It was dark, but then it was always dark here, the only light coming from the moon that hung low in the sky, heavy and bloated. A baleful, all seeing eye that poured dirty, lambent light onto the city.

The streets were busy with ponies going about their business, illuminated by the harsh glare of sputtering neon as shops loudly proclaimed their goods to the city at large, competing to be the gaudiest display. The effect was only enhanced by the rain that drizzled down over the city, catching the brightly colored lights and throwing them back all twisted and distorted.

Hooves clicking on the pavement, I ducked my head further back into my hood. The heavy canvas cloak did a lot to keep off the rain. It did even more to hide my identity.

As I walked, I saw a colt run up to a poster of a midnight black mare crowned with a mane of shifting stars, identical to the thousands of others pasted around the city, and pull out a can of spray paint. The hiss of aerosol cut through the quiet babble of the street as he wrote a single word in dripping, blood red letters over the mare's face.

When he was done, he took off at a sprint, his hooves splashing over the wet pavement. He didn't get far before I heard shouts and the rapid tattoo of running hooves. If he was lucky, it would be quick, if not... well, there were rumors about just what was in the lower levels of the palace.

I hunched my shoulders some more and kept on walking, the bloody letters dancing on my eyelids every time I closed them.

Resist...

I hammered on the door and then, out of habit, looked around. The street was still empty, this was a bad part of the city, and that's saying something considering how bad most of it is, and no one in their right mind or on legitimate business would be there.

Still, just because I didn't see anyone didn't mean there wasn't anyone there. There could've been dozens of spooks watching me, and I never would've known it.

The door opened a crack and a dark eye peered out suspiciously.

"Who are you?" a querulous voice demanded. "What do you want?"

I pushed back my hood and stepped back a pace so the sickly, yellow light of the moon could illuminate my face. "It's me, Kal. Weaver. Now let me in before someone sees."

"How do I really know you're Weaver? You could be a spook in disguise..."

I sighed and resisted the urge to try and force my way inside. The empty street was really starting to unnerve me.

Steady, Weaver...

"Who else would it be? No, don't answer that," I said. "Look, I've known you since I was just a tiny little colt. You were the one who helped bandage me up after I flew into a tree when I was still learning how to fly. Your knee aches whenever it rains, which is almost all the time, and you have a constant pain in your left side that you don't want to tell your wife about because you're afraid she'll worry. It's me Kal, now let me in!"

The door swung open and I hurried inside. Kal, a dark blue colt with untidy green hair, slammed it closed once I was inside, almost catching my tail as he did.

"You're the last one here," he reported, locking the door. "We were starting to get worried that you'd been picked up."

"Not tonight, I got lucky."

I followed Kal into a backroom filled with ponies. Unicorns, pegasus and earth ponies of all ages and genders were huddled in furtive conversation that died away as I came in.

"Hey all," I greeted, as I came in. "Any news?'

"Weaver, you're late. We were worried."

I sighed and turned to face Gray, the de facto leader of our little group of revolutionaries. I didn't know his real name, he refused to tell anyone just in case we were captured, but he was old and crotchety and Groucho seemed like too obvious an insult. So I just called him Gray.

"I'm sure you were, now like I said, any news?"

He nodded, his wrinkled old face lighting up like, well, a light. "Indeed, for tonight is the end of the Empress's dark reign, for from her very palace I have stolen a book of magic, older then this city!"

I suppressed as sigh as he went on and on, and looked around the room. I found Dawn sitting against the far wall, her pale gray coat catching the light in a way that made her look absolutely breathtaking. I've always been a bit sweet on Dawn, I'm not afraid to admit, but she's always seen me as more of a kid brother then anything else so I try not to publicize it. She flipped her pale orange mane out of her face and waved to me.

Smiling I made my way over and dropped down next to her. "What's got Gray so excited?"

"You might know if you actually bothered to listen to him," she admonished gently, her eyes dancing. She didn't like Gray anymore then I did. "But basically he managed to steal a book of magic and he's convinced that one of the spells will bring forth the Elements of Harmony."

"What?"

"Thank you for that outburst, Weaver," Gray grumbled as the whole room stared at me. "As I was saying, I am convinced that this spell will cause the Elements of Harmony to manifest, and with their power we will be able to combat the Empress and drag her from her throne."

"The first thing she did when she took that freaking throne was destroy the Elements of Harmony, everypony knows that," I replied.

"And yet, I believe this spell with be able to manifest the Elements anyway. I've had Dawn researching and going over the spell all day and we're both convinced that it'll do just that. Right, Dawn?"

"Well, not quite," Dawn said awkwardly. "It's quite a complicated spell, and while it does reference the Elements, I'm not sure that it will actually cause them to manifest. I'm not really sure what it will do, actually. I'd like some more time to study it before we try it."

