Meanwhile, on the other side of the station, things were much more frantic than the relaxed atmosphere of the equipment room. Various guards and other ponies rushed around the room on their assigned tasks. Some were tending to some of the injured ponies that hadn’t been transferred to the other room, some were investigating the still bloodstained interrogation room to gather any information they could, and some were simply taking a moment to be thankful for their miraculous survival.

Sunspot and her small team were resting after finishing up their final sweep of the basement. Brimstoke had paired off with Neon Streak, Glimmer Shine, and Princess Luna, leaving the suited pegasus to join a small team of guards headed by Sargent Fireside. Even though she had done most of the work with her strobe, Sunspot didn’t seem to be nearly as exhausted as the guards around her were. She even seemed to be a little bored from the break in action she was having.

While the orange mare was leaning up against a wall casually, Fireside and his men were winding down from the encounters they had in the basement and all throughout the building. They had never come up against a threat that was so overwhelming and foreign to them. Most of the guards were visibly shaken up from just seeing the terrifying beasts.

“That was some outstanding work you and your team did out there Sunspot.” Fireside stated while giving the suited pony a brief congratulatory pat on the shoulder. Sunspot smirked at the praise and looks of amazement she was receiving from the guards around her. She knew that they were impressed by her entire team, but that didn’t stop her from basking in the spotlight for a moment by herself.

“Just doing my job Sargent.” Sunspot replied with a smile.

“Well, you must be really good at your job then. You barely even flinched at those things when we were clearing out the basement.” Fireside said in an impressed tone.

Sunspot chuckled to herself at the mention of her bravery. Truth be told, she was only brave because she knew that there was a finite number of the monsters to deal with. All she had to do was blow the living daylights out of anything that moved with her strobe, and eventually, she would run out of things to shoot.

“Yeah, well… you know how it is. The princess only picks the best of the best, and she asked me personally to join. I thought about turning her down… after all, there are only so many things I can do at once. But in the end, I decided to join her… I mean come on, it was the princess after all.” Sunspot boasted with a smirk while looking around at the impressed faces on the nearby guards.

“It is nice to hear that I have the best of the best working for me.” A familiar voice spoke up, causing the group to dart their head to the side. Sunspot jumped slightly when she saw Princess Luna walking up to her with Brimstoke and Neon Streak in tow.

“Princess Luna! Umm… I was uh…” Sunspot sweated nervously as she tried to think of a way to answer for her behavior. Luna chuckled and smiled at the pegasus as she tripped over herself trying to save face.

“Don’t worry, Sunspot. Even alicorns have a sense of humor.” The princess said in a lighthearted tone. Sunspot chuckled and gave an awkward smile as she lowered herself to the floor.

“Now then… we have managed to clear out the rest of the basement. The entire station should be completely monster free now.” Luna explained while turning to Fireside and his men. The guards were relieved to hear that their ordeal was over.

“That’s great news!” Fireside exclaimed cheerfully.

“Yeah, now all we have to do is lick our wounds and make a plan for dealing with these guys.” Brimstoke stated with a small smile.

“I’m all for dealing with those hooded jerks. I’d like to give them a piece of my mind in person.” Sunspot said with eager enthusiasm. She looked like she was preparing to take on all of the hooded ponies by herself.

All of the guards in the room nodded and voiced their agreement. They were far past finding a peaceful solution. They had been attacked in their own base, with their friends and coworkers injured or possibly dead. Each and every stallion was willing to wage a war with those responsible for this tragedy.

“Don’t worry. I’m certain that my sister and I can find a way to effectively confront the hooded ponies. We will bring them to justice… one way, or another.” Luna said in a sincere tone while glancing around at the ponies around her. They were all willing to fight to protect their fellow Equestrians, and she respected each of them for their valor.

Everyone quieted down and nodded in satisfaction. Now that they had finished securing the building, they were free to move around as they pleased. Most of the guards paired off and walked out of the room while chatting with each other. Some of the white stallions seemed a little more urgent in exiting the room, perhaps rushing off to assist some of the civilians around the building. As the last set of guards left the room, the group noticed a familiar white alicorn stepping into the room. Princess Celestia smiled as she noticed that everyone had returned safely from the basement.

