Sparkle checked the circle for the third time, making sure every detail was correct. She’d had to pull a half-dozen books out of the restricted archives to get the information she needed to construct it, a task made more difficult by the lack of her usual resources. Kevin still hadn’t shown up, and his absence was making things much more difficult.

“The Necrodashcon, Das Equuis Mysteris, The Sign in Marigold…” Sunset shook her head. “Do you know what happened when I tried to borrow these?”

“Celestia kicked you out,” Sparkle said. “They are very dangerous, in the wrong hooves. Each is a book of the blackest magic known to ponykind.”

“So how did you get them?”

“I asked nicely,” Sparkle shrugged. “And a few ponies might have gotten a small donation of bits in consideration for their kind efforts.”

“You bribed them,” Sunset snorted. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

“Because you would prefer to threaten them,” Sparkle pointed out. “Regardless, these circles seem to be designed correctly. Very good work.”

“You think it’ll help?” Sunset looked to the center of the circle, where Marble was lying in as much comfort as they could give her, the mare sweating like she was running a high fever.

“The Engine Heart would purge the dark magic eventually anyway,” Doctor Sparkle said. “But the contact she had with the linnorm’s magic was an extensive violation of her leylines. This will cut it down from weeks to days. The wounds on her chest and shoulder are already closing up, thankfully. The physical damage was extremely minor compared to the thaumatic trauma.”

Sunset sighed. “Hang in there, Marble.”

“So the operation was a total failure,” Cadance sighed.

“I wouldn’t say that,” Celestia said. She took a long sip of the hot tea in front of her. “I missed the small comforts like this. I haven’t had to go to the field in centuries.”

“But you said you weren’t able to find Sombra,” Cadance said. She tilted her head. “Wasn’t finding him the whole point of the counter-invasion?”

“Yes and no,” Celestia said, after a few more quiet moments enjoying her drink. “We didn’t find Sombra, that’s true, but we were able to shatter his lines and get into the Empire. His supply lines are broken and we freed as many slaves as we could. His soldiers were being controlled with dark magic, but many of the workers were enslaved the old fashioned way with shackles and whips. They’d still be there if we hadn’t saved them.”

“You’re right,” Cadance sighed. “Even if we only saved one pony it would be worth it.”

“Exactly,” Celestia smiled. “But it worries me that we might have taken the war into a new phase. His troops are going to ground, and reports from the Royal Combat Engineers suggest that it might be very literally underground. We may be dealing with raiders and small-scale attacks for years.”

“And Sombra?”

“He’s probably found some safe place to hide,” Celestia said. “I had agents trying to find him, and while they did find quite a few interesting things, he wasn’t among them.”

The floor vibrated under them, the window across from them in the study cracking, a long line of broken glass piercing through an image of the sun.

“Another aftershock,” Cadance sighed, after a moment of terror.

“Some of my advisors are suggesting we move the capital,” Celestia said. “Naturally every major city has offered to build some grand castle.” She paused. “Except for Manehattan. They just want to rename an office building and cover it in gold.”

“I saw the sketches,” Cadance said, giggling. “I think it would blind everypony in the city.”

“I’m not convinced an office and cubicles will have quite the same effect as a throne room,” Celestia said, shaking her head. “This castle isn’t going to fall. I already made my decision - we’re going to rebuild Canterlot, exactly as it was before.”

“Not going to make any improvements?” Cadance asked.

“It’s a statement,” Celestia said. “No matter what happens, no matter what threats come to harm my little ponies, we will overcome and outlast them, and things get back to normal. We won’t change our values or our lifestyle.”

“But we could add more defenses,” Cadance countered.

“Right now there are foals growing up thinking war is normal,” Celestia said, quietly. “They’re spending their foalhoods afraid, hungry, and dealing with the loss of ponies they care about. I can’t ever make it up to them. But I can make sure the next generation thinks of Equestria as a land of peace. That won’t happen if they grow up in the shadow of war machines with soldiers at every streetcorner.”

“And the Imperial Army? What if they attack?”

“They’ll be beaten back, for as long as it takes. And someday ponies will only know the Empire as a name in a history book, and the war a footnote.”

The most beautiful pony in Equestria walked into the lab like she owned it. One thing in the previous sentence was a lie. She did own it, since she’d supplied even more funding and materiel to Doctor Sparkle’s project than Princess Celestia. She was certainly beautiful, and even definitely the most beautiful in Equestria, because while individual tastes varied, she could always be the pony of their dreams.

The lie was calling her a pony.

“Where’s Sparkle?” she demanded.

Moondancer looked up at the slim white pony. She’d seen her before, in fashion magazines and posters supposed to encourage the troops.

“Do you have an appointment?” Moondancer asked. “Miss…?”

“Of course not,” the pony snorted, her expression twisted with annoyance in a way that a fashion model’s shouldn’t be. “I don’t need to make appointments.”

“At least give me a name,” Moondancer sighed.

“Tell Doctor Sparkle that her mentor is here.” The model vanished in a rush of green flame, replaced with a horror in black chitin and a hanging, corpse-like mane.

“Now try rotating it,” Doctor Sparkle said. Sunset bit her lip and moved her hoof, spinning her fetlock in a complete circle.

“Wow, that feels weird,” Sunset said.

Sparkle smiled. “You’ve gotten the hang of it quite well.”

“There’s something strange about it,” Sunset frowned. “I shouldn’t be able to feel anything at all.”

“That’s because I designed this prosthetic.” Doctor Sparkle sat back. “The standard model isn’t strong enough. This one is made of the same morphic alloy as your unity armor and incorporates some of the same enchantment structure. With practice, you should be able to make it change shape.”

“Hm…” Sunset put her hoof down, testing the weight. “How did you make it stronger without making it heavier?”