"But you are ready to cast it?" Gray pushed.

"Well, I suppose, but-"

"Then that settles it. Cast the spell as soon as possible. I want the Empress off that throne and dead as soon as possible."

And that's when there came a knocking, a rapping, at our chamber door. A dozen pairs of eyes turned as one to focus on the door.

"Kal," I said after a moment. "You said we were all here, right?"

He nodded and the bottom dropped out of my stomach. I knew the answer, but sometimes you just have to ask anyway.

"Then who's out there?"

"This is Captain Bolt of the Artemi," a voice boomed, as if in response. "Open up in the name of the Empress. Come out peacefully and you will not be harmed!"

There was a moment of silence and then the room exploded into chaos as somepony screamed, "Raid!"

I was already running at that point, dragging Dawn along behind me, when the door smashed inward and ponies dressed in ornate black and blue armor decorated with tiny silver stars poured into the building. The Artemi, the Empress's own enforcers. The secret police to root out the plots and revolutionaries that infested the city like parasprites.

There was a back door that opened into a remote alley, though. If I could get us there, we'd be fine. Dawn's magic would let her slip away without a problem, and once I took to the sky there was nothing under the moon that could touch me.

But we were only halfway there when the door broke inward and a pair of Artemi stormed in. Of course, they were nothing if not thorough.

Swearing I tried to reverse course and ran right into Dawn. We went down in a tangle of limbs right as the lead Artemi, a petite looking female unicorn, opened fire.

Literally.

A bolt of cerulean flame leapt from her horn and sizzled through the air where I had just been to splash against the wall, leaving a charred rosette.

Behind us the main room was in chaos as desperate conspirators threw themselves at the Artemi. One of them was on the ground, blood trickling from underneath their crumpled helmet. But for the most part it wasn't going well, the air was filled with the smell of smoke and burnt hair.

The Artemi are thorough, and ruthless. No one was going to make it out of here alive.

Choking on smoke, Dawn gained her feet and seized my tail in her mouth. I had a nice upside down view of the unicorn as she sent another bolt of cerulean fire whizzing by my head, and then we were in a side room.

"You have a plan, right?" I asked as Dawn locked the door. Peering around I noticed that the room was rather devoid of such useful escape features as doors or windows. Gray had picked this building as a meeting spot because he felt that only two entrances would make it more difficult for the Artemi to raid.

Apparently he forgot that, during said raid, unconventional means of exit, such as windows or skylights, are rather important.

What the room did contain was several pieces of heavy furniture and a musty old book sitting next to a carefully drawn magic circle.

"Maybe," Dawn replied, picking up the book. "Like I said, I don't think this spell will manifest the Elements. It's really complicated, but what I can make out involves a gate of sorts..."

"A gate? To where?"

"I'm not sure," she admitted. "But if you'd rather stay here..."

"Oh shut up and get to work," I snorted. We shared a quick smile and then she turned to the circle, her horn beginning glow with a soft, silver light.

The door rattled as somepony tried the handle, and then shuddered violently as they tried to force it open.

"Uh, Dawn? They know we're in here..."

"I need a minute or two, shove some furniture in front of the door or something. And try not to make too much noise, I need to concentrate."

"Yeah, I'll just stick my head out there and ask them to keep the sounds of death and violence to a minimum," I cackled as all the adrenaline sloshing around combined with the smoke to make me light-headed and slightly loopy.

There was loud snap and static arced through the air, causing my hair to stand on end as a... a rip opened in the air. That's the only way I can describe it, a jagged line of darkness that hung in the center of the circle.

"Is that what's supposed to be happening?" I asked nervously as more static crackled through the air.

"Shut up, Weaver."

" ...Is that a no?"

I looked around nervously, heart hammering in my throat. Static lightning crawled along the walls, snapping and sparking. The heavy smell of ozone was mingling with the smoke to make the air nearly unbreatheable.

"Come on," I hissed. "Hurry up!"

"This isn't like opening a door," Dawn snapped, sweat trickling down her face. "It's like trying to balance stacks of dishes while juggling chainsaws."

"Screw the dishes, just focus on the chainsaws!"

The door shook in its frame as the rip twisted and writhed in the air, a line of impossible darkness that seemed to somehow bruise the very air around it, but it stubbornly stayed the same size. Fighting to keep my breathing even and to not inhale too much smoke I started shoving furniture in front of the splintering door. "Dawn," I called, my voice panicked and sing-song. "Whatever you're going to do you should do it now."

"I already told you, this is a complex spell, if I don't keep it all in balance there's no telling what could happen."

"I don't care if you shatter all of space and time like cheap glass," I screamed as a heavy hoof smashed through the door and turned a small table into kindling. "Just frickin' do it!"

