Earlier…

Everyone had their ‘Moment’.

Whether it was on stage, or on a battlefield, or in a courtroom, or in a hive, every living thing had their ‘Moment’: a once-in-a-lifetime event that demanded their input, an event which would shape not only their lives but the lives of those around them. But one had to be quick, one had to be smart, for the ‘Moment’ was a fickle and restless thing that would fleet away if one hesitated for too long.

Mirage felt the inklings of his ‘Moment’ when he heard that Sun and Moon Goddesses Celestia and Luna had escaped Usurper Nightmare Moon’s clutches and, not one to hide when fate knocked on the door, went on a grand venture to lend his talents to their just cause!

It was the least he could do after Sun Goddess Celestia found it within her magnanimous heart to pardon his misguided efforts for Brood Queen Chrysallis.

Now, after several weeks of spying and lurking, he could sense that his ‘Moment’ was about to reveal itself.

And he would be ready to answer it.

Mirage slipped in and out of the Eclipse’s ranks, using dark alleyways and helpful buildings as cover for his shapeshifting; he never took the same disguise, nor did he take ones that wouldn’t make sense. After all, he could hardly pretend to be Ebony the Deathless when she was practically rooted to the spot in front of the tent, could he?

Sun and Moon Goddesses Celestia and Luna had entered the tent of Usurper Nightmare Moon just a few minutes ago. Distraction: the first phase of the plan! Now, all he could do was wait and watch the skies for the signal.

Ah, his blood was pumping with the adrenaline of cloud-watching!

Striding confidently amongst the Eclipse, Mirage came upon a trio of guards chatting to one another. One caught his gaze and waved him over. His current persona – his Mask – demanded that he answer the gesture with a nervous smile and a shy canter toward them.

“Ensign Stripe Row, right?” The one who gestured asked. Mirage needed only a second to place his name and face – Private Foxtrot the Cynic. “Could you please tell these jokers that they’re idiots for thinking this whole negotiation thing is going to go smoothly?”

Mirage put on his ‘I’m shy and uncertain’ face. “Um, w-well-”

“Don’t bully her, ya bastard,” Another one snorted – Private Shiner the Pardoned. “She doesn’t take bets like this. Ain’t that right, sweet thing?”

“Well-”

The last one, Private Dumbbell the Poignant, snickered. “Hurh hurh… Differing viewpoints.”

Shiner waved her off. “Thanks for the input. Back to your rounds.”

Mirage nodded and slinked off.

He dipped into a nearby alleyway when nobody was looking, switched forms, and stepped out into the back of a passing patrol.

Not a minute later, Mirage heard flapping wings and looked up to see Lightning Dust the Arrogant fly overhead, likely checking for anything out of the ordinary.

Ah! But what was that in the sky?!

A completely innocuous white cloud poorly shaped like a crescent moon with a puff of a dot in the centre. Brilliant!

‘The signal has been revealed to me! Now, the Great and Loveable Mirage shall prove himself to be greater than he already is!’

In his mind, he made wooshing noises as he seamlessly snuck away from the patrol and crept through the streets before making his way to the gates surrounding Canterlot Castle. He had to wait a few minutes in the Mask of a pony who was supposed to be on guard there – fortunately, she had a weak bladder and walked off a while ago – until two ponies guarding an entrance to the sewers glanced away at the same time, allowing him to briefly take on Beastmaster Fluttershy’s visage and fly over the gate.

She had lovely wings that were quieter than most pegasi.

He dove into some bushes and switched to the Mask of an Eclipse guard with a foliage-green coat, sans the armor. Usurper Nightmare Moon’s enormous pet was patrolling the front entrance, sniffing for any intruders.

‘The bond between a pet and its tyrannical master is invigorating to witness. Surely, this beast has caused the quivering of many bladders.’

He glanced to the sky and saw the crescent cloud for an instant before it disappeared over the castle towers. He was running late? Unacceptable! If ‘punctual’ wasn’t his middle name, then it would have to be ‘liar’, and since Mirage’s only lies were written plainly on his face…

When the great timber wolf turned in the other direction and stopped to scratch behind its ears, Mirage scooted the rest of the way to the castle on his belly and switched to his true form, so he could scale the walls and sneak in through his favourite window. He dubbed it the ‘Sleuthing Window’.

Once inside, he switched to the Mask of another Eclipse guard and jogged to the rendezvous point. It wasn’t far and there weren’t as many guards in the castle, but even with most of Usurper Nightmare Moon’s forces stationed outside, he had to take mind of who was patrolling here and who wasn’t.

‘Yes, yes, the pony you see is, in fact, a pony and nothing else. Certainly not a handsome and enterprising changeling,’ He waved to a guard his Mask liked and returned a scowl to a guard his Mask didn’t like. ‘You all look fantastically frightening in your armor, by the way. I wish I could say that aloud, but that’s not what my Mask would do.’

It took two minutes and two seconds to get to where he needed to be. Unfortunately, somepony who was not meant to be there… was there.

“Sergeant Red Flush, ma’am,” Mirage saluted, and the mare lazily looked over at him as she blew out a cloud of smoke. “Aren’t you supposed to be patrolling the kitchen?”

“Got bored,” Red Flush Two-Word shrugged and continued leaning against the wall. Her helmet was off and placed on the floor, letting her long red bangs cover one side of her face. “No smoking,” She took another drag on her cigar. “All good.”

Mirage looked out the window beside her and saw the cloud from before. “Ma’am, if you’re here, then what happened to Pastures?”

“Oh, him?” Red Flush Two-Word shrugged again, oblivious to the cloud approaching the window. “Downstairs still,” She brushed her mane aside and examined him intently. “All alone. Wanna screw?”

Ah, right – Red Flush Two-Word had a not-so-subtle crush on his Mask.

Mirage sighed. “Apologies, you bedazzling apparition, but I require you to be unconscious.”

She stared at him in confusion, which allowed him the moment he needed to change back to his true form and stimulate the sac hidden in his throat to spit up a healthy amount of green resin. Red Flush Two-Word stumbled back with a muffled shriek and dropped her cigar to paw at her face, only to ultimately fall over.

“Also, I must say that in the months I’ve grown to know you, I find it abhorrent that you choose to indulge in these things,” Mirage used what little magic his body was privy to and picked up the cigar with telekinesis. “Tut-tut, my friend – you may live your life as you see fit, but as your sworn enemy, I would be remiss if I did not inform you of the dangers of smoking. Firstly- Ah, you are unconscious.”

A pity, but it couldn’t be helped.

Mirage turned to the window and opened it. Immediately, the cloud outside dispersed and several shapes flew inside. They were all dressed in white coats, which they swiftly removed.

“Nice going there, Mirage,” Spitfire the Swift grinned at him, and he felt a slight surge of affection from her. “Didn’t doubt you for a second.”

“A genuine compliment reserved for me?! My life has grown that much richer, thanks to you!”

“Heh heh – happy to give it,” Spitfire the Swift’s jovial mood lasted for a second longer before he felt her aura shift to something denser and darker. Her face turned grim and serious. “Now, we don’t have much time, so let’s get on with the plan. Everybody ready?”

“Ready, Captain!” Soarin the Pastry-Lover saluted.

“Yeah, let’s go get Twilight back.” Rainbow Dash the Loyal bumped her forehooves together with an eager grin.

Mirage tittered and pranced in place. “A daring break-out! My carapace is trembling in anticipation!”

He got that odd look from everyone again. "Your what?" Soarin the Pastry-Lover grimaced.

