Absent

by T6J2E5

Rating: teen
Tags: Alternate Universe, Twilight Sparkle, Nightmare Moon, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Adventure
Length: 80380

Parents will go to extraordinary lengths to protect their foals. Nyx's mother, Twilight, is no exception. Is she prepared to face what she learns along the way?

Two years after Nyx was stripped of the Nightmare's power, Twilight Sparkle is attempting to raise Nyx as a normal filly. But as Nyx's magical abilities begin to grow out of her control, the pair quickly earn the attention and ire of some powerful ponies who do not have Nyx's best interests in-mind.

During the night, the Elements of Harmony mysteriously vanish, and Princess Celestia enlists the aid of their bearers to find them. Twilight is forced to choose between her duties to her princess and her duties to her daughter. In the process, she discovers a web of conspiracy surrounding her daughter that reaches back a thousand years into Equestrian history. Will Twilight be prepared to face the things she learns along her journey's path: about Nyx, about Celestia, about Equestria, about the Elements...

...about herself?

Based on Past Sins by Pen Stroke Pony.
Alternate universe, because Twilight never became an alicorn or princess in this story.

Published 2012-02-03 05:48:48 UTC
Last updated 2012-05-23 00:53:55 UTC

Chapter 2

The moon was well on its way across the sky and was only a few hours from midnight by the time Twilight and her escort reached Ponyville. Twilight leaped from the chariot while it was still airborne, a metre off the ground in front of the library. The pegasus guards grunted when their load was suddenly shifted by the absence of Twilight’s weight. As their hooves touched down in the street, Twilight was already through the front door and racing into the kitchen.

“Spike!” she called, wrenching open the closet door with her magic and letting it bang against the kitchen wall. The hinges groaned in protest at the force she had unintentionally used. Inside, the baby dragon was huddled in the back corner, still clutching the quill he used to write the call for help. “Are you all right?” Twilight demanded, her features contorted in worry.

Spike slowly uncurled himself from the corner and looked into Twilight’s eyes for a couple seconds before recognizing it was her. He stood and wrapped his arms around Twilight’s neck in a tight hug. He was trying to be brave, Twilight knew, but the tiny trembles in his arms betrayed how frightened the ordeal had really made him. “Of course, I’m fine. Those... ponies... didn’t want to mess with a dragon once they saw me!” Twilight rolled her eyes and smiled.

“Spike,” Twilight broke the hug and looked at her assistant seriously, “did they say what they wanted?”

Spike thought for a moment as he scratched his chin with a claw. “No, they didn’t really say anything. They just barged in and started looking around. The spent most of the time looking upstairs.”

Twilight considered this. She hadn’t noticed anything missing during her short trip between the front door and the kitchen. “Well, did they take anythi--.” She paled as she remembered her conversation in Celestia’s throne room. “The Elements!” Before Spike could respond, she disappeared from the kitchen in a flash of purple light. Frantic hoofsteps above alerted him to her destination.

The lock was broken, laying on the floor twisted and shattered by blunt force. Twilight stared down into the open chest at the foot of her bed as if what she was looking for would suddenly appear. They were gone. All six elements, taken by the intruders. She felt a lump beginning to form in her throat. Celestia had entrusted her with the Elements after the Discord incident so that they would be easily accessible if ever needed again. Twilight’s mind reeled. She’d broken the princess’ trust. She had no idea where the Elements were taken, or who had taken them. She had thought that she was the only pony that knew where they were. She hadn’t even told Celestia her exact hiding place. The lump in her throat had grown, preventing her from swallowing in dread. I... I can’t tell the princess, she thought.

“Miss Sparkle?” one of the guards called from somewhere downstairs. Twilight was beginning to panic. What am I going to tell them? They’re going to tell the princess! She spent several long minutes pacing her bedroom anxiously before her calm rationality finally reasserted itself. It will be okay, she told herself. That’s why the princess is having her guards investigate, right? They’re going to help me get to the bottom of this. She inhaled a deep breath, releasing it slowly only after praying halfheartedly to whichever deity might be out there to hear it. The guard called again, this time from closer to the staircase. “Miss Sparkle? Are you all right? We need to speak with you.”

Twilight steeled herself for what she was certain would be a difficult series of questions. She stopped at the upper landing of the stairs. Both guards stood at the bottom looking up at her expectantly. “The Elements of Harmony...” she started, her voice shying away from the next words, “are gone.” Spike gasped, bringing both his hands to his mouth, his eyes wide with terror. The guards showed no sign of surprise. Stoicism, apparently, was a behaviour so deeply embedded into them during their training, that even a distinct threat to the security of Equestria couldn’t elicit a reaction. They said nothing, continuing to stare at Twilight. She descended the stairs and sat roughly in her favourite chair in the library’s main room.

The guards followed her, each standing at opposite ends of the nearby table. “Miss Sparkle,” the second guard said, “we will need to report this to the princess immediately.”

“Yes, of course.” Twilight said dismissively. Her mind felt vacant. She couldn’t believe this was happening. She and her friends were the only ponies who had the ability to wield the Elements. Why would anyone steal them, if they couldn’t use them?

The guards looked at each other for a moment, then the first guard directed his attention back to the unicorn clearly in shock. “Miss Sparkle. May we have a look around the library’s living quarters? Perhaps the thieves left clues about their identity.”

“Yes, of course.” Twilight wasn’t hearing anything the guards said. She was physically in the library, but mentally she was bowing in shame before Celestia’s disapproving glare. She’d made mistakes before, but this? The princess will never forgive me for this, she sulked. The guards nodded to one another before climbing the stairs into the living area.

After the guards disappeared up the stairway, Spike slowly made his way out into the main room. He hesitated briefly as he approached the chair in which Twilight had collapsed. He wrapped one of his hands around her foreleg, squeezing gently in a show of support and taking care not to scratch her with his claws. “Twilight?” He looked up into her face. She still stared vacantly into the low table in front of her.

The muffled sounds of the guards searching the rooms upstairs were the only disturbances in the night’s relative silence before Twilight slowly turned her face toward her assistant. “Spike,” she started, only partially seeing him through the haze of her thoughts, “what am I going to tell the Princess?”

Spike’s supportive look sagged as he absorbed the implications of the situation. “I don’t know. Just tell what happened. Two... ponies... broke in and stole the Elements. You weren’t even here when it happened, and they were locked up. You couldn’t have done anything to stop them.” Spike looked anxious, as if he wanted to say something else, but didn’t dare.

Twilight sniffed, her emotions barely under control. Then a thought suddenly occurred. “Spike,” she said, her expression morphing into confusion, “that’s the second time you said ‘ponies’ like that. Why did you pause? Were they ponies or not?”

Spike scratched his chin, letting go of Twilight’s leg. “Well, they were ponies, but not like any other ponies I’ve seen before,” he admitted.

“What do you mean?” Twilight recalled the pair of ponies she had seen earlier that week.

“They were...” Spike thought for a second, “scary-looking.” Twilight raised an eyebrow at him. He knows better than that, she thought. He knows I need more information. Spike seemed to hear her thoughts as if she had spoken them. “They were big. I mean, really big. Even the mare.”

“Like Big Macintosh?” Twilight considered, attempting to rule-out the possibilities. “Or big like Princess Celestia?”

“No, no,” Spike shook his head. “I mean big, like a bodybuilding pony or a weightlifter.” Twilight’s questions were yielding results in the direction of her suspicions. “They weren’t taller than most other ponies,” Spike continued. “About as tall as Mr and Mrs Cake.” Spike nodded in satisfaction at his comparison.

“So they were really muscular,” Twilight prodded. She began to wonder if it was the same ponies she had seen staring at her and Nyx as they left the library for Canterlot just two mornings ago. Spike nodded. I have to know for sure. The princess might know where these strange ponies come from. “What about their coats?”

Spike looked to the side as if he was drifting off into his own thoughts. His prior anxiety had returned to his face. “What about their coats? They were both brown, like the dirt in the Sweet Apple Acres orchards.” Okay, Twilight admitted to herself, they weren’t the same ponies. But they still weren’t from Ponyville. “Wait!” Spike said seemingly losing track of his thoughts and returning to the conversation. “Their coats had these... weird white hairs all over the place. Thick, too.” He presently returned to his anxiety, kicking lightly at the floor distractedly.

Ah ha! They were the same ponies! Or, at least, they were in Ponyville with those ponies. “Thank you, Spike,” Twilight said smiling at him. “I’ll let the princess know what you told me, and that you’re the bravest assistant I’ve ever had.”

Spike looked at her quizzically. “I’m the only assistant you’ve ever had.” He neglected to remind her that she had found him not fifteen minutes ago hiding in the back corner of a closet.

“And that makes you the bravest,” Twilight retorted in her most matter-of-fact voice. Spike shook his head as he brought a hand to his face. He looked more anxious now than he had when the guards left to search upstairs. “Spike, take a letter,” Twilight commanded, slipping into her familiar dictation tone.

“Twilight--,” Spike tried to regain her attention.

“Dear Princess Celestia,” Twilight continued, ignoring (or not hearing) him.

“Twilight!” Spike said sharply. Twilight stopped her dictating and looked at Spike absently. Spike wasn’t even holding a parchment or quill, Twilight noted. He’s never interrupted me in the middle of a letter like that before. What’s gotten into him? Spike sighed, then looked into Twilight’s eyes sadly. “Nyx didn’t come home from school today.” Twilight blanched. What? “Nopony’s seen her since this morning.” ... What? “She’s missing.” Twilight’s world tilted violently.

* * * * *

The late afternoon sun blazed down onto the picnic table in front of her. The stagnant air coupled with the radiant heat of the table was baking her beneath her purple coat. Birds chirped happily from the nearby apple orchard, and Fluttershy’s pet rabbit Angel happily hopped around Twilight’s left foreleg to chase after something unseen. Mmm... That smell... Despite the stillness of the air, the strong scent of freshly-baked, sweet apple pie wafted out of the nearby barn toward her and all the other eagerly waiting ponies seated around the dozen neatly arranged tables.

Nearby, Derpy Hooves was desperately trying to mop up the mugs of apple cider she had accidentally spilled all over the ponies within hoof’s reach of her. Twilight giggled as the pegasus’ efforts created even more of a mess than the initial spill had, much to the chagrin of Dr Hooves, who seated beside Derpy had been the splash-point of at least a litre of the sticky brew.

A cheer erupted from several ponies at a table closest to the barn. Applejack, Apple Bloom, and Big Macintosh marched toward the crowd, each carrying an impossible number of steaming pies. Big Macintosh stopped to deposit his pies at the first several tables nearest the barn. Applejack stopped between the barn and the tables, shrugging the pies off her back and head, and turning to buck them as they fell. Graceful arcs through the air preceded the flawless presentation of two pies each to the tables in the back. By the time they landed and ponies began carving slices for one another, Apple Bloom was finally delivering the remaining third of the pies to the tables in the middle of the grassy area.

Twilight had to make a conscious effort to prevent drooling on the table after a pie landed between herself and Carrot Top across from her. Carrot Top apparently wasn’t bothering to make the same effort. The pies carved and its slices arranged on small plates in front of everypony at the feast, Twilight dug in, using her magic to levitate a fork, feeding herself in ladylike bites. “Mmm...” She couldn’t help but vocalize her reaction to the unbelievable flavour that assaulted her taste buds. Even with her extraordinary vocabulary, no words matched the merit of this confection. She closed her eyes, savouring every second of every bite. Several ponies at the table turned to watch her revelling in the magic of pie, smiling in agreement.

The cheerful conversation and festive attitude of the gathered ponies wasn’t dampened by the thick, dark clouds beginning to roll in from the mountains to Ponyville’s south, beyond the Everfree Forest. Twilight noticed the looming grey, but didn’t care. The pie was just too delicious to worry about a little rain on the horizon. She chewed and swallowed merrily as a few foals a couple tables down had started a minor food fight, large chunks of apple pie marring their coats amidst the cheers and laughter of themselves and the adult ponies around them. Twilight laughed aloud with her table-mates at the scene of apple salvos launched from the foals’ hooves only to land, messily, on the coat of another foal across from (or in some deviously friendly-fire cases beside) them.

She didn’t see exactly when, but Derpy had joined in on the fight at some point, landing a surprisingly accurate full pie in the face of... was that Scootaloo? The magenta-maned, orange pegasus filly wasn’t about to take that attack sitting down. She bucked at the top of her table, causing the three remaining slices of pie to bounce into the air in front of her. Spinning on a single hind hoof, she spread her tiny wings and batted them toward the still-gloating Derpy. The sticky, apple-flavoured missiles hit a target, albeit not their intended one. Scootaloo dove under her table to hide. All the ponies around the scene rolled with laughter while Dr Hooves scraped pie filling out of his ears and mane. Even Derpy had noticed, laughing so hard that she forgot to keep flapping her wings, falling onto the table in front of the unlucky stallion. She stopped laughing only long enough for the doctor to exact delicious revenge in the form of a full pie to her face.

A chill wind broke the laughter, catching everypony’s attention immediately. The hot sunlight had been replaced by a layer of angry-looking thunderheads. Sinister rumbles of thunder echoed in the distance. “Oh nelly!” Applejack said, looking up into the incoming tempest. “All right, everypony! Inta th’ barn, y’all!” She turned and galloped into structure from which the pies had emerged a half-hour earlier. The rest of the ponies looked at each other before abandoning their desserts in favour of the relative safety of the Apple family’s giant, red barn.

Big Macintosh and Twilight were the last two outside. “Ayep,” Big Macintosh said, gazing up at the ominous weather. He nudged Twilight toward the barn, following her inside. The party had apparently not ended with the flight indoors. Vinyl Scratch, the unicorn more commonly known as the turntable master “DJ P0n-3,” was already busy serving loud techno beats to the ponies on a large dance floor in the middle of the barn. The apple cider (now apparently hard, judging by some ponies’ conspicuous lack of balance) flowed uninhibited from the barrels near the back.

Twilight was about to rejoin the party to show off the new dance moves she learned during her latest visit to Canterlot when she saw a small figure in the centre of the dance floor and froze. The little, black alicorn stood stock-still, neither dancing nor interacting with those around her. Her neighbours didn’t seem to mind, dancing around her as if she wasn’t there. Twilight approached carefully. Something wasn’t right here. “Nyx?” she asked. The alicorn filly finally moved, turning only her head to look at her. Twilight gasped. It was her daughter standing there, but she was different. Her eyes were no longer the familiar, dragon-shaped turquoise-in-cyan that she recognized. Instead, eyes entirely of pure black, darker even than her midnight coat stared back at her, unblinking. This is Nyx, Twilight thought. Black coat, violet mane, alicorn filly... This is my daughter. She began to feel something she hadn’t felt since Nightmare Moon, reincarnated in Nyx’s body, had thrown her into the dungeon of her castle two years ago. She was afraid of her daughter.

“Hello, Mother,” the thing-that-was-Nyx greeted Twilight flatly. Her eyes remained solid, empty, unblinking. Twilight thought she could feel the room grow cold around her, colder the longer those obsidian orbs looked at her. The cold was penetrating, as if the Nyx-thing was gazing directly into her soul. She shivered, her hooves unwilling to move. “We have to go now, Mother,” Nyx said, emotionless. Her voice no longer carried the flat tone, but was instead a chorus of quiet, disembodied voices. “We have to go now, Mother,” she repeated, whispers from her voice’s chorus slightly out-of-sync with her own, giving her statement an ethereal, haunting sound.

The doors in the barn’s upper loft crashed open, the cold wind from outside howling over and across the dance floor. The other ponies present still didn’t seem to notice. They continued to dance unawares to DJ P0n-3’s mixes. Twilight tried to respond, but found that her voice didn’t work. The most she could coax from her throat was a barely audible squeak. The Nyx-thing tilted her head, looking curiously at her. Then her black eyes looked upward. Two large earth stallions, hideously pale, galloped in through the loft doors as if on an invisible path through the air. They whinnied an ear-piercing sound, thin, black smoke wafting from their mouths. Their eyes, empty sockets as pale as their coats, looked nowhere and everywhere at once. Twilight had the distinct impression that there was no hiding from these non-eyes, despite her terrified urge to hide under anything that could physically conceal her. The party continued, uninterrupted.

The ghostly stallions dove abruptly. Their galloping path now directly toward Twilight. Her hooves still wouldn’t budge. Her trembles of fear now became outright quakes. She shook uncontrollably in horror, watching the stallions bear down on her fast. “We have to go now, Mother!” yelled the Nyx-thing, still staring at Twilight with those horrible, black orbs. The voice was no longer Nyx’s. The chorus had taken a deeper, darker timbre. The out-of-sync whispers were replaced by muted wails of pain and despair. Her central voice morphed into that of fear, hatred, and darkness itself, the unmistakeable voice of Nightmare Moon.

Time stopped. Or, at least, time slowed to a barely perceptible crawl. The first stallion bowed its head, assuming a ramming posture as it barrelled toward Twilight. She braced herself against the hit which never came. The sudden, cold shock in her midsection forced her to gasp, icy tendrils radiating out into the rest of her body. Twilight looked back at herself. The stallion’s muzzle was emerging from her side, her body impaled on its neck. There was no pain, just a frigid coldness to her core. The stallion whinnied again, the painful, grating screech forcing itself into every corner of her mind. She felt a pull as the stallion’s mouth claimed her heart on its way through her breast. The void left behind where her heart should have been was replaced by a frozen lump of ice. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t breathe. What is going on?! This is impossible! Her legs trembled, threatening to collapse as she looked around the room. There, watching her from one of the balconies were two ponies: a stallion and a mare, large, muscular, and with dirt-brown coats thickly interspersed with white hairs. They were the only ponies at the party who seemed to realize what was going on, and they watched with a disturbing calm. Time resumed its normal pace, and Twilight’s awareness was snapped back to her surroundings by the scream of a terrified filly from very close by. Nyx!

“Twilight!” Nyx screamed, her appearance exactly as it should have been, exactly as the filly Twilight had grown to love as her own. “Mom! Help!” she cried, reaching a hoof for her mother as the last stallion roughly carried her away toward the back of the barn.

“Nyx!” Twilight still couldn’t move. Her hooves were frozen in-place to the floor, her chest aching around the lump of ice left in place of her heart. “Nyyyyx!” Twilight wailed, tears flowing freely from her eyes. The stallions had reached the back wall. Without slowing, they reared up on their hind legs before diving through the wall in puffs of black smoke, Nyx disappearing with them. The partying ponies apparently never saw any of it. “Nyx, NOOO!!”

Twilight opened her eyes to darkness. She was no longer standing in the Apple family’s barn, but was instead lying on something soft and warm. The slight tingle in her side indicated that she had been lying in that position for a while. She lifted her head from the pillow under her, and attempted to identify her surroundings. A light flickered on in the corner of the room. As her eyes adjusted to the new stimulus, she recognized the light as her bedroom reading lamp. She was lying on her bed, the covers of which were now damp with her sweat. She breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that Nyx’s ponynapping by those ghost ponies had been only a dream.

The stirring on the bed woke the purple-maned, white unicorn unceremoniously sprawled in the chair beside the lamp. Rarity climbed out of the chair, stretching the tension from her legs and neck as she made her way to Twilight’s bed. “You’re awake. Good morning, Twilight,” she greeted her friend, offering a caring smile and a badly concealed yawn.

“Rarity?” Twilight responded. “What are you doing here? Is everything okay?”

Rarity feigned surprise. “Well, I dare say I should be asking you that question. You’ve had quite a week, from what I’ve heard.” Twilight rose from her bed, stretching as she climbed out and onto her hooves. Rarity yawned again, not bothering to attempt concealing it this time. “You could have at least waited until sunrise to wake up, though,” she chided, teasingly. “This is no time of the morning to end one’s beauty sleep, you know.” Her smile drooped. “Although, that didn’t sound like a very nice dream you were having. I don’t blame you for wanting to wake up out of that.” She nodded toward the bed, its sheets twisted and pulled by Twilight as she slept.

Twilight looked confused. She glanced out the window into darkness. Only a faint reflection of the moonlight was visible off a couple of the nearby buildings in Ponyville. “What time is it, anyway?” she asked. Rarity didn’t answer. A look at the clock revealed that sunrise was still two hours away. Twilight was very tired, but hadn’t the slightest interest in going back to sleep. Not as long as those ghost horses awaited her and Nyx there. Wait... Nyx!

Twilight immediately galloped out of her bedroom and across the balcony toward Nyx’s bedroom. The door was open, and she could see the bed was empty even before she entered. She stopped just inside the doorway, staring at the room. Everything was as it should be. Nyx’s favourite book (another by the popular Dream Quill) lay on her nightstand, various articles of rarely-worn clothing hung out of the partially opened dresser drawers. Everything here was normal... except sans Nyx.

Rarity had caught up with her as she looked around the room. “I came as soon as I heard,” Rarity said softly from behind Twilight. “I’m so sorry, Twilight.”

Twilight’s mind was finally beginning to separate reality from the events of her dream. Nyx was missing: real. Ghost stallions: not real. She shuddered as a new wave of ice rolled through her. The Elements of Harmony were stolen: ... oh merciful Celestia... real. She winced at the thought. She still had to verify to the princess that the Elements were gone. That was not a conversation she looked forward to. Rarity’s voice beside her alerted that she hadn’t been paying attention to her friend.

“... then Spike ran from the hospital straight to Carrousel Boutique. The poor little guy was exhausted!” Rarity continued in her typically overly-dramatic manner.

“Spike?” Twilight interrupted, earning a mock-hurt look from Rarity. “Where is Spike? Why was he at the hospital?”

Rarity’s expression turned to one of concern. “Why, he went to fetch the doctor, of course. When you didn’t come around after an hour, he started to get worried. I can’t say that I blame him.”

“Come around?” Twilight was confused. The last thing she remembered was sitting in her favourite chair while Celestia’s guards searched the living spaces for forensic evidence. But, how did she wind up in her bed? “Rarity,” she let a hint of irritation enter her voice, “what are you talking about? Where’s Spike?”

Rarity blinked a few times before answering. “Oh, yes. I suppose you wouldn’t remember anything about that, would you?” She paused to gather her thoughts while Twilight waited patiently. “Well, from what Spike told me, you fainted shortly after the guards searched your room. Spike tried to wake you, but he couldn’t. He had the guards move you to your bed while he ran to get the doctor from the hospital. Then he came to get me. He’s back at Carrousel Boutique right now getting some much needed rest.” Her bottom lip stuck out in a dramaticized pout.

“Wait, what...” Twilight stammered. “How long was I out?”

“About five hours,” Rarity said quickly. “You had us all frightfully worried, you know.” Twilight resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Lack of sleep always made her friend even more dramatic than usual. “But the doctor said you’ll be fine. You just need some sleep.” She yawned. “As do I.”

Twilight attempted to piece together the fragments of information. “Wait,” she started slowly, “so you’ve been here all night?”

“Only since Spike barrelled through my front door,” Rarity quipped. She stared out Nyx’s bedroom window. The moon would be setting soon to make way for the sun to rise shortly thereafter. Twilight wanted to ask about Nyx. Her need for any information hung thickly in the air. She turned, walking out of Nyx’s bedroom, returning to her own and sitting on the edge of her bed. Rarity returned to the chair next to the reading lamp, this time in a much more lady-like fashion.

The emotions of the night finally overwhelmed Twilight’s ability to dam them. Tears welled in her eyes and steadily rolled down her muzzle, leaving tiny puddles on the wooden floor. “What...” Twilight asked, failing to control the sobs in her voice, “what do you know?”

Rarity sighed. “Not very much, I’m afraid,” she said. Her gaze, suddenly devoid of its drama but now betraying sadness of her own, shifted downward to the floor. “I didn’t know Nyx was missing until Spike woke me earlier tonight.” She paused. “I... I think he was hoping she would come home on her own.” She looked back at Twilight who was still weeping softly. “It wouldn’t be the first time she’d spent a night at her castle, right?”

Twilight sniffed, trying to regain control, but her tears wouldn’t ebb. “Has anyone checked her castle yet?” She was looking down, she couldn’t bare to make eye contact with anypony right now.

Rarity stiffened in surprise. “But of course not, darling,” her voice regaining a hint of the normal, faux-Canterlot pomposity. “Spike and I are the only two who know that Nyx is missing. Well, Celestia’s guards now know, as well...” She raised a hoof to her chin as she thought. “By the time the library was robbed, the Ponyville Sheriff’s office was closed for the night. Most ponies,” she placed extra emphasis on the first word, looking accusingly at Twilight, “were already asleep by the time you arrived.” That didn’t help, Twilight thought. How was I supposed to know something like this would happen? The princess’ guards can fly only so fast. Rarity continued in a softer, more forgiving tone. “Now that I think about it, there is one other pony who knows.” Twilight looked up at her hopefully. “That stallion who moved to Ponyville about two years ago; you know, the one you keep telling me is Luna’s guard. He disappeared from town this afternoon at about the same time Spike said Nyx should have gotten out of school for the day.”

Twilight’s brain twitched. What did Princess Luna’s guard have to do with Nyx’s disappearance? Did he take her? She mentally scolded herself. No, of course not, Twilight! Luna wouldn’t do that, especially after what she told Nyx about her feelings toward her. But then... was he helping her? Was he out there trying to find her? We weren’t even supposed to know he was watching us.

Questions continued to roil over Twilight’s mind, bubbling up to the surface and causing the creation of more questions in their wake. Rarity was right, she thought. I need sleep. Twilight noticed Rarity staring at her expectantly. She wondered how long she had been lost to her own thoughts and leaving her companion hanging in their conversation. “I have to go,” she stated flatly. She stood from the bed and started walking past her friend toward the door.

A white hoof stopped her after only a couple steps. “Twilight,” Rarity said softly, caring, “you need sleep. We can’t do anything until the morning anyway.” She turned Twilight to face her and wrapped her forelegs around her neck, pulling her into a gentle hug. Twilight’s tears began anew, her body trembling as her head rested against Rarity’s neck. Twilight was surprised to feel a drop of water fall on her shoulder. A second drop, several seconds later. Rarity was crying. “Shhh,” Rarity cooed. “It’ll be all right. We’ll find her, and we’ll bring her home.” She pushed Twilight and held her at leg’s length. Twilight noticed Rarity’s makeup was running, streaked by her friend’s tears. Rarity looked into Twilight’s eyes, a steely determination behind the rivulets of sadness. “You know how much I care for Nyx, too, Twilight. We’ll... bring... her... home.”

The mares embraced again as the moon set below the horizon, allowing their fear, anxiety, sadness to flow into each other’s manes.

* * * * *

A cool, light, morning rain fell on the Ponyville region, making the walk to Nyx’s castle all the more miserable. Thick stratus clouds obscured the sun, casting the landscape in a dreary, depressing ambiance. Twilight mused about how the pegasi were known to keep to their planned weather schedule, regardless of the events below on the ground. Her hooves were muddied, the path from Ponyville having become an ugly stripe of brown over the landscape hours ago. She didn’t care. The only item on which her mind could maintain a grip for more than a few fleeting thoughts was her daughter. She occasionally whispered a prayer to Celestia that Nyx was at the castle, that she and Rarity would find her there, huddled in her library with a book.

Rarity had been surprisingly quiet during the journey. She was just as sodden and muddy as Twilight, but had come prepared wearing a rain poncho and matching boots and floating an elaborately decorated umbrella above her in her magic. She had offered the umbrella to Twilight several times. The purple mare was wearing no more than her regular attire; that is, nothing. Finally, Rarity had given up and sheltered her own head from the raindrops. At this point, Twilight couldn’t possibly become any more soaked than she already was.

As they neared the castle, Twilight’s mood became both progressively more morose and more hopeful. She hoped with an intensity beyond Celestia’s summer sun that she would find Nyx safe and happy within her old sanctuary. More intense, however, was the other, colder half of her brain, telling her that the chances of her hope being realized were slim. Twilight had never been able to silence this pitiless, calculating, inner pony. Now more than ever, she wanted to buck this inner pony to the moon. But, numbers don’t lie, she thought. And I am using numbers... right? She spent a few minutes attempting to gather the data her brain was using to determine the unhappy probability, but she quickly realized that the calculation had included just as much (if not more) emotion as it did empirical data. Even so, she found that the little pony’s conclusion couldn’t be dismissed.

Reaching the main gate of the castle, Rarity’s umbrella shook itself of its collected rainwater, telescoped, and neatly tucked itself into one of her designer saddlebags. Leave it to Rarity, Twilight thought, can’t even join a search party without being fashionable. She rolled her eyes, turning her head away so her friend didn’t catch sign of her irritation. “Twilight?” Rarity said, stopping just inside the gate and out of the elements. Twilight stopped beside her, didn’t respond. She shook the rain out of her coat, causing Rarity to jump out of the way to avoid the flying droplets. She glared at Twilight irritatedly. “Twilight, are you okay splitting up? It would make for a quicker search, especially since there are only a few places she’s likely to be.”

Twilight shook her head, “If it’s all the same to you, Rarity,” she said, staring down the wide hall at nothing in particular, “I’d like to stick together.” She added in a more reserved voice, “I need the company right now.” Rarity smiled at her. Twilight was not a pony that regularly admitted she needed the closeness of companionship and friendship. But in the infrequent events when she did ask for such things, Rarity would never refuse her. Twilight had introduced Nyx to Rarity first just a few days after her birth. She had confided in Rarity (and Rarity alone) the secret of Nyx’s alicorn identity. Rarity never forgot this show of trust, and her friendship with Twilight had deepened immensely since then. Now, Nyx or no Nyx, she wouldn’t sacrifice that friendship for a lifetime seal of approval from Fancy Pants himself.

The pair walked slowly through the main hall toward their first stop, Nyx’s throne room. The clop of their hooves on the granite floor under them echoed in the cavernous chamber, making it seem even more empty than it was, despite the remains of the tapestries, woodwork, and sculptures. “Twilight, why didn’t we tell the Ponyville guard about Nyx?” Rarity had finally broached the subject. She must have realized Twilight had a reason for reporting the library’s break-in while failing to mention her daughter’s disappearance. Two guards had arrived to perform a search and forensic investigation at the library just minutes after she had reported the robbery. Twilight had half expected the Guard to take plenty of time to make her case a priority. She hadn’t been on good terms with the Guard (both in Ponyville and in Canterlot) since Nightmare Moon had magically sedated dozens of them during her invasion of the princesses’ castle. She chalked their diligence up to the missing Elements of Harmony rather than their actual interest in solving the crime.

“I was hoping she had just gotten scared and ran here,” Twilight said. That was only a half truth, she admitted to herself. I really don’t think the Guard would have tried to find Nyx anyway. There are only two ponies in all of Equestria who actually like her. Well, three, if you count me, I guess.

Rarity didn’t seem to accept this. “Well, if she’s not here, then we need to report her missing to the Guard. And if you don’t...” she paused for effect, “then I will.” Twilight looked at her in surprise. What was she trying to prove? Did she seriously think that the Guard would care about what happened to Nyx? Most ponies would love nothing more than to see Nyx just - Twilight swallowed hard at her thoughts’ unfortunate choice of words - disappear. “Come on,” Rarity encouraged gently, “let’s find her.”

The throne room was empty, the library similarly vacant. There were only two other places in the old castle that Nyx was likely to be, and one of those places was crumbling from the years of neglect, dangerous even for a light filly like Nyx. She could easily fly up to her bed chambers in the highest tower, but once she landed, the structure would be forced (and probably unable) to support her added weight. Twilight was, frankly, baffled that the tower hadn’t collapsed yet under its own weight and the stressed placed upon it by the wind and occasional snow. It had been hastily built by Nightmare Moon’s cultists to accommodate her brief rule, and she wondered just how much of the castle was actually held together by magic while they planned to slowly reinforce and finish it physically during the years following. Once the cult had been dissolved and the castle abandoned, any magical spells present would begin to decay. Nyx’s tower was a perfect example of this.

Rarity was apparently equally hesitant about searching the tower. “Um... Twilight?” she said, looking up the curving stairway into the dilapidated tower, “how about we look in the kitchens first?”

“Yeah,” Twilight answered, following Rarity’s line-of-sight, “yeah, that sounds like a good idea.” As she looked, a small chunk of the stairs from several metres above them broke off and shattered on the steps below.

The kitchen smelled awful, the scent of rotting vegetation and stale flours and spices making its way through the door of the adjacent larder. Rarity gagged and covered her nose with a hoof, remaining in the corridor outside where the malodorous assault was less offensive. Twilight cast a quick spell which manifested a mask over her muzzle, filtering the stagnant air to arrive at her nose fresh and clean. She wandered into the kitchen alone. The room was filled with all the conveniences and appliances of the finest kitchens in Canterlot Castle. The cultists had spared no expense in making sure Nyx... er... Nightmare Moon’s appetite (and sweet tooth) was always sated with the finest culinary delicacies in Equestria. It was also surprisingly clean. Nyx rarely chose the kitchens as her hiding place, and Twilight wasn’t expecting to find her here. She wasn’t surprised to find the multiple, connected kitchens devoid of a certain, black alicorn filly. Exiting the kitchen and removing her mask, she rejoined her friend in the subterranean corridor. There was only one other place to search, and she wasn’t looking forward to it.

Twilight had learned a spell several years prior that allowed her to use magic to locate objects and ponies. She had used this spell two years ago when Nyx was tricked into the Everfree Forest of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. For some reason she still couldn’t explain, the spell never worked as well when trying to locate Nyx. She assumed it was because of the filly’s unique magical ability blocking the spell somehow. But having never dared use the spell on Celestia or Luna, it was really just a very unscientific hypothesis.

Rarity stood again at the base of the tower’s stairs, looking upward. The wind had picked up slightly, causing the upper portion of the tower to sway menacingly. She swallowed nervously. “We... aren’t actually going to climb up there,” she asked, “are we?”

“Not unless we have to,” Twilight assured her. “Let me try something first.” She concentrated on the locating spell, her horn glowing a bright lavender. Nothing. She poured more of her concentration into the spell hoping to increase its efficacy, beads of sweat moistening her forehead. Still nothing. She let go of the magic and sighed, her horn’s glow slowly collapsing in on itself before fading completely. “I can’t find her,” she said, turning toward Rarity. “I mean, the spell can’t find her. But it’s missed her before. She might still be up there.”

“Then up we go,” Rarity said calmly. She tentatively placed a hoof on the first stair, as if checking to see if it was solid. Apparently satisfied that she wouldn’t fall through the stone, she placed her full weight on it, carefully climbing one step at a time.

“Wait,” Twilight called to her from the landing. Rarity stopped and turned. “I can’t let you do this for me,” she said as she climbed toward Rarity, hoping that the stairs would still support two fully-grown mares. They did, much to Twilight’s relief. “It’s too dangerous.”

Rarity feigned offense, looking hurt. “Nonsense, Twilight! I want to see Nyx back home safe as much as you do. It’s not a risk I’m unwilling to take.” She started toward the next step.

Twilight stopped her by grabbing Rarity’s tail in her teeth. Rarity stopped and glared at her friend. Twilight tried to explain, to dissuade her, “If Nyx is has been up there since yesterday afternoon, then she’s probably terrified of something. I should be the one she sees first, if she’s there.” Rarity seemed to be weighing this reasoning. “Besides, I’m not going to stay down here, and I doubt these stairs could handle both of us.” Rarity sighed, resigning herself to Twilight’s stubbornness. Twilight watched as she slowly descended the half-dozen stairs back to the landing. She turned, glared at Twilight, and dropped abruptly to sit on her haunches. “Sorry,” Twilight looked at her apologetically.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Rarity quipped curtly. Twilight flinched. I should have been expecting Rarity to be overly dramatic about having to stay behind. It’s Rarity.

Turning back to look upward into the spiraling stairway, she carefully continued her climb. Many of the steps had corners or pieces of edge missing or both. One was nearly half gone, the rubble fallen to the steps below it. Twilight jumped over this step to the next, not wanting to risk felling the remaining half. After ten minutes, her slow climb had put her only about half-way up the tower. She could no longer see Rarity, hidden behind several complete revolutions of the stairs. The wind outside gusted, causing the upper portion of the tower above her to briefly lean precariously. She could feel the vibration in the steps as the tower’s structural supports complained. Suddenly, she felt a lot less confident about this plan.

It took her only a couple seconds to reassert her determination. If Nyx was in the top of her tower, no amount of crumbling stone would keep her from her daughter. Of course, that was part of the risk, wasn’t it? Climbing this tower didn’t guarantee anything. Nyx might not be up there. Rarity had been right, but only barely. This wouldn’t be the first time Nyx had spent an entire night hidden in her castle since it was abandoned. But she had done that only once before, a particularly bad day at school driving her to hide from everyone, including her friends and Twilight, for nearly two days. She had been so terrified when she finally came out of hiding, that she barely had the wherewithal to walk back to Ponyville. Twilight had been worried beyond belief when her search of Nyx castle, like now, had failed to reveal the filly. Nyx had to come out on her own.

Twilight had successfully navigated the dangerously broken steps nearly to the top landing. Five more metres, and she could breathe a sigh of relief (albeit a brief one) on the upper landing outside the doors to Nyx’s old bedchambers. It was so tantalizingly close, yet still so far. The higher she climbed through the tower, the more violently she felt the wind as it threatened to topple the neglected stone structure. The climb up the last half of the tower had been agonizingly slow. She wondered what Rarity might be thinking on the lower landing at the bottom. She wouldn’t try to come up after her, would she? A sudden chill ran down Twilight’s spine as she realized that while the first several steps had held both of them, these upper steps likely would not. It was a very long fall to the bottom.

Shaking her head to rid it of the encroaching vertigo, she looked back to the upper landing and the large, double doors of mahogany inlaid with silver. Another step brought her closer. One more. That’s it, Twilight, she encouraged herself, only... fifteen more to go. You can do this! Another gust of wind, greater than the one before, buffeted the tower. The nearby beams groaned loudly in protest as the tower leaned impossibly away from the wind. Stone dust fell onto her face from the ceiling and walls above her. The tower righted itself again, the wind still howling at this altitude, but manageable. She looked ahead again. Seven steps. She climbed again and heard a quiet grinding of stone-on-stone. Then, there were no more steps ahead of her.

The sudden weightlessness caused her stomach to lurch and her heart to skip a beat. She looked upward at the heavy doors that were her goal, now quickly moving upward away from her. She craned her neck to look down. The central column of the stairway had cracked vertically during the last wind gust and collapsed, leaving the stairs with no support aside from the outer walls of the tower. Their weight-bearing structure removed, they readily fell away from the wall. The tower had become a tall tube of accelerating doom. Rarity had fled the landing for the relative safety of the corridor, but the floor was approaching just as quickly as the doors above her receded. She flailed her legs wildly, desperately trying to hold onto anything that might stop or at least retard her fall. Air and dust was all she could touch; even the debris falling with her wouldn’t allow itself to be captured by her grasp. This is it, she thought. I have... a quick calculation as she watched the floor closing in... three seconds. She closed her eyes. I hope Rarity will find Nyx. She and Sweetie Belle will give her a good home.

Two... What about Spike? What about the library? Ponyville could always get another librarian, but would she (she couldn’t imagine a buck librarian, as hard as she tried) allow Spike to stay on as her assistant? Rarity knows Spike has a crush on her. Maybe she’d take him in, too.

One... Tears began streaming from her eyes. She resigned herself to the fate she hadn’t expected and had saved Rarity from earlier. Rarity... What would she do? She’d start looking for me as soon as the collapse ended. She’d probably spend hours searching through the rubble until she found me. But what then?

Twilight’s racing thoughts were interrupted when she realized that the impending impact hadn’t occurred. She was still weightless, so that meant she was still falling. Her stomach gave its second nauseating lurch within the past ten seconds. Oh, Luna’s moon! The floor has collapsed, too! Her eyes opened abruptly. Rarity!

Something wasn’t right. She was weightless, and she was indeed still descending, as evidenced by the wall rising beside her. The air had a sparkling quality to it, a blue hue which surrounded her. She looked down. The floor was still here, right where it should be. In the centre of the floor, amidst the rubble of the fallen stairway, was Rarity, staring up at her with the most intense look of concentration Twilight had ever seen on her friend’s face. Her horn glowed with the brightness of Luna’s full moon on a cloudless night, several layers of progressively dimmer glow emanating outward. Twilight was only a few metres off the ground now, and Rarity was sweating profusely. She was panting heavily, nearly hyperventilating from her exertions. Rarity’s telekinesis was good enough to levitate several tools at once in her boutique, but Twilight was no pair of scissors or spool of thread. With a huff, Rarity’s horn’s glow faded, and she slumped slowly onto her side on the floor, unconscious.

Twilight landed beside her with a thud and a sharp pain in one of her front ankles. When Rarity’s magic released her from her slow, controlled descent, she had been only about a metre from the floor. The remaining fall had left her with a minor sprain, and for that, she counted herself lucky. If she hadn’t caved to Rarity’s insistence that she accompany Twilight on this search, she wouldn’t be standing here now. Now it was her turn to make sure Rarity would escape this relatively unscathed.

Rarity groaned and fluttered her eyes open. She looked around briefly, realizing that she was lying on the floor. Twilight offered a hoof to help her into an upright position. “Was I asleep for long?” Rarity asked, brushing the dust out of her coat as best as she could.

