“Hello, Princess Twilight,” Celestia said, “I’ve been expecting you.”

“Somehow, I’m not surprised you know who I am,” Twilight said, trying not to show the feelings this princess had inspired in her. “If nothing else, your intelligence apparatus is very efficient.”

“If a little on the vigorous side, correct?” Princess Celestia said, and a pair of unicorn maids came in from behind Twilight and her friends, each carrying a trunk in their magic.

“Princess, you wanted us to dress you now?” one of the maids asked, bowing to her sovereign.

“Already time is it?” Princess Celestia asked, rhetorically. “Very well. Princess Twilight, do you mind if we continue to talk while I prepare for my meeting?”

“Not at all,” Twilight said, watching the maids lower the trunks to the floor on either side of Princess Celestia. “I’m somewhat familiar with the demands of state. While you get ready let me introduce my companions to you.”

“Derpy Hooves, the Martyr of Winneapolis,” Princess Celestia said, and Derpy’s eyes went wide, “and Trixie Lulamoon. Who was last seen commanding a deep recon unit that was lost a year ago. Captain Dash and the Pie sisters are already well known to me.” Trixie and Derpy exchanged shocked glances with Twilight at hearing what had to be the fates of their counterparts, but Twilight remained unphased.

“My companions aren’t those ponies, Princess,” Twilight said, mentally preparing her defences and an escape plan just in case. It would be hard with Captain Dash, Maud and Pinkamena literally a hoof away from them. Which, considering the paranoia of this world, made a sort of sense. The three soldiers were likely here in case Twilight and her friends did turn out to be assassins.

“I know that,” Princess Celestia said, the corner of her mouth turning up in something too small to be called a smile. “I thought that your companions might be interested in the fate of their opposite numbers here. As you may have heard, the War has not been kind to my ponies. Something to drink?”

“Thank you,” Twilight said, and at a nod from Princess Celestia one of the unicorns, an orange mare with a red mane, finished her task of securing a piece of leg armor and scooped up a wine bottle. A few moments later, a goblet half full of an amber liquid was hovering in front of Twilight and her friends. Trixie and Derpy both took up their goblets and were about to drink when a look from Twilight stopped them.

“Would it be possible for our escorts to have some?” Twilight asked, as innocently as possible.

“Why, of course,” Princess Celestia said with a laugh. “Captains, consider yourselves off-duty for the time being.”

“Thank you, Ma’am,” Captain Dash said, and all three soldiers snapped off precise salutes while the maid provided three more goblets and filled those as well.

“To Peace,” Princess Celestia intoned ironically, lifting her glass as she was being armored. The six ponies in front of the solar monarch raised their glasses in response, sipping at what turned out to be a fiery, apple-flavoured liqueur. Twilight spent a moment savoring the warmth of the drink, then spoke.

“Thank you, Princess,” Twilight said, setting aside the goblet. “First off, I’d like to ask if there…” Twilight stopped as she felt the warmth in her belly begin to spread out to her limbs.

“If there is anything that you could have done to convince me that you really are from an alternate world, not checking for poison in your drinks has done it,” Celestia said, smiling as she put down her own, untouched drink. “Consider my test passed, although if you were my student, you’d also have gotten a failing grade.”

“What… have you done to us?” Twilight asked, heat enveloping her and she saw the other five mares with her all feeling the effects of the drink. “Why would you let your own ponies…”

“I’ve just taught you three travelers a small lesson on how my Equestria has had to operate for the past five years,” Celestia said, as the last few pieces of armor were strapped on. “No one in this war would even blink at sacrificing three ponies to take down a high-value target, like yourself. Don’t worry though, what you’re feeling should pass in a bit.”

“This is not… how you treat guests,” Twilight said, swaying a bit. “So I-I’ll ask again, what have you done to us?”

“Given you a universal antidote to anything that my Twilight may have given you,” Celestia said, and her smirk was large now. “She can be rather inventive, you know.”

“I’ve noticed,” Twilight said, thinking back to the experience she had gone through with this timeline’s version of herself. Burying those thoughts for later, she turned and noticed a green vapor rising up and away from her and her companions. “Are all of you really that far gone from the principles of Harmony and Friendship, that you have to resort to tactics that would be anathema in my Equestria?”

“Yes, Princess,” Princess Celestia said, her face going grim. “I don’t like the choices we… I, have had to make but there was no other way. We’ve been at war for years now. A war for survival against an enemy that does not want to just kill us, not just wants to put our bodies in chains for his own purposes, but wants to enslave our very minds and souls to his foul plans.”

“He scares you, doesn’t he?” Twilight said, feeling herself steady as the flow of vapour out of her own body began to slow.

“Yes,” Princess Celestia admitted. “He terrifies me, to be honest about it. He broke Cadance with an ease that was frightening. He captured Luna not long ago. I know he’s been trying to break her will as well.”

“Princess Luna is a strong, determined mare,” Twilight said, more strength flowing into her as the antidote potion finished its work. “That’s been true so far in whatever world I’ve travelled to.”

“If Somba has both Cadance and Luna on his side, he may have enough raw power to take me down,” Princess Celestia said, settling a golden helmet on her head. “That’s why I asked for this conference with him, and even let him set some of the conditions.”

“To negotiate terms,” Twilight said, looking at Derpy and Trixie who both gave her a nod of assurance that they were recovered. “You’re surrendering to Sombra.”

“Oh Light, no,” Princess Celestia said, laughing. “I intend to kill Sombra at this conference, before he has a chance to take me down.”

“What?!” Twilight shouted, shocked down to her hooves. “You’re seriously going to violate a truce, your own given word, in order to take down Sombra?”

“As I said, if he has Luna turned to his side, he may have enough power to take me down,” Princess Celestia said, her voice as hard as her golden armor. “If I fall, Equestria falls with me, and there will be no recovery from it. Not now, not ever. So I’m giving Sombra bait he couldn't resist if he tried, myself.”

“You’re lying,” Twilight said, narrowing her eyes. “I wouldn’t have believed it before, but after everything you’ve said, I can. Why didn’t you just put me and my friends in chains and drag us in front of Sombra?”

“Now you’re thinking like one of my subjects,” Princess Celestia said, nodding in satisfaction. “As soon as I confirmed that you really did exist I made sure that Sombra heard of it. A fourth alicorn, and a skilled mage on top of that? There’s no way Sombra could resist taking a shot at that. As to why you aren’t in chains, or otherwise packaged up in trade for my sister. Well, let’s just say that I haven’t entirely abandoned the ways of Friendship.”

“So, what is our purpose at the meeting, other than bait?” Twilight asked, keeping her teeth from grinding together.

“Neutral witnesses, I hope,” Princess Celestia said, as a chuckle escaped her. “I fully expect a betrayal by Sombra, so having witnesses to that would be helpful. In the worst case scenario I would hope you could be backup for me.”