“You’ll probably figure it out yourself in a few moments,” Sparkle said.

“Hm…” Sunset smirked, taking that as a challenge. “It feels like… you didn’t.”

“Ah, you’ve got it, I think.”

“You put earth pony leylines in it!” Sunset gasped. “But there’s no way in Tartarus that’s stable!”

“I’ve had months to gather real data, but the breakthrough was what I learned from your near-ascension. I’m much closer to cracking the last barrier. This--” she tapped the metal hoof. “Is only the first step. Once we can mass produce--”

She stopped as a bell sounded in the lab.

“Hm. Apparently we have a guest. We’ll have to continue this later.”

To her credit, Moondancer didn’t panic. This was impressive, because it was even worse than just having a monster appear at her desk. The monster was her boss’ boss.

“I’ll page her to the conference room,” Moondancer said, trying to maintain her composure. “Would you come this way?”

She stood up and started leading Queen Chrysalis through the broken halls, attempting to control her emotions with only limited success.

“Considering how many bits I gave Sparkle, I’m surprised she let the lab get this bad,” Chrysalis muttered, as they passed by a hallway that had filled with debris.

“Even if we had the funding, ponies are needed in Canterlot more than here,” Moondancer said. “Or at least it’s impossible to convince them a lab on the other side of the mountain is worth their time even if we dangle double the usual rate in front of them.”

“I assumed as much. Twilight Sparkle has made many enemies in Equestria,” Chrysalis sneered. “She shouldn’t trust anypony who would take her up on her offer. They’ll be spies or saboteurs.”

Moondancer couldn’t disagree with the assessment. She held the door to the dark conference room open while Chrysalis stepped in.

“It’s either pathetic or cute,” Chrysalis said, with dangerous casualness. “Your affection for Sparkle, I mean. You realize she doesn’t feel the same way, don’t you?”

Moondancer’s eyes narrowed.

“It’s not your fault,” Chrysalis said, almost sounding apologetic. “I’m sure you’re quite affectionate. She’s just a pony that can’t love herself. You can’t love anyone else until you can manage that first.”

“You don’t know her as well as you think you do,” Moondancer said.

Chrysalis laughed. It wasn’t a pleasant sound. “I’ll send word to my own people to start repairs here. They’re much more reliable than anypony you’d get in Canterlot, and the only ones you can trust to not be on the Princess’s payroll.”

“Thank you,” Moondancer said.

Chrysalis turned from her, nodding distantly.

“Why did you come in person?” Moondancer asked.

“Many reasons,” Chrysalis said. “You could say I've been keeping an eye on things from where I was needed most. I hate what you ponies have done with the place. You used to be able to taste the love in the air, and now it's a ghost town.”

“Half of the city fell off the mountain,” Doctor Sparkle said, pushing past Moondancer. “I wish I could say it was good to see you.”

“Would you prefer a visit from Celestia?” Chrysalis asked.

“Mm. Consider the point taken,” Sparkle said. “I trust you haven’t been mistreating my assistant?”

“Of course not,” Chrysalis said. “I have a vested interest in making sure you succeed. Aside from our personal arrangement, Sombra has to be stopped. He would turn Equestria into a loveless land of slaves.”

“You’d go hungry.”

“We have enough difficulty feeding as-is,” Chrysalis said. “Some of my advisors have even suggested we start supporting the war effort openly. I’m not convinced that the long-term consequences are worth having Celestia watching our every move.”

“She’s causing trouble. Did you hear about Sunset?”

“I heard eventually. And not in as much detail as I’d want.”

“I swear she doesn’t even want the war to end,” Sparkle muttered. “And where’s Kevin? He was supposed to handle some contractor issues and the paperwork is still on my desk!”

“Queen Chrysalis has offered some aid with the reconstruction,” Moondancer offered. “I can deal with the paperwork if we don’t need to worry about bids or background checks.”

“Sparkle had a wonderful question,” Chrysalis said. “Where is Kevin?”

“You didn’t recall him?” Sparkle asked. Her expression changed from annoyance to confusion. “I assumed…”

“You assumed I was keeping him.”

Sparkle nodded.

“And I assumed you had him kept too busy to report back to me,” Chrysalis said.

“The last time I saw him it was in the hospital after the battle,” Moondancer offered.

“That was around the time I lost track of him,” Chrysalis admitted.

“Same,” Sparkle agreed. “And I can’t imagine him dying in an accident.”

“Nor can I. He was among my best agents, and considering the quality of my agents that is a very prestigious thing to be.”

“I assume you can afford to detail a few of your other agents to locate him?” Sparkle asked. “Kevin knows quite a few things that neither of us would want in the wrong hooves.”

“Already done,” Chrysalis assured her. “That’s why I like you, Sparkle. We think alike.”

“As long as we’re discussing personnel issues, I wanted to talk about Veil Vestige.” Sparkle looked at Moondancer, and she pulled his file from the various paperwork she was carrying and put it on the conference room table, flipping it open.

“Hmm…” Chrysalis looked at the mostly-blank file. “Interesting.”

“Interesting?” Sparkle raised an eyebrow.

“No real paperwork? Almost no details at all in his file? There wasn’t even height and weight until you did your own medical exam,” Chrysalis said. “This is bad comedy. Where did you dig up a pony like this?”

“Where did I…?” Sparkle blinked. “I thought you sent him.”

“Don’t be stupid! I have been infiltrating Equestria for as long as it has existed. If I was going to put together a fake file I’d put some effort into it. A blank page like this is too obvious.” Chrysalis closed the folder.

Veil stood in the infirmary, watching Marble sleep. She looked peaceful, the spell circles around her slowly drawing the dark magic out of her body. He scuffed one with a hoof, and Marble stirred in her sleep, her expression twisting like she was in pain.