"My carapace, of course," Mirage thumped his breast. "See? It's hard. And trembling. With anticipation."

Ponies could be strange at times.

Spitfire the Swift shook her head. “Uh, anyway… you’re sure the path to Twilight’s clear?”

“Indeed. I have devoted my entire being to learning the inner machinations of our dastardly adversaries. Though Usurper Nightmare Moon may believe that she has covered all bases, she did not count for I, Mirage, to throw a spanner into her works,” Mirage paused, then waved his leg, so-so. “Of course, caution should always be exercised in enemy territory,” He then puffed his chest out confidently and transformed into another Eclipse guard. “But I shall lead you true!”

Rainbow Dash the Loyal and Soarin the Patry-Lover quickly stuffed the unconscious guard into a nearby closet. “We’re counting on you, dude,” Rainbow Dash the Loyal said. “Better get going, too; Gilda’s never been good at waiting.”

“Then we shall make haste! Onwards!”

Mirage had always worked alone. While he didn’t doubt the pegasus’ abilities, he couldn’t help but fret and worry as he started to traverse the castle’s hallways. They were taking the shortest and least-patrolled route, but there were still many variables that couldn’t be accounted for.

What if a guard got bored? What if one decided to leave their post to grab a snack and conveniently come this way? What if – Hive forbid – he made a mistake in remembering a guard’s patrol route? His memory hadn’t failed him yet, but the variables…!

No!

Everyone was counting on him to successfully play his part. He had to do this. Sun Goddess Celestia allowed him to live in Equestria even after the changeling invasion, so until he repaid that kindness he couldn’t afford to fail.

He trusted in the pegasi behind him and didn’t look back but carried on his way as if he was supposed to be there, in the corridors approaching Twilight’s prison. Confidence – the only form of credentials one needed if they played their cards right. And Mirage had very good cards.

And good fortune, for he didn’t happen across another guard until he arrived at his destination. He hid behind a wall and peeped around the corner. Two guards were stationed outside the laboratory that Twilight the Ascended had been confined to.

He popped back behind the wall and turned around to meet three faces. “Oh, but you are sneaky. Did you fly along the ceiling?”

Spitfire the Swift smirked briefly and tapped the side of her nose. “Just a little something whipped up by Sunset Shimmer.”

“How enigmatic.”

“Yeah. So, about those guards…”

“Unfortunately, nothing less of Usurper Nightmare Moon ordering them will make them leave their posts. I can’t manage her form as she is too large.”

“But you have a plan for that.” It wasn’t a question.

Mirage grinned. “That I do, my feathered companion.”

With a quiet fwoosh of green fire, he took on the form of a young mare in a maid’s uniform. Custom-made, she was perfectly proportioned, beautiful, and enticing; Mirage would be disappointed if she didn’t do the job.

“Be ready to act,” He tossed his strawberry-coloured mane and winked playfully. “And soon, we shall be reunited with Twilight the Ascended.”

Trotting around the corner, Mirage walked past the guards and heard the slight shift of their armor as they followed his swaying rear. Good – he spent a lot of time getting the shape of it right.

He pretended to drop something and, poor earth pony maid that he was, bent down to pick it up with his mouth. He heard a poorly-muffled hum of appreciation from behind that was swiftly followed by two soft thumps and a sigh.

Mirage turned to find the guards lying unconscious. He wasn’t a huge fan of violence, but it was a necessary evil during these hard times.

“Keep in mind that we have a fair amount of time before the next change,” Mirage said, switching back to his true form. “More than enough to do what we need to do.”

Rainbow Dash the Loyal shook her forehoof after giving the guards one hell of a glare and checked the watch on her other leg. “Thirty minutes starting… now.”

Spitfire the Swift approached the door and lifted her wing to reveal a small satchel fastened around her waist. She took out a small silver stake with a sapphire gemstone haphazardly strapped to it with duct tape. Mirage imagined it to be a highly-sophisticated tent peg. He knew it wasn’t, but it sounded really cool.

Spitfire the Swift turned to them for a second. “Pray to Faust that Sunset knew what she was doing when she made this…”

Mirage tittered as Spitfire the Swift stuck the sharp end into the wall surrounding the door. “Have faith in Sunset the Undecided – I’m certain she will pull through for us.”

The device started to shimmer like oil on water and emit pixels of light.

“But on the off chance that it kills us in a fiery explosion, take solace in that we will perish together.”

“If I die, then I’ll kick her butt.” Rainbow Dash the Loyal said, grimacing and leaning back as the device shone brighter.

Fortunately, no explosions occurred. The device emitted a teal-hued flash and stopped producing pixels of light. Cautiously, Spitfire the Swift tapped the door, then picked the keys of one of the guards to unlock it. She pushed against it, and it creaked inwards without any trouble.

“Looks like that anti-magic thingy worked,” Soarin said. “No alarms, nothing.”

Spitfire the Swift waved them inside. “And unless Nightmare Moon’s on her way right now, she’s none the wiser.”

The laboratory seemed to be perpetually permeated with the smell of cinnamon, and it had Mirage like a fist. He coughed dryly and pinched his nose just as he caught a glimmer in the far corner of the room.

Rainbow Dash the Loyal made a beeline for the glimmer. “Twilight!”

“Rainbow Dash?” There was a brief hiccup. “Oh, my stars – I’m so happy to see you again!”

Mirage flinched as a beaker near him spat out a puff of yellow gas. He gave it a wide berth and joined the others. Rainbow Dash the Loyal went in for a hug, but Twilight the Ascended whimpered in distress and backed away.

“No, wait… I can’t…” She looked down at her hooves, and as Mirage came closer, he could see the self-loathing in her body language and face. “Don’t hug me. These crystals…”

“I don’t care,” Rainbow Dash the Loyal shook her head firmly. “You’re my friend. Just a bit… shinier than usual.”

“Thanks, but… I meant that they’re really sharp,” Twilight the Ascended looked at Mirage – he waved enthusiastically – and then at the Wonderbolts. It finally seemed to click for her that they were all here. “W-wait, you’re…?” She blinked and gasped softly. “Are you about to launch your attack?”

“That’s right!” Soarin the Pastry-Lover said. “We-”

Oh, dear.

“Ah, ah!” Mirage blitzed over to the stallion with a rapid flutter of his wings and covered his mouth. “One does not tell the supris-ee about the surprise party, and we shan’t tell Twilight the Ascended about the plan, remember?”

Twilight the Ascended winced and bowed her head apologetically. “Right, sorry – I forgot. You can’t tell me the details in case Nightmare Moon forces me to talk.”

“Hmmhmm!” Soarin the Pastry-Lover said, pointing to Rainbow Dash. “Hrrmm!”

She nodded. “Right, right,” Her left wing lifted enough to reveal a silver-coloured satchel, similar to Spitfire the Swift’s, and she touched it as if to reassure its existence. She looked to Twilight the Ascended and smiled comfortingly. “Sorry I can’t tell you much, Egghead. But just know that you’re gonna be okay. Everything’s gonna be okay.”

Twilight the Ascended smiled. To Mirage, it was almost unfairly majestic; the few crystals that jutted from the underside of her jaw like tiny hairs did nothing to demean that smile.

“You know, I can’t help but believe you, Rainbow.”

Something passed between them – personal and intimate, the true mark of friendship – before Rainbow Dash the Loyal turned to Spitfire the Swift. “Watch out for her.”

Spitfire the Swift nodded. “She’ll be fine with us. Just make sure you end that cold bitch once and for all.”

