Equestria was a land of peace and prosperity. This was something that Celestia had personally seen to, despite her strongest opponents and most serious doubters. For this reason, Canterlot Castle had no ‘war room’ to speak of, nor a ‘situation room.’ In a land without wars and with all her greatest foes vanquished, Celestia had seen no need for such a space.

That decision had proven to be a mistake early on.

Now, once again, the throne room had to make do. Many a natural disaster had been managed from here, and today the room was filled with tables and hastily-produced contact mirrors, with dozens of ponies running about trying to coordinate the response to the latest disaster to befall Equestria. The only problem? Nopony really knew what the disaster was. So for the moment, the business of the day was reconnaissance and coordinating the potential response teams.

Celestia suffered little weariness from a night helping her sister. Regular evenings of unconsciousness might have become her norm, but they were hardly necessary. Not for an alicorn, at least. Celestia could go a solid two weeks without if need be. It had been a very long time since she’d tried such a thing. She feared that she’d be doing it again for this little… whatever it was.

For now, Celestia sat on her throne, staring down at two large standing mirrors that had been set before her. Her horn glowed gently as she pried the magic away from them to study the inner workings of their enchantments. First Luna had lost contact with Cadance, and then Celestia found that any attempt to contact Manehattan was futile. Luna had retired to her bed, although Celestia had almost resorted to forcing her sister into it.

Once more, she attempted to ignite the communication enchantments on the mirrors. Neither reacted. With her practiced senses, she could see the magic working as intended. As irritating as it was, Celestia had no choice but to conclude that there was nothing wrong with the enchantments, at least on this side.

What disturbed her the most was that the Manehattan mirror had been like this for more than a day, and the Crystal Empire mirror’s symptoms were identical. Whatever had caused Manehattan to go silent appeared to be spreading, and not knowing what she was up against left her feeling ill.

Celestia stood and walked to one of the nearby balconies. She gazed over Canterlot’s glimmering spires, observing the citizens roaming the streets below. Her gaze turned to the blue sky and the few clouds that drifted lazily past. Such a beautiful day, marred by the thought of impending catastrophe. How was Cadance handling the situation? It could be that she was fighting for the lives of her citizens and herself at this very moment and Celestia wouldn’t know it. The thought of her adopted niece struggling against some vicious threat felt as a great weight tied to her regalia.

She had considered going to the Crystal Empire personally. Only the total lack of knowledge and awareness that the problem may be spreading held her back, as she needed to be here to learn about it. It was a relief that Twilight and her friends were on the way. With their capable leadership and organization, they would be more than up to the task of organizing the nation’s response. Celestia would go to help Cadance then.

Her thoughts drifted to Luna’s experiences from the night before. Could her sister be correct? Was there some vile mind behind the silence of the two regions? Celestia couldn’t help but recall King Sombra and his selfish act of vengeance upon his own kingdom. Perhaps this was a similar kind of magic. Luna had not claimed to recognize it, though, and surely she would have if that were the case. Yet there hadn't been a legitimate threat to Equestria's peace in thousands of years – not counting those that came from outside her borders or 'returned' in some fashion.

Puzzling. It was all so puzzling.

Celestia had long ago mastered the art of doing nothing. Or, as Luna was so eager to refer to it, ‘being productively uninvolved.’ There was a trick to it, a method of knowing what strings to pull at what times and in what directions so that, without ever being seen to raise a hoof to help directly, Celestia could achieve the most desirable result. It might be manipulative in the extreme, but it had done wonders to protect her pacifistic public image, which in turn made her job at the civil, legal and international negotiating tables far easier.

The problem Celestia faced now was a blatant and frustrating lack of strings available for pulling. Whatever this threat was, it had come without any warning, and that was not something Celestia was accustomed to. Discord’s return? Challenging, but expected. The changeling invasion? Not exactly expected, but her pre-set preparations had been sufficient. Tirek had been a significant gamble, as she’d never before tugged so many strings in such a large web over such a long period of time to achieve a single goal, and had any one of those strings snapped the result would have been disaster. It was, in some ways, her crowning achievement.

But this? Not even the faintest hint of a warning. Celestia had no idea what was coming and may have no time at all to set up the appropriate safety nets, and that disturbed her deeply. How could her intensive information network have missed such a significant potential threat? A pony or organization did not achieve the power to capture two major cities without putting some significant preparation into the matter. She should have known about this.

Celestia knew she would have to act directly for a change. The fact did not sit well with her, but there it was. The moment Twilight and her friends knew the situation, Celestia would depart for the Crystal Empire. Capable Cadance may be, but Celestia couldn’t rest easy until she saw this threat with her own eyes. She cast her gaze to the Sun, hoping to estimate how much longer she would have to wait.

Two dots on the northeastern horizon caught her attention. She peered, making out a pair of blue specks. Pegasi, for certain. She’d seen the Wonderbolts enough times to recognize the blue flightsuits even at this distance. Surely Spitfire hadn’t completed her mission already. Even for a Wonderbolt, it would take two days to fly between Manehattan and Canterlot. Either these two had been sent her way for some unknowable reason, or the mission had been canceled.

