Sasha and Rarity both sat at a bench near the food court. Both of them looked winded and sweaty, having spent an entire night at the Summer Sun Celebration fair. Sasha weakly tore a piece of funnel cake off a paper plate she held. Holding the piece to Rarity, the white unicorn simply shook her head in refusal.

Sasha, sighing dejectedly, lifted the morsel to her face and chewed it just as slowly, looking ashamed that she could still continue eating after all that she had imbibed and eaten that night. As Sasha set the plate down behind her, two royal guards stepped up to them.

“Sasha Braus,” reported one of the guards. “It’s time.”

Sasha, alerted by her call to duty, stood up and brushed the cake crumbs and powdered sugar from her clothes. As the guards escorted Sasha towards the palace, Sasha turned back and gave her friend a goodbye wave, which Rarity returned.
________________________________________________________________________________________

Conny and Pinkie Pie screamed for joy as their car of the tilt-a-whirl spun crazily along the track. Their screams arced into laughter and then into amusing terror as the spins would erratically change. The track began to slow down, making Pinkie Pie and Conny groan with displeasure.

Once it came to a stop, Pinkie Pie and Conny leapt out of their car and towards the exit, already scanning the park for another ride to ride. As they left the gate and got back to the park, two guards were already waiting for them.

“Cool!” chirped Pinkie Pie. “Hey, Mr. Royal Guards, do you think you can let my friend and I cut in line at the roller coaster?”

“We’re not here to let you ride rides,” one guard spoke. “We’re here for Conny. Please, come with us. It’s time.”

“Oh, right,” Conny moaned, cursing his forgetfulness as the guards escorted him, “I’ll… see you later, Pinkie.”

“Break a leg, Conny!” shouted Pinkie Pie. “I mean, don’t break a leg, but still break a leg!”
________________________________________________________________________________________

Jean and Fluttershy stood inside the petting zoo amongst various farm animals and excited foals. Jean, holding a long, paper cone of cotton candy, smiled as he watched over Fluttershy tend to a pig and a couple of lambs, petting them all with a loving and happy expression on her face. Hearing a nibbling sound behind him, Jean looked to his side to see a goat nibbling on his cotton candy.

While slightly disgusted at the state of his now ruined treat, he looked back to Fluttershy and her gentle treatment of the animals. With a sigh, he let the stick drop out of his hands, the goat happily braying as it waltzed away with his cotton candy. Watching it go off, he found two royal guards looking back at him, waving him over. Knowing what they wanted, Jean leaned over to Fluttershy and whispered in her ear before turning and making his way to the guards.

“Bye, Jean!” Fluttershy called. “Good luck!”

As Jean hopped the metal gate, the goat stepped in front of it with the cotton candy in its mouth. Realizing its origin, Fluttershy smiled again for her friend’s kindness.
________________________________________________________________________________________

A wooden ball collided with a small tower of tin cans at one of the tents, knocking every one over minus one. Applejack, standing next to Mikasa, grumbled at her failure.

“Oh, for goodness sake!” she moaned.

“Let me have a try,” Mikasa asked.

“Certainly, madam!” a carney in a red-and-white striped shirt replied. “That’ll be one bit!”

Mikasa placed the coin on the counter, for which the carney exchanged it for one wooden ball. Mikasa picked it up and held it with both hands at her chest, taking aim at a freshly stacked tower of cups. With nearly inhuman reflexes, Mikasa wound her arm back and threw forwards, sending the ball flying at the tower.

The cups soared back, left, and right, some of them, nearly hitting the other towers. The flying cups made the carney hide behind his counter in fear. Looking up at the expectant Mikasa, he stood back up and retrieved a large yellow teddy bear.

“Here you go,” he quickly spoke.

“Nice arm, Mikasa,” complimented Applejack.

Mikasa smiled as she and her friend were about to walk off, only to be halted by a pair of guards. Mikasa, instantly getting the hint, mounted the teddy bear on Applejack’s back.

“I want to give that to Apple Bloom,” she spoke. “I’ll see you after the sun rises.”

Applejack nodded as Mikasa walked to follow the guards to the palace, Applejack walking in another direction with her sister’s new bear.
________________________________________________________________________________________

Armin, Hanji, and Twilight strolled through the crowds together, a candy apple on a stick in Armin’s hand. As they looked for any other of their friends, they managed to spot Levi and Petra coming towards them with Spike walking in between them. Twilight also noted that it was Annie who was escorting them.

“Annie,” greeted Twilight, “I’m assuming that it’s time for Armin and Hanji to get ready?”

“Yes,” she responded. “I needed to find you so I could make sure Spike was with you once we leave.”

“I appreciate it. Thank you, Annie.”

“Armin, Hanji,” she beckoned. “Let’s get going.”

“I’ll see you later, Twilight!” called Armin.

“Good luck, guys!” called Spike with his hands cupped around his mouth. “We’ll be there cheering for you!

By the time Spike had finished, the five humans had already gotten too far out of earshot.
________________________________________________________________________________________

Eren and Rainbow Dash lied face-up on a pile of hay, looking up at the night stars. Both were stuffed with food and cider, and they were both long tuckered out from doing rides with Pinkie Pie. However, their current spot was easily giving them more pleasure than any attraction could.

“The night sky is beautiful here,” Eren said. “I can hardly believe a place like this exists, even with all the things I’ve seen after the war.”

“Well, believe it,” Rainbow Dash replied, rolling over to face him, “because in an hour, you’re going to witness Celestia raising the sun!”

“I’m sure it will be really something.”

Suddenly, Eren began to realize something, only for the answer to hit him hard. Shooting to his feet, he gasped, alerting Rainbow Dash to his reaction.

“That’s right!” he exclaimed. “I need to get to the palace soon.”

“Relax, dude,” Rainbow Dash told him, nudging his leg with the back of her hoof. “I’m sure they guards will get ya’ when they need ya’, so let’s just sit back down and have a nice–”

“Eren Jaeger,” called two pegasus guards. “Your presence is requested at the palace.”

