Author's Note

See? I keep my promises! Here, a longer chapter for you to NOM on.

Planning

“There you three are! I was getting worried.” Moon said when she looked up to see the sisters entering the room.

“Had a small… communication problem back in the room.” Silver replied and took a seat. “Sorry we took so long.”

Moon waved it off with her hand. “It's quite alright, so long as you’re here. No need for apologies.”

"Well... Um... I-I..." Gold paused. "I just don't know what to say."

“No, there isn’t any ‘special’ ingredient today. You can relax.” Moon giggled. “But Silver’s reaction was still the funniest when I said what it was.”

Silver blushed. “What!? I’ve never tasted my own cum. Shocked the hell out of me.”

"I-it's not that, it's something I'd rather discuss while my sisters aren't here."

Moon popped her neck and sighed. “After lunch.”

Gold nodded and calmed down, taking her seat at the table.

Silver opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, a bright flash of golden magic flashed in the center of the table, blinding everypony there momentarily. When they opened their eyes, a rolled up scroll sat in the middle of the table. Silver leaned over the table and picked it up, before unrolling it. As soon as it was fully open, Silver was instantly hit with Celestia’s royal Canterlot voice.

“WHAT IN TARTARUS HAS GOTTEN INTO YOU!? MARES!? SHE TURNED YOU INTO MARES!? BY THE GODS! THE THINGS I COULD DO! AND YOU’RE CHOOSING TO STAY AFTER SHE DID WHAT TO YOU!? WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU THREE!?”

Silver dropped the letter as soon as it was done screaming in her face. Her mane was blown back and her eyes were wide with fear. She shook slightly in her seat, before face-planting into the table. “M-my ears… They bleedeth.” Silver moaned.

“Uh… guys… I think we can agree that hearing damage isn’t our top priority here…” Heart said, then looked at Moon, who had tears dripping down her face.

“S-s-s-s-she s-still hates me…” The alicorn whimpered.

"I'll suffer the consequences before I let her keep my love from you, Moon." Gold said, moving around the table to embrace Moon, comforting her the best she could.

“I-I don’t want you to s-suffer!” She wailed in Gold’s arms.

"But I will if I must to prove to mother that I truly love you."

“That’s true.” said Heart. “Which is why, I will be alongside you, as with Silver, when we tell her.”

Silver struggled to lift her head off the table, still throbbing with dull pain. She rubbed her fingers into her temple, attempting to relieve the pain. “Look, Moon. We’ve all decided to give you a chance to prove yourself, by making our day tomorrow special. Gold, tell her what we had in mind.”

"Well, to put it plain and simple, we were wanting you to take us all on a date, one at a time that is. Even though you already have my affection and trust, I do want to get to know more about you." Gold stated. "Silver, I don't know if she trusts you fully, but if she trusts you enough to love and forgive you, then you're doing good. She'll be available in the afternoon tomorrow, Heart will be available in the morning. I'll be available for lunch, this is your chance to really prove to my sisters that you truly love us, you don't need to prove it to me because I can see it in your eyes and your heart."

Heart nodded. "What our mother thinks, and what we think, are two completely different things... I'm sure Celestia will see you as you are now, not as how you were before."

“H-how can you all be s-so optimistic about this?” Moon whimpered.

“Because we know the true you and we can prove to mother that you are not evil.” Gold replied.

“Right! I already trust you. When all three of us do, nothing mother says will ever change that.” Silver added.

Moon nearly burst into tears again at how much the siblings would give up for her. It made her heart ache. She sniffled and hugged Gold again. “I-I love you all.”

Gold motioned for her sisters to join the embrace before returning the embrace herself. “I’ll always love you.” She said.

Silver stood and wrapped her arms around the alicorn that she may have learned to love. “I’m not really sure how I feel, but I think I love you too.”

Heart joined in with the hug.

“I wish things with your past had turned out differently, Moon. I like this side of you much better than the one we all met yesterday.” Silver whispered as she squeezed the sobbing alicorn for a second time that day. “But I forgive you, no matter what you did, so long as you can admit it was wrong and bounce right back to the mare I and Gold love.”

Moon couldn’t take it anymore. She pulled all three mares closer and planted a kiss on each of their lips. “T-thank you! You girls make me the happiest I’ve ever been!”

“And I always want you to be happy, I know Silver would too.” Gold replied “Wouldn’t you Lil’ sis?”

“I can’t lie to ya there, big sis.” Silver giggled.

"Same here." replied Heart. While she hadn't become entirely in love with Moon, she still wanted her to be happy.

“You girls have no idea how happy hearing that makes me…” Nightmare said, sounding like she was about to cry again. “You three are… I-I can’t even find the words to describe what you mean to me at this moment.”

