The Queen Beckons

Chapters

Part 1: The Ghost of the Night
Part 2: Secrets and Starlight
The Second Nightmare
Part 3: The Mousetrap
The Third Nightmare
Part 4: Broken Masks
The Fourth Nightmare
Part 5: The Coming Darkness
Prologue-The Filly of the Stars
The First Nightmare
Epilogue: Luna Have I Loved

Part 1: The Ghost of the Night

The night is cold. Equestria is at peace. The guardsponies who stand on the parapets are, essentially, a relic of older times. Where once stood dozens of stallions now stands but one. At the moment, his name is Bronze Plate: a shy guardspony, ill suited to real combat. It is fortuitous, then, that no nation seeks to destroy Equestria; at least, not at the moment.

As Bronze Plate shivers in the darkness, a pony approaches him. When he notices it, he jumps back a full body's-length, then stammers his script: "Halt! Who goes there?"

"It's me, Bronze. Rivet."

"Oh, thank the Sun! I was wondering when you'd show up."

"I'm actually early. Were you really that bored?"

"No!" shouts Bronze, a bit too loudly. "It's just... it's really cold out here."

"So? You're a pegasus, aren't you? I thought you didn't feel cold."

It's not that. I felt a cold blast of wind, and you know what that means..."

"The Ghost?" Rivet laughs. "Tell me you don't believe that ridiculous rumor."

"Hey! The Ghost is real! Blue says he knows a guy who knows a guy..."

"The Ghost is just a myth to scare new recruits!"

As they argue, they catch the attention of Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard, who is out performing his late-night rounds. He hurries across the walls, afraid there may be an issue. Rivet sees his arrival, beginning his salute as Shining Armor nears. "Captain Armor, sir!" he calls out. Bronze turns to look, quickly standing to attention as well.

"At ease," Captain Armor says. "What's going on?"

"I-I was just leaving," Bronze Plate says.

"We were arguing about the Ghost, sir," Rivet adds with an eye roll.

"Private Plate. You know there is no Ghost, correct?"

"Y-yes, of course, sir." There is no conviction in his voice. "Dismissed, sir?"

"Dismissed," says the captain, and Bronze Plate flees.

There is a quiet moment between them, then Rivet says with a sigh, "Truth be told, sir, I was merely trying to ease Private Plate's mind. I'm not so sure the Ghost isn't real, myself."

"My sister has read every book on monsters and creatures," says Shining Armor, "and not a mention of ghosts anywhere."

"From what I've heard, it's not just any ghost..." Rivet gulps, his mouth dry. "It's the Night Mare."

"The Night Mare?" Shining Armor groans. "The old spook to scare fillies and colts on Night Mare Night?"

"The same!" Rivet's eyes grow wide, and he waves his hooves wildly. "With sharp, great fangs, and dragon eyes, and her helmet of blackest night!" At Shining Armor's look, he hastens to add, "At any rate, that's what I've heard."

Shining Armor shakes his head. "Lieutenant Rivet, I've walked these walls plenty of times. There is no Night Mare Moon, and there is no Ghost!"

As he says this, a sudden thunderclap bursts through the night. Both ponies jump, and Rivet begins to look about fearfully. "What was that?"

"I'm sure it was nothing. Some pegasus playing a prank on the skeleton crew, I'm sure," replies Shining Armor.

"D-d-d-don't be so s-s-sure," says Rivet. His teeth chattering, he points behind his captain's head. He turns and looks, and in that instant his worst fears are confirmed. There is a Ghost, and it stands -- or floats -- right by them!

"It can't be!" cries Captain Armor.

"What should we do, sir?" asks Rivet.

Shining Armor musters up his courage, then calls out, "Who are you, and what do you want?"

There is no response. He tries again, "I am Shining Armor, Her Majesty's Second-in-Command. What do you want with Canterlot?"

Rivet, sufficiently anxious, panics and fires a magical spell at the Ghost. The bolt passes through without an effect. The Ghost begins to whisper something, but it is lost to the pounding wind.

Shining has finally, truly become afraid. He shouts, "Just... just leave us alone, Ghost! Don't make me call Celestia!" He realizes as he says this how foolish it sounds, but surprisingly, it has an effect. The Ghost scowls, then begins to fly dark circles around the two frightened ponies. It continues its whispering, and this time, they hear its words.

To their relief, the sun begins to rise. The Ghost hisses, then vanishes into the sunlight. The two ponies stand still, looking at each other as if to confirm that both had seen the truth. Rivet says it first, haltingly. "The Ghost is real."

"It is," says the captain.

"Did you hear what it said?"

"Two words. Just two words."

"But what do they mean?"

"'The Sister.' 'The Sister.'"

At the hooves of Celestia, Twilight learns. Every day after lunch, she is excused from class for a special lesson with the Princess. Twilight's condition demands that she learn control and release, lest her magic become monstrously wild again. It is during one of these lessons that an interruption comes.

Celestia responds, her voice like silk, "I am terribly sorry, but Court is not in session."

"But you asked me to come, Aunty!"

"Ah, of course, Mi Amore. Please, come in."

Both Celestia and Twilight recognize the voice: it is Cadance, Celestia's adopted niece and Twilight's previous foalsitter. Even now, they maintain a close friendship despite their ages.

Cadance asks of her aunt, "What did you need, Aunt Celestia?"

Celestia smiles, but it is not one of happy news. "I have an important mission for you. I'll need you to act as ambassador for a few weeks. The griffins wish to reevaluate our treaty."

"A few weeks? But Aunty, Shining and I--"

"Must be apart for a while." Celestia shakes her head. "I know how true love can be."

"And little Twily too..." She turns to Twilight, her face revealing every emotion.

"Do you really have to go?" says Twilight. Her eyes begin to glisten with tears.

"If the Princess says so, then yeah, I do," she replies. She sees Twilight's downcast face and adds, "Try not to go to pieces without me, all right?"

"All right," says Twilight. She sniffles, just once, before giving Cadance a hug.

"I'll need to speak with you later to ready you for your mission," Celestia continues.

"Then why did you call me now when you could have just called me then?" Cadance asks.

"To say goodbye to Twilight, of course."

Cadance smiles. "Thank you, Aunty. You always know the right tricks."

Celestia nods her head, almost imperceptibly. "Thank you, Cadenza. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a lesson to finish."

"Of course, Aunty." She bows, then leaves the room.

Celestia turns to her faithful student. "Now, where were we?"

"Hypnopompic magical emanations?" Twilight recites without a stutter.

"I believe I had just finished that. What's next?"

"Nothing, Princess. That's the last thing for today."

"Then I believe you may take the rest of our time together to do what you like."

Twilight grins widely, throwing herself into a big hug. "Thank you so much!"

"It's nothing, my faithful student."

Nestled close to the Princess, Twilight murmurs, "I love you."

Celestia's smile fades. She knows full well exactly what Twilight means. A thousand second-guesses and regrets fly through her mind before she carefully pushes Twilight away. "Twilight," she says slowly, gingerly, "I appreciate the sentiment. Please don't ever say that again."

Completely nonplussed, Twilight has nothing to say. It is another knock at the door that saves them. Celestia calls out, "Who is it?"

"Captain Armor, Your Highness, with an urgent report."

"Please come in, Captain." Celestia opens the door, and Shining Armor rushes in.

"Twilight!" he says, stopping himself. "I forgot you had lessons right now."

"It's all right, BBBFF. We just finished."

"Your report, Captain?" Celestia asks casually.

Shining Armor blushes, then stands to attention. "Last night, at 0530 hours, Lieutenant Rivet and I observed a... phenomenon. Since then, I have been interviewing the other guardsponies in order to obtain more information about said phenomenon. From what I've gathered, the evidence is, well, insurmountable." He pauses, then says quickly, "Your Highness, there's a ghost on the east parapet."

Celestia almost laughs, but the serious face on Shining Armor demands a response. "Very well. What did you find out?"

"Over 31 ponies report seeing misty, terrifying images in that area. Of them, 26 were able to positively identify the Ghost as Night Mare Moon. Only Rivet and I heard it speak." He turns to Twilight. "I think it wants to talk to you, Twily."

"Absolutely not." Celestia stamps her hoof. "We cannot put her in danger."

"But Princess," says Twilight, "what if it needs me to go home?"

"I don't want to risk it. Twilight, promise me you won't speak to this 'Ghost.'"

"...No. You said you don't love me!" With that, Twilight runs from the throne room, crying helplessly.

Shining Armor's stare could cut through metal. "Permission to speak freely, Your Majesty?"

"I said nothing of the sort, Shining Armor." Her composure melts to a soft frown. "She has begun to take to me like a newborn duck. I am not her mother, and I do not want her to think of me as such. I... tried to let her down gently."

"I understand, Your Majesty." Shining Armor breaks out in a goofy smile. "In fact, I remember when I, too, was enamoured with you." He pauses in thought. "Though not in quite the same way."

Celestia laughs, then says, "Dismissed, Captain." As he leaves, she suddenly recalls something. "Oh, Captain?"

"Yes, Your Majesty?" he says, stopping at the door.

"What was it the Ghost said that made you so sure it needed to talk to Twilight?"

He thinks for a moment, then shudders. "It flew right up to my ear and spoke to me. '...Sister. The Sister.'"

"...Thank you. Dismissed." Once Captain Armor has left the room, she sighs. "Luna... so it is you. What are you doing?"

Cadance returns to the throne room later in the evening. Celestia is there, now with Spike, who has grown up quite a bit in the last few years. As Cadance enters, Celestia smiles. "Good evening, Cadenza," she says. "Are you prepared for your trip?"

"Yes, Aunty," Cadance replies. "I said my goodbyes to Shining Armor and packed my things. I hope it won't be long."

"As it turns out, the griffins sent me a letter not long after you left. It seems they'll only need you for a week or so."

"That's good news," says Cadance. "I'd hate to stay any longer than I absolutely have to."

"Now you know all the proper decorum in the Griffin chief's company, yes?"

"Of course I do," Cadance replies. "That's basically my job at this point."

"Remember, griffins eat meat, so don't be offended if they offer you some. Politely but firmly refuse."

"I know, Aunty."

"And don't bow until the Chief does, but make sure you bow lower than him."

"Of course, Aunty."

"And his title is either 'Chief,' 'Warlord,' or 'Mighty One.' Don't ever call him 'Prince' or 'sir.'"

"Yes, Aunty!" Cadance cries out. "I know! I've covered this front and back a dozen times! I did perfectly fine on the last five missions you sent me on, and I'll be fine for the next five, too!"

"I'm sorry, Cadenza. I know you will be. It just puts me at ease to know you understand."

"Are you going to have to remind Twilight every time you send her off on princess missions?" Cadance says with a smirk.

"Twilight..." Celestia murmurs. She no longer seems to be looking at Cadance, but at the door or beyond, out of focus.

"Is something the matter?" Cadance asks.

Celestia regains her thoughts. "Not at all. I'm sure it will be resolved when you get back."

It is here that Spike decides to speak up for the first time. "But you were just telling me that Twilight resents you because you won't be her mother!"

Cadance seems shocked. "Is this true?"

Celestia sighs. "Yes, it is. I didn't want you to be worried about it. As I said, I'm sure it will all be better when you come back."

"Well, maybe I shouldn't go..."

"That would be a great dishonor to the Griffin chief, Cadenza." Celestia softens. "I know you're worried. I promise, she'll be right as rain before you get back."

"I don't know..." Cadance turns worriedly back and forth between door and aunt.

"Cadance." Celestia's tone is firm, though it loses none of its regal control. "Please."

Cadance stands to attention. "As you wish." She bows stiffly and leaves.

With this issue gone, Celestia turns to her dragon charge. Spike grins, knowing full well he's in hot water. "Oops?"

Celestia merely asks him, "Tell me about what Twilight does with her friends."

"Err... On Tuesdays and Thursdays, she hangs out with Cadance, and Shining Armor likes to take her out to--"

"Other than those two, Spike."

"She doesn't have any other friends, Princess," Spike says. "She says it's not worth the effort."

"Ah. That explains it, then."

"R-really?"

"Of course. She simply needs other ponies to interact with. Right now, I'm the only pony she interacts with that she hasn't known since childhood."

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

"There must be someone she would spend time with." Celestia thinks for a moment. "What about the Heartstrings girl?"

"Lyra? Well, they had a project together a couple of years ago. So I guess they did interact at one point..."

"She'll do. Spike, do you think you could arrange a meeting between her and Twilight?"

"You can count on me!" Spike salutes, and Celestia laughs at his silly gesture. But she quickly sobers up.

"...Spike. Do you think Twilight will be okay?"

"Of course she will, Princess! I'm sure she's just confused. She'll figure everything out soon."

"I just can't shake the feeling that she'll make a grave mistake before then..."

In the dead of night, Shining Armor carefully helps his sister up the stairs to the outer walls of Canterlot. The night is particularly windy, whipping their manes ceaselessly. Twilight's scarf threatens to come off, but she magicks it tighter.

Shining Armor tries to break the heavy mood. "Now Twilight. I know you're terrified of Night Mare Moon. I'll be right here if you get scared," he jokes.

"I'm not afraid!" Twilight replies.

"Oh really? 'Cuz I remember that one year when Mom dressed up as her, and you wouldn't come out from under the covers!"

"I was 6!" she shouts.

Shining Armor laughs. "I know, Twily. Just messing around. What's in the saddlebags?"

Twilight opens her bags and riffles through them. "I brought all the ghostbusting essentials! This is a flashlight set to shine sunlight; this is a piece of silver shaped like the sun; I didn't know what a proton pack was, so I brought my chemistry set; this is water blessed by Princess Celestia--"

"Celestia doesn't bless water anymore, does she?"

"Well, no..." Twilight blushes. "I took this from the pool Celestia walks by. That should work, right?"

"Go on." Shining Armor smiles at his sister's continued overpreparedness.

"Here's some salt, to keep it away from us, and a clove of garlic--"

"That's vampires!"

"Shut up!" Twilight pouts.

"Don't worry, Twily," Shining Armor remarks. "So far, the Ghost has been harmless. And if anything goes wrong, I'll be here to help, right?"

"I've got to do this alone, BBBFF. Celestia's counting on me, and if I do this, maybe she'll love me!"

"But Celestia already... ugh, nevermind." Shining realizes that Twilight will never figure it out from another person. But Twilight is not one to hold a grudge; she will forget soon enough, and she and the Princess will be on good terms again. At least, that's what Shining Armor hopes.

The night darkens, and the weather worsens. Twilight dutifully jots it down in her Scientist's Notebook (more of a diary, really). As Shining Armor predicted, she has forgotten her previous grievances for the moment. In the face of scientific discovery, she has her childlike joy back. Shining can hear her muttering, something along the lines of, "... though Phantomus, uh, Ghostius has yet to appear, it has already..."

He lets her playact a paranormal investigator for a few minutes. He, however, is constantly on guard. They arrive by the outpost of Summerset, a stern pegasus knight. He salutes his Captain, but notices Twilight. "Captain Armor," he asks, "is that your sister?"

"Just out for a stroll with my LSBFF," says Shining Armor.

"LSBFF?"

"It's... you know what, forget it."

"I'm under orders from Celestia not to let her up here," Summerset says.

"Don't worry, we won't be up here long."

"I don't care how long you're up here, I'm telling you...!"

As the two argue, Twilight turns towards one of the walls, eagerly watching as the clouds coalesce. There before her is the image of Night Mare Moon. Twilight's body is stone-still, but her pen continues to write her thoughts:

At last, P. Ghostius has appeared. It seemed like such a mysterious, impossible presence before. I had maintained skepticism at first, but now... Now I know there is more on this planet than I could have ever imagined!

The Ghost nears Twilight. It smiles, baring its fangs, and whispers: "Come."

It floats away from the wall, and Twilight takes a single step forward. Summerset looks her way for the first time, and he just about loses it. "Miss Sparkle, step away from the wall, now!"

Shining Armor turns as well, and his eyes widen. "Twily! What are you doing?"

She looks back, but she smiles. "Trust me. I'll be okay." With that, she takes another step and falls from the wall. Both Shining and Summerset run to catch her, but she has mysteriously vanished.

Shining looks down, worried. "What in Equestria is going on here?"

"I don't know, sir," Summerset replies. "She's gone!"

"There's something wrong about this whole thing, I just know it," Shining Armor says.

"I am so getting fired," Summerset replies.

Twilight lands with a soft thump in a grassy meadow. She had expected to land on the other side of the wall, all drab and dark as the grounds inside, but instead, she finds the field awash in silver. The flowers and trees glow with fairy light, and the air is speckled with motes of amber light. It is like a dream come true.

Twilight walks amid this ethereal wonderland for a moment or two. The path she is following ends, and Night Mare Moon is standing there, looking at her. There is no malice in its gaze; rather, it looks at her almost tenderly. Twilight is confused at first, but it is the Night Mare who breaks the silence. "Come closer, my dear," it coos.

"Not until you tell me what you want," Twilight replies, wary.

"Is it this form? I apologize. I've been forced to wear this for so long, I forget at times that it is not who I am." The Night Mare stoops down, head low, before her body turns a soft white and shrinks. When the light fades, she is a pale blue alicorn, not much taller than Twilight, and she looks sad, contrite.

Twilight is surprised at first, but she is aware this could be a trick. "You still haven't told me why you brought me here," she says.

"Patience, Twilight. Should you not first ask who I truly am?"

Twilight sighs. "All right then. Who are you?"

"I am the Mistress of Night. I am she who moves the moon and governs the stars. I am the rose of dusk and the blossom of dawn. I am death and rebirth, waxing and waning." She pulls herself up to her fullest height. "I am Selene, and I am the true Queen of Equestria."

Twilight's mouth falls agape. Her thoughts whir in hyperdrive, unable to process this. The only thing she can think to say in response is, "But Equestria's never had a Queen. Only a Princess."

