Nightmare Moon is... Maleficent

by Maleficent Fangirl

Rating: everyone
Tags: Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle, Discord, Princess Celestia, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Alternate Universe, Princess Luna
Length: 33425

Nightmare Moon's story had been retold over and over again, but from a negative perspective. Discord was viewed similarly. However, they aren't what they usually seemed. Celestia had something to do with their downfall; she had once provoked them.

Celestia, daughter of Queen Helia and King Orion, always thought that she would be the main queen someday. Her dream was forever changed when Luna, the baby of the family, was born into the royal family and became the more loved princess! Envious and furious, Celestia would go far and wide to destroy Luna's life for good. When she met Discord, the mischievous spirit of Chaos and the resident of the Everfree Forest, they fell in love for only a while until Luna grew and befriended Discord.

Worried that Luna may also take the love of Celestia's life from her, Celestia concocted a plan to befall her. When she thought she had befallen her, tons of dramatic events followed! Meanwhile, Luna and Discord saw that Celestia had betrayed them for power. When Twilight and Sunset Shimmer were born, Discord plotted to have revenge on Celestia because of a heartbreaking split and cruel betrayal.

They say that power changes others... the old adage holds true to Queen Celestia, for as she became more powerful, she became more vain and unkind towards others. But, when she goes off the deep end and transforms into a malicious alter ego, only one thing can defeat her. But, how will Luna stop her own sister from enacting her wrath and plunging the world into eternal daylight? And, who was really the villain of the story?

Published 2016-02-18 11:10:01 UTC
Last updated 2016-03-05 12:07:04 UTC

The Younger Sister

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The Dishonest Light

"Uh-oh," Luna breathed out as she hovered into the air and flew towards the castle. Her sister trailed behind her, just about to attack her when they found themselves in the throne room.

Helia stood near the thrones, and waited impatiently as she watched her daughters enter the throne room. "Celestia, go to your room!" She demanded. "Luna, you're not in trouble for going into the woods."

Celestia stomped out of the throne room and stormed through the door on the left. Luna wondered if her sister descended further and further into madness and ambition.

"It's strange that I never got in trouble," Luna commented.

"You are the good princess. Your sister is..." Helia paused.

"Evil?" Luna finished for her mother.

"No. She's really bad. She disrespects others." Helia nodded.

"Oh." Luna nearly sighed with relief. She didn't want to know that her sister could be evil. That scary thought gripped her soul, and the icy claw of fear gripped her heart.

She once had a dream where her sister descended into darkness and was driven mad by the dark flames and the whispering voices. She couldn't fathom the fact that her sister had always tried to ruin her life and tried to turn her world upside down. Celestia was so consumed with the tempting ambition to become a powerful queen, and forgot to love her sister as a result of that.

Luna had seen how her sister worsened with each year. Although Celestia's love for Discord made her seem alive, her hate towards others made her seem dead inside. Was that love a conditional kind of love?

The young princess shook her head, and trotted into the hallway. She soon found herself in her bedchambers. She didn't mind being in her room, actually. It was better than being in the throne room, where all the drama would take place sometimes if her parents held court. All the gossip and rumors would irritate her. Even though she was loved by all she met, she sometimes wondered if she would ever be allowed to have time to herself.

Right now, she had time to herself. She levitated her journal from her midnight blue nightstand, and then she hopped onto her dark violet bed. The blanket resembled the night sky, and the pillows were shaped like the full moon. One pillow in the center was shaped like the crescent moon.

Luna levitated a quill, and opened her journal. She started to write out her thoughts and feelings about the day, and even wrote the moment where she spied on Celestia and Discord in the Everfree Forest. She didn't find the romance to be adorable. She actually thought that Celestia's love was feigned. There wasn't genuine kindness in the older sister's heart.

Was that because she never felt joy, remorse, or love? What are the only emotions that Celestia could feel? Perhaps she only felt rage, hatred, and irrational fear. What had happened with her joy or her remorse?

Luna figured that Celestia pushed out the two important emotions. Her sister even wrested the love and compassion out of her heart. Soon, there would be no more light in her; only darkness and hatred would exist in Celestia's point of view.

She came to a shocking revelation. She would never witness her sister's joy or her sister's sadness. She would also never witness her sister's love. Luna sighed as she finished writing in her journal. She wanted to redeem her sister, but she didn't want to be harmed by her wrathful side. A tear rolled down her cheek.

She didn't mind crying in private. She hated to cry in front of others, especially her sister. Her sister would tease her for crying. The ponies would cry with her, but Luna never wanted to bring gloom to the kingdom. She wanted to fill the kingdom with joy and harmony.

Two years passed, and as Celestia turned sixteen on her birthday, she visited the Everfree Forest and searched for Discord.

As Celestia trotted into the meadow, she looked to the skies. The sun began to set. "Discord! Discord!" She called out. "I'm here!"

Discord landed behind her. "Look who came back," He returned.

Celestia turned to face her sweetheart, and forced herself to smile. "I thought it was worth the risk," She replied. "Today is my sixteenth birthday."

"Yes, of course. I will bring you a gift."

They looked into each other's eyes. The golden beams of sunlight shot through the trees and lighted up their figures. From a distance, they resembled dark silhouettes against the bright sunlight.

Soon, their faces were mere inches apart. As Celestia's lips pressed against Discord's, warm feelings filled them. The kiss was so true, so sincere, and so loving... Discord had considered this to be True Love's Kiss.

Later into the night, Luna remained in her room, writing in her journal. The faint beam of moonlight shot through the window, and lighted up the room. The moonlight gave the room a faint and almost angelic glow. She had heard rumors about her sister falling in love with Discord. Silver Moon told Luna the details earlier when the sun finished setting into the horizon. The princess knew that the kiss was true, but Celestia's love is not honest and true. Discord's love is. Somehow, Luna began to fear that Celestia might forever break Discord's heart someday.

She had grown more curious about the Everfree Forest. She would visit every week. She wasn't one to hurt the innocent creatures, and nor was she one to quarrel with the Fair Folk. Everypony in the forest seemed to love her, not because she was the younger sister, but because she was eternally kind to them.

A week had passed since Celestia visited the forest. Luna didn't know what happened to her parents since ever they departed for another kingdom to debate with a foreign ruler. As Luna strode through the halls, a pony came up to her, saddened and disconsolate.

"Your Highness," The pony began. "Your mother, the Queen, took ill on the road. She died because the plague had affected her. She thought of you, so she wanted to give you this..."

Celestia watched from the dark corner of the hallway, and felt the envy grow in her heart once more. How dare she not receive a gift from her parents? Surely, they had forgotten about her! Once she became a queen, she would be sure to make her sister a servant so that Luna's beauty would be hidden from view.

Luna's body shook with each sob as she heard the terrible news about her mother. "I was close to her. Now, she is gone forever," She murmured.

The servant took a necklace from the saddlebag, and placed it onto Luna's neck. The necklace had the crescent moon in the front. "Be strong, Your Grace," The pony whispered.

"Thanks," Luna whispered as the pony slunk away from view. She looked to the door in front of her. That was where she would see her mother every night whenever her mother slept. She would take comfort in her company... and now, she had forever lost the light of her life!

She rushed towards the door, stormed into the room, and leapt onto the mattress. Each sob shook her body. A wave of grief washed over her, and drowned her underneath the sea of mourning.

Celestia snuck into the room, and approached the mattress. A kind facade might convince Luna to maintain the castle and do chores that many servants would do. "Luna, I think it would be good for you to clean the castle halls and clean the bedrooms. That will distract you from your grief," She lied.

Something stirred in Luna's heart, yet she was unconvinced by the lie. "Please, give me time. I need to be alone," Luna objected.

"I'm not forcing you to do it. It's a suggestion. And... if you want to get away from the drama in the castle, I suggest that you sleep in the West Tower. It's very quiet and empty, and can be furnished."

"Okay, sister. I'll do it."

"I almost forgot." Celestia nodded as she levitated the tray in front of Luna. "Take this to the West Tower. This will be useful."

Luna blinked as she looked at the tray. She narrowed her eyes and shook her head. "Why are you doing this to me?" She wondered.

"I thought you wanted to clean up the castle," Celestia retorted curtly.

"Fine." Luna sighed as she took the tray and trotted into the hallway. Was she being stripped of her royal status?

She trotted to one of the castle towers, and strode through the door. She looked up, and saw the winding staircase. It was too cold up there. Luna spied a fireplace in front of her, and placed the tray onto the cold stone floor. Had Celestia planned this all along? It would be uncomfortable to sleep on the floor!

Luna sighed as she trotted back into the hallway. Celestia stood by the door, waiting impatiently. "I have dismissed all the servants. Now go clean everything up! We have to prepare for our father's arrival. He will be here in less than a week," She demanded.

"That wouldn't be enough-" Luna began, but was interrupted when Celestia placed a hoof onto her mouth.

"Stop whining, you brat! Just do as I said!"

Luna ran off, and swiftly levitated a bucket and a mop. She placed the mop onto the floor, and wiped it across the floor.

As soon as the castle became clean, Sunday came at last. Celestia waited in the throne room and waited for her father. But, nothing came during the afternoon. The same pony from before ran to her, and bowed before her. "Your Highness, King Orion will come home late because of some distractions," The pony reported.

"Okay. Tell me your name, sir," Celestia replied.

"I'm Chancellor Compass. I travel often with the King and Queen." He bowed once again, with more feigned loyalty than ever. He didn't trust the princess. He had a deep red mane, a brown coat with black spots, and his cutie mark was a compass.

"I've seen you several times, sir. Now return to my father! Don't let the distractions overcome his goal to return home," Celestia retorted coolly.

"Sorry!" The chancellor ran off before he could face Celestia's wrath.

Celestia was curious about her mother's crown that rested on the nightstand in the King and Queen's bedchambers. She trotted into the hallway, and snuck into the bedroom. The crown was more beautiful and tempting than ever. There was a violet gem on front of the crown. The crown was of a brilliant shade of gold, just like the sun.

"My," Celestia breathed out. "Oh, how glorious. When I become queen, this will be mine!"

She levitated the crown, and placed it onto her head. She walked to the mirror, and marveled at the reflection. She imagined ruling over her subjects and rising in power. She also imagined being the most powerful queen in the land. However, in the reflection, there stood a taller mare the color of fire. The mare's coat was deep crimson, and the mane was the color of the undying flames. Her pupils were draconic and were deep magenta.

"I am Solar Flare, Queen of the Glorious Sun," The reflection spoke.

Flames appeared, and surrounded the ambitious princess. Celestia grinned darkly. "When Luna attempts to rise against me, I will not be benevolent," She whispered. "I will be the kind of queen that rules with an iron hoof! I will make sure that nopony rebels against me! There is only one queen in Equestria, and someday, that queen shall be me!"

"When the sun rises, the moon will convince her otherwise. The sun shall stand her ground, and the sun shall make her tremble with terror!"

Celestia suddenly heard the approaching hoofsteps, and whirled around to face the one that snuck into the room.

Luna stood by the door, horrified. "Are you Solar Flare from the prophecy?" She interrogated. "Is this true? Are you the evil Queen of the Sun?"

Celestia remained still and firm. She would stand her ground. "Luna? This is not what you're supposed to know," She bellowed.

Luna backed away. "Don't burn the world or anything, okay?" She begged.

"Leave!" Celestia pointed to the door, and as Luna ran off, she slammed the door immediately.

Luna continued to run, and she soon escaped the castle. She looked behind her, and thought of what happened. She never found Celestia's fearsome wrath to be pleasant. She found it to be horrifying and wicked. The frightening reflection in the mirror was forever imbued into her mind. She will betray us all, Luna thought.

She galloped deeper and deeper into the Everfree Forest. All of a sudden, as she ran past a tree, she tripped over a log. Scratches appeared on her legs as a result. Blood spilled from her wounds, which made her feel worried. In front of her stood a mysterious figure in a cloak. Afraid for her life, she decided to interrogate the pony about the identity.

"Who are you?" Luna queried.

"I am Zecora. I see that you tried to run from the castle. The sun had decided to be cruel again, right? Let me lead you into my home," The pony replied.

"Oh. I've heard rumors about you. Well, I appreciate your offer." Luna stood up, and dusted the dirt off her legs. Some of the blood dripped onto her hooves.

They walked to a hut, and entered the building. Zecora gave Luna a curious glance before throwing some herbs into the cauldron. "Now, what is the reason you ran into the forest each week?" She asked.

"I have a friend that resides in the forest," Luna explained. "Discord is a friend of mine. He can be understanding. I intend to speak with him about my troubles this eve. Celestia tried to strip me of my title, and made me into the only servant in the castle. She never loved me. She was envious and cruel. She is not the ideal older sister. I wanted to find somepony that was more of a sibling to me than Celestia would ever be."

"Now, now. I have heard horror tales about Princess Celestia. She may be pale, but that does not make her pure and innocent. The light she shines with is not right. The light is wrong and sings the song of evil. She is self-righteous and prideful," Zecora replied.

Luna sat down on her haunches as she watched the zebra throw strange objects into the cauldron. This zebra was mysterious, but she was not malicious like Luna expected her to be. She knew never to judge a book by its cover.

Celestia's Crime

Luna thought of her mother's death. She could imagine running to her mother and telling her all about her feelings. A sob shook her body. "My mother died this month after my sister's sixteenth birthday," She admitted.

"That is terrible. I know the feeling of reeling from grief and loss of someone you love," Zecora sympathized. "I'm sure that Queen Helia is watching you from afar."

"Yeah." Luna gave her a sad smile as she nodded.

Soon, Zecora finished creating a potion. She poured the potion onto a cloth, and placed the cloth onto Luna's wounds. The wounds disappeared from view when the cloth touched the wounds.

The coolness of the liquid made Luna feel better than before. She smiled with gratefulness as Zecora stepped back and placed the cloth onto the shelf.

"That is kind of you," Luna smiled.

"Have a good day," Zecora replied.

Luna walked out of the hut, and strode to the meadow. Near the trees in front of the pond, Discord sat on a log. Luna approached the pond, and smiled. "Hello," She greeted.

"Hi," Discord replied.

"How is your day going?"

"It's peaceful. I usually sit here in my free time, away from the trio's drama. Night Blossom, Silver Moon, and Moonflower were quite flighty and vain sometimes."

"I know, right? My morning started out horrible, and when I came here, Zecora cheered me up with her wisdom as she healed my wounds. I'm feeling great." Luna smiled once again. "Celestia was mean to me. She tried to strip me of the royal title, and frightened me away with her wrath."

Discord paused as he took in all the details. Celestia was cruel? And, she had the growing ambition to become queen? How selfish and unbecoming! "I now understood what she meant when she considered you to be irritating," He muttered.

"I can't handle her," Luna confided as she shook her head.

She also sat next to Discord, and looked to the horizon. She felt calm and free. The castle felt restrictive and wild. Why would Celestia want to be cruel to her? Was that for her own personal gain? Was it to assert power over Luna?

The water breezies skated across the pond, and left behind a trail of countless colors. Luna watched in awe. "Wow. So beautiful," She murmured. "Nice work!"

The water breezies giggled in response as they flew towards Luna and placed the water droplets onto her mane. The droplets made her mane sparkle for a moment. The flower breezies flitted from the shadows, and held a flower crown as they approached the princess.

Luna stepped off the log, and followed the breezies. They reached the center of the meadow. The breezies started to sing in their own language. She might not understand the language, but she enjoyed hearing the melodic ringing of their voices.

Luna giggled as one of the breezies touched her nose. Then, as she rose her hoof, the other breezie touched her hoof. "I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream," She sang.

Meanwhile, in the castle, Celestia continued to stare at her reflection in the mirror. A thought appeared in her mind. "Mirror, mirror on the wall... who is the fairest of all?" She hummed darkly.

"You are the fairest of all," The reflection replied.

"I am the fairest of all alicorns. I am going to be the most refined and elegant queen!"

Celestia smiled as she trotted out of the room. She entered the throne room, and stood tall. King Orion strode into the throne room, exhausted from his journey. He had lost most of his youthful luster ever since the queen died from illness. He had gained some weight, and his formerly dark blue mane turned silver. His midnight blue coat was dirty from the quest. Each time he moved his wings, he grunted with agony.

He seemed solemn and ancient. "Greetings, Celestia. Where is your sister?" Orion began.

"She's in the woods, playing with the breezies," Celestia speculated. "She's safe."

"Do you understand the reason why your mother has not given you a gift?"

"That's because she loves Luna much more!" Celestia lost her temper, and stomped her hooves on the floor.

"Settle down," Orion warned. "Now, the reason is because she has suffered memory loss and does not know that you have turned sixteen. The memory loss has originated from the plague. The plague is dangerous, and that is why I returned home early. The physicians said that the plague can cause brain damage and endless bleeding."

"You're not lying, are you? I'm tired of being in my sister's shadow! I shall be the rightful Queen of Equestria! There is only one Princess that deserves the throne, and that princess shall be me!"

She shot a fiery beam at her father. Her father tumbled to the floor, and groaned in pain. Celestia chuckled darkly. "You should have died when my mother died," She lashed out.

"Celestia... spare me," Orion begged.

"I won't."

"Spare me."

Celestia didn't reply. She would watch him die, and she would revel in his suffering. Four years passed since she last saw Discord. During those years, her ambition pulled her further away from Discord and into the temptations of royal life.

Meanwhile, Luna, the younger sister, rose to become the Princess of the Night and the Guardian of Dreams. She grew more confident and beautiful than ever. Now seventeen, she had come of age to marry. But, she wouldn't need to be married in order to benefit the kingdom. She was independent and powerful, and she knew it. Discord was officially the Guardian of the Everfree Forest.

While Celestia, twenty years old, decided to plot against her dying father. She wouldn't tell Luna, and neither would she tell Chancellor Compass. She had been betrothed to Sombra, and never told Discord the truth.

Luna had figured that Celestia decided to be disloyal to the draconequus. She didn't want to call her out on the apparent lack of loyalty, for fear of experiencing Celestia's wrath. One afternoon, a pony tried to attack Discord, but out of defense, Discord fought the pony and allowed the pony to die. News of the death spread throughout the kingdom like wildfire. Soon, Orion figured that Discord was a dangerous threat to deal with.

Luna had argued that Discord only intended to defend the forest, but Orion didn't believe her. Her fear for the safety of the forest only grew with each passing hour. That night, Celestia entered the king's bedchambers.

"I have come to your aid. I shall avenge you," Celestia offered.

"Do you think you are worthy of the crown?" Orion retorted. "I shall crown Luna the queen if she avenges me."

"I will do it! I will destroy the draconequus."

Behind the doors, Luna listened to the conversation. She gasped and froze as she realized that Celestia had been dishonest to Discord all along! Why would she want to marry Sombra to rise to power? Wasn't that a black widow's doing? Celestia had deceived Discord; she would deceive Sombra when they got married.

"I better tell Discord about this," Luna whispered as she rushed away.

Soon, she reached the Everfree Forest. "Discord!" She called. There was no response. She wondered if Discord would even respond.

Discord landed behind her, aware of the day's events that made him doubt the Equestrians. "You haven't reported to me in a while. What is it?" He interrogated.

Luna turned to face Discord. "My father became vengeful. He meant to avenge the deceased attacker. Celestia would come soon to hurt somepony," She warned.

"Oh. Should we be wary when Celestia comes?"

"Yes!" Luna stood tall, her eyes wide as she thought of what could happen if Celestia met with Discord.

Soon, they walked to the riverbank, and sat against a rock. They stargazed and looked to the glorious moon. Luna sighed. She hoped that Celestia would never come. That way, the forest would live happily ever after, safe from Celestia's dark influence.

"Are you feeling tired?" Discord wondered.

"Not really," Luna replied. "The nighttime is my time."

"I see. That's why you are named Luna."

"Yeah. I know you are only guarding the forest from the attacker. I couldn't believe that my father decided to blame you. I know that Celestia has darkened over the years. I have seen the fiery mare in her dream one night. She terrifies me. I never enjoyed fire. Let's hope that Celestia doesn't transform into... her."

Discord nodded. "I am beginning to doubt Celestia's motives. It feels as if she is not to be trusted," He agreed.

Luna wanted to tell him about Celestia's relationship with Sombra, but that would only send him into a rage. She wanted to make him feel safe. He didn't need to feel so defensive towards everypony, unless an adversary threatened to harm him.

Discord's eyes grew heavy, and his eyes closed. Luna draped her wing over her friend, and looked to the stars once more. She heard hoofsteps approaching behind her, and gently moved away from Discord so that she wouldn't wake him up. She had to face the intruder this instant. She heard a chuckle, and recognized the voice. It was Celestia!

