Over the next two hours, Luna continued to iterate all possible side effects and consequences of the spell as "Sunshine" packed her bags.

"Now, Celestia-" she was saying.

"Call her Sunshine," broke in Twilight. "She has to get used to the name."

"Alright. Sunshine, as you can probably tell, you've lost just about all of your alicorn power to Twilight. However, the spell does leave you with a small reserve of your more powerful magic, in case of emergency."

Celestia nodded and buckled up her suitcase. It had been extremely difficult to pack; Luna had refused to cast an extension spell, in order to keep the bag "normal". This had forced Celestia to pare down her belongings, an extremely painful experience. Ninety percent of the space was occupied with rare first editions from which she could not be parted from at any cost. A saddle and set of boots were thrown in almost as an afterthought.

"Finished!" called Twilight from the desk. Celestia trotted over to take a look. Annoyingly, her desk was now too high for her; she had to stretch just to see the letter.

Dear Friends,

As you might have heard, Princess Celestia is ill. She has asked that I stay with her to help out. I'm sorry this on such short notice, but it can't be helped. I can't exactly predict when I'll be back, but I shouldn't be gone for a month at most.

On a related note, my friend Sunshine will be coming to spend some time in Ponyville. She's a unicorn who I knew from my Canterlot days. I offered to let her stay at the library, seeing as I won't be there. I hope you'll all be just as welcoming to her as you were to me when I first came to Ponyville. Sunshine's never been out of Canterlot before, so you can show her all there is to see in Ponyville. She'll be arriving on the train tomorrow.

I hope to see you all again as soon as possible!

Love, Twilight.

"Looks good," said Celestia. "Wait- I'm staying at the library?"

"If you want," said Twilight sheepishly. "I thought you'd like it."

"No, no, it's fine," said Celestia quickly, secretly beaming with joy. "And . . . that part about me never having left Canterlot?"

"Well, Celestia the princess might have travelled," called Luna, "but Sunshine has never even left the Royal Palace."

Celestia shrugged. "Shall you send it, then?"

"Um- of course," said Twilight. She looked at the paper and screwed up her eyes in concentration. It suddenly occurred to Celestia that Twilight had never seen her send a letter from this end. After a few seconds, the letter furled up and burst into green flame that disappeared out the window.

Twilight opened one eye. "Was that it? Did I do it?"

"I think so," said Celestia in surprise.

"Come on, Cel- Sunshine!" said Luna. "The next train to Ponyville leaves in twenty minutes. you've got to get moving!"

"Alright, alright," grumbled Celestia. "If I didn't know any better I'd think you were trying to get rid of me."

They ducked into yet another secret passage (it wouldn't do to see an unfamiliar pony leaving Celestia's quarters) which led to the gatehouse. For the first time, Celestia's new size came in handy: she didn't have to stoop down the way Luna and Twilight did. It seemed to odd that her journey to the real, normal world was taking her through an old, musty tunnel that only two immortal goddesses knew about.

After making sure the coast was clear, Celestia opened the door and stepped outside with her bag. Luna and Twilight stayed behind.

"Don't destroy Equestria while I'm gone, please," said Celestia. There was an uncomfortable pause.

"Uh . . . Have fun in Ponyville!" said Twilight.

Luna and Celestia looked at each other. "I'll miss you, sister," whispered Luna.

"I'll miss you too," replied Celestia. "But I won't be gone too long."

"I'll be sure to write," said Luna. "Just try and have some fun."

And with that, the door closed and Celestia was on her own.

It waited. It was used to waiting.

Ponies were fools. So impatient and busy. They didn't realize the value of waiting. To a pony, waiting almost two years to make a move would be unthinkable. Mortals just had no sense of perspective.

It had spread itself thin, watching and waiting. Planning. It would not be caught blindsided this time around. It needed to know anything and everything about Equestria, so that it could not fail.

It was going to succeed this time. It knew what it had to do, and how to do it. This way might be a bit more difficult, but once it was in, it would be nigh-unstoppable.

It would begin its plan tommorrow. Start small, and work its way up. It would just have to be discrete. Very discrete.

Of course, there were no ponies that could recognize it. None save one, that is. It would just have to avoid her. Not impossible, but not very easy either.

Then, it sensed something. A major event was occurring in Canterlot. It gravitated its mind towards the sparkling mountainside city. This was something important.

And yet- no ponies running in the streets. No shouts or loud noises of any kind. Nopony seemed to sense anything. Not at all like that amateur from a few months back.

It followed its senses towards an alley near the palace. Nothing there but a single unicorn. Strange, but it was never wrong when it sensed something.

That mind- it was familiar. And far older than it looked. It hissed at her unconciously. An old enemy. But what was she doing in this form?

It briefly scanned the castle. There were two others, the others it loathed more than anything. And it sensed raw power coming off the unicorn. No, not a unicorn anymore.

Then the entire absurd story flashed through its mind. Surely she hadn't done such a stupid thing? To trade away all her power? And give it to that- mewling newfoal? It simmered with anger. If she lacked her power, then its plan could not be carried out anymore. Unless-

A new idea occurred to it. The plan could be salvaged. Improved, even. And quite easily, too.

If it had had a body, it would have smiled. Next Chapter: Midday Flyer Estimated time remaining: 13 Minutes