Moonlit Echo lit her horn and activated one of the many enchantments on her glasses, replacing the quiet bench, she was currently sitting at, with a three story tall view in upper Canterlot. The magic took a moment to calibrate, but once done, the changeling was given a perfect view of the Sparkle residence from atop one of the houses nearby. The enchantment itself had been placed on a small gargoyle sculpture, which felt fitting to the changeling, as if the statue meant to invoke protection for the house’s occupants was actually doing its job.

Looking through the statue’s eyes, the changeling could see all the traffic coming up and down the road in front of the home and a good portion of the entire neighborhood as well. To her right she could see a small group of middle-aged mares chatting and trotting down the road. They wore colorful headbands and spoke in jovial tones as they enjoyed a mid-morning jog. To the left a business pony wearing a perfectly form-fitting suit walked towards the castle, his head held high. A few other ponies dotted the streets here and there, but for the most part the road was barren and the houses dark and silent.

The agent scanned the streets once more, her experienced eyes picking out every little thing that seemed out of place. A pegasus lingered above the Sparkle residence a bit too long, aiming a newspaper far longer than necessary. As he passed by the third house up the street, he exchanged a brief nod with a unicorn mare sitting on a bench reading a paper. It would have been a small innocuous thing, had they not looked so serious when they passed one another.

The changeling could easily pick out several other minor things that stuck out and in a matter of minutes she had a small list of enemy agents stationed outside the Sparkle residence. The two from earlier were obvious, but less obvious was the entire group of middle aged unicorn mares who for whatever reason had jogged the same block three times this morning. That in itself wouldn't be too strange as the neighborhood wasn't that large, but they dropped the jovial conversation the instant they passed from sight of the Sparkle house and picked it up once they were back in sight once more. As if their conversation was a play and the only audience member was Night Light.

“Amateurs,” she muttered.

Celestia was subtle, compared to most ponies, but to a seasoned changeling, her attempts at stealth were the half-hearted attempts of a fool. Still, this was a stark contrast from the last several hundred years of operation as she had always favored more straightforward and bombastic approaches. Grand works of magic that hampered stealth, and caused ponies in the area to be unable to lie, easily dodged by being duplicitous without outright lying. Solar agents outfitted with powerful armor so strong it turned a small squad of unicorns into a four pony wrecking crew, easily dodged for their enormous weight and the fact that they could be heard from a block away. These were only a few of the hammeresque attempts Celestia had made to try and ferret out the supposed terrorists.

The fact that she was attempting stealth at all had given Cadence pause for concern as the alicorn had bullheadedly tried the same brash and over the top plots for as far back as she could remember. If Celestia was changing her tactics now, after all this time, it obviously meant something big had happened. Cadence and her advisors had easily deduced that she must know of Twilight Sparkle’s survival, and was changing their approach out of fear.

The lights flickering within the near empty home alerted the changeling that her quarry was awake and moving about, drawing her from her reverie. The changeling flicked the page of the book she had been pretending to read and gave a quick glance around her. Sure enough, the park she sat in was relatively empty and most ponies gave the well-treed area she sat in a wide berth. With her position secure, she looked back down in time to see Night Light pass by one of the windows.

Judging from the time and the bleary eyed state he was in, he was probably heading to the shower. Giving the changeling about eight minutes to change position, as she had remained here for far too long already. The agent pushed the glasses further up her nose and closed her book, placing it in her saddle bags. She gave only a cursory glance around before heading off towards one of the smaller parks in the area that she knew would be empty at this time of morning.

As she walked, she pulled out every trick she had, scanning the area for emotions, using a remote viewing spell set fifty feet above her, and several other, more mundane techniques that ensured she checked for anypony who might be suspicious of her. Other than a child who was gaping at her from the window of a house, nopony had even given her a second glance. The changeling stowed a laugh, merely smirking as she passed within inches of solar agents without garnering even a second glance.

The energy she expended in order to cover her back was not small and using that much love in a short period was always a pain. In the end though she knew it was necessary, but some primal part still cried out every time she used so much love on something so small. As she walked to her secondary position, she lamented, not for the first time, the limits of the remote viewing spells they had placed around Night Light’s house as they needed the caster to remain in the area and outside.

She was a professional though and even with these limitations, she had more than easily managed to remain inconspicuous for several weeks without drawing attention to herself. Noticing the smaller park completely empty, the changeling trotted over to a more secluded area beneath a large oak tree. Plunking down under it, she pulled out her book and lit her horn, reactivating the remote viewing spell and bringing the Sparkle residence back into view.

She frowned, instantly noticing the fact that the stallion was standing in the front entryway of his house with his bags on his back and a piece of toast in his mouth. It seemed as though he had skipped his morning shower and chosen to go to work early, something not outside the realm of possibility, but still an unfortunate change to his schedule. The stallion stepped outside and locked the door behind him before tossing the last bit of burnt toast into his mouth and grimacing, drawing a chuckle from the changeling.

Evidently his cooking skills hadn't improved over the last few weeks and even a toast seemed out of his range of skill.

With his breakfast eaten, the stallion trotted towards the castle and Canter mountain itself. Moonlit grimaced, having just gotten cozy in her new spot beneath her favorite tree. She reluctantly packed herself back up and began her long trot to a cafe closer to Night Light’s work, which she knew would be open by the time she got there.

And so her day continued much the same way as it had began, with the changeling shifting from reading, to writing, to conversing with random civilians, all while keeping an eye on her charge through conventional or magical means.

His work day was average for the most part, with him arriving way before his coworkers and staying within his corner office for the most part, studying an odd comet the observatory had been tracking for several weeks. The changeling couldn't help but frown at the sight, it was obvious that he was lonely and hurting, but the few ponies who did try to speak to him did so in such an inelegant way that Moonlit cringed as she watched them flounder in their attempts to converse with the stallion.

All the while a veritable storm cloud of negative emotions followed him around everywhere he went. The agent didn't even have to be a changeling to see that he was still suffering as his mere body language told her.

It got to the point that the changeling was going out of her way to use more magical surveillance than normal, even if it ate up her love reserves as it allowed her to not have to be near the odd stallion. So oppressive was the miasma of negativity that merely being in his presence made her feel physically ill. The sadness was so consuming that the changeling couldn't help but wonder if there was something more going on. Grief was crushing, but this seemed even beyond that. She brushed aside the thought, choosing to bring it up later with her commander, rather than let it consume her while on the job.

