"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh," squealed Dash as she tried desperately to come up with something to say. "It's Spitfire!"

The yellow pegasus merely laughed at Dash's antics. "Hello to you too. I take it you're a fan then?"

"Your biggest!" Rarity glanced up from her work at the sudden exclamation. "I mean, you're Spitfire. THE Spitfire. Youngest Wonderbolt, youngest Captain, holder of the fastest air speed record and the coolest pegasus ever."

"Why didn't she gush over me?" muttered Rapidfire.

"Calm down sugarcube, Miss Spitfire needs to rest." Applejack strolled in with a bowl of salad. "And sorry ma'am, but we don't have anything to cook with."

"Actually I wanted to talk to you about that." Dash was no longer flying around in excitement. "I've managed to find a backroom where we can store thunderclouds for energy, and according to Soarin it is possible to get energy from them. But we need material to insulate everything with, otherwise everyone will be getting shocked."

Applejack blinked in the surprise. "Dash... are ya sure about this? Ah mean, after what happened t-"

"I'm sure AJ. Winter's coming up and we'll need a way to keep everypony warm without resorting to magic." Dash shrugged away her friend's concern, but it was obvious she was hesitant about it. "I've also been scouting at night. With ponies trickling in every day, we should set up another village somewhere."

"You have been careful right? Taken all the precautions we set up?" asked Rarity without even looking up from the fabric she was working on.

"Yes." An eye roll accompanied Dash's response. "Set up illusion, walk to Takeoff Point C then I fly off. I'll need you to accompany me next time I go though, to see if the background magic radiation is enough to cover up any magic usage."

That caught Rarity's attention. "Where is it located? And I assume you have scouted out the area properly. And I see somepony finally learned to wipe her hooves before coming in."

Applejack's indigent look was ignored.

"Of course." A nervous look was cast in Spitfire's direction. "But should we talk about this in the open?"

"Don't be such a filly Rainbow Dash," sighed Rarity. "Captain Spitfire will be in charge of training pegasi and acting as our air force commander. If she takes the job that is."

"Me?" The Wonderbolts Captain looked up in surprise. "Are you certain? I had figured Rainbow Dash here was functioning in that regard."

"Are ya joking? RD may be loyal and she may be one heck of a flier, but she ain't cut out to be leader," the orange earth pony nudged her rival playfully. "Plus, can y'all imagine how large her ego would be then?"

"Hey!" Dash put on her best annoyed expression, but she couldn't keep the smile off her face for more than five seconds. "I'm the best flier ever, er... excluding Spitfire that is and I've got plenty of leadership experience. Just not in combat is all."

"Ah hem." All ponies turned their attention to Rarity. "Might I suggest moving this to our conference room?"

"Conference room? I don't remember stumbling across that last night when we came in." Chuckling, Rainbow led the confused Wonderbolt to the wall before suddenly shoving her through.

"Rainbow Dash, that wasn't a very nice thing to do to our guest," reprimanded Rarity before setting through followed by Applejack.

"The expression on her face was worth it though." Making sure there weren't any ponies in the room, Dash walked through and shivered at the condensation forming on her body. Once through, she shook off the water before moving to the table and sitting down. "Any news 'Shy?"

"Um... yes... but it's... um... pretty bad..." she squeaked.

Dash frowned and shared a nervous look with Applejack. "You can tell us."

"It's Twilight, she was, um..." The rest came out as a soft squeak.

"Please speak up dear, none of us will think badly of you for having to deliver bad news."

The meek pegasus gave Rarity an appreciative smile. "Twilight was there when we rescued Spitfire."

"What!?"

"Um... there's more... if my little friend are right, then she distracted Nightmare Moon long enough for us to escape by figuring out how to turn the moon into a sun."

Everypony stared at Fluttershy in silence.

"You've got to be bucking me!" Dash kicked the stone wall. "Celestia damn it! She was there. She was bucking there!" Hot tears flowed freely down her cheek, but for once she didn't care.

