Shadows In The Light

Chapters

A Voice In The Dark Of The Night
Wedding Crashers
Family Talk
Dreamscape Conflict
Venting Out Stress

A Voice In The Dark Of The Night

Three hours.

Three hours since the wedding rehearsal. Three hours since her outburst. Three hours since her brother, Shining Armour, revoked her role as his best mare and forbade her from attending the wedding itself. Three hours since her friends abandoned her without even a word. Three hours since her teacher, Princess Celestia, a pony she looked up to like a second mother, left those hurtful words in her head. Three hours since she returned to her room and cried her eyes, heart and soul out.

By the end of the three-hour mark, Twilight Sparkle had no more tears to shed. She wished she did, but there just weren’t any left. Her soul felt torn to shreds, her heart broken into a million pieces. Twice in her crying session had a thought of suicide cross her mind; that if her only friends would abandon her for someone who treats them like dirt, then there was no point to go on. But she dismissed those thoughts, no matter how tempting.

“You’re stronger than this,” a voice whispered in her mind. “You are better than this… Better than them.”

Twilight’s head shot up, rapidly scanning the room in search of the voice’s source. “Who’s there?” she called out to the otherwise empty room. “Where are you?”

“I am everything, but I have nothing. I am everywhere, but I rest in one place. I am what the strong strive to become, I am what the weak fear. I am joy. I am sadness. I am love. I am hatred. I am hope. I am despair. I am light. I am darkness. I am the sun. I am the moon. I am the stars. I am the void. I am… not answering your question whatsoever, am I?” it said with mild amusement.

“That’s an understatement.” Twilight deadpanned, earning a chuckle from the voice.

“Yes, I suppose so. If you feel that you’ll be more comfortable if I were to have a name, than allow me to introduce myself: my name is Ainz Ooal Gown, but you may call me Ainz.”

“Okay, Ainz, why are you here? What do you want from me?” she asked, still looking around. Her search stopped at the vanity mirror near the bed, the now black glass showing the image of a skull wearing a hood over its top and thick gold choker-like object around its neck, two small, red motes of light in its otherwise empty sockets for its eyes.

“Oh, this isn’t about what you can offer me, but what I can offer you.” The skull said, its deep and commanding voice identifying it as male, his eyes seeming to glow brighter.

“What are you talking about?” the, understandably, terrified mare asks.

“Knowledge and power; the likes of which you would never have believed to be possible. You have barely even scratched the surface of an entire frozen ocean of what there is to learn. For each spell you’ve mastered, there are thousands more waiting to be learnt and studied. Discover races that the ponies believe to have never existed. Hold more knowledge and power than Celestia could ever dream of.”

Twilight thought about what ‘Ainz Ooal Gown' was offering, and found it very tempting. What new things could she learn? What new spells could she add to what she’s already been taught?

She was about to take him up on his offer, but a thought to the others crossed her mind. “What about Princess Celestia and my friends?”

“Friends, BAH! They are no friends of yours.” Ainz growled, clearly angered, his eyes flashing for a second. “They abandoned you in favour of someone they’ve barely known for a day. Remember when you got the two tickets to the gala? They wanted to go for their own selfish gains, and not to attend with you. Discord was able to make them succumb to his influence so easily and without a fight, only Fluttershy had to be ‘discorded’ by force, and the fact that it was because she accepts being pushed around just makes her even more pathetic! Applejack’s stubborn pride had her refuse help when she needed it, treats her sister likes she’s a baby and is completely oblivious! Rainbow Dash is an attention whore that would leave you behind to accomplish her own personal goals at the drop of a hat, Rarity is a diva who over-exaggerates, and Pinkie Pie is ignorant of the harsh reality that the world isn’t all sunshine and rainbows.”

Any other day Twilight would be denying what he was saying, that the girls were nothing like that. But she found that she could only agree with him. They wanted to attend the gala for their own ends and not to be with her, when she tried to get their help with a late friendship report they shrugged her off like it was nothing, that she was simply overreacting. Well, because of that they had to go through the incident that was later dubbed ‘Lesson Zero’. Later that same day they had promised to listen to Twilight’s worries and take them seriously, but they didn’t; and that was what brought her to her present dilemma.

“Your brother may be the captain of the Royal Guard, but you are a hundred times the pony he is. When Nightmare Moon almost brought eternal night, he ran around in a panic like a headless chicken. When Discord returned with his reign of chaos, Shining Armour cowered in fear. And Celestia? She sits on her over-glorified ass while you risk your life! I have seen the future, my dear Twilight, and she would send you against the most powerful dark mage this world has ever witnessed, and makes you think you must do it alone whilst she does grade-A nothing in her warm castle. And if that wasn’t enough, she’s been lying to you your entire life."

“What do you mean she’s been lying to me?”

“Your special talent is magic itself, right? That means that it is your destiny to harness the powers of ALL magic; whether they’d be Light, Dark, or Chaos magic, it’s your fate to learn and master them all! In fact, those are naught but titles given by mortals to things they don't fully understand. But Celestia wishes to control you by only limiting your knowledge to "Light" magic, for she knows that you will be more powerful than she could ever be, and she can’t have that. She knows that if you discovered your true potential you would be a threat to her rule. Behind all the smiles and sunshine, Celestia is a tyrant who would do whatever it took to remain in control.”

Twilight began gritting her teeth as he spoke, his words finding purchase in her mind. This whole time she was nothing but a pawn to be used by the one pony she looked up to and saw as a second mother. Her friends left her in favour of a cruel pony so that they can further their own gains, and not even her parents had come to comfort her. Obviously her FBBBFF, (Former-Big-Brother-Best-Friend-Forever), had already whined his side of the story to them so that they too would leave her to wallow in her pit of despair.

Every pony who she’d loved and trusted so much had abandoned her, practically leaving her for dead, which is exactly how she felt… That is, until Ainz came. He was the only one to comfort her, to treat her with respect. Suffice to say, she new what she wanted to do.
“I don’t need them anymore! They basically left me to die, so I’m going to make them all pay for betraying me!” she shouted in determination, standing up on her bed with a devilish grin on her face. “Where the fuck do I sign up?!”

She saw Ainz’s mouth widen in laughter, expressing great joy as he applauded and spoke in her mind, Twilight catching a glimpse of skeletal fingers as he clapped. “Yes Twilight! That’s the spirit! Untold knowledge and powers shall be yours, but first we must make a few stops.”

“Why? Can’t you just, I don’t know, implant it in my brain or something?”

“Oh I fully intend to give you what you rightfully deserve, but we must collect a few items that will help to contain all that power until your body can get accustomed to it.”

“Oh, really? What kind of artifacts are they?”

“First of all, we need your tiara to harness the Light magic. Then we shall acquire the Alicorn Amulet to harness your Dark magic. We’ll work on Chaos magic at another date, as it is the most dangerous, if that is alright with you?”

“That’s fine by me. So how are we supposed to get my Element? Celestia has numerous seals on the vault so it won’t be easy.”

Ainz thought for a moment, and then chuckled. “The answer to that, my dear, is simple: I’m going to teach you an enchantment called "Break-spell" and as long as your power is superior to that used in the spell, it can break through and destroy any spell, hence the name. And the greater the difference in power, the easier it is.”

Twilight yelped as she was suddenly filled with strange magic, flailing her hooves as far as they could reach as she was levitated off the floor. Just as suddenly as it started, it ended, an unseen force carefully lowering her down. Physically she was no different, but she felt she was now a little more powerful and knew the fundamentals for her new spell. She charged her magic in her horn, and with a pop that was accompanied by a light purple flash, she disappeared.

Twilight looked around at her surroundings as she made it out of the teleport. She was now just in front of the vault that contained the Elements of Harmony; good. With a grin, she repositioned herself so that she looking straight at the vault as she began to charge her horn.

“Break-spell!” Twilight yelled and fired her new spell at the door. Golden-yellow seals started to appear all over the vault, but before she could count them they began to shatter like glass until all of them were gone. Even the enchantment that made it so that only Celestia herself could open it was destroyed, as apparent when doors started to open, revealing the chest that contained the Elements sitting on a pedestal.

“Don’t get too excited,” Ainz warned. “Right now your power is almost on par with Celestia’s and she didn’t put that much power into those seals, so they were much easier to destroy.”

“Why would she not put a lot of power into seals that are meant to protect Equestria’s greatest line of defense from evil?” Twilight asked as she brought the chest to her in her magic, opened it, and took out her crown to place it on her head.

“It’s because she didn’t have them placed until after Discord was sealed in stone again, and that the very few ponies that could dispel even her simplest enchantments were already in her service anyway.”

“I guess that makes sense. Unless their cutie marks say otherwise, very few unicorns would want to learn much magic that has nothing to do with their special talents.” The lavender mare explained as she placed the rest of the Elements back in the vault and closed the doors.

“A poor and disgraceful waste of opportunity if you ask me. Now then, I can sense that the Alicorn Amulet is in a small store in Manehatten’s downtown district, so how ‘bout we make a purchase?”

Twilight froze when she was told where her next target was. “Manehatten? But that’s so far from here.” She said.

“Not to worry, my dear, I’ll take care of it.”

Twilight nodded as Ainz imprinted the store’s location in her mind and even gave her another very small power boost to make sure that she reached there without getting nauseous from the long-ranged teleport. And so, with her horn once again aglow, she vanished.

The downtown district was probably where Manehatten was it’s most dirtiest, which really wasn’t all that much compared to the rest of the city, but that was due to the city council taking the initiative of having a clean city very seriously. Twilight had teleported right in front of the store where the Alicorn Amulet was located, surprised to find that it was even still open. She walked to the door and noticed the sign explaining that the store was open until midnight, incidentally reminding Twilight that the wedding rehearsal was a little before sunset, so it couldn't be any later than 9 or 10 o'clock right now. Shrugging her shoulders, she opened the door and entered.

