Truth Behind Harmony

Lyra and the others laid the last sleeping from on the bed, watching as Eris’s hands continued to glow with magic. They had each been taking turns watching over Eris the past hour; for they needed to make sure she did not overtax herself while using her power.

“Lyra,” asked a voice, causing her to turn from watching Eris. She saw it was her cousin Ursula, who smiled and sat down next to her.

“Hey Urs,” said Lyra, “It’s been a long time, how are you doing?”

“Better than most,” she said, her eyes turning toward Agatha. Lyra glanced over as well; noting that she was talking calmly with Shadow Spark, but there was sadness in her eyes as she talked with him.

“She is still recovering from Shadow’s rejection,” said Ursula, her voice sounding somber. “We have been trying to comfort her, but she still kind of…obsesses over him.”

“That girl never could handle rejection well,” Said Lyra, “you remember Cloud Caller?”

Ursula laughed really hard at that, “god I forgot about him, what has it been, 500 years since we last thought of him?”

“Yeah, gods I remember that guy used to be so devoted to her, guy would sing the clouds into messages just for her.”

Ursula laughed again, hugging the mint colored mare affectionately as she spoke. “Ah such good times, I’m just surprised you remembered it, you were what five, maybe six years old at the time?”

“I was seven if you remember,” said Lyra with a giggle, “gods it’s been that long?”

“Yeah,” said the taller mare, and then she nudged Lyra with a suggestive hoof bump. “So I saw the little mare you had with you, you given her your gift yet,” she asked, a sly smile on her lips.

“Well…no not yet,” said Lyra, “but I gave her something a lot more special.”

“Oh, do tell.”

Lyra looked around nervously, and then leaned in to whisper into her ear, “Me and Bony had a foal…”

Ursula screamed loudly, causing the others to look in her direction, puzzled over the sudden outburst.

“OhmygoshohmygoshohmygoshOHMYGOSH!!!” She screamed, grabbing Lyra by the shoulders as she swung her around, “That’s so amazing, I can’t believe you’re the first of us to have a foal! What does she look like, she’s a filly right, how long have you…”

She stopped as Lyra shoved her hoof in her mouth, looking up at her scornfully as Lyra spoke.

“Ursula I didn’t want everypony knowing about it yet, my mother hasn’t even seen her yet, and hell my kid doesn’t even know she has a grandmother.”

“What, but why,” asked Shadow as he and the others walked up. “Didn’t you tell her where you’re from?”

“Oh sure cousin that would be rich, 'hey Scoots, guess what. Me and your mother are not actually from Las Pegasus, we were actually sent here from a place called The Adeptest Republic as spies. Oh and your grandmother also happens to be one of the long lost sisters of Princess Celestia, so your technically royalty because of that,' how do you think she would react hmmm?”

“Um…not well I would wager,” said Shadow.

“So her name is Scoots,” asked Agatha, looking at Lyra with a bemused grin.

“Actually her full name is Scootaloo, her mother’s idea,” said Lyra, a slight chuckle escaping her lips.

“So you’re the father,” asked another one of the cousins, the brown stripes in her white coat identifying her as Darla.

“Hehe…ye…yeah I’m the dad in the relationship,” said Lyra, giggling nervously.

“Oh come on, don’t tell us your ashamed to be so, why look at us.” Said another one of Anastasia’s children, gesturing around with a smile on her face, “we were born from the mating of two mares, and we know Anastasia is not ashamed of having sired us. Now why don’t you go see to your mare, we can handle things from here?”

“What, but I…” Lyra started, but stopped as Ursula put a hoof to her lips.

“Go, we got this covered, so there is no reason why you should deny yourself of such wants. Just make sure to treat her well, she is after all your consort, so you should treat her as such.”

Lyra nodded, all too happy to concede as she ran out of the door, running to her chambers. The others laughed as she left, then they returned to watching the sleeping ponies in the room, waiting patiently for them to reawaken.

Twilight and the others awoke in the cave after a short nap, a few getting up and looking over to where Eris slept soundly, her body rising and falling with each breath she took. Twilight looked at the others, noting Pinkie’s mane still was straight and she walked over to the pink pony, placing a hoof on her shoulder to get her attention.

“You ok,” Twilight asked, looking concerned.

“Kinda…,” said Pinkie, looking at Twilight as she spoke. “It’s just...” she sighed “…the part where Discord went mad is coming up soon…and it always tears me up when I see it…”

“You’ve seen it before?”

Pinkie nodded, “He didn’t want to show me, but I asked him…and the first time tore me apart. We had already been…intimate by that point, and seeing somepony you love change like that…becoming and animal bent on nothing but destruction…it nearly tore me apart.”

She gulped, keeping her mane pulled over her face to hide it.