A rage built up in Luna's heart. Her anger continued to grow. She loathed her sister for betraying the royal family and for betraying her friend! She let the hate consume her heart. "Celestia! Why must you do this to us?" Luna interrogated.

Celestia chuckled. She knew that the spell began to take effect. "Oh, dear... if only there is somepony out there that loved you," She jeered.

"You wouldn't dare!" Luna prepared to leap at her sister. Shadows emerged from the ground and pulled her back.

The older sister watched as her sister gave in to the shadows. "It is fulfilled," She murmured. "It worked!"

Luna began to transform. Her body became elongated and slender, her coat as black as night. Her teeth became fangs, and the pupils in her eyes became draconic slits. Her mane became formless. As the transformation finished, she landed onto the ground, and stood tall. "I am no longer Luna! I am Nightmare Moon!" She began.

Celestia looked on, impressed by her creation. She had created a monster so that she could rise to power. "You will be forgotten," She taunted as she shot a powerful beam at her darkened sister.

In an attempt to exile her sister, she failed. Nightmare Moon only landed onto the ground, unconscious from the impact. Celestia decided to just steal something important. But, what might be important to Luna or Nightmare Moon?

Celestia levitated a dagger from her saddlebag, and levitated it near Nightmare's wings. She could use wings as evidence that she "avenged" her father. She pressed the dagger against the left wing, and watched as the blood spewed from the mare's back. She also wondered what to steal from Discord. Perhaps a few gemstones should be taken. She could also lie to the trio of breezies about Nightmare Moon.

As soon as she clipped Nightmare's wings off her back, she placed them into her saddlebag for evidence. She noticed several gems near the riverbank, and collected them. She placed them into her saddlebag. She ran off to find the trio of breezies. She found them in the small clearing. They were in a deep sleep.

"Awaken," Celestia commanded.

Night Blossom was the first one to wake up. "What?" She murmured.

"Luna decided to betray us all. You shall be my followers so that we can stop her."

"How do you know?"

Celestia remained as stoic as possible. "She lost in the battle," She admitted.

"Was she dead?" Night Blossom returned.

"No. She passed out. She is still Nightmare Moon."

"Leave us alone!"

Celestia didn't budge. Moonflower and Silver Moon woke from their slumber, and rubbed the sleep from their eyes. They seemed ready to gang up against the sun princess.

"You'll be safer if you live with me," Celestia lied.

"Oh, good," Moonflower whispered with relief. She turned to Silver Moon and Night Blossom. "Let's go live with Celestia!"

"Uh, good idea?" Silver Moon replied.

Celestia nodded as she beckoned them to follow her out of the forest and to the darkened castle. Soon, she entered the castle and galloped to the royal bedchambers. King Orion was asleep. She placed the saddlebags onto the dresser, and the loud noise woke the king from his slumber.

"I have avenged you, father," Celestia whispered.

Orion knew what Celestia meant. He didn't want to believe her. He didn't want to crown her the Queen... yet. "You... worthy? How?" Orion remarked.

Celestia approached the king, and levitated a pillow. She pressed the pillow onto her father's face, and the king coughed breathlessly. The coughing halted, and the king became as still as a statue. She didn't feel any guilt.

"I'm called Queen Celestia," She muttered as she placed the pillow onto the ground to make it look like as if the king died of a mysterious illness.

Celestia took the pair of wings out of the saddlebag, and marveled at her achievement. "I am the queen. Nopony else can take the throne," She finished.

She dragged the wings to her bedroom, and placed them into a glass container. She levitated the ropes and wrapped the ropes around the container in order to fortify the container. She slumped onto her bed, and drifted off to dreamland.

Author's Note

The scene where Celestia choked her father to death was inspired by the scene in the novel version of Maleficent, where Stefan choked the old king with a pillow. Does that shock you? Why or why not?

The Flightless Night

Morning came. Nightmare Moon fluttered her eyes open, and groggily shook her head. She placed a hoof to her head. Her body felt numb for several seconds, and her heart slowed down. When she completely regained her consciousness, the pain shot through her back. She looked over her shoulder, and gasped in horror. Why did Celestia do this to her?

She recalled the night where she confronted her sister and tried to protect Discord from her. She remembered Celestia smiling at her misery. She remembered her sister shooting a powerful beam at her. She remembered passing out from the impact. Her head ached. Nightmare's heart ached even more. Anger rose in her heart as she realized what happened. Celestia did this to her so that she could avenge their father!

The dark alicorn looked to Discord, and saw that he was still asleep. Didn't he witness Celestia's horrible crime? Probably not. Why was Nightmare's own father so swift to believe Celestia's lies?

She allowed dark thoughts to consume her mind. She struggled to stand, only to tumble to the ground. She wasn't used to being wingless. She panted as she struggled to stand for the second time. She looked to the riverbank, and walked near the water. She gasped in horror as she saw her reflection. "No, no! Why?" She wailed. Her screams of anguish echoed throughout the forest.

The creatures and the breezies that heard the scream started to tremble in fear of the mare's potential wrath. Nightmare didn't care, and she strode towards her friend. She placed a hoof onto his cheek, and tried to wake him up. Discord stirred and opened his eyes. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes. As he looked at his friend, he gasped.

"Don't run away! Go to the castle and spy on Celestia," Nightmare shouted crisply.

"What did she do?" Discord questioned.

"She took my wings and cursed me to transform into this monstrosity."

"That does it!" Discord lost his composure and sat up. He stood up and rushed out of the forest.

He soon found himself in the castle courtyard. He flew up into the air, and approached a window. He peered into the window, and gasped at the scene before him.

Celestia wore her mother's crown, and sat upon her throne. She looked to her subjects and feigned a benevolent smile. "Luna transformed into Nightmare Moon, and I had to stop her. She was jealous of me, so I defeated her. My father died after rewarding me with the position of a queen! I am your new ruler, the Queen Celestia of Equestria. King Sombra will arrive shortly. We had gotten married in secret. There is a new castle built in Canterlot Village. I will move there with my king," She explained.

Discord heard what his former sweetheart said. A pang of anger and hurt shot through his heart like an arrow. He placed his lion paw to his chest, and gasped in horror. First, Celestia lied to Luna, and now, she lied to Discord? He flew away from the window, and returned to the forest.

As soon as he approached Nightmare Moon, there was so much darkness in the forest despite the fact that it wasn't yet nighttime. She seemed to brood in silence as she looked to the ground. "Are there any news?" Nightmare hummed.

"Yes," Discord replied. "Celestia became a queen. She also married Sombra, thereby breaking my heart. She even lied about you."

Nightmare paused as she allowed the darkness to consume her heart. Violet flames emerged from the ground as she groaned with rage. "I knew that she would hurt me to rise in power..." She muttered. "She's a monster and a coward! A liar, a cheat, a chameleon!" Her voice became loud and intense. Violet flames only grew taller, and prepared to shoot into the darkened sky.

She screamed with hatred, rage, and vengeance as the violet flames clashed against the dark clouds. Discord only watched as Nightmare finished screaming. "Now what, Nightmare?" He asked.

Nightmare Moon stomped out of the forest, and advanced towards the castle. When she saw that Celestia and Sombra moved out to live in a different castle, her anger only worsened. The castle had already fallen to ruins because it was old and no longer sturdy. The structure reminded her of herself; broken, yet still strong. She strode into the castle. Her heart ached even more. She sat upon the demolished throne, and looked into the darkness. She could stay here and rule from the darkness and into the forest.

Soon, she grew bored of the silence. She galloped to the forest, with Discord following her, as she searched for the meadow. Darkness consumed the Everfree Forest, and blotted out all of the light. Trees shriveled, the plants turned brown, and the ground became dank and dark. A throne made from vines emerged from the ground in front of Nightmare, and she sat upon the throne. She cackled as she looked to her new subjects. She had appointed herself the Queen of the Everfree Forest, with Discord as her co-ruler.

Discord stood near the throne, and stared down the creatures and the breezies. "She is now your queen. Don't disobey her," He warned. "You don't want to feel her wrath."

Nightmare cackled once more as she gave them a dark grin. She knew that she would take down Celestia with such vengeance someday, if she ever gained more power. Meanwhile, in Canterlot Castle, the trio of night breezies held a conversation with the new King and Queen.

Celestia refrained from calling them fools. She knew that it would only send them into a rage. "What do you need?" She wondered.

"We seek asylum," Night Blossom confided.

"Your Royalnesses, please take us in! I see that you have the most wonderful fashions ever," Silver Moon added in.

"And the most kind of ponies," Moonflower enthused.

Celestia smiled at their foolishness. She knew how dumb they could be. They had believed in her lies, and there was no going back.

"You can reside here," Celestia offered.

Moonflower and the other two squealed with excitement. "Thank you! Thank you! Also, we sense darkness on the horizon. I cannot believe that sweet little Luna became a monster. I think she is going to have revenge. I can sense it," She maintained.

"I'll defend you from her," Celestia reassured them.

"Good. We wish that you give birth to a foal in the future," Night Blossom intervened.

A year had passed since Celestia rose to power as Queen of Equestria. Two weeks after her twenty-first birthday, she became pregnant. Her unborn foal would be born in April of the following year.

Discord and Nightmare Moon found out, and they felt angrier than ever. One night in December, they spoke to each other about the rulers of Equestria.

"Discord, what will you do with the unborn foal?" Nightmare hummed.

"I suggest that we not take revenge," Discord replied.

"I want Celestia to feel the pain that I have felt!" She stood her ground as she stomped towards her throne.

Discord remained still, and stood before his friend. "You treat me like a servant. I'm not lesser than you. Why does this have to happen? I thought we're friends," He asserted.

"Oh, stay with me. We are to be partners in crime." Nightmare smirked darkly.

"Fine, whatever."

"Try to rebel, and you'll endure my wrath!"

"Sorry!"

Nightmare gasped, slightly angered by the response. "Why did you apologize?" She jeered.

"Because," Discord returned innocently.

The snow fell from the skies. There was still no light from the moon, which saddened Nightmare Moon. She strangely missed the moon and the stars. But, what of it? She wouldn't want to be bothered by light ever again, unless her heart became willing to change.

Several more months passed. Discord would report to Nightmare Moon each week about Celestia. He even told her that they had prepared for the birth of the foal. The dark alicorn realized that her friend still held feelings for Celestia, even though the enemy twisted their hearts with such a betrayal.

Something about Discord's visits to the castle irked the dark alicorn. She knew that Discord wanted Celestia back after the betrayal. How can he forgive her so easily? She decided to confront him one night before the first of April.

As Nightmare sat upon her throne, she watched an exhausted Discord appear in front of her. "Why are you always thinking about my sister? I hate her," She bellowed.

"Of course you hate her. Well, I feel jealous of Sombra for winning Celestia's hoof in marriage. She told me that we would rule together someday, but it turned out to be a cruel lie!" Discord retorted. "Have you not considered my feelings?"

"Don't you understand? Celestia betrayed me first before she betrayed you!"

"I know, but what about my failed relationship with Celestia? She seemed to not feel guilt for me." Discord frowned.

"That's because she loves Sombra so much more! Get over yourself, Discord!" Nightmare stomped her hoof, and sneered with spitefulness.

"I can't help it! I loved her so dearly. Now, I've forever lost her to Sombra!" Discord cried out.

"Of course you can't," Nightmare rephrased with contempt. "Now, silence!"

"Fine. You always seem to look for a fight." Discord turned away, and strode into the darkness.

Just before he could fully leave, Nightmare cleared her throat. "Discord! Stay here," She warned. "Don't flock to Celestia!"

There was no response, but Discord chose to remain in the meadow. Nightmare looked to the skies, and groaned. It would be little time before the royal foals would be born to her enemies and the evil Equestrians! Not if she had anything to do with it...

It would be a week and a half before the foal was born. Nightmare couldn't wait for her chance at exacting her vengeance upon her enemies! She grew more impatient by the day. Days and nights continued to pass.

On the tenth of April, Discord snuck out of the forest and flew to Canterlot Castle. He heard the chatter below. He wondered what the chatter was about. He wouldn't let Nightmare know that he went to see Celestia, but he would inform her of the foal's birth. He approached the castle window, and peered into the throne room.

"It's the twins!" A mare exclaimed.

"Yes! It's Princess Sunset Shimmer and Princess Twilight Sparkle!" A stallion replied.

"It's the twins! Let's go to the christening! Let's see the twins!" A colt cheered.

"Sweet Celestia! Our fair queen gave birth to two beautiful princesses!" A filly replied.

Everypony stormed into the throne room, for the whole kingdom was invited to the christening. Even a trio of breezies that never had a clue about taking care of the young ones...

A pang of envy grew in Discord's heart. Those princesses could have been his own daughters if Celestia never betrayed him! They were born to another stallion instead of Discord. He would never watch them grow into beautiful young mares... they had looked nothing like Luna or Nightmare Moon, either.

He decided that maybe revenge on Sombra would be the perfect choice. Nightmare Moon wanted revenge on Celestia. This would be the perfect day to have revenge on the royal couple! He soon returned to the forest, and told Nightmare Moon about the christening.

"The christening is not for one, but two baby fillies. They're twins, but they look different," Discord explained.

An idea popped into Nightmare's mind. She looked into Discord's eyes. "A celebration... for a pair of twins. How wonderful..." She remarked with darkness in her tone.

Vengeance

Meanwhile, at the christening, as the three breezies approached the twins, they hovered over them. "How cute!" Night Blossom exclaimed.

"Sunset Shimmer is gorgeous!" Silver Moon commented.

"Twilight Sparkle is more beautiful," Moonflower disagreed. "Her mane is so lovely!"

"They smell as sweet as roses!" Night Blossom said.

In the dark corner of the throne room, Nightmare and Discord watched as the breezies danced around the twins. The dark alicorn took note of the names. Sunset Shimmer's name reminded her of the setting sun. Twilight Sparkle's name reminded Nightmare of the evening, her favorite time of night.

This was no time to think about name definitions for now. The dark alicorn wanted to focus on giving a "gift" to the twins.

"Sweet Twilight Sparkle, I give you the gift of beauty," Moonflower spoke.

"May you never be blue, only joyful, till the last days of your life," Night Blossom added in.

"Twilight, you will find-" Silver Moon began.

Nightmare was reminded of when her mother told her the story of the similar gifts that she received at her own christening. Her heart ached with envy towards Twilight. She was sick of hearing them revel in Twilight's youthfulness and innocence! She stormed out of the shadows and swiftly approached the rulers.

The chandeliers swung back and forth, and all the candles lost their brightness. A powerful gust of wind blew throughout the throne room. The crowds backed up as they watched an ominous figure come into view.

Nightmare Moon chuckled as she stared her sister in the eye from a distance. "Well, well!" She began as she approached the bassinet.

"Nightmare Moon!" Celestia boomed as she placed a hoof to her chest. "You're not welcome here. I thought I murdered you."

Nightmare paused, and only chuckled at her sister's words. "Queen Celestia, what a glittering assemblage. Nobility, the gentry, the peasantry... even the rabble," She remarked as she flung the trio of breezies to the right with her magic. "Fate has been cruel enough to reward you with the daughters that you never deserve! Discord will not be happy."

"Don't hurt the princesses," Night Blossom shouted.

Nightmare Moon turned to leave. "Oh, dear! What an awkward situation," She chuckled.

Sombra observed her with unease, and spoke up. "You're not offended, Your Grace?" He interrogated.

"No..." Nightmare replied as she turned to face the twins. "To show you that I bear no ill will... I, too, shall bestow the gift upon the two!" She inched closer to the bassinet, and stared at the twins. She felt angry at Celestia for betraying Discord and for having foals with a different stallion.

"Hmm... hmm..." She contemplated as she looked to the right. She saw the spindle on the spindle of a spinning wheel, and smiled with evilness. "The princesses shall indeed grow in grace and beauty, beloved by all they met!"

"I don't like the gift," Celestia hollered as Nightmare turned to face her.

"Before the sun sets on their sixteenth birthday, they shall prick their hooves on the spindle of a spinning wheel and fall into a death-like sleep! A sleep from where they will never awaken," Nightmare continued as the violet tendrils surged into the twins. Violet flames surged around her as her power grew with each passing second.

"Lift the curse." Celestia was stern.

"I like you begging," Nightmare taunted. "Do it again!"

"I beg you..." Celestia nodded curtly.

"The princesses can be awoken from their death sleep, but only by... True Love's Kiss... The curse shall last till the end of time!" Nightmare spun around to face the crowd, hatred and vengeance highly evident. "No power on Earth can change it!"

Discord and Nightmare Moon swiftly stormed out of the throne room. Several guards ran after them, but they couldn't capture the evil duo. After they left, Celestia levitated Sunset Shimmer and pulled her into a tight, protective embrace. Sombra pulled Twilight Sparkle into an embrace, too.

"Let's avenge them," Sombra suggested. "Nightmare and her draconequus friend are both evil to us!"

"That's a perfect idea," Celestia concurred.

"Also, we should build a barrier around the castle. The guards shall guard each entrance and exit!"

"Good plan! Let's do it. We should entrust the safety of the twins to the breezies. Night Blossom, Silver Moon, and Moonflower, come over here!"

The trio approached the rulers. When the crowd left, several guards gathered in front of the rulers. Celestia lost her composure and started to shout at the guards. "Gather the soldiers and go! Hunt down Nightmare Moon and Discord!" She instructed.

"We will," The captain returned as he galloped out of the throne room. The soldiers followed him immediately.

The trio of breezies lifted the twins, and managed to carry them into the air. Moonflower nearly dropped Sunset Shimmer, but Celestia swooped in to save her. "Carry them in the bassinet," She instructed.

"Sorry," Night Blossom apologized.

"Good." Celestia placed the twins into the bassinet. She placed a spell on the bassinet to make it light and prone to fly. The spell would last until the trio found a place to raise the twins.

Meanwhile, in the Everfree Forest, Nightmare and Discord prepared to build walls of their own. Discord threw the plunderseeds onto the ground, and Nightmare Moon's magic surged into the ground. The Wall of Vines emerged from the ground, and grew as tall as the mountains. Thorns emerged from the vines and became as sharp as possible. The vines were as black as night. It wasn't a pretty sight, but it would ward off the soldiers.

The Wall surrounded the forest to serve as a barrier against potential intruders and attackers. Nightmare Moon reveled in the misery and unhappiness that the curse brought to Equestria. She sat upon her throne and cackled with malevolence. There would be two less threats! She knew that the curse would drive her sister insane. The king might go mad as well.

As the days and nights passed, Nightmare remained in the forest. She considered the forest to be her home. The meadow would be where she would hold court. However, she hated whenever the breezies and the creatures gossiped about her. So, she would tell them to be silent each time she heard such nonsense. It seemed as if nopony was allowed to be happy in the forest.

But, Nightmare Moon knew that she had to protect the ones that resided in the forest. Discord was curious about the twins, but he wouldn't tell Nightmare Moon the truth. He knew that his friend would disapprove of any kindness towards the twins. One day, when the trio of breezies found the cottage close to the Everfree, they placed the bassinet onto the ground.

"This place is dreadful," Silver Moon complained.

"It's the perfect place to hide from Nightmare's darkness," Night Blossom retorted. "Stop complaining. We are supposed to keep the princesses here for sixteen years and a day!"

"Let's transform into normal ponies," Moonflower suggested.

"Good idea!"

Silver Moon sighed. She hated having to be in a strange place, but she had to help her friends to guard the princesses for a long time until the curse failed.

"Three, two, one!" Moonflower counted as they all transformed into Earth ponies.

"Here's the rules," Night Blossom spoke as she twirled in her sky blue dress. "No magic and no flying! We're three peasant mares living in the woods, okay?"

Moonflower adored her rose dress, and giggled as she spun. Silver Moon twirled and chuckled as she continued to swirl in her emerald dress. Without thinking, the trio stormed into the cottage. They didn't consider the fact that the twins were left outside.

Waiting just near the Wall of Vines were a dark alicorn and draconequus. Discord strode to the cottage, and paused as he eyed the bassinet. "Why were they left out here?" He whispered. "Incompetent fools..."

He returned to the Wall, and Nightmare glared at him for a second before turning away. "They're going to raise the twins in the cottage, just near the woods," Discord confessed.

Laughter bubbled up Nightmare's throat as she shook with laughter. She tried to restrain her laughter, but she couldn't. An amused cackle escaped her mouth this instant, and echoed throughout the air.

