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)