Chapter 5: Revelations

~*~

Present Day - Midnight

"Tia?"

"Yes, Luna?"

"What’s troubling you?"

Celestia stopped trotting and looked to her sister in her usual reassuring manner. "I'm fine."

Luna turned and shook her head. “I know when you’re lying. So please, tell me what is bothering you.”

There was a long pause as the younger alicorn waited for her sister’s response, though it never came. “Tia...?”

Finally, the white alicorn’s composure faltered as she sighed in defeat. “Today was the day he passed away.”

Luna’s expression slowly softened. “Oh... I’m sorry.”

Celestia simply looked at a wall while attempting to keep her face inscrutable, but her lips quivered as tears began to grow in her eyes. Luna quickly reacted by trotting up to her sister and nuzzling her neck. They stayed in that position for a few moments until the dark alicorn softly spoke, "Listen, it wasn't your fault. Nopony could’ve known that his time was going to be cut so short." She pulled back and looked at her sister's face, giving a small smile while continuing, "Besides, you have a part of him that will last forever."

The wave of tears were successfully held back, though mostly due to curiosity overwhelming her melancholy, as Celestia breathed, "What do you mean?"

"I mean your daughter, Twilight."

A few tears trickled down her cheeks as she smiled warmly. "Thank you."

The dark alicorn simply gave a small smile and backed away from her sister. She then turned and continued trotting towards the Royal Hall while saying, "Just remember that when you're thinking about him." She stopped and looked back, continuing, "Trust me, you have no idea how lucky you are."

Celestia stood there for a moment before coming out of her thoughts and trotting up to her sister. They continued down the hallway in silence before Luna stopped at a pair of great oak doors that lead into the Royal Hall. She once again turned to face her older sister and asked, "I presume I don’t have to ask if you remember the night I transformed into Nightmare Moon?"

Slightly taken aback, Celestia replied, "Why yes, I remember." Her face then contorted to a look of concern."But why are you bringing up this subject? I thought we agreed to not speak of it."

Luna grimaced. Celestia knew that Luna was the one that always hated breaking promises. "I know, but it's important."

The dark alicorn leaned towards her sister until their faces were inches apart and asked, "Have you ever wondered why I became Nightmare Moon?"

"Well, wasn't it because your jealousy took over your mind?” Celestia asked instantaneously.

Luna chuckled. "Well, partly. But that was mostly a ruse."

Surprised, Celestia took a step back. "Then... why?"

Her sister looked away as she answered, "Like you, I had a... what do ponies call it now? A ‘very special somepony'?” She shook her head. “Anyways, I too had a love of my life."

The dark alicorn turned her gaze back to her sister, though they were filled with the sorrow of the past. "We had been together for a few years, and I had fallen in love with him. We always met each other when night came. He told me that he always loved my night sky...” She looked away as her eyes welled up in tears. “He told me that before he passed away from fighting against some feral dragons. I was devastated. My mind became broken. Sorrow then took control of the way I thought and how I acted. That's how Nightmare Moon was truly born."

Flabbergasted, all Celestia could do was just stare at her sister. A few minutes went by before she broke the silence, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't tell you because..."

Celestia caught on. "It was because you were in so much pain that you didn't even want to remember it. You wanted to forget about the past, but it became the most important part of your life."

Luna kept quiet, but nodded in response. After a few moments, she whispered, "I tried, but it was futile. Every time I tried to suppress a memory, it only grew stronger." She gave a heavy sigh and looked up to her sister. "It drove me to the point of insanity. I lost myself to the depression.” She shook her head. “The memory where he told me his love for the night became the strongest. In fact, that's how I first became connected to him since nopony else has ever told me that." She cringed a little before adding, "Besides you, of course."

Celestia nodded in understanding. "And so you wanted to keep a part of him alive. But by attempting to do that, the only way you could achieve that goal was to make your night last forever, wasn't it?"

"It was all that I could do. All that I thought about. I was foalish enough to think that it could relieve myself of my pain" Luna shook her head sorrowfully. "I caused a lot of harm to Equestria with that elongated night. Not just to the land, but to the ponies as well." She closed her eyes and lowered her head. "Even to you."