Twilight wrapped the pink pony up in a hug, trying to comfort her as best she could. She understood in her own way what Pinkie was talking about, due to having seen the other side of Celestia herself. “You said the first time…does that mean you asked him to see it again?”

“Yes,” said Pinkie, “I had to know what I would possibly be facing…if he ever broke free from his prison…I know you girls thought I was all happy go lucky when it all started…but the truth is I was terrified. Twilight, you never got to see what the monster inside him was truly capable of back when you met him.”

“Pinkie, I am pretty sure we did…”

“No Twilight, all the things that monster did to Ponyville and to our friends and loved ones were just child’s play compared to what that thing is truly capable of…the thing that was controlling him never intended to win…it was just toying with us to test us…”

Twilight stared at her looking stunned, for she could tell Pinkie was totally serious about what she was saying, and that made her terrified. But then something Pinkie had said caught her attention, “Pinkie, you said the monster inside him…what do you mean?”

Pinkie wiped her eyes, shaking her head in response and to quite further questions. “It’s better that you see it for yourself…it’s not something I can explain.”

Twilight nodded in understanding, letting go of her and walking to wake the last of their group. However when she approved, she noticed that part of the room had become sectioned off, and as she walked past the barrier, she noted an odd smell and gasped when she saw who was behind there.

“Applejack! Dash! Wha…what the…?”

“Ah horse apples!”

“Pony feathers!”

Twilight watched as Dash and Applejack disentangled themselves from each other, their manes and coats matted from both sweat and love juices. Rarity and the others soon peaked around the barrier, gasping as Applejack blushed and pulled her Stetson tight over her face.

“Hehe…guess we got something to ah…tell you,” said Dash with a sheepish grin…her cheeks burning red despite her blue coat.

“I am afraid that will have to wait,” said a voice, causing them all to jump. They turned to see Eris standing behind them, smiling at Dash and Applejack as she waved her hand, cleaning up their mess.

“A word of caution next time girls, I may have been asleep at the time, but that did not prevent me from experiencing your…activities during my slumber, so I would suggest in the future restraining yourselves when in someone else’s head.”

The two nodded as she waved her hand again, the cave disappearing and returning to the blackness it had once been, before raising herself up to speak.

“Now we return to the events of the past. When last we left, Marmora had successfully helped her sisters to create a prison that could contain the Elements of Chaos, and after that life returned to peaceful slumber, the kingdoms prospering but drifting apart to create a safety protocol in case anyone tried to start a similar war like the War of The Lost. But beneath it all a shadow stirred, for Discordia was not vanquished as they believed.”

They watched as the images formed on a scene which caused them all to gasp, for it showed all the children that she had foalnapped, a lot much older than when they had been taken but most still as young as they used to be. Then the gasped further as another familiar figure walked out of the shadows, causing Twilight stand and yell in shock.

“That’s….that’s Nightmare Moon…but that would mean…?”

“Twilight calm yourself,” said Eris, placing a paw on her shoulder. “I know that may look like the mare in the moon you once faced, but that is not her. The creature you see before you is named Nyx, one of only two direct descendants of Discordia who lives, now watch,”

“Hello my little ones,” said Nyx as she walked amongst them, occasionally nipping and nuzzling one of the ponies around her like her mother before her. “It has been a thousand years since our mothers bonds were cut by her sister’s children, and those same children have grown quiet and complacent in the peace we have allowed them.”

Evil chuckles rippled through the crowd around her, causing the ponies that were watching the memory to shiver because of the malice hidden inside it. “We have waited patiently, and now I think it is time for us to begin silencing the magic of the Elements, so let us begin.”

The children all began to glow with a great bright light, and a magic began to pulse and hum as they all began to sing, Nyx’s voice dominating them all as they hummed with the magic. As they sang the magic pulsed, and the scene shifted, showing the crystal cities and focusing on the chambers where the Elements of Chaos were held.

Eyes formed behind the cadges that held the elements, purring as the music fed them the magic of their creators, causing their power to grow and strengthen. The scene zoomed up to the top of the towers, showing the Elements of Harmony begin to keen from the growing power of their sister elements, Twilight and her friends actually cringing at the sound.

“The Elements of Chaos began growing in strength, and to compensate, their sisters had to grow in time with them, becoming silent to those who could talk with them, namely me…and my brother Discord. It was when his favored element, the Element of Laughter went silent that he came to me so that he might try and…divine what might be coming.”

“Divine…you don’t mean…”

Eris held up a talon to stay her, “As you know Twilight my brother and I touch the life blood of Equis, and it changed our bodies. But it also changed our magic, and when we merge our magic…it allows me to see forward in time.”

They watched as the scene reformed, showing Discord walking into the very cave Eris had conjured for them to rest in, walking over to a younger looking Eris with concern etching his brow.