These possibilities left Celestia anxious, and a little guilty. She knew Spitfire was feeling disillusioned after some failures on her team's part over the years, but the princess still had absolute faith in the captain and her team. If this was to be one more defeat for them, it could have drastic consequences to Spitfire’s sense of self-worth. Celestia dearly hoped she was mistaken as the two ponies flew directly for the castle.

A small spark from her horn was all she had to do to catch their attention, and their path shifted ever so slightly. Not a minute later, the two ponies landed before her and bowed. The sight of them did her anxiety no favors; while physically intact, they panted as if they’d been flying at full speed the entire night and all morning. By the sweat seeping through their flightsuits, she suspected some truth to that idea.

The stallion rose to speak, but Celestia went first. “Please, take a moment to catch your breaths. Raven?” She looked back at her secretary, who had been diligently recording information at a desk by the throne. The unicorn looked up with her typical diligence, although the pleasant smile she usually held had disappeared without a trace earlier that morning. “Some refreshments for these two. Quickly, please.”

By the time she turned back, the mare of the two was finishing a long, steady exhale, her eyes closed and her posture straight. She sat, opened her eyes, and spoke crisply. “Fast Clip and Lightning Streak, reporting from Manehattan, Your Majesty.”

Though Celestia’s pristine, practiced smile didn’t slip, she cursed internally. “You’ve come a long way in a short time, Second Lieutenant. It may be a record.” A servant appeared with a large jug of water and two glasses. The two pegasi waited for Celestia permitting nod before draining their drinks. “Now, please report. Why has Spitfire sent you back, and why with such haste?”

Lightning Streak saluted with his glass still in his hoof, inadvertently banging himself on the head with it. He grimaced, but didn’t lower his hoof. “Y-yes, ma’am. Your Majesty, Manehattan is covered in clouds. Not natural ones, but not pegasi-made, either. The entire city is shrouded.”

Fast Clip imitated her partner’s salute, but without the glass. “Captain Spitfire and two others in our squad went inside to investigate the situation. She left us with strict orders not to enter the clouds and report to you if they did not reappear after an hour.”

Celestia’s smile thinned. “And they did not come out.”

The two shook their heads. Their straight faces were a testament to their discipline, but Celestia had enough practice studying pony behavior that she could see their anxiety in their twitching wings and lips. So, Manehattan was as hidden in the real world as it was in the dreamscape. Had the Crystal Empire been similar incapacitated? It seemed a natural assumption to make.

Lightning Streak took a step forward, his expression firm. “Princess! Request permission to search for the Captain and our squad mates.”

“Permission denied.”

“But—”

“I cannot risk losing more of my elite aerial unit,” she said, keeping her tone calm and patient. “I am sorry, I know you must be deeply concerned. Believe me, I am as well. But I have reason to believe that this threat is targeting more than just Manehattan; we have lost contact with the Crystal Empire.”

The Wonderbolts shared wide-eyed looks. Fast Clip leaned forward, her wings quivering. “What are your orders, Princess?”

“Tell me all you know of the situation in Manehattan.”

Sadly, they did not know much. Celestia at least took comfort in the knowledge that these two hadn’t been trapped in the city like their companions. Still, she wished they could tell her more about this mysterious cloud. Perhaps when Luna awoke, Celestia could ask her to investigate the matter in pony. Celestia’s top priority, however, remained the Crystal Empire and Cadance. If this turned out to be half as bad as it was beginning to appear, she would need her strongest pieces on the board.

For now, she would have to work with what she had left. “Alright,” she said to the two once their reports had concluded, “I want you to return to the Academy. Gather the remaining squadron and the reserves. The Wonderbolts are going on full alert as of this moment.”

They tensed at her words, and Celestia couldn’t fault them for it; the Wonderbolts hadn’t been placed on full alert in centuries. It was Fast Clip who spoke up, albeit hesitantly. “Your Majesty… What about the Captain?”

Closing her eyes, Celestia took a deep breath. It was more for their benefit than her own. “We will do everything we can to see that your missing squadron members are brought back safe and sound. This I promise. But for right now, we must consolidate our strength and prepare to strike.” As soon as she knew what and where to strike, of course. She sent them on their way, but not before securing a promise from the both of them to rest up after they made it back to the Academy.

With the Wonderbolts’ direction set for the time being, Celestia returned to her throne. She spent the slowly passing time alternating between further magical prodding of the mirrors and reviewing the ongoing disaster reports as Raven gathered them. The response moved along like a well-oiled machine, and Celestia could at least take comfort in the knowledge that these ponies knew what they were doing. Even so, with those clouds covering Manehattan – and probably the Crystal Empire – the field teams would likely be sitting around doing nothing. Celestia had no intention of sending them into an unknown and potentially dangerous place they might never escape from.

Celestia was staring blankly at the Manehattan mirror, thoroughly frustrated, out of ideas and longing for Twilight’s insight, when the first call came out: “Las Pegasus has gone silent!”

Her head whipped up to the worker who’d shouted the declaration. “What happened?”

“I don’t know,” the mare replied as she tested the mirror with her magic. “One minute I was copying a statement from the Guard Captain, the next the mirror went black.”

