Luna had left close to noon. From her experience back during Nightmare Night she knew of two, at least, that would be in Canterlot during this week. Finding the others would be an exercise in patience. With a burst of magic she teleported all the way back to the castle. It was not the most pleasant way to get around but it was the fastest.

She peered around the throne room where Blueblood was sitting on the throne going over the paperwork that was usually given to go over through the day court.

“Morning Nephew. How are things running so far?” Luna spoke up frightening the young royal. At least to her he would always be a child. He shook his head from the revelry and instantly brightened up to see her.

“Ah morning Aunt Luna. It is quite surprising to see you up so early in the morning. Is everything going well with the project that Aunt Celestia has you going through? I know you hate having to get up so early.” Blueblood was very cordial when dealing with royalty. Luna knew he could be better he just needed to put his nose out of the clouds.

“Worry not young one. We… I am more than capable at any hour of the day. Also we require you to keep watch of this place for longer. There are more serious problems going on right now and we need not have the rest of the city in a panic.” Luna stood a little closer whispering almost conspiratorially.

“Understood I shall not make a big deal of it. The nobles have been getting a little uppity lately but of course a little time with me changed their minds immediately. Though I do have this feeling that they will try again. Anyways I know you are busy so might I inquire as to what brings you back to Canterlot so quickly?” Blueblood finished his snickering and returned to the diplomatic face he usually kept.

“Ah now that is where the problem lies. I need to find three ponies in question. I know what their cutie marks are but since it is morning I can’t exactly go into their dreams to ask them to meet with me. You wouldn’t happen to know where any pony with these marks are would you?” Luna pulled the paper with the cutie marks out from under her wing showing them to her nephew.

“Hm… the purple one is certainly familiar. I think that they are within the Music Hall in the Old Quarters. I’m uncertain of the others though the backwards quaver note does look like the mark of that DJ I’ve heard about. Unfortunately I’m drawing a blank on the others right now. Forgive me Aunt I could only recognize the two.” Blueblood nodded apologetically.

“Thank you Nephew. I have gotten enough information. I must be off then. Perhaps that particular pony will know where the rest are.” Luna hugged him goodbye and trotted out the main doors. ‘More than I thought he would know. Perhaps I underestimated him.’

Luna quickly galloped outside to the royal gardens from the throne room reminding the guards that tried to follow that if they followed unnecessarily they would be working latrines for the entire year. Each guard quickly found their post and kept a silent vigil over the palace pretending that the royal sisters were still inside the castle.

A quick afterthought later Luna quickly casted one of her illusions to hide her horn becoming the pegasus mare Waxing Crescent. It was not the perfect design due to the moon theme still being at the forefront but most of the time ponies were a bit oblivious. With a little more confidence in her plan she flew off towards the Old Quarters. The music hall in question was one she remembered heading to a few months back. There they played beautiful music including a rendition of the Moonlit Sonata. Putting aside the tribute she enjoyed Luna flew over watching the ponies go about their day.

‘Peace. Truly it is wonderful. Still it is quite a waste that they will never know true strife because we handle all the threats that come our way. Still I am glad that our little ponies will never know this level of danger unless it is absolutely required. Now I must conscript ponies who have no reason to fight into something beyond their wildest dreams.’ Luna quickly landed outside the hall. A contemplative sigh left her muzzle as she stepped through the doors of the hall.

Unbeknownst to her a shadow peeked its head out from one of the corner alleys. With some practice it had managed to hide within the alicorn’s shadow. The only thought that crossed it’s mind was to eliminate any pony the alicorns tried to bring with them. After a few moments it slunk through several shadows of ponies walking by until it managed to reach the door Luna entered. With some practice it slid underneath the cracks of the door and took its form of Spike. It was not the perfect disguise but the addition of claws would make it all the sweeter and while it was unable to go too far to search for the other marked ponies all it would have to do is follow a princess. When they did it’s claws were ready to have some fun.

Luna looked around the hall noticing multiple ponies working their way through what seemed like rehearsals. The constant chatter of getting into place and readying equipment led Luna to keep to the shadows. Luckily, nopony had bothered her nor told her to get out. She always had fun whenever a subject got uppity but never to a harsh degree. She would merely act the part then pull them in for a hug telling the subject they were joking. Today was not something she cared to joke about when lives were at stake.

