4th day of Moon's Rising
454 Years after the Defeat of Discord by the Sisters

It was a quiet day at the marketplace. Pear Trap wondered if it was some sort of city holiday that she hadn’t been told about. Her father had asked her to get some extra fertilizer for helping the new saplings and seeds take root in the largely unworked soil of the parks they were re-purposing, but she was starting to think she was going to come back with empty hooves.

Her eyes were fixed on what few stands were open, rather than where her (still empty) hooves were taking her, and she found herself stumbling into a cloaked figure.

“Oh! Excuse me!” Pear Trap said. She looked up to see one of the most beautiful mares she’d ever met. Unlike Pear’s pale, darkly speckled coat and long green mane, the mare she’d bumped into was a riot of color, with her short pink mane pulled low over one eye and bundled into a small bun in the back, and she looked at the earth pony with an amused half-smile and lidded purple eye. Her coat, though, was the most beautiful part, glittering like it was coated in diamond dust, with a slight suggestion of crystalline transparency.

“No harm done,” the mare said lightly. She had an odd accent that Pear Trap had never heard before. Her cloak opened briefly as she stepped aside. Pear saw a quiver bound to her side with long, metal shafts. “When two ponies meet like this it means either destiny or that neither was watching where they were going, no? So if it was the first, we could not avoid it. And the second puts me at fault as much as you.”

Pear Trap blushed. There was something seductive about the way the mare spoke. “E-either way I’m still sorry I bumped into you, Miss. Glad I didn’t hurt you, though.”

The mare laughed. “That should be the least of your worries.” She leaned in to whisper into Pear Trap’s ear. “You’re quite cute, so allow me to give you this advice. Leave here, quickly. If it is destiny that we meet, I give you this chance to escape what comes next.”

“What do you…” Pear looked to the mare, meeting her gaze. Her beautiful, purple eyes, which glittered like cold stone. There was something terrible there. It was the look a hawk might give its prey as it dove in for the kill.

Pear stepped back, breathing heavily. The crystal mare almost seemed to have an aura around her, a dark intent that reached across the space between them and sent cold waves of fear down her spine. Without another word, Pear backed up, not taking her eyes from the mare, as if she was afraid the crystal pony would pounce on her, until she was almost halfway across the market. There, her courage finally broke, and she turned and galloped away into the streets.

“You let her go, Abrolhos?” asked a voice at the crystal mare’s side. She glanced at the hippogriff who leaned against one of the closed stalls, half-hidden in the shadows.

Abrolhos shrugged, pulling her cloak tighter around her quiver of crossbow bolts. “A whim.”

“You’re getting awful at actually killing ponies,” the hippogriff said. He kicked something to her with a talon. She stopped it with a hoof and looked down at the cabbage he’d given to her. “Want a snack?”

“Very funny, Chinook,” she snorted, stomping on the head of cabbage and smashing it with a single blow. “My targets were much more difficult than yours. Don’t forget, they killed Zonda and her little pet monster.”

“Guards are guards,” Chinook shrugged.

“How long before this… Operation Stardust begins?”

Chinook looked up at the sky. The sun was almost directly overhead. “Not long now.”

In a cart parked in a dimly-lit alleyway, two things rested underneath a tarp. The first was an ovoid as big as a pony, with a dark shell pocked with what looked like craters. The second was carefully strapped to the egg, a complex device whose purpose was to generate a huge surge of magical energy when the timer set on it ran out.

The last few grains of ground crystal emptied from the top part of the hourglass, joining the rest below. A glyph shone on the complex thaumaturgical device, and it erupted into light and sound as crystal reservoirs emptied their stored magical charge with the force and violence of a thunderclap.

The egg cracked open.

“Did you hear that?” Pallas asked, head jerking up. She ran to the window, armored tail lashing behind her with worry. Smoke was rising from the lower city. She could hear screaming already. From this distance it was almost impossible to make anything out, but she could see something moving in the growing fire. Something huge.

“We need to get Luna,” Silver Tongue said. He turned to run and was tripped up by Pallas’ tail, stumbling and falling.

“No time,” Pallas said. “I need wingblades. Give me whatever you’ve got here.”

“So you can go off half-cocked? That’s a damn stupid idea, Pallas...” Silver Tongue snapped, standing up. Before he could say anything else, Pallas was in his face, her visor snapping closed like the jaws of a dragon.

“My name is Black Wind. Now give me those weapons or I’ll go without them.”