When he had finally left work, he returned home late, his bags bulging with books of various subjects. From atop her magical perch, Moonlit could see several titles ranging from a set focused entirely on shield spells to ones on general magic and even one that likely contained the most advanced battle magic not outlawed by Celestia.

It was concerning to say the least, but Celestia always put backdoors into spells available to the public, allowing her agents to easily shut down any rogue spellcaster with ease. Which of course allowed Moonlit’s organization to do the same once they found those same loopholes. Still, the small selection of battle magic not outlawed was, for the most part, lacking the usual backdoors and loopholes that allowed it to be dismissed quite as easy.

The stallion was clearly preparing for something, but what exactly that was, Moonlit didn't know and as time passed, she only became more confused by what she saw.

Night Light lived up to his name that night, staying up late and only retiring several hours before the sun came up. During that time he spent almost every waking moment practicing various spells, rarely stopping for breaks or even to eat, causing his basement windows to light up with the occasional burst of light from his horn.

The changeling agent shook her head and sighed at the sight, this added another layer of complication, something Cadence wasn't going to like.

When the stallion had finally collapsed into his bed after a brief shower, he had fallen asleep almost instantly. With her charge incapacitated, the changeling got up and stretched, wincing slightly as her back popped and cracked along with her forelegs. The last few hours had seen her sitting and writing at an outdoor restaurant and by the end of it, her love reserves were low and her body was exhausted.

Shaking off the fatigue, she got up and made her way down the street, pausing only to exchange greetings with a mare she had seen frequent the same coffee shops as her. With no other distractions in sight, she made her way out of the royal quarter and proceeded down to the lower levels.

It didn't take long for the changeling to get back to the labor quarter of Canterlot and it took even less time for her to find a familiar path that lead to their secret headquarters. This entrance was different from most as the actual way of entering the secret sewers was within a resistance owned restaurant. Slipping past the cooks, the changeling slipped into the walk-in freezer, pulled a hidden lever and stepped down the staircase that had opened up in the center of the floor. Once down, she hit another lever, this one resealing the tunnel and indicating that it shouldn't be used for another twenty-four hours.

The musty, mold-filled caverns brought a sigh of relief to the mare and she picked up the pace, determined to catch Cadence before the mare was finally convinced to get some sleep. After exchanging a familiar password and passing by an increasingly familiar pair of guards, the changeling trotted happily up to Cadence’s door and knocked twice.

After a few seconds of silence Moonlit frowned, leaning against the door and extending her emotional detection into the room beyond. She could feel the familiar warmth of love within, but it obviously wasn't directed at her, more confusing was the fact that she could barely hear anything, even with her more advanced hearing.

The changeling shrugged and pushed her way into the room, slipping past an unseen sound barrier and stopping instantly. “Mother?!”

The blush nearly covering Cadence’s face suddenly vanished and she glanced over at the changeling with wide, panic-filled eyes. “M-M-Moonlit! I thought I told you to wait outside?”

Beside the scarred alicorn stood a miniature replica of Chrysalis, complete with missing horn and the branded heart cutie mark on her flank. She smirked at the younger changeling, her voice far more cheery than normal, “Oh, what's this? Moonlit, was it? Why don't you wait outside, dear, I was just in the middle of something with my little love bug.”

Moonlit glanced back and forth between the alicorn and the changeling, blinking rapidly. “What exactly is going on here, were you two…?”

Cadence blanched, the blush quickly returning to her features. “N-no!”

“Yes,” the queen said with a smirk.

Moonlit blushed as realization settled in. Her mother, Queen Chrysalis had been in the middle of what she could only assume was a very lengthy make out session as it had taken a second for the changeling’s tongue to extract itself from Cadence’s mouth. Moonlit’s legs finally seemed able to move again and she quickly backpedaled into the hall and shut the door.

Inside, Chrysalis chuckled while Cadence continued to blush profusely. “Did you see the look on her face? Priceless!”

“Queenie! Now she knows!”

“Knows what? That I am an excellent queen and capable smoocher?” The queen wiggled her non-existent eyebrows at the blushing alicorn.

“Smoocher, really?”

The changeling leaned closer. “Admit it, you find it adorable.”

“M-maybe. But that's besides the point! Shouldn't you be watching the asset?”

The queen shrugged noncommittally. “Meh, they camped early after attracting the attention of a pair of timberwolves.”

“Timberwolves? I thought you said they were keeping to the path?”

“Yeah, I’m going to have to look into that, something seems to be agitating them.” The changeling shook her head. “Regardless, I’ll give you my full report in a bit, I think we let Moonlit stew for long enough.”

“R-right.” The alicorn cleared her throat. “You can come in now, Moonlit!” Only to wait a few seconds and facehoof. “Right, the sound barrier.” She leveled her broken, sparking horn at the door and with a gentle glow of teal magic, the enchantment cracked and shattered. “Come in!”

The now undisguised changeling poked her head inside and breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh thank the stars.”

The queen giggled while the alicorn blushed.

Cadence coughed, destroying the awkward silence that had threatened to settle over the conversation. “Please, sit. What was so important you needed to tell me right away?” The alicorn gestured to the seat across from her while the queen took position very close to the alicorn’s right.

“I, erm… Are you two…?” The now sitting changeling rolled her hoof and winced.

“Fucking?” the queen offered.

“WHAT?” the field agent screeched.

The alicorn growled and lightly punched the queen in the shoulder with her good hoof. “Shh, you! Can't you see she's riled up enough as is it?”

The queen giggled while rubbing the sore spot. “Hey, it's not my fault she's the most pony-like of my children. She’s too easy to tease.”

The sitting changeling frowned, crossing her hooves. “Hey!”

“Now, Queenie, let's not start this again.” The alicorn smiled. “Please, continue with your report.”

“R-right. I just, well...” She shook her head, clearing her mind of unwanted thoughts. “The target went to work early, and came home late with a saddlebag of books. This wouldn't be too strange, but they were all books on spellcasting and ranged from shields to offensive magic.”

“Odd.” Cadence tapped her chin and turned to the queen. “What do you make of this?”

The other changeling shrugged. “I don't know. It's obvious he is still grieving… maybe he believes the official statement and is now trying to go all batmare on us?”

Cadence giggled. “I don't think a stallion as old as Night Light is going to, ‘go all batmare’ on us. Still, this is strange.” She looked over at the changeling agent sitting across from her. “If you are up for some more recon, I think I’m going to keep you on Night light for a little while longer.”

Moonlit blinked. “Really? But I’ve been shadowing him for weeks, isn't it about time to change operatives?”

“Yes, but I feel as though it's important to keep the same pony on him, at least until we figure out what he plans to do.”