“Brother, what are you doing here?”

“Sister…I have…have you heard any reply from the elements of late?”

Eris paused, but then shook her head slowly, “No…I have not…not for some time.”

“That’s what I feared,” said Discord. “I have been feeling…trepidations of late, like…like something from the past is rising and trying to disrupt all that we hold dear. I have come here to ask…if we may try and peak past the veil, to see if what I fear will come to pass.”

Eris paused, looking at her brother with concern. “Discord, you know it is impossible to stop what we see, usually we cause what we see by trying to stop it.”

“I know sister, but I must be sure before I do what I was going to do before I came here…so, can we begin?”

Eris hesitated, and then nodded, holding out her claws palms up toward him. Discord placed his palms in hers, and their magic began to glow and mingle, Discord’s magic flowing into Eris and causing her eyes to begin to glow. She looked forward, looking as though she was looking past him toward something only she could see.

“The one who birthed Elements of Chaos shall be reborn, drawing upon the power which she left behind to reform her bonds to this plane. She will return from her slumber and exact vengeance on the one who stalled her plans, and caused her the greatest of griefs.”

Her eyes then slowly stopped glowing, the magic separating and disappearing from their clasped hands as Discord drew away.

“Thank you sister…I know what I have to do now…”

He then placed his hand on her shoulder, griping it tightly, before speaking his finally words. “I am sorry, but you will not see me again.”

Then he snapped his fingers, vanishing before Eris could react.

As the scene began to fade everypony heard the real Eris sob, her body shaking as she clutched her paw to her mouth. “I am sorry…but…this…I have spent over a thousand years going over this moment in my mind…always wondering if I had said something different…or if I had denied his request…”

“He never blamed you.”

Everypony turned to see Pinkie staring at her, Pinkie walking over and hugging the mare around the middle as she spoke. “He was already going to do what he did…he just wanted a glimpse…he never intended to hurt you. He felt he had to do what he did, and he knew what he was going to do might cause events to play out as you saw them, but he couldn’t just stand aside when he could possibly avert such trouble to protect his ponies.”

Eris hugged her, gripping her tightly in thanks, before finally letting her go to speak. “Thank you Pinkie, but until I see him free again…I will forever be plagued by this guilt. Now…” she said, turning back, “this next scene will be extremely…distasteful…but you must all stay strong. Pinkie, stay by my side, I have no doubt you have seen this before, and it will comfort me to have another who shares similar pain to stand beside.”

Pinkie nodded, walking up to the mare as the new images formed. They watched as Discord walked into the chamber that held the Element of Dark Magic, watching him reach in and grab a hold of it in both his claws. As his hands wrapped around the element, he started chanting, his claws glowing with power as he began to speak.

“Mrith sia lexri si relgr wer vrrarral zyak batobot si nomag jikmada wux vur shirr wer ousch, vur persvek zyak tirir pok wer bekilip batobot wux ornla dronilnr!”

With each draconic word uttered, a crack formed in the crystal as its occupant began to writhe and scream. When the last word was uttered, the crystal shattered into several pieces, one of them flying directly into Discords heart and burying in deep.

He screamed as the other shards flew away from his hands, falling to the ground as they flew out of the building to parts unknown. After a moment however, Discord began to rise, chuckling and then beginning to cackle madly as his eyes turned yellow with madness. He teleported to the center of Canterlot, which looked different but still familiar to the six to still look like the old Canterlot of their time, but just different enough that they could tell it was different.

He began wreaking havoc among the populace, but this was nothing like they had seen when he had broken free almost a year ago. There were no cotton candy clouds, no chocolate rain, and no upside down buildings or ponies running around acting in funny manners. No, instead there were fires in the streets, ponies fighting amongst each other and some even killing each other, and all the while Discord hovered above it all, laughing manically like they had never heard him laugh before. The laugh was crazed, the kind of laugh that sent shivers down the spines of the ponies watching.

“DISCORD,” a voice shouted, and they saw Ixen and the other sisters flying in his direction, the elements in their possession as the faced the crazed Kirin. He laughed, snapping his fingers and not even flinching as he sent a spear into his mother’s side, causing her to scream in pain as she fell from the air, only to be caught by Luna as the other five charged him.

He laughed as he went to work, slowly and systematically taking down each and every one of them till they all lay in bloody heaps upon the ground, Discord cackling even louder as he slapped his bloody claws against his knee.

Celestia and Luna were the first to rise, the element of magic appearing and splitting into its twin crown form as the other elements appeared and attached themselves to their current wielders. Discord continued to laugh, even as they unleashed the power and turned him to stone, and he continued to laugh even then.