Selene frowns. "Ah, yes. We must talk about her." Selene's magic sparks, and flames begin to dance around the clearing. "The Pretender. The Hateful Eclipse. The Blinding Light. Celestia." She composes herself, and the flames disappear. "I know what many think of her, including you, Twilight, but she is not who she seems. She is a perfect liar, a mare of one thousand faces, and she is not the rightful ruler of Equestria."

"I... I don't understand. How could this be?"

"I'm very sorry, my dear. I know you are confused. Celestia is wily; she had my name erased from every document to keep ponies from remembering me. This will take much explanation, much re-learning for you to understand. I will need to fill in all of the gaps where my presence is lost. Listen well, Twilight Sparkle. This is the truth.

"A long time ago, the three Founders came together and discovered the Fire of Friendship, but they were lost, uncertain. They needed a leader, so I came to them. I guided them with my glorious moon. Even by night, it was beautiful as this sun. I saved them from those who would threaten them. I turned Discord to stone. I tore Lord Sombra from his physical form. But as the years went by and my people lived in an epoch of prosperity, there was one pony who grew jealous of my people's love."

"Celestia," Twilight breathes.

"Precisely. She was called something else before, but such details are unimportant. She aspired to usurp me, so she snuck into the castle one night while my servants rested. She carried with her a bright purple gem, extremely rare, which could drain magical power."

Twilight's eyes light up. "I think I've seen that gem! It's in her... her..."

"Peytral, yes." Selene smiles, but quickly returns to the story. "That mare used that crystal to steal my powers, and as if that were not enough, she imprisoned me in the moon which had once nourished me. And so I remain, locked away in the moon forever, while Celestia uses my power to steal the credit!"

Watching Selene rage, Twilight comes close to tears. "I'm sorry... I didn't know. I thought Celestia was a good Princess."

Selene notices that Twilight is upset, and she checks her temper. "You couldn't have known. She has fooled you all, riding on my laurels as she has. But mark my words. She will fail, sooner rather than later, and I will not be able to save you."

"What should I do?" Twilight asks.

"I am weak, trapped within the moon. Creating this image is the full extent of my current ability. I need you to free me. I do not know how, or even if it is possible. All I know is this: 'When the stars align,' I shall be free once more. If you can do this, I will defeat Celestia, regain my magic, and rule Equestria once more. For now, do what you can. I will try to keep in contact. Do you understand?"

"...Yes. I understand."

"You will serve me well, Twilight Sparkle," says Selene. "I pray for your success. I bid you goodnight."

"Goodnight," Twilight says. She closes her eyes; when she opens them, she is back atop the wall, safe and sound.

Shining Armor runs up to her and holds her close. "Twily, you're okay!" Twilight, however, is cold and does not react to her brother's embrace. He asks her, "What happened? What did the Night Mare say to you?"

Twilight looks at her brother. She no longer sees him as her BBBFF, but as a loyal agent of Celestia, the Pretender. It hurts her to say it, but she says, "I... can't tell you."

Shining Armor is confused, but he doesn't push the issue. What he does say is, "Promise me you'll tell me when you're ready?"

"I promise."

"All right then. Now let's get inside. I'm starting to catch a cold."

Both Shining Armor and Twilight return to the warmth of the castle inside. But as Summerset remains outside, he hears a sound echoing out from the distance. The sound of laughter.

Author's Note

Hope you enjoy. :)

Part 2: Secrets and Starlight

Spike wakes up bright and early. Still a little tired, he wanders down to the main hall, where breakfast is being served. While Celestia performs her sun-raising ceremony, visiting nobles and members of the inner family are allowed to eat and talk together. Spike takes his seat next to Blueblood, a prince of only distant relation to Celestia who nevertheless enjoys the luxuries of the castle's service. The servants bring Spike a bowl of assorted gems, mostly corundum with a diamond or two mixed in. As he eats, Bronze Plate appears, looking upset. “Hey, Spike. Is Celestia around?”

“Nope, shory. She's buzy,” Spike says through a mouthful of ruby.

“Dang it! She had something important for me to do, but my orders fell into a puddle of water, and now I don't know what they were!”

“Oh, that's easy,” Spike replies. He swallows his meal, then pulls out a scroll from his fire breath. “I've got it all right here. If you're Bronze Plate, then... ah, that's right. She needs you to fly up to the Griffin lands and give Cadance a message.”

“A message? Oh no. Did that get wet too? Now I'm really toast!”

“No, no, she still has it. Got to the court room at 9 and pick it up. It says, and I quote, 'I never mentioned it, but you must ask the chief for an extra shipment of wheat this year. Our crops have not fared so well recently. Offer in exchange some of our surplus gemstones. We certainly have enough for our jewelers, our dressmakers, and Spike's voracious appetite!'”

Plate laughs. “I assume you didn't mean to repeat that last part.”

“Yeah...” He grabs a sapphire from his bowl and eats it guiltily. “In any case... you're good, then?”

“I think so. Thanks, little guy!”

“Glad to be of service,” Spike replies. Bronze Plate leaves, and Spike passes his plates towards the nearest servant. Before he can go up to find Twilight, Lyra finds him first. “Spike! Spike!” she calls out.

He stops and turns around. “Hey, Lyra! What's up?”

“Last night! Twilight! Hallway! Crazy! Help!”

“Lyra, Lyra! I can't understand what you're saying. Slow down! What's this about Twilight?”

“Okay, so last night, I was walking back to my room from late-night studies,” Lyra says, “when out of nowhere, Twilight runs into me!”

“What was she doing up?” Spike asks.

“I don't know. She didn't say. But she looked absolutely horrible. Her mane was all twisted and mussed. She looked so scared and tired. Anyway, she ran into me, and she seemed so upset! She said, 'I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going!” And she looked so sad! I felt bad for her, so I told her, 'Don't worry about it. Do you have some time to chat?' She said no, but hopefully I'll be able to talk to her more tonight!”

“Hmm... Twilight really looked like that? That can't be good at all.” He frowns. “I was also sort of hoping for a better first impression. Do you think the plan for tonight might not work now?”

Lyra's face falls as though her favorite pet has died. “Really? I thought I gave a good impression, like maybe not a great impression, but a pretty good impression, you know what I mean, I mean I don't think she doesn't like me, please tell me she doesn't like me, Spike, DON'T LET HER HATE ME!”

A hush falls over the room. All of the nobles sit and stare at the crazy-eyed mare by Spike. He quietly ushers Lyra out the door while she regains her breath. After Lyra has finally regained her sanity, Spike asks her with a sly grin, “You like Twilight, don't you?”

“What? No...” Lyra replies. Spike remains unconvinced.

“So, did Twilight say anything else to you?”

“I think I heard her muttering something about Celestia and the moon. But she was gone so quickly, I didn't hear her very well.”

“Hmm... Did she go up to see the Ghost?" Spike wonders to himself. "I hope not. If she did, Celestia will have her head!”

“And that can't be good!” Lyra adds.

“...No. No it can't. We'll have to catch Celestia up on this new development. Perhaps things will still work okay.”

Twilight wakes up early as well. She knows that she will have to learn more about Celestia, Selene, and the alignment of the stars before she can make a decision. Right now, there is no one she can trust. That leads her straight to the place where she feels most safe: the Canterlot Library.

As soon as she enters the library, she immediately recognizes the effect the glasses give her. As the rising sun peeks through the large glass windows, the light fills much of the room. Most of the shelves, though, are still covered in shadow. The glasses pierce through it all as though it weren't even there. She wanders the aisles, looking at the books with an odd mixture of joy and bewilderment. It is almost unnatural, to see what was hidden from view. But she has other things to worry about; for the moment, she will only be grateful to Selene for the gift.

Twilight finds herself quickly frazzled as she searches through the library. She can find no reference to Selene, Celestia's peytral, or anything between the founding of Equestria and the banishment of Night Mare Moon. In anger, she cries out, “I just need a book about Selene! Anything, even a little! Is that so much to ask?”

She hears the pulsation of magic behind her. When she turns around, a group of books are lit up in bright purple. She thinks, “I see. 'The shadows will hide nothing from you.' Since I couldn't find it, the shadows are making sure I can!” She realizes, though, how utterly powerful this artifact must be. The shadows serve her...

But she must not be distracted. She grabs each book with her magic and stacks them neatly next to her. The first book she opens is not terribly helpful. It calls Selene “The Mare in the Moon,” “a myth,” and “a powerful pony who wanted to rule Equestria.” It does, however, confirm Selene's belief: “the stars will aid in her escape.” Finally, it mentions how Selene was defeated: “The Elements of Harmony.” Twilight asks the shadows about the Elements of Harmony, but they do not respond. Whatever the Elements were, they have been scrubbed from history, just as Selene has.

The second book immediately catches Twilight's attention. It is a large, heavy book covered in a patterned black binding. Its spine reads simply, Creatures of the Dark, but the inside is filled with vibrant paintings and drawings. She flips excitedly through the pages, and pictures of new and fantastic monsters she has never seen reveal themselves to her. There is even an incredible, detailed schematic of a dragon. What is most important to Twilight, however, is a section detailing all of the creatures that rely on the stars and moon for life. Night Mare Moon, so-called “Ancient Servant of the Moon” who can “walk among us beneath the Full Moon's light,” is listed alongside living constellations, Ether Elementals, and werebeasts, creatures bound to the phases of the moon. Surely, Twilight thinks, she can find something of use in this!

As she picks up the third book, Celestia enters the tower. She sees Twilight studying so assiduously and smiles at her. “How are you, Twilight?” she asks.

Twilight jumps, and the book tumbles to the ground. Celestia picks it up. Twilight stammers, “Nothing much, I mean, fine! I'm fine! Just, you know, reading...”

Celestia frowns as she flips through the yellowing pages. “I'm not sure this is a book you'll enjoy,” she says. “It is very dark, and it concerns itself with some very difficult topics. Are you sure...?”

“Ugh, yes, of course!” Twilight shouts. She throws the books in all directions, snapping up the second book with her magic and dashing out the door.

Celestia sighs. She picks up the books lying about and returns them all to their proper place. “So,” Celestia says, “you are still angry.” She takes a book from the shelves at random, setting it in front of her and staring at it. The story is a charming one about a mouse and a magic hat, but Celestia's heart remains in Equestria. “I can understand your unhappiness, Twilight. Please don't hold onto it for much longer,” she says. “I'm not sure I can survive under your scorn.”

Spike listens to the hushed whispers coming from the throne room. Celestia leads the conversation, but there are two other voices that occasionally interject.

“I think Twilight trusts you more than anypony else.”

“I agree, Your Highness.”

“If you could talk to her and find out what's wrong, I would be extremely grateful. There will be a special bonus in it for you if you do.”

“Entirely unnecessary, Your Highness!”

“We live to serve you, Your Grace.”

“No matter what you find out, I'll be happy to hear how she is. She... isn't really on speaking terms with me right now.”

“We will do our best, Your Grace.”

“Very well. Twilight's down the hall, if you're ready.”

“We are, Your Highness.”

Spike steps aside as the door opens. It is two of the servants that come out together. The first is Gilded Lily, a sweet young pegasus mare who specializes in decorating and cleaning. Rosy Ray, on the other claw, is a practical, snarky earth pony who keeps track of Twilight's dresses and accessories. Celestia is right; Twilight interacts with Lily and Ray all of the time. She is very close to them, although the job mandates a certain aloofness. Spike himself has a unique relationship with the servants of the castle, somewhere between their equal and their superior. Rosy sees him standing by the door and asks, “Hey, Spike! Did you see Twilight down that way?”

“Nah, she must be down the other way, then,” Spike replies. “Celestia said she wanted me?”

“She wanted to make sure the plan with Lyra is still on,” Gilded says.

“We have no idea what that means, but it sounds sneaky,” Rosy adds.

“No, it's nothing like that,” Spike says. “Sorry, I really gotta go!” He pushes them away and closes the door behind him.

Celestia greets him with a warm smile. “Why, hello, Spike! I'm glad to see you. There was something you wanted to tell me?”

“Yeah. Lyra may not be the best option for this friendship anymore...”

“Oh? And why would that be?” she asks.

“She's, uh... kinda in love with Twilight.”

“Hmm.” Celestia pauses in thought. “I suppose that shouldn't be too much of a problem. For all we know, Twilight may feel the same way. Don't get Lyra's hopes up unjustly, though. Give her the ticket next to Twilight's. If they become friends, so much the better. If they start dating, they'll think of this as their first date!”

“I hadn't thought of that,” Spike says. “I guess I always thought Twilight was into stallions.”

“You never know in this day and age,” Celestia comments. “In either case, can you send the tickets off to Lyra and Twilight?”

“Sure thing!” Celestia passes him the tickets, and one by one he breathes magical fire on them. As Twilight's heads off, Spike notes, “That one didn't feel very far. Where is Twilight, anyway?”

“I... don't know,” Celestia replies. “I thought she was just outside in the hallway.”

“I didn't see her.”

“Hmm. Perhaps she is in the library, then. I saw her up there in the morning. She was reading very strange books.”

“How strange?”

“...Strange.” Celestia turns her head as if to say, No more of this. “If you see Twilight soon, can you tell her we need to talk?”

“Sure, I guess,” Spike says.

“Then I need a break. I'll be down by the kitchens if you need me.” And a dumbfounded Spike watches Celestia leave her throne room, putting him all alone in the cavernous chamber.

Spike contents himself with the fact that the closed doors will preclude wanderers from coming into the room. When he turns around, however, Twilight is standing right in front of his face! He reels back, then asks her, “Twilight! What are you doing here?”

“Oh, nothing much. And how is my little duck?” she asks.

“I'm not a duck, Twi,” he says, a bit peeved. “I'm a dragon.”

“Ah, but you are male and a drake, therefore a duck.” She flops down onto the throne, her head lolled back as she looks at him intently. A book floats out of her saddlebags, and then hovers upside-down in front of her.

“Oh. Uh... good joke, Twi,” Spike answers. He looks at the spine of the tome she is reading, but it seems to be in an older script. “Whatcha readin', Twilight?” he asks.

“Words, of course,” she replies. If that was a joke as well, it certainly didn't sound like one.

“Okay. What's it about?” Spike asks.

“This thick,” Twi answers. She moves her front hooves to the right spacing, then lets them slack again.

“I swear, you're trying to be difficult! What is the subject of the book?”

“Well, one chapter was about dragons. It said they have sharp fangs, strong eyes, greedy hearts, and deceitful tongues. You don't have those things, so you must be a duck. Though perhaps your bill shall be sharp, like my mind, and your greed shall overtake you, like another's, someday.”

“I have no idea what you're talking about,” says Spike. “Now get off of that throne, before Celestia sees you.”

“No. I know the owner, and she said she doesn't mind.” But she teleports off of it anyway, setting her hooves on the carpet.

“What's wrong with you, Twilight? You sound like you've gone completely insane!” Spike yells.

“I am not insane,” Twilight says, “though I am mad.”

“Oh.” That explained a lot. Spike asks her, “Do you wanna talk about it?”

“Sure.” She briskly trots towards the door, and Spike follows uncertainly. Once they are out in the hallway, she says to him, “I met Lyra last night, an old friend of mine.” She pauses, then stares into his eyes. He tries to avert his gaze from the powerful, burning stare. “Did you know it?”

Spike's heart jumps. “K-k-know what?”

“That we were friends.”

“Yes, I did,” Spike says. He breathes a sigh of relief. She doesn't know.

“I received a ticket to go to a play tonight. Perhaps she will be there as well.”

“Maybe.”

“Perhaps she will have her ear to me.”

“Umm... maybe?” Suddenly Spike isn't so sure again.

“In any case, it will be nice to see her.” The hall is silent for a moment before Twilight adds, “Do you know who's performing?”

“Some stallion named Starbuck, I think.”

“Ah, I've heard of him. He's a storyteller who uses magic in his act.”

“Yep, I think so.”

“Do you think he'll teach me his tricks? No, probably not,” she says before Spike can respond, “for liars always keep their secrets.”

And just when she'd started to sound normal. “Twilight, that's magicians.”

“Yes, magicians are liars, and so are storytellers.”

“I give up!” Spike shouts.

“Spike? Was that you?” Rosy Ray and Gilded Lily appear from around a corner.

“Oh, good, you found Twilight. We've been looking for her.”

When Twilight sees them, it's as though a switch goes off in her brain. “Girls! I'm so glad to see you!” Spike can only gape as she eagerly hugs the two of them. She turns to Rosy Ray and says, “Oh, while you're here, we'll need to pick out a dress for tonight. What do you think?”

“I think you'd look lovely in a white and blue evening gown, Twilight.”

Spike whispers to her, “We'll need to pick something that works for Lyra, too. She's green.”

“Can do,” Rosy replies. She turns back to Twilight, asking, “So, how are you, then?”

“Great! Never better!” Twilight chirps.

“That can't be all true...” Gilded Lily says. “We heard you've been fighting with the princess, miss.”

“Oh, right.” Twilight's entire body sags. “I'd been trying not to think about it.”

“Is there anything we can do to help?”

Twilight sighs. “...No, I don't think so. Celestia and I just need to be apart for a little while.” Suddenly, she pounds one hoof against the floor. “Oh, I'm so confused!”

“What are you confused about, miss?” Gilded asks.

“I don't know. I'm just so alone with nopony to turn to.”

“Well, why not us, or Spike here, or Princess Celestia?” Rosy asks.

“I don't know who to trust.”

“You can trust us!” all three reply.

“Isn't that exactly what someone untrustworthy would say?” Twilight says with a shake of her head.

“Hmm...” Ray ponders this for a while. “Well, trust the truth, right?”

“Trust ponies who want to help you.”

“Trust actions over speech.”

“Trust ponies that give without taking!”

“Trust ponies who make you happy!”

“All right! All right!” Twilight says, mock-pushing them away. “I get it.” She turns away, however, saying, “I still don't know where you all stand, though.”

Rosy puts a hoof on her shoulder. “Will you at least try talking with Celestia?”

“Sure.” She turns and looks at Rosy Ray's eyes. Suddenly, her mood shifts. “Why... were you two looking for me?”

“Oh! I wanted to get that dress for you," Ray says.

