1055 AD, October 31st

Striker rolled his neck until he felt a satisfying crack. “Oh yeah, that’s better…”

“Tough day, huh?” Swift Wind asked, his half-lidded eyes staring at nothing in particular.

Striker nodded. “I’ve been going from one spot to the other to make sure things don’t get too rowdy. My legs are killing me,” He cracked a yawn, his jaw almost dislocating from the force. “I am going to sleep like the dead when I get home.”

“Same here, same here…” Swift Wind was quiet for a while before suddenly huffing in amusement. “Hey, how many times somepony’s asked you, ‘oh, why do you wear the same costume every year’?”

“Thirteen,” He replied in a deadpan tone. “Smart asses…”

Swift Wind laughed at the response. “I wonder if they’ve ever thought to bring… up…”

Both guards snapped to attention as an earth pony mare trotted towards them, hooked up to a wagon covered by a white canvas. A unicorn mare was by her side, her gaze focused on them.

“Excuse me,” The unicorn said when she was a few feet away. “Do you mind if we put this wagon here?”

Swift Wind and Striker exchanged glances, the former shrugging before replying, “What is it?”

“Firewood.” The earth pony answered.

“Firewood?” Striker echoed with a questioning eyebrow.

“Some stallion’s offering a reward for a lot of firewood; I don’t know why, but he is,” The unicorn nodded to the crowd. “We only just got all this together and it’ll be hard getting through all that commotion, so we were wondering if we could leave it here until it thins out.”

“I…” Striker looked to his companion. Swift Wind examined the wagon for a moment before giving another shrug. “Alright, but be sure to pick it up or you’ll be impeding pedestrian traffic.”

The unicorn beamed. “Thanks.”

She and her companion moved the wagon off to the side, next to Striker where nopony would run into it. Striker took note of the necklaces adorning their necks; silver chain links attached to a triangular gemstone.

They looked expensive; the guard hoped the two wouldn’t have any trouble because of them.

The two mares then ventured off to enjoy the festivities, leaving the two guards alone once more. A little while later, Striker let his curiosity get the better of him. He levitated the canvas slightly and peeked underneath.

Swift Wind watched as Striker hummed thoughtfully and returned to his post. “Firewood?”

“Firewood.”

“Who the hay orders a ton of firewood around Nightmare Night? It’s autumn.”

“You know these high-society unicorns,” Striker said as he attempted shake some feeling back into his good leg. “One little breeze and they go running indoors.”

Swift Wind nodded. “Yeah, I guess you’re… right,” His response was punctuated by a yawn that trailed off into an aggravated growl. “Where the hell are those night guards?”

“Have fun and try not to make too many ponies wet themselves, hm?”

Luna smiled reassuringly at her older sister as she mounted her chariot, her personal guards stretching their wings in preparation of flight. “Rest assured, sister – no costumes will be soiled in my presence.”

She motioned to the lead guard and the chariot began to roll forwards as the sound of wings flapping filled the night air.

Celestia watched her sister as the vessel trundled along for a few metres before rising. It flew forwards for a dozen yards before turning around and heading in the direction of Ponyville. Celestia waved as it passed by, her sibling returning the gesture.

The princess of the day watched for a little longer with a gentle smile full of familial pride before turning to trot back into the castle.

Star Secret was waiting at the entrance.

Surprised at her sudden appearance, Celestia’s pace slowed for a brief instant before regaining speed.

She smiled warmly at the other mare. “Star, I’ve been bumping into you all night; if I didn’t know any better I’d say you were stalking me.”

Star Secret gave a short chuckle from deep within her throat. “I might be. I wished to discuss something with you before I went home. May we do so in your quarters?”

Celestia cocked an eyebrow. “Is everything alright? Why my quarters specifically?”

“Well, we don’t have to discuss the matter in your quarters, but it’s regarding the expansion of Canterlot Library and it’ll be easier to show you from your room. You have a clear view of the entire city, do you not?” Star Secret paused. “Unless I’m overstepping my boundaries…”

“Oh, no, of course not,” Celestia shook her head. “I was simply curious,” She gestured towards the castle. “Shall we proceed?”

Star Secret nodded. “After you, your majesty…”

Veil perched atop her cloud, her wings tucked against her sides. A chilling breeze ruffled her mane but did little to stir her.

“Move into position.”

As the echoing voice faded, Veil simultaneously stretched out her wings and unclasped the choker around her neck, stowing it away into the saddlebags hanging around her barrel. Her body shimmered with a blue light and her true colours were revealed.