After he was completely sealed in stone, Ixen collapsed into a sobbing wreck at the foot of the statue, screaming in both regret and rage at what they had been forced to do. The scene faded, and the others turned to see Eris and Pinkie comforting each other, tears falling from the pink mare as she held tightly to the pony who knew her love as well as she.

“There there Pinkie dearest, it is alright, you know he meant none of it.”

“It…it still hurts…every time…”

“I know,” said the older mare, hugging her tightly and rubbing a clawed hand through her mane to comfort her. “But you have brought comfort to his long aching heart, and in so doing brought comfort to mine, take comfort in that.”

Pinkie nodded, hugging the mare again. “Thanks sis,” she said before pulling away, walking over to sit next to her friends and ignoring the surprised looks on their faces.

Eris nodded, and then turned to continue. “After my brother was imprisoned, it was discovered by the sisters that the city that the Element of Magic had been held in had been taken over during Discords mad attacks by a new enemy, one whose power they could not match even though he presented himself as a mere unicorn.”

The scene formed upon a fierce battle being raged between the sisters and a lone black shadow, a shadow they all recognized as King Sombra. The ponies watched as he battled with the seven, only to be slowly encased in ice as he screamed in rage. But just as his icy prison sealed shut, there was a great flash of light, and everypony watched as the great City of Magic vanished before their eyes.

“Unfortunately for us back then, after my brother broke the Element of Dark Magic, he unwittingly created a way for Discordia herself to influence our world again. Even though she could no longer take physical form, she could still influence those she had touched with her magic. She had left a spell inside King Sombra; a spell that insured that even if he failed in his task, that part of the Crystal Empire would be removed, thus weakening the protection provided by the Empire. And with the magic weakened…her first born decided it was time to return their mother to the board.”

The scene reformed, showing a black alicorn standing amidst a group of ponies of all ages, an alicorn they now knew was Nyx. They watched as all the ponies in the chamber began to glow, yellow strands of light flying off their coats and from their manes and beginning to swirl around the center as the black alicorn known as Nyx rose above the growing bundle. Her horn and eyes glowed then, and the strands of light began to rise and twist together, forming shapes as they did so.

They watched as the strands formed first into bones, then muscles and organs, tendons and nerves, veins and skin, and finally fur and feathers. As the last of the strands entered the newly created mare, her main and tale exploded forth, the sky blue hue glowing bright as the newly resurrected alicorn rose from the ground. She opened her eyes, their red irises gazing into the turquoise ones of her daughter, whom she hugged gently.

“I thank thee, my dearest Nyx,” she said, her gaze then turning to the ponies all around the room, “and I thank all of you my children, I know I chose correctly when I placed my bonds in your hooves.”

“Stop!”

The ponies who had been watching turned, seeing Rainbow Dash looking at the scene before her, looking sick. “That…that bitch used them…used all of them! H…how could she do such a thing…why would she do such a thing to foals…?”

As the last word left her lips it became too much for her, and she collapsed on the ground, crying her eyes out as Applejack went to comfort her.

“I know this will be of no comfort,” said Eris, “but it must be said. Discordia may call them children, may show them affection, but she only sees them as a means to an end. Beyond what they provide her, they mean absolutely nothing to her; the only thing she cares about is getting her sister back.”

“But that doesn’t make it right!” yelled Dash threw her sobs, looking up at the mare above her. “No foal deserves to be used like that, especially by a pony that they trust above all others…”

She buried her face into Applejacks chest, crying harder as Eris walked over and kneeled down, placing a reassuring paw on her shoulder in sympathy. “I know, but that is the reality of the creature we face, and you must know it if you are to ever be ready to face her.”

Dash nodded, letting go of her marefriend and leaving the comfort of her embrace, watching as Eris returned to her speech.

“After she was brought back to this plane, Discordia began working her magic again, sowing the seeds of famine and drought among the other kingdoms, all save for Equestria, which she could not touch. While the other kingdoms began to see steadily growing hardships, Equestria only grew and prospered, guided by the light of the two sisters Celestia and Luna, who had taken up leadership after my brother’s fall. After a healthy length of time to let the other sisters start to build their own resentments, Discordia finally decided to enact her revenge on the one who laid her low all those years ago.”

They watched as the scene reformed; showing Nyx flying towards the ancient palace that had once held the elements, landing in front of the gates and asking if she could have an audience with Princess Luna. The scenes then shifted, showing Nyx walking into a garden, in which Luna was tending to some night flowers. Luna turned to see who had entered the garden, only to dawn a look of shock when she saw her.

“Hello your majesty, my name is…”

“…Nyx?”

The amount of recognition that came from Luna’s voice shocked almost all who stood next to Eris, and they were even more shocked by the look of happiness that came into Nyx’s eyes.

“You…You remember us?”

