31 years before the return of Nightmare Moon, a three-year-old filly awakened her cutie mark, revealing to be blessed by the entity that lesser creatures call “sun”.
This blessing, however, quickly turned into a curse, as the filly’s inexperience and childish innocence caused the destruction of her hometown, and the death of many. But one of those deaths was caused by the weapons of others, who ended up at the mercy, or rather, fury, of the small filly.

Celestia, at the time sole ruler of Equestria, made several decisions that night which would haunt her for the rest of her days. She lied and brainwashed her subjects to keep the event secret from them. She adopted the small filly, taking her as her pupil, and even created a false school to keep her educated under her watch. And finally, to prevent the incident from repeating itself, she took the filly’s soul and broke it apart, separating her blessing from the rest of her magic, and sealing it inside her. The now broken soul had no memories of her previous life, no family of her own, and no purpose in the world.

This filly grew under the watch of the princess, receiving the name; Sunset Shimmer, and while the alicorn did her best, her guilt and fear poisoned her motherly actions and her judgment, leading to a clash of mentalities. One kind and knowledgeable, and the other logical and ambitious.

Desperate, Celestia showed Sunset a magical mirror, capable of revealing one’s future. There, the rebellious pupil saw three visions of herself: One as a ruler. One as a crying mare. And one as a monster.

This only worsened the relationship of the two, as Sunset stubbornly demanded to know about the secrets of the mirror, until she decided to seek the information herself.
She broke into a library seeking forbidden knowledge, but when she was about to commit the act that would set her life into a path of abandonment, jealousy, anger, regret, redemption, and empathy, something called to her, and planted a question, a question that made her cautious, and abandon this path.

However, the new path that was made for her was no different.

The princess, hurt by the betrayal of trust, found a new student, one more capable and privileged than a pony that was half of what she could be. Sunset made her best to keep her anger and jealousy of the new student at bay, but then it came the day that would change her life forever.

Nightmare Moon returned, and the broken mare confronted her in protection of the student that replaced her, who by that time she had started seeing more as a sister than competition. However valiant this act was, it was also foolish, since to the dark alicorn, she was just a particularly noisy insect.

A simple fall from the top of a gorge would be the end of the broken mare, but the same creature that felled her also saved her. To escape from destruction by the instruments of Harmony, the true form of Nightmare Moon, a winged serpent, found shelter in Sunset’s body, and healed it from all wounds to maintain her hiding spot.

From that day forward, Sunset Shimmer was set in a path of self-discovery, questioning Celestia’s teachings, learning from the student that she now called sister, and her friends who, after a rough start, considered her one of them. However, even with all the help she had given to others and the teachings of the ones closest to her, the concept of friendship escaped Sunset Shimmer.

It wasn’t until the discovery of her other half that this started to change.

Dawn Shimmer, the half soul that the princess had tried to hide away, had survived, taking the form of a powerful demon, trapped deep inside Sunset’s mind.
This discovery changed the actions of Celestia, setting her at the start of a road toward the correction of her mistakes. But this ended up being a pointless effort. A simple question shattered her lies and gave Sunset almost full knowledge of her past. In her enraged state, Sunset placed a curse on the princess, destroyed part of Canterlot castle, and begged Princess Luna to end her life.

Or at least, that’s what everypony thought. In reality, Nightmare Moon managed to save her host, cursing her previous vessel to make her slowly fall into the same insanity that drove her to ruin.
It was at this time that the Element Bearers decided to abandon the comfort of their rulers and act against them to help their friend, stealing the Elements of Harmony and looking for the unicorn inside the castle.

But once again, it was a pointless endeavor. During the Galloping Gala, an argument between the attendants and the Bearers awakened an ancient threat; Discord.

The Lord of Chaos stole the Elements and proved to be too much for the Bearers, who ended corrupted by his magic.

In their moment of weakness, Sunset Shimmer made her return, recovered the Elements of Harmony, forced their power to obey her, and confronted the Lord of Chaos in single combat. And while she faced her greatest foe yet, inside her mind, another battle was being fought.
Dawn Shimmer had managed to escape her confinement and was now battling to defeat Nightmare Moon before she could take over Sunset and gain the power of the Elements for herself.

When the battles were over, both Discord and Dawn Shimmer ended up trapped by the powers of the Elements, right before the artifacts got destroyed by Sunset’s misuse.

However costly, this was a victory for Equestria, but rather than being celebrated, Luna’s madness caused by the curse made her declare Sunset Shimmer an enemy of the country, and weren’t for her older sister’s intervention, the unicorn would’ve been forced to battle the entire might of Equestria just to survive.

Sunset Shimmer found herself at her lowest point, struggling to find purpose in her life, but it was at this bottom of the barrel that she found what set her in the path that she now walks.
A kindred soul, who understood her pains and offered her help despite the dangers. It was thanks to this mare, Trixie Lunamoon, that Sunset finally discovered the meaning of friendship, and her purpose in this world.

Her tale is far from over, but her path has already been set, and her enemies, numerous and powerful, will soon make a move against her, and her allies.

– Forge the Prideful, Loremaster of Knowledge.

“This is actually kind of nostalgic,” Luna thought as she looked at the creatures at the table.

On her left sat Twilight, followed by the rest of the Bearers. At her Right was Celestia, followed by Moon Dancer, Gilda, Spike, Shining Armor, and Cadence. “It’s like war preparations. But with half of the counsel having me as the enemy.” She turned her head, looking at Twilight’s friends, most of them scowling angrily in her direction.

Twilight herself was looking at Moon Dancer with sad eyes, and the bespectacled unicorn was avoiding her gaze, but one could tell she was feeling conflicted about something.

Luna then looked at Celestia, who was doing scratching motions with her hoof while smiling happily. “Sister, are you okay?” the blue alicorn asked.

Celestia looked up, and the illusion of Sunset giggling between her hooves disappeared. “Y-yes. Sorry,” she responded clearly agitated and nervous.

“What’s wrong with her?” Gilda asked, and everyone at the table looked at the monarch with worry.

“She’s under the influence of a curse placed by Sunset,” Luna explained.

Celestia nodded, almost ashamed of being exposed. “I see illusions of Sunset every now and then. Sometimes she’s an adult, but usually she’s just a happy filly.”

“We also believe she’s the one that placed the curse on Spoiled Rich that almost killed her,” Luna continued. “That, her resurrections, her outbursts of anger, are all responsible of one creature:”

“Sunshine,” Celestia said before continuing, her eyes downcast. “Sunset’s original name. When she was a filly, I broke her soul in two pieces to seal her solar magic. One of those halves developed sentience and transformed into a being similar to Nightmare Moon.”

“That’s the true enemy,” Luna said, taking the attention from everypony. “We can all hope that Sunset is innocent, and everything has been Sunshine’s doing, but the matter is that beings like her are essentially parasites that live off their host’s magic and channel a strong desire in them, taking control and forcing them to do their will.”

“She wants to kill me,” Celestia said, finally lifting her head. “To destroy everything that I’ve made.”

“That’s the reason I went to such an extent to stop Sunset. A being like Sunshine, with access to Sunset’s solar magic augmenting its power exponentially, could easily cause an incalculable amount of destruction. If a scenario like the one in Ponyville were to happen again, but stronger and in a more populated area like Manehattan, casualties would reach the thousands in a single day.” Almost everyone at the table looked at Luna with clear shock, never having imagined just how much was at risk.

Noticing the distraught look on her friends and family, Twilight spoke up. “But there’s a way to save Sunset. Princess Luna said that Nightmare Moon could move out of her body, so if we manage to force her out, Sunset will be safe.”

“We still would need to take care of Sunshine, but she will be weakened, and hopefully Celestia will be cured of the curse by then so she can counter her fire.” Luna said before giving a disapproving glance to the white alicorn. “You’re taking your sweet time solving that problem.”

“I don’t know much about the logistics of magic, but I don’t think separating Sunset’s soul even more will do her any good,” Applejack said, and her friends nodded in agreement.

“Sadly, it’s a risk we must take. However, Miss Dancer here might have another solution.” Luna pointed to the unicorn, who adjusted her glasses before speaking.

“While doing some research, I found a way we could fix the Elements of Harmony.” Moon Dancer suddenly had the complete attention of everyone at the table, making her uncomfortable, but she put her anxiety aside for now. “I hope this doesn’t come as insulting, but as much sacred the Elements are, their function is actually just to channel the magic of Harmony. So, as any tool, by just repairing the gems we can have their powers back. However, they can’t be just glued back together.”

Rainbow huffed. “It’s never that easy.”

“How can we fix them then?” Rarity asked.

“They need crystal magic,” Moon Dancer responded.

“Still too easy, what’s the catch?” Rainbow questioned, earning a few annoyed glances from her friends.

“Crystal magic was taught in the Crystal Empire, which is currently banished in another dimension,” Luna explained. “And all the mages that could use that kind of magic were executed during King Sombra’s reign.”

“So… he’s the only one that can do it,” Moon Dancer finished, and the entire table went silent.

“Who’s King Sombra?” Rainbow asked.

“The previous ruler of the Crystal Empire,” Cadence answered. “He was banished along with the city, but he’s due to return soon.”

“And he was evil, right?” Gilda questioned. “Judging by the executions.”

“He also enslaved everypony in the empire and tried to take over Equestria,” was Celestia’s answer.

“So… how do we convince him to help?” Spike asked.

“Sadly, him accepting any kind of diplomacy is unlikely. We will have to force him.” Luna declared. “It’ll most likely involve methods questionable for this era, but Sombra is an evil of old. Less powerful than Discord, but much crueler.”

“But then…” Fluttershy said, getting the attention of Cadence. “We would be forcing one pony to make a weapon to kill another.”

“I can understand that it sounds unethical for you, the champions of friendship, but this is a case that needs the lesser of evils. Both Sombra and Sunshine are too powerful and dangerous to be left loose.”

“Can we really compare the two?” Rarity asked. “As much damage Sunshine caused, it seems a bit much comparing it to what sombra apparently did.”

Luna sighed with a bit of annoyance. “As I said to my sister multiple times. Beings like Sunshine and Nightmare are of unquestionable evil. They follow one purpose at birth until completion, and they will destroy or lie their way to accomplish it.”

“How do you know that?” Rainbow asked.

“I was possessed by one,” Luna responded simply.

“I mean how’re you so sure Nightmare and Sunshine are the same? They don’t have the same issues as you.” Everyone looked at Rainbow in shock at her words.

Luna lifted an eyebrow. “Care to elaborate on such a bold statement?”

Rainbow put her hooves on the table. “Sunshine is not only an evil side of Sunset, she’s half of Sunset’s soul like Celestia said, and you talk like these creatures have a will of their own, so am I wrong in assuming Sunshine is to an extent also a pony?”

“She’s not a pony, she’s a construct of emotions, and regardless of her origin, her nature is the same as Nightmare’s,” Luna answered as calmly as she could.

“I disagree,” Rainbow countered. “I not only think she’s not the same, but I think she’s actually helping Sunset.” Celestia’s eyes widened, and Luna’s narrowed. “Back in Ponyville, when the sun went out of control, Sunset stopped it, did a protection spell, and when I went to her, I looked her in the eyes.” Rainbow did a small dramatic pause. “They were black, save for her irises, slitted like Nightmare’s. So, she wasn’t doing it alone.”

“You sure you’re not confusing things? How do you know it wasn’t Sunshine causing the sun?” Luna questioned.

“We were there, we saw her eyes, they were normal when she lost control,” Twilight answered.

“Also, Sunset’s motives were about how she suddenly seemed to remember the truth about her past, triggered by the CMC questioning about her cutie mark,” Rarity added.

“I sealed her memories to automatically forget and think of something else,” Celestia explained, earning angry looks from almost everycreature. “She couldn’t have broken the seal without something affecting her mind.”

“Could that same thing have helped her find friendship?” Fluttershy asked, curious.

“It’s a theory of mine,” Celestia responded.

“So, Sunshine got Sunset’s memories back, resurrected her multiple times, made her attack her friends, helped her stop the burning of Ponyville, maybe allowed her to make friends, and promised to kill Celestia,” Luna recapped. “So, at best, her moral compass points at three different directions.”

“Well…” Pinkie said, scratching her chin. “She was trapped in Sunset’s mind for years, seeing her achieve great things instead of her, only to then watch the cause of her creation disregard Sunset and get another student who became a legend overnight while all her efforts ended in nothing.”

Luna, Rainbow, Applejack and Rarity glared disapprovingly at her, Gilda, Fluttershy and Cadence looked neutral, Shining and Spike looked worried at Twilight who felt conflicted. Celestia was almost in tears.

“I think this reunion has run out of usefulness,” Luna said, still frowning. “Twilight and Moon Dancer will research how to separate Sunset and Sunshine, Shining Armor will keep preparing the guards to confront either of them if things get worse. Tia, get that curse out of you. Meanwhile, the rest of us will look for Sunset to keep an eye on her. Any objections?” There were none, so Luna was about to leave when Fluttershy asked a question.

