Prince Shining Armour sat on the park bench in discomfort, his eyes focused on the mare opposite him. Her purple Irises seemed to pierce through his very soul as she glared at him. Her dark, frizzled mane with the lavender streak seemed to wave slightly in the breeze. The courtyard they were standing in was one of the nicer areas of the forward operating base and was devoid of any life sans the two current ponies. The sounds of ponies singing in harmony outside the walls could be heard all around. Their joy for the Princesses return seemed to flow through the evening air. Shining himself was feeling utterly ecstatic, but something was holding him back from celebrating just yet. It was probably the look he was receiving from said princess at the moment.

"So... erm, Twi-" Shining began, but he was swiftly cut off with a raised hoof. His sisters large eyes searched his eyes as she frowned at him. Shining gulped as his ears folded back slightly, but he didn't break eye contact. He didn't dare do it for the fear that none of this was real. His sister was here, in the flesh, in front of him! His angry sister, sure, but it was HIS sister!

Twilight's eyes continued to search his being, and he continued to feel uncomfortable, the feeling only growing as time went on.

'Okay, how do I properly approach this? She's obviously mad about what I did to the creature, so maybe apologizing? But she might not want me to talk yet, especially after that last attempt. Wait... is that a sm-'

Shining didn't get to finish his thought as the purple Alicorn suddenly launched herself at him, knocking him from the bench, wrapping her legs around his torso, and squeezing the actual life out of his very being. Shining gasped in surprise as he was suddenly crushed and looked down in confusion and surprise. He saw his sister, her eyes were closed, her face beaming in pure elation and joy. Tears poured from her, slowly soaking his chest fur. Her wings wrapped around him, making sure he couldn't escape.

Shining quickly overcame his confusion and swiftly wrapped her in a hug of his own. He heard a brief sniffle and quickly nuzzled Twilight's head, being mindful of her horn. They then just lay there, on the grass in each others embrace. Shining felt moisture building behind his eyes and tried to blink it away, but he ultimately failed. He squeezed his eyes shut as the tears slowly traced down his muzzle.

"Are you crying?"

Shining Armour looked down at the sudden question, a sense of nostalgia suddenly working its way into his mind.

"N-no! Its just... it's just... uh, liquid happiness! Y-yeah that's right!" Shining looked down at his sister and she giggled quietly through her tears.

"I'm sure it is, BBBFF." She nuzzled into his chest and sighed happily. "You have no idea how incredible it is to see you again."

Shining chuckled before hugging his sister close once more. A quiet sob escaped from within him as he squeezed her even closer.

"I thought I lost you. I've been trying to detect your magical signature everyday for the last two years along with Cadence's, but I wasn't able to find either. I thought the w-worst." Shining's chest wracked once again, and apparently Twilight felt it to for she began to stroke his back with a free hoof.

"Shh, it's okay. I'm perfectly fine now. I was able to cloak my magical signature with an old spell Celestia taught me. With magic as powerful as mine, the Dark Elves would have been able to pinpoint me easier." Twilight breathed in deeply, then exhaled. Shining could feel her heartbeat through her chest and smiled at it. He felt the tears slowly fall away completely and he sighed once more.

"You are going to have to tell me about what you did in the last two years, but I think there are some things we need to address at the moment." Shining extracted himself from his sister, who huffed slightly in annoyance.

"Damn right we do. Why were you torturing Sergeant Dean? He helped me get here you know." She glared at him once again, causing him to sweat uncomfortably. Her forelegs crossed in irritation as she growled at him.

"H-hey! Watch your language young l-lady!" Shining gulped as the glare picked up in intensity. His ears folded back as he began to stutter. "W-what I meant to say was, well, I thought he could've been a spy using you to get into the Resistance. I was told by the scouts you encountered that he was holding you and Midnight prisoner, so I might've assumed that he was with the enemy. It didn't help that the youngest Prince was with you either, free of bondage." Shining rubbed the back of his head with a hoof, looking as if he had been caught stealing a cookie from the jar.

"Well, when Dean wakes up, I want you to apologize to him. I get you thought he was an enemy but if you had used that thing between your ears," she bonked his forhead with a hoof, "I wouldn't be scolding you. Now, you are going to apologize to him." Twilight stuck her snout in the air and looked down at her brother. Her feathers ruffled slightly as she wiggled in place. "Deal?"

"Fine. It's a deal. I'm gl-"

Shining Armour could say no more as a fluffy lavender form in the shape of her sister suddenly launched through the air again and tackled him. They both laughed as they playfully wrestled in the courtyard. Birds chirped a happy chorus and the ponies began to finish their happy song...

*****

...Finally, our Princess has returned,

Let us rejoice and our voices be heard,

Even in our darkest hour,

When black magic the lands do scour,

When all hope seems lost,

And our morale grows soft,

The light of friendship will always be in our hearts,

No Dark Elves to snuff it out!

