A Nightmare Returns

Morning came eventually as Celestia reluctantly raised the sun. Nirvana awoke in a rather good mood and sat up in her bed, stretching her stiff arms and wings, sighing as they popped. She smiled and pulled herself out of the bed and began to perform her morning routine, while at the same time, getting herself ready for the three dates she had that day.

Once she was satisfied with her appearance, Nirvana left the room with a pep in her step as she made for Heart’s room. She stopped in front of it, excited butterflies in her stomach, and reached up to knock a few times on it.

Heart jerked awake. 'Oh shit... I forgot. My date.' She got up quickly from the floor, brushed her hair quickly with her hands to make it look presentable and wiped her eyes slightly to remove any tears still there. ‘Oh shit… What should I wear?’ Heart was just wearing jeans and a t-shirt. She thought about putting on a dress, but with Nirvana right at the door, it would take too long. Heart took a deep breath, and opened the door.

“Hello, Heart.” Nirvana chirped. “I hope I’m not too early.”

"No, no. You're fine." replied Heart, resisting the urge to rub sleep from her eyes.

Nirvana, reading Heart’s emotions almost perfectly, stepped closer. “What’s wrong?” Her voice was full of concern.

"Just... Can we get some food first?" Heart asked. "I'll answer any of your questions then."

Nirvana sighed. “Very well. But we won’t be eating in the dining hall.” She turned and led the way.

Heart followed, her mind racing.

Nirvana led the mare through halls that Heart hadn’t seen before, or even taken care to notice until now. It looked to be designed for Luna to use, leading into her part of the castle. The final hall opened up into an observatory like room, only it was void of a telescope. The ceiling was transparent and was held up by a spiderweb of elegant beams that glistened with a silver light as the sunrise slowly made itself apparent in the dim candle light of the room. In the center, there was a wide table set for two, set also with an elegant meal, steaming with warmth.

“I always liked to watch the sunrise from here and… I kind of thought it would be a little romantic to have breakfast with you while it happened.” Nirvana said in a near whisper as she led Heart inside. “I readied the meal last night before I went to bed and my magic kept it constantly fresh and warm while we slept.

“This… looks amazing.” Heart said, gazing out at what Nirvana had set out.

Nirvana blushed. “I thought you might like it.” She led Heart to the table and pulled a chair out for her. “Have a seat.”

Heart sat, the chair feeling very comfortable under her.

Nirvana scooted Heart close to the table, before walking around the table to her own seat across from Heart, sitting in it and smiling. “I do hope you slept well. I would feel kind of bad for waking you if you didn’t.”

“I slept well enough.” said Heart. “Did you sleep well?”

“I slept wonderfully, knowing that you three weren’t sleeping in that cell that I, for some dreadful reason, left you all in after what I did.” Nirvana said in a bland tone as she played with her food a little, poking at it with her fork. “But I couldn’t help noticing the distress in your emotions.”

“Yeah… It’s just… what’s going to happen when we meet Celestia… Whatever happens… somepony is going to get hurt.” said Heart, sighing deeply.

"I wish there was some way I could help, but I’m the one being protected.” Nirvana said and looked away. “I rather dislike, no… I hate seeing lonesome emotions. They make me act irrationally. But… Can you feel it? Your mother’s anger? I can… It saddens me. We were once fillyhood friends. Even now she thinks the real me is dead, as well as the other alicorns that once ruled over Equestria as well. I wonder what sort of pain would course through her mind if she knew that she hated her best friend for a thousand years...”

"Yeah..." Heart agreed. "Do you still have that ring I gave you?"

“Yes.” She pulled out the ring. “What’s it for? I mean, other than making me blush like a filly when you gave it to me.”

"That ring... Holds all of my memories... From 8 years ago up until yesterday."

Nirvana looked at the ring. “But… Why give me this? I-it makes no sense to me.”

"Nirvana... How much do you trust me?"

“Enough to love you.”

"Then... please listen..."

And Heart told her everything. The entire plan that she had thought of. When she had finished, she added, "I know that I'll mess with your emotions, along with Silver and Golds' as well... But... I... I love you, Nirvana... I would never try to hurt you." Heart took a breath. "If the plan works, then you will have all of us, and our mother will love you as well. This is the only thing we can do..."

“I… But… You just…” Nirvana looked like she was about to cry again, but she quickly forced back the sobs. “I love you too, Heart… I will cherish this ring and the memories it contains.”