“Hello everyone.” Celestia greeted with a passing smile. Luna smiled in return and walked up to her sister with a thoughtful expression.

“Sister, I think we need to talk. We need to discuss what we’re-” The blue alicorn spoke up until she was interrupted by her sister.

“What we’re going to do about the hooded ponies. I was thinking the exact same thing… why don’t we take a walk and discuss this in private?” Celestia suggested while glancing around at the others. Luna glanced around as well before nodding in response.

“That sounds like a good idea.” Luna said with a slight smirk. The two sisters gave a passing farewell to Brimstoke and the others before walking out of the room.

The three ponies were suddenly left by themselves. There were only a few scattered guards and civilians left in the room, and they seemed to be occupied with their own affairs. Sunspot kicked her leg in the air passively while glancing between her two companions.

“So uhh… I guess I’ll go check on the girls.” The orange pegasus suggested awkwardly. She desperately wanted to get away from idly standing around, and she also wanted to see if Glitterball had woken up, so she figured that heading to the equipment room was the best option.

“Sounds good… Me and Neon will check up on the rest of the civvies. I’m sure they are still pretty shaken up.” Brimstoke said with a somber expression as he thought about the trauma that most of the innocent ponies around the station must have gone through.

“Alright, I’ll be sure to give Glitter your regards.” Sunspot said while rushing out of the room. She barely even waved to her two teammates before exiting out of the door. Neon Streak and Brimstoke could tell that the orange mare was certainly eager to talk with Twilight and the others.

Meanwhile, in the equipment room, Twilight and her friends were gathered around Glitterball waiting for her to wake up. The rainbow-haired unicorn was wrapped up in a blanket like Twilight was before she woke up, but unlike the purple mare, Glitterball had a lot more color to her appearance. She seemed to have warmed up a lot since her time up on the roof, much to the relief of those around her.

Twilight sat next to the unconscious mare as the others chatted around her. She watched her almost peaceful breathing with a sad expression. Glitter had risked her life by jumping into the dark matter after her. She probably took more of the impact because of it.

The purple mare would make sure to make it up to the unicorn for saving her life. She would have to make it up to a lot of people for saving her life after everything blew over. Maybe she could ask Pinkie Pie to throw a big party for everyone once the hooded ponies had been caught.

The sound of the far door opening made the group turn their heads to investigate. Everyone noticed Sunspot walking through the door and closing it behind her. The pegasus smiled as she looked over at the group of ponies huddled around Glitterball.

“Hey guys, how’s it going?” Sunspot asked in a cheerful manner while walking over to the group. Rainbow Dash walked forward to greet the orange mare, while everyone else remained where they were.

“Hey Sunspot!” Rainbow said with a wide smile. “We’ve just been sitting here waiting for you guys. What have you been up to?” She asked in an intrigued tone. Sunspot chuckled and looked back towards the door as she remembered what she had been doing.

“We just got done sweeping the basement all the way. We are officially monster free.” Sunspot stated with a pleased expression. Everyone smiled at the news that the building was finally safe.

“Yay! We did it!” Pinkie Pie cheered excitedly. Twilight and the others shared in their pink friend’s joy, although at decidedly lower levels.

“That’s great news Sunspot!” Twilight said with a relieved smile. She was glad to hear that everything had been successfully dealt with at the station. Now the group could solely focus on resting and recuperating from their experience.

“Yeah… the princesses went out to talk about things, so we were left on our own pretty much. I decided to come down here to check on you guys.” Sunspot said while glancing around at the group. Despite her words, she seemed to be fixated on the unconscious unicorn wrapped up in a blanket beside Twilight.

It wasn’t hard to tell that the orange mare was worried about her teammate. She was also beating herself up over the fact that she wasn’t there to help the group in their time of need.

Before anyone could think of something to say to cheer up the sullen pegasus, the group heard a soft groan coming from behind them. Twilight felt the blanket beside her moving slightly. She looked over and saw Glitterball stirring from her sleep.

“Look, everyone, she’s waking up!” The purple mare announced in an excited tone. Everyone quickly gathered around the rainbow haired unicorn and watched as she slowly picked herself up from the floor. Glitter sat up and opened her eyes slowly.