"Those breezie idiots! Three of them, raising the princesses until the curse takes the oh-so-adorable princesses away?" She remarked with bitter sarcasm.

"Of course they're incompetent, but at least we could check on-" Discord suggested.

"No, don't mention the daughters of my treacherous enemy! Celestia is as terrible as her younger self!" Nightmare shook her head as she whirled to face her friend.

"I understand that you hate your sister, but what about your nieces? They're related to you."

"It doesn't matter. I still can't believe that my sister betrayed you in order to rise in power." Nightmare scowled as she shook her head once again. "After all, do not complain about her. She's not your type!"

Discord crossed his arms for a second. He arched his brow as he frowned. "Of course she is not the kind of soulmate that I dreamed of. I want somepony who is kind, loyal, and truthful. I know, Nightmare, that Celestia's betrayal angered and hurt you... I know that you are still the loyal and truthful friend that I enjoy having around," He returned.

The dark alicorn resisted the urge to either smile or blush in return. She knew that he preferred to be kind, but she sometimes found it irritating. Other times, she would find it otherwise comforting and full of warmth.

"I was naive and innocent once, when I was young. And, look at what those qualities had gotten me into," Nightmare lashed out. "Now, ponies are afraid of me! They hate me just because they worship my sister and her lies! They're blind to the truth! BLIND, I SAY!"

"Calm down. I'm sure you'll find happiness again," Discord pleaded.

"Don't plead for happiness. Joy doesn't exist."

"Celestia's betrayal also upsets me so." Discord sighed. "Once, I thought she loved me. But, I was so mistaken! Sombra must have won her heart. The twins are not my offspring. They are Celestia's daughter, and they had another father instead of me as their father."

Nightmare snorted as she stomped on the ground several times. "Don't say this ever again. You know how much I hate the princesses," She retorted as she led him to the cottage.

They traveled on hoof, and soon, they reached the cottage. They hid behind the trees and watched as one of the breezies took the bassinet into the cottage.

"Why are you always hiding from us?" Silver Moon wondered as she slammed the door shut.

Nightmare chuckled softly as she watched them from a distance. "Foolish breezies, thinking they can hide here from me!" She commented.

Discord would agree, but he wouldn't want to show it. He wasn't as irked by the trio, for he had grown up with them when he was younger. He knew that the trio might still like Luna, even though they were frightened of Nightmare Moon.

The dark alicorn was much more irked, as she knew that the trio chose to live with the enemy! She knew that the trio were unaware of the dangers of the Equestrian Kingdom. Nightmare snorted as she emerged from the shadows and approached the window. She peered into the window, and looked down at the twins. She scowled darkly as they smiled at her.

The Princesses in the Woods (fixed)

"They're so ugly, you could almost feel bad for them," Nightmare taunted, the bitterness evident in her vocal tone. She knew that they were her nieces, but she loathed them because of Celestia's betrayal.

Discord nodded with agreement. He watched as Nightmare made countless faces to frighten the twins. The twins wouldn't scream or cry each time the alicorn made a face. In frustration, she rose her hoof and bared her teeth. She growled in the most menacing fashion possible, and then she chuckled throatily.

Twilight and Sunset froze as they heard the vocal growl. Then, they giggled at the face. Nightmare scowled, hatred evident in her eyes.

"I hate both of you, beasties," She muttered. She intended to sound nasty and menacing, but her cruel remark came out softer than intended.

Soon, she heard the breezies chattering about the mysterious sound. Nightmare looked to the door, and knew what would happen if she was caught. She loathed their drama. She swiftly strode away before they could find her.

Discord followed suit, and they hid behind the same trees. They watched as the breezies pulled the bassinet outside. They intended for the twins to breathe in the fresh air, but the twins were wailing. They were starving, but their incompetent guardians were oblivious to the fact.

Nightmare groaned as the noise continued. "The little beasts are going to starve with those three looking after them," She bemoaned as her hooves shielded her ears from the noise.

Soon, darkness surrounded the land. The moon and stars rose into the sky, and twinkled across the inky blackness like small, bright diamonds in the darkness. The trio of breezies begun to slumber in their new bedroom, but only the twins were awake and screaming as loud as ever.

An idea popped into Nightmare Moon's mind as she strode towards the window. She could smile at the twins' misery, but she didn't feel the urge to revel in their suffering. It was as if her old self tried to fight the darkness to emerge from the coldness of her soul. Her old self wouldn't make fun of somepony that felt miserable.

To the left, she saw two roses; one as white as the moon, and the other as gold as the sun itself. She figured that they would calm down the irritating little beasties. She levitated the flowers, and infused them with a calming spell. Discord snapped his fingers, and summoned milk. He poured the liquid into the roses. He then took the roses and gave them to the twins.

Nightmare Moon sighed with relief as the twins stopped wailing. Discord pushed the bassinet back and forth, and the twins closed their eyes. All of a sudden, a mysterious but unwanted warmth surged through Nightmare's heart as she looked to the sleeping princesses. She knew how adorable they were, but denied the soft spot she had for them. She couldn't believe that she was about to fall into her own spell.

Discord eyed Nightmare Moon, and tilted his head with perplexion. "Are you beginning to love them?" He wondered.

"No. And, shh," Nightmare objected as she placed a hoof to her mouth to hide the ghost of a smile that was on her face.

"I can see that you're denying-"

"Shush!" Nightmare interrupted coolly as she led Discord away from the cottage and towards the Wall of Vines.

"The forest is under attack," Discord explained as the vines caught on fire.

Nightmare chuckled as her magic surged into the Wall to fortify the vines. The vines thrashed about and threw several soldiers away from the forest. She cackled at their misfortune as the vines maintained their strength despite being burnt.

"Oh!" Discord spoke. "I shall go check on Celestia. Most of the soldiers retreated to the castle just now."

"Keep yourself hidden," Nightmare warned.

"I will... I promise."

"Good!"

Nightmare watched as the flames died away. The night was dark once again, which matched her current mood and her current moral alignment. She was evil, after all. But, in a sense, she was deeply hurt and anguished. She had built an intimidating barrier since the betrayal, and she didn't want the barrier to break down. She didn't know, that someday, the barrier would break down as a result of raising the twins into beautiful young mares.

She watched as Discord flew away from view and followed Celestia's vicious army. Nightmare strode into the Everfree, snuck into the meadow, and sat upon her beloved throne. She watched as the breezies moved away from her line of sight. They were afraid of her. The creatures still trembled under her watch and under her strict reign.

Meanwhile, in Canterlot Castle's living room, Celestia glared at the flames and watched as they mimicked her reflection's mane. Chuckling darkly, she whirled around to face her soldiers. Since the christening, she turned darker than before. She saw that the soldiers seemingly failed. She let the anger consume her soul and also let the disgust consume her heart. She also let the hatred consume her mind.

"What?" Celestia bellowed as she stood tall. She gave them a menacing glare as she grinned darkly. "Why haven't you killed my sister? I expect you to maim her!"

The captain shook in her gaze as he began to explain the situation. "Majesty-" He started, but Celestia cleared her throat and interrupted the sentence.

"I am Queen Celestia! Don't just call me Majesty! That title offends me! I am Queen Celestia, Her Imperial and Glorious Majesty! I am the Queen of Equestria! I am the Queen of the Sun," Celestia retorted haughtily.

"Forgive me, Queen Celestia," The captain repented. "Well, we couldn't destroy the vines. The wall is indestructible! We can't even find Nightmare and her demonic minion!"

Celestia sneered as she stomped her hoof and slammed her hoof into the nearby china. The china flew across the table, and crashed into the undying flames. "Nothing is indestructible! Not the Wall! Not Nightmare Moon! Not Discord!" She lectured.

Just as she slammed her forehooves onto the table, she smirked darkly as she stared at the bloodstained dagger. "Bring me the strongest metals, and forge them into the strongest and most dangerous barriers! Get the miners to work! Get the young colts to train for wars! I don't care how old they are! I only care about killing my sister for the sake of my daughters," She demanded as she levitated the dagger to her mouth. She slowly licked the dried blood off the blade, and smirked darkly.

Although the captain was disgusted by the manic behavior, he led his soldiers out of the room anyways. The sight of the ruler licking the blood made him cringe and shudder. Had the queen gone way off the deep end already? The castle seemed darker and more evil than ever.

Discord watched from a distance as he peered into the window. He felt ill to his stomach. He sensed the bile preparing to rise up his throat. He had never seen anypony lose his or her mind just enough to lick blood! He snapped his talons and summoned a wooden pail. He vomited into the pail. He didn't want to observe that behavior ever again! Nightmare Moon would be irked by the sickening behavior.

When he finished vomiting, he snapped his talons, and the wooden pail disappeared. He peered into the window once more. Celestia stared into the flames, and stood still as she watched the strangely soothing movement of the malicious embers.

Discord flew back to the forest, and entered the meadow. He stood before Nightmare Moon, relieved that he was away from the enemy's current residence.

"What?" Nightmare hummed.

"Celestia seemed to darken with rage, hatred, and vengeance. She still envied you. Well, she wanted you dead," Discord began. He spoke of what happened the whole time over there. He even mentioned the moment where Celestia licked the dagger, and commented on the alabaster alicorn's growing paranoia.

The dark alicorn's nose scrunched with disgust. She narrowed her eyes dangerously as she stood tall. "My sister has always been an envious coward!" She complained.

"I know. She makes me feel disgusted at her cruelty. If the curse takes effect someday and we have to break the curse ourselves, then we'd be dragged into the castle. Well, I don't want her to jump out from the shadows and murder you if you ever go to the castle. She can be quite scary."

"All I can do in my free time is think of my wings. They... they're gone forever." Nightmare's back muscles ached at the mention of her wings, causing her to wince in agony. "You know me. My wings were big, although not as big as Celestia's. They were stronger than her wings. I have lost my flight because of her betrayal!"

Discord nodded. He only looked to his friend with sympathy, and placed his lion paw to his chest. He bowed before her as he would do a queen. He felt as if he had lost the old Luna to the darkness forever. It was all because of that one fight against the invader. If only he didn't fight against the pony, then everything would be just fine. He always seemed to be the bearer of bad news. When he fought the pony instead of surrendering, he only brought darkness to the forest instead of newfound peace.

Well, there was peace, but, the draconequus was the reason why Celestia was told to avenge the late ruler. He could see why the mythical creatures were so hated by the Equestrians. Anything bad would happen, but the pesky Equestrians would place the blame onto the creatures instead of accepting responsibility for their own actions! They should have swallowed their pride.

But, then the Wall wouldn't be there. Celestia would have maimed Luna out of envy. The whole Equestrian kingdom would place enough blame onto the Everfree Forest to spark another war.

"Well... do you need anything from me?" Nightmare pressed, and interrupted Discord's thoughts.

"What? No," Discord answered.

"I thought you needed something. I don't think we can do anything but sit in darkness and wait until the twins pricked their hooves and fell into an eternal sleep." Nightmare mused as she thought of what could happen to the twins someday.

"Are you going to revoke-"

"I won't revoke the curse!" Nightmare lost her composure.

"Fine. Just watch as they die right before our eyes."

Nightmare nearly cringed at her friend's sarcasm. "Don't say it," She warned. "Let's see what happens."

"Do you have feelings for your nieces?" Discord interrogated.

"You asked me once, but, the answer is no."

"I thought you did."

"You are sorely mistaken." Nightmare smirked at Discord.

"I'm not stupid," Discord retorted, offended. He wanted to say that he saw the twins as his own daughters, but he didn't want to incur his friend's wrath and hatred.

"Fine. Leave me alone for the night. We shall visit the cottage in the morning. I'm getting bored."

Discord walked away. Nightmare Moon took comfort in being alone as she looked to the skies. Still, the dark clouds blotted out the beauty of the night. That was all because of her glum mood. If only she didn't feel the need to ruin the beauty with the clouds, then she would be able to stargaze without a problem.

Night swiftly passed as Nightmare took naps from time to time. As morning came, no light shone into the Everfree Forest. She enjoyed the darkness that came with being evil. She simply grinned as she stood and strode out of the forest and into the woods with Discord.

They hid behind the bushes as they glanced at the cottage. Nightmare Moon nearly chuckled, but swallowed the laughter down her throat. "Look at the cottage. No chaos at all," She commented. "There should be chaos."

Discord was reminded of his childhood. Sometimes, he would pull pranks on the magical folk in the Everfree Forest. He would laugh with amusement each time the prank scared them out of their wits. Nightmare Moon was to be his partner in crime... sort of. He smiled at the notion of playing pranks. This time, he wanted Nightmare Moon to play a prank on the breezies. "Go ahead," He hinted.

"I'm going to prank them," Nightmare reminded him. She was now racked with laughter as she thought of the perfect prank. She had to forcefully restrain her laughter in effort not to be discovered by the pesky trio.

Inside the cottage, the trio of breezies were drinking tea and playing chess. Silver Moon felt a droplet land into her silvered mane, and scowled at Moonflower. "Is this to get even with me?" She interrogated.

"I resent no insinuation. I resent no insinuation!" Moonflower retorted crisply.

"Then quit bickering," Night Blossom scolded.

Several more droplets fell onto their heads. "I said no magic!" Moonflower shouted.

"We didn't do it!" Night Blossom reminded her.

"Don't you dare lie to me, you greedy pigs!"

"You bloated, foolish goats!" Silver Moon lashed out.

"Shut up!" Moonflower scolded. "Or, I'll make sure that you never talk again!"

Outside, Nightmare watched on as the chaos continued in the cottage. Thunder boomed inside the cottage. Rain poured onto the breezies. She was racked with laughter once again. "Oh, come on!" She told Discord. "That was funny!"

"About the curse..." Discord mentioned. "You said that you aren't going to revoke it. Are you trying to be cruel to your nieces?"

Nightmare scowled in response. How dare he ruin her day? "Quit it. I'm trying to get back at my sister!" She affirmed. "She was the reason why I cursed the twins, remember?"

"You hate Celestia, and so do I," Discord pointed out.

Nightmare only chuckled as she looked away. How dare he think about saving his little friends? Well, Sunset Shimmer reminded the alicorn too much of Celestia because of the light coloring. For a strange reason, Nightmare favored Twilight Sparkle over the other twin. "I can let one live, and the other will not survive to see the day after the sixteenth birthday," She whispered.

"Are you playing favorites?" Discord wondered. Although he liked the twins, he favored Sunset over Twilight. Perhaps that was because Sunset reminded him of a younger and kinder Celestia.

"No," Nightmare denied.

"Whatever."

"Silence, please."

Discord sighed as he looked away from his friend. He continued to look at the window. He liked the twins, and somehow, he imagined Nightmare to be a distant mother figure.

Fairest

Three years passed, and the twins were now three years of age. Naive, young, and innocent, they were oblivious to the fact that they were actually princesses that would fall into a deep sleep on their sixteenth birthday. Twilight had begun to foster a love for books. But, she hadn't known many words yet. She still had to read books for little foals about her age.

Sunset was more of the loyal and protective sister. She loved her sister dearly and wouldn't trade her for the world. She was curious about the world, too. Sometimes, she would take her sister outside so that they could explore together. Because they had sensed that the caretakers were forced to take care of them, they started to teach themselves to become independent.

But, there were times when they would get into risky situations. One warm afternoon, the trio of breezies took the twins out to a picnic. Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer didn't care much about the food, for they weren't as famished as their incompetent guardians.

From a distance, Nightmare Moon and Discord watched the scene from the treetops. The twins looked at a butterfly, and then they started to chase the butterfly.

"How boring. Mischief needs to come into play," Nightmare Moon commented.

"I wouldn't be oblivious to the present danger," Discord replied as he pointed to the cliff. "Trust me, if the twins were distracted, they would fall to their deaths. I would not allow mischief into this situation."

Nightmare sighed and blew out her cheeks as she looked to the trio of breezies. Cerulean magic emerged from her horn, and hovered in front of her. She mimicked the motion of tugging somepony's mane. She giggled as she watched the drama unfold.

"Oh, dear. This is hilarious!" She jested.

As Silver Moon took a bite out of her cupcake, she felt a mysterious tug on her mane. "Ow!" She exclaimed as she used her magic to tug Night Blossom's mane.

"I didn't do it! You started it!" Night Blossom retorted.

"Now, stop your bickering-" Moonflower begun, but felt a tug on her mane. "You did this again!"

"What?" Night Blossom whispered, puzzled.

"You did this!" Moonflower and Silver Moon shouted in unison as they leapt on top of her. They all got into a huge scuffle as a result.

They were however oblivious to the fact that Twilight and Sunset ran towards the cliff, about to fall to potential doom. Nightmare Moon took notice of this, and hummed softly. "Oh, look," She told Discord. "Those little beasts are about to fall off the cliff!"

"We must take action," Discord warned. "We can't let them die!"

"We mustn't be discovered." Nightmare shook her head.

"We could be sneaky. We had snuck around before, correct?"

"Yeah, right! Let's go."

They swiftly climbed down the tree, and rushed towards the cliff. The twins screamed with fright as they lost their footing, and nearly tumbled off the cliff. A cerulean aura emerged from Nightmare's horn and enveloped Twilight. Twilight floated into the air, and was redirected to the ground.

"Huh?" She breathed out as she looked to the tall and elongated figure.

Nightmare froze as Twilight glanced at her. Instead of telling her that she didn't see anything, she intended to give her a slight warning.

"Be careful," She murmured.

Twilight knew what the figure meant, so she nodded as she ran to the trio of breezies.

Discord caught Sunset Shimmer just in time as he swooped down into the abyss. He flew up into the air, and landed near Nightmare Moon. He gently placed Sunset onto the ground, and told her to play with Twilight.

"Be safe," He warned.

As soon as the draconequus and the dark alicorn returned to the treetops, Discord looked to his friend, and wondered if Nightmare Moon had grown more fond of the twins.

"Are you giving in to motherly instincts?" Discord questioned.

Nightmare Moon swiftly turned her attention to her friend, and gave him an innocent gaze. "What? I only waited for dramatic effect... you know. I want to keep both of them alive so that... maybe they can rebel against their parents," She replied.

"They might someday have the right to rebel against Celestia. Celestia has been alive for too long."

Nightmare nodded in response. "I see that you have became much more tired of her nonsense," She hummed. "So, I agree with you about Celestia. I'm not sure about the rebellion thing. If they found out about the curse, they may side with her." She frowned, but reminded herself to keep a straight face this instant.

She intended to keep a tough exterior to defend herself from further heartbreak. What she didn't know was that she began to love the twins. Did she really fall into her own spell? She thought that the twins were innocent, unlike their mother, who had stolen Nightmare's wings for the sake of power.

Whenever Nightmare Moon thought about her sister, she would feel enraged and vengeful. Her sister was the one that twisted her heart cruelly and cursed her into becoming a menacing villainess from a prophecy. Ironically, she was the villainess because she had revenge three years ago.

Meanwhile, in Canterlot Castle, Celestia stared at her reflection in the full-body mirror. She stood tall, just alone in her bedchambers as she prepared to ask a question. She heard a noise, and looked to the glass container. The pair of wings shuddered. A voice had spoken to her and warned her against becoming evil.

Celestia only scoffed with haughtiness as she ignored the warning. "Well... well," She begun as she stared into her reflection once more.

She adored her own appearance. Magenta eyes, an alabaster coat, and a multicolored mane were the hallmarks of her beauty. Or, at least that was how she felt about herself. Though she was beautiful and queenly on the outside, she was vain, greedy, and envious. Vain, because she only cared for herself. Greedy, because she did a terrible crime against her own sister to become queen and to rise in power. And envious, because she had loathed her sister for being popular one time.

She knew that the twins were being raised in the cottage. A fear grew in her heart; what if they outshone her in grace and beauty? Celestia shook her head and tried to push the thoughts away. The thoughts returned to haunt her. Once, when she was young, she had been loved by all she met. But, when Luna or Nightmare Moon came along, everything changed.

The queen had a yo-yo effect with popularity. Before Luna's birth, she was cherished by everypony. But, when Luna was born, everypony hated the older sister because of what she did to her younger sister. Later, when Celestia's curse on her sister fulfilled, she stole her wings and rose in power. Because of that, and her lies about the sister, she became popular once again.

Perhaps dishonesty was much better than being truthful, after all. Celestia's thoughts halted as her reflection transformed into the fiery mare.

"My reflection in the mirror... who is the fairest of all? Speak the truth. I will not have you mentioning any other mare," She interrogated the reflection.