Silver blushed and nuzzled Moon’s neck. “You don’t have to say a word.” Then the mood was broken by the loud sound of Silver’s grumbling stomach, making the mare blush harder in embarrassment. “Heh…”

“Oh my… It would seem somepony’s hungry.” Moon giggled.

“Hehe… I guess I am.” She giggled back. “You girls hungry?” Silver asked her sisters.

"Yeah." answered Heart.

Gold nodded. “You bet I am.”

“Excellent!” Moon cheered as the mares released her, letting her get up. “I’ll only take a moment to get the food.” And with that, she left the mares to themselves.

Silver looked over to Heart with a smug grin. “I saw that blush when she kissed you… And how you kissed back.” She teased. “You enjoyed it.”

"Well..." Heart blushed. "If I didn't kiss her back, Moon would notice and possibly get sad or something."

“Bull shit.” Silver called her bluff. “Just say it… You’ve got some feelings for her, Heart.”

"N-no... I-I just..." Heart lost her train of thoughts and her voice trailed away.

“You’re just what? Torn between right and wrong?” Silver asked in a hard tone. “Because, once again, mother is wrong.”

“Silver! What have I told you about questioning mother’s authority!?” Gold scolded.

“Fuck that! She sent a letter that nearly blew my head off! And made Nightmare cry for the fourth time today!” She growled. “I’m not exactly being too friendly at the moment.”

Gold was shocked at what she had just heard from her youngest sister, “I see, it’s just… I wouldn’t normally question her authority either, but come to think of it… I’ve been doing that a lot lately. Mother… what is happening to me?”

“Exactly the same thing that happened to me and is obviously on its beginning stages of happening to Heart.” Silver replied. “Realizing how wrong we were… No matter how wrong Moon was.”

Gold fell to her knees as a sudden realization came over her that Silver was right. “I-I… I’m so sorry…”

“I’m not the one who that needs to be said to.”

“Don’t you give me that… I had no right snapping at you for what you said!” Gold nearly shouted as tears built up in her eyes.

Silver reared back and backhanded her eldest sister. “Shut the fuck up and get off the floor! None of that from my strong-as-a-brick sister! I will NOT have you saying sorry for doing your job as the oldest!”

“Why shouldn’t I be sorry… I have every reason to be!”

Silver backhanded her again on the other cheek. “I said shut up and get up!”

“I-I…” Gold choked. “I’m just a sorry excuse for a child of Celestia. That all I ever-” Before she could even finish the sentence, Silver’s anger hit its limit and Gold’s snout was met by a stinging fist, snapping her head to the side.

Heart had just about enough. She pulled Silver away. “That is ENOUGH!” Again, her eyes flashed with a white light. She took a long steadying breath. “Silver… just let Gold get up when she wants to, you can’t rush this.”

Silver struggled in her sister’s grasp. “No! I won’t let Gold be as weak as I was!” She froze as exactly what she had said registered in her ears, making every memory come rushing back. Tears formed in her eyes and slid down her cheeks as she gave up the struggle against Heart, going limp in her arms.

Heart slowly laid Silver on the floor and walked out in between the eldest and the youngest sister. She sat down too, joining them on the floor. “Silver… you’re right… We were wrong. And Gold… you don’t have to apologize to Silver. She was just as wrong as we were.” Heart sighed. “And… now that I think about it… our mother’s anger is pretty justified…”

“Heart! Listen to yourself! We are trying to GET mother to understand WHY we decided to stay… are we not?” Gold yelled.

Heart looked at Gold. “I know, but think about it from her point of view… Her only children have been turned into mares by her worst enemy. And her children are actually staying with that same enemy. How do you think that would make her feel?”

Silver sniffled. “Obviously pissed…”

“I’d like to see her take my love away from Moon… I’d like to see her try. I’m here trying to prove that an enemy can become a friend, and I love Moon more than anypony ever would.” Gold snarled.

Silver bolted upright. “You’re such a fucking hypocrite! Now who’s defying mother!?”

“Haven’t we all defied mother at one point in our lives!?”

“Yeah, that’s normally me!” She shot back.

“Enough!” yelled Heart again, her eyes flashing dangerously with that unnatural bright white light. “Look… even if mother accepts Moon as an ally… she won’t let us all come back to this castle. Think… how would she feel if she had to give up all of her children? She wouldn’t want to. So, I think that one of us has to stay behind with Celestia, while the other two go with Moon.”

“I’m not leaving Moon’s side for anything.”

“No… I think Gold should stay with Celestia. It would be harder to convince Gold that Moon had supposedly tricked us, than if I or Heart stayed.” Silver suggested.

“Forget it. Gold will never leave Moon. You have feelings for her bordering of love. I can’t break up any of that. I will be the one to stay.” said Heart with finality.

