"Oh how I have longed to return to this world," Sweetie Belle said, her rough voice filling the bedroom just a bit, "I must remember to thank Nightfury for, unknowingly, opening the way for me to...wait, why is this room so big?"

Sweetie's head turned left and right, observing the room she had found herself in and staring at all the contents she could find, before finally looking down at her body. Instead of finding the body of a grown pony, which she had been expecting, she found that she had taken over the body of a young unicorn filly. She had expected the Princess of Darkness to choose who her assistant was going to be sharing a body with, but from what the shadow knew Nightfury would never choose a filly to be her assistant. She had waited a thousand years for her plan to unfold, but it had been ruined by the one thing that she never would have suspected; pure chance.

When she returned to the Darkness she was going to scour the world and find Thorn, and then completely erase the Shadow from existence so she could vent her anger.

"Okay, calm down Glimmer," Sweetie said, closing her eyes as she forced her anger to go down, "Its okay, you can work around this curve ball and still reach the endgame, that hasn't changed. All I need to do is learn the mannerisms of a filly and then make sure she's physically and magically fit enough for my plans. If I'm fast enough I might be able to track down the Sigil of Fire and then take it from the alicorn that's holding it, though there's no telling what he'll do between now and then.

Now, let's see what this filly has to tell me, so that I may better understand how to be like her."

Sweetie Belle, or rather Glimmer, focused her mind and allowed the dark magic to seep into the room, making sure not to pour too much into the act in case one of the Princesses was watching for signs of a disturbance. As her body and mind crawled to a near halt she found herself in a mental library, filled with dozens upon dozens of books and several floating images that were scattered around her. The books were containers for the filly's memories, starting at the beginning of her life and going up until that evening, so she could read about something before viewing it. The images would allow her to glimpse into the filly's past, so that she might learn how she acted and better her impersonation of her, so that she wouldn't be discovered.

Glimmer smiled as she began her search, there might not be a whole lot for her to work with, but there was enough material for her to understand the filly whose body she was in control of.

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Time was strange in this memory vault type of spell, as Glimmer could spend an entire day scouring the small library of the body she was controlling, the young filly named Sweetie Belle, and only an hour would pass in the real world. If she had control over an adult pony, as she had originally planned, she would have spent a good week, maybe two, scouring their mental library before making her move. She would have spent roughly a day or two in actual time in the library, giving her time to know each and every detail about the pony so she could pass as him or her.

She had spent a few hours mimicking Sweetie's voice, curving the harsh nature of her natural voice down until she managed to make it sound almost identical to the filly's. She practiced how the filly acted, so she could blend in with her friends if she needed to, though she felt incredibly silly for following every strange move the young pony made. Glimmer knew it was necessary for her to learn everything about the young pony, because she might make more trips to this realm and she needed a host that Princess Nightfury wasn't keeping an eye on.

Eventually she finished with the mental library and pulled herself out of Sweetie's mind, returning to the real world and stretching her stiff body, working some of the knots out of her muscles. She had forgotten how stiff the body of a mortal could get when she pulled off that spell, but the feeling eventually left her body and she was ready to go. She climbed off the bed and made her way to the door, gripping the handle with her magic and twisting it open so that she could leave the room. From the sounds coming from the downstairs area Rarity, the older sister of the pony she was controlling, was still making dresses for her various clients.

Glimmer didn't care for the dresses and whoever they were being made for, as they held no information as to how she could find and steal one of the Sigils.

She silently made her way down the stairs, peeking her head around the corner to make sure that Rarity was, indeed, working on her dresses and occupied to the point where she wouldn't hear what was around her. Once Glimmer was sure that the coast was as clear as it was going to get she silently walked over to the front door, gently pulling it open before throwing herself outside. Not moments after she was outside she turned around and closed the door, hoping that Rarity didn't discover that she was up and called on of the Princesses to find her. She sighed and smiled to herself, she couldn't believe that she managed to pull that off, in her current body, without Rarity noticing her walking around.