The fiery mare nodded, and gave the queen a dark smile. "I will tell you what. For a while, you were the fairest of all. But, since your daughters will grow in grace and beauty..." She begun.

"What?" Celestia retorted derisively.

"Both of them, in their own ways... Sunset Shimmer's beauty came from her heart and a willingness to be loyal to others. She is also beautiful on the outside. That will perfectly befit her future. A suitor will easily love her. Twilight Sparkle's beauty came from her kindness and love. She is as beautiful as her sister," The mare continued.

Celestia gasped, and groaned as she thought of how her daughters outshone her in grace and beauty. The reflection rippled like water as the magical sparkles surrounded the glass. The glass soon showed her a scene of Twilight and Sunset playing with the woodland creatures. The creatures seemed to love the twins. They would be afraid of the solar queen, and that would be what Celestia feared.

"You're joking," She denied.

"No. I am serious. If you must be beautiful, but eternally regal, then we shall merge together," The mare returned as she reappeared in the reflection and pushed away the scene.

"Do you think me willing to burn down my kingdom? I have risen to power. I will not accept public spite so easily."

"You will be more loved. Every mare in the kingdom will try to be as beautiful as you."

The queen nodded. She couldn't help but admit that she wasn't willing to lose the spotlight to another mare. "I will submit to you," She promised.

"We, together, shall be called Queen Solar Flare. Has a brilliantly regal ring to it, no?" The mare assured her.

"It sounds beautiful. I love the name." Celestia smirked evilly.

"Good. Then, we shall team up to eliminate your sister and the others that would outshine you in grace and beauty. I am who stays eternally young and beautiful."

"That's what I want."

Celestia placed the tip of her horn onto the glass. Solar Flare mirrored her actions, and a fiery aura soon rushed through the glass and into the alabaster alicorn. Soon, the wicked fiery queen transformed into dark flames and surged through the glass in order to enter Celestia's body.

Her limbs and her slender neck began to stretch and elongate. Her body became more slender, and her mane billowed like the flames. Her pupils became draconic and slitted. She was now several inches taller than her sister in her dark form.

Power surged through her veins like never before. Celestia levitated a deep red gown from the golden canopy bed, and changed into the gown. An elegant, black high collar sat upon the back of her gown's neckline, which complemented her dark aura brilliantly well.

"I am the Queen. This is who I am," She muttered. "When my sister comes to fight me, I will throw curses at her. I will even attempt to murder her, should she ever try to find her useless wings."

Dark flames erupted from Celestia's body when she mentioned her sister. The flames flickered even more as she thought of a way to murder her sister and to murder Discord. The queen approached the container, and chuckled with malice.

"You will not stop me from continuing my reign," She mused. "You never will, since you don't have wings. You are powerless without them! Ahahahaha!"

She heard hoofsteps in her bedroom, and whirled around to confront the intruder. "You better leave!" Celestia hollered, anger evident in her changing irises. Her irises shifted from normal to draconic. Dark circles appeared around her eyes. She seemed menacing, as if she hadn't slept in weeks while plotting evil against her sister.

The servant trembled in his queen's cruel gaze. "S-Sorry, M-majesty," He stuttered. "I-I didn't m-mean to, um, uh... I didn't mean to walk in on yo-your st-strange conversation..."

"Spit it out!" Celestia demanded. "Or, I shall have your head!"

"Okay! Well, um... one of the colts... his name is Soarin. He escaped with the he-help of his f-friends. I can't re-recall their n-names." The servant shook visibly as he cringed and bowed before the queen.

"Bring his friends to me! I shall have them be put on trial!" Celestia boomed as she approached the servant. "You should have prevented that from happening."

The servant forgot to bow, and backed away. The body language had sent the queen into a self-righteous fury as a result. She expected everypony to bow to her and treat her as the head queen!

"You! Have you no manners? Because you did this, you are to clean the whole castle by yourself. That's your punishment. That is unforgivable," Celestia scolded coolly. "If you miss a spot, you're dead!"

The servant ran out of the room, and the queen simply turned to stare into the mirror.

Later in the afternoon, as Nightmare Moon prepared to leave for the Everfree Forest, she heard a pair of youthful voices behind her. She turned to face the pony that spoke to her. She was used to being feared and maligned, but the voices didn't sound afraid, and neither did the voices had any hint of hate in them. A warmth entered her heart, but she managed to push away the warmth inside.

"Hello," Twilight spoke.

The dark alicorn only hummed as she observed the twins' body language. There wasn't a hint of terror in the body language, either. Surprised, she stepped back a little and blinked twice.

"What are you doing here? I don't have time for foals. I don't like them, especially when they are the spawn of monsters," Nightmare lashed out. Her voice sounded softer than intended.

Sunset smiled as she and her sister approached the dark alicorn. "Up, up!" They begged.

"What for?" Nightmare only hummed as the twins embraced her tightly. More warmth entered her heart like never before. It was the feeling that got her wings stolen. "No! Stop! I don't like foals! Go away!"

She managed to move them away with her forelegs, only to be embraced once again. Why did this have to happen? The dark alicorn groaned as she looked to the shadows. Discord tilted his head a little, almost perplexed.

Nightmare Moon huffed as she looked to the twins. She wanted to scare them off, but she couldn't bring herself to do that. "Ah, fine," She breathed out as she levitated the twins into the air.

Sunset and Twilight managed to touch Nightmare's helmet. Irritated, the dark alicorn turned her head away, only to have her mane tugged by the twins. "Ow, ow, ow!" She exclaimed. "This is why I don't like foals like you! Go home right now."

Twilight only gave the alicorn a pair of puppy-dog eyes. She frowned and squeaked like a puppy. Nightmare Moon's heart nearly ached. Strangely, she didn't like whenever the young princesses were upset.

Before placing the twins on the ground, the alicorn nuzzled them for a second. The twins giggled as the alicorn nuzzled them. "Now, go along," Nightmare instructed as she placed them onto the ground. "Go home and don't bother anypony else."

Nightmare was taken aback as she warned them not to bother anypony else. She could imagine what might happen if the twins spoke to strangers. They could kidnap them, or tell them about their actual identities. A stranger might even bring harm to the twins.

Still, the alicorn wondered if her motherly instinct was the result of being related to them. She was their aunt, but there was an instinct in her heart that told her to take care of them. There was an instinct to protect them from danger, an instinct to warn them about cruel strangers, and even an instinct to protect them from the dark truth.

An internal conflict churned in Nightmare's soul like never before. At the same time, she wanted to see the curse befall the twins, but she also wanted to turn back the clock so that she could curse Celestia instead. Well, nopony could turn back the clock. Not even Nightmare... she had said that no power on Earth could break the curse... except True Love's Kiss.

"Was vengeance really the right choice to get back at Celestia? I don't know," Nightmare spoke as she strode into the shadows.

"Are you going to return to your old self? The one who's so youthful and happy-go-lucky?" Discord returned.

"I don't think I ever will. Whenever I try to be cheery, horrible things happen to me and the ones that I care about."

"It doesn't have to be like that. I see that you are still upset over the betrayal."

"Of course I am. You feel the same, so why aren't you glum about it?"

"Don't ask me that question. I was upset, too."

Nightmare Moon led Discord deeper into the woods, and approached the Wall of Vines.

Godmothers and Wings

Weeks passed since the twins' first visit into the Everfree Forest. As the days and nights continued to pass, Nightmare continued to grow more fond of Twilight Sparkle. Discord had grown fond of Sunset Shimmer. Sunset and Twilight would always bring happiness into their lives, no matter how dark their days or nights would seem.

Each time Nightmare and Twilight met with each other, the dark alicorn began to see how kind Twilight was, which conflicted well with Celestia's cruelty, hatred, and wickedness. Discord and Sunset also grew closer. He thought that Sunset was a little like the younger Luna, for they were both energetic and cheery. Both mares were also strong-willed and loyal.

Nightmare began to wonder if she had done herself a disservice for being so frigid and hateful. Perhaps she had done herself a disservice. After all, she had raised the twins right after the christening went wrong because of her. It was her fault that the twins would soon suffer from the curse.

Remorse began to build in the dark alicorn's heart. Sometimes, she would berate herself for her dark side. Other times, she would wallow in shame and guilt whenever she had time to herself. Whether she had moments of berating herself, Discord would remind her that the twins loved her much more than she knew. He also assured her that the twins might forgive her.

Nightmare denied the fact that forgiveness would even exist. She figured that the twins would loathe her if they ever knew the truth. One night in the Everfree Forest, there was a mudfight between the twins and the diamond dogs. Nightmare sat near a tree, and Discord sat close to her. The event took place near the river.

Twilight tossed a mud ball at one of the diamond dogs. The diamond dog ducked the mud ball, and the mud splattered onto Sunset.

Sunset's eyes glittered with mischief as she glanced at her sister. She levitated a ball of mud from the ground, smirked, and tossed the ball towards her twin. Twilight ducked the mud ball, and watched as the mud splattered onto Nightmare's left cheek.

Nightmare turned her head to the right, her lips slightly parted. Her eyes were closed. The onlookers shrank in fright, and feared her cruel side. She then looked to Discord, who broke into a fist of laughter, and smirked. "Well, well... look who will get the joke," She hummed. "Joke's on you, Discord!"

Cerulean magic surged into the mud. The mud splattered all over Discord. Nightmare chuckled, and then broke into a fist of joyful laughter. "Oh, dear! Discord, now there is something on your face," She continued with lighthearted sarcasm.

The twins broke into laughter as they looked at their godparents. They continued to play, and soon, it was midnight and everypony was tired from the fun. Nightmare Moon decided to tuck the twins into bed. She blew cerulean dust at the twins, and levitated them into the air. The twins closed their eyes and breathed slowly. But, she had a reason why she would be in the cottage again. It was time to break the curse... or, was it?

The dark alicorn strode out of the forest and to the cottage. As soon as she entered the cottage, she walked up the steps, entered the room, and placed the twins onto their respective beds.

She began to wonder if the curse wasn't the right way to punish Celestia for her infractions against the royal family and against the Everfree Forest's protector. There was an ancient prophecy involving Solar Flare's wrathful tyranny and how it could be stopped. Nightmare Moon frowned; what if she had to banish her sister instead of redeeming her? Anger flared up and replaced the empathy for her villainous sister. She knew that her sister had become a villainous monster over the years.

She heard rumors that Equestria's citizens secretly planned to dethrone the tyrant and to find the lost sister; not Nightmare Moon, but, the kind and benevolent Princess Luna. There would someday be an open revolt against Celestia or Solar Flare.

Nightmare had a vision of her sister being banished to the sun, and of the kingdom's reaction to the tyrant's exile. The ponies would rejoice. The denizens of the Everfree would feel happy if Solar Flare got exiled for a millennium.

The dark alicorn's vision receded. She focused on removing the curse from the twins. The cerulean aura surrounded her, and lighted the room a little. The violet flames surged from the twins, but weren't willing to be defeated by the cerulean aura.

"I retract the curse. Let it be no more," Nightmare murmured.

The cerulean aura only hovered above the twins, and transformed into a cloud that would try to suck the violet aura into the cloud. The violet aura remained intact. The dark alicorn felt the guilt overcome her heart and mind. She frowned. She knew that there was another way to punish Celestia for a harsh betrayal, but she was so blind in hatred and revenge when she cursed the twins instead of Celestia.

"I retract the curse! Let it be no more!" Nightmare bellowed, her voice more powerful than ever.

The whole room began to be lighted by the silvered moonlight. Light and dark clashed against each other. Cerulean and violet battled with sheer intensity, the lighter aura struggling to pull away the malevolent dark aura.

"Let it be no more! Let it be no more! I retract the curse! I retract- huh?"

The whole room darkened. The violet aura won against the cerulean and re-entered the twins. That left the dark alicorn in an ocean of guilt and despair, never finding a way out of the water. The starlights in her life would soon be whisked away from her side because of the wicked curse.

If the lights in the night sky could die, then so would the twins on the eve of their sixteenth birthday. The moon would be forlorn and isolated, and so would the dark alicorn. She would not see her nieces become the future rulers of Equestria someday. She had tried hard to revoke the curse, and failed miserably.

The curse shall last till the end of time... no power on Earth could change it, The voice whispered.

Nightmare sighed, and her heart dropped like a stone. She shuddered as she lost her balance, and tumbled onto the floor near Twilight's bed. She sobbed into the mattress, her tears threatening to fall from her eyes like a strong waterfall.

"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry... I shouldn't have done this to you during the christening... I failed you, my little beasties..." She murmured.

It was all because of her sister. Her sister was involved in the theft of her wings and involved in the horrid betrayal. The twins never tried to hurt Nightmare... not even once. Celestia had caused so much turmoil in Nightmare's life, and she would soon take away the twins. She would be paranoid enough to build a barrier around the twins so that the twins would forever be asleep.

Celestia was the villainous monster who had wrested every ounce of innocence out of Luna and or Nightmare Moon.

Nightmare felt the rage towards her sister build in her heart. She didn't want to hurt anypony, so she rushed out of the cottage. She stared at the castle, and scowled deeply.

"Celestia! How dare you turn me dark?" She hollered to the castle. "How dare you? How dare you? Why are you so cruel? Why are you so dishonest? Why are you so greedy for power? Just because I used to be innocent and good? Just... because? I'm disgusted at you! You are the reason why the curse happened! Your crimes are so harsh! I still couldn't believe that you killed our father out of a need to become Queen!"

She levitated a bucket, and tossed it towards the well. She was still hurt by Celestia's cruelty and dishonesty! She rushed into the Everfree Forest, and blazed to a dark corner in the forest. That corner was where the malevolent creatures lurked. She felt that she deserved to be here because of her curse. Nightmare Moon only stared at the pond. Hot tears ran down her cheeks as she sniffled.

She feared that she wouldn't do anything to save the twins from her curse and... herself. She felt like a horrible monster. She felt disgusted with herself. She loathed herself for what she did. She didn't want to love herself anymore. She wouldn't forgive herself. Soon, she felt a paw touching her back. Her back muscles twitched, and she winced in agony.

"Leave me alone," Nightmare implored. "I don't deserve to live! Why can't I just... die?"

"Don't say that. If you died, then the creatures in the forest would become mournful. I would be depressed. The twins would miss you. Well, the downside is that Celestia would only feel fulfilled. You don't want to fulfill her need for vengeance. If you suffered, then the twins would sleep forever. Celestia's vengeance would be enough to bring the world into complete despair and destruction," Discord returned.

"I'm never a hero. I don't deserve to live. Don't call for my name... I don't deserve a life in the sun! Don't come to me if you need advice. I'd be a false prophet by then."

"What about when you were young? You were kind to all you met, especially the trio of breezies. You were like a hero to them. There was a prophecy about the banishment of Solar Flare. You were the hero in that story. You didn't just sit around whenever the twins run into danger. Sometimes, you saved them. You loved them, and they loved you. I'm sure they would forgive you. If you have died, then there would be eternal wars. The forest and the land of Equestria would both fall to ruin forever."

Nightmare only sighed, and shook her head in disagreement. Her heart ached even more. It was hard to admit that her friend would be right. She would not allow herself to live. "Why would you want to be friends with me? I'm a monster. Leave me alone. Stay away from me," She objected.

"I can't stand to see you so unhappy. You were conflicted. You weren't the reason why you turned dark. Celestia was the reason," Discord reminded her.

"I'll make you unhappy if you continue to sit by my side!"

"You won't. You are still kind."

"I'm never kind!"

"Okay..." Discord sighed as he walked away. He couldn't console the dark alicorn. If he couldn't do it, then the twins would.

If the twins couldn't, then would Nightmare think about... committing suicide in front of the ones she loved most in order to "break" the curse? She didn't say anything about whether her suicide would break the curse. It could only be broken by true love's kiss. Discord knew that the kiss would work. The suicide would only worsen the situation. He could tell that his friend was feeling suicidal. He knew, because it was the way she spoke of herself just a second ago.

He hoped that Nightmare wouldn't commit suicide while alone in the darkness. For the next few weeks, Nightmare didn't eat or drink anything. She even had a horrible time sleeping. Her thoughts only focused on how cruel she was when the curse happened. She stayed in the exact same spot, never thinking to emerge from the darkness. She felt as if a dark cloud hovered just above her head, never willing to go away.

Discord tried to make her feel better, but nothing would work. Even his jokes wouldn't work. One night, Nightmare Moon strode out of the darkness and towards the meadow. She only stared at the ground, and sighed. Her heart pounded against her ribs. Her emotions were stronger than ever, but she fought to repress them. She now loathed her emotions, and blamed them for the curse. She shook with grief. She could barely smile or calm down her emotions.

Even the berries wouldn't tempt Nightmare. She wasn't interested in drinking water, either. Her body became more slender and worn. Her cheeks became gaunt, and dark circles appeared around her eyes.

Twilight and Sunset stood near the pond, and watched the breezies dance in the air. Twilight felt a strange pain in her heart. The pain wouldn't die. Years of bonding with her godmother had caused a magical connection between the two. She ran from the pond and found her godmother by the trees. Her godmother barely moved. Sympathy surged through her heart. Why was the alicorn so troubled and so depressed?

"I'm a monster... I'm a monster..." Nightmare whispered.

"You're not," Twilight returned. "Why are you so gloomy?"

"You would run away if I tell you."

"Alright, sorry. Well, the other creatures and the breezies have wings. Why don't you?"

Nightmare sighed. For a reason, she no longer missed her wings. She didn't want them back anymore because of her depression. She'd rather die without wings on her back.

"I had wings... once," She murmured. "That's all..."

"Do you miss your wings?" Twilight queried.

"No! I hate them!" Nightmare jumped as she shrank back. "They were the reason why I'm so glum!"

"No, I want to know how you lost your wings. I'm sure you enjoyed flying. It's okay to talk. I won't judge."

Nightmare Moon turned away, and closed her eyes tight. Hot tears threatened to fall from her eyes. She couldn't bear to reveal the dark truth. She could turn back the clock and simply confront Celestia. It was too late, for she had been part of the evil in the world.

"My wings were strong, although I didn't fly as much. Somepony stole them one morning. I want to just forget about my wings. I will be happy without them," She admitted.

"I don't think your wings were the reason why you're unhappy. That pony must have turned your world upside down," Twilight replied.

Nightmare didn't want to nod. She knew that Celestia was the cause of her misery. Her wings weren't the cause. She had blamed her wings instead of Celestia this time. She felt overwhelmed by a wave of further sadness and self-blame. She simply walked away, and returned to the dark corner in the forest. She blended into the shadows, and intended to stay there for a long time. She lay on the forest floor, and shut her eyes once again. She stayed still. She waited for death to steal her essence of life away from her. She couldn't bear the fact that she had cursed the innocent twins. She wanted to be away from them so that they wouldn't be harmed.

Twilight and Sunset saw how troubled their godmother was. As they walked to the cottage to give the alicorn some time, they thought of the undying remorse in Nightmare's voice.

"She seems to blame her wings for her sadness," Twilight spoke.

"I think somepony was the reason for her turmoil and misery," Sunset affirmed.

"Sunny, I don't think it was the wings. It was the pony that took her wings and made her unhappy. If we find the pony..."

"She didn't say the name, Twily. I think she is hiding something from us."

Soon, the year passed and the month of April came. The twins would become sixteen, but they would suffer from the curse. One morning, Nightmare decided that enough was enough, after she decided that she couldn't die. She felt it was time to reveal the truth, but she didn't want to scare them away. She sat near the river, unable to look at her reflection. Unhappiness continued to grow in her heart. She couldn't forgive herself. Because of her guilt, she created the Tantabus to torture her each time she drifted into dreamland.

Sunset and Twilight played with the breezies and chuckled for a moment. Nightmare only watched them, unable to do anything because of her undying depression. She intended to call them over so that she could speak with them. "Come over," She called.

The twins rushed towards the dark alicorn, and sat near her. Nightmare sighed as she began to speak. "There is an evil in this world... and I cannot keep you from it," She explained.

"I can take care of myself," Twilight replied.

"So can I," Sunset added in.

"We want to live here someday. This place is so beautiful."

Nightmare smiled. "You don't have to wait. You can live here now," She suggested.

"We should tell our aunties," Sunset replied. "Twily, let's go!"

Twilight nodded before following her sister out of the forest.

The Truth Revealed

Meanwhile, in Canterlot Castle, Solar Flare woke from her dream with a start. In the dream, she fought her sister, and they ended up on the roof. The dream ended when she found herself on the sun, chained to the hot and fiery celestial body with no way out. She swore that she saw her sister with a pair of wings, and that she heard her sister singing to her in the solar exile. That song sounded like an unhappy lullaby, which would remind anypony of a heartbreaking loss.

