1056 AD, January 15^th

The air was thick with tension like a muggy day.

Nightmare Moon strolled down the footpath and over to the large tent set up just outside the castle gates. Dozens of Eclipse guards were stationed around it while many more kept the street clear with blockades and black and yellow tape. Pegasi patrolled the skies and kept the rooftops clear.

There would be no public eyes to witness this exchange, whatever the outcome may be.

Nightmare Moon spotted Ebony waiting for her by the gates. “How goes our progress?” She asked once she was close enough.

“The guards have been stationed and the street closed off,” Ebony replied with a salute before joining Nightmare Moon’s side. “All before noon.”

“Excellent,” Nightmare Moon turned her head skywards for a second and scowled at the burning sun. “For their sake, I hope they play their part before it is noon.”

“Well, they have forty minutes before that,” Ebony turned her head briefly and waved her forehoof, causing a few guards in the distance to salute and cluster together around a street corner. She turned back with a grimace. “I don’t like this.”

“Your trepidation is not without merit,” Nightmare Moon approached the tent and parted the flaps with magic. “Despite their altruistic and good nature, I am not naïve enough to believe that it is not within them to attempt some sort of pre-emptive strike under the guise of peaceful negotiations,” Inside was a long table and two chairs on either side, arranged so the occupants would face one another. Two chairs were significantly larger than the others. “After all, I would think to do so.”

She was feeling confident about this upcoming talk – Celestia might have defeated her all those months ago, but she had accounted for everything here. Or, as much as she could possibly account for.

“All except one street has been sealed off, Empress,” The tent flaps parted again and Haze trotted in with – surprise, surprise – a clipboard. Nightmare Moon was beginning to suspect it was magically linked to his body at this point. “The street you instructed Celestia to take, of course.”

“Rooftops?”

“Our pegasi have them under watch.”

“What about the sewers?”

“Under watch now that I’ve outfitted those selected with masks,” Haze’s expression curdled, likely from remembering a foul smell. “Additionally, our high-ranking unicorns will be performing routine checks to dispel any disguise spells. Aside from teleportation, there is no other way they can sneak up on us.”

“Good work,” Nightmare Moon nodded, satisfied. “Ebony – you are to remain outside the tent once Celestia arrives. If you hear anything out of the ordinary, then come in.”

“Okay, I will.”

“Haze – you’re to remain with me.”

Haze acknowledged her order with a nod. “Of course.”

“I will not suffer another defeat,” Nightmare Moon affirmed, mostly to herself. “We are prepared this time around.”

The sewers that ran beneath the streets, the skies above, the rooftops – she had planned a means to keep watch over it all; it took almost every Eclipse guard she had under her command, but it was worth it. There were enough guards left over to stand guard over Twilight and Vinyl, just in case.

Vinyl insisted she would be fine – “Wolf, they might be bad guys to you, but they aren’t gonna friggin’ hurt random ponies” – but Nightmare Moon felt better knowing there was somepony there to sound the alarm in case things did go wrong.

Ebony left for her assigned spot, and Haze pulled out one of the chairs before sitting in it and using the table to rest his clipboard on. He continued to write with a quill and a stony expression.

“Interesting.”

He turned his head. “What is, Empress?”

“There is palpable tension in the air; the rest of my Praetorian Guard feel it, and I feel their anxiety in their thoughts. Yet you are calm and composed almost all the time. Even in the heat of battle,” Nightmare Moon tilted her head with an eyebrow raised in intrigue. “An admirable trait.”

“Thank you. It is a necessity when you are part of my bloodline,” Haze waved the quill in his telekinetic grip with sarcastic gravitas. “‘Beware Copper Tusk and his dark child, Dusk, for they will bring the wrath of the Mare in the Moon upon us’,” He shrugged and grinned wryly. “Do not take that warning literally: few of my noble peers are quite so eloquent when it comes to stabbing each other in the back.”

“Yes, the stigma your family carries for worshipping my grace,” Nightmare Moon decided to sit at the table, too. There wasn’t much else she could do besides wait for her adversary to arrive, so might as well pass the time with some light conversation. Besides, she hadn’t had this talk with Haze yet; they were both too busy for anything besides exchanging information. “Although, I don’t recall your family during my first bout against Celestia.”

“The matriarch of House Virtue at that time, Daze Noon, was a sickly mare and talented with words, so she couldn’t help in a more direct sense. Fortunately, she saw fit to keep records of her belief for her descendants that would share in her enthusiasm; it disturbed many other families, who were all too happy to pamper Celestia after she banished you during the following thousand years. Of course, not everypony in my family wanted to acknowledge this: my father was the only one who actively tried to hide it, however.”

Nightmare Moon knew of this: she gleamed it from Haze’s mind when she was inside his body and augmenting him. She wanted to know his reasons for joining, if they were sincere enough that she could trust he wouldn’t betray her when things got hard. However, she never delved too deeply to find out the circumstances surrounding his belief in her.

The ‘how’ hadn’t been important back then.

“An ultimately futile act,” Haze continued, ticking off something on the clipboard. “He locked away anything concerning you in his trunk in the attic and told me not to pry. As you can imagine, that is practically an invitation to snoop for a young colt.”

“And that’s how you came to know of me.”

“Daze Noon witnessed your confrontation with Celestia, Empress. Your first confrontation. It was during a gathering of nobility that you walked in late, wearing Luna’s form, and revealed yourself in a grand and terrifying display,” Haze finally put his quill down and turned to face her, his eyes closing as he recalled something. ‘Born from the lunar princess’ sins, she was given form, the one that would rule us as the next step in ponykind’s evolution’. Those were her words.”

“I see,” Nightmare Moon remembered that event: she still relished the look of shock and horror on Celestia’s face, and the betrayal that Luna felt when she took over. “And you believe this as well?”

“Of course,” Haze nodded, face still placid, but now there was a glimmer in his eyes as he spoke. “Ponies have always had great potential locked away within them. How else are we so in synch with magical energy? Therefore, it only makes sense that, sooner or later, we will discover the next step that allows us to ascend to a stronger state of existence. Luna was lucky to be the first, even though she foolishly rejected you. Yet, you found a way to survive through your own will and share with us your power, allowing I and the others to unlock our own potential.

“Change is the one true constant in our world; we can only accept it.”

So, those were his reasons for following her.

She already knew that he viewed her as something of a deity, a powerful entity born from the magic within a pony, but she didn’t know the story behind it. It was interesting.

Ironically, Haze shared similarities with Veil in that their motivations were partially fuelled by a ‘the mighty shall lead’ mentality. It made their dislike of one another rather funny, in a sense. She still wasn’t entirely sure why they were at odds besides the usual ‘he’s a snob’ and ‘she’s a hooligan’, but it didn’t get in the way of their work, so she left it alone.

“A pragmatic way of thinking you have,” She said. “Admirable.”

Of course, she was hardly the next step in pony evolution, but if Haze wanted to believe that, then she wouldn’t refute it.

“Thank you, Empress.”

“Perhaps that is what Celestia has come here for…” Nightmare Moon pondered, looking straight ahead and tapping her forehoof against the table. “Perhaps she realizes that these humans are of a greater and more immediate threat, so she wishes for a temporary truce.”

