It was just past evening in the land of Equestria, and Hammer and Anvil, personal guards of Princess Luna, were more than a little troubled. They were trotting down the hallway alongside her Royal Highness, towards Princess Celestia’s throne room.

“Ah, your Highness, are you certain this is wise?” Anvil asked. Luna didn’t seem quite like herself as of late – she’d been sleeping poorly, that much was obvious, and in no small part due to the incredible eighteen hours that she would spend researching and practicing in the Royal Library’s arcane arts wing – each day, every day, for the last fortnight. The princess’ face was a little gaunt, but her eyes still retained their intense spark of determination, along with a new, burning fierceness that he had not noticed before. He wondered how she was still able to keep going like that – he’d been up keeping watch with Hammer for as long as she had worked, and he was quite sure that he looked nowhere near as alert as she. He glanced at his fellow guard, but could see no apparent weariness. Well… that did not count. Hammer thrived on duty – he’d probably eat it if he could.

“Anvil, of all my subjects, you and Hammer are the only ones I would truly consider my friends,” Luna replied. She stopped and turned to them with a beseeching expression that one might have considered unseemly for royalty. “Please, support me in this. You’ve seen the spell – you know it works. This time, perhaps my sister would be more willing to consent.”

Her request was met with silence. Anvil was uncertain of what to say – the last time Princess Luna had had a discussion of this nature with Princess Celestia, the request for a temporary, Equestria-wide reversal of daily and nightly activities had escalated into a heated debate about interrupted agriculture, shortly before degrading into a verbal spar that he’d been able to hear even through the thick oaken doors to the throne room. Princess Luna had left distraught and in tears, followed by an equally upset Princess Celestia. The blue alicorn had consequently applied herself to her tax figures and legislations to the exclusion of all else, and Celestia’s apprentice had to spend a whole day of coaxing and comforting to convince Luna to leave her chambers and socialise once more. That is, until she started working her new research project. Whilst he could understand her desire for a little appreciation for the Night Sky, her efforts were beginning to border on obsession, if it was not already. According to the palace servants, Princess Luna was sporting a rather short temper in the past few days, snapping at anypony who attempted to interfere with her business or draw her away to engage in what she called ‘frivolous activities’.

“Well… perhaps,” he tentatively answered. “Begging your pardon, but can it not wait for a few days? You have not been resting well, and the spell appears to be really taxing – especially if you mean to cast it all over Equestria.”

Anger flashed on Luna’s face for a moment, and Anvil flinched inwardly. But the fierceness was soon gone, to be replaced by conviction. “I have waited long enough for this; my mind is made up. I am merely going to present this compromise to my sister, so you may rest easy in that I’m not going to exert myself until I’m ready.”

“Yes, your Highness,” Anvil replied.

Luna sighed. “Please, not in that tone. Subjects are aplenty, but I have few enough friends in this place.” She dipped her head slightly in apology (which would have been scandalous enough for nobility) and said, “I’m sorry. The past few – wait, how long has it been?”

“Two weeks,” Hammer supplied.

Luna kneaded her forehead with a hoof. “The past two weeks have been most harrowing. I’m aware that I haven’t been myself. All I ask is that you bear with me until this audience is over. When Celestia grants her approval, I promise I will get proper rest. Nevertheless, I thank you for your honesty.” She then looked at Hammer. “And what about you – what are your thoughts on this matter?”

“My opinion is of no consequence,” the guard Pegasus said blandly.

“It is to me,” she replied. “And I want more than your opinion; I want advice, if you have any.”

Hammer seemed taken aback. “I’m just a guard; it would be unseemly for you to seek counsel from me.”

Luna rolled her eyes. “Very well, be that way,” she huffed, raising a hoof and placing it on Hammer’s shoulder, saying, “I hereby dub thee my royal court jester. Now give me your opinion, your princess commands it!”

Anvil could see Hammer’s mouth curving into a tiny smile, and instantly realised what he had been up to. He pouted. “Oh, but I wanted to be your court jester. I would make a far more entertaining one than my stone-faced friend here, what with my stunning personality and refined sense of humour. And I certainly have no qualms about giving my opinion, unsolicited or otherwise.”