“No!” Silver yelled, making her sister flinch. “She’ll make you forget every bit of forgiveness you gained for Moon. You’ll see us as enemies. Mother means well, but her hatred does far more harm than good. We’ll need to think this out better...”

“What do you think I’ve been doing while we’ve been talking? Thinking. There’s no alternative.” A tear fell from Heart’s eye. “I know what will happen when I stay, what mother will force me to forget, how I will think of you afterwards…”

Silver was about to dissolve into tears at hearing Heart give up too, when a hand of pure brilliance mentally smacked her. She slammed her hands into the floor and yelled suddenly. “Cadence!”

Gold’s ears perked up. “What are you suggesting, Silver?”

“Cadence can help us!” Silver stated with a huge smile. “She’s the princess of love!”

“I’m listening.”

Heart looked at Silver with interest. “If you can come up with a better plan in five minutes, I’ll do it.”

“Ok, so here’s what my brain decided to slap me in the face with… Excuse the saying, Gold. I was thinking we take Moon to the Crystal empire, far out of mother’s reach and domain. The love that Moon has for us as well as the love we have for her will provide enough magic to allow us inside and considering the fact that Cadence knows little about Nightmare, she won’t be quick to judge. We have Cadence prove that Moon has changed, then we bring mother there to prove it first hand.” Silver explained on only a single breath, making her have to take a deep breath to continue. “There’s no guarantee that mother will be satisfied, but at least she’ll have much less to argue with, not only that, but we’ll have the princess of love to back us up.”

“What about Uncle Armor?”

“Armor?” Silver thought a moment. “Last I heard, he and small battalion went into the Equestrian badlands to search for Chrysalis after a changeling out break.”

“Then we speak to Cadence, but I stay with Moon no matter what.”

“Good, wouldn’t want you staying in the castle by yourself. Moon has to come with.” Silver stated.

“But I will say this… I will not let any harm come to Moon what-so-ever.” Gold stated. “I would rather have a sword driven through my heart for her defense than to let anything happen to her.”

“You take defense way too seriously, Gold.” She then turned to Heart, who seemed shocked by the plan that had just been laid out by her youngest sibling. “You think it could work, Heart?”

Heart thought for a minute. “It’s flawed… very flawed in a few places… depends on a lot of other things… And… we won’t have time…”

“Its better than you being our enemy.” Silver shot back. “And who said we had a time limit?”

“I had a plan to get around you being my enemy.” Heart retorted. “And… our mother’s anger will not hold. I wouldn’t be surprised if she is flying this way right now.”

“Where the hell did your optimism you had earlier go?”

“It all went into my anger!” yelled Heart, slamming her fist against the ground. The stone cracked.

Silver flinched, but her pride made her hold her ground. “Then you need to holster that! Losing your cool won’t get us anywhere!”

“How can I holster my anger!?” yelled Heart, her eyes flashing again with light. “Can you hide anger for over 8 years!? CAN YOU?!”

“I’ve done it for eight-fucking-teen, you ignorant bitch! How can you fucking ask something like that of somepony that jumped out in front of a moving cart, attempting to end their own life!?” Silver screamed.

“You two need to cool it, NOW.” Gold shouted.

Silver’s magic literally zipped Gold’s lips. “I attempted suicide… Because of a mother that didn’t love me… Because of ponies that hated me… Because I finally got fed up with life…” Tears were pouring out of Silver’s eyes, but she didn’t stop. “You know nothing of the pain and anger that I hide… I hated you all when I first saw you… You know why? Because you didn’t let me die. But you showed me what a life of being loved was like. I loved you all… But I still hold every… painful… second… as a reminder of what can and will happen to others. Loneliness and hatred.”

Heart’s anger faded. She sat quietly for a few seconds before she spoke. “I’m sorry… I forgot about how you felt, for all these years... But I guess it’s time for me to reveal… my own terrible past…”

Silver glared at Heart as she unzipped Gold’s lips.

“Silver… I’m sorry… How could I forget?” Gold asked. “No, don’t answer that, there’s no need, It’s my fault that things escalated to this point.” She said as she turned around looking away from her sisters.

“Don’t be sorry, Gold. It’s thanks to you that I finally pried Heart’s lock open.” Silver said coldly.

“What does that have to do with me forgetting about your past?” Gold said, tears again building up in her eyes.

Silver would have hit Gold again if it wasn’t for the fact that her last punch had made a small whelp on her snout. “You stirred us up and now we’ll know everything about each other. Won’t that be just the bonding experience?” Her tone was full of sarcasm. normally the tone she got when Celestia gave them ridiculous assignments, like what they had come to the castle to do in the first place.

“The bonding experience? Ha… I doubt you’ll want to be closer to me after I tell you… You see… while you two had others do things to you that left scars, I caused my own pain…” whispered Heart, her voice dark and low.