The queen nodded. “I concur. Changing operatives now would be inopportune, best to figure out what he wants and then switch. In case he needs to be contained, or brought in.”

Moonlit gulped. “If those are your orders boss, I can get back on him tonight if you'd like.”

“Good thinking, I want around the clock surveillance. Take a love vial with you for tonight and I’ll have someone trained to be your second by tomorrow.” Cadence smiled, revealing her teeth. “Is there anything else?”

Moonlit looked down, shuffling her hooves awkwardly. “Kind of…”

Chrysalis nodded to the mare. “Speak, child. You must trust your intuition.”

“R-right.” The changeling sighed. “I think he may have had a spell cast on him, or perhaps a curse.”

The alicorn’s eyebrow raised and she leaned closer to the mare. “Are you sure? What happened?”

“I can't be certain, but he has an almost oppressive air of sadness around him that it makes me feel ill just to be near him.” Moonlit shook her head. “Even when he appears happy, the sadness is still there, just as intense.”

The queen shrugged. “He just lost most of his family and may feel as though he was abandoned by his son. It's only natural for a pony to be sad in this instance.”

“Are you sure it's not simply the loss of his loved ones?” Cadence asked.

“I am not so sure… Depression, sadness and grief are like other emotions, they come and go at times even if they may not feel that they do. This…” She shook her head. “Is not like that. Even while he sleeps I can feel that sadness weighing him down.”

Cadence grimaced. “That is strange… During sleep a pony’s emotional state fluctuates as their subconcious shifts.”

“That is odd,” the queen added. “If you find yourself close enough to detect a spell then do so, otherwise do not compromise your position, it's too dangerous.”

“Right.” The changeling nodded.

Cadence tapped her chin, leaning back in her chair. “Now… How do we get you close without causing suspicion. Oh!” Her eyes went wide and she leaned on the desk with her good hoof, a manic grin spreading across her face.

The queen rolled her eyes. “Oh no, not again.”

“Not again?” Moonlit asked.

“Yes, this is perfect! We’ll alter your cover story to include the fact that you are also my public persona’s assistant so when I visit him, you two can hit it off.” The alicorn giggled excitedly. “Oh, this is going to be so fun.”

Chrysalis pressed a hoof against her face. “Augh, please stop trying to hook my changelings up with ponies.”

“Wait, hook up? You don't mean…” Moonlit Echo gulped, casting a glance over her shoulder at the only way out of the room.

Suddenly the alicorn was inches apart from the changeling agent, her eyes sparkling. “Tomorrow you will accompany me to the Night Light’s residence and aid me in figuring out his plans, and if things go well, you two will be seeing much more of each other.”

Moonlit gulped. “A-alright boss, whatever you say.”

“Good!” The alicorn nodded. “Now, continue your watch after getting a little pick-me-up, then meet me at the corner of Sherbert and Castely at 10 A.M. sharp! Dismissed!”

The changeling leaped from her chair and saluted. “Yes, ma’am!” She quickly scurried from the room, trotting off towards the changeling barracks in search of something to help her stay up.

Now alone, with the door firmly closed and locked, the alicorn turned to the changeling and giggled excitedly. “Oh, this is going to be perfect, Queenie!”

The queen rolled her eyes. “If we did not benefit from their love so much, I would tell you to cut it out.”

“And you think I’d listen?”

The changeling laughed. “Probably not.”

Cadence held open her hooves expectantly, making the changeling blush. “You know I hate it when you cuddle my proxies like this.”

“You know I love it when you get all blushy.”

The changeling harrumphed, and crossed her hooves but ultimately allowed the alicorn to pick her up and hold her tightly. Cadence giggled, nuzzling the frowning changeling and occasionally kissing her cheek or neck. After a few seconds the queen finally relaxed, allowing the snuggly alicorn to pull her in closer.

The changeling sighed. “Alright Cadence, this one can't consume anymore love or else he's going to throw up all over you.”

The alicorn pouted and reluctantly placed the changeling back on the ground. “Fine. But when you get back, I am going to snuggle the shit out of you, understood, missy?”

The changeling shivered, a wave of arousal crawling up her spine. “You are ridiculous, I love it.”

Cadence giggled and sat back at her desk. “Alright, so what was your report again? Before we got uh… distracted.”

The queen hopped onto the chair across the desk. “I was trying to tell you that none of them have any idea I’ve been shadowing them.”

“Speaking of which, are you sure you are in a secure enough place to talk like this?”

The queen scoffed. “Of course! I have found a small cave not far from their camp and used the scrolls you supplied me with to create a temporary base of operations.”

“Right, sorry to doubt you. I was just…”

“Worried?” The queen scoffed. “Don't be. Even without the ability to disguise or use magic, I am still more than a match for these children.”

“That I don't doubt. So, tell me of this wolf problem.”

The queen frowned. “It's like I said, they seem agitated for some reason and completely heedless to harm, charging the purple one much to their detriment.”

“As a necromancer, she does have a connection to the undead wolves, but it shouldn't attract them, in theory anyway.” She shook her head. “If you have any idea why, please let me know.”

The queen nodded. “Of course. What should I do about the other group that is also shadowing them?”

Cadence frowned. “There was four of them, right, all thestrals?”

“Yes, though they seem to be meeting with one of those forest spirits occasionally.”

“Hmmm.” Cadence tapped her chin with a hoof, staring off into space. “I will get in contact with the cell placed in Ponyville and try to figure out who these mystery ponies are. In the meantime see if you can find out anything distinct about the other group. Markings, tattoos, you know the drill.”

The queen nodded. “What are you thinking, Cadence?”

“Well, I’m not saying it's them, but the Black Rose has been quiet for a long time and it would make sense for them to follow this particular mare.”

The queen scoffed. “Those old fools have been trying to raise the moon for centuries, why would they follow around those six?”

“Well, Twilight is a necromancer. Maybe they seek her help?”

“They have necromancers of their own, why seek one who is not even educated in the art?”

Cadence rolled her eyes. “You know as well as I that Twilight’s skill is far beyond that of a normal necromancer.”

The queen frowned. “That may be, but she has no training and knows not of her strength.” The changeling shook her head. “Regardless. Have you considered the possibility that they may be trying to get rid of her?”

The alicorn tensed. “Why do you say that? Surely they would not dispose of a possible asset.”

“Well, what if they believe she might raise the moon and maintain control of her?”

“Preposterous, no mortal, not even Twilight Sparkle could control the moon.”

The queen shrugged. “Yes, but do they know that?”