“Why did you kill Sunset?” Everyone turned to look at her, Cadence smiling slightly. “You say you want to capture her. You’re looking for options to save her. But your first action was to kill her. Why?”

The attention went back to Luna, and the alicorn took a deep breath. “When I cornered her in the mountain, I offered her anything she wanted. Freedom, family, a better future, taking her magic away. She could’ve asked for anything and I would’ve given it to her.” Luna took a moment to look at all of Sunset’s friends. “She asked me to kill her. To make sure she didn’t come back.” She looked straight at Applejack. “Am I lying?”

“N-no…” the mare answered, her hooves shaking a little.

“You’re all dismissed, please notify the rest if you discover anything.” With that, everyone left the room one by one, but Luna stopped one of them. “Moon Dancer.” The mare turned to look at her. “I want to speak with you.”

Moon Dancer turned around and walked closer, looking nervous. “Yes, Princess Luna?”

“The knowledge you possess, where did you acquire it?”

“The forbidden section of the library in Canterlot,” She quickly answered. Too quickly.

Luna’s magic grabbed Moon Dancer’s leg and took off her boot, allowing her to see the scars in her skin. “Interesting.”

“I-I…” Moon Dancer tried to defend herself, but she was surprised by Luna’s grin.

“Tell me, how’s that old crow doing?”

“Old crow?” Moon Dancer questioned, but with more curiosity this time.

Luna scratched her chin in thought. “I believe his name is Suok.”

Moon Dancer broke free of Luna’s grip, but didn’t run away. “You know about him?”

“All those who cheat death have a chance to know him,” Luna explained with a smile. “But I’m guessing you didn’t die to do that, did you?”

“No, I used an old spell from a forbidden book,” Moon Dancer explained, her fear of the monarch now forgotten. “He has been teaching me some things.”

“Really now?” Luna asked with a smirk. “Does he talk with you?”

Moon Dancer cringed a little. “I wouldn’t really call it ‘talking’, more like ‘trying to survive a brain aneurysm’. I barely manage to understand what he says most of the time.”

Luna’s eyes widened in surprise. “You actually understand him?”

“Again, understanding is a bit of a stretch, but yeah, we communicate.”

“Interesting.” Moon Dancer didn’t like Luna’s grin. “I may ask you to deliver a message to him for me.”

“Wait a second,” the mare requested. “Can you tell me more about him? What exactly is he?”

Luna took a few seconds to recall her memories. “Well, most creatures consider him death itself, but he’s more like a manager of the process of death, reincarnation and the like. I’m not sure if he set the rules or just enforces them, but he’s not very fond of creatures that go against them.”

Moon Dancer raised a curious eyebrow. “Is that why he hates necromancers?”

Luna sighed. “Necromancy was a more accepted practice back in the day, but creatures started to abuse it for their own goals, and it was later considered too dangerous to be taught. That’s why he despises any creature that seeks its power.”

Moon Dancer took a moment to process the new information before asking. “What’s an Oynon?”

“Oynon?” Luna asked, confused.

“That’s what he’s teaching me to be. At least that’s what I’m understanding from his ‘words’.”

“Hm.” Luna scratched the side of her head. “I don’t have memories of something, or someone, called Oynon. Maybe you will discover it with time.”

“Does that mean that I’m not in trouble for… you know,” Moon Dancer asked, trying to be vague about her actions.

“I know that Suok would be the first to punish you if you used that magic with ill intentions, so I won’t stop you. However, it will be better that this is kept between us. This kind of magic could put some ponies against you due to paranoia and fear.”

“I would also prefer to keep it a secret for now,” Moon Dancer let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

Luna smiled and nodded. “Go on with your day, we will need your help in the future.”

Moon Dancer bowed before leaving the room, and Luna was left to wonder one thing as her wound ached. “Is Tia hiding something from me?”

Sunset looked at the stars, laying on the roof of Trixie’s wagon. “All those lights up there are stars from far away. Could I make my own constellation one day?” she wondered.

“You would probably heat the planet till it’s inhospitable, so I would put a no on that one.”

“So, you know how this solar magic works?”

“Just a basic understanding, I didn’t have many ways to practice.”

Sunset kept looking for a while before asking. “So, are you going to tell me what you want?”

“You’re confused about my actions.”

“Yeah, so if you can please be honest, I would appreciate it.”

“I’m not sure. I’m trapped in your mind, so I can’t go anywhere or make plans for the future. Just, help you move forward.”

Sunset took some time to think. “So… everything you made me do. It was because of your anger?”

Dawn took some time to respond. “Yes. But I don’t want to keep doing that. It has only hurt you.”

“I need to ask; why the sudden change of heart?”

Sunset could hear a sigh in her mind. “You’re the only one that can understand what we went through.”

“I think Trixie can too.”

“Yeah, but even if she wasn’t here, I don’t want to ruin your life forever.”

Sunset closed her eyes, looking sad. “I’m all you have.”

“Yeah.” Dawn answered. “So, I’ll try and help you as best I can. If you want me to.”

Sunset sighed. “I don’t think we have much choice.”

“No. We don’t.”

“The food is ready!” Trixie called out, and Sunset jumped off the wagon, using her wings to glide to the ground next to the campfire they made for the night. “You need to teach Trixie how to fly.”

“They Great and Powerful Trixie is asking to be my apprentice?” Sunset asked with a smirk.

“It’ll just make it easier for me to learn this magic,” Trixie answered without missing a beat.

Sunset laughed and took a bite of her food. “So, what’s our first destination?”

“Well, the closest thing to us right now is Cloudsdale,” Trixie answered, checking her mental map of Equestria. “However, the wagon can’t stay on clouds, and we don’t have enough bits for a hotel, so we need to make it a quick visit.”

“I think I can make it stay on the clouds,” Sunset said pointing at the wagon. “Are you planning on putting up a show to earn some money?”

“Not really.” Trixie said downcast. “I haven’t made a show in quite some time.”

“I’m sure you haven’t rusted one bit. Plus.” Sunset was suddenly dressed in a cape and top hat. “You will have The Great and Talented Flanksy as your assistant!”

Trixie chuckled at her antics, looking more confident. “Trixie will need to teach you how to perform first.”

“I can teach you how to fly in exchange.”

“Deal.” Trixie said eating the last of her food. “By the way.” She threw a pouch of bits in front of Sunset.

The amber unicorn opened the pouch confused and counted exactly twenty bits. “You can’t be serious.”

Trixie shrugged with a smug smile. “You made the bet, I accepted it.”

Sunset grunted and looked at the campfire. She walked up to it, feeling a bit of doubt creep up before putting her hoof in the fire. Reassured her immunity still worked, she walked fully into the fire and looked at Trixie. “Happy now?”

Trixie’s smile only grew larger. “I will tomorrow morning.” She then put her plate down and went inside the wagon. “Good night!”

“Wait, I…” Sunset tried to object, but the magician was gone, and she did bet to sleep on fire. “I will get you back for this!” she shouted before trying to lie comfortably on the campfire.

Philomena flew over to her and snuggled into her, earning a smile and pet from Sunset. “Thank you for the company,” she said before lowering her head and going to sleep, hoping to not be too sore in the morning.

In one of the lonely houses near the winter lands where the Crystal Empire once stood, a stallion marched out of the kitchen with a plate full of warm soup. He walked past his family, who were standing in line, their eyes green just like him, before placing the food in front of their unexpected guest.

A dark crystal spoon brought a bit of soup to Sombra’s lips, and the King looked to his new loyal subjects. “Tell me, what has transpired since my banishment?”

“Nightmare Moon returned from her thousand-year banishment. She’s now addressed as Princess Luna after the Elements of Harmony purified her body.”

Sombra hummed as he ate more of the soup. “So, the sisters are ruling together again?”

“Not exactly. There has been a lot of turmoil coming from the capital. Some say that a civil war or revolution is about to start.”

The king laughed. “Perfect. Without their harmonious relationship, they won’t be able to use the Elements against me.”

“There are no Elements,” the stallion said, earning a look from his king. “They were destroyed by Celestia’s ex-pupil, Sunset Shimmer.”

Sombra put his spoon down. “Interesting. Who’s this Sunset Shimmer?”

“From what word reaches these lands, she’s a monster. Demon Child is what they call her. She poisoned princess Celestia and stole the Elements of Harmony to fight Discord, destroying them in the process.”

“This mare, I assume, was powerful enough to defeat Discord?” Sombra asked. He knew his subject would only tell him the truth, but it was still hard to believe him.

“She moved the sun, so people suppose she’s as strong as Celestia herself.”

Sombra scratched his chin. Things were more complicated than he expected. “And she’s on the run now?”

“They were looking for her last time I heard.”

After a few moments of deep thought, Sombra took the bowl of soup and downed it in a few gulps. He had preparations to make. “Where’s the nearest settlement from this farm?”

Trixie has joined the party!

Name: Trixie Lulamoon

Level: 119
HP: 450

Strength: 13
Dexterity: 18
Constitution: 14
Intelligence: 11
Wisdom: 9
Charisma: 15

Magic Power: 19
Magic Capacity: 38
Magic Control: 45
Magic Resistance: 10
Magic Ability: 44
Magic Generation: 19

Character's Updated.

Name: Sunset Shimmer

Level: 435
HP: 425

Strength: 11
Dexterity: 16
Constitution: 13
Intelligence: 20
Wisdom: 19
Charisma: 16

Magic Power: 66
Magic Capacity: 166
Magic Control: 141
Magic Resistance: 89
Magic Ability: 120
Magic Generation: 66

Name: Dawn Shimmer

Level: 652
HP: 6300

Strength: 60
Dexterity: 60
Constitution: 60
Intelligence: 15
Wisdom: 14
Charisma: 6

Magic Power: 722
Magic Capacity: 521
Magic Control: 660
Magic Resistance: 582
Magic Ability: 700
40Magic Generation: 722

Name: Nightmare Moon

Level: 1255
HP: 8240

Strength: 60
Dexterity: 72
Constitution: 80
Intelligence: 16
Wisdom: 18
Charisma: 7

Magic Power: 1178
Magic Capacity: 1075
Magic Control: 1087
Magic Resistance: 1273
Magic Ability: 1734
Magic Generation: 1179

“Miss Flanksy, I present to you; Cloudsdale!” Trixie announced in her overdramatic way as she pulled the wagon towards the floating city.

Sunset pulled her head out of the wagon and looked up at the pegasus capital. She had seen it before during the Young Flyers Competition, but from this angle, the city looked immense, bigger in diameter than the mountain Canterlot stood on.
“How many pegasus live up there?”

“70% of the total pegasus population. The other 30% are scrambled all over Equestria.”

“70%? Do they never leave their home?”

“The city does move around to better control the weather in Equestria, so they would be technically nomads.”

“Like you?” Sunset joked.

Trixie turned towards her and smiled. “If you ask me, even with the downsides, being able to be all over Equestria makes my trade worth it. I don’t think I could just stay in one place forever after so many years on the road. Maybe when I get too old to pull the wagon.”

Sunset put a hoof under her chin as she leaned on the windowsill. “Honestly, moving to Ponyville after living all my life in Canterlot made me realize the need to see more things than the usual. It certainly changed a lot in me.”

“It’s something you need to experience. I’ve met all kinds of creatures that just picked a few places to visit, drew a line, and traveled to them with only what they could carry on their shoulders. They tell the best stories when they come back.”

As they talked, they approached a small cloud cabin with a large cloud elevator which marked the entrance to Cloudsdale for any non-pegasus visitors.

Flanksy got out of the wagon as Trixie locked it, and a unicorn worker walked up to them. “Welcome to Cloudsdale. How long do you plan to stay?”

Trixie looked at Flanksy. “A day, maybe two?”

“Let’s start with a day,” she answered with a smile.

“Well, you can certainly stay as much as you want,” the worker said looking at Flanksy’s pegasus form. “But your friend and her wagon will need the spell casted again. 200 bits for the wagon, 50 for her.”

“Oh, I can–” Sunset was about to say she could cast the spell, but she wasn’t supposed to have access to magic, so she looked at Trixie with an apologetic look. “I can pay for the rest of the days.” Trixie sighed and took out her pouch, counting the bits before paying the unicorn.

After having the cloud-walking spell casted on the wagon and Trixie, with Sunset forced to jump on top of the wagon to not fall through the clouds, they both started their accession to the cloud-city.

“Okay, a bad start,” Sunset admitted with a bit of embarrassment.

Trixie frowned a bit. “More than bad, we only have 23 bits left.”

Sunset cringed a little. “Sorry, but I can cast the spell from now on.” She showed it by casting it on herself and jumping at her side.

“How? You will blow your cover.”