Once again Twilight found herself to be surprised by the odd store, this time by what it actually sold. Books, scrolls, talismans, swords, shields, spears and other assortments of old, antique weapons and mystic artifacts littered the interior of the little shop. She managed to make her way to the front desk that was occupied by a light grey stallion with a red vest and hat.

“Hello my dear and welcome to my humble shop. How may I be of service to you for this fine night?” he asks. That brought a smile to her face; at least it meant that somepony saw the true beauty of Luna’s night.

“Why yes, good sir. You see, I’m looking for…” Twilight scanned over the shelves behind the clerk and quickly found what she was after. “That.” She says, pointing to the Alicorn Amulet in a glass case.

“Oooh, I’m afraid that I can’t sell you that, young miss. For it is said that whomever wears it will have their mind and will corrupted by its power, making it far too dangerous.” He warned, giving Twilight an apologetic look. She in return gave him a look of slight annoyance before she suddenly summoned a bag almost as large as her brother’s barrel and dropped it on the counter, spilling a multitude of gold bits. “Would you like to have your new purchase giftwrapped?” he asks excitedly, forgetting moral standards for his greed.

“No thank you, I’ll just take it as is if that’s alright.” The lavender unicorn replies politely with a smile as the clerk removed the amulet from its case and presented it to Twilight, who gently took it into her magic.

“I wouldn’t recommend putting it on just yet, my dear.” Ainz said just when Twilight almost did so. She turned her head and saw his visage on a shield. “The wearing of the Element of Magic and the Alicorn Amulet has quite a… surreal effect, to say the least. I suggest that we go into the abandoned mines within Mt. Canterhorn where no one is in danger of collateral damage.”

‘Good idea.’ Twilight thought back in her mind before she returned her attention to the store clerk, still bearing her kind smile. “Thanks for your help, and I hope to see you again at some point.” She turned and headed for the door.

“Any time, my good lady. Any time.” He called out to the closing door and flash of light.

On the other side of the teleport, Twilight found herself surrounded by stone and crystals of varying sizes. This particular cavern was quite large, making it perfect for what was to come.

“Alright, my dear, now you can put it on.” Said Ainz.

Nodding her head, Twilight took a deep breath, released it and placed the amulet around her neck. For a full two seconds nothing happened, then the Element of Magic and Alicorn Amulet practically exploded in pure energy; the tiara colored light purple, and the amulet in bright red. The energy was of such high magnitude that it began to shake the cave, causing many stalactites and crystals to collapse from their holds. Lightning of purple and red shot out from the gems of Twilight’s crown and necklace in mad arcs that left large cracks in the walls and shattered whatever smaller pieces of stone and crystal into fine dust.

Twilight’s eyes were pure white and glowing in power. She would often yelp as she felt a new jolt of pain shoots through her body, but she otherwise gritted her teeth and bore the pain. She would not show weakness, she would show all ponykind that she was the greatest to ever live. She would gloat over her superiority to the weak cowards.

“I am not weak. I am not a coward. I am not a foal. I am not a laughing stock.” She chanted, her limbs growing longer and her magic growing to new heights she never would have thought possible. “I am strong. I am brave. I am clever. I am important. And I… I AM THE GREATEST PONY THERE IS!!!” And with that final bellow of defiance, her body exploded in purple and red energy, causing tremendous destruction to the cavern and shooting a beam of pure power straight through the mountain from her horn, piercing its peak and continuing on to the open void until it stopped just beyond the orbit of Luna’s moon…

…Tearing open a rip in the fabric of reality to a realm of gods.

To say that Twilight wasn’t the same mare she was just a few hours ago would be an understatement, and she reveled in it. She would be jumping for joy at the achievement of gaining her new powers, but a fit of coughing caught her attention and she walked towards the source. What she found was the one pony that she never thought she would see in a place like this.

“...Cadence?”

Wedding Crashers

The Canterlot wedding was a day of celebration. Ponies from all over the city had come to witness the grand event. As the Royal Guards position themselves throughout the city, the bulk remaining at the castle, the wedding itself had begun in full swing. The Cutie Mark Crusaders: Applebloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, were given the role of the flower fillies and once they reached the base of the alter, turned to the sides to make way for Princess Cadence as she got to her position beside her husband-to-be, Shining Armour.

The Mane Five had been given the honor to be Cadence’s bridesmaids after her old ones suddenly grew ill. Each one of them were wearing a dress made by Rarity just for this special day, even Rainbow Dash, though she’d still want to get out as soon as possible, and they all bore smiles on their faces for the happy couple. That is, all except Pinkie Pie, who kept staring worriedly at the purple/pink daystar that nopony else seemed to have taken any notice of.

Seeing that everything was in perfect order, Princess Celestia began to get the ceremony started. “Ladies and gentlecolts, we are today to join these two ponies in holy matrimony...”

The rest of the speech was interrupted when the sounds of rattling metal, the casting of spells and the clank of something metallic impacting on the ground. Everypony in the hall watched the large double-doors in eerie silence, soon interrupted by a light knocking.

“What the-“ whatever else Rainbow Dash had to say was interrupted when the doors suddenly burst open, slamming into the walls they were mounted on with such force the stone was heavily cracked and the wooden doors almost broke apart. The doorway was unusually filled by a grey smoke-cloud, obscuring the wedding crasher.

“Sorry I’m late everyone, but there were a few important things I had to take care of so that I could be ready.” A chipper, feminine voice called out through the smoke. The ponies sent glares into the smoke at whoever dared to ruin such a wonderful event, but their expression turned to wide-eyed shock and awe at whom came out from the now dissipating smoke.

The mare was a unicorn, but she was as tall and slender as Princess Luna with a just as promenade turquoise colored horn. Her coat was a violet-purple, her dark, three-toned mane was a wild and unkempt mess. It and her tail were a dark blue with a stripe of violet like her fur and lavender-purple side-by-side. Her eyes were most striking as her shrunken violet iris’ and glowing turquoise sclerae gave her a menacing look. Celestia was shocked to see that the Dark Mare was also wearing what appeared to be a corrupted version of the Element of Magic, and the Alicorn Amulet.

“I hope I’m not too late, I wouldn’t miss my brother and ex-foalsitter’s wedding for the world.” She said, earning confused murmurings from all the ponies that heard.

“T-Twilight?” a cream-coated unicorn, Twilight Velvet, asks worriedly. “W-what happened to you?” But her question was responded with a smile and wave from her changed daughter.

“Oh hi Mom, I’ve just been embracing my true destiny. So what do you think of my new look?” Twilight said as she struck a pose.

“Twilight Sparkle, where in the world did you find the Alicorn Amulet?” Princess Celestia asks once her mind refocused.

“What, this little thing? I just bought it from this really nice stallion at a small night store.” She replied.

“Are you trying to ruin my wedding in every way possible?” Cadence asks with a hint of venom in her tone.

“This isn’t your wedding!” yelled a very similar voice from the damaged doors. When everyone turned to the doorway, all except Twilight gasped at the sight of a second Cadence, this one having an unkempt mane, tail and dirty fur. “It’s mine!”

“What?! But how did you get past my bridesmaids?” the fake Cadence demanded angrily. Twilight turned back to the witch standing next to her idiot of a brother, who wasn’t reacting, and tilted her head in confusion.

“Wait… you mean you made some innocent ponies act as guards for Cadence?” she asks, then tilts her head to the other side and brings a hoof to her chin in thought. “Hmm… didn’t see ‘em. Though teleporting back to my home in Ponyville so that Cadence could rest in a comfortable bed and have some decent food from who knows how much time spent in old Canterhorn mines just before we came back to Canterlot about two minutes ago could be a factor.”

Celestia was shocked by this update of information; apparently her adopted niece was inside the mountain while she’d been with an imposter for Faust knows how long, and Twilight spoke about accomplishing feats of teleportation she couldn’t do before like it was nothing.

“Now then,” Twilight said as she looked at the imposter’s bemused expression with a devilish grin, “let’s show these little ponies what you really are, shall we?” she charged her horn and before Celestia could protest, released it. “Break-spell!”

The spell stuck the fake Cadence and she was suddenly engulfed in green fire, but she wasn’t burning. Pink fur turned into black chitin, hooves were riddled with holes, feathered wings turned to those found on an insect, her mane and tail went from pink, yellow and purple to a lime-green, the horn became jiggered and her eyes were emerald-green with slit pupils. When the transformation was complete and everypony gasped at the sight of her, she looked over her form with shock, panic and anger.

“My disguise! How?! How did you discover who I was and destroy my disguise?!” she demanded angrily of Twilight, who had an expression that showed she was unimpressed.

“To be perfectly honest, I actually expected something a little more… intimidating, for your true form. Now I see that Changelings are nothing more than bug-ponies.”

The Changeling Queen growled in irritation. “Well, if you know what I am, than it’s only proper that you know who I am. My name is Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings, and we have come to Equestria to feed on its Love.” The now identified Queen Chrysalis proclaimed proudly.

“So when you found out about our preparations for the wedding, you foalnapped my niece and took her form?” Celestia accused angrily.

“And you were all none the wiser!” Chrysalis laughed. “You were all so caught up in preparing for the wedding, you didn’t even notice Cadence’s sudden change in behaviour.” She shifted her gaze to Twilight. “While the rest of you fell for my, and I admit, poor acting of being Cadence, only one of you were actually smart enough to know that something was wrong.” She said with a cocky grin.

