Cadence awoke with a start, lifting her head from the desk where a small pool of saliva had leaked from the side of her mouth.

"Huh, wha?" She asked in a daze, her eyes unfocused and her coordination off. A snicker to her right caught her attention. Turning to face the sound, she blinked rapidly, clearing her vision to find herself face to face with her fellow princess, Luna, who held a hoof to her mouth as she failed to hide her amusement.

"We said, doth thou plan to sleep in the archives for the whole of this day?" Luna repeated the question that had startled her adopted niece into the waking world. Cadence stared at her for a moment, mouthing the word day as she glanced up to the windows to see the cloudy sky, lit up by the sun beyond them. Her eyes widened in shock and she shot to her hooves.

"Oh no!" She panicked as her horn lit up with light blue magic, snatching a nearby saddlebag and beginning to fill it with scrolls and texts. Luna watched as the young mare frantically went through each title that she brought to the bag, mumbling to herself.

"Is aught well, dear niece?" Cadence jumped again, nearly dropping the bag and texts as she had forgotten that the princess was there with her.

"I'm so sorry Luna, but I'm late for Twilight's trial!" She almost yelled, her wings lifting her up, keeping herself off of her still sore and bandaged hooves. She had neglected to return to the medical wing for any pain medicine due to burying herself in her studies.

"I stayed up all night studying so that maybe I could convince Celestia and the Council to.. to... Oh I don't know! I just want to help her!" She exclaimed, her frustration at having overslept being overwhelmed by her frustration of not knowing what she was doing entirely. Luna glanced at a nearby text that flew past her and into the bag, noting its title and relevance.

"We believe, that may no longer be necessary." She responded carefully. Cadence looked up to her, everything in the air coming to a complete stop.

"Wh-what?" She asked fearful, worried that the council had already decided their verdict and she had not been there to fight for her would-be sister. Luna sighed and directed her gaze towards the two solar guards that waited for her just inside the doors of the archive.

"We passed by a knight whom was quite disturbed, on our way to awaken thee. T'would seem that the Court has ended and the now named ' Dimmed Star,' is free to move about the palace." Both guards nodded in affirmation, but Cadence only appeared to be confused.

"Dimmed Star? But, I thought we were holding Twilight's trial this morning?" She slowly lowered herself back onto the large cushion that had been her seat, her exhaustion slowly catching up to her. Luna shook her head as she lit her horn in a dark blue light, pulling one of Cadence's many texts towards her and flipping through it as she spoke.

"Tis hearsay amongst the knights that the mare, Twilight Sparkle, hath changed her name." Cadence felt her heart drop at this. A name she had always cherished, was now nothing more than a memory to her. She lowered her head in silence as if mourning the loss of a loved one. Luna glanced up from the book, noting the look of sorrow on her niece's face. Closing the text, she walked up to her and placed a hoof on her shoulder.

"Fret not, dear niece. She may hath changed her name, but we've no doubts that she is still the same mare underneath." Cadence raised her head, tears in her eyes.

"But she is different, Luna. She... she's the one who..." She lifted her hooves up, the bandages covered in stains of dark red and badly in need of changing. Luna looked to her hooves and grimaced at the sight.

"She didn't know it was me, of course." Cadence continued, lowering her hooves back down, softly setting them in her lap. She winced slightly as they twinged a bit, no doubt they were swollen beneath the bandages. Luna nodded in understanding as she pieced together what she meant.

"Changelings are indeed a most troublesome species. They hath turned many a country on its head with their tricks. From what we hath heard, tis miraculous that thee is even alive." Cadence looked up to her at that, surprise evident on her face.

"You know about what happened?" Luna nodded, her face grim.

"Despite our, confinements, we are still quite capable of receiving important information. T'was bad enough the council forbade my presence at the ceremony, but for us to not be there when our sister needed us most." Luna turned, anger in her eyes as they glared at an unseen enemy. Cadence shuffled her wings nervously, she had never really seen Luna angry, Nightmare Moon notwithstanding. With a small sigh, Luna turned back to her niece and smiled softly.

"Thou say that she has changed, but underneath all of her ire, we... I... am most sure that she is still the filly that you love so dearly. If thou wish to see her return to herself, then do not abandon hope, as I once did." Cadence listened to her words carefully, hope brimming in her heart. Saying what she thought needed to be said, Luna smiled wider and turned towards the door, making her way out. The two Solar guards filed into position behind her as she reached them, but her company came to a stop as she halted at the door.