Black. Celestia eyed the mirrors before her, taking in their smooth, onyx surfaces.

“I’ve lost Baltimare!”

Celestia’s breath caught at the words. She only had time to look up before more reports rang in.

“Fillydelphia’s gone!”

“Seaddle, too.”

“I’ve lost Trottingham.”

“Vieux le Rênes is black!”

Celestia could only watch in steadily building horror as, before her very eyes, mirror after mirror darkened. What had happened? How was it moving so quickly? Had something been inadvertently triggered? Her eyes went to the frightened faces of the workers, then to the startled expression of Raven. Then, her gaze went to the windows. To Canterlot itself.

Ice gripped her heart as realization dawned. “Send the word out, we must evacuate the city! All ponies in the inner city should be brought to the castle at once. Those in the outer city need to be—”

Her words were muted. She didn’t have to know why to understand that her orders had come far too late. While the rest of the ponies present began panicking in total silence, Celestia focused all her attention on the magic that swept over them. Literally; a white aura of concentrated force rose from beneath her hooves. Celestia tensed, but detected no immediate threat from the spell as it swarm over her body and that of all the ponies in the room.

As the spell passed, it left no physical effect; it was not cold or hot, produced no pain. Even so, Celestia felt it, like a thin sheet of oil washing over her every surface as her internal magic recoiled. As it passed her horn and into the air above, Celestia gained the smallest glimpse of its inner working. Intricate, but with all the subtlety of an angry yak in a china closet. It reminded her of some of Twilight’s earliest spells, being powerful but amateur in delivery.

But that was as far as Celestia could get in her inspection. A moment later, the spell had ascended beyond the room and, indeed, beyond the castle, leaving behind a world of gritty paleness. Lodging what little she’d learned in the back of her mind for later analysis, she turned her attention to the throne room just as sound returned to the world.

And it did so chaotically. The ponies were all talking at once, some to each other, some to the guards, and many to her. To her mild consternation, a few were fleeing out the door. She couldn’t help wondering where they intended to run to. She opened her mouth to speak—

Bang!

All eyes turned to Raven. Or rather, to the big book Raven had just permitted to drop to the floor, probably with an audibility-enhancing spell for good measure. With her expression as professionally stoic as ever, the young unicorn adjusted her bun, sat down, and turned expectantly to Celestia.

The princess permitted the corner of her lip unseen by the others to twitch up, silently thanking Raven for her timely interference. She then turned back to the small army of bureaucrats arrayed before her. “Everypony remain calm. As of right now, there is no reason to believe that there is any danger. I encourage all of you to remain here until we sort out this situation.” That placated them some, but Celestia knew it wouldn’t last. The unicorns among them surely felt the inherent vileness of the spell they’d just encountered.

She pondered her options. There would be no point in sending for Luna; she couldn’t imagine the effects of that spell not jarring her sister awake, and Luna’s first reaction would be to come here. Her Captain of the Guard would likely be on his way as well. Indeed, anypony she might wish to fetch would certainly be headed for the throne room.

“Princess?”

Raven, with that unflappable expression, gestured with her head to the window. Celestia followed her gaze, brow furrowing. She stood and went back to the balcony, her secretary at her side.

All of Canterlot stood in a deep haze that lacked consistency. It was not a fog, that would have required clouds. No, it was as if the farther away things were, the more obscured they were by white. The buildings at the very edge of the city appeared as little more than faint outlines. In the streets she could make out ponies wandering about, perhaps trying to understand what had happened to their fair homes and places of business.

Despite outward appearances, Raven’s voice was shaky. “Have you ever seen anything like this?”

“I can’t say that I have.” Celestia reached out with her magic, trying to get a grasp of the enchantment they now faced. A frown marred her features; while there was certainly something to detect, it was alien to her. Not so alien as to be completely unrecognizable, however. “This is a foul magic, the likes of which I have not seen since King Sombra’s time. It is, simply put, negativity.”

Raven’s ears perked. “Negativity, your majesty?”

“Bad blood,” Celestia replied sharply. “Vengeance. Jealousy. Greed. It is, to put it as basically as one can, the exact opposite of harmony.”

“Hmm…” Raven’s horn glowed dimly for a few seconds, her eyes crossing behind her spectacles. “I think I understand. In that case, perhaps Princess Twilight and her friends would be the appropriate recourse?”

Celestia gazed out at the impenetrable whiteness. She considered her former student carefully, then heaved a long sigh. “I would like to keep Twilight well away from this situation. Alas, I am sure she’ll charge headlong into it, and her friends will all come parading in after her.” Her chuckle came out a bit too quietly. “I will have to account for her presence. Yes, I believe you are right, Raven; Twilight and her friends are perfect for the task. I wish that weren’t the case, but there it is.”

Raven adjusted her glasses with a nod. “In that case, perhaps we should focus our attention on determining exactly what the Princess of Friendship should be aiming at.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” Celestia turned back to the throne room, where things had died down to an uncomfortable murmur. Her eyes narrowed as she looked to the closed doors. “I had expected Luna to be here by now.”

“Perhaps she didn’t wake up?”