‘So this is it: either we win and live the rest of our lives bathing in champagne or we get our flanks kicked and spend our lives picking up trash and living on stale bread and water. A hard decision, but I think I’ll pray for the former.’

Fade was in the middle of flirting with two smoking hot mares when he got the alert.

Mentally cursing, Fade worked up every ounce of willpower to turn down their invitation to their apartment and proceed with the plan.

“Sorry, I would love to play bongo on those flanks of yours, but a stallion’s gotta do what a stallion’s gotta do.” With those parting words, he spread his wings and took off into the sky, leaving the mares to gape at the rebuke.

“Did he just…” The pegasus turned to her earth pony friend, disbelief written across her features. “Did he just turn down a threesome?”

The earth pony recoiled, mouth agape. “We were offering a threesome?!”

“The expansion of Canterlot Library, you said?”

Celestia trotted towards her balcony where a magnificent telescope was set up. Philomena cawed from her roost by the fireplace, loudly letting Celestia know that the phoenix would be shedding soon.

Celestia made a mental note to fire-proof her room for the shedding and to warn the staff in case Philomena tried to get up to her old tricks again.

Remembering her guest, the princess continued, “How would you go about it, Star? A new wing devoted to a specific genre? I believe the non-fiction section was getting crowded the last time I-”

Celestia went rigid as tendrils of agony raced through her body, her muscles seizing up so tensely she couldn’t even scream. It lasted seconds and when it ended, she collapsed to her knees with a shocked gasp, eyes wide. Her nostrils picked up the smell of burnt fur and flesh.

The balcony’s doors slammed shut.

She heard Philomena give a panicked caw. Wings flapped for a brief instant before a violent gust of frigid wind sent the phoenix into the wall, snuffing out any flames and breaking the poor bird’s neck.

‘Philomena!’

Philomena’s body combusted and turned into an ash pile; she would resurrect in twenty-four hours, but seeing the cruel treatment of her loyal pet tore the princess’ heart.

Gasping for breath, Celestia turned from the sad sight and craned her neck to look over her shoulder. “S… Star Secret?”

“You have no idea… how long I’ve been waiting to do that.”

Star Secret’s expression was nothing short of sadistic elation and the smirk she gave sent chills down Celestia’s spine. Her horn still shone a deep blue as it crackled with sparks and she approached with malicious intention.

“But… but…” Wincing, the princess stood, refusing to believe what her brain was telling her. There had to be a reason for this; she knew Star Secret, and Star Secret wouldn’t just attack her out of nowhere. This wasn’t right. “Why?”

Star Secret’s smirk widened into a sadistic and terrifying rictus. “I believe a change is long overdue.” Wisps of blue energy danced across her body as she leisurely strolled across the carpet.

Celestia shook her head, still refusing to believe that this mare who was gazing at her with such spite and malevolence was the same pony who she had shared tea with on numerous occasions.

“A… a change?” Her body was healing, but her legs still shook; she could see several burn marks on her back and flank. “I don’t…”

Star Secret gave her look of sympathy as she stopped in her tracks. “Confused?” The look melted away as the very tip of her horn rippled with energy. “Maybe this will clear things up…”

The ripple spread down her horn and across her body.

Her features morphed; emerald eyes became teal, rounded pupils elongated, flat molars became sharp fangs, grey fur became pitch black, and dark blue hair lost density and became gaseous, fanning out and charging the air with power. Her horn lengthened and narrowed, becoming almost sword-like. Two majestic wings seemingly grew out from her side and stretched out with a cyclonic gust of wind that blew over a nearby tea set resting on a small stool.

Then, for good measure, she doubled in size and pieces of armour pushed themselves out of her skin, reflecting the moonlight that spilled in from the arched windows above them.

“So…” A pink tongue extended to run over pearly-whites amidst an exhale of hot breath. “Ring any bells… ‘Tia?”

Magenta eyes widened in disbelief and shock before slowly settling into horror. “N-no… no, that can’t…” She shook her head. “The Elements…”

“Failed. They drove me out of Luna’s body, but didn’t destroy me,” Nightmare Moon chortled sinisterly. “Though that shouldn’t come as a surprise; it isn’t very harmonious to kill a living creature, hm?”

Celestia continued shaking her head. “No, no… This is wrong; Luna was purified of her rage and jealousy, you can’t be-”

“You still believe Luna became what she was because she was upset?” Nightmare Moon’s shoulders shook from her mirth. “Oh, ‘Tia… how little you know; it’s quite sad, really. It’s even sadder that your sister apparently doesn’t trust you enough to divulge in what I truly am, how I truly came to be.”