A pair of arms wrapped around her and Dash turned out, hugging back tight. "Ah'm sorry sugarcube. We should have-"

Rainbow Dash shook her head, pressing her cheek against Applejack's damp one. "No." It hurt her to say it. It felt like she was being torn apart. "We couldn't lose all of you at the same time. And- and... we can rescue Twilight some other time. Losing a friend hurts, but losing you all would mean losing Equestria."

"Dash..."

"No. I'm fine." Dash pulled back and put on the most confident grin she could muster. "We need to focus on what to do next."

"This Twilight," said Spitfire into the silence, "she wouldn't be Lady Twilight Sparkle, protégé to Princess Celestia would she?"

"Lady?" Rarity's head snapped over. "Twilight is a Lady? I had no idea. Oh my, that explains so much about her. I knew her name sounded familiar, but I couldn't place it at the time. To think I'm actually friends with Princess Celestia's personal student."

"Rarity, we've got more important things to discuss," said Rainbow Dash with a glare at Rarity. "Like what we'll be doing next."

"Any suggestions Captain Spitfire?" asked Rarity.

"Hm... I agree with what was said outside. You need to get heating set up, as winter will be here soon, and you'll also need a storage facility and you need to start stock piling immediately. What's the rate of immigrants?"

Fluttershy had activated her disguise and pulled out a piece of paper. "According to Mayor Mare's report, it's about two or three ponies every week. She also says that we can expect this number to rise as we set up more bases within the cities and towns. She’s also done a quick calculation on how many ponies we can comfortably feed using current resources and it's about three hundred."

"Fluttershy darling, why are you in your disguise?"

"Why not?" she countered before turning it off and flushing. "Sorry..."

Spitfire ignored the exchange. "I'm assuming you're using the same system as when you met Soarin and them? How are you vetting out spies?"

Applejack smirked. "Ah can tell a lie from truth as easily as Ah can buck an apple tree."

"No pony's that good."

"Well Ah am. Ya can try, but ya won't sneak a lie past me."

Spitfire opened her muzzle, but Rarity cut in, "Trust me. What she says is true."

Doubt lingered, but Spitfire nodded. "That may be enough for now, but we'll need something better once refugees pick up. It doesn't need to be perfect, but it has to be done. Also, we need to set up supply runs. Paper, quills, clothing, and so on."

Rarity smiled. "I'm already in the process of setting that up. What we lack are ponies to make the supply run, as well as a safe way to transport the materials."

"What about bits?"

"I'm a seamstress – the best in Ponyville and a rising star. I have already lined up a store in Manehatten that I can buy where I can sell fashion to the upper class. Furthermore, there's a fashion show there in three weeks’ time. If I can catch the eye of Hoity Toity, then it will mean being sold out in five seconds of opening store. It will also allow me to build up support in the upper ranks of society."

"And foreign alliances?"

This time Rainbow Dash replied, "I've already sent a letter to the gryphon's telling them I'll be coming in an official capacity to discuss the issue of Nightmare Moon and to seek aid. I have no doubt they'll agree to a meeting."

Four ponies stared at the smug pegasus slack jawed.

The first to recover was Spitfire who chuckled at the piece of news. "I'm sorry, but that's impossible. We have never been on good relations with the gryphon's and they have a very strict non-interference policy when it comes to other nations."

"Bah, I'm the coolest pony ever and I'll have to remember to say 'I told you so' when the letter comes back saying the meeting is set up."

"And... um..." interrupted Fluttershy, "I'll also be making contact with the... the..." She gulped. "The dragons... But their isle is too far away for a pegasus to fly."

Spitfire just stared at the shy pegasus as if she was crazy. "Okay, you know what? You're all insane. Apparently you can tell when some pony's lying, you can get a meeting with the gryphons, and now you're telling me you can talk to a dragon without being eaten. This is all so insane!" She grinned at everypony gathered and rubbed her hooves together. "I like it! What next?"