For Solar Flare, it reminded her too much of the prophecy. She didn't want to be exiled from her kingdom. The kingdom was hers alone. Nothing else could change the fact. Nopony would need to overthrow her for the sake of some lost sister! She crawled out of bed, and wore her favorite dress. She cackled like a madmare as she stomped into the hallway.

A soldier froze as he felt the queen's cruel gaze. "Pinkie Pie and her friends helped Soarin and Flash Sentry to escape the dungeon this morning," He admitted.

"How dare you let them get away! Why, I shall send you to the fearsome gallows, where you shall hang until you died," Solar retorted.

"I tried to stop them, but-"

"No excuses!" Solar slammed the floor, which caused a crack to surge through the wall on the left.

"Ack! Sorry-"

"I shall give you no mercy! Guards, hang him on the gallows!"

Solar Flare watched as the soldier got whisked away from view. She smiled with satisfaction as she strode to the throne room with such pride and grace. She didn't know that her greed, pride, and strife would befall her. She was so obsessed with hunting down her sister for revenge. She barely cared that Sombra died. She barely cared that she had heard reports of the twins being raised by a mysterious shadow. She wanted revenge, and that was the only thing she wanted... for now.

As she sat upon the throne, she was enraged when the group of five mares stood before her. "What do you want? Are you going to stop me, to dethrone me?" Solar Flare demanded.

"We're sick of your tyranny," Rainbow Dash expressed. "That's why I would never again try to team up with the Solar Army!"

"Now is the time to give up the throne for good," Apple Jack concurred.

"I am disgusted at you," Rarity spoke. "I couldn't believe you would try to even enlist the fillies into the army! The colts may be enlisted, too. Those foals are innocent! They would be scarred for life if they had to murder somepony in the war! At least I saved my sister and her friends from the dungeon."

"And, every time an animal gets onto the castle grounds, you would kill them for no reason. Solar Flare, you are more evil than your own sister! You even murdered Apple Jack's older brother last week," Fluttershy confronted Solar Flare.

"Killing the others wouldn't be a good way to make friends. Majesty, you have no soul! Your sister should have been queen instead," Pinkie Pie explained.

Solar Flare lost her composure. She stomped towards the group, and her mane flickered in front of her face. She was more menacing than ever, and gave them a baleful glare. Dark flames erupted around the group.

"Stay away from the castle forever, or you will forever be banished from Equestria," Solar Flare warned.

The flames swiftly disappeared. The group rushed out of the throne room and didn't say anything else. The cruel queen chuckled at their reaction to the flames. They were so afraid that they dared run from her. The queen snorted derisively as she approached her throne and sat upon the throne. Because Solar Flare was so vain, she had requested a mirror that would stand by her throne.

She glanced at the left, and glared into her reflection. "For the last time... tell me who is the most beautiful and the most powerful queen of all!" She commanded.

"Your sister and her nieces are the fairest of all ponies in the land," The mirror replied.

"What! You're kidding me, right? You're only joking..." Solar Flare groaned as she looked to the huge doors. The mirror halted its talking, and remained as silent as possible.

Near the Everfree Forest, Twilight and Sunset practiced their lines.

"Aunties, we love you, but we're going to move out. We need to have more independence," Twilight spoke.

"And, not only if we need it, but we also need time away from you sometimes. Also-" Sunset began.

A pair of stallions hid behind the bushes as they observed the twins. They watched in awe as they emerged from the shadows. They gently approached them, and watched as the twins whirled around to face them.

"Sorry if we frightened you two," The stallion with the orange coat spoke.

"We're lost," The stallion with the indigo mane explained.

Sunset and Twilight were stunned by their sudden appearance. They nearly tumbled back, but kept their balance as they stared them in the eye.

"Who? Who are you? How did you get here?" Sunset interrogated.

"My name is Soarin, and this is Flash Sentry. We are sent to visit Solar Flare, even though she's a terrifying tyrant," Soarin began as he found himself lost in Twilight's eyes. He blushed profusely, and chuckled as he shifted uncomfortably. "Sorry, again."

"You're forgiven," Twilight replied, focused on Soarin's sincere expression. She could kiss him, but they barely knew each other. She had heard tales of Solar Flare before; the tales sounded foreboding and ominous.

Sunset, however, thought it was ridiculous. She imagined Solar Flare to be a powerful but strict queen who ruled with an iron hoof.

"You may go that way. I'm sure the queen would love to meet you," Sunset told the stallions.

"Thanks, but she's not gentle with me," Soarin returned. "One time, she tried to enlist me in the army, but my friends rescued me."

"I don't know. She just rules with an iron hoof," Flash disagreed. "Let's go, my friend." He nodded to Soarin as they trotted away.

The twins could only sigh as they watched the stallions. They wanted to fall in love with them, but they barely knew each other. From a distance, Nightmare Moon watched them. She wasn't sure what to feel about the two stallions. She knew that they were kind and pleasant to the twins, but what if they changed in the future for the worse? Her thoughts were interrupted when Discord tapped her.

"Stop it," Nightmare scolded.

Discord glanced at the stallions for a moment before continuing. "They are the answer. They could save the twins," He suggested.

"What?" Nightmare chuckled as she looked away. "I cursed them that way because true love doesn't exist, and neither does forgiveness."

"I understand that's how you feel, but what about Sunny and Twily? Fine! Argue with me any time, Nighty. But, I won't forgive the curse. I'm going away," Discord retorted.

Nightmare tilted her head, perplexed and shocked. She had never seen that behavior before. She didn't want Discord to be filled with pessimism. But, she didn't like whenever he acted that way. She knew that he was right for a reason.

Soon, the twins entered the cottage to explain why they would leave to live on their own.

"I must tell you something," Sunset spoke.

Night Blossom and Moonflower quitted their quarrel, and Silver Moon dropped the chocolate and vanilla cake. "Oh, you would turn sixteen soon," Moonflower spoke. "First, I must tell you something, my sweeties."

"We'll move out when we turn sixteen," Twilight confirmed.

"What?" Night Blossom and Silver Moon shouted in unison, shocked.

"We're not taking you to your mother until the curse is done! Nightmare Moon was the reason why you were cursed, and-" Moonflower blurted out.

"I thought you told us that mom and dad were dead," Sunset breathed out, confused.

"Tell us why we're hidden away in the cottage," Twilight demanded. "I want to know why you're hiding everything from us! Lying's been your motivation ever since you told me not to read my books! I'm done with you! That's why Sunny and I were moving out!"

"Don't you dare!" Moonflower retorted. "Lemme tell you what! You were born to Queen Celestia, and after that, this monster came to curse you! She was the reason why you're here, and she's the evil in the world! Stay away from her. Before your birthday, I have destroyed the books for good reason, and-"

"What? Why?" Twilight gasped as she shrank back.

"She has no wings and she cursed you two to get back at Celestia. She's evil, I tell you! We're making you stay here until after your birthday- wait!" Night Blossom shouted.

The twins rushed out of the cottage, and ran towards the Everfree to confront their godmother. "Godmother!" They called in unison. "Godmother!"

Nightmare Moon approached them, and stood still. She saw how emotional they were now. Did the breezies tell them before they were mature enough to handle the truth? The trio of breezies were so inconsiderate sometimes...

"What is it?" Nightmare whispered as she frowned.

"Is it true? Are you Nightmare Moon?" Sunset assumed. "I hate you! You're the evil in the world! All the fair folk are evil! I'm going away. I hate the forest, and your wings are ugly anyways!"

"Sunny, no!" Twilight scolded. "Don't be so immature!"

"Whatever!" Sunset ran off before anypony could reply.

"Are we cursed?" Twilight interrogated.

"Yes," Nightmare confessed. "I did that because your mother stole my wings. You must go save Sunset, but do not be lured by her dishonesty. I am sorry."

"I'll get Sunset. You hurt her much more than you know! Bye... forever!"

"I'm going to the castle because I love you. Discord is coming, too." Nightmare frowned as she watched Twilight disappear from view. She saw how much more immature Sunset was, but she knew that the light twin was right. Nightmare was truly the evil that caused them to suffer, anyways.

Soon, the twins arrived at the castle. Twilight and Sunset entered the war room, prepared to meet their mother. Solar Flare stood by the door, her back facing the door.

"They claim to be the princesses," A guard told Solar Flare.

Twilight suddenly felt nervous. Why did she come here? Why was her mother more intimidating than she thought? "Um... mother?" She stammered.

Solar Flare whirled around. She forced herself to grin, even though she loathed the world. "Hey. Sunset, you look just like me. And you want to be like me, to have revenge on that evil mare? Here, I'll help you to avenge yourself," She offered.

Sunset swiftly embraced her mother, and sobbed for a long time. "It's me! This is Twilight," She replied. "And, yes, I want to kill Nightmare Moon."

Twilight almost cringed with horror. She knew never to hold a grudge, but she just found out that Solar's intentions were true. That evil queen wanted to murder the wingless alicorn. Solar was more dishonest than Nightmare. Before Twilight could say anything, the guards whisked both princesses to a bedroom. As they got locked into the bedchambers, Twilight and Sunset broke into a quarrel.

"It's your fault that you led me here," Twilight accused. "You shouldn't have came here this instant when all our mother wanted was to have revenge on our real aunt!"

"That's because she's protecting us," Sunset retorted. "Shut up and leave me alone. I won't forgive our aunt!"

"How dare you hold a grudge!"

"I can hold a grudge! You'll regret siding with our fucking aunt! She's an evil bitch!"

Twilight froze, stunned by Sunset's harsh and cruel words. She couldn't believe what her twin just said. "Are you not aware of the warning signs? Our mother barely saw me. She thought that I never existed. She told you to betray that wingless alicorn," She asserted. "Stop being so ignorant and blind!"

Sunset rushed towards a door, and pounded on the door. She found that the door was locked, so she approached the tapestry. She pounded on the wall, and a door opened. She darted through the hallway, and didn't say anything to her sister.

Twilight chased Sunset through the darkness. "Sunny! Wait!" She hollered.

There was no response. They ran further and further into the darkness, and ran down the steps in one tower.

In the Everfree Forest, Nightmare searched for Discord. "Find the stallions," She commanded. "We must save the twins!"

"Alright! Let's go," A voice replied.

Nightmare approached a nearby pond. She was sure that her current appearance was foreboding. She infused herself with cerulean magic, and transformed back into Luna. However, she didn't shrink in size. Her old self must have grown over the years. She stayed the same, but her coat became lighter. Her mane was more like Celestia's once again.

Her teeth were no longer pointy, and her pupils were no longer slitted. Her eyes were normal once again. She trotted out of the forest, and saw the pair of stallions. As she approached them, the stallions froze.

"I'm looking for Sunset," Flash explained.

"I'm looking for Twilight," Soarin spoke.

"Of course you are," Luna replied as she blew cerulean dust at them.

Both stallions floated into the air as they closed their eyes. Discord held the stallions in the air as Luna led him away from the woods. As soon as they hurried towards the castle, the sun threatened to dip into the horizon.

The Curse is Broken & Solar Flare's Wrath

In the dungeon, Sunset ran and ran further into the darkness. Twilight began to be entranced by the curse. She no longer thought about rescuing her sister from eternal sleep. She only thought of pricking her hoof on the spindle of a spinning wheel. The twins strode through the darkened hallways, and as they entered a room filled with spinning wheels, a pair of spinning wheels emerged from nowhere, enveloped by the violet aura.

"Before the sun sets... she will prick her hoof... a sleep-like death. Sleep... Like... Death. The curse shall last till... no power on Earth... a sleep-like death," A voice murmured.

Twilight placed her hoof onto the spindle, and collapsed to the floor, her eyes shut. Sunset mirrored her actions, and now she fell to the floor, as dormant as her sister.

Solar Flare waited impatiently in the war room. She wanted to avenge her daughters, but she also wanted Sunset to stop her trance and to join the dark side. She looked out the window, and stared at the approaching figures in the distance. She saw that the sun had already set in the horizon. "She's going to be here soon. Let's lure her into a trap," She commanded.

"We will, Queen Solar Flare," The guards replied in unison as they walked out of the war room.

The solar queen chuckled as she approached a nearby mirror. She marveled at her reflection. She seemed as intimidating. She wore armor on her chest, her legs, her forelegs, and she wore a helmet on her head. She had practiced her magic enough to bring down her sister.

"Fools!" She snorted as she rushed to the window and watched her sister. "They think they can sneak past me and my guards! I will get her, and I shall kill her! And, that shall be the end of her life!"

Hoofsteps approached her immediately.

"Majesty, your daughters are in an eternal sleep. They're in the bedroom. Follow me," A servant confessed.

"What? Lead me to them right now! I told those idiots! They're foolish, and allowed the twins to die," Solar Flare boomed as she chased the servant into the hallway. "You didn't even catch the twins in time! Guards, bring me the servant's head!"

The servant gasped as she ran off. The guards pursued her through the castle, and Solar Flare rushed to the bedroom, where her daughters were. A trio of breezies waited near the canopy bed, mournful and disconsolate after learning that the twins were in an eternal sleep.

"She's sleeping," Night Blossom lied.

"She's sleeping... she's sleeping..." Solar mocked bitterly. "FOREVER! I shall kill my sister! That way, the curse will be broken!"

"But, what about true love's kiss?" Moonflower asked.

"Yeah... true love's kiss?" Silver Moon added in.

"True love... does not exist!" Solar Flare boomed as she slapped the trio towards the window. "And, stay there!"

The trio of breezies fell into the vase, and Solar Flare cackled at their misery. "Very well..." She murmured as she placed a lid onto the vase.

The lid flew off the vase, and the breezies rushed towards the queen to apologize. The queen stormed out of the room and slammed the doors. The breezies sat near the door, hopeless.

Near the drawbridge, Luna and Discord stared at the ominous and foreboding fortress. "Look. In the prophecy, Solar Flare would have revenge on us," She warned.

"The guards are waiting to trap you," Discord returned.

"Then, don't come. It's not your fight."

Luna strode across the drawbridge. Despite her fear of Solar Flare, she wanted to risk her life for the twins. She had seen the monstrous mare in the reflection one time, and now she had to face the cruel tyrant. Discord followed her into a darkened hallway.

"Very well, then. Stay with me," Luna continued as she glared at the metallic spikes on the walls and ceilings.

"Was she trying to-" Discord began, but Luna placed a hoof onto his mouth.

"We don't want to let them know that we're here." Luna frowned with worry as she turned to walk through the hallway.

Discord sensed that Solar Flare's wicked magic was imbued into the metal, so he made sure not to touch the metal. Just as Luna placed her hoof onto a metal, the metal made a hissing sound. The magic burned her hoof, and she shrieked in pain. She swiftly covered her mouth to prevent further screaming.

"Are you okay?" Discord asked, concerned.

"Shh," Luna whispered as she led him through the hallway.

Finally, they reached a small room. As they prepared to go through the door, they heard hoofsteps approaching. Discord swiftly pulled the stallions into darkness, and moved Luna into the shadows for a moment as he watched a pair of servants walking by.

Soon, the servants disappeared. Discord and Luna strode into the hallway, and approached a door. Suddenly, Flash and Soarin floated high into the air. A guard noticed, and stared in awe. Luna levitated the guard, and tossed him towards another hallway.

The two stallions landed onto the floor, and woke from their temporary slumber. "Wha... what?" They asked, confused as they struggled to stand up.

Night Blossom, Moonflower, and Silver Moon struggled to open the two huge doors. As soon as the doors opened, they approached the stallions. "The princesses are in an enchantment," Moonflower explained.

"I'm embarrassed to say, I don't know where I am," Flash Sentry replied. "Anyways, my friend and I were supposed to see Solar Flare. I am Prince Flash Sentry. This is Soarin, the member of the Wonderbolts."

"A prince and a noble," Night Blossom and Silver Moon spoke in unison, and pulled the stallions towards the twins.

"Aren't they beautiful?" Moonflower tempted the stallions.

"Yeah," Soarin agreed.

"I think Sunset is the fairest of all," Flash commented.

"Do you want to kiss them?" Night Blossom queried.

"Yes... I prefer Twilight," Soarin admitted.

"I like Sunset," Flash added in.

"Kiss the ones that you like. They will be awakened from the curse," Silver Moon explained.

Luna and Discord snuck into the room, and hid behind the curtains. They watched in silence, and hoped that the stallions would wake up the princesses with a kiss.

"It would feel wrong to kiss a mare when she sleeps," Flash expressed.

"It's not moral to kiss a mare against her consent," Soarin concurred.

"Kiss them!" The breezies demanded in unison.

Soarin kissed Twilight. Flash kissed Sunset. A few seconds passed, and nothing happened. The stallions pulled away, and took a step back.

"It's supposed to be true love's kiss," Moonflower scolded. "They're not the ones."

The breezies pulled the stallions towards the doors, and soon, they were all out into the hallway. Luna sighed, filled with remorse as she looked to the sleeping princesses. "I told you," She said to Discord as she walked from the curtains and towards Twilight's side.

Discord stood by Sunset, and frowned.

"Twilight, I shall not beg your forgiveness, because what I have done is unforgivable. I was so lost in hatred and revenge... I never dreamed that I would love you, sweet Twily. If your mother hasn't tried to provoke me, then none of this would happen. But, it had happened anyways. You have stolen what was left of my heart. I swear, no harm will come to you as long as I live. Now, I've lost you forever..." Luna apologized.

"Sunset, you have stolen my heart. Since you have allowed the curse to befall you, I have lost you forever," Discord told Sunset.

Luna planted a motherly kiss on Twilight's forehead. Discord planted a fatherly kiss on Sunset's forehead. A kind of magic surged throughout the room like never before. And, the draconequus could sense it quite well. Luna thought that it was just from a loss. As the draconequus and alicorn turned away, they heard a voice greet them.

"Hello, alicorn godmother," Twilight murmured.

"Hello. Well, I'm sorry for what I said to you earlier. I guess we can forgive each other and move on," Sunset explained. "I promise not to be so mean to you again, godmother."

Luna gasped as she turned to face her nieces. Twilight seemed glad, while Sunset was somewhat remorseful. "Hello, beasties. And, Sunset..." She replied as she turned her attention to the older twin. "I have forgiven you. Do not act hateful again. It was unkind, and I can understand. I have felt like that when my sister stole my wings, but I was much worse by then."

"You're our aunt?" Twilight gasped in surprise. "My mother took your wings?"

"Yes... yes," Luna replied.

"You look different. What has happened?" Sunset wondered.

Luna proceeded to explain everything about the curse and about why Solar Flare was the cruel, tyrannical ruler of Equestria. She even mentioned the night of Celestia's cruel and hateful betrayal. She said that her sister had always been the envious sibling. When she finished explaining, the twins were stunned. Sunset blushed in shame. She couldn't believe how willing she was to join the dark side! Still remorseful and profusely apologetic, she started to sob.

"I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have tried to join Solar's conquest for revenge and darkness," Sunset repented. "Twilight, I should have listened to your warning. You were right about our evil mother. I shouldn't have listened to her."

"Apologies aside, beasties. Everypony is forgiven, except for an enemy that we should take care of," Luna intervened as she led them into the hallway.

As Sunset and Twilight followed their godparents into the throne room, only the moonlight was the source of light. The silvered light shone into the empty and eerie throne room. The creepy and dark castle made them shiver. The twins never expected the castle to be something out of a nightmare instead of a breezie tale.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Twilight admitted.

"Yeah. It's like we don't belong here. Now seems like the perfect idea to return to the forest," Sunset concurred. "Well, I've got to confront our mother about her evilness. I will tell her that I will never join the dark side."

For a mysterious reason, the sun rose from the horizon and blocked the moon.

"Now, the hour's come at last! The sun rises into the horizon. But, why is it that everypony chose to shun the sun and its glorious light? Am I so wrong to think that nopony will turn from the light? My sun is not appreciated, but it should be because it gives life! They think the sun is deadly! Now I shall prove them otherwise. While the moon will whine and beg, the sun shall stand her ground," A familiar voice sang.

Luna recognized the voice. She had thought that it was a spirit, but it wasn't. That meant that her sister was prepared to let the world burn and suffer.

"Sunset and Twilight, sneak through the hallways. Find the drawbridge, and we shall reunite there. Your mother should not try to torment you into joining the dark side," She advised.

The twins nodded as they snuck towards the huge doors. Luna rushed towards the twins, and froze as she found herself in the pool of harsh sunlight. She looked up, and gasped in horror. She had been ambushed by the spies! "Aaahhh! Sister, why would you hurt me like this?" She shrieked.

