City Of Secrets [Rewrite In Progress]

by KeyChain

Rating: teen
Tags: Princess Luna, Drama, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Mystery, Adventure, Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle, Profanity, Princess Celestia, Alternate Universe
Length: 17091

"Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria there lived a beautiful Queen named Faust...." Wait what? No that can't be right... right?

Not Dead, Last Edited On: 11/16/2019

An old kingdom buried under salt, sand, and rubble has been discovered in one of the far corners of Equestria and along with it an ancient, omnipotent being who claims to have once ruled over all its lands.

Though her words are beyond outlandish few have questioned her legitimacy of royal lineage or power potential after confirmation from the sisters, however, many still speculate her true motives for returning. After all, why come home after nearly ten millenniums and why refuse to lead such a nation once more?

But most importantly, why is she so obsessed with a particular Princess of Friendship?

Twilight Sparkle intends to find the answers to all these questions, but in doing so discovers the beginning of the end of an ancient conspiracy- and with it, a crumbling nation...

One ruled by two alicorn sisters.

The Witch's Hour Series: (AKA: The Midnight Trilogy)
-City Of Secrets You Are Here!
-District Of Deception [Not Yet Released]
-Kingdom Of Lies [Not Yet Released]

Side Stories/Extended Universe:
-Witch Of The West [Not Yet Released]
-Till Death Do Us Part [Not Yet Released]

"Badass Twilight" Tag but you won't see it until later chapters.

Note: Episode 1, 2, and, 13 of season 9 are not cannon in this universe nor are the season's finales. (Basically Celestia & Luna never decide to retire. Also know that the fic takes place a year or so after the show ends.)

Published 2016-12-23 13:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2019-07-11 22:09:59 UTC

Prologue (Inferior Original. Do Not Read. Seriously Don't It's Bad.)

Prologue

October 5, 967 A.F.

Princess Twilight Sparkle

5:55 P.M

"SPPIIIIIKE, HURRY UP THE TRAIN WILL BE HERE IN A FEW MINUTES!" I really need to stop hanging out with Luna so much. I've been using the "Royal Canterlot Voice" a lot lately. Still, what in Celestia's name is taking him so long?

"Now don't you start throwing a fit surgarcube, you still got 10 whole minutes before the train gets here." Applejack states as she readjusts her stension.

"Right, sorry, Applejack, I'm just a little on edge right now. I mean, I'm going to a long lost pony civilization, one older than Princess Celestia or Luna! Imagine what I could end up discovering over there."

"Now, now, don't you start apologizing. We know you're excited an' all, you just need to calm down amite. Besides, there will be plenty of time to do that when you're actually on the train."

"Oh, please do watch Spike while you're there, darling, I would hate to see you come back early because somepony got hurt." Rarity says quickly cutting in into the conversation.

"It's alright Rarity, I'll make sure he and I end up not doing anything rash. Speaking of, I should really go and see what's taking him so long."

Thump

"Ow, that won't be necessary Twilight. Sorry, I took so long; I wanted to bring a few comic books, but I didn't know which ones to bring." Spike responds while dusting himself off after a tumble from the last step of the castle stairs.

"Don't worry about it, Spike. We still got a bit of time. Sorry about yelling earlier."

"It's fine I should have packed everything yesterday anyway," Spike replied.

"Enough time to make a going away party? We won't see you for a really long time."Pinkie says, surprising me a bit due to the fact she has been uncharacteristically quiet.

"Pinkie, I told you a thousand times that this might be a total failure and we might be back in a couple of days. On top of that, we would be back in a week tops, depending on how big the place is of course, and no, not enough time to make a going away party. Anyway, Spike and I should really get going." Pinke deflated a bit at that but soon nodded her head in understanding.

"Oh, well don't let us keep you waiting darling. We will see you soon!" Rarity once again says moving us on from the previous conversation.

"Alright, bye girls!"

"BYE!" They all shouted in unison.

7:34 P.M

Ughhhh my head is killing me- I should really take something for it, and this train ride sure isn't helping. Ugghh the train, it's never taken more than a few hours at most to get somewhere and we were going to be here for fourteen, fourteen, whole hours. It's madness! How could anypony stay here for so long? I couldn't read a book for more than an hour at a time without getting nauseous. At least Spike was doing okay. He is fast asleep in the other cart. Maybe I should take some sleeping medicine and hit the hay. It's already 7:30pm and very dark out. You can barely see three feet out the window. A few minutes later, I do exactly that and tuck myself under the thick, warm sheets. It was quiet, as to be expected. There is no one else on the train-- perks of being a princess I suppose. Though just before falling into a deep, much-needed sleep, I light my horn and read over the letter for the seventh time today, one I had gotten from Princess Celestia a little less than two days ago.

Dear, Twilight

I hope this letter finds you well, it has been quite some time before we last saw each other. I hope you and your friends are doing fine. Regardless, I'm off topic and this is not a letter about current events, nor is it about a danger coming to Equestria. In fact, something a bit different than usual. Last week, I was informed that we have discovered some interesting finds near the borders of Equestria, more specifically, an ancient pony civilization lost in the passage of time, one supposedly older than Luna and I. Though we would love to go ourselves, we are sadly too busy to see something like this, more so, we both felt you were much more qualified to go investigate and document this new discovery. That is, of course, if you wish to do so, and we can discuss this in further detail if you wish to proceed. I await your quick response.

Love, Celestia.

No matter how many times I read that letter, it gives me goosebumps. I still could not wrap my head around it, and something told me I never would, even with my not-so-new powers and immortality. If this trip went without a hitch, it would be a nice story to tell somepony years later. Well, I suppose some action wouldn't hurt. Regardless, I could not stop thinking about it. I'm going to an ancient city, kingdom, I soon learned with a few more letter exchanges with the princesses. I almost didn't feel worthy of going to such a magical place... almost. Though now my thoughts are starting to clear and headache dwindling, I'm starting to feel like this task is beyond me. Really, a whole kingdom and it's just me and Spike? Something feels off. I'm starting to have a hunch that Celestia and Luna weren't telling me everything. How does a kingdom just go unnoticed? Was it buried? I mean, Celestia's first letter was very vague and even the ones after that. Maybe some traveler pony stubbed his hoof on a rock and realized it wasn't just some rock, and perhaps he dug a little hoping to find treasures? "NO, Twilight don't start, you're just overthinking it again there has to be some other logical explanation," I say out loud. I really don't have time to stress myself out right now; my questions will be answered when we get there. There are answers for everything if you look hard enough. But honestly, if I had to pick going on a 'mission' if you could call it that, or staying at the castle in Ponyville or Canterlot. I would pick this every time, the main reason being was that every time I was with Celestia and Luna, or rather NOT with Celestia and Luna, they would start fighting. It was often over petty reasons like when it came to government decisions. Those two coul-

Snore

Oh, I was so deep in thought I completely forgot about Spike, I wonder what he thinks about all of this. When we were at the castle and I first got that message, he, strangely, felt excited about all of this. He probably just wanted to get out of Ponyville for a bit and take a break from all his chores, but I honestly don't blame him. The castle is big and he is still a baby after all, although not so much anymore. He is still young nevertheless.

Yawn

Well, all thoughts aside, I felt the kiss of sleep upon me and I drift into a wonderful dream.

Discovery (Inferior Original. Do Not Read. Seriously Don't It's Bad.)

Chapter 1

October 6, 967 A.F.

Princess Twilight Sparkle

8:12 A.M

Ahhh, Celestia's Summer Sun. Normally I would be happy to see the sun rising high above the clouds in the afternoon, though certainly not today, not when we were out in the middle of nowhere in the baking heat of the day. When we arrived a few hours ago by train, it was about 5:00am. With that, we arrived at our destination around 7:25am. On our arrival, I was at a loss for words. The place was anything but what I had imagined. Massive chunks of marble pillars, walls, and bricks littered the ground for hundreds of acres, many reaching heights of buildings found in Manehattan, all of which were surrounding a rather large lake, which most likely had not been there when this ancient city was first built who-knows-how-many eons ago.

Even with all that, it was certainly not what had caught our undivided attention. No, what had was a large statue sunk in the deep crater of the cold, crystal clear water. The statue itself was of a strange alicorn mare, one of which I had no knowledge of. Yet what shocked me was that I could not shake the feeling of familiarity with the mare, as if I had known her for as long as I could remember. The statue was resting upon a large, carved stone with The Two Sisters. This immediately caused my train of thought to derail. That made no sense. How did this statue have a carving of Celestia and Luna if they we not even alive at the time? I had suspected they were withholding information from me but what would be the point, to simply let me discover all of this on my own? Perhaps it was a test of some sort. I push the thoughts aside; there would be time to dwell on it later. I continued to observe the statue of the odd mare and took note of her cutie mark.

"Ink and a quill. I wonder what that means. Writing, perhaps?" I say breaking the silence.

"I don't see what else it could mean. Oh, and Twilight, you don't happen to have a strange feeling that you know her, do you?" Interesting... Spike had that same feeling. Though, yes, I did, in fact, have that thought earlier, I didn't say anything in response, just a nod of acknowledgment. "It's all cracked and broken. I almost feel sad for her, even part of her wing is busted off."

After Spike was finished speaking I rubbed my eye. Was I... crying? Why would I be? Well, perhaps it was in fact a heartbreaking scene to see such a phenomenal piece of art be washed away in the currents of time, but I don't think it was that sad, though it certainly was a shame that nopony else would see it. Wait, I almost forgot! I brought a camera for the trip. I'm supposed to document my findings during the exhibition, and what better time to do it than the present? I could even show this to the princesses whenever we get back. Hopefully, they have some answers if I don't find many here.

Poke, poke

"Equestria to Twilight, Equestria to Twilight, come in."