If Luna’s behavior had shocked them earlier, what she did next left them all wondering where all the sanity had gone from the world. She swept up Nyx in a tight embrace, kissing her fiercely as her horn glowed, the light mingling with that of Nyx’s as their kiss intensified.

They soon broke the kiss, Luna staring lovingly at the dark mare before her. “How could we forget you, our first love…our mare of the moon.”

“OK, hold on one cod picking minute,” yelled Applejack as the scene froze, looking at Eris with confusion in her eyes. “What the buck is going on here, you can’t be telling me that our princess and that monster were…!”

“Lovers,” asked Eris with a cold grin, “yes…sadly they were at one time, for Nyx and Luna found each other long ago before the events that led up to the War of The Lost started, drawn together due to unknown forces. They had been involved for some time when Nyx made the mistake of telling her mother who she was involved in, and she was imprisoned on the dark side of the moon for two thousand years as punishment.”

She nodded as they collectively gasped, “Yes I know it sounds harsh, but compared to what she does to the other ponies she calls children, I consider that her one saving grace.”

“But wait a minute, if they were lovers how the hell did she end up with Clover the Clever, and why the hay would she kiss her like that if they are still together,” asked Pinkie.

“To the first question, after Nyx returned from her banishment, she was forbidden from ever contacting Luna again unless Discordia said otherwise. As to the second…Clover the Clever was killed during the Discord Crises trying to stop him. Now pay attention closely here, for this is where the whole incident of Nightmare Moon truly begins.”

The scene unfroze, Luna nuzzling the dark mare before pulling away. “Come, walk with us, we have much to talk about you and I.”

The walked along the garden path, Nyx unfurling one of her large wings and draping it over the smaller mare; causing her to blush softly as she did so. “You must tell us where you have been all these years; after you left we could not find you anywhere, not even on our moon.”

“We had family matters that needed to be taken care of, which took longer than I expected. Also By the time I returned, you were already in the hooves of another…so I decided to keep my distance out of respect of you choosing her as your…as your life mate.”

Luna nuzzled her close, hearing the hurt in her voice. “You were gone love, and I needed to move on. Clover was everything I could want in a mare, and I felt the same attraction for her that I did for you back then, so I pursued her. But now…”

“We know,” said Nyx, “we felt the bonds between you two cut when her flame died out, and we felt thy cries echo through the moon. We wanted to come sooner, but we were forced to wrap things up at our end before coming to see you. But now I am here for you, as I was meant to be.”

The scene faded, reforming some time later on a scene of the royal bed chambers, showing Nyx using her mane to preen Luna’s wings under the light of the sun. Nyx watched as the ponies went about their daily routines, not even paying attention to the moans she was eliciting from her recently regained lover, for her eyes were full of confusion.

“Luna, one thing has puzzled me over the last few years, why do the ponies of your kingdom not worship your night the same way they worship your sister’s day?”

“That is because normal ponies need sleep Nyx, unlike you or I. I do not mind that they choose that time to sleep though, for how else would they be able to go about their affairs during the daylight hours.”

“But love you put so much work into those nighttime skies…does it not bother thee that they go unappreciated, and thus by extension you go unappreciated?”

Luna stared at the dark mare with confusion, but her face became grave as she pondered what she had said. “We…we do admit that at times…we feel that they could show a little more appreciation for the work we do.”

“Then why not ask your sister if you can extend the night, maybe for a full week so that your people can truly appreciate the work you put into each night you create. What’s the worst that could happen?”

The scene blurred then, reforming soon after on the same room, this time showing Nyx sitting on the bed alone, reading a book in the moonlight. She suddenly dropped the book as the doors to the bed chamber burst open, Luna walking in with tears streaming down her face as she walked towards Nyx, who got up and wrapped her up in a feathery hug.

“She…she rejected our proposal, she said it would cause too much unrest with the ponies because of what happened with Discord…and she…she yelled at us when we wouldn’t drop the issue…”

“Shh shh, it’s ok my love, its ok. We are sorry she rejected your proposal, but you should have known it would happen that way.”

“But why,” cried the younger alicorn, looking up into the dark mares dragon like eyes for answers.

“Because my sweet,” she said, lowering her head so that her mouth rested right next to her ear. “She is jealous of you,” she whispered, “all Celestia has is the sun, but you have the moon and the stars at you beck and call, which allow you to create a beautiful mosaic of starlight that is far grander than anything she could conjure. Thus she is jealous, and because she is jealous she denies you the right to show that beauty to your ponies; are you really going to let her do that?”

“But what can we do…she said no…”

“To Tartarus with what she said,” yelled Nyx, startling Luna. “We both control the moon and the stars, and we know a way that we can make your sister listen to you.”