It was a possibility, though Nightmare Moon couldn’t see them working together without constant glances over the shoulder.

“Equestria has allied with many forces over the years, so it’s not unlikely,” Haze nodded. “Although, she and Luna appear to hold a potent animosity reserved for you.”

“What a flattering thought.”

“What would you say if they offered a truce?” Haze asked. “A genuine partnership?”

“It is difficult to say,” Nightmare Moon grumbled. “On one hoof, the level of threat that the humans possess may necessitate accepting help, no matter whom is offering it. However, I am also suspicious of Celestia, perhaps enough that I might never feel at ease even if a truce was called.”

Haze nodded. “What do you think will be the outcome of the talks?”

“Confrontation, mostly.”

“And if you can’t come to an agreement?”

“I thought about capturing them…” Nightmare Moon did some mental gymnastics to tally the cost to repair the entire city block if things turned violent and grimaced at the answer. There were still some walls that hadn’t been repaired in the castle. “However, considering that the measures I took last time still wasn’t enough, I don’t think I’ll try that again. I have no way to prevent Luna’s dream-walking power, anyway. That was the catalyst.”

Haze nodded. “If you don’t plan on capturing them, then may I ask what you want to happen?”

“I assume we’re trading idealism for reality for this question?” Haze nodded again. “Ideally, I want them to walk in, announce that they wish to surrender, and I can lock them up and plan for the humans without worrying about another escape attempt. Realistically, however… that’s not something that will happen.”

Haze looked at her with an odd look. “… Forgive me, Empress, but… why did you agree, then? It sounds to me as if you’ve already convinced yourself that an alliance is very unlikely.”

If she was honest with herself, then the main reason she even agreed to a temporary truce was due to a knee-jerk reaction. Her enemy had placed a note on her door, showing that somepony had managed to slip past her security and slip back out without anypony noticing. Intentional or not, that was a blow to her pride.

Also, it… freaked her out a little to imagine the assailant wandering around while Vinyl was staying in the castle recovering.

Such a sudden surge of emotion made her respond to the truce instinctively, when she probably should have taken the time to mull it over. After all, she didn’t need anything that Celestia and Luna might have had, so why bother with negotiations?

Of course, it would have been embarrassing to try and cancel the whole meeting. Ponies would question why she bothered setting this all up only to back out at the last second.

Couldn’t admit any of that, though.

“I suppose it’s still a possibility. At any rate, I’m very intrigued to see what they have to say. After that, if we can’t come to an agreement that leaves us all happy, then they leave. If they don’t leave…” She grinned. “Well, if property damage and violence is inevitable, then at least I can enjoy assaulting them without having to worry about a beam of sunlight,” She trailed off as Ebony poked her head into the tent. “Have they arrived?”

The tent flap was open enough for Nightmare Moon to see a large shadow stretching across the ground behind Ebony.

“Yes,” Ebony nodded. “Celestia and Luna are here.”

“Whoa, is that…?”

“An eclipse over the Eclipse. Crazy, yeah?”

Miasma made a noise of acknowledgement. “I’ve never seen an eclipse before.”

“I don’t think anyone under a thousand years has,” Lightning Dust said. “Or, you know, however old the princesses are.”

Miasma had no particularly strong feelings on unusual sights, nor was she one for waxing poetry, but she could see why some ponies would do that when they saw something like this.

The sun – that bright, yellow disc that could always be counted on to provide light and warmth – was slowly being covered by the moon’s bulk; already it looked more like a crescent than a disc, and the land was being thrown into a strange state of dimness that wasn’t quite dusk nor dawn. Miasma didn’t know what to think of this new darkness, but her body seemed to vibrate with newfound energy.

Yes, the sun did seem a little too bright and too yellow ever since she had changed.

“Pretty smart, huh? Getting Luna to move the moon in front of the sun so Celestia isn’t as strong.” Lightning Dust was standing in between her and Fade on the street a little way from the tent.

The ‘Soon to be a smouldering crater Tent’, Fade had dubbed it.

Fade scratched his neck. “But Luna will be stronger, yeah?”

“So will all of us, dope,” Lightning Dust slapped him on the shoulder with a loud laugh. “And we outnumber them, so we got nothing to sweat about.”

Miasma wasn’t sure about that.

“True, true,” Fade looked up at the sky and held his forehoof against his brow. “Just… don’t want a repeat of last time.”

Miasma recalled the event automatically and repressed a shudder.

“Eh?” Lightning Dust looked between them like she had missed out on some juicy gossip. “What happened last time?”

Miasma blinked and turned her head slightly. “Nopony told you?” Lightning Dust shook her head, and she realized that, of course, Lightning Dust didn’t know because it wasn’t something that anypony would like to bring up. “Oh. Well…”

She trailed off and looked to Fade, silently asking him to continue for her. She wasn’t comfortable talking, even with those she held close, even using telepathy; it was awkward and difficult. She wasn’t like her brother, who could talk and talk and talk.

He talked enough to cover both of them.

“Don’t say this in earshot of the boss, but…” Fade blinked and frowned. “Wait, I can just use my mind, yeah?”

He and Lightning Dust lapsed into silence long enough for the eclipse to finish entering its final stage, darkening the world with only a thin corona of sunlight visible from behind the moon. Miasma could hear the hushed and concerned voices of other guards around them and saw several hooves pointing skywards.

“Whoa, seriously?!” Lightning Dust suddenly exclaimed. Miasma almost jumped. She glared at her by very slightly lowering her eyebrows. “What, like a burnt pancake?”

“Yup.”

“Creepy. Kinda cool, though. I mean, when you can survive getting blasted by a solar flare, then you know you’re a badass.”

“Right?”

Lightning Dust turned back to Miasma. “So, you saw it, too? Must have been a hell of a thrill to fight against the princesses, huh?”

“I guess.” Miasma murmured.

“And you beat up those mares that carry the Elements of Harmony, right?” Lightning Dust laughed again, cruelly this time. “Stallion, I would have loved to pound Rainbow Dash’s face in. Hope I get to do that by the end of the day.”

Miasma looked at her cautiously, though her face didn’t change.

“Nah, the boss ain’t dumb enough to let the princesses and the Element bearers in together,” Fade said. “I heard she said only Celestia and Luna get to come into that tent. We’re just here to make sure nopony else tries some sneaky shit, yeah?”

Lightning Dust deflated. “That sucks.”

“… Lightning Dust, we need to cover the area,” Miasma pointed to a spot on a roof of a building on the opposite side of the street. “That’s a good vantage point.”

“Oh? Yeah, you’re right. Okay, no problem,” She turned and gave Fade a nuzzle. “Talk to you soon, hot stuff.”

Lightning Dust flew off to the spot Miasma pointed out. Fade watched her go for a few seconds before turning to Miasma. His brow furrowed.

“What’s up, sis’? You look more downy than usual, yeah?”

“Do I?” Fade nodded. “Hm.”

“Was it something Lightning Dust said?” He tapped his chin thoughtfully. “No? Maybe you’re anxious about this whole negotiation shit?”

Miasma shrugged. She didn’t know; it was difficult to place her feelings most of the time. She was sort of hoping Fade could figure it out like he usually did.