"Ow, Spike watch those claws, what is it?"

"Sorry Twilight, it's just that I was talking to you but you stayed silent."

"Oh, sorry, what was it you were saying?"

"That we should probably start setting up the tent. It's going to get pretty windy soon and I'd rather not have my legs chafed by it."

"Yeah, you're right, I just got lost in thought again."

"You've been saying that for the past few days now. Is there something wrong? Do you want to talk about it?"

"It's nothing Spike. It's just that I feel like we're trotting in blind, and that Celestia gave us almost no information about all this. The statue even has a carving of them on the front. I would imagine that must mean they are connected to all this somehow. Come on Spike, even you must know that there is something off about all this and you even said earlier that you felt like you knew her, and so did I, there are way too many questions for this to be a simple study." The closest thing I can come up with for an explanation would be that maybe Celestia and Luna were a part of some prophecy, but even then, that sounds very far fetched.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Non-perishable food items, check, excavation tools generously donated by Celestia, check, clothes, blankets, and tent, check, quills, ink, parchment, and camera rolls, check. Is that everything, Spike?"

"Well, I mean yeah, that's all we brought so, yes?"

"Great, we can start looking for a good spot to dig tomorrow and if we're lucky we may end up finding an entrance to the palace if some of it was buried. Who knows, maybe most of the inside is preserved and intact?"

"Where do you think an entrance would be? It literally could be anywhere and the place is huge!"

"I'm not sure, I have a good feeling it would be behind, if not, around the statue. It looks like it would be a good spot for an entrance to the main hall of the castle or a place that connects to the indoor gardens. Besides, most of the tallest pillars are right next to it, so I would take a guess that we are standing right on top of the castle, if not right next to it."

"Ehh, well your guess is about as good as mi-."

Crash

"What in the world was that?"

"I don't know Spike, but we should go check it out."

"Are you crazy? We don't know what's out there."

"It didn't sound like an animal or monster Spike. It sounded like falling stone now that I think about it."

"Well, that's umm... reassuring."

"Come on, let's check it out!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cough Cough

"Uhh, I can't see a thing with all this dirt, dust, and sand in the way."

"Oh, well that's an easy fix," I say just before lighting my horn. A few seconds later I conjure a small tornado that sucks up or blows away any dust, dirt, and sand. Pretty much any small particles within the area.

"Woah, what did you do?"

"Oh, nothing special, just a little spell that creates some artificial wind is all. Simple really, but that's out of the question. I still can't tell what happened. Do you see anything that changed?"

"I heard the sound come from over there but, actually yeah, that wall looks shorter," Spike said, motioning with his claw to where he said the wall collapsed.

Trotting over to the location, I realized that the wall had fallen through the... ground? "Spike, look, the wall made a hole through the ceiling of the castle." Which through the looks of it, seems like a kitchen of sorts? How convenient. We might not need to do so much digging after all. I light my horn and walk closer to the destruction. The wall that had fallen created a natural walkway to the second floor of the kitchen. A two story kitchen? There must have been thousands of ponies living here if you needed that big of a place to cook meals.

Using the newly installed walkway, it was made clear that it didn't take a genius to know that this place had been abandoned for over a millennia. It was full of cobwebs that filled the shelves and corners of the place, with fungi filling the trays and sinks that were rusted long ago. The musky scent of rotting wood and other unidentifiable creatures made me cover my muzzle from the horrid stench.

"Hey Twilight, we should head back up and get some masks and other supplies before we go down any further, and some real lights as well would be nice."

"I was thinking the same thing. We can check all this out later. Till then, we should get plenty of rest; we've got a lot of work to do."

Neither one of us could sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Come look at this Spike, it's a Phalloides Mushroom, said to have gone extinct 200 years ago, specifically the "Death Cap." This is amazing! There might be other long-gone species of plants down here."

"Only you would get excited about a mushroom, Twi."

"Spike, this is serious! We have to document it. We should take some samples as well."

"Is that really a good idea, Twilight? I'm sure it's called Death Cap for a reason."

"Your assumption would be correct. It's very poisonous, but we are wearing masks and gloves for a reason. Even then, it's only bad when you eat it, so don't, okay?"

"Don't have to tell me twice," Spike answered.

"Anyway, I think that's the last of the things to document around here so we should move on to the next room soon. Hoof over that plastic bag over there if you could please, Spike?"

"Umm, oh okay, yeah sure. Man, we've been in here for hours. We'll be here for a really long time if we're doing everything at this rate."

"Agreed, but lucky for you, when looking down the halls it seems that there are no new plants to collect."

"That's a relief."

"Spike, that doesn't mean there won't be anymore. We've only looked in one room, you know, out of possible thousands."

"Yeah, yeah whatever."

I rolled my eyes. Funny how a few days ago, Spike seemed so eager to leave town. Regardless, we had made a lot of progress and we were starting to get a bit hungry. It was already about noon, so a quick break wouldn't hurt, and once we finish with that, we could move further down the castle. With that, we moved back outside to the tent and begin our lunch. In the midst of eating, I had, once again, lost myself in thought. Here we were making history with many questions and not enough answers. I'm starting to think that I should look for a library. If we could find that, most likely we would already find many of the plants here already documented, along with other new items that may not be within the castle or are simply too eroded and weathered to recognize. Speaking of the library, we could look for books pertaining to the mare statue we saw outside. With a plan in mind, I decide to tell Spike about it, and as I knew he would, he agreed for the sake of most likely being able to skip documenting everything on our own.

We were going to learn all of the kingdom's secrets, and whoever that beautiful mare was... in time.

October 7, 967 A.F.

8:23 A.M

Yawn

Ah yes, another day in the wretched wasteland. I've only just woken and I'm already sweating profusely. Nice, what a great start to the day. Well, time to get going and start the morning mare routines. I begrudgingly sit up on my haunches and wipe away the morning crust from my eyes and open them, looking around the large green tent. I soon realized Spike was already awake. Most likely making the sweet smelling pancakes that were filling my nostrils just outside the tent. Now having motivation for removing myself from the bed, I walk over to one of the purple duffel bags and remove my toothbrush, toothpaste, and of course, my hairbrush, that by some miracle survived the battle with Lord Tirek. It's definitely seen some things. Whilst holding my belongings in my magical grasp I head out the tent, but then I abruptly stop short of leaving the tent, quickly turning my head and pulling out a bar of soap. A quick bath in the lake wouldn't hurt, would it? I was already covered in sand and dirt in places I didn't even know I had. Opening the tent flaps, I look at my surroundings. Completely forgetting we were at the top of a mountain range, on one of the more flat regions of it, so it was quite windy, as to be expected.

"Morning Twilight, I just started making the food so you're gonna have to wait a bit, sorry about that."

"Not to worry Spike, I was going to head down to the lake and freshen up a bit anyway."

"Oh, alright, well be careful. You don't want to end up tripping on some slippery rocks."

"Are you speaking from experience?"

Huff "Yeah, I fell earlier, but I'm okay."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Splash Ahhh this is the cleanest, freshest, tastiest water I think I've ever had. It was like water sent from heaven itself.  I would definitely have to remember to bring some mason jars full of this stuff before we leave. Good thing nopony else has come all the way over here and taken all of it already. Anyway, after a quick shower, pampering, and teeth brushing, I left the massive lake to return to Spike. Breakfast was most likely finished by now and I was famished.

I was so lost in the atmosphere that, somehow, I didn't notice a now smiling statue.

"Hey Spike, are the pancakes ready?"

"Yeah, they are actually. The plate on the left is blueberry the one on the right is regular; take your pick."

"Ah, thank you."

"You're welcome. So are we going back down there afterward?"

"Of course. If you remember from yesterday, I said that we should try to find a library."

"Yeah, yeah, I remember. I was just making sure was all. I can't wait to go and see if there is any information on dragons when and if we find it."

"Why? We already get letters from Princess Ember and her father from the dragon lands."

"And you're right we do but, this place is older than both of them combined, same with the princesses. There might be new, or rather really old, information that they might have lost over time, or maybe just never knew about."

"Huh, I never actually thought about that. Interesting Spike, and well thought out, but remember we're here to record information so you're going to have to write all that stuff down and take notes, and also, see if you can scrap anything from the books, like pictures and scrolls."

"I know, but it's gonna be about me so I won't mind that much. Anyway, what are you going to look for, anything specific?"

"I'm going to see if I can find anything related to history, more specifically about that giant statue of the alicorn mare we saw when we first got here. Who knows? Maybe she's somehow related to Celestia and Luna. That would be an interesting find for sure."

It didn't take very long for us to finish our morning meals. We already found ourselves walking down ridiculously large and pitch black halls. They were probably big enough to fit three fully grown dragons; it was insane. We had brought a whole saddlebag worth of unlit torches and unused glow-sticks as well as two flashlights. The walls of the palace were filled with hundreds of oil paintings and wallpapers. That was the only comforting thing about this entire place. If the darkness wasn't enough to creep you out, the deathly silence would. We went from room to room, checking them out to see if any of them would lead to the library. Once we finished checking out the rooms, we would put tally marks just on the side of the big double doors, on a scale of 1 - 5 to be precise. The more tally marks, the more unstable and dangerous the room was. The highest number we currently marked was a four and that was because there was a giant whole in one of the floors that lead to blackness. In the end, we had checked every room, and because of the lack of stairs found leading up, I assumed that we were on the top floor. With that in mind, we turned back around and continued down a flight of stairs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Okay Spike, since we are currently on a lower level. You're going to want to be even more careful than before. The lower we go, the more unstable this place is going to be with all the pressure, alright?"

"Don't worry about me. I'm not leaving your sight anytime soon, that's for sure."

"Alright, just letting you know."

"Do you think we're any closer to the library?"