“You can’t possibly expect us to fight for you?” Twilight asked, and she realized that she was feeling even stronger than normal. “That wasn’t just an antidote, was it?”

“I expect you to fight for yourselves, and from what I’ve seen and heard of you, that includes defending the Princesses of Equestria,” Princess Celestia said, stepping up and running an armored hoof along the side of Twilight’s face. “And yes, there was a powerful tonic in that drink as well. For the next couple of hours you will be operating at your peak, all of you.”

“I have no intention of helping you commit murder,” Twilight said, shying away from the touch, as part of her wondered if her Celestia was capable of this degree of manipulation, a thought that both terrified and intrigued her. Everypony was just a piece on a chessboard to this Celestia, and they were in endgame whether they liked it or not.

“You already have helped me,” Princess Celestia said, gesturing toward the tent’s exit. “It’s time for us to go and meet Sombra. Will you come willingly, or… “ The armoured alicorn let the word hang, knowing the group would catch her meaning.

“Fine, we’ll go with you,” Twilight said, noting as she turned that the three soldiers behind her and her companions had been ready to do violence at their Princess’ command. “Just don’t be surprised if things don’t go as you’ve planned. From what I’ve seen, they rarely do when you ignore Harmony.”

“It isn’t a case of ignoring Harmony, Princess Twilight,” Celestia said, leading the group outside as Dash and the Pies fell into a protective triangle around the other four. “It’s more a putting aside of what you can’t afford for now. Once Sombra is dead, then we can go back to the principles of Harmony and Friendship.”

“But it will be built on the bones of another pony,” Derpy said, ignoring the scowls Maud sent her way. “Sure, he’s a really, really bad pony. But how can your ponies rebuild after that?”

“Harmony in this Equestria can only be restored with Sombra's death, and I fully intend on making sure that death is at my own hooves,” Princess Celestia said, leading the group out past the guards on the edge of the camp. “That way, the blame will fall only on me. My ponies have sacrificed so much in this struggle, but this last thing I can spare them.”

“Do you honestly believe that you can avoid becoming as bad as him?” Derpy said, and for a brief moment she swore that both Captain Dash and Maud looked angry at Celestia mentioning Sombra's death again, but she thought it was just her imagination and said nothing about it. “How does striking first make you better than him? With all due respect, I know he has done something personal to you, but murdering a murderer in cold blood just makes you more of one.”

“Nothing can persuade me from the plan I have chosen,” Celestia said, her features going from neutral to aggravated. “We're the bait, and when the moment is right I intend to strike him down and free my sister, this discussion is over.”

Derpy was about to ignore that when a warning glance from Trixie stopped her. As the armoured alicorn led them onward in silence, the group traveled through a blasted no-pony-land where nothing grew except mud and puddles. After nearly half an hour, Twilight saw their destination, a large conference table beneath an open pavilion, at the foot of a small hillock. Four crystal guards stood at rigid attention around the pavilion, one at each corner of it.

“We are expected,” Princess Celestia said to one of the guards, when they reached the meeting place. “May we enter?” The guard, who like his fellows was helmeted, had not reacted in the slightest to the approach of the Princess and her group. For a moment, Twilight thought that the guards might not even be real, then the one Princess Celestia had addressed turned his head slightly and gave a slow nod.

“Let us await the arrival of our host,” Princess Celestia said, gesturing to where one side of the table was labelled, “Slave Celestia, and party.” Twilight frowned at the card, even as she took her seat to one side of the princess.

“Princess—” Twilight began, mind working on why Sombra would place such an obvious insult.

“I see it,” Princess Celestia said, and Twilight could see a muscle flex on the jaw of that otherwise inscrutable face. “Remember what happened back at camp. Do not eat or drink anything. Touch nothing other than what you must. There is a full shower waiting for us, along with more antidotes and a full regimen of disenchantments.”

“Is it really that bad, your Highness?” Trixie asked, standing behind Twilight and to one side.

“Likely worse, Dame Trixie,” Princess Celestia said, not moving her head to speak to the pale blue showmare, “but they are the best precautions we can create. Oh look, our host approaches.”

In the distance Twilight could see something approaching, dark with flashing green highlights. As it drew nearer the group could make out the shape of an approaching chariot, drawn by two large ponies, with another pony trailing close behind. Drawing even closer, Twilight could make out the form of Sombra at the controls of the chariot, and even at this distance she could make out Sombra’s arrogant stance. The chariot pulled up a few yards away, and Twilight felt Derpy and Trixie both go rigid in shock as they recognized the two ponies pulling the chariot, as well as the one trailing behind.

Pulling the chariot, fully bridled and harnessed in tandem, were the forms of Shining Armor and Princess Cadance. Their coats were brushed, their manes styled, the straps around their bodies had been coloured and shaped to be both elegant and functional, and both were in the utter perfection of physical health. However, neither of them had the slightest glimmer of intelligence or initiative in their eyes.

Twilight’s heart fell, seeing what had become of this world’s version of her brother and his wife. Despite the sadness she had for their state, she was silently grateful that Sombra was at least keeping them in good shape.

“So you weren't bluffing, Celestia,” Sombra said, dismounting from his chariot and circling Twilight like a buyer at an auction, inspecting her from every angle. “I must admit I was skeptical when I heard the news, but she looks like she could be quite the prize if you are willing to offer her in exchange for your sister.”

Twilight, for her part, was trying her hardest to keep herself composed. When she and her friends were battling their own version of Sombra, there had been no time to notice his features or demeanor. Now in the presence of this Sombra, she found herself lost for words with her breath caught in her throat. The simulation that Inquisitor Twilight had created didn't hold a candle to the living presence of the powerful stallion in front of her, and she found herself fighting an insane urge to offer herself to him.

“Lavender,” Sombra said, sniffing Twilight's mane and making her eyes flutter at his silky tone. “Such a lovely and calming scent, and a mare of such knowledge would know how to use it to relax after long nights studying, correct? Perhaps we could strike a deal between us, with you as my lovely concubine. I would teach you the secrets of Dark Magic, and the secrets of dark pleasures as well. How does that sound, little pet?”

Twilight felt something deep in her core thrum in response to the word “pet,” and she felt herself starting to slip under the warm blanket of being a submissive possession. Not even the training Shaushka had given her was proof against whatever spell of presence, words and scent the dark king was weaving around her. Twilight opened her eyes, looking in desperation for something to steady herself, and her eyes fell on this world’s Princess Luna.

She was very lean, this Luna. Her coat a darker blue than the Princess of the Night that Twilight knew, almost black it was so dark. She wore one of Sombra’s dreaded helmets that covered her head down to the neck, but she had not succumbed as yet to the power of the dreaded device. That much was obvious as Luna kept moving back in forth, held in place only by a pair of tethers that ran from the rear of the chariot to a crystal collar around her throat. Twilight focused herself on the captive alicorn, drinking in every detail to convince herself what the terrible cost of submission to the velvet covered evil at her side would be.