“And I should actually thank you for that.” Twilight replied in a bored tone. To all their confused looks, she sighed and elaborated. “Despite your piss-poor performance of acting like Cadence, you helped me find out that the ponies who I thought cared about are nothing but naïve back-stabbing idiots.” The sound of a deflating balloon could be heard as Pinkie Pie’s mane went from poofy to straight, Rainbow Dash and Applejack were a mix of shock and anger, Rarity looked like she was about to faint and Fluttershy was on the verge of tears.

But Twilight either didn’t notice or completely ignored them for she continued. “I mean come on, who in their right mind would host a wedding when their city is being threatened? Speaking of which, has your army still not busted through the shield yet?” Twilight asks Chrysalis as she wonders to a window and looks up to the top of the energy dome around Canterlot and the Changeling swarm trying to get through it.

The Changeling Queen chuckled. “After feeding off of his love for Cadence, I’ve drained so much of Shining Armor’s power and strength I doubt that his little bubble would last another two minutes.” Just as she said that, the Dark Mare saw some cracks forming on the barrier.

“Call off the invasion this instant!” Celestia demanded with her wings flared open to make herself more intimidating.

“I think not!” Chrysalis countered as she and the princess locked horns. “We changelings have to feed on the Love of other creatures to survive, and Equestria has more love than any other place I have been to. So when I’m presented an opportunity to get my children well fed,” she pushed Celestia out of the lock, making her take to the air, “than you can bet that I will take it!”

“You may be doing this to help your people,” Celestia allowed, “but you are invading my nation and intend to harm my ponies.” The solar princess’s horn started to glow. “So you can bet that I will do all that is in my power to stop you!” she fired a golden beam of magic at Chrysalis, who instinctively fired her own beam to counter.

The magic lances collided in between them, but at the moment Celestia was overpowering the changeling queen. Twilight turned her attention from the waning shield and onto the confrontation, focusing on Chrysalis’ panicked expression, trying to put out more power in her magic. But the dual was decided when the Changeling Queen’s beam suddenly overpowered Celestia’s and when it collided, brought the alicorn princess plummeting to the ground, her crown falling off her head and the tip of her horn scorched.

After ridding herself of the shock of actually winning, Chrysalis laughed as Cadence and the Mane Five went to Celestia’s side. “Yes! Feeding off of his love for you has made me more powerful than even Celestia!” The sound of shattering glass could be heard throughout Canterlot, and to the horror of the ponies that looked to the sky, they could see for themselves that the Changelings had broken through Shining Armor’s shield and were now attacking the city.

“Get… get to the Elements…” Celestia spoke weakly to her niece and the five mares with her. “They’re our only hope.”

“But what about Twilight?” Pinkie Pie asks. “She’s gone all dark and mean and doesn’t like us any more.”

“It’s the Alicorn Amulet. She somehow found it and it’s corrupting her.” Celestia answered. “Once you have the Elements, you must remind Twilight of your friendship and get her to remove it; only the wearer can take it off.”

Applejack took a quick glance at the Dark Mare to see that she was looking out the window at the moment. “Alright y’all, let’s go get our friend back and run these bugs out o’ town!” she said with conviction, earning nods from the others.

“I’ll look after aunt Celestia and try to snap Shining out of the queen’s hypnosis.” Cadence decided. Applejack tilted her hat to the pink princess before she and her friends ran out of the broken doorway. By now all of the other ponies had run away in search of better safety, all except Twilight Velvet and her husband, Night Light, who stayed to make sure their children were safe.

Changeling drones by the dozen made themselves welcome in the wedding hall, and before any of the few ponies that remained realised it, they were trapped in place by some kind of green goo that quickly solidified. Celestia was hoisted to the ceiling and was being entrapped in a cocoon to the amusement of Chrysalis. And though they stood around the mare to do something, it seemed that the Changelings were afraid of getting too close to Twilight, much to their queen’s confusion and annoyance.

Chrysalis was getting irritated that her children were ignoring her commands through the hive-mind, and when they were unresponsive there as well, she decided to voice her frustration.

“What in the First Mother’s name are you fools doing just standing there?” she demands angrily as she steps closer to the group. “Just trap her like all the others! Is that so mu-“ she stopped mid-sentence and mid-stride as she got up to the ring surrounding Twilight Sparkle. Her heart was racing and her knees were shaking, and she didn’t know why.

‘W-what’s happening?’ Chrysalis asks mentally.

“Ah, so it does work on you, Chrysalis.” The Changeling Queen looks to the source of the voice, her vision blurry and erratic, causing her to second guess whatever she was seeing. For one moment the dark mare in front of her was normal, then she’d rapidly turn from that to pitch black with deep cuts, large gashes that showed stark white bone, claws in place of hooves, torn dragon wings and a mane and tail of raging hellfire. “But still not as well as it does on your drones.” Twilight turned her head to Chrysalis, only to turn like the rest of her body; her cheeks seemed to be torn open to show off a mouth of jagged fangs. She bore seven horns; two that went to the sides then forwards like a bull, two that went back and curved up at the ends to hold a small skull each, two smaller ones that seemed to as guards for her jaw, and one like Chrysalis’ own.

But what completed the nightmarish form were the pale, green, soul-less eyes that seeped purple miasma from the corners. All in all, it was more than enough to make Chrysalis take a few steps back, an act the changelings surrounding Twilight followed. Twilight herself smiled, and with a wave of her hoof dispelled her illusion.

“What... did you do to me?” Chrysalis asks.

“I merely made it so that there was an aura that made all those within a certain radius around me are filled unfathomable fear and dread.” The dark mare explained. “You just got within range. But don’t worry, it’s gone now, I was only testing it to see if it would work.” A grin formed on her lips. “And now that you’re close…”

Three things happened too fast for Chrysalis to process: 1), Twilight got right-up close and personal in her face; 2), when Twilight’s horn glowed their shadows expanded into a five-meter diameter circle; and 3), the shadows shot upwards to create a dome that trapped the Changeling Queen with the Dark Mare.

“Where am I? What are you doing?” Chrysalis asked in a panic. She found herself in some kind of open landscape that was nothing but empty whiteness as she stood on a seemingly nonexistent floor.

“Don’t worry, we’re in a little pocket of space and time where we can talk in private. Just the two of us.” Twilight explained.

“And what could we possibly talk about?”

“Your failure.” Twilight said simply. Chrysalis was confused, so she continued. “I have foreseen the future, Chrysalis, and you will lose. Cadence will break free from the slime and get to Shining Armor, then she will break him from your control and will attempt another barrier. He won’t have the strength on his own to do it, but Cadence uses her love for him to give Shining more power. Together they create an energy pulse that banishes all Changelings from Equestria.”

Chrysalis’ eyes widened in horror. “But they can’t!” she screamed. “I’ve had my Changelings living in pony society for years as love collectors. If what you say will happen happens, then not only would their covers be blown but they’ll be taken away from their families!”

Twilight arched an eyebrow, curious to the outburst. “Than how come you’re openly attacking Canterlot if it came at such a risk to your kind?

“Well, I… I…” Chrysalis stammered on her words, unable to come up with an answer. The Changeling Queen’s eyes glowed a faint blue before dissipating, and Twilight almost missed it. Almost. “By the First Mother, what in the whole of Tartarus made me thick that this was a good idea?” she asked out loud with tears threatening to fall from her eyes, fearful that she had brought doom to the Changelings.

Twilight was surprised to see the strong and confident Changeling Queen in front of her fall to the ground and cry her eyes out, much like what she did last night.

“W-what’s *SNIFF*… what’s wrong w-with me?” Chrysalis spoke between sobs. “I… I’m not n-normally *SNIFF* like th-this. The rudeness, the cruelty… I don’t even treat my soldiers like that!” she looked up at the dark mare with teary, sorrowful eyes. “Why *SNIFF*... w-why did I do all that? What’s wrong with me?!”

She didn’t know why, she didn’t know if it was the best idea given the situation, but she just felt that it was the right thing to do. Nevertheless, Twilight surprised both of them by bringing Chrysalis into a tight, yet comforting embrace.

“Shh… it’s okay.” Twilight said in a soothing tone as she rubbed the Changeling’s back. “Something was stopping you from thinking clearly, pulling you along with metaphorical strings like you were some puppet. None of this was your fault, and if someone else was the one who got this idea into your head, then it’s them you should be mad at; not yourself.”

Chrysalis returned the gesture and continued to cry on Twilight’s shorter shoulder even as she tried to talk. “B-but that’s the thing: it just came to me one day and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I tried to ignore it, but it was a persistent thought.” She chuckled lightly. “It just kept scratching in the back of my mind until I couldn’t take it any more and just figured ‘What the heck?’ and just look at we’re that brought us.”

Twilight was relieved that Chrysalis was slowly getting her confidence back up, as she wasn’t shaking or crying anymore, and her sobs were few and far between. A small smile crept onto Twilight’s lips as she thought of how well she was helping, which was odd because she was within her rights to hate her; but just couldn’t bring herself to anymore.

“I’m sorry.” Chrysalis’ voice brought Twilight out of her thoughts. She slowly and carefully pushed out of the embrace to look eye-to-eye with the Changeling Queen. Seeing the mare’s confusion, she explained. “I’m sorry for everything I’ve done to you. I turned your brother, friends and teacher against you, and the only reason why your parents, or anyone else for that matter, didn’t go to see you was because I told them that we made up and you fell asleep.”