“Wh…wha…?” Glitterball muttered in a daze as she looked around with a confused expression. The others waited for a moment as the white mare refocused her vision and started looking between them.

“Where am I?” Glitterball asked in a sleepy tone while glancing down at the blanket covering her.

“It’s about time you woke up! We were starting to worry about you for a minute there, Glitter.” Sunspot stated with a cheerful smirk while walking up to the white mare.

“What happened…? Last thing I remember, I was on the roof trying to get Twilight out of that dark matter stuff.” Glitterball said while piecing together her memories.

“You were. The dark matter made both of you pass out. Luckily for you, the princess showed up at the last minute and totally dominated that cloud thing.” Sunspot explained with an excited tone. Even if she hadn’t been there to see it, the pegasus was still amazed that the princess made such short work of the menacing bubble of darkness that had kept the building isolated from the outside world.

“We… passed out?” Glitterball asked with a slightly saddened expression. She had hoped to rescue the purple mare when she braved the dark matter. It was supposed to be a quick trip in and out, but apparently, she had failed the unicorn.

Spotting the frown on Glitter’s face, Twilight couldn’t help but frown sympathetically. She must have been kicking herself that her stunt didn’t work. The only reason they were still alive was because Celestia intervened.

“You saved my life up there Glitter. The only reason either of us survived was because the dark matter couldn’t focus too much on both of us… thank you so much.” Twilight said while putting a gentle hoof on her shoulder and smiling.

“I’m glad that things worked out… I didn’t really have a plan when I jumped in after you.” Glitterball admitted with a nervous chuckle while looking down. Despite her obvious disappointment in her actions, she flashed a brief smile from hearing that she had in fact accomplished her mission. Seeing the rainbow haired mare lightening up and smiling made Twilight smile warmly in return.

Twilight didn’t care that the unicorn didn’t know what she was doing. She still risked her life to rescue her, and that was enough for the purple mare.

“So… now that we’re all together and conscious, why don’t we all get something to eat? I’m sure I could round up something for everybody down at the break room.” Sunspot suggested eagerly. Upon the mention of food, everyone immediately felt their stomachs growling. Even if they could only get a few snacks from the break room, all of the ponies didn’t care as long as they had something to eat after all of their hard work.

“Yes! Finally, someone addresses the food problem. Hiding from monsters is hard work. I’m starving!” Pinkie Pie spoke the mind of everyone else present. Twilight and the others nodded eagerly and voiced their agreement.

“I’ll go with you. Let’s hurry up and get down there! If I have to wait any longer there isn’t going to be anything to bring back for the rest of you.” Rainbow Dash stated while stepping forward to accompany the orange pegasus. The others weren’t entirely sure if she was joking or not.

“There better be something for us when you two get back, or else you will have to face the dire consequences.” Glitterball said with a playful glare directed at the two pegasi. She didn’t know if Rainbow Dash was joking, but she had worked with Sunspot long enough to know that she had a habit of hogging any food for the team that Brimstoke brought to the station back when they were training.

“What’s that? I can’t hear you over all of that delicious food calling my name. Maybe you should get up and stop me if you want something yourself.” Sunspot replied with a playful smirk while walking out of the room with Rainbow Dash in tow. Glitterball tried to get up when she quickly realized that she still felt weak from her ordeal.

Everyone laughed as the unicorn gave a frustrated shrug before pouting angrily and settling back to her seated position. Glitterball crossed her forelegs and looked at the floor while hoping against all odds that her teammate would bring her something to eat.

While the ponies were all waiting for their two friends to bring them some food, some more serious business was going on outside. Princess Celestia was informing her younger sibling about everything that they had learned from Cotton Quill, from telling her where the hooded ponies were supposedly located, to discussing what Tom had told her about the nefarious group’s intentions.

“So this… eternal night was it? That is what these ponies are after?” Luna asked to confirm the information she had just been given. Celestia nodded in response.

“Yes. According to Twilight, that is what Cotton Quill said before he died.” Celestia explained. The blue alicorn shrugged and looked down with a troubled expression.

“If that is the case… and if what Tom says is really true, then we had better pray that the eternal night really is just a legend.” Luna stated in a somber tone. The mere thought of the calamity that would be caused by such an event sent chills down the blue alicorn’s spine.