“Maybe you…” Her brother scratched his head and squinted. “Maybe you’re… worried that one of us will get hurt, or something?”

Miasma thought on that and gave a slow nod. It felt like that was it: she kept thinking about her friends and brother and how much it would displease her to see them in any pain.

“Wait, you’re afraid something like last time will happen again? Yeah, I can see why you’re nervous, but you can’t let it drag on you, yeah? We’re prepared this time around. I mean, look at all of us, yeah? We’re gonna be just fine.”

“I guess you’re right,” Miasma looked back up at the sky. “I feel better knowing the sun is blocked.”

“Yup!” Fade spread out his wing and tapped her on the back. Funny – he had to angle it up to get to it now. “No more death rays for us!”

Miasma hoped so.

Veil sighed as Lightning Dust flew up to her perch on the roof of some random bookstore. What, did Miasma get tired of her and low-key suggested she go up and annoy Veil instead? Wonderful.

“Hey, Veil, what’s up?” Lightning Dust landed next to her with a smile that just screamed ‘I don’t know what personal space is’. “Pretty sweet spot. You see the eclipse? Rad.”

“Mm, yeah, cool.” Veil answered distractedly, playing with one of her grenades.

She noticed Lightning Dust look down at it, then back up. “Are you-”

“No, not really. Ah’m kinda antsy considerin’ there’s a pretty big chance tha’ this will go to th’ dogs,” Veil abruptly shut her mouth and inhaled irritably. “What I meant to say was that we have three superpowered alicorns getting together in an enclosed space after their last meeting involved a literal beam of sunlight being called down.”

She glared evenly at Lightning Dust.

“So yeah, I’m thinking things are probably going to go to shit very soon.”

Lightning Dust rolled her eyes and turned her gaze to the tent. “Jeez, what a killjoy.”

“Yeah, blame the pony that’s being realistic.”

“You’re being a whiner. Look at all of this,” Lightning Dust gestured to the city block with her wing. “We got all of this horsepower and you’re still complaining? That’s the attitude for losers.”

“Complaining is my forte,” Veil bit back. She glanced down at her grenade and tucked it away in her saddlebag – better to be safe than sorry. “And your attitude is what makes me think you’re the one that’ll get killed when things go south.”

“Hey, I’m tougher than you.” Lightning Dust snapped.

Was she serious?

“What’s that got to do with anything?” Veil laughed mirthlessly. “We took over Canterlot by playing smart, not by being the one swinging the biggest sword. If that were the case, we’d have just sent Miasma in,” Lightning Dust rolled her eyes again, but Veil continued talking. “Seriously, don’t get cocky: you might be able to beat everyone in the Eclipse except for Miasma and Ebony, maybe, but the princesses are on a whole other level.”

Veil didn’t like Lightning Dust because… well, not only was she wasn’t in her circle of friends, and Veil had no interest to try and make her one, but she had to tolerate her position as one in their Praetorian Guard. That meant putting aside her dislike and trying to get it through the other mare’s thick skull that confidence ultimately led to an untimely demise.

“Compared to them and Nightmare Moon, we’re kind of in over our heads,” Veil sighed and looked down the street, watching for any sign of Celestia. “I just want all this crap over and done with so I can relax.”

“Hey, you joined willingly from what I heard,” Lightning Dust remarked. “You made your bed, so you sleep in it.”

Veil nodded. “Yeah,” She knew that, but that didn’t mean she had to like it. “Would have liked a pamphlet saying enrolment might involve dismemberment, decapitation, and working with what may or not be a demon.”

She looked to the side and saw Lightning Dust giving a curious look.

“Do me a favour and keep this to yourself. In fact, forget I even said anything.”

Lightning Dust rolled her eyes again. “Weirdo.”

At that moment, there came a commotion from further down where Veil had been looking. When she turned her head, along with probably everypony in the area, she saw the source and grimaced anxiously.

“Here comes the sun…”

Even with the shadow of the eclipse blotting out the sun’s rays, even with her chilled blood pumping through her muscles by the will of her magic alone, Ebony’s skin crawled as she watched Celestia walk down the middle of the street.

Luna was by her side, too.

Nopony else, though; that was part of the agreement, and Ebony was thankful to see it was upheld.

Celestia’s coat looked no less radiant in the darkness; she still loomed and commanded the attention of everypony in the area. Luna looked even more threatening and insidious; her eyes gave off a subdued light and her coat seemed to writhe and quiver with shadows. Ebony kept perfectly still – easy to do when you didn’t need to breathe – as the two princesses approached and stopped before her.

Luna’s lip curled in distaste. “Announce us.”

Ebony nodded stiffly and turned to peek her head through the flaps. “Empress-”

“Yes, I know,” Nightmare Moon was seated at the table. Haze was by her side, preparing what Ebony guessed to be a recording of the upcoming talks. “Send them in.”

“Okay.”

Backing out from the tent, Ebony turned and received the full glare of the lunar princess. “Ah…”

“Last time we met, you dug your blade into my rump,” Luna glowered and cocked her head so only one narrowed eye was visible. “How fortuitous that our paths cross once more.”

Ebony swallowed but managed to keep the fear off her face. “Go inside.”

“Thank you.” Celestia said with a polite dip of her head and a smile that somehow managed to be both serene and utterly terrifying.

Ebony shivered and was happy when they both went inside the tent and left her.

“Greetings, Celestia. Greetings, Luna…” Straining her ears, Ebony could hear Nightmare Moon speaking. “How civil of you to heed my directions so thoroughly.”

Ebony kept one ear out and watched the street.

“Of course,” Celestia said with a stony poker face. “Why would I hesitate to walk down the street to my own front door?”

Nightmare Moon laughed. “Well, it’s not your front door anymore, is it? It’s mine.”

She could tell Celestia wanted to throttle her. Luna looked like she wanted to do more than mere asphyxiation. Nightmare Moon would have her hooves full fighting them at the same time, but she had her forces on all sides and a significant power boost to her body thanks to the eclipse, so she wasn’t too worried.

“Have a seat,” She gestured to the two vacant chairs graciously. “My guards tell me nopony else accompanied you, so you’ve earned yourself the chance to speak with me regarding a…” She tapped her chin. “Truce, was it?”

“Yes,” Celestia nodded as she took one of the chairs. After mulling about for a second, Luna occupied the other with an expression like she swallowed something sour. “That is why we are here.”

Nightmare Moon couldn’t tell if this was genuine – Celestia had a very good poker face when the time called for it; it was a necessity given how many delegates, nobles, and national visitors she had to deal with.

She decided it would be better to focus on Luna for their reactions; her expression often swayed from stony indifference and barely-concealed contempt in the heat of the moment.

Nightmare Moon hummed curiously. “And what suddenly brought this on? For the past, what? Three, five months? However long since you scurried away from Canterlot, you haven’t sent so much as a missive or a note. I expected something telling me how ‘my defeat is inevitable’ and ‘the forces of good shall triumph’, but there was nothing,” Nightmare Moon sighed melodramatically and sneered at the two alicorns. “I daresay that I’m insulted about that.”

Luna’s frown evolved into a scowl.

Celestia ignored the mocking remark. “I propose we just get down to the business at hoof.”