Celestia considered it. Though it seemed impossible for a pony with such strong magical sensitivity to sleep right through what just occurred, she supposed it was possible. Closing her eyes, she ignited her horn and reached out for her sibling’s magical presence. She frowned, head turning in the direction her horn indicated. “She’s… still in the direction of her room. And not moving.” She let the magic die and opened her eyes. “Perhaps I was wrong.”

Raven started to nod, caught herself and glanced away. “Ahem… Shall we send the guards to wake her?”

Celestia nudged her shoulder with a wry smile. “It’s okay to point out my mistakes, y’know.”

Raven’s typically stony expression broke into a subdued smile. “I wouldn’t dream of it.” She added in a whisper, “At least, not in front of the panicky populace.”

They looked to the ponies that filled the throne room. They were panicky, weren’t they? Not for the first time, Celestia wished herds weren’t prone to such things. “Yes, send them, but do it quietly. I won’t have everypony here thinking that something has happened to my sister.”

“Discreet, as always,” her secretary replied even as she turned away. Celestia watched her go with a smile; sometimes she wondered if she’d have ever gotten through the past millennium without that mare’s family at her side.

Well, it was her family too. Technically.

No time for a trip down memory lane. Celestia squared her shoulders and settled her face into that eternal smile she’d perfected for the public eye. Taking a brief moment to ‘feel’ at the magical energies around her, she turned her primary focus upon the workers gathered in her throne room. With the fine art of multitasking, she would puzzle over this latest threat and comfort her little ponies in concert. She could give the situation her full attention once her sister was at her side.

The haze remained over Canterlot, the throne room still housed the relief workers, and Celestia’s considerable patience had worn thin. She stood at the balcony once more, surveying the sky. Added on top of her irritation was something she’d only just come to recognize. It had been a small thing at first, a tickle in the back of her mind that told her something was off. Now, as she scanned the white over the spires of her castle, that tiny feeling had become a wave of twisting worries.

She couldn’t feel the Sun. At all. It was as if her best friend, the eternal companion she’d known since she was a foal, had turned its back and disappeared from her life.

That made no sense. There was light. The Sun had to be there, yet no matter how she prodded and searched, she could not detect even a hint of its existence, magical or otherwise. The effort required to control her breathing and keep that nibbling fear out of her mind was considerable, and not entirely successful. Even when she’d given her powers to Twilight over a year ago, she’d at least been able to still feel the Sun’s presence.

“Princess?”

Fighting to ignore the astronomical hole in her small heart, Celestia turned to find Raven in the doorway. Her secretary didn’t face her, but instead stared into the throne room. “Yes, what is it?” She thanked the Goddess that her voice remained even.

Raven glanced back, her brow knitted and her expression uncertain. “Does it seem like there are fewer ponies present than before?”

Celestia stepped beside her and surveyed the throne room. She came close to telling her secretary that she was only seeing things, but a second pass with her eyes gave her pause. Indeed, it seemed as if the crowd had thinned a little. Not by much, but just enough to be detectable. “It would seem ponies aren’t willing to stick around. Can we blame them?”

“I suppose.” Raven shifted from side to side, her head low. “But I swear there aren’t as many guards either.”

Sure enough, Celestia cast her gaze about once more and found that the number of guards in the room had dropped by perhaps a quarter. She noted a group of three speaking in a corner, their heads close together and their ears twitching. One of them, an earth pony, spotted her studious gaze. A second later, the trio parted ways.

She was in no mood to let them off that easily. Celestia approached the one that had seen her, her steps a little heavier than usual. To his credit, he made no attempt to flee despite the way his eyes darted about the room. “What is your name, Private?”

The guard saluted so fast his hoof cracked against his helmet. “Deep Soil, your majesty.”

She kept her tone civil and polite, but deep down she brooded. “Please, be at ease. I only wish to know why so many of the guards assigned to the throne room happen to be missing.”

He swallowed audibly and his eyes did that little dance yet again. “Um… Well, Princess, we don’t… know?”

Her raised eyebrow was enough to make him sputter for an explanation. “The L-Lieutenant sent somepony to check on the Captain. When th-they didn’t return, he went himself. And then we, uh, we—”

“Sent somepony else to investigate, and so on.” Celestia repressed the urge to groan. “And what of the civilians? I note there are some missing.”

He shuffled some more. All pretense had left him as he swung his head around, perhaps in search of some sort of backup that didn’t come. “I… S-some of the civilians had to, er, use the castle’s restrooms? It wasn’t as if we would force them to relieve themselves in the throne room itself. So we have been, um, sending escorts to help them. B-but those escorts haven’t been returning.”

Only a thousand years of practice kept Celestia from cringing. “I understand. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Deep Soil. Please relay to the remainder of the Guard that nopony, neither civilian nor military, is allowed to leave this room for any reason. If they need to excuse themselves for such reasons, there are six perfectly suitable balconies available.”

“Y-yes ma’am!”

She turned away from the stallion, mind buzzing with possibilities. A few civilians disappearing she could understand; they had families to worry about and were free to do as they pleased in most cases. They didn’t even have to obey her orders – there was no law on the books obligating them in that regard, so technically speaking any command she gave was really more of a request. But the Royal Guard? They wouldn’t just run away.