“I…” The alicorn withered slightly. “Don't know.”

The changeling shrugged. “Either way, I will keep an eye on them.”

“Good, no reason to get in their way quite yet, but that might be necessary. For now stay the course and gather info, we can decide what to do once we understand their motives.”

“You are quite the slave driver, you know? First you get me to chase down some ancient rocks for you, now you have me following around some child. I haven't had a break in months.”

The alicorn sighed deeply, her shoulders sagging. “I’m sorry, Chrysalis, it's just you are the only being I can really count on right now.”

The changeling made her way over to the other mare and placed a reassuring hoof on her shoulder. “Woah there, love bug, I was just teasing you. It's alright, really.”

Cadence took the changeling’s hoof in her own, pressing it against her cheek. “Sometimes I miss it, you know.”

“Miss what? Other than me?” The changeling smirked.

“Well that and sometimes I miss the days after our escape. Just you, me, and the open road.”

“... and the three hundred or so ponies desperately trying to chase us down and murder us.”

Cadence coughed. “That part I don't miss.”

“I know what you mean, my little love bug.” The queen took the alicorn’s chin in her hoof and pulled her close into a kiss. “It was simpler then.”

Cadence sighed. “Yeah…”

There they remained for several long moments, both mares holding each other and just being close to one another, drawing strength from the other’s proximity. “I should really go,” Chrysalis announced sadly.

“Must you?” Cadence pleaded, her wide eyes sparkling.

“You know I should. I have not checked up on them in over an hour, or the uninvited guests for three.”

The alicorn wilted. “You are right, Chrysalis. I suppose we should let Muddy Waters have his body back as well.”

“His name is not… you know what, it doesn't matter.” The changeling chuckled, shaking her head. “You ponies and your desire to name everything.”

Cadence winked, giving the queen one last kiss on the cheek. “You know it, Queenie.”

The queen reluctantly pulled away. “I miss it too. Maybe one day we can find some peace and quiet.” The changeling’s eyes closed and before Cadence had a chance to say goodbye, a wave of green fire cascaded over the bug pony’s body.

It revealed a slightly taller, male changeling who had his horn intact. As his eyes flickered open, to reveal not the clear distinct eyes of a queen but rather the faded blue of a drone, he suddenly stumbled forward. “Woow.”

Cadence chuckled. “Do you need help, Muddy?”

The changeling gripped the back of the chair tightly, slowly regaining his bearings. “No need, boss, just gotta get my head back on straight.”

“Take all the time you need.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” After his legs stopped wavering under him, he looked up at the alicorn with an odd expression. “Did you two really have to get all lovey dovey? It's gonna take me weeks to work all this love off.”

Cadence blushed and profusely. “I assure you it was necessary.”

The changeling shook his head and slowly trotted out of the room. “And why does my mouth taste like bubblegum?”

Moonlit Echo stopped just below the ladder leading to the surface. A quick glance told her that she had remained completely alone. Reaching into her bags, she produced a single vial of bright pink liquid that glowed faintly in the near complete darkness. The mesmerizing liquid twisted and turned inside the glass container, as if begging for release.

Still, after years of service she had yet to stop being amazed by the sight of pure liquid love, undiluted by lust or sadness and even directed at a changeling no less. She tipped the vial back, draining it in one gulp and shivering in sudden ecstasy.

The feeling of having pure love pumping through her system was the equivalent of gulping an entire pot’s worth of Mace’s worst/best coffee and everything suddenly burst into focus. She felt energized, but not artificially, it was as if she had just slept an entire eight hours, then ran around the base. With her body ready and her mind focused, she climbed up the ladder with confident, purposeful steps all the while shifting into one of her intermediary disguises.

A small pile of trash shifted around awkwardly before being hastily placed back in the same spot. A second later a pair of yellow eyes peered from around the side of the garbage, observing the oft used alley that lay hidden between a pair of decayed buildings near the lower east side of the labor quarter.

Such squalor would usually disgust most Canterlot ponies, but to a mare like Moonlit Echo it made sense, even if she didn't agree with it. Everypony couldn't be rich, couldn't be successful and couldn't have what they wanted, there simply wasn't enough wealth to go around and even if there was, who would be left to clean the streets and do other menial tasks?

The changeling pushed aside such esoteric rambling and checked her appearance.

Other than some dirt and grime that stuck to her hooves, her disguise was more or less perfect, with only a few hairs out of place that were quickly corrected. With that fixed, the changeling made her way out of the alley and towards the closest populated area.

Unfortunately for her, she didn't make it far before she was stopped by a trio of ponies moving to block her way. The changeling gritted her teeth and cast a quick glance over her shoulder. Sure enough, there was nopony else all round, guard or bystander alike. She took a step back and eyed the three ponies cautiously.

They were all young, barely old enough to have received their cutie mark. Two earth pony mares flanked each side of a slightly older, taller mare who carried herself with confidence. The earth ponies were shorter than the unicorn, but slightly larger, their cutie marks were of a brick, and switchblade. The taller, more angular unicorn sported a scar on her lip and rather disturbingly had a cutie mark that depicted the outline of a pony who had what looked like a knife plunged into its back. The unicorn rolled her toothpick to the right side of her mouth and smirked at the disguised changeling.

“Look what we got here girls, looks like someone is lost,” the leader remarked.

“Sure looks lost, boss,” the bright green earth pony to her right added.

“Wouldn't want that boss,” said the off yellow mare to her left.

“Quite right girls, so what do you say, stranger? Need a hoof in the right direction?” The unicorn tossed her mane to the side, shifting the long flowing mass of teal hair out of her way.

The small changeling bristled. “What are you, twelve? Shouldn't you be in school?”

The leader scowled at the changeling. “And shouldn't you know better than to antagonize ponies?”

“That just isn't nice.”

“And we were trying to be right friendly like too.”

The leader breathed easier, tossing her mane to the side again. “You look smart, just give us your bits and we will help you get to where you’d like to go. We'd do it for free, but these streets are mean, see?”

The changeling sighed. “Look, I don't have time for this. I’m giving you one warning, my employer would not like to hear I was late because a couple of punks got in my way.”

The goon to the left gulped. “I dunno boss, this one looks like she knows where she's going.”

The unicorn snorted and spat out her toothpick. “Why don't we give this pretty little thing a reminder as to why ponies tend to stay off our turf?”

The two earth ponies grinned, cracking their necks in unison. “Sure thing, boss,” they both intoned.

“Aww, pony feathers,” the changeling mumbled.