"The last thing is spreading the word of the resistance. We were thinking of using Princess Celestia's cutie mark and painting it on walls all over Equestria," said Rarity.

"An' then there's all those other resistances that'll no doubt sprout," added Applejack. "We need a focused effort."

"So how will we split ourselves up?" asked Spitfire.

"Mayor Mare will take care of things within the village," began Fluttershy, once more in her disguise, "and I'll stay here gathering information. Rainbow Dash will go to the gryphon territories while Rarity goes to Manehatten like she said. I was thinking Pinkie could do the spraying of symbols and Applejack could go talk to the dragons if we figure out a way of getting there. Captain Spitfire and the Wonderbolts will first gather the necessary supplies from Cloudsdale for us to heat the caverns. After that, they will assist with setting up supply trains, scouting, and the like. What we're currently missing is a unicorn who can detect background magic and set up a second base like this one. If... if that's alright that is." At Rarity's frown, Fluttershy smiled sheepishly and deactivated her disguise yet again.

"Fluttershy, you never cease to amaze me," chuckled Rainbow Dash. "I think that's perfect."

There was a chorus of agreement.

"I can't believe this is actually happening," whispered Spitfire in awe. "I never thought... Never expected... You ponies... you're not normal ponies are you?"

The group exchanged a nervous look then as one, the Elements of Harmony appeared around their necks, shining brightly in the darkness. Sitting there, Spitfire seemed to soak it up as her eyes closed. It was a similar warmth to the one she got in Princess Celestia's presence. It spread through her body like hot soup on a winter's night. But at the same time, it felt like something was missing.

"What... what are those?"

"These are the Elements of Harmony. The only thing capable of defeating Nightmare Moon. Pinkie has the Element of Laughter and Twilight has the Element of Magic," said Rainbow Dash. "I- We are showing you this because you're the Captain of the Wonderbolts and you deserve – no, you need to know. Tell no one else you hear?"

Spitfire nodded before getting down onto her knees in front of them, touching her forehead to the ground. "I, Captain Spitfire of the Wonderbolts, hereby swear eternal loyalty to the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony until such a time Princess Celestia is restored to her throne."

Dash chuckled softly and looked over at Rarity who was subtly nudging Dash on. "As the Element of Loyalty, I accept your fealty on behalf of the others, but ask you to place Equestria above all else." She glanced over her shoulder at Rarity who nodded with a smile. "You may rise Captain Spitfire. Now can we drop all this formality and get to work?"

"Couldn't have said it better myself!" grinned Spitfire. "The worst part of being Captain of the Wonderbolts are all those stuffy parties I have to go to. Not to mention the formal language. Bleah."

"Oh and Spitfire?" The flame-maned pegasus looked back at Dash. "As your leader, I order you to race me sometime."

"Rainbow Dash! How dare you abuse your position so? You should be ashamed of yourself."

Laughing, Dash watched as Rarity, Applejack and Spitfire made their way out the room. "Come on Rarity, take that stick out of your plot and have fun for once! Frowning all the time is bad for the complexion you know."

Once they were out of sight, Dash turned to her fillyhood friend. "Hey 'Shy, I heard about what happened at the rescue and then there's what happened then and I was wondering if... you know... if you wanted to talk about it..."

Fluttershy gave Dash a knowing smile. "It's fine. I know you're not good with these sorts of talks and how it makes you uncomfortable."

Sitting down next to her, Dash shook her head. "I may be bad, but you're still my friend. So talk to me 'Shy. Please."

"I- I..." The yellow pegasus took a deep breath. "Ever since I was a filly I've wanted to be like you. Did you know that? You're strong, confident-"

"Well I am pretty cool- I mean, I'm also... er... arrogant, stubborn," added Dash with a smile.

"Well yes... no offense... it's just, I suppose, I may have created this image of a perfect me inside my head."