“Only about five minutes,” Twilight answered, removing a few smaller pieces of stone from Rarity’s mane and tail. She smiled at the white unicorn. “That was some incredible magic you performed!” Then, more reserved, “Thank you. You saved my life.”

Rarity stopped grooming herself and looked at her friend. “Twilight. No thanks is necessary. I’m certain you would have done the same for me.” She stood unsteadily, taking a moment to regain her balance. “Was she up there?” she asked, looking upward at the entrance to Nyx’s bedchambers through the now empty tower. Twilight realized that Rarity had no idea if she had made it all the way up. She’d been out of sight since she’d rounded the first spiral of the stairs, less than half way up.

“No,” Twilight responded absent-mindedly. She quickly corrected herself, “I don’t know. I didn’t make it into Nyx’s chambers. The steps collapsed just before I could reach the doors.” Twilight’s head drooped as she realized the implications of her statement. “Now there’s no way to get up there to check.”

“What about Rainbow Dash?” Rarity wondered aloud.

Twilight looked at her, raising an eyebrow. “What about Rainbow Dash?”

Rarity looked at her facetiously. “What does Rainbow Dash have that we don’t, and that could help us search the now-unclimbable tower?” she asked. Of course! Twilight’s inner pony took the opportunity to smack some sense into her. Rainbow Dash can just fly up there and look! She wouldn’t even have to land on the floors inside. Rarity shook her head and smiled, seeing the look of understanding spread across Twilight’s face. “Honestly,” she teased, “and you’re the scholar here.”

* * * * *

“Sorry, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said while hovering several metres above the centre of Ponyville Square, “I didn’t see her.” Rarity had already returned to Carrousel Boutique, presumably to reapply her makeup and fix her mane and tail after the deluge of fine stone powder she had received in Nyx’s castle. The rain had stopped, replaced by a drizzle for most of the walk back to Ponyville. Now, the precipitation had ceased, but the streets through town were soft and muddy, and the sky was still gloomily overcast.

Twilight looked at the cyan pegasus for a moment, then clarified patiently, “No, no. At Nyx’s old castle. Can you fly up to her bedchambers in the tower to see if she’s there? The stairs are gone, and I can’t go up to check myself.”

Rainbow Dash looked impatient. “I told you, I already looked. When Spike told me this morning that she was missing, I figured I’d help you out by checking her castle. She’s not there.”

“Wait.” Now Twilight was confused. “You’ve already been there? Why didn’t Rarity and I see you?”

Rainbow Dash shrugged. “I dunno. I went to the library to get you before I left, but you weren’t there. So, I just went on my own. I can get there a lot faster than you, anyway.” She looked unnecessarily proud of herself after that last statement.

“But that would mean Rarity and I were already on our way.”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “Uh, Twilight?” She glanced back at her wings, flapping them animatedly. Twilight blushed. This was the second time this morning that her anxiety over Nyx had impaired her simple reasoning abilities. “Listen, Twi,” Rainbow Dash said, landing softly beside the embarrassed unicorn, “I went through her castle twice, just to make sure. She’s not there.” Then, gently, “I’m sorry.”

The mares turned as two of Celestia’s Royal Guard approached them from the nearby Ponyville guard station. “Excuse us, Miss Sparkle,” one of them said gruffly. “We need to have a word with you about the break-in last night at the library.” Twilight glanced at Rainbow, who shrugged. Oh right, Twilight realized. Spike probably didn’t tell her about the Elements being stolen. She made a mental note to thank Spike later for his discretion. She nodded to the guard and followed them into the guard station. Rainbow Dash waited for her to step inside before launching herself into the air and disappearing through the clouds.

The Ponyville guard station was small. Much smaller than the neighbourhood stations throughout Canterlot. Twilight had never actually been into this station before, even though she’d been living in Ponyville for more than three years. She’d never had reason to visit the guards while on-duty. Ponyville was nearly devoid of petty crime, and violent crime was all but non-existent in the denizens’ lexicon. The guards led Twilight past the front desk to the offices in the back. One of them politely opened and held the door to a conference room for her, smiling comfortingly. Twilight returned his smile as best as she could, feeling a little more certain that she wasn’t in trouble. The other guard motioned for her to sit. In the centre of the small room stood a wooden desk, not elaborately decorated, but not simple, either. It reminded her somewhat of Cheerilee’s desk in the Ponyville schoolhouse. Four comfortable, matching chairs sat around the rectangular desk, one to each side. The room was barely large enough to hold them without seeming cramped. Twilight chose one of the chairs to the side of the desk, facing perpendicularly to the door. “An officer will be right with you, Miss Sparkle,” the guard who had entered the room with her said before turning to leave the room and closing the door quietly behind him.

Five minutes passed, and the officer still hadn’t been in the room. The silence was deafening. The room had clearly been soundproofed, and the walls were bare, painted a bland off-white. Twilight sighed and heard reverberation as the sound echoed off the walls around her. Was this an interrogation room? It seemed rather well-decorated for that, she thought. Five more minutes passed before her boredom got the best of her. She counted the grains in the desktop to pass the time.

Three hundred twenty-one. That’s how many she had counted by the time the officer finally opened the door nearly thirty minutes after she had been shown in. The tan earth pony wore an officer’s field uniform: blue, button-down shirt and black tie, complete with black shoulder harness to carry a nightstick at his side. He held in his teeth a file folder with several sheets of paper inside. Twilight saw the top of one paper carrying the seal of the Royal Bureau of Investigation, Equestria’s most elite crime-solving organization. A twinge of worry presented itself along Twilight spine as she saw that.

“Miss Sparkle, I presume?” the officer asked as he closed the door behind him and sat at the desk opposite Twilight. She nodded. He smiled at her briefly. “I’m Captain Endeavour. How are you this afternoon?” He produced a pair of reading glasses and placed them on his nose while awaiting Twilight’s response.

“I’m fine, thanks,” Twilight said automatically. That was a lie, and she knew it. But, she didn’t bother correcting herself. In her experience, especially among the government ponies or Canterlot elite, that question was really just a one-sided greeting. Any response other than “fine” or “good” would be considered rude and presumptuous.

“Miss Sparkle--”

“Please,” Twilight interrupted, “call me Twilight.” Miss Sparkle was in the same category as ma’am.

Captain Endeavour smiled at her warmly, “Very well, Twilight. My friends call me Ender. You may, too, if it makes you more comfortable.” He looked down into the open file folder on the desk in front of him, flipping through several pages and pausing to read bits of information on each of them. “Twilight, why don’t you tell me what happened last night? We... that is, the RBI, has some preliminary information about the incident, but I see that we haven’t gotten a statement from you personally yet.”

Twilight was surprised. “You didn’t talk to Spike?”

Ender seemed confused. “Spike, your dragon? No, of course not. As he’s committed no crime, the law prohibits us from questioning him without parental consent.” Oh, of course, thought Twilight. And since I have no idea who or where his mother is, they can’t find a loophole in the law to talk to him.

Twilight nodded. “Well, I’ll tell you all I can. But, you should know that I wasn’t even in Ponyville when the robbery happened.”

Ender returned her nod in confirmation. “Yes, that’s what our report says.” He paused, writing a few notes onto a blank steno pad. He looked to Twilight and removed his glasses, a serious expression on his face. “Miss Spar... Twilight, let me be honest with you. I came to Ponyville with a small detachment of the Royal Guard at the behest of Princess Celestia.” Twilight listened carefully, becoming a bit nervous. “We at the RBI have a fairly good idea about what happened. While you were in Canterlot visiting your parents, two ponies broke into the library and stole the Elements of Harmony from the trunk at the end of your bed. Is this correct?”

Twilight nodded. “Yes, from what I know. But Spike is the only one who actually witnessed the break-in.”

The captain looked at his notes again. “But, according to the guards’ report from last night, Spike had locked himself in a closet during the break-in. How much did he witness?”

Twilight didn’t like the direction this was going. “Spike said the ponies who broke in had plain coats with thick white hairs. That’s all. He hid in the closet after he saw them, and apparently before they saw him.”

“Mm hm...” The stallion scribbled a few more notes. “Or perhaps they did see him, but didn’t see him as a threat. Since nothing else in the library was taken, and the only damage done was to the lock on your trunk, doesn’t this sound like they knew exactly what they wanted, where it was, and how to get it?”

“I... guess that’s a possibility. I never thought about it that way.” She sighed inwardly. “I’ve... had other things on my mind since I got back.”

The officer looked at Twilight indignantly, raising a single eyebrow. “‘Other things?’ Twilight, do you realize the nature of this theft? The Elements of Harmony were stolen.” When he received no response, he tried again. “Someone stole the most magically powerful items in all of Equestria.”

“I know that!” Twilight snapped, unintentionally allowing her festering emotions to boil out. “Sometimes there are more important things than Equestria!” She immediately regretted saying that, flinching away as if Ender was about to strike her. Her interviewer stared at her, slack-jawed and speechless. Quickly recovering, he added to the growing mess of notes in the steno pad. Good job, Twilight, she thought. You’ve just earned yourself a permanent file at the RBI headquarters in Canterlot.

“Miss Sparkle, do you have anything else to add before I return to Canterlot?” he said icily, finishing his notes and placing the pad and papers back into the file folder. He rested his front hooves on it, blocking the contents from view.

Twilight sagged. “My daughter’s missing. She didn’t come home from school yesterday.”

The atmosphere in the room had quickly cooled since Twilight’s outburst. The stallions stare was frigid. “Perhaps you should report this to the local authorities.” He checked his watch. “I’m sure one of the guards up front will help you with that.” He stood, the legs of his chair scraping noisily against the floor tiles. Wow, thought Twilight. Good cop and bad cop all in one pony. How efficient.

Twilight remained sitting after Captain Endeavour had left, simmering in annoyance. What was even the point of this interview, she asked herself. They won’t talk to Spike, and the guards last night got all the evidence they could. The same guard that showed her into the room opened the door to show her out to the lobby. Once there, she glanced at the front desk, the reception pony casually reading the morning’s edition of The Canterlot Times. He obviously was not expecting much disturbance during his shift. But then, this was Ponyville, not Manehattan or Canterlot. She approached the desk, clearing her throat. “Excuse me, sir.”

The pony looked up from his paper, irritation clearly on his face from the interruption. Twilight recognized him, but she’d never learned his name. He, however, did somehow know hers. “Yes, Twilight. What can I do for you?”

“I need to report a missing filly,” she said matter-of-fact.

The reception pony returned to his paper dismissively. “Your daughter, Nyx was it? Yeah, your dragon already filed a report on that this morning,” he drawled. Twilight could feel her anger rising, replacing some of the loss that had, up until now, dominated her thoughts. There were several things wrong with that statement.

“My ‘dragon’s’ name is Spike. He’s not some pet or wild animal, you know!” The receptionist didn’t respond, focusing instead on his newspaper. “Did you send anyone out to look for her? Start an investigation?”

“We’ll get right on that,” the pony said, his nose unmoving from his reading. Twilight knew that the local law enforcement (any many citizens) of Ponyville had become bitter, and sometimes hostile toward Nyx over the past two years, but this was a whole new level of unprofessionalism. Incensed, Twilight left the guard station to return home. She needed to have a little chat with Celestia.

* * * * *

Twilight sat in her study in the library as the last rays of the setting sun shone brightly red through her bedroom window and onto the plush rug at her hooves. Tonight is going to be gorgeous, she thought. I’ll bet Luna’s already preparing something fantastic for us. She felt a brief stab of guilt, realizing that she was one of few ponies who frequently stayed up to enjoy the night sky, but she never actually told Luna how much she loved seeing the stars, the constellations, the magnificent moon... Luna’s magnificent moon.

She jumped as Spike stepped around the door frame and into the room, startling her from her thoughts. “Dinner!” Spike said cheerfully, carrying a plate with enough food for both of them. He carefully set the plate at the edge of Twilight’s desk, helping himself to one of the beetroot sandwiches and sitting in one of the large cushions in the corner beside Twilight.

“Thank you, Spike,” Twilight said sweetly even though she wasn’t hungry. The interview that afternoon had sapped her appetite. She took one of the sandwiches anyway. “You didn’t have to do this.”

Spike swallowed the bite in his mouth before answering solemnly. “I know. But with all that’s happened the past couple days, I figured you could use a break.” Twilight’s gaze lowered, eventually falling on the swiftly darkening spot of sunlight on the rug. She sniffed, attempting to hold back the sudden dampness in her eyes. First, she had Nyx’s magic to deal with. Then the Elements of Harmony were stolen. Those two alone would have made for a terrifically bad week. The news of Nyx’s disappearance had taken Twilight’s worst nightmares and shattered them, revealing what seemed an infinite abyss of loss. She was beginning to understand why her parents, especially her father, had missed her so much. She wondered how it had felt to them when Celestia had taken her as a personal protege. They hadn’t really lost her, though. She still saw them several times per week, even when she lived in Canterlot Castle. But then she moved to Ponyville. Her visits had become far more infrequent.

Was this what her parents had felt when they learned of Twilight’s new assignment? It was as if she had gone missing, in some respects. She lived too far away from Canterlot to visit them regularly or even casually. After Nyx was, for lack of a better word (she made a mental note to remedy this using the library’s resources later), born, all of Twilight’s free time was spent either with or on tasks for the filly. Nyx may have technically been adopted, but Twilight loved her as much as she was loved by her own parents. Worse still, Twilight was one of only three ponies in all of Equestria (that she knew of) who didn’t either fear or malign her. The sense of emptiness she felt in Nyx’s absence was a vacuum, tinged with the worry for her safety in the hooves of ponies who were likely among those without her best interests at-heart.

Spike had finished his sandwich and retrieved a second from the platter on Twilight’s desk. The small spot of sunlight on the rug had gone as the sun finally dipped below the level of the window sill, creating a dusky ambiance. Twilight couldn’t eat. Worry for her daughter had taken its toll on her, physically, leaving her with a nausea that forbid the addition of anything to her stomach. She placed the sandwich back onto the platter and stared toward the wall into her own thoughts. So preoccupied, she hadn’t noticed the tiny point of void blackness in the centre of the room.

The baby dragon noticed. His eyes widened as the minuscule sphere of nothingness grew slowly in front of them. “Uh... Twilight?” he said nervously, trying to direct her attention to the phenomenon. Twilight looked toward Spike, catching a glimpse of the sphere, now the size of a grape, in her peripheral vision. Instinctively, she snapped her head around to watch the object. No, it isn’t an object, she thought. It’s a... nothing. The ball of... nothing... had grown to the size of a baseball, but was now just hovering there in the room, neither moving nor growing any more. Twilight rose from her chair and moved for a closer examination of the non-thing. Just as she got close enough to reach out and attempt to touch its surface, the void collapsed in on itself with a loud crack and a bright flash.

Twilight’s ears were ringing, and her vision was spotted with the point of light lingering in her retinas. She blinked a few times, rubbed her ears gently with her hooves. She looked over to Spike as the spots in her eyes slowly dissolved. The flash had apparently been even worse for him with his exceptional, draconic eyesight. He was curled into a tight ball on his cushion, clutching at his eyes and trembling fiercely. To Twilight’s relief, he managed to recover after only a few seconds. She looked back to the place where the void had been. It was gone. Then she noticed the obsidian-coloured scroll laying on the floor. Around the middle was a band of the finest, deep-blue silk bound by a small silver disc bearing the royal seal of Princess Luna. The parchment quietly crackled, wisps of vapourising ice rising from the surface and disappearing into the air above it. The room immediately around the object had dropped in temperature significantly as if the heat itself was being absorbed by it. Twilight carefully grabbed the scroll with her magic and removed the silk band, unrolling it for both of them to see. The brief note was written in expert calligraphy with silver-enhanced ink. Twilight rolled her eyes. Luna always did have a knack for the excessively elaborate.

Dearest Twilight,

We apologise for the manner with which this message was sent. We couldn’t wait for thy dreams, as this is of an urgent nature. Our sister, Celestia, has sequestered herself in her personal study. Thou must speakest with her at once! We fear Nyx may be in grave danger. Celestia broke into tears and fled the Great Hall during a report from an agent of the Royal Bureau of Investigation. She cried seeming nonsense about Nyx as we followed her, and is refusing to divulge anything to us. As our sister’s beloved protege, thou might have better luck speaking with her. Make haste, we beg thee. We have sent our Royal Night Guard to bring thee to Canterlot immediately.

Thy friend,

Princess Luna

Twilight’s eyes widened. What is going on? Celestia knew that Nyx was missing, and she didn’t tell me something she knew about it?! The RBI agent didn’t seem to care when I mentioned Nyx to him. Had he mentioned it to the princess? If Luna was right there, why did she seem unsure? Her mind reeled. “Twi...,” Spike leaned toward her, his nervousness bleeding out through his voice, “please tell me you know what’s going on.”

The anger was back. “I don’t,” she said coldly, staring daggers into the black parchment, “but I’m about to find out.” Fifteen minutes later, Twilight found herself in Luna’s chariot, heading toward Canterlot for the second time in less than a week.

* * * * *

Two golden and very deadly-looking lances crossed each other, blocking Twilight’s path. She stood in front of the guards bristling. “Let... me... in!” she yelled slowly, her face contorted in an expression of pure rage. The stallions blocking the heavy doors to Celestia’s private wing of Canterlot Castle stared at her, unmoving. Twilight noticed she had garnered the attention of several other nearby guards who were casually, but carefully, making their way toward the commotion. Ugh! This isn’t helping!

Three of the approaching guards arrived at the gate, flanking their comrades and staring at the relatively small unicorn before them. One of the three wore a small, silver pip on the neck of his golden armour. “What’s going on here?” he barked at the guards in front of the doors. The rest of the guards snapped to attention, with the exception of the two blocking Twilight.

“Sir!” one of the gate guards answered. “This mare is demanding access to Her Majesty’s private chambers, sir!”

The stallion with the silver pip turned to Twilight. “What is your name? And what is your business here?” These ponies are either new to the Guard, or they’re one of the few I didn’t meet while living here, Twilight realized.

“I am Twilight Sparkle, personal student of Princess Celestia. I need to speak with her immediately,” Twilight managed to say in a semi-civil tone.

The ranking guard looked at the gate guards before answering. “Young lady, you cannot just show up to the castle demanding access to restricted areas. Regardless of who you claim to be.” Twilight’s mind abandoned any remaining pretense of civility. “Now, run along, and apply for an audience with her court next week.” He nodded to his guard and turned to leave. Two additional guards had arrived, bringing the living wall in front of Twilight to six ponies as their leader disappeared around a corner to elsewhere in the sprawling keep.

One of the newly-arrived guards turned to his companion, “How’d she get in here?”

“Princess Luna’s chariot dropped her off just outside,” the other answered.

“The princess’ chariot?” he looked shocked. “Well, where is Princess Luna, then?” The other guard shrugged, turning his attention back to Twilight who was now trembling violently.

Rage. Pure, unadulterated lividity. Twilight’s horn began to glow without conscious effort from the unicorn. She lowered her head threateningly, keeping her eyes firmly on the armoured ponies obstructing her path. She spoke slowly and deliberately, her voice joined by at least two others, disembodied and deep, creating a hellishly terrifying harmony. “You... will... let... me... pass,” she spat. She surprised even herself. Never before had she heard her voice change like that, even when she had thought Luna was about to banish Nyx (then Nightmare Moon) to the moon two years ago.

The two guards directly in front of her gulped, glancing at each other nervously but maintaining their blockade. The others began to crouch into a battle stance, ready for whatever Twilight might do. A guard near the end of the line cleared his throat, sweating beneath his armour. “Miss... Sparkle?” he tried to explain, “Please calm yourself. We are duty-bound to guard this entrance at all costs. Without the Princess’ explicit permission, we can’t let you pass.” He flinched as Twilight shifted her gaze directly into his eyes. Her horn’s glow increased in intensity, pupils glowing a dim crimson, wisps of smoke curling off her mane and tail. She bared her teeth and growled at him, the accompanying voices rumbling through the stone corridor and shaking the floor beneath their hooves.

Whatever doubt remained in the guards’ minds that the mare before them was from hell was quickly dispelled. In a blinding flash of light, Twilight’s mane and tail ignited, blasting the ceiling and wall behind her with jets of flame. The heat from the flames scorched black the floor stones around her, her coat slowly burning away, replaced behind the fire line by a new coat of the palest, hottest white. Her eyes glowed a furious red, seeking to immolate the soul of the poor guard who had dared speak to her last. Twilight’s mouth opened, a black hole peering directly into the bowels of the underworld, filled with the fire of Celestia’s sun. “OPEN... THE... DOOR...” The balefire from within licked at the corners of her mouth, at her lips as she spoke.

One of the guard ponies broke formation and galloped away, presumably to call for reinforcements. The remaining guards simply looked horrified out of their minds. “Uh...” one of them said weakly, “that’s it, ponies! Get her!” They didn’t move. The stallion ordering the apprehension started toward her, but stopped mid-stride, then quickly withdrew when he noticed his comrades were essentially statues, unmoving and paralyzed with fear. The two lances in front of the door grated and clanked together as the ponies holding them trembled.

Twilight was done waiting for them to respond. She actually attempted to pour her magic into her horn - which until this point had been glowing of its own accord - increasing its luminescence to a level that filled the corridor with light, the purple gleam streaming out the nearby windows into the castle gardens below. She intended to simply teleport past them. She knew Celestia’s private chambers well; she’d been there with the princess frequently when she lived in the castle. Magic, however, was not something well-manifested in the throes of raw emotion. The uncomfortably heated air swirled around Twilight and the guards, rattling the doors on their hinges. A flash of bright white at least thrice Twilight’s size erupted to her right, replacing the empty space with a very surprised, white alicorn bearing a cutie mark of the sun.

Celestia’s eyes were wide, her pupils pinpoints as she looked around her as she frantically tried to find her bearings. She spotted Twilight, or rather Twilight’s magically rage-altered form, and allowed her jaw to drop ever so slightly. She had seen Twilight succumb to her anger in this manner once before, but to enhance her own magic with raw emotion was unpredictable if not downright dangerous. To summon the power to teleport Celestia herself, in her own castle, against her will or prior knowledge, was something for which she (or any pony) was completely unprepared.

The guards had recognized Celestia the moment she appeared and collapsed to the floor in a terrified bow. They had succeeded in their duty to guard the door. Twilight had, indeed, not passed them. Celestia looked at them, then back at the dangerously transfigured Twilight. Her horn glowed briefly, barely noticeable in the presence of Twilight’s brilliance. Then the two mares were gone.

Her surroundings had changed abruptly, nearly before she had the chance to notice the tingling in her body that preceded a teleportation spell. To her right stood Princess Celestia, the very mare she had sought to confront. Celestia looked at her warily, appearing unsure about how to handle the situation. Twilight’s mane and tail still spouted bright yellow-orange flames, her eyes points of glowing crimson, he coat now completely pale white. Even her cutie mark had been burned off, replaced by a flank of the purest white. She looked at the room around her. It was unfamiliar, but so many of the rooms in the palace were so similar. She assumed it was one of the less important rooms within the princess’ private chambers.

The princess looked around the room, stopping briefly on the peeling paint on the walls, themselves a victim of the broiling heat emanating from Twilight’s mutated form. She slowly turned her head toward the enraged, purple unicorn. “Twilight...” she started, her voice barely audible to herself above the crushing pressure of intense, emotionally charged magic filling the room. Twilight stared forward, unfixed, unresponsive. She tried again using the traditional Royal Canterlot Voice, a voice which she had used only once before toward her faithful student, “TWILIGHT SPARKLE!” That got her attention.

“You took Nyx away from me!” Twilight groaned, the multiple-voices behind hers the sound of pain and anguish rolled together as one.

The princess attempted to defend herself, “No! Twilight, I couldn’t... You don’t underst-”

“I don’t need to understand!” Twilight interrupted. “GIVE HER BACK!” Celestia took a step back in shock as Twilight’s voice shifted into something very much resembling the Royal Canterlot Voice, only melded with a chorus of other, demonic voices.

“Twilight, please! Calm down!” Celestia pleaded. Twilight’s eyes betrayed a burgeoning malice, glowing more intensely red. Her capacity for logic had all but shut down, replaced by a burning hate, pure emotion that threatened to make her do things she would certainly regret later. “Please don’t make me do this...” Celestia begged, a tear escaping her eye and rolling down her cheek. The magical pressure of Twilight’s rage continued to press upon her. She closed her eyes. Her horn began to glow a regal, brilliant white. Celestia’s eyelids tightened as she concentrated on a spell.

Twilight knew this. She could remember feeling these same minutiae of magical ebbs and currents once before... but when? Celestia’s horn manifested the spell, sending out a powerful shock wave of magically disruptive energy. “Gyaaah!” Twilight screamed in agony as the wave washed over her horn, forcefully snuffing out the magic which had all but destroyed the room and probably would have seriously injured her guards. The pressure wave caught in the wake of Celestia’s magic picked up Twilight roughly, throwing her body into the far wall like a callously tossed rag doll. Twilight left a pony-sized impression in the wall and landed on the floor with a dull thump. Her unconscious form slowly faded back to its normal purple, her mane and tail no longer flaming but charred black at the tips.

The acrid smell of burned hair assaulted Celestia’s nostrils. She was at Twilight’s side in an instant, desperately searching the unicorn for any injuries. Twilight stirred, groaning but still unconscious. Celestia let out a relieved sigh, standing over her and waiting.

Twilight opened her eyes after what seemed to her like only a few seconds since she had hit the wall. She looked upward to see Celestia standing over her, a worried but caring smile on her face. “Princess... Celestia?” Twilight asked, confused. Her semi-wakefulness passed, allowing her brain to force an uncomfortably embarrassing reality upon her. “Oh... Oh no! Princess, I’m so sorry!” she stammered, attempting to climb to her hooves. She looked at the ruined room around her, then back at the princess. For the moment, she was at a loss for words.

“Twilight,” Celestia begin, “what was that all about? What is wrong?” She looked legitimately confused.

“I... Luna...” Twilight struggled to assemble her thoughts into a semblance of order. “Nyx is gone!” she finally wailed, tears streaming from her eyes. She leaped at the princess, burying her face in Celestia’s chest as a gold-gilded hoof wrapped around her comfortingly.

Celestia sighed. “Yes... I know, Twilight.”

Twilight sniffed and pulled herself away, out of the princess’ grasp. “Wh... what?”

“Twilight,” the princess looked at her, an expression of sad torment marring her normally beautiful face, “go home.”

“But... but,” Twilight sputtered, “but Nyx! Luna said you knew something! We have to find her!”

Celestia was crying openly now, quietly, tears dripping from the bottom of her muzzle. “Twilight...” She paused for a long time. “Twilight, I need you... Equestria needs you at the library in Ponyville. We must find the Elements, and you need to help in the investigation.” Something in the back of Twilight’s mind was attempting to convince her that this was a lie. But, Celestia wouldn’t lie to me... unless... She had a moment of terrifying clairvoyance. … unless she was trying to protect me. But from what?

Twilight wiped the tears from her eyes with a forehoof. “I need to find my daughter,” she said flatly. Her voice left no room for negotiation. “I know the elements are important, but...” she was hesitant to finish the sentence. “But my daughter is more important, to me.” This last part caused a sob to catch in Celestia’s throat. “Princess,” Twilight ventured, “what do you know about Nyx’s disappearance?”

Celestia shook her head weakly. “I’m sorry, Twilight. Oh, my dearest Twilight, I’m so sorry.” Sobs racked her body, making her seem almost... mortal. Twilight had never seen the princess like this before. It turned her heart to ice. Celestia forced herself to speak, “Twilight. Your assignment is to learn about the magic of friendship in Ponyville.” Twilight looked at her teacher, her friend, remotely. The teacher and friend returned her student’s look pleadingly. “Return to the library. Help find the Elements. Forget...” another caught sob, “forget about Nyx.”

“Princess...” A tear rolled down each of Twilight’s cheeks. Twilight walked slowly and dejectedly toward the door, watching the princess stand there weeping heavily as she passed. “I’m sorry, too Princess.” She exited the smoldering room, closing the door behind her with her magic.

Celestia listened to Twilight’s hoofsteps echo in the hallway, slowly becoming more distant. When she could no longer hear the clops of hooves on marble, she collapsed into a heap on the floor, pitifully weeping harder than she had in a thousand years.

Chapter 3

The fresh mulberry scone remained on the plate undisturbed. The tea, steaming in a small, deep blue teacup on the table beside it had steeped for a bit too long, the brown liquid becoming slightly opaque. Twilight couldn’t eat, despite the delicious sight and smell of the food Luna had provided. It had been a very rough night, one of unsatisfying and fitful sleep. When Twilight had staggered to her chamber doors late the previous evening crying and aloof, Luna welcomed her open-hearted. Twilight had been in no condition, emotionally or physically, to make the return trip to Ponyville that night. She needed sleep, and by the looks of her frazzled and singed mane, a haircut. Luna had barely managed to lead Twilight into one of her guest rooms before the exhausted unicorn collapsed on the enormous bed.

The princess of the moon sat before Twilight now, across a small, low breakfast table made of the finest mahogany. She neither spoke nor ate, choosing instead to let Twilight speak when she felt ready. Twilight sighed quietly, looking in the direction of the food but not seeing it. Luna glanced up at her, hearing the only sound Twilight had made since she arrived the night before. She waited, expecting her to say something... anything. Twilight remained silent and motionless, peering through the food and into the space of her own mind. The depressed mare sighed again a long while later, the food and tea long since having gone cold. Luna irritatedly used her magic to reheat the tea in her cup and took her first sip of the morning, a mint and chi blend, one of Twilight’s favourites.

Twilight stirred, surprising Luna and causing her to burn her lip on the near-boiling tea. “Luna...,” Twilight started, then halting as if losing her train of thought. The events of the past evening had conglomerated into a manic blur in her memory. She found it difficult to separate her thoughts from the spoken words of those around her or her own. Luna hadn’t been able to get any information about Nyx from Celestia; what made her think she could do any better? Luna is her sister, for Celestia’s sake! She cringed at her own mental obscenity, the mere thought of Celestia’s name bringing dozens of unwelcome and very conflicting emotions to a barely-containable boil within her. She sighed again, her exhale betraying the ragged breath that accompanies a stifled sob.

Luna watched her friend, her “sister’s” mother. She opened her mouth to speak, then stopped, slowly closing it on the behest of some apparently better judgement. The only thing she could do was be with her friend right now. Anything that could be said would be, eventually, at Twilight’s pleasure. Lost in her own thoughts, Luna started at the voice, soft but clear.

“Luna,” Twilight said, picking up the quickly failed conversation where it left off, “you were right. The princess is hiding something.”

Luna raised an eyebrow. That had been rather direct, even for Twilight. “Mm. How dost thou know? What happened last night, Twilight?” She noticed the hesitation on Twilight’s face. “Whatever is spoken here, in our chambers, will remain here. You have our word.”

“She wouldn’t tell me anything,” Twilight continued sadly. “I asked her about Nyx. I told her that you had contacted me, that you knew she knew something. She wouldn’t even tell me ‘no.’”

Luna frowned. Sometimes her sister’s mysticism annoyed even her, the queen of mysticism. “What did she tell thee, Twilight?” she urged.

“She... She just kept telling me how sorry she was.” Twilight looked up at Luna emptily. “She told me that my assignment was to study the magic of friendship in Ponyville and that I should... I should...” Her voice caught on the last phrase, preventing her from saying it aloud.

Luna bristled, her brow furrowing. “That thou should what, Twilight?” She unconsciously began grinding a forehoof into one of the pillows beneath her.

“That I should... forget Nyx!” Twilight wailed, tears beginning to stream from her eyes. She had cried so long during the night that she was surprised she had any tears remaining to be shed.

Luna huffed, clearly angered by Celestia’s words. “Art thou certain? Twilight did she indeed use those words?” Twilight nodded, prompting another huff and an angry sneer from the alicorn. “Then we must speak with her at once!” she said, her volume raised slightly. Her horn glowed dully. “Proper Etiquette, come here!” she snapped aloud, even though Twilight knew she didn’t actually need to.

The stallion servant walked into the room a full minute later, breathing heavily from his gallop from the chambers’ main doors to the small breakfast room deep within Luna’s personal wing. His face bore an expression of worry, fearful of the possibility that he might be the target of one of Luna’s foul moods. “Yes, Your Highness?” Proper said, cautiously.

“Tell our sister that we demand an immediate audience here in our chambers,” Luna commanded. Proper looked at her, stunned. No pony demanded an immediate audience with Celestia! Even one of the Royal Sisters had certain protocol to follow. Luna growled at his hesitation. “What keeps thee? Go!” she yelled, baring her teeth. Proper shuddered and galloped from the room.

Twilight watched the exchange quietly, wide-eyed. The thick tension in the room temporarily damped the other emotions roiling through her mind, and for a moment, she felt proud of the princess across from her, to be relatively safe within her inner circle. If anypony could help her find her daughter, Luna would be the one. Although, if Celestia had already refused information to both her and her sister, what more could even Luna do? Her relief from darker thoughts was short-lived, and she quickly returned to her moping once Proper left them. “Princess,” she said, earning an irritated look from Luna.

“Twilight, please,” Luna interrupted, her voice softening, taking on a soothing texture, “thou art the mother of Nyx, the filly we hold in an opinion of sisterhood. After all thou hast done for us, thou hast earned the right to use our given name.” She smiled pleasantly.

Twilight stared at her scone. It was beginning to look rather tempting, even though it had cooled to room temperature nearly an hour ago. “Sorry, Luna,” she said. “Old habits and all...”

Luna laughed, a stark departure from the agitation of only a few minutes ago. “Worry not, Twilight. We are all too familiar with old habits and customs.” She smiled at Twilight and waved a hoof dismissively. “We still have difficulty with thy modern dialect.” Twilight stifled at giggle. “As thou can obviously attest,” Luna added, a look of mock-hurt attempting to replace the sudden joviality. She thought for a moment, brightened. “Wouldst thou believe our sister...” she paused, thinking about her week-old claim on Nyx before clarifying, “our sister Celestia hired a special tutor for us? We must endure several tedious hours of lectures each week on the... ahem,” she adopted an air of pomposity and waved her forelegs in the air animatedly in front of an invisible lectern, clearly mocking the pony assigned to instruct her, “finer points of proper Canterlot speech.” Luna smiled as she observed another giggle escape the lips of the depressed mare. As Twilight’s giggle subsided, she restored a serious tone. “Forgive us, Twilight. Thou were saying...?”

Twilight looked into Luna’s eyes pleadingly. “Luna, we need to find her. Is there anything you can do? Is there any way you can help?”

Luna deflated, sighed. “When we learned from our sister’s - from Celestia’s RBI agents of Nyx’s disappearance, we immediately began our own investigation. We want Nyx back, as well.” She looked down toward her empty teacup. “Our efforts have as of yet revealed very little, however.” Both ponies fell silent.

Twilight couldn’t, and didn’t particularly care to consider her next move at the moment. The emotional strain coupled with lack-of-sleep had taken its toll on her. She was tired, despite the mid-morning hour. Luna seemed far more energetic than her. Twilight thought this was odd for the pony representation of the moon. Wasn’t she supposed to sleep during the day? Now that she really thought about it, she’d never seen Luna sleep at all. She shook the quickly growing jumble of thoughts from her head. Glancing down, she noticed that Luna had taken the opportunity to refill their teacups. The water in the pot had obviously been magically reheated, since the steeping tea was steaming like a sauna stone. She realized that she was hungry. Her mind had been blocking the messages from her stomach all morning, but now her belly complained loudly (and painfully) enough that the biscuit on the table in front of her proved irresistible. She tried to enjoy the flavour as it disappeared bite by deliberate bite.

Her host’s brief, shallow inhale forced the diversion of her attention back to the princess. Luna’s eyes were squeezed shut, staring intently at images beneath their lids. “Proper Etiquette has returned,” she murmured. Twilight felt a sudden burst of nervousness. After the last night’s encounter, she really didn’t want to confront Celestia face-to-face again for a long, long time. The princess looked equally perturbed. “He has returned without Celestia!” Twilight felt an additional burst of nervousness. Luna’s anger had returned.

“Maybe Princess Celestia’s on her way?” Twilight offered. “She might have been in the middle of something important.” Luna turned and looked at her severely. Twilight shrank back, wishing she hadn’t made the suggestion. She knew that Luna would never harm her, and that any anger directed toward her (intentionally or otherwise) would be fleeting, but Luna had a very intimidating presence about her while emotionally excited. Even Twilight, one of Luna’s closest friends, found that she wasn’t immune.

Luna was tapping her hoof on the marble floor in impatient irritation. “Why does he dally just outside the door?” Twilight wasn’t certain, but she assumed the question was rhetorical and bit her tongue. She really didn’t want another (albeit brief) taste of Luna’s ire. She wanted to say that poor Proper was probably scared silly of her, which was likely true. Luna was accustomed to receiving what she demanded, and woe be to the pony who didn’t deliver. Things must have been very different around here a thousand years ago, thought Twilight.

“Enough of this!” Luna shouted in a random direction. Her horn glowed a sickly violet, and Proper burst into existence in a flash of light several paces away. It took him a moment to recognize that he was no longer standing just outside the chamber doors. When the realization of his new location hit him, he quickly diverted his wide-eyed stare from Luna to the floor and dove into a deep bow. Luna stood, flaring her wings. “WHERE IS CELESTIA?” she bellowed in the Royal Canterlot Voice.

“Y-your Majesty,” the petrified stallion stuttered, “the princess Celestia asked me to deliver this.” He used his magic to float a small, white scroll onto the floor between himself and Luna. It was ringed with brilliant, red ribbon and bore the golden seal of Celestia.

Luna was breathing heavily, attempting to control the anger within her. She snatched the scroll from the floor with her magic. “Our thanks, faithful Proper,” she said, almost apologetically. “Thou mayest go now.” She broke the seal and began to read the parchment as Proper hastily made for the exit.

Several long moments passed before Twilight couldn’t wait any longer, her curiosity getting the better of her. “Prin-- Luna?” She asked quietly, waiting. Luna didn’t answer, continued to read the scroll. The letter from Celestia must be either lengthy or bad. She tried again a few seconds later. “What does she say?”

Luna sighed, closed her eyes, and let the parchment fall lazily onto the table in front of Twilight. “Read for thine self, Twilight. The situation may be more serious than we anticipated.” Twilight read, leaving the scroll open on the table and leaning in to see the perfect calligraphy.

Dearest Sister,

I regret that I can’t visit you this morning as you request. Please do not blame Proper Etiquette for my refusal. He really is one of the best personal assistants I’ve ever had in my employ. You are a very lucky princess to have him.

Proper informed me that Twilight spent the night as a guest in your chambers. Please give her my regards. I wish to sincerely apologise to her, in person, when I am able. Sadly, this might be some time. I fear that she is incredibly upset with me about our encounter last night, and for good reason. If she is, please do not attempt to dissuade her anger. I deserve it in its entirety. Forgive me, sister, but I cannot explain further.

I truly wish you hadn’t learned of Nyx’s abduction during my security briefing yesterday. I know and sympathise with how you feel toward the young alicorn. Sometimes, though, a princess needs to do things she does not want to do, because it’s for the good of her kingdom. Sometimes, like this time, she even needs to do what she knows will hurt her and her friends deeply. I wish I could tell you more, but under the circumstances, that is impossible.

Unfortunately, I also need to insist that neither you nor Twilight begin any investigations into Nyx’s location or the details of her disappearance. Be aware that I will need to seal any investigation I discover in this regard. Please do not force my hoof in this matter. I do not wish to cause you or my faithful student any additional distress.

Forgive me.

Yours always,

Celestia

Twilight balked at the letter, looking at it as one would a snake about to strike. Luna’s eyes were still closed, but she appeared to have been thinking about Celestia’s words while Twilight read them. Twilight finally found her voice, directing a question toward the princess. “I don’t get it. Why won’t she tell us anything? She basically admits to knowing something, probably a lot, that we don’t.”

“Nay, Twilight,” Luna said, opening her eyes and looking to Twilight seriously. “We may have been gone for a thousand years, but we know our sister well.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight was confused. She thought she had garnered all the important information from the scroll.

“Celestia did not say that she wouldn’t help us. She said that she couldn’t help us.” Luna waited for the subtle difference to sink in.

Twilight’s eyes widened with realization. “What?” Is this even possible? “So... Celestia is unable to tell us about Nyx? I don’t get it. Princess Celestia is the most powerful pony in all Equestria!” She flinched at her own words, smiling meekly, “Present company excepted, of course.”

Luna smiled sadly. “Twilight, we are the princesses of Equestria, and we are alicorns. We possess many abilities well beyond what most ponies can fathom. But, we are neither omnipotent nor omniscient. We have limitations.”

“I still don’t understand,” Twilight said flatly.

Luna seemed to consider her next words. “Our sister is operating under one of two conditions: either she does not know or what she does know is being silenced. We don’t know which condition is the correct one. She did not give us enough information for that.” Twilight stared at her, the magnitude of Luna’s words slowly taking root in her mind. “One further thing in this message worries us.”

Twilight was pretty sure she knew what this thing was, and she finished Luna’s thought for her. “Celestia said Nyx was abducted, not missing.” She had suspected this was the case since Nyx’s disappearance, but now she had royal confirmation. Strange, foreign-looking ponies didn’t visit Ponyville. Such a small, pastoral village several hours removed from Canterlot was easily overlooked by any would-be tourists.