"We have to be. We're already a few levels lower, though I think we're going to have to go back up and restock on our lights pretty soon- the bag is almost out. We'll check this last room and then resurface. It's also getting harder to breathe down here and my ears are starting to pop from the change of pressure."

"Okay, well you will hear no objections from me. This place is really starting to creep me out."

"Likewise... Anyway, do you thin-

Crack

AHHHHHHHHH

Slam, Crash

"Ow, man that hurt. Uh oh, SPIKE! SPIIIKE!"

"TWILIGHT? Twilight where are you?"

"One second, let me light my hor- OW, OW, OW! Okay, never mind. I think I hit my horn on something. Let me try and see if I can find the bag. Just hold on, okay Spike... Spike?"

Oh no, oh no, not now, not now! Ugh, my head! I can't see anything and my vision is starting to fade rapidly. "Spike? Spike, can you hear me?"

Cough, Cough, Cough

Spike...

Thump

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ow, my head. What's up with my head hurting so much lately? It's starting to get really annoying. Whatever, that's not important right now; right now I need to open my eyes and OW, okay, never mind, it's time to SLOWLY open my eyes, Spike is out there and we need to, to, tooooo... Where am I? This was not the place we fell into, that's for sure. It's all nice and clean, with lights and everything. Did Spike bring me here? I lift my head up slowly off the pillow and get an even better look of the room-- wait, pillow? I was resting in a queen size bed. Who in their right mind would get one of these? They were almost 3 times bigger than Celestia herself; who would buy such a thing? Whatever, once again that's not important. Right now I need to find Spi- or not, never mind, he's right next to me. Did he go back to sleep? That can't be, he's knocked out cold. So who brought us here? There has to be something here there's no other explanation. I begin to feel a sense of panic. We should have been the only ponies here. Who else was here? Whatever, I certainly wasn't sticking around to find out. I light my horn, ignoring the extreme amount of pain. We need to get out of here and fast. Only to hear...

CLOP, CLOP, CLOP, CLOP

Oh, come on! What's up with all the bad luck? Umm, come on, Twilight, think umm... Closet! No that's stupid; they will find me for sure in there. Uuhhh VENT! Yes, that will work. I quickly scramble off the bed and rip off the vent using even more of my magic. I put Spike in there first before going in myself, closing it behind me. In the nick of time too. I heard the doors creak open and somepony walking in. I've never been so scared in my life. I've fought things before but never when I'm wounded, even then I always have my friends with me, well except for Tirek but that was different. Anyway, I was far enough down the vent to pass several large guest rooms, all of which looked like the one we were just in- nicely lit, colorful wallpaper, and clean, polished furniture. Though soon after, the vent comes to an end and I bust it open with a blast of my magic. Crawling out, I place Spike on my back and set off to the closest set of stairs, running all the way up to the first level and through the kitchen. We resurface and land on the bed inside of the tent. I was exhausted and in a large amount of pain, but I pushed though, giving all my attention to Spike, but not before long, darkness claimed me once more.

----------Minutes Ago----------

Strange, I wonder where she ran off to? She is no condition to be running around, same with Spike. Maybe they needed to go to the little Mares & Colts Room? No, that's no excuse. They should have waited for me to return. If it was not for her being an alicorn and Spike being a dragon, they most definitely would have died from the fall. I should go look for them. They need to be in bed and resting.

Contact (Inferior Original. Do Not Read. Seriously Don't It's Bad.)

Chapter 2

October 10, 967 A.F.

Princess Twilight Sparkle

1:39 P.M

Pain, that's all I felt coursing through my body, but the mattress was comfy at least, perhaps even a bit too comfy. I slowly open my eyes while lifting myself from the... bassinet? What? What was I doing in a pony sized foal-crib, equine-crib? I push the thought out of my head- now was definitely not the time to get distracted. I look around some more NO, NO, NO, NO I shout mentally while shaking my head furiously. That wasn't right, it couldn't be, I was in the same room as before, but now I was in a baby crib for some odd reason. I swore I left this room with Spike however long ago that was. Nevertheless, that was the least of my problems and confusion. What really caught me off guard was the enormous white and red alicorn in the room she (judging from the rather feminine build) had a dirty white coat and a rose colored mane and tail. Sadly though, I was unable to see her cutie mark. Luckily, she was facing away from the crib. I used this time to get out of the massive crib. Teleportation was an easy feat, my head did hurt like Tartarus but I could fight through the pain. With that, I light to my hor---

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." The strange mare completely derailed my train of thought. Her motherly and calm voice somehow still managed to send shivers down my spine. How did she know I was going to cast a spell, let alone now that it was a teleportation one?

"Simple. I can read your mind. I don't do it often, though, I understand ponies care deeply about their privacy. Still, I wouldn't do any sort of magic. I've warded your bed, so don't try anything like last time. You'll just end up hurting yourself and I don't want to see you in pain." She says while turning around to face me.

"You can read minds? That's done through dark magic and that's banned here in Equestria!" I retorted.

"Well then, I suppose you're just as guilty as me, right? Don't lie to me Twilight, I would know if you did. You've practiced and studied dark magic before, even casted quite a bit. Why it was even Princess Celestia who introduced it to you. Don't worry though, I won't tell anyone. Your secret is safe with me. Regardless, it was in fact not dark magic that I used, I can simply do it by my... mind? I never really looked into it much. It's..." She paused. "A special gift of mine, if you would like to call it that."

I managed to suppress a wince. I looked like a hypocrite after saying that. She was right though; I did do a lot of practice on dark magic, everything from reading it to casting it. She was also correct about Celestia showing it to me; had even told me after my return to the Crystal Empire that it was a one-time thing, and that I should not dwell on it any further, but that was years ago and I'm still the same old Twilight. I wasn't corrupted by its forces, my body and mind were now very resistant to it. But I'm was getting off track. This mare knew too much about me. I had to press further for more questions... A lot of questions.

"How do you know my name, how do you know much about me, why am I in a bassinet, why did you ward said bassinet, who are you, why are you here, and finally what do you want from me?" That was a lot to spit out but I had to know.

"Well first this is going to be a lot to take in and you probably won't believe it, but to answer most of your questions: I'm Faust and I know you and everything about you because I'm the creator of Equis and everything on it. Next, I put you in a bassinet and warded it because you ran off last time and hurt yourself. You're still a child after all. I couldn't have you running around and getting yourself hurt because of it like I stated earlier. Also, I live here, and that's why I'm, well, here. Last but not least, I don't want anything from you. If anything, you asked me for things, answers more specifically."

I sat there with my mouth open like some moron. That was a lot to take in, and yeah, I didn't believe it. Well, perhaps I did, I wasn't sure, it seemed like she was telling the truth and I don't think she had a reason to lie, at least I couldn't think of a reason as to why she would. She even looked like the mare Spike and I saw outside. It would make sense that she lived here. What was interesting was that I heard stories when I was younger about an alicorn deemed "Mother Mare" who created all of Equis and everything on it. But that was all speculation and religion. Furthermore, there was never really any solid facts or proof pertaining to her existence, but before I could continue any further with my thoughts she interrupted them.

"I know you haven't asked this question yet but I know you would at some point; Spike is in another room, right next to this one in fact."

I don't know how I managed to completely forget about Spike and his safety, which was strange because I had just had thoughts of him mere moments ago. Regardless, I'm glad she told me and managed to avoid unnecessary panic because of that.

"Can you remove the wards now? I'm twenty-four moving on to twenty-five soon. I'm not a little filly so the crib is ridiculous." I say pointing my hoof at the surrounding prison.

"Exactly you're only twenty-four, more of a reason to keep you in there." She said while giving a warm motherly smile.

"You can't be serious, if you really are 'The All Creator' you must be as old as time itself, maybe even older. You can say that about anypony!" I snap. Clearly, I have a death wish or something.

"You're right, I wasn't serious. You just look so cute and adorable when you pout." She giggled, a blue hue formed on her head surrounding her horn before a 'poof' was heard and the light died immediately afterward.

With that, I teleported out of the horrid jail cell, bringing a hoof to my forehead soon afterward, feeling a pulsing kind of pain go through my skull. The alicorn easily took notice of my distress and cast another spell. Seconds later, I no longer feel pain as it fades away along with my tiredness. I felt like a brand new mare. Why I never felt better in my entire life actually. I thanked her for whatever she did and he gave a quick response of a nod of her head. I bridged my thoughts from the ones that were lost earlier, noticing I still had a lot of questions.

"I still have some questions if you don't mind answering them," I spoke up.

"Later, right now let's go get Spike, return to the surface to get some fresh air, and eat dinner while we're at it. It's been a whole two days since you last ate. Surely you must be as famished as myself," She said, craning her neck to look at me as she heads for the door.

"Yeah, you're right I'm starving." With that simple response, I follow in hoof.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So umm what's your name again?" Spike asked before throwing a set of assorted gems into his mouth.

"Faust is my name but many call me Mother Mare." She said while making air quotes with her front hooves at the last title.

"So, if you really are this Mother Mare you keep talking about, then how come we can never find anything about you other than folklore and other children stories? You're not dead either, obviously, so surely somepony must have found you at some point or at least saw you wondering. Also, what have you been doing this whole time?" I ask taking a rather large gulp of milk.

"You're right again, someone would have found or seen me at some point in time, but the simple answer to that is they didn't because they couldn't. I was never here in the first place. I only recently came back only about a week ago, around the same time this ruin was spotted." She took a deep breath then continued. "I've been gone for thousands of years, but I'm back now. I'm sure a lot has changed. I almost didn't recognize this castle. I only knew it was mine because of  the statue up front."

"Interesting. Speaking of that statue, I couldn't help but notice that Princess Luna and Princess Celestia are on it. Why is that?" I really wanted to know. It seemed like such a strange thing to have carved when I'm certain they didn't even exist yet. If they did, they must have only been a few years old.