“Then… how…”

“Long story short, I offered her power and she accepted,” The black alicorn looked up at the moon through one of the windows. “We were bonded together, two minds sharing one body. I gave her the strength to fulfil her desires and in return I reap the benefits of living alongside her like an Empress – the entirety of Equestria would have been ours,” She turned back and shrugged. “Of course, I had to be the more assertive one seeing as Luna wasn’t quite ready to do the more… morally questionable acts. I think you can remember which ones.”

“You… you…” Her horror wearing off, Celestia’s eyes began to narrow as a terrible anger she had thought to be laid to rest re-surfaced. “You did this. You made me banish my own sister!”

“Come now – we both know who was the pony wielding the Elements all those centuries ago,” Nightmare Moon shook her head admonishingly. “We both know who really sent her to the moon.”

Celestia winced and closed her eyes, the harsh words opening old wounds. “I may I have sent her to the moon…” She inhaled deeply and glared at the other alicorn. “But you were the instigator – you were the creature that started it all!”

“Not quite,” Nightmare Moon replied with another shrug. “I may have been the one that gave her the strength necessary to do what she did, but there was nothing stopping her from refusing.”

A large hoof stomped down, rattling the spilled tea set. “You… you manipulated her!” Celestia’s eyes shone with fury, her mane churning like mystical fire. “You manipulated her and took over!”

“Only after she accepted me into her psyche,” Nightmare Moon answered simply. “And only what was necessary; a small fib here, a bit of exaggeration and hyperbole there… I’m quite honest once you get to know me,” She paused and registered her own words. “Well, I do lie by omission, but I know for a fact that nopony is exempt from that, you especially.”

Celestia snapped at her. “You took my sister!”

“She took herself away from you.”

The cold retort was followed by a heavy silence. The two large alicorns stared one another down, the air so permeated with magic that mundane items floated about, rotating and flipping over lazily. Nightmare Moon watched her opponent with predatory eyes, enjoying the anguish and turmoil.

Celestia sighed through her nostrils and looked towards her unlit fireplace, trembling in rage and disgust. “All this time… all this time you were right under my nose.”

Nightmare Moon chuckled and leaned forward, unable to resist twisting the dagger. “Fool you once, shame on me – fool you twice… well, that’s just pathetic.”

The barb made the princess’ brow twitch but her gaze remained on the fireplace. “You completely fooled me… fooled Luna, Canterlot – everypony...” At that moment, her ears flicked, and she turned to the balcony doors. “What…?”

“Ah, yes,” Nightmare Moon swelled up with pride as she listened to the muffled sounds of shouts, screams, and roaring. “I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve invited a few guests. Your guards will be… attending their needs for the time being. We’ll have plenty of time to catch up in the meantime.”

Celestia’s expression turned to one of fear and concern before switching to a frightening mask of tranquil fury. She directed the fullness of her ire at her opponent with a stare that could cull an entire army of cockatrices.

“You took advantage of my sister… turned her against me. You’ve lied and deceived your way into the Royal Court by gaining a city’s trust and admiration only to spit it all back in my face. Now you’re outright threatening Canterlot and all who inhabit it again? Those you took an oath to protect and help? No.”

The foundation of the room shook as she brought her hoof down.

“I may have failed against you before and I may fail yet again, but I will not stand by and let you harm innocent ponies in your selfish gain for power. There is one thing I can take pleasure in at this very moment…”

“Oh?” Nightmare Moon cocked an eyebrow in amusement; the entire tantrum was quite entertaining.

“You are not my sister, so I have no reason to hold back.”

Celestia’s irises suddenly turned blood-red. Steam rolled off her body as her royal regalia began to melt from heat. Every exhale was punctuated by a small jet of flame. Her billowing mane and tail erupted into storms of fire.

The tall and dark alicorn’s grin faded as she prepared herself for the impending battle.

‘Well… you finally show your teeth.’

“You guys look like crap.”

Striker let out a fake laugh as Pinpoint and some other guard he’d never seen before arrived for the night shift. “Thanks, that does wonders for my self-esteem.”

“Now we just need to work on your appearance and you’ll be set.” Pinpoint took a defensive stance in Striker’s place as the latter tiredly rubbed his eyes.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t he the only one among us who’s married?” Swift Wind chimed in as the new guard took up his position, eyes bright and alert.

Striker shot a smug grin at Pinpoint. “Yeah, got you there, eh?”

“Although, I do think it was mostly out of pity she agreed.”