“Indeed,” Luna concurred darkly. “Celestia purposefully divulged to us this specific bit of information. She believes Nyx’s disappearance was an abduction.”

How in Equestria am I going to find her, Twilight thought. What could possibly be preventing Celestia from telling me what happened, if she even knows? The only pony as powerful as Celestia is Luna, and she’s obviously not behind this. And why would she shut down any investigation I start to find her? Twilight felt a headache brewing as she rubbed the bridge of her nose.

“Twilight,” Luna said, interrupting the jumble of thoughts forming in Twilight’s head, “We shall continue our investigation until such time that Celestia discovers and moves to halt it. After that, we will need to work more... surreptitiously.”

“Wait,” Twilight responded. “You’re going to do this behind Celestia’s back? Right under her nose? But I thought you two worked together on everything, and --”

Luna interrupted her with a raised hoof, stopping the manic flow from Twilight’s brain. “We... normally do share our deepest secrets with Celestia.” She looked down distractedly. “But perhaps no more.” Twilight wanted to comfort Luna, but the princess slowly rose from her pillow. “Please remain here for a moment, Twilight. We have something for thee.” She turned and walked out of the room, deeper into her chambers.

This was too much, Twilight thought. I lose Nyx and the Elements on the same day, Princess Celestia won’t tell me anything, I’m not allowed to try and find Nyx, and now Luna thinks Celestia might be at least partially in on it? She sighed. What’s going on? She looked toward the tall windows on one side of the room. They faced away from the sunrise, but it was clearly approaching late morning. She climbed to her hooves and walked unsteadily to the glass. She had been so engrossed in her thoughts, that she had neglected to shift her position at the table. The tingling, burning sensation in two of her legs made it difficult to walk in a straight line. The legs complained about being awakened, their capillaries finally provided the blood that had been denied them for the better part of a morning. As she wiggled her hooves above the floor in an attempt to make them work properly again, she noted the dull throb in her side. She must have hit the wall harder than she thought last night. It didn’t feel like anything was broken, but it was a pain that threatened to linger for a long time.

As she approached the sill, her breath caught. This side of Luna’s private wing of Canterlot Castle overlooked her Royal Night Gardens. Among the full and enormous weeping willows and the stunning pink of nightshade flowers grew the most beautiful plants she had ever seen. Their flower’s petals were closed for the day, and Twilight immediately recognized them as plants of the night. They thrived under the silver light of Luna’s moon and slept during the heat of the day, comforted by Celestia’s warm sun. Their colours, now muted and darker while the sun reigned in the sky, would run the gambit from the deepest violet to the most radiant white once the sun set. Twilight recalled seeing a similar garden outside her dungeon cell in Nyx’s castle during her imprisonment by Nightmare Moon. During the several weeks marked by Nyx’s “eternal night,” the flowers and trees had glowed softly with a light of their own, creating a peaceful, moonlit serenity in the midst of the rugged coldness of the quarry in which it was planted. That garden was responsible for keeping Twilight sane during many of those lonely days in her cell.

Luna returned bearing a small gem, carefully carried in her teeth. She set it on the table and returned to her pillow, watching Twilight enjoy the view outside.

Twilight had heard Luna enter the room and place something on the table, but she allowed her gaze to linger into the garden for several more moments. Even during the day, the garden had a sense of beckoning, drawing her into it, soul and mind. She hated having to leave the window and for the briefest of instants resented Luna for creating something so hauntingly beautiful. It was no wonder now why Nyx had been reluctant to leave for Ponyville after their visit. She walked back to the table, forcing herself not to look back at the gardens just outside.

“Dost thou like it?” Luna asked, a knowing grin on her face.

“Yes, they’re beautiful,” Twilight answered, lost in wonderment. Then she saw the object Luna placed on the table, equally beautiful in its own right. “Wait, we are talking about the gardens outside, right?”

Luna laughed pleasantly. “Yes, Twilight. Sometimes, when our mind overflows with the stresses of running a kingdom, those gardens are where we...” she seemed to weigh her words, searching for the right ones, “... seek solace. Night plants and moon trees have a way of... removing one’s worries.” She looked toward the windows wistfully.

Twilight sat and considered this. That would explain why I didn’t want to look away, she thought dourly. A warning would have been nice. She looked down at the object Luna brought her. It was a large gemstone, amethyst and diamond-shaped. She could swear she’d seen it before but dismissed the thought as déjà vu.

“We want thee to have this,” Luna said, nudging it toward her with a hoof.

Twilight looked at the gemstone. It seemed to have been imbued with a magic, perhaps enchanted somehow. She could feel a very familiar magical pressure on her horn as she looked at it, but she still couldn’t place it. She shook her head slightly, gave up. “What is it?”

“It’s a gemstone,” Luna teased, smirking in her playfully snide way.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “I can see that. But I don’t think you would have gone out of your way to give me a piece of jewelry.”

Luna’s playfulness faded to a friendly smile. “Nay, Twilight, we jest. This is indeed no ordinary gemstone. It possesses a powerful and ancient magic, more powerful than even we have.”

Twilight stared at the stone. It’s surface gleamed in the morning light from the windows, glinting painfully into Twilight’s eye as a bright reflection found its way to her. She squinted against the light and concentrated, her horn glowing softly. She had learned a spell several years ago which would tell her the type of enchantment that was placed on an object or individual. The magical presence of the gem felt so... her... She had to know what it was.

“Twilight, what art thou...” Luna gasped wide-eyed, realizing what her friend was attempting to do. “Twilight, don’t!”

“Yee-AHH!” Twilight screamed, her horn flashing abruptly and then returning to normal. Her head throbbed sharply, but the pain quickly subsided. “What was that?!” she yelled, glaring at the stone.

“The magic this stone possesses is not something thou can consciously harness or divine,” Luna explained. “The magic of this stone will show itself only when and how it is most needed.”

Twilight looked at her incredulously. “Huh?” She absently rubbed her head, still throbbing slightly.

“Keep it with thee. This stone,” Luna nodded toward the gem, “helped us surmount one of our most troubled times. We hope it can also help thee.”

Twilight nodded, wrapping the gemstone in a haze of telekinetic magic. She carefully floated it to her saddlebag in the corner of the room. “Thanks.” She smiled. “But what do we do now? We have no idea where Nyx is, and Princess Celestia doesn’t want me trying to find her.”

Luna thought for a moment. “Go home. Allow Celestia’s guards to think thou art following her instructions in thy position as Ponyville’s librarian. Thy main task, however, is to find thy daughter, our sister.” Twilight accepted this. It was the most they could hope to do with the limited information they had. Luna continued, “We have arranged for thy privacy on the next express train to Ponyville in an hour.” She paused, then, “We bid thee good luck, dear Twilight.”

The train departed on-schedule, Twilight lying comfortably in her own, luxury, VIP car. Her eyes had closed and her breathing slowed before the train made it even out of upper Canterlot. For the duration of the three hour trip, she caught up on the peace she hadn’t received the whole night before, her mind filled with hopeful purpose. She slept.

* * * * *

Twilight looked over the parchments spread accross the large table in front of her. She had moved the piece of furniture out of the library’s storage room after her return from Canterlot early that afternoon. This allowed her to organize all her Nyx-related research and look over it at once. The drawback, as Spike pointed out several times while she used her telekinesis to negotiate the table up the stairs, was that her study was very cramped. The baby dragon could still somewhat easily walk around the table, but Twilight was forced to press herself against the wall while sitting at one side. After a few painful attempts, she decided that she simply wouldn’t fit at the other side. Spike, by necessity, claimed this narrower side as his seat.

The purple unicorn brought a hoof down determinedly and hard on the solid surface of the table, causing her draconic assistant to jump in surprise. “All right. What do we know?” she asked both Spike and herself, glossing over the myriad parchments and scrolls. The information displayed thereon represented all the data they had been able to accumulate over the past two days since Nyx’s disappearance. As Twilight looked at it more carefully, she realized that it wasn’t very much, not nearly enough to form even the most rudimentary of theories or leads. She sighed at the parchments, most of them containing a single sentence or a few bullet points. Spike waited patiently across from her, quill and fresh parchment in-hand.

Twilight closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She felt refreshed, more so than she had felt since she learned of Nyx’s disappearance. She mentally reminded herself to personally thank Luna the next time they spoke. Her sleep in her private train car, even though it was only about three hours long, had been a godsend. Now back in her home, surrounded by familiar faces, trinkets, and possessions, she was far more at-ease. Her focus was sharper, her wit keener, and the overwhelming sadness and hopelessness she had felt earlier in Canterlot was all but gone, replaced by a steely determination. Spike, apparently, had fared well, too. Twilight was surprised to find the library closed when she arrived back in Ponyville. Spike had told her that a pair of RBI agents advised the library should be closed to the public until the investigation into the Elements of Harmony was completed. As a result, Spike had little to do aside from some general housekeeping and staying out of the agents’ way. He spent most of the time sleeping. Twilight smiled inwardly at this thought. She wondered how long it would be before he grew into a more rambunctious adolescent.

“I really think we should talk to the other ponies around town,” Spike said. He had placed his parchment and quill on the table in front of him. The nearest parchments on the table had been turned in his direction, and he looked over them carefully, despite the severe lack of information they displayed. “I’m sure someone would have seen something. It’s not like Nyx would walk home alone.”

Twilight considered this. He was right; the walk from the school house to the library was part of the same path Apple Bloom used to go home to Sweet Apple Acres each afternoon. The two would part ways in front of the library (usually with some sort of secret hoof-shake, the mechanics of which Twilight never quite understood) before the yellow earth-filly continued the rest of the way home. “Well,” she thought aloud, “the RBI agents have already interviewed practically everyone in town about the Elements, but they won’t tell us anything.” She resented the government agency. They were known for their secretive and tenacious loyalty. Their decades as Equestria’s national investigatory agency had garnered them the reputation of a group which would do whatever it took to make themselves look good, even if that meant it was at the expense of the citizenry. Celestia herself had expressed concern about this on a few occasions, but she largely let it be to appease the high-ups in her government. The nobles loved their bureaucracy and red tape, it seemed.

“Okay,” she said, finally looking at Spike, a plan forming in her mind. “We’ll start with the obvious. You go and talk to her friends,...” she paused, thinking, “what do they call their little club again?”

Spike snickered. “The ‘Cutie Mark Crusaders.’”

“Oh, right.” Her momentary lapse in memory irritated her. “You talk to them. They were with her in class that morning, and at least two of them, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, would have walked home with her that afternoon.”

“Got it,” Spike nodded. “I’ll stop by the mayor’s office, too. She knows about everything that goes on in town.” Twilight nodded in return. Spike rose from his seat, carefully inching his way along the wall to the door while trying to leave the arrangement on the table undisturbed. He looked back toward the unicorn. “What will you do?”

Twilight was quick to answer. “I’m going to stay here. I have a couple ideas, but I’m not sure if they’ll give me any leads.” Spike looked at her quizzically. She continued before he could interject a confused grunt. “The library downstairs has a few books that I think are something like what Nyx was reading in her castle a few days before she was...” She swallowed the small lump that had formed in her throat. “Before she went missing.”

Spike looked at her sympathetically before leaving the room, disappearing around the door frame.

Once she heard the front door of the library close behind him as he left, Twilight turned her attention back to the papers before her. She sighed again. She was determined, but overwhelmed. She had so much information to gather to supplement what little she already had, and she had only the slightest of ideas about where to get it. She quickly shook the numbing feeling from her head and focused. At least four ponies were involved; she knew that much with one hundred per cent certainty. With equal certainty, she knew that those four ponies weren’t from Ponyville. In fact, they weren’t from anywhere with which she was familiar. One of the several books on equestrian biology in the library downstairs had taught her that those who bore the strangely plain coats with thick, white hairs were called “roans.” A quick perusal of modern Equestrian history confirmed her suspicions that there were no current settlements or towns that were settled by roans, and neither were there any areas in Equestria that contained a large concentration of them. So, four of them just happening to show up in Ponyville at the same time both Nyx and the Elements go missing? That, she thought, was a little too convenient to be sheer coincidence.

A more disturbing piece of information, yet a piece that was of lesser certitude, was that Celestia not only knew something about Nyx, but that she was unwilling (or, as Luna suggested, unable) to tell her what that something was. Did Celestia know something about the Elements, too? If so, then why did she send Twilight back to investigate and help her RBI agents if she could just get them back herself? Maybe, she considered, the two incidents are connected, but Celestia doesn’t know that. If that was the case, then finding the Elements might lead her to Nyx, and with enough information, maybe she could convince Celestia to lend her support in finding her daughter. Finally, why did Celestia say that Nyx was abducted rather than just missing? Twilight had suspected the filly’s absence had sinister underpinnings, but what had prompted Celestia to come to the same conclusion? This, more than anything else, pushed Twilight toward the belief that Celestia knew something important which would make her search much, much easier and faster.

A sharp shout from downstairs disturbed her from her thoughts. She quickly remembered that there were several RBI agents downstairs and in her bedroom running forensic tests on... practically everything they could see or touch, regardless of its significance to their work. A shout rang out again, this time from a different, huskier voice. The floor between the voices and Twilight muffled the sound, making it impossible to determine what was actually being said. It was clear, however, that the shouts were in anger, and the two voices were particularly unhappy with each other. That’s odd, Twilight thought, irritated by the disruption. RBI agents don’t normally yell at anyone. They just tend to be jerks.

Rising from her place at the table, Twilight grudgingly navigated her way out of the cramped study and down the stairs to the living area’s balcony overlooking the library’s main room. Two ponies stood in the centre of the room facing each other and looking as if they were about to exchange more than just harsh words. Surrounding them against the walls were over a dozen other ponies, all but a few clad in the silver-on-black armour of Luna’s Night Guard. Those few not armoured wore the drab black necktie and grey dress shirt of the RBI’s standard field agent uniform. The three RBI agents against the wall huddled together, glancing at each other nervously. They looked more like forensic specialists or scientists than any pony who would stand a chance in a physical confrontation against the raw brawn of the Night Guard.

“You aren’t even supposed to be here!” the RBI pony in the centre of the room shouted at his opponent. “The RBI has declared this library off-limits to all but essential investigation teams.”

The pony across from him, the largest and most intimidating of the Night Guard, leaned in closer to the agent, his nose nearly touching the other’s as he sneered. It looked to Twilight as if he could open his mouth and rip a chunk off the agent’s muzzle. “We are here to perform our own investigation. If you don’t like it, my boys here will be happy to...” he paused, a menacing grin spreading across his face, then placed a pointed emphasis on his next word, “... explain it to you.” A few of the Night Guard gathered along the walls chuckled quietly.

The RBI agent swallowed. He was starting to sweat, Twilight noticed. This brought the hint of a smile to her face, but she couldn’t think of an explicit reason why. “You don’t understand,” the agent said, his tone relatively much more amiable now that he was facing the threat of an “explanation” by a full troop of Night Guard. “Lance Steel, the RBI’s director, has placed this library under our jurisdiction. We can’t have anypony and their brother come in here while we are doing an investigation!”

“We are here under a directive from Princess Luna herself,” the guard growled in return. His voice had lost none of its maliciousness. “We will be happy to deliver your... concerns to the princess.” He flashed a toothy grin that could have made a manticore’s hair curl. “After we’ve shown you a few concerns of our own, of course.” More chuckles from the peanut gallery. The guard adopted a flatter, almost apathetic tone now. “Now, move aside and there won’t be any reason to alert the local hospital.”

The RBI agent bristled. “We will do no such thi--”

“That’s enough!” Twilight shouted from the top of the stairs, magically projecting her voice to emanate from all directions at once into the main room. She descended the staircase with as much seriousness and poise as she could. She wasn’t a large mare; she was quite small compared to most of the Night Guard in the room. What she lacked in size, however, she hoped to compensate with presence. It worked. Every head in the room turned toward her, their argument truncated abruptly. Twilight looked directly into the eyes of both the guard and agent in the room’s middle. “I don’t care who’s jurisdiction this is. It’s still my library, and there will be no fighting here.” Her descent completed, the librarian intercepted the two stallions and planted her hooves firmly between them. She looked to the RBI agent. “The princess’ Night Guard are welcome to perform an investigation alongside yours.” Then, shifting her gaze toward the guard, “If you two can’t accept this like civilized ponies, then I suggest you take it outside.” She had to consciously make an effort not to giggle as she noticed two of the Night Guard looking down at their hooves like scolded foals.

The two verbally sparring ponies glared at one another, then at Twilight. The librarian glared back. Twilight silently thanked Fluttershy for teaching her “the stare” several months earlier. She still hadn’t quite perfected it to the yellow pegasus’ level, and she didn’t think she ever would. Fluttershy’s special talent might be caring for other creatures, but she didn’t doubt that her trademark stare was an equally powerful and unique skill. The guard huffed at the agent, who in-turn growled at the guard. It took less than ten seconds for them to come to a mutual, unspoken understanding, making their way out the front door. Twilight had a good idea of how that renewed confrontation would play out, but she had no interest in actually witnessing it to confirm her suspicions. The other ponies in the room seemed to have immediately forgotten or dismissed the incident, moving quickly to the tasks they had come to do.

Twilight watched as the Night Guard and the three agents scattered into various locations about the library, collecting evidence or taking notes on small, spiral-bound pads. She approached one of the Guard who appeared to be his team’s leader. “So... Princess Luna sent you here to investigate?”

The guard looked to Twilight and smiled. “Yes, ma’am. And thank you for your assistance just now. I really wasn’t looking forward to writing up an incident report this evening.”

Twilight shuddered. Guh... Always with the ma’am stuff... “Please, just ‘Twilight,’ if you don’t mind. And you’re welcome.” She thought for a second. Did Luna send them here to investigate the Elements or Nyx? She suspected the latter, but if that was the case, then they’d have to be here under guise. “Which... er... That is, how many investigations are you here to conduct?”

The guard raised an eyebrow. “We’re here to investigate the theft of the Elements, of course.” He shifted his eyes to either side, aware of the RBI agents’ presence in the adjacent room. Nodding at Twilight, he motioned for her to join him upstairs in the living quarters of the library. Twilight nodded in return, leading the way up the staircase.

Twilight closed the door to Nyx’s bedroom. The RBI agents had no reason to scour that room for evidence, and so the two were left alone in relative quiet. Twilight’s horn glowed briefly as she cast a spell around the room, preventing anyone outside from hearing what was said. “Now,” she turned to the guard and smiled knowingly, “why don’t you tell me why you’re really here?”

The guard chuckled. “Of course. As I’m sure you’re aware, we’re not really here to investigate the theft of the Elements.” He looked around the small bedroom, taking note of the missing filly’s personal items. None of them looked like they had been touched since her disappearance. He returned his attention to the unicorn in front of him. “The princess has tasked us with finding your daughter.” Twilight smiled, relieved. “I’m sure the RBI is perfectly capable of finding the Elements and who took them. But Princess Luna has instructed us to find your filly under the pretense of our own Elements investigation.” He looked at her curiously. “She also said something about Princess Celestia needing to believe this... cover. Do you know anything about this?”

Twilight released the breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. “Yes,” she admitted, pausing for thought. “Princess Luna and I have a shared interest in finding Nyx. When did you start?”

“We just arrived about fifteen minutes ago. We received our orders from Canterlot only a couple hours before that. As of right now, you know as much as we do.”

“Well, I’m just trying to piece together what I know so far. Spike,” she paused, “my assistant, is in town talking to various ponies that know Nyx.” The guard nodded. “So, I’ll let you get back to work, and I’ll be in my study upstairs if you need me.” Twilight allowed the spell to drop, the purple glow around the door and windows fading away.

The guard nodded again, turning to leave the room to direct his troop down in the library. He stopped in the doorway, turning his head toward her. “Miss Sparkle,” he said sympathetically, sighing painfully, “I’ve lost a daughter, too. Periwinkle.” Twilight felt a pit grow in her stomach. Oh no... “She was the victim of a terrible illness as a young filly, barely more than a foal.” He paused, looking at her with steel in his eyes. “Your Nyx was last seen alive, and we will find her. There was nothing we could do for Peri. But we will find Nyx. You have my word... as a father.” He turned and quietly left, leaving Twilight in the bedroom holding back tears.

Nyx was still missing, but now Twilight didn’t feel so alone in her emptiness. She buried the sadness mixed with sympathy that had so quickly rushed over and through her thoughts and climbed the steps once again to her study. Looking at the table from the one side she could sit, she sighed, overwhelmed. She had a lot of work to do.

* * * * *

Twilight breathed deeply, the cool, crisp morning air filling her lungs. She released it slowly, deliberately, watching the clouds of condensation dilute into the still air and slowly fade away. It was late spring in Ponyville, but the recent rains had brought behind them cooler weather from the mountains north of Canterlot. It wasn’t terribly cold by Ponyville standards, but definitely chill enough to wake even the groggiest pony who ventured out just after this sunrise.

Spike had returned to the library late the previous evening. It had taken him several hours to track down the members of Nyx’s Cutie Mark Crusaders, especially Scootaloo. None of the other members of the exclusive club had any idea where she actually lived. Being a pegasus, Spike thought she probably lived in Cloudsdale, but he eventually found her on a grassy hilltop just outside Ponyville watching Rainbow Dash clear away some last-minute clouds before sunset. By the time he returned to the library, he had been gone long enough to worry Twilight and allow the moon to climb far into the night sky. Twilight had greeted him with a half-hearted, maternal scolding and a plate of gemstones, his dinner. He had gone directly to bed after his supper, and Twilight didn’t have the heart to wake him this early in the morning to question him about what he learned.

As she walked down the path leading to the main square in the centre of town, other citizens began to emerge from their homes, beginning what to them was another normal day in the provincial town. She felt a momentary pang of loss as she saw several fillies and colts scampered from a nearby shop and across the road toward the school house in the distance. No, Twilight, she thought. You have to keep it together. You have ponies to talk to, and you need to think straight to get the best information from them. Keep it professional.

This walk always seemed longer in the mornings. She didn’t know why that was. It was a pleasant walk, especially on quiet mornings like these. It took her a full ten minutes to arrive on the doorstep of Sugarcube Corner. The door was locked. Twilight looked upward to the rising sun, confused. I don’t think I’m too early. They should be open by now. Craning her neck, she leaned over to one of the large picture windows beside the door. It was dark, save for the lights in the display cases inside. “Oooookay,” she said aloud to herself. She looked to her left, the local clock tower casting its morning shadow across the town hall. Twilight shook her head, making a mental note to return later. At the least, Pinkie Pie should be awake and causing havoc at this point, probably with the twins. But she hadn’t seen sign of even them.

Her trek to the school house took considerably less time, despite the greater distance. Twilight had gotten over the novelty of a beautiful spring morning and wanted to start collecting answers to her questions. The school yard was busy with playing fillies and colts, several participating in a game involving small, metallic things that looked like burrs and a bouncing, rubber ball. She’d never seen that game before, but that didn’t particularly surprise her. She hadn’t been the most playful filly while enrolled in Celestia’s academy, and games were the last thing she had wanted to do when books were within her newly-acquired, telekinetic grasp.

After watching from the far side of the fence for a few minutes, Twilight saw Cheerilee appear in the doorway to the school house holding a large bell in her teeth. She shook her head, ringing the bell loudly, and the yard began to immediately clear, the young ponies running toward their teacher and into the red building. Less than a minute later, the yard was deserted. Cheerilee looked at Twilight and smiled before heading inside and beginning the day’s lessons.

Twilight stepped into the school yard and waited patiently, resting on a now vacant swing that still hadn’t quite stilled itself from the efforts of its prior user. She had intended to speak with Pinkie Pie first thing in the morning. Pinkie always seemed to know everything about everyone all over Ponyville. If something happened, she usually knew about it even before the mayor did. She hoped that Pinkie would be awake later at Sugarcube Corner. For now, though, Cheerilee might be able to help. She saw Nyx every day, after all. Her ears perked up at the sound of cheering from within the school house. Cheerilee appeared in the doorway shortly thereafter, a large grin on her face. The teacher looked back, making a last check that the fillies and colts were participating in some activity as she instructed, then closed the door behind her and approached the swings and Twilight.

Cheerilee’s smile sagged as Twilight stopped her slight swinging to greet the purple earth pony. “Hi, Twilight,” she said carefully. “How are you doing?” she asked before adding, “Are you okay?”

Twilight wanted to tell her that no, she wasn’t okay. Her daughter was missing, she had no idea where she was, who might have taken her, and she was taking flak from the crown for even attempting to find out. Instead, she settled for, “Eh... I’m fine.” Cheerilee frowned. She doesn’t buy it, Twilight thought. But then, why should she? She knows me well enough to see through such a bad lie. Cheerilee cleared her throat, looking at her as she would one of her students when catching them in a less-than-truthful moment.

“Not,” Twilight took an unsteady breath before continuing, “not all that fine, actually.”

Cheerilee gave a sympathetic moan and wrapped her forelegs around Twilight’s neck. “I’m so sorry, Twilight,” she said, stroking Twilight’s mane to calm the unicorn, tense with emotion. “I found out from Spike before school the morning after she disappeared.”

Twilight broke the hug and nodded. Spike had told most of Twilight’s friends around town about Nyx and had attempted to get any information from them. Unfortunately, most of the ponies either saw him as too much of a juvenile to be burdened with that information, or they were unwilling to talk about it. Cheerilee was probably one of the former. In dragon years, Spike was younger than most of her youngest students. Twilight didn’t believe that Cheerilee would intentionally withhold anything from Twilight. She and the unicorn had become rather good friends over the past two years while Nyx adjusted to a normal life with her few friends. They regularly went to lunch at one of Ponyville’s quaint cafes throughout the year, and Cheerilee had admitted to Twilight her well-hidden fear of the black alicorn. Even though Nyx had proved herself to be one of the mare’s best and most inquisitive students, Cheerilee still saw her intended purpose deep down. Nightmare Moon was sitting in her classroom, and it scared her. Twilight later learned that it also scared most of the parents of Nyx’s classmates. Enough so that several of them had started homeschooling their fillies or colts.

A tap on one of the school’s windows caught both mares’ attention. Twilight leaned over to see past Cheerilee and spotted half a dozen small faces pressed up against the window by the door, watching them. Another dozen peered out at them from the other windows facing the school yard. One pegasus colt Twilight didn’t recognize had alighted himself on one of the upper tree branches in the glass dome. Cheerilee huffed. “I’m sorry, Twilight. I’ll be right back.” She quickly marched toward the school, the faces in the window hurrying back to their seats.

The audible groan of two dozen students reached Twilight’s ears a few minutes later. Cheerilee emerged from the school looking particularly pleased with herself, albeit mildly irritated. She sat near Twilight and seemed to be at a loss of words.

“Did...,” Twilight attempted. “Can you... Do you know anything about what happened to Nyx? Did she say anything before she left? Did she do anything out-of-the-ordinary?”

Cheerilee looked up to a flock of birds in the sky, chirping loudly. They were being playfully chased by a yellow-maned, grey pegasus, but they were too far up to make out who it was. “No, I don’t remember her saying anything strange or unusual that day,” she said as a matter-of-fact, turning her attention back to Twilight. “From what I remember, it was just like any other day. She came to me with her normal hoof-full of questions, packed up her books, and left with Apple Bloom.” She smiled wistfully. “She didn’t even have one of her accidents that morning. She seemed... unusually happy about something, but I didn’t think that was anything to worry about.”

Twilight chuckled sadly. “The day before that, Princess Luna gave her... a gift.” She remembered the look on Nyx’s face after Luna revealed her sisterly affection toward her. “A very special gift.” Tears were threatening to wet her eyes again.

Cheerilee gasped. “You know,” she said, staring absently toward a nearby maple tree, “some RBI agents were here yesterday asking about a pair of roans that had been seen around Ponyville.” This earned Twilight’s undivided attention. “I hadn’t seen the ones they described, but...”

“But...?” Twilight had a sinking feeling about her friend’s unfinished sentence.

“But I told them that I did see two other roans. It was really odd, seeing them in Ponyville. I can’t remember the last time I’d seen roan tourists here.” Twilight stared at her patiently. She shook her head, trying to regain focus. “They tended to hang around the school during recess and as the students left for the day. I told the local guard about it the same afternoon Nyx went missing, because it was getting pretty creepy. After that, I didn’t see them again. I just assumed the guard had taken care of it, or they had just gone home.” Her expression changed to one of concern. “You don’t think Nyx’s disappearance has anything to do with the Elements of Harmony being stolen, do you?”

Twilight shook her head. “I don’t know.” She dropped her gaze to the ground at her hooves. “I don’t know much of anything about what’s going on.”

Cheerilee embraced her in another quick hug. “I need to get back to my students, Twilight. I’m sorry I couldn’t be more help. Are you going to be okay?”

Twilight smiled at her. “No, no, you’ve been a great help. You’ve given me a lot to think about. Thanks.”

Cheerilee rose, glancing back toward the school. “If you need to talk, my door’s always open to you.”

It was well into mid-morning as Twilight left the school grounds and made her way back to the town square. She wondered if Spike was awake. That dragon would sleep all day, if she allowed him to. As she walked, she noticed that the lights in Sugarcube Corner were still off, the windows dark and the door closed. That’s weird, she thought for the second time that morning.

“Woo!” Twilight barely had time to recognize the shout behind her before its origin barrelled into her, forcing both of them through the door and onto the floor in the middle of the shop. She shook her head, seeing stars.

“Hey, Twilight! It’s funny to see you here. The cakes are on vacation. You can’t buy any cupcakes right now!” Pinkie Pie had somehow landed on her feet, straddling the stunned unicorn.

Twilight climbed out from underneath her friend, cracking a few surprised vertebrae in her neck loudly. “Pinkie Pie, what are you doing?”

“Well, I woke up and Mr and Mrs Cake left me a note saying they took the twins to Fillydelphia to visit family and I don’t really know how to run the shop I only know how to bake a few things like cupcakes so I said ‘Pinkie Pie you get a day off today!” Pinkie blurted out in one breath.

“Pinkie P--,” Twilight could sense a Pinkie-tirade coming.

Pinkie continued through Twilight’s attempted interruption. “And then I saw Rainbow Dash just laying on a cloud instead of pushing it out of the way and I just had to tell her to get rid of it because it’s such a beautiful day outside and--”

“Pinkie!” Twilight yelled.

The pink earth pony stopped, startled. She blinked a few times before recognizing that her friend might also have something to say. “Is something wrong, Twilight?” Her smile was as bright as ever. Was it possible that she didn’t know about Nyx? It didn’t seem likely. “Why such a long, mopey-dopey, frowny, sad face?”

Really? Twilight thought. “Pinkie Pie, I need to talk to you.”

The hyperactive pony gasped dramatically, eyes bugging-out before she grabbed Twilight and whisked her away to her apartment upstairs. Before Twilight could say or do anything, she found herself lying on a divan with Pinkie Pie seated nearby in an overstuffed chair looking at her expectantly. Pinkie had placed a pair of reading glasses on her nose and held a pad and quill in her hooves. “Tell Dr Pinkie Pie all about it!”

Twilight rolled her eyes. Pinkie Pie will be Pinkie Pie, I guess. Might as well get this done her way. “Pinkie, I need to talk to you about Nyx.”

Pinkie gasped again. “What, is she back? I owe her, like, three parties now! First an ‘I’m sorry you got ponynapped’ party, then a ‘Woo, you met the princess’ party, and now a ‘Welcome back to Ponyville’ party! Oh, I have so much to plan for and--”

“Pinkie!” Twilight was forced to interrupt again. She gave her friend a confused look. “Wait... how do you know that she was ponynapped?”

“Well, that’s easy, silly! Those two creepy-spooky ponies with the weird coats took her.”

“What? You saw them take her?! Why didn’t you say anything?” Twilight shouted, anger brewing under the careful stoicism she had tried to prepare for this meeting.

“Well, I didn’t actually see them... kind of...” Pinkie put a hoof to her chin, thinking.

“Then how...?” Twilight questioned.

Pinkie Pie stared at Twilight oddly and pointed a hoof toward the far wall. Twilight looked in the direction she indicated. There on the wall above Pinkie’s dresser was a large, pink poster with her own face on it, her eyes and smile beaming at whoever happened to be looking at it. Above Pinkie’s face were the words “Pinkie Pie’s watching.” Below, in bold letters which Twilight found more than mildly disturbing, “FOREVER.”

“Okay, that’s a little bit creepy,” Twilight admitted, looking back to her friend. Pinkie Pie shrugged, still smiling. At least she was quiet now, though, Twilight thought. “Did you see anything else just before Nyx disappeared? Did you recognize the two ponies?”

Pinkie Pie shook her head. Her smile was beginning to slowly fade. “Sorry, Twi. I really don’t spend that much time around the school. I’ve been helping with the twins a lot lately. I only know that those two ponies had something to do with it.”

Twilight sighed. “Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

Pinkie looked confused. “I did. I told those funny, super-serious guys who asked about the Elements of Harmony.” She paused. “Aren’t you working with them?”

“Eh... not really,” Twilight said. “They’re more interested in the Elements. I’m more interested in my daughter.” Pinkie nodded, her expression serious now. Twilight climbed off the divan and walked toward the door.

“Twilight?” Pinkie Pie called after her. “Nyx will be okay.” She smiled softly. “It’s a Pinkie Promise.” Twilight returned her smile and left Sugarcube Corner.

* * * * *

“Finally,” Spike muttered under his breath as he closed the door behind the last RBI agent to leave the library. It had been three days since the theft of the Elements and Nyx’s disappearance, and there had been at least one RBI agent present almost constantly. The agents had proved themselves to be a most irritating thorn in the sides of both the librarian and her dragon assistant. “Twilight,” Spike called up the stairs to the living quarters, “they’re finally gone.”

Twilight poked her head out of her third-floor study and descended the narrow staircase to stop at the balcony overlooking the library’s main room. She sighed, relieved. “It’s about time.” Spike made a sour face while looking at the door through which the agent just left. “Ready to get started?” Twilight asked him. Her question was answered by an enthusiastic nod from the dragon. Twilight left the balcony and walked down the larger flight of stairs into the library. A notebook stuffed with parchments floated behind her in a haze of lavender magic. Spike turned and locked the door before meeting the unicorn at the low table in the middle of the room. The notebook landed softly on the table between them, followed presently by two new quills and a large well of ink.

Twilight sat, looked at the notebook and huffed. “Okay,” she said, feeling more than a little overwhelmed. “We still don’t have a whole lot to go on, but between the information we do have and the resources here,” she looked around her at the hundreds of books on the shelves, “we should be able to point ourselves in the right direction.”

Spike looked at the notebook nervously. “Are you sure we can’t get any help from Princess Luna? What about the other ponies in Ponyville?”

Twilight sighed again, “We’ve been over this, Spike. No one in Ponyville really knows anything except that at least two roans were seen around town for a few days before Nyx disappeared. And Luna needs to keep her investigation secret from Princess Celestia. If we worked together on this too closely, she’d find out and make us stop.” Spike grunted.

Twilight had returned from Sugarcube Corner early in the afternoon. Spike was busy reading one of Nyx’s books, the latest release (and the library’s newest fiction acquisition) by Dream Quill. Having spent so much time with the black alicorn filly, Spike had begrudgingly become somewhat fond of the author, despite the intended older-filly audience. Twilight quickly learned not to tease Spike about it, as the jabs would always lead to embarrassed snarls on the part of the dragon, not that it mattered. It’s not like his unexpected enjoyment of the author’s works was harmful.

For the next hour, the two had gone to Twilight’s study to isolate themselves from the lone RBI agent downstairs. Spike relayed what he had been able to learn from Nyx’s friends and the mayor. All of the fillies and the mayor had seen the roans in town, just as everyone Twilight spoke with had. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom provided some invaluable information, however.

Normally, Nyx would leave the school house with Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo. The other member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Twist, lived in the opposite direction, so the three would part ways with their friend in the school yard. Sweetie Belle would be the next to leave her friends. She had adopted a quasi-permanent residence with her sister above Carrousel Boutique, and her side-street came quickly, leaving only Nyx and Apple Bloom together. Normally, they’d remain together until they passed the library. At that point, Apple Bloom would continue on to Sweet Apple Acres alone.

The afternoon of Nyx’s disappearance was different. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle left together, as usual, but without Nyx. The alicorn filly had told her friends that she’d catch up to them after some extra questions for Cheerilee. The two didn’t think much of it and left the school. Nyx never caught up.

Apple Bloom was angry. At one point, Spike said, it took both himself and Applejack to calm her down enough to finish telling her story. Spike had never seen Apple Bloom with such... murderous fury in her eyes. The filly vowed to “teach ‘em a lessen they ain’t gonna forget” if she ever found Nyx’s abductors.

Sweetie Belle was the opposite. She had been devastated by the disappearance of her friend. The poor filly couldn’t stop crying long enough to speak for more than a minute at a time. Even then, her story was half-filled with incoherent blubbering. Fortunately, she had told Rarity about the afternoon’s events a day earlier, and the mare ended up telling Spike what happened second-hand. She looked to her sister for a confirming nod every once in a while, but aside from that, Sweetie Belle was unable to participate. Adding Cheerilee and Nyx’s Cutie Mark Crusader friends to the count, Twilight was pleasantly surprised to learn that Nyx had more friends than she had initially given her credit for.

The library was quiet now. Spike and Twilight sat across from one another at the low table, the notebook and writing instruments between them, so far untouched. They didn’t have to worry about interruptions or intrusions. The library was closed to the public until further notice for the official reason of the investigation into the stolen Elements of Harmony. Twilight opened the notebook with her magic and slowly leafed through the still mostly-blank parchments within. Spike grabbed a few of them as she dismissed them, spreading them out in front of him and pondering the information again with a fresh mind.

“All right,” Twilight began summarizing her thoughts aloud. “We have witnesses of at least two, probably four roans hanging out in Ponyville for a few days before the theft and the abduction.” Spike raised an eyebrow and looked at Twilight when she use that last word. Twilight ignored his surprise. She was convinced, given what she had learned, that Nyx’s disappearance was a ponynapping. At least, it was highly suspicious at this point. Every time she thought about this, her brain became a war zone between the logical, rational part and the emotional, maternal part. Lately, it was the latter which usually emerged victorious. She continued as Spike returned to the parchments in front of him. “You said the ponies you saw during the break-in were brown.”

Spike nodded.

“And the ponies I saw staring at us from the town square were grey,” Twilight added. “But they were pretty far away when I saw them. Did I see them wrong, or are they a different pair?”

Spike shrugged, remaining silent and intensely interested in a particular parchment in his claws.

Twilight rolled her eyes and immediately felt ashamed for doing so. Spike was taking Nyx’s absence just as hard as anyone. He’d always thought of himself as her little brother. That makes two of my friends who’ve lost a sister, Twilight thought. “Wait,” she said a bit too loudly, startling the baby dragon from his parchment, “Spike, what book was I reading the night I brought Nyx back from her castle? Do you remember?”

Spike looked confused, but his mood brightened somewhat. “Sure.” He got up from the table and moved toward the far wall containing books on history and geography. He plucked one from the shelf and moved back to the table, setting it down in front of Twilight. “You fell asleep reading this. I had to put it away before you started drooling on it,” he teased.

Twilight shot him a playfully annoyed look. She read the spine of the thick book before opening it. Early Equestria’s Rise And Fall. The book itself didn’t have anything to do with Nyx’s abduction, but she seemed to remember reading something before she fell asleep that night that wouldn’t leave her mind alone. At the very least, if she could identify what her memory was trying to tell her, she could put it aside to continue her research. She flipped through the first few pages to the table of contents, quickly finding the section on the Southern Equestrian Territories. She could remember that much, anyway. quickly turning to the section, she began reading. It took only a few minutes before she found a passage that sounded familiar.

The Southern Equestrian Territories had been founded immediately after the War of the Night during which Nightmare Moon had refused to lower the moon and attempted to seize Celestia’s throne for herself. Every corner of Equestria had been ravaged brutally by the war, communities and families bitterly divided between support of Celestia’s solo reign and condemnation of Celestia’s use of the Elements of Harmony against her sister, the other half of Equestria’s monarchy. The rift went all the way into the upper levels of Celestia’s new government.

In the years following the banishment of Nightmare Moon, the schism threatened to plunge the fragile and recovering Equestria into another civil war. In desperation, Celestia had hastily passed a series of “subjugation” laws, making the public admonishment of the crown for actions during wartime a crime. These new laws proved to be deeply unpopular, even among Celestia’s most stalwart supporters, bringing several charges of “unlawful censorship” before the nation’s supreme court.

Finally, after several decades, many of Celestia’s remaining critics, most of whom made up the entirety of Equestria’s roan lineage, had moved to the southernmost reaches of Equestria. The arid, mostly desert region fostered a new type of government: one that did not submit to the rule by birthright of a monarch, but instead consisted of councils representing the many established and relatively isolated tribes. Tensions between the tribes and the crown were strained, at the best of times, and often resulted in minor skirmishes along the tribal boundary lines.

At the behest of one of her closest political advisors, Celestia declared the tribal areas to be semi-independent territories of Equestria. She allowed them to have their own governments, their own laws, the capacity to make decisions that affected their own ponies. The declaration was met with great enthusiasm and support from ponies all over Equestria, hailed as a shining example of Celestia’s love for her little ponies, and the lengths to which she’d go to ensure their happiness. The enthusiasm faded gradually with each passing generation, and now the Southern Equestrian Territories were considered to be more of an embarrassment to Equestria than a triumph of ponykind. This portion of Equestrian history was usually ignored in schools more than a day’s journey from the borderlands.

