Forever My Night Free

The next hour that Princess Twilight had spent in that dark cell was the longest hour of her life. She had been through longer and more grueling experiences in her life than sitting in the dark; studying for a particularly important test for Celestia, for example, but none of them had ever been like this. The darkness, after even a few minutes, was all-consuming. But her eyes had adjusted well to seeing what was in her cell moderately enough to know generally what was where.

She had exchanged more of a conversation with Sunset, but she had fallen asleep not long after their initial meeting. If she had spent the past few years in these dungeons, it was likely that was how she spent most of her time. The food they were given wouldn't provide too much energy than just that of keeping them alive.

Unfortunately, that meant the alicorn was not able to gain any more insight into the world that she was in. With her friends under the leadership of Nightmare Moon, Spike in her clutches, and Celestia on the moon, it was likely that she was to deal with what was to come on her own.

The next pony that she talked to was another guard, one that she did not recognize. Even if she could, the helmet they wore covered most of their face, and their armor covered their cutie mark. The only distinguishing factor about them was their coat color, but even that was drowned out by the lack of light. They had hardly even spoken, only grunting when opening her cell and motioning for her to follow their lead down the hall. She couldn't even tell if they were male or female. But the lack of distinction was likely intentional. She was from another timeline, she knew things that she shouldn't in this world.

Coming out of the dungeons, the halls around them slowly got brighter, lit up by the enchanted blue fire on the walls. For once, she was glad not to be met with the light of the sun upon going outside. Twilight was sure she would have gone blind.

Glancing up at the picture of her former teacher on the moon, the lavender mare made a silent promise to her. Meddling in the affairs of another timeline was never the best thing to do, but she had no choice. It was likely that she would not be able to return to her own time until this was fixed. Nightmare Moon was stronger than she was, and no way would she let her guard down again after what she had pulled.

Then again, that all depended on what exactly this meeting would consist of. Would she strip her of her magic? Keep her in the dungeons indefinitely, like Sunset? Or would she try to get her to use the spell and take over her world as well? Who knew, at this point. Twilight was only hoping that she could keep her head.

The first time she had fought Nightmare, she had been terrified, inexperienced in the ways of battle, and tried to face her off alone. But she hadn't been, not in the end.

The princess was brought into a dark chamber, the insignia of the Empress proudly displayed throughout various depictions on the walls. She mentally scolded herself for not noticing them when she and Spike had first walked into the castle after running from those Timberwolves. The guard never left her, standing stiffly three paces behind her. She noticed similarities at all of the entrances into the room as well.

"Tell me, young one, how you feel after putting yourself in such a losing situation?" The low voice of Nightmare Moon cut her out of her thoughts, sending a shiver down her spine. She'd never seen her upset like this. But she was right; it was her own fault that she got captured in the first place. "It would have been so much easier if only you had given me what I asked. Though luckily, your little dragon friend proved more useful than yourself." The smirk was evident in her voice.

It was almost annoying, how easily she was getting under her skin. As much as the princess wanted to yell at her, to fight, she firmly planted her hooves into the ground, raising her chest, eyes focused on the slitted pupils of the Empress in front of her. "What did you do to him?"

All that she got in return was a toothy chuckle. "You'll know in time, I assure you. Now..." From her position on her throne, Nightmare Moon stood up, stepping out of the shadows and into the main lighting. "As I've asked, tell me more about this alternate world of yours. From my understanding, it's quite different from the paradise I've created here."

Twilight did her best to keep in what she wanted to say. This wasn't paradise. She was a dictator. If not for the magic inhibitor ring still around her horn, she would have been miles away by now. Or perhaps away from the empress and with Spike. Oh, how she hoped that he wasn't hurt.

"I already told you. In my world, you were defeated, and the land has been in Harmony ever since."

"Oh please, with my sister in charge?" She nearly spat out the word. "I highly doubt that. I've seen what she did ruling on her own those past thousand years after she banished me. Her superiority complex only proved to spill out of her head."

The princess was now keeping herself from physically fighting the words coming out of Nightmare's mouth. How dare she talk about Princess Celestia like that? Even if she was her sister, technically... She was nothing like that! She was good and kind. She had seen the living conditions of those who disagreed with what the Empress was preaching. Celestia was never that cruel.

Perhaps her seething was more obvious than she had meant for it to come off as, as the glint of amusement in the other alicorn's eyes only seemed to be gaining luminosity as the seconds ticked by.

