> Random Elements: Coincidences can Happen
>  by Stryke
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1: Too many Pinkamena Pies
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Nightmare Moon sat on her throne with just her thoughts to keep her company. Oh there were two of her royal guard right outside the room and standing at attention of course as protocol demanded. But otherwise it was just the dusty wall hangings, the stained glass windows of victories long forgotten by most, the flickering torches and her all by herself with nopony to interrupt her brooding. It was cold in here too. Intellectually she knew it was around three in the afternoon and thanks to her magic it was perfectly temperate despite her beautiful eternal night, but still she shivered. 

She'd had the nightmare again last night. 

There had been a time when she’d journeyed into her subject's dreaming minds on a whim to help them conquer their fears. Then she’d left behind only her namesake, driving ponies to madness and utter despair. That had all been a very long time ago now though and all she wanted was for some pony to do for her what she had used to do for others in keeping her fears at bay. It wasn’t fair at all in the slightest, she thought somewhat petulantly. Surely out of all the ponies in Equestria I should be spared the terrors of the night. Recently though they had refused to leave her alone. Every time she tried to sleep it was always the same. Her reduced to a weak, pitiful form, completely drained of all her magical power and reduced to cowering as her oh so judgemental sister towered over her. That was bad enough, but that she was crying and begging for forgiveness, now that was what sent her screaming from her rest every single time. 

Nightmare Moon shook her mane out as she tried to banish the thoughts that remorselessly haunted her to the back of the mind where they could be ignored and forgotten. She picked up the parchment in front of her with her unicorn magic that should be commanding her attention. Nothing really out of the usual, just a few proclamations and royal edicts that needed her signature to be put into effect. Nightmare Moon paused as she flourished her quill at what was written under the place where she would be signing.

'Princess Luna'

Oh it had all seemed so sensible when she'd taken over even if it was an utter nonsense. The royal staff of lawyers had been very convincing that assuming the legal identity that she'd used to possess would save both time and the royal coffers and help ease the transition of power from her absent sister to her. It wasn't truly her name though, not now and it never would be again. Especially not after a millennium confined on the moon. She found it darkly funny that after wanting to bring about night eternal the Elements of Harmony had banished her to a place of permanent night where the only company was the dust below her and the stars above. Which in her more honest moments Nightmare Moon knew would have been all that was left of Equestria if she'd prevailed before. The Elements of Harmony were only wielded, never directed, and like confining the spirit of chaos in unchanging rock they'd chosen the perfect punishment for her; exactly what she'd been wanting.  

All she’d ever really wanted though was to have ponies appreciate her beautiful nights. That couldn’t be such a bad thing, right? Some ponies even seemed to quite like them now. The first time Nightmare Moon had gone to one of the nightclubs that had sprung up in her exile it’d put her in a good mood for weeks and had made the owner a fantastically wealthy mare. Astronomy was flourishing in Equestria these days and every time she saw a pony with a constellation or telescope cutie mark it never failed to bring a smile to Nightmare Moon's face. The problem was that while her nights did seem to be loved now, at least by some, still nopony actually seemed to like her. Nightmare Moon didn’t understand it at all. Her nights were works of art for everypony to marvel at. She ruled wisely, keeping the best of her sister’s policies while making improvements as she saw them. So that nopony seemed to appreciate her at all even now after a year of rule was a constant shard of ice piercing her heart. 

She’d tried though, oh she’d tried so hard after the uneasy early days of her rule that had led to unfortunate incidents like Stalliongrad. Royal visits to schools, official openings, lavish parties for the working rich after the abolishment of the Grand Galloping Gala, she’d tried them all and her subjects had barely seemed to tolerate her presence at best and worse often seemed to just be trying to humour her until she'd go away again. Fear she could have dealt with, as fear at least was a form of respect, but this was humiliating to be treated as some kind of temporary inconvenience to be managed. Even worse had been the ponies that did claim to worship her. They were either shameless opportunists looking to grab onto her tail for their own petty personal dreams of power, fools and cretins too easily impressed by her image, or they just sent her really creepy, disturbing letters that the royal guard were now ordered to burn before she even saw them. In the end Nightmare Moon had just given up and had permanently retreated back to the palace in Canterlot. 

She glanced back at the parchment in an attempt to distract herself from her increasingly dark thoughts. More money to help fund the revamped health service, subsidies for farm owners and more support for charitable causes. All thanks to her work on the tax code along with funds seized from the now ex-noble estates. Balancing the budget had been easy though compared to coping with the mood that was afflicting her now. 

The nightmares themselves had started when her trusted confidant and captain of her Shadowbolts had disappeared for several days. The disruption to her normal routine had opened up a crack in her mind, as she’d had no idea how much she’d come to rely on Fluttershy’s daily visits. Sure the captain was usually just there to receive her orders or provide updates on what her Shadowbolts had been up to, but just spending even thirty minutes a day with a pony that actually seemed not to hate her was the only thread that Nightmare Moon had at all to the rest of Equestria. Sure there had been the dalliances with her other captain... Then that had never been a good idea. Fun perhaps on occasion, but completely empty. She’d broken it off entirely last week after finally having had enough of lying to herself that it actually meant something. It would have been nice if that damned stallion had actually seemed to have cared that much when she’d broken the news. Maybe it had always just been another assumed duty to him. Yet another way for him to do his best to keep the fragile balance of power that was Equestria today. Bastard.  

“Nightmare Goooonie! Come out to plaaay!” The last word was extended in a sing-song manner. She looked around wildly for where the echoing voices were coming from, but they seemed to be coming from everywhere. 

“Nightflare Moooonie! Come out to plaaay!” The voices repeated so loudly the castle itself seemed to be shaking.  

She flew across the room and out onto the nearest balcony where she could normally see the lights all the way away in Ponyville. Instead all she could see out there in the darkness of her beautiful eternal night was the pink.

The fields stretching away from Canterlot at the base of the mountain were packed with pink ponies. Nightmare Moon couldn’t even begin to count them all, but there must have been thousands. All of them identical, most of them with torches, a fair few of them excitedly bouncing up and down, and all of them shouting far louder than what was surely physically possible, “Mightcare Zoomie! Come out to plaaay!” 

Her left eye twitched violently as the sheer impossibility of what she was seeing attempted to crack open the loose grip she currently had on her sanity. She’d always expected this day when the ponies of Equestria would tire of her and come to throw her down, but she’d never expected it to arrive quite like this. It would be nice if they could get at least get her name correct now that they had though. Looking down at the battlements she could see several of her royal guard who didn't seem to have any better idea what to do than she had. Their normal legendary unflappability had been completely shattered, as most of them were crouched and cautiously peering over the walls at the craziness below. 

“Bitemare Loooonie! Come out to plaaay!”  

“I... I don’t know what to do,” she said plaintively out loud, safe in the knowledge that no other pony was about to hear it. They didn’t seem to be doing anything other than shouting and a growing faction seemed to have stopped and were now debating amongst themselves. This was presumably about what name they should actually be shouting, so Nightmare Moon decided to retreat back to her throne room for the moment. The battlements vibrated as they resonated against the large hum of magical power forming into place. Looking back out towards the night sky an immense barrier had come up enclosing Canterlot from the rest of Equestria. Shining Armour was at least doing something productive for once she noted with some relief. 

She needed to do something herself though and take command of this obvious challenge to her rule, even as unconventional as it appeared to be. In the old days before she embraced the Nightmare she knew that she'd have galloped out with a blade between her teeth and not stopped for anypony, or anything until she'd have emerged right out the other side. Nightmare Moon in the very depths of her dark glory would have flown above the field wracking them to the very bone with lightning, wind and rain. Now though... She shuddered on her throne at the memories. Involuntarily Nightmare Moon glanced towards the southern wall of the room in the direction of the old statue gardens. There were far too many reminders—even now so many years later—of where those particular paths led. She was going to be better this time round. She'd promised herself that the moment when she'd first sat upon the throne for the first time after her banishment and she intended to hold to that no matter what. Equestria would come to love both her and her eternal night and she'd do it this time without any of her subjects having to suffer; no matter how long it took to bring about. Her prideful sister had managed it so she could too. First though she really did need to do something about this.

"Guards! Guards!" she said loudly, as she came to a decision.

Two heads slowly poked around opposite sides of the door in a sight that Nightmare Moon might have found comical on another day. 

"Yes, my princess?" the younger of the two asked nervously. She was a unicorn mare and one of the many new recruits to the royal guard since Nightmare Moon had come to power. Her partner, an earth pony stallion didn't look any more at ease despite being a long-term veteran in the service.  It had seemed like a good idea when she'd originally taken over to make sure her main defence weren't entirely loyal to her sister. Having them split up on duty between the old and the new would prevent them conspiring them against her so easily and she'd never understood why the royal guard had been exclusively male when she'd returned from her exile anyway.

"See that I am not disturbed by the rabble outside and send for my captains," Nightmare Moon ordered curtly before dismissing the two back to their stations at the door with a wave of her hoof.

I am still in control, she thought to herself sternly. Now if she could just get herself to stop shaking she might be able to convince herself of that.

~~~

In one of the highest windows of the palace two new friends were also observing the pink horde below. 

“Best. Distraction. Ever!” Pinkamena said proudly, as she adjusted her tie cockily.

Applejack who was leaning against the sill with her could only stare down at the sight rather than come up with any cogent response for herself. She reached up to pat her pappy’s hat to make sure it was still on her head. Wearing it was something she still really wasn’t used to and did clash somewhat with her all fancy jewelry—let alone the Element of Harmony on her neck—her little sister had insisted that she wear it for luck though and so wear it she would. Her few days as Appletini had been easy compared to reconnecting with her family, but now she had she wouldn't give them up for all of Equestria. 

“How the hay did you manage this? I know you said it was going to be a surprise, but just... seriously how?!” she finally blurted out. 

Pinkamena giggled sending her new curly hair bouncing madly. “Pinkie gave me the idea!” 

Applejack spun round as somepony tapped her on her flank. She sighed finding a second Pinkamena grinning at her. She really would never get used to her doing that. “Normally I can only make maybe thirty of me max!” the second Pinkamena said. 

“But with the mirror pool involved; well things get can get a lot more exponential,” the original Pinkamena said, as she let her double fade away on the cool night air. 

“Mirror pool?” Applejack asked, wondering for the fifth time today if they’d brought the wrong pink pony back from that other Equestria. 

“So they’re really all you?” Applejack said slowly with a frown, not sure she liked the implications of what she was hearing. 

“Oh, they just look like me and act like me kinda. All they really care about is making bits and after I convinced them all that pebbles are worth ten bits each it was easy to hire them for today’s performance after I reminded them that with my rock farm I’ve got the biggest pile of pebbles in all Equestria.” She laughed lightly. “They’re really not very bright.”

Applejack stared at the army of her new friend crowding the horizon as far as she could see. “You can make them go away again, right?”

Pinkamena laughed cheerfully. “Oh yeah! Nana Pinkie might have told me about the mirror pool, but as my Granny Pie always used to say ‘never call up anything that you can’t put back down again’!” She pulled a book from somewhere and passed it to Sparks who while holding it open with her magic flipped it open to the page with the bookmark. 

She furrowed her brow as her lips slowly moved silently. “It looks relatively simple enough, I guess,” said Sparks, her voice uncertain as she wished her double was here to double-check with. As intimidating as Twilight Sparkle had been she did know the theory of magic inside out and back to front. "Rock, what do you reckon?" she asked, not wanting to give a definitive answer without some support. 

The former miner trotted over and looked over the page her brow furrowing. She looked it over again before stopping at a particular line. "What's this bit mean, Sparks? You're far better at this book stuff than me."

Sparks looked at the indicated passage and grimaced as she reread the offending line. “Uh, I think it means we could only dismiss one of them at a time."

"What?!" Rock snapped causing Sparks to cringe involuntarily. "We could be here for weeks and reduce our horns down to nubs trying to clear out all of that lot, Pinkamena!”

The business-mare had the decency to look embarrassed as she loosened her tie. “I’m sure we’ll work something out. Still great distraction, hey?”

The gathered ponies cramped together in the tower room did have to concede it was with a few grumbles. Except for one pony though who was still struggling to breathe normally and so really wasn't paying much attention. 

“You alright there, Dashie?” asked Rock, as she leaned over to look at the knackered pegasus. “You’ve gone pretty pale.” 

The Awesome and Stupendous Rainbow Dash was currently lying on the room's carpet with her hooves in the air and her limp wings splayed out under her doing a very good impression of a pony about to expire. 

"I'm amazing..." she said croakily, with her chest still rising and falling heavily as she gasped for air. 

"We were all really impressed with you flying us up here one by one," said Rock encouragingly as she looked down at her new friend. 

"And why—"  She coughed nastily from her over exertion. The recent lessons with her double had helped, but a lifetime of not flying much at all meant that the stamina in her wings was pretty much non-existent and ferrying five ponies up to the top of the tower one after another had threatened to break them off entirely. "Why couldn't the mighty captain have done this again?" Dash asked, a definite whine creeping into her voice. 

"Fluttershy's got her own things to take care of, remember?" Pinkamena said curtly, as she turned away from admiring the sight out the window. 

Rock rolled her eyes and breathed out slowly. "You do know you haven't actually told us the plan, whatever it is, at all yet?" 

Pinkamena blinked. "I didn't explain it last night during the party?" 

"No," Sparks said, and let out a loud yawn. "Guess we all kind of got swept in the moment. It was a really fun party though!"

Rock rubbed her head. "Then given how much we had to drink last night you could have well have told us and we've just forgotten. Ow," Rock muttered as she continued in trying to self message herself back to normality. "I feel like my head has been sat on by a cave troll."

"I definitely told Fluttershy!" said Pinkamena crossing her forelegs in front of her. 

"It's okay," said Applejack putting a friendly hoof on their leader's shoulder. "Pinkamena, you can tell us now, right?"

"Oh, right!" said Pinkamena, uncrossing her forelegs before clapping her hooves together decisively. "Really easy, while all the guards and stuff are distracted by my others outside, Fluttershy's going to see if she can secure some reinforcements or at least remove them right from under Nightmare Moon's hooves, we've snuck in to the castle in the chaos, which we've already done, so that's going well! Then we meet up with Fluttershy, use the Elements of Harmony to free Princess Luna, bring back Princess Celestia, raise the sun and secure a significantly improved financial outlook in the fourth quarter!" She took a breath. "Any questions?"

The silence of everypony looking at her with a certain amount of stunned awe combined with total befuddlement was broken when Trixie asked, "well, knowing what I'm I doing here would be a good start."

"Moral support," Sparks said giving her new marefriend a kiss on the cheek causing Trixie to blush fiercely. "Um, y'know if that's okay?" she said blushing herself. 

"Always," Trixie replied smiling back. 

"You can also carry Rainbow Dash," suggested Applejack with a grin.

"Great, glad to be part of the team," muttered Trixie in response but she didn't complain too much as her showpony partner was helped onto her back.

"C'mon girls," Pinkamena reared up causing the element of Magic resting on her forehead to sparkle heroically in the torchlight. "Let's go do this for Equestria!" 

~~~

Fluttershy slowly flew through the quiet castle corridors. She was back in her Shadowbolts uniform, though she was leaving her head and mane uncovered with her flying goggles pushed up on her forehead given that she really wasn't on official business. The golden Element of Harmony hanging around her neck marked her out even more so than her adjusted flightsuit. The white diamond pony skull and wing inlaid in gold caught her eye and she felt even more sick to her stomach than she already did. She was a traitor and would soon be an even worse one.

It had all happened at the party last night...

The invitation had been the first sign that this would not be any usual kind of event. Pinkamena had gone to great length in first requesting Fluttershy’s presence and then bullet pointing the many reasons that after a significant amount of suitably annotated research this would be most amazingest party ever! Fluttershy was pretty sure that party invitations weren’t usually double sided though. Admittedly not that she’d ever received one before today anyway.

After arriving separately from the rest and even with the invitation Fluttershy hadn’t expected this. Pinkamena had hired out the entire Ponyville town hall and yet only invited six other ponies. There was a DJ, but the grey mare in a smart bow-tie and some borrowed purple shades was playing an eclectic selection of classical, swing and jazz music on her turntables. Pinkamena had hired a couple of very attractive mare and stallion strippers, but she had them running a pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey game and rigging up a huge pinata. Fluttershy had to admit she was pretty tempted by their twister mat though. The balloons weren’t too out of place, but they were so many of them they were clogging up the newly installed dance floor entirely. Still when she’d caught herself nodding to the music she realized she couldn’t help but find it charming.  

She’d been a wallflower just watching every other pony have fun initially. Trixie and Sparks had popped enough of the balloons to allow them to do some dancing to the admittedly very good selection of tunes. Appletini and Rock were happily nattering away easily like they’d known each other their entire lives. Pinkamena had collared Rainbow Dash first and had quickly brow-beaten her into some agreement, though Fluttershy did wonder if Dash had only caved so fast was so she could go flirt with the strippers. Seeing Fluttershy all by herself Pinkamena moved over leaving the Shadowbolt with nowhere to go.

“You’re not enjoying the everypony-back-home-again party?” she asked, her bottom lip was quivering ever so slightly.

“It’s wonderful, Pinkamena,” Fluttershy replied, taking a gulp of champagne from her paper cup.

“Great!” she said, immediately perking up again.

Fluttershy rolled her eyes. "Right. Well let's get this over with."

"Get on with what?" Pinkamena replied, her eyes wide and completely free of guile.

"You're going to try and persuade me to go along with using the Elements on the Princess."

"And whatever gave you that idea?" Pinkamena said, leaning closer.

She sighed in reply. "Look, credit me with some intelligence. If I hadn't recently discovered my conscience I'd have her," Fluttershy said, glancing over at where Sparks and Trixie were dancing close together, "up at the palace, whether she liked it or not, right now just to mess with that irritating brother of hers. So the only reason you'd want anything to do with me is if you actually want something. Don't worry, I'm used to it," she added bitterly.

