Princess Celestia stood on the balcony of the tallest tower in Canterlot, her attention divided between lowering the sun and focusing on the silhouette of the Golden Oaks Library dusk provided in the distance.

As a never aging alicorn, the passage of time had always been different for her, but the past three years had been both lingering and unusual. The changelings had invaded around this time three years ago, and not only was her own beloved student caught up in it, it also led to the most unprecedented event ever known in Equestrian history - the arrival of the eldritch horror, Hermaeus Mora.

The past three years, she had kept eyes and ears out for any malicious activity from that formless abomination, but so far nothing had happened. In fact, the more time that went by, the less numerous sightings of him became, and most of the time it was just a tiny portal in a random research area, or one of the creatures he called Seekers. Other than that, he was pretty much inconspicuous.

Though he had talked to her personally once.

A few days after Twilight and her friend left for his world of Apocrypha, Hermaeus Mora had appeared before her and insisted that they talk. At first she was reluctant to do so, but the memory of what he was capable of put her in a more reasonable mood. So she gave her consent.

First, he reassured her that Twilight and her friends were perfectly safe under his supervision, that they were in no danger of physical or mental harm. Though she didn't know why, she was comforted by the news. She personally assumed it was because despite what he was, Hermaeus Mora didn't strike her as a liar.

Unfortunately, his next order of business was to inform her that he intended to draw Equestrian followers soon.

At first she spoke against it outright, but he then told her he was not here to ask for permission. He was there to give her the chance to accept it willingly, and to offer her a boon if she did. She would have refused, but begrudgingly accepted when she realized how fruitless such a reaction would be.

It also helped to learn that nopony but a select few would be drawn into Apocrypha physically like her student and her friends, though she didn't understand fully what he meant.

But fortunately, his compensation for her was not worthless. Hermaeus Mora had pointed her in the direction of some very shady activity in her kingdom of which she had previously been unaware. Activity, that when brought to her attention, made her realize just how much damage her benevolence was causing.

The pony who ran a resort in Los Pegasus, GladMane, not only was he underpaying his employees to an incriminating degree, his resort was in total violation of every safety procedure imaginable. And not only that, but the land his resort was built on was purchased illegitimately, as to avoid the taxes he is liable for for owning such a resort.

And he was not the only one.

Flim and Flam, the notorious brothers who had tried to scam the Apple family out of Sweet Apple Acres, had started up a brand of cure-all tonic, one that they claimed could cure literally any ailment. But a little help from Zecora, the zebra who lives near Ponyville, had determined that the medicine was a phony. Needless to say, it didn't take much to shut the charlatans down after that.

But the real reason this information was so valuable was because these two acts of crime were damaging Equestria's economy.

So, with Hermaeus Mora's help, she was able to incriminate these characters for their schemes, plus she was also able to pin embezzlement on them. Under her previous methods, she would have been more lenient with them. However, Twilight had shown her there was a time and place for that, and if she was going to protect her kingdom properly from now on, she had to do it from all angles, including financial.

So she sentenced them to fifteen years of community service laying down railroad tracks. She hoped her student would approve.

Her student. It never failed to baffle her how much changed for her that day. Who knows how much longer she would have to stay in that wretched place, away from her home. How long would her friends have to be away from their own homes and families.

Not that she would let anything happen in their absence.

That group of ponies had such a future, she refused to let this get in the way. Fluttershy and Rainbow were easy to cover for, the Ponyville Weather Corp had plenty of stand-ins and Doctor Fauna was more than happy to hold the fort at Fluttershy's cottage for the foreseeable future. Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie had been more challenging in the long run, though.

But what good was ruling a kingdom if it didn’t get you a little influence?

Applejack was missed at Sweet Apple Acres, so Celestia had decided to get a substitute for her, and who better than another Apple. Every month, a volunteer from the Apple family would work at Sweet Apple Acres, in exchange for fair compensation from the royal treasury.