“Oh, antsy, are we?” Nightmare Moon snorted. “Fine. I can see you’re not going to react.”

Celestia nodded. “We came in hopes of a truce because we are dealing with a greater threat.”

They saw the humans as a greater threat than Nightmare Moon? Part of her was mildly insulted, but it was the most rational conclusion. After all, Nightmare Moon hadn’t killed a single pony in at least a thousand years.

There was always today and tomorrow, of course, but right now, that count remained a bland zero.

“Caed will not stop until he has the power needed to fuel his machine to transport himself and the rest of his kind to an uninhabited island in our world.” Luna said.

Nightmare Moon narrowed her eyes and straightened her posture. “How do you know that?”

Celestia and Luna exchanged confused looks before the elder sister replied, “We had a chance meeting with him.”

She snorted. “I’ll need more detail than that. A chance meeting is running into somepony you haven’t seen in a while; it is not what you experienced.”

“Very well,” Celestia seemed reluctant to talk about it, but her intrigue won out. “A few months ago, after we escaped your clutches-”

Nightmare Moon snorted contemptuously.

“-Ponyville was attacked by a Wisp Knight. We fought for a while, then Caed and a few of his knights arrived through a Fracture to slay the creature.”

Nightmare Moon furrowed her brow. “And he made no attempt to attack you?”

“No. I believe the general gist of his words were…” Here, Luna gave a mocking sneer. “‘We are not allied with the demon that killed his people’. Therefore, he will make the attempt to exclude us from his actions.”

“Ah hah hah hah! Truly?”

“Even so, it does not change the fact that he is a deplorable creature doing heinous acts, and you…” Luna inhaled deeply and looked off to the side. “You are the lesser of two evils. In this scenario, at least.”

Oh, it clearly killed Luna to say that.

But that aside, Nightmare Moon was astonished to hear that Caed, Celestia, and Luna interacted at some point. Peacefully, even. She’d have thought he’d harass them for unicorns the same way he did Canterlot, but he had some backwards ‘code of honour’ she was unaware of.

Haze looked up; he had been writing down some of what Celestia was saying. “Did he say anything else?”

“The machine is called a…” Luna looked to her sister for clarification. “Spectrum Shifter? It converts the magic of unicorns into power he can use to open a Fracture that will take him to an uninhabited land mass.”

“And he harvests that magic by killing the unicorns.” Nightmare Moon finished with a grim nod.

“And how do you know about all of this?” Celestia asked.

“By sheer chance, I assure you. Caed and his forces attacked Canterlot with a Behemoth bug, I went through one of their Fractures to save… some of the citizens they took, and stole an important folder containing several documents with details on their plan,” Nightmare Moon grinned sadistically. “And then I destroyed a machine that allowed them to come back from death, so now they’re effectively down half of their initial numbers. Quite a day.”

“You went into their world?” Celestia murmured. There was a quiet awe in her tone, though her face remained still. “What did you see?”

“A barren land. Nothing worth spilling blood over. I can see why they wish to get away from it as soon as possible. I would, if I were in Caed’s position.”

“Would you?”

“Of course. I can understand Caed’s reasons for wanting something more than an ugly speck like that. But I’m not in his position, so his desires don’t matter to me,” Nightmare Moon snickered cruelly. “What does concern me is that his ways of getting what he wants affects me negatively. I can’t have that.”

The sisters looked at each other again. One of their silent, personal conversations, apparently. Nightmare Moon didn’t see anything that could be considered a signal; just the tics that conveyed unease and worry.

“But enough about the humans…” Nightmare Moon leaned against the table and flashed her most sincere smile. “Let’s get back on track, hm? Why should I ally with you? What will I gain from such a thing?”

The sisters held eyes for a few more seconds before breaking contact. Luna morosely looked off to the side, and Celestia matched Nightmare Moon’s cold gaze.

“Obviously, the armistice would last until the humans have been dealt with, during which we would not have to fear being attacked by the other.”

“Who said I feared you?”

Celestia groaned and rubbed her forehead, looking tired. “Quite frankly, Nightmare Moon, I’m in no mood to get into a ‘who scares who’ argument. My home is being attacked, ponies are being kidnapped and killed, and the entire time I’m in Ponyville unable to do anything about it because I’m so afraid that you’ll come out of the shadows as soon as I try to leave the gates. I’m sick of it.”

She narrowed her eyes and leaned forwards in her chair.

“We want this armistice, so we can finally concentrate on the greater threat. Can we talk without you bringing up how your metaphorical dick is bigger than mine?”

Haze choked and broke his pencil on the paper.

Nightmare Moon bristled and scowled. A verbal blow in front of one of her soldiers… and to make it worse, she felt a small twinge of respect for it.

She had an urge to say ‘well, it is bigger’, but that was clearly the Vinyl gremlin squatting in the back of her head talking.

“… Nopony offers something like this without terms,” Nightmare Moon said in a soft, dangerous tone. Haze cleared his throat and got another pencil. “What terms do you propose?”

“We want Twilight back.”

No hesitation. Predictable answer, too.

“Anything else? Perhaps the Elements of Harmony? Or a glass of cold water for you to drink while I stand still and let myself be struck with their power?”

“The Elements will not work without the Bearers and vice versa,” Luna quipped. “You can keep the Elements; we just want Twilight Sparkle.”

“Touching, but I cannot allow her to leave the limits of the castle. I require her services.” Nightmare Moon left out the fact that Twilight also couldn’t disobey her orders; they didn’t need to know that.

“Then she won’t,” Celestia said. “Let’s compromise.”

“I’m listening.”

“She’ll remain near the castle, but we have the right to see and talk with her. Under supervision, of course.”

Under those terms, it’d be like nothing’s changed, save that Nightmare Moon just had to be extra wary and personally watch Twilight’s interactions when it happened. They must have been desperate to do something about the humans.

“Perhaps.” Nightmare Moon nodded deliberately and tugged on the mental link she shared with her Praetorian Guard. “Status report.”

“Clear.” Ebony chimed.

“Same here with me and Miasma, boss.” Fade replied.

“Veil and I have got it covered; no worries here.” Lightning Dust answered.

“Good. One of you check in with the sewer patrols.”

She tuned out as Fade groaned in despair when several ‘not it’s rang out.

“I admit that having you and your, ah… ‘forces’ as temporary allies would be beneficial,” Nightmare Moon said. “Having the full force of Equestria concentrated on the human threat may be just what we need to destroy it once and for all.”

She paused.

“Of course, despite the advantages, I fear that the paranoia of a ‘metaphorical’ dagger in one’s back will affect my work.”

“There is nothing we can say or do that would convince you otherwise!” Luna snapped.

Nightmare Moon just grinned.

“Luna, please…” Celestia lightly touched her sister’s shoulder and left her to sulk. “She is right, though; I don’t think there’s anything we can say or do to prove that we truly mean to make a truce, or that we will not attempt to attack you when your guard is down. I had hoped that us willingly coming into your territory is a significant act of goodwill in of itself.”

They had a point. Nightmare Moon didn’t believe that she’d ever trust them enough not to let her guard down without some leverage. She did have Twilight; she could play that card. None of them knew the ins and outs of how their connection worked.