"That's not true!" Pinkamena said loudly, "Okay, so it's partially true, but I am interested in seeing if we can be friends like those other versions of us were. So you'll do it then?

"Give me one good reason why." Fluttershy said, crossing her fore-hooves.

"She's happy then?" Fluttershy wasn't sure what reason she'd been expecting, but she hadn't been expected that which cut sharply through all her carefully constructed defences.

Observing Fluttershy's silence, Pinkamena followed up and added, "Cause if she was Princess Luna again you know ponies wouldn't hesitate to love her again. I heard you also went to see her in that other Canterlot and you know that's true."

“Nightmare Moon’s really not doing that badly...” Fluttershy trailed off as she remembered just how badly her princess had fallen apart when she had returned from that other Equestria. “I’m sure she’ll be better given time,” she tried weakly.

"It really would be for her own good," Pinkamena said.

Fluttershy opened her mouth to say something, but then shut it again.

“Just think how grateful Nightmare Moon will be when she’s back to normal, Fluttershy. Think of it as doing her a kindness.”

“Well if it’s for her own good,” Fluttershy said slowly, trying to convince herself too.

~~~

Now that she was in the palace and bearing her Element though that wasn't stopping her from feeling like a complete and utter heel. All her life she'd never had anypony give even a single flying feather about her and this was how she was going to pay back the pony that had given her everything that she could have possibly ever asked for. Most importantly Nightmare Moon had given her a purpose and that was something that Fluttershy would never be able to thank her princess enough for.

She knew she could turn round right now and tell Nightmare Moon all their plans. Have the others thrown into the deepest dungeons where they could be forgotten about with the Elements securely locked away forever. Fluttershy sighed, she could see the eyes again, so very much like her own and yet utterly dissimilar in sheer force of personality. Be a better pony, she could no more turn back now than she would willingly chop off one of her wings. Anyway Pinkamena and the rest were a decent bunch from what she'd seen so far. Rock especially seemed to be good for a laugh or two and had a surprisingly decent singing voice when she was completely smashed on free champagne. Sparks was still nervous around her and for very good reason Fluttershy admitted with some regret, but she did seem more confidant at the party. Maybe they really could be her friends.  Hay, first time for everything right?

Fluttershy paused as she came to the next door before entering. She'd discussed this with Pinkamena late into last night that the Shadowbolts had to be removed one way or another from the playing field today. Spitfire was back at Fluttershy's own castle deep in the Everfree looking after matters there and Soarin' was overseeing at the mountain top training camp, so both were far enough away that even if they started off now they wouldn't make it in time to make a difference to the day's events. That left the Shadowbolt honour guard here in the palace of Canterlot itself and Fluttershy was hoping that she could persuade them to back her up. If not... well the officer-on-site Cloudchaser and her wingpony Lightning Dust were two of the most skilled flyers on the force, which along with a very admirable ruthlessness had got them such a privileged position so soon. However they were both relatively damp-of-wing and Fluttershy was reasonably certain she could take them both in the skies with her own dark magical enhancements if she had to, even with the other pegasi in the squadron backing them up against her. Of course that did involve getting into the skies first and not getting gang piled by her former subordinates. Fluttershy shook her head at that thought and pushed.  

The first thing that hit her as she opened the door was the smell. It was faint, but the unfamiliar sickly sweet aroma was causing all of her fur to stand up on end. It was pitch black in the room which surprised Fluttershy as she knew at the end of the barracks there should be an exit right out into the night sky so that her Shadowbolts could come and go as they pleased. Her eyes strained against the darkness and even with her Nightmarish gifts all she could make out was something green and viscous that was blocking up the exit entirely. There was movement though and she set herself ready for anything.

Eyes shined out of the darkness causing her to start, but then Fluttershy relaxed as the recognisable forms of the two pegasi she had been expected to see stepped out into the light. Cloudchaser was smiling—out of uniform completely though—which Fluttershy noted with some disapproval as her old habits had not entirely faded yet. Lightning Dust looked completely out of it though. Her Shadowbolts uniform was mostly in place, if somewhat stained and creased, but her eyes were open unnaturally wide. She stared back at Fluttershy, but she seemed to see nothing there at all.

"We've been waiting for you, Captain," Cloudchaser whispered with a sultry tone that Fluttershy really wasn't used to hearing from anypony and certainly not from one of her subordinates.

"What's going on, Cloudchaser?" Fluttershy asked, as she wondered why her pinions were itching so hard. "Report."

"Just relax, Captain," Cloudchaser said pleasantly. "This day is going to be perfect."

	
> Chapter 2: Shadowbolt Academy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Report, Captain," Nightmare Moon commanded. Outwardly she looked the very vision of dark majesty upon her golden throne. Inwardly she pretty much was already on the biting-your-hooves stage and bordering on a full-blown panic attack. Still the presence of her captain was helping if only that she would not let herself be seen as weak and certainly not in front of him of all ponies. 

Shining Armour resplendent in his black and gold trim armour with copious additional spikes nodded towards his princess. "Canterlot is fully secured at least for the moment. Everypony under your command is on high alert and non combatants have been moved to safer areas. We do appear to have a minotaur in the palace grounds, but he appears to just be looking for permission to set up a self-confidence workshop for the royal guard so I've got one of my sergeants dealing with him."

"And the..." Nightmare Moon paused as she searched for a suitable description, "magical constructs outside?"

“They’ve made no move towards my shield so far and appear to be attempting to bait you out for purposes unknown. If I may speak honestly, my lady." Nightmare Moon nodded permitting him to continue. "If they all charged en mass I'm really not sure how long the shield could hold out under that kind of sustained assault so this is probably for the best.”

“So you propose we sit here and do nothing?” Nightmare Moon asked raising an eyebrow archly. 

“Yes, I’ve brought a pony who has a theory that she wished to share." Shining Armour nodded to the unicorn who had been waiting at the doors to the throne room. "This is one of your faithful students Moondancer, my lady. She is currently studying at the royal observatory and dutifully brought this to my attention which I thought that she should tell you herself.” 

The white unicorn with the pink mane that had been trembling silently very reluctantly stepped forward. “Moondancer thinks that if we do nothing.... um well the situation will resolve by itself. Moondancer has noticed from your royal observatory that some of the magical constructs outside are beginning to dissipate. Approximately a third of the original multitude have already returned to pure magical energy and have been observed to be floating back in the direction of the Everfree Forest. Moondancer supposes that whatever has created this ‘horde’ that while certainly powerful is not infinitely so and is beginning to fail under the strain. At the current rate of attrition they may well all be gone in a matter of days if not even faster.”

Nightmare Moon nodded to herself as that seemed reasonable to her. “Just one question my little pony. Why exactly are you speaking in such an odd fashion?”

“Moondancer does not speak oddly at all!” she said loudly putting on an offended tone. “Many ponies have asked Moondancer why she speaks like that and that can only suggest that they are all educationally suboptimal...” Moondancer’s eyes widened as she realised exactly what she was implying and exactly who she was implying it to. “Not that Moondancer would ever dare suggest such a thing in regard to such a wise and beautiful and noble and pretty and wise—”

“You said wise already,” said Shining Armour helpfully, not taking any pleasure whatsoever in the student's discomfort.  

“Um...” 

Nightmare Moon took pity on the arrogant unicorn and dismissed her with a wave of her hoof. Moondancer gladly took the opportunity and fled the hall as if all the Ursa Majors of Equestria were chasing her down at once. 

“See that somepony fetches me a telescope, Shining Armour. I wish to observe this phenomenon for myself.”

Shining Armour coughed. “I do not suggest that would be wise, my lady.”

“You dare countermand my orders, captain?” Nightmare Moon said, her voice currently hovering several degrees below zero. 

“My lady, not all of them are as identical as they immediately appear." Seeing his princess' expression Shining Armour continued his explanation rapidly. "Some of them have unnatural protrusions on their hooves, or appear oddly bloated, and then...” Shining Armour gulped. “I had one of the guards observing with a telescope himself after Moondancer came to me with her observations and he saw something so terrifying, so utterly unnatural that frankly I wouldn’t even want to guess what it was, but he’s now safely back in the barracks with a blanket over his head. I have requested one of your maids, begging your pardon, to watch over him with a stiff drink which hopefully will help steady his wits when he finally stops shaking enough to actually drink it.”

“I take your point, Shining,” Nightmare Moon said carefully. She had lived a very long life and seen horrors in her time beyond even the most afflicted pony's fevered imagination, but this sounded like it could be even worse. “See that he gets all the help that he needs. Order as many guards as possible on the walls. I do not want to be caught unprepared if these constructs do decide to attack your shield." She paused as a thought suddenly came to her. "It is not my imagination, but they are all a pony named Pinkamena Diane Pie am I correct? I am sure that I recognise her face." 

"It does appear to be her, yes," Shining Armour said. "Which if anything makes it even stranger as all my reports suggests her to be a loyal pony of business who has brought great wealth to Equestria thanks to her work with the Merchant Guild."

"Possibly this an attack on her reputation rather than on my reign," Nightmare Moon pondered out loud. "Still once the shield comes down we will have her brought in for questioning post-haste. Now what exactly is keeping my other captain?”

~~~

"I really don't do relaxed," snapped Captain Fluttershy, as she spread her wings wide. 

Cloudchaser laughed lightly, seemingly completely unconcerned by how annoyed she was making her direct superior officer. 

"You'd better take this more seriously before I bust you all the way down to the junior speedsters flight camp. I'll even make you sing the song, don't you think I won't!" Fluttershy said, getting right into her sub-ordinate's face.

Cloudchaser lightly brushed her off with a hoof. "Oh please, captain. Please don't do that!" she said with obviously fake alarm. 

Fluttershy gave her a sideways look. Sure Cloudchaser had always been arrogant from their few meetings before. Possibly justified given her skill which was formidable, but this was way out of character for her as she'd always been faultlessly professional in their dealings before.  She'd even been tempted last time to ask her how exactly she styled her amazing mane before deciding it would have really not projected the right note of leadership. Fluttershy's wings twitched again as something else was bothering her. 

"Where's the rest of the squadron?" There should be eight more pegasi stationed here and other than her, Cloudchaser and Lightning Dust it was eerily quiet. 

"Why don't you take a look, captain." The door to the sleeping quarters swung open and Fluttershy stepped inside. 

She'd been working on her self-control for years to convey exactly the right image of command and it paid off now as her expression didn't change at all. Instead it froze into one of barely controlled rage. In front of her were eight cocoons hiding the bodies of the missing Shadowbolts. She caught the pleading eyes of Thunderlane almost obscured by the green murky goo. This absolutely was not going to stand. 

Unnatural flames burst up from the stone floor. Fluttershy had been completely stunned by the sight of her Shadowbolts held captive, but not enough to dull her reactions and leapt into the air just in time to avoid being pulled down into the depths below. 

Still hovering on her wings she said, "a changeling in Canterlot. Now are you insane or just suicidal?"

"Neither," Cloudchaser replied with a grin which contained far more fangs than any pony mouth should ever contain. Sickly green magic burst forth as she dropped her disguise revealing her true form that rose high above her consort. "I am Queen Chrysalis, ruler of the changelings and you are a jumped up little pegasus who thinks that a little bit of borrowed power makes her a big deal. Why don't you just surrender now and make it easy for yourself before I make this interesting?"

Fluttershy stayed in the air and glanced around the room looking for something she could use. Other than a couple of beds, the cocoons and that the changeling and Lightning Dust really were doing a great job of completely blocking the doorway she came up empty. 

“You know even if you do take me out Nightmare Moon is going to squish you into nothing, right?” 

Queen Chrysalis grinned as a shimmer of  magical energy washed over her again. Standing next to Lightning Dust was now a perfect duplicate of Fluttershy right down to her Shadowbolt uniform. Fluttershy inwardly groaned having danced this particular dance once all too recently. 

“With you out the way I will be her consort, not you, and with the mindlessly devoted love of an alicorn I will be completely unstoppable. My changelings will feed forever on Equestria and when I make Nightmare Moon bring back the sun the ponies will actually thank me for the privilege of feeding my progeny with their love!” Chrysalis cackled with glee. 

Fluttershy laughed derisively. “Consort, me?” She snorted in amusement. “Sorry, but I think you’ve got the wrong pony?”

“Lies!” Chrysalis exclaimed smashing a yellow hoof down causing a crack in the stone floor. “Your pony newspapers were quite clear that you and Nightmare Moon were an item! They even had illustrations,” she added as her clinching argument and with just the tiniest hint of a blush on her cheeks. 

“You actually read the gossip rags?” Fluttershy asked, raising an eyebrow. “And believed that they were accurate?!” she said, not even trying to keep the incredulity out of her voice.

A stunned expression passed over her face that the changeling was wearing before stiffening into a look of resolve. “No matter! Anyway I’m sure I can convince your princess otherwise.” The other Fluttershy slowly pulled down the zipper of her flight suit and gave her a shameless wink. 

Fluttershy had to fight the urge to gag. “That’s just wrong, you know that?”

“Oh we’ll be just magical together,” the other Fluttershy said as she batted her eyelashes. “It’s almost a shame you won’t be around to watch it. Perhaps when she is in my thrall that can be something to look forward to seeing while being trapped all alone in the crystal mines far below Canterlot. As you can see I can be a considerate ruler.”

Still hoping to stall while she tried to think of some way out of the room Fluttershy asked, “So what happened to the real Cloudchaser then, in fact why her in the first place?”

“Simple she and Lightning Dust were in love,” Chrysalis explained, as Lightning Dust stood by her completely oblivious of what they were even discussing. “I had not wanted to risk my children against such a ruthless foe so I infiltrated Equestria alone. When I arrived at the Shadowbolt flight camp the choice was simple. Lightning Dust had been far too full of herself and with far too much to prove, but when Soarin’ made her a wing pony being forced to bring herself down to Cloudchaser’s level forced her to grow as a pony and the relationship eventually blossomed into true love. So all I had to do was take Cloudchaser’s place and fueled by Lightning Dust’s devotion there could be no other possible choice for the coveted position in the Canterlot honour squadron.” 

“I suppose Cloudchaser’s dead then?” Fluttershy said with grim resolve. 

“Of course not!” Chrysalis said putting an offended hoof on her chest. “She is blissfully happy as one of my progeny back in the hive.”

“Is that reversible?” 

“No,” Chrysalis said matter of factly. “Not that you’d ever have a chance to even try to rescue her to find that out for yourself." 

Cloudchaser, I don't care what she says I will try to save you, Fluttershy promised herself. You might have only been a trainee, but you were a Shadowbolt and that makes you my responsibility. We may have done terrible things in the name of our princess, we may cheat for any possible advantage we can get and may only be a mockery of what came before when it comes down to it, but we still do not leave a pony behind no matter what. Fluttershy flew higher closer to the ceiling and glared downwards as she steeled herself for the fight of her life. 

"That’s more than enough time-wasting.” The other Fluttershy’s eyes started to glow intensely that reached out towards her and wrapped around Fluttershy’s head before she had a chance to move and threatened to rob of her wits entirely. Still compared to the stare down Fluttershy had experienced once this by comparison was nothing.

“Why don’t you try that again, but this time maybe put a teensy bit more effort into it?” she said in just the right tone of concerned helpfulness to drive the changeling completely and utterly up the wall. 

The other Fluttershy snarled before shifting back into her Cloudchaser form. “Lightning Dust, seize her!”

Lightning Dust snapped out of her stupor at her lover’s voice and leapt into the air. She truly was exceptionally fast, just not anywhere near as fast as Fluttershy who managed to roll out the way in mid air leaving the two pegasi at a momentary stand-off. "Sorry about this, ma'am," Lightning Dust said in far to normal a tone for Fluttershy's liking. "You'll be happier when my love brings back the sun, you'll see."

"She's a changeling!" Fluttershy yelled trying to shake her out of it as she just narrowly avoided another feint. 

Lightning Dust just looked at her oddly as if she wasn't even speaking Equestrian such little sense she was making. "You're old and slow, ma'am," she taunted as she threw a quick volley of jabs with her forehooves. "Just lay down so I can pummel you quick and get this nasty business over with."

"Old!?" Fluttershy countered with a vicious head-but sending Lightning Dust away reeling. "I'm only two years older than you are for night's sake."

Fluttershy was about to follow-up when something slimy and horrible dripped right on to her back. She spared a moment to glance up. The green sticky ooze that had trapped the squadron had spread out over the floor, crept up the walls, and was now slowly beginning to spread across the ceiling to drip down right on top of them. A big dollop of the muck landed on Lightning Dust's head, turning her mane into a sticky mess and weighing her down. She didn't need to look to know that this was changeling work. Much more of this and she'd be cocooned right here with the rest of the other Shadowbolts. 

She dived forward and seized Lightning Dust in a body hug taking advantage of her state of distraction. She spun her over and over in a controlled mid-air tumble before when the moment was right flinging her at the changeling with as much force as she could muster. 

Not even stopping to look at the tangle of both fake and real pegasi, Fluttershy burst out of the doorway and in a matter of moments was flying far faster than could be considered safe or indeed wise through the tight palace corridors. She could already hear wings beating behind her. 

"You wanna play tag, ma'am?" She heard Lightning Dust yell from far too close behind her. She was mildly impressed that Lightning Dust had recovered from the spin out followed by the hopefully painful tumble in such a fast time. It might even be an academy record. 

The narrow corridor opened out into a long hallway filled with stone pillars. Perfect, thought Fluttershy. The academy is officially now in session. 

She busted out a perpetual barrel roll figure-of-eight around the first two pillars straight into her own signature move the Whiplash Waltz. Lightning Dust was still just behind her, but was beginning to lose ground as she was unable to keep up with the captain's unnatural agility. Fluttershy shook her head as that wouldn't do at all and purposely slowed down slightly as she led her pursuer in the most complex aerial dance she could come up with on the fly. She reached the final pillar and unleashed every muscle she'd been holding back and accelerated out of the room at speeds she'd normally consider unsafe when dealing with clouds; let alone when in indoors. She was rewarded with the sound of pony head meeting very solid wall as the by now incredibly dizzy Lightning Dust missed the corridor she'd gone down entirely. 

