Celestia flew through the night sky at an increased pace uncertain about what was going on with Anubis anymore. He was splintered more and more with every hour spreading more magic to keep the other ponies safe. Those other worlds were slowly being freed but the shadows had become stronger. Before she got any farther she instantly charged up her magic and burst forth a charge of solar energy all around her vaporizing the shadows around her. A scream sounded out leaving her satisfied. Her rage had all but subsided an hour before Cadance had returned. This much combat she had only seen when Sombra first came to power and it had been a long time since then. Luna had let go of her rage as well and both sister’s were tired. While they had slept somewhat the night before it wasn’t enough to hold the tide against the fatigue they felt after two hours straight of combat.

‘Who knew I was out of shape. I remember going for much longer.’ Celestia mused to herself while she glided into the boundaries of Manehattan. The night life was always exhilarating but she needed her sleep and being a princess made fun really hard to have. When she reached the outskirts of town she quickly used a bit of magic to turn herself into a unicorn with a white coat and a wispy aurora shaded mane. Yes it was indulgent but she didn’t care to keep some form of connection to her old life mostly because she had more fun living on the edge.

The night elements of the city were much more mundane as couples and strangers trotted down the boulevard watching the nightlife develop. With another burst of magic she went in search of the mare in question Bon Bon. She couldn’t believe how long it had been since she had seen that operative.

‘Perhaps I shouldn’t have disbanded the organization. But that incident let Tirek go. Damn it to me. I can’t let guilt get me on this right now. Find those last two mares then gorge self in cake for guilt later.’ Celestia groused at the thought of wasting time without cake. It was maddening enough now she didn’t need to think about the mouth watering, moist, delicious morsels of confectionary delight… ‘Ponyfeathers I’m thinking about it.’

The spell aura led her down multiple streets towards one of the convention centers with the words Crazy Candy Celebration in lights above the front door. She rolled her eyes at the attempt at alliteration and catchiness before walking through the front door. Every section was filled to the brim with ponies vying for attention from the judges and looking to impress them with their wares.

“Excuse me I’m looking for the favorites to win the contest.” The unicorn asked one of the vendors as sweetly as possible,

“Now beautiful what’s your name. Names Slick Sale and candy is my business. Now what can I do to make your night sweeter,” The stallion made no attempt to hide his interest in more than just meeting a pretty new face. Celestia grimaced through her disguise and remembered why she didn’t go out much anymore. With much reluctance she gave her name and restated her question.

“Name’s Corona Flare. Now who are the favorites?” Celestia kept her harsh glare directed on the creep before her. She wanted so desperately to release the illusion but she needed subtlety not the excessive force of the crown directed at its citizenry. With a little roll of her eyes she listened intently.

“Right now the favorites are Coconut Icing, Choco Truffle, and Bon Bon. They are about to be judged right now. Enough of that though babe. How bout you and me go out for a little… Wait where’d you go?” The stallion looked around finding neither hide nor mane of that beautiful mare in question. Dejected, he soon found himself hitting on some other pony only to receive a slap to the face.

Celestia chuckled at the sight before making her way towards the judge’s table and looking for the participants. Wave after wave of convention goers got in her way leaving her annoyed and desperately wanting to buck something through a wall. It took a bit more force than she wanted to but she managed to break through and get closer to the contestants.

“Mares and Gentlestallions! Welcome to our 52nd annual candy extravaganza. Our three finalists are ready to give it their all with their entries. On our left is Coconut Icing and his specialty the Coco Swirl Pop. In the center is Choco Truffle and her Truffle Delight. On the right is Bon Bon with her Mystery Bon Bons. Very original isn’t it folks.” The announcer screamed out.

There was a sweeping laugh at the very obvious decisions the candy makers made. Still, they each stood proudly by their creations. Everypony went quiet as one of the most well known Food Critics that placed an emphasis on sweets appeared. His name was Crying Shame one of the toughest critics on the circuit and he looked hungry.

“Luna damn it all. I can’t wait for this all night. Let’s see… Ah!” Celestia snuck up near the judge and quietly casted a spell on him make his eyes turn unfocused as she stepped near the table and lowered her hooves on it. With a quick motion of her hoof she summoned Bon Bon over to the table.

“Yes judge?” She stepped up to the table and looked worried about something. The mare next to the judge seemed suspicious and those instincts she still had were screaming at her. Something was definitely wrong and she couldn’t place her hoof on it.

“Hello again Agent Sweetie Drops. I hope I’m not interrupting anything important.” Celestia in her Corona disguise uttered out to the incredulity of the situation. Bon Bon immediately felt her flank hit the floor utterly stunned at the sudden appearance of somepony who knew her identity. Her eyes suddenly turned to glare at the unicorn who knew her.