“For Luna and the Night Guard!” Chinook yelled, as he slashed a fleeing pony, opening a deep cut across its back that sent it tumbling to the ground, back legs rag-dolling. The hippogriff shook his head and looked back at the massive shape behind him, quickly turning the lower city into a battleground.

“We should make our escape, yes?” Abrolhos asked, obviously bored. She stood on top of a pony whose head had been twisted so far around it faced back the way it had come. “Surely enough ponies have seen us that they will spread the word about the Night Guard having had a hoof in this.”

Before Chinook could answer, the shape behind them started crackling with energy. He grabbed Abrolhos and pulled her to the side as a beam of violet energy tore through the air, cutting through the city like a huge sword. It swept upwards before striking the castle, leaving fire and death wherever it touched. One of the castle towers was shorn off entirely, the stone blasting apart at the touch of the beam. The parapet crashed down into the moat around the castle, and even from this distance, Chinook could see ponies falling to their doom.

Celestia braced herself, her earth pony magic fighting to keep her upright as the entire castle seemed to shake and tilt. Her peaceful lunch in the south tower was no longer quite as peaceful as she would have liked. The scenery lurched in the window, and Celestia abruptly realized several things at once.

She was in freefall, which meant the tower was collapsing. She was far too large to fly out the window, thanks in no small part to her frequent withdrawals from the national cake reserve. She also couldn’t teleport away, because her advisers had insisted they layer an extra layer of security over the castle wards.

Worst of all, though, she realized that there was nothing she could do for most of the other ponies around her. She grabbed the maids in the room with her magic and pulled them to her sides, forming a shield bubble around them as the tower completed its fall, the stone around them collapsing inwards.

“Who is in charge of the Solar Guard?” Luna snapped, as she trotted down the hallway, yelling at the first Solar Guard she’d found with any kind of rank.

“Captain Morning Glory, your highness,” said Lieutenant Lightning Lance, the pegasus having to almost gallop to keep up with her long strides.

“Find him!” Luna yelled. “He needs to get the Solar Guard in order!”

“They’re all patrolling the streets, your highness,” Lightning Lance said. Luna frowned and half-turned to look at him. “It was Celestia’s direct order. All we have is a skeleton staff here. The rest are all on duty.”

“Wonderful,” Luna snorted. “Everywhere at once and impossible to give orders to in anything resembling a timely fashion. And my Night Guard are all off-duty. Even if it only takes a few minutes to equip themselves and form ranks, those will be a long few minutes for the ponies in Everfree.”

“Yes, your highness,” Lightning Lance said.

“And where is my sister?!” Luna demanded. “She should be helping manage this crisis, not having tea!” She turned the corner to the south tower corridor and paled as a hot wind blew across her face. The hallway was sheared off in the center, the edges roiling with smoke and molten stone. There was only empty space where the tower should have been.

Luna’s eyes went wide as she walked to the edge, as close as she dared come to the burning heat of the magma. The tower lay far below, having fallen in a heap of rubble to the bottom of the deep moat, the water still splashing violently from the drop, overflowing from the moat’s boundaries.

“Celestia!” Luna gasped. “Get everypony away! This area is still unstable! I will find my sister!”

“Countermand that,” said a calm voice from behind. Luna didn’t need to look back to know who it was. Sirocco Mandala walked calmly towards the broken hallway, stopping where the stone floor started to crack. “Have Princess Luna escorted to her quarters.”

“Are you insane?” Luna reared up. “I need to lead the Night Guard into battle against this foe!”

“The Night Guard will not be going into battle,” Sirocco said, gesturing to the window.

Luna looked out of the window over the courtyard, and her blood ran cold. Instead of her troops arming themselves and assembling to form a strike force, they were being led out of the barracks unarmed and unarmored at swordpoint, golden armored guards binding their hooves.

"What is the meaning of this?" She snapped, spinning to glare at the earth pony.

"My sources are reporting that elements of the Night Guard are claiming responsibility for this," Sirocco nodded slightly towards the city and the destruction roiling across it. "A full investigation by internal affairs is required, and I cannot let the Night Guard go into the field when their loyalty is in question."

"There is a monster killing dozens of ponies every minute you delay me-" Luna started.

"My apologies," Sirocco interrupted. "I mean to say, when your loyalty is in question. As per royal decree, I am confining you to quarters until the current crisis is resolved and an investigation has been completed."

"The Solar Circle has no power over me," Luna hissed, eyes narrowing.

"Celestia gave us that power," Sirocco replied, unblinking.