“Aw, come on,” Rainbow Dash groaned.

“It’s okay, Rainbow Dash,” assured Eren. “I’ll come and see you after the ceremony. I’ll see you!”

Rainbow Dash reached out as Eren walked away with the other two soldiers. Feeling a bit alone, Rainbow Dash trotted over to find any one of her pony friends.
________________________________________________________________________________________

A crowd had begun to gather around the platform where the official raising of the sun would take place. A collection of eight guards stood along the platform’s edge with bugles held up by stands to their mouths. Twilight and her pony friends were front and center in the crowd, right at the foot of the steps to the platform, itching for the moment that Celestia and Luna would appear to begin.

“How much longer?” hissed Pinkie Pie in Twilight’s ear.

“Pinkie,” chided Twilight, “it’s the same as last year. They’re never late.”

“Well make time go faster!”

“Pinkie, you know as well as I do that I can’t do that.”

“Uh,” mentioned Spike, “actually…”

“Forget it,” Twilight responded, turning her head from Pinkie. “Just be patient.”

Pinkie Pie, glad for Spike’s voucher, bumped her hoof with Spike’s fist. The crowd gathered at the platform began to cheer as the horns began to sound a triumphant anthem, leaving the two of them to see what was happening.

To their surprise and delight, Celestia and Luna walked up to the platform, each one standing with their proper staffs behind them. Celestia put her hoof up, silencing the crowd and the guards, who picked up their horns and moved to make way for the princesses.

“Citizens of Equestria,” began Celestia. “The Summer Sun Celebration is a joyous event symbolizing the very first day of the summer solstice and the harmony shared between two sisters, but on this day, we have yet another reason to celebrate. Roughly one year ago, a race of alien creatures from another world called humans were discovered by us ponies and were given vital assistance in the survival and prospering of their race after a deadly threat threatened to wipe them out.

“However, the humans came out of their nightmare as victors and have begun to rebuild their world with our help. And now, to show the companionship between our two worlds, much like the companionship between my sister and I, I welcome the human heroes from the other world!”

The crowd applauded loudly as Eren and the rest of the humans began to march towards the platform from one of the palace buildings right of the palace. Leading the group was Sasha, followed by Conny, Armin, Hanji, Levi, Petra, Eren, Mikasa, and Jean, each of them dressed in their military attire and their Scouting Legion jackets, as well as their 3D Maneuver Gears or Elements of Harmony.

The humans rounded the edge of the platform as their pony friends below cheered even louder upon seeing them in full clarity. With Levi in the center, the humans turned out to face the ecstatic audience in uniform. The humans stood stoically, but proud as the crowd’s piercing screams erupted from their mouths.

“Soldiers,” the princess ordered, “offer your hearts to Equestria!”

In tandem as well, the humans placed their left arms behind their backs and placed the right side of their balled fists against their hearts, driving the audience even wilder.

“You may face me, now,” Celestia continued to command.

With three synchronized steps, the humans turned their back to the audience and faced Celestia and Luna. With that finished, Celestia nodded to Luna, who responded with a nod of her own. Luna flew up into the air, hovering several feet off the ground as her horn began to glow. The ponies and most of all, the humans, watched with sheer awe as the moon quickly dipped down to hid beneath the horizon.

As the moon was halfway concealed, Celestia flew up to the same level as her sister, her own horn glowing. Just then, a crack of light appeared over the farthest stretch of land that the eye could see, making the humans find great difficulty to keep their arms from falling limp to the sheer awesomeness of the sisters’ powers.

Once the moon had completely vanished, the sun was halfway up the hill as it broke the night sky into a blue, cloudless wonder. The sunlight washed over the land and eventually the city as the sky behind the slowly changed from a dark purple to a bright, light blue. With the sun high in the sky and the morning hue set, Celestia ceased her spell and set herself down beside the crowd to the cheering of the audience.

“Wow,” Hanji inaudibly squeaked.

Celestia looked back to the rest of the soldiers, smiling at their predictably stunned response to their first Summer Sun Celebration.

“At ease, soliders,” she admitted.

Just as much to her expectations, the human’s arms, even Levi’s fell limp to their sides, causing Celestia to giggle.
________________________________________________________________________________________

Eren and the humans entered back into the palace, feeling relaxed with the night finally being over. Hanji and Sasha especially cracked their tired bones, moaning as they did.

“Ugh,” Petra yawned, “the only thing I want to see at this point is a bed.”

“You and me both,” Levi grumbled with baggy, bloodshot eyes.

“You have to admit,” Conny responded. “It was a lot of fun.”

“Even fun can get exhausting after a while,” Jean responded.

“Come on,” Hanji sighed with her hand over her mouth. “Let’s get some shut-eye. We still have the ball to attend tonight.”

“Oh,” groaned Eren, “right.”

“Eren,” whined Sasha, “don’t poo-poo the ball. Rarity spent so much time making those clothes for us.”

“I’m sure that will be fun as well,” Armin spoke to Sasha, “but I’m also sure that we’ll be more excited for it once we got some rest.”

“I agree,” Mikasa said, already making her way to her bedroom. “Let’s get some sleep.”

Following Mikasa’s lead, the humans walked through the palace halls, making the long trek to their bedrooms for a nice nap. As the humans disappeared from around a corner, Annie stepped inside and walked through the halls, but continued down the hall she was on as opposed to turning and following Eren and the others.

The hallway took her to an outdoor passageway that led to a bridge that was held over a steep drop into the ground far below the cliff. She continued walking down, looking about her in any direction that she could find what she was looking for. A shrill eagles cry to the left caught her attention, allowing her to spot Gilda swooping up and down towards the bridge on outstretched wings. With a final upward crest and dip, Gilda landed on her back paws and then her front talons as her wings folded back in.

“I have to tell ya’,” she said to Annie with a smile, “it must be a nice view from where you’re standing, but it sure can’t beat mine in the sky.”

