Love, reflected Twilight, was a funny thing. She knew it had objective power, she’d seen an army blasted from Canterlot because of it and her soul nearly consumed when it was twisted. The things love could do and the things love could make a pony do weren’t surprising.

When she had gathered up a small army from Ponyville and assaulted a castle in the name of saving her family, she hadn’t been surprised. Leading armies to rescue princesses was a scenario she had often considered, given her life. She’d have been surprised if a year went by in her life that didn’t end in some sort of climactic battle. She once dueled a giant plant, for Celestia’s sake.

When she had bodyslammed one of Nightmare Moon’s loyalists against a pillar several times she hadn’t been surprised either. She had read stories about adrenaline doing strange things to a pony. Mothers lifting overturned carts, pegasi slinging tornadoes out of the way of their families. She hoped she never had to buck a manticore in the face to save Nyx or Spike, but she would. Celestia help her, she’d pound it into dust if need be.

What had surprised her is when Fluttershy had taken one of the Nightmare guards up into a chokehold before screaming in his face about what exactly would happen to him if he didn’t tell them where Nyx and Spell Nexus were RIGHT NOW. Even Rainbow Dash admitted that she didn’t even know Fluttershy knew some of those words.

“Oh, I’m sorry Twilight, really! Just the thought of something like… something like that happening to such a sweet little foal, it just makes me… so… SO mad. I didn’t know he would start crying like that.”

“He wet himself, Fluttershy.”

“I did apologize,” only the yellow pegasus could look ashamed in the middle of a battlefield.

“Why did they even make this stupid castle so HUGE?!” shouted Dash, ducking as another pegasus guard came flying. “Two princesses live here, two! We’re never gonna find Nyx at this rate.”

Fate, happy to show off its sense of dramatic timing, immediately responded with an enormous shockwave. A beam of pure night exploded out of a nearby tower, clearing the sky around it and leaving behind a tapestry of space. The guards and cultists around them fell to their hooves, haunches, and out of the sky as if knocked out by some invisible force.

Twilight’s jaw dropped. Old memories of a little filly and a lot of magical surges came flooding back. But if Nyx had let off a blast of magic that strong, then…

No.

No.

“I know where she is!” the alicorn cried.

“We’re right behind you, sugarcube, lead the way,” her friends quickly grouped around her, ready to charge through any remaining guards.

“There’s no—” she tried to remain calm. “There’s no time, hold on.” She tried to visualize that part of the castle, though it had been ages since she had explored it, focusing on teleporting the entire group at once.

But instead of the room she had hoped to find herself in, with a pop of displacement, she fell with the other five bearers outside of it, a pair of double doors blocking her way. There was magic behind that door, more magic than she had felt in ages. It was blocking her teleportation, it was resisting her telekinesis.

“Nyx!” she cried out. “I’m here! Momma’s here!”

The door didn’t budge. Evidently, it didn’t care.

“Come on!” she shouted to her friends as she began to buck the door, leaning as much strength as she could into it.

Celestia be damned, she could feel Nyx on the other side of it. She wouldn’t fail her little girl, she promised.

Another buck, all six of them putting their weight against the door.

She promised. She promised! She wouldn’t be too late.

“I WANT MY MOMMA!”

The cry of a filly fueling her to that adrenaline-fueled state she had heard, she reared for the final buck, the doors glowed gold and violet as they swung open, and all six element bearers tumbled into the ballroom.

Twilight looked up, fearing the worst, ready to see…

What was left of an enormous mirror, a few shards still hanging on its frame. Shining Armor was helping an older stallion to his feet.

The princesses, she thought. Was that Luna? Was Luna always so tall? They were hugging each other, looking out across the room with a mixture of pride and bemusement. Behind them, the night sky shone in a way she had never seen before.

And in the center of the ballroom sat a small dragon and a small alicorn. Both scared, both confused.

But both were okay.

With a shout, Twilight ran to her children. Embracing them, hugging them, covering both of them in kisses no matter how much Spike protested.

The rest of the crowd poured in, regarding the family reunion with relief or the princesses with awe. It lasted until one voice spoke up.

“Dude, seriously, AGAIN?”

“Seriously, am I the only one who notices that EVERY time we end up in Canterlot, we’re the ones that DON’T end up saving the day?” Rainbow Dash said again, a few hours later.

“Hold yer horses, that can’t be right. What about—” Applejack started.