Twilight’s expression soured upon hearing that those she trusted the most had bought the lie so easily without question, and Chrysalis feared that she’d made a mistake. “I’m sorry.” She said again. “I’m sorry I sa-“

“No, it’s okay.” Twilight interrupted with a raised hoof as she looked down. “You don’t have to apologize for anything.” She lowered her hoof and Chrysalis tilted her head in confusion. “Before the wedding, I thought that I had the perfect life: I was the princess’ personal student, I was a master of magic, and I had the best friends one could ask for. But it was all a lie. They came to me to fix their problems, and the few times I tried to get their help with mine, they brushed me off and didn’t take what I said seriously.” She started to cry as she continued. “I… I was always there for them, but they weren’t there for me when I needed them most. They turn their backs on me the moment I stray from the status quo until I start agreeing with them again.” She raised her head so that Chrysalis’ emerald-green eyes could gaze into her teary lavender ones. “Like I said earlier, you helped me realize that I was only being used by those who I thought cared about me. Without you I would never have discovered what I could truly accomplish and wouldn’t have this power. So… thank you, Chrysalis. Thank you for setting me free.”

Twilight pulled her into another embrace, one that Chrysalis happily returned with gusto. For all her life the Changelings looked up to their queen with respect and even worship, but none had tried to get to know her as an equal. A few times in the past she had done to others what she did to Shining Armour, but only whenever absolutely necessary. Her eyes widened when she felt something from Twilight directed to her, for her, started to fill up like she just had a light meal. But what she felt couldn’t be what she thought it was… could it? Chrysalis smiled to herself; she hoped it was.

The peaceful, quiet hug was interrupted when both mares heard a faint clapping coming from the distance. They separated and stood up to take defensive stances as the clapping grew louder. When they looked to the direction it was coming from, they were awestruck by the sight of the figure coming towards them.

“Well done, Twilight. Well done indeed.” It spoke in a deep yet soothing male voice.

Twilight’s eyes widened. “Ainz?” she asks once she recognises where she’d heard that voice before, and receiving a nod from him.

“And I must say, you are already exceeding expectations.”

“What do you mean?”

“You see Twilight, I am merely one of several entities that have ascended to an existence beyond that of our previous one, allowing us to observe and interact with other universes and realities as we saw fit. In our observations we sometimes find individuals who we deem worthy to join us, seeing what choices they will make, how they interact with their world, how the world and those around them build up their character and so on and so forth."

“Uh… okay, I think I’ll ask you about all that another time,” Twilight said, “but for now, do you know what made Chrysalis want to attack Canterlot?” she asks, Chrysalis giving Ainz a hopeful look.

He sighed deeply. “Yes. It was by the will of one of my 'brothers', Cegorach.”

“What?!” Chrysalis yelled in anger and shock whilst Twilight was only experiencing the latter.

“We… have a rule,” Ainz continued, “we can only give our aid to those we find worthy to join us if they are in an appropriate situation where they will accept our aid, such as this wedding fiasco. We had decided that you had the potential to join us ever since you earned your cutie mark, Twilight, but nothing you faced was the ‘right moment’, as it were. So, one of us took it upon himself to create a situation, and the two of you know what happens after that.”

“Wait, what about Discord? I was very vulnerable when I’d given into despair.” Twilight asks as she recalled an event where these beings could’ve revealed themselves earlier.

“We were going to, honest, but Celestia had beaten us to it when she sent back all your friendship reports."

“So… what now?” Twilight and Ainz were confused by Chrysalis’ question. “What will happen to me and my Changelings?”

Ainz knelt down and placed a skeletal hand on her shoulder, Chrysalis feeling that he was trying to give her a reassuring smile despite his lack of skin. “Do not fret for your children, Chrysalis. Cegorach has already placed shields on those living in pony society, knowing of what would occur at the castle, so only your army and yourself will be affected.”

“Am I right to assume that that’s so the ponies will eventually forget that the invasion ever happened?” she asks, to which he nodded.

“Typical.” Twilight mumbled to herself.

“Now then,” Ainz started saying as he stood up, “I believe it’s time that the two of you returned to the outside world.” With that, his body began turning to mist until he was completely gone.

The two mares were quiet for a while until Chrysalis spoke up. “So… what now?” she turned her head to Twilight, who held a hoof to her muzzle.

“Hmm, we could cast illusions on ourselves so that it seems that we were fighting, and we’d also have to act like we hate each other to sell it.”

The Changeling Queen nodded as she and the Dark Mare cast the spells that made them look battle-worn. “So how do you suppose we do this when you dispel… whatever this thing is?” she asked, gesturing to the white, empty void.

Twilight smirked. “I thought that if I made the dome explode outwards and you and I jumped backwards, it would seem that we'd destroyed it in our fight.”

“And if we pretended to be out of breath and glare at each other, it would sell the act even more.” Chrysalis finished, being rewarded with a bright smile and sudden, sidelong hug from Twilight, feeling a flush of energy fill her.

“That’s right!” she said before stepping a few paces away from and turning to face Chrysalis. “You ready?” she asks as she bent into a pose that would allow her to leap backwards.

“Whenever you are.” Chrysalis replied, copying Twilight’s stance as the Dark Mare’s horn glowed.

“One…” the black space began to rumble and shake.

“Two…” cracks of immeasurable lengths shaped like lightning bolts stretched across the world-scape.

“THREE!!!” they screamed out as the void shattered and was no more.

Twilight Velvet and Night Light were worried sick for their children. Much like themselves, Cadence was trapped where she stood, still not having the strength to fight back the Changelings when they spat their strange saliva onto her hooves and horn. Things weren’t much better when they sealed the princess in some sort of cocoon and the couple’s son was still under the larger Changeling’s control.

Even though it hadn’t been so much as a minute, they were concerned for their daughter when that dark dome trapped her alone with the queen.

That concern spiked when cracks formed all around said dome until it exploded, sending their transformed daughter and Changeling Queen to opposite ends of the hall. The two of them were scorched, bruised, battered and breathing heavily. They were glaring at each other but both wore toothy grins.

“You’re a lot stronger than I thought considering that you’re not an alicorn.” Queen Chrysalis said.

“I’m still just a little impressed that you managed to destroy my spell.” Twilight Sparkle called back. Their attention was brought to the doorway as a group of a dozen changelings came in, bringing with them the now captured Mane Five.

Chrysalis smirked devilishly, though it was forced. “Well, Miss Sparkle, we can either do this the easy way or the hard way. Because despite what you said earlier, I doubt that you want to see these little ponies get hurt.” She hated that the threat left her lips, but she had to keep up the act.

Twilight dispelled the magic in her horn and sat down on her hunches. The other Element bearers were able to smile slightly seeing that at least a little bit of their friend was still in there, even as the six of them were being stuck to where they stood.

The Changeling Queen forced herself to laugh as she turned to the window, overseeing the invasion and only pretending to enjoy it. She even went as far as to sing a song about it.

Seeming to think that the mares were no longer a problem, most of the drones turned their backs to them whilst the others left to rejoin the attack. This was all Twilight needed to focus her magic and burn away the goo on her horn. She formed a ray of red light that did the same thing for her hooves to free herself, and quietly snuck around from behind the changelings to make her way to Cadence, using the rays to free her.

“Hurry, go to him and use your spell.” She whispered. Cadence just nodded and went to her lover, using her love to break him free of the hypnosis.

“Ugh… what happened? Is the wedding over?” he asks in a daze.

“Hurry, Shiny. You have to use your spell to protect Canterlot from the Changelings.” Cadence told her fiance.

Shining Armor quickly took in the state his wife-to-be was in and that of his parents and his sister’s friends. Not wanting to waste more time, he charged his horn to unleash his magic, but only managed a flickering spark before it completely dissipated.

“I can’t.” He gasped out. “I don’t have the strength to repel the changelings.”

“My love will give you strength.” Cadence embraced her lover and poured as much of her own magic into him. Their horns touched and their bodies began to glow and levitate. Soon when enough power was collected the couple to form a love heart and sent out a blast of energy.

Just before the pulse struck her, Chrysalis was thankful that she was able to catch a glimpse of Twilight giving her an apologetic look just as she was thrown through the open window and across the sky towards the Badlands, her army in tow.

Author's Note

Not two full days and already I'm posting the second chapter!
What you think? Was Twilight too quick to forgive Chrysalis after all that's happened? Was the explanation I gave good enough or BS?
Also, should I be spelling alicorn with a capital like for the Changelings, or keep it as is? I've been using a capital for the Alicorn Amulet because it's the name of something.
Either way, let me know below. :twilightsheepish:

EDIT: I tried to describe what Ainz looked like, I really did, but I could not that of anything to describe those things on his shoulders and eventually gave up on it.

Family Talk

It was peaceful in the Golden Oaks Library as Twilight Sparkle slept in her bed. When she finished telling Zecora about what she went through, the Dark Mare was suddenly very tired, and who wouldn’t be when you go through that kind of ordeal just hours earlier and also stayed up from dusk ‘till dawn the night before to learn new magic? Regardless, Zecora gave Twilight reassurance that she’d always have her support and politely left. After that the transformed unicorn went up to her room into her bed, going out like a light.

She was roused from her sleep with a groan when she heard a knock at the door. “Who dares disturb my slumber?” she grumbled, crawling out of bed and stretching her limbs, giving a satisfied sigh after multiple cracks and pops.

There was another knock at the door. “One minute, I’ll be right there.” Twilight called out with slight irritation. She looked to the mirror she newly added to her room and stared at the red gem on the loose choker around her neck and the star-shaped crystal on the ring around her horn. Ainz had warned her that removing either the Element of Magic or Alicorn Amulet presently would have severe consequences on her body, but they could be reshaped into a smaller and more comfortable form; hence the more traditional-looking necklace and horn-ring.

Twilight smirked at the mirror, suddenly imagining herself wearing a majestic royal gown above a detailed, silver suit of armour akin to Nightmare Moon’s, with the main difference being the Alicorn Amulet being integrated into the breastplate. Another knock interrupted her daydream, making her growl softly. “Alright! I’m coming!” she barked, teleporting from her room to the front door in puffs of black smoke.

