The Darklands

Two unicorns lay huddled together, their faces illuminated in the campfire.  They sat, at peace, in the middle of the Everfree Forest; comforted by each others presence.  A snout turned slowly towards the other, and the other slowly turned her snout towards it.

They touched in a spark of passion that only the two could feel as their tongues danced slowly with each other...

Twilight Sparkle cleared the throat to interrupt the pair of unicorns that they had stumbled upon and who had been kind enough to share their campfire and meal for the night.  Trixie's eyes avoided the pair at all costs while they kissed, blushing awkwardly at the sight.

Twilight could care less that they were two mares, but was more bothered by the fact that they were kissing in front of guests.

Rarity would have had a fit. Twilight mused before turning to look at Trixie.  The unicorn was looking away at the moment, into the trees, so Twilight took the opportunity to move the rest of her unwanted food onto Trixie's plate.  The poor mare looked absolutely famished, and the empty cupboards back in the library did nothing to say that Trixie had been eating.

Twilight, on the other hoof, had loaded herself up on food at her birthday party before she was transported here.

Has it really only been a few hours? Twilight thought, searching the sky for any indication on the passing of time.  But the moon hung in the center of the sky as it had since Twilight had arrived.

Looks like Nightmares never change...

"CELESTIA!" Nightmare Moon shouted, her voice echoing clearly through the halls as she stormed off in search of Luna's elder sister- Luna herself following close behind and trying desperately to stop her others' advance.

Royal Guards made attempts to block and even down Nightmare Moon, but the dark alicorn had simply tossed them to the side so that she could pass.

"Nightmare, you can't!  She'll see it as an attack, you'll be gone and your world will be lost for good!" Luna pleaded, begging for Nightmare to give up on defending Luna.

The thought was unfathomable to Nightmare Moon.

How in Discord's scaley right dragon claw did Celestia figure she could boss her precious Luna around as if she were a lesser, or even a slave!  How could she talk to her like that?  The images of Celestia standing over Luna's crippled body where too much for Nightmare Moon, who rounded a corner and burst through two giant double doors- splintering what little remained attached to the frame as she blew the door off its hinges.

"CELESTIA!" She shouted in utter fury at the form before her.  Princess Celestia stood proudly behind a phalanx of Royal Guards, a rather intimidating white unicorn stallion in purple armor standing directly in front of the Princess and lowering his horn threateningly.

"How DARE you treat your younger sister as such!  Do you not remember all those years ago when you lost her?!  Do you not remember what you did to send her and I over the edge?!" Nightmare Moon continued as she slowly advanced, struggling to keep herself from outright attacking the goddess.

"Nightmare Moon.  I knew you would return.  It was only a matter of time before your greed and lust for power consumed you and you decided to crawl through your mirror." Princess Celestia said calmly, although her eyes betrayed her extreme hatred for the dark alicorn.

"Ha!  You think I'm here for power?  I am an alicorn, Celestia, just like you!  I have all the power I will ever need at my hooftips!"

The guards in the phalanx seemed to take this as a threat and backed closer to their Princess in order to better defend her.

"Nay, I am not here to kill you or take over Equestria.  I am here to make you apologize." she spat.

Princess Celestia blinked in shock as the words left the dark alicorn's lips.

A moment or two passed before Nightmare Moon stepped aside to reveal a cowering Princess Luna behind her.

Princess Celestia seemed unable to register what exactly Nightmare Moon had said.  "E-Excuse me...?" she asked in confusion.

"You heard me- apologize to your sister, right now!" Nightmare Moon commanded.

A wave of guilt and shock played over Celestia's face as she replayed the events in her head before pushing gently past the row of guards and slowly approaching both alicorns.

Celestia and Nightmare Moon shared a swift glance that betrayed Celestia's feelings of fear and regret while the dark alicorn held her gaze of rage.

"...Luna..." Celestia began softly, sadly, as she lowered herself onto the floor.  "I'm sorry, little sister...I-I didn't realize what I had said or done...I just didn't want to lose you again...I was so alone when I...When I did those things, and I just couldn't bare the thought of losing you again..."