"Keep it safe... Ok? Without it... I'll never love you again..." A few tears fell from Heart's eyes.

“I’ll never let it out of my sight.” Nirvana confirmed, a tear of her own sliding down her cheek.

"Thank you..." Heart whispered. "Now... Let's eat something."

“Y-yes…” Nirvana said weakly and began slowly eating.

The two ate in silence for a while, until Nirvana asked something that caught Heart off guard. “How much do you ‘love’ your sisters?” She asked, letting ‘love’ roll off her tongue in an erotic tone. She batted her eyes innocently.

"What e-exactly do you mean by... Love?" asked Heart, blushing.

“Well…” Nirvana blushed. “I just thought since you all have feelings for me… What kind of feelings would you three have for each other?” She licked her lips, emphasising her point.

"Uhhhh... Well..." Heart blushed. "I don't know about the others, but I love them as sisters."

“Oh, come now… I know there’s more than that. After all, you three like mares.” Nirvana leaned closer. “Don’t hide it. I’ll just find it myself. I’m the princess of emotion, remember?”

Heart blushed. "I really only think of my sisters as just that, my sisters."

Nirvana looked slightly disappointed. “Oh… I just thought that maybe… with the way you three love me… that you would love each other like that… I mean… I’m only one pony here.”

"That's just what I think. Maybe Silver or Gold will have other thoughts." suggested Heart. "I understand that you want us all to love each other, but... With my plan, I don't want to hurt anypony more than I have to..."

Nirvana looked away. “That’s true, I guess…”

Heart reached across and grabbed Nirvana's hand. "I will come back. I promise."

Nirvana squeezed the welcomed hand. “I know… But I’m scared.” She looked away. “C-can we please find something nice to talk about now? I don’t like being sad on a date.”

“Sure.”

By now, both Golden Eye and Silver Soul had woken and were now eating breakfast together in the dining hall. The food had been already laid out and was steaming with warmth, like it had just been cooked.

“So where do ya think Moon took Heart?” Silver asked Gold, before taking a bite.

"Dunno, all I know is that Heart is going to be fine. You know that just as well as I do." Gold replied.

“Yeah, I was just wondering.” Silver giggled suddenly. “What do you think Moon is gonna do with us on our dates?”

Good smiled. "I don't know, but I do know that it's going to be worth while." she stated.

Silver sighed happily and leaned back in her chair. “I hope she gives me a back rub. Ohhhh…. Now that would be worth while.”

"A full on massage, been dying for one since our last visit to Ponyville." Gold said.

“No! You will not get a better treatment than me, if I’m not asking for too much out of Moon!” Silver cried.

"Oh it was just a suggestion, but I wasn't lying when I said I've been dying for one, but I think a nice romantic lunch will do just fine for me."

“Knowing Heart, she probably had the same thought.” Silver giggled. “But I like physical attention more than simple dinners and small talk. If you can cook and work the knots out of my back every night, you’re the perfect one for me. So far Moon can cook, so…” Silver smiled cutely. “I’m a very ‘needy’ princess, don’t you think?”

Gold giggled lightly. "You can't honestly think that we don't have needs ourselves, Moon, Heart, and I."

Silver pouted, making herself even cuter. “But I’m the cute one! I’m attention hungry!”

This only served to make Gold giggle even more. "You look so cute when you get all pouty like that, you know that?" She said. "But who knows, we might get intimate, not sexual, just going as far as kissing under the sun and what not."

“You and your romance fantasies. I like fun. I just wonder if Moon does too.” Silver giggled.

"And what of my romance fantasies?" Gold playfully shot back.

“You may have dirt on me about my drinking, but I found those romance novels you try to hide.” Silver replied with a smug grin.

"You wouldn't..." Gold said, eyes wide with shock.

“You want Moon to be your rebellious charming savior. Oh, the things I could tell Heart and Moon.”

"Don't make me send mother a letter about your drinking habit." Gold teased.

“Then I’ll send a multiply letter to everypony that knows you personally.” Silver shot back with an almost evil grin.

'Damn, she got me there.' Gold thought to herself. "So um... Remember the hare that came outta nowhere?"

Silver’s smug glare faltered as the memory came back. She nearly burst into laughter then and there. “Y-yes. What about it?”

"The only reason he scared me is cause he caught me 'with my pants down' so to speak."