Dawn let out a frustrated snarl and there was a complicated moment where I was in a burning building that smelled of flour and baked goods and in a closet with acrid smoke rasping at the back of my throat.

Then the moment was over and I was in neither place, just tumbling into darkness as the rip exploded outwards.

---

Author Notes: I know many of you are crying foul. Not only is this Grimdark, but it's also about OC's!

I know.

Now, I'm not a fan of OC's or Grimdark stories, but I wanted to try something a bit different for this piece, and to do that I needed more leeway then the mane six afforded. Now, don't worry, this is going to include all your favorite ponies, but I needed to do some stage setting first. And since these are shorter then all my one-shots, I should end up updating more then just once a week. And don't worry, I pledge not to make these characters Mark/Mary Sues because I hate those.

As always, criticism, reviews and ratings are always appreciated. So grab a cup, can or bottle of your favorite beverage, sit back and enjoy.

And just as suddenly as it had begun, it was over. The nauseating sense of falling was gone in an instant, leaving me slightly dizzy.

"Dawn?" I called, feeling around. I was jammed in a tiny space, to dark to see. My foot was resting in a metal container of some kind and something long and hard was poking me in the ribs.

"I'm right here, Weaver. Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. But something's poking me in the ribs," I groused, shifting around as I tried to dislodge it.

"That would be my horn. You're more or less sitting on me."

"Oh."

A few minutes of struggling we managed to get into a slightly less awkward and uncomfortable position.

"Where are we?" I asked. Partly out of curiosity, and partly because I need to something with which to break the awkwardness.

"I haven't the slightest idea. I told you, I don't know what that spell does."

We stood in the dark for a long moment, mashed together uncomfortably.

"Do... do you smell muffins?" I asked uncertainly after a few moments.

We fumbled around a bit until Dawn found a door handle and we spilled out of the tiny space and into a large bakery, with the smell of baked goods hanging heavy in the air. Ponies sat at tables eating a variety of mouth-watering pastries as a waiter bustled back and forth between tables.

Everyone came to a halt as Dawn and I tumbled out of what I now realized was a broom closet.

"Uh, Dorothy? I don't think we're in Hoofeka anymore," I muttered, glancing around.

"Welcome to Sugar Cube Corner," the waiter said, rallying magnificently. "Can I get you something to eat?"

"No thanks, I'm good," I said as I shook a bucket off my hoof. "You want anything, Dawn? No, we're good."

"Could you tell us where we are, though?" Dawn interjected.

"You're in Ponyville," the waiter said, nonplussed.

I looked over at Dawn and shrugged. "And where's that in relation to Dark Moon City?"

If the waiter kept that look up he'd be in the running for the mortally confused award.

"Ooookay," I sighed. "Let's try something a little easier. We're in Equestria, right?"

"Yes, but I've never heard of Dark Moon City."

I blinked, how was that even possible? Dark Moon City was the biggest city in Equestria,a sprawling metropolis built around the ruins of the Palace of the Pony Sisters. It was the seat of the Empress, home of a million souls and nearly twice as many warm bodies.

I opened my mouth to say as much when I saw a pegasus in dark armor step out of the broom closet. His eyes settled on us and he strode purposefully forward.

"I don't know what you did, but in the name of the Empress I hearby place you both under arrest. Resist and die!"

"Dawn," I shouted as I scrambled into motion. "Fade! I'll catch up with you later!"

"But-"

"Do it!"

She let out a sound of frustration, but her horn glowed for a moment and then she was gone. The Artemi let out a snarl and leapt forward, crashing through a table in his haste to get to me, scattering ponies and sending plates and food flying through the air.

I ran for the door, hooves clicking wildly on the tile, as the Artemi charged after me, rapidly gaining ground. He was a lot bigger then I was, a lot more muscular and the armor that edged his wings glinted sharply in the light. If he got a a hold of me, I was dead.

But I reached the door first, heart thundering in my chest, and shouldered it open without slowing. Cool night air, fresh and clean and so unlike the humid, dirty air of Dark Moon City, hit me as I threw myself into the air, coal black wings unfurling to cup the night and lift me into the darkness. I couldn't help but laugh as the wind tugged at my white hair. I was safe.

The Artemi crashed through the door and jumped after me, his own wings carrying him after me. We circled higher and higher and gradually my heart slowed to something approaching normal as a gentle calm spread over me. I was still in danger, still running for my life, but I was safe as I could be. The Artmei surged forward, wings beating the air as he came at me, wings extended so the sharpened edges of his armor could slice me to ribbons.

I spun aside at the last minute, my hoof lashing out to bang against the back of his helmet as he flew past.