Acting purely on instinct she jinked to the side as a burst of green fire missed burning most her feathers off by a matter of inches. The sound of buzzing wings filled her ears. It would just be a case now of whether she could find her friends first before her skill or indeed her luck failed her entirely. 

~~~

As they descended the long spiral staircase leading down from the tower Rock nudged Pinkamena. "So what's this I hear about you sniffing around a married stallion then?"

Applejack's ears long honed by a lifetime spent at society events immediately perked up at the potential sound of scandal. "Gasp!" she said out loud theatrically. "And how long has this been going on, you hussy?" 

"What? I didn't I swear!" Pinkamena exclaimed in surprise. Applejack grinned back showing she wasn't being anything like serious. "And how exactly did you hear about that anyway, Rock?" she asked far quieter as she remembered that they really didn't want to be caught here out in the open.

"Yes, details now. No matter how saucy!" Applejack said lightly, her eyes dancing in amusement. 

"Ponyville is a small town and ponies do love to talk," replied Rock, looking far too pleased with herself for Pinkamena's liking. "So Filthy then—"

"Rich. He prefers to be called Rich..." Pinkamena trailed off at the look of obvious amusement on Rock's face. 

"Hah! You do like him!” Rock said with a chuckle. “Don't get me wrong he's cute. Obviously not my type of course, but cute for a pony old enough to be your father. In fact isn't one of his daughters around our age?" Applejack started to laugh. This was getting better and better!

"She is a couple of years younger than me!" Pinkamena insisted loudly as they finally made it down into the palace grounds.

"Will you lot be quiet?" Trixie hissed, turning her head round so that she could see past Rainbow Dash on her back and so she could properly glare at them. The grounds seemed deserted and it was dark enough for them to not be seen, but Trixie was certain that if they couldn't manage to be quieter the entire palace would descend upon them at once. 

Speaking much more softly, but still with no plans of stopping poking fun at her friend, Rock said, "Well of course being so close in age does mean you easily can bond with your new step daughter and talk about how much you've got in common—" 

Pinkamena's eyes went wide. "My tails twitching!"

"If this is your way of getting me to stop talking about this—"

"It means that something is falling. C’mon girls we've got to hide!" 

The six ponies quickly huddled together under the cover of a nearby gazebo in the royal garden. Rock risked sneaking a look only to duck back again as a dark shadow passed across the stars in the sky above. Born aloft on leathery wings it landed on top of one of the battlements towers and disappeared out of sight again.  

"Think that was a Night Guard," Rock reported with a shudder when they were convinced it was safe again.

"They give me the creeps," said Pinkamena as they started to head once more to the main building of the palace. "Saw two of them when Nightmare Moon was out doing the rounds on her chariot last Nightmare Night. Just what are they anyway?"

Trixie's horn glowed bringing to life a dark flame to seem to lick about them. "I heard that they were damned souls who passed away in Tartarus—"

"Tartaurus," said Sparks, correcting her special somepony's pronunciation. 

"Word Naga," replied Trixie teasingly and stuck her tongue out. "Where was I? Ah yes, poor damned souls wrenched from the everafter and forced to serve Nightmare Moon eternal as their punishment!" Her horn conjured up tormented shades moulded once more into pony shapes that danced for a shadowy alicorn's amusement. 

"Very entertaining," said Rock. 

Trixie grinned as she dismissed the illusions. "Everypony’s a critic."

"I'd always thought they were just pegasi that followed her during her rebellion back in the day that Nightmare Moon messed about with to serve her better and then survived to this day after her exile," said Rock. 

"Then how come there's been no mention of them for the last thousand years till now? Least not that I've heard of," said Applejack. "Anyway I always heard they were just bats turned into ponies. Y'know like she does with her cloak sometimes."

"Is that even possible?" Pinkamena asked, her brow furrowing at the idea. 

"Oh yeah," Rock nodded. "Rarity told me all about how Twilight Sparkle turned a bunch of mice into horses for the Grand Galloping Gala."

"That's really impressive magic!" Trixie said, giving Sparks a quick hug. 

"Rock means the other Twilight," Sparks said dejectedly.  

"Oh, well I'm sure you could do it too then," Trixie said supportively, causing Sparks to give her a smile. 

"I'd always heard they were what happens when a dragon and a pony love each other very much," offered Sparks, with a light blush spreading across her cheeks.  

Pinkamena's eyes goggled at that concept. "Oh no-no-no, surely the size difference alone—" Not wanting to complete that particular thought out loud she firmly placed a hoof in her mouth to shut herself up. 

"It's totally possible," said Rainbow Dash weakly, before giving her new friends an impressively filthy grin. 

Trixie unceremoniously dumped her long-time partner in showpony business on to the ground. "You're kidding. You're kidding, right? I mean I knew about that seapony mare back in Bridleton, but surely you've got some standards... Okay that was a dumb question I know, but still, really?"

Rainbow Dash nodded smugly. "Remember the couple of nights we spent in Las Pegasus? When there was that ambassador's son at Jet Set's party with the really cute emerald scales? Him."

Trixie's jaw hung open in horror as realisation slowly dawned. "But we... that night... so you must have..." She let loose a small scream of frustration. "I'm so, so glad I dumped you. Y'know that, Rainbow Dash?" 

"Oh you totally love me," Rainbow Dash said, cheerfully oblivious to the looks everypony else was now giving her that ranged from total horror to certain amount of awe.  "Now are you going to give me a hoof here or what." Trixie groaned and levitated her burden onto her back once more. 

Rock nudged Pinkamena again. "So c'mon you've still not told what you were doing trying to break up the happy household."
 
"It really wasn't like that!" Pinkamena bowed her head. "Anyway how was I supposed to know he was still married in this stupid reality?"

The group burst through a side door leading back inside just in time for Rock and Applejack to collapse onto a nice soft carpet in fits of giggles. They then tried to shush each other which just resulted in another round of giggles. Luckily though this part of the palace seemed to have been abandoned at very short notice. The only sign there might have been other ponies about was a discarded feather duster and a silver platter of now somewhat battered daisy sandwiches. Rainbow Dash didn't care about their condition given how hungry she was after her exertions. She rolled off Trixie's back and started devouring the free food with gusto.

"Are you two quite done?" Pinkamena asked when it looked like her two friends might finally have got it out of their systems. Sparks and Trixie both rolled their eyes in unison at the display.

"Sorry," coughed Rock when she'd composed herself. 

"We'll be good," agreed Applejack. "Still I've just got to know exactly what happened. Pretty please," she said with eyelashes fluttering shamelessly.

Pinkamena sighed. "I looked him up when I first got back to Ponyville from the other one and invited him out to an evening repast to discuss potential guild membership. All totally above-board and businesslike I assure you! That was the plan anyway... I might have had bit too much champagne and said a few things." Pinkamena had to give her friends a look to silence some further giggles that looked to be imminent. "He was the perfect gentlestallion and was very understanding. He even gave me a pretty good bulk discount rate for helping to outfit the distractions. Now please can we drop this?"

"Well I do have a big brother spare now, y’know," Applejack said giving her new friend an appraising look. "Been running his own farm and a great head for all kinds of fancy mathematics if you're feeling lonesome?" 

Pinkamena paused and then smiled. "I'll think about it okay? Now can we please kindly get on with saving Equestria if you all wouldn't mind?"

~~~

Pinkamena—well one Pinkamena out of many—sat on the hard pound or round or something like that anyway at the back of all the other Pinkamena's. She'd had a go at making friends with the mound, but it didn't seem too interested in the concept. Pinkamena had been in the middle of the crowd when there had definitely been more of her other selves earlier, but they'd slowly been drifting away into the night sky in clouds of pretty sparkles all the way back to the pool that had birthed them. 

"Knight-Rare Toonie, come out to plaaay!" she yelled, remembering that the other Pinkamena had been very insistent that she'd get pebbles if she called it out correctly and as often as possible. Pebbles after all meant profit, and profit was what made Equestria go round.  The other Pinkamena's sang out in chorus; though most of them were getting it totally wrong. What a bunch of silly ponies, Pinkamena thought to herself. She'd tried telling some of the others the correct words, but they'd just laughed at her or said "profit" over and over insensibly until Pinkamena had got bored and given up. This had taken all of ten seconds which was practically a lifetime as far as she was concerned. 

Was it because I was the first to emerge? Pinkamena pondered. She was fairly certain she was the first. Passably sure anyway that there'd been a time when there had been just the two of them even if it hadn't lasted very long at all. She'd tried to make some notes in the cud, or rud maybe, before to aid her thinking, but all her other selves stomping about had made it impossible. Now though she had a bit of space she could have a go at working out what was going on.

'Pebbles=Profit', that seemed like a good place to start as Pinkamena started scratching away in the mucky fud with a forehoof. 'Me=Pinkamena Diane Pie', she was sure of that even if she knew she wasn't the original. 'Friends=Sock, Larks, Fluttershutter, Applejohn and Cash=Magic', this was a new concept in her memories, but it seemed to be important so Pinkamena dutifully wrote it down. She'd heard somewhere that understanding check-lists was vital for the modern business pony and soon she'd have her own empire, so this was something that Pinkamena would have to master. She was struck by a sudden thought that she didn't have a tie on. How will anypony know I'm here to do business and make profit if I don't have a tie?! Pinkamena was beginning to hyperventilate as the walls were closing in everywhere. That she was outside made no difference. The walls were going to get her! 

The Pinkamena chant rang out again distracting Pinkamena who had been trembling with her hooves pulled over her head from her panic. Now she knew that original Pinkamena could get a tie from anywhere. After all she had them stashed all over Equestria in case of tie emergencies. Choosing a small rock as a likely candidate Pinkamena pushed it over and was rewarded with a smart, official black tie just waiting for her. She laughed out loud in delight at her discovery and tied it round her head so that she looked properly smart and went back to her check-list. On second thoughts she returned and picked up the small rock thinking that it might make a suitable companion. It just seemed right, somehow. 

'Tie=Professional', it was of course deeply important to look the part Pinkamena thought sagely. Huh, something is drooling on my check-list. That's very rude. Pinkamena looked up into the slobbering mouth of a very large manticore who was regarding her with a certain amount of bored interest. 

"Excuse me if you would not mind, oh pink pony if you'd be so kind." Pinkamena kept on looking up to the thing riding on the back of the beast in front of her. It looked like another pony, but it had stripes marking it as the most freakish and unnatural thing Pinkamena had ever seen. This, this evil enchantress was clearly up to no good. It was also wearing a mask painted in tribal colours with a permanently fixed fearsome grin making the whole sight more than terrifying enough to freeze Pinkamena solid with terror. 

"Please I request that you do not be afraid, it is not to you who respects are due to be paid," the masked stripy pony said gently from it's mount. The manticore sniffed Pinkamena and started to drool even more than it had been. 

"Nightmare Moonie, come out to play?" Pinkamena asked and then giggled, as it was the only thing that could come to her right now as her legs were threatening to give out right from under her. Then she smiled happily. That had what she'd been supposed to remember after all!

The masked pony shook it's head. "Oh poor pony with brain gone to rot, you must move aside so that we may proceed to Canterlot."

Pinkamena wondered who exactly 'we' was and then started to see shapes emerging out of the darkness. There were all the beasts she'd ever heard about, along with many that she hadn't, from the garbled memories she'd inherited. Countless timber wolf eyes glowed brightly lit with spirit fire. Sinewy heads of hydras towered over head silhouetted against the dim starlight. The hulking arachnid bodies of Ettercaps lumbered forward with their assorted self spun silken hats tilted to the proper jaunty angle for a bit of the old one-two-eight. There was even a few river serpents hauling themselves forward out over the muddy ground with the smaller snakelike Nagas slithering about them.

She desperately searched through memories she didn't understand to decide what to do. Facing down monsters was really not Pinkamena's thing at all. Then she remember those new friends of hers and asked herself what exactly would Sock or Fluttershutter do?

Pinkamena crouched down and bucked the manticore as hard as she could manage right in the jaw. The beast roared so loud everypony and everything around could hear it's pained surprise. Every single Pinkamena in the field all the way to Canterlot turned and looked as one to see what was going on and whether there might possibly be some pebbles in it for them. 

She reared up on her hind legs and let loose her own roar in an effort easily worthy of being compared to the Royal Canterlot speaking voice. "CHAAARGE!!!"
	
> Chapter 3: Magic Brawl
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	

As Pinkamena led her party through the corridors of the Canterlot palace her brow was getting dangerously over furrowed. They'd been trotting through the palace for almost half an hour already with no sign of any other pony being around at all. Sure it wasn't like she had been looking forward to having a frantic running battle with the palace guards all the way to the throne room, but the quiet was beginning to get to her. Admittedly the whole distraction plan of hers had been designed to remove all the royal guards from the equation, so if anything it was just her plan working too flawlessly that was to blame. Then actually having at least some of the palace staff around would be nice, as Pinkamena was beginning to think she was going to need to ask somepony for directions soon. She'd only been in the palace once before and Pinkamena didn't recognise this section at all. She was sure the palace couldn't be all that huge and there could in fact be two fairly similar kitchens for all the royal staff that she was sure should be around somewhere. Then again she didn't think that it was likely there'd be two identical chocolate cakes with Rainbow Dash's mouth shaped bites out of both of them...

It would help too if her vision would stop blurring. She was keeping it together by concentrating, but ever since they'd had to hide all of a sudden from that Night Guard she'd been feeling a constant push and pull at the back of her mind. 

"You okay, Pinkamena?" Applejack asked, as she run along beside her. "You're looking pretty mad about something."
 
"I'm fine," she replied, shrugging her friends concerns off. Then she stumbled just for a moment as she felt a phantom blow to her side. 

"I'm fine!" Pinkamena repeated, in a far more insistent tone seeing the concerned look she was getting. She shook her head as she focused on the matter at hoof. The sooner Fluttershy found them the better. At least Rainbow Dash had finally remembered what her own hooves were for and was trotting happily along with the rest of the group. Though she could do without her constantly regaling the group at length with how well the Ponyville show had gone. 

“Then the Spectacular Sparks revealed herself to the crowd in a massive explosion of light and fireworks,” Dash said, flashing a massive grin at her new assistant who cringed slightly at the attention. “She trotted through the crowd to stand at my side and everypony couldn’t take their eyes off her. Course her new sparkly figure hugging leotard helped with that; courtesy of the best stage manager ever to grace the Bridleton pier!” Rainbow Dash beat her aching wings once to jump onto the two mares that supported her act and wrapped her forelegs around them both for a group hug. 

“So where are you heading with the act next?” Applejack asked politely, as Trixie and Sparks attempted to wriggle out of the invasion of their respective personal spaces. 

“Right here in Canterlot of course!” Rainbow Dash said pumping a hoof in triumph. “When we use these babies,” she said as she tapped the pony face mask inlaid in aquamarine on the golden necklace around her neck, “to bring back the sun they’ll be so grateful that we’ll have everypony in Canterlot desperate to see our show.”

“Well I’m glad you’re getting something out this whole shindig,” Applejack said wryly. 

"Any chance we can talk about something else?" Sparks asked, as she struggled to extricate herself from out of Dash's hug. 

"Anything in mind?" asked Rock. "How about which town is supposed to be getting the Equestrian Games this year? Heard that the Crystal Protectorate might be in with a shot now the trains are heading up there regular."

Trixie had resigned herself that given how long this impromptu hug was lasting that she was effectively back to giving Dash yet another pony ride. "You mind not mentioning certain games that ponies happen to play. Somepony is just a tad bitter." This was echoed by grinding teeth from somewhere behind her head. 

"I'm not bitter," snarled Rainbow Dash bitterly. "Just 'cause Fillydelphia bribed the games official so that Cloudsdale never had a chance back when I was a filly."

Rock chuckled to herself. "And here I could have just sworn it was because that Cloudsdale refused to fund all the cloud walking spells that'd be required to allow two-thirds of Equestria to actually attend—" She was cut off by the sight of Fluttershy rocketing around the corner at high-speed. On finally spotting her friends she tucked in her wings and stuck her hooves down hard onto the floor ripping big chunks out of the carpet as she finally came to a semi-controlled stop tumbling right into the first thing to get in her way which happened to be Pinkamena.

Queen Chrysalis revealed in all her dark splendour sauntered casually round the corner; having landed and collected herself out of sight to make a suitable imposing entrance. "These are the ponies that were fleeing to save you, Captain?" she said with sarcasm dripping from her pointy fangs. "Because they don't look like much to me."

Pinkamena froze at the sudden sight of the changeling queen. While she was imposing enough—seeming to fill the entire corridor with her presence—it was her eyes that commanded her attention. Not only did they suggest absolute confidence that Pinkamena and the rest were utterly beneath her, but her look shouted without words 'I am the predator and you are prey. If you're fortunate perhaps you might be a pet, but the choice is certainly not yours to make.' Her brain went into overdrive as she tried to think of a way out of this. Pinkamena's first instinct as always was to negotiate, but what could a changeling possibly want other than to drain them all dry of their love and that was hardly something to base a bargaining position on. The push and pull was getting stronger as she struggled to keep her wits about her. Somewhere Pinkamena could hear something deafening that she couldn't even begin to pin down and define.  

Sparks hadn't known her that long, but she had been around Dash long enough to know what certain signals like her absent-mindedly playing with her hair, widely extended wings and a certain amount of mouth being agape meant from her.  Her incredulous reaction allowed her to ignore for a moment the very real terror she was feeling and she nudged the pegasus still resting on Trixie's back. "Umm, Dash?" she said barely above a whisper. "You weren't even this bad with your double."