The net with the metallic spikes fell onto her, which caused the dark alicorn to collaspe to the floor. "Oh..." She groaned with pain as the guards surrounded her. They poked at her and chuckled at her misery.

Luna felt the anger rise in her heart. She thought that the ponies in Equestria betrayed her, but she realized that the guards were part of the Solar Army. "Don't follow the cruel sun," She sneered. "Twilight is awake. I broke the curse. Sunset is also awake."

"Ahahahahaha! Look at you! Poor, unfortunate monster!" A guard sneered.

Discord tried to pull the guards away from his friend, but the guards would push him away each time.

Twilight spun around, and gasped. Sunset gasped and rushed through the doors to find a safe area. She wouldn't like to see her mother again. Twilight felt prepared to confront Solar Flare. She rushed towards Luna, bit the net, and attempted to pull it away when the guards shoved her towards the huge doors.

"Into a dragon," Luna whispered weakly as she started to become unconscious.

Discord nodded, and transformed into a huge dragon. He spat fire to scare the guards away. "Stay away from my love!" He shouted in between each fiery breath.

Luna blushed. She never thought that Discord would have feelings for her. She watched as Discord the dragon pulled the net away, and tossed the net towards the hallway. Luna's senses surged back into her, and she rose to her hooves.

"Twilight! Find Sunset and make sure she is okay," Luna instructed. "Be careful along the way!"

She tried to rush past the guards, but was horrified when she saw that the guards wouldn't let her leave the throne room. Some of the guards threw chains at Discord, and pulled his head to the floor as a result. Fire continued to rage through the castle, and a foreboding figure strode through the huge doors.

Luna could scream, but she didn't want to seem vulnerable in front of her sister. She backed away as the fiery mare came into view. "Sister, don't do this! I have broken the curse! Your daughters forgave me," She pleaded.

Solar Flare's Punishment

Author's Note

Author's note: I didn't own Lullaby for a Princess. I tried to come up with fitting lyrics. I'm sometimes not good at coming up with lyrics. I tried to show that Luna had forgiven her sister despite her sister's unkindness to her. Some of the lyrics were what I came up with, because I could imagine Maleficent singing some of the lyrics to Stefan, except that the two weren't related, and that Stefan wasn't immortal like her.

Anyways, don't forget to tell me what you thought of the song. When this story ends with Twilight's and Sunset's huge coronation, there will be Celestia's reply to the song when the narration ended.

Solar Flare's Punishment

Solar Flare was unmoved. She threw the chains at Luna, and tossed her towards the right. "Hahaha! You unfortunate fool," Solar taunted. "You think you can redeem me? You're wrong! The twins are dead!"

Luna gasped as she struggled to escape the cruel chains. But, the magic wouldn't allow her to move. She was frozen by Solar Flare's spell for a second.

"They're not dead," Luna retorted nonchalantly. "And I'm sorry for cursing your daughters."

"I'm not convinced!"

Solar Flare chuckled as she approached Luna. "Stop," She commanded the guards.

The guards quitted banging their shields on the floor. Luna gasped as she glanced into her cruel sister's eyes. She had not seen an inch of forgiveness. She only saw malice, hatred, and paranoia. Envy and pride had driven the older sister further into madness. She rose to her hooves, and shrank back once again.

"What is it like to be a wingless alicorn... in a world where you don't belong!" Solar Flare taunted as she wrapped the chains around her sister and tossed her towards the window. "Now, guards, if you excuse me! I shall deliver a baleful and painful blow upon her!"

Luna gasped. Her sister would surely murder her any second! She braced herself for the final blow, but nothing happened. Solar Flare only stood close to her sister, and prepared to taunt her even more.

"Well, well, look what happened since the christening! You are now the one begging for mercy. I won't give you mercy," She lashed out.

Luna found the strength within her to stand up to her sister. "Why are you so unkind? Why are you so prideful and envious? Why do you loathe me for who I am?" She seethed.

"Because... your night is more loved and worshipped. I shall govern both day and night! I don't care that nopony tries to stop me! You are a fool for confronting me! Foolish little bastard..."

"And, I'm not begging for mercy! Don't try to act as the goddess of the universe, because you will never be one! I understand that you feel angry when I cursed your daughters. It wasn't out of spite. I was hurt. I was provoked. I was... I was angry with you. The betrayal was very upsetting. Discord is also hurt by your betrayal. Have you not seen how your actions affected others? Whenever you try to be cruel, the offended ones feel hurt and angry. They would also be provoked. Especially when you're trying to tell Sunset to join you in the conquest for revenge. A good mother shall never manipulate her children," Luna asserted.

"Why aren't you fighting me? Coward..." Solar Flare objected.

"No, it's because peace is better than revenge. I never believed in revenge when I was once young and innocent. I have learned from my mistakes, and I will once again achieve as much innocence as possible. Don't try to remove the innocence again. And, lower the sun. It has affected ponies in the past during most summers during your malevolent reign." Luna struggled to rise, but, she collasped to the floor once again.

Solar Flare cackled at her misfortune. Luna cringed at her sister's cruelty. The younger sister rose to her hooves again, and snuck through the huge doors to escape the violence. She knew that she had to find a way to redeem her sister, but her sister didn't seem to need redemption.

Luna rushed to the drawbridge, and smiled as she stood still. The twins stood by the drawbridge, and returned the smile. The smiles swiftly disappeared, and the alicorn's fears were confirmed. Her back burned in agony because her older sister injured her with a whip. Blood flowed from her back. She whirled around to face her oppressor. Years of paranoia had turned Celestia or Solar Flare into a complete monster.

"Leave them alone," Luna asserted. "They don't deserve to lose me! I have been nurturing to them. You would only hope for them to turn their backs against me!"

Solar Flare swiftly pushed her towards the edge of the drawbridge, and nearly made her fall. Luna clung to the drawbridge and narrowed her eyes in an effort to avoid seeming helpless. The cruel queen grinned evilly as she levitated a dagger near Luna's neck.

"I shall make sure that you don't see the night ever again," Solar Flare bellowed.

Luna saw how some deadly virtues would befall her sister; greed, pride, envy, and wrath were the main aspects of Solar Flare's reign of terror. And, not to mention that the queen also had a lust for absolute, worldly power.

"Stop..." She declared, as fearless as ever. "Is there a time when you actually have positive virtues? Generosity, humility, love, and calmness... those virtues are the important ones for a queen. Those four do exist, and so do benevolent queens. But, you are not a benevolent queen."

"Love is nonexistent!" Solar Flare boomed as she stomped her hooves on the drawbridge.

Luna's hooves slipped off of the drawbridge. She fell towards the abyss. Just as she waited for death to embrace her, she felt something reattach to her back. She became afloat, and flew into the sky. She looked to her back, and beamed cheerfully. "My wings! They're back," She sang with joy.

Solar Flare shrank back and glared in awe. "How?" She demanded. "Who dared to save my sister and to find her wings? Nopony should know my secret!"

"Too late," Sunset spoke as she ran from the doors and across the drawbridge. "We all know. You are proven guilty, mom!"

"What?" Solar Flare growled. "You betrayed me!"

Sunset whirled around to face her mother. "Not if I have found a group who has the legendary Elements of Harmony," She remarked.

"Explain how you got into my room! Go through me, oh princess, and all the powers of daytime!" Solar Flare chased Sunset away from the drawbridge.

Luna gasped. She knew that she had to do something, before Solar Flare would be able to murder the twins.

"Stop! If you are going to hurt the twins, then you have to go through me and all the powers of nighttime," Luna warned.

Solar Flare froze in her tracks. She only watched as the twins ran through the village for safety. She whirled around, hovered into the air, and prepared to take down her sister. "You cursed them," She reminded her.

"I apologized for the curse. And I broke the curse!"

Luna flew towards one of the towers, and stood on the roof. Her wings flared to the sides, prepared to let her take flight in case she was ever endangered by her wicked sister. She stood tall, her expression fierce. Solar Flare landed in front of her, and chuckled darkly. "So, what now? I can't turn into a dragon," She shouted.

"It's part of a transformation spell that you never learned," Luna returned with a smug smile.

"Ah! How did Discord transform?"

"He's got all the powers of Chaos!"

"And Sombra's got nothing but a horrible fate!"

Solar Flare approached Luna, and glared intensely into her eyes. "Do you know who I am? I am Solar Flare, and I shall rule the world!" She confided.

Luna stood still, unfrightened by her sister's words. "I should have been queen. If I was a queen, I wouldn't destroy the world or try to take over many other lands! You are an evil dictator. I would have been a benevolent ruler if you hadn't tried to hurt me," She pointed out.

"There is only one ruler in Equestria! And that ruler shall be me!"

"No! Lower the sun!" Luna shook her head as she hovered into the air. She wouldn't let that monster of a queen get away with ruling the world!

"I won't," Solar Flare hollered. "Don't tell me what to do!"

She pursued her younger sister, and they reached the village. They landed onto the ground. Citizens watched in awe and terror as they saw the two alicorns fight for the fate of the world.

"Don't ruin my good image!" Solar Flare warned. "Or, I shall burn you to a crisp!"

"Your heart is filled with arrogance," Luna reminded her. "Do not tell the ponies to worship you. They will see you as a terrifying ruler, which you already were!"

Twilight and Sunset led the group towards the cruel mare, and stood behind the mare. "Unleash the Elements of Harmony. Ready? Three, two, one..." Twilight instructed the group.

A rainbow beam surged from the Elements, and enveloped Solar Flare. Luna watched as she stepped back. A cerulean beam erupted from her horn and combined with the rainbow. Solar Flare swiftly flew into the air to avoid the beams. Sunset Shimmer shot a teal beam at the evil queen. As all the magic beams combined, a huge magical alicorn appeared in the sky.

Solar Flare only watched the alicorn as it prepared to shoot a beam at her. Solar Flare shot a fiery beam at the opposing beam. The beams pushed back and forth. As the opposing beam crashed into her, she gasped with despair. She was blasted further and further away from the Earth. Luna only watched as her sister was banished away from the world. A strange sort of unhappiness grew in her heart. Her sister would never grow to unconditionally love her.

Tears stung her eyes as she sniffled. Her sister had been banished. Her eyes watered, but no more tears fell from her eyes. Cheers erupted behind her. The kingdom must have been glad to be saved from the baleful queen's reign. If only she tried to save her sister, then none of this would have happened. "Tia!" She called to the skies. "I tried to give you a second chance. But, you have only responded with malice."

Later, she returned to the castle, and entered the throne room. Discord transformed back into a draconequus. She led Discord out of the castle. She didn't want to focus on her sadness that came with sending her sister away. Her emotions would have to wait.

As soon as she led Discord, Sunset, and Twilight to the Everfree Forest, the sun began to set. Luna took down the Wall of Vines, and removed her crown. She watched as the darkness in the forest died away. The forest was just like when she was young, when she was joyful and when her heart was as bright as the sun.

Creatures cheered as Luna graced their presence. Soon, Luna was in the meadow with the twins and the draconequus. She didn't want to ruin the joyful mood with a lullaby that would be intended for her sister. Before she wanted the coronation to begin, she excused herself from the public eye and flew towards the fallen castle. She looked to the skies, saddened that she would never help her sister to become loving and humble to others. There could have been another way...

Luna began to sing. Tears fell from her eyes as she shook with each sob. The sun hovered above the horizon, signaling her sister's first evening of banishment.

Fate has been cruel, and order unkind...

How could I have sent you away?

The blame was my own, the punishment, yours... But, I will your company keep;

till your tired eyes and my lullabies have carried you softly to sleep...

Once did a pony that shone like the moon, looked out to the forest, and sighed...

She smiled and said, "surely there was nopony so good and benevolent as I..."

So great was her love, and so brilliant, her joyfulness, that long was the shadow she cast...

Which fell dark upon the old sister she loved, and grew only darker as the days and nights passed...

Goodnight, sun queen, goodnight sister mine...

Rest now in sunlight's embrace...

Bear up this lullaby, winds of the earth;

through clouds, and through skies and through space...

Tia, I've loved you much more than you know;

forgive me for being so blind...

Soon did your betrayal provoked me, and broke my heart; and turned me dark...

Breaking the harmony, I have had revenge; but, I broke the curse and saved the kingdoms...

But, such is the cruelty of the betrayal; you could have forgiven me...

I have forgiven you, dear sister mine...

please forgive me the curse that was lifted...

Lullay, dear Tia, goodnight sister mine...

Rest now in sunlight's embrace...

May this cool lullaby reach you in dreams and ease your passage of years...

May the light of love find you this sunset...

and carry my sorrow in kind...

Tia, I've loved you much more than you know;

May that fear be far from your mind...

I forgive you for being so blind...

The years now, before us, fearful and unknown...

I never imagined, I'd face them on my own;

may these endless summers swiftly pass, I pray...

I love you; I miss you...

All these miles away;

may all your dreams be sweet tonight...

Safe upon that bed of sunlight; and not know of fear, sadness, nor gloom...

And, when I dream, I'll fly away to meet you there...

Sleep...

Sleep...

Sleep...

As soon as Luna finished the song, she felt a paw rest on her right wing. A warmth filled her heart.

"Now, let's not wait too long," Discord reminded her. "The twins are waiting." He frowned as he noticed Luna's frown.

"I know that this can hurt, but you can be strong for others. You have done this to ensure the safety of Equestria and the Everfree Forest," Discord continued. "And, that is a very courageous thing to do, even if it involves the loss of somepony that's supposed to love you."

Luna sighed as she nodded. She knew that her friend was right. "I'm feeling a little better," She murmured. "It's just hard. Siblings are supposed to love each other, for sure. There were times, however, when that sibling chooses envy and hatred over kindness and love."

She gave him a sad smile. For a long minute, they watched as the sun inched closer to the horizon, just about to set. She reminded herself to have courage and be kind.

The Twins' Coronation, and Solar Flare's Soliloquy

Author's Note

Once again, I didn't own the lyrics. I changed some to fit the two sisters' perspectives. Luna's perspective is supposed to be like Maleficent's. Solar Flare seems angry and vengeful, which is how Stefan acted in the climax of the movie Maleficent.

The Twins' Coronation, and Solar Flare's Soliloquy

When Luna felt ready, she waved to the horizon, and took one last look at the fallen castle. Even though her sister became a monster, she wished to redeem her someday. A long thousand years would have to pass first.

Luna and Discord flew to the Everfree Forest, and landed onto the ground. They strode into the meadow. The twins stood near the throne. Breezies and creatures gathered to watch the twins' coronation. Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer were like the moon and the sun; Twilight would be the evening. Sunset would be the morning.

When the twins approached their godparents, Luna nodded as she stood still. Discord also stood still. Twilight had invited her new friends to the coronation. A certain baby dragon was also invited!

Soon, the trio of breezies flew into the meadow and approached the twins. "Wait for me!" Moonflower exclaimed.

"Those are for our queens, whom we have sacrificed our best sixteen years-" Night Blossom began.

Luna smirked at the breezies. She refrained from rolling her eyes and sighing in annoyance. Never send a breezie to do a godmother's job, She wanted to say. She levitated the two tiaras, and the tiaras hovered above the twins. The trio flew off, but waited near their other friends.

The tiara with the sun-shaped gem landed onto Sunset's head. The other tiara with the six-pointed star landed onto Twilight's head. Luna smiled. Discord wept with joy as he watched the coronation appear before his eyes.

"Our kingdoms have been united; the Everfree Forest and the kingdom of Equestria. There shall be no more wars," Discord announced. "You have your queens!"

The creatures and the breezies cheered. Twilight and Sunset waved at them. Luna watched on with pride and happiness. After all, her nieces had grown into strong mares. They were the ones that helped to make peace happen. Twilight had unleashed the Elements upon Solar Flare. Sunset had released Luna's wings.

And, for that, Luna was grateful. Without the two, then Solar Flare would have destroyed both kingdoms in an instant without a heroine's intervention. And, Discord would not have seen Luna become the wise and benevolent leader.

Twilight felt somepony watch her from behind. As soon as she turned to face the guests, she beamed. Her friends and her crush were here!

"Congratulations," Pinkie Pie cheered. "Let's celebrate! Woo-hoo!"

"Can I be the honorary member of the Royal Guard?" Rainbow Dash jested.

"I knew that you would be the strong leaders," Apple Jack told the twins.

"I'm happy that Solar Flare is defeated. You have helped us when we couldn't fight Solar Flare alone," Fluttershy murmured.

"I can now open my fashion business without being discouraged by the cruel queen," Rarity smiled. "Thanks to you!"

"You helped to save both lands," Sunset reminded them. "And, meet my godmother. She won't bite."

Luna stepped back. She never expected more than a few guests that attended the coronation. "Greetings, heroines of Equestria and of the Everfree," She began. "I am Luna, the Guardian of Dreams and the Regent of the Night. I usually guard others during the night, especially in dreamland." A wave of shyness almost washed over her. It felt unusual.

She was used to being maligned by the Equestrians. Somehow, the ponies began to forgive her for her infractions. "Oh. It's gotten a little awkward," Luna continued.

"No, it's okay," Twilight assured her. "They've never met you before. There's no need to be bashful."

Soarin smiled at Twilight, and walked up to her. He bowed before her. "Greetings, Highness," He whispered.

Twilight blushed as she looked on. "I think you're charming. And, I've heard that you're the member of the Wonderbolts, no? Before the curse was broken, my aunt told me that you tried to kiss me despite not knowing me well. You are forgiven," She replied.

"I thought you'd be angry at me," Soarin admitted. "How did the curse break?"

"Luna apologized, and kissed me on the forehead. Discord kissed Sunset on the forehead. Thus, the curse broke as a result. And, no, we're not under another spell! I'm not angry with you. I rarely become angry. My sister is more of the quick-tempered one."

"Wasn't Luna Nightmare Moon from the tale of The Sleeping Ponies?"

Twilight shook her head. "Yes... and no. The tale of The Sleeping Ponies wasn't exactly as you remembered. My sister and I were the ones who were called the Sleeping Princesses. My godmother was the one who banished my mother into the sun, but for good reason. There was not a mare in the moon. There was a mare in the sun. An older sister that grew envious of the younger sister. A younger sister who went through darkness and light to achieve her wings and to stop her wicked sister," She explained.

"So, she is the good sister. Solar Flare is the evil sister."

"See? I've told you." Twilight smirked.

Sunset and Flash walked up to each other, and looked to the setting sun. They sat on a log. Flash draped a wing across Sunset's back. Twilight and Soarin strode through the meadow together. The breezies sang. The creatures danced.

Luna and Discord watched from the treetops, and smiled. Soon, they hovered into the air, and dashed through the headwinds. The golden beams of light made them into silhouettes as they flew through the clouds.

And, the alicorn's name was... Luna. Her alternate self was Nightmare Moon. Anypony could refer to her by either name, although the alicorn preferred her original name, not the other name. Who knew that an alicorn, both hero and villain, could unite two lands?

From a young princess to a strong leader, and from a wingless villainess to a winged heroine, she had seen it all. She had watched the twins grow into strong queens that would surely rule the land in harmony and balance. She would surely ensure the safety of the kingdom and of the forest. She was once again loved by all. She was forgiven for her curse, for she had heroically lifted the curse.

Watching the Earth from a distance was a certain mare. Solar Flare, although as cruel as she seemed, felt a warmth surge through her heart. Was it love? No, it was a growing rage. She had heard her sister sing. Now, she could sing a reply to her.

Fate has been cruel, and order unkind;

how could you have sent me away?

I sit here and gaze into embers alone, the brightness and silence pervade;

but, in exile, my hate would not fade;

from dark flames, and envy, and gloom...

till your happiness can see my own spite;

the sun will recount my last days;

once was a queen whose sun shone so bright,

ponies in awe of its honest light;

she smiled and said, "Surely there is nopony who'd dare hide away from this marvelous show!"

yet, why would they leave, to betray her rule;

nopony ever caught sight of my sun,

their laughter and joy was but a hopeless light,

which grew in dark flames as moonlight charmed all...

Wait now, moon princess, the sun shall arise,

so keep now not my sun in place;

Luna, my vengeance was not yours to give,

and soon, we'll both meet our fates;

carry my rage, oh you dark flames of light,

and carry my sorrow in kind...

Sister, your deed hurt much more than you know;

the time for my vengeance is nigh...

The beams of another cast kindly on others,

whose love and affection it stole;

and there that sun queen watched, hated by the world;

as pride filled her heart and unhappiness grew...