“Come closer.” Trixie did what she was told and, making sure nopony was looking, Sunset touched the magician’s horn with her own, casting a spell that made her red aura change into the same color as Trixie’s. “Now that our auras have the same color, ponies will think that all my spells come from your horn.”

Trixie touched her horn, checking that her friend didn’t do something funny to it. “That’s impressive, but we’re still almost broke.”

“How about a little show?” Sunset offered with a smile, but Trixie seemed hesitant. “Come on, once they see you in action, they won’t be able to do anything other than praise you.”

“I don’t know, I–” She was suddenly side-hugged by Sunset’s wing.

“Just imagine their eyes mesmerized by your tricks. The little fillies looking at you in wonder and amazement. Everypony chanting your name; Trixie! Trixie! Trixie! Trixie!”

“Okay okay!” Trixie exclaimed laughing, pushing her friend away with a smile. “You’ve struck The Great And Powerful Trixie’s ego enough to convince her. But she will need a brave assistant for this task.”

Sunset took a bow. “It would be my honor, Great Trixie.”

They both laughed all the way to the base of Cloudsdale, where they finally had a moment to admire the architecture.

The older buildings had a clear romarean design, with cloud pillars holding cloud rooftops that Sunset found weirdly adorable how they spilled over the structure, like if they had given hair to the houses.

One could tell how the city had been advancing from their most primitive, war-like era to the modern world by how the romarean style mixed with more modern techniques, and materials other than clouds started to be used. But what impressed Sunset the most was the literal rivers of rainbow, in fact some even used it as fences for their houses.

“You can’t tell me those are actual rainbows,” Sunset exclaimed.

Trixie smiled as she tied herself to the wagon again. “Rainbows are surprisingly versatile, either by unicorn or pegasus magic. I honestly wonder much about it myself, but I know enough to use it in my shows if the opportunity appears.”

“Interesting. Do you think we could get somepony to teach us?” Sunset questioned, walking at Trixie’s side.

“I don’t know. Rainbow-making is usually left to the pegasus at either the Weather Factory or one of its subsidiaries, generally some construction company.”

“Well, let’s look around and see if we can find someone on our way,” Sunset proposed, and with a nod of Trixie, they started to explore the older areas of Cloudsdale.

As Celestia’s sun shined its light on Twilight’s face, the purple unicorn moved her eyes away and slowly opened them. “Morning already?” She questioned, not feeling like she had slept enough, but she was accustomed to short sleeps, so she soldiered through and went to brush her teeth and prepare for the morning.

She exited her room, walking in autopilot through the long halls until a particular sight made her remember where she was.

Right next to her was a large, charred hole two or more floors deep, where Sunset’s room once stood. Some pegasus were doing their best to repair the damages, chipping at the molten marble, and clearing the debris.

It pained Twilight, knowing that all of Sunset’s treasured memories had been destroyed. The amber unicorn had always been a bit territorial with her room, but Twilight knew that a piece of Sunset was kept inside those walls. A part that may have been lost forever.

Twilight continued her march with determined steps. She had stayed in Canterlot Castle to study how to help Sunset, and she was going to pour all of herself into it till a solution was found. She opened the door to the library, and her determination wavered.

“Good morning,” Moon Dancer greeted her without looking in her direction, sitting in front of a large pile of books.

Twilight looked at her old friend once more, noticing how much she had changed. “Because of Sunset, or because of me?” She wondered as she stepped inside. “Good morning,” she finally answered. “You woke up early.”

“I slept early.” The bespectacled mare pointed at a nearby pile of books. “Those are what I could find about the Crystal Empire and Sombra, we can trade if you prefer.”

“Are you looking into a way to separate Sunset from her other part?” Twilight questioned as she picked up a few books.

“Sorry if I’m stealing your idea,” Moon Dancer answered, and Twilight couldn’t tell if she was angry or just joking.

“It was Celestia’s actually. I’m not as smart as I think,” Twilight admitted with a nervous smile, but it got no reaction from her study partner, so she just started reading one of the books.

As the time passed, Twilight found herself taking glances at Moon Dancer, not being able to bear the silence that normally would be a blessing for a study session. “What do I do? What can I say? That I’m sorry? I don’t think that would be enough. Maybe I can propose to take turns, so we aren’t in the same room together?”

A groan escaped Moon Dancer’s lips as she put down the book she had been failing to finish reading since Twilight entered the room. She then turned to her startled partner. “Look, what I said at the tower… I don’t take it back but… it’s not important right now. We solve this first, and then we decide how we feel about each other. Okay?”

Twilight stared at Moon Dancer, her mouth opening and closing, but only uhs, and ehs managed to get out of it. The bespectacled unicorn groaned and rubbed the bridge of her nose. It wasn’t going to be so easy.

“Is it my fault?” Twilight finally managed to shyly ask.

Moon Dancer sighed. “If you’re asking about my mane, yes, it’s because of you. I…” She closed her eyes and clenched her teeth. “I looked up to you. You were the most amazing mare in my eyes, and I was happy to be your friend. We had a lot in common, and I pushed myself to just stay at your side during magic school, but then… you didn’t care.” Moon Dancer stood up and started walking towards Twilight. “I was distraught. It was as if all the time we spent together didn’t mean anything to you. And when you told me that things would change, I believed you, but once again you just threw me aside. Five mares that you met in one night meant more than the friend that was with you since magic kindergarten. So, I stopped believing in you. I stopped looking up to you.” Moon Dancer exposed the tiny bits of purple hair that remained on her mane. “And decided to be myself, whoever that mare was.”

Twilight was speechless, slowly processing all the words to come up with the best answer, but all of them seemed insufficient.

Finally, after a few long seconds, she managed to ask a question. “Did you get a letter from Sunset?”

Moon Dancer raised an eyebrow. “I did. She’s my friend.”

“Then I will help you save your friend, and my sister.” She offered her hoof to Moon Dancer. “We can part ways after it.”

Moon Dancer looked to Twilight’s hoof, and then at the false brave smile she was putting on to hide the tears in the corner of her eyes. “Partners then.” She shook her hoof, and they both went back to their studies.

“Come one, come all, come and witness the magic of The Great and Powerful Trixie!” Flanksy announced with a megaphone, catching the attention of dozens of pegasus around the large plaza that they had set their stage on.

There wasn’t anything else around other than a big fountain that spewed rainbows instead of water and a few games for children, so the crowd had plenty of space to gather in front of them. Once the pegasy started coming on their own to see what was happening, Flanksy went backstage where Trixie was looking at herself in the mirror.

“Are you ready to confront the crowd?” Sunset asked, but her friend was clearly lacking her usual enthusiasm.

“I don’t know if I can do this,” Trixie confessed, staring at the mirror.

Sunset walked up to her and put a hoof over her shoulder. “Come on Great and Powerful Trixie, you can’t make your epic comeback with this attitude. You’ve years of experience, wowing a crowd is easy for you.”

“But what if something goes wrong again?”

“Then I will come over and help you. You’re not alone this time.”

Those words seemed to have the desired effect on Trixie as her lips formed a smile. “The Great and Powerful Trixie is ready.”

Outside, the large crowd started to get a bit impatient. It was rare that some sort of spectacle other than the Wonderbolts came to their hometown instead of the other way around, so their interest was picked, but they also hadn’t planned to put their day on pause for a long time.

Their patience was rewarded when an explosion of fireworks revealed the caped figure of Trixie.

“Pegasus of Cloudsdale! Today you’ve been visited by the magnificence of The Great, and Powerful, Trixie!” As the magician shouted these words, her magic took hold of the smoke generated by her fireworks and started to coalesce it along with some hidden water to form a small storm cloud that discharged lighting behind her.

The pegasus were amazed at Trixie’s display of weather magic, and even Sunset was surprised she could do that.

“Wait, I heard about you!” A pegasus shouted from the back of the crowd.

Sunset looked in the direction the voice had come and saw a dark brown pegasus with dirty white mane wearing the white workwear of the weather factory.

“Yeah, she’s the one that brought an ursa major into a town in a failed magic show,” a second pegasus shouted, this one much taller, with a lighter shade of brown coat and dark brown mane.

A third one, smaller and with grey coat and dark mane, laughed before adding. “I’m surprised she didn’t zap herself with lighting!”

“It wasn’t Trixie’s fault. And it was an ursa minor. If you’re going to try and ruin my show, you should at least get your facts right,” the magician shouted back, trying to keep a dignified pose.

“It isn’t much of a show, really. Anyone here could’ve done that,” the dark brown pegasus said, and the crowd looked like it was agreeing with him.

“For a pegasus may be, but not any unicorn can. That’s what makes Trixie the greatest and most powerful of them all!”

Sunset could see a bit of a nervous shake in Trixie’s stance.

“Oh yeah? If you’re so special, why don’t you prove it?” the tall pegasus challenged.

“Yeah, I bet we can do a better show than your dangerously lame flank!” the short one added.

The shaking in Trixie’s body was now visible, and her voice lost almost all confidence. “T-Trixie doesn’t take challenges anymore.”

“Right, because the unicorn that defeated Nightmare Moon exposed that you were just a boastful farce.”

“And she calls herself great and powerful.”

“More like The Lame and Cowardly Thick-xie!”

The three pegasus started laughing, and Trixie looked like she was about to start crying on stage.

“Great and Powerful Trixie, these three hecklers are clearly below you, allow me to face them instead,” Flanksy announced, taking the magician’s side.

“Sun- Flanksy? What are you doing?” Trixie exclaimed.

“But you’re a pegasus!” The leader of the three bullies pointed out. “You can’t do magic stuff.”

“With The Great and Powerful Trixie as my teacher, I don’t need a horn to be magical,” Flanksy announced, giving the magician a wink. “I will best each of you in your preferred challenge.”

The three bullies looked at each other, not expecting an actual challenge, but then the leader announced. “Very well. The apprentice of a loser shouldn’t pose too much of a challenge!”

Trixie pulled Sunset closer to her. “Are you sure about this? You can’t use magic! Do you have anything else besides immunity to fire?”

“Don’t worry, it’ll be okay,” Sunset assured her, not mentioning the lack of a plan in her mind.

“I hope we don’t regret this,” Dawn said, not helping at all.

As expected, the leader of the bullies was the first challenger. He went to a cart he and his goons had been transporting from the weather factory and took out two large crates a bit larger than him. “My challenge is you and I will do pushups with one box on our backs. Whoever does more wins.”

“What’s inside them?” Flanksy asked out of curiosity.

“Liquid rainbows, so be careful not to drop it,” the tallest bully said before laughing.

Flanksy and the leader got into position, the two heavy boxes were placed on top of them, and she immediately started regretting her decision. The weight of the box was already threatening to crush her into the soft cloud surface.

“Ready?” One of the bully’s friends asked, and before Flanksy could respond, he gave the signal.

The lead bully moved effortlessly up and down, showing formidable strength for a pegasus.

Sunset, instead, struggled just to lift the crate on her back, and barely made one push up while his opponent had already done ten. “Hey, Dawn, a bit of help?”

The trapped entity tried to think of a way to help, but she could only–

Suddenly, Sunset felt a surge of strength, and the crowd watched as Flanksy started to move faster and faster, quickly reaching and surpassing her opponent.

“Thank you!” Sunset cheered in her mind.

“You’re welcome…” Dawn focused her mind on Nightmare, making her appear in the mindscape. “Are you helping her?”

Nightmare shrugged. “This is entertaining.”

Flanksy smiled as her opponent started to sweat from the effort while she didn’t feel even a bit of exhaustion. “Ready to give up?”

The pegasus gritted his teeth and did an extra effort to try and catch up to her, but his legs finally buckled, and he was buried into the soft ground, giving her the victory of the first challenge.

The crowd stomped their hooves in celebration for her victory as Flanksy took the crate off her back by herself. “Who’s next?”

The tallest of the bullies stepped forward to the challenge. “I challenge you to a race around the city.”

Flanksy looked at the pegasus, noticing his three-basketball cutie mark, but other than that, she couldn’t tell how well he could be at flying. She certainly had aerodynamics in her favor, but he was an actual pegasus. “Very well, where will the finish line be?”

“Right there.” He pointed to the two crates on the cloud floor.

They both got into position, wings up and ready, and the leader of the bullies, still rubbing his beaten ego, gave the signal. “Ready…”

“Hey, are you going to help with the flight too?” Dawns asked Nightmare.

“Set…”

“I don’t have how,” Nightmare answered.

“Go!”

Both contestants sprung from the ground, taking flight in an instant. Sunset thanked Rainbow’s teaching’s as she was able to keep up with the more experienced flier. The crowd also took to the air to follow their trajectory at a distance, leaving Trixie behind to worry about her friend.

Sunset had to admit, his rival was really fast despite his large size, and she was starting to feel a lot of strain on her body, but she was keeping up, and it would only take one miscalculation from the stallion to give her the advantage. However, when they were halfway around the city, Dawn shouted a warning.