Nopony could touch me up in my sky.

He tried again and I let him get within inches of me before I surged upward, my front hooves coming down like I was playing leapfrog and smashed into his helmet as he shot underneath me.

Momentarily stunned, he tumbled through the air and I seized my chance, hitting from behind, trapping his wings between our bodies. Swearing, we plummeted through the air, one of his wings digging into my chest, a line of fire that trickled warm blood.

I building loomed up below us and I steered toward it, gritting my teeth against the pain in my chest. Right before we would hit, I pushed off the Artemi, wings laboring to keep me from crashing.

The Artemi wasn't so lucky. He hit with a sickening crunch that made my stomach twist, and sprawled on the roof, his limbs splayed and his wings crumpled. I watched him for a long time, and he never stirred.

As I was trying to control my suddenly rebellious stomach a pale blue pegasus with a ragged, rainbow hued mane zoomed down out of the clouds.

"Are you alright?" She called. "I saw that guy chase you out of Sugar Cube Corner and I thought I'd better-" she drew up short as she saw the Artemi lying on the roof like a broken toy.

I took off before she could say anything more. I'd joined up with Gray and his revolutionaries , but I'd never want to hurt anypony.

I'd never dreamed of killing somepony...

"Wait! come back here," the pegasus shouted, flying after me. She caught up in a matter of seconds, but I rolled out of the way when she grabbed for me.

It became an aerial game of cat and mouse. she was fast, and I mean really fast, and determined, but no one can touch me in my sky. I evaded her by millimeters each time, searching for an escape route.

I found one after a desperate few minutes, the pegasus was ridiculously fast. How could she keep it up that long? I was starting to get tired and I only had to worry about getting out of the way.

The pegasus speed around for another pass and this time I was barely able to roll out of the way as she roared by, leaving a blurred, rainbow trail in her wake. As she looped around, I tucked my wings and dove. The ground raced toward me as I sped up, the wind screaming around me until I was nothing more then a black and white blur.

The pegasus fell in behind me, wings beating rapidly. She caught up in no time, but I kept falling, even as the ground loomed close.

C'mon, I begged mentally. Don't be stupid, pull up...

At the last possible second she did, wings straining to pull her out of her dive. The excess momentum sent her shooting away down the street, giving me a moment or two. My own wings flared open and I hit the ground in an awkward, stumbling run as my speed carried me forward into a bush and disappeared in a puff of leaves.

Peering out of the bush I saw the pegasus circling as she looked for any sign of me. I held my breath until she had disappeared and let it out in an explosive gust. I hopped out of the bush and started walking, trying to look as nonchalant as possible. Just another pony out for a stroll, nothing to see here, move along.

Now I had to find Dawn and we'd beat a hasty retreat. Wherever we were wasn't much safer than Dark Moon City.

After a few minutes of walking I was completely lost, but I'd found Dawn. She'd given up on complete invisibility and instead just covered herself in an illusion. She looked the same, but her coat was now a dusky purple, her hair dark blue streaked with purple and pink.

At the moment she was standing at the edge of a small crowd and I edged up to her.

"Dawn," I hissed. "Let's get gone, before anyone else tries to take a pot-shot at me."

She turned and blinked at me, confusion evident in her face. "What are you talking about?"

"I mean we should get the heck outta dodge before anyone notices-"

"Hey, that's him!"

I caught a glimpse of the rainbow haired pegasus and swore. "Dawn, head out of town, I'll keep 'em busy and catch up with you later," I said, shoving her into motion as I leapt into the air.

But she didn't move, her horn just glowed a deep purple and bands of invisible force wrapped themselves around me chest, locking my wings to my side. Swearing, I plummeted back to the ground, hitting hard enough to see stars.

"What the hell?" I screamed, struggling to get up and just to take a breath. The bands were too tight, and I could barely breathe. "What are you doing?"

"I think you have me confused for someone else," Not-Dawn said, maintaining the spell as the crowd began to advance toward me. Now that I looked a few of those ponies look rather official, and I spotted one or two in golden armor. "We just want to ask you a few question, we're not going to hurt you."

"Right, that's what they always say, and yet nopony ever comes back," I laughed manically as I backed away. I was beginning to feel a little frayed along the edges, running on adrenaline for so long will do that to you.

"I don't understand, what are you talking about?"

"The Artemi," I cackled as I hit a wall behind me and couldn't back away any further. "They aways say they won't hurt you and yet no one ever sees you again. And you hear rumors about Twinkle..."

"Calm down now, she's tellin' the truth. We ain't gonna hurt ya. Jus' take a deep breath and tell us why that pegasus attacked you," an orange earth pony said.

"Because he's one of the Artemi, that's what they do."