“That’s exactly why she does not want you as her court jester,” Hammer deadpanned. “All those years by your side, and I still find you about as amusing as mould growing on a cake; you would bore the entire court to tears.”

He put a hoof to his armoured chest. “Oh, you wound me. I’m not that bad, am I?”

“I shed a tear for every worthy jest you make.”

Anvil frowned. “What – wait, you never cry.”

“Exactly.” Hammer somehow managed to look smug and indifferent at the same time.

Luna giggled, and Anvil gave her a little smile. She returned it and added, “Thank you, I needed that.”

Before he could shut him up, Hammer said, “Tis our duty.”

The princess narrowed her eyes. “And you just spoilt the moment,” she chided.

“Allow me, your majesty,” Anvil piped up. He slapped the back of his companion’s helmet with a wing. It was more of a token gesture than anything; he might as well have hit a pillar for all the effect it had. Hammer did not even blink. Instead, he turned his head and simply looked at him nonchalantly, as if he was contemplating a rather fascinating patch of rust on his helmet. Anvil stared back and gave him his best insolent grin.

“Very well, that’s enough, children,” Luna said in mock exasperation, and then succumbed to another fit of giggling. “Stars above, what would I do without the two of you?”

Anvil put a hoof to his chin. “Celebrate, I think. We’re probably the reason the court loves to gossip so much about your, ah, non-familial relationships. Look at us – you keep a living statue and a… well… me as your everyday companions.”

The moon princess waved his words aside with an imperious hoof. “Oh, I do not doubt that.” Her mouth then stretched into a grin. “But you are my personal guards, and I would still prefer your company to the endless, thinly veiled petitions for royal favours that the dear nobles are so keen to bless me with.” She resumed trotting. “Come now, my sister awaits my presence.”

That’s more like the princess I know, Anvil thought.

“One more thing,” Luna added, “There will be no need for you to wait outside this time – I wish to have you by my side when I speak to Celestia.”

As they entered the throne room, Anvil nodded at his fellow guards stationed by the side of the great doors. Even though they all wore enchanted armour that changed their coat to a pure white and their hair to various shades of sky blue, anypony spending time around them for long enough would eventually begin to recognise a few faces. They returned his greeting in kind. Within the throne room itself, stood Princess Celestia and her apprentice, Summer Cloud. Anvil discreetly waved at the grey-coated unicorn with his wing, but she merely rolled her amber eyes. Ouch.

With little preamble, Luna dove right into the matter at hoof, explaining what it was that she intended to do, and asking if she could do it with her sister’s blessing. Her sister listened intently, calling for a pause every now and then only to ask her a question or two. At some point, the moon princess demonstrated her latest spell with the assistance of Summer Cloud – by conjuring up a little potted plant and turning the colour of its green leaves into a deep, greenish blue. By the end of it, Luna was sweating slightly from her magical exertion, and Summer Cloud appeared a little worn.

“There, did I not tell you it was possible?” Luna asked, her features still rapt with enthusiasm.

Princess Celestia was silent and looking at nopony in particular – apparently deep in thought. That was not a good sign. Anvil could see that Luna’s enthusiasm was already beginning to wilt. Eventually, the white alicorn gently shook her head, saying, “I’m sorry, sister. But I cannot give you my blessing for this – not today, at any rate.”

Luna closed her eyes and hung her head. “You were right,” she whispered. As she did so, Anvil thought he heard the sound of laughter echoing through the palace walls – a rich, dark laughter that rang with amusement and triumph – but when he tried to focus on it, it seemed to fade from his senses. Suddenly, he wasn’t even sure if he had actually heard it at all. But a quick glance at the others told him that they’d heard something, too. Summer Cloud and Hammer were looking about in confusion, and Princess Celestia looked as if she’d just seen a ghost – or heard one. Luna was the only one who didn’t seem to have noticed. She raised her head, and when she opened her eyes, her face was contorted with anger and frustration, and her fierce eyes were turned towards at the regal white alicorn.