Celestia nuzzled her neck. “Listen, I understand how it feels to lose a loved one.” She stepped back to gaze into her sister’s eyes. “I know the pain. If it wasn’t for the promise I’ve made to Phoenix, I probably would have made some decisions that would’ve caused more destruction than an extended night.”

"Oh?" Luna replied, then asked, "May I ask what the promise was? Or is?"

Celestia wore a warm smile as she answered, "I actually promised Phoenix three things." Luna cocked her head to the side at the response, but her sister continued, "One was that I will stay happy for the rest of, well... eternity. Next was that I will not grieve for what has come to pass, but instead appreciate what I had experienced it in the first place. The final..." She trailed off as she looked in the direction of where her daughter was usually placed during her visits. "The final was that I will always love my child." She turned her gaze back to her sister. "Those are the things that I have promised. And I will never break any of them."

Luna nodded. “Nor should you.” She turned her focus and magic to the doors as Celestia opened her mouth to say her goodbyes, but was interrupted before she got a word out. “Oh! I almost forgot.” Luna changed her attention back to her sister, saying, “Now that you know the reason for my transformation, I think it would be best if I tell you another thing.”

Celestia took a step forward. “What is it?”

At that time, the Lunar Guards arrived, bowed respectfully to the Princesses, and took their positions by the oak doors. Luna frowned slightly, berating herself for having a near-classified conversation where it could be easily be heard. She turned to the guard nearest her and said, “While my sister is in here with me, don’t let anypony come inside, no matter what information they may have. Instead, tell them that I will see to them as quickly as I can.”

“Yes, your Highness,” The guard replied with a salute.

Luna nodded in appreciation and turned to her sister. “Now, shall we?”

“Do you need my permission?”

Luna shook her head as the guards opened the doors. She trotted inside with her sister in tow and turned back to the doors. Once they were fully closed, Luna turned her gaze back to her sister and said, “I’ll skip to the chase. Cadence is my daughter.”

Appalled, the white alicorn sat on her haunches. She sat silently, mouth hanging open with wide eyes, as she tried to speak but couldn’t form coherent words. Her sister shook her head as she continued, “Before my lover passed, we... to put it bluntly, courted each other. During my banishment on the moon, I somehow felt that somepony, or something, was with me. I knew it wasn’t Nightmare Moon since she was still a part of me and that her presence was filled with pain. the other presence, however, was... comforting.” She smiled, “I could feel it growing in strength as time went on, but something else caught me offguard. It spoke to me.” She brought a hoof up to her chin. “Well, it wasn’t exactly speaking, but more of the noise that newborn fillies would make.

“At first I thought that you banished a filly to the moon, but I reasonably couldn’t believe that you could even do such an act. So I began to think back to my memories, remembering the time I spent in Equestria and the events that led up to my banishment, thinking about why there would be a filly with me. I didn’t realize it at the time but before I was exiled, but I remembered feeling nauseous in the mornings. It lasted for a few weeks before going away, so I didn’t think anything of it.” She chuckled as she continued, “I also remembered how I was changing moods for no explainable reason. Let’s just say that it made many ponies very nervous to be around me.

“So I put all of the evidence together and came to the only reasonable conclusion that was available. I was pregnant.” She shook her head as she sighed, “As much as I wanted to believe that it was impossible, it was the only thing that made sense at the time.”

After listening to her sister share her deepest secret, Celestia finally spoke up. “But Cadence came to Equestria years after your bani-” She stopped and thought for a moment. Luna could tell that she was thinking hard about why Cadence came to Equestria after almost a thousand years of Luna’s own banishment. Seeing that she was stuck, Luna replied, “The reason why she came to Equestria was that the moon always slows down the physical body’s aging. That means that every function in the body is slowed significantly so that the body will be preserved for the return of the banished pony. It even includes the production of the fetus had been delayed.”

She then thought a moment before adding, “Also the moon kept Cadence so she could grow a few years before coming to Equestria, but that too was elongated. You know how dangerous the land can be for a foal without its mother.”

The white alicorn gave a nod of acknowledgement and questioned, “But why did she come to Equestria before you? Since you’re her mother, wouldn’t she be released at the same time as you?”