Replacing Rarity became pretty much a 'kill two birds with one stone' situation.

With Celestia not being as merciful with those that broke the law anymore, it became apparent how many ponies had been taking advantage of her kindness over the years. One such incident happened at Fashion Week in Manehattan. Celestia had volunteered to be a judge during the festivities and one such contestant, Suri Polomare, aroused her suspicion. An investigation discovered several other contestants had filed complaints of missing luggage, which led the Princess to learn that Suri had derived her whole line from entries stolen from the other contestants. Having learned what lack of repercussions can cause in such a scenario, Celestia not only disqualified her, but also revoked her rights to pursue fashion professionally for life.

Needless to say, Suri had to be forced from Manehattan by the guard, kicking and screaming.

Her assistant, Coco Pommel, had actually cooperated during the investigation, having claimed she was tired of assisting Suri earn her ill gotten title through stealing other ponies' hard work. But she was still an accomplice to Suri's actions, and that was an opportunity Celestia could not waste. So instead of a sentence, Coco now covered Carousel Boutique in Rarity's stead under the instructions that she was not to leave the vicinity of Ponyville until Rarity returned, though she would receive five percent of the profits she had earned for the boutique in that time.

Filling in for Pinkie had been a bit of a challenge too.

Maud eventually had to return to her rock studies, her school professor having finally come out of his shock induced coma, leaving Sugarcube Corner short hooved. At first she sent her own personal chef to fill the role, though he couldn't remain indefinitely, saying he would return to the castle as soon as possible. She couldn't fault him for that, he was an accomplished royal chef, after all.

Eventually, a solution presented itself right in Canterlot.

A father and daughter team of chefs, Coriander Cumin and Saffron Masala, were aspiring to open their own restaurant here in her capital, but were having trouble taking off because the famous food critic, Zesty Gourmand, gave them a bad review. Under normal circumstances, Princess Celestia would not have gotten so deeply involved in such a small situation, until Twilight had opened her eyes to how soft she was being.

Until now, she had always tolerated Zesty's methods out of pity, for the truth was she was only in her position because of her lineage. Last in a long line of food critics, Zesty was born with no sense of taste. She claimed that the blander the food is the better it is, but she actually knew no better.

Celestia let her inherit her family's title, so she might enjoy great foods from a different angle.

This was something she had never regretted until one day, when she was walking back to the castle after sharing tea with Cadance, she happened upon Zesty walking out of her latest rating. She had given it no horseshoes at all, and Celestia could see the distraught look of the owners through the window as Zesty walked away. Celestia now saw the truth of it all.

Zesty wore not a professional expression like she used to, she wore a cruel smirk as she watched the decorated building shrinking behind her. That was when Celestia realized Zesty didn't actually appreciate her title, she was using it to take her bitterness out on others. Such a disgraceful behavior, Celestia never knew how she could have missed it.

So Celestia had offered the two chefs a temporary place on her own staff, and to say it worked well for both would be an understatement. Celestia and her sister Luna enjoyed new exotic food, and Coriander and Saffron got at least part of their wish, to make food in Canterlot. This could not last forever, however, as her own chef was eager to return home.

But that was the solution.

She had proposed to Coriander and Saffron that they work at Sugarcube Corner for the foreseeable future, and they gracefully accepted. They wanted a break from all the stuck up behavior in Canterlot anyway, and Mr. and Mrs. Cake were more than thrilled. So it was set up that Coriander and Saffron would help at Sugarcube Corner, in return for not just pay but a division of the menu featuring their own foods.

Meanwhile, Celestia was using this situation to deal with Zesty.

She could not outright do anything to her, for she was doing nothing illegal, but one must not be allowed to abuse their power as such. So, regretfully, Celestia put a plan in motion that hopefully would eventually strip Zesty of her influence. Once a month, Celestia hosted a private cooking competition among the chefs of Canterlot, the winner being given an all expense paid trip around Equestria to sample foods from all over the kingdom.

