Alicorns were a mystery.

This was a fact and why they were so mesmerizing.

It was why historians couldn't stop picking for questions about them. Why pony archaeologists would claim they'd found the next lost ancient city of some forgotten name relating to them. Why some of the aristocrats that descended from the Princesses had swung their authority around like a saber and stabbed wildly (and repeatedly) at anyone that dared cross them and their right of power.

Their civilizations, much like the centaurs, the gargoyles, and many others, lost to time- were a mystery. Only the most minor details could be picked up on that had not been recorded, the majority scholarly guesses jotted down as fact.

Beings of great power that walked in mortal bodies they were known throughout history for appearing when trouble began (or in the often ignored hardly spoken sections, were the main reason trouble started). They were saints, demigods, to be given respect so long as that respect was returned in kind. They were guardians, magik powerhouses, where many of the three tribes had in their own ways revered them on the borders of divinity or honored them as heroes in ancient past.

The Sisters however. They weren't just a name in the history books or a story passed on by generation to generation or a rumor told from folktales of the past, they were real.

And the evidence had sat right here in Canterlot. They were the victors of the Old World, and the Sentries of the New. Because if it had not been for them...

Well, no one liked to think about the what-ifs.

Which was why Nightmare Moon's presence-- her location was a secret. Well, as secret as it could be. It was impossible to keep Nightmare Moon herself, the mare of the moon, a legend to scare all, a secret when her only historic landmark had vanished off the surface of the Moon. When the craters of her symbol had vanished off the surface of the moon there had been understandable panic across Equestria.

Luckily they bit the issue before it could fester.

The world at large had no idea Princess Luna was Nightmare Moon and as far as anyone in Equestria or anywhere else in the globe was concerned that was going to stay that way.

No pony, no pony except the Princess' most trusted knew that the alicorn once known as Princess Luna was being possessed by a demon; an entity that had manipulated the lunar princess at her darkest moments and corrupted her into acting out in the most twisted of ways after finally breaking her spirit. A demon who knew both sisters and whose past with them had yet to be made clear at all in the slightest. A entity that was now currently making things difficult with the question it just asked.

In a final attempt to deny the truth Twilight asked "What are you saying?"

The Nightmare repeated the question. Somehow, that made the weight in the air worse.

How had Cadence changed? Not how had Starlight or even how she had changed but how had Cadence changed. Any other day it was easy to deny this.

Yet deny they couldn't because the agreement they'd made prevented them from outright lying. Even if they wanted to, they couldn't.

Ask that question to anypony. The same question, phrase it any other way you want, then ask it again.

Then keep asking till someone gives you an answer or just kicked you out for asking dumb questions.

Ask that to any delegate in both Equestria and the south. They would look at you like you were crazy or just write you off as incompetent. What are you talking about? A normal citizen would tell you. You feeling alright? They might say. Not too long ago, a few years ago, nearly a full decade ago Twilight knew she would have been one of them also.

Because to the public Cadence had never not been an alicorn, just like Princess Celestia had always been the beacon of society before that other one mysteriously vanished or something.

Herd instinct played a role in this to some degree. The Princess had said Cadence was an alicorn, and everypony had accepted it because pecking order demanded it. No pony had questioned it.

Most, didn't care to. Why would you? But more importantly how could you hope to?

So one random alicorn appears out of nowhere and the Princess claims her as her niece. Big whoop. Why would the Princess lie about something like this? When alicorns are virtually nonexistent in these times and many of them just vanished mysteriously in the Age of Chaos it's not that big of a stretch to believe a couple built some civilisation somewhere, somewhere outside of Equestria, and one of them just happened to get in contact with the Princess.

Or, maybe one of the Princess' descendants had tapped into some ley line and finally tapped into their ancestral heritage like theories thought possible.

Besides, how would you check? You couldn't. At least not on your own. The only way you could involved asking the only one who knew the answer.

And the Princess doesn't lie, at least not outside the arts of statecraft. The Princess would never lie about an important matter like this. She never would ever manipulate a simple conversation, especially not one of such importance as the existence of other alicorns. Celestia was a beacon of honesty, a fountain of knowledge from the Old World (and some even say, Ancient or even beyond that). So you wouldn't question her immortal river of ever-growing knowledge and wisdom when she'd been in the game longer than most --not immediately at least, not always, and never in front of others unless you were particularly bold or rude like some of the nobility--

But, the one in the center of the hall did. Nightmare Moon dared to ask, and she did it while being so far behind. She was out-of-date, a thousand years and then some out of her time, but she was asking a question no pony, not even the Princess' own students had ever dared to ask.

