Princess Luna was once again struggling under the weight of the zombie-like ponies that surrounded her, holding her wings and hooves down and forcing her to stay where she was. Her endeavor yielded no results, however, as the ponies didn’t budge. Luna could feel the magical block that Azzini had placed on her slowly wearing away, and knew that it would be gone soon, and she would be free. It was useless to struggle until then, but the princess’s concern for Twilight Sparkle overrode her logical thought processes. If Azzini was going after the lavender unicorn, then she was in terrible danger.

        Luna decided to try and access her magic once more. She could feel it, just out of her grasp. She could see the magic in her mind’s eye, like it was a beach, just below the tide. Her magic was the beach, stretching infinitely in all directions, but it was just below the tide of the magical block. As the tide rolled out, she could feel her magical power creeping closer and closer to her grasp, frustratingly close, but still inaccessible.

        Come on, she thought, her face contorting with concentration, come on! So close…so close…there!

        Her horn ignited. She felt the magic coursing through her, pulsing, changing, living. She never thought she could miss being able to use her magic so much. It was a part of her, a part she never hoped to lose again, no matter how temporary it was. She felt so helpless without it, so powerless against Azzini, just like when she and Celestia were fillies. Luna repressed her childhood memories for the time being, pushing them to the back of her mind. Her primary concern now was for Twilight Sparkle.

        Luna’s horn was enveloped in an indigo aura, which in turn engulfed the ponies who bound her. With a little effort, she lifted the ponies off of her, some of them clinging uncomfortably to her body, their hooves clamped around her legs or her wings. One took a feather with him when she finally managed to pry him off, causing Luna to wince a little. Once all of the zombie ponies were safely away from her, she brought one on front of her eyes to examine it a bit more closely.

        It was a pegasus mare with a dark blue coat and a mane that was a bright yellow, a stark contrast. The pony’s eyes were lifeless, her pupils the size of dinner plates, dilated beyond any natural limit. She stared blankly at Luna, her hooves stretched out toward the princess. Under normal circumstances, the pegasus could’ve been trying to give Luna a hug. These were not normal circumstances. Luna telekinetically bound the pony’s arms too her side and leaned forward in a gesture eerily reminiscent of the action Azzini had performed only on Luna only minutes ago.

        Luna touched her horn to the pegasus’s forehead, attempting to find and undo the spell that Azzini had placed on her. No matter how worried Luna was for her sister’s student, the ponies in the throne room desperately needed the help of their princess, and she was not about to abandon them. She searched through her subject’s mind, careful not to touch her memories or invade her privacy, and found the spell. She gasped as she probed the spell with her mind. It was like a tumor, growing in the mind of the pony afflicted. Luna only had one word for it.

        Evil.

        She felt out the magical tumor, attempting to discern the mechanics of how the spell worked. The more she examined it, the more horrified she became. This spell was not a temporary mind control spell, like Chrysalis had used on Shining Armor in the time leading up to the changeling invasion, or some type of personality modifier, like Discord had used to fracture the Elements of Harmony upon his return. This was much more sinister. The spell was implanted in the mind, small at first, without the pony even noticing something was even wrong. Once there, it grew, slowly taking over the pony’s will, influencing their decisions in everyday life based on a direct link to the pony who cast the spell. Or, in this case, the demon who cast the spell. Luna looked around her, marveling at how Azzini had been able to infect all of these ponies. It gave Luna chills to think at how Azzini had so quickly undermined the kingdom her and Celestia had worked so hard to create.

        Luna found that, with a little magical prowess, she could unravel the tumor and return the pony to normal. After the spell was complete and the tumor was purged, the pony opened her eyes and blinked at Luna.

        “P-princess…” was all that escaped her lips before she promptly lost consciousness again, no doubt a result of the stress that had been placed on her mind. Luna set her aside gently and went to work cleaning out the other pony’s minds. One by one, they were freed from Azzini’s influence, and Luna would move on to the next one. Luna had just finished cleansing the last pony’s consciousness when she heard the door to the throne room open behind her. She whirled around, horn igniting once again and a fierce snarl forming on her face, and faced the invader.

(*)
(*)

        In the small village of Ponyville there was a large, hollowed out tree that served as the town library. On this particular day, however, it had turned into the town Twilight-Sparkle-is-freaking-out-so-don’t-come-in-bye building. The unicorn was frantically pacing back and forth across the library’s main floor, in front of her ward, a small, purple and green baby dragon.