"You're already perfect."

Fluttershy meeped softly and hid behind her mane. "Not really. I'm weak and helpless you know. And...well... when I was in that illusion I felt so free. It was as if I was some other pony. It was liberating. I could do anything, say anything I wanted to and no one would know it was me under there. I mean... they would know since it was me, but... Um... I don't think I explained that very well... sorry..."

"So you're saying you get to pretend to be some other pony? The pony you'd like to be."

A bright red blush spread across Fluttershy's cheeks. "M-Maybe not that forward, but yes...? Is something wrong with me for wanting that?"

"Of course not! But you don't need to hide behind a mask to do that."

Fluttershy looked down and to the side, pawing the ground uncomfortably.

"Fluttershy, listen to me." Dash grabbed her by the shoulders. "You're not a dead weight and you'll never be one alright? I should know, I am the coolest pony ever. You just need to believe in yourself." She then muttered under her breath, "That was the corniest and most uncool thing ever."

"Thanks Dash." Fluttershy gave her longtime friend a hug.

"It's the least I can do in return, considering how often you deal with my messes." Rainbow hugged back with an arm. "You can always talk to me 'Shy."

The two ponies sat in silence, neither moving, and neither feeling a need to fill the silence with idle chatter. Eventually though, Fluttershy broke the silence with a whisper, "You're going to see her aren't you? The letter was just a lie."

Dash nodded. "Yeah... Sending a letter would be too dangerous. I know you two never got along, but I have to."

"Just be careful alright?"

"Heh, I'm Rainbow Dash, as if I'd let a lousy gryphon get the best of me."

Warmth.

Canterlot was bathed in a twilight glow and ponies stood in the streets in wonder. In amazement. High above them a glowing orb hung in the sky. It wasn't the sun, nowhere close to the sun, but it was better than the eternal moon that had occupied the sky for the past week.

It was warm.

High above them, locked in the observatory, I watched them gawk at the miracle that was above them. A miracle I had created. I rubbed my eyes and suppressed the yawn I felt sneaking up on me. When was the last time I slept? Who cares, I don't need sleep – I've never needed sleep. Standing there with the wind swirling around me, I let the warmth wrap her arms around me.

Princess Celestia...

An image of her floated into my mind's eye. The way her hair flowed even without a breeze and how the colors shifted and flowed like sunshine. I could still see her radiant smile – brighter than the sun and producing so much more warmth too. And then there was that luxuriously soft fur and those silky feathers of hers which made her so perfect to snuggle against.

Oh Celestia, help me. I don't know what I'm doing or where I'm going. Guide me. A sign, a message, something, anything... please...

I could throw myself off the roof right this instant and kill myself. As tempting as that prospect is, it would be a choice in and of itself, and I'm certain if you were here you'd tell me that was a stupid decision, but a decision I had to make for myself. You always gave me advice, even when I didn't ask for it and it was always that – advice. In the end though, it was always my choice to follow it or ignore it, or come up with a third option. I sure could use your advice right now Princess.

Or maybe I'll stay here, turning thought after thought in my mind until Nightmare Moon comes up and takes me inside. That too is a choice. The choice to do nothing and to just go with the flow. But then she'd ask me if I had made up my mind and I don't know what my answer would be. To accept feels like giving in and betraying everypony out there. While rejecting the offer feels like it's the stupid thing to do.

Kindness.

Laughter.

Generosity.

Honesty.

Loyalty.

Magic.

I had to be able to function independently. To work without Nightmare Moon double checking my every move. Accepting would make her suspicious, I had no doubt about that. After all, accepting was to admit defeat – to admit she had broken me and ripped any shred of willpower from my body. Furthermore, she'd be expecting me to try some sort of trickery, and it's unlikely that she'd stop believing that until she saw evidence of it.