"Thou had best make haste... hearsay is that she will be leaving the palace before the sun sets this day." Cadence felt her eyes widen at this and turned to try and confirm it, but Luna and her guards had already left the archive. Biting her lower lip, she glanced around to the texts around her, only to shake her head.

'I won't need these anymore... all that studying for nothing...' With a hard flap of her wings, she thrust herself into the air again, bringing her legs up to keep them from hitting anything as she flew through the archive door and down the hall towards the courtroom.

'You're not leaving before I get a chance to see you again!' She promised as she flew through the halls quickly.

Dimmed Star closed the door behind her as she entered the room, the sound of a heart monitor being the only other noise. Looking to the only bed in the room, she found her brother lying there, an oxygen mask over his face and bandages wrapped tightly around his barrel, dark red stains covering them, and several wires attached to his frame that lead to the nearby machines. Quietly, she stepped closer to the bed, working her way around the many medical devices that kept tabs on her brother's health.

As she approached his side, she got a closer look at his face. He seemed so peaceful, almost as if he were only sleeping, instead of being in a coma. She stared at him in silence as he breathed softly, his warm breath occasionally fogging up the mask.

"You hopeless foal..." She spoke finally, resting a hoof on the edge of the mattress.

"Why did you have to push so hard to be the Captain... to learn a spell that only you could cast to protect Canterlot... and put a big target on your flank..." Her voice was low as she spoke, her eyes never leaving his face. She reached a trembling hoof forward, as if to touch him, but froze just before she could.

'Hey, what are you crying for?' The echo of his voice played in her mind, as a distant memory came to the forefront.

"Hey, what are you crying for?" A young Shining Armor asked around a choked voice. He lay on the ground, his body bruised and his right eye black and swollen shut. An even younger Twilight sat next to him, her tears dripping down her face as she buried her head into his chest, lightly beating on him with her small hooves.

"You dummy! Shining Armor is a big, stupid dummy! Why didn't you just stay out of it!" She cried out, her voice strangled as she fought to speak over her own cries of distress. The two were in a park in Canterlot, it was barren of any other ponies, but that hadn't been the case minutes before.

They had been on their way home from the bookstore, Twilight happily bouncing along as she held a brand new text of the history of Starswirl the Bearded aloft in her magic. Shining could only chuckle at her excitement, he had bought the book for her as a surprise while they were out.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you~" She chanted over and over again for the fifth or sixth time. Shining laughed aloud at this.

"You've said that enough times don't you think? It's not that big a deal you know." Twilight looked up to him with a bright smile on her face.

"It is a big deal to me! My big brother ALWAYS gets me the best books! Mom still thinks I should be reading what all the other kids are, and Dad only gets me those boring mystery novels." Shining looked to her in surprise as she pouted.

"But I thought you liked mystery books? What about those books I gave you on your birthday?" Hearing the hurt in his voice, Twilight turned back to him and shook her head vigorously.

"No, no. The ones you get me are always based on fact and things that have, or could happen! Dad only gets me the ones that are completely impossible. Like that one with the baker who turned out to be a super-advanced robot from the future, sent back in time to solve a murder at a baking contest against aliens that would decide the fate of the world." She stuck her tongue out as if disgusted even by the idea. Shining chuckled and ruffled her mane, causing her to giggle as she tried to dodge away from it.

"Yea well, a gift is a gift. And no matter how impossible it may be, you should always cherish it, because it came from somepony who loves you." Twilight smiled back at him. Before she could respond, however, the sound of a yell caught their attention. Looking over, they found themselves at the park just a few blocks from their home. A couple of stallions were hovering over a cowering mare.

"Come on, fork it over already!" The stallion on the right yelled, his patience wearing thin. He clapped his fore-hooves together threateningly. The mare trembled as she quickly took off her saddlebag, holding it out to the older male. He smirked as he reached for it.

"That's more lik-OOF" He never finished as he was immediately tackled and held down by an angry Shining Armor. Twilight blinked in surprise at seeing her brother there, when he had been right next to her a moment ago!

"Go, get out of here!" Shining yelled to the mare, who nodded quickly, taking her saddlebags and sprinting off just as the other stallion came up behind Shining and bashed him in the head with both hooves. Twilight screamed at seeing her brother go down, rushing forward to try and get between them.

"DON'T!" Shining's voice called out, stopping her in her tracks. He glared at her with an intense gaze despite the pain he felt in his head even as the bigger of the two stallions stood up, brushing himself off. She looked to the two in fear as they glared at her, then turned their attention back to him.

