Twilight and her friends were summoned to Celestia's personal quarters roughly an hour before the meeting would take place. It was in the middle of the afternoon. The sun would set in about three hours. They passed Luna as they walked through the corridors.

"You're up early, Princess," said Applejack. The Princess' otherwise flowing mane seemed oddly still today.

"Yes, you see, Applejack, with the meeting being pushed forward, there was simply no time to have it after the sunset. I admit that I feel slightly tired, but I will endure for the sake of my sister. Have you seen her today? She seems to be exhausted. I'm worried about her," said Luna.

"I'm sure it isn't that bad," said Fluttershy.

***

To Fluttershy's credit, it wasn't that bad. It was worse. At least Luna's mane was still flowing. Celestia's mane was just sort of hanging still and straight. It did not look very fitting. As horrible it felt to Twilight to think it, Celestia didn't look regal. Her mane, other than being still for the first time in a long while, was also uncombed and had faded in color slightly. Her eyes looked so tired, but at least they were not bloodshot. He coat didn't look quite as radiant as it usually did. She wasn't wearing her tiara or golden jewelry. She looked oddly like a normal pony. Remove either the wings or the horn and she could have passed for one of her slightly larger subjects. That just felt incredibly wrong to Twilight.

"Princess, are you alright?" asked Twilight worryingly.

"Yes, Twilight, I'm fine. I have some work to do before this meeting, so I'm a bit stressed," said Celestia.

"Then, we better get this done so you can get back to work. I know how that feels," said Rarity. Celestia nodded.

"Yes. I just wanted to tell you that you should prepare for the meeting and have the Elements ready. There, I think that would be it," said Celestia. They all gave her an odd look. That was oddly pointless. They would have done that anyway.

"Princess, is there something else you wanted to say?" asked Twilight to her mentor.

"N-no. No, nothing," said Celestia. "Thank you for coming, you are dismissed. Enjoy the parts of the meeting you will be allowed to attend," said Celestia.

They hesitated slightly but eventually turned around and walked back towards the door.

"Twilight?" asked Celestia as she was about to leave. Twilight turned around.

"Yes, Princess?" Celestia looked at her, with a somewhat defeated look.

"Please help me with this paperwork," pleaded Celestia. She sounded far too desperate. Twilight didn't like it. Celestia was just supposed to always be regal, composed, proud.

"Of course I will," said Twilight. She turned towards her friends. "Go and get the things ready for today. I'll stay here," said Twilight. They did as she said and left them alone.

Twilight went over to the desk, quickly looking over all the papers. While some of this was unfamiliar and difficult, she still managed to quickly grasp the basic idea of what she was required to do. As she was about to start, she felt Celestia hug her from behind, startling her at first.

"I'm so happy you're here, Twilight Sparkle. Sometimes, I don't know what I would do without you. You've really grown a lot these last years, haven't you?"

"Princess?"

"You've become so much more independent and strong. You've found strength in both yourself and others. You've learned so much. I'm proud of you. I'm rarely truly afraid, and even when I am, I hide it. It hasn't been so hard to keep my fear hidden in a long time as when I saw you in a coma because of Misery. I feared that I had lost you far too early."

"It's alright, Princess."

"I know but I'm still just so frustrated that Misery's tried to make my life, well, miserable. To think she's almost succeeded twice is..." She didn't finish her sentence.

"Well, Princess. You're tired. Get another hour of sleep and I'll deal with this paperwork," said Twilight. She was worried that her mentor seemed to be so sleep deprived, but she knew she would get out of this low soon enough. None was stronger and more composed than her. She would be better than ever after a bit of sleep. She let go of Twilight and did as she said. Walking over to her large bed and falling asleep very quickly. Twilight had never seen her like that, she slept like a foal.

Twilight would have never expected herself to actually be the responsible one out of them both. She wasn't sure she liked having to be more stable than her mentor. She liked having the role of the sensible one, but not when it meant having to take that role from none other than her teacher.

"Ha ha. All of my friends have had a bit of a crazy moment, I suppose you would have one sooner or later," said Twilight, peeking back at Celestia resting silently. She had never looked more vulnerable, but at the same time never as endearing. But did that moment have to come today of all days? she thought and looked up worryingly at a clock. Not too long until the meeting. Twilight focused on her work at hand. Chasing a dangerous group was difficult, but this, this she could do.