Twilight stares even more. After a pregnant pause, she adds, “What about Gilded?”

“Do you ever see us apart?” Ray says with a snort.

“Oh, I also wanted to find you a nice flower to go with your dress, miss,” Gilded adds. “Morning Glory, maybe?”

Twilight looks at them... almost glares at them. But after a few seconds, she perks up again. “Oh, okay! Good. That makes sense. For a second, I was afraid you were spying on me for Celestia.”

The two respond, “N-no, of course not!”

Twilight is about to continue when a huge boom echoes in the courtyard. “What was that?” Spike asks.

“I don't know, Spike,” she replies. “Let's find out.”

The four of them race to the front, hoping there is no immediate danger.

“Fireworks?!”

The stallion in front of Twilight laughs. He is a tall, silver-coated pony in a long black cape that swirls wildly as he talks. “Haha, of course! How else to make a good entrance?”

“You're completely nuts, old man,” Spike says.

“I am but mad north-north-west, young one!” he replies. “And I am not 'old man;' I am THE SIDEREAL STARBUCK!” He rears up on his back hooves, and another explosion shoots from his wagon. The other four hit the deck, practically cowering.

Twilight's interest is piqued from his name. “'The Sidereal Starbuck?' How did you get that name?”

“Haha, young filly, I'm glad you asked! Allow me to tell you a story...”

“Oh, boy...” A young filly steps out of the cart, her mane and tail a mess. “Dad, can't you save it for the performance tonight?”

“No I cannot,” Starbuck says. “Trixie, these are my new friends... err, I don't know their names. New friends, this is my daughter, Trixie.”

“Does she have a title? You know, 'Sidereal?' 'Magnificent?' 'Beautiful?'” Twilight adds with a blush.

“Yeah, Dad, when can I have a title?” Trixie implores.

“Someday, when you are as great and powerful as me, you can have a title. Now, where was I?”

“You were about to tell us the story behind your name,” Rosy says.

“Haha, that's right! My name! Listen closely, new friends. Here is my story.” Starbuck lights up his horn, and a parade of figures appear floating above him. He begins to speak, and Twilight is enraptured by the story:

“It was a very dark and stormy night,

and all the ponies near the Whitetail Wood

had settled into houses to relax

while rain and wind were pounding all about.

But my poor mother found herself alone

among the woods, eleven months in term

with me within her. Father had gone out

to find the food neglected for their meal

they'd planned outdoors. The pegasi had made

a sudden shift in weather, and now they

were separated by the rolling storm.

She saw a figure running through the dark--”

“Dad, that's later.”

“Hmm?” Starbuck turns toward his daughter, and Twilight, Spike, Ray, and Lily all release breaths they didn't know they were holding.

“Granddad didn't find Grandma until later, after the birth.”

“Shh! Spoilers!” He quickly magicks Trixie's mouth shut. The four give him an odd look, and he laughs. “Haha, pay no mention to her! Let us continue the story:

“--were separated by the rolling storm.

She wished most sorely to be at his side,

but he did not return. She feared him dead,

and then who would take care of her young foal?

She felt a sudden kick, and then she knew

the baby would be coming. 'No,' she cried,

'I cannot do this solo! I need him,

for I will die if he does not stand by

and hold my hoof.' But on and on it went.

She felt her life force draining, and despaired.

Then, suddenly, as though the clouds were gone,

the field was filled with starlight all around.

She looked nearby, and there she saw a deer

with stars emblazoned on it. She knew not

wherefore it stood by her. It looked at her,

and raised a single hoof to touch her head.

At once she felt revitalized. She saw

within her mind the image of her mate

and felt his presence there. She birthed the foal

and thanked the deer for giving her his peace.

He nodded once and vanished in the mist.

She saw a figure running through the dark

and knew it was her husband. When he saw

the colt, he asked her, 'What shall be his name?'

She answered, 'Starbuck shall it be, for I

beheld a starry deer among the trees.”

That was his name, and strongly did he grow;

along with strength, compassion did he know.

“And fin,” Starbuck says, lowering himself into a bow. There is now a small crowd gathered around him, and they all stomp their hooves in appreciation.

“Ooh! Ooh!” Spike says as he hops up and down, claw in the air. “What about Trixie?”

“Ah, yes! Trixie's name has a story of its own! Trixie, my dear, would you care to tell it?”

“It's my great-grandmother's name,” Trixie says, deadpan.

“Nooo...” Starbuck moans. “What about the part with the monkey and the rack of bicycles?”

“That's made up!” Trixie scowls. “And so is the story with the deer.”

“Well, of course it is!” Starbuck booms. “It is a story, after all. It's meant to make ponies happy! Who cares if it's true or not?”

“Actually, it might really be true,” Twilight says. She flips through it until she finds the section on star animals. “See, here. 'Orion the Deer. Guardian of life and forests. Manifests near troubled, lonely ponies.'” She shuts the book and gives Starbuck a happy smile. “So your origin story might be true after all!”

“Wow... I can't believe it...” In front of all those ponies, Starbuck begins to cry. “After all these years...”

“Sir...” Rosy Ray says,” are you all right?”

“Of course!” he replies, his voice returning to its normal strength. “See here, Miss... uh, Smart Purple, whatever your name is. My mother almost died, and that Orion saved her. If you ever meet him, tell him I said thanks!”

“Uh, sure,” Twilight answers.

“Also, if there's anything I can do to help, name it! I'm in your debt!”

“...Actually, there is something you can do. Tell me, what story are you doing?”

“We're telling a delightful story about a filly named Screwball who finds herself in a crazy world of chaos and magic. It's called, 'Screwball in Wonderland.' Trixie helped write it!”

“A little,” Trixie says, but Twilight can tell she is proud.

“Would you mind doing another story after it?”

“For you, Purple Trixie, anything. What's the story called?”

“It's called, The Banishment of Selene. I'll teach it to you. Don't worry, Celestia's going to love it!”

Author's Note

I originally intended section 3 and 4 to be one section, but I felt they were better separated. (They're both pretty long as-is...) XD
Starbuck is fantastically fun to write for. Believe me, so much of his weird dialogue was totally unplanned. And yes, I had to slip in a little bit of Twixie shipping. (I don't even like that ship that much.) :P
Hope you enjoy! :)

The Second Nightmare

Twilight trots up the stairs to her special room in the castle. She sets the book she has been reading onto her bed and begins to pace nervously. Her thoughts fly back and forth. Whom can I trust? What is Selene doing? What am I doing? Is the answer I'm looking for in this book, or will I need to keep searching? With each passing thought, her thoughts feel more and more leadened, until at last she begins to sink to sleep.

When Twilight opens her eyes, the darkness surrounds her. Selene appears before her, her look apologetic. Before she can speak, Twilight shouts, “And just what the hay was that?!”

“You've made some very important discoveries. I felt it was necessary to reconvene.”

“No, not that! Well, okay, that too, but the other thing! Why did you take over my body when I was talking to Spike?”

Selene sighs. “Here's the thing, Twilight. I didn't.”

“...What do you mean, 'You didn't?' I would never talk to Spike that way! I love him like a brother!”

“But you heard what he said with Celestia.” Selene sees Twilight's ears fall flat, so she continues. “You heard what he was planning. You heard the way they intend to use Lyra like a pawn to learn of your plans. In that moment, you were angry, vindictive, scheming... perhaps even cruel.”

“No!” Twilight gasps.

“The magic in the glasses responded to that, and it created a sort of... feedback. In essence, my thought began to mingle with yours.”

“So that's the cost, then?” Twilight steps back once, twice, and shakes her head. “Like a tanar'ri, you offer a deal with me that will bind me to you. Weaken me, make me suffer, until you snap me up!”

“No, not at all!” Selene waves her hoof quickly. “Do you not see? It made you more cunning, more cautious. Don't you think you might have spilled your secret to Spike had you not hidden your thoughts in twisting words?”

“...I still think the duck pun was forced,” Twilight says.

“It was your idea,” Selene replies. “Now, where were we?”

“I think I've found out how to prove your story.”

“Oh?” Selene raises an eyebrow at this.

“It's simple. There's a showpony named Starbuck giving a show tonight. I've taught him your story. I'll simply sit next to Celestia and see how she reacts. I might even ask her what she thinks.”

“For your sake, I hope it works,” Selene replies. “But Celestia is marvelous at retaining her neutral persona. Don't be disheartened if it doesn't work.”

“I have a feeling it will. Oh, before I forget,” Twilight adds, “I've made a lot of progress in the books I've been reading. One book said, 'The stars will aid in her escape,' and the one I've been reading mentions 'the full moon.'”

“I see. I think we may have an opportunity to act soon, then.”

“The book is so fascinating! Why have I never read it before?”

Selene looks at Twilight and smirks. “I may have forgotten one ability of the glasses. They also give you the ability to read ancient Lunar texts.”

“Lunar texts?” Twilight asks. Her heart quickens, and her eyes light up.

“Indeed. My people had a special text, which Celestia supplanted. A complete overhaul of society. Now, however, you will be able to read what was previously hidden to you.”

“Wow! Thank you!” Twilight cheers.

“Save your praises, my dear,” Selene says. “I have another surprise.” She pulls the shadow from Twilight's dream image and holds it out before her. At a wave, Twilight steps beneath it, and it ties itself around her as a cloak. Selene tells her, “This cloak will give you dominion over shadow. They will do whatever you command, take you where you will, and take form as you desire.”

“This is... too much power, Selene,” Twilight says. “I'm not ready.”

Selene places a hoof on Twilight's shoulders. “I believe you are,” she says, her eyes directly on Twilight's. “I believe you can do this. You are smart, talented, and brave. I know you will do what is right.”

“What do I do before the show, then?”

“Speak to Lyra, if you can. Determine where Gilded Lily and Rosy Ray stand. Continue your research. I would suggest--”

Suddenly, Celestia appears beside Selene. “Twilight! Thank goodness I've found you!” She turns to the mare next to her, and she glowers at her. “You! What are you doing to my student?”

Selene panics. “The stars, Twilight! Now go!” Celestia pounces, but Selene is faster. She pushes Twilight, who falls, falls, falls--

--and wakes up with a jolt on the floor of her room.

Part 3: The Mousetrap

When Twilight awakes, she feels the cape hugging her body closely, like the wing of an alicorn close to her. However, now Twilight cannot tell which such being she means by that.

The door to her chamber opens, and Shining Armor walks in. "Hey, kiddo," he says. "How are things?"

"Fine," Twilight says

Shining Armor sighs. "Look, it was a bad idea for us to go up onto the castle walls last night. I'm afraid for you, Twilight. I heard about what happened with you and Celestia in the library."

"That's none of your business, Shining!" Twilight replies.

"What, it isn't my business how my sister and my boss and princess are getting along?" Shining Armor scoffs. "I just want you to be happy. Is that a crime?"

"If it means you're butting into my personal life, then yes!"

"Now I know something's up," Shining says. "You've never once acted like this with me. It's about the Night Mare, isn't it?"

"You don't know anything!" Twilight yells. "Maybe I just don't want to bothered. Have you ever thought of that?"

"Twily, calm down. Whatever it is I did, I'm sorry. I just don't want us to fight." He looks away for a moment, and a strange darkness passes over his face. "With Cadance gone, and you ignoring me..."

Twilight feels her entire body release its pent-up tension. "Maybe that's it," she says. "I miss Cadance, too."

"She really does help keep you grounded, you know," he jokes.

"Yeah, but I make her more fun!" Twilight replies with a laugh.

"Don't I know it!" he says. "It's practically like she's two different ponies."

"What if she is, and she's got some twin hidden away in some corner of the palace?"

"I'm pretty sure we'd know if there was another alicorn like Cadance around here."

"I guess." Twilight chuckles, and Shining joins in.

After a few seconds, he asks her, "Are we good then? At least for the time being?"

"Yeah, I guess we are." She smiles, but it doesn't reach all the way to the back of her mind.

"I know you don't want us to worry, but we do anyway, Princess Celestia and me," Shining says. "You don't have to accept our help, okay? Just... don't get in trouble, all right, Twily? We're here if you need us."

"I understand," Twilight says. But she doesn't.

"All right, then." He pauses just outside the door. "You're going to that show tonight, right? What's his name... Starbuck?"

"Yeah. Lyra Heartstrings is going to be there. I'm meeting up with her in a few minutes."

"That's good," Shining says. He cracks a smile and adds, "I remember her. Wasn't she the clingy one from your geomancy classes?"

"That's her!" Twilight says. "I haven't seen her in two years, but I remember her being nice, at least."

"It'll be good for you to spend some time with your friends," Shining notes.

Twilight frowns. Friends. Who has need of friends when there is so much to learn? Twilight knows her destiny is something great; friends will only slow her down. But she tries to nod and say, "Absolutely," reassuringly. If anypony in this castle were Twilight's friend, it certainly isn't Lyra. But Shining doesn't need to know that, so Twilight holds that back for another time.

"Good. I'd go with you, but I've got guard duty. Hey, it might be cold out there. Mind if I borrow that cloak?"

"No!" She magicks the cloak tight against her body. At Shining's concerned look, she tells him, "I, uh, borrowed this one from a classmate of mine. I don't want it to get dirty."

"O-okay, I guess." Shining turns around, but he feels that the two steps forward he'd made have become four steps back. "I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"Sure..." Twilight says. When Shining Armor leaves, she hastily closes the door and makes sure it is locked tight. She turns to look back at the cloak. "All right, shadow," she says, "let's see what you can do!"

"Princess! It's an honor, Your Royalness, it really is! I can't believe it! I'm really working for the Princess! Mom and Dad are going to be so proud of me!"

"Yes, Miss Heartstrings," Celestia says. She holds a hoof to her forehead, just below her horn, and waits for the pressure to go away. "I'm glad to hear you are ready for this mission."

"Mission? Aren't I just talking to Twilight?"

"Yes, but it is a matter of national security. Recently, I found out what is ailing Twilight, and it is concerning to say the least."

"Really? What is it? And what do I play in it?" Lyra asks.

"I'm afraid... I'm afraid she's subconsciously demonizing me. She's been hearing all of these rumors about a Ghost, and, combined with how she's been feeling about me, she's begun to treat me in her dreams as though I were the Night Mare herself!"

"But what does that have to do with me?"

"I need you to be a balance in her life. She relies on me for so much emotionally that this break between us is wearing her down. I need you to be somepony she can confide in, a peer, somepony to share her time with... what am I going for..."

"A friend, Princess?"

Celestia smiles. "Yes, exactly. A friend. Can you do that?"

"Oh, yes, Princess! I know I can! I'll be the best friend Twilight's ever had! I'll be like a bestest best friend in all of frienddom! I'll be--"

"I get the picture, Miss Heartstrings." Celestia nods towards the hallway the two of them are approaching. "You said you were going to meet her here?"

"I think this is the right place." Lyra peeps a head around the corner, then pulls it back with a snap. "She's out there already! What do I do?"

"Well, what is she doing?"

"Let me check." She looks just past the corner, then pulls her head back once more. "I think she's talking to herself, Princess."

"Talking to herself? Here, let's see." Celestia's horn lights up a vivid gold, and at once one of the mirrors nearby begins to contort and twist. The image changes slowly until, at last, it depicts Twilight walking back and forth. She is holding a vase depicting Celestia's face and speaking to herself.

"What spell is this?"

"Scrying. Now shh." With a wave, the two of them fall silent and watch the scene before them.

In the mirror, Twilight sets the jar down on a nearby table. She looks the painted Celestia straight in the eye for a few heavy seconds, then sighs. "What is my purpose?" Twilight asks. "Will I walk the path of darkness or of light? If I accept these newfound gifts, I will revel in the power of the universe, the fullness of my potential. And yet I do not know whether, even now, I am being eaten away by lies and effects beyond my comprehension. To accept may be to die-- but it may be to grow stronger as well. What I could be with these forces of night, I cannot fathom.

"And yet, I do not know what I am stumbling into. Perhaps I am but a pawn in a greater game, the servant of a greater cause. Perhaps I am not growing stronger, but weaker, and weakness is strength in this strange new paradigm I walk. I am throwing myself to the mercy of one I do not know and praying she will catch me. And yet, was it better before? Was I truly alive under the hoof of Celestia? Or was I a puppet then, too, a plaything to be used and forgotten like any of the others? What is Celestia's game? She was grooming me to be something, I know not what. Is the uncertainty of Celestia any better than the darkness of my new aspirations?

"No. Celestia loves me. Or loved me. She wanted only the best. But what best? What ideal? If I were to choose a path Celestia did not approve of, would she assist me, or would she convince me to change my mind? ...No. I know the answer to that question. I know what Celestia wants of me. She wants me to put away my books and scrolls and end my pursuit of my all. She wishes me to pretend to be someone other than myself. I reject that plan, then. I will be myself, completely myself, and no other. Even if I am walking into another position of servitude, I choose it of my own will. I will not accept pretending any longer."

As Twilight pauses, the gears in her brain turning, Lyra coughs, shattering the silence. In the image (which wavers as Celestia turns to Lyra angrily), Twilight jumps. "Who's there?"

"Go!" Celestia hisses.

Lyra stumbles out from behind the corner. "Sorry, Twilight. It was just me. Didn't mean to sneak up on you or anything."

Twilight smiles. "Ah, good. I'm glad to see you, Lyra." She turns to the side and mutters, "Lyra, a puppet just like me. Let us see where our strings truly lead." When Twilight looks up, she seems to stare straight at the spot where Celestia's scrying image begins. Unnerved, Celestia severs the connection and allows her superior hearing to do the job instead.

Lyra says, a bit awkwardly, "I like the cape. It looks really good on you."

Twilight blushes. "Why, thank you, Lyra. The glasses are new, too."

"Oh, yes, yeah, I knew that," Lyra stammers. "They look really nice, too."

"Thanks. Now, wasn't there something you wanted to say to me?" Twilight's hoofsteps begin to lead away, and Lyra's follow quickly as she catches up. Celestia strains to hear every word.