She got up close then, her horn touching Luna’s and beginning to glow. “If we merge together, we can show your sister the true beauty of the night, and she will see that what you ask is reasonable, do you trust me?”

Luna nodded, and they watched as Nyx’s form began to dissolve, melting down and pooling around Luna’s feet. The black mass began crawling up Luna, spreading up her legs and around her body. It wrapped around her neck and wings, slowly climbing up her face till finally it completely covered her, turning her coat a sickly purple black. Her eyes snapped open then, pure pools of turquois with no sclera or irises to speak off, and the being laughed then, sounding distinctly like Nyx as she did so.

“You were always too trusting my love…it is a pity that you will not be able to watch as I tear down everything you hold dear…”

“THAT BITCH!!!” yelled Fluttershy, causing her friends to turn and then jump back in fright. Her eyes were glowing pure blue and lines had appeared all across her body and wings, glowing as brightly as her eyes as magic crackled around her, her mane and tail billowing in an ethereal wind and sparkling in the darkness.

“Fluttershy…”

“THAT WHORE, SHE USED THEIR PREVIOUS RELATIONSHIP GET HER TO DROP HER GUARD! IF I EVER GET MY HOOVES ON THAT HARLOTOS NAG I WILL…!”

“FLUTTERSHY!”

Fluttershy snapped out of her growing rage, breathing hard as her mane fell around her face, still looking angry. “Sorry girls, I just don’t like seeing my life partner manipulate like that…”

“Flu…Flutters? What was that?”

“I told you…I learned tattoo magic with Luna…I don’t use it that often though due to how…draining it is…”

Twilight nodded, her horn lighting up and beginning to restore her magical energy, before turning to Eris to speak. “Eris, continue with what you were doing…I will help with Fluttershy ok.”

Eris nodded, returning to the scene and started it again.

Nyx chuckled then as the scene unfroze, “Time to go play,” she said, and with that the monster took off into the sky, the moon turning blood red as she flew toward a town nearby. They watched as she attacked the town, attacking ponies and draining them of their blood, her coat soon turned red from all the blood she was spilling.

Soon Celestia flew into the area, her eyes widening in horror at the town full of corpses and the blood soaking the ground as she stared at the beast that had taken over her sister. From the side lines Twilight read the princesses body language like a book, noting that Celestia somehow knew that this monster was not her sister, for there was no recognition in her posture nor held within her eyes.

“What are you, and why have you taken my sister?” said Celestia as she stepped forward, her eyes never leaving the creature now walking towards her.

“Oh I am the same as you cousin,” said Nyx with an evil grin. “My name is Nightmare Moon, humble daughter of Discordia Chaotica, and as to why I am here; it’s complicated, but let’s just say its vengeance for your sister severing my mother’s hold on this world.”

“She was not the only one who fought your mother…”

“But she was the one who told you all of the elements, thus she was the cause. Of course…” said the dark mare, circling around Celestia with an evil grin. “…This would never have happened if you had just done what your sister had asked.”

“What are you…?”

“She came to you yesterday didn’t she, to ask you to let the night last into the day for a week? You should have done as she asked, then she would not have run into my comforting embrace and given me full control of the moon.”

Celestia growled her body shifting as she changed into Solaris. “I will not let you possess my sister any longer, I don’t care what it takes, but I shall drive you from my sister witch.”

The dark mare chuckled, “oh I doubt that,” and without even lifting a hoof Celestia was hit with a massive blood red ray of light, which caused an explosion that sent Celestia into a nearby building, her form shifting back to normal as she collapsed to the ground. Celestia tried to stand, but was slammed back down by another blast of debilitating magic as Nyx walked forward, grinning boldly as she spoke.

“You’re out of you element Celestia, I have full control over the moon and the stars, and as long as my night rains here your power shall stand for naught. Good by Celestia, and thank you for helping me get what was rightfully mine, I could never have done it without you.”

She cackled madly then, leaping into the air and vanishing in a blinding flash of light. Celestia stood up soon after, spreading her wings gingerly as she took off into the sky.

“Celestia knew she could not face the monster possessing her sister, so she did the only thing she could think to do, she went to her other sisters for help. She went to my mother’s kingdom first…but sadly, the outcome was far from what she had ever expected.”

The scene reformed upon Celestia landing on a balcony in the side of a mountain, walking up to Ixen with a look of concern on her face. “Sister, I need your help, Luna has been possessed by a monster…a daughter of Discordia. I tried to challenge the beast but she was too strong for…”

“So Equestria finally has a problem to deal with…about dam time,” said Ixen with a grimace, staring at Celestia with a cold glare.

“Wha…sister what are you talking about?”

“Are you really so blind,” asked Ixen with an evil chuckle, “I guess you must be, seeing as how you could not see the growing plight effecting your sisters kingdoms, and you called yourself our oldest sister.”

