that thine Date of Death had not been reported. For all we know… his body could still be in that house or in some shallow grave.”

“That ain’t no way fur a pony to go. ‘Specially a stallion.” Applejack took her Stetson off to hold to her chest.

“So, what do we do now?” Rainbow asks, looking at her friends. While the others expected for Luna or even Twilight to speak up, they were all drawn to another in the room.

“Excuse me for chiming in, your grace.” Rarity spoke up, having been comforting a shaken Fluttershy. “But you said that this had taken place in the Manehattan Bronco Heights, yes?”

“That is what the stallion told us, yes.” Luna confirmed.

“I see.” Rarity tapped her cheek for a moment, trying to recall something. “Tell me, has anypony heard the name of Ms. Manehattan?”

“Sounds like some sorta super model.” Applejack says.

“Oh! I have!” Rainbow raises her hand. “Total badass.”

“I don’t get it,” Twilight said, a little confused. “What’s this gotta do with some sorta…”

“Vigilante, darling.” Rarity finished, much to Luna’s outrage.

“There is a pony taking the law into their own hands?” Luna looked ready to fly off into a rage as her wings fluttered, struggling to stay contained.

“Indeed there is, Princess.” Rarity says, stroking Fluttershy’s hair. “Not too long ago, I received my issue of the Manehattan Solar Times. Normally I don’t take interest in the articles dealing with criminal activity but when I read the title, my interest was piqued.” She stood up from her seat, leaving Fluttershy’s side. “’Masked Mare Uncovers Malevolent Misdoings’ it read; looking back, it was a rather ghastly incident and honestly, I’d have forgotten about it like so many other articles that weren’t related to fashion or celebrity gossip.”

“So what’s so special about this’n?” Applejack inquired.

“The thing is, it seems that this masked mare had seemingly attacked a rundown home with no reason. Neighbors heard the commotion and called for the authorities. By the time they arrived, several ponies were tied up… and a laboratory of horrors was found underneath. Does anypony want to guess where this has taken place.”

“Manehattan Bronco Heights.” Twilight says with a hint of shock to her.

“Correct, Darling. It seems that the masked ne’er-do-well had attacked the house at random at first glance. But perhaps she was taking the fight to the very ponies who have meant to do us all harm.”

“You suspect that we may yet have an ally in this… Ms. Manehattan?” Luna looks a bit skeptical at the idea.

“If not that, then perhaps somepony who may yet point us in the direction of catching the ruffians who have the ovaries to attack the princess in broad daylight.” Rarity’s suggestion was a bit too unlikely for Luna’s liking. But considering that one of her sister’s own guards had tried to kill not just her sister but also the elements, their pool of potential friends was too small for her liking.

“I see. Twilight Sparkle,” The purple unicorn straightens out, hearing her name.

“Y-Yes?”

“We charge thee with seeking this… masked vigilante and see what she knows. If possible, to seek her out as an ally. We dare not ask this lightly, even after what has happened; alas, there is nopony else we can task with such a mission at this time.” Luna had her reservations, but who else could she trust at a time like this.

“I…” Having her own doubts, Twilight recalled her mentor’s sacrifice and what condition she had been left in. A new fiery determination blossomed in her soul as she wanted to see justice done. “You can count on me, princess. But, what about you?”

“We will have to take over for our sister since she is…” Luna paused, taking a deep breath. “Somepony will have to raise and lower the Sun and Moon. Other than that, we’ll have to personally conduct a screening of all members of the castle, searching for conspirators and allies alike. Once we know who can and cannot be trusted, we’ll do whatever we can to properly give you aid in whatever means you so desire.”

“Thank you, Princess. I do appreciate that.” Twilight paused for a moment. “And… if you are looking for a place to start, my sister will be of great help.”

“I shall look into it, young Sparkle.” With a gentle bow, Twilight Sparkle and her friends made for the exit. Waiting until they were out of the castle and away from any potential spies that they finally broke their silence, and Applejack was the first to do so.

“So, what’s the plan, Twi?”

“First thing’s first, we return to Ponyville and prepare. We wandered into a trap due to my haste and I don’t wanna make that mistake a second time.”

“So we’re really doing this then?” Rainbow Dash came over, floating mid-air on Twilight’s other side.

“There’s no other choice. We were nearly killed; if not for the princess’s sacrifice, more than one of us could have ended up in the hospital. Maybe even worse.”

“B-But… are we really ready for this?” Fluttershy spoke timidly, her voice barely audible.

“Doesn’t matter if we are. I just hope this vigilante can give us some hope.”

“Kinda riding on a lot hoping to get some wanna-be superhero to help us.” Spike grumbled. The band of mares and spike passed through the castle and into the courtyard. There, they could see a small gathering of nobles that had come to see what had caused the castle to shake and rattle. Twilight and her friends passed through them, ignoring their questions and heading out into the streets.