“Dude, no. Changeling invasion? Shining Armor and Cadence. Nightmare Moon cult? Celestia, I guess. The giant rubber ducky—”

“Nonsense, darling, we helped an entire castle turret fall on that one!” Rarity insisted.

“Yeah, that was taken apart by Lyra Heartstrings! Lyra! She doesn’t even live here anymore! We were bait!”

“Um… the Grand Galloping Gala?” Fluttershy suggested.

“Fluttershy, we blew that up.”

“Oh… oh, right.”

Twilight just rolled her eyes as her friends continued to argue. Robbed of the thrill of a climatic magical battle against a resurrected Nightmare Moon and robbed of the further thrill of the glorious rescue of a filly princess, most of Ponyville’s improvised militia had settled across the ballroom. Pinkie may have traded in most of her party supplies for what she called “hardcore battle materials” but one look at a safe Nyx and a clearly restored Princess Luna had been enough to convince her to break into her stash of true emergency party supplies.

It had taken both princesses, Spike, Shining Armor, and some sort of twitchy-looking chef stallion’s combined effort to convince her to downgrade the victory extravaganza into a mere triumphant shindig.

Twilight was thankful, seeing as it was quiet enough to let Nyx crawl into the safety of her mother’s wings and fall fast asleep. She had tried her best to regale her mother with the tale of their escape and the confrontation with Nightmare Moon, but a sobbing five-year-old didn’t make for the best narrator, and after falling asleep she had managed to pry a more concrete version out of her brother and son.

Celestia was off in a corner, speaking gently with Spell Nexus. At her own insistence, both had been given a measure of privacy. Twilight wasn’t quite sure, or even sure she wanted to know what was being said. The old unicorn that the princess now comforted was a far cry from the haughty headmaster she had caught glimpses of in court. He looked haunted.

“There you are!” a familiar voice cried out.

Twilight turned around, just in time to dodge an attempted hug from her parents. She lowered one of her wings, pointing to the gently snoozing and finally safe Nyx, and pressed one of her feathers to her lips. Both of them beamed and nodded in understanding.

“Mom? Dad? When did you two get here? I thought most of the ponies here were—”

“The rioting mob you brought from Ponyville.”

“Yeah, that.”

“Dear, you marched up to the gates of Canterlot and all through the streets screaming that Nightmare Moon was going to kill Nyx. I saw one of your friends fling someone into an apple cart.”

“Rarity said she’d been practicing her self-defense techniques.”

“All the same, you didn’t think we’d just sit idly by and let our favorite granddaughter go through that, would you?”

“We were at the back of the crowd,” smiled Night Light. “But I’d say we did our fair share of contributing against that cult once and for all, eh?”

“Your father managed to throw a rock at one of those cat-eyed guards.”

“I managed to wing him just a bit.”

“Your father is very proud of that. Though he HAS apologized.”

“I have,” Night Light leaned in, grinning. “But just between us, if it meant saving you kids, I’d do it again.”

Twilight couldn’t help but stifle a laugh. Her parents waved over one of the servers, taking a few hors d'oeuvres. Late or not, Warm Milk ran the kitchens well.

“Now from what Shiny tells, both you AND him managed to overcome Nightmare Moon’s—” Velvet shivered “Well her ‘blessing’. I thought I understood it, and it made sense that he’d overcome it… but I would have thought she’d have kept you on a much tighter leash, given, you know—” Velvet gestured to her daughter’s wings.

“You don’t think a little bit of Nyx rubbed off on her, did you?”

Twilight giggled. “I’m still not completely sure. Nightmare Moon in the end was a lot more Luna than anyone was willing to admit I think. But Luna and Nyx are pretty similar, understandably.”

“The heralds are going to be tearing their manes out trying to figure out this entire family tree by the end you know,” her father said, chewing on a cream cheese puff.

“Maybe. But I don’t think the Nightmare Moon in my head was exactly real, or even an extension of her. It was more like a copied mental construct. A recording egging me on, trying to make me obey her.”

“So I just thought about it logically. Nightmare Moon’s just a personification of a lot of angst. Angsty black-coated pony throwing a tantrum? That’s just a teenager. I’ve been reading a lot about problem visualization and disciplining a teenage Nyx? Ha! No problem. I managed to send the projection in my mind into her room with a good well-placed lecture,” Twilight beamed.

“That’s… impressively creative.”

“Oh, you don’t know the half of it, Mom. I was actually surprised at how easy it was, barely an inconvenience,” she looked at her hoof confidently. “Yeah, when Nyx finally gets to magic high school, I think I’ll have it all under control.”