"Hey, she's pretty cute," Rainbow Dash replied, as she unashamedly leered.

Sparks wordlessly waved her forehoof in a general sweeping motion around to point out the holes in the changeling's legs, the massive jagged horn, the insect wings and especially the pointy fangs. 

"Still cute," Rainbow Dash said, as she cocked her magician's hat to the perfect angle for maximum seduction. "Just leave this to the Awesome and Stupendous Rainbow Dash!"

Queen Chrysalis took an involuntary step back as the pegasus confidently strutted up to her, as she really wasn't sure what to make of such a challenge at all.

"Do you not understand exactly what I am?" she snarled, as she towered over the brash pegasus.

"Oh, totally," Rainbow Dash grinned up at her.  "So what's say how about you, me and my whole lot of love could go get better acquainted somewhere private?" 

"You're actually offering yourself to me?" she asked, as she took a tentative sniff. "But I'm terrifying, aren't I?"

"Absolutely not, Beautiful," Rainbow Dash replied with enough sincerity to cause Trixie who knew her best some considerable surprise. "I'd just love to see you really smile. Hay, it'd brighten up my whole day to see you happy." 

"I... I don't think I can feed on this!" Chrysalis exclaimed.

"Only one way to find out," Rainbow Dash purred, as she seriously started to lay seige to Chrysalis' personal space. 

Realising she was losing complete control of the situation, Chrysalis panicked and her horn glowed in response. There was an audible *fwoosh* as Rainbow Dash found herself totally cocooned within moments. 

"I take it that's a no then?" she asked from inside before being silenced by a blast of energised pain. 

From her final landing spot in Pinkamena's lap, Fluttershy got her bearings enough to look up if somewhat unsteadily. "You're just going to show them who you are?" she asked slowly. "I thought you'd turn into me or something to try to confuse them with who is the real pony."

"A little game of choose the changeling? Please," Chrysalis said mockingly, as she quickly regained her former poise. "Like I need such clichéd nymph-like tricks to defeat this amusing rabble that you've found," she said, giving an especially pointed look at Rainbow Dash's new cocoon. "It's not like any of you are going to provide the slightest bit of challenge to completing my conquest of Equestria and every pony in it."

Applejack heart sank to the very bottom of her chest as she finally recognised which changeling exactly was standing before them. "Qu-Queen Chrysalis..." she stammered. 

"You claim to know me, pony?" asked Chrysalis raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, Queen Thorndust told me all about you," Applejack managed to say despite shaking from the top of her hat all the way down to her hooves. 

"Applejack, what in the wide, wide world of Equestria is going on?" Rock said quietly, almost under her breath. 

"I run some charity works; one of which was sending trips of pony volunteers out to the hives in the wastelands to feed changelings on freely given love," Applejack explained as quickly as she could manage. 

"Oh, so you must be the good-natured philanthropist I've heard so much about!" Chrysalis said. "You never sent me any volunteers to my hive you know," she added reproachfully.

Applejack gulped hard. "They wouldn't have come back. Would they?"

"Of course not." Chrysalis cackled. "Would you expect a wolf to have some bunny rabbits over to tea and then send them safely back home? Besides what makes you think that the volunteers that Thorndust sent you back weren't changeling replacements?"

"That's impossible!" Applejack yelled. "We had a unicorn check them out when they got back. We're not totally naïve y'know."

Chrysalis chuckled as a vicious smiled danced across her face. "And you know for certain that this helpful unicorn wasn't a changeling already? Thorndust may seem pleasant enough with her endless talk about the good old days, but just because she's content to play a longer game does not mean you should underestimate her."

"You're lying," Applejack stated flatly. "You have to be lying. You just have to be..." she repeated more to herself.  

"Girls, can we stop making pleasant conversation with the love-sucking horror, please?" Pinkamena asked as her breathing came in tense rapid staccato as she was losing control entirely. "Get Dash out of there and then we can use the Elements of..." She swallowed as for a moment she could have sworn she had seen a timber wolf rearing up instead of the changeling queen in front of her. "We have the..." She tried again and blinked. A Chupacabra was leaping right at her with its fangs bared to drink her blood. She shook her head and was back in the palace again having cantered back a few paces involuntarily. "We..." She was standing precariously on top of a hydra's head way up in the night sky. She was bucking away a vampiric jackalope. She was ducking a manticore's heavy paw. She was dropping hoof first onto an Ettercap's eight shining eyes. She was in the palace again. She was outside. She was galloping. She was fighting with the roar of battle ringing in her ears. For a briefest moment she was seeing through thousands of different points of view. Then Pinkamena was back in the corridor like she had never been away. But she was not Pinkamena. Not the real Pinkamena and that meant that she was nothing.

"Your leader appears to be broken." Chrysalis laughed at the pink pony staring into space with a look of absolute horror upon her face. 

"Pinkamena?" Sparks asked softly, tapping her new friend on the shoulder. 

"I'm not real..." she moaned. "I'm not real! Pinkamena's out there somewhere with her cute hooves, well-groomed tail and perky face. So many of us that I just can't be the real one. The odds... they're just far too high for me to be really me."

"Oh blood and shale," Rock swore under her breath, as she could do nothing but stare at Pinkamena with the Element of Magic resting uselessly on her head.

"Any of you want to try anything else?" Chrysalis asked, rolling her eyes as she stifled a small yawn. 

"Remember tunnel 17!" Rock yelled the old earth pony miner's most terrifying battle cry, as she lost her rag entirely. She put her head down and galloped hard right at the changeling hoping her horn might just hit something vital. 

Several hundred pounds of pure pony muscle thundered down the corridor in an unstoppable charge. The changeling's eyes flashed green and Rock slowed from a gallop to a canter than down to a slow walk before stopping obediently right before Queen Chrysalis. 

"Rock!" Trixie shouted, as she fired off a small lightning bolt—barely more than a spark—onto Rock's cutie mark hoping to shake her out of whatever had stopped her charge. Rock stood there completely oblivious to the tiny burst of magic as Queen Chrysalis was all she saw. 

The changeling queen's body was consumed in green fire and standing there instead of the chitinous flying monstrosity was a small unicorn filly in a dirty lumberjack top. "She can't hear you," the fake Sweetie Belle said in far too smug a tone for any of their liking. "Just guess what I'm telling her now?"

"What's your game now, Chrysalis?" Applejack said, stamping a forehoof on the stone floor.

"Not met the little sis' yet then?" The little filly licked her lips in a way that looked so very, very wrong on Sweetie Belle's young features. "Her devotion to this one is such a sweet uncomplicated love. It's so pure in its sisterly devotion  that I could suck her dry for years and it would still be just as delightfully delectable." The changeling shook her head. "I've got my own target to leach off, but I'm sure one of my brood would just love her to bits," she said with a nasty smile. "Oh if you were wondering I've been saying just how mean you've all been to me..." Sweetie Belle said, as she scanned the other ponies for a potential victim, "specifically you." She pointed an accusing tiny hoof right at Applejack. 

Rock spun round with a look of rage contorting her face into something monstrous. She put her head down once more and charged. Spittle flew from her frothing mouth as the accusatory words of her little sister echoed in her mind robbing her of all reason. Applejack stood stock still, seemingly frozen in fear. Fluttershy leapt into the air to intercept, but crashed back down again with a splat as changeling glop had stuck her back hooves firmly to the floor without her noticing. Trixie and Sparks found themselves struggling futilely against the cloying muck as well leaving Applejack to face down their friend all alone. 

Within moments there was barely a pony's length between them when Applejack suddenly moved. Rock didn't have a chance to blink before she was knocked senseless by a brutal, but flawlessly executed, spinning hoofkick. 

Realising that those of her friends that weren't currently seeing stars and even Queen Chrysalis herself were all giving her a stunned look, Applejack shrugged. "C'mon, I'm in so many secret societies I've almost lost count of them all. I know half a dozen secret martial arts handed down from lost civilisations, ancient mystics and other races like the griffons at various levels of skill not that I like to brag," she said, tipping her hat to the changeling. "That though was just something I learnt on a particularly fun Friday night out in Manehattan—"

She was cut off as she was slammed into the nearest wall and stuck there fast with a heavy dose of changeling magic with a side order of a brand new cocoon to call her own. "Enough games," Chrysalis snapped. Glop, muck and slime slowly crept ever higher pinning the remaining ponies that had been still standing down into their various places. Soon all of them were covered in the cloying gunk holding them in their respective cocoons, even Pinkamena who didn't seem to even know what was happening at all and Rock who had been completely knocked out cold.   

"This was most amusing," Queen Chrysalis said, as she trotted past the defeated party, "but there's a princess of the night all by herself in this cold, lonely castle and I'd just hate to leave her waiting." She paused as she passed Pinkamena who was still lost in her own private hell. "I am doing this for every creature, including ponies, not that I expect any of you to understand that," she said gently, as if wanting them to gain some measure of understanding. "Black hearted I may be, but even I know that Equestria needs it's sun and while you may consider the return of its light and warmth a small comfort when my progeny slowly drains you dry at least it will be something for you to cling to."

There was an intensely bright burst of golden light that bathed the corridor in warmth and the foulness holding them that stuck against fur and tangled into manes and tails crumbled into dust before blowing away entirely. When the light faded a mint-green unicorn was standing before Queen Chrysalis and staring her down. She looked familiar to Sparks, but she couldn't place her right at this moment at all. 

"And who might you—" Her half completed question was answered by the unicorn jumping upright onto her back two hooves in a most unusual fighting stance for a pony before pulling back one of her forehooves and slugging the changeling so hard in the face she was sent skidding and bouncing down the corridor.

Pinkamena shook her head as the horror in her mind receded thankful that the golden light had somehow brought back some of her sense of self. She wasn't entirely certain that she was still the original. There had been just so, so many of her trooping out of the mirror pool cave back in the Everfree forest that she could easily be one of the many who thought she was Pinkamena and really just another construct that had crawled out of the water. Then again the paralysing existential angst could be sorted out later... hopefully. Anyway even if she wasn't the Pinkamena, she was still a Pinkamena and that meant she had a job to complete. "Thank you. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't showed up... Err, who are you anyway?"

"There's no time for that, my little pony," the mare said oddly, while eyeing the fallen changeling who hadn't yet gotten up again. "You've brought the Elements of Harmony here into the palace for a reason."  

Pinkamena was torn between wanting to know what she knew about the Elements and why that hadn't been framed as a question. "Yes, but—"

"Then go, Pinkamena Diane Pie. You and your friends must complete what has been set in motion. Do not be concerned," she added in a reassuring tone. "I can take care of her."

"Sorry, but we're kind of lost I—"

"Go back down the corridor till you come to the hallway with the chandelier, take the second left, continue through the Star Swirl the Bearded wing, take a right through the bureaucracy section, up the spiral staircase with the dragon head banisters, and then all you need to do is follow the stained glass windows." The mare said with increasing urgency, as a worryingly intense green glow was building from the direction the changeling queen had been sent tumbling. 

"C'mon you heard her," Pinkamena said loudly, as Rock and Fluttershy was helped back onto their hooves. "There's no time to lose!"

As they galloped off back the way they came Sparks turned her head to Rock and asked, "I could have sworn I've seen that pony before. She's from Ponyville, right?" 

Rock tilted her head to the side while looking back as if she wasn't sure what she'd just heard. "I've just been bucked in the head and even I still know that's Lyra Heartstrings, Sparks." She paused and then added, "okay, I've got no idea how she's fighting hoof-to-hoof with a changeling like that, but she's been living in Ponyville for over a year now." There was another explosion of light from back down the corridor that sent shadows dancing madly before them as they ran. 

"Err..." 

"You must know her, Sparks," Rock insisted. "You've lived in Ponyville longer than I have after all. Lyra rents a room above Quills & Sofas and she's been seeing Bon Bon all around town for awhile now. She's a bit touched in the head, but she's a good mare to know."

"Bon Bon's the one with the two dolphins cutie mark, right?" Sparks ventured hesitantly. 

Rock could only shake her head as they pounded down the corridor. "You really didn't use to get out much, did you?'

~~~

Queen Chrysalis rubbed her cheek gingerly where she'd been struck. Pain was a sensation that she was not used to. It had been so very much a long time since she had last experienced it and she wasn't too keen on getting a refresher. The lack of love did cause her the pain of hunger yes, but that was but a discomfort and easily sated. Physical pain though she'd forgotten and that was making her edgy. 

"Just what are you?" she asked, as she took the measure of the unnaturally strong unicorn. "Last time I checked the elder dragons are the only creatures strong enough to throw a blow that hard, and while they do have some powers, I've never heard of one that can shape-shift into a pony. That actually hurt," she added somewhat petulantly, as she rubbed her jaw.

Lyra grinned and replied in a voice with just the slightest hint of an echo, "oh, I wouldn't concern yourself with that. I'm only doing what needs to be done to protect those who need it."

"You may be powerful indeed, whatever you are," Chrysalis admitted. "But I have fed on love for months to bring about the end of this blasted eternal night and I will not be stopped by some random do-gooder who doesn't know when it's wise to mind her own business."

"So where's your current consort then? If you do not mind me enquiring, but you do seem to have misplaced her." Chrysalis momentarily flinched, as she remembered with a most unfamiliar pang of worry, that Lightning Dust was still knocked senseless half the palace away. "As if I remember my esoteric lore changelings only come into their fullest power when they're constantly feeding off the purest of stolen loves," Lyra said conversationally, as if they were just discussing some random bit of academic trivia over a nice cup of tea.

"I'm still more than powerful enough to crush a freak like you!" Chrysalis snarled, as her jagged horn sparked dangerously with barely suppressed energy. 

Still balancing on her rear two legs Lyra stretched out and made a slow beckoning gesture with one of her forehooves suggesting that the changeling might want to come get some. 

The constant companion in Lyra's mind for the last year whispered, 'I do prefer to avoid conflict if at possible, but finally getting a chance to cut loose after all this time and without any chance of somepony being hurt by unleashing my power... Now that I must admit is going to be immensely gratifying. You may want to try to brace yourself as much as possible as I'm not sure your body can take this much channelled magic of this level.'

'I'll be fine,' Lyra thought back. 'Let's kick her chitinous butt all the way back to the wasteland.'

As the slathering changeling flew at her in a killing rage Lyra's eyes began to glow with a golden aura that burned with the intensity of twin suns. Chrysalis barely had time to register the impression of the purest white wings seeming to shimmer imperceptibly hovering behind the unicorn in the air before she was struck by such extreme power that she'd never imagined anything could ever possibly possess. 

For a moment she was able to hold out against it using every drop of love that she had stolen from Lightning Dust, but it wasn't enough. It wasn't even close to being enough. 

When she woke her hooves had been firmly bound. Even if they hadn't been she knew she wasn't going anywhere after the magical blow she had just taken. Her horn was so sore it felt like the slightest touch would snap it off entirely. Chrysalis looked up at the unicorn whose eyes were now back to their normal hue. The white wings that had been burned into her mind irrevocably were gone like they'd never even been there at all.

"Gotcha," Lyra said, seeing her captive was awake. 

"I really could have done it you know. Hope you like being in the dark," Chrysalis said, hanging her head low in defeat. 

Lyra smiled back kindly her eyes sparkling with a wisdom many millennia in the making. "The night will not last forever I promise you that."

"How can you be so sure?" Chrysalis protested. "That lot don't seem like much to me if that's who you're counting on."

"Simple," Lyra said, giving the queen a wink. "Lots and lots of experience."

~~~

With Lyra's directions, along with Fluttershy now leading the way, they were finally making some progress. Pinkamena was still shook up internally by how close they'd come to defeat, especially with how she herself had fallen apart at the worst possible time, but she'd always known that messing about with chaotic magic would have consequences. It was just a case now of whether she could meet the final bill. 

Pinkamena was thanking the stars though for which ever one had been watching over them when they'd allowed that unicorn to turn up so conveniently. In fact she must have been observing us for awhile now to turn up when she did, Pinkamena mused to herself as they galloped through the Star Swirl the Bearded wing. Invisibility or teleport spell; somehow she knew where we were and that we couldn't win this one without assistance. She was getting the sneaking suspicion that she was even now unwittingly playing a part in another pony's game. Pinkamena really wasn't sure how she felt about that. She'd always liked being the mare in the know thanks to her unique gifts along with the control her chosen career had brought her, so this was a new and unsettling experience for her. How much of this has been set up like pawns being moved across a chessboard? she wondered. 

Actually she wouldn’t have minded stopping here to have a look around if they weren’t in such a hurry. Pinkamena had always had an interest in learning from the best and Star Swirl while a notorious loner aside from a few students had played the three tribes as a master manipulator to achieve his goals. Oh he was an expert with unicorn magic too, but Pinkamena wasn’t as bothered about that. 

She sighed, maybe there’d be time for that later if this whole thing worked out. 

“How long do you reckon?” Pinkamena asked, as she turned to Fluttershy who looked lost in her own thoughts as she flew beside her.

"We should be in the throne room in maybe five minutes; if that," she answered loudly enough for the whole group to here. 

That's it, Fluttershy. Five minutes until you stab the only pony that's ever meant anything to you in the back, she thought bitterly to herself.  What did Nightmare Moon mean to her anyway? She'd never been one for self introspection and while this wasn't the time or place for it she was thinking she was running out of time to start. It wasn't as if she was in love with her or anything like that. She might not have much time for it, but she knew what that felt like. Fluttershy had seriously considered pursuing Soarin' as he was one of the few genuinely decent ponies she'd ever met before deciding their respective positions would have made that a dreadful idea. Then while she'd never really thought about other mares that way her heart had skipped a beat when she'd seen Rock transformed from the gruff working pony into the nervous, but devastatingly pretty stylish debutante back in that other Ponyville.