        “Come on, Twilight,” he said, “it’s just a visit from Princess Celestia. It’s no big deal.”

        Twilight stopped, her head slowly spinning to face him, a crazed grin forming on her face. The dragon shuddered and muttered “wow, that is really creepy,” under his breath.

        “Of course it’s a big deal, Spike! Princess Celestia is always a big deal! You read the letter, she’s coming for a surprise visit! We need to organize a parade, or a feast in her honor!” She gasped. “I need to tell my friends! If they don’t know and the Elements aren’t here to greet the princess, oh, I don’t know what she would do! Something horrible, I’m sure. Something involving banishment, or imprisonment, or—“

        Spike interrupted her with a sharp slap.

        “Twilight, snap out of it!” he grabbed her shoulders and looked directly into her eyes. “Everything will be fine. Nopony’s getting banished, or imprisoned, or whatever, least of all you. Now, I’m gonna go get the others and bring them back here to meet the princess, and you’re gonna stay here and calm down. Got it?” Spike had eventually figured out that the best way to deal with Twilight’s “crazy mode” was to take charge of the situation. Twilight, master of lists, the grand organizer, sometimes just needed somepony else to take charge for a while. Or, in this case, some dragon. Twilight had calmed down a little and simply stood in the middle of the library.

        “You’re right, Spike,” she said, “I just need to calm down. I mean, it’s not like Princess Celestia would ever hurt me or anything, that’s just silly.” Spike breathed a sigh of relief. His tactic didn’t always work, but it was better than just letting Twilight freak out. He started toward the door, but was halted as Twilight swept him up into a big hug, nuzzling him affectionately.

        “Thank you, Spike. You really are my number one assistant,” she said, releasing him, a genuine smile of appreciation replacing the crazy grin from moments before.

        Spike’s cheeks turned beet red as the young dragon rubbed the back of his head. “Thanks Twilight,” he said.

        The pair stood there awkwardly for another couple seconds.

        “Well,” Spike began, “I better go get the others.”

        “Good idea,” Twilight replied, “I’ll stay here and make sure that the library is prepared for the princess.” With that, Spike left Twilight alone in the library.

        Twilight spent the next few minutes straightening up the library, picking up stray books and putting them in their proper places, making sure that everything was immaculate for Princess Celestia. A sharp rapping on the door interrupted her work.

        “Wow, Spike,” she said, making her way to the door, “back already? Did you forget—“ Her words died in her mouth as she opened the door. There stood Princess Celestia, god-empress of Equestria, at her doorstep.

        “P-princess!?” Twilight Sparkle cried out. “What are you doing here so soon? The letter said it would be a couple hours at least before you got here.”

        The thing controlling Princess Celestia leaned her head down until her eyes her level with Twilight Sparkle’s, and used her voice to speak in the most caring tone it could manage.

        “Hello, my faithful student,” she said, “it is so wonderful to see you again. May I come inside?”

        “Of course,” said Twilight, moving aside to allow the princess in. The thing moved Princess Celestia’s body through the threshold, barely able to contain it’s excitement for what was to come next.

(*)
(*)

        Shining Armor was not having a good day.

 Complaints had been rolling in for weeks about Princess Celestia’s odd behavior, like ponies expected him to be able to do something about it. What was he supposed to do? Arrest her? That was not going to happen. On top of that, more and more guardsponies had been sick with some type of severe headache or another, forcing Shining Armor and the other royal guards to pick up the slack. No, this was not a good day for the captain of the Royal Guard. In fact, the last three weeks in general had been downhill.

        Shining Armor sat at his desk and sighed, wanting nothing more than to abandon his enormous workload and go home to his wife, Cadence. A smile formed on his lips as his thoughts drifted to those of his love.

        Her perfect smile, the cute way she laughs when she gets embarrassed, her adorable brow furrowing whenever she concentrates really hard on something. Another sigh escaped his lips as his gaze returned to his workload.

The sooner I get this done, the sooner I can get home. And with that thought guiding his actions, Shining Armor went diligently to work. Or he would have, had he not been interrupted at that very moment by one of his subordinates bursting through the door. Shining Armor recognized him as one of the new recruits to the Equestrian Royal Guard, a pony by the name of Brightsteel. He had a plain brown coat, but his mane was a bright orange, and his cutie mark was two swords crossed behind a shield. The pony’s eyes were wide with fear, and Shining Armor could tell that something was seriously wrong.

“What is it, Brightsteel?” Shining Armor said as he stood up from his desk.

Brightsteel gulped and saluted before beginning.