"Why don't they love my sun?" She thought to herself, as the other had no right to gloat;

and that selfish pony did nothing to stop the destruction of I, who had envied her most...

Wait now, moon princess, the sun shall arise,

so keep now not my sun in place;

Luna, my vengeance was not yours to give,

and soon, we'll both meet our fates;

carry my rage, oh you dark flames of light,

and carry my sorrow in kind...

Sister, your deed hurt much more than you know;

my guilt plague you for your great crime,

for the time of my vengeance is nigh...

The distance, before us;

silent and alone...

I never imagined, I'd face them all alone;

may these moonless seasons swiftly pass, I pray...

my hate grows, I can't love;

am I still the same?

May all your dreams be sweet tonight;

safe behind your veil of moonlight...

you know not my hatred and revenge,

and as you dream, I'll break away and meet you there...

Sleep...

Sleep...

Sleep...

As Solar Flare's song ended, the soliloquy surged towards the Earth and broke through the clouds. As soon as Luna heard the song, she paused. She observed the dying light of the sun, and shook her head as she caught a glimpse of the spots on the sun. A mysterious magic surged throughout the spots.

"I don't think you should fulfill your need for revenge. Let it be," She murmured. "We shall forgive each other."

"Not if my descendants mess with your descendants someday," The voice retorted curtly.

"No. Your descendants will know love, not hatred and vengeance."

"Your descendants shall be cursed upon being born into the world! That way, you feel the pain that I felt for sixteen long years!"

"Leave them be." Luna's voice was firm. She didn't want to lose her future offspring to a deadly curse that would be worse than a death-like sleep.

The End

Growing Up

As Nightmare Moon had said, Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer did grow in grace and beauty, beloved by the woodland creatures that they met whenever they adventured into the woods. Although Discord was not like the other creatures, he did love the twins. He no longer thought about Celestia whenever he played with the twins.

Nightmare Moon felt irked by that. Once, when the twins were nine years old, she hid in the shadows as she stared at the cottage from a distance.

"Nothing? I have never amused Discord, but the twins stole his heart," She remarked bitterly.

The twins giggled merrily as they hopped out of the cottage. Discord transformed into a dark brown raven, but retained the red irises with the yellow around the red. He flew towards the twins.

"Hey there," Twilight greeted him.

"I think he's a handsome bird," Sunset commented.

"Let's play with him," Twilight suggested.

Nightmare cringed as she watched from the shadows. She didn't know whether it was because Discord could play with them without worrying about being caught, or whether she hated whenever he spent time with the twins. She only watched as the three of them chased each other playfully.

She looked to the right, and saw the familiar structure from a distance. Hatred and rage built in her heart once again. It had been several years since she last saw of her cruel sister. The castle still made her livid! For a mysterious reason, an icy claw of fear gripped her heart as her eyes focused on the structure. Something about the fortress seemed foreboding and ominous. Had Celestia really gone off the deep end this time?

She had a slight flashback of when she once saw the fiery mare in the mirror. She had heard horror stories about that rumored Queen of Dark Flames or the Queen of the Eternal Sun. Each month, Discord would tell Nightmare Moon about Celestia's slow and steady descent into pure evilness.

Once, he told her of a strange cult that worshipped the sun. Celestia would meet with the cultists each morning whenever the sun rose into the Eastern horizon. At first, Nightmare didn't believe Discord, as she was stunned by the news. She had started to believe Discord's reports each time he went off to spy on Celestia.

The dark alicorn began to put together the pieces of the puzzle. It was her sister's ambition and lust for power that motivated her to steal Nightmare's wings. Ambition had darkened the older sister, and vengeance had plunged her further and further into the abyss of hatred and revenge.

That abyss had become a bottomless hole, with no way out. There was no light in Celestia's soul. There was only darkness and gloom in her whole being. Nightmare Moon knew that her sister's reign was becoming more of a tyranny each year.

She loathed her father for wrongfully crowning Celestia the Queen of Equestria. To the dark alicorn, it felt wrong and demented. It also felt uneccessary and foolish. She would never forgive him for believing in Celestia's lies and for trying to make Celestia destroy Discord.

A feeling of illness churned in Nightmare's stomach as she thought about how deceptive her sister could be. Why would somepony want to deceive family and friends for the sake of power? There were rumors in the kingdom that Celestia had secretly murdered the late king. Nightmare had once figured that to be true, since the alabaster alicorn would do such a thing. She wanted to someday confront Celestia for her horrendous crimes, but she didn't want to be mauled by the fearsome flames that would prepare to burst from Celestia's horn.

The summer heat had worsened. Nightmare began to worry that she would get heatstroke, so she summoned a spell to keep herself cool. As she looked to the bright blue sky, her eyes squinted. The sun had barely moved. Was Celestia prepared to watch the world burn and suffer?

"No, Celestia. I would not allow that. The night exists for a reason," Nightmare whispered to the sky.

She worried that the eternal heat would cause a huge wildfire that would bring harm to the Everfree Forest and its denizens. She watched the twins, and focused on potential signs of harmful effects of the deadly summer heat. All of a sudden, Twilight tumbled to the ground, exhausted. Sunset Shimmer also passed out on the ground. The breezies didn't know what happened, but Discord and Nightmare Moon knew what would happen next if nopony took action; the twins would suffer and die from the baleful heat.

In Canterlot Castle, Celestia stood in her bedroom, and stared out the window. Nopony was out in the glorious sun, which was why she watched the courtyard from her room for any signs of ponies that revered the sunlight. Her popularity had started a steady decline ever since the rumors involving the late king started. A wave of resentment washed away the happiness in her heart once again.

There were occasional rebels who were daring enough to go against the solar tyrant's reign. They would anger Celestia, and she would send them to be killed on the gallows and on the guillotines. She had slowly gained a reputation as the bloodthirsty and cruel queen, but nopony would tell her about it. Everypony in the kingdom respected her, not out of kindness, but out of fear that they would provoke her if they ever spoke out against her.

She stomped to her mirror, and chose to ask the mirror the same question that she once asked. "Tell me that I am the fairest of all!" She demanded.

"No. Your daughters are still the fairest of all," The mirror replied.

"How? Just how? I wish that the gift never happened so that I can outshine them in grace and beauty!"

"You do not shine with beauty."

"I've had it!" Celestia stomped her hooves and whacked her left forehoof against the glass. "Am I so wrong to think everypony will love me for being their queen? Am I so wrong... to think that nopony will resent my rule? Am I so wrong that they will see the beauty of the sunlight and shun the moonlight? What is wrong with them?"

She whirled around, stomped into the hallways, and stormed to the throne room. She sat upon her throne, and looked to her subjects. "Don't forget to bow! I am your queen!" She commanded. "You fools! Show me that you're not frightened of me. I am no tyrant!"

In the woods, Nightmare Moon levitated the twins into the air, and carried them into the cottage. The twins were gently placed onto a couch.

There was no sign of the breezies. Discord had told Nightmare Moon earlier that the breezies had another picnic. Nightmare trotted out of the cottage, and approached a nearby well filled with cold and fresh water. At last, as she looked to the skies, she saw that the sun willed itself to move. The sun was still unwilling to dip into the horizon.

The sun suddenly seemed wicked and malevolent. Nightmare Moon levitated a nearby bucket from the ground, and lowered it into the well. As soon as the bucket became filled with water, she levitated the bucket out of the well and trotted to the cottage. The land had cooled down a little, which was an improvement. She entered the cottage, placed the bucket onto the floor, and levitated the cups from the shelves.

She placed the cups into the water, and moved them through the water until the cups were filled with water. She then placed the cups onto the table. Soon, the twins fluttered their eyes open and stood up. They looked around, and wondered what happened while being unconscious.

They eyed the cups on the table, and levitated the cups off the table. As soon as the twins drank the water, they began to cool down and they felt energized as a result.

"Who gave the water to us?" Sunset wondered.

"I don't know. Must be our godmother," Twilight hinted as she looked to the shadow that stood near the door.

"That shadow?" Sunset hummed as she pointed to the door. "She doesn't look like a breezie. I cannot see any wings. There was a horn, though."

"I see."

The shadows disappeared from view, and the bucket also disappeared.

"About our aunties..." Sunset began. "I feel like they were forced to take care of us. Is there a reason for it to happen?"

"It's a mystery. They told us that our parents were dead, but... some conversations that our aunts hinted to us that they aren't," Twilight replied.

"They never told us why they are forced to care for us."

"If our godmother is an alicorn... then, I wonder why she doesn't have wings."

Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle paused before continuing their conversation.

"I've seen your drawings. They have a wingless alicorn," Sunset Shimmer revealed.

Twilight tilted her head for a second. "Yes. What about them? I sometimes see the shadow in my dreams. It puzzles me how the shadow enters my nightmares and changes the dream before the nightmare could get any worse. That shadow hasn't revealed the identity... yet," She explained.

Sunset Shimmer grinned. "I've seen the shadow in my dreams, too," She returned.

"This shadow has the power to stop nightmares, it seems." Twilight mused as she levitated a book from the shelf, and flipped open the book. "We've heard horror stories of malevolent shadows haunting our nightmares, but this shadow seems benevolent and protective of us."

"Not all shadows are kind. Once, I have a nightmare where a shadow with a fiery mane chased me down the dark hallway. She told me that she will burn me to ashes," Sunset confided.

"That's scary. I can't imagine." Twilight shuddered at the mention of the fiery shadow. "That shadow has been in my dreams, too. She told lies to me, and I would try to tell her off."

They looked at the pages. One of the pages had the short tale of the Sun and the Moon. "On the night during the battle between the evil queen and the forgotten princess, the queen's daughter will enter a bedroom and release the wings. She will discover that the wings belonged to the princess," Twilight spoke.

"I wonder what this is supposed to mean. I'm sure it's an old mares' tale," Sunset reassured her.

"Well, it's a myth about the two sisters. I don't know if the sun and the moon had been in alicorn form. This part of the page is torn away." Twilight pointed to the torn middle of the page. The bottom had been ripped out, for sure.

"Remember one time when Moonflower tore out the bottom? She told us that we shouldn't believe the tale," Sunset pointed out. "I'm sure she is being so paranoid. Our aunties are so unpredictable sometimes. I cannot stand their drama. At least they're not here today. It gets irritating."

"Yeah. I was crying during that time, but they simply scolded me for being a brat," Twilight recalled.

They shook their heads as they recalled the moments whenever the breezies thought that they would find out the truth. As they looked to the window, they smiled as they saw the familiar bird from before.

"I think he wants to play with us!" Sunset Shimmer exclaimed.

They ran out the door, and chased the bird to a small clearing near the woods. As they looked to the skies, they were surprised that it was almost nighttime. They hadn't been outside for a while.

As Sunset looked to the setting sun on the Western horizon, she smiled. "Twilight, look," She exclaimed.

"Wow," Twilight breathed out as she stood near her sister.

As they glanced at the structure in the distance, their imaginations were activated. "Who do you think lives there?" Twilight quizzed.

"The legendary Sun Queen?" Sunset suggested.

"It's an old mares' tale," Twilight giggled as she eyed the castle.

"Does a king live there?"

"I don't know. Some villains love castles." Twilight mused as she thought of the events that happened in her favorite stories.

"Yeah, but it's not too dark or creepy," Sunset replied. "It seems like something out of breezie tales."

"Like, what? Sleeping Pony? Snow White and the Seven Ponies?"

"Yeah! But, Sleeping Pony isn't too believable. Who would want to kiss a mare when she sleeps? Eww." Sunset shuddered at the thought of being kissed while asleep. "The story with the princess and the seven ponies wasn't believable, either. I mean, how can you marry somepony you just meet?" She gave her sister a look of disbelief.

"Don't talk about cooties," Twilight warned her. "I don't like romance because it's gross."

Suddenly, a thought popped into her mind. She had always wanted to try a spell from a spellbook! But, her magic could be quite tricky. The spellbook was for advanced unicorns, but she didn't care.

"Hey, Sunset. Do you know about the spellbook that I stashed under my bed? I will see if I can successfully cast a spell on something," Twilight smiled as she rushed into the cottage to find her spellbook.

Sunset waited outside, and watched as the darkness surrounded the land. She looked to the trees, and saw the wingless shadow once again. She knew that she had read the tale of Sleeping Pony, but the shadow didn't seem malicious like it was in the tale. It was just a myth, correct?

The young princess simply smiled and waved at the shadow. "Thanks for saving me and Twilight earlier," She murmured.

"I'm surprised that you will tell me this," A voice whispered.

Sunset couldn't tell whether the voice was male or female. But, what mattered most was that she knew that somepony watched over her and Twilight. "Anyways, if Twilight-" She began, but was interrupted by a lavender blur.

"Sunny! Are you talking to them?" Twilight wondered as she looked to the trees.

"Shh," Sunset whispered. "Twily, we mustn't inform our aunts of this. They seem to disapprove of the shadow for a mysterious reason."

"Maybe they believe in the ridiculous tale of Sleeping Pony."

"Yeah! That's what I thought."

Twilight opened her spellbook, and placed it onto a nearby tree stump. She levitated a dragon egg in front of her, and placed it onto the ground. Sunset gawked at the dragon egg, puzzled.

"Where did you find this?" She interrogated.

"I think I found it in a cave," Twilight returned. "It could be a baby dragon. I think dragons are quite cool."

"Of course they are cool."

Twilight gave her a nervous grin as the magenta aura pulsed from her horn. The aura turned into weak sparks as she thought of a certain transformation spell. Sunset only watched as her sister tried hard to cast the spell.

A mysterious cerulean aura surged from the shadows, and coaxed the magenta aura from Twilight's horn. Her eyes glowed white as she hovered a foot above the ground. The dragon egg cracked, and a dragon emerged from the egg and transformed into a fully grown dragon.

"Twilight, stop! It's a bad idea," Sunset begged. "I don't want the dragon to harm us!"

In the shadows, Nightmare Moon watched as the chaos ensued. Suddenly, the magenta beam crashed into Discord and transformed him into a snake. Stunned, she chose to stop the chaos at once. She willed her magic to change everything back to normal. The cerulean aura surged into everything and everypony around her. Soon, Discord was in draconequus form once again. The dragon transformed back into a baby dragon. Twilight's eyes no longer glowed as she landed onto the ground.

Sunset Shimmer had nearly fainted from fright. She sighed a huge sigh of relief, and chuckled nervously. "Well, I thought you were trying to wreak havoc on us. That gave me quite a fright," Sunset confided.

Twilight blushed with slight shame as she approached the baby dragon. She looked into Sunset's eyes. "I didn't mean to scare you," She apologized.

"That's okay. I never knew you were so powerful. Just be careful not to let it spin out of control, or else, there will be so much chaos and destruction."

"I promise I'll be careful."

The two sisters chuckled. Then, they looked to the baby dragon. "I guess we can't leave him out here," Twilight suggested.

"I don't think this is a safe idea," Sunset doubted.

"Come on. He needs a home."

"Alright, if you say so. What will we name him? Drake, perhaps?"

"I think Spike will be a better name." Twilight smiled. "Let's name him Spike. I know that the other name is cool, but the name Spike sounds better."

She levitated Spike into the air, and walked into the cottage. Sunset followed her into the cottage. "Twilight, I thought I saw something on your flank," She spoke as they walked up the stairs to enter their bedroom.

Twilight blushed with embarrassment. "What do you mean?" She pressed.

"A cutie mark. Look," Sunset pointed out.

Twilight's cutie mark was a six-pointed star, surrounded by five little stars.

"I thought I'd never get one," Twilight spoke.

"Aww, come on! Look," Sunset continued.

Twilight looked at her flank, and gasped with amazement. "Oh, wow! A cutie mark," She exclaimed. "This is amazing! I am destined to be a spellcaster?"

"Let's see," Sunset murmured. "I believe we're in for a destiny."

Twilight froze as she looked into her sister's eyes. A destiny? She didn't quite see herself as the courageous hero from the tales of old. She saw herself as a simple peasant filly. She thought that she was just a normal pony. "You're thinking of the tales," She giggled. "I'm just a simple peasant like you!"

"No, we're something more than that," Sunset reminded her. "I have a vision of our destiny, although I couldn't quite remember the details vividly."

Twilight only looked on with intrigue, and turned her attention to the window. Although she didn't believe in someday becoming a hero, she would meet her destiny. But, the destiny would be a surprise.

Magic and Growing Curiosity

Soon, Sunset thought of having a talent that would relate to a certain cutie mark. She wondered if she could control the sun's movements. One time, between five and six in the morning, when the crack of predawn was in the Eastern horizon, she woke up and attempted a powerful spell that would make the sun rise into the sky.

A magical aura surrounded the sun. Sunset used all of her strength to make the sun rise into the sky. She then heard voices. She didn't know why she heard them. She saw images and flashes of the fiery mare, which made her freak out. She nearly screamed.

"You know, we're not so different," A malicious voice murmured.

"You sound cruel! I'm everything you're not," Sunset retorted.

"You'll see, someday..."

"Leave me alone."

"Your cutie mark resembled my own. Don't you want to be evil like me?"

"No!" Sunset's voice was loud. Ironically, no one woke up. It was as if the rest of the cottage was in a deep sleep. Her magical aura disappeared from view.

The sun had risen into the Eastern Horizon, but there was something ominous about it. Sunset wondered why the sun belonged to the owner of that voice. Was the fiery mare the tyrannical ruler of Equestria?

Around the twins' fifteenth birthday, Sunset and Twilight decided to observe the fearsome Wall of Vines. That night, they snuck out of the cottage when their aunts fell asleep. It was almost midnight, but the twins didn't care. Just as they approached the Wall, an adrenaline rush surged through the two, and energized them greatly.

"Hmm," Twilight hummed. "What do you think is beyond the vines, Sunny?"

"I don't know, Twily," Sunset shrugged for a second.

"I think there might be the magical folk. I've read tales of the Everfree Forest. The stories make it sound wonderful and beautiful, even though our aunts told us otherwise. I think they're ridiculous."

"Yeah. Well, I've always known that somepony or something watched us from afar. Remember the time you were out of control because of the spell? I saw a cerulean aura, and I saw the glow from the shadow."

Twilight gasped, amazed that Sunset saw something about the shadow. "Then, the alicorn has something to do with the control of my powers!" She squealed. "I wanna thank her, well, um, I don't know the actual gender."

"I think it's a female because the shadow is slender. A male alicorn would be stocky and strong-looking." Sunset nodded, and thought of the shadow for a slight second.

Twilight thought of a sarcastic remark. After all, she knew that her sister would sometimes get her nose into books. "Well, well. You're always nosing in those books about magical creatures and such," She remarked.

"Sarcasm alert!" Sunset giggled as she recalled the times when her twin would catch her reading one of the secret books.

Twilight looked to the Wall, and didn't respond to her sister's joke. As she placed her hoof onto the Wall, she heard a noise in the distance. It sounded like metal clashing against wood. The noise made her jump, as the sound spooked the daylights out of her. "Oh, my gosh," She gasped.

"I will investigate," Sunset offered. "Stay right here, and you'll be safe." She followed the noise, and halted as soon as she saw the mysterious figures in armor. She returned to Twilight, and prepared to inform her about the armored ponies.

From the shadows, Nightmare Moon and Discord watched on. They recognized the noise; it was from Celestia's cruel and wicked soldiers. Before taking action, she thought of the irony of this situation. She smirked as she beckoned Discord to the Wall. "Curious little beasties," She murmured. "They aren't scared. They want to see the Everfree Forest and its denizens."

Soon, they heard the soldiers chattering about Sunset's sudden appearance.

"Is that Nightmare Moon?" A stallion wondered.

"I don't know. She isn't tall. She's a silly peasant mare," Another stallion objected.

"Look at her, traipsing into danger. Let's make sure to warn her."

Discord and Nightmare Moon exchanged glances. An idea popped into their minds. They would prevent the twins from being discovered. "I don't know if we can take them into the forest without being caught by the soldiers," Discord warned. "I don't want any of us to get injured. I don't want the soldiers to harm the forest's denizens."

"I know what to do. Don't think me as foolish and absentminded," Nightmare assured as she approached the twins from behind.

A cerulean dust emerged from Nightmare's horn, and enveloped the twins. The twins hovered into the air as they closed their eyes and drifted into dreamland. However, the twins landed onto the ground. Discord thought of a plan to keep them from being visible to the soldiers. He levitated the twins into the air once more, and snapped his fingers. A cotton candy cloud appeared underneath the twins and carried them further and further above the treetops.