Twilight gasped as she perused the history of her country that she never learned under Celestia’s tutelage. There were semi-independent parts of Equestria? The tribes there consisted mainly of roans? Her mind struggled through her surprise to connect the dots. The roans! “That’s where they came from!” she shouted.

Spike looked up from the doodles he was drawing on a blank space of the parchment in front of him. His head rested in his hand, his elbow leaning on the table. He looked positively bored. “Huh?”

Twilight clarified. “The roans. They came from the Southern Equestrian Territories! All of Equestria’s roans moved there after the War of the Night.”

Spike wasn’t making the same connections Twilight’s brain had managed seconds earlier. “Okay...”

Twilight groaned in irritation. “The roans who took Nyx came from the Southern Equestrian Territories! They must have taken her back there!”

Spike’s full attention was now on the unicorn. “Whoa whoa whoa, Twilight, slow down. How do you know those roans took Nyx?”

“Let’s see,” she began, a rather patronizing tone in her voice, “those roans were never seen before in Ponyville until the week of Nyx’s disappearance. Then they disappear as soon as Nyx disappears, and you witnessed two of them stealing the Elements.”

“Oh... Right.” Spike said, blushing. “But why would they ponynap Nyx and steal the Elements? What could they get out of a filly and some necklaces they can’t use?”

Twilight couldn’t answer. She hadn’t thought that far yet. She was stuck on the fact that roans had something to do with both the Elements theft and Nyx’s disappearance, and the only place she knew of that had a population of roans was the Southern Equestrian Territories. She frowned. She needed to find a motive for their alleged actions. Her logical side forced her to admit this. “Spike,” she said while staring out a nearby window at the waning daylight, “we know where to look.”

* * * * *

The main room of the library looked as if it had been ransacked. Books and scrolls lay strewn and open everywhere: the floor, the shelves, the furniture, and the low table which had become the centrepiece of their research. Spike had retreated to the kitchen about fifteen minutes earlier, taking a much needed break from his reading-induced headache. Twilight, on the other hand, carefully studied no fewer than six books and parchments arranged around her. Spike emerged presently bearing a plate of daffodil sandwiches. He set it on the table, moving aside several of the open, currently unused books.

Twilight didn’t move. Her nose remained in the book she studied, disconnected from the physical world around her. For the past four days, her concentration had been focused entirely on the task of finding as much information about the Southern Equestrian Territories as she could. Her intense concentration did not come without cost. She had averaged about two hours of sleep per night, usually resulting from her collapsing atop whichever book she was reading at the time. Her appetite ignored, the plate of daffodil sandwiches did not lose one member of its cargo. Twice in the past few days, Spike had to force water down her throat, holding her muzzle closed to prevent dehydration. Twilight didn’t even resist. She barely even existed in the real world anymore, her breaths coming shallow and widely-spaced.

Spike looked at her worriedly. “Twilight,” he said carefully, “lunch is ready.” He nudged the plate of food toward her a few centimetres, stopping only when it intercepted another book on the table.

Twilight didn’t move. She either didn’t hear the concerned dragon, or she was ignoring him.

Spike sighed. “I made your favourite,” he encouraged. After a few seconds of continued silence from the unicorn, he started begging. “C’mon, Twilight. You have to eat!”

Twilight sniffed absently, then placed the book she was reading aside, leaving it open and marking the page, then turning her head toward one of the scrolls nearby.

Spike had never seen Twilight so wrapped up in research before this. Of course, Twilight had never lost anything so precious to her before this. Even during the Nightmare Moon incident when Princess Celestia had sent her to Ponyville for the first time, she had hit the books pretty hard, but not this hard. He sat at the table across from her, his default spot since their intensive investigation had commenced. He looked at his friend, neglecting her most basic physical needs. Finally, after several minutes, he took the first sandwich off the plate and bit into it, chewing slowly. “You know,” he said, his voice betraying a hint of admonishment, “I could write Princess Celestia a letter.” No response. “I could tell her that you’re so wrapped up in your studies again that you’re ignoring your friends and making yourself sick.” Nothing. He squeezed his eyes shut in aggrivation. “She’ll make you stop. She might even make you leave the library.” Spike never liked threatening Twilight, even emptily. But this wasn’t the first time he had considered sending her mentor an emergency missive explaining the situation. He’d only ever done it once, when Twilight had been so obsessed with her getting a letter to the princess on-time, that she unintentionally enchanted the entire town of Ponyville, nearly starting a riot in the process. That had resulted in the first and only instance when Celestia had been truly angry with her protégé.

This got her attention immediately. She had been paying attention after all, apparently. She looked the baby dragon over carefully before squinting at him in irritation. “You wouldn’t dare,” she said hoarsely. These were the first words she had spoken in over two days.

Spike raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms in front of his chest. He glanced back toward a fresh parchment and quill just out of his reach, then looked back to the mare. “I would.” He let the continued threat sink in for a moment. “Twilight, you’re hurting yourself. You aren’t helping anypony by starving yourself and losing sleep.”

Twilight’s stare bored into the dragon’s eyes like ice picks. “No,” she said simply.

Spike reached for the quill and parchment.

“Spike...” Twilight’s voice betrayed a dangerous mix of panic and anger. Her horn began to glow softly.

Spike grabbed the parchment and moved for the quill. It disappeared a moment before he could curl his claws around it. He looked around the room quickly, spotting it on a nearby lectern. Twilight had teleported it across the room and far out of his reach. He sighed. He knew that there was no way he’d win this war or wills. “Look, Twi,” he said in a more affable tone. “We’ve gone through everything this library has that’s even remotely related to the territories and roans.” Twilight’s ear twitched. He was being heard, at least. “Why not ask Princess Celestia if she has anything else about them in the Royal Library? It’s way bigger than this.” He motioned to the room around him which held no more than a few hundred tomes.

Twilight had to admit to herself, Ponyville had neither the largest library nor the widest selection, particularly regarding the esoteric scope of their research. “But Celestia has already told me that she won’t help us find Nyx. She even said that she’d stop us if she found out.”

Spike stood, his posture pompous and certain. “Yeah. But what if we told her we were researching the Elements? The ponies who stole them were roans, just like we’re looking for. She doesn’t have to know that we’re really looking for Nyx.” He smiled, obviously satisfied with himself.

Twilight considered this for over a minute. She looked at her assistant worriedly, but sternly. “You realize that this means we need to lie to the princess...”

Spike looked surprised by her implication. “Lie? Who said anything about lying? We’re just not telling her everything about why we need her help.”

You cunning devil, Twilight thought, a devious smile creeping into her features. She closed the book in front of her and teleported the quill back into the dragon’s claws. “Spike, take a letter!”

Dear Princess Celestia,

I have spent the past several days with Spike interviewing various ponies in Ponyville and researching information in the library. We believe we have made significant progress in finding the ponies responsible for this terrible crime, but the library here in Ponyville simply doesn’t have the materials we need to continue our investigation.

We have reason to believe that the perpetrators are roans, and the historical archives in the Royal Library in Canterlot must certainly have something of interest pertaining to this unusual breed of pony. I would like your permission to visit the Royal Library (particularly the restricted archives) and to borrow any useful scrolls or books that I discover there.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle

“I don’t know, Spike,” Twilight said as she watched the dragon scribble the last of Twilight’s dictation onto the parchment. “I don’t like deceiving the princess like this... even if we aren’t on the best of terms right now.” Her voice trailed off over the last few words, her emotions bubbling up with a cocktail of guilt, remorse, hurt, loss, and nostalgia. She attempted to put a weak mental barrier over the rising tide.

Spike finished writing and rolled the scroll. He placed it in front of his nose and prepared to breathe his magical dragon fire onto it. He looked at Twilight cautiously. “We’re not, Twilight.” She looked at him incredulously. He admitted, “Okay, maybe we are... a little.” He let the scroll drop to his side, still clutched in his claws. “But it’s not like she’s flying over here to help us or anything,” he added quickly.

Twilight sighed. He has a point, she thought. If we’re going to find Nyx, we need Celestia’s help, but she can’t know that she’s helping us. She waved a hoof at him. “Fine. Send it.”

Spike didn’t wait for her to question herself again. He lifted the scroll and blew his green flames onto it without haste. It disintegrated in front of him, transporting itself to Celestia’s present location. He looked at Twilight, and placed the quill on the table in front of him. “Now that I’m convinced you’re alive,” he teased. Twilight glared at him. He chuckled. “Maybe you should eat something?”

Twilight looked at the plate of sandwiches on the table. It did look awfully good. And now that she thought about it, her stomach was practically screaming for sustenance. “Yeah. You’re right.” She levitated one of the sandwiches to herself and took a bite. “Mm... This is delicious, Spike! Thanks.” She closed her eyes, enjoying her first mouthful of food in over two days.

Spike smiled at her. “Don’t mention it, Twi. I know how much this all means to-- BRAAAAWWWP!” He blushed, finishing his unexpected (and unpleasantly tasting) belch.

Twilight scrunched her face into one of revulsion, her eyes snapping open to look at him sternly. “Spike! There’s no need to lose your manners, even if it is only the two of...” She stopped, looking downward. A white scroll with red band and gold seal lay at the baby dragon’s feet. “Spike... She’s replied already.” That was certainly fast.

“Huh?” Spike looked down, spotting the scroll and picking it up. He smoothly pierced the seal with his claw, but Twilight snatched it away from him with her magic before he could unroll and read it. Spike glowered at her. Twilight’s expression slowly revealed a fiendish giddiness as she read.

My dearest Twilight,

I will instruct the librarians in the Royal Library and historical archives that you are granted full access to any scroll or book you desire in your efforts to find the stolen Elements of Harmony. I’d like to congratulate you, as even my RBI agents have not yet brought the roan connection to my attention.

About our last meeting, I am truly sorry for what happened in my chambers. I sincerely hope you aren’t still angry with me, although I admit that I do deserve it. Please, I beg you, do not use your access to the library and restricted archives for any purpose other than finding the Elements. I must hesitantly insist this.

Please keep me informed of your progress. I don’t have to tell you how important this investigation is to all of Equestria. Good luck, my faithful student.

Your friend always,

Celestia

Twilight allowed herself a brief laugh of surprised relief. “I can’t believe it...” she said, staring at the parchment.

“What?” Spike asked, looking like he was about ready to jump over the table to find out. “What’d she say?”

She passed him the scroll, allowing him to pluck it out of the air and from her magical grasp. “Celestia thinks we’re researching the theft, not Nyx’s abduction.” She felt her emotional cocktail receive an extra infusion of guilt. She’d just tricked her teacher, her life-long friend, her princess into indirectly assisting her in an illegal investigation. Part of her felt justified, citing revenge as a motive. The princess didn’t have the best track record with her daughter. She was impeding Twilight from finding her missing daughter, she had hoof-delivered Nyx to and practically gift-wrapped the filly for the members of that crazy Nightmare cult two years ago, and before that she had ripped Nyx away from her by force. “She has given me unfettered access to the entire Royal Archives,” she mused, returning her attention to her assistant who was still reading through the letter.

Spike put the letter down beside him amidst the veritable mountain of haphazardly arranged books. “So, what’s the plan?” he asked.

Twilight rose from the table. She immediately regretted rising so quickly. Her muscles screamed in protest after having been inactive for so long. That, and her hind leg was asleep again. “The plan is, I go to the library and... figure out the plan,” she said as she tried to shake the tingling sensation from her flank. She yawned. Suddenly it was becoming very difficult to keep her eyes open. She started toward the door. “I think there’s one more train leaving for Canterlot tonight.”

Spike sprinted and leaped for the door, blocking it spread-eagle. “Oh no, Twilight! You’re not leaving for Canterlot tonight! You haven’t slept almost at all in more than four days. I’m not letting you leave until morning, after you get a good night’s sleep.”

Twilight stopped several paces in front of him. Spike’s insistence and delaying irritated her, but she was too tired to argue about it. And it was true that she could use the rest. She smiled at the dragon before her. “Spike, I couldn’t ask for a better assistant. Thanks.”

He nodded, watching her turn toward the stairs and some much needed sleep in her own bed.

* * * * *

A peal of thunder greeted Twilight as she opened the door to the Ponyville Library, her coat and saddlebags soaked completely through. Fortunately for the scrolls and books within it, she had cast a water protection spell on the bags years ago while living in Canterlot. She growled to no one in particular as she entered, leaving puddles in her wake. “One of these days, I’m going to have words with Rainbow Dash,” she spat bitterly. She dropped her saddlebags beside the door and continued to the kitchen. After a few minutes, she decided that a hand towel just wouldn’t cut it, and she shook the water from her coat, spraying the walls, furniture, and a very irate baby dragon with an indoor rain shower.

“Hey! Watch it!” Spike yelled, casting a venomous glare at the lavender unicorn. “What gives?” He moved to a nearby closet and retrieved a specially-enchanted towel, breathing fire on it briefly to warm it. Handing the towel to Twilight, he asked, “Want to tell me what’s going on? You were only gone since this morning.”

Twilight sighed in consternation. The day had not gone anywhere near what she would consider ideal. Spike, still worried about his friend’s well-being, had neglected to wake her at a normal hour in the morning. By the time Twilight rolled out of bed, the sun was already high in the sky, only an hour or two from midday. The cursed her perceived carelessness, skipping breakfast and galloping all the way to the local train station. The morning train was just pulling away when she arrived at the ticket window. She cursed herself again after learning that the next train to Canterlot wouldn’t leave until midday.

She hadn’t arrived in Canterlot until early afternoon, even after having spent extra to take the express train. The high-speed tracks to Upper Canterlot were closed for reconstruction, and so the line terminated at Two Sisters Station in Lower Canterlot less than a kilometre from her parents’ house but several kilometres from Canterlot Castle. Knowing how her parents felt about Nyx, and anxious about their possible reaction when she told them about Nyx’s abduction, Twilight had decided to take a path to the castle which gave the home a wide berth.

Once at the castle and in the Royal Archives, she had been dismayed to find scant few reliable sources of historical reference to roans or the Southern Equestrian Territories. Dejected and agitated, she left early in the evening to catch the day’s last express train back to Ponyville. Against the very vocal wishes of the on-duty librarian, Twilight had borrowed over a dozen items, including two scrolls of extreme age and delicacy. The librarian, bound by Celestia’s order to allow Twilight to borrow anything she wished, refused to let the unicorn leave until she had cast several temporary protection spells on the documents. As the train neared ponyville, the heavens had opened, unleashing a torrential downpour typical of late spring in Equestria’s Capital Region. Unprepared for the storm, she had been forced to walk home in the rain.

Twilight huffed and sat at the kitchen table beside Spike. “This whole day was a waste,” she said sulkily.

Spike looked toward her saddlebags in the adjacent room. “Why? Didn’t you find would you were looking for in the archives?”

Twilight shook her head. “No, I found a few old scrolls and books, but they don’t look particularly promising.” Her gaze dropped to the tabletop. “It’s almost as if someone is trying to keep anypony from learning about the Southern Equestrian Territories.” She shook her head, the remaining water droplets in her mane joining their cousins on the walls and Spike. “I guess we should get started,” she said, turning to look at her sopping saddlebags.

Twilight slammed the book shut. After four hours, the pair had found nothing in the ancient tomes that was of any use or had provided any additional insight into their research. She huffed and looked out the window. The rain had finally stopped about an hour ago and so had Spike. He quietly snored into Nyx’s open copy of her favourite classic, The Ponies of Penzance.

“Argh!” Twilight growled loudly, “This is useless!” She let herself collapse face-first into the cover of the book, whimpering feebly.

Spike, roused from his nap by Twilight’s outburst, lifted his head groggily. “Huh? What?” He yawned and stretched, small puffs of smoke emerging from his throat. “Did you find anything?” he asked, blinking a few times as his eyes readjusted to the room’s magically-enhanced lighting.

Twilight snorted. “No. I would have been no worse off by studying these books using your method.” She grinned at him teasingly.

Spike rolled his eyes and sauntered off toward one of the piles of books in the corner. He had a lot of re-shelving to do after the past several days. He didn’t notice the nearly inaudible click from behind them.

Twilight did. She turned toward the source of the noise, but she neither saw nor heard anything out of the ordinary. Dismissing it as the wind, she looked into her now dry saddlebags at the last scroll they hadn’t perused. The black lettering on its green band indicated that it was the 5th Edition of Sir Winterstar’s Brief History of Post-Nightmare Equestria. The parchment was clearly several hundred years old. The migration of Equestria’s roans occurred within the first couple hundred years after the War of the Night. Surely this scroll would at least mention it in passing. The establishment of the territories was almost current events when it was written.

She unrolled the ancient parchment, being careful to avoid touching the decaying and cracked edges. As her eyes focused on the top line of the scroll’s severely faded script, she saw the shadow pass over Spike, his back turned to her and the room. The shadow moved and increased in size. That thing’s owner must be large... and moving toward me! Twilight nearly jumped out of her skin, realizing there was an intruder in their midst. She literally jumped in surprise, twisting herself around in mid-air toward the kitchen. She was hit with a second wave of surprise when she landed and recognized the figure before her. “Zecora! Oh Celestia’s sun, you scared me!”

Spike turned toward the commotion, until now unaware that anything was amiss. “Oh, hi, Zecora!” he greeted her with a wide smile. “What brings you to Ponyvi... Wait... How’d you get in here?” he asked, his expression changing from one of welcome to one of confusion. He watched as Twilight sat catching her breath, her hooves still shaking slightly from the shock. Looking back to the zebra, he noticed something... odd. “Zecora, are you all right?”

Zecora was listing dangerously to one side; impossibly, even. She somehow was managing to maintain her balance and footing, even though her centre of gravity should have been much father than necessary to tip her. She wobbled as she attempted to right herself only to overcompensate and lean to the other side, swinging slowly like an inverted pendulum. She put a hoof forward as if to take another step toward them, but then replaced it a moment later, apparently deciding the floor beneath her was stable enough.

Spike turned toward Twilight, maintaining his gaze on their striped friend. He whispered behind a clawed hand, “Uh, Twilight? Is she drunk or something?”

Twilight was wondering the same thing. She knew Zecora collected dozens of strange herbs and plants from the Everfree Forest where she lived in her hut. Most of those herbs were native only to the wild forest, and Twilight hadn’t the slightest idea about their properties or what might happen if one consumed them. She suspected Zecora’s current state was the result of just such an experiment.

As she looked over the zebra, she decided that it certainly was not alcohol which inebriated her friend. Although physically, Zecora appeared to be drunk to a level way beyond what any sane pony would attempt, her eyes told a very different story. The pupils were dilated to an unnatural size, her irises becoming nearly invisible due to their strained thinness. Despite this, however, they appeared lucid, coherent, downright clairvoyant. “Zecora? Is something wrong?” Twilight asked nervously.

Zecora silently turned her attention away from the dragon toward the purple unicorn and stared for several long moments. Her gaze seemed able to see through anypony, piercing the soul and laying bare the personal secrets that lay hidden within. Finally, she spoke. “Beware, Twilight, my pony friend. These studies will your life asunder rend.”

Twilight frowned at Zecora’s typically rhyming metre. Whatever drug she was under the influence of was making her even more cryptic than usual. “Huh? Zecora, what are you talking about?”

The zebra continued, ignoring Twilight’s question. “The truth you seek from times long gone may soon reveal themselves quite wrong. Written histories you read will help you solve your questing need. But truly careful you must be, since not every pony speaks truthfully. Let not those trusted your emotions sway, for in the end, they will betray. Sorrow, hatred, pain, and fear. All of these from friends you’ll hear. Be careful, Twilight, I implore! Lest you lose young Nyx forevermore!”

Twilight’s and Spike’s jaws dropped simultaneously. They were left speechless, unable to form any sort of response to the message their friend had just conveyed. Was this some sort of vision? Twilight thought. One of those mysterious zebra prophesies she had read about in school as a filly? How had Zecora heard about Nyx’s abduction? She rarely came into town, and it had happened less than a week ago. And what about her message? It didn’t sound like Pinkie Pie’s “Nyx will be okay” at all. Pinkie was known to all the ponies in Ponyville as having a special (if strangely manifesting) connection with the fabric of time and space. But this... this was... like a dark omen! It had anguish and doom written all over it.

Spike managed to untie his tongue and connect his brain while Zecora still stood in place, wobbling nauseatingly. “Zecora, you’ve passed Weirdsville and gone straight on down to Creepytown,” he said, borrowing a line he’d learned from Rainbow Dash. “What was that all about?”

Twilight came to her senses and added, “How do you know about Nyx? What is this about my friends betraying me? Are you saying that the clues I’ve gotten from my research are correct? Wait, but you said they were wrong, but histories were right...” She scratched her head, skewing her eyes as she attempted to make sense of this apparent logical contradiction.

Zecora stood silently. Even her breaths made no noise in the quiet confines of the library. Twilight and Spike exchanged a perplexed and worried look. When they broke their visual connection and turned back to Zecora, the zebra was gone.

* * * * *

It was past midnight when Twilight awoke to the gentle rapping on the front door. She awakened gradually, spending an indeterminate amount of time in a semi-dream, semi-conscious limbo. The knocking at the door became more urgent. How long had the pony, or whoever it was, been waiting for her? She climbed out of her bed, smiling gently at the baby dragon asleep in his basket at the other side of the room. She paused, feeling a brief moment of guilt for placing as much responsibility as she did on Spike’s shoulders. He was just a baby dragon, no matter how intelligent he was or how grown-up he tried to seem.

The knocking was replaced by a voice, harsh and rough and deep. “Twilight Sparkle!” That didn’t sound like any pony she knew. She made her way to the door, wiping the sleep out of her eyes before opening it. Standing on the other side of the threshold, taking up nearly the entire doorway was none other than Princess Celestia. And she was not happy. The guard who had been knocking and finally shouted for her stood behind the princess, clad in the familiar golden armour. Two additional guards stood vigil over the princess’ chariot parked in the street.

The princess’ horn began to glow dimly as a scroll produced itself from one of the guards. Wrapped in Celestia’s white, magical haze, the scroll unrolled itself and presented its contents to Twilight. The princess scowled. “Do you care to explain the meaning of this, Twilight?”

Twilight gulped and looked to the parchment, beginning to read. It appeared to be part of a security briefing by the RBI agent in charge of the Elements investigation. Her heart sank as she noticed an entire paragraph devoted to her participation in the investigation, or rather, the lack thereof. She tried to feign ignorance. “Um... Explain what, princess?”

Anger flashed in Celestia’s eyes. “You know very well, Twilight. My RBI agent has told me that you have not spoken with them about the Elements in nearly a week. Is this true?”

Twilight gulped. “Y-yes...” she stammered nervously. She avoided her mentor’s eyes.

Celestia stepped inside, followed by the guard behind her. She turned to him, ordered, “Leave us.” The guard nodded, looked to Twilight, and closed the door, giving the princess and her student some privacy. Celestia quickly threw up a magical barrier around the doors and windows and across the stairway, preventing any sound from leaving the library’s main room. Her anger faded quickly, replaced by sorrow. “Twilight...” she started, averting her gaze.

“Princess, let me explain,” began Twilight, desperately hoping her teacher hadn’t discovered her deception of the previous several days.

“Twilight, it’s okay,” the princess said, interrupting her. “I know you haven’t really been investigating the theft of the Elements, and I knew when I replied to you that those documents you requested were meant to help find Nyx.”

Twilight hung her head, ashamed. “I’m sorry, Princess. I really didn’t want to lie to you about the archives.”

Celestia looked at her reassuringly. “You didn’t lie to me, Twilight. I just let it sound like I assumed you meant something else. Although, I suspect your friend Spike had something to do with the idea...” She raised an eyebrow.

Twilight blushed and chuckled nervously, refusing to confirm or deny Spike’s guilt.

“You’ve been through a lot this past week, Twilight,” the princess said, looking at the grossly disorganized library around her. “What you have experienced is something that I would not wish on anypony in Equestria. And I willingly admit,” she continued, her voice beginning to crack, “that I have succeeded only in making this much, much worse for you.” A tear rolled down her cheek, hanging on the bottom side of her muzzle. “For this, I am truly sorry... my faithful student.” Her other eye joined in, expelling a tear of its own. The two combined and dripped off her chin, splashing on the floor between them.

“Princess...” Twilight started. She had so many things to say. Her mind reeled with the possible endings to that sentence. “I...” she stammered.

“Twilight,” Celestia stopped her, “I’m releasing you from the investigation into the Elements theft. I believe the RBI has it under control now, thanks in part to the information you and Spike provided. But I would understand if you did not feel up to the task right now, considering what you’ve been through.” The princess was almost pleading with her, it seemed. Did Celestia want her to help with the investigation or not?

“But, Princess,” Twilight objected, “I can’t just sit here and do nothing, pretend like nothing happened. And my daughter. I have to find her!” The mare was producing her own tears now.

“Twilight, please...” Celestia said.

She had to know. Why did her teacher, her friend, her princess want to keep her from finding the one thing that mattered to her above all else? “Why won’t you let me search for Nyx?”

“Twilight,” the princess said slowly, “I will not prohibit you any longer from trying to find Nyx.”

Twilight’s breath caught. “Wha... really?”

“Yes, Twilight. I won’t stop you, because you are going to stop yourself.” Celestia held her gaze at the floor, unwilling to look her student in the eye.

“Why... Why in Equestria would I stop searching for my daughter?! She’s the reason I get up in the morning, my motivation for trying to make Equestria a better place for everypony!” Her statement surprised even herself. Wow, Twilight thought, I’m really starting to sound like my mother now.

Celestia gasped and looked at Twilight, shock clearly evident on her face through her freely flowing tears. “I...” she was forced to stop as a sob racked her. “I really with you hadn’t said that, Twilight.”

Twilight’s nerves pricked at Celestia’s words. “What do you mean?” She forced a sternness into her voice. “Princess... What’s going on?”

“Wait here for a moment, Twilight,” Celestia managed, doing her best to wipe the evidence of her emotional state from her face. “I’ll be right back.” She turned and opened the front door with her magic, walking through the magical barrier and into the night toward her chariot.

Twilight watched as Celestia pulled something bulky from the chariot and placed it under her wing. She couldn’t quite make out what it was, the combination of distance and darkness working against her eyes. As the princess returned, Twilight could not stop her imagination from conjuring horrible, intensely disturbing images in her mind. They flashed by one after another at lightning fast, subliminal speed. She could feel herself becoming lost in her thoughts, her breath quickening and shallowing, her heart rate increasing. It took all the concentration she could muster to remain in the present, in reality with the princess.

Celestia closed the door behind her with magic and sat in front of her protégé, the parcel from the chariot still hidden securely beneath her wing. She had seemed to steel herself against another emotional breakdown while outside. She was no longer crying; she seemed depressed, morose.

Twilight couldn’t wait. “What could you possible have that would make me stop searching for Nyx?” she asked, no longer caring about formalities between them.

Celestia sighed, her voice flat. “Twilight. You can search for Nyx for the rest of your life, but you won’t... because you won’t find her.”

“What?!” Twilight gasped. She felt her heart skip a beat. “Celestia, what do you know about my daughter’s abduction? You have to tell me!” she demanded.

The alicorn’s steel crumbled, and tears began rolling down her cheeks again, one at a time. “Twilight, Nyx... wasn’t abducted.”

Twilight didn’t accept this. She needed more. “How do you know? Everything I’ve learned points to an abduction by roans from the Southern Equestrian Territories.”

Celestia unfolded her wing and pulled out the parcel with her teeth, showing it to Twilight. The librarian immediately felt sick by what she saw, and she had to resist the sudden urge to purge her stomach. It was taking all her willpower to not embarrass herself in front of her princess. Celestia placed the parcel on the floor between them as Twilight stared at it.

It was a school bag. Or rather, it had been a school bag. The outer pockets had been blown out as if by an explosion inside them, destroying the zippers and buttons in the process. Straps at the bottom where the filly or colt would slip their forelegs to carry the pack on their back were severed at mid-length, burned through and their ragged ends charred black. Then Twilight noticed the top of the bag. In the centre of an area of black fabric was a symbol which had come to mean more to her than any other icon in her life. A small, blue sapphire gleamed, contrasting vividly against the dark background. Twilight immediately recognized it as the gift given by Rarity on a certain filly’s “birthday” the previous year. It was a beautifully carved replica of Nyx’s shield-shaped cutie mark. This was Nyx’s school bag.

Celestia produced one more object, this time levitating it to Twilight directly. Nyx’s glasses. Twilight barely recognized them. The frames were melted into impossible shapes and bore the signs that they had partially boiled. The lenses, which she had enchanted specially to make the filly’s eyes appear normal, were shattered, sharp shards jutting out from the edges of the frames. She dropped them. The broken accessory clattered to the floor, coming to a stop against the school bag. Hanging from a pocket near where the glasses came to rest was a short feather, as black as midnight and with the brilliant opacity of onyx.

Twilight couldn’t breathe, and her world was beginning to spin dizzily. Her stomach threatened to defy her efforts, but she managed to squeak, “Wh-where did you get this? What does this mean?” The items were quickly dissolving into a multicoloured blur, the result of her own tears flowing again. Twilight really didn’t want to hear the answer to her questions. The problem was, she needed to.

“Twilight,” Celestia said after a long pause. Her sobs were becoming so pronounced that she had difficulty enunciating her next words. “Nyx is dead.”

Chapter 4

Spike sighed as he closed the library’s book record for the day. The sun was low on the horizon as the last patron left with two loaned books securely in their saddlebags. Following them to the door, he closed it as they walked away, activating the lock on the handle with a push of his thumb. He had opened the library to the public three days ago after the RBI agents finally removed the crime scene status from the property.

In the three days since he reopened the library’s doors, he had performed all of both the maintenance and administration associated with running a public service. Fortunately, for all the citizens of Ponyville, Spike had learned a great deal from Twilight after she moved into town. He didn’t have any particular trouble checking-in and checking-out books or collecting fines from the delinquent ponies. Since he’d been re-shelving books for Twilight for years, even while they still lived in Canterlot, that was also a non-issue now.

What really seemed to eat away at the baby dragon’s spirit was the fact that he was performing these duties alone. He began each day with an upbeat and positive attitude, as he always had. By the end of the day, however, his actions and face betrayed an intense loneliness.

He made his way to the kitchen. Once there, he prepared dinner for two, Twilight’s favourite: celery soup and daffodil sandwiches. The task had quickly become mundane over the days. He and Twilight nearly always prepared and ate dinner together in their small but homey kitchen. Now that she wasn’t there preparing it with him, it seemed like more of a chore, his movements almost mechanical. He ladled the soup into two bowls and placed them on a tray beside a plate of two sandwiches.

Balancing the tray in his claws, he stopped and stared at the food for a long moment. Twilight hadn’t touched any food in nearly five days, ever since Celestia had given her that horrible news about Nyx. Three times each day, Spike prepared their meals. Like now, he brought two servings to her bedside: one for each of them. He ate with her, sharing the time together as they always had, even if the conversation was one-sided and only his food was eaten.

He carefully set the tray on Twilight’s bedside table and sat in the chair beside it. Twilight didn’t respond to the sound. Spike watched his friend’s chest rise and fall gently with her breath. Her back was turned to him, preventing him from seeing if she was awake or asleep. It didn’t matter. She was almost always asleep. Those few times he saw her awake, she was completely unresponsive. He pleaded with her to eat something or, at the very least, drink some water. After a few days, he gave up his pleading and simply left her food and water behind when he had finished with his own. In the past five days since his friend had become like this, he removed only three empty glasses from the room. The rest had remained undisturbed along with the food until he replaced it with the next meal.

Seeing his friend completely detached from the outside world like this brought tears to his eyes again. He was forced to suspend his dinner as the droplets fell into his lap. Initially, Spike thought Twilight’s catatonia was magically induced. The night Celestia gave her the news, she had been forced to place a sleeping spell on her student. Twilight’s grief had become so violent and unstable in the wake of Celestia’s revelation, that the princess believed the mare might accidentally hurt herself in a fit of emotion.

In a letter to Spike, she assured him that the spell she placed on Twilight was extremely gentle, and should have effected a peaceful sleep for only a few hours. The librarian didn’t wake for over a day. Even after that, Spike had seen her eyes open only a handful of times, despite checking on her every hour during the day, and sleeping in his basket beside her bed at night.

Princess Celestia had informed him of what happened when Twilight’s cries of despair woke him that night. She had performed the sleeping spell in his presence and with his begrudging consent. The death of the filly he considered to be part of his family had affected him, as well. He and Celestia cried for hours in the library over Twilight’s sleeping form until the princess was obligated to return to Canterlot before daybreak. Celestia carefully moved Twilight into her bed before she departed, leaving Spike to grieve alone with his only remaining family member unconscious beside him. He sobbed and shed tears until he thought there were none left to give. Then he had cried some more. Through it all, and until he finally fell asleep in his basket late the following morning, Twilight slept. For two days, he left the unicorn’s side only to eat and bathe. Twilight slept. On the third day, Spike reopened the library.

Spike sniffed, slowly finishing his half-eaten sandwich and looking at the food and water which would likely remain untouched until he brought her breakfast in the morning. His gaze returned to the mare on the bed, her breath shallow under the covers. She looked small and fragile lying there, emotionally broken. After returning his empty plate and glass to the tray, he resigned himself to ending another day without the company of his friend. Curling up in his basket, he allowed another tear to roll down his cheek before succumbing to his own sleep.

Twilight’s sandwich and water remained undisturbed when Spike awoke the next morning, as they had all of the previous several mornings. An hour later, after Twilight again slept through another offered breakfast, Spike sat in the library with parchment and quill in-hand. He grazed the tip of the quill’s feather against his chin, thinking about what to write. Presently, he began scribbling onto the parchment.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I’m writing to you about Twilight. She isn’t doing so well. She’s been sleeping almost all the time, and she hasn’t said anything to me since you told her about Nyx that night last week. I’ve been trying to take care of her, but she just lays in bed. She won’t even eat or drink any water! You gotta do something, Princess! I’m worried that she’ll make herself sick if she stays like this much longer.

Please hurry!

Your faithful subject,

Spike

He rolled the parchment, neglecting to seal or wrap it in any way, and breathed his magical dragon fire onto it. The letter flashed with bright green flame before disappearing into the wind as a trail of ash.

Twilight realized she was dreaming when she found herself staring into a flawless field of stars from the observatory and library in her old tower in Canterlot Castle. I think I’m getting better at this lucid dreaming stuff, she thought, making a mental note to inform Luna of her progress in dream magic.

A sudden thought chilled her in the relatively warm, summer air. She couldn’t remember any of her dreams before this one. She couldn’t even remember if she had been dreaming at all before this one. She had just now realized she was in her old observatory, but what about before that? She’d awakened in her bedroom in Ponyville several times since Celestia sedated her that horrible night. She knew that several days had passed, since each time she opened her eyes, the sun (or lack thereof) indicated many hours had passed.

For some reason, she didn’t feel sad or depressed anymore, either. She still felt the aching loss of her daughter, a gaping wound that would never completely heal without the certain knowledge of precisely what had happened. But... she wasn’t upset about it anymore, just curious. How... curious. It took her a few seconds to do a mental inventory of her thoughts and feelings. She didn’t only fail to experience the familiar sadness. She didn’t feel anything. It was odd, not feeling any emotion whatsoever.

As far as she could ascertain, she still had complete control of her faculties. She performed a few simple logical tests in her head, convinced that her left-brain was fully functional. It was unnerving how emotionally numb she felt, though. She almost always let her scientific, thinking, rational side take control to solve problems ever since she was a foal. But through it all there was always the underlying emotion. She had long since accepted its presence as a type of mental ground, reminding her during the most trying of times that she was still a pony, flesh-and-blood, and that ponies were allowed to make mistakes and learn from them.

“Do not fret, dear Twilight. We have... barred that portion of thy mind for the time being,” the voice said from behind her.

Twilight jumped and kicked off the floor with her hind legs, spinning on her forehooves to face the opposite direction. Princess Luna, as magnificently radiant as ever in her dream realm, stepped out from the shadows beside a nearby bookshelf. “Princess Luna!” she said, willing her heart to slow to a normal pace. “You scared me!” She made another mental note. Ponies were accomplishing that far too often lately. “What do you mean you ‘barred that portion of my mind?’ You can do that?” she questioned.

“Thou art in a great deal of emotional pain, Twilight,” the Princess Of The Night answered matter-of-fact. “It would have been... unproductive for thou to feel such distractions while we discuss things.” She sat a few metres in front of the purple unicorn, watching her interestedly.

Twilight sat facing her, following suit. “So...” she started, her mind fumbling her possible words, “did you create this dream for me? I can’t remember dreaming at all over the past few days.” She looked around at the room and the narrow slit in the ceiling for her telescope. The stars above them burned brilliantly in the midnight sky, the Milky Way clearly visible, a subtle stripe of pinks and blues painted across the heavens. This may have been a dream, but the scene caused Twilight’s breath to catch nonetheless.

Luna looked at her confusedly. “Nay, Twilight. Thou hast created this dreamscape thyself. Did thou not know this?”

Twilight returned her gaze to the princess. She shook her head.

Her companion raised an eyebrow, then turned her head slowly to take admire the environment in which she was the visitor. “Indeed,” she said absently, “thou has gotten quite good at dream magic.”

“Well, I have an excellent teacher,” Twilight stammered, smiling gratefully at the blue alicorn.

Luna blushed briefly. “We believe this is where thou hast been since you entered into sleep.”

Now Twilight was confused. “Huh? I just got here a few minutes ago. Just before you got here. I just... don’t remember anything before this.”

“The dream realm is elusive and fleeting, Twilight. Thou knowest this,” Luna said like a teacher repeating an obvious fact to a student. “However,” she continued, “we believe this dreamscape is quite old. Perhaps as old as the week thou hast slept.” Luna looked at her sternly.

“But I’ve been awake several times in the past week,” Twilight protested. “Just... not for very long.”

Luna waved a hoof dismissively. “Thou hast simply returned to the same dreamscape each time. This is not unusual after short periods of waking.” She rose and walked closer to Twilight, laying down beside her on the marble floor. “Twilight,” she started, sighing, “what has happened?”

“What do you mean?” Twilight responded, laying down where she sat.

“Our sister, Celestia, received a frantic message from thy assistant, Spike. She informed us that thou were in dire need of support, both physical and emotional.” Luna stared at Twilight, her voice careful and soft.

“What do you know about that night the princess visited me?” Twilight asked. This is really weird, she thought, I still don’t feel anything.

“We know only that Celestia visited thee late one night, and that she placed a mild sleeping spell on thee. She has since locked herself in her chambers and refuses to emerge. I have been holding day court and managing the kingdom alone in her stead.” Luna’s expression shifted to one of deep concern. “She is greatly upset, Twilight. We worry about her, and now thee, as well.”

Twilight wanted to cry. It seemed like the right thing to do. She needed to tell Luna about Nyx’s death. Even thinking about Nyx normally resulted in a violently weeping Twilight, and she suspected Luna’s response wouldn’t be much less negative. She lost a sister in Nyx, too, right? She sat there for a few moments before the silent princess. She couldn’t cry. She simply didn’t feel the emotions necessary to produce tears. Is this what Luna wanted? she thought. Does she suspect that I need to tell her something awful, and that I couldn’t unless I was completely stoic? She took a deep breath. Maybe Celestia’s direct method would be for the best here, too. “Luna, Nyx is dead.”

The princess gasped. “What?! Twilight, we beg thee, tell us that thou jest!” The alicorn’s eyes were wide with shock.

“I’m afraid not,” was Twilight’s simple reply.

“Pray tell, how did this happen?!” Tears began to well in Luna’s azure eyes.

Twilight spent the next half-hour retelling the events of that night. Her voice betrayed neither sadness, loss, nor pain. She spoke the facts and only the facts. She had to pause her story at several points to wait for a weeping Luna to regain control of herself. She felt awful telling one of her good friends about this. But then, who would want to inform a friend that their sister was never coming home? By the time Twilight had finished, Luna had apparently cried herself dry and was merely listening keenly.

Luna sniffed pitifully. “Twilight, this saddens us, this terrible news. We...” she paused, “we understand now how deeply this must have affected thee. Though we have never born foals of our own, we can but imagine how thy loss must pain thee.”

Twilight nodded. It stuck her as obscenely strange how she felt nothing while the normally cynical princess wept openly in her presence.

“However,” Luna said after a moment of thought, “this strange message from thy zebra friend will require our consideration.” She had regained her composure, for the most part, and she sat, prompting her purple companion to do the same. “Zebra prescience is not to be ignored.”

The two mares sat in the moonlit observatory for several minutes, silently contemplating. Luna finally rose, stretching her wings. “One last thing, Twilight,” she said. “Thy friends, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy visited thee earlier this evening while thou slept. They asked that we express their condolences to thee. We now know to what they referred.” She looked down at her hooves. “Twilight,” she said, her tone more serious, “we will allow this spell which numbs emotion to continue within thee. At least until thou can manage them on thy own.”

Twilight thought she felt a sense of relief for the briefest of instants. “Thank you, Luna... for everything.”