Annie, also smiling at seeing her friend, approached her and wrapped her arms around her neck in a loving hug. Gilda returned the embrace with a one armed hug of her own, nuzzling her cheek onto the side of Annie’s head.
________________________________________________________________________________________

Deep below Canterlot, Sunset Shimmer, still dressed in her casual attire, sharpened her blades carefully with a smooth rock as the others sat in a neat pile beside the rock she sat on along with her unequipped maneuver gear. Meanwhile, a massive legion of changelings sat in their personal dens, hung from the walls, or few in the air around Chrysalis in the center of the part of the cavern she and Sunset were in.

“My fellow changelings,” she declared, “tonight is the night that Equestria shall fall from its graces and into our rule!”

The other changlings responded with a shrill roar that sounded like millions of cicadas buzzing, overjoyed by the news.

“We will never forget the humiliating defeat during the royal wedding at the hands of Shining Armor and his wife, Cadance,” she spat, adding particular venom to the final name. “However, in the roughly two years since that day, I have grown stronger; we have grown stronger! And with the addition of the talented and lethal Sunset Shimmer, our victory will be all but inevitable!”

Sunset began to load her blades back inside her sheath, having finished her preparations.

“Sunset Shimmer,” called Chrysalis. “Explain the plan for us!”

Upon the final blades being placed inside, Sunset slipped her Maneuver Gear on and placed the operational devices inside the holsters inside her jacket. She approached Chrysalis with a smug smirk on her face, the flying changelings making way for her.

“First,” Sunset Shimmer planned, “do you have what you need?”

“Of course,” Chrysalis gleefully hissed, holding up two light-brown capsules in her magic grasp.

“Good. It will be expected that Celestia and Luna will have a high amount of security around them at most, if not all times. However, those pills are not for them. As much as I want to tear their kingdom from their hooves, they deserve a better death than that.”

Chrysalis frowned with slight disapproval, but nodded, signaling Sunset Shimmer to continue.

“Regardless,” she went on, “you shall disguise yourself as any pony you wish. Keep an eye out for Twilight Sparkle and Discord.”

“Discord?” questioned Chrysalis. “Do you really think that the princesses would allow him to attend the party?”

“If he disguises himself and stays on his best behavior, we should at the very least prepare for it. Anyways, just slip that into their drinks and the two other greatest magical threats other than the princesses shall be eliminated immediately.”

“Understood.”

“Meanwhile, I will sneak up through the mountains to the closest passageway I can find to reach the forbidden library where Antithology is still held. The coordinates haven’t changed at all, have they?”

“Since my last… covert checkup yesterday,” Chrysalis cooed deviously, “nothing has changed.

“That’s good. It’s safe to assume that security will be beefed up inside the ball, so I won’t have to deal with many guards on my way there. In either case, I will take Antithology from the library and hide out inside the library. At promptly 8:30, I will meet you there. From there, you shall take the book and find the largest space you can. We’ll need it…”

“Right…”

“From then, you will do your thing, and I will distract as much attention from the guards as possible so that they will not even bother thinking you’re anywhere near the castle, yet alone inside of it.”

“And what about you?” asked Chrysalis. “Will you be able to handle that responsibility on your own?”

“Absolutely,” she said with a toothy grin.

“And what about the humans?” wondered Chrysalis. “Should we try and steal their belongings?”

“I highly do not recommend this. We need to keep this as much of a secret as possible until I appear at the ball. If the changelings are spotted before then, the castle will go into lockdown, and we’ll never reach the book, yet alone awaken its power.”

“I see. It’s good reasoning.

“Of course it is…”

“Then it’s settled!” Chrysalis shouted out. “Operation Cliff Fire will commence. Prepare yourselves well, my changeling legion. Tonight will spell a dark, but glorious chapter in Equestria’s history. Revel in it, for we shall take Canterlot from them, and with our combined powers, the entirety of Equestria!”

The bug-like changelings screamed and hollered louder, a sound that was sweet, blissful music to Sunset Shimmer’s ears.
________________________________________________________________________________________

The sun was already beginning to set as the closing ball of the Summer Sun Celebration was soon to commence. Eren was fixing the buttons on his shirt, his grey jacket and pants already on his body. Looking at himself in his mirror beside his bedroom door, he observed himself with a proud smile, impressed to see that he looked rather good sharp.

Happy with his appearance, he walked outside his door to the hallway where the other humans, also dressed in their brand-new formal attire, were waiting impatiently.

“It’s about time you showed up,” Jean scolded.

“Hey, Jean,” chuckled Eren, observing his friend’s coat with his hands. “For once, you actually look halfway decent.”

“Yeah,” he remarked, turning his back on him, “which is more than I can say for you?”

“What did you say!?”

“Guys!” shouted Armin. “Stop fighting. This is supposed to be a fun night, remember?”

“Yeah,” Sasha added, “and you don’t want to ruin your clothes.”

Eren and Jean, who stood staring forebodingly at each other, took a sigh of relief as they realized that Armin and Sasha were right.

“Well,” Jean spoke, “we’re all here, so let’s get going.”

As Jean and Eren began to walk down the hall, the others stood up and began to walk with them as well.
________________________________________________________________________________________

The other humans were descending the main staircase to the foyer of the palace that would lead to its ballroom. They could already see that a line of ponies gracefully walked in through the foyer and into the ballroom, where soft symphonic music could clearly be heard from inside.

As they made their way down, they could finally see their pony friends all dressed in their matching dresses and styled hair. Having not seen them before in their outfits, each of the humans stopped at the foot of the stairs, and with the exception of Levi, they all gasped in wonder at their beauty brought forth from their dresses.

Fluttershy, Twilight, Spike, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash especially were stunned by the clothes their human friends wore, also impressed with how well they looked. Rarity looked back and forth between the expressions of both her pony friends and her human ones.

“Well,” Rarity chuckled, “I think it’s safe to say that I outdid myself.”

“Yeah,” Spike responded, wearing only the top half of a tuxedo with a white shirt and red bow tie. “Just look at them. They’re speechless.”