“Sunset, you need to slow down!”

The disguised unicorn was confused, but then remembered her wings were fake. She looked back and saw that the feathers were starting to fly off, and the enchantment on her coat was slowly fading away to reveal its true colors.

Biting down some swears, Sunset was forced to slow down till her disguise stopped falling apart, but now she couldn’t keep up with her opponent.

The large pegasus arrived at the finish like with time to spare and raised his hooves at the cheer of the crowd. Flanksy arrived a few minutes later, and the three bullies immediately went against her.

“I think it’s fitting that the unicorn that can’t do magic has a pegasus that can’t fly as a friend!” the leader shouted, with his goons laughing immediately after.

“This only means we’re tied!” Flanksy shouted. “There’s still one more challenge.”

She looked at the shortest of the group, who seemed to shrink at her glare. “Uh… you should quit before you embarrass yourself even more.”

The leader of the bullies looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “That’s the point dude.”

“Yeah, what’s wrong?” The tall one asked.

“I don’t know what to challenge her with!” he whispered to them.

“Invent something!”

“Are you guys getting scared?” Flanksy challenged, and the crowd looked like they were agreeing with her.

The short bully stammered as he looked around, till his eyes settled on the crates they had been using. “I challenge you to drink a jar of liquid rainbow!” The crowd gasped and murmured at his words.

“Isn’t that dangerous?” Flanksy asked, cocking her head.

“Y-yeah, but I’m no chicken!” he said more to himself than any other pony. “Do you accept or not?”

Sunset took a moment to think. “You can heal me if things go wrong, right?”

“You can heal her, right?” Dawn asked Nightmare.

“Maybe? Neither Luna nor I have tried eating a rainbow before,” Nightmare answered.

“If you don’t accept the challenge, then we win!” the leader of the bullies announced, trying to scare her out of it but completely misunderstanding the meaning of reverse psychology.

“I’ll do it!” Flanksy declared, shocking the audience. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

“Your death triggers a supernova that consumes half of Equestria and burns the rest into ashes.”

“Dawn!”

“You asked!”

After a few minutes, one of the crates was opened, and both contestants got a jar of liquid rainbow each. The crowd was lowly murmuring to each other, some wanting to stop this before it got out of hoof, but the curiosity of the majority kept them from interfering.

“Bottoms up!” The short bully announced, pressing his lips as tight as he could to make them impermeable before placing the tip of the jar against them.

Flanksy took a deep breath and was about to down the entire jar in one go, but a pinkish aura took it away from her.

“You three win,” Trixie declared, throwing the jar back to the bullies before looking at Flanksy. “It’s not worth the risk.” Sunset was about to object, but Trixie interrupted her with a whisper. “My reputation isn’t worth you getting hurt.”

Sunset’s objections were replaced with surprise at her words before a smile formed on her lips.

The sweet moment, however, was ruined by the loud celebrations of the three bullies who were dancing and making mocking gestures towards them.

“I would also be celebrating if a unicorn just saved me from losing my job,” a stern voice talked from behind the three pegasus, making them freeze in place, and when they slowly turned around, they saw a middle-aged pegasus mare with orange hair and yellow coat wearing a purple blouse and a pearl necklace.

“B-boss! What are you doing here?” The leader of the bullies asked.

“I wanted to see why one of my employees was flying around the city, still wearing his workwear, instead of doing his job!” the angry mare pointed at the cart missing half of its cargo. “And honestly, finding not only him, but three of my employees, not only messing around during work hours, but also endangering a civilian tourist, was the last thing I was expecting.” The mare stared at them with an intensity that usually precedes brutal beatings. “So, if you three want to keep your jobs and livelihoods, I suggest this cart gets to its destination in the next five minutes!” The three bullies’ response was to load the cart and take off at breakneck speed, leaving behind dust clouds with their shapes slowly fading away.

After they were gone, the mare glared at the crowd that had done nothing to stop the event before looking at the two magicians. “I hope this incident doesn’t dissuade you from future shows, it’s already hard enough to get some outside entertainment to come into the city with the ground being intangible.”

Trixie and Flanksy looked at each other before the magician disappeared in a cloud of smoke, reappearing back on stage. “The Great and Powerful Trixie has yet to show the full extent of her magic!” she announced, and the crowd quickly gathered around her, giving another chance for the mare to amaze them with her tricks.

“Again, sorry for the rude welcome. Those three have a history of causing problems,” the older mare apologized as she walked closer to Flanksy.

“Don’t worry, everything seems to have worked out in the end.” Flanksy smiled, seeing Trixie’s confidence return now that she was on stage. “I’m Flanksy by the way.” Sunset offered her hoof.

“I’m Stormy Flare.” The mare shook her hoof. “And why don’t you two enjoy some of Cloudsdale‘s shows? I can give you and your friends tickets for the Wonderbolts show. You would only need to wait some days till it starts.”

Flanksy had stars in her eyes. “You can get us tickets? That would be awesome!”

“Sure, my daughter’s in the team. I will come to your show tomorrow with the tickets.”

“Seriously, thank you!” Flanksy exclaimed, resisting the urge to hug the older mare.

Flare let out a small chuckle. “It’s the least that I can do.”

Both mares sat down with the crowd, doing some small chat while Trixie continued with her show, and once it was over, Flanksy said goodbye to Flare and shared the news with her companion.

“Tickets to the Wonderbolts show?! Those are probably more valuable than what we earned today!” the magician exclaimed as they set everything to sleep after a long day.

“You want to sell them?” Sunset questioned, feeding some sulfur to Philomena.

“Well, normally I would, but Trixie would feel bad depriving you from the show,” the magician said as she took off her show attire.

Sunset stored the magic tools in several chests. “You don’t need to feel bad. We do need the money.”

Trixie jumped on one of the hammocks they had set for them to sleep. “Well, if we’re staying a few days, we will surely earn more than what the tickets are worth.”

Sunset got on her own bed. “You feel confident enough to make more shows?”

“Of course, The Great and Powerful Trixie was just a bit rusty, that’s all,” the magician declared, raising a hoof in the air.

Sunset smiled, looking at her friend smiling with a confidence once lost before turning to sleep in her hammock, Trixie joining her soon after.

When both of them fell into deep sleep, Sunset’s horn shined softly with a blue aura, and seconds later, Trixie’s did too.

Thorax reread Fluttershy’s profile as he tended to her animals inside the cottage. He was lucky her mother’s spies recorded even the most basic interaction any pony had to make a perfect replacement, otherwise the animals would’ve discovered him and possibly mauled him to death.
However, after the initial tension of getting discovered by Fluttershy’s pets was gone, he found the mare’s life to be quite relaxing. She lived far away from the town, had a pleasant pastime, at least from a changeling’s perspective, and a comfortable home.
He could imagine far worse situations he could be in.

There was a knock on the door, and he quickly hid the profile and mentally got in character before opening. “Yes?”

“Hey Flutters,” Rainbow said with a smile. “How’re you doing?”

“Pretty well, I was just feeding the animals. Would you like some tea?”

“Sure.”

Fluttershy let her in, but then her brain reminded her of something. Rainbow wasn’t the kind of mare that drank tea. “Is something wrong?”

Rainbow turned around, showing a bit of concern in her features. “I was going to ask the same.”

Fluttershy grew more nervous, but hid it well. “Why?”

“Well...” Rainbow seemed unsure of how to phrase her worries. “You haven’t been in town in a while.”

Fluttershy cursed herself for her lack of foresight. “Oh… you’re right… it’s just… with everything going on I...”

“I get it,” Rainbow interrupted her. “I’m also nervous.” The rainbow pegasus landed in one of Fluttershy’s chairs as she sighed. “Honestly, I feel… useless.”

“Why useless?” the yellow pegasus asked with genuine concern.

“Because I’ve been useless. I stole the Elements only for them to get taken away immediately after. I got tricked by Discord and made you lose the game, and then you had to literally chase me down to make me snap out of it. And when Luna pushed us into a corner, I did nothing.”

“You confronted her about Sunset’s innocence,” Fluttershy reassured her as she took a seat next to her.

“And look what good it did!” Rainbow shouted, making her friend shy away, and immediately regretted it. “Sorry, it’s just… I feel like I’m failing her by just sitting around waiting for Luna of all ponies to find her.”

“You still think she wants to hurt Sunset?”

Rainbow rubbed her temples. “I don’t know. Honestly, I’m not sure of who to trust right now.”

“Can you trust in me?” Fluttershy offered her hoof to Rainbow, making her smile.

“Of course I do, we’ve been friends since the start, we can share anything, and not even the Lord of Chaos will keep us apart for long.” Rainbow’s words had a strange effect in Thorax. One that he couldn’t describe right now. “Speaking of which, I totally sidetracked you to dump all my problems on you.”

Fluttershy gave her a reassuring smile. “It’s okay, it looks like you needed it.”

“Still, how are you feeling?”

Fluttershy took a long moment to come up with an answer. “I guess scared for the most part. I’m not sure how things will play out in the future, and I’m not sure if I’ll be able to… handle it? That sounds close enough.”

“I get you. We can’t prepare ourselves for what will happen next, be it Sunset returning or Luna screwing us over or some other ancient evil threatening Equestria. And we don’t even have the Elements now.”

Fluttershy lowered her head. “It was what made us special.”

“That’s not true.” Rainbow moved closer to her friend. “It was our friendship. We lost a bunch of awesome rocks, but we still have each other.”

“Do we? Twilight’s far away in Canterlot, and F-” Thorax managed to stop himself. “And I’m hiding here.”

“We’re all doing what we can.” Rainbow pulled her friend against her, taking her by surprise with a hug. “It’s okay that you’re scared, and it doesn’t make you less than us. We’re your friends, and we’ll be there for you if you need it.”

Fluttershy felt herself relax in the hooves of the pony. “I just… I don’t want to fail.”

“You won’t,” Rainbow assured her. “And if you feel scared, I can come over more often if you want.”

Thorax had to refuse. Having her come over would put himself at risk of being discovered. Rainbow was Fluttershy’s closest friend, she would be the one to see through his disguise.

“I would like that.” His weak will would be the end of him. “Thank you.”

"You know, how about we go to Cloudsdale? I got tickets for the Wonderbolts show!"

New Location Discovered: Cloudsdale.
Fast Travel Unavailable.

Zephyr has joined the party?

Name: Zephyr Breeze

Level: 0
HP: 320

Strength: 10
Dexterity: 16
Constitution: 11
Intelligence: 13
Wisdom: 8
Charisma: 10

Magic Power: 2
Magic Capacity: 0
Magic Control: 2
Magic Resistance: 0
Magic Ability: 0
Magic Generation: 2

The crowd gave another round of applause as Trixie finished her latest trick of the day. The magician relished in the praise she was being given before letting out a cough.

"Dear Flanksy, my throat appears to be a bit sore, hand me something to refresh it."

Flanksy came from the side stage holding a bottle of Fireball Whiskey. "Here, this should be enough."

Trixie gracefully accepted the offer and downed the drink in three long glups.

Suddenly, she hit her chest a few times before turning towards her assistant and belching, letting out a fireball that consumed the pegasus.

The crowd gasped in horror, but suddenly, the flames blew away, revealing an annoyed but intact Flanksy.

"Miss Trixie, please don't forget your manners," Flanksy exclaimed as she waved away the magician's breath.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie apologises, and concludes today's show!"

Both mares took a bow as the crowd cheered for them, and then they retreated to the backstage.

"That was awesome!" Sunset exclaimed.

"As is everything Trixie does. And you did quite well too. Who knew you had a natural performing talent?" the magician said, gently elbowing her.

"Some of your greatness must be rubbing off on me." Sunset joked.

They took off their performing attire and exited through the back of the wagon, finding a familiar older pegasus mare waiting for them.

“Another impressive show,” Flare praised as she approached the two.

“Trixie thanks you for your compliments.”

“And your help yesterday,” Flanksy added.

“And as promised.” Flare searched around inside the pockets of her blouse until she took out two silver tickets with the Wonderbolts insignia. “Two tickets for tomorrow's show, I hope it isn’t too expensive to stay one more day.”

“We have it covered,” Flanksy assured her. “It will also give us time to do a few more shows. I hope ponies don’t get tired of it.”

Flare laughed. “I doubt it. Have a good day.”

Flanksy and Trixie said goodbye and went back to the wagon, but seconds after they shut the door, somepony knocked on it.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie is not giving autographs today!” the magician shouted to the door.

“Oh, but I’m not here for an autograph, I’m here to give you an offer!”

The mares looked at each other before curiously opening the door, expecting some sort of loan shark or salespony, but instead they found a tall, pale green and yellow pegasus stallion with a five o'clock beard.

“Can we help you?” Flanksy asked.

“More like, can I help you.” The stallion said, moving into the wagon Philomena quickly hiding from him. “I saw your amazing show today and wanted to offer you my assistance.”