Probably because a lot of them had been blinded by her light, Twilight felt the Nightmare might say, too blind to see so they couldn't see where they were setting the next hoof till it was too late and they were in the path the Solar Princess wanted.

And honestly it was a simple, innocent, harmless question. What threat could possibly come of it? Rather it was one of those type of questions that really made you think.

One Twilight found she and her allies were not prepared to immediately answer.

It was the same type of question that had led her to stopping the creation of a spell which had ironically led to her own ascension.

Time had went on and soon enough it would be moons since both the eye-opening and terrifying moment that had led to her change, in the times when her coronation as a Princess of Equestria was being prepared. She remembered it vividly.

That day the truth had come out.

It had been during their time on a cruise. Cadence had walked into her suite where her, Spike, and the girls were all sitting at night simply talking to ease her nerves of her approaching rise to royalty, as a figure head of Equestria. She had so many doubts and concerns. Then, not long after Cadence had joined in to help lighten the mood before she'd dropped the anvil through her floor. In all honesty even now she wasn't sure how things had gravitated towards that area of a topic. All she could recalled was what Cadence had told her.

"I was a Pegasus, we've been hiding the truth all along, and I'm so glad I can finally just tell you."

Which Twilight and the rest of her friends had laughed at albeit awkwardly, (Spike not so much, he'd been fidgetting) because she'd thought it was some weird joke to help her relax when she was stressing over her approaching coronation-- but it hadn't been a joke. It was never a joke.

Cadence hadn't laughed with them. She looked even offended when they had started.

The anger, that disquieting, haunted look in her eyes had said so much more than words ever could, and one-by-one they all stopped laughing. Which was when Twilight had said the same words back then she was about to say right now.

She stared at her. Stared at Nightmare Moon and repeated the words. "You can't expect us to take you serious here... can you?" but when the constant silence continued to loom over them - much like it had then- the panic sank its fangs in and so she continued talking when no pony else on her side would. "That's a bit of a leap to assume that even if Cadence wasn't related to Princess Celestia she had been anything else but an alicorn."

Which was when to her horror, the dark alicorn brought out the evidence.

Pictures. Worn, old, burnt-around-the-edges pictures. Pictures of Cadence as a Pegasus from before the Change. The whole Hall was filled with gasps and that's when Twilight knew this topic would never be back under their control.

There was a unique way to describe this atmosphere. Like a live-action play there was a twist waiting at some part of the scene.

Apparently the twist was Tempest.

Tempest Shadow turned towards her superiors, looked Twilight, Sunset (and for a lack of Starlight), Trixie in the eye and regarded them with a inexpressive look that had once been used on them several years ago when things had been different. A mare that had once been on the other side more than six years ago, eyed them now with the same look she'd worn when serving the Storm King and asked a question of her own.

"What does she mean?" she said in a flat yet calm voice. "From your reactions, if you'll excuse me for saying, it looks like you've been caught with your hoof in the jam jar."

"Tempest!" Moondancer snapped, ignoring the subtle comment in the background her ears picked up about cookies clearly being the superior, rising from her side by Shining Armor she chided her fellow captain with a scalding glare. "Mind your position! We do not speak to our superiors in that way!"

"Forgive me Captain Moondancer," Tempest replied, her gaze fixed, "but I served a tyrant who kept many secrets from me even after I rose to become his most effective general. I. Will not. Sit idle" she stomped, "and allow that to happen again. Princess Twilight", opal eyes met violet for just a moment before turning to- "Representatives Sunset and Trixie, please tell us what she means. It's too late now to change the subject, we all can see that."

Which was true, but it wasn't their place to tell. Had things gone according to plan they wouldn't be having this discussion in the first place!

The initial plan upon Luna's return was to just blast her with the Elements now that they had been reawakened, but that had been where the biggest problem lay waiting.

They had no idea when she'd return and to top it all off, had no clue what exactly Nightmare Moon was capable of. The Princess herself had not been certain of what the alicorn could do, even if she knew what Luna was capable of that did not account for how dangerous Nightmare Moon could be.