Now that she was outside she scanned the streets and wondered where she could find her first target, the alicorn who commanded the power of fire; Crimson Flare. According to what Sweetie Belle had known Crimson was supposed to be heading back to the crystal castle near the edge of town, where it would only be him and a baby dragon. She suspected that it was only those two in the castle, but there was always a chance that the other alicorn, Twilight Sparkle, would be back and foil her plans. She needed to be sure that she could enter the castle, find where Crimson was sleeping for the night, and then try to take the Sigil before he realized what was happening.

As she walked down the street she received glances from the few ponies that walked with her, though she knew that they were a little surprised to find that Sweetie's coat had changed color. She considered throwing a sleeper spell around and knocking them all asleep so she could erase their memories, but that option would only lead the Princesses to investigate the town. She did not need them on the hunt for her before she did anything, so she glanced back at the street and continued on her way, slowly making her way towards the glittering castle in the distance.

It took her about ten minutes to reach the castle, but before she moved into the building she made sure to walk around the outside, taking note of where each of the openings were located in case she needed to make a quick getaway. As she did this she noticed that there were two rooms with lights on, one of which she assumed was the baby dragon that followed Princess Twilight around. The second light, the smaller light of the two, she assumed belonged to Crimson, who was likely smoking and chilling until he decided what to do next. He was going to be magically drained for the next few days, after pulling off that magical stunt to release Princess Nightfury he was likely tired and wanted to be left alone.

Once she was gone scanning the building she approached the front door, but as she reached for the knob with her magic it started to turn on its own, alerting her to the fact that someone was coming out before throwing herself into one of the nearby bushes. She watched the door open and a lavender coated alicorn came walking out of the castle, a frown on her face as she turned back to the small purple dragon that stood in the doorway.

"Are you sure that this can't wait until morning Twilight?" the dragon, Spike she recalled, said, clearly annoyed that his mentor was leaving again, "I'm sure that Nightfury can do this by herself."

"She was in Canterlot when she felt something pass through the Veil," Twilight replied, shaking her head before turning her gaze to the town, "and she's on her way to make sure that nothing violent came through. She's asked me to begin the search for whatever might have come through, starting at Rarity's Boutique, where she swears that she originally felt the disturbance. I need you to stay here and watch over Crimson while he's sleeping, so that there's someone to greet Nightfury when she and Princess Luna arrive. I'll be back when this is done Spike."

"Oh, okay," Spike sighed, waving a claw at her, "Go find whatever Nightfury felt and be safe."

Twilight opened her wings and took off, leaving Spike behind for a few moments before the baby dragon sighed and went back inside, closing the door behind him. Glimmer knew now that her plan was in jeopardy, as she was about to have three Princesses on her tail and knew that she wouldn't be able to find from all of them. Once she was sure that the lavender alicorn was out of hearing range she pulled herself out of the bushes and approached the door, gripping the knob with her magic and gently opening it. She poked her head inside, making sure that the baby dragon wasn't around, before pulling herself inside and closing the door as gently as she had opened it.

Before she got anywhere she heard the sound of the baby dragon coming and hid in the shadows, where she was sure she could hide for the moment.

"Hello?" Spike called out, staring at the door and finding no one around it, "Huh, I could have sworn that something opened the door. Must have been...my imagination?"

That was when Glimmer remembered a key piece of information that had been useful in the past when she had to deal with dragons, they could see heat signatures. It wasn't very strong in baby dragons, but they could see enough to know when something that wasn't supposed to be there was lurking around them. She had used this knowledge to great effect during the Dragon Wars, but it had been over a thousand years since she was last out in the field and had forgotten that until now. Spike would be seeing her outline, though she didn't have a lot of time before he sent a warning out to his master that there was somepony in the castle that shouldn't be there.

"Sweetie Belle?" Spike asked, wondering if he was even right as he approached the small figure he saw, "Is that you?"