Trixie looked at Flanksy before responding. “Trixie already has an assistant.”

“And a very good one, but the art of showmanship should always be open for new ideas!” the pegasus exclaimed dramatically.

Sunset’s mind, and it’s two inhabitants, were trying really hard to understand the stallion before them. “Sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”

“Zephyr Breeze.” He offered his hoof, and Flanksy slowly shook it.

“And you want to… help Trixie?” the magician asked, cocking her head a bit.

“Of course! Us artistic types should work together!”

Flanksy leaned over to whisper at Trixie. “Is showmanship an art?”

“Yes, but he doesn’t look like that kind of artist,” Trixie whispered back.

“So how about it? for a very small fee and a bed, I can make your shows the talk of all Cloudsdale!”

“Well, he’s eloquent at least,” Trixie concluded. “Sadly, as Trixie previously stated, we have no vacancies.”

Zephyr’s mood soured, but before he could respond, Flanksy asked a question. “What do you mean with ‘and a bed’? You don’t have a home?”

The pegasus shifted gears, seeing a chance. “I’m currently devoid of a place to stay, yes. My previous job didn't work out, so I hoped I could find something to help me get back on my hooves. But I can understand if you can’t offer such. There are more opportunities out there.”

Flanksy and Trixie looked at each other, feeling sympathy for the pegasus. “Trixie can offer you some temporary shelter and pay till you can find some other way to keep yourself under a roof.”

“You really would do that for me?” Zephyr asked with a hopeful smile, his hooves pressed on his chest.

Flanksy gave him a sympathetic smile.“Yeah, we know what it's like to not have a home.”

Zephyr’s smile faltered for a moment at her words, but managed to hide it. “I promise you won’t regret this.”

Luna took some deep breaths, preparing herself for the meeting she had been avoiding for a while.

“Don’t worry Luna, after this, things will start to get better,” Celestia offered as a consolation while placing a hoof on her shoulder. “Almost half of the ponies there are already on our side.”

With her wound burning, the younger sister felt a desire to push her sister away, but accepted the comfort she provided. “It’s not them I’m worried about, but the ponies under them. Gaining the trust of five ponies is easy, but an entire nation?”

“You were once praised by this very nation, they just need a reminder of that.”

“I was praised as a warrior. When peace was established, and warfare was no longer needed, my achievements became irrelevant.” Luna looked through a window at the city outside of the castle, and the lands beyond that. “And now, those same acts are despised. That old glory won’t be achieved again.”

Celestia softly moved her sister’s head so she could see her smile. “Then we will make a new glory that they can admire.”

Luna’s wound burned. “You already made one, and I enforced it.”

Celestia’s smile didn’t waver. “But it was all lies. And the first step to clear them out, is through that door.” Celestia pointed at the entrance to the room where the council was gathered.

Taking a deep breath, Luna calmed the burning in her chest, and moved forward. “Let’s start then.”

The doors opened with a blue aura, and the five ponies gathered around a round oaken table.

Prince Blueblood, Minister of Foreing Policy. Princess Cadence, Minister of Welfare. Fancy Pants, Minister of Economy. Chancellor Neighsay, Minister of Public Services. And Shining Armour, Minister of Law and Order.

“I thank you all for your time,” Luna greeted to start on good terms. “I know this meeting should’ve been made long ago, but recent events have been troubling for all.”

“That’s exactly why the council exists,” Fancy Pants said as he opened his ledger. “I can understand your disconnection with this new form of administration, but please keep us in mind for the future.”

“I will, starting right now,” Luna announced as she sat down on the larger, ornate chair in the room. “Which matters should we attend first?”

“Your monopoly of the media,” Cadence answered.

“Your public image,” Neighsay added.

“The civil unrest,” Shining offered.

“The military budget,” Fancy Pants suggested.

“And Sunset’s marehunt,” Blueblood concluded.

Luna took another deep breath, feeling her sister’s hoof around hers as she sat at her side. “Very well, I will first disband this ‘monopoly’ I created. Shining, please see that the ones my guard arrested are released and properly compensated for my mistake.”

Shining nodded. “I will.”

Fancy Pants quickly interjected. “When you say ‘compensation’, you mean monetary?”

“Yes, I won’t pretend an injustice wasn’t made to them, even if they did spread false rumors.”

“That’s actually called slander, and it is a crime that merits either lawsuit or time in prison,” Cadence interjected. “You can pardon them as an act of goodwill, but it may send the wrong message.”

“You could maintain the heads of the newspapers in custody while releasing the workers,” Shining offered. “That would send a better message.”

“You can also set new temporary heads that would release good publicity for you,” Blueblood added.

“That is a better solution. Let it be so.” Luna let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding and turned towards Fancy Pants. “I can already see why this new form of government has prevailed.”

The Minister of Economy smiled for a moment before going back to business. “Going back to the compensation issue. Your sudden redirection of the kingdom's treasury towards the military has shaken a lot of our investors. This could pose a problem in the near future.”

“The Royal Guard has been denied this founding for a long time, and we need to bring them back to full force to face future challenges.” Luna spoke firmly, making it known that this wasn’t something she would discuss further.

Fancy Pants nodded. “Then I would advise caution with future investments, unless you want our investors to start supporting your replacement.”

“I’m aware many are already making plans to retire me.” Luna resisted the need to scratch her hidden wound. “That’s something that I’ll hopefully change soon.”

“You should address the elephant in the room then,” Neighsay said, his eyes never leaving Celestia since she entered the room. “Which of you will continue the rule of Equestria? One’s unfit to perform her duties and the other is currently hated by most of the public. There was also the little theatre Shimmer made that revealed her possible succession, only to later become possibly one of the biggest threats to the kingdom.”

Luna opened her mouth to answer, but Celestia was quicker. “I’ll soon announce my retirement,” She declared, looking at everyone on the table. “My sister will rule in my place.” Luna’s jaw dropped. “And when the Crystal Empire returns and dear Cadence becomes its ruler, I’ll take her place as Minister of Welfare.”

Chancellor Neighsay looked surprised at her answer, and kept silent while the others talked.

“I think you would be perfect for this position,” Cadence said with a smile.

“And keeping yourself inside the political hierarchy would bring some calm during the process,” Fancy Pants reasoned.

“I approve of this idea,” Blueblood announced, and the rest of the council agreed.

They all turned to Luna, waiting for her answer to Celestia’s decision.

The princess of the night cleared her throat. “While I would like to have a talk with my sister about this offer, if you and the ponies that follow Celestia would accept me as ruler, I will perform my duties as best I can.”

“Sadly, right now, those words don’t mean much to the public,” Blueblood admitted, leaning back on his chair.

“There’re a lot of ponies extremely loyal to Celestia, they won’t be easy to win over, even if your sister approves,” Shining explained.

“Maybe some public speeches could help. Promises of policies that better the quality of life are an easy way of swaying the public to your side,” Cadence proposed.

Blueblood chuckled. “The CAA will make sure you don’t get a crossbow bolt in the throat during your speech.”

“Sounds like a plan then,” Luna agreed, getting more comfortable in her seat. “Shall we discuss these new policies then?”

“Okay,” Trixie said as she guided Zephyr to the center of her stage. “First things first, do you have any experience in the art of showmareship?”

The tall pegasus shook his head. “But you’ll find me to be a natural learner.”

“Well, we can start with something simple then. Trixie wants you to gather some of the clouds and expand the stage a bit, nothing fancy or elaborate, and maybe add some steps for the public.”

“I can get it done,” Zephyr assured her. “Just give me a few hours.”

“You have them,” Trixie said with a smile, and went back to the wagon where Sunset was waiting for her with some coffee.

“Since we have the extra help, want to go do some more touring around town?” Sunset proposed.

“I would like that, maybe we could visit the Weather Factory. See if they can share some secret about rainbows?”

“Oh, yes! I would love that!” Sunset exclaimed before drinking her coffee. “You think Zephyr will be okay on his own?”

“He seems to be comfortable, and I gave him a very simple task,” Trixie assured her with a wave of her hoof. “Although, Trixie can predict that we would be cramped in her wagon if we’re three-” A caw interrupted her. “Sorry, four, sleeping together.”

“We should find some hotel nearby he could stay at for the night,” Sunset proposed.

“It would be best, all things considered. I wonder how he ended up without a home. It’s a rare thing to happen in Equestria in today’s time.” Trixie finished her coffee and took off her performance attire.

Sunset finished her own drink. “Maybe we could ask him after the show if he wants, perhaps we could offer him a more permanent solution.”

“Perhaps.” Trixie turned toward the phoenix perched near the wall of her wagon. “Can you hold the fort while we’re out?”

Philomena nodded her head and the two mares got out and saw Zephyr looking at the stage from afar while scribbling on a piece of paper.

“Seems like he’s already making plans,” Trixie observed.

“I think he can handle it,” Flanksy said before shouting to their new companion. “We’re leaving for a while! Three hours tops! Once you’re finished just wait for us and keep everything in place!”

Zephyr waved his hoof in response and the two mares left for the Rainbow Factory.

“So, any last matters we should see before concluding this meeting?” Luna asked the rest of the council.

“We’ve yet to discuss the situation with Sunset,” Blueblood answered. “You announced her hunt but right after it you seemed to push it under the rug. I’m not against that decision, subtlety is best for these kinds of matters in my opinion, but it does have a negative impact on the public.”

Luna let out a long heavy sigh. “The announcement of Sunset as an enemy was done in a moment of desperation on my part. Thanks to my sister, and her student and friends, I managed to pull back from that. Sunset is a risk to the kingdom, but it’s not clear if she’s an enemy.” Luna looked at her sister and the rest of the council. “Any advice on how to handle this matter with the public?”

Chancellor Neighsay spoke first. “I think we first should determine just how much of a threat she actually is.”

“I’ve to agree,” Fancy Pants added. “The public would be calmer if they knew what we were up against. Tales of what happened in Ponyville have reached far and wide, and everypony has their own interpretation.”

Luna took a long moment to think, feeling her sister’s gaze on her, making her wound burn. “Sunset is a mage capable of great destruction. Right now, she’s under the influence of dark magic that will manipulate her into destroying my sister, if not more.”

Fancy Pant’s profesionalism faltered a little. “That’s... not really reassuring.”

“We’re working on taking out this evil from Sunset’s body, hoping to save her. That’s why the mission changed from hunting to just finding,” Luna explained further.

Blueblood placed his hooves together to think before talking. “We should undersell Sunset’s threat to avoid causing a panic and seeding distrust and paranoia. As for why the sudden change of heart, we could claim that there was new evidence found that could absolve Sunset of her crimes.”

Luna’s face twisted with discomfort at the proposal. “The use of lies, even if well intended, have led us to where we’re now. I would prefer it if we didn’t add to it.”

“Sadly, it’s a compromise we’ll need to make,” Blueblood declared.

“What kind of evidence should we sell if we decide to take this path?” Fancy Pants asked.

“How about the changelings?” Cadence proposed. “They’re known for their espionage and subterfuge.”

Celestia shook her head. “The changelings aren’t a very known species, and it should remain that way. They could create as much paranoia in the population as Sunset’s threat.”

“Could we maybe pin it on Discord?” Fancy proposed. “Her crimes started close to his escape. With the exception of...” He gestured with his head towards Celestia’s burn scars.

“Maybe the Element Bearers could have made this discovery,” Neighsay said, his eyes leaving Celestia for the first time. “I’m aware Twilight is currently in the castle searching for this 'taking the evil out of Sunset' way of resolving the problem, it could be the evidence of this claim.”

“I’ve heard enough for today,” Luna declared as she stood up. “I’ll take every suggestion into account and work on a speech for the public. I shall present it to you in our next meeting.”

The rest of the council agreed and the meeting was officially over. Everypony left the chamber, leaving the two royal sisters alone.

“You handled that pretty well I think,” Celestia praised with a small smile.

“Politicking is more of your forte, but I’ve learned a few things.” Luna walked towards the exit of the room. “Thank you for staying at my side.”

Celestia followed her sister. “I guess you want to talk about me leaving the rule of Equestria to you.”

Luna’s wound burned intensely. “I do, but later. I need some time to… clear my head.”

Celestia stopped walking. “Of course. Call me if you need me,” she said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

“I will,” were Luna’s final words before she exited the room, leaving Tia alone.

“Is Lulu angry at you?” the illusion of Sunshine asked with concern.

“She is,” Celestia responded. “The question is… how much?”

Flanksy looked at the large factory in front of her, half-covered in clouds, leaking rainbows and with a small thunderstorm up above it, but what called her attention more was the large trumpet-shaped output that protruded from one side of it, pointing towards the horizon.

“Wow. All of Equestria’s weather comes from here, right?”

“That’s correct. That’s one of the reasons the city needs to move constantly, but they stay in this location most of the time,” Trixie explained.