“I suppose that is of some note,” Nightmare Moon admitted. “And now that I think on it, should you try to attack or otherwise contain me, my essence would be instantly transferred over to Twilight Sparkle, effectively killing her,” She paused and smirked when Celestia’s eyebrows twitched at that remark. “This would, in turn, corrupt the Element of Magic and render it inert, but fortunately, I’m spiteful enough to do that if my defeat were ever inevitable.”

“Yes. Fortunate.”

“Let’s keep things simple…” Nightmare Moon nodded at Haze. “Make a list: the advantages and disadvantages of a truce…”

“What a bunch of dicks. Betrayed by my own sister, even.”

Fade landed in front of two guards stationed next to a pony-hole cover in the middle of the street. One of them was holding a crowbar. Now, Fade could have asked them to lift the lid, but it just so happened that one of them was a mare. Obviously, his wings were tied.

“No need - I got this,” Slapping on a cocky grin, Fade pawed at the lid’s handle until it flicked up, allowing him to slip his hoof beneath it. Yeah, he’d need to prepare for this. “So, you guys seen anything weird?”

“Uh, not really, sir,” The mare – no, wait, Scarlet; he remembered – replied, watching him with raised eyebrows. “You’re going to hurt your back doing that.”

“Nah, it’s fine. Hey, Tremor, right? How’s it hanging, bro?”

“Good?” It was hard to tell with his coat, but he seemed to be blushing. Weird. Did he say something wrong? “Are you checking in with the sewer patrol? We did that five minutes ago, just so you know.”

“Hey, double-checking never hurt anypony, yeah?”

With a grunt from deep within his belly, Fade lifted the lid up and off to the side. His hoof was grateful that it could let go and complained at him for making it do that in the first place. The smell of the sewers wafted up like an updraft. Now his nose was going to start complaining.

“You guys got a mask or a peg or anything?”

“Nope.”
“No. Sorry, sir.”

“Damn.”

The hole was clearly meant to be used by earth ponies and unicorns; he had to fold his wings so firmly to avoid touching the walls that they might have just fused with his flesh. Ladders were awkward as hell, too, and his hoof was still aching.

Shit, maybe he should have had those two up there go down, pride be damned.

At the end, he hopped off onto a metal platform situated above the murky sewer water. Two catwalks extended from either side, where Eclipse guards with sanitary masks walked back and forth. They looked alert and determined, if a bit miserable.

He turned in the direction of the closest one, who had probably come over to investigate the sound of the pony-hole lid moving.

“Yo, bud-” Immediately, Fade’s nostrils were filled with the stink of whatever-in-the-fuck sewage consisted of; he gagged and swallowed hard before covering his muzzle with his wings. “Yo, buddy! Everything clear down here?”

“No sight of anypony that shouldn’t be here, if that’s what you mean, sir.” The guard replied, briefly glancing over the catwalk’s railing.

“Yeah, maybe ‘clear’ isn’t the right word to use.”

“Could be worse. You think this is bad? Compared to the sewers in downtown, or, Faust forbid, Manehattan, these tunnels are an oasis.”

“Seriously?”

“I worked with sewers before I became one of the Empress’ guards,” He gestured to the waste below them. “Trust me – this is as clean as sewers get. Chalk it up to those pompous unicorns; they’re so far up their own asses, they even want their sewers to look clean and ‘presentable’. Shit’s shit is what I say, no matter how many rose petals you sprinkle on it.”

“Sewer expert, huh?” Fade tried imagining that sort of career and wisely ended that train of thought before it could get too far ahead. “Haze sure knows how to pick ‘em. Anyway, I just came down to see if anypony was trying to sneak through, yeah?”

The stallion shook his head. “We’d hear them coming from two cumulus-ball fields away. Sound travels down here. The only way they’d surprise us is if they tunnel from beneath the sewers.”

“Uh…”

“No way,” He rapped his hoof against the wall. Fade made a mental note to avoid that hoof. “These are reinforced concrete and metal. It’ll take a team of earth ponies with digging equipment, or a powerful unicorn to blast through. Neither would be fast enough to get through before we could prepare. No worries down here, sir.”

Fade gave a quick salute. “Good stuff, my dude. Well, I’m outta here. Yell if anything’s funny - Boss is onto it with the talks going down.”

“Roger that.”

Fade fled up the ladder as fast as he could. He was never happier to be above ground and stretched his wings as soon as he was able.

“Oh, yeah! That’s the stuff!”

“Everything okay down there?” Tremor asked, balancing the crowbar on its end like he was hinting at something.

“Smells bad, but no bad guys. Keep up the good work, yeah? We’re counting on you to knock anypony who tries to climb up here to ruin shit on their asses.”

“We’ll do our best, sir.” Scarlet saluted.

Thank Faust that was over. Fade took to the air and made for his previous position. Along the way, he passed over the ‘Soon to be a smouldering crater Tent’, and picked out raised voices over the rushing wind.

‘Ah, geez.’

He wasn’t sure if this was a good time to call in; the boss could be getting ready to eat somepony. Then again, he figured she’d be equally upset if he didn’t give his report as soon as possible. Damn – he should have Called her before he heard the arguing and just claimed ignorance to what was going on.

As he hovered in one spot and pondered his decisions, there was a flicker of movement in the corner of his eye. He looked over to the castle gates and frowned.

“The hell?”

“Luna, you’re taking everything too personally,” Nightmare Moon sighed. “I didn’t betray you out of any true malicious intent, at least none that was directed at you. I was trying to get close to Celestia. You were a means to an end.”

Luna didn’t like that.

Amidst some antiquated and colourful language, Nightmare Moon exhaled in disgust and looked over at Haze, who was busy scribbling down most of what Luna was saying and with more than a few befuddled glances.

She doubted even Haze used terms like ‘fell-beast’ and ‘misbegotten abomination’.

Nightmare Moon went over what she had said and figured the exact remark that ticked Luna off was the response to a question the young alicorn threw out regarding her treatment of Twilight.

‘Do you plan to ruin her life with your fetid spite’, she had asked.

Nightmare Moon simply told the truth. ‘Perhaps. Although, you must know that ruining your life was merely a side-effect of my true goal’.

She really should have remembered that Luna, even with all her growth, still had an inferiority complex. To be regarded as ‘lesser’, was a grave insult.

Still, no reason to go off so explosively.

Celestia was rubbing her brow in a manner that most ponies did when they didn’t approve of what their sibling was doing.

Luna suddenly went quiet, and Nightmare Moon laughed icily. “Have you finally run out of steam? Just as a little reminder: half of those insults were what you used when you were locked up in the castle,” Before Luna could respond, Nightmare Moon continued. “Now, Celestia, I’ve gone over what you ask in return for an alliance and I must say that I’m still reluctant.”

Celestia sighed. “And why is that?”

“Bear in mind that, during your imprisonment within the castle, I took careful measures to ensure that you wouldn’t be able to escape. You succeeded anyway. In one afternoon, almost all of you escaped and nearly defeated me,” The words left a bad taste on her palate. Nightmare Moon ignored the urge to grimace. “Your resourcefulness and determination threaten my wellbeing and everything that I have. If I were to accept this truce, even with Twilight under my control, I cannot shake the sensation that you will inevitably find a way to overcome that obstacle.”