“Come on, y’all,” Applejack instructed. “Let’s make room for them.”

The six ponies and dragon stepped aside to both sides of the carpeted path, allowing the still bedazzled humans to step down to the main floor, standing before each of their friends.

“Shall we go then?” Jean asked to Fluttershy, forming a hoop with his right arm, putting his fist to the side of his waist.

“Oh!” Fluttershy exclaimed, surprised by his chivalrous act, “yes, of course!”

Fluttershy stepped to Jean’s right side and unfurled her left wing, slipping it in through Jean’s arm and holding on.

“By the way,” Jean told her as they walked forwards, “you look very beautiful.”

“Oh, thank you Jean,” she cooed.

Armin, taking Jean’s lead, put his ringed arm to Twilight, who giggled in response.

“Why, thank you, Armin,” she continued to chuckle, slipping her wing through the hole. “You’re such a gentleman.”

The others began to walk together towards the ballroom, following Jean and Armin. Eren, seeing their acts, put his arm out for Rainbow Dash, but she snickered loudly, disheartening him.

“Relax dude,” she assured him, patting him on the back with her wing. “You don’t need to escort me. I can walk all on my own.”

“Oh…” Eren panted. “Okay.”

Eren and Rainbow Dash were already behind the group, and as Eren looked about him, his face going a bit flush, he didn’t notice a slender light-grey unicorn mare in a dark-blue dress stepping out in front of him.

“Watch it!” Rainbow Dash warned as she bit her the bottom of her friend’s jacket.

Yanking her head away from the unicorn, Eren yelped as he just barely avoided hitting her, making her yelp in response as well.

“Hehe,” Rainbow Dash nervously laughed, “sorry about that.”

“That’s alright,” she sighed, straightening her dress out. “No harm done.”

“Yes,” agreed Eren, blushing even brighter, “I’m very sorry. Have a good night!”

The two of them turned back and headed towards the large, open glass doors where bubbling music was playing from.

“You need to be more careful,” scolded Rainbow Dash.

“I was!” Eren persisted.

The mare continued to watch the two of them as the disappeared within the crowd of people.

“Yes,” she gleefully snarled, “you should be more careful.”

A flash of green shone in her eyes before she too walked towards the ballroom.
________________________________________________________________________________________

Annie and Gilda both sat along the edge of the balcony to the ballroom’s building, dangling their feet over the steep abyss below them. Each one held a small snifter glass with purple punch inside of it. Annie gazed up at the sky, thinking deeply about something, which Gilda couldn’t help but notice.

“Hey,” she questioned Annie, “what’s up? There, I mean.”

“I’m just thinking about the Military Police,” Annie responded, “and what they’re doing on Earth at this very moment.”

“I can tell you one thing, they certainly aren’t partying with the best of them like we are!”

“To think,” Annie said with a small grin on her face, “Hitch would kill to be in my position right now.”

“Wait, who?”

Annie, realizing herself to be drifting off into her nostalgia, gasped and refocused herself.

“She was a… another soldier I had the displeasure of working with when I was in the Military Police back on Earth.”

“Oh… well, do you think she’d be able to survive hiking to Ponyville while a group of assassins tried to kill her?”

“Probably not.”

The two of them looked at each other flatly before they each broke into unadulterated laughter. Gilda lifted her punch glass up and downed it to the very last drop, sighing loudly with the quenching of her thirst. Annie then watched with confusion as Gilda slipped off the banister and stood on her hind paws, her left talon supporting her on the banister.

“Here’s to you, Hitch!” Gilda shouted.

With a heave, Gilda chucked her glass off into the sky where it fell back to the forest floor down below. Annie was shocked at her behavior, looking dumbfounded at Gilda as she brushed her talons off against each other.

“Hey, I’m going to get some more punch,” Gilda informed Annie, “you need me to top you off or to get you some food?”

“I’ll be fine,” Annie admitted, “thank you.”

With a shrug, Gilda slipped back inside the ballroom with the likeness of a legged snake. Annie, her nearly empty glass still in hand, finished the last of the sweet liquid inside, lifting her glass up to the bright moon.

“And here’s to you, Marlow,” Annie bid silently, dropping the glass and letting it fall to the cliff.

Annie began to slide off the banister and walk towards the doors to the ballroom, only for her to hear the sound of her glass break. What struck Annie as odd was how the glass sounded when it broke; not like it hit the rocks and shattered, but as if someone had forcibly swung a blade at it.

Stepping back to the balconies edge and leaning over, she could see as a bright skinned human in a black jacket and colored skirt flew and swung along the side of the mountain on her 3D Maneuver Gear. Annie couldn’t help but stare in disbelief at what she was seeing, but realized that she was soon to turn the corner to the cliff and continue on her way.

“Sorry Gilda,” she hissed as she stepped to the banister and leapt off.

Launching her hook underneath the buildings, Annie kept a keen eye on the mysterious intruder as she continued to go on her suspicious path.
________________________________________________________________________________________

The inside of the ballroom was just as bright and colorful as one would suspect from a holiday called the Summer Sun Celebration. Rainbow-colored streamers and bright balloons adorned the pillars of the room, and the outer edges were almost crammed with people while a few waltzed upon the polished stone dance floor to the small orchestra playing on the stage.

Hanji was pouring herself a glass of punch as Gilda came up beside her, grabbing a glass for herself. Upon seeing the creature for herself, Hanji began to gasp loudly, much to the discomfort of Gilda’s ears.

“You’re a griffon!” she shouted while pointing. “A real life griffon!”

“Yeah,” groaned Gilda, rubbing her head back, “no big deal, really.”

“No big deal? But… you’re a griffon! They don’t exist anywhere on our world!”

“If people like you are who inhabit it, I can’t imagine why.”

“No, it’s okay, I’m nice! Honest! I, uh… let’s start over. I’m Hanji Zoe! A real pleasure to meet you!”

Gilda flinched as Hanji extended her hand towards her, looking at it like a rotten corpse.