Striker pouted as the others guffawed at his expense. “You guys suck.”

“We really do, huh?” Pinpoint nodded. It was then he noticed the wagon and gestured to it with a hoof. “So, uh…?”

“Oh yeah…” Striker glanced at the wagon briefly. “Some mares came by and asked to leave it here until the crowd thinned out. Nothing important – firewood for some pony offering a reward.”

“It’s not that cold…” The new guard spoke up, his voice surprisingly deep for his apparent youth.

“Somepony thinks it is.” Swift Wind shrugged.

“Well, if they’re not back by midnight then I’ll have to impound it.” Pinpoint said.

Out of the corner of his eye, Striker spotted a familiar form heading towards them. “Ah, there’s one of the mares now,” He pointed in her direction. “Wonder where the other one went to?”

The new guard watched her approach with steadily-rising eyebrows. “Uh… she’s kinda coming in fast.”

The mare in question was a few dozen yards away, but was galloping like a chimera was hot on her tail. Her hooves struck the cobblestone roads with resounding clips and clops. Her mane and tail streamed out behind her like a black waterfall and the ruby set in her necklace sparkled in the moon’s light. Ponies bustling about quickly got out of her way, shaking their heads and murmuring in disapproval.

“She’s in a hurry.” Pinpoint observed.

“Yeah…” Swift Wind frowned as a sense of unease filled his heart. “She is.”

He tilted his head as he tried to figure out what was unusual about the scene besides the mare’s haste. Squinting, his attention was drawn to her hooves.

Every step she took cracked the cobblestone.

Swift Wind knew earth ponies had tremendous strength and durability; he had seen some of his friends lifting weights which were easily twice his own weight. Even so, to gallop with such force as to leave imprints in stone? That was something he was sure earth ponies did not do normally. In fact, as the mare got closer, he could see her face was a veneer of calmness and cold confidence that didn’t sit right on a simple civilian.

And she still wasn’t slowing down.

“Striker, stop her!”

The others looked at him in surprise. “Side Swipe…” Striker began with confusion evident in his tone. “Are you-”

“Do it – she’s not going to stop!”

Striker hesitated, but the new guy did not. His horn lit up in a teal glow and a corona of matching colour surrounded the mare’s body an instant later. It did little to stop her. The new guy gritted his teeth and increased the power, the corona brightening in response, but he might as well have been throwing leaves against a hurricane for all the effect it had.

“Well, this just got interesting…” Pinpoint muttered as Striker finally joined in and cast a Paralysis spell which did little besides making the mare’s eyebrow twitch. Pinpoint swiftly sprinted forwards and braced himself, rising to his full height. “An assault against a member of the Royal Guard is grounds for immediate incarceration! I order you to desist and-”

He might as well have tried to stop a locomotive.

The mare smashed into his chest and sent him flipping over her body to unceremoniously kiss the ground, his rear sticking up in the air. Without breaking pace, she thundered towards the remaining guards; the two unicorns bravely putting up a defensive shield in front of the gate.

SKRASH

The shield shattered into a dozen pieces of arcane energy which quickly dissipated in the air, the resulting backlash sending the two unicorns to the ground with pounding heads.

CLANG

The gates were torn off their hinges as the mare leapt and smashed straight through. She quickly dug in her hooves as she landed, breaking through the concrete pathway and leaving furrows in the dirt underneath as she lost momentum, and came to a stop.

With a cool detachment, she brushed a strand of her mane from her face, and undid the clasp of the necklace, allowing it to fall to the ground as her disguise fell.

She glanced back towards the entrance. “Gate’s open.”

Swift Wind gaped in horrified astonishment as he hovered above the scene. It all happened so fast. One minute they were laughing and joking and then the next they got their asses handed to them. It had pained him to leave his friends, but it wasn’t as if he could have done anything against the mare – if she could brush somepony like Pinpoint out of her path as one might do with a fly then he stood even less of a chance.

‘Who is this pony?’

As she finished knocking down the gate and slowing down, he saw her reach up and undo the choker around her neck. The instant it fell, her body rippled as her colours changed to a darker shade.

‘A Disguise enchantment?’

She turned towards the mess she had made and mouthed something he couldn’t hear over the panicked shouts of the crowd.

As the crowd cleared away from the danger, he picked out two individuals strolling forwards as if they were on a peaceful Sunday walk. One was the unicorn mare he had seen earlier; she was also without her necklace and sported a more intimidating appearance with a sharp horn that shone a scarlet hue.