“We wouldn’t risk Twilight’s life like that. Or the Element of Magic.”

“You say that, but I know of your tenacity. I know that-”

“Hey, boss?”

Nightmare Moon paused, but only for a second. “I know that you will never stop looking for a way to get an advantage over me.”

“What is it, Fade? Are the sewers clear?”

“Uh, yeah, crystal clear. Of bad dudes, I mean; it’s a sewer, so it smells about ten times worse than you’d expect.”

“Fade.”

“Imagine the rankest thing in Tartarus dragging its ass along the tunnel and trying to cover it up with four air fresheners. Six, tops.”

“Fade!”

“Vinyl’s heading to the tent.”

Nightmare Moon blinked and gave the alicorn sisters a fanged smile. “It’s simply the way of opposing sides to constantly seek power over the other.”

Celestia huffed. “Sad but true.”

“What do you mean ‘Vinyl’s heading to the tent’?”

“I mean that she’s using her legs to walk down the path leading to the tent, yeah? She’s stopped now; talking to one of the guards by the gate. Okay, one of them’s testing her for a Disguise spell. She's... Okay, now she's writing something on the ground."

"What?"

"Uh, no, wait - she's writing something on some paper that she's put on the ground. Now she's handed it to the same guard. Now he's coming towards the tent."

Nightmare Moon had firmly instructed Vinyl to remain inside her castle. Furthermore, she had several guards on patrol near her door that would get anything she wanted so that she didn't need to go out. Something wasn’t right.

She heard the tent flaps behind her part and a stallion nervously clearing his throat. "Excuse me, Empress?"

Nightmare Moon forced a shallow grin onto her face. "Forgive me, but it appears as though one of my guards requires an audience with me. For his sake, I hope it isn't a waste of my time."

"The phrase 'do not slay the messenger' is lost on you, is it not?" Luna grumbled dryly.

Celestia furrowed her brow. "I would prefer that we deal with this now, but if you are needed elsewhere..."

"Do not tell me what I can and cannot do," Nightmare Moon growled. "I have no intention of leaving this tent when you two are in it. I do not trust you not to try anything."

She Called to Haze. "Watch them. Make sure they do not try anything."

With that, Nightmare Moon got out of her seat and approached the stallion with clenched teeth and a harsh whisper. “What is she doing here?”

Her harsh whisper made the stallion go a sickly shade of grey. “Uh, h-how did you-”

“Never mind wasting time stuttering like a fool. Tell me what Vinyl is doing here.”

“Sh-she says she wants to talk to you.”

“About?”

“Wouldn’t say,” His hoof suddenly shot up. "Oh! She wrote it down, though!" He had a small note.

Nightmare Moon growled in her throat as she snatched up the paper. It was folded twice so what few words could be made out made little sense. "This had better be good if she want so far as to make a note at an..."

She spread it out and read.

“… inopportune time.”

Being very mindful that her thoughts weren't revealed in her body language, she turned the note over.

There was a bad picture of Nightmare Moon being stabbed in the butt by a sword. Possibly magical. Her eyes were ‘X’ marks.

... Well, points for subtlety. Incredible, really – Vinyl was often on the far end of ‘subtle’.

Ignoring that, Nightmare Moon knew that this had to have been a trap. After all that had happened between her and the sisters, she knew that an alliance was nothing but a merry fantasy, if it could even be called that. How foolish of her to even entertain the notion that this would be anything else.

‘They must be very assured of themselves if they’d risk Twilight’s health to try and trap me. And to use Vinyl in their plan? They must know of our relationship. How else would they know to use her? Treason! Treason within my ranks!’

She wanted to tear into something.

"Is it important?" Celestia asked with what seemed like genuine curiosity. If Nightmare Moon didn't know any better, she might have believed it.

‘So, that's why you were so unperturbed if I had to leave. You wanted to stab me in the back. The question is: why aren't you?'

She thought for a second and decided that perhaps they weren't willing to risk making their move unless they were sure it would be a solid hit. Since there was no physical sign of it, it must be hidden, which meant they would need to draw it out. Clearly, they didn't have faith that they could do that and land a strike before Nightmare Moon could react.

She assumed that the reason she wasn't being attacked right now was because Haze was watching them like a hawk; he could shout or Call for her, and she'd react in less than a second.

She guessed that they intended for her to leave the tent and incapacitate Haze before he could shout. There were several spells that could be cast almost instantaneously to silence Haze's shouting, spells she knew that the sisters possessed and could perform. However, she would still hear the sound of magic charging in such close proximity. They likely wanted Vinyl to find a reason to get her out of the tent to do it without alerting her, and then waiting until she came back to attack.

That's what she assumed they had in mind, at least. Whether it was correct or not, Nightmare Moon had to say that this whole idea of luring her out was rather poorly thought-out: there were so many things that could have gone wrong, even if Vinyl really wanted to betray her. Which she didn't. She knew that she wouldn't.

They must have been desperate.

'Hm. I need more information.’

Thinking quickly, Nightmare Moon turned her thoughts to Twilight.

You will not leave your room without my permission.

The wordless mental retort was strained, angered, as it always was, but Nightmare Moon wasn’t done.

You will actively attempt to resist any attempts to free you, or co-operate with anypony that isn’t me.

Twilight sent all of her rage and disgust and misery.

Stilling her thoughts, swallowing her anger, Nightmare Moon nodded and trained her face into a neutral expression. “Thank you for delivering this. Tell Vinyl that I cannot entertain her with my presence at this moment, but I will endeavour to wrap this up as quickly as possible."

The guard nodded and nervously took back the note. "Y-yes, Empress."

Once he turned and left, Nightmare Moon returned to her chair. She discreetly examined the sisters' faces, but they betrayed no disappointment and worry that she was choosing to stay. Perhaps they had a back-up plan? In that case, she needed to counter it effective immediately.

"Apologies," She smiled falsely. "One of my subjects thought they could pry me away for a moment. A moment in which I would have to leave you alone. You understand my dismissal of their request."

“Of course.” Luna grumbled with a careless wave of her hoof.

“Haze, continue what you’re doing,” Out of the corner of her eye, Haze didn’t so much as twitch to show that he had heard her, seemingly devoted solely to his recordings. “Vinyl delivered a note. This is a trap.”

Haze hummed and re-shuffled his papers. “Well, this just became a tad more complicated.”

“Did the sisters do anything odd while I was turned around?”

“Celestia didn’t. Luna spent a few seconds ‘fixing’ her mane. I won’t pretend to be familiar with the composition of her hair, but considering its partially intangible nature, I find that odd.”

Nightmare Moon didn’t recall Luna having any ability to store items in her mane, but that was before she became separated from her. Who knew what new things she had discovered during these years?

“Can we get back to the matter at hoof?” Celestia said. “We’re here to discuss an alliance.”

“Oh, are we?” Nightmare Moon laughed coldly. “Because from what I heard, you’ve got something else in mind.”

Celestia frowned and narrowed her eyes. “What are you talking about?”