No depression to suffocate its might!

Our Princess has returned, everything shall be alright,

Yes, Everything, shall be all right!

And at that very moment, the bells of the clock tower struck one as the mighty percussive drums sounded their last beat of the song. The hundreds of ponies who had partaken simply went about their daily lives, albeit in much better moods. Smiles adjourned almost every face in the streets, the mood seeming to radiate across the sprawling city. There was one who didn't smile though, her mind was to plagued with thoughts as she traveled to the local bar. She sported a fuchsia coloured coat along with a purple mane and tail. A light teal streak ran down the center of each section. Her horn glowed as she levitated a large stack of papers behind her. Her cutie mark was a gray equal sign, and her name was Starlight Glimmer.

Starlight had been in Maritime bay for just under a year. Her perfect town was eviscerated from the map after the Dark Elves pushed North from Canterlot. Most of the population was enslaved, but Starlight and a few of her close supporters were able to escape via the underground tunnels. How they were able to escape and the others weren't... was not something she ever discussed.

The reason she and her following equalists were headed to the tavern was to deliver their equality pamphlets to maximum effect. The city was in a sorry state and was hanging by a thread. One snip in the leadership.... and it would all come crumbling down.

'If everyone is equal, then we can improve! We could build back what little economy we have and gain the pony power to take the fight to the Dark Elves! Hmm, maybe my slogan should be "Build. Back. Better." Yeah, I like that.'

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

"Hey, Starlight! What if that barkeep doesn't let us in? With the last project we did, we kinda got looked on in a bad light." Sugar Belle commented from the front of the group. Her eyes cast about uneasily as they got closer to the tavern.

"There is nothing to worry about, Sugar Belle! We are only going to be spending an hour distributing our pamphlets, then we are going to talk to the Prince about our plan. It's good enough he will agree, but it will also give me some more control. I may only be a counselor in the cities government, but I am sure that this new plan will work just fine! Plus, you have me this time." Starlight skipped up the the front doors of the tavern with a cheery expression and proceeded to swiftly open them wide. Laughter and and conversation suddenly picked up in volume by a tenfold as the group of ponies walked in.

"I'll stay out here and get the stand set up." Feather Bangs called from the front steps. He gave Sugar Belle a quick wink before turning and trotting towards his stands location. Sugar Belle huffed in irritation and rolled her eyes.

'When will he learn that I'm not into him?' She mumbled to herself quietly. Sugar Belle wasn't looking where she was going and ended up bumping into a burly stallion, causing her to fall to her haunches and the stallion to stumble slightly.

"Hey! Watch where you're going, idiot." The stallion gave her a sideways glare before resuming his poker game. After a second, His head swiveled back to regard her once again. "Hey, aren't you an equalist?" His eyes narrowed.

Sugar Belle gulped and her ears splayed backwards. Her pupils dilated slightly as she gave a nervous chuckle. The stallions eyes seemed to bore into her own as he stared her down. Sugar Belle was about to turn tail and run before she was saved by her friend and leader, Starlight.

"Guardsman, I suggest you show some politeness while off duty. We don't need any more fear being spread around this city." Starlight placed a hoof on Sugar Belles wither, encouraging her to stand up. She did so and quickly moved behind the equalist leader.

The stallion regarded the mare before him with a critical eye. The equalists may have been a pain in the flank as of late, but this was their leader and a counselor of the city. He really did not want to spend a month in the Dungeon like the last guard who pissed her off. He shuddered at the memory of his friend after he came back. A smile too large, consistently optimistic, and not getting his duties fulfilled. He decided to play it smart and apologize.

"I'm sorry for the disrespect ma'am, I hope I didn't inconvenience you." His glare lessened as he looked at Sugar Belle once more. The mare puffed her chest out slightly and nodded her head. Her muzzle formed into an overly creepy smile.

"It's alright. I'll be sure to watch where I am going next time!" Sugar Belle continued to smile even as she walked away with Starlight. The stallion visibly shivered, shook his head, and turned back to the card game once again, his buddies giving him odd looks.

The duo approached the bar counter. A couple of ponies sat at the long island table, their drinks sitting untouched as they listened to the strange, blocky device on the wall. Upon closer examination, Sugar Belle was able to make out an Elven communication device, a magi-comm. It was just another advanced piece of technology that the Dark Elves held over the inhabitants of Equis, especially the ponies. It had allowed instant communication among their warriors, allowing them to outmaneuver the Equestrian military and defeat them easily. Sugar Belle scowled at the sudden sense of hopelessness she got from just looking at the machine. It showed just how much the resistance was behind, how desperate they were getting by using the enemies own tech. it made her sick. The only real benefit was that the Resistance now had a way of staying in the loop.