“Captain Shining Armor, sir, we have a situation. A pony has just arrived at the guardhouse, and he’s one of the guards. He has some serious injuries and is ranting and raving and acting crazy. I came here to tell you as fast as I could; he asked for you specifically.”

What in Tartarus? Shining Armor thought to himself.

“Take me to him,” Shining Armor responded. Brightsteel turned tail and led the way.

Brightsteel led Shining Armor down the spiral stairs to the base floor of the guardhouse and down the hall to the infirmary. As they approached, they could hear muffled moans and screams coming from within the medical wing. When they reached the door, Brightsteel simply stood outside and nodded toward the entrance. It was clear that what he had seen in there before discouraged him from entering again. Shining Armor placed his hoof on the door and, ignoring the dread in the pit of his stomach, pushed it open.

The infirmary was in turmoil. IV stands and medical carts were knocked over, sheets had been torn off of some of the beds, and the staff doctor was nowhere to be seen. On one of the beds was the guardspony Brightsteel had described. He was thrashing about, his hooves held in place by improvised ropes made out of torn bed sheets, as none of the guardsponies present were unicorns. He was a sandy blonde color, with a pitch black mane that was currently disheveled. Shining Armor recognized him as an earth pony colt named Winter Bane. They had never spoken personally, but Shining Armor knew from his peers that he was a good pony. His armor was dented in the back, as if some great impact had struck him there, and his helmet was missing completely. Shining Armor could see dried blood caked on the back of his head and neck, the product of a wound that had only recently stopped bleeding. The pony thrashed back and forth, throwing his body this way and that, trying to free himself of his bonds, all the while screaming at the top of his lungs.

“What happened to him?” Shining Armor asked one of the guardsponies who was standing near the door. The pony saluted before responding.

“Sir, we don’t know. He came crawling toward the guardhouse a few minutes ago from the direction of the throne room. When we asked him what had happened, he just started screaming and thrashing and trying to get away. We sent somepony to find the doctor, but they haven’t returned, and we just got him tied down before you came in. That’s all we know, sir.”

Shining Armor nodded and approached the bedside where a psychotic Winter Bane was. When Winter Bane saw Shining Armor approaching, he began frantically tearing at his bonds, trying to get away.

“No!” he shouted. “No, stay back! Get away from me! STAY BACK! He’ll come for you, and when he does, you need to be far away from me! I’m not dying for you!”

“Calm down, Winter Bane. Nopony is coming for me or for you. Now, can you tell me what happened?” Shining Armor knew the pony had lost his mind, and tried to ignore his ramblings.

“No, he’s going to come for you, and then he’s going to come for me! You can’t stop him! Everywhere he goes he sows death and destruction! Nopony is safe! Please, let me go! We have to run, running is the only way to survive! UNTIE ME!”

Shining Armor knew better than to believe this madness, but the pony’s ramblings left him with a sense of dread. He needed to know what the pony was talking about.

“Who is coming?” he asked. “Who are you talking about?”

“The greatest evil Equestria has ever known! The Tartarus Parasite returns to reap the land and destroy its citizens! Nopony is safe from his wrath!”

“How can I stop it?” Shining Armor asked despite himself.

The pony stopped thrashing and threw his head back, letting out a great chortling laugh that came out raspy, like sandpaper. The sudden change in demeanor startled Shining Armor, but before he could react, Winter Bane had stretched to the limits of his bonds toward the captain, snouts resting only inches away from each other.

“You can’t stop it,” he said in a calm, rough voice that seemed like it didn’t belong to him. “Equestria is going to burn, and all of you are going to burn with it.”

With that, Winter Bane promptly lost consciousness and fell back on his bed. Shining Armor backed away from the bed, deeply disturbed by the conversation. He knew he shouldn’t lend to the ramblings of a pony that is clearly mad, but it still unsettled him. He looked around to find the other three guards staring at him, but they looked away as soon as he met their gaze. As captain of the Royal Guard, he knew it was his duty to investigate the matter further. He approached the guard by the door, whom he had spoken to before.

“You said he came from the direction of the throne room?” Shining Armor questioned.

“That’s right, sir,” the pony responded.

“Alright. I’m going to go investigate, and I want you to accompany me.” He turned to one of the other guards. “You too.” Then he looked at the third and final guardspony in the room. “I want you to stay here in case he wakes up,” he commanded, nodding his head toward the unconscious form of Winter Bane. The guardspony saluted and stepped closer to the bed.