She opened the door to give her visitor a piece of her mind, but her anger instantly vanished and was replaced with confusion when she saw who was there. “Mom? Dad? Cadence? Spike? What are you all doing here?” she moved to the side to allow them entry and turned on the lights. When they were all in, Twilight looked outside and took notice of how dark it was. “Huh, nighttime already.” She mumbled before closing and locking the door.

Before the Dark Mare could ask why her parents and ex-foalsitter were here, her right leg was caught in a tight hug from a crying Spike. “I’m so sorry Twilight! I was afraid of what the others would think of me if I tried to comfort you. I was scared that they’d kick me out of the wedding too, and I stupidly took their side and not yours!” he cried, wiping his tear-stricken face against her leg.

The ponies in the room grimaced. The young drake was deathly silent during the packing and trip, and now he was a complete emotional wreck. Twilight used her magic to pry Spike off her leg. But instead of tossing him aside like he feared, the transformed unicorn sat down on her hunches and brought him into a comforting embrace.

“It’s okay, Spike, I understand.” She cooed. “You were just caught between siding with one person and a group. I don’t blame you for succumbing to peer-pressure as many would have done the same thing in your place.”

Spike looked up to her through tearful eyes. “Really? You’re not mad?”

“Of course I’m not. If not a baby brother, you’re like a son to me, and many children make mistakes when they’re young.”

“Told you.” Velvet commented from the table.

Twilight released Spike from the hug and stood up. “Well, seeing that you guys don’t seem very tired I’m guessing that it didn’t turn dark too long ago. So I’m going to make some hot chocolate for everyone whilst you all get yourselves comfortable.” Not waiting for any refusals Twilight went into the kitchen to prepare the promised beverage.

A few moments later when her guests made themselves comfortable around the table after finding some cushions, Twilight returned with five mugs of hot chocolate levitating in a dark-purple aura behind her. She gave her parents, Cadence and Spike a mug each; the ponies having marshmallows while Spike had small gems that were enchanted to float.

Twilight sat down next to Spike, taking a sip from her own mug before placing it down gently. “So, why are you guys in Ponyville when you should be at the wedding?” she asked.

Cadence was the first to speak. “Well, after what happened today and finding out why you were so angry, I decided to take you up on your offer. As for the wedding, I’ve decided to cancel it until we can get things sorted out; I don't want to have it without you there.” She explained.

“Your mother and I were worried about your wellbeing, so when Cadence said she was coming here we decided to join her.” Night Light said, Velvet nodding in agreement. “Personally, I’ve actually been wanting to come over just for a get-together away from the stuck-up nobles, but that’s besides the point.” Although they were of the lesser nobility, the others could be a real headache and pain, with Fancy Pants and his wife being the only exceptions.

Twilight chuckled at her father’s comment. “Yeah, they can be a real pain in the ass, can’t they?” she joked.

“Anyway, Twilight, we’ve heard the princess, Shining, and the others’ side of the story, what’s yours?” Velvet asked after a sip of her drink.

Twilight sighed and set her mug down, taking a deep breath. “Okay. Well, I guess it all really started when Celestia sent the tickets to the Gala…”

The Dark Mare went on about how conflicted she was for having to choose between her friends, the incident with the parasprites, enchanting her Smarty-Pants doll with the “want-it, need-it” spell, and other instances. Then she told them that she had no idea that her brother was getting married until just a couple of days ago, how ‘Cadence’ treated them but just shrugged off, how she confronted her, and all the sadness and pain she felt when those she cared about so much abandoned her.

Feeling something akin to a voice in her head telling her to tell the whole truth, Twilight confessed that she had thought of committing suicide, shocking everyone, but reassured them that Ainz had saved her from those thoughts. She explained that he would give her unimaginable power and knowledge if she stole the Element of Magic and got the Alicorn Amulet to stabilise her, and how she found the real Cadence in the mountain. They were most surprised when she said that she actually talked to Chrysalis whilst they were in that black dome and the truth to the invasion.

“So, Chrysalis plotted to switch places with me and conquer Canterlot despite the risk to her species because she was being influenced and manipulated by one of these beings?” Cadence asks.

“Yeah, you should’ve seen how devastated she was when she realized what she was doing. I wasn’t sure why I comforted her despite not knowing if it was a trick, but I‘m glad I did.” Twilight smiled at the memory of helping someone who needed it.

“Well, hearing that she’s not as bad as we would’ve thought, I’d actually like to meet the Changeling Queen and get to know her.” Velvet said, surprising and confusing the ponies and dragon.

“Really? Why’s that?” Twilight asked her mother.

“Oh, let’s just say that a mother’s intuition tells me that I may be seeing her quite often.”

“Honey, you’re not thinking what I think you’re thinking, are you?” Velvet merely winked at her husband’s question, soon followed by him chuckling and shaking his head slightly.

“What are you talking about?” Cadence asks.

“I’m sure you’ll find out soon enough.” Velvet said with a smirk as she finished her hot chocolate.

Twilight would have questioned further but her father changed the subject. “So Twily, I see that you’ve got some new books that seem very… interesting. Am I right to assume they were from Ainz?” he said as he lifted a book with his magic that looked like it’s bindings were made of dried skin.

The changed unicorn perked up. “Oh, yes they are. Ainz said that I need to study more on my Dark Magic and he said that there are other worlds and candidates that he and the others have to watch over, so because he can’t teach me all the time he gave me these books.”

“No offence to your new friend Twilight, but wouldn’t Starswirl the Bearded have written a book on Dark Magic?” Cadence asked whilst floating a book with small skulls lining the edges and a larger, angry-looking horned skull in the center. The eyes had different colored gems and the rubies of the large skull seemed to glaring into the pink alicorn’s very soul.

“I’m sure he did, but all of these daemontomes as they’re called with their skulls, screaming faces and ‘beware’ signs would just make it look unappealing in comparison.” Twilight explained. “And even if he did, Celestia has made sure that I’d never find it even by accident.”

Velvet lightly read through one of the books; this one having the cover, well… covered, in shrunken, stretched faces that were stitched together. “And he probably wouldn’t have been able to describe the spells in such detail.” She said with unbidden awe. “This book has four whole pages for a single spell and tells you everything about it; when it was created, who or what created it, in what situations it’s been used and how to use it properly in the safest way possible... I’m surprised that most of the spells in this book are centered around healing.”

That got Cadence and Light’s attention. “Really?” he asked.

“Yeah.” It was Twilight who answered. “Apparently a lot of medical mages thought that using regular magic to heal injuries, especially the really severe ones like lost limbs, just wasn’t cutting it; making them lose a lot of patients. Knowing that they could’ve saved a lot of whatever species the medic was treating, they began to search for a new form of magic that would help them save more lives than they would on their own. After years of finding nothing, one of the unicorns got so frustrated that he started to randomly shoot spells around his workplace, calling himself worthless for being unable to help those in need. It was only after he calmed down that he realised that somewhere in his tantrum his magic had turned into something else.”

“Dark Magic.” Cadence lightly gasped, earning a nod from Twilight.

“I personally find it amusing that the first pony to be recorded to have used Dark Magic was a doctor, and discovered it by accident, but as I was saying: after this realisation, the unicorn started learning more about this new magic and was shocked to discover that it was in some ways alive.”

“Wait, what do you mean by ‘alive’?” Spike asked, putting down his empty mug.

“I was just getting to that.” Twilight cleared her throat. “Anyway, this sentience simply called itself the "Gentle Darkness" and began to teach the stallion how to use his new gifts to help others where regular magic can’t. As a unicorn who mostly stayed indoors he wasn’t very physically fit, but when he started learning dark magic he soon became as strong as any earth-pony at the time, which wasn’t even a decade after the founding of Equestria.”

“Wow… that’s amazing, Twilight.” Light commented, making his daughter blush bashfully. “But, mind going a little further into how Dark Magic is alive?”

“Sure, and I might as well use my current situation to explain.” She took a deep breath and released it to keep herself calm. “First off, you all know that we’re taught to be completely honest with each other, right?” they slowly nod, not sure where she was getting at. “Well, the Gentle Darkness takes it to the extreme; giving you the blunt truth that the world isn’t as peaceful as Equestria and doesn’t leave out any details.” She paused. “After I started learning Dark Magic, I’ve been hearing voices. At first I couldn’t understand them, but as I learnt more, I found out what they were and how to limit my range.” Looking up to their confused faces, Twilight finished. “They were Shadows.”

“Shadows?” her mother asked.

“After I found Cadence and brought her back here, I was up all night studying the books that Ainz left me, and about an hour before we crashed the wedding was when I started to hear the voices. I started to panic, of course, thinking I was going crazy and hearing things, but Ainz was able to calm me down and explain that I was hearing the Shadows of everyone in Ponyville.” Twilight stood up and trotted to a position where everyone could see her shadow. “We discussed that Dark Magic is like a living being via the Gentle Darkness, so the same could be said for our shadows.” And right before their eyes Twilight’s shadow moved from beneath her to a few paces away.

She smirked at the shocked expressions on her family’s faces and gave the swirling mass of darkness on the floor a nod. Suddenly, the shadow shoot up and began to mold itself into a pony-like shape until it was a perfect silhouette of Twilight except for its glowing green eyes that had a purple miasma seeping out of the corners.