When Luna’s mind was corrupted and she became Nightmare Moon, her intentions were noble, at least from her point of view. All she wanted to do was to make the ponies of Equestria appreciate her beautiful night, even if she did go about it in all the wrong ways. But this legend wasn’t anything like what Nightmare Moon ever dreamed of creating. The eternal night only existed to bring about suffering and death, and whoever would wish that evil upon the world was pure evil themselves.

Celestia noticed her sister looking down in thought. Luna was utterly appalled by the sheer magnitude of the threat that they were facing. Of course, Celestia shared in her horror and fear. She didn’t want to imagine what would happen if the hooded ponies were successful, she couldn’t. The thought of her kingdom and all of her subjects perishing under such evils tore her up on the inside, but she had to stay strong, if not for her own sake, then for the sake of everyone that looked up to her.

“Are you sure you still want to handle this on your own?” Celestia asked while glancing down to her sister. The blue alicorn looked up in surprise at the question.

“What do you mean?” Luna asked curiously.

“We need to strike them at their base if we are to succeed… I have no doubt that it will be incredibly dangerous. I could help you if you wish.” Celestia suggested in a caring tone. The blue alicorn merely shook her head in response.

“No, sister… I will do this on my own.” Luna said with a determined expression. “If the intel Cotton Quill provided us with is to be believed, then I do not think that they are prepared to perform whatever ritual they have been working towards. Besides… if anything happens…” She looked away for a moment and frowned slightly.

“It is probably for the best if we don’t go together… so there is still someone left to fight should the worst happen.” Luna explained hesitantly. Celestia was surprised at how mature her sister had gotten. While the thought of losing her sibling was horrible, it was tactically sound to not charge the hooded ponies head on with everything they had. If anything bad did happen, at least Celestia would still be left to deal with the aftermath.

Luna suddenly felt her sister wrapping a foreleg around her. She looked up and saw the white alicorn smiling at her slightly.

“I’m certain that you can handle yourself… just be safe and get back to me alive… ok?” Celestia said with loving concern evident in her voice. Luna smiled slightly and nodded in response.

“Ok… I promise that I will do my best to make you proud.” Luna replied with a determined expression. Celestia chuckled warmly and deepened her smile.

“You have already made me proud, Luna.” Celestia said with a sincere tone. Luna couldn’t help but smile at her sister’s words. After staying for a moment to enjoy their warm embrace, the two princesses separated.

“I’m going to go gather up the guards and send the call out to get some reinforcements from Canterlot. We’re going to need to plan out our attack before we head out tonight.” Celestia explained.

“We will also need to retrieve the elements of harmony for Twilight and the others to use… just in case.” Luna suggested while turning her thoughts to the elements of harmony themselves. The wielders of the elements couldn’t do anything if they didn’t have anything to wield.

“Speaking of which… you should probably go ask the girls if they want to be a part of this. I want them to come only if they want to… this is a big mission after all.” Celestia said with a slight shrug. The blue alicorn nodded in response.

“Very well, I will go talk to them.” Luna said while turning to walk away. Celestia nodded to her sister before walking off towards her own tasks.

Back in the equipment room, everyone was enjoying their downtime by eating and chatting. Thankfully, Sunspot and Rainbow Dash had brought back enough food for everyone. Although it wasn’t exactly a five-star meal, it was satisfying and filling enough to please everyone.

Twilight and Rarity sat near Glitterball in the middle of the room and chatted amongst themselves. Although Glitterball was steadily recovering, she had opted to not move from her blanket. Perhaps because she just enjoyed having an excuse for being able to relax under a warm blanket.

Applejack and Pinkie Pie were at the back of the room leaning up against a wall and sitting down respectively. The orange mare tried to talk to her pink friend, but she seemed to be far too absorbed in her meal to pay much attention.

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash sat near Sunspot on the opposite side of the room. Fluttershy merely listened quietly as she ate while the other two mares talked about their own experiences in dealing with the monsters of the station.

Suddenly, the group heard the door open at the front of the room. They looked up and saw Brimstoke, Neon Streak, and Tom entering the room. The three seemed happy to see the ponies enjoying themselves.

“Hey guys, how is everyone doing?” Neon Streak asked while directing her gaze to Glitterball. She was glad to see that the unicorn was recovering from her injuries.