“Tia… why? Why are you doing this to me?” Luna cried. “All I want is a little appreciation for my Night, is that so much to ask? Just to prolong the night for a few days, to show the ponies what they often take for granted…”

Princess Celestia shifted uncomfortably, but continued to cast quick glances about the throne room, as if half of her thoughts were focused on something else. Even her voice sounded distracted. “Sister, that’s not the reason I must ask you to reconsider. The spell – ”

“The spell works,” Luna snapped. “I can make the trees live on moonlight; neither the land nor our farms nor our subjects would suffer, so why do you still object? Does that not address the issue of our last debate?”

Celestia seemed almost hesitant. “I know it works, Luna. But to cast it all across Equestria – the complexity coupled with the magical drain… it could be dangerous.”

Luna was dumbstruck for a moment, but quickly recovered. Her voice took on a new tone, a low and dangerous one. “So, now your main objection is that I’m too weak to perform this spell? Must you always be suffocating me with your protection? Am I to lie in your shadow like a good little pony for all time?”

“Luna, even if we both – ” the white alicorn began, but was quickly cut off when the moon princess’ eyes flashed brightly and continued to glow with a fiery blue light.

“Don’t you ‘Luna’ me, sister,” the blue alicorn growled, with tears streaming down her cheeks. “You staved off my request on the grounds of morality. When that was no longer an issue, you brought up livelihood of our subjects. And when that was in turn dealt with, what did you do? You coddled me – as if I was a filly playing with magic for the first time in her life!”

That seemed to get the sun princess’ full attention, and when she had taken in her sister’s words, she became distraught. “Sister, I had not realised how much resentment you’ve harboured over this matter. Please understand, I’ve always done what I thought was best for you – I never meant to belittle your abilities.”

“Love is a convenient shield for you, is it not? Discord said as much.”

The Immortal Trickster? Anvil thought. What does that marble statue have to do with all of this?

Celestia’s eyes went wide. “Discord? When did – ”

“When he tested us both. Do you not remember? When he whispered in my ear that you were an overbearing sibling, intent on protecting me from the world in spite of myself, to never let me rise up as an equal, I found it easy enough to dismiss it as nothing but a desperate lie.” Luna sniffed and shook her head. “But over the centuries, I began to see the pattern. You were always taking on the greater share of our royal duties, delegating the less dangerous tasks to me. All for my own good, it would seem. This refusal of yours is just another grain of sand on the beach of white lies you’ve made for me.”

“Discord… he – oh no,” Celestia whispered. “He’s tainted you. Fight it. Search your heart, Luna. You know that his words are false. I know that you are stronger than him!”

“Tainted me?” When Luna chuckled, Anvil’s hair stood on end – that didn’t happen very often. “He touched me; that much I will admit. But he merely hastened the inevitable. If I didn’t realise it now, I would have realised it sometime in the next thousand years.” Blue sparks and wisps of black smoke began to creep over her body.

Princess Celestia recoiled, and a fearful look crept onto her face. “Sister,” she pleaded, “Don’t do this. Don’t let him take you!”

“More don’ts… always more don’ts,” Luna spat. “And, no, Discord is not ‘taking’ me. This is my choice.”

Anvil watched with morbid fascination as her mentor trembled and shook. First, her entire body changed, growing in size until she was as tall as her elder sister. He could hear her bones cracking and grinding as she grew, and the agony on her face revealed just how much it must have hurt. Her mane and tail ignited and were quickly consumed in blue flames – only to reappear, purple and translucent and aglow with stars like a night sky. A blackness began to spread over her coat, snaking over her form like ink spilled in water, until she was entirely jet black save for her cutie mark. Silvery-blue armour plates materialised on her head, chest and hooves. And at the end of it, Luna hung her head low with eyes shut tight, drew a deep breath, and let loose a blood curdling howl of anguish and frustration. When she opened her eyes, they had slit pupils – the sort that might have belonged to a dragon.

As the echoes of the dark alicorn’s howl slowly faded, the great doors to the throne room burst open, and Anvil turned and saw a dozen fellow guards rushing in. Their jaws dropped when they saw what was before them.

Celestia and her apprentice were dumbstruck as well, and tears were forming in the alicorn’s eyes.

Oh, horse apples, this can’t end well. “Ah, Princess Luna?” Anvil asked.