"That's because they have lived here before as well as myself, however, I'm sure they do not remember. I probably should have mentioned this earlier as well but people who were not royalty called me Queen Faust. Think about that for a moment: If I'm a Queen and if Celestia and Luna are princesses, what does that tell you? I'm sure you can figure that out on your own." It took me only moments to make the connection, my eyes growing to proportions I never thought possible."

"You're their MOTHER!" I, once again, unconsciously used the Royal Canterlot Voice. I recoiled and quickly put a hoof over my muzzle. I had accidentally yelled at the Queen of Equestria. Now I only had one question left.

"Are you Go-" I feel a hoof cover my muzzle before I could finish the sentence.

"Think of me as a friend, nothing more." She says smiling afterwards. Okay, yeah, maybe I did go a just bit too far... maybe. In all honesty, how was I suppose to react to that?

"Well the sun is setting; I think it's time to go hit the hay as they say it nowadays. Knowing you, you were probably looking for the library before you fell, so I'll go ahead and lead you down there tomorrow morning."

October 11, 967 A.F.

9:39 A.M

I had awoken for what felt like the seventh time in however many days. That bothered me because I felt like I was spending more time sleeping than actually doing work documenting things, but, in my defense, we got really side tracked and a lot of things happened that required our more immediate attention. Anyway, I awoke to a more than obvious empty stomach. Once finishing with the rather repetitive morning routines, Spike decided to stay and rest for a bit he didn't exactly heal as fast as alicorns but, still at a rate that was nothing to scoff at. So I meet up with Faust, she was waiting by the entrance to the kitchens. The longer we stayed here the more questions I had about everything but, I didn't really want to annoy her to death by bombarding her with a ridiculous amount of questions either. I had written and documented everything she had told me yesterday and I was going to continue today.

"How did this kingdom fall exactly?" I asked, somehow, that particular question had eluded me earlier.

"I don't remember, it was a very long time ago, I would guess time itself washed it away, the kingdom and her people had simply moved on after I left."

"Left, why did you leave?" I interrupted.

"Well, let's just say I moved on a bit earlier than the rest, but I still like to visit every now in then. Though the last time I visited was sadly longer than I had planned, but, I'm here now." She answered, once again smiling down on me.

"I heard you say something about that earlier. That you had only recently come back, how long ago exactly did you return?"

"About a week ago, I wanted to simply rest a bit and regain my composure. It's been awhile since I've walked on four legs, used magic let alone fly. Once I did that I was going to surprise everyone, but it seems some ponies have already expected my return when this castle shot up out of nowhere. I would imagine that was Tia who sent you out here upon the discovery?"

"Umm yeah she did, she wanted to do it herself but I can't remember why she couldn't do it, probably something about being too busy to come over as usual Though, I suppose it was for the best in the end. Last question."

"Lots of last questions." She joked, interrupting me, I continued smiling sheepishly.

"Do you think you could help me with my research since you know about, well, pretty much everything?"

"Of course, I've been helping you out for quite awhile now haven't I? Starting with breaking a hole in the roof of the kitchen so you didn't have to spend time digging, to answering your everlasting questions while taking you down to the library. Why I even went as far as saving your lives. Is this not enough, did you perhaps require more?" She said almost scolding.

I squirmed like a fish out of water. "No!" I shouted. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say you haven't been helping, you really have been more than helpful-"

Faust playfully hit me square on the shoulder. "I'm just messing with you sweetheart calm down I'm not angry with you. I know what you meant, just be more careful with what you say, you're a princess now are you not? You must watch what your tongue, some creatures may take it the wrong way. Would you look at that? I've helped you once again by squeezing in a quick lesson about being a princess." She had made the face of some stuck up noble who was looking away in disgust. Though it was quickly replaced by a serene smile.

I sighed, something deep inside told me that this mare was going to be joking with me a lot, to the point where my heart could no longer take that kind of stress anymore and simply gave out.

"Ahh, here we are!" She says a bit louder than needed causing me to jump a bit.

I practically screamed when I saw the state this library was in, everything was out of shape. The floor the walls were old and mossy, the shelves full of webs, books scattered upon the wooden floor. Though there were already some lit lanterns and candles placed on the ground.

"Sorry for the mess, I was reading in here before you showed up."

Bang

"Dammit! Ouch, that really hurt."

She had stubbed her hoof on one of the many ancient coffee tables and... cursed? I winced at that, nopony and I mean nopony, ever did that it was abhorrent to pretty much everyone in Equis. In fact, I had never heard anypony do that in my entire life, but she had done it like if it was a common occurrence. It was unnerving to hear a goddess swear.

"Oh! I'm so sorry Twilight dear, I forgot that cursing isn't a thing here. I'll try better to censor myself in the future." She said rubbing her throbbing hoof.

"Um, it- it's alright." I stutter out.

"Anyway, what was it exactly that you needed, information I understand, but what specifically?"

"Princess Celestia didn't really specify anything, she just said do document everything I found, but there doesn't seem to be very much here." I say gesturing to the sounding shelves.

"Well, no not really, but it's something right? It also means you have less work to do. Most of the books have simply eroded to dust or are to destroyed beyond repair to read without accidentally ruining it."

"Well, this was a bust, you seem to have unintentionally done all the work though and brought all the books that could be scavenged. I can still have these brought to Canterlot and see if I can't get any information out of them." I say a little bit of sadness creeping its way into my voice.

"Huh, I swear there were more books than this when I first came down here, oh well not much we can really do about it. Would you like a tour of the castle? At least of the parts that survived and have a history behind it? That is of course if I can remember any of it."

"Sure, I don't see any harm in it. I'm always up for a learning experience anyway."

There was nothing left of the castle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"This trip ended up being a huge waste of our time information wise. We barely got anything, just a dozen plant samples, and several books. I mean yeah they all had a large amount of information in themselves but it's next to nothing compared to what this castle could have had. Not even a single house survived in this kingdom." Look at me, I was venting as if I had just finished day court.

"Twilight let's be honest here, from what you've been telling be about this place I'm surprised there's anything left." Spike retorted as he was carefully packing away the last of our books and plants.

"I know, I know, it still upsetting though that we didn't really find anything super valuable and or interesting."

"This is coming from the same mare, who which a few days ago, was ecstatic over an extinct mushroom." Spike deadpanned.

"Tou ché" I quickly added before he continued.

"Anyway is that Faust mare coming with us, where is she anyway?"

"Yes, though as to where she is; I'm not 100% sure she just said that she needed to take care of some things before she came with us. Speaking of Faust, you seem to be taking her existent quite well, with her being a goddess and all."

"It just seems pretty straight forward if you ask me. She definitely seems like the mare she says she is, though a bit insane. Can we stop talking about her though? She terrifies me." Spike said looking around paranoid.

"What, why? She seems really nice." I ask.

"Yeah, I know but you can't say that she isn't scary. She can probably just think you dead, and just like that the deed would be done."

I shuddered at that new revelation, who knows, perhaps her sneeze alone could bring the end of days and the beginning times of the apocalypse. I immediately roll my eyes, I was not Spike, that would never happen.

"Alright, that looks like the last of it." He said dusting off his claws. "Should we wait for her or may-"

"That won't be necessary Spike." He jumped at the random encounter.

"Oh, you're back, well then I'm assuming you're ready to depart?" I asked turning around to face The All Creator.

"Your assumption would be correct, let's head off shall we?" She said Motioning with a hoof to the nearby train station (relatively speaking).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We managed to catch a train back to Canterlot, in the end, this trip had certainly turned out to be something I didn't quite expect. I left only to come back with not information but instead a mom. Celestia and Luna were in for a surprise the probably didn't see coming in a thousand years.

Family Reunions 2/2 (Inferior Original. Do Not Read. Seriously Don't It's Bad.)

Chapter 4

October 13, 967 A.F.

Princess Twilight Sparkle

10:17 P.M

"AND IF YOU EVER SET A HOOF IN THIS CASTLE ONCE MORE, I'LL MAKE SURE YOU NEVER SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY EVER AGAIN!" I huffed angrily before slouching on my throne in a very un-princess-like manner, watching the pony dash out of the room. I always hated court, well at least when it came to doing it in Canterlot. I aways looked forward to court in my region for the simple fact that there were barely any snotty nobles there, with the exception of Filthy Rich and his family. Still, they were nowhere near as powerful as most of the nobility here. A great example would be my parents, but he was nice and had my respect. Anyw-

"That's all for today, your highness," Raven had broken me for my thoughts. Which was probably for the best considering I ramble a lot. I felt relief when she had said those three words, I wasn't sure I could take it any longer. Now, most ponies would wonder why I was holding court at Canterlot, well the simple reason was I wanted to give Celesta and Luna time to be with their long lost mother. It was way past dinner time when we finished but Luna, and Faust said that they would wait for court to end before we started supper. Which meant I could see Faust one last time before going to bed. I needed to go to bed early due to the fact my court was held around the times of twilight as you would guess with a name like Twilight.

"Thanks for helping me out Raven, I appreciate it." She nodded while I slid off the carved spruce wood throne that was covered in some of the best-decorated platinum plates you could find here in Equestria, along with cushions made of the softest clouds in Cloudsdale, and finest red silk imported from Saddle Arabia. Soon, I found myself walking down one of the many over-the-top hallways that lead to the private dining rooms. To gold-plated guards used their magic to open the large wooden double doors that gave way to the place where no doubt Luna, Celestia, and Faust were. Really this day was going to be great I would sit down with Faust and have a long chat about the possible hundreds of thousands of adventures, and wonders she's seen in the universe.