"Surprise attack!" Glimmer shouted, jumping out of the shadows and throwing her front right leg backwards towards Spike's neck, hitting just hard enough to knock the baby dragon out.

Spike hit the ground in seconds, but Glimmer rubbed her leg where she had hit him, remembering that it hurt when she attacked a dragon, even a baby dragon, with her bare hooves. If Spike had been a larger, more grown and mature dragon, she could have easily snapped the bone in her leg without him even breaking a sweat. Now that he was down she turned to the staircase and made her way up the stairs, hoping that her shout hadn't woken Crimson up or make him alert to the possibility that there was somepony that shouldn't be in the castle.

Once she reached the top stair she turned to the left and made her way down the hallway, realizing that there were at least half a dozen doors that she could choose from. She opened the first door on her right and found nothing but a bare room, so she closed the door and opened the one behind her instead, finding another bare room. She growled as she approached the second door on her left, opening it up to find a bed that had been used recently and hadn't been put back in order since that morning. She knew that it had to have been Nightfury's room, which meant that Crimson's room had to be close to where she was at that exact moment. She turned to the room across from where she was standing and gently opened it up, a pleasant sight unfolding before her and causing her to grin.

She found Crimson Flare sleeping on his cloud, his chest piece facing the air and the Sigil of Fire exposed for those who knew what it was to take it from him. Her day couldn't have gotten any better.

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"I'm coming!" Rarity said, hearing the knock on her front door and stopping what she was working on so she greet her potential customer, but that went down the drain as she found Twilight standing outside, "Oh, hello Twilight. To what do I owe the pleasure of a visit this late at night?"

"I come on behalf of Nightfury," Twilight replied, stepping into the boutique as she looked for signs of the Shadow that was supposed to have crossed over, "She sent me a letter a few minutes ago and warned me that something managed to cross through the Veil, though she swears that the source was here."

"Please Twilight, you know I don't have the knowledge to summon a monster from another realm," Rarity sighed, wondering why the new princess really sent Twilight to her boutique, "I'm sure that it was just a reaction to her coming back to Equestria after being trapped in a storm for the last thousand years. But, if she insists that there's something dangerous in my boutique and sent you to find it then I'll just have to take her word for it. So begin your search and show me what this 'creature' is supposed to be."

Twilight had no idea what she was looking for, but she had the basics of the Shadow finding spell, all thanks to Nightfury, so she was sure she could find something. Her horn lit up and the entire room filled with a layer of grey fog, which wrapped around everything before settling down, a faint black line appearing on the floor. Twilight raised her eyebrow and followed the trail, turning around the corner and heading up the stairs, Rarity following behind in pure curiosity.

Once they reached the top of the stairs Twilight turned again and followed the trail until they came to an open door, leading to a bedroom that could only belong to Sweetie Belle. She expected to find Sweetie laying in the bed, resting from her ordeal of having a Shadow share her body for a few minutes, but she was nowhere to be seen. Twilight glanced at the trail and her eyes widened as it stopped right in the middle of the bed, where Rarity had told her she was going to put her little sister.

"Twilight?" Rarity asked, her eyes darting around the room as she realized her sister was missing, "WHERE'S SWEETIE BELLE?!"

"She must have been possessed by a Shadow," Twilight replied, more to herself as she wondered how it could have happened, "Nightfury reported that there had been a small breach in the Veil, which she was sealing before making her way here, but it seems that something did come through. But what would a Shadow want with Sweetie Belle?"

That was when Twilight looked out the window and noticed the same trail leading off into the distance, heading straight towards her castle and giving her an idea. The only thing in her castle that anypony, Shadow or not, would considering stealing was one of the four legendary Sigils, but they would have only known that if they had followed her around for the last few days. Twilight knew that Crimson was still in the castle, which meant that whatever had possessed Sweetie Belle was using her to grab the Sigil of Fire.