A toothy rictus formed on Nightmare Moon's face. "My Praetorian Guard - listen closely. This is a trap: there are intruders in my castle. Save your questions; for now, just do as I say."

“I’m talking about your little plan to get Vinyl to distract me while you prepared something in here.”

Luna blinked. "... Who is that?"

Nightmare Moon's smirk wavered. "She-"

"I believe she is that renowned DJ," Celestia answered. "DJ Pon-3? The one who married that cellist."

"Ah, yes," Luna nodded. "I know her," She blinked again and turned back to Nightmare Moon. "Wait, what about her?"

"Don't play dumb!" Nightmare Moon snapped. "I've caught onto your trickery. You intend to include that useless mare in on your plan because you believe she is my 'friend'."

"Miasma - take a group of guards and head for the castle. Find the intruders. If there are any Element Bearers amongst them, subdue, do not kill. Anypony else? If it's too much trouble, then just kill them.

Miasma confirmed the order.

Celestia made a befuddled face. “You have a friend?”

“I... No!” Nightmare Moon snarled. “Do you truly believe that I would weaken myself by forming any sort of genuine attachment? Listen here, you insolent fools – the reason I granted so much leeway to that mare was because I was fulfilling a favour that I owed to her. She really means nothing to me.”

It hurt.

It hurt more than she expected to say these things. That is, she didn’t expect it to hurt at all; she knew what she was saying was fake, so it made no sense why her chest felt as if it was yawning open like an empty pit. Well, pain or no, this was her chance: she would expose the sisters’ lies and dismantle their plan right in front of them!

"Ebony - have the tent surrounded on all sides and be ready to attack. Fade - you and Lightning Dust make sure Vinyl is safe out there. Nopony is to approach her. Not even the guards."

They confirmed the order.

"And!" Nightmare Moon continued. "I know that your forces are inside my castle. Come clean, or I shall order for their immediate deaths!"

Celestia and Luna said nothing for a while, still infuriatingly calm. Then, Celestia sighed and turned to nod at her sister. “There's no point anymore, Luna. She knows."

Luna grimaced, but nodded solemnly.

“I knew it," Nightmare Moon had to reign herself back; she had gotten a little too aggressive trying to expose them. She needed to appear calm and in control; it would make her exposure of their plan that much sweeter. "Vinyl being my friend? What a laugh. Is that what your little spy told you?” Nightmare Moon mimed boredom and yawned. “Oh, I knew all about that,” She watched Celestia’s eyes widen. “Surprised? Don’t be. They’re not as good as you think.”

She had no idea there was a spy in her ranks until today. It was infuriating to think about, but she suppressed her anger.

If she played her cards right, Celestia and Luna were going to give her all the information she didn’t have. Beautiful.

"Veil - continue monitoring the streets. Make sure the civilians do not interfere; we don't need them getting in the crossfire and making a nuisance, or getting any bright ideas to help the sisters."

Veil confirmed the order.

“I could have taken the spy out," She said with a shrug. "I was going to, wasn’t I, Haze?”

True to his witty intellect, Haze followed her lead with a stoic coolness. “Indeed, Empress. However, you thought of a better solution.”

“That I did,” Nightmare Moon casually got out of her seat and started pacing back and forth like a prowling cat. “Why take out the spy when you can feed them false information? I knew that the spy was taking a keen interest in Vinyl. After all, our interactions are unusual to an outside observer. However, don’t be mistaken: she is a novelty, a curiosity that I use to pass the time. Whatever…” She chuckled and waved her hoof. “‘Activities’ we may have engaged in have no impact on my feelings.

“I admit that at first I didn’t think you’d be able to bring yourselves to use somepony like that; that’s a tactic reserved for somepony like me. But then I thought, ‘they really love Twilight and would do anything to get her back’. So, I took a calculated risk. Tell me – how do you feel knowing you’re using an innocent pony to kill another?”

Celestia bit her lip.

“… It wasn’t to kill you,” Luna grumbled, flexing her wings tersely. “I said otherwise, but the others felt differently. They decided that maybe we should subdue you, instead.”

‘So, whatever they plan to use is supposed to subdue me, not kill me? How sickeningly merciful. Lucky for me, however.’

“Let me get this straight…” Nightmare Moon chuckled and stopped pacing to aim an admonishing hoof at the sisters. “So, because you thought that I had one genuine relationship with one pony, that meant that I deserved to be captured, not killed?”

Celestia opened her mouth. "I-"

Nightmare Moon sighed, lost her smile, and struck her hoof against the concrete.

“Are you truly so pathetic? Are you so blinded by your hubris, your own desire to redeem what is ‘evil’, that you would risk this much? Tell me what is it with you, Celestia: what made you so desperate to believe that there was good in me? After all that I’ve done, you still chose to believe that maybe I had a real friend and that alone meant I deserved mercy. Why?”

Celestia closed her mouth. One of her ears twitched. “You're assuming much."

"Excuse me?"

"We decided to show mercy because you had us imprisoned instead of killed. It may not have been pleasant, but it was better than the alternative. When we heard that you had developed a seemingly genuine relationship with Vinyl, it just gave us more incentive to try and restrain you instead of killing,” Celestia paused. "But you assume that we chose this path solely because you might have made a friend? You're placing an unusual amount of importance on Vinyl's feelings despite 'not caring'."

Nightmare Moon felt her blood run hot. The urge to spit an insult was strong, but she was coming up empty on a worthy response to such a statement.

Instead, she quickly contacted Miasma.

"Status report."

"We're still looking. None of the guards or the staff have seen anything suspicious."

"Vinyl said they were in the castle; they must be there somewhere."

"If they are, we'll find them."

“You have the item which you believe would subdue me, do you not?” Nightmare Moon changed the subject. She gestured to the table. “Relinquish it, or I will make Twilight suffer more than she already has.”

Celestia nodded at Luna, who hesitated longer before reluctantly reaching into her mane and, with a noise like a low-pitched mosquito whine, placed a simple dagger on the table. The sheath was wrapped in some sort of flax and the handle bore carvings similar to fetishes Nightmare Moon had seen in Zebrica. It wasn't a sword, but Vinyl's description was close enough.

“That’s it?”

“‘Tis small, but holds no insignificant amount of power,” Luna quipped. “Were this to so much as scratch you, you would be paralyzed for an entire day.”

Nightmare Moon believed that. Despite the dagger's unremarkable appearance, she could sense something inherently 'wrong' about it. Or, at least wrong to her. She mentally ordered Haze to pick it up. He grimaced in distaste as he obeyed, but nothing spectacular happened; he didn't sizzle, or go rigid like a statue. Satisfied, she told him to keep it close before smirking at the sisters.

If it really was from Zebrica, then she didn't doubt it could do serious harm to her.

She put that thought out of mind for the moment and sneered at the sisters. “Well, congratulations on wasting my time with this charade. I have half a mind to cripple Twilight with unending pain for your actions, but count yourselves lucky that I need her knowledge.”

Celestia lowered her head, and Luna glared at her sibling with a look that screamed ‘I told you this wouldn’t work’. Nightmare Moon was brimming with victorious arrogance; yes, it was irritating that this was a ruse to trap her, but now she could call this off without losing face. As an added bonus, she manipulated the sisters into revealing that they did have a spy feeding them information and secured an object that posed a significant threat to her.