Gold slowly turned around. “Heart… y-you mean that you…” she stammered but feared to continue.

Silver’s entire emotional being shifted. ‘No wonder she liked what Moon did!’ She hadn’t meant for her mind fuck moment to show, but it was clearly stamped on her face.

Nothing escaped from Heart’s eyes, reading Silver’s face like a book. “Correct, Silver. It is why I enjoyed Moon’s actions so much…”

“Heart… You know that nothing of your past will ever change how I think of you. Ever.” Gold said, walking over to Heart, wrapping her arms around her sister.

“I’m back!” Nightmare Moon’s voice called from the doorway. Before the mares had even the chance to get off the floor, she strode in, carrying a tray of steaming food, which was nearly dropped when she saw how dreadful the siblings looked. “What… w-what’s going on here?”

Silver was at a loss for words, unable to explain at all, or even lie about what happened. She just sat there, stuck in a brain stall.

Gold pushed herself up off the floor, then rubbed the spot where the welt on her snout had appeared, wincing slightly at the pain from the touch. She opened her mouth but closed it immediately, also at a loss for words.

Heart looked up at Moon. "Just a small misunderstanding between sisters. Nothing to worry about."

Nightmare looked between the three, looking for some sort of argument, finding several, but keeping quiet. “Fine. Lunch is ready.” She said and set the tray down on the table.

Heart got up and took a bit of food without hesitation. "Thanks." she said to Moon as she passed.

Moon wanted to say something, anything that would comfort the distressed mares, but was afraid of saying the wrong thing. The conflicting emotions were eating her up inside, but still kept quiet, giving food out to the two other sisters, who looked just as gloomy.

However she may have felt, her mood quickly changed when she saw the look on Moon's face. "Is there something you want to talk about?"

Moon looked away. “N-no…”

"C'mon, it's gonna come out sooner or later so, might as well get it out now." Gold said as calmly as she possibly could.

“I don’t want to. I don’t like seeing you three upset at me or each other.” Moon said in almost a whisper.

"I'm not going to be upset at you, the only reason I was upset with them was because we had a misunderstanding and it got out of hand." Gold said, pointing to the welt on her snout.

"Gold's right." said Heart. "We're not angry at you... It was just something among us."

“I… I was wondering what the fighting was about…” Moon replied.

Silver spoke up. “You might not want to know most of it, but what the focus was around was trying to figure out a plan to get you accepted by mother. Heart suggested something emotionally dangerous and I came up with something physically dangerous. It escalated from there.”

“Then… Why does Gold have a bruise on her snout?”

Silver looked away and didn’t answer.

"Technically I brought it on myself, but it's kinda difficult to explain without making it seem like nonsense, so I'll let Heart explain." Gold said.

"Yeah... Sorry that I hit you Gold..." apologized Heart, making Silver’s eyes widen. "I was... Kinda out of it when I did that."

‘She… took the blow for me...’ Silver thought. 'Nononono, I can’t let her do that.’ She opened her mouth to speak, only to have a fork full of food magically shoved into her mouth.

Heart shot her a look of 'keep-quiet-I've-got-this' and turned her eyes back to Gold and Moon. "Can you forgive me, Gold?"

"You're my sister, of course I forgive you." Gold replied.

"Thank you. Can you forgive me as well, Moon?"

“Why wouldn’t I, Heart?“ Moon asked.

"I just wanted to make sure you could forgive me." replied Heart. "And I'm thankful that you can."

Silver still sat there, stunned that her sister had taken up for her violent actions.

“All I know is that my snout’s gonna be sore for a bit.” Gold stated.

Heart blushed. "I'm sorry."

“Again, I forgive you.” Gold replied.

“Well, I’m glad that everypony made up.” Nightmare chirped, smiling widely. “Now let’s all dig in!”

Heart smiled she as took her place at the table, taking her first bite.

“Do you like it?” Moon asked as she began eating her own food.

"Yes." replied Heart. "It's pretty good."

“Unbelievably good, if you ask me.” Gold replied.

Silver, who had had a fork of the food shoved into her mouth, simply gave a satisfied moan as her nerves finally calmed to where she could taste it.

“I’m so glad. I’ll have to make this often then.” Moon giggled.

As lunch went on, in the back of both Silver and Heart’s mind, they both worked through several ideas and plans, each trying to come up with something better than traveling to the Crystal empire. They came up with nothing. Cadence would be the only one who could prove Nightmare Moon’s innocence and genuine love.

Near to the end, after some interesting small talk, Silver spoke up. “Moon… I know you love us… But mother doesn’t. She’s as blind as we were.”

Moon’s mood seemed to deflate slightly. “Yes…”

“But… what if there was a way to prove it to her?”