It was Celestia's hope that over time the chefs here in Canterlot would realize how unjust Zesty was being, and eventually stop listening to her, and when that happened Coriander and Saffron could return to Canterlot to live out their dream.

The sun vanished under the horizon, and Celestia made her way back inside to exit out into the hall of the castle. Tonight was the night she would share with her sister, and she had not broken the cycle once so far. If any personal good came out of this situation, it was how well it improved her relationship with her sister.

She and Luna had never been so close, even before her banishment.

"Good evening, Sister," said the midnight blue alicorn happily, as she watched Celestia enter her chambers from her balcony.

"Sister," said Celestia in a partially scolding voice as she approached her, for she noticed Luna had yet to raise the moon despite the hour. "How many times must I tell you, you don't need to wait for me to raise the moon."

"I know," said Luna as her sister stepped up to her right. "But tonight is special."

"How so?" asked Celestia, lowering her wing over Luna's back.

Luna just smiled and pointed her horn to her sister. "Lend me your strength, sister."

Celestia did not question, only lowered her own opalescent horn to Luna's dark blue, her sunny aura mixing with the light blue. As expected, the moon peeked up over the horizon, slowly making its way to the spot in the sky were it would start its night time journey to the other horizon. Celestia noticed that Luna was utilizing a fair amount of her magic, and it only made her wonder more what her sister had in mind.

She was not disappointed.

As the moon reached the crest of its journey, the night literally exploded. Shower after shower of shooting stars lit up the night, streaking the dark blue expanse with their silvery tails in a brilliant display of cosmic beauty. Celestia felt tears of awe wetting her eyes as she took it all in.

"Pick one or all, Sister," said Luna as she separated their horns. "And wish for your student's steady return. This... is for her."

Celestia just nuzzled the mane of her little sister, wiping her tears in the sparkling locks.

"Nice work, Aunty Luna," said Cadance, as she and Shining Armour entered Luna's chambers behind them.

"I am sure Twily would appreciate it," said Shining, sitting in Luna's sitting room along with his fiance.

The two elderly Princesses joined them happily.

It had taken a while, and a little counseling, but Cadance had finally gotten past how she felt towards Shining for his role in Twilight's predicament. He had trod on eggshells for most of the time, but as of now, they were back to the loving newlyweds to be they had been. Though, they had yet to take the final step.

They still needed Twilight back before they could do that.

"So how was Ponyville?" asked Luna from the couch opposite where they were sitting, alongside her sister.

"Still sullen without their prized citizens, unfortunately," said Shining Armour, looking down sadly. "But the deal involving the Riches and the Spoons has gone through without any complications."

Earlier that morning Celestia had auctioned off Gladmane's resort for what it was worth, and the Rich family and Spoon family had partnered up and purchased it. The resort was not that expensive, due to all the corners Gladmane had cut, but that was precisely why they had partnered on it. The wealthiest families in Ponyville planned to pool their resources and skill to resurrect a pristine vacation resort from the cheated ashes of the original, one that would be unlike anything Equestria had ever seen.

Shining Armour was sent to Ponyville to deliver the deed, and both families departed from Ponyville to begin oversight on preparations immediately.

"Good," said Celestia, turning her attention to Cadance. "And that wayward Everfree cloud?"

Cadance turned her attention to Cloudsdale in the distance just on the boundaries of Canterlot, Luna's meteor shower illuminating it from above. Normally, Cloudsdale would not be in this area during this time of year, but a rain cloud from the Everfree had forced them to change the schedule a little. It was a necessary ordeal.

Sometimes, but not often, the unruly and uncontrollable storm clouds from the Everfree forest would wonder over a pony settlement, and when that happens, Cloudsdale is the only place equipped to deal with it. All that was needed was for trained professionals to move the cloud into Cloudsdale and deposit it into a special machine designed to cleanse the dark magic that made them dangerous. That had been the case today.