“It’s time,” Veil said. “Let's go pay a visit to Celestia’s dark shadow.”

Marble’s eyes shot open, blazing with dark fire and purple smoke.

Alarms blazed, red lights flashing in the ruined hallways.

“An Imperial agent,” Sparkle growled. “I didn’t even think they had agents!”

“They don’t,” Chrysalis said. She shoved a toppled shelving unit out of the way. “Sparkle, put the puzzle pieces together! Sombra wasn’t in the Empire when Celestia moved her forces in. He’s been trying to get in here for months now. You opened the door and let him just walk on inside when he asked nicely!”

“Why would he come in person?!”

“He must be impressed with your work,” Chrysalis said. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that he’s attacked you directly more than once.”

“His attacks started just after I performed a personal field test. It failed, in case you're curious. I went into cardiac arrest before the condenser tanks were even empty,” Sparkle said.

“Your suits have the same magical signature as our sleeping Princess, don’t they?” Chrysalis asked. “It’s not you he really wants. It’s what we put in your basement.”

“Veil can’t open the doors,” Sparkle said. “I never bothered changing the warding spells to let him through. Myself, Moondancer, Sunset Shimmer, and Marble Pie are the only ones who can get past them.”

“Really? You’re paranoid enough to put up wards and you still allow Sunset Shimmer past them?”

“It saves me the trouble of having to put them back up after she breaks them down,” Sparkle said. “Moondancer suggested it. Sombra was deploying forces through tunnels, and we needed to be able to get ponies on-site in case of a breach from underground.”

“And what was your plan if this happened?”

“I’ve been keeping an eye on Veil.”

“Well, well, well,” Sunset said. She smiled at the ponies in the hallway from where she casually leaned against the wall. “I have to admit, I am impressed. I’d do a slow clap here, but I’m still getting used to the new hoof.”

“Ah, Miss Shimmer.” Veil smiled at her. “How are you?”

“I was having a pretty good day, but you know what?” Sunset tilted her head. “Somepony had to go and ruin it.”

Veil sighed. “That wasn’t my intent, I assure you. Actually, I quite value our friendship. It sounds trite, but I haven’t had real friends since I was a foal. I’d be a liar if I said this didn’t all mean something to me.” He smiled. “I wish it could have been real.”

“Yeah,” Sunset said. “You could always give up. Ditch the mind control and we might be able to work something out.”

“I was going to make you a similar offer,” Veil replied. “If you stand aside I’d be more than happy to let you rule at my side.”

“Sorry, Sombra, but I’ve got my own plans,” Sunset said.

“We all do,” Chrysalis hissed, as she stepped out of the shadows of a side corridor. “It’s funny, really. Every pony here has their own exclusive plan for taking over Equestria. I doubt a more diverse and resourceful group of traitors and villains has ever been assembled.”

“Queen Chrysalis,” Veil, or Sombra rather, said, bowing slightly. “I think this is the first time we’ve met.”

“You’re alive, for the moment, so it must be,” Chrysalis agreed.

“Hey Sparkle, we’re working with the Changeling, right?” Sunset asked, craning her neck to look past the lanky figure.

“They’re lying, evil shapeshifters that eat love, so I trust them more than I trust you,” Doctor Sparkle said, her voice flat.

“That’s fair,” Sunset agreed, nodding.

“Will you please do us all a favor and kill Sombra?” Sparkle asked.

“On it.”

Sunset’s horn blazed with crimson, the eyepatch over her missing eye lit from behind as something glittered in the empty socket, hidden by the black patch.

The air was split by fire and lightning as Sunset threw magic down the corridor, not really a proper spell as much as it was just a torrent of energy, pegasus magic mixing with unicorn spellcasting.

It hit a wall of green and blue energy, stopping cold before even reaching Veil Vestige.

“Thank you, Marble,” he said, glancing back.

Marble Pie stepped forward, her eyes blank.

“She’s even more quiet like this,” Veil said. “My dark magic would have had some problems controlling her, but the Linnorm did quite a good job. I was hoping it might be able to infect more of you, but she’ll be enough.”

“Is that really what you think?” Chrysalis asked. “Because I think you’re up against a Changeling Queen. I’m amazed you had the gall to come here. Foolhardy doesn’t even begin to cover it.”

“That’s why I invested in a little insurance,” Veil said. A bright aura surrounded his horn, and smoke poured from his eyes. Runes lit up on the walls, barely-visible etchings in the steel and concrete shining with light.

“Magic amplification?” Sparkle asked.

“I’ve been spending my spare time getting ready for this little act,” Veil said. A crackle of green lightning from Chrysalis cracked the shield around him, and he poured more energy into the spell.

Sparkle listed, collapsing into the wall, her eyelids getting heavy.

“You’ll all take a little nap, and when you wake up, you’ll be happily serving me,” Veil smiled.

Sunset threw another wave of energy at him before she collapsed, Marble’s shield holding up against the weak attack despite the cracks through the spell.

Chrysalis fell to her knees, horn sparking as she fought to keep control. Veil turned to face her, and the pressure on her mind doubled, her back legs going numb.

“It doesn’t have to be difficult,” Veil said. “Just go to sleep.”

“I live just to make things difficult,” Chrysalis hissed, using the last of her strength to shatter a pane of glass and grab the lever within, collapsing and using her weight to pull the switch.

Steel shutters slammed down all over the lab, blocking every route.

Veil frowned and walked up to the doors.

“Annoying.”

“Sunset, wake up.” Somepony gently nudged her. She really didn’t want to get up. Her bed was too comfortable.

“Sunset,” the voice became more firm. “If you don’t get up, I’ll have to use force.”