"You're not making any sense," Not-Dawn said, her voice calm and soothing. The kind of voice you use on crazy ponies and wild animals. "What's an Artemi?"

"Leave him alone!"

The air shimmered and suddenly Dawn appeared in front of me. Her horn glowed for a moment and Not-Dawn let out a quiet gasp as the spell holding my wings broke apart.

I stepped up next to her, gratefully sucking in huge lungfuls of air. "Boy, Am I ever glad to see you."

"Glad I got here in time, you seem to be pretty popular right now. What happened to the Artemi?"

The image of the Artemi sprawled bonelessly on the rooftop came crashing back full force. All I could do was close my eyes and shake my head as I fought back my nausea. But Dawn understood, she always understood.

"I'm sorry," she said, her voice gentle. "Are you all right?"

"I will be." I gave her a shaky smile. "You have any ideas on how to get out of here?"

"Could you fly us out?"

"No, that rainbow one is pretty damn fast. No way I could outrun her and if I was carrying you I doubt I could outmaneuver her. What about you, you got any magic that could get us out of here?"

Dawn shook her head. "I don't think so. The one that kind of looks like me has my magic more or less locked down. She's strong enough to counter anything I try."

"What are you talking about? She doesn't look anything like you."

"Then how did you know which one I was talking about?"

"I... shut up."

"I hate to interrupt, but why doesn't everyone calm down and we'll just talk for a minute instead of plotting drastic measures," Not-Dawn said. "Who are you two, and who was that pegasus?"

"I'm Dawn, and that's Weaver. We're from Dark Moon City."

"Dawn!"

"What's the point in trying to hide who we are? The Artemi are already after us and we're not exactly flooded with options right now. These ponies seem willing to talk before they start with the killing and arresting so, currently, they're our best bet."

There was logic in that. There was logic in almost everything Dawn said. Didn't mean I liked it though.

"That pegasus was a member of the Artemi, the Empress's enforcers. Not that you didn't know who they are," I added.

And then to my shock, Not-Dawn asked a question I never thought I'd hear.

"Who's the Empress?"

Hey, lookie here, an update of Resist! Who'da thunk it. Acutally, the only reason this is getting updated is because someone specifically asked for it, so here it is. I'll try to keep the updates more normal from now on. But in the mean time, grab a cup, can or bottle of your favorite beverage, sit back, read, review and enjoy.

---

I glanced nervously at the golden armored guards around me, they all seemed to look exactly the same and they never seemed to talk.

Creepy.

"So... are you all like, identical twins, or is a spell of sorts?" I asked as we walked along.

"It's a spell anchored to their armor," Twilight explained as she lead us deeper into the palace. After a little bit of talking, Twilight, as Not-Dawn's name turned out to be, decided to take us to see someone named Celestia, saying that she would better understand just what was going on. Dawn and I had agreed on the basis that, while we were surrounded, nopony seemed overtly hostile and we didn't really have any better ideas. "It allows them to protect the Princess, yet still be able to live normal, anonymous lives outside of their service."

Dawn asked a question about the logistics of the spell and I let my attention wander as they both talked shop. The palace was beautifully decorated, I had to admit. All marble and gilt and plush red carpet. I felt like I was lowering the property value just by being there.

I wanted to take to the air, maybe look around a bit, but the unspoken agreement seemed to be that the guards wouldn't stop us from leaving, as long as we didn't try to leave.

There was a rustle of wings and the blue pegasus settled to the ground next to me, Rainbow Dash she'd said her name was.

"How did you do that?" she asked without preamble. "That dive thing, I mean. You should've splattered against the ground."

"I don't know," I shrugged. "It's easy, you just have to move your wings, and move them like this" I extended my wings and demonstrated. "And turn your downward momentum into forward momentum. Then all you have to do is worry about keeping your balance."

Rainbow Dash extended her own wings, the pale blue feathers a stunning contrast to my own, so black that they seemed to possess deep blue highlights, and tried to mirror the movement and then winced as it twisted her muscles in a odd way.

"It takes a lot of getting used to," I said. "Your wings aren't really meant to twist that way, but it's worth the work."

We chatted a little bit the guards led us deeper into the palace, mostly about flying. She was going on about something called the Wonderbolts when we passed through a large arch and entered what could only be a throne room.

I drew up short, my mouth hanging open. The room was huge, the walls lined with beautiful stain-glass windows while a thick red carpet rolled away across the marble floors, ending at an ornate throne that sat on a raised dais. Behind the throne was a circular window of clear glass that perfectly framed the moon.

But this wasn't the sickly, bloated thing that hung over Dark Moon City. This moon was tiny, the size of a bit, and gleamed a beautiful, calming silver.

It was one of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen.