“I’m sorry,” Levi questioned as both he and Petra approached them, “is this woman bothering you?”

“I…” Gilda stammered, feeling cornered, “I was just going to get me some punch.”

“Then get your punch. We’ll be leaving you alone now.”

Levi grabbed Hanji by the arm and pulled her along away from the punch table, Hanji fighting him slightly for one final goodbye.

“Bye, Ms. Griffon!” she called out.

With Hanji and the other two humans now out of earshot, Gilda took the ladle from the bowl and poured it inside her glass.

“Yeah,” she growled. “Goodbye.”

Levi, feeling they were a safe distance from Gilda, threw Hanji from his grasp, staring daggers at her.

“We’re supposed to be the ambassadors for our race,” Levi scolded, “and you’re making us look like children who won a holiday here.”

“Come on, Levi,” Hanji whined, “it’s not every day you see a real live griffon.”

“In this world, I can’t say that that’s the case. Come on, be social with others for a change.”

Levi and Petra both left for the dance floor, shooting disappointed glares at her before sifting into the crowd. Hanji looked down dejectedly, realizing what a fool she had made out of herself. Her eyes then caught as a glass of punch floated below her face. Mystified by it, she reached her hands down and grabbed the glass in both hands.

“Your drink, madam,” spoke an eerie male voice.

“Oh,” she sighed. “Thank you.”

“But of course. Anything…”

Hanji looked up to see a lanky brown unicorn stallion with a white mane and tail, a curiously long beard, bushy eyebrows, yellow eyes, and wearing a tuxedo top with a black bow-tie and fedora hat, as well as a bushel of wheat for a cutie mark.

“…for a friend,” he finished, waving his hat out in an acknowledging fashion with his yellow magic aura.

The pieces in Hanji’s head instantly fit together, making her gasp at the realization.

“Discord?” she questioned.

“Tonight,” he corrected, flipping the fedora back onto his hat, “I’m Barley Bags, as per my deal to be allowed to come tonight. You won’t tell anyone, will you, Hanji?”

“What? Of course not! You can trust me!”

“Oh, how wonderful! Come on, I want to see how well you can cut a rug!”

Discord pulled Hanji by her waist towards the dance floor, making her spill her punch.

“But I haven’t gotten my drink yet!” she whooped.

It was too late, as Discord’s pulls only serve to make her splash her drink all over the floor she walked on, providing them with a clear path that the other guests did not want to be on.
________________________________________________________________________________________

Inside the roughly bricked chambers deep within Canterlot’s lower levels, two unicorn guards stood watch at a wooden door, looking out at the long chamber that led to the spiral staircase that led up to the main palace area. Nothing seemed to be amiss at this point, being a relatively peaceful and lax night in Canterlot considering the ball upstairs.

At that moment, a couple of slashing sounds were audible upstairs, putting the guards in caution. After a couple seconds of silence, the corpse of a recently slain guard limply landed on the floor with a metallic clang and bloody squish, frightening the guards immediately.

Grabbing their bladed operational devices from their 3D Maneuver Gears, they watched as Sunset Shimmer landed atop the guard’s body and tumbled into the hall, a her bloodied hands and blades held out to her side as she slowly stood with an evil grin on her face.

“H– Halt!” one guard shouted, their blades firm in both of their magical grasps.

With an unthreatened huff, Sunset Shimmer walked towards them, flicking the blood of her arms and weapons with each step she took.

“That’s it!” shouted one guard, galloping out towards her with a shrill cry.

“Stop!” warned the other guard.

With a single thrust, the guard forced his swords out towards Sunset Shimmer’s chest. With unintelligible speed, Sunset Shimmer spun to the right and blocked the soldier’s blades with her own, throwing them out to his left. With his neck now exposed, Sunset Shimmer followed through with her spin as she swung the blades at the guard’s throat.

The second guard stood completely stiff as his ally’s blood sprayed from his neck and painted the wall to his left, crumpling in a lifeless heap. With no time to prepare himself, Sunset Shimmer continued her spin as she bent her body over, allowing the blades to swing up through the neck and bisect the lower jaw.

The shock and blood loss killed the pony nearly instantly, while Sunset Shimmer quickly knelt down to the last slain guard and rummaged through his key ring.

“Halt, you monster!” cried Annie’s voice.

Sunset Shimmer jerked her body around to see Annie standing at the passageway to the spiral staircase. Despite seeing her there, Sunset Shimmer quickly removed her shocked expression and chuckled with an excited smirk.

“If you had any idea the fate Celestia has in store for you,” Annie mentioned, “you would not be laughing.”

“But that’s exactly why I am laughing!” Sunset Shimmer continued to giggle. “Because in just a few minutes’ time, there’s nothing that bitch can do to stop me.”

Annie grimaced with a haunted look in her eye, clearly nonplussed by Sunset Shimmer’s deranged attitude.

“You’re insane,” Annie remarked, reaching for the operational devices inside her jacket. “I don’t think I would be overstepping my bounds by killing you right now.”

Slipping two blades from her sheaths inside her operational devices, Annie unsheathed her swords, holding them out wide to completely block Sunset Shimmer’s escape.

“Hm…” Sunset Shimmer pondered, “I’ve always wanted to take on one of you guys…”

Sunset Shimmer held out her own swords and pointed them at Annie, keeping them still and unflinching. Annie threw her arms behind her back and charged out at Sunset Shimmer.

With a slight turn in her waist, Annie fired a hook off towards Sunset Shimmer’s head. Sunset Shimmer managed to block the projectile, but was only barely prepared as Annie’s blades came swinging at her chest.
________________________________________________________________________________________

Levi and Petra gently spun and stepped to the soft beat of the music the orchestra played along with several other mares and stallions. Petra rested her head onto Levi’s chest, comforted by the ambience and his presence.

“What if we got married here?” she asked.

“Do we really need to talk about this now?” Levi grumbled in a near whisper.

“I think that’s a great idea,” came the voice of Shining Armor from behind them.