"Oh, right, I just, uh, wanted to say that, uh, are you going to the show tonight, too?" Lyra says.

"Why, yes I am. I think it's going to be great. I hope you'll be sitting near me so we can talk about it together."

Now it is Lyra's turn to blush. "That would be fun."

The voices get fainter. Celestia casts a spell on herself to allow her to hide within the many shadows dotting the corridor. She slips from one to another, staying behind the two mares.

Lyra is still talking. "I'm sure you don't remember our old classes together."

Twilight almost sounds shocked. "Why, of course I do! What kind of friend would I be if I didn't remember something like that?"

"We're... friends?" Lyra asks.

"Of course we are!"

"But didn't you tell me when we were working on that project, 'Look, I'm just going to do it all by myself, please leave me alone?'"

"Well, you shouldn't have believed me, then." Celestia catches a smirk on Twilight's face, but it quickly leaves her view. "I may not have sounded like it, but I really did enjoy having you working with me."

"You did?!" Lyra asks.

"Who wouldn't? You're a very kind, interesting pony, Lyra."

Lyra's response can only be categorized as "incoherent babbling." After some of that, she asks, "You really think so?"

"I know so," Twilight replies. "I'm glad that we'll be friends. You're so much cooler and nicer than I am."

"That's not true at all!" Lyra says, almost shouts. "You're the coolest pony in this whole castle!"

"Please, Lyra, don't exaggerate. I know I'm not the most extroverted, or the kindest. I can get pretty crabby when I don't get enough sleep, or when I get interrupted from my reading. I'm not a nice, friendly pony like you."

"But everypony wants to be you, Twilight!" Lyra almost stops herself, but says, "I want to be you."

Twilight stops. Something seems to be going through her mind, but Celestia cannot tell what. She turns and looks directly at the shadow where Celestia is standing. She recoils for a moment, but reminds herself that there is no possible way Twilight can break through her spell. Finally, Twilight does respond. "I need to show you something. Are you ready?"

"Uh, sure. What is it?" Lyra asks.

Twilight lifts up her cape with a hoof, then throws it with one swift motion. As it passes over Lyra, Twilight, and eventually itself, they disappear, until at last the hallway is empty but for an awestruck Princess lurking in the shadows.

The two of them land in an empty blackness, stretching out into a yawning infinity. There is no sound but the heartbeats and breaths of the two ponies. Twilight's is even and collected, but Lyra's begins to pick up as she takes in her surroundings. "What did you... where are... what..." Lyra spits out.

"Relax, Lyra. This is a safe place," Twilight tells her.

"That only answers my second question!" Lyra shouts.

"Okay. What I did was move us to a more private environment. I've learned a new magical ability that lets me do it."

"And my third question?!"

"All you said was 'What,' Lyra," Twilight replies. "I don't know what that means."

"What do you want with me?" Lyra cries. She throws herself to the ground and weeps.

"I don't want to hurt you, Lyra! I just need to tell you something, and it needs to be away from Celestia's prying eyes."

"O-o-okay..." Lyra says.

"I know what you're up to. I know what Celestia is trying to do with you. I won't say that I'm mad at you, because you're just trying to be a good subject. But you don't have to subjugate yourself to her! You can be free, away from her puppet strings! I want you to join me and my new mistress. Join our side! We'll turn against Celestia and restore the rightful queen to the throne!"

"You-you're scaring me, Twilight. I don't understand," Lyra babbles. "You're talking about treason and magic and darkness a-and I just don't understand."

"You have to say 'yes,'" Twilight insists. "I can't let you tell Celestia any of this!"

Lyra's eyes grow wide, and she bolts into the shadows. Twilight only watches with a sober expression. Once Lyra falls to the ground, unable to continue, Twilight moves to her location with a single step. Space folds around her in this empty unworld; Lyra sees it all, her mouth painfully dry. Their eyes meet. Lyra's are water; Twilight's are fire. "I didn't want to do this," Twilight says. "I thought you could be trusted. I thought you could be persuaded."

"Don't do this, Twilight. You said you liked me!"

"And you thought I was telling the truth? You actually believed me?" Twilight laughs, and the whole darkness echoes with it. "Don't be foolish, Lyra. You are nothing but an overactive, mindless, lovesick little puppy. You are nothing, an empty vessel; it's no wonder Celestia turned to you to brainwash me and keep me from the truth!"

"No, that's not the truth!" Lyra interrupts. Each word comes from her as a desperate attempt to save her life. "Celestia doesn't want to brainwash you! She just wants you to have a friend!"

"Of course she wants me to have a friend. Friends are time, energy, focus. They will keep me from discovering the truth. But I will find it. I will know it. It is my destiny!"

"Stop it, Twilight! I... I love you!" she cries out.

"No, you don't. You love my power. You love my genius. You love my body. You love the idea of love. But you don't know me; you don't understand me. This is me now! Do you love me now?" Twilight says. She rears back, and the darkness about her cracks and thunders like a great pegasus-crafted storm.

"Please don't kill me..." is Lyra's only response.

"Oh, I can't kill you. If I did, Celestia would know it was my doing, and I must remain out of her suspicion. No, I won't kill you." Before Lyra can sigh in relief, Twilight adds, "But there are many other methods of silence I have learned from my dark mistress." She turns to her cloak and says, "Shadows?" Then she points to Lyra's prone form. "Enter."

Like a swarm of locusts, shadows pour forth from her cape. They orbit Lyra's head, and she screams. Her horn lights up, and she swats desperately at the spinning shadows. One by one, they pour into her ear, and before long, her eyes glaze over with a dark veneer. The magic fades, and every muscle in Lyra's body relaxes.

Twilight speaks, slowly at first. "Lyra, my thrall. Can you understand me?"

"yes" she says.

"You will forget everything you have learned in this world. Do you understand?"

"i do" Lyra says.

"For all intents and purposes, you will continue to serve Celestia. However, two things have changed. First, you and I must act as though we are a happy couple. Second, should I ever begin a command by calling you 'Lyrica,' you will obey it without question. Am I clear?"

"as crystal"

"Good. Now, you will wait sixty seconds. After that, you will return to normal. Understood?"

"yes" Lyra says.

Twilight whisks her cape and returns the two of them to an empty room in the castle. When they return, she falls to the ground and retches. "What have I done?" she asks. "What have I become?"

After the determined sixty seconds, Lyra's eyes return to their normal golden luster. When she looks at Twilight, they flash black, but otherwise appear normal. "Twilight, my love!" she says. "It's so good to see you."

"And you, Lyra," Twilight replies weakly.

"You haven't forgotten the show tonight, have you? Our very first date," Lyra adds with a knowing smirk.

"R-right," Twilight says. She goes to the door, but on a whim, she includes, "Lyrica, follow."

"as you request" Lyra intones. The two of them walk down the hall, without so much as a word.

Celestia sees Lyra and Twilight walk in just as the show begins to start. Her mind jumps to the question at hand, but she cannot ask it without revealing that she was spying on her. She also immediately notices how close the two of them are: they can hardly keep their hooves off of each other!

"Did we miss anything?" Lyra asks.

"Not at all; the show has just begun," Celestia replies. "You two seem to be getting along well."

"Aren't we, though?" Twilight says. "Lyra asked me in the hallway if I'd like to start going out with her. I said yes, of course. Won't this be a great first date?"

The words echo sharply through Celestia's thoughts. She opens her mouth, but Lyra cuts her off. "Shh! The show's starting!" she says.

The two curtains pull to the side, revealing Starbuck and Trixie standing together on stage. Starbuck calls out to the crowd, "Fillies and gentlecolts! Thank you all for coming tonight to our humble show! We will be doing a special presentation for all of you tonight, entitled, 'Screwball in Wonderland.' The part of Screwball will be played by my daughter, Trixie, while I will be playing the Rabbit, the Farrier, the Tall Horse, the Small Horse, and... well, everypony else. We hope you enjoy 'Screwball in Wonderland!'"

The audience stomps their hooves against the ground in appreciation. For a second, the stage goes dark. When it lights up once more, only Trixie remains on stage. "Oh, what a beautiful day!" she says. "Look at all the beautiful trees and flowers!" Her horn alights, and the images appear around her. Her father appears, dressed up in a white cloak and bunny ears over his own. "That Rabbit," she says. "He looks so strange!"

"Why, look at the time! I must be going!" Starbuck says. He hop-gallops his way around the stage, and Trixie follows uncertainly.

As the play continues, Celestia occasionally turns to look at Twilight. She appears to be watching the show with characteristically rapt attention. Celestia sees Twilight's cheerful innocence, and it heartens her greatly. For just a little while, Celestia thinks that everything is back to normal again. She almost says something to Twilight during the intermission, but she holds her tongue and lets the two lovebirds enjoy their time together.

Eventually, the play comes to an end. Screwball awakes to find that Wonderland was all a dream, and she returns to her avid playing in the field. The curtain closes, and the audience stamps their wild approval. Celestia sits up to cheer, but strangely, Twilight does not. If anything, she seems to be even more absorbed in the darkened stage. After a few seconds, the stage lights up once more, and the Sidereal Starbuck returns. “Fillies and gentlecolts,” he says, “I am proud to present a new story for your enjoyment; consider it an encore of sorts. We hope you enjoy 'The Banishment of Selene!'”

“Selene...?” Celestia asks. She sits up and peers at the stage.

“Have you heard that name before?” Twilight asks her.

“In a sense,” Celestia replies. Any further answer is cut short by the beginning of the play.

Starbuck stands in front of all of them, clad in cool violet coat paint and grand prop wings. He begins his monologue:

Behold! I am Selene.

I, who hold the sea and sky in motion;

I, who keep dominion over night and day;

I, who guard all tribes of ponies faithfully;

I, Selene, am ruler of all.

I rule with a strong hoof and a heart of gold.

I purge evil from my land, yet love all equally.

I am loved beyond all others as fair, just, and kind.

I, the good, the beautiful, the wondrous.

I am Selene.

At “loved beyond all others,” Celestia sits up further and stares at “Selene” as if she were searching for answers. Starbuck continues:

This is my kingdom:

pulled from the dark of discord,

triumphant over the rule of shadow,

growing even o'er the Plague of Ancients.

We survived, longer than the Homin,

longer than the Didema,

longer than the koboldkind.

From the ruins of Unicornia,

out of the ashes of the first Canterlot,

order restored from chaos' reign,

all by my wing and hoof and horn.

“How could he know about all of that?” Celestia wonders. Discord, Sombra, the Plague of Ancients—as far as she knows, not a single history book lays mention to any of those things. And what pony had met the Didema or the Homin? But it is far too coincidental to be fiction...

As Starbuck speaks, Trixie sneaks in from one side of the stage. Celestia's heart breaks further: this character is her, without a doubt. Trixie's mane has been dyed a solid pink, and her coat is an alabaster hue. No one but Celestia would recognize that old appearance, but it is her nonetheless. Nopony has seen her image in the stained glass of the Royal Vault. How could Starbuck know? She considers that he might not have written this one as he did the previous one, but that only raises more questions. And when Trixie speaks, it only cements her discomfort:

I am the Thief, the Pretender,

the Jealous One. I see Selene's success

and hunger for it. I cannot rest

until I see her torn down to her core.

I have with me a gem of pow'r;

violet as spring,

as treacherous as poison.

It will drain her of her powers,

steal her soul,

consume her and leave her to die.

Then I will bear it, control it,

and the love of Equestria will be mine.

Celestia looks down at her peytral, where the selfsame gem rests quietly. Another strangely similar detail—but wrong, oh how wrong!

Trixie points to Starbuck, the gem aloft:

Halt, Selene! Not another step.

Starbuck replies:

Why do you do this, child?

Why do you stand against me?
Celestia mouths along with Trixie's next lines:

Did you really expect me to sit idly by

while they all basked in your precious light?

To Starbuck in this darkened mirror:

Do not do this, little one.

What can I do or say to ease your mind?

Back, back! Stay back!

No! So close, yet so far!

There can only be one Princess in Equestria,

and that Princess WILL BE ME!
“No!” Celestia stands up, and, without realizing it, her magic flares. The lights in the theater grow brighter, brighter, then explode into darkness. For a few moments, nothing can be seen or heard except Celestia's grief-wracked sobs. In time, she pulls herself back together and restores the lights to normal. A guard approaches her from the side and asks, “Your Highness, should we stop the play?”

“No... no, that won't be necessary.” She stands up, brushes off her pillow, and turns to the crowd. “I apologize. I'm afraid I... lost my composure.” Without another word, she hurries from the theater, leaving Twilight with a look that could only be described as “triumphant.”

Twilight follows Celestia back from the show. In the dark halls, Twilight is a ghost, completely unseen, while Celestia blazes amid the darkness. But there is not a sound through the entire castle, save Celestia's edged breathing. The two of them pass through the corridors until they arrive at Celestia's chamber. Celestia closes the door behind her. The two of them are alone.

Celestia reaches beneath her bed and pulls out a small box. Twilight does not recognize most of the objects: they appear to be a child's toys, paintings, or mementos. At the very bottom are two small idols: the first, six marquise-cut gems arranged in a pentagon; the second, a statuette of Night Mare Moon from the Nightmare Night celebration. The two of them go on her nightstand, followed, after a moment of thought, by the peytral about Celestia's neck. With those three set before her, Celestia kneels down and begins to pray. “Selene...” she murmurs. “I haven't heard that name in such a long time. I associate it with a very different pony altogether. You were good and sweet, and I loved you... I still do, you know.” Twilight hears the falling of tears against the soft carpet, sees the glistening in the moonlight. “You had no idea how much you meant to me. I watched as you grew more and more unhappy, but there was nothing I could do.” She begins to sob, broken. “I betrayed you! I let you be consumed by the darkness, and I saw the fear in your eyes! I saw your final moments, as I locked your essence in the moon, and I regretted every last second I had spent with you that I wasted! Every time I look up and see your face, I am reminded of my sin. Every time I see the faces of our subjects, I regret that you cannot be here to see them smiling. I only wish...” But here she shakes her head. “...No. If I were to relive that moment, I would do the same thing. It was not you I fought, but Night Mare Moon. And she was a cruel mistress. I will willingly suffer for a thousand years over and over again if that is what it takes to protect my charges. If that means I will never know rest from my guilt... so be it.”

Twilight is shocked and appalled. So she freely admits it! Now, more than ever, it is obvious that Celestia must be stopped. While Celestia's back is turned, Twilight reaches for the peytral with her magic. It lifts slowly, then drifts towards Twilight. When the peytral is halfway across the room, Celestia notices its absence. She turns and sees it floating through the air. “Who's there?”

The jig is up. Twilight steps from the shadows, her eyes agleam. “Hello, Pretender.”

“Don't--! Please don't call me that, Twilight.” Celestia says. “Whoever wrote that play was sadly misinformed.”

“You don't understand,“ says Twilight. “I wrote the play tonight.”

“No! That doesn't make any sense,” Celestia says. “Why would you make up something like that?”

“Don't lie to me!” Twilight shouts. “I know it's true. I know what you did to her! She told me so!”

Everything falls into place. “Twilight... You serve Night Mare Moon? How... how could you?”

“Because you lied to me!” she screams. “Because you treat me like a pawn! Because you don't love me as I love you!”

“Oh, Twilight. I'm sorry,” Celestia says. She steps closer, though Twilight recoils, and beckons Twilight into a hug. “Twilight, I have had many students, but none of them quite like you. I do love you, Twilight, as my most faithful student. You have no idea how much you mean to me.”

Twilight must fight to hold back tears. “So, you will be my new mother?”

“...No, Twilight. I can't. You have a mother, and I won't--”

“Why do you keep lying to me?!” The peytral rockets towards Twilight and falls into her hooves. “Why do you keep trying to change me?”

“I am helping you to achieve your destiny--”

“I already know my destiny,” Twilight says. “I will focus and improve my magic until I am the most powerful unicorn on the planet. Then I will use my powers for the good of Equestria. Why would you interfere with that?”

Celestia looks down to the ground, then up to the moon. “...It's true. I had many plans for you. Do you want to hear them?” Twilight says nothing, so Celestia continues. “When I saw your power on Entrance Exam Day, the day you got your cutie mark, I saw your potential. I took you on as my personal student, partly so I could help you focus your power, but also, I fully admit, to keep you isolated from other ponies. This was all for one goal: One day, a few years from now, I would send you to a town called Ponyville, where you would meet five wonderful mares just like you and learn the magic of friendship, something which you would never understand in your ivory tower.”

Twilight looks puzzled. “But how is--”

“I'm not finished. With the help of your friends, you would become the champion of Harmony and protect Equestria from major threats. At the same time, you would grow wiser, kinder, more balanced as you learned the true meaning of friendship. And one day, after some time, you would misuse an ancient spell, reaffirm the depths of your understanding of friendship, and ascend to the Cosmic Plane, where you would turn into a princess, to rule beside me, my sister, and Cadance in love and friendship.

“Yes, I hid all of that from you, but it was because you had to learn it for yourself. I know it's difficult to understand, but everything I did, I did for your benefit.” Celestia looks at Twilight, but Twilight is almost stone-still. “Are you all right?”

Twilight laughs, and it echoes through Celestia's chamber. “You may be willing to say anything to get me back in your good graces,” she says, “but you've finally revealed what I need to know! The Elements of Harmony are in Ponyville!”

Celestia gasps. “No, Twilight, you mustn't--”

“And if the Elements are there, then what else can I use for Selene's return?”

“Twilight, you cannot wield the Elements of Harmony. In this world, they will not respond to a heart filled with anger and resentment.”

“We'll see about that.” Twilight lifts the peytral up above her. “By destroying this gem, I release the powers of the moon!” She throws the peytral to the ground, and it shatters into a thousand pieces.

The world explodes in violet light. Purple waves of magic flicker and dance in every direction. When the light show is over, Celestia can only say, “You have no idea what you've just done.”

Twilight suddenly seems very afraid. “But I only--”

“You are out of control, Twilight. I'm sending you to the medical wing for magical decontamination and a psychological evaluation.” She tries to smile, but it comes off as exceptionally tired. “This is the Night Mare's doing, Twilight. You'll get better yet.”