Silver burst into laughter and fell backwards in her chair, the back of it landing on the floor, but it didn’t stop her from laughing like a hyena. “I-it makes…. it even worse… b-because of the… saying you used!” Silver cried past her fits of giggles. “Oh Gods! I couldn’t help but think of you as you are now, getting caught with your pants down!”

"When did you get so naughty, Silver?" Gold asked.

“Since I became a lesbian, Gold.” Silver retorted as her helpless laughter died down, leaving her panting on the floor.

"And why would you imagine me with my pants down as I am now?" Gold asked, keeping a smile on her face.

She blushed and giggled cutely. “Because I’m your naughty little lesbian zebra sister.”

Gold giggled again. "And?"

Silver teleported to where she was on her hands and knees on the table, facing Gold. She gave her eldest sister needy half lidded eyes as she licked her lips. “And this…” She leaned forward and kissed Gold fully on the lips.

The pegasus was completely caught off guard by the kiss, her eyes wide with surprise. Eventually Gold leaned into the kiss, deepening the passion between the two.

She crawled off the table and into Gold’s lap, where she straddled the mare’s waist, wrapping her arms around Golds neck. She tilted her head to the side and brushed her tongue against her sister’s lips, wanting to explore Gold’s mouth.

Gold opened her mouth and met Silver’s tongue with her own in a battle for dominance.

The zebra moaned softly as she frenched her sister, every bit of passion poured into the kiss. She never wanted it to end. It was so good and Gold was such a good kisser. It made a shiver of excitement run down her back.

Gold began running her hands along Silver’s back while she continued to tongue her sister’s mouth, ruffling the silk like fur on her back.

Silver moaned louder at the touch. She pushed deeper into the kiss, pressing her smaller body against Gold’s firm, muscular, feminine form. She let her hands grope at the tender muscles along her sides, feeling her sister shiver at her intimate touch.

A furnace of need burned in Silver’s loins. She wanted it, needed to be pleasured, but she didn’t want to go through with it, not yet. She settled for showing all of her affection though hungrily sucking Gold’s tongue as it invaded her maw again and again.

Gold moaned into the kiss as her youngest sister lightly massaged at her sides. She then began lowering her hands from Silvers back and began lightly tracing her hands down to the zebra's flanks.

Silver squeaked and broke the kiss, panting for breath. She had to hold her hand against Gold’s shoulder to keep herself from collapsing back onto her sister, who was now grabbing at her ass. “G-Gold…” She was blushing deeply. “I-I can’t… I want to, I really do, but… I just…”

Gold whimpered as she looked at her sister with pleading eyes, pulling her hands away from Silver’s ass.

“I-I’m sorry, Gold… I just can’t… N-not yet…”

"What about later?" Gold asked in a pleading tone.

Silver giggled inwardly, unable to help noticing that Gold looked almost as cute as she did at the moment. She blushed and looked away. “M-maybe…”

Gold's ears drooped, giving a saddened look. "Okay."

“I’m really sorry, but… I-I’m not ready… yet.” Silver said, giving the last word as a slight hope for her eldest sister.

The pegasi's ears perked up a bit. "I-I understand." Gold said and sighed.

She kissed Gold again. “Even if it doesn’t happen later… There’s still another day.”

This brought a small smile to Gold's lips. "Okay."

“But, for old times sake… Let’s keep this a secret and forget about the dirt we hold over each other’s heads.” Silver whispered.

"Okay." replied Gold.

“Until then, I think I’ll finish my breakfast.” She said and turned around in Gold’s lap, where her cute butt was now facing the pegasus. She lifted her plate in her magic and brought it over to her, beginning to eat again.

She couldn’t help but blush at how she might be teasing Gold at the moment, but she just continued to sit in her horny sister’s lap, most likely letting Gold eye hump her. She didn’t care though.

"Um... I-I kinda can't get to my plate." Gold stammered for some odd reason.

If Silver had wanted to ‘do it’ yet, she might have said something along the lines of ‘Your plates right in front of you. Eat up, big sis.’ Instead she lifted Gold a fork full of food and fed her one bite at a time. Silver really didn’t want to get up yet.

Gold wasn't sure why Silver began feeding her, but she just couldn't help but go with it, taking each bite and savouring the taste of each and every one.

As soon as both plates were clean, Silver leaned back onto Gold and nuzzled her chin with affection. “I love you, Golden. You and Moon.”

Gold's eyes filled with tears at what she had just heard and she threw her arms around her sister. "I-I love you too, Silver." She said past sniffles and tears of sudden joy.