Luna simply shrugged. “I wondered the same thing as well. A few weeks after I felt her disappear, I concluded that the moon only held the ponies that were there for a reason. Since Cadence had no reason to be there, the moon simply removed her from its prison and released her back to Equestria.” She shook her head again. “At least that’s what I assumed. But when I came back and was liberated of my sorrow, you told me about the unusual occurrence of the birth of an alicorn. Also, when you told me about the time it took place, it all made came together. You see, Cadence left the moon right at the same time when she came to Equestria.”

Celestia lowered her head, losing herself in her thoughts, until, “...That must also explain the cloud.”

Luna cocked her head to the side. “Cloud? What cloud?”

The white alicorn returned her gaze to her sister as she replied, “On the night of Cadence’s appearance, there was a large, pink cloud hovering over the Everfree Forest. More specifically, most of it was above the Castle Ruins. Naturally everypony got curious as well as afraid since it originated from the forest, so I sent out a few scouts to search the forest to find the source of the cloud. But when they came back, they brought back a pink alicorn filly. They told me that she was found inside the Castle.” She shook her head as she continued, “After the news went out to the public, nearly everypony came up with their own speculations and answers on the question on how alicorns came to existence. Some were very persuasive and reasonable while others were, well, not as educated.”

Luna rolled her eyes. “I’ve noticed that when I was catching up on current events.”

Celestia smiled. “I shouldn’t keep you any longer. You know how our scribe gets whenever we are late for our planned appointments.”

The younger alicorn gave an apprehensive sigh. “You’re right, I shouldn’t deviate any longer. Though, I was the one who started the conversation.”

The older alicorn trotted to her sister and pulled her into the customary departing hug, softly saying, “Thank you for sharing the truth. It truly means a lot to me.”

Celestia felt Luna give a nod in response before saying, “Thank you for listening. It’s nice to have other ponies know about your secrets.”

They continued to hold each other, feeling a sense of calm. Wait a minute. Celestia snapped her eyes open and asked, “Does Cadence know?”

The white alicorn felt her sister tense at the question before a sigh reached her ears. “I’ll take that as a ‘no’.”

The Night Princess released her sister and lowered her head ashamedly. “I know that it’s wrong of me to keep the truth from her, but...”

Usually Celestia would be able to finish her sentences, but this wasn’t the usual conversation that they would beget. Nor was it the type of conversation that she would have ever thought of having with her sister. In fact, the entire ‘Cadence is my daughter’ thing was still a bit of a shock and that it would take some time to recover from. So the white alicorn slowly asked, “But... what?”

Luna sighed softly. “I... I just don’t know how to tell her. Each time I try to tell her, I can’t help but think of what her reaction will be. Whether it will be anger, sadness, resentment... the list continues, but none of them are good things.”

Ah, the question of what your child will think of you. Sounds familiar. Celestia shook the thought out of her head. “I know how you feel. Believe me, the longer you keep Cadence from knowing the truth, the harder it will be to actually tell her.”

The dark alicorn lifted her head and questioned, “Well, how did you tell Twilight that you were her mother?”

“I’m not sure if my own experiences will help you with your predicament...”

“What do you mean that your experiences won’t help me? I’m practically going through the same thing that you had to go through at some point.”

Celestia shook her head. “First of all Twilight was still a filly when I told her, so that gave me a lot of leeway to ease the truth to her. The second reason is that she always looked up to me as her idol. So when I told her, it was a shock to her at first, but she then accepted the truth much faster than what I expected. It was as if it was her dream to be ‘the Princess’ daughter’.”

Luna groaned. “You’re right. That would make it easier, but I don’t have the same luck as you. Instead, Cadence has to be a fully grown mare that doesn’t have me as a role model.” She covered her face with her hooves. “What am I going to do?”

Celestia went up to her sister and placed a hoof on her shoulder. “I would help if I could, but it’s not my place to tell Cadence about her true parentage.” A thought struck her. “But I can tell you that she has been wondering how and why she came into existence in Equestria. That should help you out a little.”

The younger alicorn lowered her hooves and wore a credulous look. “Do you really think that will help?”

“Though I can’t tell you exactly how she will react, but yes, I do believe so.”