Twilight’s study spotted something very unusual about this Luna as well. Her tail was large and full, arcing straight up from a wrapped dock to cascade over the full 180 degrees down to the ground. Twilight stared for a moment as she realized the terrible, core clenching truth.

Luna did not have one tail, she had three. Her natural one, plus one emanating from a plug in her tailhole and a second, wider one wedged in her marehood. As Twilight watched, both plugs animated themselves, sliding in and out while the attached tails flipped back and forth, erotically working themselves in the dark blue alicorn.

“Magnificent, isn’t she?” Sombra purred in her ear. “Twelve days of near constant stimulation and exposure to my magics, and still she hasn’t broken.”

“RELEASE HER, YOU CUR!” Princess Celestia thundered, and the shout completed the job of breaking Twilight away from the dangerous place her mind had been going.

“Release her?” Sombra asked, smirking. “Very well, in the interests of these talks I will give your sister release.” Sombra’s horn lit for a split second and Twilight heard a brief crackling sound as the plugs embedded in Luna discharged electricity straight into her most sensitive nerves. With a howl of ecstatic agony, muffled only slightly by the helmet, Luna fell heavily to her side while orgasms tore through her body.

Twilight watched the supine princess pump her hips against her phantom lover, entranced. Another feeling was rising in her now. The need to possess, to control, to take the leash of the beauty writhing in front of her and take possession of her. For a moment, an unbidden fantasy came to her mind, of Celestia and Luna both kneeling at her hooves and calling her “Mistress” as she locked collars and bridles on them.

“Perhaps not a concubine after all,” Sombra said, his voice calculating, his eyes assessing Twilight’s change in body language. “Perhaps a queen. Somepony not to kneel before me, but to rule at my side. A worthy mare, to match me in all things.”

“What about Chrysalis?” Twilight heard herself ask. “Aren’t you allied with her?”

“Chrysalis has proved to be… unsatisfactory,” Sombra said, chuckling. “She and the last of her drones are now the serving staff at my castle in the Crystal Empire. A fitting reward for her inept attempt at betrayal after her efforts on my behalf were less than effective.”

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY SISTER?” Celestia roared again, and Twilight backed away from Sombra as she saw wisps of smoke begin to rise from the solar alicorn.

“I’ve done what you’ve asked. Given her release,” Sombra said, inhaling the scent of sex coming off of Luna like one of Fleur’s friends assessing a perfume. “Now that she has had that release at my hooves, her mind should be mine to mold shortly. Likely my helmet is already breaking down the last bastions of her will.”

Twilight moved over to where Trixie and Derpy were both very carefully not reaching for their weapons, not checking how far away potential enemies were, and not moving into anything resembling a fighting stance. Twilight wasn’t sure why, but it was obvious to her that Sombra knew what Princess Celestia intended and was goading her into taking the first shot.

“Get that thing off of my sister, now,” Celestia ground out, power gathering around her.

“I don’t think so, not when I’m so close to making her mine,” Sombra said, his voice dripping contempt. “Another orgasm or two should—”

“ARGH!” Celestia screamed in wordless fury, unleashing a bolt of pure hellfire at Sombra, who was already dancing to one side.

“Arise shadows, defend your King,” Sombra said, his voice deep and eyes flaring with dark magic. From behind every boulder shadows emerged, lengthened and grew into pony-like shapes that formed wing, horns and weapons of pure darkness.

“Twilight, what do we do?” Trixie asked, as Twilight backed up to her friends.

“Defend yourselves, but don’t attack. At least for now,” Twilight said, before calling out to the Lord of Shadows. “Sombra! You don’t need to do this. We can negotiate a settlement.”

“The only words I wish to hear, are those of surrender to my will,” Sombra said, his four flesh and blood guards moving to his side while Celestia dealt with a score of shadow ponies that rushed her. “I will give you one chance. Swear loyalty to me or suffer the lash of my wrath.”

“I’m afraid we can’t do that, Sombra,” Twilight said, raising her own magic in a shield between her friends and the evil unicorn. “You’re making a terrible mistake.”

“As are you, my soon to be slave,” Sombra said, then tossed a command to another group of his shadows. “I want the purple alicorn, alive. Her friends as well if possible, but the alicorn is not to be killed.” Twenty shadows ran, leaped, slithered and flew toward Twilight and her friends, hurling magic and weapons both. The wave of impacts spread a series of concentric rings across Twilight’s globe of force.

“We’re going to need to move soon,” Twilight said, as the wave of enemies came closer. “If we just stand here they’ll just batter down my shield. Get ready to run on my signal.” Trixie unsheathed the Zodiac sword while Derpy flexed her wings in a strange way, and suddenly a steel dart gleamed between each of her primary feathers, ready to be hurled at their enemies.

“Dashiel Umbrum,” Maud said, turning towards Captain Dash and showing the pegasus the crystalline interior of a geode. “Your King is in danger. You saw the attempt on his life, are you ready to protect him?”

“Yes, Maud,” Captain Dash said, volition draining away from her face and voice, as witnessed actions and heard words triggered a set response. “I am ready to protect my King, what do you need me to do?”

“Celestia no doubt has reinforcements coming,” Maud said, still holding the geode so that Dash could see its interior. “Stop them.”

“Yes… the High Guard,” Dashiel said, crouching low for that first explosive leap upwards. “I will stop them.” Captain Dash shot into the air with an audible “whoosh” sound as her wife stood there dumbfounded.

“Maud, what’s going on?” Pinkamena asked, eyes flicking between her sister and the swiftly shrinking speck of her wife. “Are you working for Sombra?”

“Since the very beginning, and of my own free will,” Maud said, her voice even as she locked eyes with her sister. “It’s why I’ve always been able to pass all those checks for mind control, my will has always been my own. Join me, Pinkie. Sombra’s been planning this ever since Dash fell into his hooves. Swear allegiance to Sombra and once Celestia is done, he’ll remove Dash’s conditioning and the three of us can serve a strong monarch with honor.”

“I thought we were serving a strong monarch,” Pinkie said, her hooves shifting into a combat stance. “I can’t let you do this to my Dashie.”

“Oh, Pinkie,” Maud said, moving to mirror her sister. “I already have.” With that, it became a battle of sister versus sister. Blows that could shatter boulders and move earth were thrown, blocked or dodged with a speed that was nearly impossible to watch as both Earth Ponies used their talents, at a level almost nopony had ever seen.

“Get ready,” Flash Sentry yelled over the windstream to the other ponies under his command. “We should be over the meeting site in the next minute or—” Flash Sentry never saw what hit him. One moment he was leading a formation of ten ponies to the aid of his princess, the next he was pinwheeling downwards, one wing completely shattered as his killer arced up and away.