Only there were two problems. One, Faust was nowhere to be seen. And two, Celestia and Luna were arguing with each other again. 'And things were going so well.' I thought.

Princess Celestia

I don't think Luna or I have ever soon happy in our lives since our dear mother returned, she would once again lead Equestria into another golden age. Now thinking about it, I never asked her about what she thought about the Equestria I worked so hard to build. I would have to ask her when she came down for dinner, she simply said she wanted a quick flight and shower before coming for the feast. Entering the room I saw Luna preparing the table instead of the maids. No doubt she wanted to do it out of 'Love' or something in that nature. It was silly because we were going to sit near the fireplace but I didn't bring it up.

"I didn't think you would be down here so soon," I commented.

"Yes well, I wanted to make sure everything was ready when mother arrived."

"Where you at evening court? I thought you would have been there for a bit longer or was that because you threw out all the ponies once more before even seeing them?" I asked. A bit of scorn in creeping in my voice. Luna as of late had been brushing off her duties for some odd reason these past few months, and when she actually did do them, she would throw in the towel, as they say nowadays, a little while later. That hadn't made my job any easier.

"We did not have court this fine evening because our dear friend Twilight Sparkle was kind enough to take care of it these past few days. Relieving us of quite a large amount of burdens," Luna replied bitterly.

"And are your burdens the ones the Princess Of Friendship should have to bare? I'm sure she as done more than enough of that in her time," I chastised her. She needed to learn that there won't always be ponies beside her to help if she needed it.

Luna raised her voice. "Twilight Sparke has always been happy to help, so of course we would let her. And thou art a hypocrite, for thou should stop dumping workloads upon her if you wish to 'ease her of her burdens' as it is you who continually does so."

"I do it because I am too busy to take care of it myself. Not because I didn't feel like it. On top of that, she needs the experience," I explained.

"Then do explain how Twilight Sparkle needed experience in exploring ancient ruins, what use is that? More so, she has already been to plenty of them before well before ascension. May we remind you of our old castle," Luna retorted.

"Are you two done?"

Before I could respond, Twilight had interrupted this time, causing me to close my muzzle. I was so caught up in the moment I didn't notice that she had trotted in, in the first place. Which was bad because I didn't like it when she saw as argue, yet she seemed to trot in every time regardless.

"I don't understand why you two argue all the time. Whenever you get a second alone you with each other you immediately bicker at one another over something so trivial. I'm starting to think I should be around one of you twenty-four seven just so you won't make foals of yourselves when I trot in." She said in a scolding voice. I shook my head, she simply didn't understand that the only way I could get Luna to do anything was to be a bit more aggressive with her, I didn't like that, not one bit, sadly however, it was necessary. But that wasn't my foremost concern, right now I was thinking about my ex-students outburst, she had always been upset when we 'fought' as she puts it. But she never raised her voice, I pushed the thought aside, she was merely still angry from being at Luna's court.

"That's complete exaggeration Twilight just because we are having a debate doesn't mean we are angry at each other."

"Then why do you choose to raise your voice, you practically scream each other's heads off sometimes," She retorted.

"That's-"

"I don't even want to hear it I know where this is going. I'll be seeing myself out." She cut me off like Luna did before doing a simple breathing exercise and trotting out the door in wich she came. I turned towards Luna she was clearly just surprised as myself at the anger despite not showing it. Right as she finished organizing the plates she began trotting towards the door.

"Let her go, Luna she'll come crawling back to apologize later, she's just upset from court. Give her some time to cool off." Luna looked back at the door one more time before nodding in agreement, returning to the table.

Princess Twilight Sparkle

I may have closed the door a lot more forcefully than I normally would, but I didn't really care. I was... upset to put it lightly, Ever since becoming a princess all those years ago I noticed Celestia and Luna were far from perfect, granted I never thought of anypony being perfect, and yes believe it or not that includes the princesses. Although, I may have admittedly at one point in time idolized Celestia more than anypony else, but in my defense, I only went as far as buying one plushie of her. Nevertheless, I did get rid of it in recent years after my opinion of Celestia and Luna changed. Don't get me wrong I still love them, and I still see Celestia as a second mother. However, times have changed, Faust has returned and I have high hopes that she will return Equestria to its 'Golden Age' as Celestia like to put it. Something I felt like the sisters could have brought time and time again.

"Oh, hello Twilight. You haven't forgotten about the dinner, have you?" My thoughts were once again broken by a voice I most definitely recognized. Looking up, I see Faust looking down on me with a small smile on her face. It reminds me of the one Celestia wears when she puts on her mask. But this one was different, this one was genuine.

"Sorry, I didn't see you there. No, I haven't forgotten. It's just that I don't think I want to attend this evening."

Faust gave me a quizzical look. "Oh, and why is that?"

I really didn't want to be the one who told her that her kids... 'Wow that sounds really weird to say.' were fighting again over petty reasons and that they've been doing ever since you left them all those years ago.

"Just tired is all. I didn't really get that much sleep last night and I just want to to get a nice rest."

"You got ten hours and thirteen minutes of sleep last night." She dropped that sentence on my head without missing a beat. 'Well, at least I tried.' I thought sadly whilst making an audible sigh.

"It's just that-" I could only start my sentence.

"You encountered my daughters fighting again, didn't you?" She was being really blunt and serious, unlike her normal joke like behavior. That's when I got the hint that she wasn't in the mood for my games. Not that I was intending to play them to begin with.

"Yes." I simply stated looking down at my hooves.

"I thought so, they tend to do that a lot as you have no doubt noticed."

"I've tried multiple times to get them to stop. Trying desperately to get them to see the way of friendship but they just never listen. It's one of the reasons why I was so happy to go and explore your castle. So I could catch a break from it all."

"Celestia and Luna have never seen 'eye to eye' as most ponies call it these days. I don't think the ever will either. I have tried for eons and as you can see I have made little progress."

"But why don't they listen to you?" I may have raised my voice a little but Faust didn't seem to take offense.

"They are just stubborn like that, always believing that they are one-hundred percent correct."

"Even if that's the case, they should at least put their differences aside when they rule, Equestria only suffers for it. So why don't they do it?"

"They're simply bad at ruling in that regard. King or Queen, Princess or Prince. Leaders should always put the people and land they love in front of themselves. For leaders are only as strong as the people who follow them."

I stood flabbergasted, she had just called her daughters... Bad rulers? I mean yeah I didn't think they were the best... But... Bad?

"Is... That why you're here?" I asked unsure as to why.

"No, I just came to see them again. I'm not going to dethrone my own daughters," She responded.

"I knew that, but are you at least going to reclaim your place?" Faust was right, I ask a lot of questions.

"No, I'm not going to do that either, I've had my fair share of ruling and I'm growing tired of it. But I will still be around to help and guide everyone."

"Oh..." I clearly sounded disappointed, which I was in a way. Faust took note of my drop in mood.

"I know it's not something you wanted to hear, and no question you three perhaps all of Equestria wanted to see me on the throne once more, but all things fade in time." She paused letting that thought sink in, "Now, as much as I would love to talk I have two particular ponies waiting on me." She said, a smile forming on her lips once more.

"Oh, yes of course, sorry about that. I'll be on my way."

"There is no need for an apology, I was the one who started the conversation after all."

I smiled sheepishly and continued trotting along the white halls, only to be stopped after a few clops. Faust had rested a hoof on my shoulder before saying

"One day, you will have to step out from my daughters shadows." After that, she continued down the pathway as if we never had a conversion.

'Shadow?' This conversation had turned out quite strange. Wanting more information I looked towards her confusion plastered my face, but I was too late she somehow was already far down the corridor, as if she never encountered me in the first place.

Rumble

'Maybe I should ask her after a nice dinner.' I thought sheepishly.

Queen Faust

I take a deep whiff of the air, the mouth-watering scent of steamed vegetables, hot soups, and warm breads, fill my nostrils. Opening my eyes I look around the small dinner, relatively speaking when it came to this massive castle. I turn towards the polished wooden table and levitate some cheese and crackers to me, popping them in my mouth. Hearing a distorted voice I change focus from the cheesy goodness to the mare speaking to me.

"Mother?"

I shake my head. "Oh, I'm sorry Lulu, what was it you were saying?" I asked some crumbs flying out of my mouth, Luna knew what I was like however, so it didn't faze her,

"That all the food is ready and if you would like to come sit with Tia and I near the fireplace?"

"Yes, of course, Luna, I would love to." A small smile formed on her muzzle, she turned towards the fireplace, three plates being held in her magical aura, no doubt it was filled with the foods what the royal chefs had decided we should eat. Sitting down, I brought one of the enormous silver platters in Luna's grasp to me, eyeing all the delicious foods.

"I hope you didn't get lost on your way over here, I completely forgot to send somepony to you, apologies," Celestia spoke up.

"It's alright Tia, I enjoyed the walk anyway." Finishing that sentence I turn to Luna to start a new. "How did this go during my absence, surely you both have many tall tales to tell?"

"Oh, well, umm, we..." Luna clearly struggling to find the right words to make up a story. That was until Celestia came to the rescue.

"There is one interesting story that we have, it doesn't directly have to do with us, but we certainly played a part in starting it all. Would you like to hear one about the reformation of Discord?" I pretended to act surprised when she mentioned Discord. Widening my eyes to put icing on the cake, I wasn't a great actor but they seem to have bought it. 'Guess I'm better than I thought, then again they both have bigger things to worry about.'

"That sounds really interesting I would love to hear about it. No doubt it must have been quite difficult." I responded while looking at the hot, comforting fire.

"You would be entirely correct like always Mother. It all started when Luna and I had a crazy idea to release Discord, to try to get him to see the errors of his ways."