Luna smiled. “Thank you for telling me.” She then pulled her sister into a quick a hug and began to trot up to her throne. “Believe me, it helps knowing that she has been questioning about her existence.” She paused in her tracks. She quickly turned to her sister and hurriedly said, “No! That’s not what I meant! I mean, kind of, but not in a bad way.”

The white alicorn raised her hoof. “No need to apologize, Luna. I understood what you meant.”

Luna smiled warmly. “Still, thank you.”

Celestia smiled in return. “Anything for you, dearest Sister.”

~*~

Ooh what am I going to do? In fact, what will my friends think of me when they find out? Why did I have to keep myself hidden for all these years? What was the point of all that?! I know that Celestia... well, my mom wanted me to experience what it was like to be a regular pony, but was it worth it? I mean, I’m going to outlive everypony, griffon, dragon, and any other sentient creature I meet, so why?

Twilight turned in her bed, trying to find the answers to her questions in her mind, but only to be rewarded with nothing. I’m sure that I have to let everypony know that I’m an alicorn sometime, but when? She grumbled as she hit her head against the pillow, disappointed with her lack of answers. She turned onto her stomach and looked at the headboard in front of her. Would I have to become a Princess? I don’t think that I’m even capable of ruling over a country, but does skill come into play? Or do the rules of Rulership state that ‘if you’re an alicorn, you have to be a Princess’? The disguised alicorn closed her eyes and turned onto her side. Hold on. Cadence isn’t a Princess, well, at least not until the Crystal Empire came back. But she still wasn’t a Princess before then. Maybe I could wait for a while and see if I change my mind. She shifted her body again to where she was staring at the ceiling. I’m sure that everypony will understand. After all, I’m still a pony. If they think that my personality changed somehow just because my physical appearance changed, then they will be highly mistaken. Besides, I will still have my friends. She exhaled a long sigh at the last thought. That is, if they will still be my friends.

Twilight gave another sigh and closed her eyes. What am I going to do? I can’t keep my friends from knowing the truth, but what will happen once they find out? The longer I keep them from knowing, the more that they will not like me for lying to them. Rainbow Dash won’t talk to me. Fluttershy will be mostly heartbroken. Rarity, well, Rarity will be jealous, but that won’t mean that keeping the truth from her won’t devastate her. Pinkie Pie... I honestly don’t know what Pinkie Pie will do, but I’m sure that she’ll be saddened. Applejack will take it the hardest. After all, she is the Element of Honesty, and I have been lying to her ever since we first met. A tear rolled down her cheek, imagining the possible outcomes of the future. None of them were happy. I need time to think about this. Maybe tomorrow will-

Twilight shot up from her bed. That’s it! If I tell them now, they will have time to recover! That way it won’t be too late for them to know! She made a small squeak and clapped her hooves together in excitement. But then reality pulled her mind back to the present. But when would be a good time for everypony to know? She plopped her head back down on her pillow. The unicorn, though still feeling giddy, felt like she hadn’t resolved anything. Ugh! All of this is driving me crazy! I can’t take this anymore. I hate feeling this guilt all the time. Before I could stand it, but now... now it’s too much. She rubbed her hooves against her temples, feeling a growing pain festering in her head. It’s time for everypony to know.

The unicorn turned her head to gaze out the window. Her eyes wandered around the stars and the constellations that they formed until they stopped on the moon. She felt her worries slowly slip away until it was as if she didn’t have anything to worry about. It was like she completely forgot about the reason that she was in distress in the first place. Even though it was a waning moon, the light coming from it just made everything... calm. Even a distressed mare can be made tranquil by the soothing light of the moon. She laughed at the thought.

In that moment of peace, the answer to her plight rushed through her mind and echoed along the walls of her head. Twilight rolled her eyes and shook her head. Of course. The answer just had to be so simple. A smile covered her muzzle as she said her answer out loud, “Tomorrow.”

~*~

Early Next Morning

Knock. Knock.

“Hngph...”

Knock! Knock!

“Aurguh... What? Who is it?”

“It’s me.”

“Twilight... Do you know what time it is?”

“I know that this is early, but this is important. Can I come in?”

“Hng... Okay, come in.”