With her and Soarin the Pastry-Lover staying, that meant it was time for the second half of the plan. Mirage jogged back out into the castle halls with Rainbow Dash the Loyal close behind. They stopped to pull both the guards inside the room. They couldn’t do much about them besides hope that no other Eclipse went outside their normal schedule and came by.

Once that was done, Mirage donned another guard’s disguise. Immediately, he was hit by a wave of nausea and had to brace himself against the wall.

“Hey, whoa!” Rainbow Dash the Loyal put her hoof on his shoulder. “You okay, dude?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. I’m not a queen, so changing this many times in such a short period tends to turn my stomach against me,” He smiled reassuringly, even though he was certain his Mask wasn’t a fan of dental hygiene. “Worry not! I am very awesome, after all.”

She grinned at that. “That makes two of us.”

With an affirmative nod, Mirage shrugged off his nausea. Rainbow Dash the Loyal paused to reach into her satchel and he finally understood how she and the others remained undetected.

She pulled out a slip of fabric from her satchel, tied it around her forehead, and turned transparent.

Not invisible, however; Mirage had to strain his eyes, but he could still see her outline and distinctive features – she reminded him of some of those washed-out portraits that Rarity the Artist kept in her ‘Creation Room’ and got upset over when Mirage tried to put his incredible painting skills to use and bring the colour and life back into them.

But then Rainbow Dash bent her legs and shot up to the ceiling, her wings flapping so softly that one could easily mistake it for the wind.

“Aha!” Mirage exclaimed in victory. “So, that is how you escape detection! Your ingenuity and flying expertise are inspiring to behold! Surely, you will have great tales to-”

“Dude.” The now-harder-to-see pegasus interrupted.

“Ah, but of course. Onwards to glory, my friend.”

Holding his head high, Mirage relied on his memory to take him back through the hallways and down a floor. There were more guards here, but the windows were open, so if anybody heard or felt a breeze, then the cause would be attributed to that. Mirage greeted the guards he knew his Mask would greet. They smiled or nodded in return.

Sometimes it was hard to trick them: a lot – though not all – of the Eclipse were normal and friendly ponies who joined just because they felt like it was the best way to help protect the city. He knew of several ponies that were in the Royal Guard who ended up joining the Eclipse because, as much of a villain as Usurper Nightmare Moon was, her guard was helping to defend the city from the humans.

Mirage knew what he and the others were doing was just, but it was disheartening to imagine these ponies getting hurt due to their actions.

He immediately stopped that thinking once he arrived at his destination: he had to focus.

“Is this where she’s staying?”

“Yes,” The hall was clear for the moment, so he could talk to Rainbow Dash the Loyal without seeming like he was in a clandestine relationship with an innocuous wooden door. “Vinyl the Oddity is just beyond this beautifully-polished barrier.”

He heard Rainbow Dash the Loyal utter under her breath, “I can’t believe she’s her…” A pause. “Like, she can’t really be friends with her, right?”

“I have witnessed Usurper Nightmare Moon and Vinyl the Oddity’s interactions from the shadows, my friend. Temper your doubt, for their relationship is true. As sure as the ocean tastes bad.”

She scoffed. “I can’t believe it. Ponies say that it’s important to forgive, but how do you forgive somepony that hurts others without any regret? Nightmare Moon doesn’t care who she hurts and she’s not gonna change. Watch – she’ll get bored of Vinyl sooner or later and do something bad to her,” She paused. “So, we’re helping Vinyl in a way, right?”

It didn’t sound like she was very sure of herself. To be honest, Mirage was also iffy about keeping someone away from their friend – that was the opposite of friendship, right? – but he believed they were justified: Usurper Nightmare Moon took Canterlot by force and threatened the lives of innocent creatures by doing so, which automatically made her the bad guy. Er, pony.

“Of course we’re helping her,” He reassured Rainbow Dash the Loyal. “We’re the side of the righteous and just, aren’t we?”

“R-right,” She paused for a second before he heard her open her satchel. “Here.”

She descended low enough to hand him a small flask – a simple, silver thing with a bit of rust on the bottom. Even so, the weight was tremendous. Metaphorically speaking, of course. It was actually rather light.

“Hey, dude?”

Mirage looked up just as he was about to twist the top off. “Yes, my friend?”

Her expression was difficult to pinpoint, but she looked… “I just want to say thanks for everything you’ve done. Like, we probably would have had so much trouble without you here. Actually, nah – we would have. I’ve been going crazy having to sit by and just wait until we had our chance to make a move. I don’t like not helping my friends, you know?”

“Rainbow-”

“So, thanks for everything,” She cleared her throat. “That’s pretty much it.”

A compliment was fantastic. This? This was…! Oh, he didn’t even know what it was, but it was more than fantastic! He didn’t know what to say.

… There was nothing he could say. No. The best response to this was action!

Mirage swallowed a lump in his throat before taking a deep breath and opening the flask. He tipped his head back and swallowed the contents. He felt the liquid go down his throat and then take a sharp turn into his resin sac as he shifted most of his insides back to that of his true form.

It was never pleasant to store anything other than resin in there, but he was determined enough to swallow vinegar if it would help the cause! Fortunately, Zecora the Brewmaster’s Cleansing Joke concoction was slightly bitter and mostly sweet.

“Watch the time, my friend,” Mirage said, giving the flask back. “Soon, your friend shall be safe and free.”

“Go for it, dude.”

“Good fortune to you and your task.”

And thus, Mirage was a lone ranger once more.

He walked away from Vinyl’s room – just in time as a guard came by to check on her, but luckily, he didn’t think to look up – and went through the hallways to his next destination.

So far, everything was going to plan.

‘Get to Twilight the Ascended with her portion of the Cleansing Joke mixture.’

Mirage ducked into a utility closet and switched his disguise. His resin sac tried to eject the foreign fluid, but he supressed the reflex and continued on his way.

‘Rainbow Dash the Loyal ensures that Vinyl the Oddity does not interfere with the plan.’

Mirage was just shy of a dozen yards to the castle doors. He had to hide away in a small alcove beneath the main stairs when one of the castle’s kitchen servants wandered by unexpectedly carrying a silver dish covered by a lid. He waited until they went up the stairs before changing his form to Vinyl the Oddity.

His resin sac announced its discomfort with a nauseating punch to his midsection; he had to lean against the wall for a spell and wait until his legs stopped shaking and his vision cleared.

“It seems that I am nearing my limits on transformations,” Mirage mumbled before shaking his head and smirking confidently to no one. “B-but limits are meant to be broken. I shall push past this with an iron composure.”

‘Then comes the riskiest part: getting access to Usurper Nightmare Moon.’

Mirage briskly trotted out of his hiding spot and leaned against the door, taking a deep breath – certainly not because he was nervous or anything! He took an extra second to get into character before striking the door’s surface.

It opened, revealing a mare’s gruff face. “You?” She squinted, one eye blue and the other a faded green. “What are you doing here alone? Empress says you shouldn’t-”

“Yeah, I gotta talk to Wolf, real quick,” Mirage shrugged casually, but tapped his right hind leg to show a hint of impatience. “Like, real real quick.”

Patchwork the Doubtful frowned. “I don’t know…”

Inspiring to see one live up to their title, but Mirage had a job to do.

“Wolf’s probably just in there making the princesses cry with insults or something,” Mirage shifted his weight to one side and cocked his head, staring at Patchwork the Doubtful evenly. “Look, if she gets upset, then it’ll be at me, not you. I told the guards upstairs the same thing and they were cool about it. Come on – be cool like them.”