“Who ARE you?” The words were harsh and barbed leaving nothing but rage in her voice. Bon Bon had been working on making her new identity stick. She was a little rude but that was more due to losing such a high paying job for no reason other than safety. When Lyra found out that had nearly been a deal breaker to their entire friendship. Now out of all days when she had finally gotten good enough to rejoin the candy world they had come to bother her. When she was finally considered one of the top three candy makers in Manehattan. It was infuriating. Then the unicorn’s horn lit up and what seemed like an illusion appeared around them shielding them from prying eyes. The pony removed their illusion as well.

“Sorry for barging in Agent Sweetie Drops. It seems I need your help once again.” Princess Celestia looked over towards the pony her neck craned down so they could look eye to eye. Bon Bon then fell to the ground and groveled.

“Oh sweet you I’m sorry for being so rude. I just can’t… I mean I’m really… oh dear…” Bon Bon was stuttering and shaking at being rude to the monarch of all of Equestria and the one who had hired her as an agent. “Damn it.”

“Sweetie I need you to focus. This is worse than Tartarus and I need you to come with me as soon as the contest is over. If need be I’ll release my illusion to get this over with but we need to find one more pony before we leave the city. I can’t stress enough how bad this is. It makes Tirek look like an oversized kitten.” Celestia was flustered at letting go of all the pent up aggression she had stored up. There were multiple problems still and luckily the shadow monsters hadn’t managed to follow her. Still she was unsure where the other pony was. Trixie was a wandering magician and she didn’t sense her within the city.

“What do you mean Princess? Worse than Tirek. Oh...I’m also sorry for what happened down in Tartarus. It went completely over our heads… We lost them.” Bon Bon grimaced and turned her gaze away from her. She didn’t want to remember this now. ‘It wasn’t your fault.’

“Do not concern yourself with that. Look, how much longer do you need until you are ready to go? We must look for this other pony as quickly as possible.” Celestia looked out at the contest. The illusion of Bon Bon remained standing near her candy just as the specialty judge was finishing up the truffle dish.

“Ten minutes. Please release the illusion I need to face this monster on my own.” Bon Bon glared down the judge from her hiding spot within the illusion before taking her place standing within her double.

“As you wish. Good luck.” The illusion was released as Celestia remained near the table waiting for the announcement. Five minutes later all the candy was tried. The First place prize went to… Choco Truffle. Second Place went to Bon Bon. Coconut Icing was so appalled that when the third place ribbon came out he burned it in front of the judge and spit in his face. Tensions had indeed run high.

“Damn… Well better than I thought I would get. First time actually entering the contest and getting second place does mean that my candy gets recognized as one of the best.” She sighed a bit dejected she didn’t win but when she tried the truffle treats she couldn’t deny that they were extremely tasty. Icing was probably the worse sport and she saw security grab him and ‘escort’ him out without problem.

“For what it’s worth I did enjoy your candy a lot. Luckily you managed to make a cake flavored one so I’m happy.” Celestia smiled at the taste of the bon bons she had ‘earned’ from watching the contest as she grabbed Bon Bon in her magic and teleported out of the convention center to the roof. She removed the illusion and looked over Bon Bon.

“Thank you Celestia. Are we restarting the Agency once again?” Bon Bon inquired. She had hoped for something a bit more exciting than making candy for the rest of her life even if she was good at it. It left something to the desire which she rarely managed to fill very often.

“Not exactly. This will probably get you a more important position as part of the council of friendship. I have it for a fact that your friend Lyra Heartstrings is also to be a part of it.” Celestia watch Bon Bon’s reactions, They went from disappointed to surprised within a second then flew so fast into abject shock that it was a surprise that Bon Bon had been such an effective agent.

“Are you serious? What happened that would necessitate the need for more ponies to work with Twilight?” Bon Bon was scared. The need for more ponies in an organization meant a number of things but none of them fit the situation. Nopony could be fired from being an element of harmony and neither were any of them dead from the look in Celestia’s eyes. Discord hadn’t turned evil again either at least it didn’t look like he did since everything still looked normal.

“Unfortunately something has happened beneath the castle in a secret chamber. Two figures came out of there and attacked all of us. They then stole away both Discord and Spike meaning that these things are strong enough to deal with chaos spirits and dragons, “ Bon Bon opened her mouth but Celestia finished her thought with her last words. “Regardless if that dragon is a baby.”

Bon Bon kept her silence but she felt there was more going on. The princess was casting another spell once again leaving her confused about what was going on. The weirdest part was that Lyra was a part of this now. Lyra was always so uncertain after finding out about the secret agent lifestyle she once had.