The alicorn’s ears perked up. “H-how?”

"Princess Cadence." said Heart simply. "She can help us."

“We’ll be out of Mother’s reach until we’re ready to prove your innocence and your love for us.” Gold added.

“Exactly. All we need to do is sneak you to the empire.” Silver said. “My illusion magic can help you stay hidden, as well as making us three look like stallions again.”

Moon looked surprised. “W-which one of you came up with this?”

“Heart did.” Silver stated, lying to repay Heart for taking the blame for her violence.

Heart shot Silver a glare. "Yes, I did."

“Cadence will understand everything that we have gone through… won’t she, Heart?” Gold asked her sister.

"She should understand." said Heart. "Cadence is a fair princess, she'll understand."

“I hope so, for all of our sakes.” Silver shivered, thinking of what Celestia would do to them all.

Heart looked at Silver which said 'something-important-I-need-to-tell-you-later', and looked back at Moon. "Yeah, Silver, I hope we're right."

Nightmare’s mood lightened and a smile as big as Pinkie’s stretched across her lips. “You… would do that? You would all really help me that much?”

“Yeah! Why wouldn’t we?” Silver returned the smile.

“I love you too much not to help you.” Gold stated with a smile of her own.

Moon lifted the three mares and brought them right into her out stretched arms for a tight hug. “I promise, tomorrow I will make everything special for you three.”

Silver hugged her back. “I know you will.” Gold returned the embrace without a second thought and Heart also returned Moon's hug.

The rest of the day went on as normal, well as normal as you could get in an old castle with three mares and a futa. Dinner went pretty quiet, most conversations short and to the point, mostly to save things to talk about during their dates. Eventually it came time for the group to retire to their rooms, but when the mares began to make their way back to the cell, Moon stopped them.

“No, please. I don’t want you girls staying in that cell anymore.” Nightmare said, looking at the three. “Would you three like to have your own rooms?”

“That would be better than the cell, so I’m game for my own room.” Gold replied

“Excellent!” Moon cheered and pulled the mares down a different hall.

Silver gasped. “Wha? You’re giving us our own rooms?”

Heart was also surprised. “Well… that’s kind of you. But… where are these rooms?”

Moon giggled. “Well, I thought I’d let you pick them out.” She said as they rounded a few more corners, before coming to a junction of royal chambers, each door with a crest of the pony they once represented. “These belonged to the royal family over a thousand years ago. Each room was designed to specifically fit the inhabitant’s needs and element. Back then, there were many alicorns, now… there’s only five left in Equestria. Go on, pick one. It’ll be yours forever.”

Gold was the first to step forward and begin looking, walking half way down the hall before walking to a door on the right and opening it. Her eyes grew wide. “This room is just… Abso-friggin-lutely magnificent!” she exclaimed.

The room was one of the largest of the group of bed chambers. It had once belonged to an alicorn princess, named Golden Hourglass, the princess of time. It was elegantly designed with gold and light tan around the large four post bed in the center of the room. The bed was draped with tan curtains with gold flakes in the fabric. The silk sheets were also of a bright golden color.

Silver took off to choose one of her own, stumbling into one that made her jaw drop.

Inside, it wasn’t as big as Gold’s, but it was right for the smaller mare. This one, from what Moon said, once belonged to the princess of shadow, Silver Shade. The room was dark, mostly from being decorated in black. There were no windows and the only source of light, was a dark purple magic orb in the center of the stalagmite looking ceiling. The bed was about the lightest thing in the room, being decorated in almost all silver, save a few accents of purple here and there.

“Why can’t my room back in Canterlot look like this!?” Silver squealed, making her look like a cute teenaged school filly.

Heart took a quick look inside her sisters rooms. They looked amazing. Heart looked around and her eyes fell upon a door that seemed to be calling to her. She grasped the handle and pushed the door open.

Most of the bedroom was filled with books. They lined every wall, stretching up to the ceiling. Like Silver’s, the room was dark, lit only with a small lamp-like object. There was also a large desk, seemingly just thrown in there because it was sitting right in the middle. The bed wasn’t as decorated as Silver’s or Gold’s and it didn’t look as comfortable, like it wasn’t meant to be used at all. Heart looked around the room and she felt a weird feeling… like this room had never been used. With the others, she had felt like it had been lived in, but with this one… nothing. Heart turned back to Moon. “Any idea who lived in this one?” she asked.

Nightmare Moon choked back a sob as she gazed at the nearly empty room. Her eyes began to fill with tears. “T-t-t-that… w-was supposed to be my… s-sister’s.”

Silver and Gold were both too busy admiring their new rooms to pay attention to the conversation as they even showed each other their own.

“It was supposed to be…” Heart’s voice trailed off. The room didn’t look nearly as inviting to her now.