Cadence, Velvet, Light and Spike were in complete awe at the acts of magic they just witnessed, having never seen anything like it before. They were snapped out of their stupor when Twilight spoke up again. “I believe that our shadows actually symbolize that all living things have a darker side to them, and that part of us manifests as our emotions; anger, sadness, greed, envy and so on.” The shadow turned back to normal and returned to its place beneath Twilight as she continued. “Ironically, you could be the world’s greatest liar but your Shadow would always be whispering the truth.” She went back to her cushion and sat down. “Despite that, however, unless you feel guilty about what you’re doing your Shadow will be relatively quiet.” Twilight turns her head to and smiles down at Spike whilst rubbing his head with a chuckle. “But if you do feel guilty, than boy is it loud.”

“Wait, so you only forgave me because my ‘Shadow’ told you that I was sorry?” Spike asked.

“Weeeeeeell, more or less. Your Shadow has a direct connection to your heart and soul, so it says what you truly feel. I felt from your shadow that you were truly sorry for what happened at the rehearsal, and for that, I forgive you.” She gave him an affectionate nuzzle on the cheek.

Velvet and Light smiled at the scene before them; despite her physical and magical changes, Twilight was still their caring little filly. Cadence would have commented, but she had to stop herself as she tried, and failed, to hold back a yawn. It proved to be contagious as Twilight’s parents and Spike yawned as well, and the young princess lightly blushed from embarrassment when her former care started giggling.

“Hehe, I guess everything that’s happened was a lot more tiring than I thought.” She said, the other ponies and baby dragon nodding in agreement.

“Well you guys are more than welcome to stay the night,” Twilight offered, “Mom and dad can stay in the spare room, and Cadence can sleep in my room. It’ll be no problem, so I don’t want to hear any excuses.” Before any of them could respond, Twilight picked up the empty mugs in her magic and sent them to the kitchen before walking up the stairs to the guest bedroom that was next to hers.

“Well, best hit the hay before she starts forcing us into bed.” Light joked, the others chuckling as they stood up and climbed the stairs to their rooms.

“Alright, everything’s good to go.” The Dark Mare told her parents as she walked out of the room before hugging them. “Night mom, night dad, hope you sleep well.”

“You too, sweetie.” Said her mother, before she and her husband entered the room. Twilight closed the door for them and went into her room where Spike and Cadence waited. When she entered, Spike was already asleep in his basket at the foot of Twilight’s bed, but Cadence was still up with an uncertain look.

“Is something wrong, Cadence?” Twilight asks.

“Well, there’s only one other bed here, but I don’t think that we’ll be able to fit on it together.” Cadence admitted.

Twilight waved a dismissive hoof and smiled. “Don’t worry, I planned on you having the bed.” Her horn glowed and shadows from all over the room left their places and started to merge together in the middle of the floor and take shape, and a few seconds later Cadence couldn’t believe what she saw. “I figured that you wouldn’t be too comfortable on a bed made of pure darkness.” Twilight finished with a yawn as she pulled back the ‘sheets’ and crawled in.

Cadence was brought out of her stupor and giggled lightly. “Yeah, you’re right about that.” She said, climbing into her temporary bed.

“Good night, Cadence. Sweet dreams.”

“Good night, Twilight. You too.” And with that, both mares fell soundly asleep and into the land of dreams.

Dreamscape Conflict

Princess Luna and a couple of her Night Guard landed in the castle courtyard and looked around, noticing how quiet and empty it was for what was meant to be where the reception was being held. Another thing she quickly noticed was the repair work being done to some of the nearby buildings and the frantic state of the guards. Speaking of which, a couple of the golden armoured ponies were now running towards her and her guards.

“Princess Luna, where in Equestria have you been?” one of the guards asked as he and his partner got up to them.
“We were-” Luna started, but was interrupted by the guard.

“Apologies, your highness, but it can wait until you meet with Princess Celestia in the throne room. Something terrible has happened that needs your immediate attention.” He said.

‘That would explain the damages.’ Luna thought, then saying out loud, “Very well. I shall meet with my sister at once.” She said, dismissing her guards before making her way to the throne room. After a few short minutes Luna reached her destination, the two guards stationed at either side of the doors granting her entry. Inside the throne room was Celestia looking over some reports from earlier, a frown on her muzzle.

“Where in the world have you been?” she asks, clear irritation in her voice.

Luna, taken aback from her sister's tone, took a second to respond. “I had come to the conclusion that the threat to Canterlot may have been a diversion to bring the majority of the Royal Guards to a single location and leave many towns vulnerable, so I went to secure the nearby villages. From the state I found Canterlot upon my return I guess I was wrong.”

Celestia sighed and put down the report papers. She couldn’t fault Luna for considering that the threat to Canterlot was a trick to lure the guards away from their real target, but that wasn’t the case. The Solar Princess rose from her throne and walked towards her younger sister. “It’s alright, Luna. I’m sorry for my tone before, but today has been… stressing, to say the least.”

That got the Lunar Princess’ attention. “Sister, what has happened?” she asks.

Celestia sighed again and started walking out the throne room and towards her bedroom, motioning for Luna to follow. Minutes passed in silence until they arrived at Celestia’s room, the elder alicorn casting a privacy spell once the both of them entered. Before Luna could ask what the spell was for, her sister spoke. “Twilight has the Alicorn Amulet.”

Luna gasped. “What?! How is that possible? Where did she find it?!”

Celestia’s expression turned somber. “I don’t know where she found that damned relic, but I feel she never would have if it weren’t for me.”

Luna grew concerned, wondering what her sister could’ve possibly done to blame herself for causing Twilight to find a forbidden artifact. She walked up to her sister and gently laid a hoof on her shoulder. “Tia… tell me what happened.”
Celestia stared at her younger for a moment before sighing for a third time that evening. She went to the cushions near her fireplace and sat on one, gesturing to another with a wing. “You may want to take a seat, Luna. This could take a while.”

The younger of the princesses complied and listened to what her sister had to say. She listened as her sister told her of what happened during the wedding rehearsal the previous evening; of how Twilight accused “Cadance” of being evil, how Shining Armor forbade her from attending the wedding, how the Element Bearers abandoned her without a word, and of the cold words she herself said to her pupil before leaving. Celestia then told Luna of what had happened in Canterlot earlier today; Twilight interrupting the ceremony with a changed appearance -- wearing the Alicorn Amulet around her neck and a corrupted Element of Magic on her head -- and another Cadance, how she revealed to true identity of the impostor, and of the “battle” that left Canterlot the way it was.

The Solar Princess told her sister an abridged description of how they managed to win back the city; Twilight trapping Chrysalis in a spell she didn’t recognise but soon broke out of, signs of fighting shown on their bodies, Twilight and the Element Bearers getting captured only for the young mare to free herself and Cadance, getting her to break Shining Armor from Chrysalis’ control and the two of them mustering the magic to banish the Changeling army from Equestria. With deep regret Celestia also revealed what happened afterwards, of Twilight unleashing her anger through verbal lashing before demanding that all but Cadance and her parents are to keep away from her.

As her sister finished telling her of what occurred during her absence, Luna’s mind swam with many thoughts. Eventually though, she finally found her words. “Sister, there was no way you could’ve suspected that Cadance wasn’t herself.” She started, but Celestia cut her off.

“But I should have!” she yelled. “Whenever I think about it now, it was so obvious that something other than pre-marital stress was wrong with Cadance. I just feel like such a fool.”

Luna put a hoof on her sister’s shoulder reassuringly. “Regardless, what’s done is done, and all we can do is figure out how we can best salvage the situation before it can get any worse.”

Celestia smiled a little. “You’re right, Luna. There is still time to fix all of this. I won’t deny that I didn’t give Twilight the benefit of the doubt like I should have, but I don’t think she did this on her own.” At Luna’s confused expression, she elaborated. “Even if Twilight had read about it in a book somewhere, I do not believe that she’d think that the Alicorn Amulet was even real, let alone know where to find it. I think someone -- or something -- else is involved.”

“And you think that who or whatever gave Twilight the Alicorn Amulet is corrupting her, using the mistakes made by you and her friends to lure her away to darkness?” Luna enquired, getting a nod from her sister before she looked reluctant about something.

“Luna, I don’t want to impose or make you do something you don’t want to, but could you-?”

The Lunar Princess raised a hoof, already knowing what Celestia was going to ask her to do. “I shall enter Twilight’s dreams and see what I can uncover on the situation from there.”

Celestia gave her younger sister a thankful smile and a small hug. “Thank you, Luna.” She said.

Luna returned the embrace before they separated. “Do not fret, Tia. If Twilight Sparkle is being corrupted, then we will bring her back to the light.” She started to leave the room when Celestia called out to her.

“Be careful, Luna. The spell Twilight used to reveal Chrysalis’ true form was unlike any I’d ever seen. This corrupter could be capable of anything.”

Luna gave her worried sister a confident grin. “Please, Tia. There is nothing mightier than I in the realm of dreams.”

After leaving her sister’s bedroom, Luna went to the balcony just outside of her own, thinking back on what Celestia had told her of the last two days. She felt that something wasn’t quite adding up, that they were missing an important detail of some sort. Regardless, the Lunar Princess had a job to do, and the results of it would determine what actions they take next:
Enter Twilight Sparkle’s dreams.

Luna ignited her horn and in a matter of moments she was in the realm of dreams. While mesmerising and breathtaking the first few times, it wasn’t much to look at once you got used to it, just a star-spangled teal-blue void and not much else. Luna called forth her magic again and summoned a door to Twilight’s dreams.

Or, she tried to.

Instead of the one door she wanted however, Luna got four other doors, the colors and cutie marks on them telling her that they belonged to Twilight’s parents -- Night Light and Twilight Velvet -- Princess Cadance and Spike, the latter actually having a dragon shaped marking. Confused to why she got these doors, Luna tried again, putting much more magic into the spell. After two minutes or so of struggling, she finally got the door she was looking for, but received another surprise.