“I’m here, worry not.” the dark alicorn murmured. She sounded older – and more authoritative.

“Miss Cloud, run,” Princess Celestia said. “You two, get her to safety.”

Anvil tried to obey, but his legs refused to move. Summer Cloud also seemed rooted in place. And when the dark alicorn fixed an appraising gaze on him, he found it difficult to think coherently.

“Would you abandon me too?” Luna asked softly. “Does our friendship mean so little to you?”

“I – but… I…” he could think of nothing to say. Princess Luna was his friend, even if she was also royalty, but was this new alicorn the same? Those eyes… they were so different – they were cold and stern and unforgiving. But… was that a hint of uncertainty in there as well? He had often seen that troubled look in her eyes. But she blinked, and it was gone. He turned to Hammer for help, but for once, bewilderment was plainly written across his companion’s face, and he seemed to be preoccupied with thoughts of his own.

Luna’s dark face hardened. “I ask again, whom do you serve?”

Hammer shook his head, apparently in an attempt to clear his mind, and said in his usual calm voice, “My duty is to the Princess of the Night.”

With that said, Anvil could feel all of their eyes turning on him. Well, you always did like being the centre of attention. But that didn’t make him feel any better, and it certainly didn’t make it any easier. Being a royal guard always meant being loyal to the princesses, but it had never occurred to him that he would one day have to choose between them. Either way, he was going to be a traitor. The only question was whose sense of betrayal he would be more able to bear. He took in a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. “I serve you, Princess Luna.”

The dark alicorn cracked a smile. “Well, there you have it, dear sister. It is said that we were meant to rule together – does that still hold true for you? Or must I – how shall I put it? – take my share of regency by force?”

Princess Celestia frowned. “Luna, whatever it is you wish to do, let us settle it between ourselves. Do not bring any of our subjects into our quarrel.”

“You are in no position to set terms,” Luna snapped. “It is all or nothing, sister. Equestria will be mine to rule, and the only question is whether you would choose to surrender it peacefully.” She snorted, and a jet of blue smoke erupted from her nostrils. “However, I warn you – do not tempt me. I am not in a charitable mood, and the prospect of an Eternal Night grows more attractive with each passing minute.”

“No. I will not let that happen, even if I must arrest my own sister to prevent it,” Celestia intoned. She nodded towards the rest of the guards, and they quickly formed a circle around them. Anvil recognised a few faces, and some of them actually looked troubled that they might have to fight friends, but for the most part they made it plain that they had every intention of obeying the white alicorn.

Luna looked swept her gaze to each of the surrounding guards and chuckled. “Oh please, by the time my personal guards are done with your poor foals, they’ll be crying for mercy. These two are more than a match for your paltry dozen.”

We are? Anvil was grateful for the vote of confidence, but he was quite certain that Luna was overestimating their abilities – by several miles.

Celestia raised an eyebrow. “I do not doubt the prowess of your friends, but do not delude yourself – they cannot defeat this many. Leave them out of this, sister. Nopony has to get hurt in our quarrel.”

“Killjoy,” Luna quipped. “But in all seriousness, I’m under no delusion. Once I have levelled the playing field…”

Anvil heard a crack of thunder, right before he felt something really hot strike his back. He gasped just as Hammer grunted in surprise. The heat spread into his spine and lanced through his bones, and a second later, he felt pain. “Yearrghh!” he cried. It was as if there was lightning flowing through his veins and fire spreading over his skin, and he could hear the crick-crack of shifting bones as the sensation spread throughout his body. He felt restless and full of energy and ready to buck something to pieces. It only lasted a moment, though. When the sensations faded, Anvil realised that he was crouching and breathing heavily. He began to rise, and then he noticed that his coat was no longer enchanted to look the pure white of the royal guard. It had become an ashen grey. Hammer was staring at him, and he too was similarly altered. His eyes were yellow, with slit pupils similar to the dark alicorn’s. Their armour had also been changed to various hues of silvery purple and midnight blue, and their tails matched the latter. But the biggest change was in their wings – they were now dragon-like, having thick membranes stretched between wing-fingers and scales in place of feathers. Anvil flapped them experimentally – yes, they were definitely real.