She sniffled. “H-her name was Platinum Star. She was the princess of compassion…” Moon looked away. “After I lost her… I couldn’t live with myself anymore… I changed… I did things I regret so terribly… The only sister I had… was taken from me… by the hands of… a disgusting stallion, who overpowered her by sheer strength…” The tears in her eyes slid down her cheeks and fell to the floor. “I-I watched him kill her… I was too late… I… snapped… and ripped him limb from limb… I was so consumed by grief and loneliness that when I felt those very emotions come from Luna… I-I took over her body and tried to force respect out of the ponies.”

A tear fell from Heart’s eye. She closed the door. “I’ll sleep in the cell, I can live with that. I just can’t watch you cry like that.”

“No… I’ll be fine… She would have wanted you to have it… She slept in my room with me most of the time anyway.” Moon sighed. “But now that I’ve told my story… I want you to know who I used to be… My real name is… Nirvana… Princess of emotion.”

Heart looked up into Nirvana’s tear filled eyes. “I just… don’t feel comfortable taking this room… N-Nirvana.” The new name was weird sounding in her mouth, but it was like a key fitting into a lock. They fit together perfectly. “It’s okay. The cell is just as nice.”

“Heart…” Nirvana wrapped her arms around Heart. “You act so much like Star that it hurts to look at you… But I do it anyway, because I love you. I want you to have it… Its incomplete and it being empty, leaves a hole in my heart.”

Heart looked back at the door. She felt it call to her again, more insistently. “Ok… I’ll have it.”

Nirvana smiled. “Then it’s yours, Sta-” She caught herself, tears forming in her eyes again. “I-I mean, Heart.”

Heart looked back up at Nirvana, her mind set. Her right ring finger glowed suddenly, revealing a ring. She pulled it off, and hurriedly checked behind her to see if Silver or Gold was coming. They weren’t. Heart pressed it into Nirvana’s hands. “I’ve been wearing this ring for over 8 years… To remind myself of a certain event. I want you to have it. Tomorrow, at our little breakfast date, I’ll tell you more. Now, make sure Gold or Silver doesn’t see this.”

She opened and closed her mouth several times, looking for the right response as she gazed at the ring made of pure platinum as it glistened in the light. “I-I… I don’t know… w-what to say…” Nirvana spoke past a lump in her throat.

“We can talk later. Tomorrow, at breakfast.” said Heart.

"I gotta say... I absolutely love my room." Gold stated before noticing the two mares. "Hey what's going on here? Is Moon okay, Heart?"

“I-I’m ok.” Nirvana assured, making sure to hide the ring.

“This room…” Heart gestured towards the door closest to the two of them. “It… was supposed to be… her sister’s…”

Silver shivered when she poked her head out of her door. “That’s a little creepy…”

“Silver, you chose the room that belonged to the princess of shadows. That’s creepy.” Nirvana stated. “This,” She gestured to Heart and the room she had chosen. “is beautiful… She reminds me so much of Star.”

"Wait... You mean that… that was your little sister’s... Oh gods..." Gold said as tears welled up in here eyes as she wrapped her arms around Nirvana. "Oh Moon... what you've been through is... far worse than my own past..." She said past sniffles that nearly turned to sobs.

“You don’t even know the whole story, Golden.” Nirvana whimpered.

“And I don't think you need to tell her. I don’t want bad memories being brought up.” To change the topic, Heart pointed at Gold’s room. “Who used to live in there?”

"Heart... I never told her my full story either." Gold replied. "But I would like to know who slept in my room before me."

“That,” She pointed at the room. “belonged to princess Golden Hourglass. She was the keeper and princess of time. We were good friends in our youth.”

“What about mine?” Silver asked.

“Yours was princess Silver Shade’s, keeper of shadows. She was known for her mischief. Surprising that you all found elements that fit you. I wonder… Yes this theory will have to be tested at some point in time…” Nirvana said half to herself.

‘A theory?’ thought Heart. ‘Wonder what that’s going to be...’ She cleared her throat. “I’m actually feeling pretty tired. You guys want some sleep now?”

“Yeah, actually. We’ve got a date tomorrow.” Silver chirped excitedly.

"Yeah, especially with everything that happened today in the dining hall." Gold said, rubbing her snout.

Silver looked away in embarrassment, but lucky for her, Nirvana didn’t notice.

“Ok. I hope you three sleep well.” Nirvana said. She then opened her arms and smiled. “But I want good night hugs first.”

Heart laughed and walked closer to Nirvana. “Goodnight, Moon.” she said, as she threw her arms around her.

Silver was right after Heart, throwing her shorter self around Nirvana’s shoulders. “Thank you. Goodnight, Moon.” She kissed her on the cheek, before letting go and dropping back to the floor.

