"Nightmare Moon" was prowling the hallways of the castle when she heard the Princess'... ahem... "proclamation". She deftly caught a small statuette before it struck the floor and put it back in its cupola. "Ah, at last," she chuckled. "The festivities are properly underway." She knew her sister. Luna had been plotting and scheming for most of the year for how this little celebration was going to go.... and what the results would be.

She would have given anything to be in the ballroom at this very moment, just to see the looks on everypony's faces as a thousand years of high culture were set on their ear. But at that precise moment she had more immediate concerns to deal with.

Particularly, the two anxious Changeling parents all but clinging to her ankles as the search went on for their daughter. This Nightmare Night was proving to be full of surprises, and for once not all of them were of the Princess' own making. It was a rather refreshing feeling, actually.

Her first reaction when confronted... or perhaps supplicated is a better word... by the two Changelings in the very heart of the Lunar Palace had been alarm and anger. Then, confusion, followed by suspicion, then a grudging, cautious trust, as her sympathetic nature was won over by their sincere pleas for help and mercy. Truthspells had revealed their honesty. They were just as they appeared: two frightened parents seeking their missing child. After a private interrogation in a side room, she had reached her decision.  

Rather than throw them in chains as they feared, and as most of the Canterlot royalty would have demanded, she gave them her promise of sanctuary and began helping them personally with search. She did take the precaution of buttonholing a few of the Night and Day guards she knew could be trusted with this little secret and put them to work helping with the search-- (and had one or two of them tagging along with her, covertly keeping an eye on her own royal flank just in case. She was compassionate, not stupid.)

The Canterlot aristocracy would probably throw a fit if they knew what she decided to do. No, they definitely would, shortly after stampeding in a neighing panic. As it stood she had to make quite a few detours on her way to her sister to avoid anypony she thought might ask too many questions. Unmasking Buzz and Trill (for that was their names) at this juncture might cause a panic, and she wasn't up to dealing with that.

They had donned their costumes again-- the Princess her Nightmare Moon illusion, the two Changelings their robes and cheap plastic masks-- and were making their way to the royal ballroom. She had to resist the temptation to facehoof. All that time and expense creating and promoting and distributing the Changeling lanterns, and two Changelings (three Changelings, she reminded herself) had thwarted them with a grade school foal's trick-or-treat costume.

At least they couldn't waltz in en masse, at any rate. At least not without laying down a lot of bits for deep-hooded robes and cardboard masks.

....She would make a note to have the guards start checking a little more closely under hoods and masks in the future.

As they made their circuitous way to the ballroom, her bemusement at the circumstances gave way to curiosity, then to growing fascination as she questioned her two asylum seekers.(1) The amount of misinformation going on about the Changelings was astonishing. "So you don't live in giant hives?"

"No, of course not," Buzz said. He hesitated. "W-well, I suppose we could--- if we wanted to, but---"

"Actually, no, your Highness," Trill interrupted her stuttering husband. "We live in families, like ponies do. It wouldn't work otherwise."

"Why not?" the Princess queried.

"Because we feed on love, your majesty," Trill explained. "Love, happiness, the ambient energy ponies emit from positive emotions. And we require a great deal of it. It takes at least two or three ponies to provide one Changeling with sufficient nourishment, without getting noticed.  We are--" her eyes were downcast a bit at this "---well, we are predators. And putting so many predators together in one place, that's a recipe for famine. We have to live dispersed, our families scattered amongst other races to keep from over hunting an area."

"Then what was all that with Queen Chrysalis and her army?"

Buzz snorted. "Chrysalis is no queen. She's a rabble-rousing fool who was shunned by other Changelings, and her 'army' is nothing but young malcontents who bought her promises of plunder and fat living if they helped her conquer Equestria."

"And here I thought she was a queen, like in an anthill, or a beehive," the Princess mused. "And the soldiers were her offspring."

Both Changelings staggered to a stunned halt. Buzz squeezed his eyes shut and began rubbing them with his hoof, while his wife's eyes crossed. "All of them??" Trill said, doing a whole body cringe. "Oh no, your highness," she said with a feeble laugh."There's no way. I only gave birth ONCE.... to even think of--- oh my stars..."

"I keep seeing this vision of... of this Termite Chrysalis," Buzz moaned, "swollen up to the size of a train car, baby Changelings popping out like candy from a Pez dispenser..." he banged his forehead with his hoof. "Can't... get the image... out of my head...." Both Changelings gagged.