Twilight rushes out of the room, away from everything confusing and threatening. She looks behind her and does not see Celestia following. With a sigh, she slackens her pace. Eventually, she finds her room, where she falls into an uneasy sleep.

Author's Note

Whoo! That was crazy. But guess what? The party's not over yet! Go check out the Third Nightmare right now. Right now, do it right now!

The Third Nightmare

The Night Mare greets her upon her entrance. “I could feel the effects of the peytral shattering from here. Very impressive work.”

"What exactly did that do?" Twilight asks. "I thought for sure it would free you right away, but I guess it didn't."

"No, but it's the first step. I have another gift for you," says Night Mare Moon.

"Hold on," Twilight says. "I can't stay long. Celestia is looking for me. If she figures out I'm asleep, she could find me, in here or in real life, and then our plans would be ruined."

"You're absolutely right. But what is your plan, exactly?"

"Celestia told me where to go. Apparently, the Elements of Harmony and Ponyville are connected somehow. Do you know anything about it?"

"No, I don't. It must have been founded after I was banished."

"Selene?" Twilight asks. "Is this... is this right? Are we really doing what's best for Equestria?"

“You are doing exactly the right thing,” she replies. “How did the play go?”

“...I believe you. Completely,” Twilight says.

“Then you are ready to become my servant?” Night Mare Moon asks.

“I already am,” says Twilight.

“Take my hoof,” she says. When Twilight does so, the dreamscape begins to warp and twist. Twilight's head pounds with some strange agony. The hoof before her begins to turn black at the edges, and she can feel her horn lengthening. She pulls her hoof away, but the effect remains. The Night Mare continues, “I have marked you as my right hoof. In the coming rule, you will be my confidante, my voice, and perhaps even my successor. No more will you be the setting sun; you will destroy it. You will be... Black Nova.”

Author's Note

Well, that was exciting! Plenty of twists and turns... to be honest, I didn't know where a lot of it was going to go until I'd already written it. In particular, the whole bit with Black Nova. I hadn't intended to change Twilight's name in the story, but now that I have, it feels right, you know?

Black Nova is off to Ponyville to find the Elements of Harmony and anything else that will help her defeat Celestia. But what was the real effect of the peytral breaking? Will Nova be stopped? What about Lyra, Spike, and Cadance? You'll have to keep reading to find out!

Part 4: Broken Masks

Black Nova runs on the pathway down the mountain towards Ponyville. Things are changing rapidly for her, and she is not sure what is happening all around her. For the moment, all she knows is that the tools to free her mistress reside somewhere in that town by the Everfree Forest. Up in Canterlot, the emergency sirens break the nighttime serenity. The guards must be searching the entire city for her, under Celestia's orders to bring her to a mental institution and have her cleansed of her mistress' gifts. But she can't let herself be captured. She must keep moving. A cold wind blows down the mountain, and she holds her cape close to herself. Selene is waiting.

She passes by a tunnel being blown through the mountain. A set of tracks lead into it; Twilight recalls the plans Celestia has for a railroad system sweeping across the entire continent. But it will not be completed for at least three more years. The only paths up or down the mountain are either the sky chariots carried by the Royal Guard or the long, winding hiking path. The chariots are obviously out, so Nova continues down the path.

Eventually, the main gate to Ponyville appears before her. The night is long, but Black Nova finds that she is not tired. The nighttime is strengthening her, not weakening her. Unfortunately, the majority of the citizenry must be asleep at such a late time. But so much the better; there will be no one to get in her way. She heads through the town to get a grip on the lay of the land. A few buildings stand out to her: first, the bakery in the center of town, a garishly bright two-story building designed to look like a gingerbread house; second, the artsy boutique with a carousel façade; next, out in the distance, an apple farm spreading out across the hills; off by the outskirts, the constant presence of the Everfree Forest; and finally, a huge tree turned into a library. Each place represents a place of interest, but it is the library which immediately draws Nova. Knowledge in a concentrated place, organized and orderly. If there is anywhere that will be the most help to her, it will be there.

The lights are off in the library. Nova slips in through a crack in the door and begins to search through the wide selection of books. She has no idea where to start. The magic section contains many powerful spells, but none strong enough for her needs. The history section holds quite a bit of information about Ponyville and its foundation, but nothing about the Elements of Harmony or any other latent magic that can help her.

As Nova searches through the library, she hears the slow plod of hoofsteps descending the staircase. She tries to look for a hiding place, but the pony appears in the main room before she can even move. It is an old stallion, a weary-looking geezer who stares at her through coke-bottle glasses and who wears a permanent scowl.

“Who are you, and what are you doing in my library?” the old stallion asks. Nova tries to explain herself, but the old stallion is angry, and his volume builds, cutting her off. “It's the middle of the night! If you want a book, you'll have to come in the morning! Unless... you're a thief!”

“I'm not a thief!” Nova shouts back.

The old stallion waddles up to her and smacks her with his cane. “Get out, right now, before I call the cops!”

“All right, all right, I'm sorry.” She heads towards the door, but she catches with her keen hearing that his breathing is irregular—not the quicker rhythm of exertion, but a painful off-beat. She turns back just in time to see him collapse onto the floor.

Her magic kicks in before her mind does. In a rush, she pours healing mana into the old stallion's body. It seems ineffective, though; whether that is due to her new body's propensity away from healing or the old stallion's resistance to it, she cannot tell. She runs to his side and checks his vital signs. Still that irregular breathing, and his pulse is fading. Nova calls out into the night, “Help! Please, a doctor!” At this point, it matters not if she is captured, so long as the stallion makes it through the night. She puts her forehooves to his chest and begins to push against his ribcage. She does this for as long as she can, then breaths once, twice into his lungs. He does not move, though, as Nova notes, he is not worsening, at least. She continues her technique for what seems an eternity until a small team of medical ponies arrives at the scene. The leader, a white mare with a rose-colored mane, thanks her and takes over for her. Nova gratefully stands aside.

A few other ponies rubberneck just inside the door. Black Nova picks one, a cream-colored earth pony with a two-tone mane, to go over to and introduce herself. The earth pony mare speaks first, saying, “That was quite impressive, stranger.”

“I couldn't just let him die,” Nova replies.

“Not that. I heard you shouting all the way across town!” the other mare says. She grins, and Nova chuckles, embarrassed. The mare continues, “No, but seriously, I'm glad you were there to save Mr. Script. His heart hasn't been very strong recently. If you hadn't been there he could have, well...” Suddenly, she seems uncomfortable, as though she can't say the word.

“Don't worry about that,” Nova says. “He's still alive, and that's what counts.”

“If he's all right, I'm going back to bed. You should come by my shop tomorrow; ask for Bon Bon.”

“Will do.” Before Bon Bon leaves, Nova adds, “Oh, my name is, uh, Black Nova.” It is the first time she's given her new name to anypony; will she believe it?

“Glad to meet you, Nova. 'Night!”

“Ma'am?” The white mare calls Nova back over to where Mr. Script is lying. “Good work with the first aid. For our records, could you tell us your name, when you found Mr. Script like this, and what you did afterwards?”

Nova's throat turns dry. “My name is Black Nova, and I was walking by the library about 25 minutes ago when I heard Mr. Script cry out and hit the ground with a thud. I used magic to wink into the library, then performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation until paramedics arrived.” She smiles awkwardly.

The other mare nods. “Good. That agrees with Mr. Script's account. Thank you, that'll be all we need.”

When the mare turns away to review her forms, Nova drops to her knees and whispers to Mr. Script, “Why did you cover for me? Why didn't you tell them I snuck in?”

He chuckles, but it fades into coughing and groaning. Eventually, he says, “Thieves don't try to save their target's life. I figure you must be a good pony to do something like that.” That should have been reassuring, but Nova only feels empty. Mr. Script continues, “You're new to Ponyville, right? If you'd like, you can stay here for the rest of the night. Then you can look at all the books you need.”

“That's very generous of you, but I—”

“Did somepony say, 'New to Ponyville?'” A voice that can only be described as a “chirrup” speaks right next to Nova's head. She jumps back and looks at the offender: a bright pink mare with a ridiculously frizzy mane. Her cutie mark is a cluster of balloons, so it is clear this pony's talent is something to do with joy and laughter. Nova, however, only finds her annoying.

“Yes, I am new to Ponyville, but—”

“That's super-awesome-terrific! I just moved in a few months ago, but I'm learning everything about everypony in Ponyville: name, age, talent, birthday, favorite color, favorite food, favorite breakfast food, favorite activity, hobbies, likes, dislikes, what time they eat, sleep, wake up, go to work, secret fears, secret wishes, secret crushes, secret secrets, everything! And since you're currently in Ponyville, that means I need to know everything about you, too! Ooh! Or we could save that for your party!”

“My party?” Nova asks.

“Your party! Whenever someone new moves to Ponyville, I throw them a party so that they can make new friends and feel right at home! So when can I pencil you in for?”

“Look, I'm not staying long...”

“Pinkie Pie!”

“Pinkie Pie. I'm here for a... research project on the Elements of Harmony. I don't particularly need parties or friends at the moment.” It irks her that, even here, she cannot escape the constant friend-making.

“Hmm... Nope! Don't know anything about the Elements of Harmony.”

“Drat.” Nova searches for something else to ask. “Well, then, would you by chance know anything about sidereal creatures?”

“I believe I can help with that, darling,” another pony interrupts. She is a unicorn, and Nova recognizes the Canterlot fashion that this pony is attempting to emulate. Imperfect though it is, she is still decidedly attractive. The mare catches herself and adds, “Rarity the unicorn. And that is, I know somepony who can help. Her name is Fluttershy, and she lives just outside of town, by the Everfree Forest.”

“Yes! Fluttershy knows everything about all sorts of creatures!” Pinkie says.

“Unfortunately, as her name suggests, she's extremely shy around other ponies. I'm the only pony in Ponyville she'll talk to. I'll be with her all day tomorrow, so if you wish, I could introduce you to her.”

“That would be very useful, thanks,” Nova says. Everypony here is so helpful, she thinks. If they knew what she was planning, perhaps they wouldn't be so supportive.

As the last few ponies trail out of the tree, she prepares herself for the last steps of her plan. Selene will be free soon.

Celestia sits alone in her throne room and raises the sun with hardly a motion. The events of last night have worn her out greatly, physically and mentally. With her conduit shattered, her alicorn magic has been draining back into the cosmic aether, leaving her feeling the many thousands of years old she actually is. The exertion of lifting the sun is far greater than normal; she fears what will happen should she no longer be able to do her duty.

Spike pushes the door open and bows before her. “Um... Princess?” he asks. “We have a problem.”

“So you've heard. Fear not, Spike; we are looking for Twilight as quickly as we can. Her parents are already—”

“No, not that! Well, that, but this too.” He steps outside, then returns pulling Lyra Heartstrings by her tail. Physically, she seems healthy, but her attitude suggests otherwise. Her glance darts back and forth; she seems utterly panicked.

“Twilight!” Lyra cries out. “Where is she?” She pulls away from Spike and begins looking behind the tapestries in the hall.

“She's not here, Miss Heartstrings,” Celestia calls out to her. Lyra does not respond. Celestia asks Spike, “Is she... usually like this?”

“With Lyra, it's hard to tell.” They turn back to watch Lyra run about and eventually leave. After the silence, Spike murmurs, “What can we do with Twilight?”

“The guards are searching Canterlot in case she went home or is collecting supplies. She mentioned Ponyville, so perhaps she is down there. Technically, I don't have the jurisdiction to force her to come back, though, not without pressing charges on her.”

“You don't? But you're the Princess!” Spike says. “And after she broke that gem of yours, you're not going to punish her?”

Celestia shakes her head. “She's not a criminal, Spike,” she says. “She's very sick. I only want her to get better.”

“You know who we need? Cadance!” Spike says. “I'll send her a letter right now!”

“No! If anything, we need to keep Cadenza where she is. She can't interrupt her meeting with the griffon chieftain, or they may take advantage of our weakness.”

“Then what can we do?” Spike asks.

Celestia pauses. “Hmm... I hate to use drastic measures, but...”

“But what?”

“I can't force Twilight to come back to Canterlot, but if I alert the medical team at Ponyville of Twilight's... condition, they can detain her there. Then I could visit her without issue. Were I to claim that her treatment would be better served in Canterlot, we would have then have her right back at home where she belongs.”

Spike looks at her, uncertain. “I don't know... Is all that going to work?”

“I believe it will. Now, I'd like you to prepare some letters for me.”

“Got it!” He snaps to attention and pulls out a stack of parchment. “Ready when you are, Princess.”

“The first letter is for Mi Amore Cadenza. Write: 'Cadance, A situation has come up with Twilight. Do not come home. We will make sure it is settled without incident.'”

“Done!” He sends it away with his fire breath.

“Next, for Rosy Ray or Gilded Lily: 'I've attached a missive for you. You are to go to Ponyville and give it to the medical staff at Ponyville General. Do this with maximum discretion. If you see Twilight, do not engage her.' Don't send that one until I actually write the note for the medical team.”

“Right. Anything else?”

“One more. This one to the chief astrologer, White Orbit: 'With my peytral damaged, I must call on the Circle of Magi to restart the Old Ways until a new conduit can be Enchanted. I leave it to you to decide whether I remain in power during that time. I also require any magical astrological effects which pose any serious concern, especially with the moon and any neighboring stars.' That one you should send right now, Spike.”

“O-of course.” He sends the letter, but he seems shaken. “Princess, what you said in that letter... Are you gonna be all right?”

Celestia doesn't smile, thought her tone is light. “Spike, you know I do not lie—not ever. Knowing that, do you still want my answer?” Spike does not respond, so she adds, “I will say this. Everything in the letter was true, though possibly unfounded. I will require a new conduit, but I don't even know if one can be Enchanted at all. Without it, my control over the sun will fade; I may even die. Or I may not.” She pauses a moment, then slowly magicks Spike up and places him onto her back. “So, to answer your question: no, I will not be all right.”

Black Nova wakes up in the morning, ready to meet with Fluttershy. She had done some research last night, to no result. She'd checked all of the H section from top to bottom, but nothing! Fluttershy, on the other hoof, seems to be a much better lead. It is Nova's hope that she can lead Nova through the Everfree Forest safely. Nova recalls her promise to Bon Bon to visit her store. That will be the first stop, she decides.

Ponyville had been quiet when Nova had arrived, and she hadn't focused overmuch on details. Now that it is day, Nova marvels at the bustle and energy in the town. It is hardly the sleepy one-horse town the nobility of Canterlot would claim. After a few moments, Nova is quickly lost among the buildings and crowds. She passes by the gingerbread house multiple times until she finally gives up and goes inside.

By chance, Bon Bon is standing in line for muffins and donuts served by an effervescent Pinkie Pie. Nova slips next to Bon Bon and says, “Hello again, stranger.”

Bon Bon laughs. “Hello again.” Her voice seems higher pitched, more nasal. “Everything all right? You look harried.”

"Just a little. Do you think you could help me around? I'm supposed to be meeting Fluttershy later today.”

Bon Bon points to the north. “Fluttershy lives that way. But you need Rarity, right? She lives at Carousel Boutique over there.” The line moves forward, and Nova and Bon Bon slide up. “We're at Sugarcube Corner. If you need anything, you may want to talk to the mayor at Town Hall.”

“Anypony else I should be aware of?” Nova asks.

“...Well, there are the Apples down at Sweet Apple Acres. Granny Smith runs it with her grandchildren: Applejack, Big Macintosh, and Apple Bloom.”

“What about their parents? Don't they help, too?”

Bon Bon's panicked look from the night before returns. “Don't ask them about that, whatever you do.” Nova catches the implication and nods. “Let's see... if you need to talk to the weather team, their leader is a yellow-blue pegasus named Raindrops. She's nice, but between you and me, she's not a very good leader. We're always late wrapping up winter, for example. I hear the mayor's considering hiring a Cloudsdale weather technician, but I don't know anything about that. I just run a candy store.”

“No, that's fine! You've been very helpful,” Nova replies. “I feel a lot more comfortable here now.”

“That's what friends are for, right?”

Nova considers this. She had assumed friendship and the pursuit of knowledge were mutually exclusive, one at the expense of another. But could it be even marginally possible that one could supplement the other? Or perhaps that it is a facet of the other? Is friendship itself a type of magic?

Nova laughs that off. Patently ridiculous. She and Bon Bon aren't friends, only mutually beneficial to each other. Even the worst of enemies could be that. Ponyvillians must be quick to use the term, she decides, though. Better to play along. “Of course! I'm glad to have a friend like you!” Nova says, though she winces as the word leaves her tongue.

“I'm glad, too. We should hang out today. Are you busy, or...?”

“Shh!” Nova suddenly waves Bon Bon off and stares at the end of the line. There, all the way at the back, are Rosy Ray and Gilded Lily, unaware at the moment of her presence. Rosy Ray has what looks like a scroll in one of her saddlebags; from the seal on it, it appears to be extremely important.

Bon Bon follows her gaze. “Do you... know those two?”

“Yes. They're my... friends, from Canterlot. But why are they here? Why them?”

“Maybe they wanted to come here with you?” Bon Bon asks.

“They're here for me,” Nova mumbles. Of course! Celestia sent them to capture her, to keep her from reviving Selene! Or worse, they might be assassins, and the moment they see her, they will kill her stone dead! Well, not if she has anything to say about it!

“Where are you going?” Bon Bon asks, but Nova does not listen. She marches over to where the two are chatting and forces herself between the two of them.

“Hi, girls!” Nova says. She wears a crazed smile, and her head snaps back and forth like a broken clockwork doll.

The two look at each other uncertainly. Against her better judgment, Rosy Ray replies, “Twilight, are you okay?”

“I'm great, just great!” She paces around the two of them, looking to each in turn. “Actually, I wanted to play a game!”

“What kind of game, miss?” Gilded Lily asks.