Sunset mumbled and turned over in her sleep.

“So be it, then.”

The covers were yanked away from her, and a blast of cold air washed over her fur and feathers. Sunset yelped and tried to pull them back up, but before she could even focus enough to move with more coordination than shivering, golden magic was playing along her belly, sending her into laughing fits as she was tickled until she was out of breath.

“I give, I give!” She yelled, between the laughs.

“Well I wouldn’t have to do it if somepony would remember to get up on time for Court,” Celestia said, leaning over and kneeling on the bed to kiss Sunset’s forehead. “It’s Tuesday, dear. You need to get ready to actually work.”

“Tuesdays are the worst,” Sunset said, grumbling with only half-hearted indignation as she stretched her wings.

“I let you choose between Monday and Tuesday and this is what you wanted.” Celestia said, calmly. She started running a brush through Sunset’s mane. “You know the deal. I take Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and you get Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Then we both do Sunday and end court early.”

“I know, I know,” Sunset sighed. “I’m just not a morning pony.”

“Believe me, I figured that mystery out long ago, my daughter.”

Sunset tried to smile as she looked across the table at the griffin ambassador. They’d brought her delicacies from their homeland.

Or at least that’s what they said the stuff on the plates was supposed to be. She was pretty sure that this was either a test to see if alicorns were really immortal, or they were trying to have a bit of fun at her by putting the worst stuff they could think of on the table.

“And these are…?” Sunset asked, looking at a bowl of pasta. Or at least she hoped it was pasta.

“Serpent worms,” the griffin said. “Live, of course. Once they die they’re no good to eat and start turning into poison.”

“That explains why the food is still moving,” she replied.

“The more they squirm, the fresher they are,” he assured her. The ambassador used a two-tined fork to carefully extract a few of the worms, swallowing them whole while Sunset watched.

Sunset looked him in the eyes and copied him, trying not to gag as the worms squirmed the whole way down. It left a flavor like raw earth behind in her mouth, and she took a sip of the wine he’d brought along with him.

That, at least, was pleasant and sweet, unlike everything else about the dinner.

“Hah!” The ambassador grinned. “I just lost fifty bits. I didn’t think you’d be able to actually eat that.”

“Not all ponies are soft,” Sunset reminded him.

“You’ve taught us that more than once,” the griffin agreed. “It’s why we’re here, after all. You can’t imagine how divided the Empire is about all this. Disarmament treaties and cease-fires are one thing. The mutual defense act was an obvious move with the troubles in Zebrica and the Caliphate. But what you and Celestia proposed is a much bigger change.”

“Joining the Empire and Equestria is bold,” Sunset admitted. “But it’s best for everypony, and everybird. I know you need the trade and the crops. Earth ponies and pegasi would solve your crop failure problems within a generation.”

“It’s why we’re giving it serious consideration,” the ambassador said. “A ruler gets their power from the people, and the people are hungry and demand change. They don’t want to have to fight to fill their bellies every day.”

“Celestia thinks easing your famine problems will also ease tension with Zebrica. We know half the reason you were pressing for old territory claims was to try and get some fertile farmland and forests that still had some game in them.”

“To think we have to come to the negotiation table as beggars…” he sighed.

“Don’t be silly,” Sunset said. “Equestria and the Empire are already friends. You should never be afraid to ask a friend for help before its too late.”

“We’d just like to congratulate you in person,” Fancy Pants said, tipping his glass of wine slightly in a salute. “The treaty with the Griffonian Empire is a big step towards that vision of a united world you talked about during your coronation speech.”

Sunset couldn’t remember the speech, for some reason, but nodded anyway. She didn’t want to make a scene at the party that they were throwing to encourage griffons and ponies to mingle. Thankfully, there weren’t any serpent worms on the buffet table.

“Celestia always wanted me to make more friends,” she said. “I guess I’m just doing that on a larger scale.”

“And I couldn’t be prouder,” Celestia assured her. “This treaty is all your work, Sunset.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Sunset said.

“Of course we’re all just lucky we were able to get you out of bed that morning,” Celestia continued. Sunset’s cheeks burned red. “I’m only kidding, dear. You probably could have impressed them even if you were actually asleep. They really respect you, you know, and I hear the Emperor’s son is available and quite attractive…”

“In that case, I’d be surprised if Celestia wouldn’t just snap him up herself,” a voice said from the crowd, though nopony around Sunset reacted to it. “She always did seem like the type to prefer younger men.”

A dark shape moved between the nobles like a panther stalking through trees.

“I know you from somewhere,” Sunset said, the voices of the other ponies becoming distant like they were several rooms away despite being right next to her.

“Chrysalis,” the horror said, as it emerged from the crowd, taller and slimmer than Celestia, covered in chitin and with a mane that hung in ragged, knotted clumps. For some reason, Sunset wasn’t afraid, though she should have been. “Queen Chrysalis.”

“What are you doing here?” Sunset asked.

“A poor question. This isn’t a here.” Chrysalis’ horn lit up, and most of the nobility was swept away like dust in the wind. “You’re dreaming.”

“Dreaming?”

“Not a bad dream either,” Chrysalis said, turning slowly to look around the empty room, the walls hung with banners alternating between the Equestrian flag, the Griffon Empire’s sigil, and Sunset’s cutie mark. “Absolute power, loved by everyone around you, and enjoying your greatest triumph to date. It’s the kind of dream I might make for myself, if I was so inclined.”

Sunset closed her eyes. “The last thing I remember is… I was in a corridor. Veil was right in front of me. No, not Veil. Sombra!”

When she opened her eye, she was in her armor, the feathery wings at her side replaced with bronze.