And Luna still had not arrived. She’d been waiting for over an hour now. Maybe two, it was hard to tell without the Sun. That thought brought a crushing tightness to her throat, and she vehemently focused on something else.

She approached Raven, who perked her ears in preparation. “Raven, may I leave you to handle these ponies for a while?”

Down went the ears. “Of course, but why are you leaving?”

“Luna has not arrived.” Celestia paused to reach out for her sister once more. She appeared to be in the same general area as before, though she’d certainly moved. “And it appears there is something… ‘removing’ my guards from the equation. It is not safe to step outside the throne room, but I cannot sit here and wait for a solution to fall in my hooves. I will find my sister and together we shall determine just what we are dealing with.”

This explanation appeared to suffice, for Raven sat and regained that calm, steady manner that indicated – to those who knew her, at least – an eagerness to work. “I understand. Good luck, Princess.”

“To you, too.” Celestia glanced at the others, then leaned close to her secretary. “The guards are under orders. Nopony is to leave this room. Do not trust anypony who comes knocking on those doors. We still have no idea of what we are dealing with, or what they are capable of.”

Raven’s expression didn’t so much as flinch. “Very well. Be safe, Tia.”

“You too, Little Bird.”

With that, Celestia turned to address the crowd. A small flash from her horn was enough to get their collective attention. “Everypony, I am going out to investigate the situation. I ask that, for your own safety, none of you attempt to leave the throne room. Miss Dupin is in charge in my absence.”

The reaction was mixed, but at least it was quiet. Celestia chose not to waste time assuaging their fears; Raven could handle that for now. With one final, encouraging nod to her secretary, she departed through the double doors of the throne room.

And came to an immediate stop. As the door closed behind her, her eyes roamed the strange scene in which she had stepped. Well, perhaps not strange, but certainly unexpected.

She stood on the train platform of lower Canterlot.

Turning a small circle did not change the fact. Somehow, stepping out of her throne room had taken her to the outskirts of the city. Her mind abuzz once more, she pushed open the door she’d come through, which was now just a plain wooden one leading into the station’s ticket stations. Through the door she found no throne room; only the empty booths.

“Well,” she muttered under her breath, “this explains some things.”

Her ears perked to an unfamiliar sound. Was it… whimpering? Stepping lightly, she entered the ticket booths in pursuit. There; a green tail was just visible on the floor. “Hello? Are you alright?”

No answer, although at this point she could hear a distinct mumbling. Celestia moved slowly, not wanting to startle whatever poor soul she’d discovered.

She nearly threw up a shield upon entering the booth. There, sitting with her back to her, was the last creature Celestia would have anticipated: Chrysalis. The changeling queen sat hunched in a corner, her hooves to the sides of her head and her lips moving slowly. She didn’t appear to have noticed Celestia’s presence.

But Celestia felt no inclination whatsoever to trust her eyes. Her horn ignited in preparation and she stepped as far back as the small space permitted. “Chrysalis.”

The changeling’s head rose slowly. Only then did Celestia realize that Chrysalis’s horn was missing. The sight startled her so thoroughly that she almost let go of her magic. She recovered swiftly when she failed to see any wounds on her head; she’d probably just used her shapeshifting powers to hide it. What good that would do her, Celestia couldn’t fathom, but she didn’t intend to fall for it.

Gradually, Chrysalis turned her head to gaze up at her. There was no threat in those wide eyes. “C-Celestia? But you’re… I saw…” Her face twisted in pain for the briefest time. “No, you’re not… Are. Not? When are you supposed to—” With a low moan, she pressed her hooves to the side of her head and shoved her muzzle to the tiles. “Make it stop. Please, make it stop.”

Another ruse? Celestia pursed her lips as her old foe squirmed on the floor. “Make what stop?”

Chrysalis rocked, her hooves trembling. “I c-can see it. I can see it all. Make it stop. Discord, please…”

Discord. Celestia had been so busy fretting over so many different things that the rebellious draconequus had been neglected. Now that she thought about it, she should have summoned him immediately. One more mistake to add to the pile. “What did Discord do, Chrysalis?”

It wasn’t until several seconds of groaning and rocking had passed that Chrysalis managed to respond. “Dead. Dead. He’s dead. And he put this in my head. T-took my horn. Dead. Oh, Mantis, why did he put it in my head?”

The more this went on, the more worried Celestia became. What if this wasn’t some act? Yet she refused to let her guard down, not even for a moment. She needed only to think of Cadance trapped in the Crystal Caves to build a firm wall between her empathy and this villain. Her heart thus hardened, Celestia stomped closer. “Chrysalis, start making sense. You know what’s going on, don’t you?”

“Know?” Chrysalis’s entire body jerked as if she’d been jolted by electricity. She looked up at Celestia with doe-like eyes. “Know. Y-yes, that’s it. I… know things. Like you, and how you…” She paused to take in her surroundings, ears swiveling and brow furrowing. She leaned back enough to see out the booth window. “Is this… Canterlot? How did I get here?”