Gold followed shortly after Silver, wrapping her arms around Nirvana and kissing her on the cheek. "Goodnight, Moon."

Nirvana blushed at the affection she received from the sisters. “Goodnight you three. I love you all. If you need me, I’m in Luna’s old chambers.” With that, the alicorn turned and left, though there seemed to be a trace of a slight skip with every step.

Heart watched her go, feeling a lot closer with her than she did before. She turned back to her sisters. “If I keep on getting feelings for her, then this plan is going to be hard as hell to do…” she sighed.

“How so? We’re going to the Crystal empire, are we not?” Silver questioned.

“We are, but it’s not Cadence we mainly need to convince of Moon’s innocence is it?” replied Heart. “Even if our mother does think of Moon as good after this, her pride, big-headedness… and loneliness... will get in the way… I’ve already said this, Celestia will ask one of us to stay behind with her.”

“I already said we’re sneaking there. Nopony left behind.”

“I know… But it’s not getting there that’s the problem… It’s coming back with all of us that’s the real barrier.”

Silver opened her mouth to argue, but stopped. “You’re right…”

Heart raised an eyebrow. “Sarcasm?”

She cocked her head to the side. “What?”

“I wouldn’t expect you to give up so easily… Especially when what we are talking about is the separation of the three of us.”

“It’s not that I’m giving up, Heart… I’m just… Stumped. Mother never separated us, because she knew what would happen if just one of us were taken away. We all have problems and without each other, those problems fester again. Trust me, I tried.”

‘Huh, that reminds me… I still haven’t told them about my past yet.’ thought Heart. ‘It can wait.’ Heart placed a hand on her younger sister’s shoulder. “I know… but if it comes to that, I’ve set things up so that I’ll always be with you. Even if mother for some reason, erases my memories…”

Silver reeled. “She would never do that! That would be a mistake worse than Moon had ever made in her entire life time!”

“It’s still a possibility.” Heart said. “But don’t worry, as long as you keep Moon safe, I’ll remember one day.”

“But… there has to be a better way.” Gold stated. “Nopony should have to sacrifice their memory for the sake of ensuring that the others can remain.”

“Gold’s right. We’re not the same without you.” Silver said as tears formed in her eyes.

Heart sighed. “There are only two things I truly fear in this world. You both know that one of them is the fear that we will never be together again. This hurts me a lot more than it hurts you two… But remember…” Heart smiled. “I never take risks, you two know that. I would never willingly give up my memories, unless I was completely sure that my plan would succeed.”

“What if she forces you to forget about us… I fear that she would force you to see us, me and Silver, as enemies, I don’t want that to happen.” Gold said, tears building up in her eyes.

A few tears were wiped away as Heart brought her hand across her eyes. “And neither do I. But, remember what I said before… Keep Moon safe, and one day, I’ll remember.”

“I… I’ll protect her with my life.” Gold replied. “And I will never forget.”

Heart laughed quietly. “Don’t protect Moon with your life… If you die… and I get my memory back… I’ll never forgive myself… So, protect Moon with all of your strength, and more.”

“I will… I will live… for Moon, for Silver and for you.” Gold said, pulling Heart into a tight embrace.

“But… what if she doesn’t ask that only one of us stays and she forces all of us to stay? Then wipes our memories? I don’t want to hate Moon again.” Silver whimpered. “Heart, this plan of yours to stay with her might backfire on all of us. I can’t lose any of you!”

"I have an idea that might work. You may not like it, but it will get mother off our backs." Gold stated.

“Anything would be better than losing Heart or Moon.”

"It's not the best of choices, but I think that if we can fake our deaths, we can be with Moon without worry."

Silver and Heart both stiffened. “Fake our deaths? But She’ll blame Moon!” Silver exclaimed. Then placed a hand on her chin as she thought. “Or maybe we could make it look like it was mother’s fault… To do that, we’ll need her to be angry enough and we could make it look like her magic disintegrated all of us, including Moon, while in truth, we will have teleported back here.”

"I was thinking timberwolf attack, something nopony could be blamed for."

“No, you see, with making it look like the princess of the sun killed her own children, while in front of the princess of love, after proving Moon’s love, she’ll regret everything. We’ll wait a week and by then, she’ll be emotionally broken, like Moon. I know it might be a little extreme, but its a lesson that needs to be given.” Silver explained. “I love mother, but her hatred goes too far.”

"I see what you are getting at. Tear her down emotionally by getting her to think she'd accidentally killed us, wait a while and go back and then go from there.

“Though, I think that we all need to be ready to get a back snapping hug and a jaw breaking punch from mother once we show ourselves.” Silver said with a weak laugh.

"Wouldn't Aunt Luna be there as well?" Gold asked. "Or would she be in her chambers?"