“Sister…what has brought this ire towards me?”

“Just look,” Ixen growled, grabbing Celestia by the shoulder and spinning her about so that she could see the dying land around her. “My kingdom and the other kingdoms have been suffering various plights for years now. My kingdom suffers from famine and drought, Mercury’s has been thrown into a civil war, Anastasia’s kingdom is suffering from malfunctioning magic, Fantasia’s has been visited by a madness plague, and Dreamstride’s people have had their own forest turn on them. And what have you been dealing with, a few troublesome laws and one little batch of forest that has gone wild, so don’t expect sympathy from me when my kingdom is slowly going to hell while yours stays all nice and cozy.”

“But…but sister, Luna is in trouble…if we don’t…”

“Oh she is in trouble is she, well maybe it’s just nature’s way of finally evening things out, it just sounds like she is finally getting her just…”

She didn’t get to finish as Celestia’s hoof collided with her face, sending her into the nearby wall. “YOU DARE SPEAK SUCH WORDS IN FRONT OF ME WHEN I COME TO ASK FOR YOUR AID! I AM YOUR ELDER, AND I WILL NOT HEAR SUCH WORDS UTTERED AGAINST THE YOUNGEST OF US WHILE I STILL DRAW BREATH, NOW WILL YOU HELP ME OR NOT!”

Ixen fixed her with a cold glare as she responded; her response coming out as a snarling growl.

“NO!”

Celestia looked both hurt and angered by this response, “Then you leave me with no choice sister,” she said, leaping into the air and flying strait toward the tower that held the Element of Generosity. She blasted her way inside, ripping the element from its pedestal and then vanishing with a bright burst of light as the guards attempted to stop her.

Eris waved her hand, making the scene fade away as she turned toward Twilight. Out of all the ponies in the room, she knew that the sun goddesses chosen mate would have the hardest time accepting this dark chapter in equine history. She expected anger, possibly sadness at her mentor’s actions, but what she did not expect was the look of total understanding in Twilights eyes as she looked at her.

“Twilight, are you alright?”

“She didn’t see any other choice did she; her sister had been taken by a monster that was more powerful than her, and Ixen was standing in her way, she didn’t see any other option at that point did she?”

Eris was genuinely surprised, but nodded all the same. “No, she didn’t see any other option at that point; I think she figured that if my mother reacted that way…the others would do the same. And after she secured the other elements, she went to confront Nyx herself, praying that she would be able to save her sister from the monster.”

They watched as the images reformed, showing Celestia bearing down on the dark mare, the elements all attached to her body as she landed on the ground. Four of the elements had attached to her hooves, becoming plated boots with a jewel in each of them. One had become her chest plate, while the final piece had formed into a crown, glowing brightly as she turned her gaze onto the monster.

Before Nyx could react, Celestia unleashed the power of the elements, wrapping the monster up in rainbow light. But just as Celestia began to exert some control on the elements, they suddenly detached themselves from her, flinging her back and transforming into their ethereal forms as the Element of Magic turned to stare at her with hatred.

“What are you doing,” shouted Celestia, only to be quitted as Magic slammed her hoof down.

“WE WARNED YOU NOT TO OVERSTEP YOUR BOUNDS CELESTIA, AND THIS IS HOW YOU TREAT THAT WARNING, BY TRYING TO USE OUR FULL POWER TO HELP THYSELF INSTEAD OF OTHERS!”

“Please, I only wanted to help Luna…I had no choice!”

“YOU HAD A CHOICE, AND NOW YOU AND YOUR SISTER SHALL HAVE TO SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES OF THAT CHOICE!”

They watched as the elements used their magic to send the monster skyrocketing toward the moon, and then covered their eyes as the moon exploded in a blinding flash of light. When the light cleared, they looked up to see the moon had taken on the appearance it had before the events of Luna being freed, and they saw that the elements had transformed back into the familiar spheres, dropping to the ground as Celestia burst into tears.

“Sadly, this would not be the last bit of sadness to visit Celestia. For two days after Luna and Nyx were banished to the moon by the elements…the Crystal Empire finally fell.”

A scene formed that Twilight was familiar with, but she stayed silent for the sake of her friends. They watched as Marmora, Empress of the Crystal Empire, landed on the balcony of Celestia’s bed chambers. Celestia ran up to her, grabbing her and guiding her to the bed as a small filly rested comfortably against her mother’s chest.

“Marmora, what has happened to you, you look like you have been attacked?”

“The crystal empire has fallen…I was betrayed…should have seen it coming…too…too blinded by my own love…”

“Sister, what are your talking about, who betrayed you?”

“Not important…dead now…not long for world myself…didn’t know who else to turn to…”

“Sister?”