“Why, a fun game!” Nova produces a glass ball out of magic. “You simply put magic into the ball until it glows. You have to match the last player's color. Do you want to try?”

“Uhh... Twilight? We can't play that. No horns, remember?” Rosy Ray taps her forehead to confirm it.

“Come now, it's easy. You must try it!” While Rosy Ray and Gilded Lily look at the ball, Nova swipes the scroll and magically reads its contents. To Ponyville General Hospital,

“What do you mean, miss? We literally can't.” I believe there is a pony in your town by the name of Twilight Sparkle.

“Silly Lily, even foals can play this!” She is currently under a very serious magical delusion and is a danger to herself and others.

“Unicorn foals, maybe. Just put this stupid ball away. Let's talk about something else.” I humbly request that you put her into medical confinement to be disenchanted.

“Please, what's going on, miss?” Yours, Princess Celestia.

Nova snaps. “Leave me alone!” Her magic flares, and the paper behind her disintegrates. Faster than sight, she creates a replica in a fraction of a second and puts it into Rosy Ray's bag. “You can't play this game, yet you think you can toy with me? How can you understand even a fraction of my thoughts? I am not a foal; I am not a plaything! Perhaps you should look to yourselves to see if you are the ones being played.”

The entire cafe is looking at her. Bon Bon in particular looks confused and embarrassed. Nova winces at the spectacle she's become, and she runs outside beyond the stares. The Everfree Forest is to her right; Canterlot to her left. As she heads to Fluttershy and her destiny, she imagines the scene that will soon take place:

Rosy Ray and Gilded Lily enter the hospital and flag down the first nurse they see. “Excuse me, ma'am?” Rosy Ray says. “We have a message from Princess Celestia.”

The nurse takes the message and reads it slowly. When she finishes, she replies, “Oh, you poor dears. We'll help you right away!”

“Thank you very much,” says Gilded Lily. Her gratitude turns to panic when the stallions in white do not exit the hospital but instead hook the two of them by the forehooves and carry them away.

“No, please! There has to be some mistake!” Rosy Ray shouts.

“No mistake, dear,” the nurse says. “It's in your instructions. 'These two ponies are terribly ill. They believe they are Princess Celestia's personal couriers, but in truth, they have no relation to the crown. Should they be found without their handlers, please escort them to a holding cell until their handlers can come find them. -Manehattan Psychiatric Facility.'”

The two of them plead and scream long after there is anypony around to hear them.

Fluttershy's demeanor stems, at least in part, from a fillyhood of bullying and torment. She is thoughtful and smart, though she believes no one would appreciate it. She is charming and beautiful, though she hides behind mane and tail extensions and wears makeup to downplay it. Even beauty can be ammo to the right bully. It is odd yet somewhat apt, then, that the only pony she feels she can approach is a pony who accepts the beauty she rejects, a pony whose appearance bolsters her confidence, inspires her. But it is no surprise at all that she is terrified of the other pony before her, one who wields overwhelming, unnatural magic, a pony to whom knowledge is literal power.

Rarity, are you sure she's okay?” Fluttershy asks. She looks back into the main room, where the purple-black unicorn is idly toying with the flowerpots. “There's something... off about her.”

“Come now, Fluttershy. She just wants your advice on some creatures. I told her you could help her. Please, won't you do it for me?”

“All right. For you,” Fluttershy replies. She musters up her courage and returns to the room. “I'm so sorry for running off like that, Miss Nova,” she says.

“That's all right, Fluttershy. And please, just call me Nova,” she replies.

“R-right. Nova. You want to know about... star creatures, was it?”

“Yes, I've always loved the stories about them. A... friend of mine told me his mother met one, a deer.”

“Orion?” Fluttershy asks. “I've heard of him, too. He's supposed to be very kind and helpful. Unfortunately, I haven't met him.”

“Do you know of any others, perhaps some near here?”

“I believe there's a family of Ursas in the Everfree Forest. I don't know where exactly, but...”

“Please, take me to them!” Nova asks her. She throws herself to her knees and begs.

Fluttershy looks to Rarity for salvation. Rarity tries to step in. “Now darling, I understand you're excited, but the Everfree Forest is quite dangerous. It's a madhouse; everything runs by itself!”

“I'm not worried. If it comes to it, I have my magic to protect me. But I have total confidence in Fluttershy's ability to navigate us through!”

“I...I've only been in there a couple of times...” Flutttershy mumbles.

“That's more times than I have,” Nova insists. “If you don't, I'll just go in by myself!”

“I, er, eep!” Fluttershy retreats into a corner, her head tucked behind her wings.

“You've gone and scared her!” Rarity says. She goes to Fluttershy's side and consoles her. Nova tries to look appropriately bashful, but Rarity will have none of it. “Are you really so heartless that you must guilt-trip her like that?”

“I'm sorry. That really wasn't my intention—”

“You know full well that it was!” Rarity holds Fluttershy closer and gestures towards the door. “I believe it's high time you left, Nova.”

“No, it's okay...” To everypony's surprise, Fluttershy stands up and walks over to Black Nova. “I don't want you to go into that forest alone, so if you are going, I'm going too.”

“Are you quite sure, Fluttershy?” Rarity asks. “Don't do it if you feel you are being forced to.”

“I want to go! I want to make sure that the animals don't hurt Nova.” Or that she hurts any of them, Fluttershy mentally adds.

“Fluttershy... I'm not sure I'm comfortable going in there with he—you,” Rarity says. “Are you okay with going there on your own?”

Fluttershy looks back at Nova. She looks... not friendly, but approachable, at least. Although Nova's strange appearance and unnatural power disturb her, she says, “I think I can do it, Rarity. I really should try to make new friends, right?”

Nova pumps a hoof. “Yes! Thank you, Fluttershy. You won't regret this.”

She already does. “I-if you're ready, we could get going. The most likely place for the Ursas to live would be over by the foothills. It's not too far, a couple of hours at most. We should probably head out now, or it'll be dark when we get back.”

“Right you are. Let's go!” Together, they head out to the forest, leaving Rarity to tend the cottage and worry for her friend.

As soon as they enter the forest, Nova notes that the canopy blots out the sun, making it feel like night. Luckily, Nova's glasses help her see just fine. However, Fluttershy jumps at every tree and bush. Nova, feeling sorry for the skittish pegasus, lights her horn in a wide circle. Fluttershy jumps at this, too. “Nova, you can't use a light here! You'll attract all the monsters!”

“No, it's okay. This is a new spell I learned called 'The Hand of Glory.' We're the only creatures that can see this light.”

“'H-hand of Glory?' What does that even mean?”

“....I'm not sure, actually. That's just what it's called.”

“Oh.”

They lapse into silence again. Nova is trying to get on Fluttershy's good graces, so she asks, “Can you tell me a little more about Ursas?”

“They're large, bear-shaped creatures with starry coats. There's usually a momma bear, an Ursa Major, and a baby bear, an Ursa Minor. They're made of starstuff, but they're also extremely strong. Thankfully, they're also pretty docile, unless you wake them up from a nap or hurt their loved ones.”

“I read that they have the ability to transform into stardust and return to space. If that were true, it would be extremely helpful for my research.”

“It is, er, true, but they only do that when they're... um... killed.”

“Oh.”

Silence reigns once more. Fluttershy hazards, “You... wouldn't still do it if—”

“No, of course not, ha ha!” Nova replies.

“Good. I would hate if something bad happened.” Somehow, that comes out like a threat, to Fluttershy's surprise. Nova chooses not to respond.

After a few minutes, Fluttershy realizes that they are going around in circles. Without the mountain to guide them, they have been traveling without direction. She tells this to Nova, who immediately begins to panic. Nova says, “I might be able to use a spell to—”

“No! No more spells!” Fluttershy gestures to the forest. “We'll figure it out my way.”

Nova watches in surprise as Fluttershy walks off. She is growing on her, despite her reservations. This Fluttershy is more than she lets on: headstrong, opinionated, and, in the right environment, not afraid to speak her mind. Nova hopes that she will continue to see this side of Fluttershy in the future.

The two come to a flowing river. “Good news and bad news,” Fluttershy says. “The good news is, I know how to get to Ponyville from here.”

“The bad news?” Nova asks.

“We're way off-course. I don't think we can get to the Ursa caves and back before sundown.”

“Hmmm...” Nova wants to find the Ursas quickly. If she does not, she may miss her opportunity. “Which way to the caves?” she asks.

Fluttershy points, but adds, “Ponyville is the other way entirely. B-but you can't stay in the forest overnight! How will you survive?”

“I'll climb a tree, find a shelter, dig a hole. I'll make it up as I go along.”

“B-but...”

“Don't worry about me.” Nova places a hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder and smiles. “You've been very helpful to me, getting me this far. And you've been speaking with me! I think that means we're friends, right?”

Fluttershy is starry-eyed. “Yes. We are friends, aren't we?” She nods and heads down the river a ways, then turns back. “Be careful, all right? Come back in one piece!” She goes a little further, then says again, “And don't hurt those Ursas!”

“I won't!” Nova calls back. She watches with a smile as Fluttershy vanishes into the forest. A funny mare, she thinks, but a good mare. She shrugs and crosses the river. Before she looks for the Ursas, she decides to find somewhere that would keep her safe for the night.

She finds it in a huge ruined castle not far from the river. What such a castle is doing out in the middle of an evil forest, Black Nova has no idea. Whatever its history, it will do for the night. Finding a secluded part in the antechamber, she lays her cape down and commands it into the shape of a sleeping bag. With that, she heads out into the forest to find her Ursas.

She did not expect to travel this far. Within minutes, she is already lost. Every tree is exactly the same, every rock identical. Ever persistent, she trudges on and on until she feels the sun setting. Fluttershy had warned her about the dangers in the forest, but only now is that threat revealing itself to her. All around her, she can hear the snarling and growling of monsters watching her, waiting for her to open a weakness. She remembers her plans and tries to dig a hole in the ground, but the dirt is too heavy and too tightly packed. She winks into the trees next and sprawls out across the branches. Finally, the sun sets, and the monsters make themselves known: manticores, leonine forms with fierce scorpion tails; cragadiles, rocky creatures that lurk in shallow water; owlbears, horrifying chimeras of unknown origin; and timberwolves, dark spirits that animate bits and pieces of wood into lupine simulacra. All strong and dangerous, but worst of all, most of them can climb.

Black Nova repels them with her magic, but there are far too many of them, and she is rapidly running out of strength. Just as her shield spells begins to flicker, a bright light washes over the surroundings, and the monsters flee. When Nova opens her eyes, she beholds a large deer, its coat a patchwork of stars. At his waist is a pattern of three bright stars. Nova breathes, “Orion.”

He nods and, with a soft white glow, lifts Nova gently to the ground. The forest is quiet and peaceful, like a dreamless sleep. Orion speaks, his voice a calm basso: “You are lost.”

Nova dusts herself off and grins. “I guess I am. Are you here to help me?”

Orion nods again. “Follow me.” He turns and walks; behind him, a trail of starlight drifts to point the way. Nova walks in this wake, a new wonder in her eyes.

They walk like this for quite a while until the castle reappears in the distance. To Nova's surprise, however, Orion turns away and instead leads her down a long staircase carved into the cliffside. There, in a grotto surrounded by writhing black vines, is a silvery tree. Nova looks at the branches, each dazzling in its own right. Yet within each branch is an empty hole where something is meant to be affixed. Nova asks, “What is this?”

“The Tree of Harmony. The source of the Elements of Harmony.”

“But... if they're not here, where are they?”

“I do not know. That is not why I brought you here.” Orion steps close to Nova and lays a hoof on her shoulder. “When I said you were lost, I did not mean within the forest. Your mind is lost, confused, uncertain. Am I wrong?”

“I... I don't know. I'm just trying to do the right thing, and I thought the Elements of Harmony could help me.”

“They still can.” He gestures to each of the empty holes. “You see, each one represents a different value: Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, and Loyalty.” Having completed a circle, Orion points to the center of the tree. Nova notes that the pattern matches her cutie mark exactly. “That symbol represents the Element that binds them all together: the Magic of Friendship. If you keep these six things in your heart, you keep the Elements with you as surely as if you had the gems themselves.”

Nova's mind strains against this new information. “No... No! That doesn't make any sense! Friendship isn't magic! It's a social construct, nothing more! It's unnecessary, superfluous! The Elements are ancient plenipotentiary artifacts, not namby-pamby virtues! Don't lie to me!”

“I knew a pony a long time ago who believed much as you did," Orion says. "His name was Starswirl the Bearded. Despite all of his achievements, when his time came to leave this world, he lamented that he never came to understand this magic. In spite of all of his achievements, the Elements of Harmony would never work for him. In the end, he was a failure.”

“Starswirl the Bearded was a genius, and I will follow his legacy!”

Orion looks down on her with pity. “I thought I could help you, but it seems you wish to remain lost. I'm sorry you do not understand.”

“No, you will be very helpful.” Nova smiles with a mad grin. “I meant to get an Ursa for my ritual, but it seems you're right here for me.” The chamber echos with laughter. Orion fears for his life.

A letter appears next to Celestia's throne bearing the seal of White Orbit; he must be responding to the letter she had sent earlier. She opens it and reads it carefully.

My Princess,

Rest assured, you will not be required to step down while the Circle of Magi maintain the cycle of day and night. You are our beloved princess, magic or no, and we will all be praying for your swift recovery.

Unfortunately, the other topic of your letter is not so auspicious. As it happens, the moon will soon be entering the house of Pisces, where it will be involved in a major astrological event. I know you are not terribly skilled in reading the stars, so I will remind you that Pisces is the house of Undoing. I am also aware of the prophecy involving the Mare in the Moon; yes, in this case, I believe her magical prison would be broken early, and she would be able to achieve what she has always desired. At this point, I will end my letter, in the hopes that you will swiftly reply with your plan to save us from her tyranny. (Please tell me you have such a plan.)

Your constant servant,

White Orbit.

Celestia sighs. It was inevitable, she surmises. Luna may have been unable to see the love her subjects gave her, but she could always see the best plan to action, even when the concept of Night Mare Moon had wormed into her heart. Celestia had always longed for a tenth of her tactical genius; now, it is being turned against her. She wonders how it could get any worse.

Lyra bursts through the door. She has levitated around herself a collection of what seem to be random objects, all black. She staggers down the walkway; Celestia notes that her magic is also wobbly and uncontrolled. Once at Celestia's hooves, she stands stock still. “...Lyra?” Celestia asks.

“That is not my name!” Lyra shouts. The objects around her head spin more quickly around her, and she fumes at what seems to be a miniscule slight.

“What is your name, then?” Celestia asks carefully. Something is obviously terribly wrong.

“Lyrica. Twilight gave me that name. Where is Twilight?” Lyra turns melancholy, and the objects begin moving in another pattern, one Celestia eventually matches to a lopsided heart.

“She's gone, miss Heartstrings. We can't find her.”

“No, you have to find her!” Lyra grabs Celestia by the throat, but her grasp is too weak for Celestia to be hurt. “You have to find her! I need her! I need her to talk to me, I need her to call me Lyrica, I need her to love me!” She lets go and begins pacing back and forth.

“Please, you must calm down, miss Heartstrings,” Celestia says.

“Don't call me that!” Lyra screams. She throws one of the objects, a black quill, straight at Celestia, who moves her head to the side. Lyra's magic pulls it right back into orbit.

“I apologize...Lyrica.”

Lyra's face goes slack, and the objects fall to her hooves. She turns and looks to Celestia with dead eyes. “how may i serve you” Lyra—no, Lyrica—says.

“Lyrica, what has happened to you?” Celestia asks.

“i cannot say. i have been instructed to forget”

“By Twilight?”

“i dont remember”

“That's all right,” Celestia says. “What are all these things you have?”

“things for twilight” Lyrica replies. “i must return her shadows”

“Her shadows? What do you mean?”

“they live in me, in my head. i dont know what they are. thats why I am collecting these objects. they will help me understand”

Celestia looks to each in turn: a bowling ball, a quill, a coat, a burnt leaf, a set of wire-frame glasses. The glasses look disturbingly similar to the ones Twilight had been wearing. “Lyrica, which object most resembles the shadows you are trying to understand?”

Lyrica points wordlessly to the coat. Celestia's heart drops further. Twilight had been wearing a cape just like the coat last night. How could Twilight do something so terrible to this poor mare? There must be something that can be done. “Lyrica, this is not who you normally are. Can you become Lyra again?” Celestia asks.

“i can, but i will suffer”

“Suffer?”

“until the shadows are gone” Lyrica clutches her head and falls to the side.

“Lyra?” Celestia asks her.

“No... Don't call me that...” she moans.

Celestia immediately summons her magical illness staff, and they transport Lyra to a safe place. Perhaps they can find the “shadows” Lyrica described as some kind of magical contaminant. Once the doors close, she slumps into her throne, defeated. Now that she has spent time not sending White Orbit a letter, he will surely know that she has no plan for stopping Twilight from freeing Night Mare Moon. She does not have the strength to face Twilight at full power, and the Royal Guard may not be able to find her in time. It seems impossible. Celestia decides to resign herself to the possibility that she has finally failed herself and her kingdom.

Celestia hears the crack of a sonic boom nearby. A stained glass window shatters, and a form slams into the floor. Through the dust, Princess Cadance steps forward. “Where is Twilight?”

“I don't know,” Celestia tells her. “You weren't supposed to come, Cadance. You are supposed to be—”

“Enough.” Cadance looks at Celestia with contempt, the first time Celestia has ever seen such an emotion in Cadance's eyes. “I told the griffon chief that I had an end-of-the-world crisis on my hooves. Did you know that they have the same story of Night Mare Moon as we do? They call her the Night Demon. They agreed that stopping her was more important than the negotiations.”

“But I didn't—”

“Word travels fast, auntie.” Cadance shakes her head. “What have you done to her?”

“I don't know.”

“It doesn't matter. I will stop her,” Cadance says. There is a fire in her eyes, nearly like the sun itself.