“Places everypony! Will all musicians please make your way to the orchestral stands. We’re having a dry run now so hurry up my little ponies. Places! Places!” A large tan pony with a grey mane yelled out as multiple ponies rushed to their appropriate spots. Luna unfortunately couldn’t see any of their cutie marks with the deluge of ponies flitting onto the stage. The lights dimmed as the spotlights above came to life.

“Excuse me ma'am, We can’t have prying eyes watch a private rehearsal. I’ll have to ask you to leave.” Luna saw a large mare with a lavender coat and a purple mane next to her within seconds. Within those seconds Luna released her illusion and caused the pony to have a heart attack. She didn’t faint and Luna quickly raised a hoof to her lips signaling her to be quiet. The mare shut her lips and nodded with a smile which caused Luna to give her a hug for doing so. Then the mare fainted leaving a very confused Luna.

‘I wonder if my prank is too effective. Perhaps I need more words than actions. That’s the forty-seventh pony I’ve sent to the dream realm and it isn’t even time to sleep yet.’ Luna ignored the sight behind her and snuck into the seats. For some reason that she couldn’t place her hoof on it felt as though something was wrong. While she was not as prophetic as Celestia in regards to the future a millennium of being the most combat capable princess in Equestria had left her with a very decent sixth sense when it came to danger. While it had dulled due to the relative peace and lack of battle training she usually regimented with her troops there was no denying that something was wrong.

The worry faded once again but that only led to more concern. Luna swept her eyes around the seats looking for any sign of the problem but nothing came to mind. Either way she still needed to look for the right ponies. As she scanned the crew she started to get flustered by the amount of flanks she was forced to stare at. Some were fitting looking just like the instrument that they played. Others were symbolic and represented something musical. Then there were the ones that didn’t fit but they contributed as well or even better than the other ponies.

‘Ah ha I found one… two… I found two of them. What the hay. I thought this would be harder than I thought. Still that means that I will have to watch out for them as best as I can. I wonder if they know where the other marks are located at.’ Luna looked at a gray coated earth pony mare with the same purple treble clef sitting dignified while holding a cello with one of her hooves. Near the other string instruments was a teal unicorn with a golden lyre mark standing next to a harp.

With a wave of their baton the conductor led the orchestral piece into a beautiful symphony that captivated the lunar princess’s heart yet even that didn’t sway the worry she held onto from the trouble brewing below the surface. Her eyes quickly scanned through the seats forcing her to get some elevation to look down upon the seats just to satiate her fears as unfounded. None of the ponies on stage noticed the act as they were too swept up in their performance. Luna took the blessing because if the danger was real then these ponies were clearly in mortal peril.

As her eyes flitted through the seats something weird was occurring with the shadows. They were uneven and changed opposite to the lights that would sometimes swing out over them. The third time she noticed it there were red eyes hidden within the shadows as well but the figure was smaller… ‘Oh dear. A Spike shadow.’ As the first set came to an end the shadow took a solid form and began to clap for the performance. Then it spoke.

“Bravo. Bravo. Fortissimo. Another encore of generic design.” The entire orchestra turned to face the newcomer surprised that someone got into their private rehearsal. A few ponies smiled at the praise while the ones who actually listened heard nothing but a mocking tone.

“Who are you dragon? I don’t remember allowing anypony entrance to the hall unless they are part of the band. Where is that Crystal Grid? Ech… No matter please vacate the premises we have more to do and we don’t need the distraction of a heckler tonight.” The conductor Ebony Staff stepped off the podium shooing the young dragon away. That young dragon didn’t move an inch until he was within claw distance then smacked the pony through several chairs to his left. Luna eased the blow by creating a thin shield around the pony before he was hit cushioning him against the blow and keeping the pony alive.

“Now that the staff is out of the way. I am looking for some ponies in particular. You may cooperate or you may be torn to shreds. Either way you will answer understood.” There was no question. There was the tone of listen or die… perhaps listen and die. Luna was disgusted at the depravity before her and was ready to strike until the teal unicorn spoke up.