“Everypony scatter!” Spearhead, Flash’s panicked second in command shouted. “Get to Celestia! Nothing else matters.”

Unit cohesion shattered, the remaining pegasi streaked toward the ground, in a frantic attempt to reach their princess before they were picked off one by one. Spearhead himself almost made it to the ground before a second sense warned him to move. Pitching to one side, he almost managed to dodge Dashiel’s attack. Instead of shattering his wing and sending him into a fatal dive like Flash Sentry, the blow of the attacking pegasus’ metal wing struck a rear leg instead, breaking the limb and sending him into a flat spin.

Spearhead recovered from the spin just in time to set down on the ground and collapse in agony. Immobilized, he could only prop himself up against a boulder and watch as one of the most honoured members of the Equestrian military turned traitor and tore apart his unit one by one.

At the former meeting site the battle continued. Sombra seemed content to fight on the defensive, launching his own attacks infrequently, but sending wave after wave of conjured shadows at Princess Celestia. The warrior princess was never quite able to line up another blast at Sombra, always having to deal with another shadow just as she was about to attack their master.

Twilight had separated from Derpy and Trixie to keep their enemies from being able to concentrate on a single spot. She kept trying to blast Sombra as well, or take to the air to get a fresh perspective, but her lack of experience in a pitched battle was telling. At least twice now, all that had saved Twilight was the order that she be taken alive. She’d managed to escape those attempts to capture her, but one of her fetlocks now had a golden shackle locked to it, and one of her wings was fouled with the remains of a net.

Trixie and Derpy were faring much better. The two made an excellent battle team, as Trixie was a mistress of illusion and misdirection, easily faking out opponents so the Zodiac sword could reap its due. Derpy was turning out to be a surprising markspony with her darts, and handled anything that managed to get inside Trixie’s guard as well. Together, the mares created a strong point, that Twilight had been forced to retreat to more than once before going back out on the offensive.

“How are you able to hit those things?” Trixie asked, chopping another shadow in half, while a dart dispersed the one behind it. “I thought your aim was terrible.”

“My depth perception is terrible, not my aim,” Derpy said, rolling around to Trixie’s other flank. “If I throw a dart hard enough, it doesn’t matter how far away my target is. On your right.”

“Got it,” Trixie said, shifting her guard to cover the new threat, and spotting some approaching ponies in golden armor. “Looks like we’ve got friendlies incoming.”

“Maud, you’ve got to stop this,” Pinkamena said, pleading with her sister even as the two exchanged blows that wrecked the terrain around them. “Sombra has always been a big meany pants liar. You can’t trust him.” Pinkamena’s eyes shifted as she saw a pegasus in armor come in from the right.

“There is truth in crystal,” Maud said in reply. She saw her sister’s eye shift and struck. No one who was a whit less familiar with Pinkamena could have taken advantage of that split second lapse of concentration, but Maud and Pinkamena had fought side by side for years now and Maud knew just where to strike. A blow to the shoulder robbed a leg of its blocking strength and Pinkamena had only enough time to show surprise before Maud’s follow up knocked her cold.

“What’s going on?” asked the pegasus, as he reached Maud. “Captain Dash betrayed us. She’s killed or put out of action half my squad. Is Captain Pie with —Urk”

The guard never had a chance to finish his question, as Maud spun in place and launched a crystal shard from her geode straight into the guard’s chest. He looked at the piece of crystal in puzzlement for a moment, and then the enchantment in the weapon turned him into a crystal statue. The last bit to disappear were his living eyes, filled with accusation and horror.

“Do we run, Twilight?” Derpy asked, as Twilight was forced back to her friends again, and they saw Maud disappear into yet another wave of shadow soldiers. This group had all been shaped to look like Diamond Dogs carrying nets and nooses on catch poles. Their intent was obvious as the group of thirty closed in on Twilight and her friends.

“We hold,” Twilight said, blasting away at targets even beyond Derpy’s range. “Something’s going on that we don’t know about. Sombra’s tactics are all wrong. He shouldn’t be fighting like he is.”

“Trixie thinks he’s doing a fine job keeping us busy,” Trixie said, sword spinning outwards on her magic and taking out the knees of four of the creatures.

“That’s what I mean,” Twilight said, seeing Princess Celestia emerging from the chaos of battle, a guard on either flank now. “Sombra pushed Celestia into taking that first shot, and he’s had the numbers to just swarm either us or Celestia under.”

“So why hasn’t he?” Derpy asked, slashing a wing in a broad motion and taking down a half-dozen more attackers as a fan of darts streaked outward.

“It’s a diversion!” Trixie shouted, bringing her sword back in a return arc. “He’s making everypony look one way, while doing something else.”

“I think you’re right Trixie,” Twilight said, and the survivors of their attackers reached hoof to hoof range, forcing Twilight to raise her barrier again. “But what could he possibly… oh, oh no.”

“What?” Trixie asked, crouching in close so Twilight could make the shield smaller. “What is he doing?”

“Not him,” Twilight said, and the other two mares could hear the awe in her voice. “Celestia. He knows exactly what Celestia is doing and he’s using it against her.”

“Trixie demands you stop being mysterious and just tell us!” Trixie shouted, before a look from Derpy quelled her. “Please?”

“Princess Celestia controls the sun, and she’s using that as a weapon,” Twilight said, adding spikes to her barrier and taking out a few more of the shadow creatures with it. “She told me once, that if she could ever get an enemy to be at a time and place of her choosing she… she would…”

“She would what?” Derpy asked, also crouching in low.

“She would bring down a piece of the sun itself on top of them,” Twilight said, feeding more power into the shield. “That’s what I’ve been feeling. This Celestia is dropping a piece of the sun on Sombra. Sombra got her to attack in order to throw off her timing, but without Celestia to guide it the last little way that piece of the sun is going to go right where it was originally aimed.”

“Where is that?” Trixie asked, noting that Twilight’s barrier was almost opaque now.

“Right where she knew Sombra was going to be,” Twilight said, squinting to look through her barrier to where the meeting had been. “Right at the end of the conference table.”

“She wouldn’t, she couldn’t,” Derpy said, horrified. “Shining, Cadance and Luna are all right there.”

“Remember what she said about sacrificing three ponies to take out a high value target?” Twilight asked, rhetorically. “She practically told us what she was going to do.”

“What can we do?” Trixie asked, and Twilight’s heart warmed at hearing her one time enemy ask how she could help another pony.

“Not much we can do,” Twilight said, throwing even more power into her shield as she felt the onrushing solar plasma draw ever closer. “This time girls, we aren’t the heroes, we aren’t even the main characters of the story. There aren’t any heroes here, just survivors. Harmony and Friendship didn’t give up on these ponies, they gave up on it. All we can do is bear witness to what happens.”