Their captor winced at the imagery herself. "So that would be a no," she said. She decided to change the subject. "So why were you not interested in her offer of conquest?"

Trill shook her head. "Because it was folly," she said. "We live on love. How much love would there be in a conquered kingdom, filled with hate? Hate for us? Whatever love they squeezed out of the ponies would have quickly dwindled away. It would cost more nectar than it would make. Her plan would have destroyed your kingdom, ruined the land, and left us all to starve anyway. It was like planning to chop down an apple tree just to get the apples."

"Nectar?"

"It's how Changelings can store food for later," Buzz explained. "Like..." he searched for a simile. "Like an apple tree. Just like the tree uses sunshine to make the sweetness in the apple, we use love to make changeling nectar."

"Ah," the princess nodded. "The formula for sugar is air, water and sunshine..."

"And the formula for changeling nectar is sugar, water, and love," Trill finished. She paused. "Since Chrysalis' invasion things have been... sparse. We used to live in Peach Grove; we were surrounded by happy, loving, outgoing ponies. And lots and lots of sweet peaches, too." She licked her lips at the memory, making smacking noises behind her mask.

The Princess could almost hear her face fall. "But after Chrysalis' Folly, we had to leave the town for fear of being unmasked. We fled into the Everfree forest, made a home there. We've had to subsist on the love and affection of the woodland creatures there. We constantly have to work at gathering it, and it's never... never quite enough." The pain of a mother's heart was clear in her voice.

The Princess regarded the two out of the corner of her eye. For the first time she took note of just how thin the two were under their robes. Not, she corrected herself mentally, that any of the changeling invaders had been precisely plump. But these two, they were thin enough that it showed. The tiny ache in her heart grew. "You weren't exaggerating about things being sparse, were you," she said sympathetically.

"We can eat normal food," Buzz said. "But without positive emotional energy, we cannot digest it."

"We cannot live without love," Trill said.

"Who can?" the diarch of Equestria noted philosophically.

They walked in silence for a moment, detouring through yet another room to avoid a gaggle of pony aristocrats fussing at one another over something. "Cannot you subsist on one another's love?" she eventually asked.

"If we didn't have that, we wouldn't have lasted as long as we have," Buzz said. "But subsisting on your own love, you always get a little bit less out of it than you put into it. It fills the heart, but not the belly."  He shook his head.

The Princess nodded. It would be like a cow drinking its own milk to stave off starvation, she realized.

"We sometimes go into town to try and replenish our supplies," Trill confessed. "or at least as close to town as we can get, with those blasted lights--- um. Sorry, your highness."

"No offense taken," their captor murmured.

"Which is how we heard about the festival," Buzz said. "We talked of trying to sneak in. It was so tempting; all that happiness and love in the air--- and free candy!" he was almost wistful. "But we decided the risk was too great. Too many ponies, too many guards..."

"Too many Princesses..." Trill said dryly.

"Our daughter begged to go, talked about how much food we could bring back. It killed us, but we said no. It was too risky. But she sneaked out when we were out foraging--" She shrugged helplessly. "and, here we are."

"Do not worry, my little... ah.... well do not worry. We will find your daughter soon enough. First though we need to speak to my sister about your, ah, situation." She saw them cringe in apprehension. "Don't be afraid," she soothed. "You are under my protection." They approached a pair of wide double doors leading to the throneroom; even through the thick planks one could hear the muffled celebration. The Princess' guards stepped forward and announced themselves to their counterparts guarding the door. "And you needn't fear my sister, either. Despite what some may fear, she is always the very picture of regal compassion and kindness." The ornate doors swung wide. Multicolored lights played over their faces as deafening music, a veritable wall of wubs, blasted out at them. The Princess, her guards, and their cheaply-disguised prisoners alike gaped at the sight within.

"Though not always the picture of regal dignity," the Nightmare-clad coregent said weakly.

The first thing that was noticeable was that the throne room was now considerably larger. A dividing wall between that room and the ballroom had been, yes, a quick sweep of the horn confirmed it, had been transmuted into a high supporting arch, merging the two spaces and allowing the partygoers to spill over and intermingle. The subtle lighting and elegant crystal chandeliers had been transformed into quite possibly the most ornate rave light show in existence, lights pinwheeling in time with the DJ's ministrations. Ponies were thronging the floor, partying, eating, laughing and dancing up a storm. It was hard to decide which was the more alarming sight: the overstuffed nobleponies who were fleeing for the exits,  the one who were lingering to gawp in horrified fascination, or the ones who were actually trying to boogy down with the rest. (2)

In the middle of all the chaos was the other half of the Diarchy....