Luna turned to face her, bringing her muzzle close and glaring directly into the unicorn’s violet eyes. An air of command accompanied her next words. “In the meantime, Twilight Sparkle, thou must return to caring for thyself. We will not hear of another lost friend.” She paused to let the order penetrate Twilight’s skull. “Dost thou understand?”

Twilight gulped and nodded curtly.

Luna reversed her direction and slowly walked toward the far wall, adding softly, “We will speak again soon.” She took two more steps and then disappeared. There was no flash of light, no tingle or crackle of magic. She was just not there anymore.

Spike sat up, alert, as the mare twitched and groaned in her bed. He hurried to her side, looking into her face. Twilight’s eyes slowly opened, focused on the dragon. “Twilight?” Spike ventured, excited at seeing his friend move and make sound again.

Twilight stirred again, her voice husky from days of disuse. “Hey, Spike,” she said, a grim smile forming on her lips.

Tears spilled over her assistant’s cheeks, his happiness to see her evident. For the first time in nearly a week, Twilight cried in the real world.

* * * * *

The following morning was marked by one of utmost elation on the part of Spike. Twilight, finding that she no longer felt the level of depression necessary to keep her bedridden thanks to Luna’s dream-magic spell, stretched her muscles for many long minutes while they complained painfully after their long neglect. Eventually, she slowly made her way to the kitchen downstairs. Spike was busy preparing a breakfast that Twilight thought might not be the best way to reintroduce her stomach to food. She was indeed hungry, very much so. But, just the thought of actually swallowing something sent a wave of nausea through her belly. She carefully sat at the kitchen table, her eyes reacclimating to the bright morning light which streamed in through the window. The day was proving to be as sunny and cheerful as possible for Ponyville’s residents.

Spike slid a plate of haycakes and oats in front of her, forcing her attention’s return from the weather on the other side of the window. “Here you go, Twilight!” he said cheerfully as he sat across from her, taking a particularly large bite out of a sapphire. “It’s great to have you back. It just wasn’t the same here without you, you know.”

Twilight smiled weakly at him. “Thanks, Spike.” She looked longingly at the food and her stomach lurched. She ignored the plate, continued, “I’m sorry about the past week. It really wasn’t fair of me to put that much responsibility on you.”

Spike waved her comment off dismissively. “Oh, don’t worry about it, Twilight. You would have done the same for me. Besides, after what happened...” His voice trailed off, failing to finish the thought.

“It’s alright, Spike,” Twilight assured him. “I’m okay now.” She knew the dragon was attempting to protect his friend from further emotional harm, and that he hadn’t thought about his words before they escaped him. Twilight explained, noticing her assistant’s confused expression, “Luna used her dream magic to put some sort of spell on me that numbs emotion.”

Spike raised an eyebrow at her as he tossed another gemstone into his mouth, crunching it loudly.

“It means that my emotions won’t get in the way of my responsibilities anymore... at least for a while.” Twilight wondered, what were her responsibilities now? Am I just supposed to go back to being Ponyville’s librarian and studying the magic of friendship under Princess Celestia’s guidance? That’d almost be like nothing ever happened. I can’t do that...

Spike swallowed his shattered gem, eyeing her carefully. “Twilight, that’s... that can’t be healthy. I mean, you need to feel something, don’t you?”

Twilight shrugged. “I think I should feel something. But you saw what happened when I did. I think Luna’s spell is probably for the best for now. From what I understand, my emotions are still there, buried in my mind somewhere. I just can’t feel them right now.”

“I still don’t think that’s normal...” Spike said slowly. He looked at her plate of food. “You haven’t touched your breakfast. Aren’t you hungry?”

“No, no, it looks delicious. I... just don’t know if I should eat something this... fancy right away,” Twilight said, trying to reassure the dragon. His cooking really was top-notch, and she normally looked forward eagerly to his meals. But at the moment, a small cup of grass broth or maybe dandelion pudding seemed more appropriate. “My stomach is just a bit upset, that’s all.”

Spike looked hurt, but nodded. He retrieved a box of powder from the cupboard and busied himself boiling some water. A small bowl of broth was presented to the mare within a couple minutes. She gladly accepted it and slowly drank it, her stomach begrudgingly accepting the much more mild sustenance. Spike, meanwhile, made short work of Twilight’s haycakes. It never ceased to amaze her how much food that little dragon could put away.

Twilight found herself wandering through the streets of Ponyville an hour later, reacquainting herself with the sights and sounds of the small town. Her ultimate destination was the residence of a certain lilac earth pony who had an affinity for young ponies. She didn’t know how many ponies Spike had informed about Nyx in the past week, but she thought that she owed Nyx’s school teacher a personal visit, if for nothing more than to commiserate the loss of a student.

She was stopped several times in town by various ponies she recognized. They wished her well, and expressed their delight that Twilight was mobile again and had regained her health. She gathered that Spike had told everypony Twilight was simply ill. She inwardly thanked him for that. The last thing she needed was for everypony in town to know that she was depressed to the point of self negligence. Not one of them mentioned the late alicorn filly.

It felt odd to Twilight that she could think about her daughter without being overwhelmed by a flood of negative emotions. She wasn’t sure if her visit with Cheerilee would be more painful for her or for the teacher. She guessed the latter. Over the course of the morning, she discovered that Luna’s anti-emotion spell effectively suppressed not only the sadness and loss, but every other emotional feeling, as well. She smiled and thanked the ponies who had greeted her, but she didn’t feel any happiness or gratefulness.

She stopped on the straw welcome mat beneath Cheerilee’s front door and knocked twice. The teacher was officially on holiday now that the school year was ended for the summer. Twilight waited, looking around at the carefully pruned shrubs and trees scattering the mare’s front yard. The house had also received a fresh coat of lavender paint. She must be awfully bored, Twilight thought, going from the hectic life of a primary school teacher to... well... nothing to do.

The door opened, revealing a smiling Cheerilee wearing a dust apron and a heart-embroidered bandanna over her mane. Her teeth firmly held the handle of a feather duster bearing the evidence of recent use. She immediately recognized Twilight, her smile growing more pronounced. She set the feather duster on a nearby side table. “Twilight! It’s so good to see you.” She stepped aside, allowing the purple mare entrance. “Please, come in! Come in.” Abandoning the duster on the table, she accompanied Twilight into the small, but very smartly arranged living room. “Can I get you anything? Tea, maybe?”

Twilight suddenly realized that she was really thirsty. “Tea would be great, thanks,” she replied, then quickly added, “Something mild, please.” She sat on one end of an obscenely comfortable-looking sofa near the small fireplace.

Cheerilee seemed to realize immediately what Twilight meant. “Of course, poor dear. Your stomach must still be bothering you after such a long illness.” She raised a hoof to her chin, thinking. “I have just the thing. I’ll be right back. Please, make yourself comfortable.” She backed up, opening a swinging door to the kitchen, then disappearing as it closed behind her. Presently, the sound of simmering water and crumpling tea leaves floated through the room.

Twilight looked beside her at the fireplace, dark and cold but immaculately clean. Even the andiron had been scrubbed clean, gleaming silver in the morning light. Celestia’s horn... Cheerilee really was bored!

Her host reappeared moments later carrying a simple tea service on her back. She moved it to the coffee table, then sat herself on the other end of the sofa before pouring a cup of the steaming liquid for both Twilight and herself. “So,” she said cheerfully, sipping on the tea between her hooves, “how are you? Feeling better, I assume?”

Twilight resisted the temptation to tell her that she didn’t feel much of anything, due to the spell over her. A couple sips of tea later, “Much better, thanks,” was all she finally said. She stared down into her teacup, gently rolling the tea around the inner edge with her magic. Cheerilee really did have “just the thing.” It was delicious. She couldn’t quite identify the unique flavour, and decided it was definitely not her normal herbal fare, but it was surprisingly mild. Her stomach was already thanking her as it received the concoction. “What is this? It’s perfect.”

Cheerilee stifled a giggle as she answered. “It’s a blend of prairie grasses from east of Appleloosa. I’ve found it really helps when I have an upset stomach.” She took another sip of the steaming tea. “Very good for sleepless nights, too.”

Twilight snorted. “Well, I haven’t had many of those in a while,” she mused. She wasn’t about to tell her friend that she had spent the better part of the last week unconscious.

“You really had me worried, Twilight,” Cheerilee said after a pregnant pause in the conversation, her smile softening. “I went to library a couple days ago to invite you to lunch in town. That’s when Spike told me you were really sick. He said you’d been laid-up for days!”

Twilight didn’t respond, idly sipped her beverage.

Cheerilee continued when Twilight didn’t say anything. “I offered to help him take you to a doctor at the hospital, but he said he thought you’d be fine after some rest.” She shook her head. “I guess he was right. But I still wish you had seen a doctor.”

The unicorn couldn’t delay anymore. She had to tell Cheerilee the news, and it would feel better to get it over with right away. “Cheerilee...” Great, now that I’ve started, I don’t know what to say. “Cheerilee...” she repeated.

The school teacher looked at her oddly. “Yes, Twilight? What is it?” She set her empty teacup on the table. Twilight did the same, a few swallows of the tea remaining in the bottom.

“It’s... it’s about Nyx,” she blurted finally. She still felt weirdly numb, emotionally. But it was becoming very difficult to tell her friend about her daughter. Was Luna’s spell weakening? Or was this loss of articulation just some side-effect?

Cheerilee’s eyes betrayed a sadness, despite the smile she obviously struggled to maintain. “The poor thing. Nopony has found her yet?” She placed a comforting hoof on Twilight’s leg.

“Well, no...” Twilight said, stalling against her own will. “They’ve found Nyx.” She looked up at Cheerilee. “What’s left of her.”

Cheerilee gasped, both her front hooves covering her mouth in horror. “You... you don’t mean...” Her eyes threatened tears.

Twilight nodded. She felt nothing, and feeling nothing right now felt wrong. She did all she could do: observe her friend’s reaction.

Tears streaked the teacher’s cheeks, dripping onto the fabric of the sofa beneath her. She removed her hooves from her muzzle long enough to choke out a laboured, “Oh, Twilight! I’m so sorry!” She lunged at the purple mare, embracing her in a hug as she wept into her friend’s mane.

Twilight was confused, both by the situation and by Cheerilee’s reaction. She expected the school teacher to be saddened by the loss of one of her students, but not quite this saddened. She held the crying earth pony at leg’s length. “I didn’t know you and Nyx were that close.”

“Twilight!” Cheerilee said, clearly surprised by Twilight’s comment. “Nyx was my student, and one of my most promising ones, at that.” Twilight felt suddenly ashamed. Cheerilee continued, “She was always so interested in learning about everything around her. She was like a sponge for knowledge. And she was always so well-behaved in class. She was the ideal pupil, really.”

Twilight smiled glumly, remembered how Nyx had an insatiable appetite for books in their library home.

Cheerilee looked at her lack of reaction oddly. Then she looked down, blushing. “Forgive me, Twilight,” she said, prompting Twilight’s brain to issue a curt uh-oh. “I was finally getting used to the idea that Nyx was a normal filly just like her classmates. I was afraid of her for the longest time after... well... you know.”

Twilight just nodded, feeling neither sympathy nor enmity for the lilac mare.

“But over the past couple years as Nyx gradually found herself and made friends, I got to know her as the filly she is--” she corrected herself quickly, “er... was...” Her gaze turned downward into space. “The more I got to know her, the more I realized that she had the same needs, desires, and fears as everypony else. These last few months, I actually enjoyed having her in class each day. I looked forward to her questions.” She fell silent, staring at the carpet.

Twilight used her magic to lift her cup from the table and finish the trickle of tepid tea in the bottom. The tea leaves settled, forming a shape vaguely like Nyx’s shield cutie mark. She sighed. Even this didn’t provoke her. Turning to Cheerilee, she noticed her friend had stopped crying and was dabbing her eyes with a newly acquired tissue. “Are you going to be okay?” she asked.

Cheerilee sniffed, wiping the excess moisture from her muzzle. She blinked rapidly as one does when avoiding additional tears. “Yes, Twilight. I’ll be fine,” she finally said. “It’s just... It’s always hard to lose a student like this, especially one so young and curious.”

Twilight nodded solemnly and stood, replacing her cup on the table. “I need to get going, Cheerilee,” she said. “Some other ponies stopped by the library while I was... sick, and I’d like to go thank them.”

Cheerilee nodded and showed her friend to the door. “Twilight,” she called as the unicorn passed over the threshold, “are you going to be all right?”

Twilight again had to resist the urge to tell Cheerilee about Luna’s magic spell. Instead, she stopped and shrugged. “Honestly, Cheerilee, I don’t know.” She turned and left, the earth pony standing in the doorway bewildered, watching after her as she crested a nearby hill and disappeared toward town.

* * * * *

The memorial service was held precisely three weeks after Nyx disappeared, two weeks after Celestia had revealed to Twilight and Spike her accidental demise. Spike, assisted by Rarity, planned and publicized the event, a small to-do held in the Ponyville Cemetery just outside of town opposite Sweet Apple Acres. Rainbow Dash had arranged for cloudy skies that morning, the least, she said, that she could do for Twilight. Like Twilight’s other friends, though, she seemed hesitant to do more than that least amount.

A small group gathered around a tiny grave site, about a dozen ponies (and dragon) in all. Twilight stood near the gravestone, a modest, grey slab of granite which bore Nyx’s name at the top and the dates of her birth and death in smaller type near the bottom. Between the information, in the centre of the stone shined a small sapphire in the shape of a shield. Rarity had insisted on using the gem from Nyx’s backpack to adorn the stone. Given the other nearby grave markers, it was almost a guarantee that any visitors would be drawn to it, and therefore, to the memory of the little, black alicorn filly.

Twilight surveyed the small group through teary eyes. All of her best friends were there, except, she noted, Pinkie Pie. Applejack stood with the four remaining members of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, all of whom looked more devastated than anypony else present. Scootaloo hugged Sweetie Belle tightly, comforting her friend, and urging her to quiet her sobs. Apple Bloom and Twist simple cried to themselves, each looking down at the grassy sod. Rainbow Dash had finally landed, folding her wing around a sniffling Fluttershy, attempting to console her fellow pegasus. At the foot of the grave were Cheerilee, weeping quietly, and to Twilight’s surprise, Diamond Tiara and her parents. Twilight herself was flanked by Rarity and Spike just to the side of the gravestone. Rarity was having difficulty containing her tears, no doubt to save her appearance from ruined makeup.

Spike cleared his throat and started to say something to the ponies gathered around the freshly-plotted site. Twilight wasn’t really paying attention to what he said. She could tell he was having trouble, and his wavering voice forced him to pause several times so he could regain his composure. Rarity eventually lost the battle against her emotions, her mascara running down her cheeks in stark contrast to her white coat. She ducked her head, attempting to hide herself beneath her wide-brimmed, black hat.

Twilight herself was having an internal battle against her feelings. In the week since Luna cast the emotional suppression spell on her in her dream, it had gradually weakened. Now, the spell was only a shadow of its initial power, enabling Twilight to barely contain the emotions that were still painfully raw and wretched. She spent the few previous days trying to convince herself that it was healthy for her to feel these emotions, that she should have been feeling them all along. That she had simply been overwhelmed by her feelings before Luna’s spell assisted her. Now that the spell was all but gone, she wished Luna was here cast it again.

She thought of her life in Ponyville. She had lived in Canterlot since she was born, and in the short time between her move to Ponyville and her discovery of Nyx, she had somehow managed to secure the friendship of the best ponies one could imagine. They had accomplished so much together. Enormous, incredible feats of bravery, loyalty, kindness, laughter, generosity, honesty. Combined, they had been unstoppable. Nyx had somehow changed that, driven a wedge between Twilight and the rest of them. They were still friends, undoubtedly. But Twilight’s adoption of the filly who had usurped and imprisoned the Royal Sisters, and who had plunged Equestria into eternal night for months still stuck a sour chord with ponies, and her friends were no exception.

Except Rarity. The white unicorn had taken an affinity to Nyx before anypony else even knew about her. Rarity accepted her for who she was instead of who she was meant to be. She treated Nyx as Twilight wanted her to be treated, as her daughter. Any pony from Twilight’s family, she had once said, was automatically and unarguably a friend of hers. This was quite likely the reason Rarity had insisted on helping Spike with the memorial preparations immediately upon learning about them. Besides Twilight, Rarity and Spike were taking Nyx’s death the worst, perhaps even more than the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Nyx’s best friends during her short, far too short, life.

Spike had finished speaking, and silence reigned over the group for several long minutes. Rarity had completely given up any pretense of containing herself, and she wept openly, comforted by the embrace of an equally broken baby dragon. Diamond Tiara dipped her head slightly, surprising Twilight with a look of genuine sadness, or... could it be? Regret. She turned and left slowly with her parents back in the direction of town.

One by one, the other ponies in the group made their way past the gravestone, either saying their goodbyes or simply stopping to shed a few tears in remembrance of Nyx’s time with them. They expressed their deepest condolences to Twilight, many of them offering to share the unicorn’s sorrow in a brief hug. Eventually, only the two unicorns and Spike remained. Thunder rolled gently overhead, threatening rain.

Twilight sighed. She still hadn’t said goodbye, and she didn’t know if she yet could. Leaving Spike and Rarity to comfort each other nearby, Twilight approached the grave stone, stopping to look down at the small mound of grass which covered her daughter’s empty casket. She couldn’t think of anything to say. She rested her forehead on the top of the stone and allowed her tears to flow. The unstoppable waves of sadness and emptiness rolled over her repeatedly, a storm surge in the hurricane of her emotions. Her breath came in short gulps as she slumped into the grass beside the head of the grave. “Nyx!” she wailed, attracting the attention of her two grieving friends. “Oh, Nyx... I miss you so much.”

Spike looked at her sadly. Rarity made her way to Twilight, sitting down behind her and placing a hoof on her back. She didn’t disturb the filly’s mother, nor did she attempt to stop her from grieving.

Twilight’s racked sobs shook her. The tears wouldn’t stop, now that she was able to feel enough to shed them and the floodgates had opened. “Why, Nyx?” she managed through her cries. “Why?!” Her sudden screech startled her friends, prompting soft cooing from the unicorn behind her.

“Twilight...” Rarity said, stroking her friend’s back. Sparse raindrops began to spatter the stone and the cemetery around them. Rarity gently urged her friend back to her hooves. “Come on, Twilight. It’s time to go.” She turned and waited for the broken pony to follow.

“Wait,” Twilight said softly, turning back to the grave. She opened a nearby package with her magic and levitated the small object it contained within sight. Rarity gasped when she saw the shiny object, recognizing it. Spike simply looked at it, then back to Twilight, a few fresh tears making their way down his cheeks. Twilight closed her eyes, placing the object at the base of the grave stone. Her weeping allowed only four whispered words that seemed appropriate. “I’ll never forget you.”

As the three friends walked away from the site, leaving the cemetery for the shelter of Ponyville, Nyx’s purple glasses, perfectly repaired and whole, glowed dimly with magic as they sank slowly into the ground. In their place at the base of the grey slab, a single flower of nightshade bloomed, trembling gently under the press of raindrops.

* * * * *

Twilight followed the letter of Luna’s command, if not its true intent. She ate, she bathed, she slept almost-normal hours each night. Since Nyx’s memorial ceremony, though, she spent all of her free time sitting on the end of Nyx’s bed in the library. She would spend hours reading one of the filly’s several favourite books, looking through her class notes, or just surrounding herself with the small number of possessions her daughter had enjoyed. She was coherent, speaking with Spike when he attempted conversation, but she was clearly depressed.

Spike still operated the library downstairs almost entirely on his own, allowing the actual librarian the time she needed to grieve properly. He would occasionally insist on sending her into town to run errands for the household. She didn’t resist or complain, carrying out the assigned tasks with her normal perfectionism. Once completed, Twilight would return to Nyx’s bedroom until necessity (or Spike) drew her out again.

A quiet knock on the bedroom door diverted Twilight’s attention away from the book she was reading, another of those awful teen romance novels by the popular Dream Quill. She looked up to find a familiar, yellow pegasus standing sheepishly in the doorway. “Hello, Fluttershy,” she said monotonously.

“Hello, Twilight,” Fluttershy answered. “Um... I hope I’m not, you know, interrupting you.” She carefully entered the room, looking down at the floor.

“No, of course not,” Twilight said, attempting to give her voice a more positive tone. “I’m just...” she paused, her eyes glazing over with distraction, “I’m just remembering.”

Fluttershy blushed, backing slowly out of the room. “Oh! Well, um, I can always come back later. When, you know, you aren’t so busy...”

Twilight forced her attention back to the present. “No!” she responded, a little too loudly. The pegasus cringed in the door way. “Please,” she begged, “I could use the company, actually.”

Fluttershy’s face brightened, and she trotted over to the bed, sitting beside it and looking at the book Twilight held in her hooves. She immediately beamed. “Oh! That’s one of Dream Quill’s books, isn’t it? I so love his writing. It’s just... just...” she paused her rave, attempting to find the right word, “great!”

Twilight stared at the mare, her mouth agape in disbelief. “Y-you like this stuff?” she asked incredulously. She looked at the book and made a sickened face, sticking out her tongue dramatically.

Fluttershy answered quietly. “Oh yes. His stories are always so nice. And that’s the same reaction Rainbow had when she found out a few years ago.” She giggled. “But I have a message for you from Princess Luna.”

“Huh?” Twilight said, her face twisted in confusion. “Why would Luna send me a message through you?”

“Well,” Fluttershy had lost her boldness found over the book and returned to her normal meek nature. “I hope you don’t mind, but... um... the princess has a mission for us. I mean, for you. Well, maybe it’s more of just a suggestion, but--”

Twilight interrupted her. “Fluttershy, what is the message?”

The pegasus ducked as if about to be struck. “Um, she wants me to take you to see Zecora. In her hut in the Everfree Forest.”

“Huh? Why?”

“I’m not sure. She said that she thinks Zecora has more to tell you.” Fluttershy looked at Twilight apologetically. When she received a blank stare from her friend, she continued even more softly. “Did... did Zecora tell you something about Princess Celestia?”

Twilight raised an eyebrow, that terrible night dredged from her memory. The zebra didn’t explicitly mention Celestia, but she wanted to see where this went. “How do you know about that?” Then she realized. Luna. Luna knows everything I do, and she must have told her some new theory.

“Oh, I only know that Princess Luna thinks you talked to Zecora about Princess Celestia,” Fluttershy responded, then quickly added with concern on her face, “I hope it’s nothing bad. I heard Princess Celestia has locked herself in Canterlot Castle and won’t come out. Nopony has seen her in days! Maybe the princess is sick, and Zecora can help.” She shook her head, causing her long, pink mane to wave gracefully about her face. “But Princess Luna says you need to talk to her right away.”

Twilight was confused again. Celestia was still holed-up in her chambers? But she had grown so cold toward her daughter over the last year. Could the princess really be that upset about Nyx’s death? The librarian also never thought to apply Zecora’s cryptic message to her. Now that she mentally made the connection, though, it made her feel sick to her stomach. “Yeah... Let’s go talk to Zecora.” She thought for a moment. “But why did Luna ask you to go with me into the forest.”

“Oh, she said that, um...” Fluttershy paused, looking anxious.

“What? What did she say?”

The pegasus flinched as she finished her sentence. “She said that I need to be there in case you get turned to stone again.”

Twilight groaned, planting a hoof on her forehead. “I’m never going to live that down, am I?”

Whether Luna’s stated need for Fluttershy was a joke turned out to be irrelevant, since the pair hadn’t seen a single cockatrice in the forest, and they were nearly to their zebra friend’s hut. Twilight appreciated her friend’s escort, however, as they also hadn’t encountered any particularly dangerous animals or plants. A few smaller creatures approached, happily greeted by an exuberant Fluttershy and chittering away at her as if attempting to carry on a conversation with the pegasus. It appeared as if the major threats of the forest had somehow heard of Fluttershy’s uncanny stare ability, and they were allowing the duo a wide berth. Twilight couldn’t remember any creature attempting to harm Fluttershy in the forest (in fact, she had personally pacified and befriended several in the past). She interpreted this to mean that Fluttershy’s unique connection to nature and animals made her an ideal travelling companion in this otherwise perilous place.

“Fluttershy, I’ve been meaning to thank you,” Twilight started, walking slowly beside her friend and staring forward at the path. “For attending Nyx’s memorial the other day. It... it meant a lot to me to see you there.”

“Oh, Twilight,” Fluttershy responded sympathetically, “I wouldn’t have missed it for anything.” She looked at the purple mare, watched her friend walk with her as she spoke. “I know how much it must have hurt you when Nyx... well, um...” She stopped, apparently unwilling to finish the thought. “But I’m your friend, and you really needed your friends after that.” They walked together in silence for several minutes. Then Fluttershy sniffed, tears gently rolling off the bottom of her muzzle onto the ground. She stopped. “Nyx was just a filly. I miss her, too.”

Halting beside her friend, Twilight didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know Fluttershy had been close to her daughter. That made two ponies in the past week who she discovered had lost a friend in the little alicorn. Maybe there wasn’t so much animosity for her out there after all. Somehow, this made her feel both better and worse about her loss. She said nothing, allowing Fluttershy to take her time.

“After Princess Luna turned her back into a filly from Nightmare Moon, she wasn’t so big and scary anymore.” The yellow mare stopped crying, wiped the tears from her face with a hoof. “She came to visit me after school sometimes. She loved to learn about all the animals around Ponyville. She even helped me nurse Angel bunny back to health after he ate a poisonous flower once.”

“I...” Twilight stammered, “I didn’t know that. She never told me.” The pair resumed their slow stride deeper into the forest. “It’s just that...” Twilight was about to bare her heart to her friend, and she didn’t know if she really wanted to. It was rare for the unicorn to let others know her true feelings about anything, the curse of being an intellectual introvert for most of her life. She let a few minutes pass before she tried again. “It’s just that Nyx was the most important thing to me. Every day since I found her, I woke up for her. I saw her to school, I helped her with magic and homework, I helped her through her memories of being Nightmare Moon. When Celestia told me she was d...” She still couldn’t say the word, so she substituted a less painful one. “... told me she was gone, I had nothing to live for.”

Fluttershy whimpered as she walked beside her friend. Any other pony would likely have jumped in to tell her to stop or blurted out the continuation of Twilight’s confession. The pegasus, however much she didn’t want to hear the rest of what her friend had to say, lacked the fortitude to interrupt.

“My reason to get up each morning d-died with her,” Twilight continued, ignoring the tiny sound to her right. “I didn’t want to face the other ponies in Ponyville anymore. I didn’t care about the library anymore. I guess Spike was running it anyway. After Celestia cast a sleeping spell on me, I hoped that I would never have to wake up again. What was the point?”

Fluttershy gasped. “But, Spike told everypony that you were terribly sick. I tried to visit you with some medicine, but he wouldn’t let me into your bedroom.” She paused in thought, perhaps not grasping the meaning behind Twilight’s words. “I guess it was because he didn’t want anypony else to get sick.”

“Well,” Twilight grimaced as she corrected her friend, “I guess I was ‘sick.’ In a manner of speaking.” Fluttershy looked confused, so Twilight explained, “Princess Luna visited me in a dream and told me I was so depressed that my body was shutting down. She eventually used a spell to... hide... my feelings long enough for me to start taking care of myself again.”

“Oh... my...” Fluttershy said. “That’s just awful! Are you feeling better now?”

Twilight smiled at her friend as much as her grief would allow. “Better than I did then.” She faced forward again and sighed. “I don’t think I’ll ever be the same pony I was before I found her, though. She’s left too big of a hole. I feel empty.”

Fluttershy nodded. The friends walked for several more minutes, the sunlight hidden by the thick forest canopy. They stopped when Zecora’s hut came into view only a dozen paces away. If they hadn’t known exactly where it was, they would have missed it for the thick foliage. Fluttershy looked at the mare beside her, said, “Twilight, you have so much more to live for. Nyx told me once that you were the best mother a filly could ever have. She may be gone now, but no pony can ever take away your memories of her. Maybe you’ll be a mother again to another lucky foal.” She embraced Twilight in a tight hug. “If you ever need cheering up, or need to talk about her to somepony, you can come to me. That is, if you want to...”

Twilight released a choked sob into Fluttershy’s mane, but quickly recovered. “Thank you,” she said pathetically.

Fluttershy let go of her friend and looked to the hut before her. The windows were lit, a pony-shaped silhouette confirming that Zecora was inside. “You go talk to Zecora. I want to see those flowers in her garden.” She motioned with her head to a small bloom of purple, glowing softly in the eerie twilight of the inner Everfree.

Twilight still couldn’t figure out why Luna wanted her to talk to the zebra. She was so... drunk the night she visited her in the library that she might not even remember her words. And what made Luna think she was talking about Celestia? Had she spoken with Zecora in the last week? Well, Twilight decided as she watched her friend wading into the nearby flower bed, there’s only one way to find out.

* * * * *

It was several long minutes before Zecora finally answered the door. Twilight had knocked several times, persisting since she knew the zebra was inside. Fluttershy’s message from the princess was enough to steel her determination to talk with her friend before she returned home. There was really nothing there she wanted to see again soon, anyway. Spike managed the library as well as any librarian she’d ever seen (almost as much as herself, she mused). The living quarters reminded her only of the empty bedroom occupying a corner of the second floor, decorated with all the expected paraphernalia associated with a normal filly.

Zecora opened the door and stared at the unicorn. “Twilight!” she said in surprise. “What are you doing here?” She shifted her eyes to either direction, checking for something. “Is anypony else near?” See seemed nervous as soon as she saw Twilight.

“Uh... No?” Twilight lied. Fluttershy was several metres away in Zecora’s garden, but she was well out-of-sight and no longer within earshot amidst the dense foliage. “Wu-AHH!” She felt a strong, sudden tug as Zecora grabbed one of her hooves and pulled her inside, leaving a few disturbed leaves to flutter to the ground on the door mat as the zebra slammed the door closed behind her. Twilight shook her head to stop the world from spinning. She found herself sitting on her haunches before Zecora’s large cauldron. “What was that for?” she asked, shaking the pain from the hoof newly torqued.

The zebra spoke softly, but sternly. “Twilight, you are not right if you come about that fateful night.”

“Huh?” Twilight said, skewing her face in confusion. “Zecora, do you... even remember what happened? You didn’t look...” she searched for the right description, “very sober.”

Zecora raised an eyebrow at the unicorn. “But certainly you took to heart the message that I did impart.”

“Yeah, about that,” Twilight said sheepishly, blushing. “What were you talking about, anyway? Ponies not telling me the truth? The history books being right... or was it wrong... It didn’t make any sense!”

Zecora closed her eyes tightly and rubbed the bridge of her nose. She looked flustered, an appearance Twilight was not accustomed to seeing on the enigmatic, striped equine. “Twilight,” she finally said, “recall with care the words I spoke, and see which truths they might evoke. I can’t remember well that eve, but what I said you should believe.”

Twilight’s eyes narrowed. “Wait. Are you saying somepony lied to me... or would lie to me?”

Zecora stood motionless in front of her, said nothing. She was apparently waiting for Twilight to arrive at a conclusion on her own.

“But...” Twilight said, her conversation with Fluttershy closing a few key circuits in her mind, “the only pony I talked to that night after you was Princess Celestia. I admit, our relationship has been through some tough times lately, but she’s still one of my best friends and my teacher. She practically raised me as a filly! I’m one of the ponies she trusts the most. She’d never lie to me!”

Zecora sighed, looking into Twilight’s eyes pleadingly. “I do not know these things you heard,” she said carefully. “Beware, however, the absurd. Your friends and princess may believe these things they say to make you grieve. Facts ponies know within their heads are sometimes grave mistakes instead. I truly wish that I could give more info through which you could sieve.” She turned, a slight blush appearing on her cheeks. She looked positively embarrassed. “The herb I swallowed late that day clears the mind and shows the way. But now that its effects have passed, my memories from them can’t last. What I told you, it was true. What you think now is up to you.”

Twilight mulled over her friend’s words for several minutes after she finished. She wasn’t sure she completely understood what the zebra was getting at. It seemed pretty obvious at this point that if Zecora told her the truth, then what Celestia had told her was not. How much could the hallucinogenic (perhaps clairvoyant) results of some weird zebra herb be trusted, though? But then, didn’t Pinkie Pie say the same thing, really? After Nyx’s memorial, Twilight had pressed Rarity into admitting to her the reason for the earth pony’s absence. Pinkie didn’t believe Nyx was dead, so she felt it was wrong to attend her funeral. Her emotions quickly became a swirling vortex of anger, sadness, and pain. Voice dropping to a near mumble, she bowed her head and tried desperately not to break down right there. “Nyx is dead, Zecora. That’s what Celestia told me. I even have some charred remains of the accident.”

“Enough!” yelled Zecora.

Twilight jumped back in surprise. She’d never heard the zebra raise her voice like that before. She’d also never heard her say anything that didn’t result in an annoyingly metred rhyme.

Zecora lowered her voice again, continuing. “If Nyx is gone, I grieve for you, for I once lost a daughter, too.” Well, Twilight thought, that was unexpected. “If that is what Celestia said, then do not let it pain your head. I don’t believe she’d lie to you, but that makes not her message true. Is Nyx alive, as I suspect? To find the truth, in here reflect.” As she finished, she softly jabbed Twilight’s breast with a hoof, right at her heart.

Twilight nearly fainted. Her wobbling legs forced her to lie down on Zecora’s floor, physically just paces away from the simmering broth in the cauldron, but mentally many leagues away from her body. “Nyx...” She couldn’t breathe. Nyx was alive?! How did Zecora know this? Wait... Was this even true? She even admits to taking some drug that gave her... prescience! Did that herb let her see the future? If she saw Nyx alive in the future, then that must mean her filly’s still... Her vision was dimming along the edges. She willed herself to calm down with several deep breaths. Okay, she thought, nopony can see into the future, zebra or otherwise.

Zecora was preparing something as Twilight thought. She set a bowl of clear liquid at Twilight’s hooves and lowered herself, lying next to her purple friend, facing her. “Twilight,” she said softly, “if clearer sight is what you wish, then drink the potion from this dish.” She raised a hoof to Twilight’s chin gently, forcing the unicorn to meet her gaze. “But this I warn, and do not jest, what things you see might haunt your rest. Poor Nyx’s cry I think you hear. This zebra brew will make things clear.”

Twilight stared at the foul-smelling concoction before her in the wooden bowl. So this is what had inebriated Zecora that night? It looked like a simple tea, steeped with an herb she’d never seen before. It was clear, cool, and smelled awful. She looked up and noticed that Zecora was staring at her with a horribly pitying look on her face. She decided. If there was any chance that Nyx was alive, then she needed to know. Zecora had never steered her wrong before, and if she said this... stuff would make everything clear to her, then nothing could make her refuse the offer. She carefully lifted the bowl to her lips with magic and poured the contents down her throat.

The room became wavy like the cobblestones of Ponyville Square on a hot summer day. She was dizzy. Really dizzy. She felt immensely relieved that she had already been lying down when she drank the oddly flavourless brew. From the right, she thought she heard her friend saying something to her. A slight sensation of pressure on her neck and head felt like somepony was gently lowering them to the floor. Had she passed out under the influence of whatever this was? She huffed, but it didn’t feel like her lips actually moved to produce the sound. So much for clear vision, she thought. I can barely see the floor, I’m so dizzy. Then she realized there was no floor.

There was no anything. She floated in a silent abyss of the purest white, light coming from nowhere and everywhere all at once. She cast no shadow, not because there was no surface to leave a shadow on, but because the light just... was. Her dizziness slowly ebbed, and the light surrounding her faded into a dull, hazy grey. She climbed to her hooves, briefly wondering how she could climb or stand on nothing. The immediate area looked like she was inside one of Rainbow Dash’s rain clouds or stuck in a wall in Cloudsdale.

A quick mental inventory indicated that she was in complete control of her faculties. In fact, she found all of her cognitive abilities to be greatly enhanced well beyond what she had ever before experienced. She didn’t only see the grey around her. She could feel the grey emptiness. She was the grey emptiness. Concentrating, she expanded her thoughts outward, beyond her limited visual range. As her domain of thought grew, so did her understanding of everything that domain encompassed. Space and time flowed around and through her, completely readable and no longer immutable. A simple thought twisted the very fabric of the universe, and she marveled at the myriad effects of her interference rippling outward to reach every speck of dust in the cosmos. It took a long time, millenia, aeons, to watch the wave finally crash against the universe’s distant shores. That didn’t matter, though. Time was just another variable, and she could manipulate variables.

She turned her attention to one particularly interesting speck very near to herself. At least, very near to where (and when) she thought she had started. It shone brightly, despite its absolute blackness. It called to her, demanding her attention. She torqued spacetime again, more deliberately this time. The result was a severe shift of the ages. Time whirled about her, millions of years entwining with one another to form strands she could manipulate. She reached out with her mind and grabbed one of the threads. Spacetime abruptly dropped its time component, swallowing itself into a blaze of plethora singularities. Stretching the string of time, she slowed its flow, weaving it back into the tapestry which was the universe. She could see, feel, hear every rotating quark of every nucleon of every atom. It was very relaxing, despite the deluge of overabundant information. She concentrated, collapsing wave functions and becoming the electrons, watching herself move with gleeful randomness. The bright, dark speck called to her again. It moved in gloriously methodical ways, deliberate, as if it was itself alive. This speck proved more interesting than she initially suspected. She focused more intently on it, becoming one with the speck but allowing it to act of its own accord.

Suddenly, she was no longer the universe. The light around her had vanished, leaving her in a shining blackness, brilliantly dark. She could feel her body again. She stood on nothingness, just as before, but something was different. She could still sense the flow of space and time around her, but she felt much more... mortal now. The speck that was her shifted its weight and launched itself into the nothingness that surrounded her. A wave of sheer terror washed over her from within the portion of the speck that still maintained its own will. She-as-the-speck spread her wings and slowed her trajectory, coming to a stop. She couldn’t tell if she had moved at all, given the complete void of light and sound around her, and... Wait... Wings?! She flexed the unaccustomed appendages at her sides, and they felt as natural to her as flexing a leg or stretching her neck. These were her wings. Her horn was as it should be on her forehead, as well. Her breath caught as she realized the implications of her new form. She was experiencing what it was like to be an alicorn.

Another wave of intense fear mixed with cold anxiety rolled through her, frosting her bones. She knew of only three alicorns in the universe. There was no way she could possibly be experiencing this perversion of a lucid dream through the eyes of Celestia or Luna. They would never allow such an invasion of their being, even if that invasion was unintentional. That meant...

“Nyx!!” Twilight’s eyes shot open to see a zebra and a yellow pegasus standing on a wooden wall in front of her, their eyes wide with worry. It took a moment to realize that she was seeing the inside of Zecora’s hut sideways from her vantage point on the floor.

“Twilight,” Fluttershy asked timidly, “are you okay?” She jumped backward and out of the way as Twilight rolled onto her belly and turned her head, loudly emptying the contents of her stomach onto the planks.

Twilight’s head pounded behind her temples. It reminded her of the hangover she’d experienced after Applejack let her taste some of the Apple family’s special reserve cider last year, only tenfold worse. She winced and groaned, her stomach threatening to add its small stockpile of bile to the mess. Her transcendental vision was gone, and she was already beginning to lose the memory to a foggy haze.

Zecora looked at the unicorn knowingly. “You gave your friend and me a fright. I think you two should stay here tonight.” She enlisted the aid of the pegasus to carry Twilight to her bed. After the pair carefully laid Twilight’s limp but conscious form on the mattress, Zecora fetched a small bucket and placed it on the floor near Twilight’s head, just in case...

Twilight watched Fluttershy curl up on a rug near the bed while Zecora lowered herself onto a sofa after cleaning up Twilight’s mess. She managed to fall asleep quickly before her stomach had another chance to rebel.

* * * * *

Dear Princess Celestia,

The past couple weeks since you visited Ponyville and gave me the worst news of my life have been difficult, to say the least. At first, I was really angry at you. Princess Luna and I were both terribly worried about Nyx after she disappeared, and you didn’t seem to want to help us at all. I still don’t understand why you said to me what you did in your chambers that one night, but I hope it was because you already knew Nyx was dead and didn’t know how to tell me. Honestly, your letter to us the following morning was equally awful. For the sake of our friendship, whatever its condition at this point, I will assume this was the case.

I didn’t see you at Nyx’s memorial service last week, either. I know Spike sent you a letter informing you of the time and place of the ceremony, so it didn’t help me emotionally to see you absent. Really, princess, I don’t understand why you’ve been acting so strangely since Nyx disappeared. I know you never really felt the same way about Nyx that I did, but what surprises me most was that you only tolerated her as my daughter. But I’m willing to put that behind us, mostly because of what I learned yesterday.

I think Nyx might be alive! Actually, I’m pretty sure she is. I visited Zecora at her hut in the Everfree Forest, and she gave me some strange zebra concoction that... well... opened my mind, I guess. When I was seeing things after drinking it, I thought I saw Nyx! She was alive and healthy... and very frightened.