"The only pony I had to talk to when I was imprisoned was her, Tia.  She kept me company, comforted me when I cried, made me laugh, and soothed me to sleep.   She's more than a friend to me, Tia.  She's like mother.  The mother you should have been to me..." Princess Luna replied quietly before turning away with Nightmare Moon in tow.

Celestia stayed behind, head turned to the floor in shame as a single tear soaked into the red carpet leading up to the throne.

The first tear of many.

A cough from Twilight brought Trixie back to reality, where she noticed that her plate suddenly had more food on it and Twilight's had less.  She raised an eyebrow at the purple mare, who was currently too enthralled by the couple's tale of how they managed to escape an angry dragon after they had accidentally made it's cave their camp one night.

Trixie noticed that she had been staring at the purple unicorn for quite some time- thankful that she had caught herself before the story ended and Twilight's attention returned to Trixie.

"Did you enjoy the story?" she asked cheerfully, and Trixie soon found herself blushing again as she tried to recall what exactly had been said.

"Y-Yes, I especially enjoyed the part where...Uhm..." Trixie started, her brain drawing a complete blank as she stared in Twilight's deep, purple eyes and her voice trailed off.

"Trixie?  Are you alright?"

"Wha- Huh?  O-Oh, yes.  I'm fine." Trixie answered quickly, letting the surrounding trees take her full attention once more.

Stupid, stupid pony! Trixie thought.  You couldn't even land a date with that mailmare if she crashed through your front door and kissed you right there!  Twilight probably has stallions lined up at her door from there to Canterlot back in her own realm...Or maybe mares...?  What if she's not into that?  What if she thinks I'm disgusting for asking her!?

As Trixie's brain racked itself for the courage to ask or the logic to put it down, Twilight curled up into a ball and began to sleep as the fire slowly died down.

Trixie sighed as she rolled over onto her side once more.

The fire of their camp had long since gone out, and Trixie was the only pony out of the four to be still awake.  Her eyes focused on the small ball of pony that was Twilight Sparkle, huddled close but not touching.  She watched for some time as the unicorn's flanks rose and fell with each breath before realizing how creepy it must be to have somepony watch you sleep.  Her eyes took in a new scene: that of the beautiful night sky that was constantly played out above the land.

The night was cold, but it was still beautiful none the less.  Trixie thought about how Twilight had snuck her own food on her plate. It was a sweet move, even if there were no hidden intentions.  Trixie had had little to eat over the past few days, but then again everypony fared the same due to their Queen's banishment while in another realm.  The magic that she gave off as a result of being so powerful had fueled the land and fed the plants while the moon remained high in the sky.  But when their Queen did not return, the land began to die.

It died for one thousand years.

Ponies were ruthless back then, being forced to result to eating meat back then simply to survive.  It was sickening.

Trixie sighed again as she rolled over to fall asleep, only to come face-to-face with a wide-eyed Twilight Sparkle.

"You didn't have to do all of that, you know..." Luna said quietly as she idly chased the wrinkles away in her bed sheet.

"I did what I must to protect you, Luna.  I can't bear to see you broken and would destroy all of my realm if it meant that my brothers and sisters wouldn't find you.  You don't realize what they could do to you, Luna...You're lucky I only wanted to help."

Princess Luna stared up at the towering alicorn as she herself lay on her bed, searching for any signs of deceit in the dark one's eyes.

She found none.

She hadn't expected to.

"Nightmare...Why do you do the things you do for me?  What do you have to gain?" Princess Luna sighed, going back to her game of chasing wrinkles away.

"Honestly...Honestly I have no idea why I feel so strongly for you, like a mother does.  None of it makes sense.  I'm supposed to be you where Celestia was the one threatening the safety of our ponies.  But that would leave me in the seat of power where I would have to take care of every pony, much like Celestia is now.  I know that my own sister would not be able to repent, an nor would I allow her to.  The...Circumstances were different than yours.  She didn't want to let the sun shine forever because nopony appreciated it- she wanted to burn everything to a crisp, Luna.  She was a maniac.  Honestly?  ...Honestly, I guess I see you as the sister I've always wanted.  Maybe I'm wrong- maybe Burning Star can be changed..." Nightmare Moon whispered, mostly to herself, but Luna still heard.