“Are you ready?” Celestia woke her from her reverence of the past and picked her up in a telekinetic field.

“Where are we going Princess Celestia?” Bon Bon looked down noticing that she was floating far above the world while Celestia glided into the night sky. ‘That’s a long way down…’

“Oh I found out where she is right now. She’s still making her way through the fields near here. We’re going off to intercept her and take her back for the mission. From what I remember about this pony they have a slight ego problem. Would you like to deal with her? I don’t want to throw my weight around if I don’t have to.” Celestia chuckled more to herself than to Bon Bon. She was uncomfortable with this particular situation.

“I’ll try. Are you certain this is the best course of action?” Bon Bon finally reeled in her emotions. Years of training came back to her as her finely tuned senses found that resolve she left behind. Her eyes seemed to shine less as if she had seen the end of the world and lived through it. Had Celestia not found her making candy she could have sworn that Bon Bon and Sweetie Drops were two different ponies.

“For now, yes. I don’t want to force this pony to do something against her will. You will handle negotiations and if she requires something beyond what you could provide I will step into persuade her if need be. I’ll admit I never wanted you to be placed back into danger. Nopony aside from my sister and I should be forced to deal with the problems of the past.” Celestia stared wistfully out at the rising moon. She needed to hurry this up.

Bon Bon said nothing nodding curtly at the concern. She wouldn’t admit it but the loss of her job had driven Bon Bon into her hobby more than she wanted it to. She had been happy even if she needed to keep the secret from one of her best friends. Something special just for her to call her own. Still she didn’t begrudge the princess for deciding that it didn’t work. Tirek had escaped even under their watch and that was something she couldn’t forgive herself for. It was her duty to hold and she had failed it. Celestia didn’t speak after the nodding had occurred leaving them to silence.

‘I remember this silence. Whenever a new mission came up the agents would always center themselves prepared to deal with whatever was going to happen.’ Celestia sighed in exasperation and soon reached the outskirts of the city. Out in the distance was a small trailer being pulled by a blue unicorn with a silver toned mane.

“Target spotted Princess. Ready for tactical drop off.” Bon Bon said monotonously. Her eyes immediately focused on the unicorn in question. Then she lost her cool and fell into sputtering anger and nonsensical sounds.

“Well at least you have changed for the better Sweetie. Here you go.” With a flick of her horn Bon Bon was teleported a little out of range of the unicorn in question. Bon Bon for her part rubbed her temples with her hooves. This was going to be a nightmare even if she did reform. With much reluctance she stepped out through the fields towards the still moving cart. The unicorn in question stopped when she noticed the earth pony who stood in her way.

“Can I help you? Right now the ‘Great and Powerful’ Trixie is on her way to a job opportunity in Manehattan and Trixie does not want to be late.” Trixie held her nose high. As she sat down Bon Bon noticed just how tired she looked.

“Yeah I’ve been looking for a pony who could help me with something. Only somepony so powerful and great could assist me with a task from the Princess of the Sun.” Bon Bon answered as seriously as possible adding a small flourish of her hoof when the Princess was mentioned. She hated having to use the connections to make something happen but these were desperate times if Celestia’s concerned eyes were something to go by.

“Really? I mean… Of course you are looking for me. I am the ‘Great and Powerful’ Trixie and Trixie shall be glad to assist you… Once I’ve pulled off my job in Manehattan.” Trixie smiled and started moving forward once again leaving a stunned Bon Bon and her reeling mind behind.

“Wait, Wait, Wait! Didn’t you hear me. Princess Celestia is asking directly for your help in something. Why do you need to go to Manehattan?” Bon Bon started walking alongside her her mouth trying desperately not to gape open in surprise.

“Trixie most certainly did hear you but right now Trixie must keep a promise she made a while ago. Trixie knows to keep promises to friends she made and Trixie shall not be held back by anypony. “ A light pink glow came from from her horn lifting Bon Bon and placing her out of hoof distance as she kept trotting along with her cart. Bon Bon merely face hoofed that this was the same pony only now she was taking care of her friends. Celestia appeared nearby urging her to keep trying even though Bon Bon noticed her proud smile taking up her entire muzzle pointed at Trixie. With a quick sigh she trotted back up to Trixie.

“Who do you have to keep the promise with Trixie?” Bon Bon inquired hoping to get some angle on the situation she could negotiate her way through.