Shining Armor, with two guards on his tail, exited the infirmary. It was a short walk to the throne room, but Shining Armor couldn’t imagine crawling that far with the injuries that Winter Bane had sustained. The three guardsponies crossed the small courtyard that led to the primary atrium, the evening sun just now dipping below the horizon. The castle was eerily quiet. The usual bustle of nobleponies and onlookers and serving staff was completely absent. Shining Armor quickened his pace.

The three ponies entered the atrium, which was just as deserted as the courtyard had been. At the far end of the room were the large doors that led to the throne room. A faint glow of magic could be seen emanating from underneath the door. Shining Armor slowed down, now carefully creeping along so as not to alert whatever could be on the other side of the door. Once he and his accompanying guards were in position around the door, Shining Armor flung it open with his magic and prepared to face whatever horrors the throne room held. Once he caught a glimpse of what was on the other side, he dropped his guard out of shear confusion.

“Princess Luna?” he said

(*)
(*)

        Princess Luna turned to face the invader.

        “Princess Luna?” It was Shining Armor, Twilight Sparkle’s brother. Luna had not had the personal pleasure to get to know him, but of course she knew of him. He wore a confused look on his face, and Luna realized that she probably looked very suspicious with her horn ignited in a room full of unconscious ponies. She straightened herself up to her full height.

        “Yes, Shining Armor, and this is not how it seems,” she explained, “I am not responsible for what has happened to these ponies.”

        Yes you are, a small voice in her mind said, you should have seen it coming. Luna shook the thoughts away.

        Shining Armor started to approach the princess when one of his guards laid a hand on his shoulder and whispered in his ear, “Captain, are you sure we can trust her?”

        Thoughts flashed through Shining Armor’s mind of Winter Bane, and how he had come from this throne room not even ten minutes prior, where the princess of the night, previously Nightmare Moon, was standing over the bodies of dozens of unconscious ponies. Then his thoughts flashed to Chrysalis and her changeling hoard. He ignited his horn.

        “How do I know you’re not lying to me?” he questioned, suddenly suspicious. Luna scoffed.

        “You would have the insolence to question me? I am your princess!” she said, igniting her own horn. Then, “Stand down, captain!”

        “How do I know you’re not Chrysalis, trying to take over Equestria again? Can you prove to me that you’re really Princess Luna?” Shining Armor stood his ground against the princess.

        Luna sighed and relaxed her posture, allowing the glow on her horn to fade to nothing.

        “I wish I had the time to prove my identity to you, Shining Armor, but I do not. I can offer you my word as a princess of Equestria that I am who I say I am, but that is all I can offer you. It is not I who was responsible for what you see, but a powerful evil force that has returned to Equestria after millennia of imprisonment and has possessed my sister.” Luna did not have the luxury to break it to him gently, but saying the words out loud made it all the worse for her. Her eyes began to well up, and she turned away, attempting to hide the silent tears that began to flow freely from her eyes.

        Shining Armor didn’t know what to say. What Luna said seemed impossible, yet it would explain what had been happening for the last few weeks. He could feel all the pieces falling into place in his mind. Princess Celestia, the guiding light of the kingdom, the all-powerful ruler of Equestria, had been possessed!? She had always seemed so untouchable that the news just felt surreal. Now, not only was Princess Celestia gone, but Princess Luna was crying. She was showing a weakness that Shining Armor had never suspected existed. It was too easy to see the princesses as figureheads instead of ponies, but they had real emotions just like every other citizen of Equestria. Shining Armor trotted across the room to his princess and placed a hoof on her shoulder. Luna looked at him, seeing him smile at her reassuringly, and returned with a small smile of her own. She sniffed and blinked away the tears, composing herself.

        “Thank you for the gesture, captain, but I feel I must apologize,” she said.

        “It’s okay,” Shining Armor replied, removing his hoof from her shoulder, “we’re all equine, after all.”

        Luna suddenly grew serious. “Not for my behavior,” she said.

         Then, Luna dropped the bomb.

        “The thing possessing Celestia, an evil entity named Azzini, is going after Twilight Sparkle.”

        Shining Armor’s eyes went wide before he turned and attempted to run as fast as his hooves would carry him to Ponyville, but was stopped by Luna’s telekinesis.

        “Let me go!” he shouted, struggling against the ethereal glow. “I have to protect her!”

        Luna looked at him sympathetically. “I am sorry, captain,” she said, “but I cannot let you do that. Azzini would destroy you without giving it a second thought, and I need you here to take care of Canterlot.” Shining Armor glared at the princess, but stopped struggling. “What do you mean?” he questioned. Luna levitated him over to her and set him down.