She told Rarity to meet her at her castle before taking off, hoping that she could make it in time to at least warn Crimson before whatever was controlling Sweetie found him.

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Glimmer entered Crimson's room and silently approached the cloud, shadows wrapping around the walls as she eyed the Sigil, feeling its power calling out to her. She had been close to finding this same Sigil over a thousand years ago, but then some dragon noticed her and she ended up sparking a war between them and ponies. This time, however, she had knocked out the only creature that could mess up her plan and the keeper of the Sigil was out like a light, giving her the perfect chance to take it. She leapt onto the cloud and stood over Crimson, raising her right hoof before the shadows erupted out of it, surging into the metal around the Sigil and gripping the stone tight.

A mere filly cannot touch one of the Sigils without causing harm to him or herself, Glimmer thought, a smug look appearing on Sweetie's face, but Shadows do not have to play by that rule. All I have to do is loosen the metals hold on the Sigil and then rip it out before Crimson notices. Oh how the mighty have fallen...

Flames burst out of the metal and wrapped around Glimmer's shadows, wrapping around them so fast that they eventually reached Sweetie's hoof and gripped her tight. It had caught her by surprise, but she should have suspected something from the Prince of Fire, once considered a master strategist by many of the Shadows. She tried to pull herself back so she could escape the trap that Crimson had laid for whoever came for the Sigil, but try as she might she could not simply separate herself from the flames.

"Look what the cat dragged in," a voice said, causing Glimmer to look down and find Crimson staring right at her, "I knew it was a matter of time before somepony came to take my Sigil from me, though I never would have expected it to be you; Glimmer Scale."

"How did you know?" Glimmer asked, glaring right into Crimson's eyes.

"Please, you were the only Shadow that would try to take a Sigil like this," Crimson replied, blowing a puff of smoke into the air before staring at the filly again, "and every single time you failed. Sometimes you can teach an old dog new tricks, but it seems that your just an old dog that can't learn any new tricks. Tell you what Glimmer, tell me exactly who your working for and what you plan to do with the Sigils and maybe, just maybe, I won't hold you here so my cousin can force you out of this poor filly. Or I'll just burn you and find out for myself."

Glimmer focused the shadows on the flames and shattered the connection between the metal and herself, scorching the area where the flames had wrapped around her leg and forcing her off of Crimson. Before he had a chance to grab her Glimmer turned and ran into the hallway, turning hard to the left and heading right for the main door of the castle. Her leg hurt like mad, but she had gotten off easy and could have been wounded even worse than this, though she grunted through the pain and made her way down the stairs as fast as she possibly could.

She approached the door and sent her magic to grab the handle, but before it could reach it the door opened and revealed three ponies standing on the other side; Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, and Nightfury. Spike moaned and got up, but seeing what was happening he immediately ran behind Twilight, though he made sure he could see everything that was happening. Glimmer growled and turned back to the staircase, but before she got any further Crimson landed at the bottom and stared right at her, daring her to make a move towards any of them. She considered fighting them all and trying to escape from them, but with her damaged leg her chances at pulling off a successful escape were immediately slim, though she then remembered how to leave in a fashion that couldn't be stopped.

Glimmer threw out her magic and smoke began to pour out of Sweetie's mouth, gathering into a smoky creature that curled around the young filly until she was completely out of her. Sweetie's coat returned it its natural color and her eyes returned to normal, but the moment that she collapsed on the floor her older sister broke rank, running right towards them. Glimmer, using the diversion the mare created, flew over their heads and passed into the street, where she became one with the shadows until she was completely gone. She knew that she would be back to try for the Sigils again, but she needed a plan that could outdo Crimson and whatever else he had hidden.

"What was that?" Twilight asked, concerned for Sweetie's well being and wondering what had just happened.

"An old enemy," Crimson spat, staring off into the shadows in the off chance he might spot his target, "I'm afraid that things have gotten even worse now that Glimmer's back in the game."