“Urgh… If you must know a while back during one of Trixie’s shows she made a friend with a younger filly known as Babs Seed. We were alike in our pasts and Trixie makes it a point to come see her whenever Trixie has a show in the area, “ Trixie stared down at her hooves thoughtfully lost in the past. When she remembered the pony beside her she couldn’t hide the truth for some reason. “ In truth, I made no promise to her. This is a promise I made to myself and it is one I keep to remind myself that there are other ponies than myself who matter. I would prefer not to be kept any longer. I shall help the Princess when I have accomplished my goals.” Trixie kept walking forward giving only the slightest pause for the pony to stop looking like a fish.

After a few minutes and the sight of Trixie moving further away she motioned for Celestia to step forward and handle this. She was under the strict notion that Celestia wasn’t going to force the issue but if this was important then it needed to be done. Celestia glided forward and stepped up next to Trixie who didn’t notice who was near her. With a slight scowl she looked at the figure next to her only to recoil and fall flat on her muzzle.

“Hello there ‘Great and Powerful’ Trixie. Do you need any assistance before you can assist me?” Celestia smirked down at the unicorn and chuckled at her loss of composure. Needless to say this was the perk of going to meet the ponies around you when your life was full of sitting through court meetings and hearing the same concerns of every noble every day for every year of her reign. No, she wasn’t annoyed by it either nor did she need to vent through trolling her little ponies relentlessly like she did her students. They needed to open up and make friends not be led by the bridle from time to time.

“Mh… mh… my apologies Princess Trixie didn’t see you there...Trixie was just told of a great opportunity to assist you but she must keep her promise before Trixie’s ego gets too big once again. So yes, Trixie will agree to the help.” Trixie tried her best to keep a stable hoof but her nerves caused her to flail about like a madmare. Celestia smiled the whole time keeping her laughs hidden beneath her hoof.

“Very well. Give me but a moment to take you to see Miss Seed then we must travel and make way for the mission since you so willingly agreed to it already.” Celestia was smirking too much for Trixie’s nerves. The sweat rolled down her forehead as a nervous spike shot up through her spine. She had never truly met with Celestia before even when she went to school back when she was a filly and right now the aura she was giving was intimidating Trixie into that little filly back so long ago.

With another burst of magic the three of them plus the cart were warped in front of the Seed residence. Celestia motioned her forward while Bon Bon stayed near the cart. To Trixie’s surprise she acted like a guard for it while ponies all gawked at the sight of the Princess trotting alongside the illusionist. Nopony got near the two for fear of doing something stupid.

While the visit went well the nervousness on the Seed Family was apparent. The parents were catering to the princess while Trixie and Babs talked to each other calmly about the past. Each seemingly looking on towards the future with an optimistic gaze until Celestia coughed lightly to get Trixie’s attention. Babs smiled and hugged Trixie goodbye and waved to Celestia as well. Both remained quiet as Celestia teleported them and the cart all the way back to Ponyville. Trixie was perturbed to say the least.

“What are we doing back here? I just left this place already. “ Trixie snorted derisively.

“Well Starlight is in trouble and requires- “ Celestia began to speak before Trixie spoke up once again.

“What are we waiting for? Move the lead out Celestia I’ve got a friend to save.” Celestia was absolutely floored until Trixie realized what she said and began backpedaling about what she just said. Celestia merely smiled and patted her on the back with her wing.

“Well I’m surprised now. Usually you get more pissed off when someone talks back to you Princess.” Bon Bon was raising her eyebrow in confusion with how she was taking this all in stride. Trixie had sheepishly moved forward toward the castle while Celestia looked towards Bon Bon.

“Usually ponies are arguing about a decision I’ve made. They aren’t making a beeline to save their friend y’know. Did I use that slang right?” Celestia giggled at the sight of Trixie putting her wagon next to the castle and tying it down next to it.

“Yes you did Princess. Now maybe we should get some details since we both are going into these problems nearly blind. I hope Lyra is okay…” Bon Bon brought a hoof to her cheek and lightly smacked herself. She needed to get the problems out of her head.

“Right. Trixie please come over here. I need to explain more about this. Are you ready?” Celestia took on a more serious tone and sat on the steps outside the castle.

Trixie sat nearby while Bon Bon remained standing waiting for all the details. Neither of the pair were looking forward towards what they needed to do. Trixie shifted uncomfortably while Bon Bon crossed her front hooves and leaned against the castle walls.

“”Last morning we were attacked by a pair of monsters. They managed to destroy our shield almost effortlessly before dragging both Spike and Discord away from us tearing them into what is most likely another dimension. Then they have sent monsters made in our friends image to try and destroy our one link to save them from destruction. Right now all of our friends have gone into other worlds in order to break a way into the inner workings of this new tree beneath the castle. We are currently working with it’s guardian making sure that Equestria remains safe from the very real threat of these two enemies.” Celestia finally opened her eyes after explaining everything only to see both mare’s jaws hanging wide open and their eyes nearly popped out of their skulls. It took a little coaxing to get them to respond and the shock was still palatable.