“Like them?” Luna chuckled. “I made them myself.” She then shot a smug grin at Celestia. “Still feel confident about the odds, sister?”

Some of the royal guards had looks of horror or disgust on their faces, and a few had even started to back away, but the white alicorn remained unmoved. If anything, Anvil thought she seemed angered at what Luna had done to them.

“You leave me no choice.” Princess Celestia stomped a hoof on the floor, and the resulting boom was far louder than any sound somepony her size should have been able to make. It was as if a giant gavel had slammed onto an equally gigantic desk. Everypony flinched, except for Luna and Hammer. “Guards of Everfree, evacuate the palace – protect the civilians!” she thundered, before vanishing in a flash of light.

“So, an Eternal Night it shall be.” Luna smiled at Anvil and Hammer and gestured graciously towards the dozen or so royal guards surrounding them, “Enjoy yourselves, and meet me in the Tower of Harmony once you’re finished with these foals.” She, too, vanished using a teleportation spell, but not before sparing a disdainful glance towards the white guards.

When she was gone, everypony was still for a moment. Anvil stared at his former allies, and they stared back, unsure of what to do. Then, one of the pegasi whom he recognised as Hazel Hock stepped forward and said, “Hammer, Anvil – I don’t know what in all of Equestria that creature has done to you, but if that really is you, we can try to have you restored once we’ve dealt with the threat at hoof – provided that you come quietly.”

Anvil and Hammer exchanged looks. “No,” they replied in unison.

Hazel looked as if they’d just said that the moon was green.

“That ‘creature’ has a name,” Anvil elaborated, “Her name is Luna.”

“They’re being controlled…” somepony murmured.

“Now, wait a mome – ” Anvil began, but was abruptly cut off when Hazel roared, “Charge!” He barely had time to even blink before the guard had reared up, surged forward and rammed his head into his chest. There was enough force behind that blow to send him crashing into a wall – but it was not enough to incapacitate him, even though he was sure that there was a dent in the stonework that would match his form perfectly. It still hurt, but not quite as much as it should have. He rose back onto his hooves, and realised that Hazel had been the only one to attack. The rest were staring at him, dumbstruck. Luna really does not foal around with her magic. Hazel hits really hard – I should be crying by now.

“Ah, are you quite certain we cannot negotiate the matter?” Anvil smiled awkwardly.

“Of course we can,” Hammer stated. He then proceeded to ram Hazel in the same manner. The guard crashed and made his own imprint on a wall, but did not rise.

As if by magic, all doubt disappeared from the faces of the royal guards. The world became a blur as Anvil was swarmed by half a dozen armoured pegasi, receiving bucks from every direction. There was no more room for thought – Anvil lashed out with his wings and bucked at them whenever they came into striking distance. The first three he struck were knocked senseless, and the remainders were quick to switch to more evasive combat. He took to the air after them – but they had him flanked, and would swoop in to land a blow only when he was distracted with somepony else. In spite of all their efforts, their blows did little more than give him bruises, and they were rapidly losing heart. Mistakes were made, and he made them pay dearly for each one.

Eventually, he had only one opponent left. To his credit, the guard did not flee, but instead tried to collide with him in mid-air – presumably in a desperate attempt to slam him into the pillar behind his back. Anvil easily dodged his attack and slapped him with a wing – hard. The guard promptly slammed onto the floor and skidded several feet before coming to a halt at the doors to the throne room.

Anvil hovered to the floor and examined their hoofwork. Pegasus guards lay bruised and battered all over the place, in varying states of shock and consciousness. Some were moaning. Hammer was sporting a black eye and panting softly, but otherwise looked more or less unharmed. There were feathers everywhere. He turned to his friend and snapped, “Ah, horse apples, we might have avoided this – where in Equestria did you learn to ‘negotiate’ like that?”

Hammer shrugged and dusted himself off. “Time is short, and you would have talked them half to death before anything could be settled.”

Before Anvil could think of an apt response, a shaking voice cried, “What have you done?” It belonged to Summer Cloud.

“What was expected of us,” Hammer answered blandly.