Princess Celestia had found herself being forced to zig-zag back and forth across the field of conflict. Burning down a set of foes here, snapping a shot at Sombra there. The two guards who had managed to make it to her side were down now, wounded but alive. Suddenly, she saw Sombra standing atop a small rock and looking right at her, as the foul beast summoned yet another score of shadows to his bidding. She felt a sudden warmth on her horn and looked up.

It was impossible, there was no way she was where she had aimed the Sun’s Gift. Even if she was, there was no way it could have spread wide enough to harm her. The warrior princess’s eyes went wide as she realized what her enemy had been doing all this time. What her neglectful guidance of the Sun’s Gift had done to it, and she sent a burst of her power rippling outward in a disruptive burst. As Celestia had feared, her burst disrupted a set of nearby illusions. Sombra had cloaked Shining Armor, Cadance and Luna in shadow and lured her to where he himself had been at the beginning of it all..

“You bastard,” Celestia whispered, as she charged her horn and threw her power skyward to meet the oncoming plasma from so very far away.

Now Celestia, Maud thought, as the shadow creatures that had cloaked her approach scattered away from her. Time for you to join your subjects as a beautiful crystal statue. From a few dozen yards away, the traitorous earth pony had a clear shot at Princess Celestia’s broad back and she lined up her crystal geode with care.

Celestia’s wards showed her Maud lining up the shot on her back, she could sense the predator’s instinct on her, and could do absolutely nothing about it. She had to stay where she was for the next several seconds to disrupt or at least disperse the Sun’s Gift, otherwise everypony was going to die, herself included. All she could do was hope that somehow Maud missed, but she knew from experience that the Earth Pony’s aim was true.

A few things happened in quick succession. Princess Celestia’s power met the onrushing solar plasma. Not even she had the power to stop it cold, but she could divert it. Her beam spun like a dervish and split the plasma into dozens of pieces, each slicing down towards her foes. At nearly the same moment Maud launched a crystal shard at the solar alicorn, aiming for the spot on Celestia’s back just between her wings.

Pinkamena had spent the past few minutes wandering the battlefield in a daze, as she recovered from her sister’s blow. By chance, or perhaps Discord’s blessing, she found herself looking down at Celestia’s flank from the top of the small hillock beside her. She saw her sister line up the shot, and knew the deadly accuracy that Maud had. As she saw the shard move, she moved as well, leaping to throw her body in between her sovereign and the deadly projectile.

Her aim wasn’t perfect, for she had leapt just a moment too soon, but it was good enough. The shard struck the trailing hoof of the pink pony, passing through it completely. Disrupted in its path, the projectile spun off to one side and clattered against the hillside. In that moment, the lances of solar plasma struck down, skewering multiple enemies and forcing Maud to dive for cover.

Sombra saw that his gambit had failed and turned to teleport away. Only to discover that the massive burst of solar energy had disrupted all but the most basic of magic in the area. Sombra ran, Celestia in hot pursuit. She spared a glance for the Earth Pony who had saved her, noting with sadness that the pony was likely doomed, crystal already beginning to spread from the impact point of the shard. Yet another mark against the tally of the Dark King.

Captain Dash was focused on one thing and one thing only, serving her King. The poor souls of the High Guard were fools to think they could stand against his might. Maud’s loyalty to her King was a surprise, but it somehow seemed right, as if she had always known that Maud was on the side of Crystal. Most of the traitors were down now, but as Captain Dash lined herself up for yet another slashing dive, she saw something that shattered the crystal confidence within her breast.

“PINKS!” Captain Dash screamed, seeing her wife go down and it seemed only a moment later that she was at her wife’s side, cradling Pinkamena in her hooves. “Why did you do that? Why did you save Celestia? Say something, anything!”

“It’s okay,” Pinkamena said, looking up at Captain Dash. “It’s okay, I forgive you. You didn’t know what you were doing.”

“Oh no,” Captain Dash moaned, seeing the body of her wife slowly converting to crystal. With the shard no longer in its target the conversion was slower, but the end was no less sure for it.

“Don't worry Dashie, my little cupcake. Just promise me you’ll go with Princess Twilight when she leaves,” Pinkamena said as she slightly turned her head, the rest of her body going numb as more of it became crystal. “I’ll be alright…”

“No you won't,” Captain Dash said, tears starting to cloud her vision and choke her voice, “You’ll be crystal. There’s no one else like you, not anywhere, not ever.”

“Yes, there is. That’s why you need to go with Princess Twilight,” Pinkamena said, knowing she had only moments left. “There is another… Pink… ie… Pie.” The crystal finished its job, and Captain Dash’s tears fell on a beautiful statue of rose quartz.

“So full of life, yet she gave it all away in a foalish moment.” Maud said, coming up alongside the stricken pegasus. “Leave her, Dashiel. Our King’s gambit has failed, but he still can win with our help. Now, rise to your hooves and let’s end this.”

“No…” Captain Dash said, tears streaming down her cheeks like waterfalls after a heavy mountain storm. “I can't leave her like this. I can't, I won’t.”

“That was an order, Dashiel,” Maud said, flashing her geode in Captain Dash’s face again. “Remember your time alone, shackled to the wall. Only obeying the voice of your King saved you. Obey your King. You will obey, DASHIEL.”

“I… said… NO!” Captain Dash shouted, rising and wheeling her wing in an arc. She felt something inside of her mind tear free, and the sensation was matched by the feeling of her metal wing blades ripping through something. A spray of blood closed off her vision for a moment, and as Dash shook her head to clear her sight, she realized that she was standing over the body of her former sister-in-law. Dashiel’s metal wing had opened up the belly of the Earth Pony in a fatal wound, and Maud stared at her killer in a mixture of shock and acceptance.

“I always knew only one of us would walk away from the last battleground,” Maud gasped, blood pooling around her. “Bury me in the ground is all I ask, don’t burn me.” With that, Maud Pie closed her eyes, sighed once, and breathed no more.

“I’m sorry, Captain Dash,” Twilight said, having managed to approach now that the majority of the shadow creatures had been burned off the face of the landscape. “I know something of how hard it is to break free of mind control.”

“I don’t deserve that name. Captain Dash was a pony of honor, of loyalty,” The pegasus said, tears still pouring down her face. “Call me by my traitor’s name. Call me Dashiel from now on. It’s the name I’ve earned, after all.”

“We’ll talk more when we—” Twilight began to say, only to be interrupted as Sombra, some of his magics restored, appeared beside Princess Luna.

“Nopony try to stop me, Luna is coming with me,” he said, pulling Luna to her hooves and pulling the helmet off her. Luna’s eyes were wild as the helmet came off, but quickly narrowed in anger as she saw the face of her tormentor. Sombra began to lead the dark alicorn away, her collar forcing her to follow him, and as Luna tossed her head in token resistance Twilight saw the bridle fused to Luna’s head.