Celestia ground her teeth. She had far more important things to do than deal with the changeling, but at the same time…

Perhaps being direct would garner a direct response. “Alright, Chrysalis, what do you want? Why are you here?”

“What I want is my horn back, and—” Chrysalis’s sharp retort became a cringing snarl as she grasped her skull yet again. “And for these stupid memories or whatever they are to go away!”

Another moment of hesitation. Celestia’s eyes flicked to her rival’s unadorned head. “You’ve truly lost your horn?”

“Yes!” Chrysalis jumped to her hooves with a snarl. “Your foul, insubordinate pet draconequus stole it and threw it away! And then he… he…” Her gaze dropped to the floor, the venom traded for wide-eyed shivering. “Oh, Mantis, what was that thing?”

“Calm down.”

With a hiss, Chrysalis thrust a hoof before Celestia’s muzzle. “I just watched one of the most powerful beings in the history of history get consumed like a late night snack. Don’t tell me to calm down!”

“Chrysalis!” Celestia pushed the queen back with both forehooves. “Discord isn’t dead. You can’t just kill a draconequus.”

Chrysalis snarled and backed away. “So confident, aren’t you? Always were, you arrogant pony. Fine.” Her eyes narrowed and her voice dropped to a whisper. “Summon him, then. That’s something you can do now, isn’t it? Go on, prove me wrong.”

Celestia stared at the changeling, wondering what her game was. Summoning Discord would be easy though, and he might even have a better idea of what was going on. Things had gone rather chaotic, after all. Then again, a glance out the window at the pale world reminded her that this didn’t really seem like his kind of disorder.

She weighed her options, not taking her eyes off Chrysalis. At last, she nodded. “Alright, but outside. It’ll be easier for everypony.”

Chrysalis sniffed derisively and turned away. “Everypony. And they say racism is dead in Equestria.” She paused, looking around in uncertainty, but finally spotted and moved for the exit. Celestia followed, a spell in mind just in case she tried to escape.

The outside world was as pale and lifeless as before. Celestia couldn’t resist a quick glance around the normally busy street. The complete absence of life left an ill feeling in her heart, but she focused on the task at hoof.

They stood facing one another on the train platform, with more than enough space between them for a draconequus’s arrival. Celestia only gave herself a moment to wonder why Chrysalis hadn’t tried to fly off before she began the simple calling spell. Her horn gained a dim glow as it channeled the miniscule amount of magic required to inform Discord of her desire to meet him, then it dimmed.

They waited. Seconds passed in eerie silence. Celestia scowled; of all the times that oaf would choose to ignore her. Missing an important dinner party was one thing, but she actually needed him this time. She cast the spell again, putting a little more force into the magic to indicate the urgency. Time passed, and still Discord didn’t come.

Chrysalis wasn’t smiling. Her ears had folded back and her gaze fell to the wooden floor. Slowly, she sank to the ground.

Celestia’s frown deepened as she cast the spell a few more times, roughly once every ten seconds and each time with slightly increasing weight. “What is he doing?”

“He’s dead.” Chrysalis shuddered and closed her eyes. “He should have shown. Curse him, why didn’t he show?”

Stilling her heated retort, Celestia switched tactics. It was one thing to tell Discord she wanted to see him, but she also had the option of pulling him to her by force. It wasn’t a spell she liked using – she wanted Discord to improve on his own without having to nag him daily. But at times like this, she was more than willing to drag him scaly hide to the forefront. Granted, he was strong enough to just overpower her pull, but he’d never bothered.

He'd best not this time. She was frustrated, confused, facing a potentially mad changeling queen, had no idea where her sister was, feared for Cadance, and couldn't detect her precious Sun. Now was not the time for the mismatched abomination to test her.

Brow furrowing, she narrowed her eyes and pushed extra magic into her horn. She cast the spell, a complicated combination of minor elements that started with detection. Despite how small it was, it had been the most complicated part, aside from the actual teleportation, if only because she’d had to make sure he couldn’t detect it. The magic went out in a small wave, invisible to the naked eye. It would stretch all the way out to Ponyville before fading.

She found nothing.

“Celestia,” Chrysalis muttered, her tone startlingly weak, “You aren’t going to find him.” She hadn’t moved from her spot on the ground.

Without replying, Celestia built up more magic and tried again. The second wave moved faster and farther, and should travel well into the Everfree and approach nearby cities like Cloudsdale. Still, she found nothing. Just where could that foal be?

She built up even more magic. She didn’t notice Chrysalis’s ear perking, or how the changeling abruptly looked at her with peering eyes. She would locate Discord and get his assistance, even if she had to comb every stretch of Equestria! The teleportation spell was going to be incredibly challenging, but—

She let out a gasp as her own magic surged into her, and she inadvertently released the spell. The mighty wave she’d been building up surged outward, strong enough that it would easily cover the entire country, but Celestia was too stunned by the sudden backlash to properly pay attention. She shook her head, a curious tingling sensation running through her entire body. “What was that?”

“God doesn’t like your prodding,” Chrysalis replied darkly.

Celestia glowered at her. “I beg your pardon?”

