Chapters A Mothers Past, A Daughters Future
The rain fell in heavy sheets upon a lavender, Alicorn mare. She was on her knees, looking toward the sky. Tears mixed with the rain pouring on her face. Her hand held a lavender color sword made of magic. Red dripped from the edge of the blade and fell into a pool on the ground. Only a few feet away from her was a midnight blue, Alicorn mare, her chest slowly rising and falling.
Twi… Twilight, please don’t be sad. You must not give into the sadness. Don’t let it win. You must be strong.” The mare coughed up blood and spit it on the ground. Twilight looked down to the mare and rushed over to her. The mare smiled warmly as Twilight’s tears fell on her face.
“Luna please don’t die. I didn’t mean for this to happen. Please don’t die.” Twilight’s head landed on Luna’s chest, crying harder as the midnight mare;s breath slowed. One of Luna’s hands shankly try to move Twilight’s head to look at her. Twilight’s eyes were bloodshot as she keep crying, looking into Luna’s eyes. Luna looked at her with the same warm smile.
“I love you, my little star.” Luna eyes slowly closed as her breathing slowly stopped. Twilight sat up looking down at Luna. Tears slowly stopped falling as there was none left for her to shed. She leaned down and gently give a kiss to Luna’s forehead before whispering into her ear.
“Love you too mother.”
~~~
A Few weeks before
Sunlight slowly made it’s way through the windows of the royal library in Canterlot. The light danced across books stacked taller than most ponies could reach on their tippy toes. There was the sound of light snoring drifting through the air. The bookstacks circle around one table in the middle of the giant room, and at this table was a lavender Alicorn. Her body slumped over the table with a book in one hand and a quill in the other.
There was a steady knock on the main door to the library. Twilight grumbled and slowly got to her feet. Throwing both arms in the air as she let out a loud yawn. The knocking keep going and Twilight followed it to the door. She walked around the many books and tables that blocked her path. Pushing the large wooden doors open to find a slightly older, white Alicorn standing in front of her now.
“Oh, hello Princess Celestia. Why are you stopping by my room for?” Twilight blinked a few times to get the sleep out of her eyes. Celestia look down at her with a smile.
“I’m afraid that you are away from your room, my friend. But this might as well be your room. This is the library and you fell asleep studying… again” Celestia drew out the ‘again,’ feeling that she need to make a point that Twilight has done it more times than anypony should. Before too long Celestia found herself giggling once she studied Twilight and found that there was a piece of paper stuck to her horn.
Twilight’s eyes slowly drifted up and she quickly grabbed the paper. She give it a look over before it burst into flames and went out. Celestia started to open her mouth to say something before Twilight cut her off. “It was nothing, Princess.” Celestia cover her mouth to hide the smile and giggle from her old students antics.
“Well I hope the late night studying has paid off for your lesson with Luna today. She has been eager for today.” Celestia motioned for Twilight to follow her down the hall. It took Twilight a few seconds to realize what Celestia just said and rushed to catch up with her.
“I hope I can impress Luna with learning the spell that she wished of me.” Twilight was beaming with pride at learning a new spell. Celestia giggled, finding that her faithful friend still had the same joy of learning she did when she was her student. The two fell into the old habit of Twilight talking up a storm of what she had learnt or is learning and Celestia just nodding her head as she listened.
Twilight was about to show Celestia the spell, but Celesta stopped her as they made it to the door to the courtyard. “Maybe you should wait to show both me and Luna. She is in the courtyard, waiting for you.” The magical glow around Twilight’s horn faded as she face the door and look toward Celestia who just nods her head.
Twilight push open the double doors to find Luna standing in the middle of the courtyard waiting. Luna turn and smile at her. The feeling Twilight got every time she was with Luna was something she normally felt when she was with her mother.
“Good morning, Twilight. I hope you are ready for your training today.” Luna’s horn glows and before Twilight could blink, Luna had summoned her sword and had launched her attack. Without even thinking about it Twilight summoned hers just in time to block. The force behind Luna’s attack pushed Twilight to her knees. “We are impressed. Not many can block our first attack. Let us see how well you can do now that your sword has been summoned.”
Luna took a step back and then started her attack again, this time faster than her first attack. Twilight didn’t have time to block the attack again, so her horn glowed and with a snap, the air filling the spot where she once was. On the other side of the courtyard was flash. Twilight was gasping still holding her sword and looking right at Luna. Luna turned to face her, a smile still on her face.
Luna motions for Twilight to attack and held her sword at the ready. Twilight’s mind was racing. She only really expected to show Luna that she could summon the sword, not be thrown into combat. She did the only thing she could think of, Twilight charged at Luna as fast as she could. Twilight swings her sword in ways she had seen the guards do when they were training.
Luna didn’t even move as Twilight charge at her. Each of Twilight’s strikes was blocked with ease. “Twilight, what happened? You seem to block our attack without a problem, but you now can’t seem to even land a simple attack on us.” Twilight was starting to slow down and breath heavily.
‘I’m not cut out to fight. I’m a librarian, not a fighter.’ Wet spots start to appear on Twilight’s coat as she starts to sweat. Luna sighs and in one quick motion knocks the sword out of Twilight’s hands. As Twilight watched, her sword fell away from her and faded away, Luna’s horn plused with magic and Twilight found herself tied to the ground. Twilight looks up to see the point of Luna’s sword point at her snout.
“We thought you would put up a better fight than that, Twilight. We shall pick up again once you are rested.” Luna turns and walks away with Celestia following right beside her. As they walk away, the spell keeping Twilight pinned to the ground faded and she slowly got to her feet.
“Aren’t you being a little tough on her?” Celestia followed Luna as they left the courtyard. Luna just keep walking down the hallway. “I mean she is yo…” Celestia stop speaking as Luna stop and turn glaring at her.
“We know what she is dear sister! We don’t need you reminding us!” With that Luna’s horn glowed as she winks out, leaving a sighing Celestia standing alone.
“Please sister, don’t wait much longer to tell her. She needs to know.” Celestia turned to head back out to the courtyard. Once she made it back outside, she found Twilight dusting herself off. Twilight looked up and Celestia gave her a warm smile.