Such a cloud had wandered into Canterlot's airspace, and Cadance was tasked with handling it.

"No problems," said Cadance, giving a warm smile. "Everything went according to..."

"PRINCESS!"

The shout came out of nowhere, causing all four ponies to nearly jump out of their skin. Looking up, they saw a pegasus in a Wonderbolts suit making a beeline straight for the balcony at top speed. Celestia tried to catch her but even she had been caught too off guard to react in time.

The pegasus landed on the balcony railing with a painful crunch.

"Captain Spitfire!" said Celestia, grabbing the motionless pegasus in her magic and placing her on the couch she had just gotten up from.

The pegasus's eyes rolled behind her goggles for a second before she shook her head to clear it and took to the air before them, a serious but panicked expression on her face.

"Princess, we have a situation up in Cloudsdale," she said to Celestia hurriedly.

The look on Spitfire's face gave Celestia concern, this was not a pegasus that was easily scared. "What is the situation?"

"The Everfree cloud," explained Spitfire, her concern leaning slightly towards panic. "There's been a snafu. The pony who was covering Rainbow this time around put it down the wrong chute!"

There was a short pause.

"Uuhhh, which chute?" asked Shining Armour nervously.

"The rain cloud recycler," answered Spitfire, her eyes wide with horror.

There was a collection of gasps from all of the Princesses and the captain of the royal guard.

The rain cloud recycler was where weather ponies put empty rain clouds so they could be reused, as the name would imply. But if a cloud contaminated with Everfree magic was introduced it could be catastrophic, for no matter how small the cloud, Everfree magic is like a virus, contaminating and spreading to any compatible host it can. And in a chamber full of clouds...

"I... don't suppose the chamber was empty?" inquired Shining Armour, budding concern on his face.

"No such luck," explained Spitfire, looking at Cloudsdale with panic. "Before we got the Everfree cloud summons we had just given Fillydelphia their scheduled rain. The chamber was full."

"Then what is the status of the clouds?" asked Luna fearfully, her wings spreading in concern.

"All contaminated," answered Spitfire, her face switching between professional and panic. "They've gone from emptied rain clouds to dangerous thunderstorms, and the chamber isn't designed to handle such powerful clouds. They broke free and flooded the cloud machines."

" How has the weather team dealt with it so far?" asked Celestia seriously.

"With a little ingenuity, the cloud workers were able to devise a channeling system," explained Spitfire, still in a slight panic. "Right now it's diverting the contaminated clouds directly into the purification machine."

"I don't understand," said Shining, walking to stand under the floating pegasus. "That makes it sound like the situation is under control. Why did you come to us in such a desperate state?"

"It's not under control, Captain," said Spitfire hurriedly, her fear not lessened. "We were unable to stop some of the clouds from seeping into the cloud dispenser. Any second now they might..."

She was cut off when a great explosion echoed through the night.

Racing outside onto the balcony, they all saw the machine that Cloudsdale dispensed clouds out of suddenly spew a stream of tar black clouds with such force the funnel on the end was rent into smithereens. Great lightning arched from the black mass as it made its way right for them, ominously starting to block out the majestic meteor shower above. It grew closer with each passing second.

"WHAT DO WE DO, PRINCESS!?" screamed Spitfire, looking at the looming clouds as they approached. "SHOULD I GATHER MY TEAM!?

"No," answered Celestia, her voice level despite the situation as she studied the clouds. "One Everfree cloud is bad enough, no pegasus could handle this many."

"Then how do we stop it?" asked Spitfire, a little composure returning.

"You go back up to Cloudsdale and keep the purification of the other clouds going," explained Celestia, spreading her wings. "Leave this to us. Only alicorns would even have the slightest chance against such aggressive magic."

Spitfire didn't question it, taking off and skirting the deadly storm to return to Cloudsdale.