So they had looked to Star Swirl the Talented for answers. Searched every which way to find clues. The old unicorn had warned of many things before his disappearance but he had never predicted a when, only a would. He never was good at pinpointing the exact moments but before he could have worked on it anymore he received a letter from an old friend, went off to go tend to the problem with the Pillars...and--

And what? Twilight had asked.

"He was just gone" The Princess had said.

Not a single sign of him or the Pillars that vanished with him one day when they went off to handle some threat plaguing the regions around Rammaly, Minos, Prance, and Germania. He just...vanished and never came back. The council of the Rammaly had personally had his cape and hat sent back with honors for helping them with whatever evil had been plaguing them, but other than that there was no word from him. No letters, no cryptic messages in waiting, no deliberately delayed messages for a dramatic (and infuriating) effect-- they were all just gone.

Which was why they hadn't known when she'd return or what state she'd be in when she did, nor how dangerous she could be, or how powerful considering a demonic entity was fueling her power.

In the time of her absence many legends told a different story of what happened to Luna, She who Ruled Moon.

Many tales considered her banished to some magical prison by the dark commander of the Shrouded Legions. Many narratives spun a story of some fell creature from another plane mimicking the lunar princess' form after defeating her in bitter combat. All of them made by Written Script, the son of Constable Heartful, all written in some way, shape or form and they always ended in one way: Princess Luna was gone and the monster known as Nightmare Moon was just a monster. One to scare the young to not stray from the light on that yellow brick road.

Over a thousand stories that talked about Luna mentioned her grace, dignity, love of theatre, and tough-love while over billions of poems, haikus, laments, or more written about the Nightmare; her darkness, her corruptive ways to manipulate the feeble, and her heartlessness.

The Luna spoken in his works and the Nightmare told in others were so different when faced with the real representation in front of them.

Yet not a single one mentioned or hinted if she ever survived her battle against the darkness, if she ever escaped her captor's prison, or if her fate had ended with a chance of her survival. In every tale the lost lunar princess had vanished, always fighting. The perfect way to honor her in those times and leave a good memory for the citizens that lost their princess who had once defended them before she was all but almost forgotten with time.

The silence that had settled in now had gone from intense to almost suffocating. Twilight felt hot, her skin felt itchy, there was a sudden yet familiar awkward awareness of her wings that made her shift them uncomfortably.

Tempest Shadow was waiting. From the looks of the Guards behind the Nightmare so were they, even Flash Sentry stood with a expression of blankness. No doubt also waiting for some sort of response as the second minute or maybe the third ticked by with no strong rebuttal or forthcoming answer.

"It's true." They all went to look at Cadence who had spoken. "I never ascended with a magical artifact of great power or the Elements of Harmony. I never was related to the princess by blood like the papers said either, neither of them."

"Cadence--"

"It's fine Sunset." She smiled, though it did not reach her eyes or hold much warmth. "Thank you", she looked at all of them. "All of you, for keeping this quiet for all these years. And most of all, thank you Spike."

"M- Me? What did I do?"

The pink alicorn merely smiled wider. "You know what you did. Thank you for being the second one I trusted with this secret."

"And now," Nightmare Moon interrupted, "the secret comes out."

"You don't have to do this you know?" the voice whispered into her ear.

She nuzzled him gratefully. "I know. Thank you, Shiny."

Throughout the interaction the Nightmare said nothing. As the affectionate display continued however, her snort of derision gained Cadence's attention. "Are you quite done?"

"..." glaring, Shining Armor felt a gentle kiss on the cheek. "Thank you", the Crystal empress whispered, then with a smile at Moondancer and a nod, Shining Armor let the unicorn guide him away from his wife's side.

"Now we're done."

"Good," the other responded tersely. "Then answer the question. How did you ascend without the Elements of Harmony?" With a pop the orbitting images of a young Cadenza vanished as the images projected on orbs of magic faded with the glow of Nightmare's horn.

Closing both eyes Princess Cadence inhaled deeply, exhaled slowly. Then answered with two words.

How did you change without the Elements of Harmony?

"A sacrifice," was the answer.

Hesitantly, someone, a guard no doubt given the voice, repeated: " A... Sacrifice, Your Highness?"