Patchwork the Doubtful groaned and rolled her eyes. “Fine. But it’s not because I want to be cool. That’s stupid,” She opened the door wide enough for Mirage to get through, but suddenly stopped him with a firm prod to the chest. “But you’re getting scanned. No exceptions.”

Mirage shrugged and smiled disarmingly. “No worries.”

And thus, he was outside, surrounded by ponies. Usually, Mirage would enjoy having so many eyes on him, but those eyes were connected to bodies which happened to be carrying sharp objects that would enjoy breaking through his chitin and parting the fragile flesh beneath. Mirage liked his insides where they were and aimed to keep it that way.

Patchwork the Doubtful took him over to two unicorns. One approached, and Mirage discreetly eyed the tent behind him.

‘Usurper Nightmare Moon…’

He half-expected there to be a purple haze of condensed villainy surrounding the fabric, but life was not nearly so dramatic, unfortunately.

The unicorn lit his horn to cast Dispel on Mirage, and he let it happen; only Twilight had managed to find a way to disrupt a changeling's disguise and she hadn't shared that with anypony besides her closest friends as a counter-measure for future changeling attacks.

“Clear,” Spirit the Shaker said once he finished his examination. “But the Empress was clear on her orders: nopony goes near the tent unless she asks for them.”

“It’s important.” Mirage insisted.

“No way. I’m not gonna catch shit for disobeying her orders,” He stood his ground stubbornly. “Tell me what you want to say, and I’ll pass the message along.”

“I’d prefer to tell Wolf personally,” Mirage grumbled. “It’s kinda private,” He thought for a moment. “Can I write something down and give it to her?”

Spirit the Shaker used telekinesis to take some paper and a pencil from the pocket of his friend – “hey”, they cried indignantly – and hoof it over. “Make it quick.”

Mirage almost – almost, thank the Hive – used magic, but recalled Vinyl the Oddity’s disability at the last second and used his hooves. He put the paper on the ground and used the pencil with his mouth.

Mirage felt Spirit the Shaker’s shadow and glared up while covering the paper. “‘O chea’ing!”

“I wasn’t,” He huffed and looked the other way, grumbling. “Not like it’s a test anyway…”

For Mirage, it kind of was. He had only seen Vinyl the Oddity’s hoof/mouth-writing a few times before; it was always sloppy, but he had to make sure it was the right type of sloppy. It had to be ‘I’m not used to writing without my horn’, not ‘I’m intentionally writing this bad’. There was a distinct difference between those two that Mirage was adamant to get down.

“Finished?”

“Yeah, yeah,” He scribbled out the last letter and folded the paper before anyone could get a good look. “You’re gonna give it to her right now, right?”

“What else am I going to do with it?” Spirit the Shaker rolled his eyes before snatching the note and marching off to the tent.

Mirage let out a small breath of relief. ‘The best outcome is that Usurper Nightmare Moon comes out to meet me. If not, then Sun and Moon Goddesses Celestia and Luna will have to find a way to use that dagger.’

Until something happened, Mirage would just have to wait.

Rainbow Dash had to thank the ponies that designed this castle.

Built to accommodate Celestia’s stature, almost everything was big: wider stairs, larger rooms, and most importantly for her, taller doorframes and higher ceilings. If it wasn’t for that, Rainbow Dash might have been caught long ago. But she was high enough that none of the guards could feel the draft from her wings, or hear her flapping clearly enough to glance up.

Additionally, this meant she could sneak into a room if she stuck close enough to the top of the door frame.

Below her, Vinyl and the random guard spoke in quiet voices.

“I appreciate your support, but I’m taking a break from music ‘til I recover,” Vinyl said in an exasperated but friendly tone like she was used to this sort of conversation. “Kinda unfair to the rest of my peeps if I give you an early sample of my work, isn’t it?”

“Just one song?” The guard pleaded. She was a gentle-faced mare with a fragile voice, far from the ideal ‘evil minion’ that would be taking orders from Nightmare Moon in Rainbow Dash’s opinion. “Please? It took all this time for me to get the courage to talk to you. I’m sure the Empress would kill me for talking to you without her permission.”

“Nah, she’s not that bad. Maybe just a few minutes of glaring and one of her creepy molester smiles.”

Rainbow Dash almost snickered, but coldly stamped out the urge. She slipped into Vinyl’s room and floated over to a window where sunlight was streaming in; she’d be harder to see with the light below her.

“Fine,” Vinyl sighed, shifting her weight to one side. “I’ll give you an early copy, but only when it’s finished, alright? And you can’t tell anypony about it!”

“Ohmigosh, thank you so much! I promise I won’t! Y-you’re the best!”

“I guess I am, huh?”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.

Shortly after, Vinyl shut the door and turned to stretch before wandering over to a vanity beside a large bed. She picked up a small tin dish and twisted the lid off to apply some strawberry pink gel to her horn. Now that Rainbow Dash was looking at it, it seemed off-centre and the edges were ragged like paper torn by hoof.

Come to think of it… Rainbow Dash recalled a time when Rarity fell down the Boutique’s stairs carrying boxes of fabrics and ended up chipping a chunk of her horn; she didn’t give it much thought and recovered within a few days, but the chunk grew back ragged and rough until Rarity had it filed down.

Vinyl’s horn looked like that, but way worse.

“Jeez…” Vinyl grimaced as she looked in the mirror and briefly made a face of concentration. “Fucking Caed.”

Rainbow Dash didn’t have to worry about magic, so it should be simple to stop Vinyl from leaving this room until Mirage, or the princesses did what needed to be done. She hoped Vinyl would just go to the bathroom for like… an hour or something, but Rainbow Dash was ready to resort to physical restraint if she had to. It made her feel like crap, but all she had to do was think back on the horrible treatment Twilight had to endure to strengthen her resolve.

She had to do this.

Vinyl put more of that stuff on her horn and stared intensely at her reflection. “Come on, girl – you got your music to get back to. Your fans, dude. What about your fans? Can’t let them down…”

Rainbow Dash grimaced. ‘Yeah, I can understand that feeling…’

Vinyl stared at herself hard for a few seconds…

Then turned around and looked straight at her with red-hued eyes.

Rainbow Dash’s heart stopped in her chest. ‘N-no way! She can’t see me, can she?!’

Vinyl squinted, and Rainbow Dash calmed, realizing the mare was glaring at the window, not her. She closed her eyes and released a silent breath.

“For someone who preached about eternal night, she doesn’t seem to mind the sun,” Vinyl sighed, turning back to the vanity and grabbing something. “Not even an extra hour before it rises? Come on.”

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes and saw Vinyl lowering her hoof after ensuring her trademark purple shades were securely balanced.

In that brief instant, she pondered if those shades could dilute the sun’s rays enough for Vinyl to perhaps notice a spot above the window being a little wave-y than usual.

Vinyl’s eyebrows drew together and disappeared behind the frame of her shades as she took a step closer, still holding the container. She had to be squinting. “Uh…?”

Rainbow Dash weighed her options.

The only thing keeping Vinyl from fully noticing her was keeping still, but in just a few seconds, not even that would save her. But if she moved suddenly without saying anything, Vinyl might shout or yell and draw somepony to the room; they’d immediately run to tell Nightmare Moon.

Could she move fast enough to knock Vinyl out? What if something happened because of the horn injury? She didn’t want to hurt Vinyl badly, just stop her from stopping them from rescuing Twilight.