Silver tilted her head up and kissed Gold again, gently wrapping her arm around the pegasi’s head to keep her steady.

Little did the two sisters know, Heart and Moon had finished with their date and were now looking for the others.

“I would think that they’d be in the dining hall.” Nirvana stated. “I set up breakfast for them in there.”

“Oh yeah." Heart exclaimed. “They’d both be eating right about now.”

They set off in the direction of the dining hall, while making some small talk, mostly Nirvana talking about the architecture of the room they had just been eating in. They were dead in the middle of the conversation when they walked into the dining hall. Nothing could have prepared them for what they saw next.

In one of the chairs, in front of two empty plates, kissing, was Silver Soul and Golden Eye.

Heart and Nirvana froze, unable to comprehend exactly what they had walked in on. Their jaws had dropped almost to the floor in shock. Heart was the first to recover, the kissing pair still hadn’t noticed their arrival. “So… I guess Gold and Silver do have other thoughts after all.”

Nirvana shook the shock from her head. “Indeed…” Was all she could manage at the moment as she continued to watch the arousing sight. “P-perhaps I should… umm… g-go and get things ready for mine and Gold’s date.” With that, Nirvana hurried out, constantly trying to hide something that would normally be quite obvious.

Heart couldn’t move. She just stood, watching her sisters make out. ‘Ten seconds… Ten seconds, and if they haven’t noticed me, I’ll… w-what should I do?! Leave? Announce my arrival?’

Silver broke the kiss with Gold to look her in the eyes with a warm smile, but it slowly shrank when she caught sight of the pony she least wanted to see at the moment in the corner of her eye. “Gold… Don’t look to your left. Somepony we know very well is in this room, right now, and just caught us kissing.”

Heart blushed and slowly started to back away, knowing that she had ruined this moment.

"What do you mean? They couldn't ha-..." Gold froze as she saw who Silver had meant to the left of her.

Silver winced. “Told you not to look…”

‘Oh shit, Heart… think of something!’ The voice in Heart’s head instructed. She froze again, unable to think of anything. The silence lasted an age, as Heart stared at her two sisters.

Silver finally broke the silence. She swore she could literally hear it shatter when she did. “S-so… um… H-how was your date?”

Heart’s mouth opened, but nothing came out. Then, she started laughing. It wasn’t cruel laughter, more like friendly, joking laughter.

Silver cocked her head to the side. “What’s so funny?”

Heart stopped laughing and took a few breaths to steady herself. “Nothing at all. I’m just really happy for you two.”

Silver felt like reality had just dropped a rock on her head. “Y-you’re not upset?”

“Upset? Of course not.” Heart said, giggling slightly. “I may not be the princess of emotions like Moon, but I can feel love that strong, Silver.”

Silver face-palmed. ‘Of course. Heart’s element has always been love.’

Gold’s face went a deep crimson at what Heart just said, making her speechless.

‘I don’t think they’ve realised what this means for my plan.’ Heart thought. She cleared her throat. “Moon asked me how much I loved you two… as like, more than sisters. I thought of you as just sisters, but you should have seen how happy Moon was when we walked in together.”

“She was… happy? At seeing me and Gold like this?”

“She tried to hide it, but her love and happiness was pretty obvious.” Heart said. “She wants us to all love one another as we love her. She’s only one pony after all.”

It was Silver’s turn to be shocked into silence.

"Y-you mean that... Moon wanted us to love each other... The way Silver and I do now?" Gold asked, her blush deepening.

“Yeah. I guess that’s what she wanted. But we didn’t expect this to happen that fast.”

"Well... I-I guess that makes Moon even happier... Seeing us like this." Gold said.

Heart giggled. “It did. She’s setting up lunch with you Gold. You might want to get ready for her.”

“W-well, I think I’ll go to the library and see about some spell books.” Silver stated, slowly climbing off of Gold and looking shyly away from her Heart.

"Hey, there's nothing to be embarrassed about, Silver." consoled Heart. "You should never be embarrassed because of who you love."

"We just d-didn't think that... Well... Ummm..." Gold stammered, unable to continue because she was still so embarrassed at the fact that the two of them had been caught.

Heart laughed again. "Next time, if you want some privacy, maybe one of your own rooms would be better."

"R-right... Well... I should... Ummm... go and get ready, yeah that's what I need to do. So… I'll... go do that." Gold said as she headed down the corridor to her room, leaving Heart alone with Silver.