“I think you did a good job with your little training session.”
“I’m glad somepony thought so. I on the other hand think having your flank handed to you is not so good.” Twilight grumbled as she walked to a bench to take that rest Luna told her to take. She threw her arms in the air as her wings whoosh open. A smile spread across Twilight’s face as the wonderful feeling of having her wings free felt great. “Can I ask you something, Princess?”
“Of course, Twilight. What’s on your mind?” Celestia took a seat next to her young friend.
“How do you and Luna keep your wings folded up all day and not feel the need to just let them burst free?” Twilight said in a daydream like voice. Celestia lean back and look toward the sky and thinks for a few minutes.
“I guess we just grown use to having them folded up most of the day. I’m sure you will become just as use to it as we have in a few years.” Celestia giggle as Twilight look over at her and sighs.
“I thought you would give me some tips or something to make keeping them folded easier.” Twilight’s voice was monotone as she felt kind of disappointed that Celestia didn’t give her the kind of answer she had wanted. Celestia got up and started to walk away slowly, before she want back inside she turn to look at Twilight.
“A piece of rope.” Celestia winks before closing the door and leaving a slack jaw Twilight staring blankly at it. It took her a few seconds to understand what Celestia just told her. Then her mind wander to other thoughts that sent her wings stiff.
After a while, Luna walks out into the courtyard. Twilight couldn’t place it, but something was a little off about Luna. If she had to guess, she would say that Luna had been crying before walking out here.
“Are you okay, Princess Luna?” The hit of worry evident in her voice. Luna look up and give Twilight a fake smile that had hints of true warmth buried under the lie of the smile.
“I wish I could tell you, Twilight. But the matter is kind of personal,” Luna said to the ground, but Twilight knew it was aimed for her. Twilight patted her hand for Luna to take a seat next to her. Luna took the offer and returned to looking back at the ground.
“You don’t have to really tell me everything. Just anything to get it off your chest.” Twilight placed an arm around Luna’s shoulder.Luna turned to face Twilight and gave her a real smile this time. She let out a sigh as she began to speak.
“I have a daughter, Twilight.” Luna’s voice was low as she spoke. Twilight smiled and give Luna a hug.
“You’re not using the royal we and us,” Twilight try to hid the giggle as Luna blushes a bit. “How old is your daughter?”
“I was excited when we started our training and old habits do slip out. And she is your age now.” Luna sighs and looks over at Twilight who had a confused look on her face.
“How can that be? She would have had to been born while you where… you know and stuck on the moon.” Twilight look down feeling bad for bring up something that she knew that Luna wasn’t proud about. Luna could not stop herself from giggling a bit.
“You still have much to learn about our land, Twilight. Are you able to feel magic of others?” Luna looked over toward Twilight, her tone was even and soft like a mother telling her foal of the world around them. Twilight nods like a foal eager to learn more. “Try to feel the world and not ponies around you.”
Twilight closed her eyes as she tried to focus, first on Luna, before she moved past Luna. She gasped as she felt it. The world around her had a magic all it’s own, it was breath taking. At first it was a tiny feeling, but as she focused on it more, the more it’s true power was shown to her. “How… what is this?” Luna smiles and looks at the courtyard around them.
“It’s the magic of Equestria. It’s magic is older than even Celestia’s or mine. Equestria’s magic knows no limits.” Luna looked back toward Twilight with a smile. Twilight was amazed and lost on a few points.
“I still don’t understand how that has anything with you having a filly.”
“It has everything to do with it, Twilight. While banished to the moon, Nightmare slept deep inside of me and let me suffer the thousand years alone. But when I did sleep, my dreams brought me back home. Equestria’s magic reaches even the world of dreams. It heard my wish to not be alone. I guess Equestria felt sorry for me and granted my wish.” Luna let out a happy sigh while remembering things from the past.
“A few nights later when I entered the dream world, Celestia came to tell me of joyful news. She said that a filly was found in my room a few days ago. She told me that she did all kinds of checks on this little filly and she learned one thing that she could not believe.” Twilight was leaning over to Luna, if she leaned forward anymore, she would have fell right on the floor.
“What did she learn?” Twilight wanted to learn what Celestia had found out. This just cause Luna to giggle once more.
“She found out that it was my child laying in my old room. When she told me this, I could not believe that if I ever got free from this prison. I would have a child to love and hold. But then the sad truth hit me. I would not be free till the stars align and freed Nightmare from the moon. By that time I would have missed out much of her childhood.” The last of Luna’s words came out in a low whisper as tears start to roll down her face. Twilight pulled Luna into a hug and held her tight as the night princess slightly cries into Twilight’s shoulder.
Twilight held Luna close as she cried for a few minutes. Her hands gently rubbed the spot between Luna’s wings to help support the sad princess. “I’m sure she will understand. Just got to tell her and tell her why.” Luna pulled away and saw a smiling Twilight.
“I hope you are right Twilight. I think I will find her and tell her everything.” Luna got up and walks back to the center of the courtyard before turning back to Twilight. “I think we should give today’s training one more try.” Twilight nodded, jumping up, and walked to stand on one of the two ends of the courtyard.
Luna smiled as she charged at Twilight. When she got halfway to Twilight, she vanish, before appearing next to younger Alicorn with her sword summoned. Luna slashed Twilight, only to see the sword go through an after image of the mare. Twilight reappeared next to Luna and swung her sword, but Luna blocked the attack at the last second. Twilight jumped back before pressing her attack. She felt confident in her attacks after replaying their first training session and thinking about how Luna was fighting.
Luna took steps back as Twilight was getting more bold with her attacks. Twilight was feeling the rush of fighting, but she started wishing for more power as Luna was still blocking each of her attack with ease. She try to go faster, but could feel it starting to affect her body. ‘I want more power.’ That was when she heard something in the back of her mind.
‘Power, I can give it.’ The voice was like hers but it was very different.
‘What do I need do?’ Twilight wanted the power to be evenly matched against Luna, or maybe even be stronger than her.