The Princess facehooved. "Oh no," Buzz and Trill heard her murmur. "Sister, you promised me you wouldn't try to dance..."

The floor was dominated by the Princess of the Night. It couldn't help it; her dance moves were so spastic and arrhythmic that they would have commanded attention from a roomful of the deaf and blind. She jerked, kicked, wiggled and shimmied in the center of the floor in a manner that under other circumstances would have sent a doctor diving for his anti-seizure medications.

Some ponies could only stare in bafflement. Others couldn't seem to care. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were in hysterics. Applebloom and SweetieBelle were leaning on each other, weak with laughter. "Ah aint never... seen nopony... dance lak THAT," Applebloom managed to gasp.

Nyx was literally lying on the floor on her back, rolling back and forth and clutching her sides with her hooves. "I have," she managed to shout over the music, pointing with a hoof to where her mother was dancing. Twilight Sparkle was thrashing away like she'd stuck her tail in an electric outlet while a bemused looking Ink Spot hovered around her, just out of reach of her flailing limbs, like he was trying to figure out what to do.

The fillies howled, collapsing to the floor.

The only one that wasn't laughing was Scootaloo. She was facehooving as she watched the coregent flail around on the floor. "This is mortifying," she said. "Somepony's gotta fix this--- here, hold my punch," she said, handing the cup to a hiccuping SweetieBelle. She buzzed out onto the floor, dodging around Twist and Truffle, and raced up to within danger range of the Princess' high-kicking legs.

"Princess!" the erratically dancing alicorn looked down in surprise to find an orange pegasus filly practically under her hooves. "Like this!"

Scootaloo made sure she had the Princess' attention, then started doing the Shuffle. There was a confused look in her eyes at first, then an impish grin.  Hesitantly, but with more confidence, the Princess began imitating Scootaloo's moves. Yes! She was game. Scoot went into a heel-toe, then a scoop box hop, then a couple of steps of the jerk, the princess following right along behind. She followed up with a walk out, then a dougie into a kick cross step, spin on the front hooves, land and one and a two and a cat-daddy to the left with a jerk.... the Princess matched her step for step, laughing merrily all the while.

Soon there was a widening circle of ponies who had stopped just to watch the alicorn princess and the pegasus filly dancing their impromptu duet. There was a momentary lull in the music as the DJ switched tracks, and they paused to catch their breaths--- and to their surprise found themselves at the center of a round of applause. "Hey, we're a hit!" Scootaloo exclaimed.

"So we are," The princess laughed, giving her dance partner an affectionate nuzzle.

Her sister took that moment to slip up through the crowd with her two charges in tow. She allowed her costume to slip away, falling back like a hood, revealing the white face and rainbow mane of the solar monarch. No sense in giving unsuspecting ponies a heart attack, after all. "So the festivities go well, Sister?" she asked.

The Night Princess rolled her eyes and nodded. "Despite the best efforts of my trusted assistants," she said-- just low enough for her sister and nopony else to hear over the music. She noticed the two cloaked and masked ponies clinging to her sister's side. Really, those dreadful cheap costumes were far too popular. "Is there something amiss here?" she asked.

"Yes, actually." Strange, she sounded almost-- nervous? "If we could step into the private chamber beyond?"

"Of course, sister. There's a small room just off the side of the throneroom for just such things. Carry on, everypony, I shall return shortly." Luna led the way, her sister and her two followers-- and her guards-- close behind. She pulled aside one of the velvet curtains lining the walls to reveal a door, through which they all filed. It was closed firmly behind them, the drapes allowed to fall back over it as two of the Night Guard took their places beside the hidden door. After a few moments murmuring everypony returned to dancing or to the punch bowl.

The door was good and thick, and the drapes muffled sound quite well. It was no match for the Royal Canterlot Voice.

"WHAT??"

Those closest to the door nearly jumped out of their horseshoes at this outburst. It was followed by what sounded like a rather prolonged and loud, if muffled, discussion on the other side of the door. Followed by several more minutes of quieter, more furtive muffled discussion. The princesses and the two cloaked ponies reemerged; those whose faces were visible were looking rather tense. "Nothing, nothing, carry on, my little ponies," Luna said in response to the stares around her, her voice a thread higher than normal. "Go back to your merrymaking. I just have to make an announcement."