The story was rather long and I already knew the story behind it, even some of the parts Tia had intentionally left out. Specifically, the part where Luna had actually not thought of the plan with Tia but once she found out about it, argued against it, not that I could blame her. Celestia always had a ridiculous sense of prophecy that always worked out in the end because of a certain purple pony. I asked questions now and then to make it look like I had no idea what would happen next, along with other fake reactions to throw them off from the fact that I already knew everything. They would find out one day, but until then I would toy with them. Though I didn't want to tell them because I wanted them to build up the courage to tell me that this entire time they were lying. It saddens me that they did it in the first place, but it was no surprise considering they've always done that for as long as I can remember.

"That is quite the story, interesting, as I put it earlier. Though I find it truly strange that Lulu agreed with your plan, it doesn't seem like her at all."

Luna was quick to answer this time. "Yes, though I normally wouldn't have made such a bold decision, I may have been a bit intoxicated at the time."

Celestia glared at Luna under her mask, one I would only be able to see through. My daughters were such terrible liars, Luna especially, she never stops to think before speaking, if she did, she would have known that alicorns can't get drunk. The only time they could is if they drank moonshine, but that had been banned a long time ago because it could kill a pony with just a single gulp. But I played decided to play dumb.

"Oh is that so? Well, next time you will not make decisions while under the influence, notably ones involving something as dangerous as Discord." I willfully made sure the last sentence was a very clear command. Though it didn't happen because Tia had made up some parts of the story, both had done it in the past with different choices when I was gone. I was extremely angry when they had done that the first time.

Luna cleared her throat "Rest assured It will not happen again, Mother."

"Good," I turned to Celestia. "That goes for you to Tia, I would be very disappointed in you if you did the same at some point." Celestia simply nodded in response.

Completing the delightful meal, wanting to continue our conversation elsewhere, and having the desire to discuss a brighter topic. I stood up. "The weather is pleasant this evening, would you two care to join be for an evening walk?" I asked despite already knowing the answer.

Luna and Tia looked at each other for a split second before speaking in harmony "We would love to."

New Highs, New Lows (Inferior Original. Do Not Read. Seriously Don't It's Bad.)

Chapter 5

October 13, 967 A.F.

Princess Twilight Sparkle

10:17 P.M

"Mmmm, that was delicious," Spike said, popping one last ruby into his maw.

"While that might be the case, now you won't be able to sleep tonight," I said a hint of disproval making its way into my voice.

"You said I could have a night-time snack!" He pouted.

"Yeah, a snack not a dessert." I retorted. "Now, you've had your fill so go back to bed, its way past your bedtime."

"Awww, five more minutes?" He pleaded going down to his knees.

"No Spike, you're still a baby dragon and babies need their sleep."

Huff

Clearly upset and choosing to fight another day, he got up and waddled through the doors leading to his room. Once closing said doors, I brought some tea that was in my grasp up to my face, letting the vapor ease my mind a bit from the rather peculiar and slightly stressful week. After the nice drink was consumed I got up off the soft red pillows that acted as a chair and stretched my wings. 'Maybe a quick flight will make me a bit more tired.' My trip definitely threw me off of my sleeping schedule. I snickered a bit, if my past-self had said something like that no doubt I would be trotting up walls trying to get reorganized. Shaking the thought off I open the glass double doors that lead to the balcony. Taking a deep breath I spread my large alicorn wings, and take flight into the evening air.

Queen Faust

10:20 P.M

The garden definitely smells great, the sweet aromas of the flowers could overwhelm anypony in the scents range. It was enough to block out all the others scents in the area but not to the point where it would give you a massive headache after a few minutes.

"Mother?"

'I really should come here more often, it's always so nice out here. Peace and quite.'

"Mother?"

Snapping my head to the left I look at a large white pony. "Oh, I'm sorry Tia, what is it you were saying?"

"I was just saying that. Well, I never told you this but I'm really happy you're back I really missed you, me and Luna both." She said giving me an honest, happy smile.

"I'm glad to be back, though I'm still having trouble making my way around, having been gone for a long time as you could imagine."

"Well, Luna and I could always show you around. In fact, tomorrow why don't we head out and go about the city. Show you around a bit while we go window shopping or something. It has been quite some time since I've gotten any time for myself or Luna for that matter." She answered, getting drastically more excited as the sentence continued. Unsurprising considering she probably hasn't done anything for herself in a really long time.

"That would be lovely."

"So Mother," Luna addressed quickly. "mind tell us the story with Twilight Sparkle? We never really asked how thou met."

"Of course I don't Luna," I put a hoof on her shoulder only to draw it back a few seconds later. "hmm where to start?"

"Perhaps at the beginning?" Celestia snickered.

"Yes, perhaps that would be ideal." I laughed in return while Luna simply smiled.

"Well," I continued. "It all started with a-"

Crash

I did not scream like a little filly, nope I really didn't...

Neither did Luna or Celestia.

"What was that?" I asked hoping one of them saw the disruption. Looking around we saw the nearby bushes rustle, but it wasn't from the wind.

"Ow."

"Twilight?" Celestia asked without missing a beat. A second later a little purple pony poked her head out of the large vibrant green hedge.

"Celestia, Luna, Faust... What are you all doing here?" Twilight asked rubbing her side with a hoof.

"We could be asking you the same thing Twilight Sparkle, pray tell, what hast caused you to fall from the air?" Luna asked. Clearly concerned for her friend's safety.

"Nothing, just I wanted to tire myself out a bit before heading off to bed, so I took a quick flight, but then I got a cramp mid-flight." Moments later she smiled awkwardly at us hoping that her response was a good enough answer, which it was... at least for me.

"Sorry for umm... scaring you by the way." She continued.

"It's fine Twilight. Are you alright?" I decided to speak up.

"Oh, yes I am. I've been beaten through a mountain, so I'm sure I can survive a short fall... So what are you doing here?" Twilight asked, not even trying to make an attempt at getting off the ground.

"Mother simply wanted to have nice chat and decided to do so outside," Luna said regally.

"Oh, well umm, sorry for dropping in," Twilight smiled sheepishly. Meanwhile, a mirthful smirk graced my lips as well. 'Maybe I should stop hanging out with her so much, she's making puns without even noticing it now. That or it was intentional.'

"It's alright Twilight, in fact now that you're here, would you like to stay and chat with us for a bit? That is if Luna or Celestia mind that is."

"I for one do not have a problem," Luna spoke up.

"Nither do-"

"Your Highness!" A random voice called out, looking around, we spotted a Celestial Guard running towards us he stopped for a brief moment to take a breath before speaking but only to Twilight.

"Your Highness!" He repeated once more bowing to her before rising and speaking. "I was sent to inform you immediately about an incident involving your dragon. Apparently, he stumbled into the medical wing of the castle practically screaming in pain. I'm sorry Princess I cannot give you any more information for it is all I was told."

"What!" Twilight screamed before bolting forth a few feet and taking off in flight. I turned to my daughters a look of concern sitting on my muzzle, after a few awkward moments I took off flying after the distraught mare. They too soon followed foot.

October 13, 967 A.F.

Princess Twilight Sparkle

10:22 P.M

'What' that one word was replaying in my head a million times a second. I had just reached the medical wing of the castle bashing through doors and bumping past ponies. I would have apologized if the situation was different but my mind was understandably focused on other things, that thing being Spike, he was like a son to me and hearing the guard telling me he came into the room in pain scared me to no end. Eventually, I came to a halt at the front desk.

"Princess, Spike is on the third floor, room five eight." The head nurse explained. Nodding my quickly head, I twist my hooves and launch into the air once more. After a few moments of colliding into walls, I finally came across the room. Falling to my hooves I open the door and see Spike sleeping on a bed. Several of the staff immediately take note of my presence, I swiftly raise my hoof to stop them from kneeling.

"What happened?"

"Your Highness, I'm afraid we don't know that much, other than he came into the medical wing complaining about extreme pain, after a few minutes he started screaming and went into fetal position. We didn't know what to do, there is nothing wrong with him that we could find so we gave him some sleeping gas and pain medication." The doctor explained.

'Nothing wrong with him?' My mind was once again racing before a question popped in my head. "Is it possible that wat's happening to him is natural?"

"Natural? I wouldn't know," he answered.

'If only I could get in contact with Princess Ember. She might have an idea on what's going on.' I could try to teleport all the way over there but that's remarkably risky.

"Twilight?" I was lost in thought I didn't realize Faust had walked in let alone, Celestia or Luna. I turned towards them and spoke before any of them could.

"Do you have any way I could get in contact with Princess Ember from the Dragon Lands?" The trio looked at each other not saying a word.

"Apologies Twilight, I'm not sure. You could, of course, send a letter to her via peruses but that would take days as I'm sure you know," Celestia answered.

"What hast happened to Spike?" Luna cut in.

"We are unsure your highness." The doctor from before spoke up. "We have run several thorough tests and come up clean. He shouldn't be in any pain that we know of. But Princess Twilight seems sure what is happening may very well be... natural to a dragon." Faust trotted swiftly out of the room but nopony seem to have paid her any attention except for the nurses, doctors, and of course myself. 'We didn't even tell the public about her yet and it's already been a few days. There are probably tens of rumors out there about her already.'

"All this certainly is strange, we'll have to look deeper into this... conundrum," Celestia spoke out once more. "But I'm afraid it will have to be tomorrow the day has ended and we must all get our rest."

With that, all of the nurses and doctors left the room with Celestia. Leaving Luna and I.

"Twilight you must go and rest your head, you have had a long day and as you are no doubt aware, your sleeping schedule is a mess."

"How can I sleep while Spike in like this?" I snapped but immediately winced. "Sorry I didn't mean to shout at you."

"Tis alright we understand thys frustration and anger," Luna answered.

"Just there's nothing I... We can do, we don't even know what's wrong with him, and it's all so sudden! He was perfectly fine earlier." I hung my head in a very unprincesslike manner.