"Hit a soft spot, did I? Tell me, time traveler, what is your name? What is your relation to the Fallen Sun?"

"...My name is Princess Twilight Sparkle. Cel— she was my mentor."

The words seemed to flow out of her mouth without even thinking, well against her better judgment. Why would she willingly tell her that? No, looking up at the Empress, the spell cooling down on her horn was obvious. Luna had a strong affinity for mental magic. (And water, she noted. That might be useful later; knowing her magic to get out of a situation.) Of course Nightmare would use that to her advantage to get her to speak.

"Princess? I had been wondering about those wings. Alicorns seem to be more common where you come from." Another glowering expression was aimed at the lavender princess. "How many others are there? What domains do they control?"

"There are four in total. One for the day, one for the night, one for love, and one for friendship." The words came from her own will this time. This was an easy question, something that did not seem like it would come back to bite her, so she answered. Who knows what she'd be threatened with if she simply refused.

And luckily for Twilight, the dark alicorn in front of her seemed to accept the answer. But why would she ask so much of her world? To simply know what her world was like, to get a better reading of her and how she would react? That seemed likely.

"And this time spell, where did it come from? You said a pony from your time used it to change the past. Did they create it?"

Nightmare had already been clear for what she wanted to use the spell for. That was one of the main reasons she had run from her in the first place. No way would she willingly give that information to her. But that spell of hers... she would have to come up with a convincing lie. Or only give half the truth.

"It was a modified spell of Starswirl the Bearded. I don't know how it was modified, but the pony who did it linked it to herself." It wasn't completely a lie. Starswirl had many time spells, though. She had even used one herself to send her back a week to warn herself of a nonexistent disaster. Starlight had modified one similar to send herself back to a specific place and time.

But wait— if Nightmare Moon had Spike, then she was already in possession of the spell she used to get here. Uh oh.

Twilight's ears folded back against her head, cringing from her own words. She had only heard of the spells that had been created under the influence of Nightmare Moon, but knew that she was capable enough to figure this out on her own if she studied it for long enough.

"You're proving more useful than earlier. You've learned your lesson, I suppose? Has sitting alone in the darkness cleared your mind of those thoughts of facing against me?" The Nightmare's voice was taunting, that cutting edge only proving to cut into her skin and the thick, tensioned air around them.

The eyes from the guards had also been piercing through her ever since she entered, though they were muted compared to their leader. The other timelines hadn't been this difficult to escape, had they? Then again, she hadn't been caught and detained in the other worlds, only thrown in the middle of a destroyed land. But she wouldn't stop standing up for herself now. She had faced Nightmare Moon before. Even without the Elements, she could do something. The spirits of the Elements were close by, anyway.

If she could somehow find a way to change their minds... That wouldn't be easy. This was their whole livelihood that she would be threatening to alter. But there was little else she could do to make her way back home.

Sure, she could have made her way out on her own, albeit with major difficulty, but she couldn't leave Spike here. Who knew what would happen to him if she left him here?

"I will never stop fighting against you. This is not the world that I love." The princess stood firmly despite the look of the Empress' face darkening. "I will do everything in my power to go back there. But if you let me leave now with my companion, then I will stop fighting you. You can continue your rule and you can forget any of this ever happened."

What was she even saying? She hadn't even planned any of this out fully. Why did her brain think that would even work?

"A curious offer." The dark alicorn shifted in her seat, as if considering what she had just pulled out of nowhere. "I'll consider it," Wait, what? "on some conditions." Of course.

"And what would those conditions be?" She tried to sound more sure of herself than she was. In truth, the princess was shaking almost enough to fall flat on her face. Was it fear? Adrenaline? Either way, maintaining contact with those slitted eyes was the only thing that kept her from falling over.

"Who was the one that modified this spell of Starswirl's? I'm sure you know who she is." She cast short glances at all those who occupied the room. "This world may not be the same as yours, but you know much of it. Anything will work. A name. A location."

This was going too well. It shouldn't be this easy, with how angry she had been. Telling her of Starlight would be easy enough. But Twilight knew there was more to her agreement than just giving her a hint to go off of. Who knew if the Starlight in this world had also studied magic like she had back in her own?

The Empress, however, did not wait for Twilight's internal struggle to resolve itself before lighting up her horn. She expected to feel herself speak against her will again, but was instead temporarily blinded by a flash of light in front of her.

An exact copy of the map that brought her to this timeline was not what she was expecting to stand before her.

"I hope this will jog your memory quicker?"