“Cadance, can you even do it? This is Twilight you're talking about. I admit, that's why I have refused to do anything drastic with her. I... I thought I knew Twilight.”

Cadance pauses. “I thought I knew Twilight, too. I took care of her when she was a filly. I have a dance and a song only for her. I'm dating her brother!” Cadance pauses again, then turns and looks Celestia directly in the eye. “But she has crossed a line, and now she's threatening everything I love. Canterlot, Shining Armor, you, everything. And when somepony, anypony, threatens me and everything I love, I will not hesitate. I will find Twilight Sparkle, and, if necessary, I will kill her.”

Author's Note

Would you believe I totally didn't plan the whole thing where Lyra went crazy? Yeah, I know. It matched up with Ophelia perfectly. Anywho, we're coming up on the final stretch. Get excited for Part 5!

The Fourth Nightmare

Black Nova drags Orion's body deep into the castle. Despite how heavy he is, he makes no sound as he scrapes against the uneven tiles of the castle. He isn't dead... not yet. If he were to die before the ritual was performed, he would return to the sky and reform. That cannot happen until Nova is ready. When the ritual is performed correctly, Selene will return.

"I am impressed," says a voice behind her. She turns around, and her mouth drops. Selene is standing in front of her. As Black Nova stammers for words, Selene tells her, "Unfortunately, I am not yet completely reborn. However, because of your great power, and because of the magic and history of this place, I can appear to you here, without the need for sleep."

"Good. Celestia could probably find me if I closed my eyes," Nova says. "But... what exactly is this place? It seems to be some incredibly old castle."

"This..." Selene looks away, as though at some part of the castle that no longer remains standing. "This was my castle, long ago. Back before I was imprisoned in the moon. It still retains my memories."

"I could go looking for them, if you like."

"No!" Selene motions to Black Nova, who stops. "The castle is full of booby traps. It would not be wise."

"Okay then." Nova considers this reaction odd. Selene... seems to be hiding something. But she would never do that, would she? Not to her own right hoof.

Selene recognizes Nova's reaction. "All in due time, my dear," she says fondly. "I have another present for you."

"...Are you trying to buy my love?" Nova asks. "I am already your faithful servant. I don't need anything else."

Selene scowls. "What a foolish notion. I thought better of you." Nova frowns at this, but Selene goes on. "No, I have something that you will probably need." She materializes a glistening black knife and places it next to Orion. "The Kussel Dagger. It's a knife designed for sacrificial offerings. I believe it will be necessary if the death of Orion is to help me escape."

"He's not an offering!" Nova replies, a bit in shock. "I only need to create the proper equipment with my shadows in order to emulate his teleportation ability. I don't intend to kill him permanently!"

"Perhaps you should consider it, at least," Selene says. She steps close to Nova and looks her directly in the eye. "Do not disappoint me."

"Do you doubt my talent?" Nova asks.

"No. What I doubt is your resolve. I believe... I believe that resolve is about to be tested. I expect no less than your full cooperation. No matter the price."

"It shall be done exactly as you wish," Nova says.

"Very well. Then I shall take my leave." She looks up to the sky, then utters one last demand. "Don't make me do this the hard way."

And with that, she is gone. Black Nova sputters angrily. How dare she! What on earth has her so upset? Everything is working according to plan! Why would she doubt her?

Her thoughts are interrupted by a weakening sensation flowing through her. She quickly lashes Orion to the altar, sets the Kussel Dagger next to him, then finds her way to the nearest tower. To her disappointment, she sees that the sun is rising. Drat. She has missed her chance. The final act will have to wait until tomorrow. No matter, Nova thinks. It will be all be done in time.

Author's Note

Final chapter will hopefully be here in the next couple days. I'm certainly hoping to make it spectacular! I also intend to have some of the best scenes from Hamlet's fifth act show up, if you know what I mean, so go read your old copies of Hamlet (or your twenty-first-century versions of them) and get totally hyped! :D

Part 5: The Coming Darkness

Cadance walks through the castle gardens. There is a fire burning inside her, furious and bright. Twilight is falling apart; to what extent, only she could know. Celestia, kind as she is, could not see it like Cadance can. Perhaps Celestia is falling apart, too. She, too, hides it too well. But ever since the day of the entrance exam, Twilight and Celestia have been unquestionably linked. That is why Celestia cannot be the one to face Twilight, powerful as she is. She cannot do what must be done.

Her thoughts are interrupted by a strange song being sung nearby. The melody is gentle and flowing, but the words betray the true meaning.

"Poppies, lilies, and roses shall bloom,

and wildflowers cover my broken tomb.

Beloved, remember what you have forgot,

and bring to my grave your forget-me-nots."

Cadance races over to the singer, but she sees neither hide nor hair of her. That is, until the willow tree above her creaks. She looks up and sees Lyra crawling across a long bough. "What are you doing?!" Cadance calls out. "It's not safe up there!"

"I am looking for flowers to give to my beloved," Lyra replies. "The best ones grow out on the edges."

Cadance follows underneath Lyra, but she stops when she reaches the edge of a river running through the garden. "Don't go any farther! I can't catch you."

"I don't need you to catch me," Lyra says. She stands up on the branch, steadies herself, then jumps for the very tip. She misses, then, with a lifeless "Oops," plunges into the water.

Cadance wastes no time in jumping in after her. The murky water clings to her coat and wings, but she holds strong against the chilling cold. Lyra floats nearby; her mane drifts about her head like a halo. She is completely still; Cadance fears the worst. She reaches out a hoof to Lyra, but the moment she touches her, Lyra thrashes and writhes in the water. "Not dead, then," Cadance thinks to herself. She swims closer and grabs Lyra more tightly, ignoring the frantic escape Lyra is attempting. She charges her unicorn magic into a spell that winks them both safely onto solid ground. Lyra coughs and splutters, but otherwise she is fine.

"What in Equestria were you thinking?" Cadance asks.

"I... I don't..." Lyra says. She visibly strains with every word. "The... the shadows, they... they make me want... strange things..."

"Why? What are the shadows?"

"My beloved... Twilight Sparkle..." I must serve her..." Lyra gets back up on her hooves and begins walking towards the tree again.

"Wait! Maybe I can help you," Cadance says. "My magic can help purify love."

In response, Lyra starts to sing again. Cadance pours her magic into Lyra's mind to see what the "shadows" are. To her surprise, they are literal shadows worming through her, taking advantage of Lyra's feelings for Twilight to bend her will. Cadance strengthens those feelings, armors them against the shadows, and pulls the shadows off of their roost. They form into a tiny patch of fabric shaped like an arrow, then revolve in Cadance's magic.

Meanwhile, Lyra has recovered from the effect the shadows bore on her. "Ugh... what's going on? I... I remember talking to Twilight, and then the opera. I said... something to Princess Celestia, but... why am I wet, exactly?"

"You jumped into the river to try to drown. This made you do it." Cadance puts the shadows before Lyra, who shies away.

"I remember that. Twilight took me to this really weird place and asked me to serve her in a weird rebellion. She has this magic cape she uses to control shadows!"

"Then I've got to get going."

"No, wait!" Lyra trots up to Cadance and looks at her pleadingly. "Twilight... she's so afraid and alone. Don't judge her too harshly, Miss Cadenza."

"Even after what she did to you, you still love her?" Cadance asks. Lyra nods. "What will you do if I cannot save her from Night Mare Moon's influence?"

"I... I'll do what's best for her," Lyra replies. "Even if it's not what she wants."

"All right. Perhaps you should come with me, then." She offers Lyra the shadowy patch. "Can you hold on to this for me?"

"Okay." When Lyra puts it in her magic, it turns and points down the mountain towards the Everfree Forest. Lyra asks, "What does that mean?"

"I think it might be where Twilight is," Cadance replies. "Which means we'll have to be careful."

"Maybe we should find some more ponies to help us, then?" Lyra says. "I know some ponies in Ponyville, if that helps."

"Lead on, then," Cadance says.

"Oh, her?" Bon Bon says. "You mean Black Nova."

"If that's this pony, then yes, we're looking for Black Nova," Cadance says. "Do you know where she is?"

"No, I'm really sorry." Bon Bon nods to the picture Cadance is holding and sighs. "It's a shame, really. She seems like she's really lonely, like she doesn't really get along very well with other ponies."

"Bonny," Lyra says, "it's really important that we find her. She's in a lot of trouble, and we just want her to get better. Do you know anything at all about what she was doing?"

Bon Bon thinks. "I'm... not sure. I think she said she needed to talk to Fluttershy about... something. I don't remember. Rarity might know more."

"Then we don't have much time to waste." Cadance looks about for a moment, confused. "Where did you say Fluttershy lived, Lyra?" she asks.

"I don't know! She wasn't around when I left for Canterlot," Lyra answers.

"I can help you," Bon Bon says. "Besides, I want to come with you. Black Nova -- or Twilight, I guess -- knows me. She trusts me."

"Very well. You can come along." Cadance re-adjusts her saddlebags and says, "Lead on, then."

Bon Bon takes them through the main streets of Ponyville, glibly doing a tour while the fate of the world hangs on their adventure. When they pass the hospital, Bon Bon mentions, "Over there is the new mental health asylum wing, where we take care of ponies who can't take care of themselves. There's two new ponies in there right now who are waiting for their handlers to come by. Twilight was talking with them yesterday: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, whatever their names were."

"Rosy Ray? Gilded Lily?" Cadance asks. "They're not mentally ill. I bet Twilight had something to do with it!"

"Well, if they're not sick, then we should really get them out!" Bon Bon says.

Just as Bon Bon says this, a huge crashing sound erupts from the side of the building, and Rosy Ray comes racing around the side. At the sight of Princess Cadance, she practically jumps the rest of the distance and cowers behind Cadance's outstretched wings. "Princess Cadenza, you've gotta help me!" she cries.

The stallions in white come out the front door and address Cadance. "Are you her handler, miss?" one of them asks.

"No. As a matter of fact, I am Princess Cadenza, and by my authority, I command that you release Gilded Lily and Rosy Ray from your care at once. They are not mentally ill; you were instructed to confine them under false pretenses."

They notice both her wings and her horn and make the connection. "I see. We will talk with the head of the facility and have this worked out as soon as possible," the other stallion says.

"Sir, with all due respect, that's not good enough. At the very least, please let us keep Rosy Ray with us."

"...I suppose we can make an exception. We will need her to come back and fill out the paperwork, though."

"That's all right. Gilded Lily can do it. She knows how to forge my signature." Rosy Ray laughs and waves the two stallions off. "Ta-ta, you two. Nice not seeing you!" Once they are gone, her attention returns to Cadance. "Your Highness! Twilight's here, and she's completely off her rocker!"

"We're aware of that, yes. Bon Bon here told us everything."

"Are you going to help her?" Rosy asks. "Because if you are, I need to come with you. I know her brain better than just about anypony else!"

"I don't doubt it," Cadance says. "Why do you think I asked to hold on to you?"

"This is so exciting!" Lyra interjects. "You, me, Bonny, and Miss Rosy Cheeks, all traveling together to save Twilight! We're like a little adventuring party now."

"We still have to get Fluttershy, you know," says Cadance.

"Even better! With our combined forces, we'll be sure to help Twilight feel better!"

Cadance nods, but she recalls her promise to Princess Celestia. If Twilight is beyond help... but she shakes it off. "I certainly hope so," she says instead.

"Then let us be off!" Lyra cries out, her hoof pointed out. "Onward, ho!"

Late in the evening, Mr. Script takes a leisurely stroll to the Ponyville graveyard. Many of his friends are now taking their final rest there among the quiet stones. The calm suits him. A few moments ago, a group of ponies had come to ask him for help, but he couldn't. He isn't as young as he used to be.

Along the path, he runs into Lawful Good, the resident Turner. Lawful is the caretaker of the graveyard who makes sure everything stays peaceful. Every now and then, there comes an outbreak of necromantic awakenings, so it is Lawful's job to put them back to rest. "Oh, Mr. Script," he says. "I was just about to head back there myself."

"Oh?" he says. "Trouble with the spirits again?"

Shouldn't be," says Lawful Good. "Just settled them yesterday. Should be down for 2d6+3 days at least. Might be the skeletons back in 2A, though."

Post Script nods. "I'll walk over with you, then."

As they get closer, Mr. Script starts to hear the rattling of bones and strange laughter; he assumes that Lawful's fears have come true. But instead of walking bones, they find the strange mare from the day before, Black Nova or Twilight Sparkle or whatever her name is, playing with the skulls. She lifts one up to eye level, laughs, and says, "Alas, poor Mr. Script! I never knew him. He was smart and wise and kind, or so I'm told. I would have loved to have learned from him, or borrowed his books. But now it is too late. He is dead, and his teaching is gone."

"I'm right here, you know," Mr. Script says. "I'm not actually dead."

"Well, I know that," Nova says. "I was just imagining what it would be like if I hadn't come to Ponyville two nights ago. You wouldn't have survived that heart attack without me, would you?"

"Yes, I'm very grateful," Mr. Script responds. "But why are you playing in a graveyard, Nova?"

"I was waiting for you, as a matter of fact," Nova says.

"How did you know I would come here?" he asks.

"All ponies do, eventually." Nova sighs and throws away the skull she is holding. "Except Celestia, of course. I had hoped she would be mulch by now."

"Why would you say something like that?!" Lawful Good asks.

"No, it's a good thing! Her body would be buried, then decay, then be food for the plants. You know, mulch!" Nova laughs at her own stupid joke. "It's the circle of life, you know. Celestia is unnatural. Perhaps you should turn her instead of these skeletons," she adds.

"Can't," Lawful Good says. "You can't turn things, even undead things, if they are inherently good at heart. Only if they're 100% evil."

"...What about me, then?" Nova asks. "Can you turn me?"

Lawful Good raises his pendant and calls out, "Evil, flee from me!"

Nova doesn't respond. Mr. Script tells her, "See, you do have a good heart after all."

Lawful reminds both of them, "That doesn't prove anything, you know. You could still be really evil, just not 100%."

"No, but it does prove something else." She casts a spell, and a black mist fills the graveyard. "I know your cleric level now," she says, smiling, "and this Mist of Protection from Good should help with this next bit.

"Oh, and Mr. Script. When I said I came here to see you... that was only half-true." She raises a hoof, and an army of skeletons emerges by her side. Lawful Good raises his pendant again, but he knows as well as Nova does that it will not work; the skill check is too high.

The two of them gape at this. "What... what on earth do you need all these for?" Lawful asks.

I've been hearing that my 'friends' are gathering to face me. I figured I might be able to use these little guys to... dissuade them," Nova says.

"It's not just anypony leading them, though," says Mr. Script. "It's a princess from Canterlot!"

"...Cadance?" For a moment, Nova's bravado fades; she looks like a child again.

"Yes, that was her name! Or... Cadenza. Either way. She knows what you're trying to do, and she's going to stop you. Maybe Lawful Good can't stop you; I certainly can't; but she can."

A thousand doubts fill Black Nova's mind. If Cadance has left her mission, then she knows how great the consequences are. And if Cadance wants to stop her, then shouldn't she listen? Cadance isn't particularly skilled at magic, but her love pointed in the right direction could be devastating. Better, Nova thinks, to simply end this work and beg for forgiveness.

But then she remembers: a test of her resolve. This is what Selene meant. Cadance is the final test. If she can only slow Cadance long enough, delay her and the others, then it will be too late for her to do anything anyway.

Nova rears up on her back hooves and whinnies. As one, the skeletons behind her follow her lead. She comments to the older ponies, "More than one way to skin a cat, goes the old Griffin saying. Or a princess or two, in this case. Hee-ya!" She leads her troops into a full-blown gallop into the night.

Lawful Good sputters. "I thought you said she had a good heart!"

Mr. Script shakes his head. "I thought she did."

Black Nova arrives with her skeleton army within the Everfree Forest. There, walking across an outcropping, are Cadance and her allies. She had been so certain before, but seeing her here in the flesh wounds Nova to her very soul. Everything is going wrong, so wrong. If only there were some way for compromise, to make both sides happy... But Cadance is on the warpath. Selene is counting on a show of loyalty. Reluctantly, Nova holds her hooves up, miming an invisible bow. She releases the "arrow," and the cliff collapses beneath the five ponies up above. Nova notices one pony who, standing just off to the sides, had avoided falling like the others. She teleports up to the site and finds Rosy Ray about to jump down after them. "Hold on!" Rosy Ray calls out. "I'm coming!"

"Just a second," Nova says. Rosy jumps back and holds her hooves up in defense.

"What are you doing here?" Rosy asks. "Aren't you supposed to be trying to summon Night Mare Moon right now? Maybe cackling and plotting your world domination?"

"I'm here to... warn you, I suppose," Nova says. "Your quest is doomed to fail. You can't convince me to stop what I'm doing. That cliff is proof of my resolve."

Rosy shakes her head. "I have to believe that's a lie, Twilight," she says. "I know there's still good in you somewhere. That's stone cold fact."

Nova growls. "There's is nothing left of me that does not serve my mistress!"

"I don't believe you," Rosy says simply.

Nova huffs and teleports the two of them down to the bottom of the cliff, where the others are waiting. Before any other pony notices Nova's presence, she disappears to rejoin her skeletons. She gathers them and places them at a bottleneck where Cadance's allies must cross. When they arrive, she points, and the skeletons descend upon them all. As they fight, Black Nova sees Fluttershy slipping out the back of the group. She quietly sneaks up on her and whispers, "Boo."

Fluttershy nearly jumps out of her skin. "Twilight! Please don't hurt me! I'm only trying to help!"

"That's the thing," Nova says. "You can't help me anymore. The only way this thing is ending is in my bloodshed. Are you willing to go that far?" she asks.

"Please, don't do this," Fluttershy pleads. "There has to be a way that we can solve this without fighting."

"There isn't! If there was, I would have found it!" Nova shouts.

Fluttershy begins tearing up, to Nova's smug satisfaction. But to Nova's shock, Fluttershy says, "I forgive you for being mean to me. To all of us."

"I didn't ask for your forgiveness, you self-important weakling," Nova says. She storms away, and the rest of the skeletons dissolve away.