Twilight’s door had drastically changed, now resembling the entrance to a bank’s vault, with several rods bolting it to the “floor” and “ceiling”, a large clamp on one side to seal it further, and to pour salt on the proverbial wound, it was also wrapped in chains. However this was possible, the message was clear:
Someone didn’t want Luna going into Twilight’s dreams.

The Lunar Princess huffed in frustration. “What trickery is this?” she asked the seemingly empty air. “We are the Princess of the Night and protector of dreams. We demand entrance to Twilight Sparkle’s dreams!”

“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that.” A voice said. Before Luna could even react, she was struck to the side that sent her flying a great distance. Getting up from her crash several yards from Twilight’s dream-door, she gazed in shock and awe at her attacker. The best description Luna could think of was that he -- she assumed it was a he from the voice -- was a skeleton sorcerer wearing royal-purple and black robes with gold accents, opened at the chest area to show of his rib-cage and a glowing red orb within it.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Luna spoke to her assailant. “Who are you, and what do you want here?” she demanded.

“I am Ainz Oowl Gown, and that is all you shall know of me. As for what I want, I wish to give you a message: leave Twilight alone. If she wishes to speak to you or any of the traitors, than she shall do so on her own terms. Besides, this is quite the invasion of privacy.”

Luna glared at Ainz. “So you are the one who corrupted young Twilight Sparkle.” She accused him, prompting him to tilt his head slightly.

“Corrupted?” He chuckled. “Is that truly the first thing to enter your mind when someone calls you out on your mistakes? Corrupt and/or evil?” he laughed again, before turning dead serious. “No. I have not “corrupted” Twilight Sparkle, I’ve liberated her from the shackles that bound her to Celestia’s every whim.”

“You say that as if you’re accusing my sister of being a tyrant.” Luna commented.

“Villains who twirl their moustaches are easy to spot, those who clothe themselves in good deeds are well camouflaged.” Ainz quoted. “Make no mistake, I didn’t accuse your sister of anything, you made that conclusion yourself. In addition, just as you interpreted my words to fit your views, I can find something that Celestia has done that makes her look villainous from a certain point of view.”

At that Luna smirked. “Ha! That is a fool’s errand. You could never find anything misleading in my sister’s past even if you had a thousand years to search!” she stomped her hoof on the “ground” and smiled triumphantly.

“Pot, meet Kettle.” Ainz said blandly. Upon Luna’s confidant expression turning to confusion, he continued. “Apologies, but that coming from someone who didn’t get the recognition they deserved for their efforts and was banished by the very person they’re defending just for wanting some extra attention is a little hypocritical.”

Luna didn’t have an immediate response to that. After a few moments of silence, she managed to say, “Those were different times.”

Ainz shrugged. “I guess they were, but that doesn’t hinder my argument. If Celestia, Shining Armor and the Element Bearers want to fix their relationship with Twilight, they have no right to force her into it and it must be done at her own pace. She’s a new mare now, and they should treat her as such.”

Luna hardened her expression. “There may be some truth to your words,” Ainz tilted his head, which Luna now assumed was his way of raising an eyebrow, “but Twilight was never yours to take from her family and loved ones. So for that, I shall free her of your corruption!” she exclaimed, striking a battle-ready pose as her horn ignited.

The Overlord of Nazarick shook his head. “I’m very disappointed, princess. I thought you of all people would understand what Twilight is going through, but I guess you’re as blind as she was.” He raised his left hand and a golden staff appeared in it, the jewels in the mouths of the snakes giving off a faint glow for a second. “Before we begin, let me tell you something to think about: the sun does not reveal truth, its light only burns and blinds.”

Taking that as the starting signal, Luna fired a quick bolt of magic at Ainz and launched into the air, the bolt easily deflected by a shield conjured by the undead sorcerer. Ainz followed up by unleashing the spell Shark Cyclone and a barrage of Dragon Lightning. Taken off guard, Luna scarcely avoided being sucked into the shark infested whirlwind and struck by the lightning bolts, speeding up her flight speed to outmanoeuvre Ainz. While surprisingly fast and agile for his size, avoiding her magic bolts and similar offencive spells, Ainz couldn’t quite keep pace with the Lunar Alicorn while she was in the air and he knew it. So, it was time to try out what he himself had learnt from his new existence.

Seeing an opportunity, Luna fired a powerful energy beam directly at Ainz’s back. She didn’t think it would do too much damage considering his armor, it would give her satisfaction that she drew “first blood” as it were.

Before the attack struck, however, a giant dragon skull appeared between them and completely negated the beam. So caught off guard by this, Luna scarcely avoided the large blast of energy that was fired from the skull’s maw, though some of her feathers got singed. Ainz would have smirked at the Night Princess’ shocked expression if he had skin as he turned and patted the skull.

“What do you think, princess? Impressive, is it not?” he asks Luna.

“Wha… what sorcery is this?” she whispered, mostly to herself, but he heard her.

Ainz chuckled at her stupefied expression. “This little number is called a Gaster Blaster, a creation of a new friend I made after coming into my new existence.”

Luna gritted her teeth. This wasn’t going as well as she had hoped. She expected to face some resistance and even animosity from Twilight when she entered the young mare’s dreams, but hardly foresaw the likelihood of being confronted by an entity she’d never heard of possessing magic she’d never seen before.

Before she could do anything, though, Ainz spoke up again. “Just give up, princess. You know nothing of my power, my limits or even myself, yet I know all about you and yours. You’re facing an unknown foe blind in your views and ignorant of theirs.” He dispelled the Gaster Blaster. “If you leave now I will not tell Twilight that you had attempted to invade on her dreams and privacy.” He offered.

Luna glared at the Overlord, making him sigh. They continued to stare at each other for a few moments before Ainz mentally smirked, a plan forming, making Luna raise an eyebrow. “Well then, if you still wish to intrude on my student’s dreams…” he snapped his fingers and Twilight’s “vault” appeared beside him, confusing the Lunar Princess. Before she could question him, he pointed his staff to the vault, all the jewels glowing brightly, and what happened shocked her more than anything in her life.

A thick mass of flesh and bone began to grow around the vault at a rapid pace, covering all but the face of the vault. The mass of unflesh continued to expand, the only thing she could discern was the back forming the vague shape of some four-legged creature with clawed feet, whilst the front took the shape of a headless torso with four arms. What truly disturbed Luna though was that the torso was opened like a gruesome wound, fragments of bone giving it the appearance of a mouth. The abomination roared, the sound like a raging dragon and nails dragged down a chalkboard, its “mouth” opening wide and showing the many dozens of long, jagged and crooked teeth, the door to Twilight’s dreams scarcely visible in the very back of its “throat”.

Luna was feeling a mix of disgust, awe and horror at the sight of the gargantuan daemon-spawn and gave a quick glance to Ainz, who she knew would be smiling smugly if he could as he gave her an exaggerated bow, finishing his sentence with, “Than by all means, be my guest.” He laughed as his body faded into a pinkish-purple mist until he was gone completely.
Luna nervously faced the creature as it roared again, several eyes it didn’t have before glaring hatefully at her, and gulped. This could take a while and be very painful.

Venting Out Stress

Author's Note

One of you commented about how I had Twilight saying f*** instead of "buck", so hopefully this will clarify why:

In Equestrian society, just about everything is very child-friendly (as the producers intended), including the swears to an extent. As such, they are aware of what the proper swear is, but over the course of several generations of (simply put) "self-censorship", ponies and perhaps some equine-like race will say a "softer" version, whilst other races like griffons, dragons and Diamond Dogs will say the proper word.
Now, because Twilight thinks that most of her life since her entrance exam was made of lies, she'll no longer care to censor herself and make a whole new reputation around it (sort of).

Venting Out Stress

[Warning: lots of swearing in this chapter]The ponies celebrate their victory against the Changeling threat with enthusiastic cheers and by embracing each other, making sure that they were perfectly fine. Twilight Velvet and Night Light embraced their son, thankful that he was freed from the queen’s control. Recovering from the numbness of the cocoon, Princess Celestia walked up to Shining Armor and Princess Cadence to congratulate them on banishing the Changelings.

The celebrations were halted, however, when Pinkie Pie pointed out the elephant in the room. “Twilight?” she timidly says.

Everypony else turned their heads to the direction the normally bubbly party-mare was looking and took notice of Twilight Sparkle gazing into the distance through a window, or more specifically, the direction Chrysalis was launched to.

“Twilight,” Celestia speaks up calmly, “the Changelings have been defeated and all has been restored, you can remove the Alicorn Amulet now; there’s no need for its power.” Her student didn’t turn.

“Really, Twi? You’re giving us the silent treatment after the threat’s been dealt with?” Rainbow Dash brashly asks. No response.

“C’mon sugarcube, the princess says that that amulet yer wearin’ is messin’ with yer head. So jus' take it off and everythin’ will go back to normal.” Said Applejack. Still nothing.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Come on, talk to us Twily.” Shining Armor asks of his sister, him getting a reaction. Twilight spun her head to the group with great speed, but glared her piercing eyes at her brother.

“Don’t you dare call me that!” she snapped, causing all the ponies to flinch.

“T-T-Twilight.” Fluttershy squeaked, gaining the Dark Mare’s attention.

“Back off, you spineless wimp.”

“Hey! What the heck is your problem, Twilight? You don’t just do that to a friend!” Dash yelled at Twilight, hovering inches from the taller mare’s muzzle to defend her foalhood friend.

“My ‘problem’?” Twilight chuckled. “You really want to know what my ‘problem’ is?” she asks with a large grin, showing off her new fangs. Rainbow gulps, realizing that she may have made a mistake. Twilight’s mane suddenly roared to life, forming a hand at the end and grasping around the midsection of the pegasus, who could’ve sworn that she heard the hair actually hiss. “You’re my problem!” the Dark Mare roared into her captive’s face before throwing her across the room, earning gasps from all present. Applejack and Fluttershy immediately rushed to the downed mare’s side.