“Spike? Is that you? Why are you being such a jerk? Jeez just because you have hands doesn’t mean you gotta punch everything in sight. Not cool dude.” She groused over her harp. Her gaze was a mixture of disgust and envy. The dragon ignored her.

“I found one. And you,” he pointed at the cellist with the purple treble clef mark, “ to stay for a bit. The others may leave because this doesn’t concern you at all.” The dragon looked on his eyes glowing the same red from back beneath the Castle. Luna flew over to the stage keeping out of sight until it decided to make it’s next move. The cellist spoke out next.

“Now see here… Spike was it? We are in the middle of something important and if this is a joke it is not funny in the slightest.” The mare with the purple treble clef cutie mark was a bit unnerved. While the other mare said it was Spike the dragon in front of them was somehow wrong on all accounts. Even through the shadows she could see a red glow in his eyes, something dangerous, which she wanted no part of.

“Ah but of course it is a joke. The only problem is that it is funny only to me. Still you ponies are not listening…, “ The dragon before them started to rip apart growing larger and being forced to stand on all fours. The talons grew larger and the wings became a mottled color yet still retained their dextrous nature. “I suppose I must be more informal. I was not making a suggestion. I was not asking. I was telling you that only those two must stay. If you can’t listen then you don’t deserve to live.

‘I don’t think this is Spike now…’ The unicorn on the harp began to step back with the rest of the orchestra. The other mare joined her forcing her to look at her. Her eyes seemed resigned to stick around to deal with this but the other set seemed to want to lead the monster away from the other ponies.

Then a bunch of the scaffolding fell from the ceiling smashing into the creature crippling its limbs and its back The roar of pain forced all the orchestral ponies to scamper off for their dear lives while the two mares who were about to be hunted stayed in place. They were shocked by the sight before them especially that they were targets.

“Lyra… Do you know why we are being hunted?” The earth pony mare looked down at the broken dragon.

“No Octavia. Did you do something to piss off Spike?”Lyra was more interested in her harp than the broken dragon. Octavia was a bit thrown off by the nonchalant nature Lyra displayed even though it was very apparent that they were wanted dead.

“I’m pretty sure that wasn’t Spike, Lyra. Not even the same scales are on it, besides it wanted us dead. I think that should be the more important part. We were lucky that the scaffolding fell on it otherwise the ponies would have been killed.” Octavia gripped her cello tighter.

“I know Tavi but it didn’t and right now we should be getting ready instead of wasting time talking,” Lyra lifted her harp with her magic in a defensive stance. Octavia stared at her uncertain by her words. Then she heard the creaking. Metal being bent then torn…

“You… won’t escape.” The dragon lifted its head to look at the pair glaring with the same dark red glow she had seen earlier. It started to breathe in startling the two.

Four hooves slammed on the dragon’s face forcing the fire to escape through the other holes in the neck burning the creature into ash from the inside out. The two mare were surprised when Princess Luna stood tall and proud over her fallen foe. With a flair of telekinesis several pieces of the scaffolding were ripped out of place and pierced into the fallen corpse to make sure it was dead. As soon as she was sure with a nice slow trot she stood before the two musicians keeping her regal posture which took the two off guard as did the corpse which was now dissolving into shadow.

“Are you two alright?” Luna kept an even tone while she looked the two over. Her eyes trailed over their cutie marks and smiled. She found the first two she needed. One more and she would hand the task over to Cadance. Neither noticed Luna’s gaze as each were still reeling from the sight they just beheld.

“Yeah… We’re alright now thank you Princess. It could have burned us to a crisp if not for… wait, were you here the whole time?” Octavia was the first to rouse herself for questions but the sight of a princess brought more important thoughts. If a princess was in their midst and talking to them then it was far more important than she previously thought.

“C’mon the princess had far more important things than us Tavi. We should count our blessings that someone stopped the monster before it got any worse. Is Ebony Staff alright?” Lyra looked over to where Ebony was only to notice that he was gone.

“Sent him with the others. Do not worry about him for now Miss… Lyra was it. I require you two to follow me towards the castle. Then I would be able to answer any questions you have.” Luna looked impassively over to the stage. The shadow was gone and her own instincts were quiet once again.