“You know, this is a dream. You don’t have to imagine yourself as broken as you really are.” Chrysalis nodded to Sunset’s hoof and eye.

“I don’t like to deny reality.”

“One could argue that trying to become an alicorn is just that.”

“How did you even get into my dream?” Sunset asked. “I’ve never heard of magic like that.”

“You’ve seen the sleeping Princess in Sparkle’s basement?” Chrysalis asked. “Don’t bother answering, you’d probably deny it and I already know you’ve been trying to find answers.”

“She’s Nightmare Moon,” Sunset said. “I figured that out already. I just don’t know how or why.”

“Nightmare Moon was imprisoned on the moon for a thousand years--”

“After trying to overthrow Celestia. I know.” Sunset rolled her eyes.

“The thousand years were almost up,” Chrysalis sighed. “I wasn’t going to interfere, but Sparkle made a very convincing argument. Getting the drones to the moon was difficult--”

“You went to the moon?!”

“The difficult part was doing so without Celestia noticing,” Chrysalis said. “I don’t like to brag.”

Sunset raised an eyebrow.

“Okay, I love to brag,” Chrysalis said, smiling and showing long fangs. “I’m sure after this little escapade we can compare notes. The important thing is that she was on the moon and trapped with only a fraction of her power. We used the opportunity to capture her.”

“I’m guessing Sparkle wanted to study her. Or dissect her.”

“A little of both, I think,” Chrysalis shrugged. “I was more interested in the possibilities of having an alicorn under my control. To bring this little discussion full circle, I’m in your dream because Nightmare Moon’s magic is, in part, under my control. It’s been a rather lucrative arrangement -- it’s far easier and safer to feed on ponies in their dreams.”

“Cute,” Sunset said. “And then when Sombra is defeated?”

“Depending on how it goes, we’ll either reveal we’ve been supporting the war effort and be praised as heroes, or we’ll return to the shadows until we’re strong enough to conquer you on our own,” Chrysalis shrugged. “We need to break this spell. Come along.”

Chrysalis dipped her head and stabbed forward with her horn, using it like a knife to carve open the air, creating a glowing portal.

“Yeah, one second,” Sunset said. She looked back at the only pony still in her dream scene, Princess Celestia standing frozen and placid, smiling at her.

Sunset charged up a spell and blew her apart.

Moondancer checked the two copies of the book, going line by line.

“They’re identical,” she said, after a few minutes.

“Did you double-check?” Twilight asked, looking over her shoulder.

“You know better than that,” Moondancer said, adjusting her glasses. “I triple-checked. All two hundred and twelve pages are perfectly identical to each other -- including the annotation you wrote correcting page thirty!”

“That’s great!” Twilight smiled and hugged her. “We can call that a roaring success! Do you know how accessible this is going to make rare books? No need to set up large print runs. All you need is a blank book and a quick spell!”

“We’ll have to test with damaged and dirty pages,” Moondancer said. “But I think this is cause to celebrate!”

“Maybe we could do dinner out, then come back here and…” Twilight blushed, the golden ring on her horn glinting in the light. “Well, I have my own experiment I wanted to run. Have you ever thought about having foals?”

The door burst open, the latch shattering, and Sunset Shimmer walked in, looking around the small room.

“This is Canterlot University,” she said. “The teachers’ quarters, I think. Whose dream are we in?”

“It should be obvious,” Chrysalis said, looking inside. Moondancer froze up at the sight of the Queen.

“Who are these ponies?” Twilight asked.

Moondancer looked at her, and gently stroked her cheek. “I’m sorry.”

“Is this really what you wanted?” Sunset asked. “I guess I expected a little more ambition from somepony working for Doctor Sparkle.”

“I think it’s quite ambitious,” Chrysalis offered. “Taming a pony like Doctor Sparkle is an impressive feat.”

“This was just a dream, wasn’t it?” Moondancer asked, looking away from them. “I should have known. In the real world, I’d never be able to…” She clung to the dream copy of Twilight.

Sunset looked back at Chrysalis, feeling awkward.

“Let’s go,” Moondancer said. “I’d rather be of use to the real Twilight. She’d never approve of these fantasies.” She wiped her eyes, trying to pretend there hadn’t been tears there.

Sunburst squinted through his glasses as he checked the chalk diagram for the third time. He was living alone these days, which had its charms. Nopony expected anything of him, and he had all the time in the world to read through his books and practice magic.

One book in particular had caught his attention. It was probably illegal to own, but he was far from anypony who would care and it was kind of exciting to own something he wasn’t supposed to have.

The cover of the book depicted, mostly abstractly, a slender and attractive and extremely female form, and the slim volume detailed how to summon a servant for various purposes, and the lurid descriptions left nothing to the imagination and had left Sunburst unable to cast anything for a few hours while he recovered.

He started casting, slowly spinning his limited thaum reserve out to cast the complicated spell, unable to risk wasting even a single mote of power.

Space tore open in the center of the diagram.

“I bind you and command you!” Sunburst said. “I order you to submit to my will!”

Mist filled the space, obscuring the figure that stepped into the circle.

“Oh wow, it worked!” Sunburst whispered.

“Huh. These diagrams are almost perfect. That’s kind of impressive, considering where we are.” The figure turned slowly, looking at the chalk circle, then flapped its wings, dispersing the mist.

“You don’t look like the one in the book,” Sunburst blurted out.

Sunset raised an eyebrow. “Just what were you doing, anyway?” She grabbed the book with her magic, the spell circle sparking and failing to hold up against her strength.

“How did you do that?!”

“Hm?” Sunset glanced up at him. “Oh, you’re just not nearly strong enough to hold me. It’s very well made, but ultimately useless.” She stepped out of the circle, and what was left of the spell shattered, the chalk turning black in spots as energy grounded along it.