An on the throne, bathed in the moon's serene light, was an alicorn. She was every inch a ruler, cool and regal, flowing blue hair falling over a silky black coat. All around us our escort fell to their knees, bowing before the alicorn. Dawn just nodded and I did my best to look unimpressed.

"Twilight Sparkle! It is good to see you again Please, stand, all of you. I will not have you standing on ceremony on my account," the alicorn called as she descended from the dais. "I've sent one of the Rainbow Guard to rouse Celestia like you asked, but what is so urgent? Your letter sounded positively frantic."

Not-Dawn, or Twilight I suppose her name was, replied, but I was to busy staring in shock at the alicorn's flank...

No, not like that. Shesh, get your mind out of the gutter.

What I was staring at, was her cutie mark, a splash of blue stamped with a single crescent moon. The face was different from the one I'd seen on t posters pasted all over the city, but there was no mistaking that cutie mark.

It was her.

It was the Empress.

Dawn let out a cry as she noticed it too, and her horn flared to life. I leapt into the air as several of the guards reacted immediately, leaping at this sudden threat. I lashed out with my hooves as I hovered over Dawn's back, trying to hold the disguised Artemi away long enough for Dawn to do whatever it was that she had in mind.

Twilight was shouting for everypony to calm down, but I was too busy kicking an Artemi in the face to listen. From beneath me I heard the sound of magic and the Empress was yanked into the air, surrounded by a nimbus of silver light that was slowly contracting, squeezing her to death.

I struck out, left and right as the guards tried to swarm over Dawn, but eventually I was borne to the ground, kicking and bucking.

"Stop!"

A voice cracked out across the throne room and everypony froze, even me. There was just something about the voice, as if it not only wanted you to obey, it expected it. A second alicorn stepped into the room, her hooves clicking sharply on the marble.

"Release my sister," she said, glaring at Dawn. "Or I will kill you myself."

Dawn hesitated, and then dropped the Empress. I took the opportunity to kick free and take back to the air, taking up position over Dawn's back. The situation was about to devolve back into violence, but for now everypony seemed content to wait and see what would happen next.

"You may stand down," the new arrival told the guards, ignoring their protests. Her eyes fell on Twilight and she frowned. "Twilight, just what is going on here?"

"I'm not really sure, Princess," Twilight admitted nervously. "I was kind of hoping you could help us find that out..."

I was understandably reluctant to 'sit down and talk' and it took the persuasive abilities of both Dawn and Twilight to talk me around, even after Celestia had sent away her guards. But finally, I concede and we all adjourned to a small room connected to the throne room.

While the throne room had been all gilt and marble, this room was cozy, done with soft, warm fabrics and comfortable old wood.

"I suppose we should start with introductions," the princess said once we'd all taken a seat. "I am Princess Celestia, and this is my sister, Princess Luna. You've already meet my student, Twilight Sparkle, and her friends, Rainbow Dash and Applejack."

"And I'm Dawn."

"And I'm Weaver."

Celestia nodded. "From Twilight's note, I take it you two are not from Equestria?"

"No, we're from Equestria," I replied as I kept an eye on the door, just in case. "Just... not this Equestria. The moon is all wrong, and everything feels... different," I shrugged, at a loss for words.

"I think I might know what happened," Dawn said slowly. "But I'll need to check a few things before I commit to a single hypothesis. Is there a library I can use?"

"Twilight can show you to the Royal Library. I'll let the librarian know that you are to have full access."

"Thank you."

"But before you go and start studying, I'd like to figure out just what is going on," Celestia said, stopping Dawn as she started to get up from her seat. "Apparently you were attacked by a pegasus in Ponyville?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "He was an Artemi."

"Yew said that several times now, sugarcube," Appljack said gently. "But ya haven't said just what an Artemi is."

"An Artemi is a member of the Artemis League, a group of ponies sworn to protect the Empress by any and all means necessary," Dawn explained. They hunt down and punish revolutionaries, and dig up plots against the Empress."

"And the thing about plots and revolutionaries is that, even if there aren't any to begin with, if you look hard enough you'll find some," I interjected helpfully.

Dawn nodded. "Nopony is above suspicion, everypony lives in fear of coming home to find it empty, their families and loved ones gone and knowing it was just a matter of time until they came for you too..." Her voice broke and I pulled her into a hug, gently stroking her mane. I'd been with her when she'd come home that day, I knew what she was going through.

She looked up at me, her eyes full of tears and I leaned closer until our snouts were just inches away. My heart quickened as the moment stretched into eternity and we moved inexorably closer. Just a few more inches and...

"But why where they after you?" Rainbow Dash burst out impatiently. I shot her a glare that could've melted steel and then sighed when I realized the moment had passed and Dawn had buried her face in my shoulder, her body shaking with emotion.