Vinyl took a step closer.

Rainbow Dash swallowed the lump in her throat and darted to the floor and tore the enchanted cloth from her head.

“Don’t scream.”

Vinyl gave a soft ‘uh’ in shock and took a step back. “… You… Rainbow Dash?”

No screaming. Thank Faust for that.

“Yeah, it’s me.”

“How the hell did you get in here? Wait, what are you even doing in here?”

‘Maybe I can talk some sense into her,’ Rainbow Dash thought. ‘Twilight does that shit all the time and it always works out. If it doesn’t, then with how close we are, I can gag her before she can get a scream out.’

“Alright, I’m gonna be totally honest with you on one condition,” Rainbow Dash emphasized her point by lightly stomping her hoof. “You have to listen to what I have to say and not try to run.”

Vinyl’s shades made it difficult to tell what she was feeling, but she did nod after a moment. “Majorly sketch, but I’ll hear ya out. Make it quick.”

“Rrgh!”

Spitfire jolted as Twilight suddenly staggered, her teeth clenched to the point of creaking. “Princess Twilight!”

Twilight waved her off and took several seconds to catch her breath, eyes closed in discomfort. “… I’m fine,” She exhaled and shook her head with a groan. “That was just Nightmare Moon ordering me to resist anypony trying to help me. She was particularly intense that time.”

Spitfire sucked her teeth in sympathy. “Yeah. Mirage told us about that, but we couldn't find a way to deal with it without alerting Nightmare Moon. Sorry.”

“She can’t read my mind, thank Faust, so I couldn’t tell her about you two over it even if she ordered me to," Twilight nodded her head to the door. "I’d have to physically go to her to talk, and it looks like she’s too paranoid to let me go out there.”

“I don't mean to offend, but...” Spitfire rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. “Should we be worried that you might kick our asses?”

Soarin echoed her thoughts with a nervous nod. “I really don’t want to go up against a princess.”

Twilight frowned in thought, then shook her head again. “I’m not trying to attack you right now, so your actions may need to be more direct than that. Even if I know you’re going to, I don’t know how, so the order’s not kicking in,” She paused and bit her bottom lip. “I think… you have to surprise me, or something like that, with whatever you’re going to do. You can’t approach me directly. That’s how it feels anyway.”

“We’ll be sure not to let you see it when it happens, princess,” Spitfire said. “Soarin will keep the thing that will help you out of sight until the moment comes.”

“Thank you,” Twilight turned to the side and touched her chin, pondering. “Her orders were uncharacteristically short and lenient; she must have felt pressured by something…”

Soarin leaned in to Spitfire and lowered his voice. “Don’t you have the thing, captain?”

“She doesn’t know that, genius.”

“Oh? Oh!”

“Shush!”

This… didn’t look good.

Mirage could accept Lightning Dust the Arrogant and Fade the Boisterous flying by to keep watch over him on their own merits, but when he saw the bulk of the Eclipse move to surround the tent while Miasma the Immovable led a small force of her own toward the castle, he had to assume something was up.

Well, that was obvious, but he meant that something was up on top of what was already up. Namely, with Usurper Nightmare Moon. On top of not coming outside to meet him – which wasn’t a huge problem, more of an unfortunate outcome – she had seemingly tipped of her entire guard force in a little under a minute.

Or, at least her Praetorian Guard.

Mirage pursed his lips. He had long suspected that Nightmare Moon could communicate with her most loyal followers besides verbal means simply due to how well they could operate together without a single word or glance shared between them at times. He suspected there was some sort of empathic link was at play, like the bond he and all changelings in his Hive shared, or the gross bastardization of one Nightmare Moon shared with Twilight, but he could never find any concrete evidence to prove it.

Mirage brought these concerns to Sun Goddess Celestia, but she admitted that if such a link existed, there was little they could do; mental communication was practically unheard of amongst equines, even with their advancement in magic. They would just have to try and plan around it if it was true.

“Hey, what’s up?” Fade the Boisterous greeted him with a casual nod. “You look nervous.”

“Nah, I’m good,” Mirage shrugged. In reality, he was starting up a cold sweat. Goodness – was this stage fright? He’d never imagine such a thing could happen to him. He loved the stage, but watching and waiting for something to happen while maintaining his Mask was getting him flustered. “Just waiting for Wolf to come out.”

Lightning Dust the Arrogant snickered. “Yeah. Hey, hot stuff – ya think we’ll be seeing some action today?”

Fade the Boisterous cocked his head and-

There.

-chuckled. “Come on – Boss has got this covered. No need to stress her out, yeah?” He motioned to Mirage.

‘The way he tilted his head and said nothing for a few seconds… Surely, that must be them communicating. I’ve never been able to get this close before, so I wouldn’t have seen a tell that small.’

Mirage swallowed, but kept his Mask’s face composed. “I’m not stressed. Just chilling.”

“Yeah, no worries, huh?” Lightning Dust the Arrogant winked like they shared some saucy secret, and then lowered her voice when she spoke again. “Hey, we got this covered. Nopony’s getting to the Empress.”

She thought she was being subtle, but Mirage – an expert actor himself – saw through her. If he was the real Vinyl and the enemy was watching him, Lightning Dust the Arrogant would have tipped them off with something so obvious.

Then again, he didn’t give her the title of ‘Arrogant’ for her gardening skills. Unless she was arrogant about that. Which she wasn’t. Because she didn’t do gardening.

"If anything..." Fade the Boisterous added. "She's probably more worried about you."

Mirage noticed him staring at her and replied with a shrug. "I'm a big filly. I can take care of myself. Magic was just holding me back, ya dig?"

Fade rolled his eyes. "Riiiight. Well, don't blame me if she gives herself another heart attack carrying you to the hospital."

Mirage frowned. "Heart attack?"

"When the invasion happened, yeah?" Fade answered, then cocked his head with a look of realization. "Oh, shit - you were out cold when it happened. That's right. And I'm guessing Boss was too proud to tell you about what happened after you got knocked out."

This was interesting. Mirage knew about the invasion - he had snuck out of the castle and helped those in the city in whatever way he can using the disguise of an Eclipse guard. He also knew that Vinyl had been injured, and that Nightmare Moon took her to the hospital. Sadly, he had not had the chance to hear further details about it - very few knew about it, let alone spoke of it.

Despite Mirage's lack of response, Fade the Boisterous saw fit to continue.

"After Caed ran off, Boss flew you all the way over to the nearest hospital with that new healer mare... what's her name? Vitae? With Vitae keeping you from, you know... dying. I wasn't there, but Vitae wouldn't stop gushing about how inspired she was by Boss' care for you. She stayed in the lobby to wait to see how you were. I don't think a dragon attack would've made her budge, yeah?"

Mirage swallowed, his mood dampened by an inexplicable surge of guilt. "Yeah, well... Wolf's kind of a softy once you get past the teeth. And the eyes. And the general 'I'm gonna kill you' attitude."

"Pretty sure that's because of you," Lightning Dust the Arrogant laughed. "I haven't been in this Praetorian Guard for long, but even I can see you bring out her good side," She paused and turned to Fade the Boisterous with a raised eyebrow. "Well..."

"As good as she can be." Fade the Boisterous finished with an iffy wave of his forehoof.

Mirage swallowed. "Huh... So, I'm pretty important to her..."

The two pegasi didn't seem to hear Mirage; they turned in the opposite direction as an Eclipse guard ran up to relay an order Ebony the Deathless gave.