The door became enveloped with a lavender aura and swung open, revealing the intruder of the Princess’ desired sleep. Twilight trotted in, closed the door, and turned her attention back to her mom in seconds. “It’s time.”

Celestia raised a hoof while rubbing her eye with the other. “Hold on, I’m still waking up.”

The lavender unicorn nodded and waited, tapping her front hoof repeatedly against the floor. The Princess of the Day yawned and stretched her forelimbs. “Okay, now what is it that you wanted to tell me?”

“It’s time” Twilight repeated.

“‘It’s time’?” Celestia echoed. “Time for what?”

“It’s time to let everypony know what I truly am.”

“Hold on.” Celestia straightened herself up. “Did you said that you wanted to let everypony know that you’re an alicorn?”

Twilight simply nodded in response, though with vigor that her mother couldn’t show from the lingering fatigue. “That’s... a bit sudden. Have you thought about this?”

“I’ve been thinking about it for over a month,” the unicorn stated simply.

Celestia closed her eyes and gave a heavy sigh. “And I believe that you want everypony to know today, correct?”

Twilight nodded eagerly. “Yes! I mean, if it’s possible.”

The Princess opened her eyes and cocked her head to the side. “Oh, it’s possible, but why do you want to share the truth so soon?”

This time, the unicorn gave a heavy sigh before replying, “To put it shortly, it’s so that I have time.”

Celestia cocked an eyebrow in question as she asked, “What do you mean by that?”

“Hold on.”

Twilight sat on the floor and brought a hoof up to her chin as she scrunched up her face in concentration. A few moments passed before the growing silence was broken with a “Okay, I got it now.”

The unicorn got up and returned to her former pose as she said, “What I mean is that ponies will... I don’t know, have time to accept the fact that I’m an alicorn. It doesn’t make sense, especially to me, but I learned that the more you keep a secret from somepony, the harder it will be to tell the truth and be forgiven. I’ve been keeping this a secret for years, and I can’t handle this guilt of living a lie anymore. I don’t even want to know what it will be like after another decade or two. Also, how can I continue to lie to my friends? As it turns out, I can’t stand holding a simple lie from them, but to hide my own identity from them? You will not believe at how hard it is to keep my mouth shut on that one. I swear, this guilt is killing me and I can’t stand it any longer. I must get the truth out now.”

As she spoke, her voice grew to nearly a shout, but she quickly went out of breath and was panting when she finished. Celestia waited for her daughter to continue, but she felt that enough time passed to assume that she was done. She got out of her bed and trotted to her mirror. “Come. Stand with me.”

Twilight gave a surprised look, but she got up and joined her mother, looking into the mirror. She noticed that in her disguised form, she was shorter than her genuine state. Her mother spoke in a soft tone as she asked, “Tell me, what do you see?”

Hmm... one of those questions. “...I see a young mare that is guilt ridden and will probably snap at any moment if she doesn’t tell everypony that she is actually an alicorn.”

Celestia chuckled and nuzzled her daughter on the neck. “Well, that may be what you see, but I see something completely different.”

“Oh?”

“I see a very mature mare that is loyal and honest to her fellow ponies. She has an everlasting love for everypony, especially for the ones that are very dear to her. If any of them are harmed, she will be by their side to comfort and help them through their predicament. She hates telling lies, so instead she will always try to be honest with everypony. But, even though things may seem bleak and the odds are stacked against her, she will always have her friends standing by her side, no matter what the chances are.”

Twilight pawed at the ground as she asked, “So... what is it that you’re trying to tell me?”

“What I’m saying is that you should not be afraid. You have amazing friends in your life that will always be there for you. Though, once they find out that you’re an alicorn and my daughter, they will be hurt, but they will still be your friend. Overtime, the pain will be forgotten and you will live on like nothing has happened. That is what I’m trying to tell you, Twilight.”

“So you’re telling me that things will work out?”

“As long as your friends understand why you have been hiding this truth, then yes.”

Twilight facehooved and sighed, “You’re right, it will take some time for me to explain why I lived a lie.”

Celestia, once again, lowered her head and nuzzled Twilight’s neck, though with more enthusiasm than the last. “Now you understand. Tell me, are you still afraid?”