Petra and Levi turned to see both Shining Armor and Cadance dancing towards them. Shining Armor was sporting a red military jacket that was decorated in medals, while Cadance was dressed in a flowing light-purple dress.

“Shining Armor,” Petra exclaimed. “Cadance!”

“It’s about time we saw you two here,” mentioned Cadance.

“So what was that about having your marriage here?” asked Shining Armor.

“I was just telling Petra that this isn’t the time nor the place,” Levi said.

“Either way, a Canterlot wedding would be a splendid idea,” Cadance assured him. “I’m certain it will be a lot less chaotic than the one we had.”

“Chaotic?” wondered Petra.

“Out of our way!” shouted a familiar voice.

Coming up towards the two couples were Hanji and Discord in his pony disguise, jumping and twirling madly as if they were dancing to a manic tango rather than a calm waltz. Shining Armor and Cadance and Levi and Petra stepped backwards to let the two pass, Hanji being thrown out by Discord and caught on the arm, where Hanji was swung down and landed on her feet, the two of them continuing to fly throughout the dance floor.

“Speaking of chaotic,” Levi said, going back to Hanji.

The interruption caused quite an awkward silence between the two couples, Princess Cadance quick to break it.

“Well,” she said, “it was nice to see you both. I’m very happy for you.”

“Thank you!” Petra bid. “I’ll hope to see you again soon!”

Cadance and Shining Armor waltzed away, leaving Levi and Petra to do the same now that they were left alone once again. Off on the edge of the dance floor, the grey unicorn watched as Hanji and Discord bowed to each other, the song having finally ended. She smiled as she watched the both of them laugh as they walked over to Armin and Twilight, who were also waiting on the other side of the dance floor.

Hanji, unable to conceal or withhold her enjoyment, laughed heartily as she leaned against Discord’s side, the both of them walking up to the bemused Twilight and the confused Armin.

“Wow,” Hanji panted, winded from her experience with Discord. “Barley Bags sure knows how to ‘cut a carpet!’”

Twilight stared at Discord despondently, knowing the danger he posed with his dancing. Discord, knowing he had been caught, lowered his head to Twilight. Discord tried to keep a straight face, but knew that Twilight would not buy it.

“Okay,” relented Discord, “you found me out. You just can’t tell the others that I’m… well, me.”

“You’re who?” asked the voice of the grey unicorn mare coming behind them.

Armin, Twilight, Hanji, and Discord turned to see the grey mare walking through the dance floor with four glasses of punch in her magical grasp.

“Are those for us?” asked Armin.

“They sure are!” she cooed, already passing them out. “I saw the two of you heading for Princess Twilight and…”

“Armin,” he responded.

“Right, thank you, and I just wanted to extend my respect and gratitude for your coming.”

“Well,” Twilight responded, feeling close to blushing, “that’s very kind of you… thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. I thought that the presentation this morning was wonderful, and…”

The grey mare’s words faded away as she saw the liquid inside Twilight’s glass get sucked away by a long, plastic silly straw with Discord siphoning it off. Both Twilight and the grey mare tried to withhold their shock and anger as the straw made a loud sucking sound as the last of the liquid was drunk. Even Hanji and Armin looked slightly unnerved by Discord’s action.

“This punch really is good,” teased Discord. “You really ought to try it.”

Discord stung Twilight yet again by dumping the contents of his entire glass into his mouth, licking his lips upon getting the last drop.

“Well,” the flustered grey mare spoke to Discord, “that was incredibly rude of you.”

“Ms.,” Hanji stepped in, “we’ll take it from here.”

Without a word, the grey mare trotted off towards the exit to the ballroom, leaving the mortified Hanji, Armin, and Twilight with the shamelessly coy Discord.

“Why would you do that in front of her?” Twilight scolded.

“Oh, come now, Twilight,” excused Discord, “I would have done that in front of anyone.”

“Discord,” Hanji warned, a sharp, lethal glare in her eyes, “the princesses are in the foyer. Do I need to have a talk with them.”

Discord, knowing what this meant, tensed up with frightened eyes.

“No, no, no!” admitted Discord, forming a halo over his head with a snap of his fingers. “I’ll be good. Honest to goodness, I will!”

Twilight glared at Discord, not trusting him for a second.

“It won’t happen again,” spoke Hanji, “or the princesses will know.”

“Come on, Twilight,” encouraged Armin, handing him his glass, “you can have mine. I’ll go get some myself.”

Armin went alone, leaving Twilight smiling at this friend’s kind act. Unbeknownst to her and Hanji, Discord suddenly felt a painful grumbling in his stomach. With a quick passing, Discord merely shrugged it off and loitered around with Hanji.
________________________________________________________________________________________

Annie leapt backwards towards the door to the library, just barely dodging Sunset Shimmer’s blade as it slashed her hoodie. Sunset Shimmer continued to encroach with a downward strike, only for Annie’s crossed blades to catch and deflect them. Annie kicked at Sunset Shimmer’s close abdomen, pushing her off. Sunset Shimmer continued to swing down, aiming for Annie’s leg.

Annie attempted to pull away, only for the top of the blade to slice deep into her right calf. Annie limped backwards towards the door, keeping her blades together defensively.

“So that was the fight I get from you guys?” Sunset Shimmer asked. “You other humans are lamer than I could have thought!”

“I’m still standing, you bitch,” threatened Annie. “If you want to get through this door, you’re going to have to kill me.”

“Hmph…”

Sunset Shimmer detached her dulled blades from her operational devices and slid two new ones on, producing a fresh pair of swords.

“…whatever you say.”

Sunset Shimmer ran out with her new blades at the seemingly helpless Annie. However, Annie whipped her arms out behind her and swung down and out, detaching each blade at the right moment so that they flew straight towards Sunset Shimmer’s face.

Sunset Shimmer moved her blades into an X formation to block them, but Annie’s force was so strong that the blades were broken off at their bases. As Sunset Shimmer moved her arms to punch, Annie stepped out and held out her arm, using her other arm to lock over Sunset Shimmer’s neck.