The ponies are stronger than they seem. Another tactic must be tried. As they pass through a thick copse of trees, Black Nova creates an aura of fear that will freeze them all in utter terror. The aura holds, but before Nova can congratulate herself, a voice calls out from the tree cover. "Girls? What's wrong? We've gotta keep moving!"

Nova teleports in and finds Bon Bon wandering from pony to pony, shaking them and looking into their eyes. "How are you still moving?" Nova asks.

Bon Bon flicks her gaze over to where Nova is standing. "I don't know. But I'll get them moving again, and when I do, we'll stop you from bringing Night Mare Moon here, Twilight."

"You know that's not my name," she replies, her bile rising. "You should be afraid of me, just like the others."

"That's the thing, though," Bon Bon says. "I'm really not. I only knew you for a little bit, but I get you. You don't scare me, Twilight. In fact, you just make me laugh."

"Laugh? I am one of the most powerful unicorns in existence. I wield the powers of the sun and the moon! I am a god!" Twilight pounds the ground with a hoof, and the air rips with a lightning bolt.

Bon Bon chuckles. "Really? You're trying to play the intimidating villain here? If you're really as evil as you claim, why didn't you kill Rosy Ray or Fluttershy when you had the chance?"

Nova pauses. "...What?"

"You don't want to kill them. You can't. You're a better pony than that, Twilight. It's all an act, all of it. And shouldn't I laugh at a funny act?" Bon Bon asks.

"You don't know anything. You just run a candy shop." Nova feels utterly out of control, like some otherworldly force has already decreed that she will lose.

"Maybe, but at least I'm having fun. Are you?"

"I... argh!" Black Nova teleports away, leaving the aura to weaken on its own.

The ponies are getting closer. As Nova watches from a parapet of the castle, they arrive at the bridge and begin their crossing. But she has one last trick up her sleeve. She blows heavy winds against Lyra, separating her from the rest of the group. As they disappear into the fog, Nova steps out to replace them. She places a glamour on herself to appear even more seductive to her erstwhile marefriend. "Hello, my love," she croons.

Lyra tries to hide her reaction, but Nova is far too perceptive. Dilated pupils, rapid heartbeat, widening smile: Lyra is still in love with her. "Twilight! Are you... okay now?"

"I've never been better," Nova says. "And I really want to be your marefriend again."

Lyra gasps. "I'd love that!" she says. "If you're really all better, then it won't be a problem at all. I've just gotta go with Cadance and the others and make sure Night Mare Moon doesn't come back, and then I'll definitely--"

"No!" Nova shouts. She regains her composure, then says, "I mean, why go through all the trouble? I'm right here. We can start back where we began, forget everything that's happened."

Lyra suddenly looks distrusting. "'Where we began' was you mind-controlling me with shadows."

"T-that's not what I meant!" Nova backtracks. "I meant we could start over, start with a clean slate."

"I... You know I want that, Twilight," Lyra says. "But I just want to make sure you really are all better before we do."

Nova puts on her strongest puppy-dog eyes. "Don't you trust me?" she asks.

Lyra pauses. "...I do, Twilight. But I trust Cadance more." And with that, she pushes Nova to the side and rejoins the rest of her companions in the mist.

Something deep inside Nova snaps. They've all betrayed me, she thinks. They laugh at me, mock me, lie to me. I have no choice. If I am to succeed in my endeavors, she decides, Cadance must die.

The castle is utterly quiet, like a tomb. Cadance motions the others to stay close to her as she decides upon the best course of action. Lyra trots up quickly; at Cadance's look, she says, "Twilight again."

She's talked to all of them... but why? Cadance thinks to herself. Why not me? She withholds her disappointment for the moment and leads the group deeper into the blackness of the ancient ruins. Every room reminds Cadance of Twilight in some way or another: the spiral staircase, just like the ones in Canterlot that Twilight used to ride the banisters down; the old torches, like the temples in the Daring Do books; the dusty library, like a second home to the little filly. The fact that none of the books seemed to have been touched says too much to her.

At last, they find a particularly battered room with a massive statue in it. The statue looks somewhat like a tree, with five long branches each supporting a weighty stone sphere on the ends, and another, similar sphere on top. But all the way on the other side of the room is Twilight, standing before a wide table. A strange, starry deer-like creature is tied to it, and it is attached to a bizarre device clearly of Twilight's creation. Whatever it does, it is clearly important, as Twilight is disturbingly hard-pressed on completing it. Without looking back, Twilight remarks, "I know what you're doing."

Cadance falters. "...Twilight?" When Twilight turns around, Cadance is shocked at her appearance. "What in Equestria has happened to you?"

"Nothing, Cadance. Nothing at all." She laughs, then turns away and shouts, "I said I can handle it, Selene! Don't push me!"

"Who are you talking to?" Cadance asks. "There's nopony there."

Twilight scowls. "Don't play with me. I've had quite enough with that. And I said I know what you're doing, bringing them here."

Cadance replies, "Well, I don't. They all asked to come because they care for you, Twilight. They want to see you get better. You're not thinking straight."

"I'm not insane!" Twilight says. She turns once more to the invisible figure and says, "It's fine. It will all work as expected. We will not be delayed." She faces Cadance again and says, "You still don't have the sixth; the spark won't work." Another turn. "Precisely. They aren't a threat without a sixth." Finally, she says to Cadance, "I am hard at work at the moment. Either go away, or do what you came here for."

Cadance steps back and stamps her front hoof. "I tried the easy way. Here's the hard way, Twilight: destroy that machine, now, and I won't kill you where you stand."

Twilight laughs again. "Is that your generous offer, then? All right, then." Twilight twirls a hoof, and the other four ponies are pushed out of the room by a magic force field. Twilight charges her horn and fires a bolt into the air, creating a explosion like a rocket. "Let's have a magic duel, shall we? En garde!"

The battle is nothing short of epic. Cadance and Twilight dance about the chamber, dodging and counterattacking, weaving in and out of range. Cadance dodges every spell Twilight fires, while Twilight occasionally tries to press an advantage and ends up grazed by one of Cadance's attacks. The other four ponies press their snouts to the edge of the barrier and attempt to shout support to Cadance, though the barrier is soundproof. And as the two continue their duel, the moon rises ever higher towards its zenith.

Cadance's advantage cannot last, however. Eventually, Twilight's superior firepower backs her into a corner. Twilight cuffs Cadance's hooves to the wall with rings of magical light and suppresses her horn with dark crystals. Then, she decides to gloat. "Well, it seems I've defeated you. But I can't let you live to try to defeat me, even after I've brought Selene back. I think I'll try this new spell on you." Her horn charges a sickly black-green, and she points it at Cadance. "It's a poison spell, which will take your life slowly, agonizingly, tortuously. I think it will be amusing to watch." Twilight sneers. "Good night, sweet princess. And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest."

The spell fires, and Cadance impulsively flinches as the bolt nears her. Her wings close around her to protect her; their magic, unimpeded by Twilight's suppressor, reflect the spell and send it back to where it began. Twilight doesn't even notice the ricochet effect before it has already hit her.

Immediately, Twilight falls to the ground with a scream. The barrier falls, and the other four ponies rush in to comfort Cadance. Behind them is another pony that neither Cadance nor Twilight had expected: Celestia herself. She sees Twilight, fallen and dying, and her face falls. "So," she asks, "this is how it had to end?"

"No... no, it can't end like this," Twilight says. "I can still complete the study. Kill Orion, emulate his effect, free Selene..."

"Twilight," Celestia says quietly, "there is no Selene. I didn't steal her power. Everything she told you was a lie to get you into this very position."

"No... No, she told me the truth! She told me you hated her!" Twilight shouts.

"No, Twilight. Selene is my sister," Celestia says.

Twilight shakes her head as hard as she can manage. "That's not true. That's impossible!"

"You know it's true," Celestia said. "She was Luna, my younger sister, and I loved her with all of my heart. But she was jealous of me, oh so jealous, and I didn't notice. She was the one who betrayed me. She became Night Mare Moon. And Night Mare Moon still has its clutches on her... and on you."

Twilight only sobs, "No, no," as her body twists and turns in utter pain. Then, slowly, she settles down and only whimpers. Quietly, she whispers, "How could I have been so foolish?"

"She tricked you, Twilight," Celestia tells her. "She played upon your feelings for me and used them to attack me. I wish there was something we could do. ...I'm sorry, Twilight. Will you forgive me?"

Twilight responds, "Bring them to me." Celestia, a bit confused, motions to Fluttershy, Bon Bon, Rosy Ray, Lyra, and Cadance and circles them around Twilight. She struggles to find breath, but says, "All of you... forgive me. I have done such horrible wrongs to you, wrongs that can never be repaid.

"Rosy Ray... to repay your honest support, I lied and deceived... forgive me.

"Fluttershy... to repay your kind assistance, I promised cruelty and sharpness... forgive me.

"Bon Bon... to repay the laughter we shared, I embarrassed us both with my rage... forgive me.

"Lyra... to repay your loyal, heartfelt nature, I betrayed you and stole your will... forgive me.

"Cadance..." Here Twilight turns her head and looks directly into Cadance's eyes. "You were my closest, truest friend. You gave so generously to me, your time, your skills, your love, and in return I tried to steal everything from you that mattered. Forgive me."

Suddenly, the moon behind her reaches its highest point. At that moment, a bright beam of moonlight splits the darkness of the chamber and engulfs Twilight. Her back arches all the way until it seems about to split, and a dark, ravenous energy begins overwhelming her. Her mouth opens, and the voice that comes out is not her own. "This mare was weak!" cries out the voice of Night Mare Moon. "It seems I have no choice but to take over and do this myself!"

"No!" Cadance replies. "We've come to save Twilight; we won't let her be taken from us so easily! There is a bond between us that is stronger than anything you can devise. We forgive Twilight, because forgiveness is what holds us together. She is our friend!"

A bright, wide tendril reaches out from Twilight's heart and connects itself to the other five ponies. The Night Mare, furious, cocoons Twilight deeper in an inky black shell. "You cannot have her!" The Night Mare says. "She is mine! She is the sacrifice I need, the star that shall aid in my escape! She is MINE!"

"No..." Twilight's voice returns to her body, and with it what sounds like a new strength. "You are not my mistress. I will overcome you... no matter how long it takes."

The Night Mare screams her rage as the light of the Elements of Harmony overcomes her. The whole room is awash with light, and nothing can be seen. When the light fades... Twilight is gone.

Everything is quiet; nopony can quite seem to understand what has happened. Then Lyra looks at Cadance, and notes, "Hey! You've got a necklace thing on!"

Sure enough, Cadance bears a beautiful purple necklace in the shape of a heart. Cadance marvels at it for a second, then says, "Oh, but Lyra! You have one, too!"

Lyra's is a red gem shaped like the lyre in her cutie mark. Each pony has a similar piece: a baby blue piece of candy for Bon Bon, an orange rose bud for Rosy Ray, and a pink butterfly for Fluttershy. They congregate together and wonder what they could be. While they celebrate their victory, Princess Celestia stands alone to the side. She puts a hoof to her peytral, now fully restored, and says quietly, "She never forgave me."

A deep voice interrupts their thoughts. "I believe there's somepony here you should see," says Orion, now free of his bindings. He motions forward a small little filly, who tries to hide behind his legs and her own long mane. To the ponies' surprise, she has both wings and horn, and atop her head is a gilt crown with Twilight Sparkle's cutie mark on it. Cadance is the first to ask the obvious. "Who is that? Is she... Night Mare Moon?"

At this, the filly breaks down sobbing and runs to Celestia's open embrace. "I'm so sorry!" she cries. "I missed you so much, big sister."

"Sister?" they ask.

"I've missed you too, Luna," Celestia says. "I'm so glad you're back home. But what happened to the Night Mare inside of you? And where is Twilight Sparkle?"

"Twilight's... she's not dead, is she?" says Bon Bon.

"No, not at all," Orion says. He points up to the sky, and they all look up. Up in the sky, the moon hangs over all of them. But the image of the Mare in the Moon is gone; in its place is a six-pointed star. "She is up there right now, waging war with the Night Mare inside her mind as her penance. When a year, years, and half a year have passed, she will return, either victor and vanquished, and the world will face new light or new darkness. The moon was her prison, but the moon shall be her ally when she returns, and she will need the light of friendship once more."

Celestia smiles. "That sounds like a prophecy to me."

Orion nods. "You'll have to replace the old one, I'm afraid."

"But at least she is alive. That much is a blessing." Celestia cradles Luna in one of her wings. "Come, sister. Let's go home."

"Wait!" Fluttershy calls out. The other ponies, surprised at her outburst, stop and heed what she wants to say. "I was just thinking, Twilight traded places with you. While we're waiting for Twilight to come back... I was just thinking I might like to be friends with you."

"That's a great idea!" Rosy Ray says. "You've spent almost a thousand years on the moon all by yourself. I bet you could use a couple friends like us to help you acclimate."

Luna wipes a tear from her eyes. "We think that we would like that very much. Thank you so much."

Lyra says simply, "It's what Twilight would want, I think."

Together, they leave the castle and all its buried memories to pursue a grander future.

Prologue-The Filly of the Stars

Canterlot: a city rife with the unicorn elite. Of that population, 2513 of them are of the Vespers clan. 841 of them have cutie marks in magic. 200 of these live and work at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, and 35 of them serve under Celestia herself.

Only 1 is Celestia's personal student.

Twilight Sparkle is the smartest unicorn of her time. Ever since her entrance exam, she has found her skill rapidly increasing under the watchful eye of the Princess of the Sun. Canterlot, nay, all of Equestria, is watching her, waiting to see who she will become.

Meanwhile, in the distance of space, a great mare of darkness lies trapped within the moon. She watches, burning in anger, as her sister revels in the love of her subjects. But the Night Mare waits and watches as her time draws near. When the stars align, she will be released from her prison and bend Equestria to her will. Eternal night will cloak the world, and she will be master over all.

Suddenly, she feels a weakening. Unscheduled, unnoticed by the Alicorn of the Sun. The seal is torn. The Night Mare pushes against it, but it is not enough. She cannot quite break free. Still, she sees an opportunity. Her magic pushes through the rift, enough to exude her presence, even a bit. There is something to be done here, a plan to be made. Perhaps the sun can be brought down before its time. Though she cannot prevail from the inside, perhaps the seal can be sundered from the outside...

Twilight have I loved, yet Luna have I hated. Yes, the Filly of the Stars will do nicely...

Twilight studies on, utterly unaware of the coming darkness, and the plans of which she is now a critical part.

The First Nightmare

As Twilight sleeps, the Night Mare comes to her in her dreams. She carries Twilight within her dream to a hidden outlet. At length, she asks, "What have you learned so far?"

"Nothing yet, Selene," Twilight responds. "I did run into Lyra last night."

"Do you trust her?" Night Mare asks.

"I guess so," Twilight answers. "Why wouldn't I?"

"You must be cautious. Anypony could be Celestia's agent, sent to break your resolve and stop your quest. You cannot let her know that you seek to bring me back."

"I'm sorry..." Twilight says. "I didn't know." She starts to cry, small tears dripping off her face and into the infinite darkness beneath them.

The Night Mare swallows her pride, then says, "I understand. I shouldn't be pushing you like this. You are only a filly, and you must be overwhelmed." She lifts one forehoof, and her magic begins to coalesce. She manipulates it, forms it like clay, until it is the shape of a set of glasses, the edges of it smoked a shadowy black. She places it atop Twilight's snout, stating, "This is my first gift to you. As long as you wear these, you will be able to see in any darkness. Nighttime shall be as day to you, and no shadow will hide anything from you. They will only work for you, and none other. Do you understand?"

Twilight nods. "I do, Queen Selene."

"Then go. Find out what you can. I will come again tomorrow night to find out what you have learned."

The Night Mare holds Twilight and brings her back to her pleasant dreams. For the rest of the night, Twilight thinks no more of Selene, Celestia, or the darkness to come.

Author's Note

No, I haven't mentioned her meeting Lyra yet. It's in the next chapter. The next chapter happens on the next day, but Twilight met Lyra before she went to bed. I promise, it'll all make sense next time. If you know the secret, I think you'll know what I'm doing. ;)

Epilogue: Luna Have I Loved

Canterlot: a city rife with the unicorn elite. Of that population, many measure their worth by the connections they wield. They claim fashion designers as their cousins; authors as their mothers; coaches as their friends; and the richest as their confidantes.

Only 1 can claim to be Celestia's beloved sister.

Princess Luna is a shy, weak little creature. Ever since her return from the moon, however, she has found her ability to make friends rapidly increasing through the loving aid of Celestia, her sister, and her closest friends, the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony. Canterlot, nay, all of Equestria, is watching her, waiting to see who she will become.

Meanwhile, in the distance of space, a great mare of darkness lies trapped within the moon. She watches, wracked in torment, as she grapples with her opponent, the Filly of the Stars, Twilight Sparkle. The Night Mare waits and watches as her time draws near. When the year, years, and half a year pass, she will be released from her prison and bend Equestria to her will. Eternal night will cloak the world, and she will be master over all.

If only she can overcome the Filly of the Stars.

But Twilight is not making it easy for her. Angry at the lies she was told, bolstered by her chance of redemption, she stands against the corrupting power of the Night Mare. Yet there are also dark days where Twilight's confidence fades, when her self-esteem attacks itself from within and weakens her defenses. On these days, the Night Mare always swoops in again, eager to gain a foothold. On those days, it is said, the moon glows darker than it normally does.

But in the end, Twilight always pushes back the Night Mare again. There is a constant ebb and flow, like the moon's pull on the tides, that will never end until the two of them are released for their final confrontation. And as the prophecy states, Twilight will need Luna and the Bearers if she wishes to overcome the darkness.

Luna studies on, ready for that day when she will help Twilight defeat her demon, ready to play her critical part.

Author's Note

And that's The Queen Beckons! Thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Stick around on my page, where hopefully I'll have some new stuff up for you soon.