“I’ll have to see about accommodations. I have no idea how long this trip will take and I don’t want our resources to run dry if we have to make an extended stay.”

“Ah can maybe ask mah aunt and uncle Orange if we can stay with ‘em. They got plenty o’ room since mah cousins moved out tah started their own orchards out west.”

“That would be fantastic, Applejack.” Twilight smiled.

“I’ll have to talk to somepony about watching my animals while I’m away.” Fluttershy says softly. “Hopefully Doctor Fauna knows a good house sitter that can help.”

“I’m sorry, Fluttershy. I’ll see if I can’t help in any way I can so we’ll be ready when we leave.” Twilight turns to the five mares and Spike. “I need you guys at my side for this.”

“As if we’re gonna ditch you after some scumbag tried to off us.” Rainbow smirked. “If there are more creeps like that out there, then you can bet my fists got a name for each of ‘em.”

“Damn straight.” Applejack agreed, cracking her knuckles.

“As much as I detest such barbaric behavior… I do agree with Applejack and Rainbow. These ruffians have made the worst possible enemy out of Rarity Belle, and they shall reap a ripe thrashing.”

“PREPARE FOR THE PARTY OF PAAAAAIIIN!!!” Pinkie roared out, scaring half the bystanders nearby. “Oops, too much?” Twilight couldn’t help but form a warm smile, seeing the friends she had only met little under a month ago stick with her at this dangerous time in their lives.

“Thank you… all of you. I don’t know what I did to deserve friends like you, but I thank you all for this.”

“You can start by giving us some time to prepare.” Applejack teased.

“Heh, right. I’ll… give you guys some time to pack and let your families know of the trip.”

“That’s all ah ask.”

Demo Reel had slipped back into his civilian clothes. His favorite jacket slipped over his wrinkled shirt to cover the various bruises and bandages courtesy of the Manehattan Medical team. He practically had to fight them off to get him to the hospital for what was merely bruising and a few cuts he added for effect. Thankfully he got lucky when the medics got distracted by one of the officers needing to check on one of the thugs he had knocked out.

Now he was moving through the crowds of Manehattan with a black eye, a frazzled mane, and some bandages visible through his tattered shirt. Though the crowd were horrified to see a stallion in such a condition, Demo Reel didn’t even register their shocked expressions, too busy in his thoughts to care. ‘Fuckin’ unicorns. Every Celestia damned time!’ Demo stewed on his defeat, a clear look of bitterness and frustration on his face. ‘I gotta get something to counter that telekinesis they have. A charm, a technique; some sort of weakness to exploit.’ While the stallion strategized, Demo Reel found himself at the steps leading to the newspaper publishing office of the Manehattan Solar Times.

Pausing at the entrance, Demo Reel peaks through the window to see a chatty pegasus stallion on the phone, too busy to notice that there were others waiting to enter. Taking a deep breath, Demo Reel slips on a mask of a different kind and musters up a few fake tears; his demeanor changes instantly, hunching over and holding himself as he walks into the building.

Passing around the talkative secretary, Demo Reel moves through the office building as he had many, many times before. Those that had seen the tattered stallion gasp at the sight of him, stopping whatever they were doing to see the familiar face roughed up and stained with dirt, blood and tears. Eventually, Demo Reel found the pony he was looking for, hearing her voice through the chaos that came with working in such a tightly packed space. “The fuck do you mean the museum was attacked?!” Demo turned to see an enraged green unicorn talking with a timid intern. “I was literally just there about five minutes ago! Are you telling me that I just missed-“

“Hey Lime-Wire.” Demo greeted in a dejected tone of voice.

“Not now, stud.” Lime said in half greeting only to turn all the way around to see the stallion. “OH MY GOD!” Both she and a few of the other mares close by came to look over the busted-up stallion. “What the hell happened to you?”

“You look like you got hit by a truck.”

“Who did this to you?”

“Oh gosh, who’d do that to a stallion?”

“Some bitch who’s gonna get her legs broke, that’s for sure.” Hearing the commotion, those that had seen Demo walk in and those who were curious of what was happening all gathered around the stallion, doting over the stallion like a wounded puppy. Before things went on too far, Demo solidified his persona as the office went quiet when they heard what Demo Reel did next.

He started to cry.

Starting with a sniffle and slowly moving into a mild sob, he worked the heart strings of the ponies around him like a fiddle. “I… was at the museum a-and then…” Another whimper and sob escape his lips. Demo had no idea how many times he had to sell the “weak and defenseless” stallion act whenever he came into work with bruises; but it was a good way to sell himself as a regular, run of the mill stallion in the city. “I g-got attacked by these really… big… mares and they… and they hit me on my face and beat me up.” Dignity had very little meaning to Demo Reel as he sobbed like a school colt. But in doing so, he’d get the collected embrace of the mares around him.