The force of her run plus another push backwards from Annie sent both of them flying towards the door. Annie yanked herself back as she felt her captor’s head smash into the wooden door with a deafened crunch of wood

Annie rolled away from the disoriented Sunset Shimmer and equipped a single blade to her right operational device. Sunset Shimmer forced herself to her stomach as Annie stood over her. Sunset Shimmer reached out to grab her discarded operational device, only for Annie’s blade to be aimed right over her head.

“Annie,” shouted Princess Celestia’s voice. “Stop!”

Annie turned to indeed see Princess Celestia stepping up into the hallway, an angered look on her face.

“I’ll take care of this,” she said.

Celestia cast a green colored beam at Annie, the shock and confusion completely overriding her. The beam struck Annie in the chest and sent her flying into the door, the temple cracking against the metal-barred windows and making her fall unconscious. Sunset Shimmer looked up to see Princess Celestia walking towards her, only for her to transform into Chrysalis in a wave of fire, who looked at her with an extreme sense of disappointment on her face.

“Get up,” Chrysalis ordered.

Sunset Shimmer stumbled to her feet, still woozy from her hit. Once she was able to keep her balance, she stared at Chrysalis weakly, but furiously.

“You try having the back of your head smashed into a door,” she challenged. “I’d love to see how fast you’d recover.”

“She got the better of you,” Chrysalis told her bluntly, “that is why I am disappointed. You won’t let it happen again?”

Sunset Shimmer still angered by her apathy, but sated by her reasonable disappointment, relented with a sigh.

“Never again,” she complied.

“Good,” Chrysalis cooed, her smile returning. “Never mind about her. I’ll handle it.”

“And how are Twilight and Discord?”

“Discord drank both his and her glasses.”

“What!? He found us out?”

“No, he did it as a prank to Twilight. Either way, Discord took a double dose of those pills you gave me, and Twilight has inadvertently been saved.

Sunset Shimmer growled, but knew nothing could be done at this point.

“At least he’ll die faster,” she reasoned.

“We have our own work to finish,” reminded Chrysalis. “Now, go refill your blades and get to the ballroom. I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Roger…”

Sunset Shimmer knelt down to the still unconscious Annie and began extracting her blades from her sheath and putting them in her own. Meanwhile, Chrysalis floated the key-ring from the most recently slain unicorn guard and flicked through each key before singling one out.

As she placed the key into the door’s lock, Sunset Shimmer, her blades refilled with a full set inside her sheaths, ran to the spiral staircase, not saying a word to Chrysalis as she turned the key and opened the door. Pushing it open, Chrysalis stepped inside and found the black book kept safely within its case.

Chrysalis charged another spell and fired it at the glass, shattering it and leaving the book entirely to her whims. Stepping up to the display, Chrysalis brought a wide, toothy smile upon her face, the completion of their plan nearing completion.
________________________________________________________________________________________

Eren, Rainbow Dash, Mikasa, Applejack, Jean, and Fluttershy stood by the punch bowl, the latter four looking slightly bored and disinterested.

“Jean,” requested Fluttershy, “let’s dance!”

“You really think we can?” Jean asked with an awkward tone in his voice.

“Well, I saw Hanji dancing with this other stallion pretty well…”

“Then I guess there’s no problem then,” he responded, putting his hands out.

“Oh, Jean!” she sighed, standing to her hind legs and placing her hooves on Jean’s hands. “This is going to be wonderful.”

Jean hugged Fluttershy close to her as she slung her arm over Jean’s shoulder. The two of them began to step off together into the dance floor with the other couples. Mikasa, looking somewhat flustered at Jean’s kinship with his friend, turned to Eren with a blush in her cheeks.

“Eren,” she demanded, “dance with me.”

“Huh?” Eren queried. “What do you–”

Mikasa shut his mouth by pulling herself onto Eren’s body and grabbing his back to keep them close, the other hand grabbing his arm. Rainbow Dash and Mikasa both looked very surprised and interested at what was about to happen.

“I said dance with me,” she hissed.

Without giving him a chance to respond, Mikasa spun around with Eren past the other ponies and onto the dance floor.

“Go get her, Eren!” cheered Rainbow Dash.

“What just happened?” Armin asked as he approached the table.

“In all honesty,” Applejack responded, “I’m not all too sure, either.”

“Let’s go!” begged Rainbow Dash. “I have to see this!”

As Rainbow Dash and Applejack walked down the edge of the dance floor, Armin quickly grabbed a glass and filled it with punch before he made his way towards Rainbow Dash and Applejack. As Jean and Fluttershy made it closer to Hanji, Twilight, and Discord, Fluttershy managed to spot Discord in the crowd, despite his disguise.

Discord, realizing this, walked over towards Fluttershy and extended his hoof to her. Fluttershy parted away from Jean and began to dance with Discord, leaving Jean confused and alone. He then recognized the pony’s beard, understanding what had happened.

“Hey!” he shouted, unaware of Mikasa breaking away from Eren as she came towards him. “You’re–”

A tap on the shoulder kept his mouth silent as he tried to look behind him, only for Mikasa to swing around and grab his hand and opposite shoulder. Upon seeing Mikasa’s face, his face flushed and elicited a shuddering breath as she looked up to him.

“Just be natural,” Mikasa suggested.

Jean, doing his best to keep his emotions and composure in control, managed to take the lead, taking Mikasa around the floor. With Eren now alone, he began to walk back over towards Rainbow Dash and Applejack.

“Looks like she tried to wrangle you in again, didn’t she?” chuckled Rainbow Dash. “That is, unless, you still find me attractive.”

Eren looked down and winced heavily as Rainbow Dash gave him a suggestive look.

“Rainbow Dash!” hissed Eren. “I told you, that was a complete misunderstanding!”

“You keep telling yourself that, sugarcube,” egged Applejack.

Eren, fed up now, walked over to join Armin and Hanji, who continued to watch Discord and Fluttershy dance. As Discord looked happily into Fluttershy’s eyes, he felt a tremendous soreness run into his left arm. Stopping and crouching down, Fluttershy gasped in shock to see her friend hurt so badly.