        “I need you here to take care of these ponies,” Luna said, gesturing to the dozens of unconscious ponies around the room. “Also…” She leaned down and whispered in his ear. His eyes went wide.

        “Are you sure?” he asked uncertainly.

        “Quite,” Luna said somberly. “Do not worry; I will make sure no harm comes to Twilight Sparkle.”

        “Ok, princess,” Shining Armor responded, “I don’t like knowing Twily is in danger, but I trust you.”

        Princess Luna smiled and made her way to the entrance of the throne room, leaving the three guardsponies alone.

        “Make sure these ponies are safe and informed on the situation when they wake up. I want you to take any injured to the infirmary, and see if you can find the doctor while you’re at it,” Shining Armor commanded the other two guards. He then made his way out into the courtyard after Luna, watching the alicorn take off and fly into the fading sun, off toward Ponyville. Then he turned around and set off to carry out her instructions.

(*)
(*)

        For Luna, flying was easy. Every action was done instinctually, every minute change requiring barely the smallest of efforts. This, for better or for worse, left her alone with her thoughts during the short flight to Ponyville. Ever since she had returned to Equestria and the Nightmare had been banished, Luna had a small voice in the back of her head that doubted every decision and focused on every mistake.

        You’re weak, it said.

        Luna recognized it as the voice of the Nightmare, remnants of the power that overtook her all those years ago. She could usually ignore it, but the day’s events were causing it to come on much stronger than usual.

        You let your sister become controlled by this thing, and you are powerless to stop it.

“Shut up,” Luna said under her breath.

        You even showed your weakness to one of your subjects! How does it feel to know that you’ve failed so completely as a princess?

“Shut up!” Luna said in a volume slightly above her normal speaking voice.

        Aw, what’s wrong? Don’t like facing you fears? I knew you were weak, but come on. You haven’t failed this badly since when you let mommy and daddy die.

        “SHUT UP!!” Luna screamed at the voice as loud as she possibly could, even louder than the Royal Canterlot Voice. Fresh tears began pouring from her eyes. She was panting, anger and frustration at her failure filling her thoughts with self-loathing.

 It was only then that she heard the soft whispers below her, and looked down to realize that she had already arrived at Ponyville. The citizens of Ponyville looked up at her, some with concern, and some with terror. A few were even cowering on the ground. Luna sighed and attempted to compose herself. She couldn’t let her subjects see her like this. Luckily, the light was fading from the sky, hiding her tears from their eyes. She took a deep breath before flying toward and landing at the entrance of the library.

I hope I am not too late, she thought.

She knocked on the door and waited. No noise came from inside, even though some of the lights were on. Panic began to well up inside her until she couldn’t take it anymore and went inside.

“Twilight Sparkle?” she called. “Are you here?”

There was no answer. Princess Luna began looking around frantically, but couldn’t find the lavender librarian. She heard the door open and looked to see Spike, followed by the Elements of Harmony come in. Luna sighed in relief, but the panic returned when she saw that Twilight wasn’t with them. They all looked surprised to see Luna.

“Huh?” Spike said. “Princess Luna? I didn’t know you were visiting too.”

“Spike, listen. I must find Twilight Sparkle. It is very important.” The agitation was evident in Luna’s voice.

“She’s not here?” he asked.

“No, and I fear my sister may have taken her, but I know not where,” Luna said.

“Whaddaya mean, ‘taken her?’” Applejack questioned.

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash agreed, “what happened to Twilight?”

“I do not have time to explain,” Luna said, “just please trust me. I must find them. Celestia is not acting like herself.”

“Of course we trust you, princess,” Rarity said, “We are merely concerned for our friend.”

“As am I,” Luna responded.

Spike walked over to the coffee table in the middle of the library and looked at an open book that was resting there. “Could this have something to do with it?” he asked.

Luna, along with Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie, walked over to the book. Well, Pinkie more bounced than walked. When they reached the table, they found that there was a message scribbled in ink on the page it was open to.

Luna’s face transformed into a grimace, while the ponies around her simply looked confused.

“Who’s Azzini?” Applejack asked.

“Yeah,” continued Pinkie, “and what could he want with Twilight?”

Luna just turned away. She had been hoping that Shining Armor would not have to do what she had asked of him, but now it was inevitable. Her worst fear had been confirmed.

Azzini had taken Twilight Sparkle.