Was it the love of a daughter to an adopted mother? She'd been raised like all cloud pegasi without ever knowing her family so she didn't have any points of reference, but she didn't think that was it. She remembered the Princess Luna of the other Equestria that she'd observed for a short time in Canterlot. Sure there had been physical differences, but what worried her most was her awkwardness and the odd way she'd fallen back into the archaic language of Old Equestrian. Would the Elements of Harmony bring back a Luna that had never even been Nightmare Moon? Will she even know who I am...? she thought with mounting fear.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the faint sounds of a commotion coming from the room next to them. She barely had time to alert the others, before a whole bunch of ponies burst through the door. 

"This is utterly unacceptable!" a sharply dressed mare was loudly complaining to a very beleaguered looking officer. "I demand that you let me speak to the Princess at once." Five more royal guard filed out behind the pair. All well armed with broad spears, all clad in full golden armour and all looking like any other duty would be preferable to this one. 

With the early warning Pinkamena and the rest had managed to look less like a revolutionary force and more ponies that just happened to be in the general vicinity and certainly not worth paying any attention to. Pinkamena was loudly discussing the implications of the new tax code with Applejack while Rainbow Dash almost looked like she was actually following along. Rock was carefully expecting a nearby pillar for signs of cracking. Trixie and Sparks were taking the opportunity to catch up on valuable making out time while Fluttershy stood in the middle of the hall daring anypony to object to her happening to be there. 

"Look, Ms. Harshwhinney, with all due respect," the pegasus sergeant growled, "you may not have noticed but the castle is kinda under seige right now." 

Ms. Harshwhinney sniffed as if that was just a minor inconvenience. "Well this will have to go down as a mark against as the Princess really should have bothered to receive me herself if she wants Canterlot to be taken seriously for consideration. Oh no," she said, as she looked about. "This isn't some half-baked attempt at entertainment is it?"

Fluttershy looked around too before realising she was probably talking about them. "Who, us?"

"Yes, dressed up in all that gaudy jewellery. I suppose you've got some overly rehearsed song and dance routine that's supposed to just wow me into handing over the games to your home town."

"Well choreography in dance isn't really my thing. but I'd probably be able to put something together if you give us a couple of hours?" Trixie offered helpfully. "Just let us be on our way to find some balloons, horns and streamers and we'll be right back."

One of the royal guards stepped forward. She was a tall for a unicorn mare with a lithe build that Sparks found oddly familiar, but wasn't immediately sure why. The mare pointed her spear at Pinkamena. "Sir, you may want to have a look at this pony here, sir," she said, in a voice what she was trying clearly to make sound gruff and official, but couldn't totally cover her natural throaty purr.  

Before the sergeant could turn his full attention he got a faceful of angry Fluttershy. "She's with me, Sergeant Clash. Get the civilian out of here and take your squad right along with her. This is Nightmare business."

Storm Clash glowered swinging his own spear round with one of his wings. "I don't take orders from you," he said, bringing the business end up ready for action. He took a look around the Shadowbolt to confirm what he was sure he'd just seen. "Especially not when that's Pinkamena Diane Pie. She's wanted for questioning and that's straight from Captain Shining Armour. Who happens to be my superior officer, not you, in case you'd forgotten."

A unicorn stallion with a white coat who looked liked he'd stepped right off the royal guard recruiting posters moved up first to support his sergeant. Two more unicorns, both mares with darker coats, moved up next with their spears ready. The last member of the squad, an earth pony stallion, respectively but firmly shoved Ms. Harshwhinney out the way to complete the close-knit formation. 

Pinkamena moved forward to stand by Fluttershy. "Look this all been a terrible misunderstanding," she said smoothly. "I frankly have no idea what is going on outside, but I can assure you that any ponies that may or may not happen to bear my likeness are in no way affiliated—"

"Shut up," Storm Clash growled, "just shut up! You can go talk Shining Armour's ears off not mine. Now are you going to come peaceably or do I have to take steps?"

Rainbow Dash stepped forward to join Fluttershy and Pinkamena from where she'd been quickly discussing something in sotto voices with her partners in the showpony business. 

"Fools! Do you not know who you are dealing with?!" she exclaimed dramatically, rolls of thunder coming out of nowhere to punctuate her words. Her voice dropped down low as her face split into a wicked grin. "Perhaps I should introduce myself properly."

Blue magic raised her magician's hat from where it normally rested upon her rainbow coloured mane revealing an intense red glow upon her forehead that from the right angle gave the impression of an impossibly sharp horn splitting the air. A dark purple miasma signifying command of the darkest of magics began to boil away out of her now blank emerald-green eyes.  

One of the royal guards, the earth pony stallion who had recently been relocated from the far north, swore loudly. "That's impossible! I saw the Princess eviscerate you myself."

"Slaaaaves," Rainbow Dash drawled gutturally. She was beginning to enjoy herself as she got into the role. "You may have defeated King Sombra with your Princess to protect you, but how will you fare alone against his chosen Queen of the Frozen North!?" She reared up as lightning struck the flagstones around her with her blue wings stretched wide. 
 
Rock who was wondering just what in Tartaurus was going on finally noticed the almost imperceptible magical aura coming from Trixie and Sparks. They were somehow dampening right down the usual glow on their horns that was the usual sign of a unicorn using magic. Rock let out a low impressed whistle that they were pretending to look scared while still managing to keep casting. She started cowering herself too in an attempt to help sell the illusion. 

"Flee slaaaaves, and find your Queen some crystals!" Rainbow Dash commanded regally with her magically enhanced voice. 

The normal resolve of the royal guard after already taking one devestating blow with the appearance of the pink horde was now basically nonexistent. The mare who had pointed out Pinkamena was shaking badly and her two fellow mares were cowering out from behind her hooves. The only sign of the earth pony stallion was his spear dropped uselessly on the floor. Ms. Harshwhinney had long since fled remembering a pressing engagement that she really should attend to in Trottingham. 

The only royal guard not looking like he wanted his mummy was Storm Clash though who was clapping his forehooves slowly against the stone floor. "Not a bad display, the Awesome and Stupendous Rainbow Dash. Almost enjoyed that as much as your performance I happened to catch in the Hoofington Palladium."

"Aw horseapples," swore Rainbow Dash, as she nodded to Trixie and Sparks to drop the effects and spat the fake pointy fangs she'd been wearing out of her mouth. 

"You got any way to convince me left under that hat, Ms. Dash?" He leered. "I heard all sorts of interesting stories about you."

"Just this one," said Rainbow Dash, getting in close before tossing something small in the sergeant's face. There was an explosion of multi coloured light and stars sure to delight foals of all ages. 

"What?" she said, looking around at her friends. "C'mon, I do have some standards."

Storm Clash looked up angrily from where he'd landed on the floor with his muzzle blackened. "Get them!" he yelled. "And don't be gentle about it either!"

A spear shaft cracked across the back of his head permanently putting him down for the count.  The white unicorn stallion removed his full helmet and shook out his flowing golden locks. "Gosh, I suppose I really should have yelled out 'for the New Solar Republic!' first. How unashamedly forward of me." The former prince grinned widely. "Applejack, just what kind of delightfully entertaining mess have you gotten into now?" 

He was tackled to the floor by an incredibly enthusiastic glomp from Applejack. Standing over her special somepony she leaned down and kissed him hard before giving him a glare. "Blueblood, just what were you thinking?!"

"I missed you too," Blueblood said, still grinning his head off.

"Seditionists!" yelled the unicorn mare with the absolutely fascinating build. "C'mon, Violet, c'mon, Rhythm! We can still take them."

Rhythm dropped her spear and Violet Velvet followed her example letting it clatter to the floor. "Sorry, Fleur, but we're with him."

Sparks almost jumped out of her fur at hearing that. "Fleur de LYS?!" she exclaimed, finally recognizing the former model under all the heavy armour. "I love you!" she coughed, realising she'd actually said that out loud. "I mean I love your photos, right, yes totally just your photos!" She flashed a guilty glance at Trixie who rolled her eyes and gave her a little nod. They hadn’t been together long, but Trixie was well aware of her private obsession back when she’d been alone all that time back in her treehouse. 

Trixie gave Rainbow Dash a concerned look while Sparks was busy fanfillying at the increasingly flustered Fleur and Applejack was catching up for lost time with Blueblood. "You alright, Dash? Normally I'd have rainbow tail clamped hard between my teeth by this point."

"Huh?" said Dash, who turned back from where she'd been glancing back the way they came in an absent-minded fashion. "Yeah I'm fine. Why?"

"Well that's Fleur de Lys over there, who last time I checked, was one of the number one models in Canterlot and certainly drop-dead gorgeous. Anyway didn't you have a thing with her once?"

"I might have said that," said Rainbow Dash, as she shrugged her wings. "You know I say a lot of things right? Just ‘cause I'm forward doesn't mean everypony says yes. Most don't, anyway we were both much younger and I was just another wet-behind-the-ears dancer back then so I really doubt she remembers me."

Trixie ignored the unusual amount of honesty and continued. "And while he's obviously not my type that Blueblood is the most beautiful stallion I've ever seen and is involved with a friend of yours to boot, so why exactly am I not having to bodily restrain you? You're not really that other Rainbow Dash that Sparks was telling me about, the best junior young flyer who can do sonic rainbooms at the drop of a hat are you?"

"Of course not," Rainbow Dash said, before glancing back down the corridor again. "Do you think Chrysi is alright? That unicorn was acting pretty scary."

Trixie could only mouth the word 'Chrysi?!' silently in stunned response. 

"What are you doing here anyway, Bluey?" Applejack demanded, though still not quite ready to get off from on top of her special somepony yet. 

"Oh, I was getting terribly bored with you being away for weeks so I volunteered to infiltrate the palace. Y'know see if we could find anything to help end the tyranny of eternal night."

"Idiot," she said, though with absolutely zero heat in her voice. "Anyway we've got that taken care of ourselves." Applejack tapped the emerald cocktail glass inlaid on the golden amulet on her neck. "We've got the Elements of Harmony."

"I did notice that you'd been accessorizing," Blueblood said, as he stroked his marefriend's cheek lightly. "I do like the hat too. Very authentically rustic."

Applejack blushed fiercely. "You really think so?"

"Totally, my dear. You like quite the proper country bumpkin," Blueblood said, keeping his tone playful. "Why if I didn't know better I'd have thought you'd never left the farm in search of proper culture and intellectual stimulation."

"You!" Applejack's cheeks get even redder for a moment before she breathed out and then smiled indulgently. "Now I remember where I prefer you with your mouth full," she said, leaning in for another kiss.  

"Mind if I ask why you're here tonight though?" Pinkamena said, as she butted in with an impressive display of both zero tact and sense of timing. "I only ask as this palace is getting crowded with would be saviours who all just happened to be here today as it is."

"Our grand oracle has a vision!" explained Rhythm excitedly. 

"Yeah!" said Violet Velvet backing her up. "She said that tonight would be the night that the sun would rise once more if we were there to make it happen."

Pinkamena gave them a steady look. "But, I think I've heard of you lot. Aren't you supposed to be all about establishing a new political system and the unicorns taking back control of the sun. Wouldn't have thought you'd be into mysticism like oracles?"

"It's hardly a proper secret society without spooky prophecies handed out from on high is it?" Blueblood said, giving Pinkamena a knowing wink from his position on the floor. "Right so what are these Harmony things then?"

While Applejack was giving Blueblood the run down of what exactly the Elements were Fleur was rapidly running out of patience. "Look!" she said, while making stabbing motions in the air with her spear for emphasis causing Sparks to rapidly back off. "I'm glad you enjoy my former work, honestly I’m flattered, but this is what I've always wanted to be. I was always told that Canterlot upper class unicorn mares shouldn't be soldiers and they should go to parties, launch zeppelins, hang off some stallion and look pretty. I love this life now that Nightmare Moon has given us a proper chance not to be some useless ornament and you are going to take me seriously!" 

“Hang on,” said Rock who wasn’t going to let that slide without comment. “Just off the top my head the border patrol certainly takes unicorn mares. Leaving that aside as it’s not exactly what you’d call glamourous there’s always mercenary work in the Griffonwylds or even a pony land like Tailea. Hay, they're notorious for always wanting more than a few dogs-of-war about.”

Fleur’s eyes widened. “Leave Canterlot? But I just couldn’t! It’s the most stylish town in all of Equestria, so why would I ever want to do such a thing?” She looked around for support while backing up keeping her spear point high with her unicorn magic. "Captain Fluttershy, don't just stand there, help me!"

Fluttershy look down at her hooves. "Sorry, guards mare, but I can't." Every word was another internal knife stuck between her own wings. "Please just put your weapon down. This really is for the best I swear it," she said, trying to sound like she believed it herself. 

"You're all traitors the lot of you," Fleur said, her heavenly nostrils flaring. "And you can stop right where you are too!" The rest that weren't otherwise occupied turned to look at what ever Fleur had just yelled at. A hooded and cloaked figure hidden in shadows was galloping down the corridor with no sign of stopping for anypony. 

"As a royal guard charged with protecting Equestria you will halt!" commanded Fleur. 

Only Fluttershy managed to follow what happened next. Fleur's had firmly stood her ground and had set her spear perfectly to impale the cloaked pony. Her stance was solid and by all rights the spear should have stuck true. Then at the very moment of impact the spear had shattered entirely, even the metal point, and not even seconds later Fleur was being trampled under hoof as the cloaked pony hadn't even bothered to slow down at all as they'd continued on her way. 

Rhythm immediately rushed to her aid and started to carefully check over her fallen squad mate.

"Is she alright?" asked Violet Velvet. 

"I think that she's just badly winded," she answered. Rhythm lightly touched Fleur's blackened horn. "There's also some pretty bad magical feedback."

"I thought you were my friends," Fleur managed to gasp out weakly. "How could you do this to me?"

"We're still your friends," said Rhythm seriously. "Even if we didn't quite take out oaths as seriously as you did." 

Fluttershy landed next to her and placed a comforting hoof on her shoulder. "Look I don't know if I'll still have any authority whatsoever after today, but if I do I'll see you get a commendation for valour for that attempt," she promised. Fleur managed a contented smile before slumping back against Rhythm. 

Pinkamena was becoming convinced that the other Pinkie couldn't have had half this trouble defeating their Nightmare Moon as she watched who ever had attacked Fleur disappear round a corner. "We better get after her."