‘Let me merge with you.’ The voice was soothing in tone. Twilight didn’t know if she should or just keep trying with her own power. ‘If you merge with me, think of all the knowledge you can gain with the power I can give you.’ That sold Twilight, she was willing to do almost anything to gain more knowledge.
‘Okay.’ Twilight closed her eyes as she felt something joining her mind and with it she felt different. Her attacks started going faster and with more power behind them. Luna blocked one of Twilight’s attack at the last second and wasn’t ready for the power behind it and was sent tumbling to the ground.
Luna grinned and teleported next to Twilight. Her horn still glowing with flowing magic, she holds her hand out to Twilight as she summons a fire blast. Twilight smirked as her horn lit up, and with a flick of her wrist, deflected the fire away.She grinned as she teleported next to Luna with her sword near her neck. There was a bright flash and Twilight skidded to a stop across the courtyard.
“My that was a close one. You almost took off my head there. I think you are improving, but lets not got that far please…” Luna teleported to dodge a few blasts of magic coming from Twilight. When she reappears, Twilight was waiting for her with a ball of pure magic. Luna summons a shield just in time as Twilight releases the ball. The explosion was strong enough to shake the whole castle.
Luna lays on the ground panting as she had to use a little more magic than she would liked to shield herself. She looks up to see Twilight standing over her with her sword pointed with a tiny ball of magic at the tip. The smile on her face was one of pure joy, like she was enjoying every second before she would finish Luna off.
Twilight smile faded and blinked a few times as Celestia’s words hit her. Eyes looking at Luna’s as the mare of the night nods her head. She then looks at what she was doing and she could not believe what she was seeing. The sword starts to shake a little as the young mare starts to lose grapes of the tiny ball of magic. Fearing the worst, she points her sword to the sky and let go.
The ball shot like a rocket and not long after leaving Twilight’s hold, there was a large explosion in the sky that cast Canterlot and the area outside the city in purple light. After the light faded, Twilight dropped to her knees.
“H… How can this be? I am the daughter of Night Light and Twilight Velvet. There is no way I can be your daughter.” The sword that was in her hand faded away as she pulls her legs in and holds them tight. She started rocking back and forth as she mumbles the same thing over and over again.
Luna slowly got up and moves next to Twilight. The lavender mare did not move away, but continued to rock in her place. Slowly Luna pulls Twilight close to her and holds her tight, slowly rubbing her hands down Twilight’s back. “I’m sorry, Twilight. I’ve been wanting to tell you the truth for so long, but there never seemed to be the right time.”
Twilight let go of her legs and looked up at Luna. “I don’t want to lose them as parents.” Twilight whimpered as she started to tear up. She was about to speak again, but Luna planted a finger on her lips and smiled warmly.
“You won’t lose them. They will always still be your parents. No pony should forget the ones that raised them.” Luna got to her feet and hold out a hand to Twilight. Mopping up the tears that stained her her face, she took Luna’s hand. Luna smiled as she pulled her daughter to her feet. Twilight give her a weak smile in return
“May I return to my room? I need time to think things over.” Twilight’s voice had already taken on the tone she had when she was in deep thought of something. Luna nodded and with a flash, Twilight teleported back to her room.
Luna turned and walked past the pillar that Celestia chose to hide behind while the family moment took place. Celestia followed next to Luna. “I’m sorry sister, but I didn’t know what else to say. She was about to kill you.”
“I know, and I’m glad you did something to save my life, but I had been wanting to tell her myself. Now it’s up to her to accept the truth or not.” Luna sighed before teleporting herself away to anywhere but where she was. Celestia smiled and continued her back to the main hall to deal
Author's Note
I want to thank Espeon_in_the_Morning for editing this first part of the story.
A Mothers Past, A Daughters Future
Twilight looked down at her chest as a blade of pure light thrusted out. She looked back up to the sky as the rain started to stop. The sound of somepony crying came to her ears. The lavender mare slowly turned her head to find the person who stabbed her. Princess Celestia looked at her while tears rolled down her face. Celestia’s grip on the handle of the sword tightened like if she even loosen up at all, Twilight would die right then.
“I’m sorry, Twilight. I wished there was something else we could have done.” Celestia’s voice was steady, but Twilight could hear the sadness she was trying to hide.
“Please, don’t be sorry. I let it win over me and it caused me to do something I can never take back. Now, I must pay the price for it. So, I should say thank you.” Twilight smiled as blood slowly ran down mouth and ran down Celestia’s blade.
“Luna would be proud of you.” With that, Celestia slowly pulled out her blade from Twilight as more blood spilled to the ground. The young mare turn around to face the white alicorn. Twilight pulled Celestia into a hug.
“Celestia, can you do something for me?” The younger alicorn whispered into the older one’s ear. Celestia nodded. “Please, tell my mother that I love her?” Before Celestia could say anything, Twilight faded away. The white mare throw her hand into the lavender mist that blew away. Celestia cried openly now as she tried to understand what her old student had ask of her.
*********************
Twilight looked at the blade she had summoned. It flickered in the light as she tried to change the sharpness of the blade. It was a weird feeling as she could feel the change, like it was happening to her, as well. Celestia and Luna did say that the swords we summon are part of them, that they could feel what the sword feels.
The pillars around the garden were placed there for Twilight to train with. The young mare looked up to the pillar in front of her. She set her mind on the blade, so she could make sure it was sharp enough to cleanly cut the pillar. In a flash, Twilight had made her slice. The pillar slid apart where she made the cut.
“Very good, daughter. You are getting better at changing the state of your sword. Tomorrow, we will train you to have it phase through the pillars.” Luna patted Twilight on the shoulder as she smiled down at her. “Now, go rest. You did a wonderful job, today.”
Twilight got up and nodded her head. “Thank you, Luna. I think I will go rest. If anypony needs me, I shall be in my room.” She slowly got to her feet and turned to walk away. That was when the whispers started.
‘Twilight.’ It was like nails on a chalkboard. Twilight placed a hand to her head as she tried to suppress the voice she had had for the past few weeks.