Marmora let the foal she was carrying down slowly, passing her into Celestia’s fore hooves and laying her head on the bed. “I…I need you to promise me…promise you will look after my daughter…she is all that I have left…”

“Your…your daughter?”

“No time…just promise to look after her…she shares my power…a power which should not be lost…please promise me this sister…before it is to late…”

Celestia hesitated for a moment, taking that moment to look down at the little foal in her forelegs and then nodding her head. “Yes…I promise…just tell me sister…what is her name?”

Marmora smiled, her eyes drifting slowly closed as she uttered her last words.

“Her name is Mi Amore Cadenza…my……little………Cadance…………”

“…sister…..Sister…….SISTER!!!”

The scene finally faded, and Eris turned to see everypony in tears, Twilight most of all as she clutched to Rarity for support.

“Events played out normally after that point…the other kingdoms fell upon worse tidings after the elements had been removed by Celestia, and Celestia herself took up the task of both raising a foal and running the kingdom alone. I know this is all a lot for you all to absorb…but it is the truth, and I hope you can forgive Celestia and the others for keeping this all from you for so long.”

They all nodded. “Good, then let us leave this place, it is time we return to the land of the conscious world.”

Shadow Spark watched as Eris and the others stirred, quickly getting his cousin’s attention and then running to her side. Eris slowly woke, Shadow helping her to her feat as the others helped Twilight and her friends, each using their magic to help the six better recover from the trying ordeal.

“Thank you Shadow,” said Eris, patting the young stallion on the head as his magic finished its work. She looked around, noting that somepony was missing from the group. “Where is cousin Lyra, we thought she was still here when we went under.”

“We sent her to go tend to her marefriend,” said Agatha with a grin. “We thought she needed some time with her mare to relieve some of the stress this whole situation no doubt caused, and plus we could handle what needed to me taken care of here, so it wasn’t necessary for her to stick around. So I guess you caught them all up?”

“On the important topics yes, the others I expect will be filled in by the sisters in time. But before you all leave for the night, is there anything you wanted to ask?”

“Yeah I did,” said Rainbow, startling everypony. “I was bit too shocked by the whole thing when it happened, but I wanted to ask why the elements banished Luna as well instead of just freeing her from Nyx?”

“What you must understand Rainbow is…well…Like I told you all earlier the elements are in a sense a part of you, they were only allowing the sisters to wield them till they could find you. When Celestia used all the elements together, she overstepped the bounds set by the elements themselves, and so they sought to punish her for doing such. They figured because she had gone through so much trouble to try and help Luna…their punishment would hurt all the more if she was deprived of the very thing she had sought to help. I know it seems cruel, but the way they saw it their trust as well as their own power had been violated, so they sought to make sure Celestia would never do so again.”

“Dam that is harsh, still it makes sense.”

“And how do yah figure that sugar,” asked Applejack.

“Well think about it, they basically told her through banishing Luna that if you do this again we will take something important from you. Celestia may have a lot of siblings, but I don’t think she would be stupid enough to test the elements if it cost her another sister, especially after what happened to Marmora.”

“….wow Dash, I’m really impressed,” said Twilight, walking over and patting her friend on the back.

“Yes, it was very impressive and insightful, now I suggest we all retire for the evening. But Pinkie, if it would not trouble you, I would be most happy if you would allow me to accompany you to my brother’s statue so that I may speak with him, for it has been too long since last we spoke.”

Pinkie nodded her head as the others began to leave, and then left with Eris toward the Canterlot gardens as everypony headed off in different directions, sleep calling to them and their minds abuzz with what tomorrow would bring.

From her perch on the tallest tower, the dark mare watched with her magically enhanced eyes as the ponies went to their separate rooms, smiling slowly to herself as she went over all she had witnessed these past few days. Many things had caught Nyx’s interest during her spy mission, but the thing that had caught her attention the most was the little yellow mare that had been glued to her Luna’s side, which had proved a big distraction for the dark mare.

She knew she stood no chance at ever getting her Luna back, not after what she had discovered after being freed from Nyx’s protective control, but Nyx still felt they belonged together. Luna was the light side of the moon and Nyx was the Dark. Luna controlled the stars, while Nyx held domain over the empty blackness of the dark stars, otherwise known as black holes. She knew such attractions were foalish however, her mother had seen to that right quick before banishing her to the moon for two thousand years, but she still saw Luna as hers.

She slowly shook the thoughts from her head however, for there were more pressing matters at hand, especially considering what Eris had most likely revealed. She may not have seen what Eris had shown them, but she knew the magic well, and knew this would put a dent in their plans unless they acted fast. So she got up, spreading her night black wings and leaping off the tower, making her way toward the Everfree Forest as her and Luna’s moon passed overhead.