“Discord!” she cried. “Are you o–”

Discord pulled his left arm out under his body to reveal an eagle’s talon.

“Did she say Discord?” wondered a lavishly dressed mare as she approached with her male partner.

“I think so,” said another stallion.

Soon, a small crowd of people began to gather around Discord and Fluttershy, frightening them both greatly.

“Out of my way!” ordered Hanji, pushing through the crowd and kneeling between the two.

Hanji gasped to see as Discord convulsed again as everyone around him watched his right leg slowly morphed into that of a green dragon’s. The crowd gasped at the horrifying transformation as Armin and Eren managed to get inside the ring of people.

Discord strained his mind as his two limbs to return to normal. Discord’s brow sweated profusely as he tried to find relief, only for a sharp stabbing pain to enter into his head. As Discord flailed on the floor and shouted in agony, his right arm and his left leg transformed into a lion’s and an antelope’s.

“Discord?” sobbed Fluttershy. “What’s happening to you?”

“I…” Discord stressed, “I don’t know!”

In fast succession, the rest of Discord’s body began to change to normal to the terror of the crowd as his body continued to write and contort.

“What is the meaning of this?” shouted Celestia’s voice.

Immediately, the crowd parted to make a path for Celestia and Luna, who both approached from the front end of the dance floor with livid expressions on their faces. From the other side of the room, Conny, Pinkie Pie, Sasha, and Rarity watched the scene with confusion and fear.

“No!” Fluttershy protested, guarding Discord with her body. “It’s not his fault! Something’s wrong with him.”

“He must be wrong in the head to consider taking on his form and terrorizing our guests!” Luna shouted, refusing to yield in the approach with her sister.

Before Celestia could force Fluttershy aside to face the embarrassed and genuinely scared Discord, the sound of terrified gasps sounded behind the two princesses, making the two of them turn to the source. Celestia clenched her teeth and widened her eyes as she saw Sunset Shimmer herself, walking from the balcony entrance and towards the two of them.

“Hmhmhm,” she chortled. “It looks like those pills we gave him really did the trick, didn’t they?”

The other ponies cleared the way for Sunset Shimmer, repulsed and alarmed by the sight of blood on her clothes and swords, as well as the smell coming off of them.

“Sunset Shimmer!” Celestia panted. “What are you doing here? How are you even here?”

“You tell me,” Sunset Shimmer demanded. “It’s been another year already, and I’m now completely through with that hell you kept me in for fifteen years!”

Twilight, as well as the other ponies, nearby her, looked to each other with great confusion, unsure who this human was and what connection she had with Celestia.

“Why…” Celestia tried to ask. “Why do you have a 3D Maneuver Gear? Why are you covered in blood?”

“On that world,” responded Sunset Shimmer, stopping on the front edge of the dance floor, “they say the human heart pumps 700,000 gallons of blood every year. On that world, I’ve pumped over ten million gallons. Your guards were a mere pinprick compared to what’s in store for you and this world.”

Celestia gasped, mortified by the act she had realized Sunset Shimmer had committed.

“Guards!” shouted Luna. “Dispose of her!”

Right then, three pegasus guards flew out from three different sides of the room, their own bladed operational devices at the ready. Sunset Shimmer stood completely still as she analyzed her attackers. The guard on her left appeared to be coming first, and ducking down, Sunset Shimmer slashed her blade up and out to the right, slitting the guard’s throat.

The continued motion of the slain pony collided into the pegasus on her right. Sunset Shimmer’s body followed with the force of her swing, beginning to dodge the third guard, but thrust her sword into the exposed side of the chest. With the remaining guard knocked to his back, Sunset Shimmer jumped to her feet and jammed the end of her other sword into his neck.

The humans and ponies in attendance all gasped loudly with sheer terror at Sunset Shimmer’s macabre act. A large majority of the guests screamed and shrieked as they all galloped for the exit. Gilda had begun to exit from the balcony, leaping out and soaring around the castle. The only ones staying were each of the humans, their pony friends, Shining Armor, Cadance, and Discord

The group began to huddle around the still haunted Celestia and Luna with scornful faces, each one poised to attack, minus Discord, who was still too sick and weak to move. As the last of the guests cleared out, Lyra and Derpy Hooves ran into the room, standing by at the entrance with caution.

“Sunset Shimmer,” seethed Celestia with shaky breaths, “what do you want?”

“What do I want?” Sunset Shimmer asked incredulously, breaking off into a hysterical laughing fit that unnerved and angered the humans and remaining ponies. “I already have all that I need! Antithology!”

Celestia and Luna gasped at the uttering of the title, but Celestia kept her brave and spiteful face.

“I don’t know what purpose you need with that book,” Celestia told her, “but it will do you no good! That book is only accessible to me and me alone.”

“I figured as much,” huffed Sunset Shimmer. “But what if I had the next best thing, namely someone who could be Celestia.”

Celestia and Luna, as well as the remaining ponies, Cadance, Shining Armor, and Twilight especially.

“You don’t mean–” questioned Luna.

“In fact,” interrupted Sunset Shimmer, “she should be finished right about–”

A bright green light and the sound of fire and broken glass came from the open balcony, as well as the sound of a rumbling in the castle.

“Wait here!” Luna advised as she soared out towards the balcony, passing by a still and patient Sunset Shimmer.

Flying out and up from the balcony, Luna soared over the building’s roof to see a large rotunda at the top of one of the palace’s buildings with bright green light shining through each of the now broken windows, as well as the cackling of Chrysalis’ laughter inside.

Luna swooped back down and into the ballroom, looking at Celestia with a heavily apparent look of danger and omen in her eyes. Celestia, her eyes squinted to the thinnest of slits, stared deep into Sunset Shimmer’s humoring eyes.

“Sunset Shimmer,” she growled. “What have you two done?”

“Exactly what we have planned for,” she responded. “The fall of Equestria.”