"Because when you've got nothing left you're willing to risk it all," I said. "We were part of a revolutionary group. The Artemi raided the meeting and we tried to escape, but they had us boxed in so we had to take a gamble. Next thing we know, we're in a broom closet."

Celestia nodded slowly, as though I was making perfect sense. The rest of us, including Luna, just looked lost.

"There's just one more thing I need to know," she said. "Why did you attack my sister?"

"Because of her cutie mark," Dawn replied, her voice still thick and shaky from crying. "It's the same as the Empress's."

Twilight and her friends frowned while Luna started to look a little panicky. "Do you think-" she began, but Celestia cut her off.

"I don't know, but we'll do everything we can to find out," Celestia assured her sister quietly before standing up. "Twilight, if you'd take Dawn to the library I'll have Weaver shown to their rooms."

"I'd rather stay with Dawn," I said quickly. "And, uh, help her with research..."

Celestia accepted that without comment, but made us promise to alert her the minute we found anything. After that, Twilight and her friends led us to the library.

It was going to be a long night...

Several hours later we were heading back to Celestia's throne room and I felt like a wreck, having spent the last several hours flying back and forth grabbing books for Twilight and Dawn as they discussed the kind of magic theory that has left numbers behind, passed through letters, and could only be represented by nonsense squiggles.

Still, it could've been worse. Applejack had managed to scrounge up a plateful of apple muffins for everyone, and I could already feel the coffee she'd found me kicking in.

The guards pulled open the double doors and we hurried inside.

Or at least tried to. The doors swung open and I stumbled back, Dawn crying out beside me. My vision went white, and the pain almost drove me to my knees.

"What is that?" I managed to scream, but there was no answer.

Author's Notes: This is a slightly awkward chapter, and it really should've been cut in half and just combined with the chapters on either side of it, but it's a bit late to do that, so whatever.

Also, I just realized that whenever I upload a story, fanfiction automatically takes out the row of asterisks I always use as a divider, which explains a lot of the feedback I've been getting about making transitions clearer.

One last thing, right now, I'm currently out of ideas. I want to keep writing, but I don't have any ideas that really seem worthy of writing up at the moment. So, if you guys have anything you want to see (that preferably includes Twilight) send me a private message, all credit for the idea will be given to the source.

But for now, grab a cup, can or bottle of your favorite beverage, sit back, read, review and enjoy.

---

I managed to get my wing up in front of my face and was able to open my eyes. The light was bearable if I kept them squinted closed, though vicious red and purple after-images danced like phantoms in front of me.

The throne room was filled with ponies and guards who were all staring at me. Dawn had taken cover behind me, and I extended my other wing to give her more of a shield against the blinding light. Twilight and her friends were staring at us, and I could barely make out Princess Celestia on the throne.

The light was pouring from the window behind the dias, the soft silver of the moon gone and replied by this harsh, burning light that forced my eyes closed once more.

"What is that?" I repeated, my voice pained. No one answered, and I had to lever my eyes open to peer around. No pony else was reacting to this agonizing light, in fact they all looked incredibly nonchalant about it.

Finally, Twilight spoke up, her face creased with confusion.

"What is what?"

"That!" I cried, gesturing toward the source of the light.

There was a long and confused silence. "You mean... the sun?" Rainbow Dash ventured eventually.

"Yes, sure, why not? Just shut the damn thing off!"

"You've never seen the sun before?"

"No, I don't even know what it is!"

"Sounds like somepony needs ta get out more," Applejack muttered.

Further comments were forestalled by Celestia rising to her hooves. "I apologize, but I need everypony to leave the throne room," she said, her voice carrying through the room. "I have promised these five a private audience."

"Weaver, Dawn, are you both all right?" the princess asked once the room had emptied.

"I'm fine," I snapped, a little irritated. The light really was extremely bright. "I really do enjoy being blinded."

"Celestia let out a little sigh and I felt a surge of magic as the light slowly dimmed. Not a lot, but enough that I could peer out from behind my wing without being blinded.

"I really shouldn't do that," Celestia said, peering at the window behind her with a slight frown. "But can I take it that you have never seen the sun before, Weaver?"

"Never seen anything like it."

"Then I'm afraid I may know where you two are from, but let's not jump to conclusions. Twilight, Dawn, how did you research go?"

"Boring," Rainbow Dash muttered under her breath and I heard Applejack swallow back a laugh.

"I couldn't find anything in the Library about a Darkmoon City, but we did manage to locate the spell Dawn originally used," Twilight said, before letting out a huge yawn.

"We were able to figure out enough of the spell that we should be able to reverse the effects, creating a portal back to where Weaver and I came from," Dawn finished.