Please, princess, I know you have told me that I need to “forget Nyx,” and I’m going to assume you said that out of concern for my emotional well-being. But if there is even a chance that Nyx is alive, then I beg you to start a search. I don’t know where she is or whom she’s with, but I’m positive she’s okay, just... lost and scared. As a mother, as your student, and as your friend I ask you, please help me find my daughter.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle

My dearest Twilight,

I am truly sorry that I couldn’t attend Nyx’s memorial service. I wanted to be there, but government business kept me in Canterlot. Please know that I was there in spirit, if not in body. My sorrow regarding Nyx stems from my pain at the loss you have suffered. I have never been a mother myself, so I can’t begin to imagine what it must be like to lose a foal. As long as you need to grieve for her, I will be available to you. I’m only an assistant librarian’s draconic breath away.

This news about Nyx’s survival worries me, however, Twilight. You know as well as I do that life and death are far beyond the most powerful magic known to ponykind. My RBI agents presented me with all the evidence needed to convince me that Nyx was the victim of her own magic in a terrible accident. As much as I wish I could, nothing I can possibly do will bring Nyx back from the next life, if there is one.

I’m sorry, Twilight. There will be no search for Nyx. I cannot spend valuable resources looking for a pony that we both know is gone. I do not know about this “strange zebra concoction,” but I am at least partially familiar with the mystical ways and beliefs of the zebra nations. Their drugs and methods of magic are dangerous, at best. Do not place much faith in their efficacy. As a student of true pony magic, you should know better than most that zebra magic is uncertain and unpredictable.

This isn’t healthy for you, Twilight. You must learn to accept that Nyx is gone, however painful it might be. All ponies must eventually die, and unfortunately, some sooner than others. This is one of the horrible realities of life that cannot be changed or prevented. Please, Twilight, go on with your life. Nyx is gone, but you have so much more life to live. You have your library, you have Spike, you have your studies, and your other friends in Ponyville. As fellow Elements of Harmony, they are some of the best friends a pony could have. You need to learn to let go and cherish what you have, my beloved student. I hate to say it again, but you need to move on past Nyx. You will always have the memories of your time with your daughter, however brief it was, however tragically it ended.

For now, for the sake of your own recovery, I must insist that you remain in Ponyville for a while. Try to get back into the routine of life as Ponyville’s librarian. I’m releasing your from your studies on magic and friendship for the time being. Although, I’m certain you may learn a few things about the latter given these recent events. If you need anything, even if just a shoulder to cry on, you know how to reach me.

Your friend always,

Celestia

Twilight growled under her breath. She crumpled the parchment into a ball with her magic and tossed it into the corner of her study. She looked down at the table she had dragged into the room weeks earlier. The surface was still littered with old parchments and books, lingering evidence of the since-abandoned research into her daughter’s disappearance.

Spike wandered into the room. “Twilight?” he asked. “Is everything all right?”

The mare huffed. “See for yourself.” She pointed with a hoof to the wad of parchment in the corner.

Spike shifted his gaze in the direction indicated. “Oh, you read it, then.” He sauntered casually to the ball and slowly unravelled it, returning to the table and pressing it back into a flat sheet.

“Yeah,” Twilight said, an irritated snap in her voice. She looked at the baby dragon. “Why? Did you already read it, too?”

Spike blushed and looked down at his feet, his hands clasped behind his back as he scuffed one of his feet along the floor. “Um... yeah.” He looked up at Twilight, explaining, “But you know how it is! I burp it up, and you weren’t there, so I just... you know...”

Twilight rolled her eyes, frowning. She really couldn’t blame her assistant. His curiosity was something she loved about him, even if it did occasionally get him into a bit of trouble. “I suppose.” She looked back to the table, her mind fuzzy and her emotions raw. How could Celestia so easily dismiss what she experienced? Did she truly believe that Nyx was still dead, even though Zecora’s drug let her see... no... be her filly?

“I agree with her, you know,” Spike said flatly. He had turned to face her. “She’s right.”

Twilight looked at the dragon, astounded. Of all the ponies... er... dragons in Equestria, she thought Spike would be the one squarely on her side of the issue. He was Nyx’s brother! He often liked to consider himself her uncle! How could he dismiss the possibility of her survival so flippantly?

Spike sighed, continued. “Twilight,” he said, a note of sadness creeping into his tone, “I miss Nyx, too... a lot.” Their eyes met. He didn’t shy away this time. “But she’s gone. You saw it yourself, her backpack, her glasses... what was left of them...”

“I know. I know!” Twilight snapped, then regretted it. Spike didn’t deserve her ire, really. He was doing exactly what he’d witnessed her doing herself ever since he was hatched. He was using the data available to him to come to a logical conclusion. Rationally, he was right. Celestia was right. “I just... I...” she stammered, tears welling in her eyes, a very familiar feeling over the past several weeks. “I just don’t want to believe she’s dead, Spike. She was everything to me. Everything,” she placed an extra emphasis on that last word, causing the baby dragon to flinch.

“Everything, Twilight?” Spike said, his voice betraying his hurt feelings. “What about your library? What about your friends?” He took a tentative step toward her, placing a clawed hand on her shoulder. “What about me, Twilight? Don’t I matter?” After receiving no answer from the purple mare for several seconds, he sighed and turned to leave the room.

“Wait,” Twilight called just as Spike reached the door. “Of course you matter, Spike. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that.” Spike seemed to brighten a little at this confession. She continued, “But, what about Zecora’s warnings? And my... my vision? And what Pinkie Pie said?”

Spike raised an eyebrow, facing her again. “Really? You’re going to listen to Pinkie Sense?”

Twilight shrugged. “Well, as much as I hate to admit it, it’s never been wrong before. But it agrees with everything else I’ve learned in the past two weeks!”

“Well, I kinda agree with Celestia about the zebra magic potion stuff. You saw what it did to Zecora that night, and she’s probably used to using that stuff. And from what you told me about when you took it, it sounds like it just makes you see things. I mean, things that aren’t real.”

“But... but...” Twilight desperately searched for a supporting argument, anything that could be used to convince her assistant, and herself, that what she felt to be true actually was. “But I saw her! I felt her! She was there. I just don’t know where ‘there’ is.” She thought for a moment.

Spike’s expression changed as if he could see the gears turning in Twilight’s mind. The wrong gears. “No, Twilight,” he said sternly. “Just no. Celestia told you to stay here in Ponyville and get back into the swing of things.”

The unicorn shook her head. “No, Spike. I’m going to find her, with or without Celestia’s help.”

“Twilight, please don’t make me--”

“Spike, take a letter.” Twilight’s tone brooked no possibility of dissuasion.

“Oh no...” Spike smacked his forehead on the door frame. A quill and parchment floated to him from the table.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I’m sorry, Princess. I really am. But I can’t just “forget Nyx” and move on when there is a chance that she is still alive. She needs her mother as much as her mother needs her. She’s my daughter, but she’s also your subject. A scared, lost, filly subject. I honestly don’t know how you can ignore that.

I truly hoped I would never have to disobey one of your instructions, but under the circumstances, I feel I have no other choice. Princess, as of today, I’m hereby discontinuing our student and teacher relationship. Please forgive me, but I need to do what is best for my daughter, even if you don’t have faith in my motives. My role as your student would only get in the way of this.

I hope that we can remain friends, even if I’m not your personal protégé. If not, I understand. I don’t know when or if I’ll be able to write to you again, but when I return, I want to make things between us better again. Farewell, Princess.

Sincerely yours,

Twilight Sparkle

Spike sighed as he scribbled the last of Twilight’s words onto the parchment. “‘Sincerely yours?’ Really?”

Twilight simply nodded at him. “Send it, Spike.”

“Twilight, are you sure about this? I mean, this is going to hurt Celestia, you know. Don’t you care about how this will make her feel?”

The unicorn steeled her gaze. “Send it, Spike,” she reiterated slowly, the unmistakable undertone of determined command in her voice.

“But...” Spike was panicking. “Twilight, please! Think about what you’re doing!”

“Spike!” Twilight yelled, her directive communicated in no uncertain terms.

Spike maintained his pleading stare at his friend for several seconds before looking down at the scroll in his hand. He sighed. “Okay, Twilight. You’re the boss,” he said sadly. “But I feel awful for doing this. It’s almost like I’m losing two family members.” He briefly glanced at her before breathing on the scroll. Its ashes gracefully danced in the air currents out the window, delivering itself directly to the princess.

* * * * *

“Hi, Mrs Pots!” Twilight said a little too gleefully to Ponyville’s smallest grocer. Twilight preferred Pots & Lots General Store to the other food distributors in Ponyville. It had more of a personal, homey feel to it, she thought. That, and her vegetables were the freshest she had ever found. It was a farther walk from the library that most of the other stores in town, but for the quality of food and service she was accustomed to receiving there, the extra ten minutes per round-trip was hardly too much to sacrifice.

Mrs Pots smiled at her customer. “Well, Twilight! I haven’t seen you in weeks, dear. Are you feeling better? Spike mentioned you were awfully sick.” She backed away from the counter she stood behind to prepare a bag full of Twilight’s usual purchases.

“Yes, thanks,” Twilight answered, proceeding to a nearby display filled with water bottles. She raised one of the bottles with her magic and looked at it carefully, nearly dropping it in surprise when she discovered the bottle to be pliable in her grasp. “What is this?” She grimaced at the bottle and held it at a distance like she was studying a particularly disgusting insect.

Mrs Pots snorted. “Why, ipf wa’er, ‘ear, o’ courff.” She paused briefly to place the bunch of carrots in her mouth into the bag. “Sorry,” she blushed, “It’s water. But I think you’re probably talking about the bottle?”

Twilight replaced the bottle on the display carefully, turning toward the cyan earth pony. “Yeah. It’s... soft. That’s a new kind of glass I haven’t seen before.”

The grocer laughed. “Oh, that’s not glass, dear! It’s this new stuff from Fillydelphia. They call it ‘plaster.’ Er... no, wait, that’s not it.” She thought for a moment while Twilight lifted another of the bottles. “Plas-tick! Yes, that’s it. It’s lighter than glass and it doesn’t break.”

“Ooh,” Twilight purred as she looked more closely at the object, “sounds pretty high-tech. Leave it to the industry in Fillydelphia to come up with something like this. Very clever!” She thought for a moment, levitating several bottles from the display to Mrs Pots. “Is it safe to travel with?”

“Oh, yes. That’s what I like most about it!” the mare answered excitedly. “It can take quite a punishment in a saddlebag before you even have to worry about it leaking. Watch this!”

Before Twilight could stop her, Mrs Pots jabbed a hoof at one of the bottles on the counter in front of her, knocking it to the floor. Twilight gasped and cringed, waiting for the inevitable moment when it would shatter, leaving water and shards all around to create hazards. When the moment never arrived, she opened her eyes tentatively, looking at the spot where the bottle landed.

“See? Isn’t that just amazing?” the grocer asked, obviously proud of her new wares. The bottle had bounced a couple times, coming to rest a little less than a metre from where it should have shattered.

“Ah don’ know about all that fancy, new stuff,” a familiar voice said from the entrance behind Twilight. “Ah think Ah’ll stick with mah oak barrels fer mah cider, thanks.” Applejack raised an eyebrow suspiciously at the container on the floor.

“Well, hello, dear!” Mrs Pots called in welcome to her new customer. “I was just telling Twilight here about this new ‘plas-tick’ from Fillydelphia.” She scratched the back of her head with a hoof. “I don’t think they have them big enough for your cider, though, dear. I’ve only seen them for water bottles like these.” She indicated toward the display with a nod.

“I think they’re quite smart,” Twilight interjected. “I’ll take these four bottles.” She looked at the growing sack at the grocer’s hooves. “Oh, I’m sorry, Mrs Pots. I’m not getting my usual order today. I suppose I should have told you that.”

Mrs Pots stopped and looked at Twilight, a small bag of radishes hanging from her teeth. She placed them on the counter beside the water. “Oh? But you haven’t changed your order in months.” Her smile faded to an expression of worry. “Are you sure you’re feeling all right, dear? You were sick for very long time, you know.”

Twilight returned her worry with a smile. “No, no, that’s not it. I’m going to have to pack light for a trip. I want everything to fit into a couple large saddlebags.”

“Ah,” Mrs Pots responded, clearly confused by the unicorn’s request. Twilight was a creature of habit, and most ponies around town had learned to recognize this.

“Woah, hold on there, partner!” Applejack said, turning her attention to her friend. “What’re ya talkin’ about, goin’ on ‘ah trip?’”

Twilight helped Mrs Pots sort out the things she needed and didn’t need, repacking the bag appropriately. “I’m going to find Nyx, Applejack.”

Applejack stepped back, stunned. “Tw-Twilight...” her face betrayed sadness and worry. “Hon, ya know ya ain’t gonna find ‘er.” She paused, waiting for a reaction from the unicorn. Upon receiving none, she continued. “Twilight, sugarcube, Nyx is...” She moved beside her friend, putting a comforting hoof around her shoulders. “Nyx is gone. There ain’t nothin’ anypony can do about it.”

Twilight stopped and looked at the orange earth pony. She said nothing, her face a blank, emotionless slate.

“Ya need ta move on, Twi,” Applejack said softly, her voice dripping concern. Mrs Pots had also stopped, watching the pair curiously. “Ah don’t wanna see ya throw away all th’ good things ya have here in Ponyville just because ya can’t let go. Ya got Spike and yer library. They both need ya. Ah need ya, too, sugarcube! D’ya remember how disorganized ah was at the farm b’fore ya got here? All of us need ya here, Twilight.”

Twilight responded without emotion, but her tone was clear to both mares listening. “I’m going to find my daughter.” She turned and placed a small purse of bits on the counter, far more than enough to cover the items in her bag.

Mrs Pots looked confused. “What’s all this for, dear? You don’t owe me nearly this much.”

“This should be enough to cover a few months of necessities for Spike and the library,” she explained. “I should be back by then to cover what extra I owe.”

Applejack nodded to the grocer, silently communicating to just take the bits for the time being. “A few months? Twilight, this has gone far enough. Ya need ta talk ta somepony about this.” She gently nudged her friend out the door, mouthing a silent apology to the proprietor as Twilight magicked the supplies onto her back.

The farmer had spent over an hour trying to dissuade her from going on what she called a “wild pegasus chase.” Finally giving up, Applejack had returned to her farm in defeat, but only after seeing Twilight back to the library, where Spike was apparently waiting for her.

The remainder of the day had been equally disquieting to Twilight. An early afternoon stroll to the lake just outside of town for a lunchtime read was interrupted by a blue pegasus with rainbow mane. It took a lot of cajoling and effort to finally coerce Rainbow Dash into staying quiet as the librarian attempted to read, but her boisterous friend never left her sight the whole while.

Another stroll later in the afternoon through the outskirts of town was accompanied by a series of uninvited ponies: Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie. The only one of her friends who didn’t seem to be keeping a particularly close eye on her was Pinkie, who was with her only long enough to be distracted by yet another “cutest foal in Ponyville.” After her conversation with Applejack that morning, she didn’t think it necessary or wise to mention her trip to anypony else. Despite her best efforts to find some time to herself, at least one of her friends was always within sight or within earshot. Finally, she returned to the library, hoping to get at least a few minutes alone upstairs.

“Heya, Twilight!” Spike greeted her enthusiastically as she crossed the threshold. “What’cha been up to all afternoon?” He backed up to allow the mare an unobstructed path to the stairs as she grumbled something under her breath. Her expression was a ball of razor blades, and Spike took this as a cue to let her be for a while.

Spike knocked on her door a few hours later, the sun just beginning to set out Twilight’s bedroom window. “Twilight?” he said, opening the door and walking to the bedside where Twilight napped. She stirred, looking at him blankly. “Twilight, it’s almost dinner time. You hungry?”

Twilight sat up, blinking the sleep from her eyes and looking out the window at the sun slowly disappearing into the horizon. She sighed. She hadn’t meant to sleep that long. How long had she been out, three hours? Four? Spike had probably already closed the library for the day. She answered her assistant groggily. “Yeah, a little.”

“Great!” Spike said, smiling. “Want to come down and help make it?”

“Sure.” Twilight climbed off her bed and stretched, several vertebrae cracking loudly. “Spike,” she asked, attempting to sound as nonchalant as possible, “why has everypony been following me around today?”

Spike stopped cold, a bead of sweat appearing on his forehead. “Uh... Following?” He swallowed, keeping his head turned toward the door and away from Twilight’s line of sight. “Has somepony been following you?”

“Spike, spill it,” said Twilight. She knew he was hiding something. In the years they’d spent together, they each had learned the idiosyncrasies of the other beyond normal friendship standards.

The dragon sighed and turned to face the unicorn. “We were told to,” he finally admitted.

“What?” Irritation began to burn in the back of Twilight’s head.

“After you had me send that letter to Celestia yesterday, she sent a reply... to me.”

“Wha - to you?”

Spike looked at the floor, ashamed at having circumvented his friend’s standard protocol. “Yeah. She told me that she wanted all of us to keep an eye on you, to keep you from leaving Ponyville. I told them this morning after you left for the store.” He looked back up at her pleadingly. “I think she’s really worried about you, Twilight! We all are.”

Twilight huffed. I should have expected this, she thought. Why is she so intent on stopping me, though? Why should she care if Ponyville misses their librarian for a while? Spike can easily manage things around here with a little help from Fluttershy or Pinkie Pie. And since I introduced Rainbow to that Daring Do series, she’s been in here half the time anyway.

She shook the thoughts from her head, deciding to play along with the dragon for now. “Maybe you’re right, Spike,” she said. “I guess I just don’t want to admit that she’s gone.” She donned her best imitation of sadness, hoping her assistant didn’t immediately see through the ruse.

Spike walked to her and wrapped his arms around her neck. He sighed a breath of relief. “It’s okay, Twi. Do you want to talk about it? I’m sure the princess didn’t really take your last letter to her too seriously. You could write another letter and be her student again in two seconds flat!”

Twilight smiled inwardly while maintaining her miserable façade and returning the dragon’s hug. “Let’s eat. We can talk about it tomorrow.”

* * * * *

The breaded strips sizzled loudly as Twilight used her magic to drop them into the pot of steaming oil. Spike stood on a nearby stool, allowing him to reach the kitchen counter and chop some fresh vegetables purchased that morning from Mrs Pots. He hummed happily to himself, a tune with which Twilight wasn’t familiar.

The dragon finished his work on the carrots and added them to a nearby pot of boiling water. “You know, Twilight,” he said casually, turning to concentrate on a few stalks of celery, “it’s nice to do this again. We haven’t made dinner together since...” He cringed, presumably smacking himself mentally for not thinking ahead to the conclusion of that thought. He finished, though, a guilty look on his face. “... since Nyx died.”

Twilight closed her eyes and sighed. Did Spike really believe Nyx was dead? From his admission earlier that evening, it sounded like all of her friends, including Celestia did. Luna’s been pretty quiet about it, too, she thought. She wasn’t at the memorial service, either. She dismissed this with the same explanation that Pinkie had used to excuse herself from attending. Luna must believe Nyx is still alive, too.

Her thoughts returned to the evidence that Celestia had presented to her those weeks ago. The princess had seemed legitimately upset about Nyx’s purported demise when she gave Twilight the backpack and glasses. The only remaining part of her filly’s body was the single, black feather. Celestia claimed that the magic had vapourized the rest. She shook her head, trying to clear her mind before it could become a jumbled cacophony of contradictory arguments. What she knew from Zecora, Luna, Celestia, and Pinkie, it just didn’t make sense when all taken as valid. The only logical conclusion she could make was that some or all of the facts she knew were wrong, and the permutations involving these facts created a multitude of possibilities. The past few days had seen Twilight’s mindset turn toward the least painful of those possibilities: Nyx was alive and missing. A living, missing filly had to be somewhere. Somewhere was a place that could be found. She was determined to find it.

“Soup’s almost ready,” Spike said, forcing Twilight’s attention back to reality. “How’re the hay fries coming along?”

Twilight leaned over the roiling pot of oil. The fries smelled sinfully delicious for some reason. “They’re done. Let me just get us the drinks,” she replied. She wandered over to a nearby cupboard, pulling two glasses down with her telekinesis. She checked behind her, shifting her position slightly to ensure her assistant couldn’t see the containers. Spike wasn’t paying any attention to her, instead balancing two bowls of vegetable soup in his paws and a plate of hay fries on his head as he walked carefully to their small kitchen table.

She looked into the cupboard again, carefully moving a third glass aside to reveal a small vial of clear, sandy-coloured liquid. She levitated the vial to her, checking behind her again to ensure Spike’s attention was elsewhere. A pang of guilt flashed through her. What am I doing? she thought. But... do I really have a choice? She took a moment to cement her resolve before uncorking the vial and putting two drops of the liquid into one of the glasses. Pinkie Pie was practically a pharmacy of joke and prank aides, and she wouldn’t have provided her friend with something dangerous, right? When Twilight had mentioned to her that she intended to sneak out of town, Pinkie had tossed her the vial, winking and grinning deviously.

The sound of a chair scraping across the wooden floor told Twilight that the food was on the table waiting for them. She filled both glasses with some of Applejack’s latest batch of “soft” cider and turned in time to see the Spike hopping onto his chair, ready to eat.

Spike’s eyes widened when he saw the drinks. “Cider! What’s the occasion?” He licked his lips in anticipation.

“Just my way of saying thanks,” Twilight lied. “You’ve taken on a lot of responsibility around here for the past several weeks.” Another pang of guilt. Truthfully, she admitted to herself, it’s because you would have noticed the flavour of Pinkie’s potion in your water. “Like I told you,” she said, rubbing the top of the dragon’s head with her hoof, “you’re the best assistant a pony could have.”

“Awwa,” Spike protested, “don’t start getting all mushy on me.”

Twilight couldn’t stifle a giggle. Even alone with her, his experience with his dragon kin a few years earlier during the Great Dragon Migration had made him feel soft, or so he claimed. Deep down, Twilight knew, he was still the same Spike she’d grown to know and love. She lowered the glasses onto the table with her magic and took her place across from Spike. She reached out to take a few of the hay fries when she noticed her assistant reaching first for his sweet drink. “Spike!” she yipped nervously, “Wait! Don’t drink that yet.” The hay fry she had levitated halfway to her mouth dropped onto the table in front of her plate, the magical haze evaporating with her concentration.

Spike stopped, two claws already on the side of the glass. He raised an eyebrow, looking at her curiously. “Huh?”

Twilight’s thoughts raced. I don’t know if he should drink that on an empty stomach! Pinkie never mentioned anything about that. What to tell him, what to tell him? Think, Twilight! Think think think think think!

The dragon looked utterly confused as Twilight’s face slowly betrayed her mild episode of insanity. “Uh, Twilight?” he said, reaching out cautiously for her nearest forehoof on the table. “Are you all right? You look like... you’re having a seizure or something.”

Twilight calmed herself and shook her head furiously for a second. She managed to regain her composure before she answered him. “Yes. Yes, Spike, I’m fine. Thanks.” She quickly retrieved her fallen hay fry and jammed it into her mouth to prevent herself from speaking.

Spike looked at her incredulously. “Uh huh...” He sat back in his chair again. “You just let me know the next time you do that. Warn me or something.” A spoonful of soup rendered him similarly speechless temporarily.

Twilight swallowed the fry pulp in her mouth. She’d chewed it a bit too much in her need to quiet herself. “No, it’s just that... um...” She still didn’t have a good excuse for him. “It’s part of Applejack’s special blend of cider apples!” Ooh, I’m good. That’ll work... I hope. “She said it tastes simply amazing with... uh...” She looked at the items on the table, trying to choose one at random. “... with hay fries! So eat some of those first.” Sweat began to bead on her forehead while she smiled at the dragon nervously.

Spike froze, another spoonful of soup suspended in his claw halfway to his mouth. He glanced down at the fries, looked back to the strangely acting mare. “Are you sure you’re all right?” He looked out the window toward the lights of Ponyville. “Maybe I should get a doctor.” His spoon replaced into the bowl before him, Spike hopped off his chair and walked slowly around the table to Twilight’s side, approaching her as if she would leap at him. “Has...” he paused, seemingly unsure of what to say. “Has Luna been messing with your dreams again?”

Oh, Celestia’s morning sun! I’m going to blow it before dinner’s even over. Twilight sighed, calming her nerves once again. “I’m fine, Spike. Let’s just enjoy eating together again.” She added, an attempt to appease the worried dragon, “Maybe we can go see someone after we’re done.”

Spike looked at her strangely, but returned to his seat. He watched her intently as he finished his bowl of soup and started on a pile of hay fries.

Twilight slowly ate her share of the meal, acutely aware of the concerned expressions on Spike’s face as he watched her. Before long, she was watching him reach again for the cider. She nodded to him, blushing, when he looked to her for unneeded permission.

He emptied the glass in three large gulps. “Wow!” he said after belching loudly. “That really was delicious!”

Twilight blanched. She hadn’t expected him to drink it all so quickly. Gasping, she leaped from her chair to Spike’s side as he abruptly fell face first into his empty soup bowl. Using a hoof, she gently sat him upright again, checking him over quickly to ensure he didn’t cut or bruise himself on the dish.

Spike’s eyes opened to narrow slivers, his pupils unfocused and drifting in dizzy directions. “Twi? Wha... what’s going on?”

“I’m sorry Spike,” Twilight apologised to her friend. “This was the only way. I’m going to find Nyx, and I can’t have anypony stopping me from leaving town.” She hugged him, a tear threatening to escape from her eye. “I’m sorry, Spike,” she repeated.

He had lost the ability to protest physically, and he was quickly losing his capacity for coherence. “Nyx... Twilight... gone,” Spike muttered, drifting in and out of consciousness. “No... Can’t go...” He trailed off, his little body going limp, and the dragon snored quietly.

Twilight sighed, realizing this was these were the last words she’d hear her friend speak until she was able to return... whenever that would be. She lifted him from the chair in a haze of telekinesis, levitating his sleeping form behind her as she climbed the stairs to her bedroom. Once there, she settled Spike into his basket at the end of her bed, pulling his blankets over him.

Spike smiled in his sleep as he felt the warmth of the blankets, murmuring something inaudible about “mommy.” He turned over onto his side, pulling the blanket up close to his head and drifting back into a deep slumber.

Twilight turned toward her bed. She hadn’t spent the entire afternoon napping, as she had led her assistant to believe. Carefully, she pulled out two saddlebags from underneath, each heavily loaded with the necessities for a long journey. On top of one of the bags was a checklist, penned her own hoofwriting. She looked at the checklist containing the things she thought she’d need. It sent a wave of sadness through her as she checked off each item on the list, checking to ensure they were secure in the saddlebags. Usually, it was Spike who wrote out each checklist and Twilight would work with him to make certain each item was properly met. She sighed as she placed the final check in a box next to the bottom item on the parchment. There were a lot of changes she’d have to get used to over the next several weeks.

Checking on her friend one last time, she leaned over and gently kissed his forehead, her maternal instincts kicking in, neglected since her daughter disappeared. A tear fell from her eye, leaving a spot of moisture on the dragon’s blanket. “Please forgive me, Spike. I’ll... I’ll be back as soon as I can.” She watched him sleep peacefully for a few seconds before adding, “with Nyx. Our family will be whole again, you’ll see.” Twilight turned away from him. She couldn’t look at the result of her betrayal any longer, the voice in her had warning that any longer delay would jeopardize her resolve to leave.

“Goodbye, Spike.” She closed the bedroom door behind her and cried quietly as she descended the stairs to the library’s main room. She stopped in the centre of the library, turning in a slow circle to gaze upon each familiar nook and cranny of her home for the last in possibly a long time. She stopped, looking into the kitchen. She and Spike had made so many good memories in that room. Laughter, tears, joy, sadness, they’d all been expressed in there during their times together. In the past two years, Nyx had been an integral part of those expressions. It seemed empty without her there. If any room in the entire tree house had been a family room, the kitchen had proved to be it. Again, she was forced to turn away before emotion forced a deviation in her plan.

The front door opened silently, any sound from the hinges muffled by a lavender bubble of magic from Twilight’s horn. She stepped out into the night air, noticing how the heat of the day had not dissipated much in the hours since sunset. Spike wasn’t the only one with an eye on her, obligated by royal decree to keep her in Ponyville. From the doormat, she looked around her, searching for any ponies that might be watching. Am I just being paranoid? she thought. I know that my friends were told by Celestia to keep me nearby, but I doubt anypony else would know about that.

Twilight quickly, and with as much stealth as she could manage, vacated the premises. She stopped short just outside the gate to the library’s front yard when the sound of hoofsteps and quiet voices intercepted her ears. Frozen in-place, hoping it would be harder to see a static object in the dark, Twilight turned her head toward the centre of Ponyville. There, in the town square walked two of Luna’s Night Guard, apparently on patrol. What they were doing on patrol in Ponyville was beyond her. Luna had never needed to send her guard there before, except for that plain-clothes one, and he disappeared the same afternoon Nyx did.

The unicorn crouched down as low to the grass as she could, creeping across the road to a stand of trees on the other side. She reached it without being detected and dove headfirst into a thicket of bushes nearby. The dive was not as quiet as she expected. She flinched after yelping in pain. The two guards looked in her direction, their conversation interrupted. Slowly, they made their way out of the square along the road and toward the library.

Twilight felt something wet on her leg. She brushed it off, assuming it to be moisture from the leaves around her. When the liquid matted the hair on her leg, quickly drying and making it sticky, she looked down. Celestia’s horn! she cursed under her breath. On her flank beneath her cutie mark was a short gash, cut by one of the brambles in the bush during her acrobatics. It was shallow, but was bleeding profusely. Great. I’m not more than twenty metres from home, and I’ve already hurt myself.

The two guards stopped in front of the bushes. Twilight froze, holding her breath. If she stayed there long, maybe they’d go away. But she had to do something about this cut. An infection was not the way she wanted to start this trek. The guards maintained their position in front of Twilight, facing away from her. The hidden pony covered her horn with her hooves in an attempt to prevent any magical light from escaping and revealing her position. She was only partially successful in blocking the glow as she concentrated on a simple spell which would clean and close the cut. Within a minute, her wound was sealed, although it stung more than she was willing to admit. Her lungs rebelled, and she suddenly released the breath she had been holding for at least the past minute.

The guards looked at each other. “Miss Sparkle,” one of them said, his voice low, preventing it from carrying more than a few metres, “we know you’re in there.”

Twilight poked her head out of the bushes and grinned at them sheepishly. “Ha ha!” she giggled nervously. “You caught me. I guess I’ll just go back to the library now...” She started to extricate herself from the foliage.

“There’s no need, Miss Sparkle,” the other guard stated flatly. Both of them still looked away from Twilight and scanned the surroundings constantly, on guard for something... or somepony. “We’re here to ensure you don’t get caught.”

Luna didn’t send these ponies here to stop me, Twilight realized. She sent them here to help me. The leaves and branches around her rustled loudly as she untangled herself from them. Her efforts were met by a hoof of the first guard, roughly pushing her back into the bush.

“Stay there and stay quiet,” he whispered to her roughly. The other guard shifted his position to stand alongside his comrade, effectively blocking the bush from the view of any passers-by on the road. Two sets of hoofsteps approached from the direction opposite downtown Ponyville.

Through the branches and leaves surrounding her, Twilight recognized the golden armour of Celestia’s Royal Guard even from this distance. The two new guards, presumably unfriendly, were cantering toward the three ponies. She held as still as she could, making no sounds whatsoever. The royal guards and night guards eventually stood only a few metres apart in front of Twilight’s hiding place.

“Captain,” one of the royal guard said, addressing the first night guard. “We were unaware that Princess Luna had deployed the Night Guard to Ponyville.” His demeanour seemed friendly enough, thought Twilight, but she really didn’t want to see where that friendship went if she exposed herself.

“Yes, Lieutenant,” the night guard responded. “With the theft of the Elements, the princess thought it wise to increase surveillance in the area.”

The royal guard nodded his agreement. “We have been tasked with keeping a Twilight Sparkle from leaving town,” the royal guard said. “The regional commodore said that we are to confine her to the library if she attempts to leave.”

The night guards looked at each other. That seems a little extreme, Twilight thought. The second night guard looked back to the lieutenant. “We were given the same orders,” he lied, convincingly. “It would be to our mutual advantage if we share information. We’ll let you know if we see anything.” To Twilight’s immense relief, the royal guards nodded their approval and moved onward toward the town square.

The second night guard spoke, watching the royal guards disappear around a corner in the distance. “Miss Sparkle,” he said, “those are the only two royal guards in Ponyville until the next shift arrives in an hour. I suggest you hurry, if you are planning to leave tonight. Head out of town to your left on this road. We’ll... occupy those two.” Both guards trotted off in the direction of the royal guards, leaving Twilight alone in her bush.

She climbed out, stopping briefly to shake loose the burrs from her coat and the leaves and twigs from her mane and tail. She watched as the guards rounded the same corner as their counterparts, then turned and cantered toward the town line to her left. Her flank ached, but at least the stinging was gone. The spell she had learned after Nyx scraped her muzzle a year ago in a flying accident assisted in healing, but it did nothing to anaesthetize the wound. It would heal quickly, the pain being a minor inconvenience for only a day or two.

An hour later, as the first of the late night shift of the Royal Guard rolled into Ponyville, Twilight was well outside the town limits, hidden behind the hills of the surrounding area. She felt a strange mixture of feelings that she hadn’t experienced since she moved to Ponyville those years ago. Anxiety, uncertainty, determination, excitement. They were all present in the forefront of her mind as she cantered along the roughening path toward the Everfree Forest. Finally, in the wake of everything that had happened to her in the past four weeks, despite the despair, the depression, the shock, the loss, the sadness, the search for the truth about her daughter had begun. She wasn’t about to let anything stop her now.

Chapter 5

Nyx was terrified. She kept her eyes tightly closed, her fear easily overcoming any desire to explore her surroundings for the dozenth time since she had arrived. She’d felt fear before, many times. Only once, however, had she felt a paralyzing terror such as now. When she had awakened to the world for the first time on the edge of a clearing in the Everfree Forest unaware of who, what, or where she was, the same feeling had coursed through her. At the time, it limited her activity to shallow, panicked breaths and gentle trembles within a nearby bush. Here, there was no bush in which to hide. Surrounding her on all sides were only the cold, grey stone of the cubical holding cell.

She hadn’t been mistreated, per se. At least, she hadn’t been harmed by her captors. They made sure she was uninjured, well fed, warm, and healthy. The problem was that she had no idea who they were. The room in which she had been kept since her arrival was quite dark, a few metres to each side with only a small torch by the door to provide the meagre light. The door itself was obviously constructed to keep ponies from escaping the room. It was heavy and wooden with a small, semicircular window near the ceiling and filled with thick, solid metal bars. It opened inward, but bore no handle to pull it ajar.

Nyx had attempted escape shortly after she awakened here about two days ago. Her flying skills had advanced to the point where she could efficiently glide a long distance, but she was as yet unable to launch herself skybound. There was no way she could reach the window, given her short stature, even when standing on her hind hooves. Her next attempt had been to remove the door by force using her magical ability. Brute, magical power had proved completely ineffective. She had trouble getting her spells to manifest in this place... wherever it was. It was as if the magic here was different somehow. The most she had been able to do was rattle the door slightly on its hinges. Aside from that, it hadn’t budged. She had even attempted to set the door on fire using the nearby torch. Her magic failed her again, however, as she tried to levitate it from its anchor on the wall. Instead of lifting itself out and down into her grasp, it instead burst into bright, violet flame and floated slowly to the floor as a small pile of ash. This had left her in complete darkness until a guard, an earth pony, brought her next meal and secured a replacement torch on the wall.

She groaned as she opened her eyes. It didn’t take them long to adjust to the minimal amount of light given by the torch on the other side of her cell. Her head throbbed painfully, as it did every time she woke from the unnatural sleep her captors forced upon her. Climbing to her hooves, she made her way to a nearby water bucket and drank greedily. Her mouth had an awful, hollow taste in it, and the water did little to remove the flavour. It sated her thirst, however, and that always seemed to help the headaches. As far as she could tell, she had been here for two days. Each time she attempted to escape, a guard had entered her cell shortly afterward to place a small container of something near the door. Puffs of sweet-smelling smoke would rise from the top of the container every few seconds, quickly filling the small cell with its scent. Two or three breaths of the perfumed air within her room was enough to force the filly into a dreamless unconsciousness. She didn’t know how long she had slept each time, but the subsequent headaches lasted for nearly an hour after she drank a bucket of water.

Her first experience with the smoke’s scent had been her last experience before she had arrived in this place. She could not remember much about what happened that day, almost as if the induced slumber had fogged her memory, allowing her to recall only partial images and bits of her other senses. It happened after she left the schoolhouse that afternoon. She had stayed late to ask Miss Cheerilee some extra questions about the day’s lesson material, telling her friends to go on without her. She had left the school grounds and was nearly halfway to Ponyville Square when somepony grabbed her backpack from behind, roughly lifting her hooves from the ground. Her assailant removed the bag and her glasses while another placed a heavy cloth over her muzzle. She could breathe through the cloth easily and had been surprised to discover that it was imbued with a cool, sweet perfume. She was forced to inhale deeply while struggling against the hooves restraining her. Two breaths later, she was overcome by an intense dizziness as her vision faded to black. When she next awoke, she had found herself in the cell terribly hungry and thirsty, with food and water waiting for her by the door.

That was, she thought, two days ago. Since then, the only ponies she saw were the guards who brought her those little boxes of smoke. Her food and water were brought only while she slept. The guards were completely covered in dull, metal armour, except for their faces. Their arrival was always accompanied by a bright light from the corridor, obfuscating their appearance to create pony-shaped silhouettes as she cowered in the farthest corner. They said nothing, and fear had rendered her own voice useless.

She finished the water in the bucket, her tongue lapping at the bottom of the container to soak up any remaining drops. Looking around the room, she realized that the guards had not yet replaced her... waste bucket. Large amounts of water eventually required her to produce large amounts of... well, she didn’t like to think about that. Miss Rarity told her such topics were unfillylike. It was embarrassing enough having to relieve herself into a bucket in the corner of her cell. The water bucket was now empty, serving as well as any other receptacle they might bring her. She hoped they at least cleaned the buckets before they returned them with food or water inside.

Her embarrassment and less-than-proper thoughts were interrupted by a sound she had not heard in days: voices. They were distant and echoed through the corridor, making their words unintelligible. But the voices clearly belonged to at least three ponies, and they were getting slowly closer. Two of the voices sounded rough while a third seemed softer and more refined but somehow also more commanding. As the voices neared, the sound of hoofsteps on a stone floor gradually joined them. The words were clearer now, but Nyx still couldn’t recognize any of them. They sounded strange, like the gibberish of an infant foal, but more organized. Whatever they were saying to one another, they weren’t saying it in any dialect of Equestrian she had ever heard.

As the voices and hoofsteps approached her cell, Nyx abandoned her bucket in favour of the corner opposite the door and the darkest space available. Curled nearly into a ball, her head ducked close to her chest between her front hooves, she waited, hoping for the voices to pass by. They didn’t. She curled up even more tightly, shivering as her ears perked to the sound of a key being inserted into the door’s lock. A sharp pang of terror shot through her as the locking mechanism was released. What if it was more guards bringing another perfume box? she thought. I just woke up from the last one! I didn’t try to escape again! Her breaths became short and accelerated, betraying her borderline panic. What do they want? Why are they doing this to me? Mommy, help me! Where are you?! She sniffed and buried her muzzle deeper between her hooves, wiping the fresh tears into her black coat.

The door opened slowly. The light from the corridor was incredibly brilliant relative to her own pathetic torchlight, causing her to divert her eyes toward the floor. She waited to hear the guard lay another box onto the floor near the door, the soft pop which started the smoke. When the sound didn’t come, she looked up to view her visitors. Three large, male ponies stood just inside her cell, their features barely visible before the light from outside. Oh no, she thought, cringing. Three of them. Please don’t hurt me, please don’t hurt me, please don’t hurt m--

“Please, do not be afraid,” said the nearest pony in the voice she heard as more refined. His words were heavily accented, but he spoke in Equestrian. “You are among friends here,” he added, his voice deep and soft.

Nyx’s eyes finally adjusted to the increase in light, allowing her to see the pony speaking. Unlike the two guards behind him who wore the drab grey armour and helmet, this pony was even larger and garbed in a lighter armour made of what appeared to be gold. It reminded her vaguely of the armour of Celestia’s Royal Guard. The biggest difference was the seal he bore on his chestplate. A large circle of blue sapphire surrounded the black silhouette of a unicorn’s head. Black wings adorned either side of the head, spreading outward to reach the edge of the circle. In each of the four quadrants created by the central figure was a small star of ruby. What caught her attention most, however were two other features. First, the unicorn head had not one, but three horns. The last feature sent a shiver down her spine, increasing in intensity the longer she gazed into it. Where the unicorn’s eye should be was a brilliant turquoise in the very familiar, elongated shape of a reptilian pupil.

The pony took a step away from the door, toward Nyx. “Are you hungry?” He looked to the side at the two nearby buckets, one of which contained fresh prairie grasses, the other now filled with the filly’s urine. His brow furrowed as he turned back to the guards. “Ĉu vi ne provizas vian reĝinon kun taŭga privata?!” he snapped angrily. His next words made the guards glance at each other nervously. “Kiaj kvaronoj estas tio? Ĉu vi observu fillies en malliberejon?!” He closed his eyes and faced Nyx once again, lowering his head to bring his line-of-sight as level as possible with the alicorn’s. “Please,” he said to Nyx gently, his anger evaporated, “I apologize for the treatment you have received here. You are my guest.”