Mirage wasn't listening. He was thinking.

He knew that Vinyl the Oddity and Usurper Nightmare Moon's friendship was genuine despite how unlikely it seemed, but to have it reaffirmed like that was more enlightening than he would have liked. Mirage adored acts of valour, so to hear that Usurper Nightmare Moon was not only distraught over her friend being harmed but waited to see how she was naturally made him think highly of the alicorn.

But... he really shouldn't!

Usurper Nightmare Moon was the enemy; she'd done terrible things to a lot of ponies, so no matter what positive qualities she might have had, she was not on the side of good. Mirage couldn't afford to have doubts, not when everyone was relying on him. He had to be the good guy, and defeating Usurper Nightmare Moon was the 'good' choice.

After all, every story had to end with the good guys winning, didn't it?

Rainbow Dash’s feathers were uncomfortably stiff and sticky as she sweat up a storm while trying to explain herself to Vinyl. She didn’t realize it at first, but being in a team was nice because even though there was a very real chance you might get caught, at least you were with other ponies to back you up. She had no such backup here: if Vinyl screamed, or bolted, or did anything, there was a good chance somepony might hear.

So she pulled out all the stops to keep Vinyl in the room: she guilt-trip Vinyl over Twilight’s treatment, she appealed to her sense of morality by pointing out – repeatedly – all the bad stuff Nightmare Moon had done, and even tried coercing her by insisting that they weren’t going to kill Nightmare Moon, just… incapacitate her. She could still continue being ‘friends’, which was ultimately what she wanted, right?

But Vinyl just listened with an unreadable expression.

At least she was staying inside the room. That was the main thing. If she didn’t want to cooperate, then at least Rainbow Dash was keeping her here for the time being while the plan made progress.

“You get what I’m saying, don’t you?” Rainbow Dash was almost gasping for breath; she couldn’t remember the last time she talked so much when it wasn’t about boasting how awesome she was. How the hell did Twilight do it? “Like… please tell me you get where I’m coming from! Nightmare Moon’s bad, so we have to stop her!”

Vinyl turned her head to the side. The hoof holding the horn-gel stuff wavered back and forth. “… The thing is that everything you’ve said about her? I already know.”

"Huh?”

“Yeah, she’s done a lot of bad shit in her life. Shit that I don’t even know since it was, what? A thousand years ago? And even now, the only reason she’s where she is, is because she beat the crap out of Celestia, Luna, and Faust knows how many more ponies. But there’s good in her that you haven’t seen. I got kidnapped by those humans not too long ago, and she risked her life to save me. She didn’t need to, but she did. Saved a whole bunch of other ponies, too. She’s not perfect, but I know she’s getting better."

She paused and sighed.

"But you make good points, too. I mean, it's pretty messed up what she's done to Twilight. To Canterlot. The city was fine under Celestia and Luna's rule, so it's not like she was 'saving' us by taking over; she just did that because she wanted to be in control and have all that power."

"Right, right!" Rainbow Dash leapt on the opportunity. Maybe she could really convince her! "So, you get where I'm coming from."

"That being said..." Vinyl fixed her with an intense stare that seemed magnified by her shades. "You did sneak into my room."

Rainbow Dash flinched. "Well..."

"And you're totally violating a truce. A truce you guys suggested. That's not really a good guy thing in my books."

Rainbow Dash wasn’t sure what to say. Of course, she knew in her heart that by doing what she and the others were doing, they were betraying their word. "Yeah, I... I know that. But it's for a good reason! Nightmare Moon's bad, and-and Twilight's...! Like, the good outweighs the bad stuff we're doing, right?"

She could feel Vinyl's distaste. "Yeah. Because nopony bad's ever said something like that when they were genociding or burning shit or whatever."

"We're not killing anypony!" Rainbow Dash argued. "Hell, we don't even know for sure if that Cleansing Joke will kill Nightmare Moon, but we have to try to-" She slapped her hoof over her mouth.

'Shit.'

Vinyl's mouth opened a little. "What did you say? Kill her?!"

"Look-"

"What the hell? I didn't think you guys would go that far! I didn't even think you had the guts to go that far!"

"Hey, I said we don't know if it'll kill her," Rainbow Dash appeased. "There's a chance she might just get knocked out or something."

"Oh, yeah, that makes me feel better!" Vinyl snorted. "Faust, I thought you guys were supposed to have the moral high ground here."

"We do!"

"And taking the moral high ground means you're allowed to kill somepony?"

"No, but..." Rainbow Dash trailed off. She hated to admit it, but Vinyl had her there. No matter what you looked at it or how bad somepony was, killing was killing. "No, it doesn't," She sighed. "Look, I know what we're doing is bad, but Twilight is my best friend and the longer she stays under Nightmare Moon's control, the more she suffers. I'm gonna do whatever it takes to get her out. If that means taking a chance and doing something that might end up with Nightmare Moon dying, then fine. I'm being totally honest with you here: Nightmare Moon's life is nowhere near as important as Twilight's."

The words seemed to strike something in Vinyl; she recoiled a little and stared at the floor. Rainbow Dash gave a little exhale through her nostrils and prepared to tackle Vinyl. There was no way she'd have a change of heart now; not with that little bombshell Rainbow Dash had, pretty stupidly, let slip.

Vinyl licked her lips. "Hey, Rainbow?"

Rainbow Dash blinked and cautiously tilted her head. "Yeah?"

"You know how you can like somepony, but sometimes hate them because they do stuff where you're like, 'what the hell?'" Vinyl asked, looking back up. "Don't you ever feel like that with your friends?"

"Uh..." Rainbow Dash almost said 'no' on reflex, but she thought about it. She thought about Rarity's obsession with frou-frou clothing, Fluttershy's weird fears, and Pinkie's... well, Pinkie-ness. "... Yeah. Sometimes."

"Then why do you keep being their friend?"

Rainbow Dash answered immediately, at least in her head. 'Because there's so much more to them besides what I don't like.'

She faltered, unsure if she wanted to answer to that question; it just seemed like a way to get her to change her mind, or make her lose her nerve.

And that hesitation was probably why she even got blinded by a huge dollop of horn-gel in the first place.

Her first immediate thought was ‘shit, that burns!’. Her second following thought was ‘crap, she’s going to get away!’. Eyes clenched shut, she lunged forward with a helpful flap of her wings, but only caught air and fell flat on the floor. She heard and felt Vinyl run to the side. Rainbow Dash shot to her hooves, using a wing to frantically wipe the gunk from her eyes, and raced to the click of an opening door.

BAM

Stars streaked across her blurred vision as her forehead hit the slim edge of the door. The pain was swift and merciless – a spike of red fire that went down her skull vertically; it was only due to her willpower and a tolerance built from previous years of failed Sonic Rainbooms that she didn’t collapse on the spot and somehow manage her way through the doorway.

Vinyl was shouting something. Her voice was tinny and muffled, no doubt due to the impact, but not far-off, thank Faust.

‘As if anypony could out-speed me…’ Gritting her teeth, Rainbow Dash swiped the remaining gel from her face, ignored the pain, and took off down the corridor. ‘I guess being quiet doesn’t matter now.’

It took time for news and ponies to get somewhere. Nightmare Moon was out in front of the castle, far enough that it would take an average pegasus just a little under two minutes to get there even if they jumped out a window right now. For a unicorn that couldn’t use magic? Considerably longer.