"She doesn't have the power to give!" Luna snapped. Her wings flared out as she stalked closer, glaring down at the mare. "If you kneel and beg forgiveness, I might merely have you removed from your position and banished to the far north."

"I would be interested to see you try," Sirocco said. "I am not a fool, Princess Luna. I did not come here to fight you, I came here to make you submit to my lawful authority. To that end, your student has been moved into protective custody and will only be released if you cooperate."

Luna grabbed Sirocco with her magical aura and threw her into and through a wall. True, the castle's internal walls were mostly plaster and wood, but the force would have been enough to simply break a normal pony.

Sirocco stood up, unperturbed. "You are of course understandably upset." The mare brushed the debris from her light armor and shook the dust from her mane. She turned to Luna, her eyes looking hollowed and empty, like the dead eyes of a doll. "If you continue, I won't be able to guarantee the safety of your student."

Luna growled and turned away, her will faltering. Her wings lowered as she fought to control her anger.

"I apologize for using this kind of leverage," Sirocco said. "It isn't something I enjoy doing." She sounded like she might even mean it.

"The blood spilled today is on your hooves," Luna spat.

"It would not be the first time. Now, if you'd accompany me to your room?"

Pallas hit the streets hard, not used to the weight of her new armor yet. Her armored shoes kicked up sparks as she skidded, before the climbing claws dug into the cobblestones and stopped her so abruptly she almost tumbled head-over-hooves.

"That's going to take some getting used to," Pallas mumbled. She pulled her wings to her sides, the wingblades stiff but light. Silver Tongue had managed to find her something, and had thrown some spellwork at it to make them tough enough to stand up to her abuses for an hour or so.

She'd landed a few blocks from where she'd seen the monster, intending to get a look at it before charging in. She'd spent too long with a broken wing to want to go in blind, and from the looks of it, the Night Guard was already on the scene.

"Hey!" Pallas yelled, as she trotted over to the two ponies she'd seen in Night Guard armor. "I need to know-"

She stopped in her tracks as they turned to her. One pulled a short, wide blade from the pony he'd buried it into, gripping the hacking weapon in his teeth.

"You're not part of the Night Guard," she said, dropping back half a step and raising a wing. "Identify yourselves!"

The pony with the machete in his teeth glanced at his comrade, then ran for Pallas, head twisting as he reared to strike at her. Pallas dropped low, sweeping both wings up at either side of his body. His front legs tore away from his body as she severed both at the same time, blood pouring from his shoulders.

He dropped the blade as she started to fall, and Pallas spun, her armored tail catching him in the head and sending him flying through the air.

The second came at her, screaming a battlecry. Pallas knocked his spear away with a hoof, her wings closing like scissor blades around his neck, squeezing into it from either side.

"Who are you working for?" Pallas demanded. "Where did you get that armor?"

"What do we have here?" Asked a voice from behind her. Pallas twitched. Even with her thestral hearing, she hadn't heard him moving, and it wasn't just because of the din of battle a few streets over. She looked back at the hippogriff standing there nonchalantly. "You must be one of the rumored beasts Luna has under her command."

Pallas frowned. She let the guard imposter in her grip struggle for a moment later, then snapped her wings shut without even looking at him. His body fell to the left, his head to the right. She turned to fully face the hippogriff.

"I hope you have answers," Pallas said. "Otherwise..." She glanced back towards the headless body.

The hippogriff snorted and clapped his talons slowly and mockingly. "It was fine work. It lacks a certain elegance, but brute force is impressive in its own way. Unfortunately, I doubt I have answers you’d like. I’m just a humble mercenary.”

“Hired by whom?” Pallas demanded. She kicked the disarmed pony towards him. “Because I think they should get their money back.” The mortally wounded pony whimpered, not quite having bled out yet.

“It’s not always about money,” the hippogriff said. He reached under his right wing, drawing out a small metal tube with thick wax caps on both ends. With a flick of his talon, he tore off one of the sealed ends, and a bright purple-green light flared up, as brilliant as the sun. He threw it in a high arc, stepping back.

“What are you-” Pallas asked, as the buildings to her right exploded outwards, a huge pale shape crashing through.

“Sometimes it’s about the fun of it!” The hippogriff yelled, as he vanished in the dust and smoke. The beast turned to look at Pallas,spreading six membranous wings and crouching to roar, its wide, blunt, bulldog-like muzzle opening to reveal crystalline fangs glowing with an inner light.

“Fine, then.” Pallas braced herself. “Let’s go.”