I'd been hiding around the castle for the last day or so until I was fully caught up. Hearing the news about the Amethyst Stranger a second time hadn't helped me feel any better. It was strange though, I hadn't seen any sign of them whatsoever ever since... That. I shuddered. I don't understand why they would need a magical crown though... I sighed. Maybe they need it for fuel? They used up a lot of magical energy the... The last time I saw them... Memories of the flood began to resurface; the faces of the Ponies I associated with, twisted up in fear and agony.

I shook myself to clear my mind. One problem at a time, Vesper, one problem at a time... I took a deep breath and exhaled. Dad will be strong enough if they attack here, the only reason he lost was because he was a Human. There was still a nagging worry at the back of my mind: What if he can't fight them? What if he fails? Who would stop them then? How much damage would they do before-?

I slapped myself.

"Shut the buck up, brain..." I muttered. I need to focus on other problems right now. Dad can deal with Sunshit just fine, so it's just a matter of time. The crown's missing anyway, because... I shivered. Anyway, when he comes back we can focus on the demon problem. From the little I know, I'm pretty sure demons can come back to life. Something like that anyway...

Before I could continue, I heard a door open below me (I was near the ceiling in the throne room). I looked down to see past me carrying past Dad in my magic followed by a past Geeko dragging himself along, unable to walk as a Pony. We met with Celestia and talked. It was muffled from where I was, but I could clearly remember it was about going back.

As past me went back in time to become me, I flew down to the ground, landing just in front of Glow-Ball. She looked surprised.

"Vesper?" She asked. I nickered.

"Buck you," I replied, frowning at her. She furrowed her brow slightly.

"I see you have hidden yourself well enough until now." I rolled my eyes.

"No shit, dumbass. Where's Luna?" She paused before answering, as if suspicious of me.

"Why? What business do you have with her?" If eyes could shoot daggers I'd be be an ocular Wolverine.

"None of yours." Just then, Luna happened to walk in through a side door.

"Greetings, sister and daughter of dickhead," she greeted. I smiled at her.

"Hey, Luna." I need to ask her about the demons and if the nightmares are still bad...

"Are-?" Before she could finish, the main doors slammed open. I turned to see who it was.

"Oh shit," I said.

"Oh buck," Glow-Ball said.

"Oh stars," Luna said.

"Oh no," a nearby guard said.

"White Tweh Weh!" Shouted Twilight's brother, running towards Glow-Ball. She sighed.

"What is it, Shining Armour?" She asked in a voice of attempted calmness.

"The grr-grrs are drooling! Door make noises!" I turned to Luna.

"The buck did he just say?" I muttered. Luna looked worried.

"A demon is attacking the gates into the city," she replied quickly, "if it gets in, it will kill everypony."

"Ass halt!" Twilight's brother kept shouting. "There's floor! Floor! FLOOOOOOOOOO-!" Glow-Ball muted him.

"I see," she said, not acknowledging that he was still raving in silence. She turned to me. "There are a lot of demons." I sighed again.

"Are they as strong as the one that was in Canterlot?" She shook her head.

"I believe not. However, there are at least ten of them and they will get through the gate in roughly one hour." I groaned.

"Fine." I turned to Luna again. "I'm gonna need your help with this one." She nodded, looking determined.

"I shall assist you however I can," she replied.

"I'll also need a bunch of guards, probably about thirty."

"Not a problem." Luna pointed at one of the guards in the room with us. "You there! Assemble a squad of twenty soldiers!" The guard saluted and ran off.

"Twenty? But I-" She held up a hoof to stop me.

"I had a hunch that one day your father would not be around to do his job. Because of this, I assembled a team of ten elite guards to assist with this sort of thing in case help was needed." Huh.

"Nice." She smiled.

"Thank you. If you'd follow me, I'll introduce you." She led the way out of the door she first entered through and I followed.

Author's Notes:

A shorter chapter, but it covers pretty much everything it needs to so I feel okay posting it.

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If eyes could shoot daggers I'd be be an ocular Wolverine.

Sometimes I write things without thinking and good things happen.
Holy shit I love this metaphor.