***

Twilight had managed to finish the work just ten minutes before she needed to get ready. She had woken up Celestia around fifteen minutes before the meeting. While they both would need to stress in order to get ready, they still had enough time. The slight bit of rest had even managed to return some luster to the tired Princess. Her mane was flowing again, albeit not as lively as usual. Twilight was worried about her when she left the room, but she was confident in her mentor's abilities. After all, it was just about getting ready for a party.

Once Twilight returned to her own living quarters Rarity and Pinkie Pie wasted absolutely no time in getting her ready. The unicorn's grace and the pony's knack for parties complemented each other very well in order for Twilight to get ready in every necessary regard.

In record time, she found herself to be ready for the meeting. It would start as a bit festive, and then move on to something much more like a conference. It was important that there was at least some sense of camaraderie before the negotiations about the world's future would start.

***

"I just hope nothing goes wrong. I just hope Misery will decide to do whatever she's planning on some other day. That would be sweet," said Rainbow Dash.

Twilight agreed as they were walking through the corridors, wearing their fancy dresses. When comparing the party a few days ago to this day, that whole night seemed like it had merely been a warmup for this. They would be ready for everything. With Random on their side, Group Misery was unpredictable. He could have won the allegiance of anyone, he could have retrieved any information. At least his name fitted him. They joined several other ponies who were moving towards the room where the meeting would be held. It was to be held in the exact same place the party had been in. At least they knew the area well after running around so much in it.

"What's the schedule for tonight?" asked Spike. He was wearing a green pendant and an adorable little cape in order to appear more impressive himself. It actually just managed to look like he was wearing a security blanket.

"Well," said Twilight, thinking through what she had read the day before. "The first half hour is just waiting and talking before the food will be served. Then after roughly one and a half hour there will be a slight break. Everyone who is not a royal or delegate will leave the room to allow the royals to speak to each other while being seated at the dinner table."

"So, the guards that they have with them will also leave?" asked Rarity.

"Yes. Personally I think that might not be such a good thing. They feel safer with their personal guards around. Still, this meeting and what is discussed is usually kept confidential, just in case. So we are not allowed in there," said Twilight.

"Imagine what mysteries they must speak of, what secrets they must share!" said Rarity with a wishful gaze.

"What budgets they must decide!" said Rainbow Dash in a friendly mocking imitation. Rarity was less than amused at first, but she eventually chuckled.

"I have to admit, that was a good one," said Rarity and gave her friend a smile.

They reached the entrance to the room and walked inside. It certainly had a less festive atmosphere than the last time they had been there. Not just because of the lack of tables, food and drinks, but also because of the somber tone of all those that had already arrived. They were not enjoying themselves and it was clear why. They didn't allow themselves to. The only exception to this was King Pero who quickly approached Pinkie Pie as she entered.

"Pinkie Pie, my friend. You look lovely. Perhaps we could give some life to this dull party. What do you say?" asked King Pero. At first, Pinkie Pie got a smile on her face, but her friends gave her a stern look. She bowed her head in defeat.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness, but I have my duties to keep my mind on," said Pinkie Pie. King Pero looked disappointed, but understanding.

"It's alright. Hopefully the night will still be enjoyable. I certainly hope it will be so for you and your friends," said King Pero and then left.

As he walked away, Spike pulled at Pinkie's mane.

"I think he likes you," whispered Spike.

"Of course he likes me, silly, otherwise we wouldn't be friends."

"I mean, like, like like you, like, do you get what I, like, mean?" said Spike.

"If you ever use so many 'likes' in a sentence again, I will ground you for a week," said Twilight annoyed.

"Don't be silly, silly, silliness like that is just silly. He's just a new friend, silly."

"Stop it," said Twilight with a stern voice.

Spike looked around the entire room, he seemed a bit surprised.

"There's no music or band playing tonight. So, no entertainment?" asked Spike.

"Not really. Somepony will sing the hosting kingdom's national anthem as is tradition, but that's about it," said Twilight.

"Cool. Who?"

"I hear it's a filly."

"Why not a professional singer?"