“Sure Princess whenever you are ready.” Octavia giddily squeaked before regaining her her composure. She didn’t want to make a fool herself in front royalty. Lyra rolled her eyes at the sight. Luna was one of the easier princesses to be around and didn’t stand on ceremony most of the time. Those nightmares she once had were made better thanks to her. She even got to ask the princess important questions about hands and didn’t get looked at like a lunatic. It was refreshing.

With a flash of magic Luna teleported all three into the throne room. As she did the shadow tried to reform again only to dissipate from the bright flash of light. Luna had felt itch of danger once again which died when they were in the throne room. They were safe once again.

Blueblood was staring over yet another ledger and scoffed at the idea of raising taxes for something as small as cherries. The loud burst of sparks caused him to jump out of his seat and fumble onto the ground where he saw Luna standing beside two young mares. He only recognized one of them, at least, but it wasn’t his problem to question why.

“Welcome back Aunt Luna. Do you require anything right now?” He turned on his charm for the audience before him. It was best to keep an air of professionalism in front of ponies that either of the princesses brought in from now on. Last time ended with cake all over him and he rather not get dirty once again.

“Do you remember the sound shield spell Celestia taught you? Cast it around the three of us and keep the guards out of the throne room. I require some privacy with these two if you don’t mind.” Luna ordered impassionately. She needed to sell the regal look just in case more shadows were around. They had followed her the first time and she couldn’t be certain that more were out of the basement just yet.

Without a word he casted the spell over the three and ordered the guards out into the hall for the meeting. The two mares were fearful now looking around for some help until Luna created a secondary shield under the first one to block out sight. Blueblood took his seat once again and continued over the paperwork. It didn’t concern him and he still needed to finish some more work. ‘The work of a doting relative was never done.’

“I know you two are confused by my secrecy but it must be done. That shadow might not be the only one that is around. For now you must know that you two are in danger until we figure out what we can do. Something has awakened and it was… hostile to ponies. Now it is hunting for certain ponies and I wonder if you two could tell me the ponies these cutie marks belong to.” Luna provided them the sheet of paper with all the cutie marks on it. Lyra’s eyes settled on the candy mark while Octavia’s settled on the quaver.

“Yeah these are the marks of our friends… except for the wand one. I think I’ve seen that one though. This one is my friend Bon Bon and these two belong to Time Turner and Ditzy Doo.” Lyra pointed out and marked which was which.

“This one is of my roommate Vinyl. I think the wand one belonged to that showpony that tried to take over Ponyville once. Trixie, I think, right Lyra?” Octavia could only remember how crazy that mare had been back then. Lyra, for her part, stood pensively lost trying to remember said mare.

“Yeah I think you’re right. Still why are you looking for all of us Princess? Are we in trouble?” Lyra stared at Luna. Her eyes were full of worry.

“In a sense you are all in grave danger… but you are also the ponies we need to save Equestria.” The statement made the air grow still.

“What…”

“Huh…?”

“You see last night these things appeared with the castle in Ponyville and… did something horrible. They have captured Spike and Discord and are trying to do something to Equestria. As for what that is even we are unsure.” Luna looked away saddened by the returning thoughts. Lyra and Octavia were fortunately too shocked to argue. Lyra was the first to voice her opinion.

“Princess we’re not exactly hero material. I’m just a musician. What could we possibly do to help you out with this?” She looked away, her ears flopping flat against her head. It wasn’t wrong to say that she was frightened but it was more than that. She had been around seeing all the problems that struck everypony so often leaving them as nothing but fodder, She didn’t have the confidence to stand tall especially after the bombshell her best friend had revealed back during Matilda’s wedding. It didn’t seem like a joke but the Princess of the Night could enter dreams. ‘How much of this is just a dream where I’m the hero?’

“Lyra, we have to help out. You’re still looking for the others right? I think Vinyl is still home in Ponyville. She had a concert last night and is probably still sleeping off the ‘wubs’ as she calls it. I think Turner and Ditzy went on vacation to… Dodge Junction. They really wanted fresh cherries for some reason. Where did Bon Bon go Lyra?” Octavia managed to remember where most of the ponies were which Luna marked on the paper for Cadance and Celestia’s benefit.

“Uh… Manehattan I think. There was a candy convention up there. I think that Applejack saw Trixie performing up there. She might be back there now. Lily did say they saw her leaving Ponyville about a week ago from the castle.” Lyra was still frowning.