“God. It knows what you’re doing. It doesn’t like it.” Chrysalis slowly stood up, ignoring the threatening glow of Celestia’s magic. “It wants us confined to the Pale. It can’t just let random magic escape, that would make it possible for us to do so.”

Shaking off the last bit of strangeness from the rebounded magic, Celestia lowered her horn in an antagonizing pose. “You’re either delusional or making up some fantastical lies, even for you. But one thing is for certain: you know what’s happening.”

“Yes. I do.” Chrysalis’s frown shifted to a cringe and she pressed a hoof to the side of her forehead. “But by Mantis, does the truth hurt.”

“What are you planning, Chrysalis?”

“Haven’t we been through this already?” Chrysalis massaged her temples, teeth bared as she hissed a few times in apparent pain. “I’m still picking up the pieces thanks to Discord… and Luna? Yes, I think she was involved. Don’t understand how, not yet. But I know this—” she stood up and managed to grin, though it was marred by pain. “—Equestria will fall, and you with it. I’m going to personally make sure that you and that wretched student of yours don’t get out of this alive.”

Now is was Celestia’s turn to smile. “Just try.” She almost hoped Chrysalis would.

Chyrsalis started to laugh, but the sound cut off abruptly when her face twisted in agony. She dropped into a crouch and groaned. “N-not now, Miss Priss. I don’t have my h-horn. I don’t even get h-how you die. I’ve only got bits and pieces. Besides,” She managed a smirk, though she ground her teeth in the process. “You wouldn’t kill me. You don’t have the guts.”

Celestia tensed, her horn sparking. “If you try to flee, we will test that—”

Something slammed into her from all sides with the force of a freight train. Celestia’s vision spun and, though there was no pain, she still saw stars. Her mind had the uncomfortable sensation of having been squeezed inside a juice press. She lost track of what she’d been thinking, who she’d been speaking to, where and even who she was. All she understood was confusion – total and complete and frightening.

The first thing to straighten out was her vision, but it took some time – once she recalled the concept – to realize that the tall, white things in front of her were buildings. After a while, she came to understand that she was lying on her side. Through trial and error, she recalled how to use her legs and stood.

Canterlot. She was in Canterlot. And her name was Celestia. And she’d been speaking to…

Chrysalis was gone. Celestia cursed under her breath and spun a wobbly circle, but there was no sign of her age old foe. She took a moment to think on her situation through the foggy substance of her brain, and steadily it all came back to her. Then she remembered the loss of the Sun and almost screamed in renewed frustration. Analyzing the events leading up to her confusion, she thought about the magic that struck her and realized, with some theorizing, that it must have been her third attempt to find Discord coming back.

Reflection. Something had bounced her magic back at her. But to send such a powerful spell backwards like that from all directions…

Her anger vanished as Celestia came to understand just how precarious the situation was. What kind of opponent could put whole cities in magic-reflective barriers? And if all of Equestria had succumbed to this? She recalled her aids shouting out the names of cities with which they’d lost contact, and the Wonderbolts’ report. As more and more facts returned to her, Celestia felt a deeper and deeper chill.

Luna. She needed Luna.

Celestia forced her fears down and beat her wings, rising over the pallid city. As she sailed over the spires of Canterlot, she tried to find signs of life below. She was rewarded with empty streets and an eerie, discomfiting quiet. What had happened to all her ponies? Were they hiding indoors perhaps? She chose to believe it, for it was better to believe that than to let the fears overwhelm her. This goal in mind, she turned all of her attention to the Nocturnal Wing of the castle, zeroing in on her sister’s balcony.

A short, anxious flight later, Celestia landed on the smooth marble floor. She trotted for the closed window of her sister’s room. To her mild surprise, the curtains were drawn wide open. The door, on the other hoof, remained locked. Peering through the glass revealed that the room was empty, the bed a tangled mess. No, not just the table; Luna’s room looked like a warzone.

The overturned desk, scrolls and books all over the place, the chandelier lying on the floor. There appeared to have been a ferocious fight, and somepony had suffered from it. Celestia stepped back, pulse pounding in her head at what appeared to be blood on the dark walls. She knew she should go inside, but if the found evidence of what she feared…

Celestia cast a spell, her mental awareness expanding drastically, and she whispered, “Luna? Can you hear me?”

Seconds passed. She licked her lips and swallowed.

“Luna. Please, answer me.”

“A little busy at the moment!”

The air flew from Celestia’s lungs, her entire body slumping at the mental response. She made no attempt to hide the relief from her voice. “Very well. Please, meet me in the throne room.”

“What do you think I’ve been trying—curses, no! Keep away from her, you—”

The contact broke forcibly, making Celestia flinch from the small jolt in her horn. What could Luna have been doing that was so desperate? She tried her magic once more, sending it out to examine the castle. Disturbingly, she found no trace of her sister. So how had she managed to contact her with the telepathy spell?

Celestia turned away from the balcony, her gaze falling over the quiet city below. Luna was… fighting? Her tone at least suggested the possibility. Chrysalis was loose in the city, long-range magic bounced back at her, Discord was nowhere to be found, the Sun had disappeared. What in the wide world was happening in Equestria?