Time seemed to slow as the unicorn powered up her horn and her lackies both charged with hooves raised. As the milliseconds stretched on, Moonlit Echo pondered her options carefully. It wouldn't be too hard to knock the two punks out but they had seen one of her intermediary disguises, one that was supposed to belong to a middle class working mare who served a mid-tier noble. Though it was unlikely for these punks to go to the guard, it was a possibility, one that would ultimately bring a lot of scrutiny down on her. With the decision to flee made, she briefly scanned the area quickly before ducking low and sprinting to the right.

Time asserted itself once more, and both goons missed the dodging changeling, having opted to start the fight with clumsy haymakers. The unicorn was a little quicker on the draw, having opted for a simple mana bolt, which grazed the changeling’s flank a second before she disappeared down the alley.

“After her!” the leader called.

The changeling tossed a glance over her shoulder, noting that both earth ponies were chasing her while the third was strangely absent. The mana bolt burn had already healed itself in the several seconds of running, her love infused body quickly replacing the damaged tissue. The agent leaped over a pile of garbage before making a hard right, smiling as she heard the faint sound of cursing as somepony couldn't stop in time. The slim changeling was obviously far faster than the two bumbling earth ponies and within a matter of seconds, she was already outpacing the clumsier ponies.

Though they were losing ground, they didn't seem to care and continued to give chase, occasionally yelling insults or hurling debris at the running changeling. It didn't take long for the lead she had to become apparent, the two earth ponies still giving chase despite the fact that they were obviously outmatched. Wanting only to end this waste of time, the changeling leaped from the ground, kicked off a nearby wall and deftly hopped over a chain link fence nearly twice as tall as she was. The earth ponies quickly skidded to a halt, trapped behind the fence.

Knowing better than to just give up while ahead she decided to put a little more distance between her and the goons before turning and looking down the alleyway. Sure enough the two street ponies stared at her through the fence, massive grins on their faces. “Hey, flower butt!”

Moonlit blinked, only to remember that her false cutie mark was a baby’s breath arrangement. The changeling cocked her head to the side. “Yes?”

“What’s dumb and ugly and about to get splattered all over the pavement?”

Just as the changeling was about to pass off the insult as little more than the ravings of a madpony, her emotional senses began screaming at her, alerting her to a sudden burst of joy several feet above her head. With pure love still pouring through her body, she leaped back with more strength and speed than a normal pony should be capable of.

A second later there was a crack, and then a scream as the pony that had been about to land directly onto the changeling’s unprotected back instead landed hoof first into the stone ground. The changeling spared the screaming mare a glance before turning and running the opposite direction, ignoring the cries of her goons, the pool of spreading blood from the unicorn and the unnatural angle her leg was bent at.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid!” The changeling gritted her teeth and sprinted towards one of the more occupied junctions in the area, only stopping when she saw a small crowd gathered outside a club.

She spared a glance over her shoulder, but sure enough nopony had followed her. She placed a hoof against her forehead and sighed, mentally berating herself for her failure. Of course the unicorn had access to a forbidden teleportation spell! This was the labor quarter, there were no rules down here! Of course she would use that spell to her advantage and of course her goons were merely a distraction. She had been so hopped up on love that she had grown arrogant in her supposed victory and because of that arrogance she had nearly gotten her skull caved in by some run of the mill street punks.

The changeling placed a hoof to her chest and forced herself to breathe, using the breathing technique Chrysalis taught every one of her infiltrators. She looked up to find the group of ponies milling about the exit of the club giving her odd looks, a rather inebriated stallion already meandering over to her with a glazed look in his eye.

She chuckled at the sight of him, but quickly turned and trotted away before he even had a chance to try his best pick-up line on her. With the assurance of the wide open, and more importantly patrolled streets ahead of her, Moonlit Echo took a more leisurely pace up to the gate to the middle quarter.

Once close by, she ducked into a late night cafe, slipped into a bathroom and hastily checked her bags and, more importantly, the many enchantments and talismans tucked away inside that were ultimately responsible for her able to pass through the gates with ease. With that done, she quickly fixed her appearance in the mirror, took a drink from the sink and trotted back out, her head held high.

With everything secure, she quickly made her way up to middle Canterlot, or the so called merchant quarter. This time her passage through a quarter was unhindered and the few guards who gave her a second glance seemed more worried about the ponies around the mare than the mare herself. She chuckled to herself as she slipped through the crowd, glad to see that chivalry wasn't quite dead.

It didn't take long for the mare to get through the merchant quarter and up to the noble or upper quarter. Once through and away from the prying eyes of security spells and guards, she found a nice quiet park to change disguises and made her way towards the Sparkle residence.

Of course she didn't go straight there, that would be rather obvious. Instead she took a long, meandering path through the noble quarter, one that conveniently ended at her target’s street.

It was quiet, as one would assume if they were to walk the mostly residential streets of the noble quarter at night. Other than the odd guard or group of party goers returning home late, she was mostly left to herself, allowing her plenty of time to come up with a plan.

She walked slowly, her head down as she tried to think of some good excuse her cover would have to lurk near the residence. There were the parks, but they all had ‘no loitering’ signs outside, and she didn't want to have a run in with a guard, even if they would likely just tell her to go find somewhere else to sit. She hummed quietly to herself, not even noticing as an equally distracted being trotted right into her.

In her confusion the changeling was knocked clean off her hooves, leaving her stunned and confused as she looked up at a familiar sight, the apology she had automatically began to speak dying on her lips..

The older unicorn stallion rubbed his shoulder, wincing. “Wow, you are tougher than you look.” He lifted an eyebrow at the gaping mare. “You alright? I didn't bump you too hard, did I?”

Getting this close to her charge was not the plan, and now that she was here she was nearly overwhelmed by the all consuming sadness that seemed to reach out and grip the changeling’s very soul. “I-I’m alright I just I’m…” She gulped, trying her best to hold back the sudden surge of tears that came unbidden to her eyes. “I’m very sorry for your loss.”

The stallion sighed tiredly. “I appreciate your concern but… are you crying?”

The changeling wiped her face. “N-no I just... I have to go!” She got up and tried to brush past him.

But the stallion held out a hoof, blocking the changeling’s escape. “Wait, I never got your name. I’m Night Light, as you probably already know.”

The changeling blinked, looking down at the offered hoof awkwardly before giving it a weak shake. “I’m Moonlit Echo. I’m sorry, but I really must go.”

The stallion stood awkwardly, watching as the crying mare fled down the street. “Such a strange pony.” He looked down at the hoof he had offered, perplexed as to why she stuck out so much from every other pony that had offered their condolences.