“We’re doing fine now, Neon. How are things going out there?” Glitterball asked curiously. She had been sleeping ever since she passed out on the roof, so she had no idea what was happening outside of the equipment room.

“Well, the building is clear. We’ve just been waiting for the princesses to get done discussing what to do next… and for you to wake up of course.” Neon replied while motioning towards the unicorn.

“I’m awake now… so I guess that just leaves us to wait around some more.” Glitter said in a bored tone.

“At least we have some food. I find waiting a lot easier when I can stuff my face full of junk food.” Sunspot chimed in with a chuckle.

“I hope you brought enough for us.” Brimstoke said in a suspicious tone while glancing around at the rest of the group. There clearly was only enough food for the others. Sunspot chuckled nervously and glanced down.

“Heh heh… sorry Brimstoke, I guess I didn’t think about getting something for you guys. You want the rest of my hay fries?” Sunspot asked with an awkward smile while holding up a container with barely anything left in it. The white stallion sighed and rolled his eyes.

“I think I’ll pass…” Brimstoke replied in a dull tone.

“Don’t worry Brimstoke, I’m sure that you can find something to eat after we’re done here.” The group suddenly heard the voice of Princess Luna speaking up. They turned to see the blue alicorn walking into the room by herself.

“Princess Luna. What are you doing here?” Twilight asked curiously while walking up to the princess. Everyone else dropped what they were doing and looked over to the alicorn to see what she had to say.

“I’m here to check in on you all before we start planning. My sister and I have decided to stage an attack on the hooded ponies tonight, so we will need to gather up everyone that wants to go.” Luna explained while glancing around at the group gathered before her.

Sunspot rushed to put her containers of food down and got to her feet. She walked forward and looked at the princess with an eager expression.

“We’re attacking them tonight?! Count me in!” Sunspot exclaimed cheerfully while pumping her foreleg in the air in excitement.

“Count me in too! There’s no way I’m missing out on this!” Rainbow Dash added with equal excitement and determination.

“That is actually why I’m here, Rainbow Dash. I came here to see if all of you want to come along.” Luna said while looking between Twilight and her five fellow element bearers.

“You mean… all of us?” Fluttershy asked with a hint of nervousness in her voice.

“Precisely… I know that most of you want to be there when we strike the hooded ponies, but I wanted to make sure that all of you shared the same opinion. This is a dangerous mission after all.” Luna explained in a serious tone.

Twilight and the others glanced at each other to see what everyone was thinking. Of course, Rainbow Dash was excited as usual at the prospect of going on such an adventure, but most of the other ponies wore blank expressions as they thought about if they wanted to go.

“I assume that Princess Celestia told you about the eternal night… and how the only way to stop it is to use the elements of harmony. You probably wouldn’t ask us to go otherwise.” Twilight observed while looking around at her friends. Luna nodded in response.

“You are correct, Twilight. We don’t think that you will need to use the elements… but we want to be safe. You don’t have to go if you don’t want to, and you won’t need to go unless all of you agree.” Luna explained while looking around at the six ponies. She didn’t want to make anyone feel bad, but she knew that such a question would put pressure on those that were unsure of whether or not they wanted to go.

Twilight glanced away and thought for a moment. This was it; her hopes had finally come true. They were finally going to take on the hooded ponies and bring them to justice. Everything that had happened in the past week had been boiling down to this day. The purple mare shifted her face to a determined expression. She wanted to finish the job that Princess Celestia had given her, and she would follow it to the bitter end if need be.

“I’m going,” Twilight stated confidently. “I want to protect Equestria… these ponies have done enough harm.” She said with a determined tone of voice. Everyone was inspired by the purple unicorn. Once she voiced her opinion, they felt more confident in their decision to stand by her.

“Ah’m going too. There is no way that Ah will let these hooded ponies hurt my friends.” Applejack said with a determined expression.

“Yeah! We’re going to make these guys pay for what they’ve done!” Rainbow Dash said eagerly.

“I’m coming too! Nobody is threatening Equestria on my watch!” Pinkie Pie chimed in confidently.

“I’m going as well.” Rarity spoke up.