It was an elegant thing, made of engraved and padded gold straps. More a work of art than a device of bondage, what truly held the eye and mind were the six gems attached to it at various points. Twilight gasped as she realized that she was looking at the Elements of Harmony. They had been set into the bridle Luna wore and their power was a living thing, a power that seemed to be occupied with something other than lashing out at King Sombra, which caused more questions than answers in her mind.

“Stop right there, you vile beast,” Celestia said, coming around from behind the small hillock. “It’s time for this bitter war to come to an end at long last.” Golden power enveloped Celestia’s horn and Twilight’s fur nearly crackled with the ambient power that strike held.

“Are you so willing to sacrifice your own sister?” Sombra asked, ducking behind Luna. “Even to kill me, are you willing to pay such a price?”

“Compared to the price in blood, toil, tears, and sweat each and every one of my ponies has paid?” Celestia asked, lip curling up as she tsked. “Yes, I’ll pay that price, and count it cheap to stop the likes of you.”

“Very well,” Sombra said, stepping out in front of Luna, seemingly resigned to his fate. “Go ahead, kill me. But I give you fair warning, your blow will raise up a terror so vast that I will seem a gnat by comparison.”

“So. Be. It,” Celestia said, enunciating each word like a curse. “DIE!”

A beam of pure destructive power launched out, aimed square at the breast of the Dark Lord of Shadow. It lanced out, but was deflected at the last moment by a spinning piece of crystal that materialized in the path of Celestia’s vengeance. The beam, refracted by the crystal facets, leapt up and over Sombra’s shoulder, skinning along the side of Luna’s head, and neatly severed the metal straps of the bridle.

Something like a sigh sounded in the echoing thundercrack of Celestia’s strike and, as Twilight watched in horror, Luna began to change. The lunar alicorn grew tall, so that she matched Celestia’s height, fangs jutted from her upper jaw and her coat shifted from blue-black to a true black, as dark as the deepest shadow. Sombra cackled in mad glee as Luna transformed from the serene Princess of the Night, into the dreaded Nightmare Moon, complete with peytral and helm upon her head.

“No…” Celestia gasped. “Sombra, what have you done?”

“I have brought forth the one being in all of Equestria you truly fear,” Sombra said, moving to stand beside the Nightmare as she looked around, getting her bearings. “She is the one being who is your match, nay, your superior. Greetings, your Majesty.”

“Who are you?” Nightmare Moon asked, a sneer on her fanged lip as she briefly stole a glance to Celestia then back to Sombra. “Are you an ally of my sun loving former sister?”

“No, your Majesty,” Sombra said, bowing low. “I am a most pernicious foe of hers, and I have freed you so that I may assist you in destroying her.”

“Destroy Celestia,” Nightmare Moon said, a purr in her voice as she considered the thought. “I must admit, it has appeal. What say you, Princess of the Sun? Are you prepared to kneel at my hooves so that I may be adored as is my due, or will you choose death?”

“Sister,” Celestia began, then cleared her throat. “I’ve been fighting this monster for years—”

“I AM NOT YOUR SISTER,” Nightmare Moon thundered at Celestia, the sheer volume of the Royal Canterlot Voice causing the alabaster alicorn to shrink back. ”I am Nightmare Moon, and on this day I will claim my rightful kingdom.”

“Yes, yes,” Sombra said, almost giddy. “Destroy Celestia, my ally. Together we will rule over Equestria and teach the other nations what it truly means to fear the darkness.”

“Oh?” Nightmare Moon asked, raising a cool eyebrow to look at the unicorn at her side. “You think you’ve found an ally in darkness? Where do you think all the shadows go to hide from the precious light of day?”

“What?” Sombra said, backing a step, a trickle of fear evident in his tone. “What are you talking about?”

“Where do you think I’ve been, all this time after my return to Equestria?” Nightmare Moon asked, charging her horn and summoning a blade very much like Trixie’s to her side. “Why in the shadows of Luna’s mind of course. Isn’t that true, my one time sister?”

“I couldn’t banish you, I couldn’t exorcise you,” Celestia said, her voice sounding desperate. “The Elements wouldn’t respond to me.”

“No, they wouldn’t,” Nightmare Moon said, curling her lip at Celestia. “So all you could do was use them as the bars of my prison in Luna’s mind. You know we spoke often, she and I. She taught me about how things had changed since we last walked the world. How words had changed, how ponies had changed. Later, she talked to me about her fears about a certain unicorn warlord.” Her eyes locked on Sombra, who began to realize how his final gambit had failed him.

“I was with her at the end, a little while ago,” Nightmare Moon said, cold smoke wisping off her mane. “I held her hoof as your enchantments broke her, Sombra.”

“Stop! I command you!” Sombra yelled, backing up even further. “This isn’t how it is supposed to be. We were supposed to be allies. Stop with this foolishness and finish Celestia off!”

“We could have been allies, except that you are a fool,” Nightmare Moon said, and the cold smoke coming off her was so cold it started to burn the air itself. “You wanted an ally, but instead you created your own worst nightmare.”

In desperation, Sombra launched an arcane blast with every ounce of power he could muster at Nightmare Moon, whose sword swept it aside with utter contempt. A moment later, Nightmare Moon’s return blast reduced Sombra and the hillock behind him, into frozen dust that cracked and shattered into a million pieces.

“Sister,” Celestia said, crouched low. “Please, let me help you.”

“Help me?” Nightmare Moon said, laughing. “I do not need your help any longer Tia. I ask you again, are you prepared to kneel before me?”

“If it will bring an end to the war, yes,” Celestia said, kneeling in front of Nightmare Moon. “If it brings peace, and happiness to Equestria, I will yield myself to you.” Nightmare Moon’s look of complete and utter triumph froze Twilight and her friends clear down to the marrow.

“I don’t need you,” Nightmare Moon said, sneering. “I have what I’ve always wanted. A kingdom of my own. Ponies to adore me. Power, and recognition of that power. So get up, you mewling quim, and be grateful I don’t slay you as you deserve.”

“Why?” Celestia asked, simply.

“In that place in our minds, I held Luna’s hoof as she was destroyed by Sombra,” Nightmare Moon said, and to her dying day Trixie would swear she saw a tear in the eye of the dread alicorn. “She gave over her body to me without reservation, on the condition that I let you live after I defeated Sombra.”

“Fine, but you can’t have Equestria,” Celestia said, rising back up to her hooves. “My ponies have struggled and fought for so long. Don’t take this from them.”

“I have no intention of doing so,” Nightmare Moon said, laughing again. “I lay claim to that which is mine, according to the ancient laws of right of conquest.”

“You’re claiming the entire Crystal Empire?” Celestia said, shock in her voice. “You… You can’t do that!”