Silver blushed. Being left alone with the sibling that caught her wasn’t exactly planned. “I thought you would be mad at us if you caught us like that. I mean, I know I’m not biologically related to you two, but we’re still sisters.”

"As I said... I'm happy for you. You found somepony you want to be with, and I respect your choice." replied Heart.

“You’d be the first…” Silver muttered under her breath, then looked back up at Heart. “Thanks, sis. Did you want to come to the library with me? I found a shortcut yesterday when I was exploring.”

Heart thought about it for a few seconds. "Sure, why not?" she said.

“Great. I thought you might.” Silver led Heart out of the dining hall and down a corridor that would take them back to the cell, but she stopped in the middle of the corridor. She walked over to the wall to the left and firmly leaned on it. There was a sharp click, before a portion of the wall that Silver was leaning against sunk in then pivoted open. “There’s secret tunnels and doors all over the place. They’re pretty difficult to find, but you’ll never want to forget where they’re at.”

"That's really cool." said Heart. "So... This one leads to the library?"

“Yeah.” Silver smiled. “I found one in my room this morning that led to this freaky shadow magic generator. I was guessing it was what recharged Silver Shade when she used too much of her magic.”

"I wonder if all the rooms have these secret passageways." Heart thought aloud. "It would be pretty cool to find what's hidden here."

Silver began leading Heart through the hidden hall. As they walked deeper, the door closed behind them, hiding it again. “I was coming to the library to see if the magic can be harnessed or if you have to be at a certain level of magic to use it, cuz I’m pretty sure the other rooms have generators alike.”

"If you're right, then me and Gold have to find our generators soon. They could prove invaluable to us."

“Yeah. That’s what I was thinking.” Silver replied with a nod. “I’m just glad I have my old study-buddy to help me.” She said in a cute tone, playfully nudging Heart.

Heart giggled. "Yeah... I remember how long we looked over the books in Canterlot. I'm pretty sure we were close to reading them all."

Silver smiled again. “This library is bigger.”

Heart clapped her hands together. "Then let's get studying."

“I thought you might say that.” With that, Silver pushed open a panel at the end of the hall, before walking into the massive library, taking in the restored, yet slightly dusty sight.

Heart followed immediately after. "Holy shit..." she murmured as the library came into view. "Look at all these books..."

“Heart, you’re the second pony I know that can get turned on by books.” Silver giggled as she strode into the massive room.

"I am not turned on by books!" Heart retorted. "I just love reading."

Silver would have had a come back, but her mind was too busy working out where to start looking for the books they would need. She placed a finger on her chin as her eyes scanned over the many sections of books. “Hmm… Where to start…”

Heart was looking around as well. "You know what? I actually doubt that there are books on those generators in here." Heart said after a while. "I mean, they were most likely built by the alicorns that needed them. I'm pretty sure mother doesn't have one..."

“I wasn’t looking for a book on the generators themselves, but the type of magic they hold.” The zebra mare replied with a shake of her head. “There wouldn’t be a book on them, not with how well they’re hidden.” She looked up to the second level of the library and used her magic to float herself up to it. “If only we could find an area labeled specifically for magic.”

Heart levitated herself up as well. "You would think that the magic contained in those generators would match the magic of the alicorn who lived in that room, right?"

“Yeah… I’m thinking with how I’m mostly skilled in illusions and chaotic spells, that shadow magic would link pretty well…” Silver said with a thoughtful look. “I just need something to confirm it, so I don’t blow myself up with dark matter.”

Heart laughed. "Imagine if I exploded with the amount of love I would get from the generator filled with compassion."

“I’ll tell you this, Chrysalis would be here in a flash.” Silver giggled.

Heart giggled as well. "Yeah. It would be like a massive feast for her."

“Oh Gods. That would be a sight.” She laughed, but stopped suddenly when something caught her eye. She looked towards it to find a book just lying there on the floor. Why hadn’t she noticed it before. Silver knelt down and picked it up. It had a fair share of dust across its cover, making it hard to read the title. Wiping it clean she read the title. It said ‘Ancient magic: A young alicorn’s guide’. “That was the biggest stroke of luck I’ve ever had in my life… Besides becoming a prince, well… princess.”

"Whatcha find, Silver?" called Heart from near one of the bookshelves that rose to nearly the ceiling.

“There was a book just sitting here that’s about ancient alicorn magic.” Silver called back. “I wonder if it’s one aunt Twilight found on her last visit here.”