“Oh you poor thing.”

“You must have been so scared.”

“Don’t worry, it’ll be okay.”

Dialing it back down, Demo wiped away a few tears he had mustered up and smiled at the various mares around him. “Th-Thanks. You girls are the best.”

“Still, that was super dangerous.” Lime-Wire chided. “You could have been seriously hurt there. Ugh, I was an absolute idiot to leave you alone like that. If I couldn’t protect you, then what does that say about my own stallion’s safety?”

“It's not your fault, Lime. I had no idea that the place would be the scene of an attack. I mean… we were there for a long time and we saw all the stuff they had. Did you really think that there was anything worth stealing?”

“Well, maybe from the giftshop.” She quipped, gaining a small chuckle from Demo Reel.

“Yeah, maybe. Hey, while I’m here…” Digging into his pocket, Demo Reel brings out the true purpose for his visit back to the office. In his hand was a small batch of photos he had taken of the attack, to which Lime-Wire’s brow raises at the sight of them. “I figured since I was there and all, I’d snap a few photos. Is Printer Press around?” Lime-Wire sifted through the pictures, seeing the small crowd of ponies gathered at the museum to watch the arrests. As well as the thugs being hauled off in handcuffs, making sure to get their exposed faces as well as a few good pictures of the cops taking them to the armored autocarriage.

“Well look at you. Not even some crumby bitches knocking you around will stop ya from your work.” Lime-Wire mused, handing the photos back to the stallion. “She’s in her office last I checked.”

“Thanks.”

“Hey,” Demo perked up his ear. “You sure you’re alright, stud?”

“I-Im alright. Shaken but… alright. Mostly because the medical staff gave some pretty good pain killers when they bandaged me up.”

“If you say so.” Before Demo could go to see the big boss, he found himself in a warm embrace. “Don’t go doing anything dangerous anymore. You’re a good colt, and I don’t wanna see you hurt like this.” Demo Reel froze, hearing the older mare’s woes as she held onto him with a tight hug.

“Alright… I’ll try.” He lied again, returning her hug to comfort her. Demo Reel didn’t get any thrill out of lying to his friend, let alone those around him. Yet with how the world saw stallions and treated them as fragile, Demo knew that if they knew about half the things he was capable of, they’d throw a fit. But for the time being, Demo Reel had to keep the lie going for as long as he can.

Pulling away from Lime-Wire, Demo Reel made his way to the big boss, putting on a fake limp as he did to sell his injuries more. Making his way towards the Editor-in-Chief’s office, he’d walk after a short knock. “Mrs. Press?” Demo called out, walking into the room where he saw a desk, a massive and comfortable red swivel chair, and in it was the shortest mare Demo Reel had ever seen. With an all white coat and fluffy wings, one would be forgiven for thinking the pony in charge was but a filly but they’d be wrong. Printer Press was merely small. Parting her curly pink mane, the editor-in-chief’s yellow eyes nearly bulged out of her skull seeing Demo Reel walk in and in such poor condition.

“Celestia’s Titanic Tits! Demo Reel, wah in the name o’ the shires happened to ya, lad?!” She spoke with a thick accent originating from a region of pony colonies to the eastern countries. She got up and went to go and look at Demo with clear worry. “Agh, boyo ya look like ya got inna bar fight wif me mum.” Without warning, she leapt up and latched onto Demo Reel’s jacket collar. “Who did this to ya, laddie? Ah want names so a canna show ‘em wha happens when they mess wif my flock.”

“I-Its okay, boss. I’m fine.” Demo says, choking back fake tears.

“Augh, ya clearly ain’t! Lookit yas.” She lifts up his shirt to reveal the thick layer of bandaging. Though Demo Reel had a high threshold for pain, he’d still hiss and grunt from a small touch from her. “Ah’m shocked yur still standin’.”

“There’s n-no need to worry boss. I’m tough as nails.” Demo says, fabricating a look as if he were on the verge of bursting into tears at any moment.

“Ah don’ care if yur made of fuckin’ steel, lad. You’re still a young stud who doesn’t need tah be in dangerous situations.” She fluttered down from his body and let out a sigh. “Why do ya gotta make me worry like this? Yur a sweet l’il thing, and it pains me tah see ya in such a way.”

“Well, I was going to go right home but,” Demo reached into his pocket to show off the photos, to which Printer Press took them and looked through them. “I was at the museum that got attacked a while ago. When we were set free, I went to take a few photos of the scene. I figured since they were holding me hostage, I could at least sell a few photos.”