She would reward Vinyl greatly for her part once this was over. She didn’t know how, but she’d figure it out later.

Suddenly, Ebony Called. "We've surrounded the tent, Empress. There's also a few guards near the castle doors."

"Is Vinyl safe?"

"She's fine, but she looks worried."

Vinyl was concerned for her? It elicited a warm and gooey sensation in Nightmare Moon. Hopefully, that wouldn't become too frequent a feeling. It was rather strange.

“Now, since I’m feeling uncommonly generous, I’m going to allow you to march out of my castle and leave my city. Your plan failed, now all there is left for you is to leave in disgrace. Am I clear?” She didn't trust keeping Celestia, Luna, and Twilight in the same place. She could handle whatever forces they brought, but it was too risky to imprison the sisters.

Luna looked ready to have an aneurysm from sheer hate, but Celestia just nodded solemnly. She was oddly docile; the reveal of her plan must have shook her badly. Nightmare Moon relished in her despair.

“Haze, inform the others to stand by for now. We’re not out of the woods just yet.”

“Of course, Empress. What a fantastic display, if you would pardon my fawning.”

Indeed, Haze had a slight smile on his face; he may as well have been jumping up and down with such an outward expression.

Nightmare Moon led the way out of the exit facing the castle. Immediately, she scanned the area for Vinyl.

She found her in the gardens a little ways away with Lightning Dust and Fade standing beside her. Even with the distance between them, Nightmare Moon could see her expression turn from concern to relief.

"You acted swiftly," Luna whispered as she emerged from the tent and looked around. There was grudging respect in her words that she quickly squashed beneath a bitter tone. "They did not surround the tent like this when we arrived."

Under Ebony's leadership, most of the Eclipse in the area had formed a ring around the tent, spears and halberds pointed inwards while many guards had swords, clubs, and axes ready to be swung at a moment's notice.

Nightmare Moon nodded approvingly at her Right Hoof before directing a taunting sneer at Luna. "My forces are more organized than yours. Stronger. I told them of my plan and they've carried it out perfectly."

Some of the Eclipse guards within earshot grimaced, or looked at each other like, 'what's she talking about?' Fortunately, neither Celestia nor Luna were focused on the guards' expressions.

'Judging by their surprise, their spy doesn't know that I can communicate with my Praetorian Guard telepathically. Good. That's a secret I can keep in my arsenal for another day.'

"My forces are already in the castle, rounding up your pathetic lot," Nightmare Moon jerked her muzzle toward the castle. She spotted Vinyl walking over to her, likely to see if she was okay, but continued addressing the sisters. "Once I recieve word that they are properly secured, you are to leave immediately" Seeing as Vinyl was still a bit away, Nightmare Moon took a step closer to the sisters and lowered her voice to a cold whisper. "Don't even bother trying to speak to that mare. I still have use for her."

“You don't have to do this," Celestia said quietly. "The ponies in there were only trying to help us. They shouldn't be punished for what we planned."

Nightmare Moon rolled her eyes. “Oh, Celestia - that's exactly why I'm taking them. To hurt you.”

She turned and walked away a bit and ordered a few guards to stand between her and the sisters. Even if their dagger was secured, with Haze safekeeping it next to Ebony, she felt safer about turning her back on them with a few extra bodies acting as a shield.

Vinyl was only several feet away now. Fade and Lightning Dust were trailing behind her, watching out for any danger. Vinyl seemed fine, though, and pleased to see her. Her shades were pushed up over her horn and her red eyes were warm and welcoming.

Nightmare Moon's chest throbbed uncomfortably.

She didn’t know why: Vinyl was safe, the trap had been revealed, so why did she still feel uneasy?

It must have been the dagger: she was still feeling the effects of whatever foul magic was contained in it. It was supposed to subdue her with one strike, after all; it made sense that she would feel the aura of a thing meant to counter her nature. Especially if it was from Zebrica.

She brushed any concerns of the sensation aside.

She wanted to thank Vinyl for her help, but it would have to wait until the princesses and the spy were gone. Until that, she would have to remain distant and cold. Hopefully, Vinyl would understand.

And then suddenly, Nightmare Moon heard a voice cry out.

“WOLF!!”

She blinked, stared at Vinyl’s unmoving lips, her eyes which suddenly wide with shock, and then turned to the castle’s front entrance, where a white mare was sprinting towards her desperately. The guards by the door jostled and moved to stop her, but hesitated and looked back and forth, some rubbing their eyes.

“It’s a trick!” The mare cried as a prismatic blur flew out of the castle and tackled her to the ground. “That’s not m- argh!!”

Suddenly, it seemed like everything was in slow motion.

Nightmare Moon’s wings spread reflexively to leap forth and aid her friend, but her head turned to face the Vinyl that was in front of her.

She heard Celestia cry ‘Now!’

She heard a large sound not too far-off, like rocks being smashed against each other, followed by a noise like rushing water.

The Vinyl-imposter pursed her lips as a green flame engulfed her and spat a shocking amount of saliva at her. Most of it fell short, but some landed on her coat and in her mouth, agape as it was from surprise.

It took a second to realize that it wasn’t saliva.

Her body burned, her muscles locked up, her vision went dark. She went to call for her Praetorian Guard, but even her thoughts left her as her essence swelled, bloated, and burst from her flesh with intense waves of agony.

‘But… their plan was… How did they do it?’

Author's Notes:

Note 1: "As per your request, we've interrogated some of the changelings that weren't flung far enough away from the magical force that you and your recently betrothed emitted to banish them. Few were very cooperative, but one was more than happy to help us. He's oddly charismatic and eccentric given recent events. He informed us that the changelings were able to sneak in because any magic tailored to Dispel magical effects, including illusions and disguises, are ineffective on a changeling's ability to take another's form.

"He says that he is only a 'drone' - apparently, changelings have a caste system - and does not know the finer details of their physiology, but tells us that it is less to do with changing everyone's perspective and more to do with distorting reality. The green flame we see when they shapeshift is a by-product of a natural ability in which they 're-write' themselves to adopt another state of existence. Put simply, when they take another form, they literally become that form: they assume its traits, its anatomy, everything except their mind. Our Dispel incantations are useless because, for as long as they are transformed, that's what they are - there's nothing to dispel. If that makes sense.

"He also mentions that while lower castes like himself can only take on forms of similar mass and shape - as opposed to higher castes who can shapeshift into more complex forms such as dragons, bears, and chimeras - they are able to retain some aspects of their changeling physiology such as wings, horns, and what he refers to as a 'resin sac'. We'll try to get more information, but Celestia wishes to see this specific changeling for reasons that have not been revealed to me. Awaiting your reply.

"P.S. Is it Cadence or Cadance? I keep forgetting and nopony here knows." - Letter from Lieutenant Map-Keeper to Prince Shining Armor, one week after the Siege of Canterlot. Further letters reveal an intricate web of subterfuge and secrecy revolving around the correct spelling of Princess Cadance's Cadence's name, which concludes in a flowery letter by the princess herself in which she bemoans how she'll never escape the shackles of her nomenclature.

Note 2: You thought it was a joke, but it was a real chapter all along!!