Good, because I was going to ask for you to do just that," Celestia smiled. "If Darkmoon City is as dangerous as you say it is, I'm not sure I like the idea of ponies just dropping in from there. Twilight, I would like you and your friends to accompany Dawn and Weaver back to Darkmoon City and find out whatever you can about it."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" I said, lifting my hooves. "Dawn and I are sorta persona non-gratis at the moment. Who ever said we were going back?"

"I did. I am asking you to go back and to act as a guide for Twilight and the others, to keep them safe and ensure that they return unharmed. Right now, I'm asking you this, but I could just as soon force you to do it." Celestia stood, and her smile was long gone from her face. "There is more going on here then you know, then I know, and my subjects may be threatened. I need to know more, and you and Dawn are the only ponies I can ask. Will you help me?"

"We'll do it."

"What!" I demanded, spinning to face Dawn. "Are you crazy? If we go back there, we're dead! The Artemi-"

"I know," Dawn said. Her voice was quiet, but it cut through my protests without a problem. "But what if they come after us, or what if the Empress decides that she wants to make her domain a bit bigger? The princess is right, something big is happening or is going to happen. If we don't go back, I don't think we'll be safe here for very long."

I wanted to argue, but I couldn't. Dawn was going to go back, and all I could do was go with her and make sure nothing happened.

When you've got nothing left you're willing to risk it all, well that's not entirely true. There's always something left that you'll never give up, even if it is just the mare you grew up with.

"Alright," I sighed. "Lets go."

Together, Twilight and Dawn cast the spell. There was a moment of vertigo, and then I was tumbling down into darkness.

(* * Asterisks go here * * )

The spinning stopped and I was dropped out onto dirty pavement. There were a few more heavy plops as everyone else dropped through, and then the rift zipped closed and we were alone on a dark and empty street.

I pushed myself to my feet and looked around, trying to take stock. From the look of it we were near the palace, quite a ways away from where the raid last night had taken place. That wasn't good, we'd have to get away from the palace rather quickly, there were to many patrols here for comfort.

They'd ignored me in the throne room, but if were going to have an easy trip here I was going to have to get them to start listening.

"Welcome," I cried, spinning in a slow circle with my wings outspread. "To Darkmoon City! Bustling metropolis, home to a million souls and twice that may warm bodies. Where a shadow could hide a guard ready to drag you away, and speaking your mind could sign your death warrant."

The rain was still drizzling down on the damp city, and the cheap, fizzing neon was reflected in the scummy puddles and the debris strewn gutters.

"Here, the moon is always high and full and the night is always young. The dawn is never coming, and the stars have long since forsaken this hell-hole! But it's not all bad, I hear the palace dungeons are to die for..."

"Stop trying to scare everypony," Dawn chided, whacking me gently upside the head as she walked past. "It's not nearly that bad here."

She was right, loath as I was to admit it, I felt much more at home among the shadows and glare of the neon then I had in the sunlight of Celestia's Equestria, but there was no need for the others to know that. I still wasn't all that happy with coming back here so soon, and if I was going to be scared so was everypony else.

"I'm not scared," Rainbow Dash scoffed, though it seemed a bit forced. Nopony else seemed to notice though, so I didn't comment.

"Where's tha sun?" Applejack asked as she craned her neck back to stare up at sky. "Wasn't it jus' mornin'?"

"There's no sun here," Dawn said. "There hasn't been one for so long that nobody even remembers it. It's always night here, and the moon is always full. Come on, we should get moving."

"What are we even looking for?" I asked Twilight as our group set off. "Your Princess just told us to show you Darkmoon City and here it is! Can we go back now?"

"What's the matter? Scared?"

I glared at Rainbow Dash as she swooped down along side me, smirking. "Yes, I am," I gritted out. The brash pegasus was really starting to get on my nerves "And you would be too if you had an ounce of brains."

"Hey!"

She came to a stop and I did too, swinging around in a tight circle to hover face-to-face with her.

"I'm not scared because I'm not a big baby!" she said, sticking out her tongue.

"No, you're not scared because you're stupid! You have no idea how dangerous this place is. If the Artemi don't get you there are plenty of other things that will!"

And that, of course, was when a group of ponies in black and blue armor rounded the corner.

"Everypony, stay calm," Dawn murmured quickly, before anypony did something stupid like try to run.

Though maybe we should've tried that, because the lead Artemi, a burly earth pony, took one look at us and motioned for her people to spread out and surround us.

"Hey, I know you," he growled. "You're the two who escaped from the raid yesterday! Well consider yourselves under arrest. In the name of the Empress, surrender or die!"

"Dawn?"

"Yeah?"

"Told you we shouldn't've come back."

"Shut up." Twilight and Dawn replied in unison.