The unicorn closed her eyes and focused on her feelings. What she expected to feel and what she actually felt, however, were two completely different results. “No... I don’t feel any kind of fear at all.”

Celestia raised her head and wore a warm smile. “Now, do you think that you can do this?”

With fire shining brightly in her eyes, Twilight smiled and nodded. “Yes. I can.” She then closed her eyes and slowly let out a long breath.

“I will.”

~*~

Twenty-Four Years Prior

“Tia?”

“Yes Phoenix?”

“Are you ready?”

Celestia poked her head around the bathroom door with a warm smile. “Just a minute. I have to do a few more things.”

Phoenix gave a nod with a smile of his own. “Okay, I’ll be waiting.”

As soon as she pulled her head back, the stallion shook his head. Earlier, his lover wore a hard look, to which the radiance of her coat accompanied her gloomy appearance. But now she seemed to be in the greatest mood of all day. At least I’ve read a few books about mares during pregnancy. But to actually experience it first hand is completely different, Phoenix thought as he stood there. I hope that she will stay like this while we meet the Griffon Leaders. Who knows what will happen when somepony catches her in a bad mood, especially if they have caused her enough stress already.

Celestia stepped out of the bathroom while wearing a gold-embroidered dress that sparkled along with matching shoes. At the crest of her collarbone laid a gold necklace with diamonds embedded in an intricate design that resembled her cutie mark. When it was in direct sunlight, it reflected all of the colors of the rainbow in all directions. Phoenix smiled. At least she still wants to make a good impression.

“What do you think?” Celestia asked as she twirled, making her dress flutter out and sparkle brightly in the sun.

“Beautiful,” Phoenix replied with a gasp. “It matches your personality perfectly.”

The alicorn giggled. "Thank you."

The unicorn smiled in return as he opened the door. “Now, time to go.”

Celestia shook her head as she exited the bedroom. “I like that you don’t want to be late, but sometimes you have to be a bit more subtle so you don’t ruin the mood.”

Phoenix shrugged. “Sorry,” he said as he moved up to his lover’s side.

The alicorn chuckled and continued towards the Main Entrance. They trotted in silence, Phoenix looking around at the walls and out at the world through the windows while Celestia simply looked ahead, though deep in thought. What will happen if we fail to reason with the Griffons? More importantly, what will happen to Equestria? She shuddered at the next thought. How many ponies will be harmed or killed? Somehow, a voice, though sounding sinister, answered her questions. Why are you so afraid? I thought you were the most powerful being in this world. Besides, you have lived through a war before. You know how to fight.

Shocked, Celestia quickly retaliated. Times have changed. I know that I can reason with the Griffons. She then mentally asked, Who are you?

The enigma chuckled, though somehow sounding familiar. Just think of me as a pony that has lived with you from the beginning.

“We’re here.”

Celestia shook her head and brought herself back to reality. A carriage that was guarded was in front of her and Phoenix was facing her. “Are you okay?”

No. “Yes, I’m fine.”

The unicorn eyed her before nodding to the guards. One of them magically opened the door to the carriage and they both bowed. Celestia thanked them and sat herself on one of the seats by the window. Phoenix followed inside and sat on the opposite side. A call cut through the silence and the carriage then jolted into motion. Once they were in the air, Phoenix got up and sat next to the thinking alicorn. He placed a hoof on her shoulder and asked, “Are you okay?”

Celestia kept quiet for a moment before sighing, “No.”

She then turned her gaze from the blurred ground to Phoenix and wore a warm smile. “But this time I know the reason for my distress.”

Phoenix cocked his head to the side. “Oh?”

She turned her head back to the window and asked, “Have you wondered how ponies came to existence?”

“Wasn’t it because of evolution? Or were we created by a higher, more powerful being?”

“No. But good guess.” She returned her gaze back to the unicorn and said, “Those were just theories, rumors, that have developed into strong arguments. But everything that you have heard is false.”

“Then... how?”

“A long time ago, long before Discord’s rule, there was no such thing as regular ponies. No pegasi, unicorns, or even earth ponies. Everypony was an alicorn.”

Phoenix gasped. “What!?”

Before he could continue, Celestia raised a hoof. “Hold on, I will explain.”