A dull thud and a crack of thunder shook the palace. The princesses were fighting somewhere upstairs, and Anvil was certain he knew where. He trotted up to the unicorn and said, “Summer, listen – just leave this place. It’s not safe now.”

“Of course it’s not safe; nopony is safe from you two! You’ve hurt these ponies – they were your friends!”

“Leave her – we’re wasting time,” his companion reminded him.

Anvil rubbed his forehead – he had the beginnings of a most exquisite headache. “See, here – I’m confused as well, I don’t know what to think right now. But I do know that you shouldn’t be here. It sounds like the princesses are bringing the sky down around our ears.” As if on cue, a dull explosion sent tremors through the palace.

Summer Cloud frowned. “And what will you do? Are you going to help her?”

“I don’t know… I’ve betrayed one princess already – I don’t think I can betray another. We have to help Luna.”

Summer shook her head. “No, you won’t.” So saying, she leaned forward and touched her glowing horn to his head. The greenish aura around her horn intensified, and for a moment Anvil felt as if something was probing around inside his skull. And then things became truly confusing. He began to see colours and rapid flashes of light that had nothing to do with the illumination within the palace. He scrunched his eyes tight in an attempt to shut out the disorienting display, but quickly realised that he could still ‘see’ them. Or hear them, whatever. Another dull boom reverberated through the palace, and it was accompanied by a blindingly intense burst of colourful ‘light’ inside his head. He collapsed to the floor and covered his ears – it did no good, his stomach was starting to churn.

Anvil heard his friend say, “What the…” just before he heard Summer cast another spell. Hammer grunted in surprise and toppled to the floor almost as quickly as he had.

“Ooh, sweet Celestia,” Anvil moaned. He opened his eyes and instantly regretted it when his stomach tried to empty itself. Stupid light, why won’t it stop – all those horridly colourful flashes and streaks and glares… Somewhere nearby, there came the gurgling sound of somepony decorating the floor with his past meal.

“Thank you, cutie mark,” Summer Cloud quipped, before galloping away. As the sound of her hooves receded, so did the lightshow inside his skull. Little by little, his stomach stopped churning and his sense of balance recovered.

“Defeated six guards each – but beaten by a filly…” Hammer half-groaned-half-muttered as he wiped his mouth and got back onto his hooves.

“Say no more – we’ll never hear the end of it.”

They made their way through the palace hallways to the Tower of Harmony, gradually progressing from trotting to galloping to flying as they recovered from their nauseating experience. They passed several confused nobles and servants on the way, but aside from the few mares who screamed at their appearance, nopony attempted to hinder them. Every now and then a tremor would reverberate through the stone and marble of the palace, and they grew in strength as they approached the base of the tower. As they surged up the stairwell at full flight, Anvil noticed fractures and scorch marks marring the stonework. The princesses were apparently holding nothing in reserve. When they burst into the solar of the massive tower, they found a dumbstruck Summer Cloud sitting on her haunches in shock, staring at the warring alicorns in the centre of the room. The solar was ruined – the walls and floor were cracked and scorched, and some sections had collapsed altogether, revealing the night sky without. A gust of wind blew in, sweeping up torn book pages and cinders. Even with the wind, the heat in that place was intense – Anvil was already starting to sweat, and he was hesitant to go any closer to the princesses – especially with Celestia’s mane ablaze like that.

As they watched, a bolt of lightning arced from Luna’s horn to strike Celestia. But the sun princess deflected it with a plume of fire from her mane, sending it streaking towards a bookshelf which promptly exploded into splinters and ash. From the look on her face, Anvil could tell that the princess was weary - her shoulders slumped, her legs shook, her chest heaved, and her crown was askew.

“Getting tired, sister?” Luna chuckled. “Here, have some more.” Another white-hot bolt arced from her horn. Celestia grimaced, but managed to deflect it again. This time the bolt struck the star-scaped, domed ceiling and sent bits of painted stone and sparkling gem fragments crumbling to the floor. Both alicorns ignored it. They’re ignoring us, too, Anvil realised.

“Don’t… make… me…,” Celestia panted. “I… I don’t want to hurt you, Luna.”