---

'Derpy, when this is over, if I survive, I'm going to dunk your head in the rainbow fountain.'

---

"Sister, Cadance, let's go," said Celestia, taking to the air, her fellow alicorn princesses following her lead. "We are the only hope for Canterlot against such a threat."

"What about me?" asked Shining Armour.

"Get the guard together and start moving the population to safety," said Luna strictly. "Even we may not be able to hold this off indefinitely."

Shining nodded, donning his helmet and moving out.

Celestia, Luna, and Cadance all flew up and faced the imposing clouds. It more resembled an angry monster than a formation of vapor, lightning arcing from place to place, illuminating grisly images that looked like snarling faces. Even the wind picked up as it grew closer, ever closer to Canterlot.

"Alright, all together," commanded Celestia, her golden aura joined by two blue ones of different shades.

Great pillars of magic struck the clouds, dispersing parts of them as they made contact. At first it seemed the princesses would have no trouble with the situation, but to their horror, the clouds just reformed like soap bubbles in churning water. Again, they threw their magic, again the clouds regenerated.

"What is going on, Sister?" Luna asked, gritting her teeth as she threw more of her power at the storm. "Why isn't this working? Our combined strength has been enough to repel Everfree clouds in the past."

"The Everfree magic," said Celestia in realization. "It must have been mutated by the cloud machine's energy."

"Then what do we do?" asked Cadance, her horn smoking as she threw another beam at the advancing storm.

"We have to get to Shining Armour," answered Celestia, looking worried as the clouds crept closer, despite their powerful beams of magic. "His shield is our only option now..."

She was cut off when a huge bolt of lightning struck through the air between them, scattering them like leaves in the wind. They landed one after the other on the outskirts of Canterlot's ledge, not hurting them much, but allowing the storm to loom closer. It was dark and foreboding, like the end of all things.

The princesses all looked to each other then to the cloud with determined glares, not willing to back down.

'Canterlot is my responsibility to protect,' thought Celestia as she struggled to stand up. 'I will not give in to defeat..I will...'

'LOK VAH KOOR'

The princesses gasped in shock at the sudden noise. They could only watch as a ripple of air impacted the cloud, dispersing parts of it, parts that didn't regenerate.

"Come on girls, again!" said the all too familiar voice of Spike.

'LOK VAH KOOR'

This time the princesses heard the conglomeration of several voices as another ripple struck the cloud.

Looking to the source, Celestia, Luna, and Cadance all gasped as Twilight and her friends stood just a few feet away, facing the dark storm. Seeing the long lost ponies was almost enough to make them forget about the current predicament, until another lightning strike illuminated them. The looks they wore were unsettling.

"Alright girls," said Twilight, pure murder in her eyes as she looked at the storm. "Again."

Before their eyes, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Spike inhaled deeply and opened their mouths wide:

'LOK VAH KOOR'

Another ripple impacted the storm, demolishing a good deal of it this time. Now they could see the damaged cloud dispenser, shattered and rather pathetic looking. This must have been how much cloud made it through before the pegasi could divert the flow.

"Alright, one more time!" said Rainbow Dash excitedly.

'LOK VAH KOOR'

The last rippling wave rent the remaining clouds from existence, leaving the night clear and Luna's meteor shower once again unobstructed.

Slowly, the princesses stood all the way up. Twilight and her friends approached and bowed respectively. For a moment, Celestia stood stock still, unable to fathom the purple unicorn kneeling before her. After so long, could it really be true, was her student truly before her?

"Twilight?" inquired Celestia, lifting a purple chin with a hoof. "Is... that... is that you?"

Tears dripped from Twilight's eyes as all she did was nuzzle the hoof to her cheek.

In an instant Celestia threw herself over Twilight, wrapping her in both legs and wings, silent tears running down her white cheeks as she held the pony she had not seen for what felt like an eternity, a warm yet aching sensation in her heart.