‘Twilight, you know you can’t suppress us forever.’ The voice was chilling, as it knew she could only keep it quiet for only so long. Not wishing to have other see her talk to somepony that wasn’t there, she teleported to her room.
“I may not be able to keep you suppressed, but that doesn’t mean that I have to listen you.” Twilight had grown tired of the voice trying to convince her to let it give her that weird power that almost killed her mother.
‘Come on, Twilight. You have such potential for great things. You know that there is some knowledge that you can’t get without great power.’
“I don’t care. I won’t let what happened last time happen again. I will not be tricked by your lies again.” Twilight took a seat position on her bed as she tried to focus hard on shutting up the voice.
‘We would never do such a thing to you, Twilight. We just want to see you become what you are truly meant to be. You can become anything you want, but you just let them keep you down. Celestia and Luna may be training you, but, they won’t show you how to use the power buried deep within you. But we can. ’
“I don’t care if I could be queen of the whole kingdom. It’s just not worth what I would lose.”
‘What would you lose? A mother who left you to grow up with some random ponies? A princess who would hide the truth from you all your life? We think that it would be better if you were rid of them. And just think of it, with them gone you could learn spells they have hidden from you.’
“They are only trying to protect…”
‘From what? Yourself? They just don’t want you to take the thron e from them. They know the power you could hold and they wish for you to never learn of it.’
“They wouldn’t do that to me. They want me to live up to my full potential.” Twilight closed her eyes as she keep trying to rid herself of the voice.
‘Are you sure of that? How can you know for sure? Have you tried to reach into yourself for the power?’
“Well, no, but why would I? I might not be ready. If I was ready, they would show me.”
‘Try it. We can help you, Twilight. We can give you access to the power still waiting to awaken within you.’
“How can I be sure you won’t do what happened last time?” She wanted to prove the voice was wrong about her mother and her aunt.
‘You can’t. You must take our word for it. We know you want to prove us wrong, Twilight. So, let us in and awaken your power. Trust us. You will love the power and the knowledge it shall grant you.’
“Fine, prove me wrong.” Twilight let out a sigh. She had given in, too tried of the voice talking to her. She just wanted to leave. Then, the worst pain she had ever felt flooded her body. It was like having a million burning coals pumped into your veins and then having water from the coldest lake poured over your body. The whole time her body spasmed on the bed, she could feel somepony else in her head.
Soon the feeling of the second pony faded. Slowly, she got up and looked at her hands before she let out a chuckle. “Oh, it was right. I did kind of like that. I wonder how powerful I have become.”
Twilight held out both hands and in a blink of an eye, two swords appeared. She had a hard time just keeping even one sword from disappearing, but she had two and they hadn’t flickered out, yet. She couldn’t even feel any pull on her magic. She got rid of one of them and, then, with the other, she swung down on her arm and it just went right through. It didn’t cut her. It just passed through her. A wicked grin spread across her face.
“That was just too easy. Maybe they were right. I think my dear mother and aunt have been hiding things from me.” The young alicorn gave a chuckle. “I bet I can learn all kinds of new and powerful spells, now.” The sword she was holding vanished as a lavender glow came over her hand. The spell was a simple location spell, the kind you use to find a missing set of keys. With the amount of power she was putting into it, she guessed the spell could locate anything she could think of.
Twilight found what she was looking for. Luna was still in the training field and Celestia was flying away to some town to do what royals do, greet and talk to ponies. This made her smile. Now, she could have some one-on-one time with her dear mother and not have her aunt stop her like the last time. With that, she faded away from the world.
The young mare reappeared behind the Princess of the Night as she was taking a quick break from her own training. Luna was unaware that her daughter was right behind her until a hand lightly tapped her on the shoulder.
“Hello, dear mother.” Twilight’s voice was different to Luna. It was colder. She jumped up and turned to see something that shocked her to the core. The mare that stood in front of her looked like her daughter, but her coat was many shades darker than usual and the pupils of her eyes were no longer round, but were instead dragon-like slits. Her mane and tail took on a free flowing cosmic form like her’s and Celestia’s.
“Who are you and what have you done to my child?” Luna growled at the thing in front of her.
“Is that any way to talk to your only child? Of course I’m your child. I was just shown the truth about what you and aunty Celestia are doing. I won’t let you or her keep me from what is truly mine.” Twilight held out her right hand and in a flash there was a sword the same color as her new coat.
Luna followed suite and was at the ready for her daughter's attack. “What do you think we are keeping from you that is truly yours?” Twilight just grinned and faded away, but Luna wasn’t fooled. She quickly spun around just in time to block a strike. Holding out her free hand, she casted a quick wind spell to send Twilight flying across the field.
“You know what you two are keeping from me! You want to keep me under your feet and not let me have my true power! You don’t want to fully share the throne with me!” The young mare charged at the older mare at full speed. The sword in her hand started to glow and she swung the sword. A wave of pure magic surged to the Princess of the Moon.
Luna dropped her sword and used both hands to summon a shield. “What has been feeding you these lies? We have done nothing of the short. If we ever hide anything from you, it is to protect you.”
Twilight chuckled and slowly walked toward Luna. “You know that nightmares never die, Mother.” Luna’s eyes grew wide with fear. She had thought that it was gone, that the Elements of Harmony rid the world of it. But, there it was walking toward her.
“Nightmare.” hissed Luna. Without hesitation, she forced a large amount of magic to her hands as she threw them to the ground to cast a spell. From the spot she hit the ground, a wave of blackness spread around area around them.
“You think this will help you.” Twilight laughed as she looked around her. She was surrounded by nothingness and stars.
“I just thought that something familiar would make you feel right at home. Would you like to tell me how you are in Twilight or how are you still alive?” Luna started to walk around Twilight.
“Oh, my. Does mother not know? Did you not know that grandmother was the first or that it’s passed down to each mare in the Night family.” Twilight followed Luna around and chuckled as horror flashed across the older mare’s face.
“You speak lies. Mother was never a monster like us!”
“Oh, but she was. Just like how ponies forgotten Nightmare Moon, they forgot Nightmare. She had such simple teates. Nightmare, it just rolls off the tongue like water off a duck’s back. But, yes, grandmother was the first.” Twilight grinned and a sword flashed in her hand as she charged in.