“Oh, Twilight, dear…”

“Yes?”

“Saying this as your mother: When it comes to teenage daughters, you will not have it under control.”

“But—”

“Nope.”

“But I—”

“You won’t.”

“Dad?”

“Honey, you’ve grown into a fine responsible mare and an amazing mother. You will absolutely not have it under control.”

Twilight’s eye twitched a bit. Another passing waiter, a bit more observant than the rest, leaned forward.

“Zebra tea, your highness?”

Expressionless, she took a cup.

“Keep it coming, ponyboy.”

Luna surveyed the ballroom with a sense of pride. It was rare that she felt the need to attend a party, or even felt the desire to attend one. Give her a nice book and as much space away from a gala or ball, and she’d be happy.

But this time? This little shindig that Pinkie Pie had thrown together felt right. It felt good. Everything felt like that now, the weight of a thousand years having somehow lifted itself off her shoulders. She was herself again. She felt like herself again.

Her eyes landed on Celestia, off in a corner talking to the schoolteacher. Cherilee, was it? It looked like they were exchanging teacher tips. Not the usual social nonsense that came with speaking with nobility, but just talking to someone like a friend. Celestia looked as happy as she did exhausted.

Catching her eye, Celestia raised a glass to her sister and waved. Luna grinned back. Stars, it felt so good to be able to smile at her sister like that.

She felt a sudden tug on her leg and looked down. Nyx had evidently stirred in her sleep and made her way out of Twilight’s winged sanctuary and over to her.

“Auntie?” the filly said, looking up at her.

“Yes, dear?”

“Why do you look different?”

“I…” she paused, fumbling for a reduced explanation. “I found a lot of magic that used to belong to me.”

“Was it the magic in the guards? The magic that made momma scary?”

“Yes, it’s all gone now.”

“Will it make you scary?”

Luna raised an eyebrow at her. “Do I look scary?”

Nyx shook her head, nuzzling the older alicorn’s foreleg. “Nuh-uh. You look like the stars. I like that.”

“I do, too,” Luna grinned.

“Auntie?”

“Yes, dear?”

“In the memories that Auntie Tia was showing, there was another pony. When you were young.”

“There was, yes.”

“Was that your momma?”

“...Yes, dear, it was.”

“Oh.”

The little filly shuffled nervously. Her eyes were downcast.

“Auntie?” she said once again.

“Yes, dear?”

“Is… your momma dead?”

Luna smiled.

“She is, dear. She died a very long time ago.”

“Oh,” Nyx reached out and hugged her leg. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, dear.”

They sat there in silence before Nyx tugged on her leg again. It was to be expected, Nyx never had just one question, and it had been quite a night.

“Auntie?”

“Yes, dear?”

“Are you okay?”

“I am better, dear. Much better than I have been in a very long time, as is Auntie Tia.”

“And the bad pony is gone?”

“She-” Luna paused. Nyx was a smart girl, but how would she even explain what had happened? That she had taken back all that pain and hatred that had been Nightmare Moon and simply… let it go?

How did one explain to such a happy little filly how wonderful it felt to accept so much fury back into herself?

“She’s not a bad pony,” Luna answered finally. “Not anymore.”

“Oh,” Nyx paused. “That’s good. I hope she’s happy.”

“She is very much indeed,” smiled Luna.

Near the edge of Ponyville, there is a tree. It’s also a castle, but mostly, for one small family, it’s a home.

Within the home, there were pictures and more. A rampaging centaur had almost incinerated a few of them when he had blown up the old library, but luck and fate made such memories hard to destroy. A few burned edges hadn’t stopped them from adorning the cozier parts of the castle.

A picture of another baby alicorn, looking similarly grumpy in a Hearth’s Warming Sweater as her cousin held her and tried to avoid being hit by her enormous wings. Twilight had said that she wished she had some of the limiter spells Sunburst had come up with when Nyx was a foal.

A photo of another birthday party, this time a panorama filled with ponies. Friends, family, earth ponies, pegasi, unicorns, and a few happy-looking thestrals. A town’s worth of ponies that had spent a decade accepting and loving a little foal born of a ritual.

A picture of a sunrise, two towering Princesses looking out over a mountain range as they sat together, sipping tea. The blur of a little black hoof in the corner indicated that this had been a certain filly’s foray into photography, with good results.

