A/N: There IS some foreshadowing in this chapter, so keep an eye open!

The word spread quickly. Ivy Nightshade had assassinated Phoenix Netherbane. They found his corpse in a pool of his own blood, red staining the sheets. Soon after, Ivy was executed by the Netherbanes.

"This is perfect," Elvira murmured. "Absolutely perfect. The Netherbane-Nightshade alliance is over. This massively increases our chance of winning!"

Napoleon sat up just a little straighter, and his face brightened with an almost child-like yearning. He, after all, had played a crucial part in this plan.

Elvira sharpened a few knives. "You guys did well," she said nonchalantly, examining her weapons like they were vendettas. "Ew, this one's rusty." She hurled it into the wall. "Can't risk getting tetanus, can we?"

"No, Empress," Napoleon and Ebony muttered at the same time, Napoleon back to wearing his usual scowl.

"Exactly. Don't want to be like my idiot sister," Elvira remarked. "Ebony. Your next mission will be in the Crystal Empire."

Ebony's head immediately swiveled towards Napoleon. They were going to be separated again?

"I'll meet you back here at two for your briefing," Elvira finished, already exiting the room. "And by the way, you guys can make out if you want. There's a room in the back."

**********

Ebony stood at the outskirts of the empire. Wearing nothing but a flexible black catsuit, she was flanked by five others sent along with her. Keiran, a boy who possessed the ability of light manipulation. Vex, who could turn people invisible. Akiro and Aiko, silver-haired twin telepaths. And of course, Nereza Dusk.

"You ready?" Nereza asked the twins, who nodded earnestly.

Hey, it's me. Akiro's voice said in Ebony's head.

Hi. She replied.

Meanwhile, Nereza yelped in surprise, glaring at Aiko. "Girl, you could at least tell me when we're gonna hear each other's thoughts." Then she turned to Keiran. " Forget what you just saw!"

Aiko muttered an apology, but she giggled into her palm when Nereza turned away.

"Now for the hardest part. Linking everyone up," Akiro sighed.

Both the twins closed their eyes. Akiro and Aiko sang a few words of a song. When using their abilities, it helped to do something simultaneously.

Hello? Ebony? You still alive? Nereza's voice shouted in her head.

Not so loud! Vex scolded. We can hear you just fine.

"We need to secure our connection," Aiko said to Akiro. They finished humming the song.

What's that? Ebony asked.

The Ballad of Illumina. Akiro told her. You know, the one about the white moon?

No. I'm a spy, not a singer.

But now that she thought of it, she had heard it somewhere. Oh, that was it. The Spectacalites had done a dance to it. With Chrissy singing the lyrics. What had happened to Chrissy, now that she-

Let's get started, ok? Nereza growled. It's cold and I want more apple fries.

Ebony nodded, as she and the boys entered the empire.

As they slunk through the desolate streets, Keiran pushed the light around himself and Ebony away, so they were shrouded in a permanent shadow. Vex and Akiro were invisible.

Wow, this sucks. Nereza's snide voice remarked. Psh, so boring.

Defeated clangs sounded faintly from the mines. The few citizens that walked the streets trudged miserably to their next destination. Mind-controlled guards patrolled the area.

A girl about her age dragging a pickaxe behind her nearly walked into her and for a split second they locked eyes. Her mouth moved and Ebony thought she caught the words "save me".

But she was gone as soon as she came, and the group continued on . They moved gradually, haltingly, as not to get caught. Sticking close to the walls, with Vex turning Keiran (who was the least agile of the group) invisible at certain moments.

Ebony wondered what Napoleon was doing at this time. Helping Elvira? Training?

Aww.....that's sweet. Worrying about your bae? Nereza's voice cooed. Hang on a sec. I thought you said you had no time for boys.

No, she just didn't care for boys who wasted her time.

Oh, I see. You have high expectations. Girl, I feel you, goddammit. The amount of people I have to reject.

But love was worth it when you found the right person. Ebony thought back to all the times she and Napoleon had spent together.