Heart floated over to Silver and dropped down next to her. "Huh... I wonder how we missed this."

“Hay, don’t feel bad. I miss things all the damn time. It gets on my nerves, but I’m used to it.”

"Whatever. Let's have a look at it now we've actually found it." said Heart.

Silver held up the book she had found. It was rather large, so it was a little bit of an effort to lift it up to eye level. “This should explain the magic basics for an alicorn. Considering we both learned magic from an alicorn, we should be able to work out how to use the magic from the generators.”

"That's cool... But I guess that Gold can't use these generators." suggested Heart. "She's only a pegasus after all."

“I wouldn’t jump to conclusions, Heart. Alicorn magic is different.” Silver said as she walked towards a desk to set it down on. “From what mother said, an alicorn is a mixture of all three pony types, so their advanced spells are synced with all three sides.”

"So... Gold could use that magic if she knew how to channel it?" asked Heart.

“If my theory is correct,” Silver dropped the large book onto the desk. “Yes.”

Meanwhile, a certain giddy alicorn almost skipped down the corridor towards Golden Eye’s room. Her mood was only amplified from what she had caught her two admirers doing with each other.

She approached Gold’s door and knocked on it, an excited smile on her face. “Gold? Are you ready?”

The door opened to reveal Golden Eye wearing a bright golden dress that she had found. The color perfectly matched her eyes. "How do I look?"

Nirvana’s mouth went dry as her eyes widened. “B-… beautiful…”

"So what are we waiting for? We've got a date to go on." Gold said happily.

The alicorn blushed. “Y-yes, of course.” Nirvana giggled. and led Gold down the corridor “But we won’t be eating in the dining hall.”

Gold stepped out of her room and closed the door behind her, then followed Nirvana. "I have a feeling that I am going to love where we are going." She said excitedly.

“I do so hope that you do.” Nirvana chirped as she led Gold through several confusing halls, before coming to a large double door. “I hope you like picnics, Gold. I set us something nice in the gardens.” She then pushed open the doors to reveal a luscious garden of exotic flowers, scents from the flowers mixing into an almost over sweet aroma that would nearly make anypony smile.

"Oh, Moon... It's absolutely marvelous." Gold stated with a wide smile on her lips.

“I-it’s Nirvana… My real name… i-is Nirvana.” Nirvana said in a near whisper as she blushed from the compliment.

"Nirvana... That's a beautiful name you have." Gold complimented. "Although now that I know your real name, you remind me of somepony that mother taught me about."

“I’m the princess of emotion.” Nirvana replied. “I and Celestia were fillyhood friends.”

Gold gasped "Oh... Oh dear… if mother had known…"

“She thinks Nirvana is dead, along with my other fellow princesses. All she knows of me is… Nightmare Moon, but even that name was filled with pained emotions. Silver figured that out.” Nirvana’s mood saddened a little, but she shook it off. “No, I have cried too much. I even cried during my date with Heart. Enough is enough. I am here to make this day special for you three. I refuse to let my own emotions ruin this.”

"Nirvana, being with you is all I need for my day to be special." Gold said. "And I don't want to see you cry anymore, I don't like seeing anypony cry."

Nirvana spun around and yanked Gold into a tight embrace. “I love you, Golden Eye.”

Gold wrapped her arms around Nirvana and returned the embrace and said. "I love you too, Nirvana." Before leaning in and planting a passionate kiss on her lips.

She closed her eyes and accepted the show of affection from Gold, pulling her closer.

The two stayed like this for a minute or two before Gold broke the kiss. "Nirvana, if things don't go as planned and mother forces all three of us, my sisters and I, to stay. I want you to keep my armor, cherish it, keep it safe, and I will never forget. I will go through Tartarus and back just to be with you."

Nirvana could no longer hold it back, the tears poured from her eyes and dripped from her chin. She couldn’t even think of the right words to respond

Gold lifted Nirvana's eyes to her own, the emotion in her eyes was just too much. She pulled Nirvana into another comforting embrace. "I-I'm sorry… but I just don't want to lose you or my sisters. I love all three of you as much as you saw earlier with me and Silver." Gold said, a few tears of her own welling up.

The alicorn sniffled and wiped the tears out of her eyes, before wiping the tears out of Gold’s own. “No more tears. I don’t want to see them anymore. No more sorrow. Let us just enjoy what I did for you.”