Luna nodded tersely and stepped up on the dais to the throne. " Attention, attention everypony," she said, the Canterlot Royal Voice ringing off the rafters. the music faded out. "We are looking for a young filly by the name of Flitter, wearing a Changeling costume. It doth seem she has wandered off in the castle. She's not in any trouble; her parents are just looking for her.  Are you here, little one?" she paused. No filly was forthcoming. "Has anypony here seen her in the past few minutes?" There were a few murmurs, but again, nopony replied. "Thank you. We would beseech thee to keep thine eyes open for her, and to send her our way once she is found.Thank you."

She stepped down off the dais and the music resumed. "Well played," Celestia murmured. "They'll keep an eye out for her without going into a panic."

Do you want me to help in the search?" Luna muttered

"No, it would look bad to have you leave your own party," came the reply. "Remember, poker face, dear; everypony's eyes are on us."

"Well, this wilt certainly upset some apple carts," Luna said.

Celestia only gave an enigmatic smile. "It certainly is the night for it," she replied. "I'll have the Lunar Guard continue the search. And seeing as the children are all inside, I think a few of Solar Guard can leave their posts in the Haunted Castle too. Just keep the party rolling, dear." With that she wandered off to pass orders down to the Guard.

Luna looked around and bit her lip. Mayhap there should have been more games to liven up the festivities a bit? Pumpkin catapault wasn't exactly a ballroom sport, mind-- but something...

Just as she was pondering setting up a spider toss at the end of the buffet table, A certain glam rocker and his date the Pony of Pop came strolling up. they both bowed as best as their flashy costumes would allow. "G'day, yer Maj," Ziggy Stardust said. "Smashin' party."

"We hope it ain't forward of us, Princess," Sapphire Shores said. "But Ziggy and I have a couple of... ah, I guess you'd call 'em house warming gifts. Castle warming gifts? Whatevah."

Luna brightened a bit. "Forsooth? Of what manner are these gifts?"

Ziggy waved a hoof at someone in the doorway; several ponies, roadies from their own staff, wheeled two trolleys in. Luna read the labels on the boxes and her grin nearly split her face. "Are these what I believe?"

Sapphire Shores nodded. "Eeyup. And we both included a couple of our 'best of' albums to boot. Would you like to set these babies up?"

Luna actually clapped her hooves in delight. "They art perfect! Set them up right over there, in the corner opposite the DJ."

Nyx stood on the sidelines of the party, drinking punch and listening to the music. She wasn't feeling nervy enough to dance just yet; she'd gotten a case of the hiccups from all that laughing and she'd just gotten them to stop. She was having fun just watching the light show and all the ponies in their crazy costumes dancing. Besides, she still had Flitter's bag of candy with her, and she couldn't just leave that anywhere. The Princess had just made an announcement asking for her; if she just stayed here and waited Flitter should be along any minute.

Mom had given up trying to dance; now she was fluttering in the air, hooves skimming over the floor, as Mister Ink Spot led her around the dance floor. Big Macintosh and Miss Rarity had been dancing that way for some time; Miss Rarity had come floating by and said something to Mom; Nyx was guessing that Miss Rarity had strongly recommended that Mom let her wings do the dancing before her hooves put out someone's eye.

Mom was actually kind of graceful, now that she was airborne. And she and Mr. Ink Spot were having lots of fun. At least they were dancing and smiling at each other lots.

The other Crusaders were scattered around the ballroom. Scootaloo was out on the floor, strutting some more dance moves. She was actually pretty good. Twist and Truffle had danced for a bit, then taken a break for the buffet line. She could see Dinky and Pipsqueak there as well. They'd had to push a folding chair up to the buffet table just to reach the food. The rest of the CMC seemed to be gathered around a group of ponies with trollies and boxes setting up something-or-other across from the DJ. Applebloom in particular seemed to be taking an interest in all the panels and wires.

"Enjoying the party?"

Nyx turned around to see who was speaking to her and nearly died of a heart attack then and there. Standing right next to her, looming over her in fact, was Spell Nexus. He was dressed like StarSwirl the Bearded and was looking down at her from under his shadowed hat brim. How had anyone covered with so many bells sneaked up on her? She let out a terrified squeak and hunched down in a ball, scooting backwards away from him.

The expression on his face brought her up short. She hadn't ever expected to see the former leader of the Nightmare Moon cult ever again. If anything she'd spent every moment determinedly not thinking of him; just remembering those awful times gave her nightmares.

But when she had thought of such things, she had never imagined him looking so... tired.

He held a hoof up as if he were about to say something, then put it back down. "Never mind," he sighed.  He stepped back, giving her space. "I didn't mean to frighten you."