Wait. You and Napoleon made out in a chandelier?

Ebony reddened. Trying to think of something else was supposed to be easy, but the image only imprinted itself in her mind.

Wow, so this is what you think about when you go on top-secret missions. Whewf. I'm not the only one. Nereza sighed in relief.

Ebony saw one of the pretty girls in Legion five resting her head on Nereza's shoulder affectionately, while Nereza stroked her hair. She had a girlfriend?

Ex-girlfriend. Nereza corrected. We broke up.

Ebony thought she heard a dejected sniffle. No Ebony, I'm not crying. I'm just slightly sad she perished with the rest of Legion five due to Netherbanian land mines.

We're right outside the palace, Akiro explained. Time for stage two.

The four of them waited for someone to exit the palace. After seventeen agonizing minutes, the door burst open and a few guards exited.

Ebony slipped between two of them easily, while the boys behind her generated a few scuffles.

You tripped me, you little shit, Vex swore at Akiro.

It's not my fault everyone's blind, Akiro growled.

Minus the maids and guards, the large vestibule was empty.

Hey, you guys can knock out a few soldiers, ya know. Nereza advised.

No, not in a main room. We can do that when we get to the corridors. Ebony objected.

They turned right into a corridor.

Uh, Ebony? With Keiran bending the light away from you guys, it's kind of hard to see you. And we don't know the way very well. Vex pointed out.

I'll handle this. You guys sit back and relax. Ebony reassured them. The three of them took a seat on a couch.

Ebony sped through the palace so quickly and quietly no one could catch her on their radar. She saw a lone maid scurrying into a bathroom.

Sorry, dear.

Two minutes later, Ebony emerged in an ill-fitting maid outfit. We'll take an alternate route to the dungeons so the guards don't get suspicious.

Corridor after corridor, room after room. Everything so meticulously slow and steady.

We're outside the dungeons, Ebony updated, tugging at the outfit. Why were maid uniforms always so itchy?

Great. Time for Stage three. Nice outfit, by the way. Really suits you.

Ok. Let's-

Akiro's voice went silent in her head. But Keiran still seemed to hear him.

She was just about to tell Akiro she lost connection when Keiran unleashed his trump card.

With a deafening whoosh, all the light was drawn out of the room. Dirty curses, exclaims of surprise, screams.

That was her cue. Celestia's cell was at the very end of the room.

In the dark, she ran towards her left, bumping into the hard armor of guards, and the occasional corpse.

Her outstretched hand caught a material she only knew as black crystal. Waxy, ice-cold and treacherous.

She grabbed onto the nearest bar with her spare hand, estimating the distance. Very close. But this was where increased agility gave her the advantage.

Head first. She ground her teeth, trying to fit through. She had to dislocate her right shoulder first. This was a stretch, even for her. But there was a reason the soldiers jokingly called her "spider".

She strained, feeling the way her body seemed to be in a tug of war. One last inch. With a loud but satisfying "pop", her shoulder fell back into place.

Next to her lay what remained of the princess of the sun. Bloody, mangled, wheezing from what was likely broken ribs.

Celestia tried to say something, but Ebony wrapped her hand around her throat. "Shhhh. I'll heal you," she whispered in Equestrian, switching from the sharp consonants of Vampiric to smooth vowels.

The light came back. But the natural darkness of the cell covered her. Outside the cell was a shadowy mass. Keiran, Akiro, and Vex.

Even in her weakened state, Celestia seemed to understand. She flipped over so her back was facing the bars.

Ebony removed a small vial from the pocket of her maid outfit. "Drink. This works quickly."

Within a few minutes, Celestia's broken ribs and right leg had healed. Ebony gave a thumbs up to the boys.

"We're going to get you out of here. Can you walk?"

Celestia weakly nodded, but looked unsure.

I can only do this for a little bit. Keiran will extinguish the lights again. Nereza rewinds the crystal bars. You take Celestia and we'll get out of here.

The connection cut. Ebony supposed she could take her. The princess had lost a lot of weight; she was all sharp shoulder blades and prominent ribs.