"And this just in! More territory has been gained by our brothers in gold in the Griffin Empire! Prince Agnus BlueBlood had successfully repelled a Griffin counter attack on the Eastern front while his main force came in from the West. Elven forces have finally moved into the capital of Griffinstone and secured the magical artifacts stolen from our ancestors! The Emperor will be giving an announcement later in the week. Speaking of Royalty, it appears that the rumours of Prince Trignar's death have been proven false. Instead, he had been taken hostage by the legendary Demon of metal. We have yet to receive word on what the Demon's demands are, bu-"

The Magi-comm station suddenly cut out, the only sound being white noise. The Bartender, an utterly massive minotaur with hulking muscles, tried to get the machine to work again.

"Iron Will commands that you work, stupid device! Bah! Stupid Dark Elves and their stupid technologies. They are lucky Iron Will does not go and fight them head on!" The Minotaur, Iron Will, fiddled with the many knobs and wires on the Magi-comm, but ultimately failed to rejuvenate the frequency. Starlight figured it was a good idea to get the Barkeeps attention. She cleared her throat.

"Excuse me, Mr. Iron Will?" Iron Will stopped his fiddling and turned towards her.

"What can Iron Will do you for, little pony? I've got drinks, copyrighted by Iron WIll, I've got snacks, copyrighted by Iron Will, and I've got different assorted knick knacks, all copyrighted by Iron Will." A goat appeared at Iron Will's side and bleated once. The Minotaur in turn glared at a table somewhere off to his right. "You break it you buy it, Dirtbag! Or else you'll have to deal with the most fearsome Minotaur in the lands! Sorry about that little lady, what were you looking for?"

Starlight stood a little straighter, but barely came up to the Minotaurs abs. A sickly sweet smile played out on her muzzle, though it did not reach her ears.

"I was wondering if the great Iron Will would allow me, counselor Starlight Glimmer, to set up a stand just outside your tavern? I would also like to run my campaign from this location." She laid on the 'counselor' a bit harder than usual, but it would seem that Iron Will either didn't hear the shift in tone, or chose to ignore it.

"Well little pony, what is in it for Iron Will? This is legally my establishment after all." Iron will crossed his broad arms across his immense chest and smirked. The goat standing beside him also turned it's head to regard the duo.

"Well, I am offering the fact that once I win the coming election for mayor of the city, your establishment will expand to all the other food and shelter business in Maritime Bay. I'll even put you on the counsel as the head of the business sector." Starlight beamed as Iron Will scratched his goatee in thought. Sugar Belle was still standing behind her leader, keeping a watchful eye around the room. She kept getting strange looks from all the ponies present, but chose to ignore them. Her attention returned to the bar when Iron Will gave his decision.

"Iron Will agrees to your request." Sugar Belle mentally cheered in her head.

"Splendid! Just sign here and we will be all set."

And so Iron Will signed the contract. Starlight and Sugar Belle went back to find Sugar Bangs, only to discover him being questioned by no more than six local guards.

"What is the meaning of this intrusion?" Starlight calmly called as she trotted up to the partially set up booth. A stack of pamphlets rested on Feather Bangs back and was teetering dangerously as the guards remained crowded around him.

"We are closing up your little gig here. You are on private property and we do not want another incident like last time." The gruff, female voice of Spitfire growled towards Starlight.

"Well, then it is a good thing that I have an agreement with the landowner. My campaign establishment will take place right here beside the tavern. Starlight magicked up the contract and passed it to the fuming captain. Spitfire quickly scanned through the document before throwing it at Starlight in disgust.

"Fine, but no funny business. You equalists cause enough trouble as it is." Spitfire made to turn around, but something soft tapped her on the shoulders. She and the others in her squad turned back to face the Equalists. "What?"

"Why don't you take a pamphlet? I'm sure you might be interested in the coming election." Starlight, Sugar Belle, and Feather Bangs all smiled impossibly wide, causing all but one of the guards to shiver.

"Y-yeah whatever." Spitfire and her five cohorts each received a pamphlet and all but one actually tucked the pieces of paper away in their armour. A white unicorn grabbed his in the air and began to read through it casually.

Starlight watched as the six guards strutted down the road once more and chuckled. Her other two Equalists chuckled with her before moving about their tasks of setting up.

'It's about time we got this show on the road. Soon, the ponies of Equestria will know freedom. They will know true equality, and I will be at their center!

And so, for the next few hours, Starlight and her small band of Equalists started to grow their support. Once enough ponies joined their cause, strife, greed, and other annoying emotions would become a thing of the past. Nothing would stand in her way.

*****

He watched from the shadows as the ponies passed out their campaign pamphlets. His mind worked a million miles a minute as he thought on the situation. Then it clicked.

A message was sent, an order was given.

The bug in the shadows chuckled ominously, his form slowly melding into darkness until there was nothing but pale blue eyes standing in the shade. And after a second, even that was gone to. The ponies wouldn't suspect as thing...