Nyx got back to her feet warily. "You didn't," she fibbed. "You just surprised me, is all."

"It's all right. I could hardly expect a different reaction." He looked away.

Nyx mustered her courage. "Why are you here, anyway?" she said, huffing a little.

The unicorn cocked an eyebrow at her. "I was invited," he said, a trifle testily. "By Princess Luna. The same as everyone else here."

Nyx bit her tongue. "Sorry," she mumbled, looking down at her hooves. She felt so torn. A part of her hated and feared him, because it couldn't forget all the things Nexus had done, what he had made her do as Nightmare Moon, how he had been so hateful and vicious and cruel. But another part of her could only feel guilty whenever she looked at him and remembered why he had been so hateful and vicious and cruel....and how dumb she had been, and how she'd gone along with nearly everything he said...

Spell Nexus looked down at the troubled filly. The corner of his mouth twitched in wry amusement. "I believe the word we're both looking for in this situation is 'awkward,' " he said.

The little black filly sighed and nodded. "Yup," she said.

"It won't be the first time I've had an awkward confrontation these days," Spell Nexus went on, "and it certainly won't be the last." He looked down. "I've had to retire from the University; few ponies want to work with a unicorn who brought Nightmare Moon back. And noone wants to send their colts or fillies to a school run by him." His mouth quirked again. "My own trusted assistant left in a fury. He could almost forgive me for betraying the Princesses while I was infected with Nightmare Moon's magic, but he couldn't forgive me for.... well, never mind that..."

He paused, contemplating the little alicorn filly. In retrospect, such an amazing creation; a new alicorn filly brought into the world. A new life, how wondrous! What a tragedy the means and the reasons had been so detrimental to all concerned. "I suspect you've had more than your share of those, too," he said sympathetically.

Nyx nodded, her head hanging low. "Once in a while." Just her Aunt Cadence, her Uncle Shining Armor, her grandparents, half her classmates, total strangers from out of town.... "I went to visit Applebloom one day and Granny Smith tried to turn me over to the police," she said. "She stuck me under an apple basket and made Applebloom and Sweetie Belle sit on it while she yelled at the officer to haul me away."

Nexus made a strange snorting noise into his beard before he could stop himself. "Ahem, sorry. Not funny."

Nyx pouted. "That was bad enough, then I found out Zecora was running around telling everypony I eat ponies," she scowled.

Nexus blinked for a moment. "Oh yes, the, ah, Nightmare Night thing," he said. "That couldn't have been pleasant to find out."

Nyx's scowl deepened. "It's bad enough all the things I did do," she complained bitterly. "Do ponies have to go around and make up horrible stuff too?"

Spell Nexus pursed his lips and thought that one over. "Because when ponies are scared of somepony, it's always easier for them to believe the worst of that somepony," he said after a moment. "That's why it's so hard to take back a mistake you made, or undo a wrong thing you did." He looked at her suddenly. He looked so guilty. "I'm sorry," he said. "I'm so sorry, Nyx. You had a chance at a whole new life, and I took that all away-- it's my fault that a little filly is so feared and mistrusted."

"But it wasn't your fault," Nyx protested suddenly. She didn't know why, but she just had to say it. "It was, it was that big old evil chunk of me that took you over." She flinched at the memory.

"Which I, as Celestia's foremost scholar, should have handled more carefully," he said. "And how could it be your fault, when you didn't even exist?"

"And it all came from Princess Luna, who was angry with Celestia, who never noticed how unhappy Luna was, because everypony liked Celestia more than her. And it all goes around and around and around..." Nyx said, almost as if she were reciting. Nexus gave her a puzzled look; She shuffled her forehooves  and smiled awkwardly. "It's what Mom says whenever I get mopey about all that stuff that happened. She says 'sometimes nopony's really to blame. Sometimes things just happen. Ponies make little mistakes, and they just get bigger and bigger as they go till noone knows how they got there." She shrugged, tiny wings fluttering. "She says that's half the reason forgiving is so important. Because sometimes nopony is really all to blame."

Nexus pondered that. "And what does she say is the other reason?"

Nyx shrugged again. "Because everypony has something they wish they could undo."

Spell Nexus didn't know quite what to say to that.

They sat in semi-awkward silence, if the thumping music and chatter of partygoers could be called any sort of silence."So," Spell Nexus ventured after a few minutes, "Had a good haul tonight?" He looked pointedly at the bag sitting next to Nyx.