“You let Lyra agree to this horrible idea? She was still trying to figure out things. Give me a few minutes to get somethings from my kit. I might need my tools if I have to go into another world entirely.” Bon Bon galloped off to her home and came back with a strange faux leather saddlebag. Trixie merely remained quiet and went back into her cart. When she came out she was wearing her purple star studded cape and matching purple sorcerer’s cap.

“The only thing Trixie needs is a bit of flair and her attire to wow another world with Trixie’s stupendous stage presence. Now let’s not waste anymore of Trixie’s time and get to work on saving Trixie’s friends.” Trixie opened the front door and instantly took a few steps back.

The entire room was cold. Colder than the frozen north and twice as uninviting that the three quickly ran for the map room. By then the room was fully carved apart with each groove in the floors and walls have similar green ash coating each cut. Celestia lifted the two mares and slowly floated down into the depths of the hole taking care to not to fumble around in the telekinetic grip.

“Is everything still ok Luna?” Celestia looked around noticing that Cadance was at the forefront holding the remains of the monsters. The macabre scene before her and the haunted look painted in her eyes left Celestia worried. Cadance turned towards her then trotted over and laid her head against Celestia’s chest. She was tired and all the monsters had stopped once again.

“She has had a long evening sister. While these two get ready to go I’m going to say that we’ve been through a very long night so far and she needs some rest. Please remain in the shield and let her rest. I’ll handle point once again while the night goes on. Anubis please get the portals ready.” Luna intoned as she put Cadance within the shield and took point. Celestia stepped into the shield as well while Bon Bon and Trixie looked around at the carnage before them.

Entrails coated the entire floor with limbs hanging off the edge of the island they stood on. The waters surrounding the tree were heavily coated in shadows. Trixie walked around the tree looking at the mirrors out on the edges. Each seemed to swirl with their own magical aura leaving her amazed at the sight. It seemed to truly be a marvelous place but something was off. The carnage around them seemed to be the reason but to the unicorn she felt something darker coursing through the room.

“What the hay was that?” Trixie looked around until she noticed the sphere hovering near the princesses. It was glowing a dull green and seemed to barely be holding its body together. Bon Bon merely scoffed at the sight and stepped closer to one of the mirrors that seemed to have the imprint of her cutie mark. Trixie shook off her momentary shock and stepped towards her.

Bon Bon looked into her mirror only to see a foggy little town surrounding a large lake. Something seemed wrong to the agent and she kept her saddlebags tightly around her barrel. Trixie quickly found her mark and looked into her mirror. Inside the surface was a small desert landscape with a weird creature with large ears and a tail. It looked cat like in nature and it was holding an oversized wrench.

“Lovely. Trixie gets to deal with oversized cat people. How about you… uh, Trixie never got your name.” Trixie called out to the other pony looking slightly ashamed she forgot to ask her name. Bon Bon kept staring into her mirror. She didn’t know which name to go by at this point as her hooves shuffled along the floor.

“You can call me Bon Bon. That’s who I am and who I always will be,” Bon Bon grimaced slightly forcing her lips into a smile. Trixie didn’t notice the grimace and continued to look into her mirror. “It seems my place is really foggy. I can’t tell much about it. See you when I get back, huh?”

“Yes. Trixie looks forward to hearing about why you work for the princess. Curiosity seems to have gotten the better of Trixie.” With those words both ponies slowly stepped into their mirrors leaving behind the princesses.

“Don’t worry Anubis. We’re going to show you just why the two of us working together make for a deadly combination. Also don’t be a smart flank and assume that just because we got surprised yesterday morning that we are weak. Surprise attacks are hard to counter even for us.” Celestia haughtily explained as she set up Cadance inside the barrier with her. The glow in her horn signaled the beginning of her defensive abilities.

“Tis true. As fellow warriors and siblings we compliment each other in a balance. While different as night and day obviously enough we strike at our enemies with the force of our own heavenly connections. One of light and one of shadows constantly flowing through our world.” Luna summoned more of her spears. Each looked to be custom made but easily expendable and she kept three in her telekinetic grip.

Cadance couldn’t keep her eyes open any longer. She didn’t have the same stamina as her aunts and fatigue had plagued her throughout the battles she had. Even taking care of Flurry Heart was easier then non stop battle and she wouldn’t be complaining about her daughter’s temper tantrums after the incident was over.