“Thanks to both of you. You truly are making Equestria safer but there is more that must be done… I do not wish to ask this of thou but it must be done to save us all, “ She took a deep breath steadying her thoughts at the task that was to be before them. “ I require both of you to trust me when I sat this because I do not say this lightly. There are things you must do to assist us and it may change your lives in ways you never expected. You see- “

“Princess Luna we shall assist however you need us. If this is for the fate of Equestria we won’t just say no because of a little danger especially if our friends will be in as much danger as we were when that… thing attacked us. Right Lyra?” Octavia looked over to Lyra, confidence brimming in her eyes at the chance for adventure.

Lyra sighed, “ Yeah Tavi. For our friends it’s worth it.”

“I truly appreciate your words. I think it’s better I show you what awaits so we shall pick up this Vinyl and make our way to the Castle of Friendship. I have rested enough for another jump. Are you both prepared?” With a pair of nods Luna broke the shields shocking Blueblood from his seat again forcing him to land on his face on the floor slightly dazed. In another flash of light she teleported them once again.

Meanwhile, Back in Ponyville…

‘3 in the afternoon… Jeez I thought I would make it to 6.’ A white unicorn with a neon blue mane stirred from her bed and levitated her shades over. She strode from the bedroom to the bathroom finishing up getting ready for the rest of the day. Her headphones came next blasting the bass into her very soul as she made her way downstairs. Tavi was nowhere in sight… ‘ Must still be up in Canterlot then.’

A bit more time passed as she worked on her new mixes wondering what else she would do with her day. Most of her posse was out somewhere while she slept through a particularly bad night of partying. ‘Never agreeing to another battle of the DJ’s again… Most didn’t last more than a few minutes.’

After the mixes were done she sat on the couch ready to finally enjoy her vacation. It had been too long and too many hours working throughout the nightlife of Manehattan and Canterlot since she had a break. Though now that left one problem on the table.

“I’m bored… Tavi get back soon it’s boring here.” Vinyl slumped deeper into the couch and watched the light trickle in through the window.

It had been strangely quiet that day. Usually there was the sound of a rainbow pegasus hollering through the sky about some great new trick they just accomplished at least since it was Wednesday as far as she remembered. Yesterday had been weirder since the sky was filled with dark clouds yet there were no scheduled rainstorms and they dissipated as soon as she reached home. Her trip has been touch and go when she finally arrived at the train station.

‘Wonder how that orchestral thing Tavi and Lyra were performing is going.’ The more she thought about it the more bored she got. Her eyelids got heavy once again but before she passed out a burst of magic flashed outside her window knocking her off the couch. She rubbed her flank and glared out the window in pure annoyance at the wiseponies who did it. The door slammed open revealing the guilty party of Octavia, Lyra… and Princess Luna. Then she fainted,

“She must be more tired than I thought. Sorry about this Princess just give me a minute to wake her up.” Octavia grabbed Vinyl by the barrel and began shaking her wildly.

Lyra stopped the shaking with her magic letting a dazed Vinyl find her footing once again. She stumbled around looking for any safe place to fall over… only to fall against Luna. The chuckles from the others only compounded the embarrassment.

“Good she is ready to go then. Let us make haste for the castle then I shall explain once we reach the location.” Luna lifted Vinyl with her magic and galloped out the door followed by the other two. The ponies in the street just stared in shock at the sight before them and wisely decided to ignore whatever they thought they saw.

One set of hooves slammed against the doors and twelve sets of hooves clopped against the crystal floor leaving some scuff marks behind. Luna grabbed the other two in her magic and flew into the map room diving into the hole she had exited earlier that morning. The sounds of sizzling flesh and warlike growls caused the three mares to stare in shock at the scene before them.

Celestia had created a large orb of solar energy forcing it into each creature charring anything it touched. When any creature got close she would stomp down with her hooves. Cadance was still under the shield forcing it to be more fluid piercing through the stragglers. Celestia, for her part, was still smiling in pure bliss while she wiped out the rest of the fallen foes. Luna landed in the shield placing the three on the ground waiting for Celestia to exit her revelry. It took a few moments until Anubis’s voice broke her concentration.