And one final little thing. It wasn’t a photo, and it hung on the fridge rather than the wall, but for the castle’s youngest resident, it was the most important thing in that home.

It was a short letter, one page long and sandwiched between two magnets. At the top of the letter sat a title:

PRINCESS CELESTIA’S SCHOOL FOR GIFTED UNICORNS

And at the bottom of the letter sat a single, very important word.

ACCEPTED.

Five more years, five years of peace. Five years of love, five years of a filly discovering herself without a shadow hanging over her. Five years that were ending today with a mother who wasn’t quite sure if she was quite ready to let her precious filly go.

“And remember, I’m just a teleport spell away, and Auntie Tia and Auntie Luna are easy to reach too. Oh, and Grandpa and Grandma are downtown if you need them, and-”

“I know,” the alicorn filly rolled her eyes, having been over this a hundred times before.

“And remember: It’s not about raw power. Mastering magic means you need to be able to focus and control it, as well as perform more complicated spells.”

“I know!”

“And make sure you raise your hoof when you ask a question.”

“I know!”

“And if any of the older colts give you trouble—”

“Don’t toss them into the sky or teleport them to an adjacent plane of pure order or push them through a mirror, I know, Mom. I know,” she giggled as Twilight ruffled her mane. It was shorter than it had been, Nyx had claimed it was what all the cool kids were doing this year.

“You’re gonna do great, sweetheart.”

“I know,” her daughter grinned, then faltered and shifted nervously. “But, um…”

“What’s wrong, honey? You’ve got your scrolls and everything, right?”

“It’s not that! It’s…When you first got into school, you got your, um…” Nyx looked down at her flank. Ten years old and self-conscious about it. Twilight smiled. That seemed all too familiar.

“I blew up a classroom to get my cutie mark, sweetie,” Twilight glanced down at her own flank. “Trust me, I think the headmaster will be relieved if you don’t do something nearly as drastic.”

“But… I’ll get it? It’ll come, right?” She looked up at her mother. Twilight smiled. Ten years old and her daughter still thought she knew everything. How she wished that’d last forever.

Twilight kneeled close to Nyx, smiling gently as she could.

“When I was your age, I remember asking Grandma the exact same thing. She always told me the same thing: A cutie mark comes when you figure out who you are.”

“That day was the day I figured out who I was, and it was the same pony I thought I had been the entire time. I just had to turn my parents into plants, resize Spike into a giant, and cause Auntie Tia to have to intervene.”

“And you know what? It was absolutely worth it. I know yours will be, too,” Twilight nuzzled her daughter, who chuckled in response.

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

The little black alicorn rushed towards her, wrapping her forelegs around the beacon of knowledge and safety that she was about to leave.

“I love you, momma,” whispered Nyx.

“I love you, too, Nyx,” Twilight wrapped her wings around her daughter. Sometimes she thought they were built for such a purpose.

A distant bell rang, and Nyx broke the hug.

“Okay, okay! I don’t wanna be late.”

Saddlebags jostled away as she sprinted through the gates of the school, breaking into a glide as she flew onwards towards destiny, good grades, and friendship.

Twilight sighed, leaning up against the dragon next to her. Another five years had given Spike quite the growth spurt, and while he was quite towering just yet, he certainly loomed.

“Feeling that empty nest syndrome already, huh?”

“Spike, if there's a cult out there resurrecting Daybreaker, I am going to be on that baby fire-filly like that,” She brought some of her feathers together, making a snapping sound and then looking surprised. “Oh, I finally figured out how to snap, neat!”

He groaned. “Twilight, please.”

“I’m joking.” She smiled. “Unless…”

“Unless…” Spike looked down in a panic. “Please tell me there’s not a Daybreaker cult running around.”

“I did say I was joking.” She grinned hard.

“Right.”

Spike turned back towards the gates of the school. The academy doors beyond had closed shut, and he couldn’t help but notice a few happy tears coming down the face of his oldest friend. He nudged her gently, breaking Twilight out of her empty-nested stupor. Making sure the filly absolutely couldn’t hear them, he leaned in and whispered. “I give her a week before she blows up a classroom.”

Twilight snorted, wrapping a wing around him.

“Your baby sister? A week?”

“Please,” she smiled. “She’ll do it in two days.”

Author's Note

And that's that! I don't think I've ever written a novella in my life. What has this horse show done to me.

Thanks again to Toonwriter for the proofread, and thanks to everyone else for reading. Maybe I might do some side stories with this AU, maybe not. I've got other stories cooking that need more attention.