Luna’s sword flashed in just in time to block. That was all she could do as she was pushed back. Her mind raced as facts flew through her mind, and as she tried to come to terms with the idea of her own mothers succumbing to the nightmare. Twilight did not let up on her strikes. Each one was stronger than the last. If her daughter wasn’t trying to kill her, she would be proud of how good she had gotten.
Luna jumped back, horn aglow as she started to cast another spell. Two points of light near Twilight appeared before chains shot out of them and started to warp around the young mare. Luna may be the Mare of the Night, but she did know some spells.
The lavender mare tried fighting free of the chains of light. That only caused them to get tighter with each movement she made. “Please, stop moving, Twilight. They will only get tighter when you fight them. And, I don’t my only daughter squeezed to death.” Luna let out a sigh. She now had a chance to think about what was going on and how she could fix it.
Twilight stopped moving, but chuckled. “How long do you think you can keep me chained up, Mother? How much magic do you have left? I think you don’t have enough to keep the chains and the field up.” Luna growled, knowing that she was right. She couldn’t keep up both of the spells. The world of the garden slowly came back around them.
Luna felt the strain on her magic lessen and Twilight just grinned. “What are you grinning about?”
“Nothing really, just that it’s amusing that you think this chains will hold me. As we talk away here, I have been building up the magic.” With that Twilight’s body glowed a lavender color and the chains around her broke apart. She looked at her outfit and sighed. “You dirtied my nice dress.”
“If you are worried about a little dirt, then I shall clean it up for you.” Luna smiled as she prepared a little weather spell. The local weather patrols wouldn’t be happy with her, but it would be worth it. She needed more time and a little rain may slow things down just a bit to give her that time. Magic flowed from her horn and into the sky above. Dark storm clouds started from above them, as a heavy downpour came down.
Twilight just glared at Luna for a few minutes. “You think you’re very funny.” She held out one hand and summoned a sword. “This is starting to bug me, Mother. So I think I shall end it.” Luna barely had time to summon her weapon in time to defend herself. This felt like a different fight now. It was like Twilight was toying with her before and now she just wanted to go in for the kill.
Each strike of their swords sent waves of power everywhere. Luna held her ground for a while as Twilight started to pick up strength and speed.
“Give up, Mother. We both know this will only end when you die by my blade.” Twilight’s horn lit up as a critical spell formed beneath Luna and ribbons of black shot up and started to wrap around her limbs. Luna closed her eyes and her body took on a white glow. The ribbons that had wrapped around her were ripped to pieces.
“I would have thought my daughter was smarter than that, but it seems that I was wrong.” Luna charged at Twilight. The younger mare was caught off guard as Luna pushed her attack. The two kept at a pace that would put the Royal Guards to shame. The fight went from a battle of skill to one of endurance.
Luna slided to the other side, panting, and looked over to see that Twilight was in better shape than she was. She didn’t know how much longer she could keep it up. The sword in her hand flickered and she closed her eyes to steady herself. When she looked back up, Twilight wasn’t where she was before. That was the moment she felt a stabbing pain running from her back to chest.
“I’m really sorry, Mother, but I really don’t wish to waste anymore time with you.” Twilight slowly pulled her blade from Luna before she flicked the blood off it. “I think I will be nice and let the other Twilight see you before you move on from this world.” Luna gasped as she dropped to the ground and looked up to see Twilight’s coat go from its new, dark shade to its normal lighter one.
There was a clap of thunder, a flash of light and the rain started to fall down harder on the two mares. Twilight dropped to her knees as she looked up at the sky. Tears mixed with the raining falling on her face. The sword in her hand still dripped with red. It fell into a pool of bloody water before fading away. Luna laid on the ground only a few feet away, slowly breathing.
“Twi… Twilight, please don’t be sad. You must not give into the sadness. Don’t let it win. You must be strong.” The mare coughed up blood and spit it on the ground. Twilight looked down to the mare and rushed over to her. The mare smiled warmly as Twilight’s tears fell on her face.
“Luna, please don’t die. I didn’t mean for this to happen. Please, don’t die.” Twilight’s head landed on Luna’s chest, crying harder as the midnight mare’s breath slowed. One of Luna’s hands shakily tried to move Twilight’s head to look at her. Twilight’s eyes were bloodshot as she keep crying, looking into Luna’s eyes. Luna looked at her with the same warm smile.
“I love you, my little star.” Luna eyes slowly closed as her breathing slowly stopped. Twilight sat up, looking down at Luna. Tears slowly stopped falling, as there were none left for her to shed. She leaned down and gently kissed Luna’s forehead, before whispering into her ear.
“Love you too, Mother.” She gently placed Luna’s head on the ground before she rose to her feet. Her mind was racing a thousand miles an hour as she tried to think of how she could defeat herself.
“Luna!” came a cry of a voice Twilight knew all too well. She dogged, moving to the side as a blade of solar energy thrusted at her. In front of her stood a white mare with anger written all over her face. Twilight knew she didn’t have energy to fight Celestia long enough to explain what happened. Choosing the only option left to her, she teleported far away from place she called home.
Celestia dropped to her knees and let out a primal cry before she dropped down and cried into Luna’s chest for what seem like hours to her.
Author's Note
I want to thank Princess Glitzy for their help in editing this chapter. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it so far.
A Mothers Past, A Daughters Future
Just outside the city of Canterlot, on a small hill, stood a gravestone with just an image of a six-pointed star with five smaller stars around it. One midnight mare stood in front of the lonely grave. Tears rolled down her face as she looked down at the grave.
“I am sorry, my little star. I never imagined this would have ever happen to you. I had hopes that you would never had to learn our family secrets like this.” The mare dropped to her knees as she started to cry. It was not long before a warm hand was gently placed on the mare’s shoulder.
“Sister, I’m sorry that I had to do it. She gave me no choice…” The new mare’s voice stuck as she tried to find the right words to say, but before she could utter them, the midnight mare stopped her.