Celestia frowned at the prospect of being on the defensive again but after seeing all the burns and gashes in the crystal she caused she sheepishly trotted over to the shield. Luna had a smug grin on her face as the regenerating forces of the tree restored her magic and stamina. Anubis was doing his best still even though the cracks were starting to get deeper. The three mares, who had been unceremoniously dumped nearby, stared at the sphere uncertain about what was going on.

“Welcome my little ponies. I apologize for the rushed manner in which we must meet. Things are… grim here you see. For the better part of the last three hours we have been assaulted by forces beyond our understanding. Right now we are enacting a rescue mission and we wish to ask for your help in accomplishing this feat. I will not lie and tell you you will be completely safe but we will endeavor to make you as prepared as we possibly can make you. Do you accept what I am saying to you? Also you do have the choice to walk away there is no shame in that.” Celestia preached with solemn eyes locked on each of them. They were far more creased and showed something few have ever seen on the Solar monarch’s face. Fear. ‘If you refuse we’re screwed cause we can’t do this forever.’

Silence came. Each mare shuffled slightly. Some crossed their hooves while another fell to their haunches sitting in place stunned at what they saw. Luna had not been kidding by how far this threat had gone. Vinyl hid her eyes behind the shades but the shifting of her eyebrows showed how fast her eyes were darting around. Octavia bit her lip trying to stifle a scream. Lyra was the most animated of the three seeing as she was shaking almost uncontrollably. This was a real emergency and the Princesses saw them as saviors even though the Princess of Friendship usually handled the problems of Equestria in this age.

“If Equestria needs us who could say no. I’m guessing that there needs to be all seven of us for things to work right?” Octavia gulped at the prospect of being first.

“This is gonna be fun… right? I mean eventually Bon Bon and the others will be helping us out.” Lyra found her voice.

Vinyl merely nodded the elation of having her boredom cured gave her the push to follow through on this crazy plan. Cadance merely nodded and led them to their mirrors. The Lyra began to panic when she realized what this meant.

“We have to go alone!?”

“Not necessarily. Cadance was casting some spells on you to keep in constant communications with us and the other ponies involved. We will always be monitoring you. Also Anubis here will be supplying you with things to make it easier for you to survive. Just don’t be reckless. It’s safe but you can still be hurt there or worse. We’ll do all we can from here to keep Equestria from falling before you return.” Luna spoke with pure clarity that her mission would succeed. It actually soothed her frayed nerves with how confident she was about all this.

Octavia looked into her mirror and saw a large castle hidden in the mist with bats flying around at intermittent times. Vinyl saw a large sprawling jungle on this larger than life island that was shaped like an animal. Lyra peered into her mirror seeing a vast sky over a large field and… humans riding birds! Her grinning soon turned manic.

Lyra wasted no time jumping into her portal smiling wider than any other time they’ve been hanging out together. Vinyl shrugged and entered her portal leaving a very confused Octavia behind. A short sigh left her entering her mirror leaving the three alicorn princesses waiting for the next wave to appear.

“Did thou have fun Cadance?” Luna smiled. Cadance grimaced and merely shook her head. It had been damn scary seeing Celestia enjoy herself so much. Either way she stood before Luna waiting for the paper. “Oh right! Here you go. I found the next pair might be at this location,” She pointed at the hourglass cutie mark and the words beside it, “ Don’t speak it out loud one of the monsters managed to follow me through my shadow. Be wary before you go niece.”

Cadance for her part nodded again and flew out of the basement and teleported out a fair distance to get the next pair. Celestia sauntered up to Luna with a quivering lip and a pathetic stare on her face. It was strange that the elder sibling was pulling such a ploy.

“Mind if I keep the fun going… Pwease?” Celestia pouted.

Without so much as a word Luna lifted Celestia in her magic, placed her in the area next to Anubis, then walked forward where the enemies had come out of. She smiled eagerly as she used her magic to bring out one of her favorite spears, Ebony Requiem and prepared for battle. She knew the name was silly but even she had had a soft spot for the heroes in old stories who thought naming their weapons empowered them for some unknowable reason. Celestia pouted and prepared her own version of the shield around Anubis to fire out her solar energy.

Author's Notes:

Enjoy.