“I can, I will, and I have,” Nightmare Moon said, a smirk forming as she spoke. “Unless you want to fight me about it, that is.”

“But what about all the ponies Sombra captured,” Celestia said, spreading her hooves wide. “What of the creatures he created, the ponies whose minds he broke, the lands he ruined or captured, what about all of those?”

“I suppose some sort of census of my new domain will have to be done,” Nightmare Moon said, strangely thoughtful. “After which, we can negotiate a true peace. For now though, I propose a cease-fire in place.”

“Yes, yes,” Celestia said, mind trying to catch up with events. “I’ll be more than happy to dispatch clerks and mappers to determine where our realms lay and who is in them.”

“I don’t think I can trust your sun worshipers, Celestia,” Nightmare Moon said, and the haughty look was back with a vengeance. “My crystal ponies will survey my domain, not yours.”

“But how could I trust them?” Celestia asked, her own ire rising.

“You have no choice,” Nightmare Moon said, cold smoke beginning to rise from her mane again. “I will allow much out of respect for Luna, but you challenge my given word on pain of death.”

“I will not see one tyrant defeated,” Celestia said, power beginning to wreathe her again, “only to surrender to another.”

“Excuse me,” Twilight said, interjecting into the discussion as Nightmare Moon was about to respond angrily. ”If I may, can I offer my own outsider opinion?”

“Who are you?” Nightmare Moon demanded, spearing Twilight with her gaze, then softening. “Another alicorn? I did not know that there was a fourth alicorn, Celestia.”

“There isn’t,” Celestia said, to Nightmare Moon’s scoff of disbelief. “Lu… Nightmare Moon, may I present Princess Twilight Sparkle. She’s a dimensional traveler from a different Equestria.”

“Really?” Nightmare Moon said, and the scoffing was louder now, but the cold smoke around her began to disperse. “I find that hard to believe.”

“Trixie refuses to go through all of that all over again,” Trixie said, frustration overriding common sense. “Trixie and her friends mmrph”

Trixie’s tirade was cut off as Nightmare Moon placed a band of magic over her muzzle, silencing her. That is until Trixie swept her still drawn sword around and severed the connection between Nightmare Moon and the magic holding her mouth closed. For a long moment the sword hovered in place between unicorn and alicorn. Twilight held her breath, terrified that Trixie’s outburst would trigger Nightmare Moon’s rage.

“May I see your blade?” Nightmare Moon said instead, blinking as her voice shifted to a respectful tone. “I give my word as Empress of the Crystal Empire that it shall be returned to you.”

“You are a princess of Equestria where we come from,” Trixie said, floating the sword over, hilt-first. “I would be a poor knight to my own princess if I did not trust your word.”

“Thank you,” Nightmare Moon said, examining the Zodiac sword and then holding up her own ebon blade, comparing the two. “This is a twin to my own blade, even down to the star that provided the material. My blade is unique, unduplicable. The only way your sword could be its twin is if you are indeed from another world. I was mistaken, you are telling the truth.”

“As I said, I have a proposition for the two of you,” Twilight said, catching the eye of both princesses. “My friends and I aren’t from here, we aren’t going to be staying, and we have no stake in what happens here other than we want to see things getting back on the right track.”

“Go on,” Celestia said, nodding. “I think I know where you’re going with this, but I’d like to hear it myself.”

“As I was saying. Derpy, Trixie and I are neutral. You can trust us to not lie or cheat, because it doesn’t matter to us who gets what as long as the division is fair,” Twilight said, and she could see both alicorns nodding their heads. “What I propose is that my friend Derpy goes with Celestia, to accurately witness a survey of Equestria. My friend Trixie, will go with Nightmare Moon, to accurately witness a survey of the Crystal Empire.”

“And we meet back here when it is done, to hammer out a proper border and peace agreement,” Nightmare Moon said. “I even get to take the pony touched by darkness to go with me.”

“Wait? What?” Trixie said, sputtering in protest. “Trixie is not touched by darkness in any form.”

“Do not try to hide it, Dame Trixie,” Nightmare Moon said. “You have tasted darkness and felt the sweet lure of its power. I can smell it off you, and I like it. We can relate, you and I. Far better I have one like you with me, who understands darkness, than some whining priss.”

“Well, if you insist,” Trixie said, then turning to Twilight while looking nervous. “Are you sure Trixie will be safe?”

“I will care for you as if you were my own foal,” Nightmare Moon said, smiling widely, much to Trixie’s discomfort. “I will even tuck you in at night with milk and cookies if you wish.”

“I will be more than happy to take your servant Derpy with me,” Celestia said, smiling down at the blond pegasus. “She is definitely more than meets the eye. I think the two of us will get along well.

“Princess,” said a guard, who was leading Captain Dash at the point of a spear. “We’ve captured the traitor.” Dash didn’t look up, didn’t react except to move in the direction she was prodded to.

“I never would have expected you to betray Equestria,” Celestia said, frowning. “Especially after your wife’s sacrifice on my behalf.”

“Princess Celestia,” Twilight said, addressing the alabaster alicorn. “With your permission, I’d like to take Dashiel with me. Back to my Equestria.”

“Exile would satisfy justice,” Princess Celestia said, a satisfied look on her face. “But are you sure you can trust her?”

“She was under a form of mind-control, conditioned to act as she did,” Twilight said, insistent. “Maud was her controller and a traitor to Equestria from the very beginning. Pinkamena forgave Dashiel in her last moments knowing that, and I think that is the result she would have wanted you to do the same.”

“Very well,” Celestia said, turning to face the broken pegasus. “Dashiel, while I realize your actions were not your own, you did betray and attempt to kill me. You did kill several members of my guard. The lightest punishment I can give you is exile, do you have anything to say in your defence?”

“No, Your Highness,” Dashiel said, her head lowered into a deep bow. “But I have a request. Take care of my wife’s body, and let everypony for generations know of what my wife gave up to ensure their freedom, and that they all have long and healthy lives.”

“Request granted, Dashiel,” Celestia said, her tone soft as she nodded in approval. “It will be made a national monument, enchanted so that no amount of weather or the elements will do harm to her. Every morning, my sun will shine and she’ll act like a prism, bathing the surroundings in a lovely display of color in a prismatic dance to remind everypony that just one pony can make a difference. I will allow you until Princess Twilight returns to her Equestria to decide if you wish to go with her, or into some other exile.”

“You should kill me,” Dashiel said under her breath, and then she walked up to Twilight. “Why won’t she kill me?”

“I don’t know,” Twilight said, her heart going out to the pegasus in front of her. “Your princess always seems to have a plan though. Wheels within wheels. I can only assume she has some purpose in keeping you alive. Now, in the meantime, can you help me get this shackle off?”