The larger pony’s gentle voice allowed Nyx to find a lifeboat of bravery in her sea of terror. She glared at him, tears streaking her cheeks. “Who are you?!” she yelled. “Where is my mom?!”

Her second question seemed to take the pony by surprise. He stepped back in a half-flinch. “I am sorry, fraŭlino. Your... your mother?”

The filly’s lifeboat grew under the hesitation of her captor. She leaped to her hooves, her gaze a deadly poison. “Yes, my mom! Where is she? Who are you? I want to go home!” she blurted between her tears, her voice fueled by a burgeoning rage. Her legs trembled terribly, betraying the fear still smothering her.

“But, fraŭlino,” the gold-clad pony said, his confusion evident, “you... we... you have a mother?” He shook his head, bristling at the realization before collecting himself again. “I am Lord Titus. I will make sure you receive everything you desire here. I have prepared a much...” he looked around the cell briefly with disdain, “... better living place for you, if you will please follow--”

“Where is ‘here?’ I want to go home.” Nyx interrupted with a growl.

Again, the pony looked taken aback. “Mia juna princino, you are home.”

* * * * *

Two days. It had been two days since she was moved into her new prison cell. Admittedly, this one was far more comfortable and luxurious than the actual holding cell she had occupied in the basement of the enormous complex Lord Titus called the “La Granda Domo.” The closest Equestrian analog, he told her, was probably “Federal Palace.”

It turned out that Nyx actually was being held in the palace’s incarceration facilities. This didn’t particularly surprise her. She couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to actually live or work in such a dark, lonely place. Besides, when contrasted against the opulent accommodations of the palace’s above-ground floors, one could describe it as nothing except prison-like.

Although she still considered her current arrangements in terms of a prison, she felt relieved that she no longer had to sleep on the floor or eat from a bucket. Most thankfully, her new living space included a lavish washroom area, featuring everything she could imagine would be needed for hygiene or... other purposes. In fact, she didn’t even recognize one of the fixtures beside the flawless, white toileting area. At first, she wondered if it was a strange type of drinking fountain or water faucet. It had only one button, which caused it to emit a gentle stream of water into another porcelain bowl beneath it. She eventually decided that it likely wasn’t for drinking, given its proximity to the toilet.

Indeed, Lord Titus had told her the truth two days ago before he led her to this new place. She had everything she could possibly desire here. Lush towels, window coverings, and bed dressings. The bed itself was nearly as large as her bedroom back in the Ponyville Library, and she briefly wondered during her first night if she would become lost in the silk sheets while she slept. It was unquestionably the most comfortable object on which she had ever sat, stood, laid, or slept.

Her current food situation was similarly lavish. While in the holding cell several floors beneath her, two food and water buckets each day were placed near the door inside her cell. She had quickly grown very tired of prairie grass and water. Now, she needed only to inform the guards outside her doors of her hunger, and she would presently receive any confection she desired. Pastas, salads, soups, and beverages of all kinds were available to her at any hour of the day or night. She had asked for an enormous amount of her favourite foods late the previous night, long after she would have been in bed in Ponyville. To her surprise, her request was fulfilled with surprising speed. She hadn’t even been hungry; her aim was to test exactly for what she could acceptably ask. Even more surprising to her, the food (as all the food served her in this new place) was elegantly plated on fine china with exquisitely carved, silver flatware. She now drank her water (or, as she discovered was fantastically delicious, sparkling apple juice) from crystal stemware and goblets crafted from beautiful, jewel-encrusted gold. More than once over the past couple days did she wonder if even Celestia herself ate so regally in Canterlot Castle. Her conditions had gone from lowly prisoner to princess-tier literally overnight. The situation was beginning to feel like a very expensive holiday, albeit an unexpected and unwelcome one. The thought made her feel sullied in ways no amount of water could cleanse.

Nyx opened her eyes and raised her head, directing her attention to the light knocking sound coming from the adjacent room. This was how Titus always announced his arrival since he brought her here. She didn’t want to see him right now. The only pony she wished to watch walk through her bedroom door was Twilight, newly arrived from Ponyville to rescue her. She snorted and lowered her head back onto her front hooves, getting comfortable again atop the fresh linens placed there by a housekeeping pony that morning. She was attempting to form a plan in her mind, and she didn’t want the disruption right now.

Several seconds of silence were followed by another series of raps her chambers’ main doors. “Iom princino,” came the familiar, accented voice of Titus. “May I come in?” Titus had been the only pony to enter her new quarters with the purpose of seeing her. Several servants brought her food on request or cleaned the rooms each day, but they always remained silent, just as the guards did while in her cell in the basement. Soft hoofsteps on the carpet indicated Titus had allowed himself entry without Nyx’s permission.

“Go away,” Nyx said, her voice muffled by her hooves. She didn’t bother to open her eyes or even dignify him with a nod of greeting as he quietly entered the bedroom and sat at her bedside.

“Bonvolu, princino,” he said softly, his voice deep but completely unthreatening, “you have been lying on your bed all--”

“Why do you keep calling me that?” Nyx interrupted, her muzzle still buried between her hooves. She didn’t want to look at him. “My name is Nyx,” she grumbled, almost inaudibly.

Titus sighed softly, pausing a few seconds as if to collect his thoughts. “I apologise, … Nyx.” There was a slight rustling noise as he shifted his weight. Nyx felt a large, but gentle hoof on her shoulder, and she shrugged it off immediately. His very touch sickened her. He withdrew his hoof, continuing. “You have been lying here, on your bed, all day. What is wrong?”

Nyx hadn’t actually been lying there for the whole day, but she wasn’t about to reveal that to him. Most of the afternoon, between his annoyingly frequent visits, had been spent pacing the various rooms of her chambers while deep in thought. She’d constructed a detailed map in her head of all her rooms, the area immediately outside in the corridor, and her position relative to what she could see from her large balcony. If he wanted to think she was acting like a foal, pouting in bed all day, that was fine by her. She couldn’t decide if her dominant feeling was homesickness or anger, but she promised herself that he’d eventually regret any anger he garnered from her.

His comment stoked the flames of that anger, forcing them to briefly rise to the surface. “What is wrong?!” Nyx shouted, providing her best mockery of Titus’ accent before returning to her normal speech. “What’s wrong?!” she repeated. She raised her head to look at the pony before her, tears of anger and sadness already streaking down her cheeks.

Titus remained at the end of the bed in front of Nyx. He said nothing, but his expression had changed to betray both confusion and even a hint of surprise. His raised eyebrow contrasted curiously against his flattened ears.

Nyx huffed angrily, her tears dripping from her muzzle and onto the sheets beneath her. “You take me away from my home and my mom, lock me in a dungeon and make me...” she blushed briefly remembering a specific condition she suffered in the holding cell, “... make me eat only dry grass from a bucket,” she quickly added in lieu of her thought. “The guards outside my doors won’t let me go outside or even leave the room,” she continued, “and you keep lying to my questions! What do you think is wrong?!”

Titus flinched at her accusations. “But, princi... but, Nyx,” he said, quickly correcting himself, “I have not told you any lies. Nopony here would ever lie to you.” He placed extra emphasis on the one word, looking surprised and somewhat mortified. “Don’t you know that?”

Nyx bolted to her hooves, her rage fully fueled by his contradiction. “You’re lying right now!” she screamed, her tears flowing freely now. “You lied about this being my home! Now, you’re lying about... about lying!”

“I am sorry, Nyx,” Titus said in a voice obviously meant to calm the enraged filly, “but I do not understand. You are home. We rescued you from those ponies in Equestria,” he pleaded, placing a hoof gingerly on the edge of the mattress. “We are happy that you have returned to us, but we must keep you here, for now, for your own safety.”

“I’ll show you who needs safety,” the alicorn growled venomously as her horn began to glow dimly. Her tears had ceased, but her vision was still blurred, in part by the sheer volume of anger coursing through her. She hoped that she could get her magic to work correctly, but it still didn’t feel right.

Titus seemed to immediately realize what was occurring and ducked behind the edge of the bed only a fraction of a second before a bolt of dark blue energy blazed from the tip of Nyx’s horn. He opened his eyes and looked upward a few seconds later when several small chunks of plaster fell onto his head. Nyx’s attack had missed him completely, firing instead straight up and into the ceiling. He gulped, looking at the ceiling’s new, small crater roughly the same size as his forehoof.

Nyx stared at the ceiling in irritation as she felt Titus’ gaze return to her. That wasn’t supposed to happen. She had meant the attack to hit him, and maybe only burn a little. She shuddered as she realized what the blast might have done to the pony in front of her if her aim had been true. She was angry, very angry, but she didn’t want to hurt anypony, even Titus. One thing Twilight had been certain to teach Nyx at an early stage was about the consequences of one’s actions. As the magnitude of what might have happened began to sink in, the filly crumpled back onto the bed, sobbing pitifully. “I’m sorry, Lord Titus,” she whispered into her hooves between sobs. “I didn’t mean to.”

The roan earth pony sighed, closed his eyes, and shook his head solemnly. “Estas akceptebla, juna Nyx.” He looked at her, a concerned smile adorning his face.

Nyx sniffed and looked at him. “W-what?” She was lost. Wherever these foreign-looking and foreign-speaking ponies had taken her, it had robbed her of her magic, her home, her mother and friends, and even her ability to communicate. She lowered her muzzle back into the cranny between her forelegs and resumed her misery quietly. “Please just go,” she said after hearing no response from her captor.

Titus rose from his place at the end of the bed, slowly making his way out of the bedroom and into the adjoining great room. He paused to look back at the trembling, emotionally wrecked filly, a relatively small, black lump on the expansive, regal comforter. He opened the main doors and stepped out into the corridor. Nyx heard the doors close behind him, and continued to cry until her eyes and lungs burned.

When she raised her head, the sky outside was dark and several of the torches along her chamber walls were lit, indicating one of the servants had entered to provide the illumination. Had she fallen asleep? She couldn’t remember but a few minutes after Titus left, and it had been at least a couple hours before sundown when he did. She rubbed her eyes, wiping away the dried salt left behind by her tears hours earlier. The new pain in her abdomen informed her that she hadn’t eaten since early that morning. At least food was something she no longer had to worry about. After her experiment the previous night, she concluded that her culinary requests could include nearly anything imaginable and would be delivered without delay. Right now, she could use the good feeling she often got after a hot meal.

About to open the door to her chambers and inform her guards of her desire to eat, Nyx paused, staring at the floor. A hot meal would be good, but it would bring other ponies to the room again. It might even bring Titus back to check on her. She turned away from the door and walked slowly to her balcony opposite the entrance. It was beautifully constructed. The back half of the semicircular structure lay behind a crystal-clear, glass wall, with double french doors leading to the outside. She had discovered the previous day that the doors were unlocked, allowing her full access to the outdoor portion. She pushed the doors open gently with her front hoof and walked to the far railing. Beneath her lay the parade grounds of the complex in which she was interred. Several burly guards, not unlike the ones she first encountered in the jail cell, patrolled the inside of the perimeter wall. They were all earth ponies, from what she could tell. They might be hiding wings under their armour, but that’d be awfully uncomfortable, she thought.

Past the walls in the three directions her position allowed her to see was the sprawling city that surrounded the complex. The buildings were squat, none more than a few stories tall, and most looked to be in disrepair or at least very, very old. During the daytime, she could see ponies going about their business in the streets. She could easily see hundreds, no, thousands of them from her vantage point at least a dozen metres above the ground. The perfectly flat terrain on which the city was built allowed her to see the borders of the urbanized area several kilometres away, and beyond that a vast empty space of green and brown prairie. Now, after dark, the city appeared nearly deserted. Very few of the dilapidated buildings bore torches on their façades, and not many more showed evidence of light or life from inside.

For the first time since she arrived in this place, she noticed the chill wind blowing in from the south. Her tutelage in astronomy under Twilight the past two years had given her the knowledge that the sun in Equestria rose in the East and set in the West. She didn’t think she was very far from Equestria, so that must mean her windows faced south. When she last walked the streets of Ponyville, summer had just barely begun. The afternoons were hot and sunny, while the evenings were pleasantly mild. This wind, however, rivaled even the crisp morning air in Ponyville. She shivered, unable to imagine anywhere that would be this cool in the summertime.

A pair of voices beneath her roused her from her thoughts. The plan she had formed in her mind that morning and afternoon was the only shot she had of finding her way out of this awful place and back home again. How she longed to see Twilight, to snuggle into her mother’s warm side and read a book together in the library before bed. She spread her wings and hopped onto the wide, stone railing. Even despite the dark, she could clearly see the ground far beneath her from the balcony. She could remember flying before, vividly. But all of those memories were of her as an adult, as Nightmare Moon. Since her return to fillyhood, her flying had been mostly on-par with other fillies her age. That is, not very well. She excelled, however, at gliding. Given Twilight had no wings of her own, she managed to convince Rainbow Dash to give Nyx flying lessons. The cyan mare had quickly realized that the alicorn could easily carry her own weight once in the air, and could glide on the wind like a pro. Her ability to actually take off was sorely lacking, a feat most of her pegasus classmates were also unable to perform successfully.

The pair of voices beneath her faded as their owners walked away toward one of the complex’s perimeter walls. She looked behind her, the only light illuminating the balcony from two small torches, one on each side attached to the building façade. Her black coat blended well with the ambient darkness over the parade grounds, just as she had hoped while scheming earlier in the day. Checking again beneath and ahead of her, assuring herself that no guards were present in the immediate vicinity, she closed her eyes tightly and sucked in a breath, holding it as she reared up and used her hind legs to leap into the night sky.

Her mind instantly filled with panic and dread as she felt herself drop like a stone from a cliff. She flapped her wings furiously, desperate to generate the lift necessary not only to carry her on the air currents, but also now to save her young life. Her determination yielded fruit after only a few beats of the feathery appendages, and her form lurched upward and forward as her remiges flared to allow the familiar sensation of boundless flight. Nyx was forced to place a hoof over her muzzle in order to stifle her relieved giggle. She faltered after letting slip her concentration, but quickly regained her stability, gliding on the wind as naturally as fish glide through the ocean’s waters. Finally opening her eyes, she nearly revealed her position again when she saw the entire parade ground was free of sentries. She looked ahead toward her goal: freedom. The only obstacle between herself and the city was the air on which she now masterfully rode.

From below, the only visible indication to her presence in the sky was the tiny, black silhouette drifting lazily away from the Federal Palace’s main building. Between her coat and her hair, she was virtually invisible to any pony looking upward. None of the guards on duty that night did.

Her elation at successfully escaping the palace gradually ebbed and morphed into a hopeful determination as the outer wall of the government complex drew nearer. She casually noted that her airspeed had increased slightly from when she first began her glide. Her altitude had also diminished somewhat. Nyx quickly calculated that her rate of descent would still allow her to clear the top of the perimeter wall with several metres to spare. As she crossed the threshold of the palace grounds, her heart skipped a beat. She did it! Her mind raced as she watched the wall pass beneath her silently, her body hidden in the darkness of the largely unlit city beneath her.

Using the tricks she learned from her sessions with Rainbow Dash, Nyx folded her wings back into what her flight mentor called a “delta formation.” She wasn’t quite sure what this meant, but she had practiced the manoeuvre countless times over Ponyville. She thrilled at the sudden rush of air through her mane and tail as she quickly gained speed and lost height. As Rainbow Dash had taught her, the trick allowed a quick descent while maintaining the stability she needed to avoid crashing into the ground or nearby, tall objects like the ramshackle buildings which now flanked her. She flared her wings to their fullest extent just before impact with the cobblestone street beneath her. She winced as the air caught in her wings, pulling her to nearly a full stop and halt her descent. She’d been going faster than she estimated. The muscles in her wings ached as she landed gently, folding them back against her sides.

Nyx had never felt such freedom before, even when she actually was free with her family and friends in Ponyville. She’d used her physical abilities and her wits to slip the bonds of her captors, and she didn’t even have to use the magic which had eluded her in this foreign place. Her heart raced as the realization of her status hit her. She was a fugitive in a foreign land. How exciting! she thought. She assumed the pose and gait of the stereotypical spy. Among all the “missions” in which she had participated in the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ quest to find their special talents, their “Cutie Mark Crusader Super Spies” mission had been her favourite. It allowed her to use all the sneaky tricks she had learned during her self-studies in magic, and it also let her indulge the more devious corner of her personality.

Quickly slipping into the darkness of an inset doorway, she filly surveyed her new environment. From this close, the buildings appeared even more dilapidated and ill-maintained than they had from her stone-carved promontory. The only ponies on the street were huddled together into small groups, talking amongst one another in hushed tones. Nopony seemed to notice her arrival or presence. If they did, they seemed not to care. Most of them wore nothing but their coats, as Nyx herself currently did. Those that had donned clothing wore jackets or blankets of a rough, woolen material. Nyx could imagine Miss Rarity swooning and fainting at the mere sight of such unfashionable attire. She was forced to stifle another giggle.

She jumped and released a quiet squeal of surprise as a pony absently walked past her on the street very near by. The auburn roan stopped and looked at her quizzically, then continued on his way. Nyx heaved a sigh of relief, glad that the pony wasn’t a guard alerted to her escape. She spent a few seconds willing her heart to slow down once again to a normal pace before she noticed the pony again, and her stomach dropped into her hooves. The pony had stopped to stare at her again, apparently only now noticing her unicorn’s horn and the wings attached to her sides. It was now Nyx realized her plan’s fatal oversight. She was the only pony she’d seen since her arrival that was not an earth pony and who didn’t have a roan coat. She stood out like a zap apple in Miss Applejack’s orchard! The alicorn unconsciously backed as far away from the pony as possible into a corner, making herself as small as she could and wishing she could disappear into the door frame.

The roan seemed to notice the sudden change in his subject’s demeanour. “Saluton, junaj,” he said quietly, his voice low and soft and warm. “Mi ne renkontis vin ĉi tie antaŭe,” he continued after a brief pause, taking a small step toward the trembling, black creature.

He didn’t seem to be hostile. Nyx’s already frayed nerves dulled enough for her to look into the pony’s brown eyes. “I... I’m sorry. I don’t know what you’re saying.”

The roan took a step back in surprise. He seemed to consider the strange language with which he was just addressed. Presently, his brow furrowed into a look of concern. “Ĉu vi bone, fraŭlino?” he asked.

Nyx’s fear was slowly evaporating. The earth pony examining her relatively strange appearance had a friendly air about him. Judging by his voice and stance, she figured it was unlikely he would attempt to attack her, even with his distinct size advantage. If anything, he appeared genial. She looked into his eyes again, hoping he understood the meaning behind her words, though she knew he didn’t understand the words themselves. “I don’t understand. I can’t speak... your language.” What language was that, exactly? She still hadn’t been able to determine if it was a really, really remote dialect of Equestrian. Whatever it was, it was a tongue not spoken by anypony she’d ever met in Ponyville or Canterlot.

The native pony didn’t respond. He blinked a few times when she spoke as if attempting to work out her words’ meaning despite the language barrier.

Nyx tried something simpler. “Do you speak Equestrian?” she asked. “Do you know where Equestria is?” He may not understand my language, she thought, but he might at least know the word Equestria.

He did, and not with a reaction that encouraged the filly to further the disjointed conversation. At the mention of her homeland, the roan backed into the street quickly, stumbling over his back hooves in the process. He landed hard on his flank without losing his lock on her eyes. He was... afraid. “Eh... eh-quest...” he stammered, his stare quickly filling with a look of pure terror. “Rajda!” He quickly righted himself and stooped into a deep bow. “La granda patrino!”

Nyx screwed her face up in confusion. “Huh? What are you doing?”

The pony flinched at the sound of her voice, rising and galloping away as fast as his hooves would carry him. The sparse groups of nearby ponies watched him flee, then turned their attention to the reason of his flight. They stared at her, whispering amongst themselves.

One pony staring at her was too many. The dozen now taking full note of the apparition in the doorway was unbearable. The alicorn leaped to her hooves and galloped down the street, away from the palace and using her wings to augment her velocity. None of the ponies in the street behind her made any attempt to pursue her, but they stared after her until she couldn’t see them any longer for the darkness.

She ran until she couldn’t run any farther. The buildings around her and the streets under-hoof had all become blurred together into a collage of too similar, nondescript features in the night. Her legs threatening to rebel and screaming in pain, Nyx stumbled into a deep alley between two nearby large buildings. She collapsed into a pile of hay at the end against a brick wall, shrouded in the darkness of the night. She’d escaped. She’d done it. But she’d also nearly blown it and almost ruined her whole plan. She buried herself under the hay against the damp, chill air settling over the city. As her mind drifted off to sleep, she realized that her plan hadn’t matured enough to include her current situation. She’d made it out of the palace, but where did she go now?

The shroud of drowsiness numbing her brain coupled with her exhaustion convinced her to reconsider her plight in the morning. For now, she needed rest.

* * * * *

“Nyx? Nyx, can you hear me?”

That voice... It sounded really familiar, but she couldn’t place it. Her mind felt so clouded and groggy. It was so difficult to concentrate.

A hoof gently nudged her flank, trying to wake her. “Nyx? Are you awake?”

Mmm, so warm and soft. I think I’ll just lay under these blankets forever. The hoof moved to her shoulder, shaking her gently out of the haze still shrouding her mind. That voice... Wait, it was telling her to get up. The only pony who would do that would be... “Mom!” Her eyes shot open to a blindingly bright light from the nearby window. She blinked a few times, trying to accelerate her iris’ adjustment to the sudden change. She attempted to sit up, but dizziness soon overtook her. “Ugh, Twilight! I had the worst dream!”

“Nyx, I think you should--”

“Oh no! It’s morning! I’m late for school!” She shook her head violently, eliminating most of the room’s spin. Wait... This isn’t my bedroom. She looked to the source of the voice, twisting her neck quickly in the process. The protest of several muscles caused her to immediately regret that action.

The pony sitting at the end of the bed was not her mother. “Mia princino,” Titus said quietly as he closed the book balanced between his hooves. “We have much to discuss.”

“Oh,” Nyx responded disdainfully, “it’s you.” So it wasn’t a bad dream. For a moment, one brief moment, she had been relieved to awaken in her own bed in her own bedroom in the Ponyville library. Her ponynapping, the horrible nights alone in the bleak dungeon cell, her harrowing escape and the strange ponies she saw in the crumbling city, all were just parts of a dream from which she could rise and hopefully forget after a long day of school and Cutie Mark Crusader hijinks. As the fog in her mind slowly released its grip, memories of the previous night began to solidify. She escaped from the palace by gliding over the perimeter wall into the heart of the surrounding city. She met a strange pony who was friendly, but became terrified of her when she mentioned Equestria. But... “How did I get here again?” she asked Titus, the bile in her voice clearly present.

“I am very disappointed by you, young Nyx,” Titus said sadly. “We find and rescue you from Equestria, and you repay us by running away.” He made no movements toward her. He simply stared at her from his chair at the foot of her bed. “I thought you would be happy to have returned.”

Nyx’s nostrils flared in sudden anger. She tried to throw off her covers and stand on the mattress, but her muscles felt weak and her movements damped, a sensation similar to that which she experienced while learning to swim in Ponyville Pond over a year ago. After a few failed attempts at righting herself, she resigned herself to the confines of the warm bed. “Rescued me? From what?” she huffed. “From my family and friends? From my home?”

Titus sighed. “Nyx, I have already told you, this is your home. You have been returned to your true family and friends now.”

“No!” Nyx screamed, bucking her covers violently toward the roan. “You’re lying again!”

“Princino--”

“I told you to stop calling me that!” Nyx raged, adrenaline assisting her muscles in overcoming the lingering weakness. She sat up with her back to the bed’s headboard, facing the confused-looking noblepony. “My name is Nyx, and I’m from Ponyville in Equestria. This... wherever this is, is not my home!”

Titus appeared taken aback. “You truly do not remember, Nyx?”

“Huh?” the filly skewed her face, a mix of anger and confusion twisting her normally pleasant features. “What are you talking about, Lord Titus?” she asked, placing special emphasis on his name with a tone dripping of mocked pompacity. “And how did I get back here? I escaped last night. I was an hour’s gallop from here.”

The roan seemed to appreciate the change in subject. “I came to see you last night. When I noticed you were not here, I summoned the guard and we began a search. It did not take us long to realize you used your wings to fly away.” He nodded to the balcony. The glass doors were slightly ajar, allowing a mild breeze into the chambers’ main room. “You were found sleeping in a pile of hay in a very bad neighbourhood of Liberty City.”

“I don’t remember you finding me and waking me up,” Nyx interjected sullenly.

“We did not wake you,” Titus answered. “I thought it would be good for you to wake here, in your own bed. The guards needed to...” He paused, clearly hesitant to finish his explanation. “The guards needed to give you sleeping drugs.” He looked downward toward the floor. “That is why you might feel weak and slow right now, Nyx,” he quickly added.

Nyx remembered an incident a little over a year ago. She and Apple Bloom had ventured into the Everfree Forest to visit Zecora. Their aim had been to secure an herb they needed to create a lighter-than-air potion for Scootaloo, giving her the temporary ability to fly on her birthday. What Nyx had unintentionally brought back from their trip, however, was a very nasty case of poison joke exposure. The plant’s poison manifested in the alicorn as a terrible illness, making her unable to hold down water or food of any kind. Eventually, Twilight had been forced to place Nyx under a sleeping spell while she recovered at the Ponyville hospital. She’d slept for over a week. “How long have I been...” she asked uncomfortably, looking to the stallion.

“Not long,” he answered softly. “It is afternoon now. You slept through the morning.”

Nyx took two deep breaths, releasing them as carefully and regularly as she could manage. Who was it? Who told the guards where to find me? Was it that roan who was so scared of me? But he seemed so nice, up until I mentioned Equestria anyway... “You may go, Lord Titus,” she said, looking back down to her bed, not wanting to maintain eye contact with the current object of her despise.

The adult pony started at her comment; he obviously was not expecting such an abrupt dismissal from the filly who, until now, acted very non-commanding. “But, Nyx, we need to talk about--”

“I said get out!” she yelled, interrupting him. She bucked at her covers again, flinging them off the mattress and into the chest of her once-again captor. When he simply caught the comforter instead of moving from his chair, she looked at him icily. “Are you going to let me go home?”

“Princino, I told you--”

“Don’t call me that!” she screamed, her eyes briefly flashing with a deep violet magic, clearly visible to Titus but unfelt by Nyx. She jumped from the bed and crossed the room quickly, cantering into the great room.

Titus watched her leave the room before replacing the blankets on the bed in a pile and following her toward the balcony. He stopped just inside the large chamber as the filly rounded on him, venom in her gaze.

“Leave. Now,” she said simply, her voice cold and deadly serious.

The stallion stood his ground several metres away near the bedroom door. He flinched slightly as the filly’s eyes began to glow dimly with the same violet colour as before. The violet slowly blended with her turquoise eyes outward from her reptilian pupils, as if her irises were undergoing a sort of magical transformation.

“I said leave,” she said. Her words seemed to chill the air in the vicinity. Her gaze started to acquire a maniacal quality to it, made more disturbing by the iciness which was already lying underneath. “Before I do something we’ll both regret,” she hissed. Irregular, errant sparks of magical energy began spurting from her horn randomly. She noticed the sparks a few seconds later, surprising even herself at the scene transpiring between them. Her eyes beginning to flood with tears, she turned and fled into the small study opposite the bedroom. Titus began to follow, but stopped as the filly bucked the door closed hard behind her.

Titus sighed, shaking his head. “Mia juna princino,” he said in a low voice, too softly for his charge to overhear, “mi esperas ke vi baldaux memoras kiu vi estas, ĉiuj tiuj jarcentoj.”

Nyx was curled up in an overstuffed easy chair in the corner of the small room when she heard the click of the door latch from the great room. Titus had left. She cried softly into the cushions, the act born as much from anger as from the sorrow of homesickness. Who does this Titus think he is? she thought bitterly. He looks like a noblepony, but I don’t care. I hate him... I hate him! She growled as she finished the thought screaming through her brain. The guttural sound was accompanied by a renewal of sparks from the tip of her horn, and her body trembled with rage, shaking the chair she occupied and causing the air around her to vibrate with a low hum.

The unfortunate target of her overflowing emotions was the short coffee table immediately to her right, beside the chair. She’d attempted to move the table before, physically, by pushing it. Made of solid oak, it proved to be far too heavy for her small frame to budge. In her anger, Nyx didn’t care what she had tried and failed before. She just knew the table had to pay the price for her current state. As the turquoise in her eyes slowly darkened into violet, this time, she could feel it. It burned, and this angered her even further. The sparks from her horn, no longer irregular or random, sprayed forth in a small fountain of magical energy, creating small spots of charred carpet where they landed beneath her.

She concentrated on the table beside her, focusing her magic as Twilight had taught her over the past two years. Really, a levitation spell would be fine. She needed only to raise and smash it against something equally heavy, like the wall or the mahogany bookcase. It began shaking in rhythm with her chair and the air around her, slowly wobbling from one leg onto another. She concentrated harder, and the table was presently enveloped in a dim haze of violet magic. She nearly broke her concentration and dropped it when she realized her magic was actually manifesting correctly.

That realization was quickly forgotten when the large window behind her shattered inward, peppering the room with shards of glass. Each tiny piece of transparent shrapnel was enveloped in a violet aura, just as the table was moments before. They were also significantly lighter than the table, giving them a much higher velocity for the magical energy transferred to them. Each shard of glass became a bullet, tearing through any object it intercepted. Nyx screamed, dropping the table as hundreds of the sharp projectiles pierced completely through the thick back of the easy chair, lodging themselves in her side. She covered her head with her hooves and pinched her eyes closed, waiting for the painful barrage to end.

What was only a few seconds seemed to stretch out into hours for the alicorn curled into a ball in the chair. She opened her eyes slowly after feeling no more incursions of glass for several long seconds. The view which presented itself made her want to close them again. Her left side, exposed and facing upward and toward the back of the chair was severely lacerated and bleeding profusely. Several larger razors of glass protruded from her flesh, her blood flowing freely from the jagged wounds. She noted with growing concern that she couldn’t feel the areas immediately surrounding the daggers. As much as she was loathe to admit it, she needed help from the very pony for whom her hatred had caused this destruction.

Half staggering, half falling from the chair onto the floor, she winced as she landed on the hundreds of smaller cuts in her side. Her vision began to blur and darken along the edges, and she realized that she had only minutes at most to alert the guards. She felt dizzy and her stomach heaved as she reached the doors to the study, grasping the handle in her mouth and falling against it, forcing the door open and leaving her heaving, bloodied form in full view of the guards who had obviously heard the commotion and had entered to investigate. They looked irritated.

Time seemed to accelerate and slow of its own accord and the seconds blurred together. She lay on the floor trying desperately to stay awake while the guards audibly gasped and began yelling in their strange language. She couldn’t tell if they were yelling at one another or some other, unseen pony. She didn’t really care. At least they sounded more worried, now, than they did angry. Within minutes, two pairs of hooves hovered over her, administering first aid. She didn’t understand what the medical ponies said to her, but their work proved to be very gentle, despite the sting of the antiseptic and bandages they applied to her mauled flesh. She silently thanked Celestia that her fur was black. She didn’t want to face the wrath of Ponyville’s fashionista when she discovered mottled blood stains all over the coat she had described as having “the most beautiful shine I’ve ever seen.”

“Are you alright, Nyx?” said a familiar voice from behind her as the medical ponies applied a final bandage to her neck. They’d already had to change several strips of gauze which were quickly saturated with the filly’s blood. It was surprising how much she could bleed from what were, for the most part, superficial cuts. The deeper wounds had been stitched with expert precision and had stopped bleeding, mostly. The voice reiterated, “Nyx, are you alright?”

Nyx looked up into the concerned face of Titus. She frowned miserably. “Does it look like it?” she asked, her voice flat and devoid of feeling.

Titus ignored her response. He waited for the medics to finish their work, then nodded to them. They exited the room with the guards, leaving him alone with the filly. “That was a very foolish thing to do.”

Nyx snorted, turning her head away from his gaze and laying it on the floor. The late afternoon sky was cloudy, a stark contrast to the brightness to which she had awakened earlier. Its colour blended with the drab featurelessness of the city beneath it, making the view from her window appear almost monochrome. It was depressing, which matched her current attitude. “What do you want?”

Titus shifted his weight and sat beside where she lay. “I want only for you to remember, young Nyx,” he answered softly.

Nyx felt the tears returning to her eyes, despite her will to remain outwardly angry at the roan. Two teardrops on the floor later, she sniffed and responded. “The only things I remember are the things you took away from me,” she cried. “My friends, Twilight, my home, everything.”

Titus sighed, apparently gathering his thoughts. “In time, perhaps you can see all your friends again.” He paused. “You may even visit your old home again one day. But until then, you need to tend to your responsibilities here.”

Nyx felt drained of energy. She continued the conversation only because he had ignited a spark of what sounded like surrender. It wasn’t as if she was in any position to stop him now, anyway. Had he just agreed to let her go home? “What do you mean? I’m just Nyx. I live in Ponyville in Equestria. What do you need me for here? You have no idea who I am. You just met me.” I have responsibilities here? That’s not even possible. I don’t even know where I am!

“Nyx,” Titus said, appearing to have difficulty finding the right words of explanation, “do you know why I call you ‘princino?’”

“No. But I don’t care. It’s not my name. You know that.” Her tears had stopped, leaving her feeling sulky and foalish.

“You...” he stammered, aghast, “you truly do not know who you are... do you?” He squinted at her, as if to read the truth directly from her soul.

Nyx raised her head toward him, confused and irritated. “What?”

Titus rose, looking down on the alicorn filly with fondness. “Princino, Nyx, please rest. We have much to discuss once you have healed properly.” With those words, he performed a slight bow and quietly took his leave.

Nyx lay on the floor for over an hour, attempting to decipher the odd conversation. Nothing Titus ever said seemed to make sense. Finally relenting to the sleep which tugged at her, she climbed painfully into her bed as the sun sank below the horizon.

* * * * *

Titus did not visit the next day when Nyx awoke. He had, apparently, sent nurses in his stead to check on her frequently. She had slept until nearly midday, and by late afternoon, she’d received no fewer than a dozen checkups or bandage changes from various medical ponies. They spoke only when necessary, and always in their strange language. She began to wonder if Titus was the only pony here who actually spoke Equestrian. He did seem to be quite intelligent, and the way he carried himself spoke of nobility or at least something like the high society of the Canterlot sophisticates. The only ponies in Equestria that spoke more than one language - that is, more than Equestrian - were either nobles, the extremely wealthy, or those highly intellectual like Twilight. Even then, their second language was always either Prench or Germane, neither of which sounded like these roans’ language.

Due to the timing of her argument with Titus and subsequent outburst, Nyx hadn’t eaten anything in nearly a full day. Normally, she’d be starving to the point of being able to eat an entire apple orchard, trees included, but her body had other ideas. She didn’t know enough about conventional pony medicine to be certain, but she suspected the antiseptic was the main cause of her several trips to the bathroom to empty the bile from her stomach. She still hadn’t figured out what that extra basin and fountain beside the toilet was, but discovered that it did a very good job of cleaning the vomit out of her muzzle’s fur.

The events of the previous afternoon hadn’t been completely counter-productive. Nyx learned a valuable lesson from the experience. Well, two valuable lessons. First, never, ever stand in the way of moving glass. Secondly, her magic wasn’t gone. She had lifted the heavy table and shattered the window simultaneously, and by concentrating on only one of them. Her magical ability hadn’t diminished at all. Indeed, there was no way she could have intentionally done that back in Ponyville. The problem was that she didn’t know how to use the magic here. The magic here felt... strange, somehow. Some Equestrian unicorns went to specialized schools for decades to learn how to use their magic properly. She’d been on the precipice of learning to focus her magical energies into complex spells while under the tutelage of Twilight for only two years, and now none of that worked anymore. She’d have to start from scratch if she wanted to use her magic to her advantage... or at the very least to not kill herself in the attempt.

She sat up in her bed, leaning to bear most of her weight on her right side. Her left foreleg throbbed painfully, preempting any thoughts of normal use. The last nurse to visit applied an extra salve to a group of cuts about halfway up her leg, saying something in her own language and performing a much more thorough examination of the area than any of the filly’s other injuries. Nyx wondered if it was infected. From her years as the librarian’s daughter, she’d availed herself of more than one opportunity to peruse the varied medical texts contained within her home’s ground floor.

Even while in Ponyville, Nyx had barely been able to keep up with the growth of her raw magical ability. Both Twilight and Luna attributed this accelerated increase to her being an alicorn. All of Nyx’s school classmates knew first-hand of how little control she wielded over her magic. Spike had received more than a few bruises and welts over the past two years at the hands of Nyx’s magical accidents. Her studious nature provided her with all the technical knowledge she needed to perform spells far more advanced than unicorns her age, a fact of which Twilight frequently reminded her and was more than a little proud. What Nyx needed was practice in actually performing the spells.

There’s no time like the present, she thought. Especially since Titus isn’t coming in to stop me every ten seconds. She gingerly climbed to her hooves and lowered herself to the floor. She looked out the bedroom door and across the great room. The door to her study was closed. One of the nurses had locked it the night before, and Nyx didn’t have a key. It was no matter, however, since she had no inclination to occupy that particular space for a long time. The window hadn’t yet been replaced, either, which would only further serve to remind her of her lack of control, both magically and emotionally.

She sat near the wall opposite the bed and sat, wincing as she placed a bit too much weight on her left flank. Shifting into a less painful position, she looked at her bed, the sheets and comforter unkempt and thrown back over the foot of their mattress. The first spell ever taught to her was a simple levitation spell from Miss Rarity, shortly after Twilight found her in the Everfree. The pillow on the centre of the mattress looked like it would serve beautifully as a test subject. After all, what harm could a pillow do if it exploded? She silently resolved to not let that happen.

Nyx closed her eyes and conjured a virtual image of the pillow in her mind. She knew from her experience in the dungeon cell that the levitation spell she learned in Ponyville would not work here. But, how else was a pony supposed to levitate something? she thought. How does a pony learn a spell if they don’t have a teacher to show them? She sighed. What she was asking herself to do was, in effect, create a new spell. Not only was that extremely difficult even by Ponyville standards with Equestrian magic, but it was also exceedingly rare for a unicorn to create a new spell. Even Twilight, who was arguably one of the most magically talented unicorns in all Equestria, had never actually created a spell herself. She’d modified a few to suit her individual purposes, but she’d always worked from an already existing spell framework.

Eventually, Nyx decided to take the most scientific approach she could remember: trial and error. Twilight would be proud, she mused. She went through the Scientific Process in her mind. Step one: identify the problem. Well, that was easy. She wanted to move the pillow. Step two: hypothesize and predict. This one was harder. She knew what happened when she tried using a spell she learned in Ponyville, and attempting magic through raw emotion had turned out badly, to say the least. She did move the table when she concentrated on it the night before, but she hadn’t attempted to limit how much magical energy she poured into it. Maybe, she thought, if I only try kind of hard to do it, I won’t break anything and the pillow will still move. She nodded at her own thought. On to step three: test the hypothesis.

She used the image in her mind to focus her energy and concentration on the pillow. Her horn glowed dimly for a few seconds before anything happened. The pillow rocked back and forth slightly, as if somepony was tapping it from either side at sporadically. Just under a minute passed before Nyx opened her eyes to observe the results of her efforts. She was glad to discover that the ceiling hadn’t come crashing down on her or that she hadn’t been squashed by the bed itself. Disappointment quickly set in, however, when she noticed that the pillow was doing little more than twitching on the mattress. It hadn’t moved an inch from where it started.

Dropping her concentration and allowing the pillow to come to rest, she moved on to step four: analyze the result. Well, she thought while looking at her hooves, I’m not in a billion pieces. The building’s still here. She looked upward and around her, feeling the necessity to validate this claim. Satisfied, she returned her gaze to the feather-stuffed marshmallow on the bed. It did move, just not in a way she had wanted. Maybe she had backed off a little too much. Repeating the process, as Twilight had taught her, she settled on a new hypothesis, essentially the same one except using a little more magical energy.

The pillow responded differently to the slight increase... a lot differently. Instead of simply twitching on the mattress as it did before, the pillow lept from the bed directly upward and plowed itself into the ceiling. The seams along the pillows edges immediately burst, raining showers of white feathers on the surprised filly. As the last feathers settled to the ground, Nyx spotted the horribly tattered remains of the pillow’s case. It would not be used again as a pillow, that was certain.

Several further attempts cost her three more pillows, and she could feel her irritation growing within her. Each successive attempt used either a tiny bit more or less magic, depending on the results from the previous test. The results of all the tests was the same, however. They all ended in failure. About to give up, and feeling hungry for the first time all day, Nyx stomped her hoof angrily. “Ooh!” she said aloud to her last surviving pillow at the head of the bed, “Why won’t you work?” She sighed, closing her eyes and lowering her head in defeat. “I wish you would just float over to me.” A soft object gently collided with her head, causing her to gasp in surprise. She opened her eyes just in time to see the pillow drop onto the floor at her hooves, the haze of a midnight blue magical aura quickly fading around it.