“You should have let me go first,” Chrysalis said, as she stepped through the still-open portal. “He was trying to summon a succubus, and I have a lot of experience.”

“We’re trying to end the sleep spell, not get you a snack,” Sunset retorted, tossing the book at her.

“Sleep spell?” Sunburst asked. “Oh my stars, this is just a dream! Thank Celestia! I’ll wake up in the morning and--”

“And we’ll all still know about your hobbies,” Chrysalis said. “Don’t worry, it’s perfectly natural for ponies your age to have fantasies, especially when they don’t have any experience.”

Sunset snorted with laughter.

Moondancer looked at the cobblestones under her hooves, and the sky above them.

“It all seems real,” she said.

“It’s a perfect representation of Canterlot,” Chrysalis agreed. “I’ve been in a lot of dreams, and I’ve never seen one this detailed. Usually the details get fuzzy, especially in places where the dreamer isn’t looking.”

“Gotta be Doctor Sparkle,” Sunset said. “She’s the only one who would insist on perfect fidelity even in her sleep.”

“It’s her house,” Chrysalis said. “I’ve been here a few times.” She glanced at Moondancer and smiled. “Don’t worry, they were for business, not pleasure.”

“Let’s just try to handle this gently,” Moondancer said. She trotted up to the door and knocked.

Sparkle opened the door, glancing past Moondancer at everypony else.

“It took you long enough,” Sparkle said. “Come in.”

Moondancer blinked in surprise as Sparkle walked deeper into the house, leaving the door open.

“Wipe your hooves,” Spakle ordered. “I don’t want you tracking anything into my dream.”

“She already knows?” Moondancer asked, surprised.

“For someone in love you underestimate her quite a bit,” Chrysalis said.

“I just didn’t think the gap between us was this big,” Moondancer muttered, her cheeks turning red.

“Can we please go inside?” Sunburst asked. “I’m pretty sure this is the middle of winter!”

Chrysalis nudged Moondancer, pushing her over the threshold, and the motley group walked inside, the Queen having to slouch to avoid scraping the ceiling with her horn.

“This is Hearth’s Warming, isn’t it?” Sunset asked, looking at the decorations.

“Come in, there are more seats around the table!” Yelled a friendly voice from the dining room.

The table was filled with all manner of foods, less like one meal and more like a timeless tableu of the greatest hits of holidays past, with breadfruit loaves, wheatberry salad, roasted pumpkin, grilled salad, and more.

Shining Armor waved as they walked in, from where he was sitting.

“Oh,” Sunburst said.

“Everypony--” Sparkle started. Chrysalis coughed. “Everyone, this is my family. I’ve just been… enjoying some quality time with them. Mom, Dad, Shiny, these are my co-workers.”

“This is awkward,” Sunburst muttered.

“It’s… not quite accurate,” Sparkle admitted. “I remember killing Shining Armor, and my father is dead. I haven’t spoken to my mother in weeks, and she blames me for everything even though…”

She trailed off into silence, looking at the smiles of the ghosts seated at the other side of the table.

“I suppose it’s time to go anyway,” Sparkle said, wiping her mouth politely with a napkin. “Even I can’t help but have a sappy dream once in a while.”

“We need to find the focus of the sleep spell,” Sunset said. “There has to be a representation of it in here somewhere or else we could wake up on our own.”

“It’s in the bathroom.” Sparkle nodded to a door. “I haven’t touched it yet. I was waiting to make sure you were all lucid. Otherwise you might end up in a coma and be useless to me.”

“A coma?!” Sunburst blurted out.

“Sleep spells have some dangerous side effects,” Sparkle said. “Especially with how much power Sombra had to put into it. I got a good look at the sigils on the walls before we passed out.”

“Is that what happened?” Sunburst asked. “I was in the workshop putting the, um…” he hesitated.

“This is hardly the time to be shy. An upgraded suit of armor for you, Miss Shimmer, in case you’re curious.” Sparkle said. “Unfinished but we’ll probably have need for it soon.”

“I don’t think Sombra is going to last long enough to fit me with a new suit,” Sunset said, poking at a mushroom risotto.

“You’re right,” Sparkle said. She got up. “Come along.”

“Just after we sat down?” Chrysalis asked.

Sparkle led them to the bathroom, opening the door. Beyond, the tiny room was filled with glittering web like spun glass.

“In the corner.” The unicorn pointed with a hoof. A spider sat there, a lump of coal in the shape of an arachnid, twitching just a little.

“Anything special we need to do?” Sunset asked.

“Just kill it,” Sparkle said.

“Don’t you want to say goodbye?” Moondancer asked, looking back at her family, still sitting at the table.

“I’ll see them again,” Sparkle muttered, grimly. “I see them every time I close my eyes. Just end it, Sunset.”

“Can do.”

The bathroom exploded into flames, and there was a sudden jerking motion as everything was plunged into blackness.

Sunset gasped, opening her eyes, her heart racing.

“That wasn’t fun,” she said, slowly getting to her hooves.

“You need to get to the Periapsis,” Doctor Sparkle said, helping her up. “There’s no telling how much of a head start they have. The security doors aren’t designed to withstand the kind of energy Sombra is able to put out.”

Sparkle gestured to the broken steel shutter, the thick slats still burning red-hot at the edges.

“If he can get to the Periapsis--”

“You mean Nightmare Moon?” Sunset asked.

“Yes, I mean Nightmare Moon,” Sparkle rolled her eyes. “You know the way, stop asking questions and go save the world.”

Sombra looked into Marble’s eyes. The control collar around her neck beeped slowly, the gems on it slowly changing from yellow to red in alarm.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to keep control of you for much longer,” Sombra admitted, patting her cheek. “You’ve done very well in getting me here. Thank you. I know you didn’t like me much, but I really do think we had a lot in common. If all goes as planned, maybe we can discuss things in a more amicable setting.”