Flanksy smiled. “I’m glad we managed to get here.”

Trixie placed a hoof around her friend’s shoulder. “And this is just the start, there’re plenty of wonders all over Equestria.”

“I want to visit all of them,” Flanksy declared, and then heard Dawn’s voice in her head.

“We’ll eventually find our home.”

“Are you… hoping for that?”

“Honestly… I’m not sure.”

“Let’s go inside, I’m sure the sight is better from there,” Trixie said, snapping Flanksy back to earth, and she quickly followed the magician.

After explaining at the entrance that they wanted to know if they could get a tour, the duo were surprised when Flare appeared to welcome them.

“Pleasure to see you again.”

“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, you work here, right?” Flanksy asked as she shook hooves with the older mare.

“Most of the time, yes, I do need to move around from time to time, but that’s another story. You wanted to have a tour of the facility?.”

“Yeah, I hope we’re not being rude, you already gifted us something today,” Flanksy answered a bit sheepishly.

Flare chuckled. “Oh, don’t you worry, the factory is open to visits. I would tour you myself but I’ve some stuff that needs done before the end of the day. Let me get somepony who’s available.”

“We’re on break!” Somepony shouted, and the three mares turned to their right to find the three bullies from the day before.

“Are you making amends for yesterday?” Flare asked with a half-smile.

“Uh… sure,” the tallest answered.

“We aren’t planning anything bad,” the leader added, hoping to sound convincing.

Flare looked at Flanksy and Trixie. “What do you say?”

The magician shrugged. “Why not?”

Flanksy turned towards the bullies. “Lead the way!”

“Very well, I’ll trust that they behave, call me if anything happens.” With that, Flare flew back to her office while the three bullies walked up to Trixie and Flanksy.

“My name’s Dumb-Bell,” the leader of the bullies presented himself, offering a hoof.

“Mine’s Hoops,” the tallest of the group added before pointing at the third member. “And he’s Score.”

Flanksy shook their hooves. “You already know our names so...”

“Trixie expects the best tour you can offer,” the magician declared.

Dumb-Bell did his best to not roll his eyes. “Just follow us inside.”

“You’ll need some hats and jackets,” Hoops added as Score brought them the items.

Once they were properly equipped, the three pegasus started their guide through the facility, starting with a large room where workers were looking at snowflakes through some magnifying glasses.

“Here’s where we make the snowflakes. Each one if hoofmade, so it takes all year to prepare them for winter,” Dumb-Bell expalined as they walked between the workstations.

“You've to be very dedicated or have screwed up something to work in this department,” Hoops added.

Score let out a loud chuckle. “Yeah, Hoops has an assigned workstation by now.” The tall pegasus glared at his friend, but the action lost a bit of impact since his hair covered his eyes.

“Is there a particular reason why we need winter?” Flanksy asked as she glared at the snowflakes.

Dumb-Bell frowned as he thoguht. “Uh, I think it would cause a drought.”

Flanksy paused for a bit. “Oh… yeah, that would be bad.”

“You don’t like winter?” Trixie asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Hate it,” Flanksy growled.

“Me too, it's a super annoying time to work.” Hopps complained. “But at least they give us a bonus if we do it right.”

“Trixie doesn’t really mind it that much. Her wagon keeps her very warm.”

Flanksy smiled. “I’m happy to hear that.”

The tour continued with the five ponies arriving at the section of the factory dedicated to the production of clouds.

Flanksy watched as big purple machines continuously dispensed clouds from a large horizontal exhaust pipe. One pegasus approached an inactive machine and poured a bucket of water inside, causing it to fire a steam like a geyser before creating clouds like the rest.

“You must use a lot of water for this.”

“We have reservoirs all over Equestria.” Dumb-Bell explained. “We use tornados to send the water to the factory.”

“That one’s really fun!” Hoops commented. “Hey, you should participate some time, you’re pretty fast.”

“I.. think I will pass,” Flanksy declined as best she could. Even if she didn’t have to keep her disguise, she wasn’t confident she could pull off a tornado.

“Oh... right, you probably don’t have the stamina for it,” Hoops concluded.

“Does she? She lifted that box like it was nothing,” Score commented.

“How did you pull that off?” Dumb-Bell asked. “You’re half my size.”

“Uh…” Flanksy racked her brain trying to come up with some convincing explanation, but her friend came to the rescue.

“She may look small, but Trixie’s assistant is in rigorous training to keep herself in perfect shape.”

“What for?” Dumb-Bell asked with clear interest.

“Pulling the wagon on the road and setting the stage isn’t an easy task, Trixie’s glad that she has a partner to share such burdens.”

Flanksy couldn’t help but smile at her friend’s praise, and be thankful as she got the attention away from her.

The tour continued without issue, the two mares exchanging some small chat with the three bullies as they explored the facility, finding their company much more pleasant now that they weren’t antagonizing each other.

Eventually, they reached the last section of the factory.

“And here's where we make the rainbows!” Dumb Bell decleared.

Flanksy saw the liquid multitude of colors flow down from various pools as the pegasus stirred them and made sure the composition was right.

“I hope you don’t challenge me again,” Flanksy joked while looking at Score.

“N-no! It’s a very stupid idea,” the grey pegasus answered immidiately.

“Then why did you propose it?” Trixie asked.

“I panicked, okay?” Score admitted with a bit of shame.

“Yeah, the little guy can’t work under pressure,” Hoops said mockingly.

“Screw you dude,” Score said with a little smile.

Flanksy and Trixie laughed along with the rest of the pegasus, attracting the attention of some of the workers, who just rolled their eyes with an amused smile. Apparently it wasn’t rare for this to happen.

“Hey, Trixie and I were wondering,” Flanksy said as she looked at the vats of rainbows. “How does the making of rainbows work? Especially how you can give them so many uses.”

Dumb-Bell looked at his friends for a moment. “Uh, it’s a bit complicated to explain, it would take a while.”

“We shouldn’t stay too long with Zephyr alone with the stage,” Trixie said with a bit of worry for the time they had already spent.

“Could we meet you when you clock out from work?” Flanksy proposed.

“Sure, but… did you say Zephyr Breeze is in charge of your stuff?” Hoops asked.

“Uh, kind of?” Trixie answered with a bit of concern creeping in.

“You should probably go check he hasn’t ruined it in some way,” Score advised.

“What?” both mares said in unison.

“He didn’t last a day working here,” Dumb-Bell explained.

Trixie and Flanksy looked at each other before teleporting out of the building.

Luna walked through the corridors of the castle, feeling her wound ache in her chest, distracting her of the world around her, her tunnel vision accompanied by a small whisper on the back of her mind. It was a familiar voice that once plunged into her own darkness.

The princess shook her head with a grunt, clearing her mind and vision. She found herself on one of the castle’s upper floors, standing alone in the middle of a hallway.
Wanting fresh air, Luna opened one of the nearby windows and jumped off it, extending her wings to glide down to the ground, until she landed in the middle of the Royal Gardens.

The princess took a deep breath, feeling the fragrance of the flowers and nature around her. She could hear the sounds of the nearby animals that Celestia preserved here, skittering away from her, as they always did.
When she opened her eyes, she was surprised by the state of the gardens. Discord’s magic had taken a toll on both the flora and fauna, and even if Sunset’s actions had reversed his changes, the chaos itself had morphed many of the plants and trees, the soil lost a lot of it’s fertility, the fountains and benches had been destroyed, and the animals were even more unnerved than before.

However, some repairs had been done. The brambles and overgrowth had been trimmed or pulled out, the soil had been replaced in some sections, and some fountains and benches had been restored.

Luna found it curious, with the aftermath of Discord and Sunset’s battle, no attention had been given to the restoration of the gardens, so she wondered who had been doing such work.

A clue was given to her when she heard whistling from nearby.

Following the sound, Luna walked through the overgrowth, using her magic to decay the unwanted fauna, until she finally set eyes on the source of the garden's restoration.

An old light brown stallion with gray mane with a long goatee, wearing a tall green hat and an old blue vest on his back, that was currently cutting some of the nasty brambles that were strangling a bush of roses.

“Good evening princess,” the old stallion greeted when he noticed the lunar princess standing behind him.

Luna answered with the same politeness. “Good evening Mr...”

“Greenhooves,” the stallion completed with a smile. “Hope my whistling didn’t disturb your visit to the gardens.”

Luna shook her head slightly. “It hasn’t, I merely wondered who had been in charge of restoring this place.”

The old stallion leaned on his large scissors. “Well, that’s my job princess. Have been for years. And I can’t say I’m proud of it if I leave it in this state.”

“And you’re doing it alone?”

“Yep, but I wouldn’t mind some help, if you don’t mind some extra work and a bit of dirt in your hooves.”

Luna looked at Greenhooves more attentively. He was completely relaxed even in front of royalty, especially considering what it’s been said about her. His smile was sincere, and she could tell he had a very carefree nature.

Compared to all her interactions with her subjects in the last days, Luna felt welcomed by his offer.

“What can I do to help?”

Trixie and Flanksy appeared in front of the wagon in a flash of magic, not knowing what to expect from Score’s warning. What they found was a small amphitheatre made of clouds in front of the wagon, along with a cloudy extension to the stage.

Trixie looked around confused. “This… doesn’t look bad.”

“I’m glad you think so,” Zephyr said as he approached the two mares. “Told you I could get it done.”

“Well, I must say I’m impressed,” Flanksy admitted looking at the structure. “Have you tried searching for a job in the construction industry?”

Zephyr avoided her gaze. “Well...”

“Hey, can we get our autographs now?” a stallion asked behind Zephyr, and both mares noticed a small group of workers waiting in line.

“Autographs?” Trixie questioned.

“Yeah, he said you would give us your autograph if we built all this for him.”

“They… they helped a little,” Zephyr said with a nervous smile, feeling the glares of two mares on him.

After exchanging looks with Flanksy, Trixie addressed the workers with a smile. “The Great and Powerful Trixie is always happy to reward her hard working fans!”

While the magician pleased the small crowd, Flanksy pulled Zephyr aside, glaring at him. “Let me guess. This is why your previous job ‘didn’t work’.”

“Oh come on Flanky, the stage looks great.”

“If he calls us Flanky again, please burn him,” Dawn requested.

“Not thanks to you!” Flanksy shouted. “You just outsourced everything. And at the expense of Trixie!”

Zephyr raised his hooves in defense. “She said she likes giving autographs.”

“What you did was not only extremely lazy, but also totally irresponsible! You won’t be able to keep a job if you do things like this!”

“Well, clearly I won’t be keeping this one since my efforts aren’t appreciated.” Zephyr raised his chin and turned around, walking away, but he was suddenly stopped by something pulling at his leg.

Flanksy sighed. “Listen… we appreciate you wanting to help, but this is not the way to go about it.” Zephyr turned around, looking at the mare with uncertainty. “I’ll tell Trixie to give you another chance, but we’ll overlook your work and teach you how to do it on your own.”

“You’re… seriously giving me another chance?” Zephyr asked, so used to being discarded at first chance that he couldn’t help to be suspicious.

“We all make mistakes, or do something stupid that gets us in trouble,” Flanksy answered with a smile. “As long as you learn from those mistakes, you deserve another chance.”

Zephyr couldn’t help but smile at her words, even if a feeling of guilt remained in the back of his head. “Thank you. I’ll try and do my best tomorrow.”

“That’s all we ask for.”

“So it isn’t made of cheese?” Greenhooves asked.

“Trust me, if it were, half of it would be missing by the time I escaped.”

The stallion and alicorn laughed, clinking their glasses full of the weird moonshine Greenhooves made at home as they rested from a half-day of work.

“To be honest,” the stallion said after downing his drink. “Am glad you returned. The night sky has been more beautiful since then. No offence to your sister, but she barely let the stars shine like they should.”

Luna did her best to contain the joy those words brought her so she didn’t lose her composure. “We’re glad our efforts make you feel that way.”

The stallion chuckled. “I’ve learned to enjoy the little things in life. And help preserve the beauty in some of them.” He pointed at the restored part of the garden they had worked on. Alicorn magic had been extremely useful to repair the damages.

Before Luna could follow the conversation, they both heard steps approaching, and the multicolored mane of Celestia entered their vision.

“Have you come to tuck us into bed?” Luna joked, downing her drink to numb the burning in her wound.

“I think you’re a bit old for that.” Celestia approached the two, looking at the garden around them. “I see you’ve been working hard. I really appreciate your effort to return the gardens to their former glory.”

“You should join us sister,” Luna proposed, probably a bit tipsy due to whatever Greenhooves had used to make his moonshine.

Celestia let out a short laugh. “I think I’ll pass, but it does look like a good hobby for you.”

“I was sure you would lecture me about not spending time dealing with the matters of the kingdom,” Luna admitted with a raised eyebrow.