“What ah wouldn’t do to get a mare like yas fur the main job. If half the field reporters had yur moxie, ah could be runnin’ the best newspaper in the city.” The stallion caught a small smile forming on Printer Press’s face, but vanished as quickly as it came. “But if’n the money is a problem, ya could always take a decent secretary gig like Lime-Wire’s stallion.” Demo nearly cringed at the suggestion. “Ya’d be at least safe. Plus, ah’d get a nice look at a handsome young stud at me door, and maybe you could finally start a decent herd to keep ya from doin’ anythin’ dangerous. There certainly are a few mares in the office who’d want a sweet young thing like yurself, boyo.”

“I know… but I’m not really an indoors sort of stallion. I like being outside, exploring the city and taking photos for you guys and my personal collection. I can’t exactly do that stuck inside at an office desk all day.” Frustrated and clearly not getting anywhere with the stallion, Printer Press begrudgingly sighs and moves across the room to the far end of her office, wherein she removes a fake door on a filing cabinet to reveal a safe. Turning back to see Demo was still at the doorway, she quickly enters the combination and starts to gather an assortment of gold into a sizable brown bag.

Demo Reel was able to hear the clinking of gold coins as they were gathered, all calculated and then dropped into the bag. Once it was done with, Printer Press closes the safe and the fake door, bringing Demo Reel the payment, only to catch something off about it.

“Here, fur your troubles, love.”

“Boss, this looks…” He takes the bag, looking it over before giving it a small shake. “And feels like a lot more than usual.”

“Aye. It’s about two hundred bits.” She confirmed.

“That’s nearly twice what you normally pay me for my work.”

“I don’ wanna hear it. Fur all ya went through today, ya deserve a little extra. Besides, ya got us some information before most of’ our competition. So it’s only fair. BUT… there is a caveat.”

“Should have known.” Demo groans.

“Aye. Ah want yas to go home, restin’ up and stayin’ outta trouble fur a full week. If’n ah find out yas been getting’ yur hooves dirty out there, you can expect a right verbal thrashin’.

“Fine. I can take some time off. Work on my hobbies and what not.” Demo waves it off, more than happy to comply with her demands. “Anything else before I head home?”

“There is one thing actually.” Demo Reel prepared for some outlandish demand but instead was surprised when he heard her speak. “Since yur turnin’ eighteen in a few days…” She sits at her desk, shooting Demo a small smile. “Ah wanted to tell ya happy birthday, since ya won’ be here wif us.”

“Oh. Uh… thanks, boss.” Demo says with clear surprise in his voice.

“I ain’t yur boss, stud. Not unless ya wanna be takin’ photos fur us exclusively.”

“I’ll think about it. See ya later, Printer.” Clipping the bag of gold to his belt, Demo Reel moved to take his leave, saying his goodbyes and moving to get home. Once outside, he shifted his movements to a steady stride down the sidewalk. With his day coming to a close, he makes his way for home. ‘Maybe I should take her advice. I could use a break.’ Demo Reel thought to himself. ‘I know I can take a beating, but right now it feels like these bandages are the only thing keeping me together.’

Making his way down a few blocks, deep in thought; Demo Reel suddenly feels a familiar tingle run up his spine as he feels the world vanish for a mere moment.

“Hey, stop her!”

Demo Reel turns to see a grinning mare running down the street with a literal bag loot running down the street. She bulldozes her way down the crowd, scaring ponies left and right approaching Demo. She snags the bag of gold hanging off of Demo Reel’s hip, turning back with a smile.

“Thanks for the bonus, stud!” She says running off.

Demo Reel was left in a small state of confusion when the vision ended, forewarning him of what was about to happen.

“Hey, stop her!”

Hearing the familiar cry of the pony calling for aid, he is practically able to recount everything that is happening without turning to look at it. Keeping his back turned as if he didn’t hear or know what was happening, the stallion waited for the right moment. Recalling when the thief goes for his gold, he casually turns around, spinning on his hoof so the bag is just out of her reach and trips on Demo Reel’s leg.

“Oh shit!?” The large bag of bits falls to the ground with a loud splash of metal, the onlookers moving in close to get a look at the potential thief. She was an earth pony and a bit angry after her foiled thievery. Demo Reel was about ready to knock her out when he heard somepony else.

“Freeze! Don’t move!” Having seen the events, two police guards come by to make the arrest. Demo Reel stepped back so the officers didn’t notice his bandaged-up body. Though he did make sure to watch as the thief was hauled away before moving back down the street. ‘I really should think about moving. This city is way too exciting for my taste.’

The Platinum Conspiracy

by Gold Experience

Chpt. 1: The Letter

Chpt. 2: The Heist

Chpt. 3: The Nightmare