Sombra pulled open the last door.

“Really?” Sunset said. “A giant cannon?”

“It was a modified portal trebuchet,” Sparkle corrected, her voice tinny from the damaged radio unit she was using. “I purchased an old salt mine that had particularly deep shafts. Add telekinetic boosters along the walls being fed changeling magic, evacuate all the air, and let the payload drop from the top. Portal at the bottom sends it back to the top until the speed is high enough, and then you redirect the exit point. No above-ground infrastructure needed, and using a portal meant we had flexibility with aiming the device.”

“Only changelings could manage it,” Chrysalis added. The radio distortion made her sound almost normal, the low quality evening out the buzzing undertones. “They were in suspended animation in pods. The trip still took days.”

“Getting her back was easier,” Sparkle noted. “Chrysalis’ agents subdued her, put her in a pod, and when the thousand years were up she was returned to Equestria by the same magic that put her on the moon.”

“My changelings are still stuck there, unfortunately,” Chrysalis sighed.

“Something that may prove to be a good investment,” Sparkle muttered. “Have you found Sombra yet?”

“No,” Sunset said. “But I think I found something else.” She lit up her horn, the dark shape at the end of the hall coming into focus.

Marble stood there, as still as a statue.

“Hey.”

Marble didn’t respond.

“So are you still being controlled by dark magic?”

Marble’s steel horn crackled with energy.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

Sunset teleported to the side, or at least tried to, the spell fizzling as it tried to put her right into a wall on her blind side, only moving her a half-step.

“Ow!” She hissed, the feedback spike sending lancing pain down her horn. She was going to make a sarcastic quip about her own injuries, but she was distracted by the lash of green energy throwing her into the steel wall hard enough to leave a dent.

Sunset put up a shield before Marble could strike again, the controlled pony moving stiffly and slowly.

“At least you’re not as vicious as you usually are,” Sunset said, deflecting the energy whip. “I guess Sombra can’t handle your rough edges.”

Sunset teleported, this time picking somewhere she could actually see, appearing next to Marble and kicking her in the side, trying to take her by surprise.

Marble didn’t even flinch. She slowly turned her head to look at Sunset.

“Huh. You’re, uh, stronger than I thought,” Sunset said.

Marble lunged, grabbing Sunset’s collar, green energy surrounding her as she was caught, Marble’s grip with her hoof enhanced by a telekinetic field. Sunset made a strangled sound as Marble shoved her to the ground and stomped, cracking one of her ribs even through the armor.

Sunset fired a blast of unfocused magic, and a plate tore away from Marble’s armor, the thick allow trailing green goo and sparks.

Marble brought her free forehoof up and stomped down again.

Sunset blocked with her new prostethic, the joints whirring and glowing with magic as she fought to push Marble away.

“I’m pretty strong too,” Sunset growled, between gritted teeth.

Sombra looked up at Nightmare Moon, sleeping in the emerald pod, floating in thick slime.

“It took so long to come this far,” he said. “Over a thousand years, so many battles, and I think we only spoke once, the first time you and your sister stopped me. You know what the worst part is? These last few weeks were the most fun I’ve had since I was a foal. I had to lie through my teeth, and fight monsters I made with my own hooves. But I think they actually started to like me.”

He laughed.

“I’ll have to make sure to apologize once I finish taking over Equestria,” he decided. “Maybe they’ll forgive me if I bribe them enough. It seems to have been how Doctor Sparkle brought them into the project to begin with.”

The door behind him buckled and popped open, the welded edges shattering.

Marble fell through, her armor broken.

“Turns out all I had to do was get her to use up her magic,” Sunset said, stepping over her body, not caring about treading on the fallen mare. “Your dark magic was the only thing keeping her awake.”

“Hello, Miss Shimmer,” Sombra said, turning to face Sunset with a pleasant, honest smile. “I was starting to think you weren’t coming.”

"Don't worry. I wasn't going to leave a friend hanging." Sunset cracked her neck.

"We are friends, aren't we?" Sombra asked. "We don't have to fight. You could just let this happen. I'll take the Nightmare's power, we'll defeat Celestia, and then we can rule Equestria together."

"Tempting."

Sombra held out his hoof.

Sunset smiled and shook her head. "Nah. We'd just end up doing this dance again later."

"Well you can't say I didn't make the attempt," Sombra said, matching Sunset's sad smile.

"The one thing I don't understand about all this is why you wasted so much time. You could have gone straight here instead of playing around with your last few rejected monsters."

“I wanted to be sure I had at least some chance of success. And now I'm here, only a few moments from my final victory."

"Yeah, sure, that's gonna happen." Sunset's horn lit up for a moment, and the red glow fizzled out like a candle dropped into water. "...what?"

"There's a reason I waited for you here. Doctor Sparkle recently made changes to this chamber's defenses. Magic is heavily suppressed here. You couldn't cast a spell if your life depended on it." Sombra tapped his hoof against the floor and a blade sprang out of his armor, snapping into place along his right elbow. "Unfortunately for you, without magic I am a warrior and a king and you are a little filly who ran away from home!"

He charged, jumping and spinning in the air.

Sunset caught the blow with her prosthetic.

"Really?" she asked. "I just beat Marble. Her heart wasn't in it, but she's still a hundred times stronger than you are, Weenie Hut Jr."

"What?"

Sunset growled and pushed, forcing Sombra back a step. "I'm getting sick and tired of nobody getting my references!"

"You should make better ones, then!" Sombra broke free from her grip and tried to knock her off balance with a high slash at her blind side.

The blade hit air, Sunset blurring and fading from sight.