The other was a unicorn stallion in the process of shedding his costume with telekinesis, revealing a somewhat familiar face – he may have seen it at the Galloping Gala, a noble if he remembered correctly. Underneath the bandages which composed his mummy costume was a choker that was quickly tugged off, his body rippling in a manner similar to the earth pony mare.

‘All of them were in disguise?’

A whistle caught his attention. He glanced up in time to spot a dark blur that shot towards the ground and landed with enough force to leave a small crater. A pegasus mare calmly stepped out, two bulging saddlebags at her sides. She joined the other two and he had to bite his tongue when she bucked Pinpoint as he tried to stand, knocking him unconscious.

The unicorn mare shot two scarlet bolts at Striker and the new recruit.

Swift Wind’s panic lessened somewhat when he saw them try to rise after the bolts hit only to freeze up and fall, their wide eyes flicking about as the trio passed. It was only a Paralysis spell; it didn’t seem as if they were looking to kill.

The unicorn mare stopped by the wagon and tore the cover off to reveal the stack of firewood. She let out a clear whistle.

‘What is she…?’

Before his very eyes, the wood gained auras of lime-green light, and began to rise and float out of the wagon to hover above the street. Branches and logs rotated and fixed themselves into various positions, flashes of green going off wherever the pieces welded to one another. In the span of a few seconds, they formed a lanky body, four thick legs, a large head, and a long snout.

‘You’ve gotta be kidding me…’

The timber wolf – he guessed it to be twenty feet tall and almost twice as long – lowered its head to sniff at the rigid Striker before exhaling a gust of nature-green gas and stepping over the concrete walls of the castle’s front garden.

It was unbelievable – they were being attacked by four ponies and their pet timber wolf.

Swift Wind stole a longing glance at his fallen comrades before tearing himself away and rushing to sound the castle-

“Hey,” A male pegasus hovered before him. “Nice night out, huh?”

Ebony marched forwards, her mind surprisingly calm and her thoughts startlingly clear. She had feared that when it came down to it she wouldn’t be able to fight or lead her friends in an assault against the Royal Guard. She had feared they would be found out instantly and that everything would have been for nothing.

Yet as she walked along the stone pathway with her friends in tow, her magic surging through her body, and Shadow lumbering off to the side – every step sending vibrations through her body – she felt as if they could do anything they set their minds to.

“Mistress,” She glanced up at the castle and its many spires and towers. “We are in.”

“Excellent – I am engaging Celestia. You know what to do.”

Ebony nodded and directed her thoughts to her friends as Nightmare Moon faded out. “Miasma – you’re out in front.”

“Got it.” Miasma trotted in front of them, a living wall of flesh and bone.

“Veil – you throw those grenades when the time’s right; make every one count and keep moving.”

“I almost feel sorry for these guys…” Veil tossed an unassuming black canister up and down in her hoof. A gemstone was fixed in the middle and several symbols made in white chalk surrounded it. “Keyword: almost…”

“Fade – fly around and make their lives miserable.”

“No worries here,” Fade bumped both hooves together. “I’ll punch when I don’t buck, I’ll buck when I don’t punch, and I’ll call their moms ugly when I’m doing either.”

“Haze – you’re our support; make sure no unicorns get an advantage over us and keep us healthy.”

“Of course,” Haze casually reached up to smooth his mane back; it had gotten rather messy after being under those bandages for so long. “There will be plenty of thrashing done by this horn!”

“I’m the damager, so if we come across a big group, wait until I let off a few spells before going in.” She turned to her side. “Shadow…”

The massive timber wolf cocked his head at her with a curious whine.

“No killing. Other than that…” Ebony oriented her stare towards the castle’s front entrance, where four guards had run out and stopped dead at the sight of their approach. “Go wild.”

Shadow let loose a deafening howl that blew out the windows of the castle.

Harmonics frowned and tapped his hearing aid. The damned thing had been on the fritz lately and it was really cutting into his writing. For a moment it seemed as if there was a timber wolf just outside the castle.

‘Hm… a timber wolf…’

Harmonics immediately perked and went back to his writing with renewed vigour.

“Chapter 22: The Dread Howl of Everfree…”

Author's Notes:

Note 1: And so it finally begins...

Note 2: Pyromancy is a difficult sub-school to learn as its very nature is wild and unpredictable. Mastery requires a strong willpower and the caster must not fear the power. Very few unicorns have what it takes to follow this school and even fewer have an affinity towards it.

Princess Celestia is, to date, the most well-known and only pyromancer in Equestria. There are rumors that she once had a student who also had an affinity for the school, but these are just rumors...