Blueblood stepped forward. "We can keep an eye out here and make sure no other pony gets past. You go do what you need to do."

~~~

Leaving the New Solar Republic vanguard behind the seven ponies pelted down the corridor after the mysterious pony. Rounding the corner they skidded to a stop at what they saw. It was finally the doors to the royal throne room, but the two guards on duty had no other eyes for any pony but each other. 

"You're my shoopy-woopy-puddin' pie," said the mare royal guard staring deeply into the eyes of her stallion partner. 

"No you're my ultra-bestest cuddle muffin," the stallion said back in equally sickening tone that even a newborn foal would think was being overly infantile.

"Excuse me?" asked Pinkamena.

"Oh my, super-studliness I think somepony wants to talk to us," said the mare with an utterly vapid giggle as the stallion nuzzled her neck. 

Pinkamena glanced over to Fluttershy to see if she had any ideas, but she just shrugged her wings looking just as confused at the sight of two hardened royal guards behaving like love struck teenagers. 

"Look at their eyes."

"What, Rock?"

"That's not natural. Somepony did this to them," Rock explained hurriedly, before turning to the two guards. "Hi!" she said brightly. "I don't suppose any other ponies have been past recently?"

"Oh yeah she was super nice to us so we let her by so we can get to the important stuff like kissing and more kissing!"

"Given we're taking up your valuable making out time standing here how about letting us in too?"

The two guards looked like they were briefly considering this before they collapsed into a giggling pile with just one flailing leg making a quick 'sure head right in' gesture. 

"After you," said Rock with a grin. 

"Very nicely done, Rock" Pinkamena said, as she pushed open the two double doors leading to the throne room. 

Nightmare Moon was still sitting on her throne and flanked by her captain, Shining Armour. His horn was glowing intensely as he was clearly beginning to buckle under the strain of keeping up a second barrier up across the throne room. The pony in the black cloak was hammering on the barrier with her forehooves so hard it was leaving concave indentations in the magical field that were still slowly reforming. She was so focused on her assault that she didn't even notice the ponies filing into the room behind her. 

She spun her cloak billowing out behind in preparation for an almighty double buck. Trixie gasped in recognition at what she spotted hanging around the mare's neck.

"Trixie?" Sparks said. 

"That's the Alicorn Amulet..."

Before anypony could ask exactly what that was exactly the mare bucked the barrier far harder than any impact that she'd managed so far. There was a massive, almighty crash of magical feedback as the barrier gave out entirely and fizzled out of existence. The mysterious mare threw her hood back revealing an elaborately styled multi-hued mane and a long unicorn horn.

"I am Mi Amore Cadenza," she announced, rounding on the princess on her throne as fierce red light burned in her eyes. "We have some unfinished business, Nightmare Moon!"
	
	
	
> Chapter 4: A Canterlot Reckoning
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	

Nightmare Moon sat on her throne with a few too many ponies for company. Her captain of her royal guard was rolling around on the floor as he clutched at his head trying to find some relief from the pain inflicted by the magical backlash from his barrier being broken. A number more ponies had just entered into the room, but what was taking up her full attention right now was Cadance. How dare this whelp of the vile Royal Unicorn bloodline stand up to her. The rage helped. It was giving her certainty.

"Look," she snarled harshly. "I honestly do regret what I did to you, but—"

"You should have taken my horn," Cadance said flatly. She'd stopped in the middle of the room drawing herself up with all her former royal airs.  

Interrupted in her flow by the unexpected statement Nightmare Moon had to recollect her thoughts. "But that would have been too cruel! Even if you do descend from the old king and so probably deserved even worse treatment anyway."

"I was adopted actually," Cadance replied levelly, still keeping her words to simple statements of fact. "My parents passed away when I was very young."

"You have my condolences of course for your loss, but I don't think I understand?" Nightmare Moon said, her brow furrowing. "Of course I do admit burning those false imitations of yours was a harsh action taken in the heat of the moment."

It had all happened so quickly, Nightmare Moon remembered. It had been about a week after the burning of Stalliongrad and she'd only just got out of taking the captain of her Shadowbolts suitably to task for going way too far. She'd been meeting with some nobles to give their concerns a fair hearing and had been quite impressed by the quick mind and compassion of stallion called Fancy Pants. Then there had been the announcement by some deeply unwise palace adjunct.

"Please rise for the arrival of Prince Blueblood and Princess Mi Amora Cadenza." 

She had stormed over with the red mists already descending that somepony actually would have the gall to still lay claim to a royal title. Blueblood had been loudly remonstrating with some poor maid who had got in his way while Cadance had been tactfully standing off to the side which had not made a good first impression of the pair. Then Nightmare Moon had noticed that this mare had both wings and horn and things had all got a bit fuzzy. After that she only recalled the sound of Cadance's drawn out scream as her wings had burned under remorseless black fire and the crescendo of hooves as everypony had fled her wrath. She'd gone way too far that day, but worse she hadn't been in control when she had done so.

Nightmare Moon looked back up at the unicorn standing in front of her. "Still consider it a mercy, as severing your horn would surely have killed you. Perhaps some form of recompense could be offered?"

"You took my wings!" Cadance roared, the red fires burning fiercely in her eyes reflected in the glow playing around her amulet. "They were mine and you took them from me! It wasn't enough you had to humiliate me and my brother, rob us of our lands, our wealth, even our very name! But that wasn't enough was it?! You just had to take the only thing I had left when I was all on my own when I was barely older than a foal!"

"Oh... Oh!" Applejack hit her head hard with her hoof. "I think I understand now. Remind me that I owe a pony an apology for passing on a story that was apparently just based on hearsay."

Rainbow Dash shrugged her wings. "Feel free to explain any-time you like as I'm lost entirely."

"She's a pegasus," Applejack said and breathed out a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding.

"I was a pegasus," Cadance corrected, who had very good hearing.

"But that's impossible!" Nightmare Moon said, as she shook her head sadly that the former princess was clearly completely delusional. "That would mean you would have had to have ascended if you weren’t born an alicorn and nopony has done that since before the very first Hearts and Hooves day."

Cadance reared up to her full height. "It happened nonetheless. I'm glad you're here to see this, Twilight,” she said, glancing back over her shoulder. “Forgive me if I don't do the shake as it would be inappropriate in such company, but I am glad you can watch me crush this monster like I used to do when I read you your bedtime stories."

Nightmare Moon was starting to shake badly. I couldn't have done such a thing like that to hurt her so harshly, I shouldn't have, I shouldn't... Her panic was met by another wave of anger, but this had a new target who was only just now unsteadily propping himself up.

"You, Shining Armour!” she yelled, rounding on her captain. “You told me they were fake. Why?!"

Shining Armour looked down at his spiked shod hooves. Without meeting her gaze he started talking. "You were... not like yourself when the, ah, the incident took place. Rather more like the Nightmare Moon we'd been expecting when you first took over if you understand me. When you regained your senses and all the nobles had fled you were completely distraught and I feared the truth might doom Equestria if it pushed you over the edge so I lied. I imagine it doesn't particularly help, but I really am sorry."

Nightmare Moon sat her rump heavily back down on her throne as guilt and shame washed over her.

"I... I did not know," was all she could manage to say.

Cadance's beautiful face was marred by a nasty sneer as she advanced upon the throne.

"Should we be doing something?" hissed Pinkamena to Fluttershy. The Shadowbolt wasn't anywhere to be seen as Pinkamena looked around for her. The throne room was dark, as the only light sources was the occasional red light burning upon Cadance's horn and amulet that drenched the room in the colour of old blood. Other than that there was just the moonlight streaming in through the various stained glass windows and the torchlight coming from the open double doors. Even in the gloom Pinkamena was stunned by how uncared for the room seemed to be. Ragged large bits of purple velvet were draped haphazardly about the place and dust was everywhere aside from on the central carpet. She spotted Fluttershy who had hung back in the shadow of one of the great wooden doors looking just as guilt stricken as her princess was.

"Fluttershy?" she said, after stepping back to join her.

"I wasn't there," Fluttershy moaned. "I could have stopped her, or at least helped her to get over it if I’d have known."

"Nightmare Moon, I thought about trapping you with my love magic and then spurning you, but that would be far too easy." Cadance laughed lightly. "So instead I thought I'd start with burning your wings just like you burned mine..."

"Trixie, how do you know about that amulet anyway?" Sparks asked, as they watched Cadance rant at Nightmare Moon who was just sitting there and taking it seemingly completely paralysed by her shame.

"Oh, my uncle told me about it," Trixie whispered back. "It's supposed to give you unlimited magical power. Apparently it was first worn by the pony lich, the Dread Mare, who clashed with the spirit of chaos himself in the lost ages."

"And you never thought about finding it for yourself?"

Trixie gave her marefriend a look. "Sparks, I work in showpony business. What do I need with that kind of power? Anyway you'd have to be on like, I don't know, rock farmer money after a massive haul to have the bits to pay for an artefact like that."

They turned their attention back to Cadance who was ignoring Nightmare Moon now and was completely caught up in her private monologue. "...And then I'll take your skull, decorate it with only the most beautiful crystals and wear it as a tiara!!" She concluded into an uncontrolled maniacal laugh.

"It also drives you insane apparently," noted Trixie dryly.

Cadance smiled. "First though I really should rectify something I've been neglecting." She stalked over to Rainbow Dash and before she had a chance to protest nipped out one of her feathers from her wings.

"Hey!" yelled Dash, managing to overcome her fear with annoyance.

"Hold this for me if you'd be so kind, darling." Not bothering to wait for a response Cadance shut the magician up by pulling off her cloak and throwing it in the pegasus' face. Cadance swallowed the feather in one gulp as her horn burned even brighter to the point of blinding intensity. Her sides started to bulge unnaturally as muscles and bones shifted seemingly of their own accord. From the sound of what came next Rainbow Dash was profoundly glad for the black cloak completely covering her face.

When she finally dared to pull off the cape and look Cadance was admiring a pair of extended pink wings from her sides of such flawless beauty that anypony couldn't help but to be impressed to look on them. Of course the effect was somewhat ruined as the feathers were still lightly dripping fresh blood onto the floor.

"Aren't they pretty?" Cadance marvelled, inspecting each new feather seemingly individually.

"But that's body manipulation!" shouted Nightmare Moon, completely aghast by what she was seeing. "That's even higher level unicorn magic than even age spells. There's no way, even if you really were truly an alicorn, at your age to manage casting like that."

"I am the highest level alicorn now! Care to try it yourself?" Cadance said, her eyes narrowing slyly.

Nightmare Moon harrumphed. "As if," she said. "Sure throwing around spells like you’re Clover the Clever might make you feel cocky, but you still have no chance against me."

The floor started to give way and collapse as huge cracks formed and opened up into nothing. Cadance seemed now to be standing on the edge of an almighty dizzyingly high precipice. She confidently stepped forward into the abyss and onto the red carpet leading to the throne as the room returned to its previous state as the illusion failed.

From Nightmare Moon's throne smoke poured out till it covered the floor in a dense fog. Noises slithered and gibbered in a most alarming fashion as if anything could be hiding within. Apparitions loomed out of the dark. Thin limbed and grinning they came. Huge fanged maws gaped open and dripping drool formed all around Cadance to swallow up the challenger to the throne.

"Hah." Cadance laughed contemptuously just the once and the apparitions popped back into nothingness.

Nightmare Moon's form grew large till it seemed to fill the height of the large room as her mane grew wild and bestial and her tail grew a scorpion's stinger that whipped dangerously back and forth. Cadance looked up with nothing showing on her face other than bemusement.

"What exactly are you doing?" she asked. "If you think I'm going to be scared off by a few illusions more appropriate to Nightmare Night then you really are underestimating me."

Nightmare Moon collapsed back in on herself until she sat once more in her armour upon her throne. "I... I just want to scare you away. I really don't want to hurt you. Not again, not ever, not anypony." Her head dropped down low. "Why must that be so hard?"

"Not a problem I have any-more," answered Cadance harshly. "Not after what you did to me." She leapt at Nightmare Moon with a fierce, blazing corona of deadly balefire dancing on her armoured hooves. Cadance landed on the empty throne cracking it in half and spun around to find the now entirely missing object of her revenge.

Having dissipated into smoke Nightmare Moon reformed by the double doors right next to Fluttershy. "You took your time, my Captain," she said, with a happy smile. Then her expression froze till her smile was a rictus of disbelief. "That's the Element of Loyalty...  I used to be it’s bearer along with two others, so I'd know them anywhere. No matter what cutie mark they're mirroring now! What exactly are you doing wearing one of the Elements, Fluttershy?" Nightmare Moon looked at the other five ponies who had entered with her captain of her Shadowbolts as her eyes grew ever wider. Applejack wearing the Element of Generosity looking embarrassed on Fluttershy's behalf by proximity. Rainbow Dash wearing the Element of Joy gleefully making rude faces behind Cadance's back while she had the chance. Sparks wearing the Element of Kindness had rushed to her brother's side and was concentrating hard on her horn trying to cast some spell to soothe his pain from the magical backlash, but was not appearing to have much success. Rock wearing the Element of Honesty and worst of all the pony that had laid siege to her palace all by herself in her multitudes; Pinkamena Diane Pie with the Element of Magic resting in amongst her untamed pink curls.

"How... how could you?" Nightmare Moon just managed to choke out to the only pony she'd ever counted on was clearly here to not help, but just cast her down too. "So you were truly loyal, just not ever to me..." she whispered then trailed off before falling silent. She wrapped her wings around her, pulled her hooves into a tight ball on the floor and started to weep.

Cadance howled with laughter to see her despised figure of her hate hurt so badly. Her normally boundless love completely overwhelmed now by the amulet's corrupting power. "And I was wondering how the old regime would serve under me when I took what was rightfully mine. Looks like you're going to work out just fine." She hopped down from the broken throne while gazing at Fluttershy approvingly. "Now get out the way so I can put this pathetic sight out of her misery once and for all."

She was tackled to the floor as the full weight of the heavily muscled stallion body of Shining Armour bore her down with full force. He lifted her up her legs bucking uselessly in the air in a twisted parody of a lover's embrace.

"You will not hurt her," he managed to grunt out as he tottered backwards unsteadily on his back hooves as Cadance flailed her new wings against him.

"Let me go!" Cadance screamed, far too incensed to remember to use her magic.

"No matter what, she's still the Princess and that makes protecting her my duty," he said still gripping on to the alicorn hard.  

With one mighty heave Shining Armour lifted her over his head and smashed Cadance right through the stained glass into the night air outside. For a briefest moment he looked triumphant before he was pulled out of the window by a tendril of red magic and both of them disappeared as they plummeted out of sight into the inky blackness.

"Big brother!" Sparks screamed, rushing to the window to look for any sign of her sibling.

Rock joined her at the shattered window and placed a comforting hoof on her shoulder. "He'll be fine. After all she's got wings now, remember?"

"His barrier is still up," Sparks said looking out, her voice shaking though with a note of relief creeping in.

"The throne room is one of the highest points in Canterlot," Fluttershy noted dispassionately. "They've probably not just hit the ravine below yet." She was shushed into silence by the others as that really wasn't helping. Fortunately Sparks didn't appear to have heard her.  

Rock glanced over to the sobbing wreck of a pony that had been Nightmare Moon, as she stood at Spark's side. "C'mon, lets just get this done. There'll be time to find him later."

"Right," said Pinkamena, reaching up and adjusting the Element of Magic on her head. "I think all we need to do is this."

Her Element started to glow as her eyes grew wide as the magic picked her up gently into the air. Rainbow beams of light burst out of the headpiece linking the six together lifting them as well as their own Elements started to glow in unison. However when the rainbow light hit Fluttershy's amulet the beam turned grey, then black, before shattering apart entirely. The elemental magic winked out dumping the ponies unceremoniously back onto the floor with a bump.

Pinkamena picked herself up and glared angrily in Fluttershy's direction. "Fluttershy, we've got to be in harmony, or this isn't going to work!"

"I can't do it," Fluttershy said, pulling off her Element and dropped it to the floor. "Can't do it and won't do it."

There was a general chorus of "you what?!", "you've got to be buckin' kidding me..." and a very distressed, "but, Fluttershy!"

"Nightmare Moon might be a bad pony and she might have made bad decisions, but she still doesn't deserve this," Fluttershy said, as she lied down next to her Princess.

"Fluttershy, I know it might be hard for you to do this, but we've got to bring the sun back for everypony in Equestria!" insisted Pinkamena.

"Just give me and her a chance, please."

"Fluttershy?" Nightmare Moon looked up and said, her eyes red raw from tears.

"I'm not going to let them do anything to you," Fluttershy said warmly, reaching out to dry her friend's tears with one of her wings.

Nightmare Moon attempted to smile, but failed. "It's okay," she said her voice cracking. "I don't mind if you use the Elements on me. It's no less than I deserve for what I've done. The moon is really not that bad when you get used to it..." she added weakly.

"No," Fluttershy said with steel in her voice. "It's not going to happen."

Nightmare Moon looked into the only pony's eyes that she'd ever been able to truly call a friend and began to laugh. It was quiet at first, but built rapidly into a victorious echoing cackle. "Fools!" she yelled, "then the night truly will last forever!!!"

"Well was a nice try I guess," Rock grumbled as Rainbow Dash groaned.

"And that's not going to happen either," Fluttershy said, putting her hoof down firmly.

Nightmare Moon's face dropped and she glanced nervously at Fluttershy. "Are you sure? I mean it's only been a year. I'm sure everypony will learn to get used to eternal night eventually," she added with a note of hopefulness entering into her voice.

"Please, for me, but more importantly do it for yourself," Fluttershy said taking Nightmare Moon's forehoof into her own. "You know that many ponies love and appreciate your beautiful nights now, so what have you got to lose bringing back the sun for some of the time? I know you're not the pony you were a thousand years ago. I'm sure of it."

"I..." Nightmare Moon looked around wildly as she tried to get out of having to actually think about and deal with this.

"I believe in you," Fluttershy said looking directly into her eyes.

"I'm not sure that I can," moaned Nightmare Moon. Her armour looked like it was boiling against her body though it wasn't getting even noticeably warmer at all to Fluttershy. Quite the opposite in fact as the temperature was dropping like a rock. Thick plumes of vapour were emanating out of the armour and drifting sullenly into the air. One of the vapours turned to look at her with baleful eyes. "They must... no, I must have eternal night. I promised them and I must fulfil that promise. I invited them in, me!"

Fluttershy refused to move as the vapour curled in between her limbs and blew about her mane. The streams of thick smoke were cold like only the very deadest of nights were. She thought for a moment she could see a different throne than the broken one by Cadance in the room right now. One permanently exposed to the void and all the silent emptiness that entailed.

"Fluttershy," Pinkamena said in a clear tone of concern of what she was seeing. Fluttershy waved a hoof in response signalling for the moment to let her try to handle it.

"Who is stronger?" Fluttershy asked firmly. "You or them?"

"Fluttershy!" Pinkamena yelled in alarm as the leaving vapour coiled ever more around her friend. Fluttershy flashed her a quick, confident smile as the Nightmare engulfed her entirely.

'Look at her she's pathetic.' It was less a whisper in her mind than a vibration on the back of her neck that chilled her to the bone. The walls around her seemed to recede till there was only uncaring, distant stars above and the dust of forgotten millennia beneath her.

The misshapen forms of the Nightmare were around her and yet she could only grin. 'You're actually trying to turn me against her now? Right after I refused to allow the use of the Elements of Harmony against her?' she thought back. 'Are you really that delusional?'  

'She is weak. You are strong. Why bother to serve somepony like her when we could give you such power beyond even your wildest dreams? All we want is your hate and we can give you everything.' The cold around her burned like fire as they spoke to her in discordant chorus.

Fluttershy could see now an image of herself in her mind. Terrible and mighty as a new dark alicorn ruling unopposed over an eternal night and all she had to do was say yes. It would be so very easy to say yes. Nightmare Moon was so minuscule she was even barely worth considering. Not compared to her.

The sight of her princess in front of her was all Fluttershy needed to resist. Betraying her now would be as impossible for her to will herself to stop breathing. She felt rather than heard the scream as the Nightmare released her.

With Nightmare Moon willing herself to resist for the first time in over a millennia and with Fluttershy's rejection the shadowy vapour boiled outwards. The vapour sort out any opening available as they leached in through the gathered pony's ears right directly into their minds.

'You despise the pointy headed fools that have brought the land to this.' Visions of Equestria as Rock had always feared it flooded into her mind. Unicorns grown obesely fat in fatuous self-indulgence and idle luxury bathed in scented oils as the other pony races starved during the grim cold of the never-ending night. 'Give in and you could build a new Equestria on proper values of an honest night's work. Just think what you could accomplish with our power and all we ask of you is your hate,' the Nightmare whispered into Rock's mind.

Rock was now witness to a new Equestria of majestic spires reaching into the night sky and plunging down into the very core of the earth under her direction and all she had to do was relent. She could see herself in the now mighty tower in Hoofington risen far above the broken and forgotten unicorn city of Canterlot. A dark alicorn goddess, her dirty white coat a distant memory and with three sparkling stars instead of cogs on her flank. All of it was within her grasp and all she had to do was be the mare she was always meant to be.  

'That's not me. I know what I am in my hearts of hearts better than you I think and while I ain't never claimed to be the best kind of pony, I sure as Tartuarus don't hate myself enough to ever give in to the likes of you,' Rock thought. 'Anyway let down this bunch?' she added as she looked around at her new friends, 'nah, that just isn't me either. Plus my little sis' would kill me!' The smoke around her cinched tight for a moment as if it wanted to choke her for her defiance before releasing her and drifted away

Rainbow Dash tried to laugh, but everypony was pointing and laughing at her instead. To all of them she was just a big fat joke. She tried to win them over like she always had with a wink and an easy smile, but the stony audience only jeered. Even those that she'd found comfort in the past now mocked her as another version of herself and Chrysi merged into a terrifying gestalt pegaling to lead them in chanting their hate of the one who'd only ever wanted to see them happy.

'It doesn't have to end like this,’ the whispery voices promised. ‘You know they'll tire of you soon enough in your heart. What will you do when the audience ceases to care? When the ones close to you leave you behind like the pathetic one-note joke that you are? We can make them stay, we can make them love you, we can make you the most mighty magician without ever having to fake it, and we can truly make you a goddess. Isn't that really what you deserve?'

'Silly cloudy,’ Rainbow Dash thought back, warmed by the sight of Trixie and Sparks huddling together even when surrounded by the Nightmare themselves. 'I've only ever truly wanted happiness for others and knowing I helped would see me happy even if they did leave me behind. Anyway I've never needed to be any kind of big snooty alicorn to have fun and if I'm having fun what more could you ever offer me other than boring responsibilities that I've never wanted in the first place?'

'But we could make you great and powerful.' Being only met now by laughter in response the cloud streamed back out of her ears.

'Now you are truly magnificent, Pinkamena. With us you could be greater than any other being that Equestria has ever known, even She that came before the royal sisters. Stars would tremble at your step. No pony would do anything without your consent. None would even dare,' the Nightmare in her mind promised Pinkamena.

Pinkamena considered the offer carefully as the Nightmare boiled both about and within her. It would be the culmination of everything that she'd spent her life working towards. Sure total control was probably not a good thing in any sense of the word good, but if there was going to be a benign dictatorship under an immortal goddess then why not her? 'No, I built my financial empire through my own self, nopony else's, and I certainly don't need to enter into a business deal with potential colleagues like you.'

'You used the mirror pool,' the cold voice pointed out. 'Would this really be so different? We only wish to serve as facilitators for your own desires as long as the night continues to reign eternal.'

Images threatened to overwhelm her as she saw her magic, no longer wild and inexplicable, but truly channelled through the new horn upon her forehead as she effortlessly remade Equestria itself in her image under the everlasting jet-black skies.

Pinkamena's head was starting to throb. There was a pressure on her skull now, as if a point was just waiting to push itself through. Yet she couldn't quite shake the feeling there was another her watching and she was chuckling her bouncy tail off. Pinkamena grinned as she realised she was indeed being silly. 'Who needs a Nightmare to reshape the world now that I've have friends to stand by my side. True, I may not be a unicorn, still I have done my share of reading and you may not have heard, but friendship is magic!' Her cutie mark blazed brighter than it had done on the day that she had earnt it as a young filly and the shadows round her boiled away into nothing.  

'We could give you wings, Twilight Sparkle. Remember how Cadance made you those cardboard ones to wear when you were just a little filly so you could look a like a princess? We could make that dream real.'

'I've never wanted to be a princess,' Sparks protested, as she shivered under the cloud's caress.

'Oh really?' the cold voice that spoke in a mocking, but not unkind tone that sent all the hairs standing upright all the way down her spine. 'You wanted so much to be like Princess Celestia after the summer sun celebration, but no matter how much you studied you weren't even good enough to take the test for entrance to her school. Not like her." Another Twilight Sparkle was summoned up into her mind. One that looked at her like she was nothing. She was after all nothing compared to the most faithful student that she could never be. 'Why shouldn't it be you who has a perfect life in Canterlot, you who has a dragon to call your own, and you to get everything that you've ever deserved?'

"Sp-Sparks, I-I'm so cold." The sound of Trixie's voice overwhelmed the whispers of temptation in a heartbeat. Spark's eyes snapped open to see her special somepony almost completely engulfed by the Nightmare. What caused Sparks the most alarm though was Trixie's cutie mark. From behind her wand and magic trail upon her flank a new full moon had risen.  

"Trixie," Sparks said, taking the other mare's face in her hooves so she could look right into her eyes. "I'm here for you."

'You don't need her,' the voices in her head hissed. 'Did Twilight Sparkle need another pony to lean on to be the best?'

'She's in another Equestria, but I'm here and she matters. They all matter and with her we're stronger together than any magic that you could provide.' Sparks thought back as she held Trixie close. The alteration to Trixie's cutie mark faded away as the shadows lifted from both their hearts.

Nightmare Moon was still struggling as the Nightmare forces that had been bonded with her for long thrashed against her. Looking up she could see them railing against Fluttershy too, but she stood solid as a rock and looked back at her with clear belief that Nightmare Moon could prevail shining in her eyes.

"Are they really stronger than the one that controls the moon, the stars and the night sky itself?" Fluttershy asked, knowing full well the answer to her question.

Fluttershy really did believe in her and Nightmare Moon figured that mean she could believe in herself too and if she couldn't she'd make herself a pony worthy of that trust. "No," Nightmare Moon said and ripped off her helmet letting her starry mane flow freely. "No, they're not!"

She pulled off the rest of raiment of the night which was crumbling to dust as it billowed out the Nightmare vapours. Shapes with eyes filled with eternal hate formed for just moments then dissipated again as they boiled out of the broken window and into the night sky.

"Nice look," Fluttershy said, grinning as she looked at Nightmare Moon's unadorned form. "It suits you."

"Thank you," Nightmare Moon replied and blushed lightly. Her coat was still as velvety black and her cutie mark was the same as it had been, but her eyes had changed. Her iris was no longer the dragon slits they had been and were now the same as any other pony though of course still glittering with ageless beauty of the alicorn that she truly was once more. "But for you," she breathed as even after what she had just achieved this would still be oh so very difficult for her, "You may call me... Luna."

"Luna," Fluttershy said, enjoying the sound of it. "Surely that should be Princess Luna?"

"For you, Fluttershy," Luna said, back smiling gratefully for what she'd done, "it will always just be Luna.” She turned to address everypony in the room. “Now please follow me. I think you will want to see this”

They followed her out onto the balcony where Luna stood facing the moon. It hung low in the horizon as the dark day gave way to darker night.

"Now you may want to be ready to shield your eyes," Luna said. "If it wasn't around the right time I really would wait for tomorrow for fear of inadvertently blinding anypony or anything looking in the wrong direction."

With a single beat of her wings she lifted herself into the air with her head flung back till she was silhouetted against the setting moon. A point of light on her horn formed, tiny at first and then grew larger till it was a ball of blazing light. Far off hanging low above the horizon the moon started to burn. An inferno that spread out from the centre until the whole moon was aflame. The light of the revealed sun banished the darkness of the day completely in a warm yellow light.

Rock stared in awe at the newly revealed sunset. She suddenly remembered how she had felt when she had been younger after spending weeks down deep mines and then upon returning to the surface being welcomed back by the natural light of the sun.

All over the lands of Equestria and beyond ponies, griffons, dragons and every other sapient race that lived on the surface and a few that usually didn’t, looked up into the sky with wonder as light returned to the world. Birds started to sing once, more after being silent for so long.

The sun seemed to burn red in the sky before it finally set in the natural order of things returning the true moon and a night that this time would not last forever.  