"You got a lot of nerve swiping our score like that you little shit!" The older stallion yelled, kicking Shining in the ribs, making him let out a yelp of pain. Twilight raised a hoof towards him, her voice shaky as she yelled at them, begging them to stop.

"Stop it! Stop hurting him!" Both stallions kicked and beat her older brother relentlessly, before finally getting bored with him and stepping away. The younger stallion took it upon himself to walk up to Twilight, who immediately crouched low, holding her book in front of her as a shield while she trembled and her tail curled around herself protectively. Tears spilled from her eyes as she cried in fear.

"Your brother's gonna get himself in a lot more trouble if he comes back on our turf again kid. Do yourself, and him a favor and hand over whatever you got that's valuable." She didn't move as he waited for a response. Spitting in the dirt, he lit up his horn and snatched her book from her own magical grip, the shock making her gasp with a sharp pain in her horn. He turned the book over and read the title, before scoffing.

"Man, this cheap thing ain't worth much... but I guess it'll do for a paperweight or somethin'." He turned and went to walk away, only to walk right into a large blue hoof colliding with his face, a tooth flying out of his mouth. Shining stood over the downed unicorn, panting as he struggled to stay standing.

"That's... my sister's... book..." He gasped out, before collapsing to the ground, Twilight's book held tightly in his hooves. The older stallion rushed over, dragging his partner onto his back and leaning over one last time to kick Shining in the face.

"We'll remember this!" He shouted as he sprinted off, his friend out cold on his back. Twilight shakily looked up to find herself inches from her brother who held his muzzle in pain. Glancing around to see that the bad guys were gone, she rushed up to him, crying and begging for him to be OK. He could only smile at her, despite the blood coming from his nose and a gash on his cheek.

"Its ok, Twili..."

The sound of liquid hitting cloth reached her ears, and Dimmed Star looked down to see black spots on the surface of the bedsheet. Bringing her hoof to her face, she wiped her tears as best she could, before letting out a shuddering breath.

"You've always been like that... risking yourself for the sake of others. That's one of the reasons I always looked up to you." She lifted her head, tears still brimming in her eyes as she watched him. Sighing, she finally reached forward and placed her hoof on his chest.

"I... I'm sorry... Shining... I'm so sorry..." She barely whispered her emotions in turmoil. It was never Shining's fault that he left her at the rehearsal, much like how she couldn't bring herself to blame Spike for leaving. The difference here, however, was that Shining had been under mind control, where Spike was simply too young to know better. She clenched her eyes shut as she held back a choked sob, softly gripping the bandages that wrapped around his barrel with her hoof.

From within the darkness of her mind, the being that had changed her so drastically watched. It observed the mare weeping over the body of her sibling. It was strange how one minute she could be bloodthirsty, and the next she would be like this, crying for something so insignificant. A scorching warmth burned into its essence, causing it to flinch back as it glared now at the center of a warm light that kept it at bay. That blasted light that held those four emotions it did not understand. Ever since that strange item had forced it to the depths of its host's mind, it had been unable to leave due to that burning light.

It's anger at the light boiled stronger as it's bright red glare intensified. It only seemed to glow brighter in response to this, forcing it further back. Relenting, for the time being, it slowly began to close its eyes, preparing to rest and gather its strength, for the time when all the host knew was hatred. Just as its eyes closed, the light seemed to dim just a bit, and it could swear it almost caught a glimpse of a bright purple shape at the center before its eyes closed entirely and it fell into a deep slumber.

After allowing herself a few more moments of weakness, Dimmed Star sniffled a bit, before straightening up and pulling her hoof away. Wiping her eyes once more, she looked around the room until she found a clock on the far wall.

"I have to go now, Shining, but I'll come back... I promise... You had better be up and moving when I do OK?" She leaned forward and kissed his cheek softly, before turning and making her way towards the door. Her thoughts drifting to the one who was truly to blame for everything that had occurred.

"It might be a while though... I have to finish what I started..." She growled low, the image of the Changeling Queen burning in her mind's eye.

'I'm coming for you, Insect, and I hope you have your army with you... because I'm STARVING!' She hissed in her mind, her long black tongue slithering out of her mouth, running across the surface of her jagged teeth in anticipation, her eyes burning with malice.

Celestia breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped out of the courtroom, the doors behind her shutting slowly.

'I wonder if being absolute plot holes is enough of a reason to dissolve the council?' She thought bitterly as she thought back to the arguments and debates she had just gone through.

Hasty Vote had been the most vocal, obviously. Her distress at having become Dimmed Star's plaything for the duration of the Hearing was quite evident and she made it a point to keep going back to that, playing the victim card again and again.