"Careful. You don't want to harm them," Nightmare warned.

"I won't," Discord assured her.

"Good."

Discord transformed into a wolf, and rushed towards the soldiers from behind. He growled ferally. The soldiers whirled around to face him, and backed up a little. Just as the soldiers turned to run, a figure suddenly approached them, hidden in the dying mist.

"It's her!" The captain shouted. "Kill her!"

"Bring me her head!" A soldier demanded.

"Battalion!" Another soldier hollered.

Nightmare stared them down, and smirked darkly. A violet aura enveloped the soldiers and lifted them into the air. She smiled with amusement as she flung the soldiers to the left, to the right, and finally, to the center. All the stallions crashed into each other at once. The armor fell to the ground with a loud clang as the rest of the soldiers were flung away from the woods.

She looked down at the helmet near her. Curiosity overcame her as her right forehoof moved to touch the helmet. A fiery spark nearly zapped her hoof. She shrieked in pain. "So, she infused a spell into the armor in an attempt to harm me! The problem has only worsened," She bemoaned as she shook her forehoof to alleviate the fiery shock that came with the spell.

Discord approached his friend, and transformed into a draconequus immediately. "I thought you weren't sensitive to armor," He spoke as he moved his lion paw close to the helmet. He could feel Celestia's magic preparing to strike him at the right moment. "Just be careful next time. She has infused a spell within the armor so that she could hurt us."

"Ooh," Nightmare hummed as she thought of Celestia's willingness to bring harm to both of them. "The baleful sun is worse than ever."

"Are you referring to Celestia or the sun itself?" Discord wondered, confused.

"I'm referring to my terrible sister." Nightmare scowled as she spoke of her sister.

"Rumors had gone around that she was now the terrible tyrant. She no longer seemed like her younger self the last time I spied on her. She seemed authoritarian and brutal, almost ready to strike anypony that dared to fight her."

"Oh, dear." Nightmare still recalled the time when she saw the terrifying reflection. All those years, and Celestia's connection with the fiery mare had still made sense to her! The solar sister had changed a lot ever since the christening... or, ever since the time when Celestia murdered the late king in order to rise to power.

Discord and Nightmare Moon approached the Wall. As Discord transformed into a raven, he flew high into the air and entered the forest. Nightmare Moon stood still as she looked behind her. The twins were still in the air, just above the dark alicorn.

"I wonder," She whispered. A ghost of a smile nearly tugged at her mouth as she allowed the Wall to make way for them.

Since the twins were curious about the Everfree Forest, Nightmare decided to introduce them to the beauty and the wonder of the forest. She lead them through the forest and to the river. She gently placed them onto the ground. She hid behind the nearby trees, and a cerulean aura surged from her horn. "Awaken," She silently commanded.

She began to consider her decision. Would the twins see the beauty of the Everfree? Would they simply ignore it? Would they be afraid and run for their lives? Would they try to harm the creatures and the plants? Would they cry for their aunties?

Nightmare stopped going through the scenarios when she figured that it would be immature of the twins to cry for no reason. The twins weren't five anymore. They were fifteen, and they wouldn't cry easily. She almost gasped as she watched the twins awaken from the temporary slumber.

Sunset and Twilight fluttered their eyes, stood up, and looked around. They looked at each other, and almost snorted with restrained laughter. "There's something on you," Twilight pointed out.

"Same for you," Sunset reminded her. "That pink gunk..."

Twilight shuddered as she wiped away the cotton candy. Sunset mirrored her actions. As the bright lights emerged from the darkness, they flew to the twins and danced around them.

"Wow," The twins exclaimed in unison as they smiled at the shining breezies.

The breezies giggled as they gently touched the twins' hooves. The breezies were reminded of the time when a young Luna once visited them. The breezies were reminded of that mare, the sweet and innocent side of the princess, before the princess became a terrifying and unrecognizable queen of the forest because she once lost her wings.

Nightmare saw that this moment was the echo of her foalhood. When she was young, she was beloved by the breezies and the Equestrians alike. Since the betrayal, the world seemed to turn against her, which had deeply pained her. If only Celestia's cruel spell didn't play out, then Nightmare Moon would still have her wings. And, she would be the actual mother of the twins instead if her life took a different route.

The dark alicorn cringed as she thought of her sister's betrayal. Her sister was the reason why Nightmare lost all the innocence inside of her, and why her wings were taken. Her sister was also the cause of her decline in popularity.

There wasn't a single pony that preferred Nightmare over Celestia. Every Equestrian seemed to prefer that monster of a solar queen! Nightmare's thoughts were interrupted when the breezies flew away. They must have seen her. She was so used to being feared. She highly doubted that the twins would ever be unafraid should they ever see her for real.

"I know that you're there," Twilight spoke to the shadow.

"Come out," Sunset implored. "Don't be afraid."

Nightmare chuckled, impressed that they weren't going to be frightened of her at all. "I am not afraid," She murmured as her lips curled into a smug smile.

"Then, come out..." Twilight pressed.

"You'll be afraid," Nightmare returned.

"No, we won't. We want to see you for real. I know you're more than a shadow. You've been in my dreams," Twilight explained.

Nightmare smirked as she emerged from the shadows. She approached the twins, but paused as they looked at her; not the shadow, but her physical self.

Twilight and Sunset paused as they gasped. They stepped back a little, stunned by the mare's mysterious appearance and her regalness. This time, Nightmare didn't wear the helmet or any other pieces of armor. She intended to not seem intimidating or menacing, yet she stayed stoic overall.

"I know who you are," Twilight affirmed.

"How do you know?" Nightmare queried.

"You're our alicorn godmother!"

Nightmare nearly broke into a fist of laughter, but stood still and peaceful. She resisted the urge to even crack a grin. "Your... what?" She whispered, stunned.

"Alicorn godmother," Sunset repeated for her sister. "You've been watching us our whole life since we were small!"

"What do you mean?" Nightmare interrogated.

Twilight pointed at the slender shadow, and nodded. "Your shadow. It's the reason why we were alive. It's the reason why my magic didn't completely destroy the world," She confirmed as she broke into a huge grin. "This place is so beautiful! My aunties told me horror stories about the place, but I know they are just ridiculous, and-"

Nightmare cleared her throat. "Well, I think it's past midnight," She reminded them as she looked to the sky. There were no clouds, which was good. She hadn't seen the stars or the moon in a long while.

Perhaps that was because her heart was close to completely healing from the cruel loss of her wings!

Twilight looked to the stars, and wondered what her godmother was looking at. Then, she realized that her godmother wanted to remind them that it's past bedtime. "Do Sunny and I have to go home so early?" She complained as she looked her godmother in the eye. She resisted the urge to throw a temper tantrum. She knew that tantrums would get her nowhere.

Her godmother wouldn't enjoy temper tantrums. So, Twilight tried to look at this situation with maturity, not foalishness. "Sorry if I complained. Well, I appreciate your concern. I enjoy being here, but I would not like to be so tired and grouchy," She explained.

"You are forgiven," Nightmare replied as she watched a figure come into view. "And, this is Discord."

Discord smiled as he looked to the twins. "Nice to meet you," He spoke. "I've known you since you were small! I remember that one time when you tried to make the sun rise. A certain mare wasn't willing to give up on the control of the sun."

Sunset Shimmer beamed at her godfather. "I remember you," She replied. "Handsome bird." She giggled upon saying the nickname.

Discord took Sunset's right hoof, and kissed her hoof. When he finished kissing her hoof, he let go of her hoof.

Nightmare resisted the urge to confront Discord about how he felt towards the light-colored twin. She remained calm, and watched as Twilight ran up to her. She resisted the urge to cringe. The cerulean aura escaped Nightmare's horn and enveloped the twins. The twins floated into the air as they closed their eyes.

Nightmare Moon then walked towards the Wall. The wall made way for the alicorn and the twins. Creatures and breezies emerged from their hiding spots, and watched the twins in utter awe and curiosity. Some creatures chirruped, and the others croaked. A few creatures either snorted or panted. The breezies giggled, their soft melodic voices filling the air around the Everfree as they watched the twins being levitated past the Wall.

She found herself in the cottage, and silently moved up the stairs and into the twins' bedroom. She gently placed Twilight and Sunset onto their respective beds. Twilight's bed was by the left side of the window, while Sunset's bed was by the right side of the window. In between the beds sat a dresser. There was a full-body mirror near the door.

Sitting near the mirror was a bookshelf. Nightmare Moon smiled as she observed Twilight's innocent and calm expression. She couldn't help but find the innocence to be adorable and charming. She especially loved whenever Twilight had calm dreams.

Nightmare had entered their dreams from time to time. Back then, she only entered the dreams in the disguise of a mysterious, but benevolent shadow. So, the dark alicorn nodded as she pulled the blanket across Twilight's still body.

"Goodnight, beastie," She murmured, a ghost of a smile tugging at her lips.

Meanwhile, in Canterlot Castle, Celestia remained in her bedchambers. She had thought of a plan that would surely bring her sister down. Her heart had become as cold as ice, and as black as night. This time, she spoke to the pair of wings about her wicked plot to defeat her younger sister.

"You will never find your mistress again! You will never reunite with her! You will never be alive! You will be dormant once she dies," She taunted.

"I will. Don't talk to me like this. She will defeat you. You will not win. You are as cold and wicked as the flames themselves. You are the true villain that exists in the universe," A voice objected.

"Try as she might, she cannot handle my fiery wrath! And, I cannot believe my ears when a group of five peasant mares revealed that they will fight for the forest. They are rebels, I tell you! One of them had a sibling that took Soarin from me! I have not found Big Mac. Nopony found him. Apple Jack will not reveal his whereabouts! Rainbow Dash told me to leave them alone after she betrayed me for the sake of her lowly friends!" Celestia cackled as she threw her head back.

"You do not know that you will be punished for your baleful and immoral crimes against ponykind! You have also maligned the breezies, the mythical creatures, and the Everfree creatures. Are you happy now?" The same voice asserted.

"Well, well! Rarity would no longer design fashionable dresses for me! She told me that she hates my attitude. I kicked her out of her profession. Poor, unfortunate fools! They won't defeat me! Little Fluttershy had to go because she didn't qualify for the pegasi armies! She's too weak, cowardly, and kind! She bothers me each time she tells me of how beautiful the creatures can be." Celestia chuckled as she thought of the rebellious group. The group still made her angry, to be exact.

The sound of hoofsteps in the queen's room distracted her from the conversation. She looked to the intruder, and scowled deeply. "Just what are you doing here, foolish scum? Can't you see that I'm in the middle of a conversation? Hey, you forgot your manners! Bow down before me! I am your queen," Celestia scolded haughtily.

"Um, uh... sorry to interrupt, Queen Celestia, but the king is injured and won't make it through the night. The wound from the war as affected him. One of the soldiers reported encountering Nightmare Moon. She seemed to know something about the twins' whereabouts," The servant returned.

"Then gather the soldiers and command them to hunt down the evil alicorn! Go, you filthy commoner! Go!"

"Sorry!" The servant rushed away as soon as he incurred the queen's dark wrath.

Celestia's magic slammed the door shut, and locked the door. "Hmph! Idiotic fools," She sneered. "They won't kill my sister. It's like my foolish little innocent sister decided to use my daughters against me! I know she is up to something. Five mares betrayed me and rebelled against me! And, Sombra would leave my side forever! Now I have one less stallion to defeat my sister!"

As Celestia hopped off the bed, she stomped towards the container, and glared at the wings. She chuckled mockingly as she thought of her potential victory.

"When the curse fails, Nightmare Moon will come for me. My daughters will rebel against me because of her influence. Discord will fight alongside my evil sister. The five mares will help in the battle against me, but I will burn them to a crisp! Every one of the benevolent ponies shall die! I will never be kind and forgiving towards my sister! I will even turn my daughters' lives upside down so that I will be the only one to rule Equestria! A drink from the Fountain of Youth will help me to rule Equestria forever. The land shall suffer and burn," She chanted, malice evident in her voice.

She chuckled even more. Dark flames swirled around her, and the flames also erupted from her mane. Her eyes glowed a deep and ominous red. She narrowed her eyes and snickered deviously as she levitated into the air for a moment. Her magic surged around her, enveloped her in a blinding light, and something shifted in her appearance.

Her mane became the color of flames. Her eyes were slitted and draconic, and were no longer the light shade of magenta. Her eyes were now an ominous shade of deep magenta. Her coat was the color of rubies instead of the usual snow-white shade. Both her mane and tail lost their graceful form, and now, they billowed like the vicious flames.

"Mwahahahahaha!" Celestia bellowed as she finished her transformation into Solar Flare. She landed onto the floor, and watched as her bedroom changed from warm gold colors to an ominous shade of flames.

Her regalia was replaced with dark gold armor. "While the moon may rebel and fight, the sun shall stand her ground!" Celestia boomed.

She stomped towards the mirror, and marveled at her change in appearance. She was now the fearsome Queen of Dark Flames and the Cruel Mistress of the Sun.

Prologue

Author's Note

Remember, Celestia will be the villain in this story. Comment down below and tell me what you think. Nothing negative, okay? If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it.

Prologue

Long ago, in the land of Equestria, there lived a young princess who was called Celestia. Her parents, Queen Helia and King Orion, were benevolent and noble rulers of the kingdom. Celestia was young, so she was curious about the world. She loved playing in the sun, for the daytime was her favorite time of day. She would be awake during sunrise, and she would go to sleep as the moon rose into the sky.

She didn't have many friends, but that didn't make her an outcast. She had one friend that she would play with every day. And, she met him in the Everfree Forest one day, which was why they befriended each other despite a potential risk. In this time period, ponies would consider the species of draconequus to be dangerous and malevolent. But, Discord was not evil or intimidating, despite having a goat horn and an antler horn.

That could have intimidated an outsider, but Celestia wasn't afraid. She had never saw anypony like that before. Anyways, how did Celestia meet Discord? Let's start off with what happened on that day...

During one early afternoon, Celestia strode deeper and deeper into the Everfree Forest. A shiny object near the riverbank caught her eye. She ran to the riverbank, and levitated the object out of the dark sand. She gasped with awe as she observed the object. It was actually a sunstone. Sunstones were her favorite gems! Giddy with excitement and curiosity, she stuffed the gem into her saddlebags, when suddenly, a sea serpent stared at her with a frown and unhappy eyes.

"Was this yours?" Celestia pressed. Guilt began to wash away her excitement. She knew it was wrong to steal, but she never thought that this gem belonged to the sea serpent.

"This is a gift from my friend," The serpent replied.

"Oh. I didn't know. I guess I should return it." With that, Celestia tossed the gem back onto the sand, and resisted the urge to throw a tantrum.

She had thrown tantrums when she was younger, and that had gotten her nowhere. It wouldn't be any use to whine and gripe about returning the gemstone to its original spot. She chose to suck it up and return home. She trotted out of the forest, and ignored a few rising emotions that would soon drive her mad someday.

A strange creature blocked her path soon enough. Celestia looked up, and sighed in irritation. "I never thought somepony would confront me about the sunstone," She muttered.

"I'm not going to confront you," The creature replied.

He was the description of a draconequus; an antler, a goat horn, a pair of wings that were also mismatched, and an elongated body. He had a lion paw and a griffon's claw. He had the head of a pony, but his hair was not like a pony's mane. A dragon tail was on the creature's back, and the tail had a white tuft.

There was a lot to say about his appearance, but Celestia didn't care about appearances. She only cared about what was on the inside, not the outside. Instead of flinching in fear, she nodded as she thought of a reply.

"Okay, good. I just don't like drama. Well, you're him. I'm Celestia, the Princess of Equestria," Celestia spoke.

"Celestia," The draconequus repeated. "I'm Discord. And, what do you mean when you said that I'm him?"

"Some ponies reported seeing you fly in the air. Sometimes you play pranks on them."

"The pranks are often ill-received. It was humorous to watch the pranks play out on them, though! What fun was there in making sense?"

Celestia nearly grinned. "Are you trying to make me laugh?" She returned.

"Why, yes! You seem like a fun pony," Discord answered.

"I'm fun, of course! But, I have to go home. I can come back next time, despite the risk."

"Alright. Bye!" Discord waved as he disappeared into the Everfree Forest once more.

And, that was how Discord and Celestia met each other. Weeks later, the Winter Solstice approached the kingdom of Equestria, yet it was still early evening. After playing in the forest, the young princess decided to go home. Her friendship with the draconequus surely grew, and someday, they would be fond of each other. It might not be a true love, but Celestia wouldn't know why.

Celestia cantered towards the castle. As she looked to the castle, she saw how old it was. She never understood why her parents had a respect for nature and the denizens of the Everfree. Her unborn sibling would be like that; and, that sibling would be born either tonight or tomorrow.

The winter breeze blew the filly's mane, and the snow began to fall from the grey skies. Something about the weather in the Everfree was strange. Sometimes, the forest didn't quite agree with the rest of the world. Perhaps Discord thought it would be neat for the forest's weather to be nonsensical.

She shivered as the winter air chilled her bones. Celestia strode into the castle, and was greeted by her parents.

Queen Helia was the first to speak. "Welcome back, my dear. The unborn foal has been kicking around lately. And..." She started.

A pain shot through her womb like no other. She huffed and panted as she lay down on the floor. King Orion's magic levitated the queen into the air, and walked away. Celestia followed them into a giant bedroom, where her parents usually slept. She wondered why she wanted to see whether the sibling would be male or female. If the sibling was to be a princess, then the younger sister would be the darling of the royal family.

A sickening feeling churned in Celestia's heart. Her eyes narrowed, and she frowned. Her nose scrunched as she watched her mother go into labor.

"I can't believe this!" Celestia shouted as she stomped out of the room. She slammed the door shut.

She would hate to be in the sibling's shadow. She wanted to be the one and only Queen of Equestria! This sibling would get in the way of her future plans! Her heart thumped, and feelings of disgust were replaced by a surge of fiery rage. She wanted to be grateful for a sibling, but, her angst outweighed her happiness and joy.

Several hours passed as she sat near the door, and stared at the wall. She let the hate fall upon her heart. She scowled, and as she heard the cries of a newborn, she flinched.

"Aww, she is so cute!" A male voice spoke. "Let's name her Luna. She reminds me of the night."

"I love that name. Let's christen her the name Luna. There is to be a celebration of her birth," The female voice agreed.

Celestia's heart sank. She knew that nopony went to her own christening, but somepony was to see Luna at the christening? A surge of unhappiness washed away her joy like never before. She also feared that Luna would steal the spotlight.

In the bedchambers, as Luna cooed, Queen Helia smiled as she nuzzled her. "My dear Luna... I am sure that the lovely creatures of the Everfree shall fall in love with your kindness, grace, and beauty. The breezies of the night will be invited to the christening. They are the ones that made sure that I would give birth to you," She murmured.

Outside the door, Celestia groaned. Not even the breezies loved her as much as they did Luna! Did the breezies know that Luna would have a special connection with the mythical creatures and the nocturnal creatures?

Luna continued to coo. Suddenly, she began to wail noisily. Helia paused for a second. "What is wrong, my dear?" She wondered.

She was unaware of the fiery orange magic that surged into the room and entered the small princess. Luna wailed even more, and her father opened the bedroom window to let the coolness of winter into the room.

Helia watched as Luna fall into a deep sleep. The wailing halted. She could only adore the vision of her sleeping beauty. She gently moved Luna closer to her side. As the moon shone through the window, the pale light kissed Luna's forehead. The light made her seem as pure and innocent as a newborn foal.

Celestia entered the bedroom. Her magic slammed the window shut, and it was highly evident that she wasn't excited to see the little princess.

"I. Don't. Want. A. New. Sister!" She complained. "I don't want anypony taking my place someday as Queen!"

"Now, do not be selfish," Helia scolded her older daughter.

"You don't understand! I am Princess Celestia, future Queen of Equestria!"

"She may someday be your co-ruler. The sun and the moon need somepony to govern them. There has to be co-rulers. Just as you have the affinity for the sun, Luna might have an affinity for the moon," Orion explained.

"I don't care! I can govern both of them! Perhaps even the sands of time can be governed by me!" Celestia stomped her hooves, and that woke up her sister as a result.

Luna wailed louder than ever. Celestia cringed visibly, and scrunched her nose.

"I hate you, little sister!" She hollered. "One of those days, boom! To the cold moon you go!"

"That's not kind," Helia shouted as she draped her wing over the crying foal.

"I don't care."

Celestia had made it a point to someday hurt her small sibling. She didn't care that she angered her parents when she expressed her hate towards Luna.