~~~

As the night set once more the rolling fields between the Everfree Forest all the way to Canterlot had been devastated. Once verdant grass was now torn turf, mud and strewn wreckage. Given the battle that was still taking place there was relatively little evidence of the fallen like in a more conventional fight on this scale. While the pink horde had returned to their place of origin on their individual destruction deep in the Everfree Forest, many of the beasts and creatures had either fled from the shock of food that swelled and then exploded upon eating into coloured sparkles or had been forced to depart after taking far too many hoofbucks than they could happily stand.

There were a few still littering the fields though. Leaning against a hillock a gargantuan hydra was nursing three impressively brutal headaches. A small once quite pretty lake now contained a very upset sea serpent wailing over the torn horror that had been his beloved moustache while a few naga desperately tried to calm him down. A couple of ettercaps had fled into the nearby town of Ponyville and were now getting roundly stomped into the turf single hooved by a red earth pony stallion. There was still one beast fighting on though. As the lesser timber wolves had fallen their nature spirits had coalesced into the mighty alphas; the feared lords of the forest. These too had fallen apart under the onslaught of so many earth pony hooves and now there was but one. Equal in size to an Ursa Major and towering far above any construction built by pony hooves. The true Forest King himself had come with the spirits of the all those born ever-free beating in his wooden chest.

The Forest King popped another bunch of the now very few Pinkamena's remaining on the field under his mighty paws. Yet another bag of green dust bounced off one of his immense legs to completely no effect resulting in a truly vile zebra oath being yelled at the top of Zecora's lungs.

Zecora paced in an attempt to calm herself down. "It is a notion I do now rue, but I may not have entirely thought this one though," she muttered to herself. The strange mood that had taken her seemed to have gone entirely now and finally she could think clearly again. It had been like an insanity to think that she could rile up so many, admittedly for a worthwhile cause, but not have any form of control. To make things even worse the sun had even come back as if to personally taunt her for what she had wrought.

"Heya, stripy pony!" said Pinkamena happily without any hint of enmity, as she popped up beside her.  

Zecora had always known to trust her instincts and they were telling her right now this was the same pony that had if anything saved Canterlot from annihilation by her stupid, but brave, instinctive reaction. She still even had that silly tie around her head, though now it was a lot more muddy and burned than it had been. Then if the Forest King wasn't stopped here he'd rampage for hours causing unimaginable damage before dispersing back to form the timber wolf pack of the Everfree Forest. "If he swallows this he'll return back to the trees," she said, showing Pinkamena the last bag of mystically prepared powder. "But I cannot even land it above his knees."
 
The Pinkamena placed a small stone down carefully. "Now, Rocky Junior you stay safe here, okay?" She formed a rough box shape in the air with her forehooves and looked through it carefully with her tongue stuck out for several moments as she worked something out. "Can you make him go towards that small bobse of cheese over there, Miss Stripy?"

Zecora looked around for whatever the mad pink pony was talking about before realising she meant the copse and nodded. She galloped towards the Forest King who had just dispatched all but one of the Pinkamena's back to their mirror pool home. Looking for around for new prey he spotted the zebra and broke into a loping run causing the ground to shake under the impact of his immense paws.

She reached the copse just before the Forest King and turned to look up the gargantuan timber wolf. The pink pony was nowhere to be seen. Zecora closed her eyes and tried to make her peace with the spirits before the inevitable happened. Maybe they could explain what exactly she'd been thinking...

The Forest King opened its cavernous jaws and roared. Zecora could barely stay standing as the trees bent double and were stripped of their leaves under the force of the gale. It was then she spotted that the pink pony who had somehow managed to get into the timber wolf's mouth and was waving the last bag happily back at her while leaning against a fang bigger than she was. It was almost making Zecora dizzy just looking up at her.

Zecora fought the urge to facehoof and yelled, "Throw it in and make him swallow the contents, you fool! Please quickly or you'll—"

With a horrible snap the Forest King's jaw slammed shut causing Zecora to gasp out in horror as the pony disappeared from sight. The giant timber wolf looked down at Zecora where she could almost swore she saw herself reflected in the massive green orbs that were it's eyes. Then it coughed and pounded it's chest once and then twice. Zecora barely had time to get herself behind a solid-looking oak before the Forest King exploded sending branches, logs and even a few moderately sized full-blown entire trees flying through the air to crash down over a substantial radius.

When it had finally stopped raining twigs Zecora poked her head out. She hadn't even thought to ask the strange pony her name, but even so she would commend her to the spirits as a true pony of worth for her noble sacrifice. Zecora sat down and stared at the smoking crater in the ground as she considered just what she could possibly ever do to make up for her actions in kicking the pebble and then thinking she could control the resulting landslide.

"What are you looking at, Miss Stripy?" came a familiar chirpy voice from right behind her head. "It's not profit, is it?"

Zecora jumped a good foot into the air before spinning around where she then still had to do a double take at seeing the Pinkamena completely unharmed. If a bit somewhat drooled on causing her normally bouncy mane to hang slickly down around her face.

"That just was not actually possible, I mean that could not have happened at all!" she exclaimed, staring at the pink pony as if she might just grow a second head as an encore.

Pinkamena cocked her head to the side. "Hey, did you hear that?"