"It's probably good to have a filly there. It might make them remember that their choices will affect future generations," said Twilight.

"Oh yeah... Wow, that's deep," said Spike.

"Not really," said Rainbow Dash.

Twilight looked around the room, taking note of everyone who had arrived. This event had essentially started, if a bit slow, merely fifteen seconds ago. Something was wrong.

"Where is Princess Celestia?" asked Twilight. They all did a quick scan in the room, but only Luna could be found, and when they asked her she didn't know either.

"Hm, should I go check?" asked Spike.

"I think that would be for the best," said Twilight.

"Right, on my way," said Spike and quickly left the room.

"There is no reason to act in haste, she only technically have to appear before the guests are served. I would not be surprised if she is merely taking the opportunity to sleep in," said Luna. She looked around the guests who seemed to have noticed the Princess' absence. "Still, this does not reflect well on our hospitality," said Luna.

***

Once Spike had returned, he could confirm that Celestia was in fact still resting. Twilight's fears were initially put at rest. They had been pretty silly fears. Even in a tired state, Celestia was still basically untouchable, surely. On top of it all she had guards to keep her safe.

That fear quickly became something else that they all shared, including Luna. The food had been served, and hundreds of expressions, unquestionably frowns, seemed to often be drawn towards the one empty seat. Twilight glanced over towards the clock. She was fifteen minutes late. Those had been some agonizing minutes. Fortunately they reached an end as Princess Celestia rushed in through the entrance. Twilight had seen her put on her tiara just before she had entered. He mane was flowing better, but she still looked far from radiant.

"My honored guests, I apologize for being late. I hope you have enjoyed yourself in my absence," said Celestia.

"Princess Celestia, I believe I speak for everyone when I say that we do not take kindly to such behavior," said a pony, supposedly from a distant land. "It does not reflect well upon you, or Equestria," said the pony with a slightly condescending tone. Twilight could see several other guests nodding their heads in agreement.

"Yes, I am aware of that, but I have been preoccupied by important matters," said Celestia.

"And, pray tell, what would that be? What could be so important that you are unable to fulfill your duties to the world?" asked the pony.

"What I do in my own kingdom is unfortunately none of your concern unless it involves the home you represent," said Celestia. Twilight noticed some whispers in the room.

"But it has clearly been allowed to negatively affect this meeting, has it not? Does that not mean that it is indeed of our concern?"

"It is-"

"Perhaps the rumors are true? That this villainous band of criminals, this 'Group Misery' has indeed pushed you to your limits."

"That is simply not-"

"I myself question your ability to rule a kingdom when a team of merely seven ponies give you so much trouble," said the pony. Twilight did not enjoy the increase in whispers.

"They have little-"

"Perhaps the-"

"Will you at least be a gentlecolt and let the lady talk?" exclaimed Spike suddenly to the pony. Twilight suddenly tensed up. Such an outburst was far too dangerous in this room. The pony looked over at Spike, raising his eyebrow. He might as well have said 'How dare you?'

"And, who are you?" asked the pony.

"My name is Spike. I'm the dragon who saved the Crystal Empire," said Spike, managing to sound confident due to his best effort. He might no longer have believed that claim himself, but it was certainly an impressive thing to say. Twilight noticed a few familiar crystal ponies waving to Spike with reverence.

"Ah, yes, I believe I've heard of you. Very well, Princess, what was it that you were going to say?" asked the pony. It was less of a question and more of a way to humor the child.

Celestia sighed in what must have been relief. She looked over at Spike with a grateful look. While his outburst was inappropriate, and could have caused a lot of trouble, at least he had yet again proven his loyalty.

"While it would be a lie to say that I have not been concerned with this group of criminals, saying that they are the reason for me being tired from working hard is hardly accurate. They are merely the straw that broke the camel's back."

"I take slight offense to that, but please do go on," said a camel among the guests, apologetically raising his hoof to point it out.

"I have worked very hard to make sure that this meeting could have gone as well as it possibly could have, with or without interference from anyone. I have merely done my best to ensure that your stay would be effective and comfortable. It is the struggle to entertain that tears on me, nothing else. If I have not been able to live up to your standards, then I sincerely apologize. But, let us not forget that these meetings are always very charged, no matter who is designated to host them. I have seen others be better hosts, and I have seen some be worse. I just implore you to let whatever hostility you have with me, or indeed among you, be put aside just for the moment so that we today can focus on what is most important to us," said Celestia.