She frowned, opened her eyes, and looked at Nightmare Moon who stared oddly back with a blank mask that held no emotion. "Yes," she answered eyes never leaving the alicorn, "a sacrifice."

"Cadence," she turned and she could see the hopeful disbelief in Twilight's eyes, "you aren't saying-- you don't mean?"

"Sacrificial magic." The cold and almost entirely now foreign voice of Nightmare Moon spoke. "Magic made illegal in the Diarchy's time of power. Many a time did we come across those who would give a life for some greater power, many a time did Clover the Clever, Stygian, and Star Swirl go off to hunt them down."

Behind closed eyes, she could remember them. Each and every face that lived in their little community. But most importantly Cadence could see her dear departed friends and family. Her brother Trickle, her cousin Dandy, and her friends; the ones who'd went off with her on a quest to beseech the aid of the one noble that was said to care about them that could turn things around for their mistreated little town.

For a moment no pony interrupted the crystal ruler while a wave of emotion washed over her features.

"How did it happen?" The voice was gentle. Maybe not in tone but she could feel it. The understanding was present somewhere in there and that alone made Cadence smile sadly as her eyes glazed over with tears.

"Queen Prismia" was the answer. "She was the most powerful noble of the islands. An orphan, just like me." The sad smile turned a little cheerful. "Did you know she even went to Celestia's school for the Gifted?" She glanced over her shoulder and looked at Twilight. "Just like you Twilight", and from the expression alone, Nightmare Moon knew this was something new they would all be learning together.

"Prismia was a terrible pony." Cadence continued after some given time. "I was blind to that at the start at least till we finally met face-to-face. Personally, everyone in my village and the other islands were blind to it but she was our salvation, once. Our leaders of our towns, villages, and cities were servants to the nobility. They controlled the flow of trade, and were our only connection to the Monarchy funny enough. Equestrian nobles took over the isles some 600 years or so ago after defeating the original rulers, taking husbands for their own or swiping daughters to betrothe. Prismia was our salvation. She changed things, broke apart the selfish parties that had grown distant with the Crown and taken land for their own when the Princess began changing the laws and status quo, and she drove them out of the East Coastal Waters.

"She was a peasant that got lucky," Cadence's somber tone was not without the nostalgic smile, "a filly from an illegitimate birth that should have died." The room was silent.

"She should have died, if it hadn't been for one loving relative. The only relative she ever had. We all held on to the image of who she used to be, not who she turned out to be, and that blinded us to what she was doing."

"We all thought she was the reason the nobles in power were being kept under control and why the defense around our little homes had increased but she was the reason the nobles started fighting again and why all our homes suffered when they took that ire out on their subjects." A response that Nightmare Moon noted held no anger, no fury, no disdain, or disgust. What she did detect was sympathy, pity, and sadness. "She was terrible and she wanted us to share in what her cause for us, took from her...And I can understand why. Losing the the ones you love- the ones that always loved you, in a time when you feel no one else did or ever would can change you. For better or worse. In the end, all she wanted was one pony to love her." Her eyes met the Nightmare's, "Just one pony or one sapient that showed they cared, and that was all it took to beat her, but it came with a cost." Cadence spread her wings, the light catching her feathers, her regalia, giving her a majestic flare to her visage. "And there's not a day that goes by I don't miss them."

Nightmare Moon said not a word at the statement, but the eyes that met Cadence for just one brief moment of a mere second, said enough.

"We have heard enough," the Nightmare declared, breaking contact with the Princess of Love. "Our next question!" She shifted to look at Sunset Shimmer and levelled her with a curious eye. "Who raises the Sun and our Moon?"

Sunset Shimmer smiled at this. "You'll be surprised to hear the answer to this one."

"Doubtful" Nightmare Moon returned.

"It's actually Discord who raises the Sun and Moon."

The dark alicorn blinked. Her ears flattened, one ear cocked up while the other splayed to the side. Nightmare Moon blinked again, the two voices in her head clearly stumped. "...Discord?"

The whole room nodded, and only Fluttershy said it with a warmth of somepony who held great pride in this revelation. "Discord."

Author's Note

Soon, we near the end.

Also, this was a bitch to edit and that's mainly because I've been trying to tackle the important questions I felt wouldn't distract from the end goal and would still be in line with Nightmare Moon.

Anyway, prep, big questions are coming up in the next chapter. Possibly more than one for once, but we'll see.