"Heard wh—" Zecora started to say, but was interrupted as they both disappeared in a flash of magic.

~~~

When they eventually returned inside from watching the spectacle that had not graced Equestria for over a year they discovered a mint green unicorn waiting patiently for them by herself in the middle of the throne room.

"Lyra!" Rock said loudly and with a certain amount of surprise. "So that changeling..?"

"Safely locked up in the palace dungeon." Lyra turned so she could give Luna a significant look. "Which I'm pleased I must say to see were otherwise empty. Though I perhaps am not so enthused by the discipline of the royal guard these days." She glanced sidewise towards the open double doors through which a fair amount of enthusiastic kissing and wuvy talk could still be heard.

"Who is this Lyra exactly?" Luna asked Fluttershy who shrugged, before staring intently at the mysterious unicorn. "I feel like I know you, but I apologise for I cannot quite place you."

Lyra smiled. "Perhaps it would be easier to just get this over with all the sooner."

She spoke again, but this was with a somewhat more uncertain tone. "Will it hurt?"

The first tone of voice answered, "I will try my utmost that it does not do so."

Ignoring Luna and the other ponies deeply puzzled expressions, Lyra's horn ignited. For a moment she was standing in an intensely radiant sunbeam that blinded everypony watching. When the light faded and the spots cleared from their eyes where there had been one pony there were now two. Lyra was still there and flat-out on the floor with eyes shut while the other pony was just barely standing, though was clearly unsteady on her hooves, and was only just the larger of the pair. Her coat was pale, her mane was pink and there was a cutie mark of the sun upon her flank.

Fluttershy gasped in recognition. "Oh no," she whispered almost imperceptibly. "Oh no, no, no! She's not ready for this yet."

Luna strode forward wordlessly as if she was walking through a dream before she was towering over the other alicorn who had collapsed onto her knees. "Tia?" she said in a small voice.

"It's been awhile, my sister" answered Princess Celestia who attempted a friendly smile.

Pinkamena bowed low and the others followed her lead with the exception of Fluttershy who was too busy nervously chewing on her forehooves to be worried about protocol.

"Is she in good health?" Luna asked slowly.

"Lyra was not harmed," Celestia nodded to Lyra who was now loudly snoring. "Though the expenditure of such magical power has taken it's toll..." she trailed off as she looked down at reduced form and then added, "and on myself as you can see."

"I hope," Luna swallowed, "I hope you are not too disappointed in me, my sister. You were right, you know back then, right about everything."

Celestia shook her head. "No, not wise enough to see how much you were suffering. I should never have let it progress so far until the only option was to..." It was a sentence from her body language that screamed that she clearly did not want to finish it. "I am so sorry, my sister. I have missed you and it has very long time to think about what I could have done differently."

Luna's face was frozen. Behind her Fluttershy had already retrieved her Element of Harmony and was hurriedly gesturing for the others to get ready for the inevitable.

She bent down and hugged her now little sister to her hard. " Oh Tia, I've missed you so much!" Unnoticed to the reunited royal sisters Fluttershy slumped to the floor in blessed relief.

When the two were finally hugged out Princess Celestia tapped her hoof to call everypony's attention. "You have all done very well, but there is one last matter still remaining."

"If you do not mind my asking, Princess," Pinkamena said respectfully. "But what thing could that be?"

"Coincidences can happen," she replied, "but that certainly doesn't mean that they will.”

“Tia, I don’t think I understand either?” Luna said uncertainly.

Princess Celestia smiled back at her sister with an ageless look filled with wisdom to reassure her that in moments all would soon become crystal clear.

“Discord! Show yourself!" she commanded in a voice far more imposing than her younger, reduced form would suggest she was capable of. 
	
> Chapter 5: The Dawn of Harmony
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	

Celestia’s voice echoed around the throne room to no answer other than the puzzled expressions on most of the rest of the ponies present.

“Discord?” Luna exclaimed, “but that’s just not possible!”

“Princess Celestia, Luna is right,” Fluttershy said, moving to her mistress’ side. “I...” she paused as she tried to work out how to explain certain recent events in the shortest time possible and then gave up. “I recently talked to an expert and based on what she said there’s no way he could be free yet here.”

“Nonetheless,” Celestia insisted. “I recognise his works when I see them. There’s just been too many occurrences today for them to have all happened without assistance. Now, Discord you will show yourself!”

From the broken wreckage of the royal throne the sound of slow clapping could be heard. A draconequus confidently strolled out of the rubble; the effect was somewhat let down by him only being two hooves high, although he was wearing shorts and a pair of shades for the occasion.

"Oh Princess, you must have missed me to be shouting so loud!” Discord grinned. “Anyway, it's been far too long, hasn’t it? It was so boring when you went silent for a year and just how is a statue supposed to keep entertained when I can't hear everything that you say?" he asked rhetorically.

Luna growled low and dangerously. "You should still be a statue," she stated levelly.

"Oh do that again," Discord exclaimed. "Just to show that you really do care! But au contraire I am still a statue and I absolutely must protest it really was so very boring with your sister giving the old cold-shoulder wherever she was hiding and you banning everypony from visiting my humble abode. Most, most unthoughtful of you."

"Discord, you're not making sense," Celestia said. "Even for you."

"Sense! What fun is making sense?" Discord said gleefully. Then his face grew stern. "But if you really have to know while I am mainly still encased in stone it is true. Oh, that old captain of yours says 'hello' by the way, my dearest Luna. We have such delightful conversations as we while away the millennia about mossy lichen build-up and the annoyance of pigeons."

Luna grimaced while Fluttershy's face dropped as she worked out exactly what pony he was talking about. "No, no she didn't. Get on with it, will you?" Luna demanded.

"Oh if you insist," Discord said and sighed over dramatically. "I'm mainly still confined, but something—I must confess I have no idea what—opened a crack in my imprisonment allowing little old me loose to cause some chaos. Only whispers on the wind, but it's surprising what you can set in motion with just the right thought in the right place."

"So you're the reason that we were besieged by those constructs?" Luna demanded, moving closer to her sister so that they were standing united together. Pinkamena for the moment decided it'd be wiser to keep quiet about that.

"Not one of mine, actually, but wasn't that so very entertaining?" Discord said and chuckled to himself. "Perhaps you'd prefer it if I showed my work. Of course after so much delicious havoc I may have just enough power even in this form to do this!" He snapped his claws causing a flash of magic in the air that formed a very surprised looking zebra and a very battered, but otherwise identical, Pinkamena.

"—at?" Zecora said as she appeared. Then she spotted the tiny Discord and groaned. "Oh well that would explain a lot."

The other Pinkamena bounced over to Discord and crouched down so she could stare at the minuscule figure intently with her tongue stuck out and her tail wagging.

"I had been so looking forward to wild beasts of all shapes and sizes stalking the palace, but while manticores in the market and cockatrices in the cellars would have been delightful the destruction caused when they met her and her sisters was more than suited to my ends," he said, patting the Pinkamena playfully on the nose. "And all it took was entering the dreams of one zebra shaman to achieve it along with of course my old mirror pool I had quite forgotten about after all this time. Thank you, my dear, a truly bravura performance." He bowed ironically in the direction of Zecora who was swearing angrily to herself in her own tongue.

"Of course there's more!" He snapped his fingers causing a very surprised Queen Chrysalis to pop out of the air. "She was making her plans anyway, but all it took was a planted suggestion to make it tonight."

"You!" Chrysalis screeched and began to advance dangerously on the tiny figure with her horn crackling with power.

Discord held up a warning paw. "Now behave, less you'd like all these ponies to see you how you really used to look. Oh dear old Celestia knows of course, but I imagine you'd prefer nopony else to, wouldn't you?"

Chrysalis paled as much as she was able and sat down on her chitinous rump quietly.

There was a snap of Discord's claws again and this time Cadance and Shining Armour appeared entwined out of nowhere. They very rapidly separated upon realising they now had company both sporting matching blushes. Somehow the Alicorn Amulet had been removed from around Cadance's neck and the captain's ornate armour was equally now missing.

"Big brother!" called out Sparks delightedly to see her elder sibling still alive.

"Shining Armour!" yelled Luna sharply, significantly more reproachfully given the state her captain was in. Shining Armour gave her an embarrassed grin in return.

"I had so been looking forward to a three-way magic duel between Nightmare Moon, the wielder of ol' grumpy Dread Mare's fashion accessory and a changeling queen," Discord interjected into the surprise reunion. "Still they seem to have caused enough chaos anyway to suit my means." He sighed ruefully. "I had hoped to provoke one of the elder dragons from their slumber, call upon the sea ponies to slaughter the land-dwellers, and I was hoping for a few substantial mobs wielding pitchforks for Nightmare Moon to scream her defiance at, but I suppose it's just not stormy enough weather today for that."

"Discord, please, what exactly are you planning?" Celestia asked once more.

"Planning?" Discord laughed uproariously. "Accomplished is the word you're looking for, my little princess! With this much chaos today I've soaked up enough power to finally break free and there is nothing that any of you can do to stop me bringing about a new golden age of disharmony!"

"Ahem."

Discord looked around for who had interjected and spotted Pinkamena stepping forward. "And what exactly do you think you can do to stop me, Ms. Pinkamena Diane Pie?" Then he stopped and actually took in what she was wearing and burst into giggles. "The eye in the flaming star motif is attention getting I'll give you that, but what can you do with the Element of Magic, you silly earth pony, grow some pretty flowers at me?"

"And there I was beginning to think I'd got all dressed up for the party," said Pinkamena, ignoring his barbs.

"Ah you're deluded!" Discord exclaimed. "I do love deluded ponies though they do take some of the fun out of the challenge in breaking them. Tell you what any moment now when the statue finally shatters I've got a nice propeller beanie with your name on it to replace that gaudy golden monstrosity. How's that sound?” he asked, while waving a glass of chocolate milk around to emphasise his words. “Just any moment now."

Pinkamena grinned wickedly. "But nopony was going to ask me to dance."

The crystal eye in the centre of her ruby star headpiece opened wider as pure elemental magic began to form. Five rainbow streams connected the other Elements and their bearers were lifted into the air around the minuscule Discord who was actually beginning to visibly sweat.

"Now you know when I said deluded," Discord said nervously, as he suddenly became unsure of himself. "I really did mean that as a positive!"

From the rainbow bonds holding the mares together their Elements glowed ever brighter as their cutie marks formed around them in shining beams of light. These shot over and over at Discord pinning him immobile under their immeasurable power.

"No, NO!" Discord yelled desperately as he struggled futilely against the magic holding him sealed in place. Hearing the pop of suddenly displaced air he looked up and gulped. Hanging over the much smaller Discord was a very cracked, still mostly intact, and incredibly heavy statue of a draconequus frozen in time held aloft and wreathed by the magical energy of the Elements of Harmony. Without warning the statue sharply descended with a hefty and very final thud. The Elemental magic winked out and the cracks that had been formed in the statue receded rapidly until they had disappeared entirely. There was a pulse of black magic at it's heart for a moment then that too faded leaving the statue the same as it had stood for over a thousand years.

A number of pegasus royal guards flew in from the balcony led by one of the night guard. He pulled off his helmet revealing a shock of orange mane and nodded his head towards Luna. "Your majesty, we saw the explosion of magic. Do you require assistance?"

Luna glanced towards Celestia who gave her a subtle nod. "We thank you for your timely offer of assistance, Lieutenant, but we do wish to know what else has been happening."

"We done here?" Fluttershy asked quickly, as the royal guard were giving their report.

"Looks like it," replied Pinkamena, who was breathing heavily after the exertion of channelling such power.

"Good," she said. "I've got a promise I mean to keep to one of my own and the sooner I see to it the better. My apologies, Luna, but this is Shadowbolt business. I'll be back soon and we'll talk then." Fluttershy wings extended and she took off towards the closest exit that was the broken window. She paused for a moment at the window and looked back. “There’s a new palace guard called Fleur de Lys. She’s owed a commendation at least for loyalty to your rule for what she at least tried to do today.” With that she disappeared into the black. Moments later there was the unmistakable sound of the sonic shadeboom as a yellow streak rapidly headed for the wastelands.

"What was that about?" Luna asked, looking forlorn to be without her confidant so soon.

Sparks gulped nervously. “You don’t think she’s going to hurt somepony, do you?” she said, shaking a little as unwanted memories came to the fore.

“I’m sure she wouldn’t do anything like that again,” said Trixie, moving close to Sparks to comfort her by her presence.

"Well I’ve got no idea," said Applejack. "Might have something to do with when we met her she was getting chased by that changeling... wait, where is Chrysalis anyway?"

There was a very conspicuous absence of changeling queen and also a rainbow maned magician in the throne room.

Trixie sighed. "I'm sure Dash knows what she's doing." She paused and thought about that again. "Okay, I really hope that she knows what she's doing. Still I'm sure they'll turn up before long."

"Just one loose end to tie up then," said Pinkamena, looking over at the last of her doubles who was standing away from the group with a puzzled expression on her face.

Seeing that Sparks was busy shaking her rump with Cadance for some reason Pinkamena called Rock over. "Think you can pull the spell off?"

"Yeah, I think so," said Rock. She pointed her horn at the blissfully unaware other Pinkamena as her horn started to glow.

"What do you think you are doing with your horn so primed?" exclaimed Zecora, getting in between Rock and her target. "To destroy one such as her would be a crime."

Noticing what was going on the night guard lieutenant flew over and landed by Zecora. "Miss, you stand down that horn." He had a very thick, dusky accent that neither Pinkamena nor Rock could place.

Rock let the dispelling magic harmlessly dissipate and turned to Pinkamena for guidance.

"But she's not really real," Pinkamena protested. "We're just sending her back to where she came from."

"Miss, she's a bloody heroine of Equestria," said the night guard. "We couldn't do anything to help from behind the barrier keeping us confined as much as it kept them out, but we were all watching from the battlements and her and the rest of them fought like tigers in defence of Canterlot against an absolute horde of beasts and monsters and that more than makes her a heroine in my book. Whether she's real or not in your eyes doesn't even get a look in the way I see it."

"Come, my dear one," Zecora said, putting a hoof around the other Pinkamena neck who was smiling happily just being the centre of attention. "We must adjourn."

"Okay, stripy pony!" the other Pinkamena agreed.

"Hey you can't take her away yet!" the night guard said sharply. "We're going to give her a tour of honour and I reckon she's owed a set of official armour for her own."

"Ooh, that sounds fun too!" The other Pinkamena was starting to look worried over which of her two new friends she was going to spend time with. Perhaps a trip back to the mirror pool was in order, she wondered to herself before some nagging thought told her that really would be an absolutely terrible idea.  

"She does not have time to waste, with paltry tokens such as armour of plate," insisted Zecora pulling the Pinkamena closer to her.

Seeing there was a proper debate starting with no easy solution in sight Pinkamena and Rock wisely decided to back off. As they headed over to where Cadance was apologising so profusely to Luna that she couldn't get a word in to apologise back, Rock said, "you sure that's not going to bother you? Y'know having another one of you running about."

"You think it would, wouldn't you?" said Pinkamena. "Still I don't think I'd ever have the guts to attack monsters, so she's probably different enough now that she can do her own thing."

"You don't reckon it'll send you doolally again like when that changeling turned up?" Rock said, rolling her eyes and sticking her tongue out in a not particularly flattering imitation.

"Absolutely not," said Pinkamena giving her a flat unamused stare. Then she smiled. “Still y’know what I think I can think of at least a few roles she could fill in the guild. Least they’d save me having to attend the more boring side of the businesses.”

Having ducked away from where the Zecora and the night guard were still arguing, the other Pinkamena bounced over. “Hey, you owe me pebbles!” she said, trying to look stern, but was failing badly due to her random bouts of giggling and battered tie that was now hanging off one of her ears.

“Y’know, Pinks,” Rock said, moving to stand by the other Pinkamena. “I think we should have a long talk about what exactly counts as fair wages,” she said, giving Pinkamena a look who gulped.

As Sparks was still busy with Cadance and Luna, Trixie decided she’d take the time to satisfy her curiosity while she had the chance. She sidled up to Shining Armour and nudged him in the side. “Hi, I’m Trixie,” she said brightly.

“I know,” said Shining Armour, not bothering to look away from his new centre of attention. “You’re involved with my little sister.”

“Oh,” Trixie said, her eyes widening. “You know about that already?”

“I do pay some attention to her, Trixie,” Shining Armour said, finally breaking his gaze to glance at the magician. “even if she doesn’t always know I’m doing so. I wouldn’t worry about it too much though, as by all accounts you have helped her grow recently in getting her out of her shell and while your prior relationship with Rainbow Dash is a concern I understand that it is purely on a professional basis now.”

Trixie was silent as she tried to work out if she should be offended by that.

“Though I would appreciate it if you could rethink that outfit you have her wearing on stage.”

Trixie blinked a few times and then coloured a bit. “You don’t think that’s rather her decision to make and not yours?”

“She has had a very sheltered life until very recently, Trixie,” he said, holding up his forehooves defensively. “Please, do not take my concern as her brother too harshly as I just don’t want to see her get hurt.”

“Believe me neither do I,” Trixie shot back fiercely.

“Now that is a relief,” Shining said with a warm smile. “Did you want something anyway?”

“How did you ever persuade her to take the amulet off?” Trixie said, nodding her head towards Cadance. “You couldn’t have got it off her yourself by any kind of physical or magical force as I know there’s a magical lock on there.”

It was Shining Armour’s turn to blush now. “Well we finally ended up in a cave on the side of the mountain that Canterlot is built up against after I was able to grab onto her. Then we...” Shining paused before continuing. “We talked.”

“Just talked?” Trixie said, raising an eyebrow.

“Well mostly,” Shining admitted. “Eventually we agreed that if I took my armour off she’d take the amulet off and well things proceeded from there.”

Trixie started to laugh long and hard.

“And just what’s so funny?” Shining protested.

“Just amused that you apparently have a type,” Trixie said, with her eyes dancing. Her horn sparkled as two translucent glowing blue wings spread wide out from her sides.

“Hey, now wait a minute! I know there were some completely false rumours going on about me and...” Trixie ignored him and concentrated harder as she weaved her casting. All the mares in the room without horns, wings or either suddenly found themselves possessing well crafted illusions of both.

“While not a bad look; the one of the alicorn folk,” commented Zecora, as she inspected the glowing black and white feathered wings now formed upon her sides. “But on who exactly is supposed to be the joke?"

Shining Armour looked to his princess for support, but Luna was too busy having complete and total hysterics leaning up against a quietly unprotesting Rock. He then looked to his sister, but she was quietly hiding under her new magical wings looking almost as mortified as her brother was.

“I think that’s enough now, Trixie,” Celestia said gently, though she clearly was trying very hard to stifle chuckling herself. Trixie dropped the spell leaving Shining Armour looking like another trip out the window might be a preferable option.

“It’s okay,” Cadance said, and kissed the now bright red stallion’s cheek. “I think it’s sweet.” Taking his hoof in hers she escorted him from the throne room.

~~~

"So what happened after that?" Sweetie Belle asked. It was late into the evening of the following day and she was tucked up in bed.

"Well," said Rock, who was lying on the couch she kept in her little sister's room for telling her stories, "it all got a bit political after that." She'd only got off the evening Ponyville train back from Canterlot an hour ago and those discussions were still making her head ache. "As far as I can work out Princess Celestia is the official ruler again, but she says that it'll take her at least a year to even regain the power to control the sun again after her self imposed exile, so Luna is going to serve as regent."

Sweetie Belle's brow furrowed. "But if she's not a scary Nightmare any more doesn't that make her a princess, so why does she need to be a regent?"

"I don't get it either," admitted Rock. "Pinkamena figured it was some kind of self-imposed punishment for what she had done. Applejack just reckoned that while she didn't want to be Nightmare Moon any more she wasn't quite ready to be Princess Luna again either, so being just Regent Luna might be easier for her for now."

"Oh," said Sweetie Belle. "So are you going to get a medal or something for helping out?"

Rock sighed. "Yes actually,” she said, not sounding too keen on that idea at all. “There's going to be a big presentation ceremony tomorrow back in Canterlot."

Sweetie Belle wiggled out of the covers and jumped on the bed excitedly. "That's awesome, sis!"

"You're coming too by the way."

"But, Rock!" Sweetie Belle protested, her face falling. "Me, Scoots and Dinky were going to go exploring tomorrow."

"They can come too," Rock said. "Look, Applejack is bringing her little sister and she's also bringing her niece along from Manehattan to attend. They've never met before so she was hoping that another filly their age might help smooth things out so that everyone end up friends."

"Applebloom?" said Sweetie Belle. "But she's so boring talking about the farm and apples all the time."

"Please be nice, okay?" asked Rock and ruffled her little sister's mane. "Applejack was saying her niece is really self conscious about her not having her cutie mark and her sister doesn't get much time for fun with how much work she does on the farm so a nice day out in Canterlot would be good for both of them."

"Alright, I'll try," conceded Sweetie Belle, as she got back into bed. She remembered how annoying not having a cutie mark had been until she’d worked out the whole tree felling thing, so maybe she could help this blank-flank filly out. It’d have to be easier than trying to work out one for Scoots after all. Then if she wasn’t so obsessed in wanting to be like that griffon weather captain in town she’d probably have got hers by now anyway, Sweetie reckoned. "So did those pegasus friends of yours come back?"

"Well," said Rock, as she quickly worked through in her head how much of this she was going to have to edit out. "Sparks said Dash popped her head into her and Trixie's room just before dawn to say she was still alive, not any more nuts than usual, and that her and Chrysi—yes, that's really what she said—were very happy together and might even attend the medal giving if they weren't too busy and the princess and regent promised not to try and throw Chrysi in the dungeon again."

"Eww," said Sweetie Belle her face screwing up. "Can a pony and changeling actually be special someponies?"

Rock pretty much made the exact same face that her younger sister was making. "Apparently yes and no, I don't want to know the details either."

"So what about the other one?"

"Fluttershy turned up just before I was leaving for the train, so I didn't find out much what was going on with her, but she'd come back with another changeling in her hooves." Rock thought back to earlier. Fluttershy had looked like she'd been through Tartaurus and back again. While most had been blown off in her flight she still had horrible mucus clogging her mane and scratches and bites all over her. The thing that had really puzzled Rock before she'd had to leave and Fluttershy had dragged the heavily resisting and hissing changeling off towards the palace was the most amazing manestyle the changeling had. Especially as far as she knew the drones didn't usually have hair at all. She was definitely going to have to ask Sparks about that tomorrow.

"So Fluttershy went looking for a changeling to be her special friend too?" asked Sweetie Belle, her eyes wide.

"I..." faltered Rock who had really not expected that particular question. "I really, really don’t think so. Now it's time for you to go to bed. It's going to be a big day tomorrow."

"Aww," protested Sweetie Belle, "can't you tell me that story about you and the drunken cave troll again?"

"Just the one story tonight, sis," said Rock shaking her head warmly. "Now off to sleep and you have sweet dreams, okay."

Rock quietly left the room leaving her sister alone to drift off to sleep in peace. Sweetie Belle fell into slumber as dreams came of what tomorrow would bring. Dreams of her big sister and her friends receiving the respect of the princess and regent along with the adulation of the crowds in Canterlot. Dreams of new friends along with Scoots and Dinky and the fun that they all would surely have. Dream of a new dawn bringing happiness across the entirety of Equestria and beyond.

Unnoticed to the young sleeping filly, Luna stood in quiet vigil over her dream and smiled.