'I swear if I have to see her ever again it'll be too soon.' Her head ached with the thought of dealing with that despicable mare. Walking casually through the hall, she glanced out the windows and watched as the sky was slowly being cleared by the city's weather team. She awed at the aerial acrobatics that the pegasi pulled off, such agility that she would never have due to her large size.

'What joy it must be, to be free of having to rule a kingdom, deal with nobles, and tread lightly around those you have wronged...' The last one turned her mind to the main subject of their earlier conversation, Dimmed Star.

The council had been right that they could not very well let her roam the lands unchecked, and so after much debating, she had finally gotten them to come to an agreement.

A special task force was to be assigned to keep an eye on the mare, secretly of course. If she knew that she was under constant surveillance, she could become aggressive and that would be a problem. The task force would be ordered to never engage her in combat, only observe and provide important, detailed information on her movements and actions. Should something that requires immediate attention come up, then they would be provided with red dragon fire charms.

These charms were much like the ones that the guard normally wore, however instead of the message being sent to all members of the guard who wore one, it was enchanted to be sent directly to the Princess herself, as it was tied to her own magic. All that was left was to choose the guards that would make up the task force itself. Celestia already had a squad in mind, but the council insisted that they add a few of their own to the group.

'That damned council, half are decent ponies, while the other half are witless mules… No offense to any actual mules...' She groaned as she faced forward once more. It was lucky that she did at that moment of course, as a pink blur appeared in front of her, nearly flying right into her.

"Celestia!" Cadence shouted in surprise, flapping her wings to hold herself up. Celestia looked up to the younger alicorn curiously.

"Cadence? Why are you in such a hurry?" Cadence took a moment before answering, looking around the hall, and the princess, seemingly searching for something.

"Luna came and found me in the archives, I had been studying all night to try and be ready to defend Twilight's case this morning, but I overslept. She told me that the Trial was already over and that Twilight was going home today." Once she confirmed that Twilight wasn't anywhere around, she faced the princess once more.

"Do you know where she is? I have to see her before she leaves." Celestia nodded in understanding.

"She said she was going to see Shining Armor, before collecting her things and catching the earliest train to Ponyville. But Cadence... did Luna tell you anything else?" She asked nervously, unsure of what else Luna may have found out somehow. Cadence looked glum as she raised her bandaged hooves, lightly holding them together in front of her.

"She told me that Twilight changed her name... she calls herself Dimmed Star now... Do... do you know where she came up with that?" Celestia only shook her head.

"No, I'm afraid I can't say... It came as a surprise to me as well. She had told me last night when I left her in the dungeons, but I had thought it best not to say anything to anypony and that perhaps she would come around with time. That does not seem to be the case." Cadence lowered her hooves in defeat. Celestia glanced at the bandages around her legs and winced at how bloody they were. Glancing to her own wrappings, she noted that very few held dark stains upon their surface.

"Cadence, when was the last time you had those changed?" She asked worriedly. Cadence glanced at her hooves and gave a half-hearted chuckle.

"I... haven't. I was too focused on learning everything I could. I haven't even taken the time to get medicine for them." Celestia raised an eyebrow at this. She must have been in excruciating pain right now. Looking to her flapping wings, she put two and two together.

"That's why you haven't landed. Your legs hurt too much." Cadence smiled sheepishly as Celestia shook her head and chuckled.

"What am I to do with you? Come along, you need to see the doctor's before you go darting around the castle in search of your future sister-in-law." Cadence opened her mouth to argue, only to find herself following along beside the princess without having intended to. Celestia's horn was alight in its golden aura that now surrounded Cadence, carrying her along beside her.

"You're going to wear yourself out if you keep flying like that. Rest your wings, we'll be there in a little bit." Celestia glanced to her adoptive niece who only nodded, closing her wings to her sides and relaxing.

Author's Notes:

Twilight: Will you just get over it already? I said I was sorry.

Shaded: YOU KILLED ME!! I don't think Sorry is gonna cut it!

Dimmed Star: I told you he'd be upset.

Shaded: YOU'RE NOT ANY BETTER!! You freaking ATE parts of me!

Dimmed Star: ... Yea and?

Shaded: ....

Dimmed Star: ....

Twilight: Look we can keep going like this or you can do this disclaimer and we can call it a day, your choice.

Shaded: ..... FUUUUU- * Screams in frustration*

Shaded: I DO NOT OWN MLP:FIM OR THE EQUINOX PONIES!!! A SPECIAL THANKS TO KUUNLEHTI FOR PROOF READING AND EDITING!!!