"Oh no-- I mean, yes, I did, but this isn't mine," she said, patting the bag. "It belongs to a friend of mine named Flitter. I'm holding on to it till she comes back." She looked around. "She's been gone a long while. I hope she's not in trouble."

Flitter was in trouble.

Things had been going quite fine at first. She'd roamed around the palace grounds, sweeping up wisps of love and positive emotions till she felt quite stuffed. Then she'd kept going till she'd filled one spare trick or treat saddlebag with beads of nectar, and another with sugary goodies. Mom and Dad would be so pleased! Well, after they got over being mad, anyway. But at least they'd eat well.

Belly and loot bags full, she'd decided to go exploring. Ever ambitious, she'd climbed the very highest tower in the palace, laboriously climbing up the ever steeper, ever narrower spiral stairwell, hoping to get a view of Ponyville and the night sky. When she'd gotten to the top, however, she'd found an unbarred door hanging ajar, and heard furtive voices inside.

Nopony needed to teach a Changeling to be stealthy; Flitter quickly transformed, her colors melding into the dark color of the walls, the pattern of the stones appearing in her coat. Even her eyes faded to the dark tones of the stones behind her. She crept up to the doorway and put an eye to the crack between the door and the frame.

It was a circular room, empty of any furnishings, as yet unclaimed for any purpose by the Lunar Princess or her staff. Three ponies in robes, cheap paper masks shoved back off their faces, were carefully sketching runes in the walls and floor and carefully placing glowing stones in a complex pattern in the center of the room. "This had better work," one of them muttered as he ran a paintbrush in his teeth down the walls.

"It will work," the one laying crystals on the floor said. "Like Alpha said. Back when Spell Nexus was running his little cult, he had more than one backup plan in case things went South on him. This whole castle was one of them."

"I don't see how using one of Nightmare Moon's plans helps us get rid of Nightmare Moon," the painter groused.

The one laying the crystals set one in the grooves on the floor and stood up. "It's like this, Delta. Spell Nexus, even as addled as he was by Nightmare Moon's magic, is still a genius. He figured that Celestia and Luna would probably end up coming to this palace before they were ready. So he started building a little surprise for them into the walls.

"He never finished it of course. That's what we're doing. Once the crystals are in place and it's all activated, this whole place is basically a giant alicorn trap. It feeds off their magic; the more powerful they are, the stronger the trap is. It'll hold the Princesses--- without harming them--- until we're done. A few modifications, and it'll hold the guards, the guests, and anypony else, too."

"They're not gonna be too happy with us, Epsilon," the third member of the trio said unhappily.

'Epsilon' rounded on his teammate. "That's because Nightmare Moon has brainwashed them! Once we destroy Nyx--"

Flitter barely stifled a gasp.

"--We'll be able to purge them of Nyx's corruption, like Celestia purged the cultists when she escaped the sun and returned," Epsilon said, confidently displaying his ignorance of historical events. "Once they're in their right minds, they'll owe us a debt of gratitude."

Just outside the door Flitter was in danger of hyperventilating. They were going to trap the Princesses. They were going to kill Nyx! What should she do? She needed help. Who could she go to?

Nopony needed to explain to a Changeling about being stealthy, or about being disguised. Nopony needed to explain about things like belief and trust, either. No grownup Pony was going to believe her if she told them. Not in time. The only way they'd believe is if they saw these ponies for themselves.

Flitter started to hatch a plan. For the second time that night, she started to take on a particular filly's likeness.

The conspirators were still prattling amongst themselves when the door to the chamber suddenly opened with a bang. As one they spun about and beheld no less than their quarry, Nyx herself, standing in the doorway. Before any of the astonished ponies could move or speak, the false alicorn ran across the room, grabbed the largest, most important-looking crystal in the array in her mouth, and galloped out the door.

The trio stared in slack-jawed disbelief for a precious couple of seconds, before Delta finally screamed. "After her, you idiots!" The three galloped across the room, wedged themselves firmly in the doorway and, after a few frantic seconds of flailing legs and cursing, squeezed through and gave chase.

Flitter heard them clattering down the stairwell after her. The plan was working perfect so far. Now all she had to do was not get caught by them--- long enough to get caught by the right pony, and not get caught by anyone else.

1) It would have surprised Twilight to learn that even after living thousands of years, there were vast swathes of the world and the creatures living in it, even in their own kingdom, that were largely a mystery to the Princesses. When one was a princess, one didn't get much opportunity for casual travel.After all, there was that incident with the parasprites....

2)The sight of Viscount Brass Fitting  attempting to dance the Frug would be seared in her memory forever..