“Downtime is essential to maintain your sanity,” Celestia said, and when she noted the frown on her sister, she realized that she should’ve phrased it better. “I’m here simply out of curiosity.”

“And...” Luna said, knowing her sister well.

“And...” Celestia sighed. “To ask you if you would like to have our chat tomorrow morning while we enjoy some breakfast?”

Luna refilled her glass. “That would depend on how much coffee you can provide me.”

“I can promise at least two pots,” Celestia offered with a smile.

Luna chuckled. “It’s a start.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow then.” Clestia turned to leave, but her sister asked a question that made her freeze for a moment.

“Have you talked to Sparkle yet?”

Trixie has learned Rainbow Control!

Sunset has learned Rainbow Control!

Sombra walked through the snowy streets of the small village, counting the heads of his new followers.

“Around six hundred strong. Eight hundred if the filly's get training,” he thought before stopping in front of the village elder, an old grey stallion wearing thick wool clothing to stave off the freezing temperatures of the area. “What weapons do you possess?”

“Mere farming tools, my king.”

Sombra growled with disappointment. “I’ll need to make them weapons. More magic wasted, and I still need more numbers. I need all the advantages I can get.”

The banished king closed his eyes and his horn ignited with dark magic. Opaque crystals protruded from the ground in front of his militia, forming swords, lances, mazes, and axes for them to weild.

“Get used to these weapons, train in formations, and convert any who visits this village. I want a proper army once I return to collect you,” the king ordered, and the elder bowed to him before walking away to relay his command.

Sombra looked at the cloud covered sky, the light fall of snow slowly coating his figure. It was a small comfort in the middle of the stress of planning.
He couldn’t fail again. He knew that he wouldn’t get another chance to change things. But for his dream to be possible…

“I need a stronger ally.”

“Like this?” Zephyr asked before spinning in the air, creating a current of wind that moved a curtain of clouds around Trixie, hiding everything but the shape of her body from Flanksy, who was standing as the crowd.

“Perfect! You just need to do it when Trixie gives the signal!” the fake pegasus shouted.

“Thank you.” Zephyr landed back on the stage, and Trixie gave him an encouraging pat on the shoulder.

“Trixie’s impressed by your change of attitude, and she’ll gladly reward your efforts.”

Zephyr looked away nervously. “You don’t need to.”

Trixie looked at him curiously. “What do you mean? It was what we agreed. Payment and a roof.”

Zephyr scratched the back of his head. “Yes, but… the roof is enough. I can get money from elsewhere.”

“Well, to be honest, we’re probably going to leave after the Wonderbolts show,” Flanksy said as she jumped on stage. “The least we can do is give you some bits so you can survive till you land another job.”

Zephyr shook his head. “That won’t be necessary, I can manage.”

The two mares looked at each other for a few seconds, mentally debating what to do.

“How about a small share of today’s gainings thanks to your part in the act?” Flanksy proposed.

“Regardless of any agreement, help with the backstage show should always be rewarded,” Trixie added with some of her usual dramatic flare.

Zephyr wracked his brain, trying to figure out a way to weasel out of the deal and not take the mares money, and he came to his usual solution; sabotaging himself. “Okay, I’ll take what my contributions earn me.”

“Morning sister,” Celestia greeted when Luna entered the dining room. There was a large banquet waiting for her, along with the two pots of coffee promised, plus a third for good measure.

“You’re really trying to butter me up, uh?” Luna said as she took her seat, feeling her wound start to burn.

Celestia closed her eyes before taking a sip of her tea. “Just trying to give you a bit of relief from your new duties.”

“Would you mind managing the throne room tomorrow morning?” Luna asked as she took one of the waffle towers Celestia had made for her. “Greenhooves and I wanted to work on the easter side of the gardens. Apparently, the brambles kept their sentience there.”

“You could order some more helping hooves if you two need them,” Celestia proposed, a bit worried of her sister’s new hobby.

“I don’t think it would be necessary. Should we talk about your... ‘proposed’ step back from rule?” Luna asked before munching on her food.

Celestia took a deep breath. “As you well know, me leaving the throne isn’t a recent decision. Your return made me see how my continuous rule over our kingdom has… stagnated some issues. Not taking into account my other problems. I was hoping I could leave the kingdom in Sunset’s hooves in two years, when she would be ready for all its obligations. but things have become more complicated.”

“And you think I could do a better job than you?” Luna asked as she finished her first pot of coffee.

Celestia chuckled. “Did you forget we ruled together for centuries?”

Luna gave her sister a stern glare. “Did you forget you’ve ruled for a millenia on your own?” The glare softened a bit, and Luna looked away. “And why it happened.”

“I don’t think neither of us will forget that day, but even so, you weren’t the only at fault for what happened.”

“Your fairytales say otherwise,” Luna grumbled bitterly, her wound burning.

Celestia let out a long sigh. “Yes, but like many fairy tales, it lost its original meaning with the years.”

“And what meaning was that?” Luna questioned, gritting her teeth.

Celestia pushed her breakfast away, her appetite lost. “When the first bards requested to immortalize such an event with music, I intended for it to be a cautionary tale. To show that one could hurt their loved ones and not realize it until it was too late. Your story was supposed to be a tragedy.”

“What changed?” Luna asked, her stern eyes burning holes in her sister. “And why didn’t you stop it?”

Celestia sighed once again. “Ponies loved me, just like in the story. I was there, ruling, reminding them of who was in charge of making their lives better. They didn’t like a story that painted me in a bad light, they wanted to believe I was as perfect as they see me as.” She looked at her sister’s eyes with shame, knowing that her words probably did nothing to placate her sister’s justified ire. “Since you weren’t there to defend your side of the story, you became the villain of that fairytale.”

Luna said nothing, staring at her coffee like she was about to smash it to pieces with her mind, but eventually she just drank it and asked her next question. “What about Nightmare Night? How did the original story get translated to me eating children?”

“Originally, you and Nightmare were supposed to be different entities. The offerings were to show appreciation to you, not to placate your hunger,” Celestia explained. “But like the fairytale, it got twisted with time.”

“And why didn’t you do anything?” Luna questioned, feeling like her wound was going to melt her breastplate.

Celestia looked down at her tea, seeing her sad reflection in it. “I tried, but it did more harm than good. Ponies weren’t happy. They didn’t want to hear your side of the story. They didn’t want to admit that I had flaws. It was clear that they would stand by their version of history rather than change it for the bitter truth. I-”

“I’ve heard enough!” Luna shouted, the burning in her wound becoming unbearable. “We’ll continue with this conversation another time.”

Before Celestia could say anything, her sister disappeared in a flash of magic.

“You should go after her,” Sunshine said with worry, leaving her food on the table.

“I think she needs time to calm down first.” Celestia stood up from the table, abandoning breakfast, and walked out the door. “I’ll see that she gets some time to herself.”

“You sure you don’t want to see your parents?” Rainbow asked as she and Fluttershy walked through the streets of cloudsdale.

“I’m not feeling in the mood to see them,” Flutterhsy responded meekly. “And I’m already taking enough risks just being with you,” Thorax added.

“Oh, I get that. Sorry for pushing.”

“You don’t want to see your parents too?” Fluttershy asked with genuine curiosity.

Rainbow cocked her head away from her, showing her discomfort. “You know how they can be when I’m around, and me being one of the Elements probably has them freaking out about me since Nightmare Moon was defeated.”

“Probably? Didn't you tell them yourself?” Fluttershy asked, immediately regretting it as Rainbow looked at her with confusion.

“You know that- well… it’s not like-” Rainbow said, clearly conflicted, and Fluttershy capitalized on it.

“I know you don’t like them, but it’s still something very important for them. One visit won’t be the end of you.”

“I know, but… they’ll just embarrass me even further than they already do.” Rainbow let out a sigh and landed on the cloudy floor. “We’re heroes of Equestria. Supposedly. I won’t hear the end of it.”

Flutterhsy landed next to her and placed a hoof on her shoulder. “I still feel like you should tell them. Your parents pride in you is a very important thing. It’s what makes you special.”

Rainbow frowned, digesting Fluttershy’s words in her head. “Maybe… but not right now. We’re here to relax a bit from everything.” She stood up with renewed enthusiasm. “There’s still a few hours before the show starts. What should we do?”

“And now The Great and Powerful Trixie will perform her final act in Cloudsdale!”

Rainbow stood frozen. “You have to be kidding me.”

Only a few meters away, Trixie had the whole crowd looking in awe as two rainbows flew out of the back of the stage, moving around like snakes in the air, flying over the crowd and around Trixie as she moved in a sort of dance, making all the movements seem natural.

Flanksy was standing behind the curtains of the stage, and sent a small dot of condensed fire, too little to be seen yet, a bit above the magician, ready to expand it once Zephyr covered Trixie with the curtain of clouds.

The magician brought the rainbows towards herself, and they started spinning in a circle around her, which was the signal Zephyr was waiting for.

“Okay, just mess up your spin and fail to cover Trixie. The crow will still pay them for the rest of the show and you get out without guilt,” he thought as he placed himself into position.

Rainbow and Fluttershy arrived in front of the stage, flying above the crowd.

“She is here?!” Rainbow questioned, not believing her eyes.

Fluttershy looked up, and when he saw Fluttershy’s brother flying above, Thorax panicked. “He is here?!”

Trixie looked at the crowd, and saw Rainbow Dash flying above, and her body locked up. “What is she doing here?!”

Flanksy noticed this, and when she looked up and saw two of her friends, her eyes widened in shock.

Zephyr heard Flutteshy’s shout, and turned his head, spotting Rainbow and Fluttershy not too far from him.

He was about to spin and mess with his trick, but the surprise made him spin too quickly in the air, turning what was supposed to be a calm breeze into a small cloud tornado.

Trixie’s body had locked up, and the performing rainbows were left free, and got caught in the clouds, making them spin even faster.

Flanksy’s shock made her release her hold in the spell, and the small dot of fire exploded.

What was supposed to be a lightshow to awe the crowd turned into a colorful explosion that covered the expectators in bits of clouds and rainbows.

When the dust cleared, Trixie and Zephyr had banished, so the crowd assumed it was supposed to be a disappearing act, but the magician didn’t appear again. After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence waiting for something to happen, the crowd started clapping awkwardly, wondering if that was truly it, and started to disperse.

Meanwhile, both Trixie and Flanksy were taking refuge inside the wagon.

“What are they doing here?!” they shouted almost in unison.

“Make space!” Zephyr exclaimed as he threw himself inside the wagon through one of the windows, quickly hugging a wall.

“Wait, why are you panicking?” Trixie questioned, but before he could answer, Rainbow Dash poked her head inside through the same window.

“Trixie, I wanted to talk to you!” the prismatic pony announced, but her attention was quickly stolen by Zephyr’s presence. “What’re you doing here?”

Flanksy looked at the two pegasus. “You know each other?”

“Yeah, she’s Fluttershy’s younger brother.” Right as Rainbow said that, ‘Fluttershy’ poked her head next to Rainbow, and her eyes focused on ‘Flanksy’.

Zephyr gave a nervous wave to the two familiar pegasus before a feeling of dread took hold of him. He could feel the intense glares of the two performers digging into his soul.

“Burn him!” Dawn demanded inside Sunset’s head.

“Mince him up and turn him into rations!” Nightmare added, not fond of being tricked.

Zephyr was sweating bullets by this point. “Uh… I can expl-”

With a violent flash of magic, Zephyr banished from the wagon.

“Wow! wha- where is he?” Rainbow asked, but the only response she got was Trixie shutting the window on her face, pushing her back. “¡Hey! I just wanted to talk.”

“This is not the time Rainbow!” Trixie shouted from the inside. “He is fine. I just teleport him away.”

“At least tell me where!” Rainbow turned to look at her friend for support, but the yellow pegasus was flying away. “Hey, where’re you going?”

Fluttershy turned back, looking around nervously. “I’m going to look for Zephyr. Be right back!” Rainbow tried to object but she flew away faster than she thought she could.

Shaking her head Rainbow knocked on the door more calmly. “Listen, Trixie, sorry if it isn’t a good time, but there’s something I need to say. Can you at least listen?”

Trixie looked at Sunset, silently asking if she should listen or not, and got a nod in response. “Trixie’s listening.”

Rainbow took a deep breath. “I’m sorry for what happened in Ponyville. You didn’t deserve that, less so from me. I didn't expect for things to get so out of hand.”

Trixie looked at Sunset once again, but she smiled this time, and muttered a silent thank you. “The Great and Powerful Trixie accepts your apology! Sunset would be proud.”

There was a short pause before Rainbow responded. “Do you know about Sunset?”

Sunset was about to go into a panic, but Trixie already had a plan. “Yes.” Sunset facehooved. “She met her in Canterlot a few weeks ago.”

The doors of the window bulged inwards as Rainbow tried to force her way inside. “What did she say? How was she? Do you have any idea of where she is?”