"Y-yes, let's." Gold said, a smile on her lips. "And no more pain, just love." She added

“Agreed…” Nirvana returned the smile, before leading Gold through the gardens to a dark purple sheet in the middle of it. An elegant basket, most likely filled with food, sat on the sheet as well as some plates, silverware, and a lightly burning candle. “I hope you like it. I heard that you liked the outdoors.”

"Oh, I absolutely love it, I've been one with the outdoors since my grandfather and I had our first camping trip." Gold stated.

“Excellent!” Nirvana cheered. She grabbed Gold’s wrist and pulled her over to the picnic, sitting down on it. The alicorn gave a giddy smile as her magic pulled out a bottle of aged wine and a simple, but very lean and well made sub sandwich, which she split perfectly down the center and gave one half to Gold, while taking the other for herself.

The lunch went by silently, leaving nothing but the sound of nature, until Gold spoke, "So, is there anything else that you'd like to know about me?" She asked, ready and willing to answer anything that Nirvana might ask.

Nirvana took a moment to swallow her food, before speaking. “What is Celestia like now? And how does she treat you?” She asked. “I’m sure with how she raised you, it would determine your personality.”

"Mother was always a very caring pony. She always treated us like we were all she had left in this world, I mean she knows that she still has Luna, but it showed how much she cared for the ones she loved as family. And as a lover, that's why I care so much for you and my sisters. It’s because of the love I have for the three of you, yes Silver may be my sister, but I see her as so much more. I love her and Heart as much as I love you."

“Interesting…” She looked away, seeming momentarily lost in thought. “Celestia still hasn’t changed… Oh, my dearest friend, Celestia… How I wish things had turned out differently…”

"But we can show her who you truly are, who you are now. This is you, Nirvana, princess of emotion and friend of Celestia." Gold stated wrapping her arms around the alicorn in a caring, passionate and loving embrace.

“She won’t believe me… I searched for a way to make myself look like I once did, but… I cannot.” Nirvana whimpered. “I’ll always look like this, the monster my wrath cursed me to look like. The Gods are cruel to me!”

"Nirvana, you are not a monster, you are extremely beautiful no matter what others think you are, you are beautiful in the eyes of the ones who see you for who you truly are. You want ponies to see the truth and my sisters and I, with Cadence's help, can help you show your true self." Gold said calmly.

“I know, but I will always bare the cursed fruit of my past wrongs.” Nirvana gestured to her face. “This. This is what Celestia will see, not the friend she grew up with.”

"If we can get her to see past your mistakes and who she thinks you to be, she will see the friend she grew up with on the inside." Gold said gesturing to Nirvana's heart and then her mind. "She will see that friend in your heart and in your mind."

“But… I just don’t want to look like this anymore… I want to be Nirvana again. I’m sick of being Nightmare Moon.” Nirvana said weakly.

"But you are Nirvana, all you have to do is look deep into your heart and memories that you have before you became Nightmare Moon and you will see that you always were Nirvana."

“I know who I am on the inside, Gold, but that doesn’t change who I am on the outside. I’m cursed to be Nightmare Moon. I’ll always be Nirvana, just… Not in the way I want to be...”

"But it can reflect who you are on the inside if you let your inner self show." Gold said, placing a hand on Nirvana's shoulder.

“Are you not listening!? I’m doomed to be seen as a monster by all but you and your sisters, whom even witnessed what a monster I can be! I may not be a monster in your eyes, Gold, but the moment Celestia sees me…” Nirvana looked away. “She will try to kill me.”

"Then we can run away. You, me and my sisters." Gold said. "We can leave this life behind and start anew. You won't have to worry about my mother anymore."

“No.” Nirvana said quickly. “That would only make things worse. That would only make my demise certain.” She shook her head. “No, I cannot do that.”

Gold suddenly realized how stupid she was being, mentally slapping herself. "Nirvana… I-I… I'm so sorry… I wasn't listening to my self-stupidity."

Nirvana suddenly backhanded Gold, though not hard, but it hurt Nirvana so much more. “Never call yourself stupid.”

Gold buckled over, begging for forgiveness, nearly sobbing. "I never m-meant… to bring you any pain… I-I'm just... S-so sorry... I just wasn't... I wasn't l-listening to myself… I'll n-never forgive myself... if you… c-cannot forgive me."

Nirvana squeezed Gold against her. “I never held anything against you, Gold. I never will. I love you with all of my heart and that will never change.” She pulled the weeping mare off of her and gazed into her eyes. “Now dry those tears. I don’t want to see anymore for the rest of our date. Tears don’t deserve to touch your face. I simply forbid it until they are tears of joy.”