The mare rose and turned around to face the new mare. “I know you are sorry, Celestia. As a fellow ruler, I understand what you had to do, but as your sister, it hurts, knowing that my only sister killed my daughter. So please forgive me for being a little distant for a while.” Before Celestia could do anything, Luna vanished in a flash of light and left her alone next to grave of her last student.
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Twilight’s back slid down the wall of the cave as she tried to catch her breath. She had used the last of her magic to do multiple teleports all across Equestria at the same time in hopes to lose Celestia.
‘What is the matter, Twilight? Tired after teleporting to multiple points at the same time? With me, you could have done that without breaking a sweat.’ The voice was sweet and yet still sent chills down Twilight’s spine.
‘What do you think? Appearing in more than two places at once is draining on any unicorn. And no, I won’t like any help from you. I’ve seen what happens when I let you help me.’ Twilight hated talking to whatever was part of her. On the run from Celestia doesn’t give one options on talk to others.
‘Oh, you are such a smart filly. You seem to know that I would be saying something about me helping you. But you will need my help now. All of Equestria and Celestia think that you killed Luna and are now on the biggest pony hunt in history. You are a smart mare, what would be the best course of action to take?’ The voice let a little chuckle slip as it waited for Twilight to come to the conclusion that it knew she would come to.
Twilight grew annoyed as she came to the same conclusion as the voice. She was now a wanted mare to the whole kingdom. No place was safe for her to hide long. Celestia was most likely trying to find her magical energy and would not sleep till she was found.
‘I know you know how much this pains me to say it. But you are right. With my current power, I couldn’t last a week on the run from Celestia.’ Twilight closed her eyes as she try to cast a spell that would keep her hidden for a few days from any normal pony. She moved her body along the wall to get a look outside of the cave.
She could see squads of pegasi scanning the area just outside of the cave. Twilight held her breath as one squad flew near by. The voice gave a chuckle. The weight of things was growing slowly on her.
‘Come on, Twilight. We both know that everypony has been given the order to kill you on the spot without hesitation. They all see you as the monster who killed their Princess of the Night. You might as well become what they see you as.’ Even if it was just a voice, Twilight could feel it smile as its words trickled through her mind.
‘So you are telling me to just become what they think I am? To become this monster that kills ponies? I bet I can convince someone that I’m a good pony.’ Twilight didn’t want to believe what the voice was telling her. She wanted to still hold on to the hope that somepony would believe her about her being a good pony.
‘Then let me prove a point then. Show yourself to them and see what happens. I bet they won’t even care what you have to say.’ The voice sneered. Twilight wasn’t going to take this challenge lying down. Twilight did not wasted time in taking down her spell and rushed out into the opening in front of the cave.
Twilight waved to a nearby squad of pegasi with speed that would make Rainbow Dash’s jaw drop. They stood before her with unhappy faces. Some of them started to draw their weapons. She held her hands in the air to show that she wasn’t going to fight, but soon they fall to her sides as one stallion walked up to her.
“Twilight Sparkle, by order of Celestia. You are charged with killing Princess Luna and sentenced to death by any means,” The tan color stallion with a blue mane and tail said as he placed a hand on his sword.
“Flash, please listen to me. I didn’t mean to kill her. There is this darkness in me that too…” Before she could finish, she could feel the tip of his blade near her throat. She looked down at the blade and back up to pony that held it. She could feel a tear slowly roll down her cheek. Flash was the pony she had dated for long time and was soon to marry.
“Your words have no meaning to us. We have our orders. As the captain of the guard, it will be my honor to carry out the kill order myself.” Twilight was in shocked as his words set in. His eyes showed no emotion as he turned to put a gap between him and her. He had honor and wasn’t going to kill her unfairly.
Twilight could hear the voice laughing inside her head. ‘Oh, the look on your face is priceless. The love of your life is going to be the one to end your life. So are you going to let him kill you or let me out once more and live?’ She didn’t know what to say. The stallion who she loved the most in this word was ready to kill her without even hearing her out. What hope she had for things to work out was gone now. The voice was right, she should just become the monster they think she is.
‘Let’s do it, but under one condition. I want to have more control.’ Twilight sighed as she started to laugh again.
‘I am truly shocked, Twilight. You want to be the one to kill them. Glad to hear it and I will do as you kindly ask.’ The voice did keep its word and Twilight could feel the power start to flow through her. She held up one hand as the color of her coat started to darken. She could also feel the voice become one with her a bit.
“I’m sorry, Flash. But things between us are over.” Twilight held out her hand to the side and summoned her sword.
“Twilight, it’s been over the moment you killed Princess Luna.” Flash didn’t waste any more time to attack Twilight. He charged at her as fast as he could, but just as his sword was about find its target, Twilight just faded away. When he came to a stop, he heard a scream come from one of his soldiers. He turned around just in time to see the head of one of the stallion’s slowly slide off and roll across the ground.
Soon there was another soldier that screamed in pain as one of his arms was sliced right off. Flash’s head was spinning as all around him, body parts were being sliced off. It wasn’t long before his whole unit was dead or on the ground wishing that they were. There was a tap on his shoulder.
“Sorry it took me so long to deal with them. I just didn’t want them to jump in when we start our little fight.” The voice was calm and yet was so cold that it sent chills down Flash’s spine.
Flash turned around and as he turned he brought his sword, only to have it easily dodged. He remembered Twilight was trained with a sword, but not to this skill. Flash started to push his attack, only to have Twilight block or with easy dodged. She had an amused expression on her face.
“Come on, Flash. I thought the new Captain of the Guard was supposed to be better than a little foal with a wooden sword.” Twilight made her advance a little slower, as to keep Flash from thinking that he was about to lose. She giggled as he tried to pick up speed in his attack after her little comment about his fighting skills.
Both matched each other blow for blow. Flash was at his limit and still couldn’t land a hit on Twilight, while she wasn’t even close to her limit and wasn’t even trying to land a hit. Soon Twilight was bored with the fight. Her horn started to glow as pillars of earth shot up and snared Flash as he was just about to land a hit.
“Let me go! I thought you would at least have the honor to die in a fair fight, but I see I was wrong about you,” Flash snarled at her.