Then it hit him. She was the only pony that seemed truly touched by what had happened to him, which only made him more distracted by her. Had she suffered and lost someone as he had? Or was she just one of the rare few who truly cared, and felt his sorrow as if it were her own?

He gave one last glance at the vanishing form of the strange pony before continuing his walk. He decided right then and there that if they ever met again, he would go out of his way to treat her in some way, it seemed only right. He blushed slightly, his thoughts consumed by the first truly kind act he had witnessed in what felt like forever. It reminded him of one of his wife’s stories she had edited a long time ago. In it the two lovers had met due to bumping into one another and here he was, doing the same thing like some sort of cliche romance novel character. A fierce blush suddenly overcame the stallion and he facehoofed as the realization had settled in. He had just knocked some poor pony over and not even apologized.

He spun around in place, ready to run after the mare, only to stop before he had moved more than a foot. The mare was gone, and the street was dark and empty, without a single soul in sight.

“Aw, pony feathers,” he cursed, before turning once more towards his late night goal.

The changeling placed a hoof against her chest, panting with the exertion and trying to catch her breath. It wasn't even that her body was particularly taxed, but rather it was her very spirit that felt heavy. Such sorrow, such sadness had come from the stallion that she couldn't help but feel her own fears and moments of desperation to come to mind with a disturbing clarity, and in that moment completely forgetting about her secondary mission.

Images of her first flight, of the death of her pony family and lastly the first mission she had ever gone on. All those strange thoughts and images had flashed through her mind and unsettled her stomach. Though tempted to empty her guts all over the alley, she could feel the eyes of another on her and she needed to move, painting the street with her stomach contents would have to wait.

She could hear the distant sound of wings and the soft, padded steps of somepony trying to be stealthy. Though they kept their distance, there was no promise that they would be happy simply observing her. So rather than take any chances, she beat a hasty retreat, using her years of experience to easily elude the less stealthy royal guards.

A half hour later and significantly more tired, she slipped into the side door of a hotel, exchanged coded messages with the receptionist and was rewarded with a key. Which, in turn, opened a door to a small safe house, tucked away behind a false wall in a janitor’s closet.

The room was small, barely able to contain two cots, a pile of boxes and an alchemy set, stocked with all the necessary components a field agent might require. None of which interested her in the slightest, other than the dirty cot and meagre blankets that covered it. After making sure to lock the room down tightly and to activate the defence wards and alarms, the changeling settled into the cot and after her stomach stopped turning, fell quickly to sleep.

Shining Armor was not a large pony, in fact some might think he was malnourished or perhaps had some sort of disability, none of which could be further from the truth. Now however, with his sister having been killed, the source of his demure stature was now gone, allowing the stallion to finally begin to add muscle mass for the first time in what felt like forever.

Still, he had a lot of bulking up to do and so far had only had several weeks to do said catching up, meaning that his attempts at sprinting were lackluster at best, and kind of pathetic at worst. For despite his will, and the small improvement he had seen, the truth was obvious, he was far behind his peers. To the point that even the overweight recruit who looked to have over a hundred and fifty pounds on him was now beating him in a simple race.

“Come on, Recruit Armor! I’ve seen mountains move faster than you!” shouted the drill instructor, who trotted several feet behind said recruit.

The overweight recruit wheezed a little harder, his lungs too overtaxed to actually allow him to laugh. “And that goes double for you, Stout Shield! You got no excuse for being such a butter ball!”

The round stallion picked his head up and ran a little faster, putting even more distance between him and Shining Armor, whose hooves were beginning to shake with exertion, and his breathing coming in short, rapid breaths.

The thunderous sound of hooves was rapidly picking up on the small stallion and within seconds the main group of his fellow recruits lapped him once more. Though the appearance of the drill instructor kept insults, and snide remarks to a minimum, Shining Armor could still hear a few scathing remarks about his ability as the group passed him by.

Shining Armor gritted his teeth and ignored the jabs of his fellow recruits, choosing instead to focus on the nearly all consuming desire to finish the damn test. Seconds became minutes and though the stallion could feel his legs becoming weaker and weaker, he refused to give up. Eventually everypony but him and Stout Shield had finished the race and still the gaunt stallion had yet to catch up to the much larger pony.

The drill instructor had grown quiet, only occasionally remarking about Shining Armor or Stout Shield’s lack of progress. Unknown to either recruit, the instructor was silently considering an alternative exercise plan and was watching the two closely, trying to gauge where exactly they most needed improvement.

Stout Shield had merely been lazy for the most part and other than diet and exercise, he didn't actually need anything special. Shining Armor on the other hoof required something much more focused and personal. A protein heavy diet, plenty of weight lifting, and perhaps even some alchemical assistance would be necessary to truly make him into a pony capable of fulfilling the duties of a royal guard. He had the bone structure, but lacked muscle or even fat, and the instructor couldn't help but grow concerned the longer he looked.

The recruit jogging and wheezing before him was clearly driven, perhaps more driven than even the rest of his fellow recruits and yet he was… emaciated, sickly even. How would a pony as driven as him end up in such a state? The instructor pushed such thoughts from his mind and peered over his aviators at the gasping and wheezing pony he had been tasked with training.

“You are almost done, Recruit Armor, don't you dare give up,” he barked.

“Sir, no sir!” the recruit shouted back.

The instructor’s frown deepened and he looked up, calculating that they had at least three hundred metres before the end of the little race and still the stallion was several metres behind the larger recruit. “Recruit Armor, if you do not finish this race before Recruit Shield, I will make you do this entire race again.”

“But sir-”

“That's an order, recruit, hop to!” the instructor shouted back.

The stallion gritted his teeth and looked up, noting that Stout Shield didn't seem to have heard their little conversation. His jaw clenched and suddenly the stallion broke into a sprint, nearly catching up to the other recruit before he was noticed.

Stout Shield blinked, looking back at the rapidly approaching form of the sickly stallion. “Stout Shield, if you finish last I’m halving your rations for a week. Am I understood?”

“Sir, yes sir!”

The two recruits exchanged a glance of determination before both poured themselves into one last burst of speed. Shining was small and a little faster than his larger counterpart, but Stout seemed to have a bit more endurance than the sickly stallion. All he had to do was pray his opponent ran out of energy before he passed the finish line and he was home free.

Seconds dragged on and the two stallions gained a surprising amount of onlookers, some of who were beginning to take bets on who would come in last. The instructor didn't seem to care, his eyes focused firmly on the two stallions who were by now nearly neck and neck. Shining Armor seemed to have lost whatever edge that had enabled him to catch up to the larger stallion though and the tiny lead he had was bleeding away.