"Fret not Twilight Sparkle, we will find out what causes Spikes ailment. But for now, I suggest you get some rest."

Sigh "I'll try." I mumbled.

"Umm, excuse me, your highness, I was sent here by some mare saying you needed an urgent letter sent out?"

Luna and I looked over to see a mint colored unicorn mare at the doorway. Then exchanged looks.

"We... I mean me... I mean I, will see you later Twilight Sparkle." Luna blushed a bit at her stumbling of words, she was getting better at her dialect but sometimes she would forget to work on it without noticing, I aways found that quite strange, how do you not realize everypony else around you is speaking differently. Given that, she made her way out into the corridors and I returned my attention to the meek mare.

"Yes, I did. Thank you." Grabbing a piece of parchment and a quill within my magic that she had brought, I scribbled a quick summary to Ember in hopes that she knows something about the enigma. Soon after, the letter is hoofed off and she goes forth to the nearest mailpony. Turning around, I sit next to Spike on a nearby chair, laying my forehead on the railing.

It was going to be a long night.

October 14, 967 A.F.

Queen Faust

11:26 A.M

Knock Knock Knock

"Tia are you busy?" I said while slowly opening the door to her bedroom. "I kind of need a favor from you if you don't mind."

"Hello, Mother." Celestia said when she walked out to the shower room. "What is it you needed help with?"

"Well, earlier today Twilight brought up how we never really introduced me to Equestria and how there's probably hundreds of rumors flying about me right now. So I thought maybe you could help me set up some kind of... Hmmm, what's the word? A symposium?"

Celestia face hoofed "Oh dear, how did I forget something so... simple?" She brought her hoof down and gave a small smile. "Yes, I can help with that. I suppose I was so caught up with everything that I somehow forgot. Still, it's no excuse. How silly of me."

"Don't worry about it Tia, no one is going to be angry at you, and more so I'm sure they'll understand." Placing a hoof on her right shoulder I bring her into a hug, one she happily returned. I'm not sure why I did. I just felt like she needed one after so long. After a pause, she breaks away and continues our conversation.

"I'll set up a public address, that's the word I think you're looking for by the way, later tonight and hopefully by tomorrow morning or later that day we can inform everypony."

"Thank you, Tia," I smiled.

"No problem Mother. Anyway, would you like to come in for some tea, day court doesn't start until another forty minutes or so?" She asked.

"I would love to," I responded, then we walked into the room with gusto.

Dragon Lord Ember

1:30 P.M

"Lady Ember," A servant called out. "a letter from Princess Twilight of Ponyville!"

I look at the drake for a moment expecting some kind of silly prank, one where he 'make me look' but he said no such thing instead choose to simply kneel and offer the letter. 'Letter from Ponyville huh? Why not just send it via dragon fire like always, maybe this one isn't as important?' I take the scroll.

"Thank you, now take leave, I wish to be left alone." He stood up, bowed, and then promptly left the room.

Looking at the parchment once more I unravel it, examining its contents.

Dear, Dragon Lord Ember

Hello, Lady Ember as I'm sure you've no doubt noticed this letter has come to you in a very odd manner, but there is a reason. I would also like to assure you that it is not any less urgent than the rest of the ones we have sent to each other over these past years. Regardless, I have sent you this message because I need help, and I would be very grateful if you shed some light on a very scary situation involving my adopted son Spike. Earlier on the day this note was written (10/13/967 A.F) Spike stumbled into the Canterlot Castle Medical Wing crying out in pain, severe pain that is, but upon inspection by several staff members specifically our best doctors and nurses here in Equestria. They were unable to diagnose him with anything. Currently, at the time of writing, Spike is sleeping purely on powerfully pain medication, therefore, was unable to send this letter himself. So I've written this to ask you a rather simple question. Is there anything you could possibly think of that would cause such an exorbitant amount of pain? If so, is there a cure you know of, or perhaps a more efficient way to ease said pain?

Your friend, Princess Twilight Sparkle, Wielder Of The Element Of Magic, 3rd Sovereign Of Equestria.

I rolled up the letter, it was indeed a simple question with a simple answer. I grab a parchment and a long white feathered quill, dipping the latter in ink. moving to sit down at a fire enchanted oak desk and chair, I write my response as small smirk forms on my mouth.

Introductions (Inferior Original. Do Not Read. Seriously Don't It's Bad.)

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Family Matters (Inferior Original. Do Not Read. Seriously Don't It's Bad.)

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Complications (Inferior Original. Do Not Read. Seriously Don't It's Bad.)

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Small Talks & New Perspectives (Inferior Original. Do Not Read. Seriously Don't It's Bad.)

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Family Reunions 1/2 (Inferior Original. Do Not Read. Seriously Don't It's Bad.)

Chapter 3

October 11, 967 A.F.

Queen Faust

The train to Canterlot hadn't been a particularly eventful ride, but I suppose the change in scenery from the flat plains to the lush valleys did quite a bit to improve my mood, not that I was in a foul mood to begin with, but boredom was definitely one of those feelings that I most despised. Hopefully, upon our arrival, we could really start to have some fun. But, emphasize on the word "Hopefully" due to the fact that I was extremely tired. I haven't been sleeping well in the past few days. It was from the obvious change in species, and the fact I was given a pleasant surprise when I stumbled upon a certain alicorn. I would not be able to sleep in the train either even when it was quite, which was expected, we were the only ones on the train, even if it was remarkably dark outside it would be morning soon, Also the train was too bumpy. Finally, uhh... I need to stop complaining.

Groan I could go on for hours on why this train was the worse bed. It didn't really matter that much now though; we would be approaching the castle soon. The second we got off, I would sneak into Luna's room, and take a really long much needed rest. It was late into the night, so Luna definitely would be there. It might surprise her but I don't care enough though to hide when I fall into a deep sleep. Sadly, however, I would have to wait till we stopped at our destination. That was until the intercom sounded.

Thank you for ridding the Canterlot Express, we hope you enjoyed the trip. Have a nice night!

Speak of the devil.

Princess Luna

"That is the last of them, your highness."

"We thank thou for thy's assistance this twilight."

"Think nothing of it, your highness, I'm but a humble servant."

"Nonsense Raven, thy art a great friend, but as much We would like to chat We are tired and wish to retire."

"Of course your highness, good night." She says bowing.

With that, I leave to my bed chambers. Oddly enough, tonight there were more visitors for the night court. I was wondering if I was starting to regret saying that I wish more came. Be careful what you wish for, as they say, well I have now learned my lesson. The sessions become longer, and more aggravating as time went on. The nobles always asking for ridiculous favors. Soon enough the started to try to hide their true intentions by making small donations to distract us. Although enough of that, I didn't want to think of anything similar to that more than I needed to. Stumbling across my bed chambers I remove my royal regalia, to take a quick shower. Tucking myself into my large bed I drift off to sleep, well at least I was about to until I got the scare of my life. A foreleg had wrapped itself around my barrel. Yelping I jumped out of my bed shouting at my bed intruder.

"What foal dares to settle in our accommodations!"

No response. I light my horn getting ready to dispose of the perverted scum... until my eyes set on the said pony. My eyes widened and my throat tightens and constricts soon a clear salty liquid flows down my cheeks. No, it couldn't be, surely not, My mother slumbering like a bear in hibernation, on my bed no less. I cast a quick spell on the pony. It was my mother no doubt about it. Quickly using my earth pony strength, my hind leg muscles uncoil like a spring launching me onto the bed. I plant my face in her breast the fluffy fur soaking up my tears. We unintentionally wrap each other in a strong hug, An irrational part of my brain demands that I squeeze harder causing me to do so, thinking that she could and would fade away in my hooves. A nuzzle to the back of my neck and a loud snore breaks me from my thoughts. looking up I see a small smile plastered on her face, the last thing I see before falling asleep happier then I could be in a thousand years. Silently praying she would still be there the next night.

October 12, 967 A.F.

Princess Celestia

9:06 P.M

What was taking her so long? I've been standing on the balcony for about four minutes now, waiting for Luna to raise the Moon, I was tired and wanted to go to bed an hour ago. I first assumed that perhaps just in the bathroom getting ready for her nightly routine, but I'm not so sure anymore I notice she had canceled everything tonight. After another minute, I decided a visit would be in order.

Knock, Knock, Knock.

"Luna, are you alright? You have not risen the Moon yet." I say as she opens the large doors.

"Yes, sister We are quite alright. Apologies for not bringing it forth, We have forgotten to do so."

I raise my brow. "You... forgot?" I ask giving a... (Are you really alright, you known I'm here for you.) sort of look. She forgot to raise the Moon this has to be serious, but I'm to sure about that, she seems... happy? She then picks up on my distress.

"Really sister We are alright. I've simply had a lot on my mind this night, no dought you noticed I've canceled my duties for today."

"Luna, you FORGOT to raise the Moon. Promise me you really, really are alright?"

"We promise thee that We are fine, honestly there is no need for worry or panic, in fact, we have never been happier in our lives since last night."

"Oh, and why is that?" I ask sounding surprised.

"You will learn soon enough Tia, it is a surprise. Oh, and do thyself a favor and cancel everything on thys schedule tomorrow."

"Luna, I cannot just cancel everything because you said so. I have important meetings to tend to." I say Shaking my head.

"Tia just this once, trust in thys sister. You will not regret it We assure you, and if thou really must have these meeting looked over then send a message to Twilight Sparkle, and have thee return early."

I take a deep breath "Alright, Luna if it really is that important, but I won't bring Twilight I'll just have them rescheduled for a later date."

"Huzzah, Thou will not regret this decision! Regardless We will go back on topic and lower the Moon, We bid thee a good night."