“Oh, when does a monster ever have honor? I am stronger and much better than you, Flash. I grow bored with our little fight. So I am choosing to finish this now.” She let go of her sword which turned back into magic and returned to her. Twilight snapped her fingers and the pillars of earth pulled Flash into position where his arms and legs where pulled a little away from his side.
“They say monsters can be some of the evilest things in the world. But I think my dear friend Fluttershy would say differently. And I would agree. For I would put them to shame.” Twilight moved up to Flash and traced one of her fingers over his lips. As she did so, his lips became one and once she was finished, he was unable to speak.
“Much better. Don’t feel like hearing you try and talk me out of killing you. I made up my mind about it. Just like you did about killing me.” She started to walk around him, like a shark circling its next meal. “And I did think about killing you in a fair fight, but then I realized how boring that would be. So I am thinking about showing you how much you have hurt my heart.” Her horn lit up once more and what sounded like a scream of pain came from Flash’s now sealed mouth.
She just broke every bone in his body with ease. Twilight found that she enjoyed the pain she just caused him. Maybe she was meant to be this monster. The air around them was a little warmer and Twilight let out a sigh. She was going to have to wrap up with Flash before her next guest showed up.
“Flash, you know how much I hate rushing things, but someone is coming and I don’t want to keep them waiting.” Twilight stood in front of Flash and lean forward to give him a light kiss on the forehead. “Goodbye, Flash. I loved you so much.” She moved so that she could lightly tap her horn on this head. There was the sound of him trying to scream as his eyes rolled to the back of his head.
Twilight closed her eyes and the pillars that was holding up Flash broke apart and he fell to the ground. ‘Feeling better now, Twilight? He is gone and it was done by your hands. You are now the monster. How does it feel?’ The voice was faint.
“It felt good.” She open her eyes to see something white shooting toward her. Her hand held out to create a shield right as a blast of solar energy struck. She rubbed her forehead in annoyance as a white alicorn mare landed in front of her.
“Killing innocent ponies felt good?!” Celestia hovered in the air in front of Twilight with hate and anger written all over her face. Twilight just laughed as she took flight and was on level with Celestia. Both mares eyed each other as they summoned swords.
“I did. It was all too easy to put them out of their misery. Some I took off an arm, others a leg, and others I removed their heads. And your little pet, Flash. I had more planned for him, but you showed up and so I had to finish him off before you showed up. But now the real fun can start.” Twilight got in a start position for their fight. Celestia let out a roar of anger as she charged right at her. Twilight blocked the attack with some effort. Celestia wasn’t the ruler of the most of ponykind for nothing.
Twilight pushed Celestia’s blade away and her horn started to glow as she summoned fireballs to fly at Celestia. They were easily deflected and hit a nearby forest. Twilight grinned as the massive fire started. It wasn’t like Celestia to let anything dangerous like a forest fire happen to her little ponies.
Celestia pushed her attack again and again. Not giving Twilight a moment to counter attack. The two mares for the longest time were evenly matched in fighting skill. Twilight cracked a grin as Celestia jumped back to look around to see the fire that raged. A golden glow around Celestia’s horn appeared as a storm was summoned to put out the fire.
“Why would you put out such a lovely fire like that one?” Twilight asked sadly. “I was really enjoying how the flames where moving toward a few towns and homes.” She took joy from the anger that was burning bright in Celestias eyes. She knew any moment the white mare would launch another attack.
“How can you take joy from the suffering of others?! That is not the Twilight I know!” Celestia’s mane started to change from the peaceful colors she normally had to those of a raging fire. This just caused Twilight to grin. The ruler who would just set back and let others take care of her dirty work was now going to get her hands dirty and lose control of her temper.
“That Twilight is dead. She was killed by the monster you made her. And are you losing that world-renowned cool temper? Stop holding back and let out the true power of the sun you hold.” Twilight moved in to a ready stance as the last of Celestias normal mane colors was replaced by the new flaming colors.
“As you wish. I won’t hold back any longer.” With that Celestia charged at Twilight faster than any known pony could. Twilight was ready for the new challenge from the most powerful mare known to ponykind. Each swing of Celestias magic sword sent waves of force as Twilight blocked them.
After what seemed like hours, Twilight jumped back and started to chant a spell. There was a plus of dark magic as black chains formed around Celetia. The white mare glared at Twilight as she fought against the black chains.
“Those should hold you for a few minutes at least. With you tapping into the power of the sun more and more. But by the time you reach that point, I shall have a little fun.” With a wink of an eye, Twilight vanished in a flash of black light.
Twilight popped into a nearby town. It just maybe had a hundred ponies that lived in it.
“This shall help me kill a few minutes before Celestia breaks free of my little chain spell.” She looked around and grinned as a few ponies came out of their homes to see what had appeared in the middle of their little town. “Now, where shall I start my little fun.”
Twilight looked over at one house with a few ponies at the window. She gave them a smile as she held out her hand. The horn on the top of her head lit up as a fireball formed and shot at the house. In Twilight's, mind the explosion was very lovely.
The screams of ponies in the house were drowned out by the screams of ponies that started to run for their lives. Twilight wasted no time in firing a few more fireballs. The horrored look on their faces brought a tear to Twilight’s eyes.
A sigh left Twilight’s lips as she could feel the chains holding Celestia starting to break.
“Isn’t she just full of surprises. I thought those chains would hold her for another two minutes. I guess she is really tapping into that beautiful anger of hers. Hope she puts it to good use.” As the chains broke off Celestia, Twilight snapped her fingers and blades appeared at the necks of all the surviving towns members. She closed her eyes as the blades cut off all their heads. The sound of their heads as they hit the ground was music to her ears.
Off in the distances was a bright flash of light and what looked like a shooting star. It wasn’t long before it crashed into the ground not far from Twilight. The heat from Celestia was enough to burn a few houses that hadn’t caught on fire yet.
“So the princess of the sun does have some fire left. I thought after all these years of sitting on that throne had taken it away from you. Shall this be the last fight? Let’s call it the oldest fight in history. Good vs. evil. Me the ultimate evil and you the ultimate good.” Twilight opened her eyes to see what only a few ponies had ever seen.