Deep breaths Twilight.Deep breaths. And remember, don't close your eyes. So that's it then? I looked up at the sky, but saw no signs amongst the stars. When did I start believing in such superstitious things anyways?

Since-

I slammed down on that thought with all my might, suppressing it and shoving it into some dark corner of my mind. A quick review of my thoughts told me everything was in line, and try as hard as I could, no flaws presented themselves. Then again, I am rather biased in this respect.

"Nightmare Moon," I said into the empty space, "I have made up my mind."

The seconds ticked by then a midnight blue alicorn came into view, landing gracefully onto the roof. She stood there, regarding Canterlot and her makeshift sun before turning to face me. "And your answer?"

"You've got yourself a deal, but only on a couple of conditions."

Her laughter echoed back to us. "You're in no position to argue."

"You will find I am in the perfect position to do exactly that. The simple fact that you came to me tells me you need me." I kept my face neutral and let my sight linger on Canterlot before sweeping back to Nightmare Moon to study her expression.

"I could send you back to your cell. Torture you for a couple more days." She said that in the same way a pony asks a friend if they wanted to grab something to eat. "Break you down some more."

"You could." She regarded me with a cold indifference and I stared back with a similar expression. "But like I said already, you would not be asking me for help if you didn’t need to."

The alicorn sighed and gazed out at the city sprawling beneath us. "I want eternal night, not pain and suffering. As long as you stay as you are, you will be seen as a symbol for detractors to rally around. Even as we speak, my Shadowbolts are in Manehatten quelling a riot that broke out thanks to a group wanting Celly back, and that only happened because of your open defiance in court. That is not what I want. I want my little ponies to be happy with their lives. I want to be loved like Celly was."

"You took away their sun and their mother."

"Sacrifices must be made." She lay down on the stone floor, resting her head on her hooves. "If you do not wish the violence to escalate, then you will accept my offer."

There was a brief moment of hesitation. "At least hear out my conditions."

"Very well. But I do not have long, I have a meeting with Prince Blueblood," she spat out his name as if it was poison. "Why hasn't Celly stripped him of his title?"

"Before I make my decision permanently, I'd like to sit in on some meetings. Secondly, I will need to be able to use my magic so that I can read documents and write, and eat and function at a respectable level. Thirdly, I'd like records of previous decisions you've made to make sure you're not putting on a show, and free access to the library and a decent level of free roaming around the castle. Fourthly, no torturing me when I disagree with you."

"All four are granted, but on the matter of you using magic, you will only have enough to levitate basic objects, and I reserve the right to place a listening spell on your collar to make sure you're not plotting against me."

"Collar?"

"I could have guards following you around if you prefer."

"No, I meant I'm to wear a collar?"

"Yes. It will be a low power listening spell so that only those speaking in close proximity will be detected. If it was a bracelet I'd catch too much background noise for it to be effective."

"So I'll look like your pet."

"Yes."

"You realize that may add incentive to the various rebellions."

"It may also demoralize them to see Celly's personal student broken."

I cocked an eyebrow at her. "Broken? I'll be arguing with you more often than not."

"You never know." She looked up at the new sun and stood up. "So we've come to an agreement?"

Please Celestia, let me be doing the right thing. "That we have."

"Very well. If you wish, we can begin today. I'll even throw in an illusion spell so ponies don't realize it is you until you make a proper decision in three days’ time."

"As if I'd trust you enough to let you cast a spell on me." A yawn escaped. "And I think sleep is the best option right now."

"Agreed. Why haven't you been sleeping anyways?" She must have noticed how I was looking at her as though she was an idiot. "Oh... Right... Sorry..."

There was a flash of light and the next thing I knew, I was in my old room. The same room I had been staying in when doing my experiment a couple days back. It was nice to see there were no guards and that everything had been cleaned up. A quick sweep of the room told me the door had a lock on the inside and that there weren't any items made from high magic conductive materials lying around.