Rainbow Dash turned a corner to see an Eclipse guard looking in the direction Vinyl ran, likely confused. Denying herself the time to feel guilty, Rainbow Dash swooped over to some curtains, tore them down, and cork-screwed her way past the guard, wrapping them up in a curtain-cocoon and leaving them even more confused and less mobile than before.

She caught up to Vinyl shortly after in a hallway filled with many paintings and prepared to tackle her to the floor.

Vinyl turned in place and pulled one of the large paintings off the wall. She clearly intended to throw it, but Rainbow Dash was too fast for that. Unfortunately, she was also too fast and close to stop so suddenly.

Riiiip

Some old stallion in the afterlife was probably none too pleased as Rainbow Dash’s head tore through the canvas where his had once been. She blinked in surprise and pulled a strained face as the painting’s frame pulled down on the back of her neck as Vinyl failed to let go. The jolt was enough to throw her off-balance, and even when the frame was pulled out of Vinyl’s hooves, Rainbow Dash staggered and collided with two more guards at the end of the hallway checking out what the racket was. One was knocked out as his head went through the wall, leaving his body crumpled out in the corridor, while the other guard tumbled down a nearby set of stairs, cursing on every step.

Vinyl scurried down the same stairs as Rainbow Dash struggled amidst the broken pieces of the frame. “You guys suck at guarding!”

“Get back here!” Rainbow Dash scattered the pieces with a mighty gust from her wings and tore down the stairs like a predatory eagle. “I’m not leaving Canterlot without Twilight! Not again!”

“I’m not letting you hurt Wolf!” Vinyl shouted back, briefly looking over her shoulder only to yelp and forgo the last steps – and the guard groaning at the bottom – with a jump that almost made her slip. “Holy crap, you are fast!”

The guard turned out to be not as soft as their friend: when Rainbow Dash flew over them, they lit up their horn and grabbed onto her tail. Furious, Rainbow Dash fell upon them with a flurry of kicks until their magic petered out, letting her give chase again. Vinyl was almost at the end of the hallway, but her head-starts were meaningless – Rainbow Dash would always catch up.

And caught up she did.

Before Vinyl could take another set of stairs down, Rainbow Dash grabbed her from behind and yanked her to the floor.

Rainbow Dash wrapped both forelegs around Vinyl’s neck. “You’re not going anywhere! I’ve had Wonderbolts combat training!”

Vinyl threw her head back and made her see stars. While she was stunned, Vinyl elbowed her in the side, and broke her hold, rolling off to the side with a victorious ‘ha!’.

“I’ve been in bar fights with Wolf!” Vinyl shot back and ran down the stairs.

Rainbow Dash cursed and swiped her bloody nose before giving chase. “Me and my big mouth…”

'I know she's bad.'

Vinyl probably couldn't count the number of ponies whose lives had been affected negatively by Wolf's actions. Not just Canterlot, but the whole of Equestria, who suddenly had to deal with a violent and powerful being sitting on the throne.

'But there's good in her.'

Likewise, Vinyl probably couldn't count the number of ponies that have been helped by Wolf. Even if they don't like it, a lot of ponies were saved from the humans when Wolf and her went into their world. Wolf didn't have to help them, and Vinyl couldn't have made her. And even if it wasn't directly, Wolf's Eclipse guard helped protect the city, saving even more lives.

She knew it didn't excuse everything Wolf did, but it shouldn't be ignored.

'They want to help their friend.'

Vinyl was sickened by what Wolf did to Twilight when she learned about it from Lightning Dust. They'd argued a little after Vinyl came to stay at the castle while her horn healed. It wasn't long nor intense because Vinyl knew that Wolf was capable of something like that and that she wouldn't let Twilight go just because Vinyl wanted her to; she seemed to realize that their friendship wouldn't end after that, not after what they've been through together.

'But so do I.'

No matter what, Vinyl's heart told her that the right decision was to help her friend, which could only be what Rainbow Dash was feeling right at this moment, too.

With that in mind, Vinyl grit her teeth and ran faster.

“Nothing here, ma’am.”

Miasma didn’t let it show, but she was vexed by the lack of rebels she was finding. They were on the fourth floor of the castle, but there wasn’t a single sign of them yet? That wasn’t good. It didn’t help that the castle was so vast with so many rooms to search and so many ponies to question and she didn’t have many guards to comb through the floors effectively, even if they split up. The majority of the Eclipse forces were down in the front, ready to attack in case Celestia and Luna tried anything.

It was probably the right decision: those two alone proved to be a match for Nightmare Moon and the Praetorian Guard plus Shadow Strike combined.

She felt a tickle in her head, a little warning sign prior to Nightmare Moon Calling.

“Status report.” Her Empress demanded.

Miasma replied. “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.”

Her presence left.

Miasma sighed through her nostrils and pointed at one of the higher-rank guards. “We need to speed this up. Take four ponies and continue searching each floor. The rest will come with me straight to Twilight.”

The guard saluted. “Yes, ma’am.” He pointed out the ponies he wanted and led them down the hallway to the rooms yet to be searched.

“Right,” Miasma turned in the other direction. “Let’s make sure-”

She stopped.

For a second, she thought she saw something down the very end of the corridor where they had arrived via the stairs.

Miasma frowned. The rebels might have been near where Twilight was, but perhaps…?

One of her guards cleared their throat. “Ma’am?”

She shook her head. “Nothing. Let’s go.”

It was probably nothing, and even if it wasn’t, not even Rainbow Dash could get past both her brother and Lightning Dust near the castle’s front entrance. Nopony was going to launch a ‘surprise attack’ directly in front of the Empress.

Mirage was disappointed to see Usurper Nightmare Moon exit the tent, completely unharmed, with Sun and Moon Goddesses Celestia and Luna trailing behind with sullen looks.

They couldn’t get her with the dagger.

Now, the pressure was on him to accomplish what they couldn’t.

It was both terrifying and exhilarating, but he was determined to face it head-on.

In fact…

This sensation of butterflies in his belly… Was it just nerves, or was it destiny signalling to him that his ‘Moment’ was about to arrive?

‘With the stakes so high, this worthy task falls to one such as I. Surely, if my ‘Moment’ were to reveal itself, it would be now?’

Mirage swallowed. Whether or not this was the case, he had to act swiftly for Miasma the Immovable was searching the castle for intruders, and his friends were in danger. He had to ensure the mystic fluid he carried struck Usurper Nightmare Moon true, for it was the catalyst of the coming rebellion.

He mustered his courage and resolve, took a deep breath, and started walking to Usurper Nightmare Moon, smiling like the friend he was pretending to be.

Nopony stopped him, but Lightning Dust the Arrogant and Fade the Boisterous followed him closely, likely to ensure his safety.

Usurper Nightmare Moon said something to Sun Goddess Celestia before walking away. Several guards immediately moved to make a line between the two alicorns. Then, Usurper Nightmare Moon started moving towards Mirage.

As brave and heroic as Mirage was – and he felt that it was nothing to scoff at – he felt an inkling of fear – maybe a little more than that – with such an intimidating creature focusing their attention on him.

But then she did something he didn’t really expect.

She smiled.

It was for just a brief instant, and then it was replaced by a dark scowl that would send a chimera running with its tail between its legs, but for that instant, that smile turned Usurper Nightmare Moon’s demeanour from ‘deadly’ to ‘kind and approachable’. Her eyes had seemed less intense, her stature and build less imposing... Mirage could even say she looked regal.

Mirage mentally faltered, but didn't show it. 'In all the time I've spied on her, I've never seen such genuine emotion that wasn't anger or general distaste.'