Silver shrugged. “I wouldn’t have the slightest idea. You know how… ‘active’ Luna is. She could be sleeping, or she could be ‘sleeping’.”

"It will work so long as we can get mother alone. We need something to create evidence of our deaths though."

“Well, disintegration or vaporization, leaves nothing behind.” Silver added. “I should know. The spells I first started teaching myself were mostly deconstructive spells. I also use illusion magic, so that could also help.”

"So there's no need for evidence." Gold implied. "Our disappearance after mothers rage is evidence enough."

Heart laughed. "She'll never fall for it. Our mother's been alive for much too long to be fooled by a simple disappearing act."

“You may be skilled in other sorts of magic, dear sister, but I’ve learned quite a lot about illusion spells.” Silver said with pride in her abilities. “So it won’t just be simply disappearing. Remember that time I broke a vase and used an illusion spell to make mother think you did it, Heart?”

Heart blinked. "That was you? Bitch. Received the scolding of my life for that."

“Even princesses aren’t perfect.” Silver added, attempting not to laugh at her sister. “But I think if mother were to get mad enough, I could make it look like her magic flared and vaporized us, while Heart, you teleport us away.”

"But this isn't a vase, this is actual living beings. Mother could still find us using magic, illusion spells don't counter against tracking spells."

“You know how bad her fits of anger can be. She doesn’t think twice about magic. It’s foolproof.”

“Once we're back here, mother cannot trace us back to this location.” Gold implied. “Tracking magic is stopped by the barrier and cannot be used inside.”

"You're playing with fire here... Toying with our mother's emotions like that? It's not wise."

“And you weren’t playing with fire!? Saying you would stay with mother and risk hating us!? I had a smidge of hate for you as soon as you had said that!” Silver screamed at her sister. “I’m not losing any of you! I’ll beat you until you can’t leave if I have to!”

Heart sighed. "I thought you two actually trusted me. I never take risks. I have put in place a few things which will ensure my plan will succeed. I would tell you... But if we all know, Mother might glean them from your thoughts."

“It's not that I don’t trust you, Heart… I don’t trust mother at this moment.” Silver said with a deep sigh. “I don’t want to lose you… Just because of mother’s mistake.”

"I know you don't... But I guess you won't trust my plan until I reveal all of it... Won't you?"

“I find it very hard.”

Heart gestured in the direction where Moon had left a few minutes ago. “I gave something to Moon, something I’ve been wearing for over 8 years. That something will restore my memories from the time I took it off, to the time to put it on. So, all of my memories will be restored, bar this conversation, and whatever happens tomorrow.” Heart took a breath and continued. “Even if mother wants all of us to stay, I won’t allow that. I know the one thing that she fears, and I will use it against her. Now, as long as you keep Moon safe, the object will remain safe, and in turn, my memories. All you have to do is give me the object. Also, with my memories gone, I’ll return to what I usually do. Study. And in time, I’ll get strong enough to hold my own against our mother if need be. Then, I’m sure, we can convince her to let us all go.”

“But that may take years!” Silver exclaimed.

“Well, the way I see it, we were all playing with fire and I knew I was, but I take my chances.” Gold said. “Either way, we have to figure something out.

"I already have figured something out." retorted Heart. "It's just that you two don't trust me enough. I'll be fine, just trust me on this."

“It’s not that we don’t trust you, we just don’t want to lose you for good if anything goes wrong.”Gold shot back. “Just because I said I’d protect Moon and Silver when you decided to go through with this did not mean that I would not protect you.”

“We’re not stopping you. If you mess up, it’s your fault. We’ll regret every second of not stopping you, but the truth is, you will have done it. And both me and Gold, in a way, will be just like Moon is now, having lost our own sister.”

“But I see that nothing we say is going to stop you, so I’m with Silver on this.”

“At least think of the damage you’ll do to us, before you go through with it.” Silver said in a dark tone. She then turned away and strode into her dark room, slamming the door behind her. Inside, nopony could hear her collapse to her knees and break down into tears as she crawled to her bed, climbing into it, where she eventually would cry herself to sleep.

Heart looked straight at Gold. "I've already thought this through. I know what it'll do to your emotions. Yours, Silver's, and Moon's. I don't want to do this anymore than you want to agree with it... But it has to be done."

Gold only glared at Heart before turning and heading to her room, slamming the door closed as well and throwing herself down onto the bed.

Heart looked at the doors which both had been slammed shut. Tears flowed from her eyes. She turned towards her own room and opened it. She walked into it and closed the door then sat on the floor against it, burying her face into her hands. "I'm sorry Silver. I'm sorry Gold... I'm sorry Nirvana." she whispered. She didn't have the strength to pull herself up, choosing instead to sleep on the floor, against the hard door.