"Our subjects and their happiness," said King Pero. Celestia gave him a subtle nod with a kind smile.

There was a silence for a short moment.

"I hope we can all come to an agreeable decision," said Celestia. "But for now, let us simply dine in peace."

***

At the same time, in the dungeon, Erase was counting the seconds as they passed. It wasn't long until they would start. Today would decide a lot of things, so much was certain.

***

Eventually, the meals had been eaten, the drinks had been enjoyed and the part of the evening dedicated to be a good host had reached an end. Twilight and her friends were essentially forced to leave the room, along with plenty of other guards. Celestia observed them leave. She was feeling somewhat tense. Out of all the days and events that these meetings involved, this one was always the one guaranteed to create the most unrest.

She could see her pupil toss a worried look over her shoulder before the doors closed. Celestia took a deep breath.

"And to officially mark the beginning of our meeting, a filly born in Equestria is here to sing our anthem," said an announcer. Everyone's eyes were drawn towards the stage. The announcer gestured towards the side of the stage, but nopony came out from there. The announcer looked confused. "Please give me a moment," said the the announcer and walked over to the side he had gestured towards. Celestia could hear him whisper. The acoustics of the room and the silence of the guests made it relatively easy to hear what was being said. "It's alright, little Miss. There's nothing to be afraid of. Do you want me to stay next to you when you sing?" asked the announcer with a caring, almost fatherly voice.

"Okay," said a young voice. The announcer walked back out on stage with a little filly, with a blue coat and white mane. She still hadn't gotten her cutie mark. He led the filly up to the front of the stage. Everyone was looking at her, clearly making her feel uneasy. She looked up at the friendly announcer.

"Go on, dear," said the announcer. The filly took a slow step forward. She was blushing.

"H- Hello. My, my name is Dot, and I'm here to sing our anthem," said little Dot, scraping her hooves at the wooden stage floor in hesitation.

***

"It's time," said Erase. Instrumental sighed in relief. Erase got out of his bed. He held the sword above him. None other than Mrs. Misery had taught him how to do this, as she had for all of those who could use their powers in an extreme way. Mood, Solitary, Instrumental, maybe even Y.

"Unleash the beast!" roared Erase, and then he brought down the sword and stabbed himself right in his heart. Usually, his blade couldn't even touch him, but her certainly felt it now. The pain he felt was nothing short of horrifying, his mind was struggling to even understand it as it enveloped him. Still, compared to what he had felt the day he had gotten this curse, everything else just seemed numb in comparison. He pulled out his sword, and from the wound something was clawing its way out, a dark mist, in the same color as his talon. It searched its way up his body, up to his claw, and then it settled. Within seconds his entire body was enveloped, he could not see through the cold fog. Then he felt like he was struck by lightning as new nerves were formed and connected to his own. The darkness took on a solid form, and he was able to perceive the world again. It was already over, and his body was stronger than it had ever been. His heart had healed within seconds. Not even a drop of blood had touched the floor.

Covered in skin more resembling a black and indigo armor, it's very texture like that of razors, he walked up to the bars keeping him prisoner. His face felt thicker and longer and he had no mane or tail. It was like he was wearing a mask on his long face, like it was a part of him, with a second set of big fangs in front of his normal teeth. His eyes were like that of a reptile. Any sane pony would have taken one look at him, and instantly labeled him as an evil. Not too far from the truth. Still, he had no plans on killing anyone as long as they kept out of his way.

"Time to get out of this place," said Erase. He focused on the second talon now in place of his front hoof. A mist extended from it, and he grasped that. He was holding two dark blades. He took one look on the bars and then cut them with all of his strength. They might as well have been made of air as he cleanly removed them from their place. They fell to the floor with a clang.

He continued out of his cell and up to Instrumental's. With a quick cut she was free, and then with another cut she could finally speak again.

"Thank you, Erase. You have no idea how much this thing has bugged me," said Instrumental and tossed the broken equipment on the ground. They moved towards the entrance.