“Twilight!” Celestia gasps out, completely shell-shocked at what she had just witnessed her personal student do. “She’s your friend!”

“Real friends would never have abandoned me.” She growls.

“W-what are you t-talking about?” Pinkie stammered, growing scared of her old friend.

Twilight gazed down at her with a look of disgust. “By Faust, you are a complete idiot, aren’t you, if you can’t remember something that only happened barely fifteen fucking hours ago!” the pink party-pony and the others flinched again and stepped back, staring wide-eyed from the vulgar language. “When I needed someone’s kindness; somebody to make me laugh; a pony to generously give their time for me; to show me their loyalty and to be honest with me, where were all of my so-called friends when I was at my lowest?” she hissed ‘friends’ as though the word left a horrible taste in her mouth. “Anywhere but with me, that’s for sure!”

“Twilight, please calm down.” Celestia tried. “These feelings are not your own, it’s the Alicorn Amulet making you feel this way. Just remember your friendship with the others and take it off, you’ll be able to think clearly again.”

“Pfft! Cut the bullshit for someone who cares, you lazy bitch!” Twilight snapped, each word that comes out of the other ponies’ mouths only proving to make her anger grow. “And of course you’d say that me finally releasing my pent up frustration is a form of corruption. And what is this ‘friendship’ you speak of? All I can remember are a bunch of ponies using me for their own ends like some kind of puppet! Well here’s a newsflash for you, princess; I have no strings, not anymore. I’m more my own mare now than I ever was before, and I intend to keep it that way. And one more thing, you can forget about your faithful student, because I quit!”

The solar princess could only stare in wide-eyed shock, mortified that the one pony she saw as if she were her own daughter had just severed their ties and bond. Twilight’s parents and Cadence backed up a few paces and kept quiet, fearful of incurring the mare’s wraith.

Twilight herself was now taking deep breaths to calm herself, in through her nose and out through her mouth. After about half a minute, she turned her attention to her parents and ex-foalsitter with a much softer expression, confusing the three of them.

“Mom, dad, I’m sorry you had to see that but I really needed to get a lot of bottled-up stress off my chest, and I’m already feeling much better from it. Cadence, if ever you need a place to crash for a while or just need someone to talk to, don’t hesitate to call me up, okay?” Twilight turned back to the window and stepped closer to it before speaking up again. “The rest of you; stay the fuck away from me.”

Before any of the ponies could stop her, Twilight’s horn glowed a dark purple and her body was consumed in black fire. Her form rapidly shrunk to the size of a curled up colt or filly as it hung in the air. The group flinched when the sphere exploded, and in the place as the young mare was a crimson-eyed crow. And after a moment of test flying, the crow flew out of the window and headed for the direction of Ponyville.

Finally getting herself out of her stupor, Cadence slowly turned her head to her aunt, the Mane Five and her husband-to-be, taking notice of their now guilt ridden faces. With her own face molding into a scowl, she asks the big question. “What did you do?”

Things were calm in Ponyville; the sun was shining, the birds were singing and the foals were playing an assortment of games. Some ponies seemed to be quite anxious for some reason or another, but that’s because they knew about what happened in Canterlot just moments ago. A lone zebra had just gathered the necessary ingredients needed for a new brew when she heard the caws of a crow.

Curious, she turned her head to the direction she heard the sound coming from and saw the infamous bird. Not only were crows either rare or non-existent in Equestria, Zecora was even more confused to its presence when it headed straight for the Golden Oaks library.

“Oh, what is this? It would seem that something is amiss.” She mumbled to herself before making her way to the library. Once Zecora got to the door she reached back into her saddlebags and pulled out a key. Ever since Twilight Sparkle was able to get the town to welcome her, she had been visiting the unicorn every now and then for some idle chatter and she was even given a spare key in case of an emergency. She inserted the key into the lock and twisted it to the left. With a confirming click she removed the key and put it back in her saddlebags before bringing her hoof to the handle and turned it, opening the door.

When Zecora entered the library proper she heard the fluttering of wings and saw that the crow had managed to get inside as well and landed on the floor, before suddenly bursting into black flames that caused the unsuspecting zebra to jump back and fall onto her haunches. The ball of flame started to grow until it was larger than the dumbfounded zebra and just as suddenly as it became alight, the mystic fire was extinguished and an unnaturally large unicorn with a very dark color-scheme took its place.

While most of the mystery-mare’s features were difficult to notice in the dark building, Zecora’s gaze fell to her rump to see her cutie-mark and take a gander at her personality. There was a large, six-pointed star that was bright crimson; a smaller star colored green was behind the first and stood out between the red points; five even smaller black stars were spread around the other two in the center, but their points were curved like a saw-blade rather than straight.

The zebra’s eyes went wide when she thought of only one other mare with a cutie-mark similar to that one. “Twilight Sparkle, is that you? To earn this form, what did you do?” she asks.

Twilight blinked her eyes when she registered the voice and turned to its source. “Zecora?” she asks as she turned on the lights. Granted, she could see perfectly in the dark with her newfound night-vision, but she wanted to make things easier for her guest. “Hey there, did you need anything?”

Zecora stood up and her gaze traced the new form of her unicorn friend with curiosity. Her eyes fell upon the grey and red amulet with a unicorn head, wings and a large red gem in the center of a triangular body hanging around Twilight’s neck.

“Though I wish to know what is around your neck, I would like to ask what happened on your trek.” Zecora said in her usual rhymes. It took a moment for Twilight to realize that her friend was asking her to explain what happened at the wedding, more-or-less.

“Well, it’s kind of a long story…” Twilight replied. The zebra nodded and placed her saddlebags by the door before walking to the kitchen, most likely to make some tea. The unicorn sighed; although it would do her some good to tell someone about it, she figured that she’d have to repeat it soon enough.

The room was deathly silent as Princess Cadence, Twilight Velvet and Night Light all stared aghast at the seven, guilty faced ponies in front of them. The Element bearers admitted that they didn’t take Twilight seriously when she was stressed about being “tardy” with a late friendship report; Celestia brushed off her students warning of Nightmare Moon’s return, though she claimed it was because she already knew and was prepared; and Shining confessed that he hadn’t informed his sister beforehand that he was dating Cadence, let alone getting married to her, and whenever she tried to ask him about it he’d change the subject immediately.

But the worst of it all was when they admitted to what they did at the rehearsal. How “Cadence” ran out the hall crying; Shining forbidding Twilight to attend the wedding; the Mane Five abandoning her without a word; and the last, cold words Celestia said to her before earlier. After another moment of silence, Cadence finally spoke. “You’re all horrible ponies.” That made the group of ponies flinch.

“I’m very disappointed in you, Shining Armor.” Light scolded his son.

“How could you have done such a thing to her?” Velvet wailed.

“It’s not like she had any evidence.” Shining defended. “What were we supposed to do when she started accusing my future wife of being evil?”

“How about giving her the benefit of the doubt?!” Cadence yelled, making them flinch again. “Auntie, Shining, you have both seen a stressed-out me, and I’d rather lock myself in my room then take my frustration out on others.” She said. Celestia and Shining Armor shared a look; she was right, they should have realized the difference in her personality much sooner.

Cadence sighed and turned to direction of the still damaged doors and started walking towards them. “Cadence, where are you going?” Shining asks.

“I’m packing my things and leaving on the next train to Ponyville.” She replied.

“What? Why? What about our wedding?” Cadence turned her head and shot him a glare.

“What about our wedding?” she repeated. “Your sister is going through Faust knows what kind of emotional pain and all you care about is some wedding?” Shining gulped. “Well, to answer your question dear; until further notice that I see fit, the wedding is off!” with that note of finality, Cadence stormed out of the room, closely followed by Twilight’s parents.

Night Light stopped for a moment and turned his head back to the group, giving them a slow, disappointed head-shake before continuing after his wife. The six mares and one stallion stood in silence as the consequences of their cruel deeds to the kind, loving pony that they held dear finally took root in their hearts.

Cadence marched down the hall to her room when a voice called out to her. “Cadence, wait up.”

The pink-coated alicorn stopped and turned her head to see the two ponies following her, one just a little further behind the other. “Mrs. Velvet? Mr. Light? What are you two doing?” she asked the couple, turning around.

“We just wanted to tell you that we’re coming with you to Ponyville. Faust knows what she’s going through, so she needs all the support she can get.” Velvet said firmly, her husband nodding in agreement once he caught up.

Cadence smiled and said, “I’m sure Twilight would love that.” She was about to turn back towards her room when the three heard someone clear their throat. They turned to the direction the sound came from and were surprised to see none other than Spike.

The purple drake himself was fiddling with his hands, shifting his weight on his feet and looked very anxious. After a long silence the ponies were about to say something but Spike finally spoke up. “C-can I come too?” he asks nervously. “I… I really need to apologise to Twilight for not trying to help her last night, and I felt so bad about it. I just… I just…” he was on the verge of crying when Velvet came up to him and pulled the small dragon into a hug.

“Shh… it’s okay.” She cooed. “Of course you can come with us, Spike. I’m sure that if you explained yourself, she’d forgive you.”

Spike sniffed and wiped away some tears. “Really?”

“Positive. If not a brother, you’re like a son to her, and trust me when I say that children make mistakes when peer pressure’s involved.”

Night Light stepped up to his wife and gave her a playful nudge. “Well, Velvet and I better get home so that we can get what we need. You two meet us there once you have your things a came head to Ponyville.” He said. The two mares and dragon nodded and split up to do just that.