Luna raised an eyebrow in disbelief. “What? Surely you jest. You do know the definition of losing, right? I’ll give you a hint – it is what you are experiencing right now.” She smiled wickedly.

The white alicorn suddenly drew herself up, and for a moment it seemed that all of her weariness had melted away. She glowed almost as bright as the sun, and Anvil had to shield his eyes and squint to see what was happening. Even Princess Luna seemed stunned by the change – worry creased her brow.

“I had hoped not to resort to this,” Celestia thundered, her voice rippling with energy, “but if the Elements of Harmony are what it takes to stop you, then so be it.” Her horn blazed with a fiery light, and six brightly coloured gemstones of various shapes broke loose from the sculpted ceiling and began to circle around her. They glowed with the energy that the Sun Princess was suffusing into them, and then… they simply fell to the floor and shattered into a thousand glittering pieces. The sun princess’ jaw dropped, and all her weariness seemed to return at once. Her radiance faded and her fiery mane snuffed out and reverted to its usual form as she slumped to the floor in shock. “What… what did you do with them?” she gasped.

Luna put a hoof over her mouth in mock surprise. “Oh dear, it seems that I’ve been a very naughty pony,” she snickered.

“You…”

“I did. Where you’ll never find them.”

“But how – ”

“It pays to plan ahead.”

Plan ahead? Anvil thought, That’s not a good sign…

But his train of thought was interrupted when Luna fearlessly strode towards the sun princess, until they were face to face. She smirked, and added, “As much as I would like to continue humiliating you in battle, I do so despise having to damage my palace in the process. So, I ask – do you yield?” She assumed a more regal pose and began to trot in a slow, triumphant manner around her weakened opponent. “You’ll get to retain what little dignity you have left, and I get to save on the costs of repairing what we break.” She glanced about the ruined solar and tapped a hoof on the floor. “This thing isn’t cheap, you know.”

There was no answer. The white alicorn didn’t even look at her sister.

“Allow me to sweeten the bitter meal. If you yield, I’ll promise not to banish you from Equestria. Oh, and I’ll even leave your silly statue intact.”

More silence.

“Fine,” Luna huffed. “I won’t harm any of your subjects, either. Not even that pathetic numbskull of a princeling who had the audacity to slap my rump last year. You have my word.”

Celestia hung her head. “Yes, I yield,” she whispered with downcast eyes.

The dark alicorn shook her head. “Goodness, even in defeat, you can be such a haggler. Maybe you should be the one managing all the taxes.” Her mane stretched out like a fluid curtain and enveloped her sister, glowing a little as it flowed over her body. There was a gust of wind in the tower, and her mane rippled with it before reverting to its normal length. Celestia was gone.

Summer Cloud gasped, and it was then that the black alicorn turned her attention to them.

“Well, Summer Cloud, my dear sister’s apprentice – have you nothing to say?” Luna snapped. She was wearing a thin scowl, the sort that could curdle milk.

Anvil put a steadying hoof on Summer’s shoulder, for it seemed like she was ready to faint, but she only recoiled from his touch and fled down the stairs, taking the steps two or even three at a time. He called after her, but he knew it was pointless. The way she saw it, she was only fleeing from monsters. Three monsters in the shape of ponies who had once been pleasant acquaintances, if not friends.

“It is settled – she has chosen treason,” Luna stated. She then trotted over to Hammer and Anvil, smiling graciously. “Well done. I knew I had chosen wisely when I first selected you as my personal guards.”

Since it spared his strained mind from thinking for the moment, Anvil gave in to formality and knelt before her, as did Hammer. “Long live the Princess,” they chimed.

The dark alicorn gestured upwards with a hoof. “Rise, my friends. Tonight you have proven yourselves, and you have earned my trust. Come, there is much to do – we must secure my hold on the kingdom tonight, beginning with this palace. Those who would not submit to me must be dealt with.” She then spread her wings and launched herself into the air, exiting the Tower of Harmony through one of the collapsed sections of the wall. Hammer and Anvil followed suit, and as they soared over the palace grounds, Luna pulled up close and added, “Oh, and from this night forward, you may call me Nightmare Moon.”