"I wonder if Celestia would rather start a war than telling us about Cesom," said Erase.

"We're about to find out," said Instrumental.

Erase opened the door to the hallway. Immediately two tired guards turned around, both had wings, and seemed ready to use them as blades. One of them looked upon Erase with such horror on his face that Erase was sure he would just turn around and flee.

"Alarm! The prisoners have escaped!" yelled the other guard, clearly more composed. Withing seconds, they were surrounded.

"Take care of the guards, Instrumental," said Erase. He closed his eyes and covered his ears.

"Alright!" said Instrumental. She pounced towards the group of guards, sliding on the stone floor until she was in the middle. She spun around, and stopped in a dancing pose. "Feel the grove!" she exclaimed. From somewhere indeterminable, music that could only be described as groovy could be heard. Instrumental just did a few steps to the beat of the music, and every single guard immediately dropped whatever weapon they had as they started to dance, following her steps exactly. Even when she was done and the music faded, they couldn't stop dancing.

"What have you done to us?!" yelled one of the guards.

"I used my curse's extreme setting! You fellows won't be able to stop dancing for six hours straight! I'm sorry, but try to enjoy it!" said Instrumental and winked towards them. She carefully nudged Erase.

"I'm done, Erase. Let's keep going," said Instrumental.

"Nicely done," said Erase.

"I'll keep doing it until we've reached our goal. That is the one perk to having a curse that can be charged infinitely!" said Instrumental as they ran away from the dancing guards.

"You seem somewhat excited," said Erase.

"Of course! Tonight's the night our lives might get normal again! And I've been in that cell for days! It's time to party!" said Instrumental.

Another group of guards blocked their paths, holding out spears and bows, ready to be used.

"Again! Let's dance, boys!"

***

Twilight and her friends did like most others there: they waited outside of the room for the meeting to end. Something that Twilight found to be amusing and possibly even ironic was that they all, everyone that were there to protect their leaders and royalty, got along swimmingly. They were all so much more lenient without anyone of power around.

Twilight had easily struck up conversation with a zebra and griffin, both scholars. Rainbow Dash was bragging to at least five different guards about her accomplishments, and then it was their turn to impress her. Fluttershy was petting an otherwise vicious guard dog. Applejack was serving up some of her refreshments to everyone. Rarity was admiring the traditional yet stunning vests of a griffin captain. Pinkie Pie was just being Pinkie Pie, putting a smile on everyone's faces. Spike and Shining Armor were off to the side and talked to each other. The way they all tried to enjoy the moment was their way to ignore the implications of whatever could happen.

Then they all heard something unsettling from inside the room. It was loud voices.

"I can't believe they are fighting," said a griffin guard.

"I'm surprised they've started so early," said a pony.

"Should we do something?" asked Twilight.

"We are not allowed. We can only disturb them if there is physical violence," said Shining Armor.

Like on cue, something big struck the door from within. Twilight used her magic to open the large door. What they saw inside was nothing short of shocking.

Everyone in there. Every single one was yelling at each other with angry voices and hateful looks. Celestia hadn't lost her cool, but her eyes were piercing. Luna was shouting so loudly that it hurt their ears. A few griffins were fighting each other physically. In the corner, a little filly was crying at all the violence and yelling, weakly telling them to stop.

"Spike, go get that filly out of here," said Twilight. Spike immediately did as she told him. Twilight turned towards all of the fighting individuals and then turned back to all of the guards who were just staring in shock at all the aggression. "Well, what are you waiting for?! Hold back your respective leaders!" said Twilight.

Within minutes, they barely managed to keep their respective leaders and mentors back from clawing each others' eyes out. They still yelled, despite their subjects' best efforts.

"Celestia, sometimes I just despise the way you deal with your problems! Are you never going to tackle it head on?!" yelled King Pero.

"You are such a barbarian, Pero!" yelled Celestia. King Pero slammed his fist on the table.

"That's it! Celestia, I don't care what power you have over the sun! I declare w-"

"STOP IT!" shouted a voice that just didn't belong there. Twilight had heard that voice many times before, but she didn't expect to hear it here, now. It was Cadance's voice, but it didn't come from Shining Armor's shield. Twilight turned around. Right behind her, Princess Cadance was standing.