Walking to my old desk, I pulled out a sheet of paper and quill with my mouth, and quickly wrote a list of books I needed to read – all of them revolved around pony psychology and sleep. There was no doubt in my mind the torture I had been put through had left some psychological scars, so the faster I could get them diagnosed and resolved, the sooner I could function properly.

Stepping back, a sense of satisfaction overcame me at the neatness of my writing. Most unicorn's couldn't function without their magic, but having my magic locked as filly by Celestia until I could control it meant I had more than enough practice with writing with my mouth. Even now, my magic was half sealed, though the seal was fraying around the edges – after all, it was never meant to be permanent. For the briefest moment I had tasted my true power when I activated the Elements of Harmony and truth be told, I was afraid of it. No pony should ever hold that much power.

So I told a small lie, acted against honesty, but it was worth it. A bit of magic, no matter how small, was invaluable. I opened and closed my jaw a couple of times, working the muscles. And then there was the way Nightmare Moon had acted. Was it her real self coming through or merely a charade?

My money was on charade.

Another yawn and this time I could feel my eyelids drooping, but I forced myself awake. Grabbing a book from my own personal bookshelf, I laid down on the bed and began reading. I knew from experience that the only way I was going to get a good night's sleep was if my brain knocked myself unconscious.

If you could call it sleeping that is.

There was a polite knock on the door. "Come in," I called.

The door swung open on well-oiled hinges to reveal a red furred unicorn with an orange mane. "Lady Sparkle, I have documents here from Queen Nightmare and I have been appointed your temporary guard in the meantime."

"Bring in the documents and please leave me alone." I dismissed him with a tired wave of my hoof before grabbing the top file and opening it. "Okay, let me see... riot in Manehatten, originally thought to be contained. Second riot breaks out on east side of the city followed by a third in the southern side, containment by their police providing too difficult due to the dispersed nature of the protests. Unicorns are no longer able to keep up with protesters, use of force has been approved by Nightmare Moon, and Shadowbolts sent in for reinforcements, acting in a scouting capacity. Those arrested will appear before court. Judge to be announced."

Rubbing my eyes, I thought over what I just read. Everything was in accord with the laws set out in Public Order Act, Section 10 (2), Part III of Schedule 3 and it even followed the same process Celestia took in the Fillydelphia Riots six hundred and fifty-seven years ago. From the look of things, there was no avoiding the use of force and they all wore riot gear to soften their bucks as per procedure.

Okay, let's try another decision Nightmare Moon has made.

"This is a good one," I said to myself. It was set the day after the Summer Sun Celebration. Flicking it open, I quickly scanned the pages before rereading it to make sure my sleep deprived mind was reading it right. If the document could be believed – and I was having serious doubts – she had increased funding for orphanages and schools as one of her first acts. It was a piece of legislation Celestia had introduced and had slaved over to get it to where it was thanks to Prince Blueblood stalling it at every opportunity. But Nightmare Moon simply stomped the competition underhoof and forced it through.

A smile tugged at my lips as I found and read the transcription of the scene. Celestia would not have done that, and I had asked her why not once a couple years back. After all, so much more would be done so much faster if she did, but she simply replied with a single word, "Fear."

Her little ponies would fear her. And she feared for herself, what she would become if she started using her power in such a manner. Fear kept her in check. But Nightmare Moon, didn't care. From the transcript, it sounded like she knew what was best for Equestria and would obliterate anypony that stood in her way. It was a point of difference between the two rulers, but the mere fact that both considered it such an important decision merely served to strengthen the parallel between the two.

Flicking through a couple more files, I noticed the same pattern everywhere. Some policies – often the same ones Celestia championed, though not always – were forced through while others were completely wiped out. The majority though, were debated with Nightmare Moon not saying a single word as she allowed it to take its natural course. She also had a habit of turning everything into a binary opposition – it was either one or the other and there were no other options or compromise.

Groaning, I rubbed my eyes before grabbing another folder and opening it up. This is going to be a long night.