“Your opponent is nearly twice your size. Recruit Armor! That sack of lard probably has more chins than you can shake a stick at and you are going to lose to him!”

The two stallions gritted their teeth, focusing on the last few seconds of the race. The instructor’s eyes narrowed, thinking about what exactly drove this strange recruit and how best to tap into that drive. “Recruit Armor, you will pass this pile of sentient fat this instant, that is a direct order!” he shouted.

The sickly stallion’s eyes shot open and something deep inside him clicked and before he even knew what was happening, he found himself breaking out into one last sprint. Stout Shield gaped at the other recruit’s sudden burst of energy, as up until now he had looked as though he may pass out at a moment’s notice. With the threat of seeing his already diminished portions shrunken even more, the large stallion threw on his own burst of speed.

The two stallions were neck and neck, the finish line closing fast and with only seconds left in the race. Stout Shield had managed to squeeze ahead a few times but every time he did, Shining suddenly burst into another sprint that put more distance between them. In the end, the larger stallion simply didn't have the will to keep trying in the face of such dominance and with mere metres left in the race, he slowed his pace and accepted the fact that he was going to be suffering through even smaller rations for the next week.

With his lead secured, Shining Armor sprinted into the finish line, his hooves giving out after several steps past the green line in the sand that indicated the race’s end. His chest heaved and his breathing was labored and a small part of him wanted to throw up but he had done it.

Stout Shield had enough energy to limp over to the grass before tumbling over into a heap and panting, leaving the instructor to walk up to the gasping stallion who lay sprawled out in the finish line. “Great work, Recruit Armor. I see much potential in you.” The grizzled old unicorn turned to the small group of recruits standing around the finish line, some of whom were exchanging small hooffuls of bits. “You two!” He pointed towards two of the only ponies who weren't a part of the impromptu gambling ring. “Haul Recruit Armor to the infirmary and tell the medic that he's to be treated for exhaustion.”

“Sir, yes sir!” the two recruits yelled back in unison.

“Good. As for the rest of you.” His eyes narrowed and an evil grin spread across his face. “Gambling is against guard protocol and the usual punishment is the lash, but I am a fan of punishments that fit the crime. So, you lot will be running this track until I manage to flick five bits and for all of them to turn up heads.”

“But that could take hours!” One recruit yelled back.

“And you will be running until I get bored of watching you suffer! Anypony else has something dumb to add?” The recruits all turned and began sprinting down the dirt track, leaving the instructor alone with a gasping Stout Shield.

He shook his head and walked over to the prone form of the pony before heaving him back to his hooves with a burst of telekinesis. “On your feet, recruit! Your training is done for today, so I expect you to get the hell off my track.”

The stallion nodded weakly, trotting wobbly towards the barracks, occasionally swaying back and forth every few steps. Now completely alone, the instructor watched the scrawny stallion get dragged towards the infirmary, his eyes twinkling behind his reflective sunglasses.

“Finally, Celestia sent me a pony with heart. It's about goddamn time.”

“Prisoner 11248, get up and prepare to receive Her Royal Highness, Princess Celestia,” a voice shouted.

“Whuh?” Sunset Shimmer muttered, her unfocused eyes only seeing a mass of gold and silver standing over her.

The voice sighed. “I said get up! You will have company soon and I will not waste Her Majesty’s time with scum like you.”

Sunset’s body felt distant, and there was a long delay from her brain telling her body to move and her body actually moving. After several seconds of weakly flailing for the edge of her blanket, she saw the blurry gold shape’s horn began to glow and suddenly a bucket of water was hurled over her.

“HOLY FUCK!” Sunset screeched.

The water was ice cold and thrown at her with enough force to cause her to get knocked off the small cot she had awoken on and tumble to the even colder stone floor of her cell. “What the hell, Sun Spear?”

The stallion snorted. “Sun Spear was my grandfather. Now get up and get ready for Her Majesty’s arrival, her time is precious.”

The cold unicorn wiped the water from her face and shakily got to her hooves. Her vision had cleared enough for the mare to see that she wasn't in her usual cell. I must have finally passed out. Sunset sighed, the memory of her most recent torture was still fresh in her mind, but Celestia’s magic kept such thoughts from becoming all-consuming, and pushed them away from the forefront of her focus. It was strange to feel such an integral part of her being manipulated through magic, but by now she was used to it, or perhaps that was the same spell working its way into her thoughts, either way she didn't know.

She gripped the meagre blanket she had been given and used it towel off as quickly as possible, robbing the ice water of most of its bite. As an afterthought she summoned her magic in an attempt to create a source of heat, only to find the usual mental block had stopped that before it could even actually happen. The mare sighed and went about it the old fashioned way by squeezing the water out of the thin blanket and wrapping it about herself.

The stallion turned and gestured towards the cot. “Sit. Her Majesty has indicated that she will be a few minutes, which will allow you enough time to eat.”

The mare nodded, sitting down on her cot and looking over to the heavy iron door where the implacable guard stood . Sure enough, a minute later an attendant had shown up with food in hoof and handed it over to her wordlessly before turning and leaving. He had the exact same armor as the rest of the guards and seemed exactly the same height as them as well, making identification impossible.

Still, it was interesting to know that her primary handler was no longer Sun Spear, which only gave rise to more questions. She grabbed the spoon on her plate and began the regrettable task of consuming the mashed up gruel they called food.

As she ate, her mind wandered to what she had heard from the guard. If Sun Spear was indeed this guard’s grandfather, then that meant a lot more time had passed than what she had thought. Her spoon stopped halfway to her lips as a thought occurred to her. If it's been that long since her last mission and there had been an indeterminate break between that one and the three missions before… How long had she been here? How old was she?

Sure, she had seen some changes in her brief travels in Canterlot, but the strings that bound her ensured she never wavered and never stopped long enough to even glance at a newspaper. There had been only a few notable changes in Canterlot, but other than the absence of a few businesses, there really wasn't anything to tell her how much time had passed.

The guard’s remark of his grandfather had truly been the first time she really had an inkling of the passage of time. Though Celestia had used to tell her how much time had passed since she had been woken up, she had stopped doing that a while ago.

Just how long had she been on Celestia’s leash? It was easily over a hundred years, but how big was that number? Two, three, or maybe even four hundred years? Was her sentence over, or was that merely a ruse Celestia had abandoned over time as she grew bored of it?