Gold dried her eyes and smiled, hugging Nirvana tightly. "I'll hold back my tears for as long as I possibly can."

“That’s a good girl.” Nirvana said playfully with a small smile, before pulling away from the hug and sharing a kiss with the mare.

“Here!” Silver suddenly shouted, slamming her finger down beneath a specific passage. It was written beneath a runic spell circle that shown the original symbols for the elements of harmony. “This is what we’re looking for! Element selection!”

“Element selection? The hell’s that?” yelled Heart, who had been walking around aimlessly for the past few minutes.

“It tells about how an alicorn selects and harnesses an element of their choice, but the element must come easy to them and it must sync with the wielder's personality.” Silver explained, summing up the passage. “If we can figure out what parts of alicorn magic works with us, then syncing with the rest of it would be a downhill stride.”

“Well… the shadow magic would fit with you and the compassion magic would fit with me… But if Gold could use magic, I doubt that time is her element…”

“You might be right… Though her emotions flip-flop like the sands of time. She might not be able to use it very well at first, but it might be the element that takes to her personality.” Silver said, reading further. “It says here, that a base of what type of pony the alicorn originally was determines the way the body takes to the element at first. I’m willing to bet that if we can separate the streams of the three types of magic, then we can slowly feed alicorn magic into our bodies and sync with it.”

“Yeah… I think you’re right…” Heart looked down at the book that Silver had found. “We should take this with us. Hopefully Gold and Moon are done with their date and we can share what we know.” Heart looked back down at the book again. “I wonder… does the book have a list of these alicorn elements?”

“I doubt it… But you can look if you want.” Silver said, stepping out of the way, so Heart could take a look.

Heart quickly flicked through the book, but with no surprise to her, there was no list of elements. She was about to close the book, but something caught her eye. It didn’t look like part of the book at all. A small folded up piece of parchment was caught in the middle of two pages. “What’s this?” Heart pulled it out and opened it. There weren’t any words on it, just a highly detailed illustration of an alicorn… Something about the pony in the drawing felt… familiar.. “Hey, Silver. What do you think this is?”

Silver came over and took a look, but she was just as confused as Heart. “I… I dunno… We could show it to Moon. She might know.”

“Yeah… I wonder who drew this though… It’s so lifelike…” Heart pondered. “Think we can find a name or something for this? This would obviously have been signed or something.”

The young mares, try as they might, couldn’t find even the slightest detail that would name the artist, but it looked so familiar, yet so alien. It made Silver’s head hurt.

Silver threw her hands up into the air in frustration. “Ugh! It’s no use! Let’s just take the whole book and the drawing with us and go find Moon and Gold. Their date should be done by now.”

“I just want to look at this drawing for a bit more… I swear I know this alicorn… If you want, you can head back to the dining hall with the book and I’ll meet you there in a bit.” said Heart, still gazing at the picture.

“Fine, just don’t forget where the shortcut is. I don’t know this castle well enough to find you if you get lost.” Silver said as she lifted the book in her magic and made her way out of the library and back through the hidden passage.

The hidden passage closed, leaving Heart alone in the library. Heart ran her fingers over the drawing, feeling the old parchment on which it had been drawn. “Come on, I know there must be some sort of name on this. Maybe not the artist… maybe the actual alicorn…”

Upon closer examination, the coloration of the pony seemed to be black and white. Her mane and tail were long and floated like Nirvana’s and her eyes were as white as silver’s fur with slits for pupils, though what really attracted her attention, was the cutie mark. It was a tribal like black and white heart, colors separated down the center. Each side had a folded wing sprouted from the side, one feathered, the other bat like. At the top of the heart was a golden treyarch.

Only one name came to Heart’s mind when she realized what the cutie mark meant. “Nirvana…” She whispered, eyes growing wide. But it wasn’t the Nirvana she knew. There were differences, both major and minor to the alicorn’s appearance. “This- This is what you used to look like… If you looked like this in front of mother… then...” Suddenly her mind raced, forming a plan. It was nearly foolproof, just one thing. Her original plan would still have to take effect. She would have to lose her memories of everything about Nirvana. But if the new plan succeeded…

Heart stood up, taking the drawing with her. She needed to find Nirvana and Gold. She opened up the secret passage, and stepped into it, looking at the library once more before the passage closed.