Everything turned pitch black.

"These damn torches!" Someone roared.

"Hey, don't punch me in the face, you bastard!"

Ebony grunted as she helped Celestia to her feet. They ran out of the cell, the remains of the bars now gone.

"I'll carry her!" Akiro yelled over the commotion, hoisting Celestia onto his back.

Ebony led the group down a different route, twisting and turning. People could be hot on her heels. She'd never know.

Stars exploded before her eyes as she crashed into someone. Her mini-axe had already found their throat before they could scream.

Out the back door. Through the streets. Everything became routine until Vex nearly passed out.

We're so close. Akiro whispered to Ebony, shifting his grip on Celestia. You think we can make a run for it? We're at the border, anyways.

Ebony nodded.

Akiro's eyes flitted to the other two boys.

"Hey!" A guard yelled.

Vex slashed his throat. Another rushed to his aid, but Ebony's axe came down hard.

Akiro, Celestia and Keiran were already running.

Somehow, a wave of guards were coming towards them, in perfect unison.

"We shouldn't waste our energy fighting!" Vex suggested, stabbing a guard through the abdomen.

"Let's fly then!" Ebony urged, leaving guards behind as she shot into the air.

Their sweat froze from the sheer temperature, as the noises behind them grew fainter and fainter. Now simply echoes, they took the chance to catch their breath.

"I think we lost them," Vex panted.

But in the growing distance, they saw him. The King of Shadows. His signature red eyes and what was now a scowl boring through them.

Holy freaking smokes! I'm not straight, but I gotta say...he pulls off the dark and sexy look really well. Nereza exclaimed.

So they had regained connection.

Crap! He saw us! Vex gasped. Quickly, Ebony!

The adrenaline surged her forward, and she cursed as the wind stung her face. A thousand humiliating slaps.

When they floated back down to the ground, they had reached the snow-capped mountains of the Frozen North. Nereza's tan skin and electric blue hair stood out against the stark white landscape.

All six of them spread their wings as they took flight once again.

"A little late, should I say?" Nereza said, playing with a lock of Celestia's hair.

"She's your prisoner not your girlfriend," Vex snapped. "No flirting."

"Who are you, my mother?" Nereza retorted carelessly, then froze up. "Ok. Bad example. I'd definitely listen to my mother."

"It isn't the most professional thing," shy Aiko piped up.

"Hey, if Specter gets Luna, it's only fair that I get pretty Tia here," Nereza shrugged.

"I don't like girls," Celestia mused weakly.

"Well, that was before you met me!" Nereza gave her a little wink.

"Alright, nice work everyone. Now we're heading to Canterlot," Ebony declared over the small talk.

Celestia immediately perked up.

"Don't worry, girl, we've been cleaning up the mess of your crappy kingdom!" Nereza gave Celestia a pat on the shoulder.

"I'm so hungry," Keiran moaned. "When's lunch?"

"You can starve," Ebony replied, then she drew her axe. "Unless one of you....would like to sacrifice themselves."

Aiko squeaked and ducked behind her brother. "Ro, they can't choose me! I'm too young to die!"

Nereza cracked up, wheezing. "Ha! She totally got you there! Ebony, I told you you're great at this stuff!"

They all burst into laughter, even Aiko. "Can we trademark that?"

"Guys! Shut up! Otherwise Sombra's gonna come and kill us!" Akiro shouted-whispered, but that only made them laugh harder.

"Ha! I'm dead inside anyways! He can go ahead!" Keiran waved his hand, switching to Equestrian. "HEY SOMBRA!! YOU OUT THERE?! COME AND GET ME!!"

"Dude!" Akiro chided.

Many interesting things had happened that day. Many had astounded Ebony.

But what astounded her the most was to see a faint smile on Celestia's lips.   

Hey guys! I hope you liked this chapter, since I know some of you guys LOOOVE the action! Remember to vote if you enjoyed, and comment any thoughts! P.S. Did you guess what the foreshadowing was? (Winter I know you know).