It had been such a long time since Celestia had known this feeling of helplessness. After thousands of years of anticipating the moves of friend and foe alike and manipulating the lives of so many, not knowing what was going to happen within the next hour – or even minute – left a twisted sensation in her gut. To react on instinct, to move without a plan… it simply was not her way. Whatever enemy they now faced – assuming it was even something sentient and not some natural disaster or magical accident – they had robbed her of everything that made her so effective.

Celestia took flight, her belly roiling even more from the sudden motion. She wheeled around the castle, making for the throne room once more. She would need all the help she could get; Luna, Twilight and her friends, Cadance. For the first time in recent memory, she would have to put the fate of the world in somepony else’s hooves without knowing the outcome in advance.

Was she afraid? The sensation almost felt novel.

The pressure struck when she was about halfway to her destination. Celestia’s mind recoiled from it as if she’d somehow had a hot poker stabbed into her brain. For a brief moment she forgot that she’d been flying and toppled as a hideous sensation dominated her body, like insects had begun scrawling under her coat. It itched and disturbed and had her clawing at herself in a desperate bid to make it stop! But even as she responded on instinct, her rational mind demanded attention. With a snarl of effort, she forced her eyes and wings to open properly.

Her flight leveled and she ascended once more, though she continued to squirm at the horrible sensations all over her. Even as this happened, she saw how the entire world steadily grew darker. Through heavy breathing and clenched teeth, she forced herself to pay attention while a pestilence of deterioration came over Canterlot Castle. Marble cracked, gold dulled, colors faded, flags grew threadbare.

And all of it in a state of total silence.

Celestia wasted no time on confusion. She flew straight for the throne room, even as she noted the sickly yellow clouds forming in the sky. Her number one priority was to get to her ponies and protect them from whatever was happening. Then she would determine the cause of this madness and set it right!

So focused was she on ignoring the crawling sensations within her that Celestia barely paid attention to her landing. Her hooves immediately slipped, and she fell with a startled cry to the floor. Something slick coated her side, sticking to her fur and feathers uncomfortably. With the itchy sensations finally leaving and sound returned to her ears, Celestia shifted to her belly and glared at the floor.

She didn’t shriek. Almost, but she cut it off.

Celestia scrambled to her hooves, which slipped and slid on the blood. Backing into her throne room, she stared at the gory remains of the guard whose bodily fluids she’d been lying in. Underneath her disgust and desperate attempts not to vomit, she wondered where the back half of his body had gone.

Another slip. She turned to examine her throne room. This time there was no stopping the vomit.

Bodies. Dozens of them. Maybe more. It was impossible to determine, as not a single one was whole. Her eyes darted from corner to corner, taking in legs, heads, entrails, and assorted mounds of flesh she had no desire or stomach to identify. There was more foulness in this one room than she’d seen in her entire life combined, and Celestia, immortal alicorn princess that she was, failed to comprehend it.

“R-Raven?” She took a cautious step forward. Her breathing came in rapid gasps, her eyes darted at the gruesome sight before her. “Little Bird? Tell me y-you’re here.”

She received no answer. The only sound that came back was her own frantic breathing. Part of her wanted to scream, another wanted to search every ugly piece of flesh for proof that her secretary and distant descendant wasn’t among the deceased. A barely present rational aspect of her mind pushed through the horror.

“L-Luna?” She backed away, hooves slipping on the blood. When no answer came, she frantically reignited her magic. “Luna, t-talk to me.”

Silence.

Slowly, her legs wobbling and heart pounding, Celestia walked out into the balcony. She moved in a daze, her mind scrabbling to accept what she’d just discovered. “Luna, please. I n-need you.”

Her chest bumped the railing. She stood there, eyes closed and lips trembling, waiting for her sibling’s voice. She kept seeing the chunks of flesh, the blood, the limbs. She still had blood on her, and only a desperate desire to calm her chaotic mind kept her from trying to scrub it away with her bare hooves. “L-Luna. Luna. Luna!”

Her sister knew how to handle these kinds of things. She had a stronger constitution. She battled nightmares every night, she would know what to do about this. Celestia hoped she was in a nightmare herself. Maybe, if she kept calling for her sister, she’d arrive and slay whatever demon had concocted this living tartaras.

But Luna didn’t come, no matter how much she called. Nor did she answer Celestia’s magical inquiries. Once again, Celestia was alone. Slowly, tears on her cheeks, she opened her eyes.

Canterlot was bathed in darkness. Beneath her, the world had come to life, but it was not a kind of life she recognized. Only now, with her mind halfway settled, did she hear the shrieks. And as she watched in fresh horror, she witnessed the streets overrun with creatures the likes of which she couldn’t have imagined, all chasing after her poor, horrified ponies. The sky above was covered in a yellow miasma.

Sickness. A sickness had come over her precious Canterlot.

In her half-aware mind, Celestia could think of only one thing to do: she leapt off the balcony and descended upon the city. She didn’t know what evil had cursed her land, where her sister was, or how she would even begin to deal with this terrible thing which had come upon Equestria.

But her citizens were in danger. Subtlety could wait.

She had to protect her ponies.