"What?" he gasped.

Somepony tapped his shoulder, and he turned in a panic just in time to catch a punch that sent him flying back into the cavern wall.

"How did you create an illusion with your magic suppressed?" Sombra demanded. He struggled to his hooves, head ringing like a bell. He was sure some of his teeth were loose.

"It's a little trick I've been working on," Sunset said, circling closer to him, not walking directly towards Sombra. "Most of your Linnorm only really saw magic. Don't get me wrong, it makes sense. It was an easy way to prioritize targets. Simple, but effective."

"So?" Sombra growled.

"Even if my magic is blocked, it's still circulating through my body. Just like your monsters, ponies sense magic too. It's a little subconscious but every pony can still feel it in their bones. If I alter the circulation of magic in my body while I'm moving--"

She ducked from one side to the other, and Sombra found himself looking at where she had been instead of where she was.

"They just follow my afterimage!" Sunset shouted, suddenly closer than Sombra was prepared for. Her prosthetic flaring with green fire and changing into a serrated blade, sweeping up towards his neck.

Sombra stumbled back in surprise, raising his leg to parry the attack. The blade along his elbow shattered, the edge of Sunset's blade cutting deep into his wrist. His hooves slipped out from under him, and Sombra fell to the cavern floor.

Sunset rested the edge of her bladed hoof against his neck.

"I'm not impressed," she said.

Sombra chuckled. "No, I suppose you wouldn't be."

Smoke spilled out of Sombra's mouth and eyes, and Sunset hopped back out of the way, expecting an attack. The pale form of Veil Vestige collapsed into shadow and mist, Sombra's body dissolving and rising up in a twisting column of black vapor. His armor fell to the ground in a heap.

"I rule an Empire! I've enslaved thousands with my magic!" Sombra yelled, his eyes glowing through the haze, growing larger and larger with every moment. "You think you can stand against me just because you have a few toys?"

A tendril lashed out at Sunset, and her blade cut through it like it was water, just sliding through and hitting nothing solid. It whipped into her chest and sent her flying back. Sunset spread her wings, twisting in midair and landing like a cat.

"I guess I'll have to get serious," Sunset said. She looked up at the next tendril whipping down at her and vanished in a blur.

Sombra's smoky form rolled forward like a tied, his glowing eyes piercing through the smog and trying to catch sight of the unicorn.

"Have you ever heard the phrase 'you can't take it with you?'" Sunset asked. Sombra spun around to find her standing over his discarded armor. She reached inside and pulled out a lumpy metal sphere, the seams glowing with shifting lights. "Looks like you lost this when you decided to become incorporeal."

Sombra growled, narrowing his eyes.

"What, you want it back?" Sunset asked. "Sure!"

She tossed it into the air. Sombra's eyes followed it as it curved up, started down, and Sunset hit it with the bladed edge of her hoof like she was batting a baseball.

It held together just long enough to cross the distance between them before exploding like a frag grenade. Sunset shielded her eye from the light and heat, shrapnel plinking from her prosthetic and armor, one stray shard putting a hole through her right ear.

When the blaze stopped, she lowered her hoof.

The blast had cleared the air, and Sombra, fully solid, was lying on the ground, trying to breathe.

Sunset walked over and looked him over.

"I guess that means enchanted lunar titanium works pretty good against ghosts," Sunset said. She looked over at where Nightmare Moon was sleeping. "You never even got a chance to start enchanting her, did you?"

Sombra coughed, spitting up blood. "It's pathetic."

"Yeah, you are," Sunset agreed.

"How could I lose to a foal like you... now you’re going to turn me over to your master. Or maybe you’ll give me to Celestia yourself and try to find a new place under the sun.”

“Hm?” Sunset raised an eyebrow. “I never planned on turning you over to anyone.”

She raised her hoof, the blade gleaming.

“Highness, we have an urgent report from the front,” the courier ran to Celestia’s side without asking permission, a half-dozen guards in golden armor converging on him just before he got within reach.

“Hold,” Celestia said, before they could drag him away. She plucked the scroll from his saddlebags and unrolled it.

After a moment, Celestia put the scroll down on the desk in front of her.

“Sombra’s grip on his crystal slaves has been broken,” she said, frowning.

“That seems like excellent news, highness,” her secretary said. “The war is over!”

“I need to speak with the EIS,” Celestia said, standing. “It might be time to take care of a few loose ends.”

We wrestled in the throne room, her magic clashing against mine. The ponies who had come to pay her tribute fled when they saw her wrath, as afraid of her as they were of me. We trampled the world beneath our hooves. We flung the sun and moon across the sky and shadows ran wild in every direction.

The woods around the castle twisted and warped from the fallout left in our wake, creating flora and fauna and things in between that had no real taxonomy except for monster.

There is no struggle more desperate than that of two immortals. Death is just a moment of pain followed by peace. When there is no release, being bound or crippled or lessened lends far more terror. We were playing for everything.

Our castle, filled with memories of our foalhood, of summers spent chasing each other through corridors, of games played in the stone halls, was ravaged by our battle. We fought, and towers were toppled, and walls turned to rubble, and our servants ran never to return to the blighted place.

Horns crossed, we fought in the heavens. Hooves flailing, we grappled in the dirt. We fought with everything we had, every bit of magic we possessed, and things were done to the foundations of the world that can never be undone.

And I won.

I won, because my sister always stops to offer peace. She always tries to return things to how they used to be. And in that moment, I struck.

I won. But in the end it didn't matter. I'd struck in a moment of hesitation and weakness on her part, but I had been playing by the rules. It had been her against me. My magic and will against hers. I was stronger. I cast her down from the heavens. I was going to win, and the world would change, forever.

So she cheated.