The two shared a strong hug before they both blinked back tears.

"I shouldn't have been gone this long...I need to get back, Luna.  Remember: I'm always just a thought away- night or day.  Call for me whenever you need a shoulder to cry on or a friend to laugh with."

"I will.  I promise."

"And Luna?  Vivas Noctus."

"Vivas Noctus." Luna repeated as her other stepped through the vanity mirror.

"Long live the night..." Princess Luna whispered.

"S-Sparkle." Trixie whispered, her tone sounding as if she were addressing somepony rather than being surprised.

"Trixie." Twilight replied mutually.

"C-Can I help you with something...?"

"Yes, you can.  What is Nightmare Moon really like?  I mean, you actually defended her from Celestia's equivalent, so what is she like?  I only know her as being evil."

"O-Oh.  Uhm..." Trixie began awkwardly before clearing her throat.  "Well, you see....Uh..."

Twilight giggled and poked the stuttering mare.  "Why don't you start with the whole 'banishment' thing."

"Yes, the banishment." Trixie repeated before taking a deep breath.  "A-About a thousand and thirty years ago, Nightmare Moon's younger sister, Burning Star, escaped from her prison again-"

"Wait, again?  How many times was she imprisoned?  And why?"

"Yes, again.  Nopony except Nightmare Moon knows the exact number, but she was imprisoned because...Well, you said Nightmare Moon wanted to bring upon eternal night in your realm because nopony appreciated Princess Luna's nights?" Trixie asked.

Twilight nodded her confirmation.

"Well, Princess Burning Star wanted to bring upon eternal fire so that she could watch us all burn to death."

Princess Celestia stood quietly outside the twin doors to her younger sister's room, silently deciding whether to knock or not.

"Are you going to stand there all day?" Princess Luna called from within.

Celestia sighed and gently nudged the door open.

"She didn't know you were out there, you know."

"I know...And I'm sorry for ease dropping, I just-"

"You just wanted to make sure that she wasn't mind controlling me or something."

"...Yes..." Princess Celestia admitted.

"Tia, I understand that you don't trust her, I really do.  But you have to remember that I was the one all those years ago who was so upset.  I was the one who wanted revenge.  Nightmare just gave me the power to do so.  It may be comfortable putting the blame on somepony else, but eventually you're going to have to accept the fact that me, your 'darling little adorable sister' wanted to harm every pony in the world- not her."

Celestia hung her head in shame, nodding softly before speaking.  "It just hurts, Lulu.  It hurts knowing that I failed after mother passed and I couldn't always be there for you like you needed me to.  Maybe if I...If we never fought Discord- if we just left the ponies alone! -we would be closer, and I could have kept you from being so angry and so lonely."

Princess Luna smiled sadly before rolling off her bed to nuzzle her big sister.  "We can't change the past, Tia, but we can work for a bright future."

"That's horrible!" Twilight exclaimed quietly, careful not to wake the sleeping couple.

Trixie nodded in agreement.  "Any other questions?"

"Just three.  First, when you were writing that letter to Queen Nightmare Moon about Burning Star's return, why did you say 'The mythical Mare in the Sun is in fact, Burning Star!' since you already knew?"

Trixie furrowed her brow and tried to recall what exactly she had been thinking.  She spent several long, dark seconds searching her brain for an answer before simply shrugging.  "I honestly haven't a clue- perhaps it was just my mind slipping?  I did just so happen to meet my counterpart from an alternate dimension."

Twilight giggled before nodding in understanding.  "What was in that burlap sack you tossed down before we left?  We had to leave it behind when we got attacked by the spider."

Trixie smiled.  "It was really just an old bag of memories.  I'm probably better off without them."

"Would you mind if we went back in the morning to get it?  I feel bad just leaving them there." Twilight said.  "And we would be able to overpower the spider if she was there now that we've gotten food."

"Sure, if you really want to.  But what was the third thing?  It's getting late and I'm sleepy."

It was Twilight's turn to smile as she leaned in close and softly kissed the end of Trixie's snout; right on the lips.  "It's a rhetorical question: why do you beat yourself up over a petty thing like 'if I like mares or not'?"