She sighed and closed her eyes. “During that time, everypony lived in harmony, like today, but now it’s between the unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies. We lived for so long that we forgot what the term ‘war’ was, or what even caused hate. It was perfect. But if there was one thing that I’ve learned over the years is that all great things must come to an end.”

“What happened?”

She opened her eyes and thought for a moment. Her horn then began to glow as she asked, “It will be hard to explain in words. Do you mind if I show you?”

Phoenix looked at her horn, then outside, then to the floor of the carriage. He closed his eyes and sighed, “Go ahead.”

Celestia moved forward and touched his forehead with her charged horn. The world around them broke, first in the distance where the rocky mountains were torn like paper, then the force closed in on them. It made a tornado of colors, though behind the tornado was the familiar color of black. Then the floor disappeared, making them weightless in the dark void of the dream world. For the first time in countless years, a pony will learn of the secrets of the past that was long forgotten.

He will also learn why it has been hidden for all this time.

~*~

??????????

“Celestia! What are you doing?”

“Sorry mom...”

Mom? Phoenix thought as he opened his eyes. He gazed upon the alicorns before him and gasped. Celestia was a filly with a pink mane and tail, though she still had the pristine white coat, but she didn’t have her cutie mark. Her mother, however, was almost the complete opposite of her daughter. At least in coat color. She had a slate-grey coat with the usual flowing mane and tail that Celestia had in the present, but they had different shades of blue running through them. She had golden eyes and her cutie mark... well, she didn’t have one. Is that even possible?

The grey alicorn sighed and went into the adjacent room, saying, “That’s why we keep telling you to not run through the house. Otherwise accidents like this will happen.”

Other than the broken item on the floor, the room that they were in looked like a living room. A couch was placed at one wall with a small table in front of it; a bookcase was on another wall, though it was next to a window; pictures were placed around the walls, making the room feel more at home; there was a fireplace, but it wasn’t being used other than storing various items and a few family photos. To Phoenix, it was like any other home in Equestria. But this is Celestia’s home.

Phoenix got up onto his hooves when the grey alicorn left the room and went to one of the photos on the wall. In the pictures, he could identify Celestia and her mother, but the other two alicorns were unfamiliar. One alicorn was a filly that seemed to be almost the same age as Celestia, but she didn’t look anything like Luna. The other alicorn was slightly taller than the mother and was easily identifiable as a stallion. Must be Celestia’s sister and father. But where’s Luna?

Before he could think of logical reasons, the mother came back in with a broom and a dust pan floating in her golden magic. “Please be careful next time. I don’t want you to get hurt,” she said as she swept the broken pieces into the pan. That was when Phoenix took note of how her voice sounded. Her tone was gentle, melodic to certain ears, but it also held a certain authority to it. It was almost like she could rule the world and nopony would question her authority. However, Celestia’s voice in the memory was small and uncertain, but, nonetheless, cute.

Celestia hung her head. “Okay...”

Celestia’s mother lifted the dust pan into the air and turned to Celestia. She trotted over to her daughter and nuzzled her neck. “Listen, I’m not mad at you. Besides, it’s replaceable. But you aren’t.”

The older alicorn then got up and trotted out of the room once more, while Celestia watched her until she disappeared from sight. She sighed as she trotted up to the couch and plopped down on it. Her horn glowed and a book floated from the bookshelf only to come to levitate in front of her. She placed the book back as another was lifted from a shelf to replace it. This continued for ten minutes as she browsed through the books on all of the shelves. When she was two books away from looking over all of them, her eyes lit up and she quickly sat up. She opened the book to a page that was folded on a corner and held it in the air as she laid on her side. Phoenix trotted over to the shadow of his lover and read the title. Magic 101: Useful Everyday Spells. Phoenix felt a hint of nostalgia as he thought, Heh, I've read that book before. Pretty useful to learn most of those spells.

He shook his head. Wait. What?! Is the book really that old?

Then, the room became noticeably darker, though it seemed that it was losing color as well. The filly lost some of her color as well, while also becoming frozen, as if time itself had been stopped on that particular moment. “As you can see, life was practically the same as it is now,” Celestia said as she walked up to Phoenix’s side. “Well, not in this memory, but in the current time.”