The survey of two kingdoms and a continent wide battle-zone took the better part of a month. Every day or two Twilight received a report from Trixie and Derpy, detailing what they had seen and how their time with each princess was going. Derpy reported that the EIA was being disbanded, its ponies being folded into the Guard or the police forces. She was overjoyed to learn of seven completely unknown muffin recipes, including one that was entirely liquid.

Trixie’s reports were more grim. Sombra had allowed very few ponies control of their own minds, trusting almost nopony. As such, Nightmare Moon’s actions of freeing ponies en masse was greeted with tears of joy and promises of eternal devotion by her new subjects. Nightmare Moon, of course, was reveling in the praise and apparently it was making her even more determined to do well by her new subjects.

After three weeks, the survey came to an end and the two sides returned to the spot where it had all come to a close. Nightmare Moon was prone to rages that disrupted negotiations, but overall was as intelligent as Celestia. Celestia, on the other hoof, kept trying to sneak in extra clauses and codicils that would give Equestria advantages down the road. Twilight found her commitment to neutrality tested more than once, but in the end the peace treaty was hammered out. It was with a sense of supreme satisfaction that she watched Princess Celestia and Nightmare Moon sign their names to the bottom of the document.

“I hereby declare these proceedings, closed,” Twilight said, formally ending the Crystal War. As she said the words thousands of onlookers, both Equestrian and Crystal pony, cheered and stomped loudly. A massive party began to break out and Twilight was surprised to see Nightmare Moon give Trixie a heartfelt hug.

“Remember to keep your head up,” Nightmare Moon was saying, as Twilight approached. “You keep dropping it when you guard in sixte, and don’t forget to keep practicing those illusions I showed you.”

“Lessons, Trixie?” Twilight said, smiling to her knight. “I never knew you were the studious type.”

“As Nightmare Moon said, she understands some of what drives Trixie,” Trixie said, blushing for some reason. “She was a very good teach—ow!” Nightmare Moon had snuck over and had bitten one of Trixie’s ears, piercing it. A quick flare of magic later, and a small stud with a crescent moon was fixed into the piercing.

“A token of my respect, for an able student,” Nightmare Moon said, stepping back. “Know that you are welcome in my... empire at any time.” Trixie’s blush covered her face and neck clear down to her shoulders as Twilight led her away so that they could get Derpy and Dashiel.

“What aren’t you telling me, Trixie?” Twilight asked, teasing the pale blue mare a bit. “Made yourself a friend, did you?”

“She has been very lonely,” Trixie said, raising her nose at Twilight's snooping. “No more though. She has thousands of ponies who love and adore her now.”

“Good for you,” Twilight said, having a good suspicion at what had happened but knowing that some things had to come out in their own time. “Derpy! Ready to go?” The blond pegasus gave Twilight a huge hug.

“Yup, all set,” Derpy said, her bubbly personality to the fore. “I’ve got all kinds of souvenirs for Dinky. I really miss her.”

“We’ll be off shortly,” Twilight said, scanning the crowd, which was growing merrier and more inebriated by the minute. “Has anypony seen Dashiel?”

“She’s where she always is,” Derpy said, face falling in empathic sadness. “She’s at ‘The Statue’.”

No pony called it anything but “The Statue.” It was the crystalline form of Pinkamena Diane Pie, formed of pure rose quartz and standing on a ten foot tall plinth of mixed onyx and gold-veined marble. On each of the four faces of the plinth was the name of a virtue: Duty, Honor, Integrity, and Sacrifice. Pinkamena’s form had been positioned so that her gentle smile would look down at those who came to visit the statue, giving them a sense of peace.

“Celestia really went over the top with it, didn’t she?” Dashiel asked, kneeling in front of the pile of remembrances at the base of the plinth. “Can’t say I blame her. Nothing’s too good for my Pinks, and I buried Maud like she asked… It’s what Pinks would have wanted me to do.”

“You ready to come with us, Dashiel?” Twilight asked, putting a hoof on the pony’s shoulder.

"There's no place in Equestria for me anymore, Princess Twilight. When Pinks died all the light I had to live for left it,” Dashiel said, still facing the remains of her wife. “I'll make sure you get home safe, then I'll have Celestia banish me so I can just fade away. Like an old soldier should."

"Come with me, Captain Dash. Come to my Equestria. I can't guarantee that you'll find a new light there, but I can promise you a life of as much peace as you could ask for,” Twilight said, and she felt destiny’s hoof guiding her words, not knowing Pinkamena's dying words. “You've given everything anypony could ever ask to this Equestria, it's not too late to set sail for another shore."

“What?” Dashiel asked, turning in confusion.

Twilight smiled and began to recite:

“Wh-what is that from?” Dashiel asked, feeling the power of the words.

“An old pony’s tale,” Twilight said, hugging Dashiel. “A story of a warrior, their war won, and how they had to wander until they found peace at last.”

“It’s my time to wander, eh?” Dashiel said, then for the first time since her Pinkamena passed, she smiled and remembered the final words of her beloved. “Yah, I’ll go with you. I’m not too sure what I’ll find there, but let’s get out of here.”

Twilight summoned her magic, and as the portal pulled the quartet up and away toward home, the wind ghosted a last message across the final battleground of the Crystal War.

"To strive, to seek, to find... and not to yield."

Once more, a chapter of this story beats me up and makes me work to get it out. This is the single largest chapter I've ever written. Not again. Kudos to those authors that can write big chapters but it's not for me.

I'd like to give Sandstorm an extra thank you here, as well as some co-writing credit on this chapter. I promised you that you would be in on the end of this arc. I can only hope we all did well by you.

The original plan for this arc was for Sombra to actually breed Twilight and get a foal on her, before she killed him. It was a good idea, but not for an ongoing story like this. The long term consequences would just be too huge for her to keep exploring, which I want her to do. Now that this arc is done, there will be another interlude, after which Twilight will be heading out again. I have rough plans in place for:

The Blasted Equestria
Chrysalis' Equestria ,
and of course,
Nightmare Moon's Equestria.

One last note. The last six lines of Ulysses by Lord Tennyson have always been something of a personal motto for me, especially as I get older.

All hail my brave editors: Sandstorm94 and Coyotethetrickster. Theirs is the strength of ten, for their hearts are pure... something.

Come over and say hi to me and the folks on Damaged's Discord server if you like. Just be ready to link your Fimfiction account and please be aware 18+ only as the chat can and often does venture into adult subjects and language.

If you want to give me a bit of a boost without a regular commitment, consider buying me a coffee on Ko-Fi. Coffee is gooooood.

Support me if you can on Patreon for as little as a dollar a month. Patreon is probably one of the best things ever for keeping word Sherpas like me in keyboards. Some months you folks really make the difference.

A big shout out to the ongoing support through Patreon by:

Canary in the Coal Mine,
Damaged,
Shaushka,
Airar,
Pseudosapien,
and
Machara.

p.s. Hmm, I never did mention what happened to those extra tails...did I?