"Umm, alright Luna, have a good night. I'll see you in the morning."

After she closes the door, I walk back to my bed chambers lowering the sun and moving into bed. I wonder what Luna has planned, she seems really happy and I'm glad for that, but it just seemed so... out of nowhere. I push the thought aside, sleep first, surprises later.

October 13, 967 A.F.

Queen Faust

7:30 A.M

Coffee, the only thing more important than the world, well in the morning anyway, there were a lot of things I cared about. Coffee, however, was just one of the few, but right now coffee is the only thing in the world that mattered. I don't know how long I sleep for, but most likely a long time judging from the fact the moon was setting again. Sitting up I look around the room noticing Luna on the balcony lowering it. Strangely though, she looked as tired as myself, not the long day at work kind of tired but the, just woke up kind. The theory was proven when she turned to face me a small but warmest smile is what I saw when she looked at me. I returned it the best I could. She did a zombie like run towards me (to put it nicely) until she basically fell onto me, we both managed to do the strongest hug we could. We stayed like the for quite a while, petting and nuzzling her as she cried on my shoulder, whether or not they were tears of joy I could not tell, which only made me redouble my efforts to strengthen my hug. After drying her tears I broke our long silence.

"Lulu as much as I would love to stay here and talk I really need some coffee."

She smiled before speaking "Worry not Mother." Sniff "We have already had it brought up to our room."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So let me get this straight, you want me to go in this giant present so that when Tia opens it, she gets scared?" I ask.

"Why not Mother? Thou always cast pranks upon us in our youth."

"Yes, I suppose, but how long before she gets here?" I say putting a hoof to my chin. Before turning my head to a new voice.

"She should be here any second now." Twilight said taking a sip of her coffee. As some guards opened up the large double doors to let her through.

"Ahh, Sister Twilight, you must meet our mother, We were hoping to surprise everypony, but it seems it we were too late for you. Also, when did thou arrive, did our sister call for you?" She said before quickly noticing we were not questioning each other. Let alone even giving a reaction, as if we saw each other every day.

"Yeah about that," Twilight said rubbing the back of her neck before continuing "we kind of already met at the city place that you guys found and sent me to.  There wasn't much there sadly, but that's where we meet. I was going to ask you and Celestia about her later. I also sent you guys the reports last night of my findings, but nopony responded to them yet it seems."

"Apologies We have not forgotten, but We have been rather distracted these past hours. We are glad to see thou has returned unharmed."

"I can imagine," Twilight says smiling and taking another long sip of her drink.

"Now mother if thou cou-" She stops mid sentence realizing I was just about to close the top of the box.

"So I'm guessing you wanted to surprise Celestia?" Twilight says in a now muffled voice.

"Ahh yes, the surprise you were talking to be about yesterday." Celestia's voice, she must have just come in the second I closed the lid. "I hope this umm... gift you've been talking about was really worth canceling everything for." A long pause "Twilight when did you get here I thought you would still  be out at the ruins Luna and I spotted?"

"Yeah, I just told Luna about that, long story short it was a bust, there wasn't much there, I also got here yesterday, but I sent you my reports as well. All was not lost in the end however, because well, I seem to have unintentionally brought back, well this." I assumed she pointed a hoof me when she finished speaking.

"Well Tia, open it up!"

"Alright, alright, but I'm getting some breakfast right after though, I still haven't eaten anything yet." She says before I hear the sound of hoof steps getting closer. Just before the lid is off I jump out of the box crushing some parts of it.

"Surprise!"

Princess Twilight Sparkle

"Surprise!"

We all said in unison once Faust had popped out of the box. Celestia, surprisingly... looked like she got the scare of her life. She scampered away like a filly before claiming down. We maintained an awkward pose for a least a solid ten seconds. Meanwhile, Celestia stared straight at the alicorn in front of her, eyes locking onto each others gaze. Several concerning expressions crossing her muzzle, only to immediately switch to another in mere seconds. Anger, confusion, sadness, hatred, happiness, loneliness, fear, love? The mask she wore was having a hard time trying to maintain itself after being shattered into millions of pieces. Eventually, she decided to simply let it go, her lips quivered, and tears formed in her eyes. Celestia stumbled into her mother's grasp, wrapping her forelegs in a warm embrace. Though the view did not last long, for the sight was obstructed by massive white feathery wings. Loud sobbing filled the room causing Luna to join in. I simply stood there unsure of what to do with myself. Before I knew it, hours had passed and the crying had yet to cease. In fact, it had gotten louder over time when Luna joined. Years of bottling up all their emotions had finally caught up with them, I was quite happy for the three, they could let lose after so long. That was until silence filled the room.

"Heh," She chorted out the fakest laugh I've ever heard. "cried themselves to sleep, and it's only 12:00pm, they use to do that all the time when they were younger, every time I scolded them for doing something wrong or was disappointed when they fought. Profusely apologize through tear soaked eyes, they thought I was perfect; doubt that they think that now after all that's happened. What kind of mother leaves their children for thousands of years?" Faust asked in a soft, motherly voice, filled with sorrow.

I coughed to clear my throat. "Umm I'- I'm sure you had a go- good reason for leaving." I definitely sounded confident in my answer, yup, absolutely, one hundred percent, no studdering or high pitched squeal came from my mouth when I said that.

"You're right I did have a good reason, a very good one in fact, but it doesn't really make me feel any better. I still left them regardless."

"But you're here now, and you're going to stay quite awhile right? That counts for something, and they're happy now that you're back."

"Yes, but no doubt that the first time I left, left quite a... lasting effect."

I could relate "I understand what you mean, not with the mother, daughter thing or thousands of years part, but I had a friend named Moondancer here in Canterlot. She saw me as the greatest friend that you could ever have, but one day I left, and ever even told her why. It was the same day that she had a birthday party, as you could imagine she didn't take it very well when I didn't show up. Years later, I came back, but she wasn't really the same after that, I sort of promised myself that I would try to make it up to her, and that I could and would, be the greatest friend she ever had once again," my voice cracked a bit as sadness overtook me "it took a long time but after all that, our friendship rekindled and she's back to her same old self. I don't know, I've never really been good at telling stories, but basically the moral is that, even if you feel like you've failed, there's always room to fix the mistake. It's like a mirror, even if it's broken you can still fix it. Yeah, you'll still see the cracks within, but their not there to show the mistakes we've made, but rather, it's a reminder of the lessons we have learned." I know, I know, I admit my little speech was a bit cheezy, but it didn't make it any less true.

"You know Twilight, you really are something special even if you don't see yourself as so."

My heart fluttered a bit at the praise, my little talk somehow miraculously managed to get the point across.

"Well I better put these to back to bed I don't want them to wake up with pains for sleeping in a bad position." She picked up the two mares placing Luna on her back, and picking up Celestia like a dog... in her teeth? As if there was loose flesh on her neck to bite. Once having lifted the two, she walked down the corridors to a large guest room and lowered them onto the bed. Afterward, she lifted me in her magic and placed me with them despite my protests. Then she climbed up, twirled a bit then bent her knees until her belly and expanded wings were covering us along with the entire bed.

Let me just clarify something: She picked us up like stray puppies, placed us on a large bed, then proceeded to lay down on us like some chicken tending to her eggs to keep them safe. I probably would have said something along the lines of "What are you doing, can you please stop?" but she was really really comfy and super warm, so I ended up falling asleep almost immediately.

It was the best sleep I had ever gotten in my entire life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

11:45 A.M

For once when I woke up I was actually in a good mood, and I'm not a morning pony either, maybe because this time waking up I didn't have to wash sand off of me or walk for more than twenty minutes to do so, also it helped that I could smell one of my favorite foods... Heyburgers. I don't know who was making them and I didn't really care I just wanted some. Opening my eyes and looking around. I realized that Faust, was in fact, lying down on the ground with several different types of Heyburgers surrounding her on the floor served on different silver platters. Celestia and Luna were still fast asleep on the bed next to me.

"I figured you would wake up soon after I got these." She said I could tell she was smiling despite facing away from me.

"How did you kn- never mind, anyway you don't mind if I-"

"Dig in?" she finished. "of course not, I got these for us."

Smiling, I sit next to her grabbing a good 4 or 5 burgers in my magic already unwrapping two and scarfing them down

"These are the best heyburgers I've ever had. Did you make them?"

"Naturally, who else do you know that can make food taste as good as mine? I am a Mom you know."

"I don't think that means you instantly know how to cook."

"Maybe, maybe not, but the foods good and I'm a Mom. Therefore, I'm a good cook."

I rolled my eyes, for somepony like herself she seemed really laid back and a bit silly at times.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After finishing the rest of our meals in silence, Celestia & Luna had eventually woken up. We were simply talking about current events for most of the time along with other small talk. Well, that was until Faust had said something rather... interesting to say the least.

"It's so good to be back here in Equestria after so long. I hope you two didn't fight while I was away." A very slight amount of anger was hidden in her voice. I don't think Celestia or Luna had actually noticed, most likely too focused on the sentence itself.

The two had visible winced a that, a blight on both their part. I had recoiled from the subtle, yet, extremely bold remark. From what Faust had told me; even while she was gone she could still see what was happening in Equestria. She most certainly knew about what happened between them. No doubt she was most likely saddened, disappointed, and angry about what had transpired all those years ago. Though I wonder why she had brought that up, the sisters know that she could do that, so why ask?

Luna had looked down at the ground solemnly before answering. "Of co- course not M- Mother," Celestia quickly added. "We would never dr- dream of disappointing you."

My body froze and my blood ran ice cold. They didn't know.

They had just lied to their mother.

She had frowned for a fraction of a second, it was my by pure luck I manage to catch it. I'm not sure I wanted to live anywhere near Equestria, the dragon lands seemed real promising.