“It has been many centuries since I took this form. I chose to suppress its powers, because the last time I unleashed it, I burnt half of this planet. So if you wish to fight me in this form, so be it. I shall not hold back any longer. Too many innocent ponies have lost their lives to your wicked deeds.” Celestia's voice was calm, as if she didn’t feel any emotions at all.
Before Twilight had time to react, she was sent flying into the side of the house on the edge of town by a blast of pure solar energy. She placed her hand on her forehead and let out a little moan of pain. As she started to pull herself out, she was blasted again.
Celestia started to walk toward where Twilight was. As she neared it, there was a low rumble and what sounded like a scream of some primal animal. From the hold that Celestia blasted Twilight into came a blast of blackest light anypony had ever seen.
There was a figure that hovered in the middle of it. It made a few motions that looked like they had swung a sword a few times before slashes of dark light shot at Celestia. She just waved her hand and wall of fire formed and blocked the attack.
“So the beast awakens from within. Let’s see your true form, monster. As you said, let’s end it.” Celestia dropped her hand back down as the black light faded. Before her now stood a mare whose coat was darker than midnight, mane smooth as silk, and a horn as long as Celestia. The mare looked at her purple eyes surrounded in black.
“I must thank you, Celestia. Twilight’s light side was still holding on. But don’t worry, she is still in here. Just drowning in the sea of blackness. For a student of yours, she was easy to toy with. But you helped a lot by sending her boy toy to attack her.” She held out her hand to give it a look over and smiled. “After he showed that he was willing to kill her, she caved in to my words and, with my help, became the monster you’ve just seen.”
Twilight looked around, and before she looked back at Celestia, Celestia glared back. She started to walk on the air toward the other mare. The air between the two started to spark. Celestia started to move toward her. Neither mare was backing down.
Celestia fired a few fireballs from her hand at Twilight, and she just knocked them out of the way. Twilight took her turn and fired off a few orbs of what seem like black light. Celestia just held out a hand and a bright light caused the attack to fade away.
“It would see we are almost evenly matched here. We could keep casting spell after spell till this part of the land is nothing but ash. But we both know that would be pointless and just a waste of time.” Twilight now stood a few feet away from Celestia with a wicked smile.
“I agree. How should we end this? I am guessing something based off something other than magic skill. How about a little sword fight?” Celestia held out her hand to the side and summoned a sword made of pure light.
Twilight nodded her head and held out her hand to the side as she summoned a sword made of pure darkness. The two mares moved into position to start the final fight. Each one eyed each other down for a bit. There was a clap of thunder in the distance and with that, each one charged at each other.
When their blades clashed, there was shock wave that would send any other pony flying. The two seemed evenly matched. Twilight tried to pick up speed, but Celestia kept up and even a few times tried the same trick. Soon Twilight lost track of Celestia, so she landed back on the ground and try to spot the white mare.
Before she could turn around, a blade of pure light thrusted through her chest. Twilight let out a grunt and sighed as her coat started to change back to normal. A smile formed on Twilight’s face as she turned her head to see Celestia with a tear.
“I’m sorry, Twilight. I wished there was something else we could have done.” Celestia’s voice was steady, but Twilight could hear the sadness she was trying to hide.
“Please, don’t be sorry. I let it win over me and it caused me to do something I can never take back. Now, I must pay the price for it. So, I should say thank you.” Twilight smiled as blood slowly ran down mouth and ran down Celestia’s blade.
“Luna would be proud of you.” With that, Celestia slowly pulled out her blade from Twilight as more blood spilled to the ground. The young mare turn around to face the white alicorn. Twilight pulled Celestia into a hug.
“Celestia, can you do something for me?” The younger alicorn whispered into the older one’s ear. Celestia nodded. “Please, tell my mother that I love her?” Before Celestia could say anything, Twilight faded away. The white mare threw her hand into the lavender mist that blew away. Celestia cried openly now as she tried to understand what her old student had asked of her.
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It was a few days later when the first report came in of Luna’s body missing from the stone bed she was placed on for funeral that was to be held after dealing with Twilight. But hours later, she walked into the throne room with a lost look on her face.
“Sister, please do not tell me that my daughter has killed you too?” Luna asked trying put pieces together.
“Luna? Is that really you?” Celestia was in shock. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She rushed over to Luna and embraced her hug to make sure she was real.
“I am sure it is me, but please tell me what is going on? Last thing I remember was Twilight killing me.” Luna looked around some more still not understanding what was going on.
“She did kill you and many more after that. I don’t know how, but she must have brought you back to life.” Celestia started to cry as she tried to hold Luna closer.
“How did she do that? Where is she? I must ask her.” Luna pulled away and started to walk away to find Twilight.
“Luna, please come back. I must tell you.” Celestia looked down as Luna turned around to look at her.
“What is it? I must find my daughter to make sure she is okay.” Luna stood there waited for her sister to say what she need to say so that she can go and find Twilight.
“I’m sorry, sister. I’m sorry.” Celestia’s head didn’t let her gaze leave the floor.
Luna rushed over to Celestia and grabbed her by the outfit, a panicked look written over her face. “WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO MY DAUGHTER?”
“She… She is dead.” Celestia’s voice was just below a whisper. Luna backed away with horror written over her face. She looked around the room in hopes that Twilight would walk into the room and tell her Celestia was just joking.
“No. No. No, it can’t be true. I demand you tell me where she is this moment.” Celestia could not meet Luna eye to eye. She just knocked herself free and turned around to looked away.
“She will be buried the day after tomorrow. I need to cancel a funeral while I get another ready. So please, leave me be.” Celestia’s voice dropped to a cold calm tone. Luna tried to reach out to Celestia, but Celestia moved out of the way.
Luna realized that her sister had nothing left to say and nothing was going to change that. She turned and walked to her room. The days till and after the funeral were not easy on both sisters. Celestia told Luna what happened, and Luna almost took down half of the castle before Celestia stopped her, but Luna never forgave Celestia for what she did to her daughter.