The unicorn jumped in surprise. “Gah!”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t here sooner, but I had to prepare the memories that I’m going to show you. The language isn’t the same in this period as it is currently, so I had to change the speaking patterns to at least have this make more sense. Also, a lot has happened in this time period, so I had to go through and shorten the time that it will take to show you the past. I would rather wake up on time for our meeting.”

“Wait, we’re sleeping?”

“Yes. In real time, we have only thirty minutes before we arrive to our destination. But, for some reason, our minds elongate our perception of time while we are dreaming.”

Phoenix cocked his head to the side. “So... you’re saying that it will seem like we will be sleeping for longer than thirty minutes?”

Celestia nodded. “We will be in the dream world for about 6 hours at the most. I know it seems like a long time, but I need you to understand the reasons why it has been erased from history.”

Phoenix closed his eyes and sighed, “You know, I’m not a big fan of censorship, especially with something that makes us who we are today.” He then opened his eyes and gazed into his lover’s with scrutiny and curiosity. “But I’ll keep an open mind and try to figure out the reason for the made actions.”

The alicorn wore a pained expression. “I know that this will be hard, but please be understanding about this.”

To her dismay, Phoenix laughed. “I have grown to be an understanding pony. I’m sure that I’ll figure this out.”

Celestia rolled her eyes. “That you are. Now, shall we begin?”

Besides being greeted with determination, apprehension flooded Phoenix’s eyes. Worried, Celestia asked, “Do you want to do this?”

Phoenix looked around the room before sighing, “I have a feeling that this will probably not be very pleasant. Otherwise you wouldn’t have kept the past a secret for all these years.”

This time, Celestia felt the same fear, though not one out of premonition, but from how her stallion would fare after they woke up. “I promise that I won’t show anything too horrible, but you should still expect some bad things to happen.”

The unicorn sat on his haunches and breathed out heavily, “How bad?”

The alicorn flinched. Be honest. “There will be death. Some will be more gruesome than others, but that is all in the past. I don’t mind if you don’t want to do this, but it will be hard to explain all of this in a short time.” She sighed. “I also didn’t want to show you, but it will be quicker and easier to comprehend how things happened and why.”

Phoenix lowered his head and closed his eyes. At first, his face was calm, then it slowly changed to a grimace, then back to being calm. He sighed, “I’ll do it.” He opened his eyes and looked up to the Princess. “I want to know what happened, no matter the cost.” He closed his eyes again. “No matter how bad the truth hurts.”

“As you wish.”

Her horn glowed and Phoenix heard the turn of a page from the couch. He glanced around the room before asking, “So what’s so important about this time period?”

Celestia looked out the window. “Listen closely.”

Phoenix opened his mouth to ask why, but thought better than to do so and focused on his hearing. His ears swiveled around, trying to pick up any noises other than the pages turning and the clinking of glass in the next room. Then he heard it. “What was that?”

The noise happened again, this time louder than the last. He heard the book behind him drop to the floor, but that wasn’t the sound that caught his attention. The sound itself, however, made the unicorn’s eyes narrow to pinpoints.

It was screaming.

“What’s happening?” he whispered.

Celestia continued to gaze outside, looking at the place she once called home. She turned her focus to Phoenix with tears in her eyes as she answered, “It’s the beginning and the end, Phoenix.” She closed her eyes as she breathed, “The beginning of ponykind and the end of the alicorns.”

~*~

Author's Note

And it's here!

Sorry about the wait, but the whole thing was actually written out for quite some time. I did have my editor go through it[1], but there were still some things that I wanted to change and all that fun stuff[2].

Anywho, as promised in my previous blog, I got it done in two months. Now it's time to see what you guys think of it.

Also, don't be shy about letting me know of any mistakes in my writing or the story itself. I know that there may be a few things that needs to be taken care of.

And now I'll be off!

~CJ

Footnotes:
[1] Seriously, that guy is very patient with my endless changing of things. I need to buy him a drink or something.
[2] Can't believe that I would have forgotten about the change of language over time. Had to incorporate in there somehow a long with a few forgotten details in Luna's long speech/revelation.