Soon enough, everyone was huddled together cheering and voicing their willingness to come along. Everyone was bound and determined to work together and bring the hooded ponies to justice; everyone, except for one.

“Umm…” Fluttershy muttered uncomfortably from the back of the group. Everyone quieted down once they noticed that the yellow mare hadn’t voiced her opinion.

“Are you coming, Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash asked, expecting the timid pegasus to immediately agree. Instead, Fluttershy merely lowered herself slightly with a nervous expression.

“Umm… well, I want to help but I’m scared…” Fluttershy mumbled in a low whisper, barely loud enough to be heard.

“What…?” Twilight asked curiously while stepping closer to hear the shy mare better. Fluttershy looked away timidly as her friends all looked to her.

“I said I want to help but I’m scared…” Fluttershy muttered again even quieter than before. Her words only blended together into a silent garble.

“You’re gonna have to speak up sugarcube.” Applejack said in a soft tone. Finally, the yellow mare shrugged in defeat and faced the group.

“I’m scared to go!” Fluttershy said out loud. Before anyone could speak up, the yellow mare spoke again.

“I know how much you guys want to go fight the hooded ponies… but… I just can’t. I barely managed to get through today without freezing up in fear… and that was just a few monsters. I would just be a hindrance to all of you. I’m sorry…” Fluttershy stated in a sad tone while looking down and closing her eyes.

Everyone frowned while looking at the timid pegasus sympathetically. She was beating herself up so much for possibly letting her friends down, but she still felt like she couldn’t go. Whether or not she felt like she would be useless, or if she would be too scared to help out, she was certain that she would only make matters worse if she went.

“Fluttershy… you would never be a hindrance to us.” Twilight said in a reassuring manner while walking up to Fluttershy and placing a gentle hoof on her shoulder. “In fact, we can’t do this without you.” She explained with a friendly smile. Fluttershy looked up in surprise as her friend tried to give her a pep talk.

“Really?” Fluttershy asked with a sense of uncertainty. Twilight nodded with confidence.

“Of course… the elements of harmony rely on our bonds of friendship to work. We need to be together to be at our strongest.” Twilight explained cheerfully while glancing around at the others, who all nodded in agreement.

“Ah know that you’re scared Fluttershy, we all are. All Ah can say is that we’ll stick together and keep an eye out for you to keep you safe.” Applejack stated in a sincere tone.

“Plus, you’ll have all of us to watch your back.” Sunspot said while looking to her teammates for support. Everyone nodded confidently while smiling at the timid pegasus.

Fluttershy looked away in thought for a moment. She still felt nervous about going, but all of her friends looking at her with reassuring smiles made her feel a growing sense of confidence. She couldn’t let her friends down in such an important time of need.

“I… I… *Sigh* I’ll go.” Fluttershy said in a defeated tone with a slight smile.

“Alright, Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash cheered excitedly. The others joined in celebrating the yellow mare’s brave decision.

Now that all of Twilight’s friends had agreed to go on the mission, she turned to the princess with an even more intense feeling of confidence and determination.

“I think the decision is unanimous. We’re all going, princess.” Twilight said happily. The blue alicorn smiled in response.

“That’s wonderful, Twilight. I think you should all head home and rest for a while. We will prepare things over here for the attack. You should come back here a little while before sunset.” Luna suggested. The purple mare and the others looked at each other and nodded in agreement. They knew that they would have to talk with their friends and families before going on this mission.

“That sounds like a good idea… I’m sure Spike is probably worried about me and Tom.” Twilight said while glancing over to the human.

“Oh my! I’m certain that poor Sweetie Belle must be worried sick for me as well! I was supposed to be home hours ago.” Rarity said in a surprised tone while thinking about what time it was and how long she had been at the station.

“We have been here a while… we should probably get going. I could definitely use a nap before going to kick some hooded kiester.” Rainbow Dash said while stretching and yawning.

With that said, Twilight and the others got up and started walking to the door. They quickly said goodbye to Glitterball and the others before heading outside. Once they were gone, Luna turned to Tom, Brimstoke, and everyone else present.

“Let’s get started then…” Luna said while moving over to one of the tables in the room. She lit up her horn and used her magic to clear it off before levitating a rolled up piece of paper onto it and spreading it out.