The mental magic kicked in and shunted that line of reasoning out of the forefront of her mind and she slowly began to eat once more, the moment of panic now behind her. She gulped down the last of her food quickly, knowing full well what would happen if she wasted anymore time.

With her food done, she placed the metal bowl and spoon at the end of her cot and sat on the other side, allowing the stallion to pass them off to another guard who had been just outside the door. The two guards exchanged a quick, silent conversation which ended with the first guard nodding and the second disappearing once again. This time the door did not close and the guard stepped outside.

“Her Majesty will be delivering your next assignment in the situation room, stand still,” he commanded.

The mare sighed, knowing what would come next, but unable to do anything about it. The guard approached and fastened a collar around her neck before attaching a leash to that and placing an inhibitor ring on her horn. All of which seemed unnecessary as the mental blocks placed on her stopped any unallowed spellcasting already. Then again, the entire thing wasn't about necessity as she could not willingly leave anyway, which made the collar and leash obvious tools of humiliation.

“Follow me, prisoner.”

The mare lowered her head, already feeling her legs getting out from under her and carrying her to the door before she even chose to move. The guard moved quickly, occasionally tugging at her leash and urging her to go faster. Which she complied with instantly, trotting behind the guard as he made a beeline for the situation room that lay much deeper into the underground complex.

The only sound was the clank of his armored hooves as they impacted floor, the only light the meagre magical torches that lined the walls and the glowing gold magic that held her leash aloft. The dull grey stone walls and numerous iron doors lining the hall gave way after they made a turn and climbed a spiral staircase. After passing another group of similarly armored guards, they walked through a brief security checkstop and after a short scanning spell were admitted past a large, rune-bound steel door.

Within was a large round table above which a magical representation of Equestria floated. Other than Sunset Shimmer and her guard, the room was occupied solely by the domineering presence of Princess Celestia herself. She seemed distracted, her gaze lingering on the floating map as she tapped her hoof on the table.

“Sunset Shimmer, it's about time.” Celestia turned to the pair and flicked her head towards the door.

The guard nodded and turned to leave, sealing the door once he had passed through it. The leash that had fallen slack when the guard had left was quickly picked up by Celestia’s magic. “Come here and look at this.”

Sunset ground her teeth, but did as she was told, maneuvering to the other side of the table and allowing her a view of the map. On it was a zoomed in view of Equestria with Canterlot at the top left, the rest of the map almost completely dominated by the Everfree forest.

“Tell me, Sunset, what do you know of the Everfree forest?” Celestia turned to the mare, gazing down at her appraisingly.

Sunset wanted to say something snarky like, It's the one place in the world not under your iron hoof. But her lips betrayed her, already moving without her consent. “I know everypony avoids it and that although Equestria surrounds it, nopony lives there and no colonists have tried to live there in centuries. It's also the only place on Equis where wild magic springs forth naturally.”

Celestia nodded. “That is true. It is also the last place on the entire planet that has access to the knowledge of necromancy.” Her eyes narrowed and she glared down at the unicorn. “Which is where Twilight Sparkle currently resides. Do you understand my distaste, Sunset Shimmer?”

“Yes.”

The alicorn’s glare lingered for a few seconds longer before she finally turned back to the map. “You will be dropped here.” She pointed to a point on the map north east of the forest, a few kilometres away from Canterlot, near the winding Canter river. “That is the last point our long range scanning spells could detect her magic. You should be able to pick up the trail from there.”

“What makes you think I’ll even be able to pick up a trail? She was dead, her heart crushed and her body tossed off a cliff.” Sunset remarked with a roll of her eyes.

Celestia yanked the leash hard enough to choke the mare, dragging her over to the raging alicorn, who gripped her neck in both hooves. “Think for just one second and tell me why it's significant that her magic was picked up there.”

Sunset struggled to breathe, wanting nothing more than to fight back and free herself from the alicorn’s grip, but unable to lay a hoof on the princess due to the magical conditioning. Her mind whirled with possibilities as to the significance before her realization settled in.

“Magic is only found in living things.” The unicorn managed to squeeze out before the pressure suddenly vanished and she found herself on the ground panting desperately.

“Exactly, so if she was killed, and her magic was picked up, then…” She rolled her hoof, gesturing for the unicorn to finish the thought.

“That means somepony reanimated her or she wasn't dead.”

The alicorn nodded slowly. “Exactly. I don't know the specifics of necromancy, but I know enough that the sudden reappearance of her magic signifies something terrible.” She jerked her head towards the door. “Now go, the good sergeant will have all the supplies you need for the journey. You are allowed to use any methods necessary to ensure the target has been put down permanently, which means incineration.”

Sunset got to her knees and rubbed her neck awkwardly. “R-right.”

“You will also be allowed to kill anything that gets in your way. You are not to even think of any information that will lead her back to me, if questioned and if you are detained or captured you will activate the harakiri protocol.”

“You can't be serious, Celestia I’ve followed every order you’ve ever-!”

“Be silent.” The unicorn’s mouth clacked shut. “These orders are not up for debate, now go. I want that thing removed from my world and I want it done yesterday.”

Sunset nodded once and turned towards the door, her eyes burning with hatred that she could not give voice to. She crossed the room in silence, her leash dangling between her legs. As she reached for the door, Celestia spoke once more, only this time her voice wasn't quite as deep, and it strangely lacked the barely contained rage that it usually did.

“Sunset, wait!” The unicorn blinked, stopping dead in her tracks and turning toward the alicorn. “I’m sorry she's done this. I authorize you to be released from your-mf!” The alicorn’s hoof shot up and covered her mouth suddenly.

The alicorn yanked her head to the side while her other hoof grabbed her other forehoof and tried to remove it. All over her body muscles twitched seemingly at random and often times contradictory, as if she were trying to move in two different directions at once. The alicorn seemed to wrestle with herself for several seconds, both sides vying for dominance as one side tried to remove the hoof from her mouth while the other turned any attempt at magic into a shower of sparks while keeping their mouth shut.

Through it all Sunset stood baffled by the sight. Was this some sort of trick? Another cruel joke by the twisted alicorn who had eagerly revelled in her suffering? The alicorn’s face twisted from one of rage, to one of fear then back to rage in the span of milliseconds. Then it stopped all at once, leaving the alicorn panting and a slick line of sweat covering her brow.

“Go, now!” the alicorn growled, her burning, hate-filled eyes instilling an almost primal fear within the mare.

Sunset Shimmer’s hooves shot out from under her, and only when she was out of sight of the alicorn did she slow down and glance over her shoulder.

“What the hell was that?” she muttered.

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Editing done by the wonderful everfree pony!

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