“Calm down you prismatic speedster! If you break Trixie’s wagon she won’t tell you anything.”

“Trixie this is serious!”

“Okay okay. Trixie talked with her.” She turned her head towards Sunset, who was making every stop sign she knew. “She explained her side of the story to Trixie, and then left southward.”

“Southward?” Rainbow questioned. “Was she returning to Ponyville?”

“She went to Sonambula.”

Rainbow was starting to suspect Trixie was lying to her. “Why would she go there?”

“Trixie told her about the legend of Eclipsed Cinder, who grew up in that town. She was also a bearer of Solar Magic.”

“She wants to control it.” Rainbow quickly reasoned. “What else can you tell me?”

Trixie looked at Sunset once more. She had calmed down and was lookin at the closed window with a sad expression. “She misses you. All of you. She wants to come back, but she needs some time to sort a few things first.”

There wasn’t an immediate response, and Trixie could swear she heard a small sob on the other side of the window. “If you see her again. Tell her that she’s not alone. We’re all trying to help her. We’re even convincing Luna to stop being an idiot and just let her come back.”

Trixie couldn’t help but smile. “I’ll tell her, but I’m sure she knows you’re all helping her in some way.”

“Thank you Trixie. And again, sorry for everything back there.”

“It’s in the past.”

Rainbow flew away to find Fluttershy and share the news, and Trixie walked up to Sunset, who hadn’t been able to hold back her tears after hearing Rainbow’s words, to give her a firm hug.
Philomena flew out of her hiding spot and joined the hug, managing to get a smile out of her friend.

“We need to leave,” Sunset announced once she managed to calm down. “We got lucky Rainbow was distracted by you, but I don’t want to risk her recognizing me.”

“We’ll leave immediately, but I have to ask, wouldn’t she be one of the ponies you could trust?” Trixie questioned.

Sunset looked at the ground, clearly conflicted by the question. “I would love to, but it’s too much of a risk. Even if she agrees to let me go and not tell the others, Luna could visit her dreams and figure it out, or Celestia could be tracking their minds.”

Trixie just nodded and exited the wagon, quickly putting on the straps and booking it to the platform.

Thorax looked around frantically, searching for a private spot where he could hide from prying eyes, but to his misfortune, pegasi didn’t have alleyways, so his only option was to go below the city. He dove under, and once he was on the other side of the cloud layer, he pulled out a small beetle-looking device and activated it.

“Come on come on come on,” he muttered frantically until the small portal-like projection showed the still disguised face of his queen.

“This better be urgent, I’m in the middle of-”

“I found Sunset Shimmer.”

All traces of annoyance left the monarch’s expression. “Explain in detail.”

“She’s traveling with Trixie Lunamoon under a magical disguise. She’s making herself look like a pegasus with a light blue coat and magenta mane wearing black clothes.”

“Has your identity been compromised?”

“Not yet.”

Chrysalis let out a low cackle. “You keep impressing me Thorax. Return to your cover and avoid unnecessary contact with Shimmer. Others will deal with her.”

“In what sense?” the changeling couldn’t help but ask.

Chrysalis grinend maliciously. “I just found a new use for her.”

“Come on Shady, you don’t need to make things more difficult,” Taurus said, looking at the merchant being pinned down against the floor by Arty.

“I already told you!” the pony shouted. “She barely said anything and left! I don’t know where she went!”

The minotaur crossed his arms. “She must have mentioned what she wanted from your shop.”

“I...” Shady gulped. “I can’t tell you. Buyer confidentiality.”

Cloven hooves smashed the wooden floor next to his head. “You know better than to keep secrets from us,” Burk warned.

“Fine! She came looking for the Alicorn Amulet.”

The three brothers looked at eachother. “And you sold it to her?!”

“¡No!” Shady shouted. “I sold it to another mare.”

Taurus picked him up from the floor. “To who?!”

“A mare with a blue coat! She mentioned something about being great and powerful!”

Taurus grinned. “Trixie.” He let go of Shady, letting him fall unceremoniously to the floor. "We have our next lead boys!"

A gentle knock on the door of her room made Twilight jump, the book she was reading falling next to her bed, and she quickly kicked it under the mattress before answering. “Come in!”

The door slowly opened, revealing the tall figure of Celestia. “Hello Twilight, do you have a few minutes?”

“Yes princess. Did anypony get news of Sunset?” Twilight asked as she turned around from her desk to face her teacher.

“Not yet, but I’m still alert to any news. I just wanted to talk with you.” The alicorn sat down on the carpet floor, hoping that her student still saw her as such and didn’t reject her.

“I… I guess we couldn’t postpone it forever,” Twilight admitted, stepping down from her chair to sit in front of Celestia.

They stood still for a few moments, as they gathered the will to talk, going over the many questions that ran around inside their heads.

Celestia talked first.

“How are you taking all this?”

“As best I can.” Twilight shook her head slowly. “There’s just… too much to do and little progress being made. Moon Dancer and I keep finding deadends in our research, but we keep trying.”

Celestia gave her student a small calming smile. “You’re both very smart ponies, I’m sure you’ll find a solution.”

Twilight sighed. “I hope so.”

Silence grew between them as the next topic of conversation was being decided between the two.

Again, Celestia spoke first.

“I wanted you to know, I treated you differently than Sunset. I knew from the moment I took you as my student that you were destined to become the Element of Magic. I guided you from afar to not commit the same mistakes I did with Sunset, tried to be as transparent as possible. But the secrets I had with Sunset bled into you, regardless of my efforts.”

“It was still a plan for your sister’s return,” Twilight said, looking at the floor. “You left us to face the Everfree on our own.”

“I knew that you would be victorious at the end, and I am proud of you all.” Celestia gently lifted Twilight's chin. “Don’t lose faith in the magic of friendship.”

Twilight pushed her hoof away. “I won’t. My friends are everything to me. And that includes Sunset.”

Celestia rubbed her hoof right where her student had touched her. “Do you believe that my intentions to make Sunset happy are sincere?”

Twilight didn’t respond right away, she remained silent for a few seconds before talking. “I can tell that you want to help Sunset. It’s your methods that worry me. And Luna...”

“I’m doing what I can to help her too, but she’s also damaged. I can tell she’s improving. She seems to be making friends that will help her heal her wounds.”

Twilight smiled for a moment. It was a small gesture, but for Celestia, it spoke volumes. “I know that she was the reason Sunset came to Ponyville with me. I’m not sure what happened between then and now, but I don’t want for us to be enemies at the end. I believe we can find a solution to everything.”

Celestia smiled brightly, her student’s words filling her with happiness.

But there was a question she needed to ask.

“Twilight… Can you still trust me? Do you still consider me your teacher?”

A very long silence invaded the room, extending every second as much as possible as the unicorn thought about her answer.

“I… I don’t think I’ve an answer to that yet.”

Celestia took a deep breath, and slowly stood up. “I hope I can prove myself worthy of your trust with time.”

She turned around and walked to the door, but stopped for a second, looking back at her student. “For what is worth, I’m really proud of you Twilight.”

The alicorn finally left the room, closing the door behind her, and Twilight let out all the air she was holding.

“I really want to trust you.” She looked at her bed and pulled out the hidden book with her magic. “I just can’t risk failing again.”

It’s title read; Canterlot Castle: a History.

The cloud platform finally arrived at groundlevel, and Trixie quickly paid for the transport and started walking away from Cloudsdale with her wagon in tow. “Where should we go now?”

“Northwest. Vanhoover should be a good place to lay low for a while,” Flanksy answered from inside the wagon, poking out of one of its windows while looking at a map.

“I know a theater we can rent for shows. We’ll have plenty of privacy and hiding spots for you.”

“Wait!” a familiar voice shouted from above, but both mares ignored it, Trixie even started to walk faster. “I said wait!”

Zephyr landed in front of the wagon and raised his hooves defensively when the magician charged her horn with magic. “I wanted to apologize!”

The two mares glared at him. “We’re listening.”

Zephyr took a few deep breaths to calm himself. “Okay, so, I’m really sorry about lying. I saw your show and thought that it would be an easy enough job to avoid going back to my parents house for a while. But I didn’t expect you two giving me a second chance. Everypony usually ditches me the first time I screw up, but you genuinely tried to teach me to do things right, and I felt horrible for lying.” Trixie’s magic vanished from her horn, and the glares lost intensity. “That’s why I was planning to sabotage myself so you wouldn’t waste your money on me, but I should’ve- ”

His speech was interrupted when a purse full of bits hit him in the face with force. “Wh-why?”

“Choke on them,” Trixie spat at him before walking around him.

“But I just said I didn’t want to take your money!”

“You think we’re mad about the money?!” Flanksy shouted, flying out of the wagon and getting right in his face. “I couldn’t give a Celestia-flying-fuck about the money. You lied to us. You always had a home and a family to go back to!”

“You’re mad about that?” Zephyr questioned, feeling blood between his teeth.

“Do you have any idea how it feels?!” Sunset’s and Dawn’s and even Nightmare’s anger was visible. “I can’t go back home. I can’t see my family or my friends. Trixie barely had a home or a family to begin with. You coming to us pretending to have gone through the same to get our sympathy is beyond insulting!”

Zephyr didn’t say anything, he was paralized by her glare piercing his soul, threatening to burn him from the inside out.

“If you’re truly sorry about it, then never, ever, try to assume the role of someone who has suffered what you haven’t.”

With that, Flanksy went back to the wagon, and Trixie continued walking to the northeast, leaving Zephyr behind, still staring into nothing, feeling the image of those black eyes glaring down at him being burned into his mind.

Luna felt weirdly wrong sitting on her sister’s throne. Her scar burned pleasantly, telling her that she should enjoy it as a victory, but she didn’t find any joy in it. Maybe it was because Celestia was sitting right beside her, not even on a throne, and yet ponies looked at her for advice. But her sister always redirected them to her, and despite feeling uncomfortable taking her sister’s place, hearing the ponies’ plights and helping them felt good, especially when one of them left with a smile or a thank you.

“Next,” she commanded, and to her surprise, Phalanx approached her with someone hiding behind him. “Phalanx, do you bring a message from Shining Armor?”

“I bring a messenger,” the guard answered, moving aside to reveal a changeling smiling awkwardly.

“Kevin!” Celestia exclaimed before Luna could question him. “Haven’t seen you in a while. Do you bring a message from Chrysalis?”

The changeling nodded but looked fearfully at Luna.

“Do not worry, we’re aware of your position.” the princess of the night assured her. “Please, speak freely with us.”

Kevin cleared his throat, standing firm to relay his message. “Queen Chrysalis wishes an audience with princess Celestia for a possible alliance against a common enemy.”

“Against who?” Ceelstia questioned with a frown, fearing that the queen had set her eyes on Sunset.

“King Sombra has returned from his exile.”

The throne room filled with fearful whispers, as the two princesses took in the new threat.

“What do you know about him? Do you have his position?” Luna questioned.

“I wasn’t told anything,” he declared. “Celestia will need to meet the queen on the border to the changeling lands to discuss such matters.”

“What does she want in exchange?” Celestia asked.

“I wasn’t told anything,” he repeated. “You can choose the day of the meeting, but the queen recommends you do it quickly.”

Celestia stood up. “I’ll go right now.”

Luna leaned over to her sister. “Do you think this is a good idea? The kingdom is in a poor state right now. The last thing we all need is for you to get captured or worse.”

“I’ve dealt with Chrysalis many times before. I know her tricks.”

“Clearly not since she’s still a threat.”

“She won’t get the better of me. And if she did, Equestria will give you full support to rescue or avenge me.” Celestia was suddenly pulled against her sister, who whispered in her ear.

“Don’t go martyr yourself out there.” Luna’s wound was burning intensely, but she ignored it. “I don’t want to see you in a casket.”

Celestia looked her sister in the eyes, and spoke with a reassuring voice Luan hadn’t heard in more than a millenia. “I won’t leave you alone again. I’ll return.” She then turned her attention to the changeling. “Tell your queen I’m on my way.”

“I’ll go too!”

Everyone turned their heads, and they saw Cadence approaching the two monarchs.

Luna frowned. “You’re still too inexperienced to deal with this kind of diplomacy.”

“If I’m to be the new ruler of the Crystal Empire, then Sombra is a threat I can't just hide from,” she declared before looking at Celestia. “You can do the talking and I’ll listen and learn, but I need to be there.”

Celestia saw the determination in her niece’s eyes and couldn’t help but smile with pride. “Very well. We shall part as soon as possible.”

“I’ll go relay your response to the queen then,” Kevin declared before Phalanx escorted him out of the room.

“What do you think she’s planning?” Cadence asked Celestia when the changeling was out of view.

“Whatever it is, it’s not an alliance with us.”

Zephyr has left the party.

He won't be missed.

[Achievement Unlocked: The Floating City] (Complete the Cloudsdale Arc)