Mirage suddenly felt like he understood Vinyl a little better. If he knew someone so dastardly who could also produce such a smile, he might have done anything to see it more often, too. His guilt flared up again, more intense, but he ignored it and continued onwards, reaffirming to himself that she was the enemy, and he on the side of good.

Usurper Nightmare Moon got closer and closer, and he prepared to flex his resin sac and expel its contents.

And then suddenly, Mirage heard a voice cry out.

“WOLF!!”

Mirage’s eyes widened in shock as he reflexively turned to the castle’s front entrance, where a white mare was sprinting towards Usurper Nightmare Moon 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!” Vinyl the Oddity cried as Rainbow Dash the Loyal 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.

Mirage turned back to see Usurper Nightmare Moon spreading her wings and taking a step back.

And he saw it – he saw his ‘Moment’.

Because although Usurper Nightmare Moon know knew that Mirage was an imposter, she was so shocked that she had yet to react and defend herself. She was wide open, vulnerable.

He heard Sun Goddess Celestia give the signal. “Now!”

He heard a large sound not too far-off, like rocks being smashed together, followed by the noise of rushing water. The sound of allied forces joining the battle.

He had to act.

Mirage pursed his lips, flexed his resin sac, and expelled the Cleansing Joke mixture at his foe. Most of it went awry in different directions, but some landed on Usurper Nightmare Moon’s coat and in her mouth.

That was all that was needed.

He had done it. His ‘Moment’ had revealed itself and he had answered it. The greatest achievement of his life.

Mirage should have been ecstatic, accomplished, satisfied.

He felt nothing like that.

His 'Moment' was of fear and regret as Usurper Nightmare Moon shrieked, an all-too equine sound of misery. He watched as the flesh on her face split apart into numerous bloody crevices and wisps of black smoke shot out in high-pressure jets, but not even that could hide her pained expression. She wasn't just in agony, she was in shock and confusion.

Mirage's disguise fell away and he took a step back. Was this truly his 'Moment'? It wasn't supposed to feel like this. It was supposed to be a wonderful thing.

He felt sick. No... this wasn't how it was supposed to go. This was supposed to be a proud moment for him. It wasn't to feel just as it felt all those years ago as he watched Canterlot fall to his brethren's cruelty while the false promises of Hive Queen Chrysallis echoed in his head.

'We are the wronged party here, young drone. We shall make our enemies pay. We are in the right.'

Usurper Nightmare Moon recoiled and violently hacked up globules of blood that turned black on contact with the ground and hissed and steamed like acid. Her pupils were twitching, but when they fell upon Mirage, they seemed to focus and sharpen. She roared, a furious noise that seemed to come from the writhing smoke forming above her head rather than her own lips, and advanced on him.

"Curse you!" Usurper Nightmare Moon screamed, a moment of cohesion accomplished through sheer will. "Snivelling insect!!"

Even in her pained state, she was far faster and stronger than he could ever be: he caught a flash of her foreleg as it raised, and then felt a tremendous blow to his side that sent him flying across the castle’s garden like a chew toy. He bounced against the ground four times before slamming into a tree, hard enough that he heard his chitin crack in several different places, and slumped to the dirt.

Mirage’s vision darkened, pain being replaced by cold numbness. He thought he heard Sun Goddess Celestia shout his name, but that might have just been an auditory hallucination.

‘Why couldn't it have been simple…’ He thought, green blood trickling down his chin. ‘Would it really have been so bad if she didn't have such depth to her motivations? If she didn't have genuine compassion for her friend? It would be so easy to fight a truly irredeemable foe.’

Mirage's jaw quivered. "I... I just wanted... to be the good guy for once."

Mirage fell into darkness.

Author's Notes:

Note 1: "In changeling society, naming consists of two parts: the ‘hatching name’, which is given immediately after a changeling emerges from their egg, and a ‘title’, which is given after a changeling completes their rite of passage – successfully bringing a supply of love back to their nest. Until a changeling has completed their rite of passage, they do not receive a title. The term ‘hollow-name’ refers to these changelings and is considered a derogatory remark.

"Titles are preceded by ‘the’, which has several variations in the changeling language. Some examples are ‘the Undaunted’, or ‘the Agitator’, and ‘the Jumper’. Titles are often related to a specific trait in a changeling, but if no trait is found yet, then they are given the title ‘of the Hive’ as a sort of placeholder.

"Additionally, titles may also precede a changeling’s hatching name, which is reserved for those who ascend in the hierarchy due to laudable tasks that they perform. In this case, titles such as ‘the Agitator’, or ‘the Sneaky’ become ‘Agitator’ and ‘Sneaky’. Female changelings that are meant to become the next queen are given this form of title from birth.

"In their society, to be on a first-name basis (which means to exclude the title altogether) is a show of great affection and respect and is reserved for lovers. According to our changeling friend in the castle, being constantly referred to by his hatching name makes him feel close to everypony here.

"I’m writing this letter to you, so that you can get a better understanding of him and why he refers to everypony the way he does. Please treat him kindly.

"Love, Striker.

"P.S. His full name is Mirage the Inquisitive, in case you’re curious."

-Letter from Striker, a member of the Royal Guard, to his sister, who had taken his position guarding the captured changeling while he was given leave from duty to aid his sickly wife.

Note 2: "My hooves are still shaking from the experience. On one hoof, it is always incredible to be examining an alicorn's physiology. But on the other hoof, Nightmar Empress Nightmare Moon is so much more intimidating than Celestia and Luna. The Empress was impatient and frustrated by what she deemed to be an unnecessary check-up after venturing through an Entropic Fracture. I can only imagine that it was due to that mare's - what was her name? Vinyl? - insistence that she agreed. Fortunately, the Empress is as healthy as they come.

"There is not much to add about Empress Nightmare Moon that wouldn't be redundant when compared to the records that I and my predecessors have already formulated on Celestia and Luna's health. All three have, quite frankly, ridiculous bone density that would require enormous force to damage. Likely, this density is necessary to hold up against the musculature - if a regular earth pony skeleton had these kind of muscle fibres, they'd probably break their own ribs just drawing in a breath. Naturally, the organs are considerably tougher to avoid self-inflicted injury, but are also unique in that they appear to be capable of limited compression. My latest predecessor theorized that this was so the muscles can flex and exert even greater force without the organs 'pushing back', so to speak.

"Although, not everything is equal between these three. Celestia is stronger than Luna, which is expected given she has had more time to physically mature, but from what I can see from initial examination, Empress Nightmare Moon is technically stronger. I say 'technically' because Empress Nightmare Moon would otherwise be on the same level as Celestia if it wasn't for the fact that, well, she seems to not care if she injures herself. The equine body has limiters placed upon it to avoid self-injury, limiters which are removed in times of extreme emotional stress such as seeing a loved one in danger, etc. Even Celestia and Luna exhibit these limiters judging by various tests adminstered. However, Empress Nightmare Moon seems to ignore these limiters as easily as one might blink, able to willingly put herself through pain and injury, even when there is no need to. Indeed, in a fight, it seems the only way one might succeed against such determination and strength is to be equally violent and/or agile enough to dodge her blows." - Recent entry from the journal of Canterlot Castle's resident physician, Clean Cut, who examined Nightmare Moon under the belief that everybody is entitled to a clean bill of health. A full TBS (Thaumaturgical Body Scan) was also used, but the results were quickly shredded.

Clean Cut refused to speak about what she found.