That’s weird, she thought. I wasn’t even trying to make it move. She studied the pillow for several long moments, not touching it as if it would bite her hoof. And what was up with that magic? Mine’s never been blue before. Something wasn’t right. Her magic wasn’t blue, and there were no other unicorns in this place, as far as she’d seen. She walked to the bedroom door and poked her head out into the main room. It was empty, just as expected. Nopony was there except for herself. She returned to where the pillow fell and picked it up carefully in her teeth, replacing it on the corner of the mattress some three metres away from where she sat.

She concentrated on the pillow one more time, making certain to put little or no magical energy behind it. Nothing happened. Nyx skewed her face in frustration. “What gives?” she said to the air. “I don’t get it.” Again, she stared at the pillow for a long time. What did she do last time that made it move to her will? The realization hit her hard enough to cause her to momentarily lose her breath. It moved to my will! Her jaw hung agape as she considered the implications. Could it really be that simple? Was the connection between her horn and the magic in this place really just a matter of willing something to happen?

Nyx chuckled audibly to herself at the madness of this idea. That... that would mean I can do anything I want with magic, as long as I have enough energy. That can’t be! Ponies in Equestria need to learn complicated spells to make their magic work. Here, all she needs only to think about what she wants? The thought’s direction was making her dizzy. Pillow, she thought absently, get over here. The filly started as two flashes of bright light accompanied the appearance of a pillow at her hooves and the disappearance of the one on the bed simultaneously. Nyx’s curiosity once again, as it had so often before, got the best of her. The testing had begun.

By the time the sun set, Nyx had forgotten about the hunger she had felt earlier. Now, however, her stomach had changed its opinion from absolute rejection of food to needing food immediately. She looked around the main room where she sat. The guards couldn’t see this. Broken pieces of a couch were strewn across the floor. The smashed vase in the corner bore evidence of her further magical self-training over the past few hours. There was no hiding the welt on her forehead, though. She cursed the chair leg which had detached itself from its host and joined her skull in one location a little over an hour ago. In her irritation, she had allowed a fragment of emotion into her will, resulting in the immediate and complete incineration of the wooden stub. It’s small pile of ashes lay roughly in the centre of the large room.

She pushed open the large doors leading into the corridor. The guards flanking the doors looked inward to see the alicorn slowly walking out to address them. One rolled his eyes, but said nothing. Nyx spoke to the other guard. “I would like dinner now... please.” The guard nodded to both her and the other guard before cantering down the corridor and out-of-sight. The remaining guard eyed her with a look of irritation.

“What’s your problem?” Nyx asked, incensed. She snorted at him. “Fine, whatever. Just be a big meanie. See if I care.” She returned to her chambers, making sure to shake her mane at him as dismissively as possible as she passed. The roan closed the door behind her, remaining silent.

* * * * *

“Lord Titus, look what I can do!” cried the filly excitedly as her caretaker entered the room. The sun was barely above the horizon, but Nyx felt refreshed and alive. Even the dull throbbing of her wounds weren’t bothering her enough to ruin the morning. She had use of her magic again, and a full night’s rest with a full belly had done wonders for her state-of-mind.

“Well, you are certainly in good spirits this morning!” Titus responded, smiling. “Now, what is it you were say...” he paused, now noticing the broken furniture scattered around the main room. “...ing? Nyx, what happened here?”

The alicorn blushed. “Erm... yeah. About that...”

“Did we have another outburst again last night, princino?”

She allowed herself a brief, icy look at the roan, both for the accusation and for using the name she had learned to despise. “No!” she said defensively and a little too loudly. “I was learning how my magic works here.”

Titus raised an eyebrow curiously.

“They were accidents... I swear!” Nyx continued, attempting to avoid his gaze. “I wasn’t trying to break them. They just... did.”

Titus chuckled lightly. “Do not worry, juna Nyx. These things can be replaced. I wish you would be more careful with your practice, though. We do not want to see you hurt again.” He nodded toward her left side. Her wounds were mostly healed, but the larger cuts were still bandaged and itched terribly. The last several nurses had applied an anti-itch salve to her skin, but it didn’t seem to make much of a difference. “Now then, you wanted to show me something.”

Nyx’s expression brightened as she returned her gaze to Titus’s smile. “Oh yeah! Watch this,” she said excitedly, turning around to face away from the roan. The adult pony took a seat and watched her carefully. For reasons she couldn’t explain, she suddenly felt intensely nervous. She took a few deep breaths and shook off the growing intimidation. I suppose it doesn’t matter who’s watching, she thought. I’m still afraid I’ll screw something up. She made a mental note to work on that later, another habit she’d picked up from her librarian mother over the years.

She forced her concentration back to the present as she heard Titus clear his throat behind her. How long had she been sitting here like this? She looked around the room, trying to find something she could pass to Titus with her magic. The signature grin of Cutie Mark Crusader mischievousness grew across her muzzle as a new idea formed in her mind. She closed her eyes and concentrated, focusing only a small fraction of her energy on her target. She had to stifle her giggles with a hoof as she thought about her goal. She willed the object to comply with her wishes, and it was done.

“What is... GAHmmf!” Titus cried suddenly, his voice muffled as the sheets and comforter from Nyx’s bed landed atop his head. He quickly stood and shook the bedclothes off from himself, looking both irritated and amused. He started to say something to his charge, but stopped as it became clear the filly wasn’t likely to hear anything he said.

Nyx rolled on the floor laughing loudly and without restraint. Tears streamed from her eyes, and she gasped for breath as she righted herself and banged her hoof on the floor repeatedly. “You should have seen the look on your face! Ha ha ha ha!” He rolled onto her uninjured side again, surrendering herself to another fit of laughter. She wanted this moment to last forever. This kind of pleasure had been kept from her since she was taken from Ponyville, and it felt... good. It struck her that even if she was being held captive here, she could still try to have a bit of fun now and then.

Titus tried to look at her sternly as if ready to scold her. “Ahem!” He cleared his throat loudly to catch the filly’s attention. Getting no response other than more laughter, he tried again. “Ahem! Hem heh heh... Ha ha!” The absurdity of the moment caught up with him, and he began to laugh aloud with the small alicorn. The shared moment of joviality lasted for many minutes. At several points, Titus had to consciously calm himself to avoid falling over in his own bouts of laughter.

By the time their laughter subsided, Nyx was unable to stand. She lie on her side, heaving for breath and using her front hooves to wipe the excess moisture from her eyes. She didn’t understand her own feelings. She felt... happy. But, she was still being held here. She still missed her home, her friends, her mother. She’d felt nothing but miserable for nearly two weeks. Was this her mind’s way of coping with the situation? She forced the subject from her thoughts. She felt great right now, and she didn’t want to ruin that while it lasted.

Titus was again sitting calmly before the alicorn, the bedclothes piled haphazardly to his side. He cleared his throat again, this time out of necessity. “Ahem...” His voice had acquired a husky quality from the minutes of sustained laughter. Like Nyx, his muzzle bore a smile that beamed the moment’s joy readily. “Nyx, I have something to show you, as well.”

Nyx coughed quietly a few times, her throat slightly sore from laughing so loudly and so hard. Her belly hurt, her lungs burned, and her legs wobbled as she sat upright. She looked to the adult pony curiously. “You... you brought something for me?”

“No,” Titus chuckled, rising. “This which I will show you was yours all along.”

Nyx’s curiosity was piqued, displayed outwardly by her puzzled expression. “Uh... Okay?”

Titus smiled and turned toward the door. “Please, Princino Nyx. Follow me.” He strode slowly toward the door, allowing the filly to find her balance and catch up to him.

Nyx shivered as she walked casually across the parade grounds of the huge complex. Ponyville was not immune to chilly mornings in the summertime, but the wind which blew through this city was downright cold. She fluffed her wings briefly, attempting to cover more of her sides with the large feathers as she watched the warm clouds of her breath dissipate. Even her wings’ extra protection from the air did little to warm her.

The golden-clad roan who walked beside her paid the action no attention. Titus wore nothing more than she did, save for his golden armour which didn’t look substantially warm on its own. He didn’t seem to mind the low temperature, though. The pony didn’t shiver or show any other sign of discomfort.

The pair stopped at the edge of one of the huge rectangles of perfectly-groomed grass as a regiment of uniformed military ponies marched past in formation. They looked like Celestia’s Royal Guard practicing drill, Nyx thought as she watched. None of them broke formation by turning their head to look at her, despite her status as the only alicorn in the vicinity. She was forced to admit to herself that these soldiers were highly disciplined, able to suppress even their curiosity. Thinking of the past two years in Twilight’s library, she couldn’t begin to imagine what it might be like to ignore her curious nature. The notion that ponies could be trained to do just that was impressive to her.

“Nyx,” Titus said as the last row of soldiers marched past, leaving the flat expanse of grass open before them, “Do you trust me?”

Well, that’s a dumb question, Nyx thought sardonically. She looked up to face him. “No.”

Titus chuckled. “I probably deserved that,” he mused.

“Well, duh...” the filly said under her breath, rolling her eyes. This was killing her good mood. What was Lord Titus doing? After her escape and recapture, she’d all but given up trying to leave again... for now. The guard had been increased significantly around her chambers, and now that she walked quasi-freely with Titus on the complex grounds, no fewer than two followed them at all times. She wondered if they were there to protect her or to catch her again should she choose to flee.

“What I mean,” Titus continued, “is that I want to know if you believe the things I say to you. But if you do not trust me, then my question is answered, no?”

Nyx was reminded of his statement from two nights earlier. He claimed that he had never lied to her. As far as she could tell, after much thought, was that he told her what he believed to be the truth. He hadn’t intentionally told her anything false. She could use this. “I don’t trust you,” she said, looking straight ahead across the field as they stood there. “You ponynapped me, and you’re keeping me here against my will. Do you really expect me to trust you?”

“I did, yes.” He looked down at the filly who kept staring straight ahead. “But if you truly do not know who you are, then I understand why I have not earned your trust.” He paused. “But will you listen anyway?”

Nyx didn’t answer right away. Every time he opened his mouth, more questions seemed to arise in her mind. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to listen. She might learn something about where she was, but she might also be left even more lost and confused than she already was. “Yes,” she said finally.

Titus began to walk slowly into the grass, and his filly companion shivered again while keeping pace with him. “What do you remember about your life before Ponyville?” he asked.

“Nothing. I was born in Ponyville, or near it... I think... I’ve lived there my whole life,” she said, wondering herself if that was entirely accurate.

Titus nodded as if Nyx confirmed something he already knew. “I see. How did you come to live as the assistant to the librarian of a small town?”

Nyx nickered, her good mood dulled by an emerging irritation. “I already told you. I wasn’t her assistant. I’m her daughter. She adopted me after she found me alone in the forest.”

“Yes. You mentioned your mother when we first met. I failed to realize they were one and the same.”

“Yeah, in that awful dungeon,” the alicorn grumbled quietly.

Titus raised an eyebrow, continued walking slowly. “The guards responsible for placing you in that cell have been... reprimanded.” He cleared his throat before continuing. “How old are you, Nyx?”

That’s a weird question. “Twilight says I’m about twelve, maybe fourteen. Why?”

“Your own mother does not know how old you are? How old were you when she found you in the forest?” He was asking questions, but the tone of his voice betrayed his knowledge of the subject.

Is he testing me? Maybe this was all a big mistake. Maybe I’m not who he thinks I am. The thought excited the filly. Maybe if I just tell them the truth, they’ll see I’m the wrong pony and take me home! Her voice lightened significantly as she answered, rising a major third. “No, no. I’m only actually two and-a-half. Twilight says I look older, because I was born from a magic spell. I’m almost a young mare,” she added proudly.

Titus laughed at the display of juvenile innocence beside him. “Indeed you are, Miss Nyx! My little fraŭlino.”

“There!” she said pointedly, cutting short his laughter. “That word. “‘Frow-leen-oh.’ That’s not an Equestrian word, is it?”

“Correct again,” countered the roan. “That is because we are not in Equestria.”

“I kinda figured that out already, Lord Titus,” Nyx said, rolling her eyes again. “That pony in the city seemed pretty freaked out when I mentioned it.” She fell silent for several seconds. “So where am I? It gets awfully cold here at night. It was the beginning of summer break when you took... when I was in Ponyville last. Are we in Prance?”

This elicited a single, sharp laugh from Titus. “Ha! Goodness, no! The journey to Prance from here is long and very dangerous.” He seemed to anticipate her next question. “No, neither are we in Germaneigh.”

Nyx looked at Titus expectantly. He’d told her where she wasn’t, but he still hadn’t answered her original question. The pair was nearly across the field now. A tall building that looked much like the Royal Observatory in Canterlot rose ahead of them, stretching into the sky.

“This is the independent city of Liberty,” he stated.

Nyx shook her head. “Liberty?” she said suspiciously, “I don’t remember seeing that on any map.”

Titus stopped and looked at the filly. “No, you would not have.” He resumed his slow pace toward the spire ahead. Reaching the broad, wooden door at the base, he slipped a hoof through the bronze handle and pulled it open, allowing Nyx entry and following her. He closed the door behind him and smiled at the alicorn.

Nyx stared in wonder at the room in which she now stood. The rough, plain exterior was in stark contrast to the smooth, polished marble within. The room was easily twice the size of the library in Ponyville, and was immaculately clean. Her hooves tapped on the black marble floor with even her lightest step, echoing off the cavernous walls. Circular in shape, a helix of granite steps slowly climbed along the outer wall of the tower, its railings carved from a fine wood and gilded with gold trim. “What is this place?” she asked to no one in particular, her voice nearly breathless. “It’s beautiful.”

“This is the... observatorio, of course,” Titus said hesitantly. “I am sorry. I do not know the proper word in Equestrian.”

“I think I have a good idea,” Nyx retorted snidely. Her eyes received another rolling workout.

“Please, princino. Follow me.” Titus broke from Nyx’s side and began to climb the stairs. He climbed several steps before Nyx fell into stride behind him. The stairs led upward through the ceiling at least a dozen metres above them. Despite the wideness of the staircase, nothing could be seen above this entrance chamber.

Nyx followed her guide for a long time until they climbed past several more floors, each successively smaller and shorter than the one beneath it. Through the windows in the outer wall, she could see they had climbed well above the altitude of her chambers in the main building. As she looked out across the city visible to her, she couldn’t find any structures that rose higher than her current position. Her legs were beginning to complain about the exertion of the climb, but as she and Titus crossed the ceiling of this floor, they emerged into a tall, domed room which encompassed the whole of the top level. In the centre stood a magnificent golden telescope which stretched outward to the sky through a narrow slit in the roof. It was at least a dozen metres long with a lens of over a metre in diameter. Nyx felt a pang of homesickness as she thought of Twilight back in Ponyville. She’d give her horn to look through this thing, the filly thought.

Titus led her to a small balcony overlooking the palace grounds and Liberty City. “This,” he said, his hoof tracing the horizon, “is what I wished to show you.” He looked down at the filly who was still absorbing the breathtaking view. “What are you thinking?”

The alicorn filly shook off her awe. “Huh? What do you mean? I thought you had something to give to me.”

Titus looked away from her and downward toward the thousands of decaying buildings surrounding them. The ponies below were indistinguishable from one another from this height, slowly moving brown, black, and white dots. Hundreds of smoke tendrils rose from chimneys all over the city, eventually joining with one another to form a thin, brown cloud carried away to the east by the stiff breeze. “I talk about this city, princino. This city and more than twenty others like it. They and all their ponies are yours. They always were. You need only to claim your rightful place over them.”

Nyx shivered again as a gust of cool wind whipped her mane. It was even colder up here than it was on the ground. She looked out over the city with her keeper. The city stretched nearly to the horizon, even from this lofty point-of-view. “You mean,” she said slowly, “kind of like Princess Celestia and Princess Luna?”

“Yes and no,” Titus answered. He sighed deeply. “Like Princess Luna, in a sense. You are born of her, no?” He didn’t wait for a response. “As for Celestia, here we do not recognize her right to rule over any land.” He spat the last words bitterly, blatant hatred in his voice.

His tone frightened Nyx. “Wh-what’s wrong with Princess Celestia?” She paused. “And what do you mean ‘born of her?’” She looked at him, raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

“Celestia is a tyrant. Only Princess Luna was ever fit to rule over Equestria. Only she had the qualities of a true and noble queen. Celestia was weak, impulsive.” Titus’ voice had acquired a flatness indicative of one trying to hide their anger. “When we finally had gathered enough support for Luna’s solo reign, Celestia was already watching us. She did everything she could, terrible things, just to hold her rule.” He looked to Nyx, the filly’s mouth hanging open slightly in shock of what she was hearing. “Celestia banished her sister to the moon and slaughtered the ponies who stood with Luna in solidarity.”

Nyx spent nearly a minute trying to recover her senses. Was she really hearing this? It couldn’t possibly be true! Princess Celestia is the best princess ever! “Wait...” she said finally, trying to piece together the information in her mind. “Princess Celestia banished Nightmare Moon. She tried to make the night eternal!”

Titus looked at her with a look of disbelief. “You do not actually believe those foals’ stories, do you?”

“Foals’ stories? That’s Equestrian history. We learned it in school... in Ponyville,” she quickly added pointedly.

“Princess Luna took the form of who you call ‘Nightmare Moon’ in order to prevent Celestia from raising the sun. That was the only way to cull Celestia’s immeasurable power. She is weakest when the sun is absent. It was the only way our queen had a chance to remove her sister from the throne.”

Nyx quoted from her school text. “‘Nightmare moon came from all the anger and jealousy in Princess Luna’s heart.’ She... took over... er...” she stammered. She couldn’t find the right words to express what she was thinking. “Princess Luna became Nightmare Moon. When Princess Celestia banished her, Luna... kinda had to go with her, too.”

Titus shook his head sadly. “That is only partly true. Princess Luna did become your ‘Nightmare Moon,’ but she was not filled with hate and jealousy. She cared for her subjects deeply. Her goal was to free Equestria of Celestia’s rule.” He turned to face her, placed a hoof on her shoulder. “When our queen was banished, we did not know what had happened to her. We searched for her in secret for centuries. When we heard news of Luna’s return and how Celestia had her brainwashed through magic, we nearly lost hope. Now we have finally found you, Luna’s progeny, and Her Majesty’s ponies are still faithful to her...” He locked eyes with the confused filly. “... to you, in this land.”

Nyx shook her head and backed away from the roan, her eyes wide with shock. “I don’t get it. I’m not a princess, and I’m only really two years-old! You... you have the wrong pony! I’m just Nyx!” She continued her backward pace until her flank bumped into the doors behind her. This isn’t right! her mind screamed. This... this is wrong! It’s not true!

Titus looked at her sadly. “Princino, the spell which created you used the fragments of Princess Luna from when she was truly the most powerful and noble pony in Equestria. You are Luna’s daughter.”

“I... but...” Nyx stammered, looking desperately for a logical contradiction in her elder’s argument. Everything he said about her so far was true to what Twilight had told her over the past two years. Tears stained her cheeks for the second time that morning, these from conflicted sorrow rather than glee. She turned and ran into the relative warmth of the observatory, refusing to show her intellectual defeat in front of this horrible ponynapper.

Titus watched her go. “In time, you will learn who you are, Young Majesty,” he said softly, out of the filly’s earshot. “Luna’s royal spirit lives within you now. You will see this.”

* * * * *

The brief moment of happiness, that golden and fleeting span of time when she didn’t feel weighed down by her loss, her homesickness, her captivity had not returned since that morning five days ago. She had found no occasion to smile, or even to speak to anypony since her conversation with Titus at the top of the observatory. Nyx felt as miserable as ever.

Titus visited her regularly, several times each day. He attempted conversation each time, at first, but then simply spent time with her in silence as he realized she was not going to respond verbally. The roan personally brought her meals from the kitchens, even though he explained to her that she was free to eat in any dining room she wished within the building. He made it clear that she could go anywhere she wanted - she was no longer to be confined to her chambers - as long as she didn’t go outside. He told her it was for her own safety that she stay indoors.

Despite the new, relative freedom given to her, Nyx stayed in her chambers, venturing out onto her balcony only once or twice per day, usually during the darkest hours of the night when clear skies offered an unobstructed view of the stars and moon. Her self-imposed silent confinement gave her plenty of time for introspection. Was she really Princess Luna’s daughter, as Titus claimed? From what Twilight had explained two years ago, the spell which created her did involve pieces of the Nightmare Moon that Twilight and her friends had defeated at the Castle of Two Sisters in the Everfree Forest. But Twilight had also said that her physical body came from a drop of the unicorn’s blood, taken by the cultists who crafted the spell. Biologically, she was Twilight’s daughter. She sighed, her conflicted mind unable to piece together the myriad information. She missed Twilight dearly. She would gladly give up Ponyville forever if it meant she could be with her mother again.

That thought of Twilight was eventually what helped her overcome the fear of recapture again. The last two days had been spent deep in contemplation and planning. Another escape attempt would be made, and this time she wouldn’t fail. The only problem was, how could she go about it? She’d tried flying off the balcony into the city, and that hadn’t ended well. She blushed as she remembered how embarrassing it was to reawaken in the Federal Palace the day after she was certain her freedom was secured. Because of that botched attempt, escape via her balcony under the cover of night was no longer an option. Unless she was inside her chambers, she was never out of the sight of at least two guards. Even from her balcony, she could spot at least a dozen guards below at all times. If this palace was her jail, it certainly felt like one now, more than ever.

As the days progressed slowly, her magic also grew both in complexity and strength. Nyx could lift and displace the heaviest of objects in her chambers with little effort. Her teleportation skills had also advanced. She surprised herself when she had accidentally teleported herself to a chair instead of the other way around. At home in Ponyville, Twilight had just barely scratched the surface of the theory behind teleportation magic. Now that she had found the ability, it seemed so easy here. She wondered if Twilight found it similarly easy, since she actually had to concentrate on a spell to use the magic in Equestria.

One other thing that she noticed was that she had no more magical accidents since she realized the nature of magic in this place. Once she willed something, it happened, as long as she could picture it in her mind with precision. The prior evening, Nyx had taken this idea to its extreme. If she could make something happen just by thinking about it and wanting it, then what if she thought about and wanted to return to the library in Ponyville? She wasn’t sure if her magic lacked the required strength or if she hadn’t quite grasped the concepts firmly enough, but nothing happened when she tried, no matter how hard she tried.

Until a few minutes ago, Titus had been sitting before her, reading another book. He didn’t attempt to engage her in conversation, because he knew that was useless unless Nyx’s mood allowed her to participate. He jumped when he suddenly found himself sitting outside her chamber doors between the two guards posted there. Nyx had wished to herself that he would “just go away,” and he did, her wish magically realized by teleporting Titus out of her sight. So far, he didn’t try to come back in.

She was alone again. Judging by the timing of Titus’ previous visits over the past five days, she had about three hours before he would return for another visit. She still had no idea how she could get out of the palace and into the city again. The element of surprise given by her unique skills as a pony with wings was no longer an advantage. The guards were on the alert for such behaviour now. She could leave her chambers, claiming to go explore the enormous palace, but then how would she lose her ever-present guard? They wouldn’t let her leave the building. If only there was a way I could get out without them seeing me, she thought. She snickered at herself. That’s stupid, Nyx. The only way that could happen is if you were invisible.

Thirst led her to the small bar in her study. The window had been repaired a few days ago, and she could entre the room now without reliving those long seconds, feeling the glass cut through her again. She used her magic to pour herself a large glass of water from the carafe chilling in a bowl of ice. She wondered if the citizens of Liberty City had access to water like this, she thought as the cold liquid soothed her throat. The water given to her here was pristine and delicious, crisp and fresh by even the most stringent of Ponyville standards. She looked into the mirror behind the bar absently and nearly choked on the swallow of water still in her mouth. The image reflected back to her showed her glass suspended in a dark blue aura of her magic. But behind the glass was... nothing, just the room. She turned her head back and forth, watching the mirror for any change. Surely the looking glass was faulty! It took over a minute for her to see the vague shimmer of light where her reflection should be. When she moved, it was as if the air rippled around where her form should appear. She wouldn’t have seen this effect herself had she not been staring at the reflection so intently. When she held still, however, the ripples disappeared, leaving no trace of her figure. She was invisible.

She didn’t look invisible. She could still see her hoof as she brought it before her eyes. In the mirror was the slight ripple, but no hoof. This is really weird, she thought, setting her glass on the bar, lest she drop or spill it. This had to be tested. But, how did she even get this way? She hadn’t wished to be invisible... kind of... did she? No sooner did the question pass through her mind than her reflection reappeared in the mirror. What...? How...? Nyx contorted her face in puzzlement as she tried to understand.

Her scientific curiosity getting the better of her, she cantered to the chamber doors and pulled them open with her magic. She strolled into the corridor and to the right, a direction she’d never before taken. The guards kept pace, never letting her out of their sight as she trotted onward for several minutes, passing many rooms, halls, and adjoining corridors. Now was the time. She turned to the guards behind her, attempting to produce the most pleading look on her face. “I really have to use the little fillies’ room. Is there one around here?” She reinforced her words with a dance recognizable in any language.

The guards looked at one another and nodded. One of them cantered past her, leading the other two down one of the adjoining hallways and stopping in front of a plain, wooden door. The armoured roans took positions flanking the entry.

Nyx smiled to herself as she entered the small lavatory. All she had to do was stay in here long enough, and the guards would eventually be forced to come in to check on her. She moved to the far end of the small room and sat, waiting. Watching her reflection in the mirror on the wall, she thought about herself as she saw earlier, visible to herself but without a reflection. Nothing happened. She thought about it again. Once again, nothing. Her reflection was still perfectly visible and sharp in the smooth glass.

The guards’ patience proved to be short-lived. One of them knocked on the door after only ten minutes. “Mosxto, ĉu vi bonfartas tie?” he called, his deep voice muffled by the heavy wood. When she didn’t answer, he tried again more loudly. “Reala Damo, vi povas aŭdi min?” Nyx didn’t answer. After a third attempt, the guard cautiously pushed open the door and poked his head around the frame to look into the room. “Mosxto?” The room was empty.

Nyx remained as still as she could as she sat in her place at the end of the room. She was in clear line-of-sight of the guard as he peered into the lavatory, but she wasn’t seen by him. She turned her head slowly until she could glimpse the mirror beside her, away from the door. The room around her appeared normal. Her reflection was gone. She glanced down to her hooves. She was still completely visible, as far as she could tell, but the guard looked frantic as he whipped his head back and forth trying to find her.

“Ŝi estas for!” the guard yelled to his compatriot waiting just outside. The first guard jumped to the side and into the small room as the other pony shoved him aside to confirm the alert.

“Fekaĵo!” the second guard yelled, pushing his partner aside. “Kiel ŝi eliri el tie?!”

“Mi ne scias! Sed ne bezonas trovi sxin antaux Sinjoro Titon lernas de ĉi.”

Nyx sat as quietly and as still as she could during the guards’ frenzied search of the room. As they left to search the nearby areas of the palace, she finally let go the breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. So, they really can’t see me, then. She smiled at her new found ability, although it worried her that she still hadn’t any idea how to control it.

The filly quickly exited the lavatory and galloped down the corridor toward the safe familiarity of her chambers. She was nearly half the way back before she allowed her gaze to wander downward, revealing the reflection of a black alicorn in the perfectly waxed floor stones. Wait, that means... “Oh, Celestia’s flank!” she cursed aloud, then realizing she just revealed her position to anypony in the vicinity. She fell face-first into the floor as she tried to cover her muzzle with one of her hooves before she was completely stopped. Her reflection stared back at her, dagger-like pupils narrowed, panicked slits. The sound of hooves in the distance behind here were closing quickly.

“Mi kredas ke mi aŭdis ŝin! Tiel!”

Her pursuers unwittingly reignited Nyx’s urgency. She leaped back to her hooves and into a gallop in one swift motion, reaching her chamber doors within just under a minute. She slammed the doors closed with her magic just moments before the two guards arrived. Out of breath, she stopped to gulp air greedily in the centre of her great room.

The momentary quiet was interrupted by a harsh banging on the heavy, wooden doors. “Princino! Ĉu vi tie?”

Nyx took a few seconds to steady herself before walking to the doors and opening them, revealing two very harried ponies. “Yes, gentlemen?” she asked using the sweetest, most innocent voice she could produce. “What ever is the matter?” She flinched inwardly at her own words. She’d spent enough time around Rarity to pick up her linguistic style, but it only ever emerged when she was trying to hide her guilt. The idiosyncrasy annoyed Twilight to no end.

The guards looked at one another, then back to the filly. “Mosxto,” the first said, “ni maltrankviligas vin!”

The second continued as the first caught his breath. “Bonvolu resti tie, princino. Ni alvoku Sinjoro Titon.” He withdrew, closing the door as his partner followed. Nyx was again alone in her chambers.

Her mouth slowly curled into a grin, her muzzle displaying a visage of excited impishness. It took three weeks, but she’d finally found her way out of here. “Mom,” she said into the air, “I’m coming home.”

Chapter 1

The chirping birds scattered, leaving several gently falling feathers in their stead. The sharp, loud disturbance which startled them from inside the Ponyville Library rang out again. “She did what?!” Twilight Sparkle was more dumbfounded than angry. Cheerilee’s visit had become an almost daily occurrence, but never regarding an incident on this level.

“Well,” continued Cheerilee cautiously, “Nyx was working with Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle on a group task this morning. Scootaloo broke her pencil and was going to sharpen it, but then Nyx offered to sharpen it for her... with her magic.”

“Oh no... No no no...” Twilight’s front hoof made contact with her forehead, gently massaging the bridge of her nose. This was going to be a headache requiring some aspirin later, no doubt.

Cheerilee continued. “So, you see, Nyx was just trying to help her friend save some time, and...” She paused briefly.

“And she turned everyone into their cutie marks?!” Twilight finished Cheerilee’s sentence for her. If it hadn’t been for her purple coat, she would have been as pale as a ghost. She nearly couldn’t believe what she was hearing. In the past two years since she had found Nyx, a terrified filly hiding in a bush in the Everfree Forest, she had received afternoon visits from Cheerilee countless times. Usually, Nyx’s magic mishaps involved something far more innocuous. She had never actually harmed anypony, but she certainly had scared more than a few of her classmates on several occasions.

As Nyx’s adoptive mother, Twilight had gladly taken responsibility for Nyx’s magical accidents, and lectured Nyx in private accordingly. She understood that Nyx would never willingly or knowingly use her magic to cause anypony distress. Nyx was far too timid for that. Cheerilee made clear that she also understood that these incidents were completely accidental. Unfortunately, much of the rest of Ponyville’s residents disagreed. The memory of Nyx’s brief time as the reincarnate Nightmare Moon was still fresh in their minds, even after the two years since she released Princesses Celestia and Luna, restoring the rule of the Royal Sisters.

Luna, in a remarkably merciful fashion, had chosen to punish the then Nightmare Moon Nyx by stripping her of the ancient magic power which gave her the visage and temperament of Nightmare Moon. She went further by releasing Nyx into the custody of an overjoyed Twilight, who had been an acting mother to Nyx for months prior. Luna officially named Twilight as Nyx’s guardian, bestowing upon her all the rights and duties therein. This gave much of Equestria reason to dislike Twilight by association.

Although Cheerilee was one of Twilight’s few remaining friends in Ponyville, she didn’t particularly enjoy these afternoon visits. They were one of the inevitable, unpleasant moments every parent had to experience at some point. Twilight’s moments were unique, though, in that she was the only parent in all of Equestria who mothered an alicorn. There were only two other ponies who could transfigure a classroom of nearly thirty ponies into their respective cutie marks, and they were the princesses themselves.

The incidents always ended harmlessly, usually with Nyx galloping out of the schoolhouse in tears. This afternoon’s incident was, however, extraordinary. Nyx had once caused her desk to grow into a tree with leaves of notebook paper in the middle of the classroom. The tree had quickly grown to a few dozen metres in height, creating a large hole in the roof of the schoolhouse. It proved, however, to be amazingly popular with the fillies and colts, and Cheerilee had managed to calm the panicked Nyx before she could concentrate on the magic to reverse the spell. The tree still maintained its vigil over the classroom. A glass dome had been constructed over the hole in the roof, allowing the tree to collect sunlight while protecting the students from the elements. A family of songbirds had even taken up residence in the tree one winter. Cheerilee eagerly used the birds for lessons in life science, and they had quickly become the unofficial class pets.

Twilight’s attention was snapped back to the present conversation as Cheerilee continued. “Yes, everypony except Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom, anyway. They still don’t have their cutie marks, the poor dears. They try so hard, even formed a club to try and discover them and --”

“Is everypony alright?” Twilight interrupted. “They’re all back to normal now, right?” Her mind quickly wandered to Diamond Tiara’s parents. Nyx had been the victim of a cruel prank at the hooves of Diamond Tiara shortly after being taken-in by Twilight. In her panic to find Nyx, Twilight had threatened to turn Diamond Tiara into a cactus if she didn’t tell her where she had sent Nyx. Needless to say, Diamond Tiara’s father, Filthy Rich, was quite unhappy about the threat to his daughter. Even though Twilight had effectively quelled his rage during an evening encounter with him, she did not wish to repeat the experience anytime soon.

“Yes, yes, they’re all OK,” Cheerilee assured her. “But most of them are pretty shaken up. I’ve already received letters from a few parents threatening to remove their fillies from the school if these... accidents continue.” Before Twilight could interrupt in Nyx’s defence, Cheerilee continued. “I know, Nyx doesn’t do these things on purpose. But most of the rest of Ponyville either doesn’t realize or doesn’t care.”

Twilight’s shock had subsided, replaced by a feeling of guilt, hopelessness. “But we’ve been working on her magical control every day after school. What more can we do?”

Cheerilee shrugged. “I’m not sure. But I can’t let half of my students be pulled out of class by their parents who think their fillies aren’t safe while at school.” She paused a moment, clearly attempting to find the best way to express her thoughts. “Princess Luna took Nyx’s Nightmare Moon powers away from her. Maybe she can offer some advice.”

Twilight brightened a little at this thought. “That’s a good idea. But I don’t know what more she would be willing to do. After all, Nyx did dethrone her and banish her back to the moon.”

Cheerilee nodded. “I know. But please try. I don’t want to lose any of my students or Nyx. She’s so curious and eager to learn.” She turned to leave. “I’m sorry I had to visit under these circumstances again, Twilight. We’ll have to get together for lunch some afternoon. I promise.”

Twilight smiled. “That sounds good... and... sorry.” She closed the door to the library after Cheerilee left. “Spike!” she called behind her toward the kitchen.

The kitchen door cracked open slowly, and a baby dragon’s head poked out. “Yeah, Twilight?” Spike would always pretend to busy himself in the kitchen or upstairs in the library’s living quarters when Cheerilee stopped by, but Twilight knew he was really eavesdropping on the conversations. It irritated her, but she knew Spike had good intentions at heart.

“Can you watch the library for a while?” Twilight asked. “We should be closing for the day soon, anyway. I need to go get Nyx.” Spike nodded and assumed a place behind the check-out desk. Twilight didn’t need to explain. After her magical accidents at the school, Nyx would almost always gallop back to her old castle in the Diamond Dogs’ quarry, built for her rule as Nightmare Moon, hiding in one of several of her favourite places.

“Don’t worry about a thing, Twilight. I got it,” Spike said confidently. Twilight smiled at him. Ever since she had hatched Spike from his egg during her entrance exam for Celestia’s School For Gifted Unicorns, he had been at her side through everything. Now that he was several years old, he regularly helped her with almost all of the library’s daily maintenance and administrative tasks.

Twilight used her magic to open the door as she walked through it, closing it behind her in similar fashion. She sighed. Nyx’s castle was an hour’s walk from Ponyville, and she had yet to finish her weekly report to Princess Celestia. That could wait; Nyx was more important right now. Celestia had released her from the weekly assignments, insisting that she needed a report only on the occasion that Twilight had learned something new about the magic of friendship, her element of harmony. Right now, another pony, her daughter, was in emotional trouble and needed her help. The princess would certainly understand, especially since she likely wasn’t expecting a report from Twilight right then.

* * * * *

The sun, large and red against the horizon, was just beginning to set as Twilight approached the front gates of Nyx’s castle. Luna would be out soon to raise the moon from Canterlot. The early summer night wasn’t particularly cold in this part of Equestria, but Twilight still wasn’t looking forward to an hour’s walk after sundown, even with the brightness of Luna’s waxing crescent moon. Looking at the gates, she made her way through the outer chamber of the castle and into the enormous main hall. Many of the rich tapestries which adorned the walls while the castle was inhabited had been eaten away, by moths or by the elements, Twilight didn’t know. Not that it mattered. The castle as a whole was degrading quickly without the regular maintenance that would normally be applied if it was still the base of Nightmare Moon’s operations.

Twilight shivered as she passed the great, oaken doors to the throne room. A powerful magic spell had blown out the tall windows near the end of Nightmare Moon’s reign. Since the castle was abandoned shortly after that, they had never been replaced. The combination of the grey stone and the waning daylight made the castle feel cold and dank, despite the relative openness of this part of the complex. As she passed, Twilight briefly looked into the ruined throne room. Nyx could be found here about half of the time after her magical accidents at school. This time, however, there was no sign of her. Twilight turned and strolled toward Nyx’s next likely location.

The library was one of the few places that had weathered the years remarkably well, compared to the rest of the castle. The large tables were sturdily constructed from a heavy, dark wood found in the Everfree Forest. The bookshelves had a capacity equal to, perhaps greater than, the Royal Library in Canterlot Castle. They were mostly bare, however. Nightmare Moon’s reign was brief enough to prevent a full stocking of material. Twilight noticed that the library door was partially ajar. This was a good sign. Nyx always closed that door when she wasn’t using the library. This was her sanctuary, filled with as much knowledge as she could absorb while away from her latest Ponyville problems.

Twilight didn’t have to search long to find Nyx. She was laying under one of the heavy tables near the back of the large room, partially hidden by a labradorite pillar. She didn’t notice Twilight’s approach, too engrossed in the book floating in her magic in front of her muzzle. A Historical Guide to the Southern Equestrian Territories, Twilight noticed on the spine. Why would she be reading that? The thought quickly escaped Twilight’s attention when she noticed that Nyx was still wearing her glasses. Normally, she wore the enchanted lenses only when in public to hide her dragon-like eyes. “Nyx?” Twilight called quietly as she approached. “Are you alright?” Nyx looked away from her book and slowly focused her gaze on her mother. Twilight’s heart sank.

“I’m... I’m sorry,” Nyx said softly before tucking her muzzle in between her front legs and beginning to sob. “I didn’t mean to do it. It was an accident.” her words muffled but audible.

Twilight noticed the tear-stained hair on her muzzle and under her eyes. Nyx had been crying for a while. “It’s OK, Nyx. Everypony’s fine.” Twilight tried to calm the sobbing filly. “You didn’t hurt anypony, and Cheerilee knows it was an accident.” The incidents at school had become a weekly, almost daily occurrence. What was it about this one that upset Nyx so much? Granted, this mishap betrayed a new, more powerful magical ability, but wasn’t that to be expected? Not only was Nyx exceptionally gifted in the use of magic, but she was an alicorn, one of only three in all of Equestria. That alone meant that her latent magical power was orders higher than even the most talented of unicorns, including Twilight.

Nyx’s sobs had largely subsided. She was visibly exhausted from the day’s events, and her current psychological state would only help to depress her further. “Are... are you sure nopony’s mad at me?” she asked between sniffs.

Twilight sighed. “Well, a few of your classmates are... upset.” She knew better than to lie to Nyx, even if it was to protect her feelings or encourage her. In the years since she and Nyx had been together, Nyx had never lied to her. Nyx obviously trusted Twilight as the mother-figure she was. She didn’t want to jeopardize this trust for anything. No, she thought, she should hear the truth, even if it’s painful. Before Nyx could reply or begin crying again, Twilight added, “But that’s something they’ll have to work out for themselves. You can’t do anything about their anger.” Then, more tenderly as she nuzzled against Nyx’s cheek, “Ready to go home?”

Nyx sniffed, and wiped the residual tears from her eyes. She nodded, looked at Twilight, and donned the best smile she could. It wasn’t very convincing, but Twilight accepted it nonetheless. Nyx nodded, “Yes.” As she carefully crawled out from under the table and stood, she used her telekinesis magic to replace the book onto its proper place. Once there, her horn’s glow faded, returning to its normal midnight black. She briefly nuzzled against Twilight before making her way toward the library door ahead of Twilight. Once she reached the library entrance, she turned and waited for her mother to catch up.

* * * * *

The sun had long since set, and Ponyville’s weather team, headed by Rainbow Dash, had done a superb job for a summer night. The nearly-full moon shone bright onto the land, casting the ponies’ surroundings in a pale, white glow as they walked. Luna had been working on her night sky, too, it seemed. All the standard constellations were in-place, as they always were, but there were several small areas dispersed throughout which had a more... ethereal quality to them. As if Luna had polished the sky itself. To the South, the Milky Way draped itself across the sky in a spectacular blanket of muted purples, blues, and reds. Twilight admired the beauty of the cosmos above her as she and Nyx walked in a silence broken only by the occasional clop of a hoof against hard ground. She made a mental note to tell the princess how much she enjoyed the night sky. Luna always loved hearing that, especially from Twilight.

Nyx hadn’t spoken since they had left the library in her castle. Her mood didn’t seem any worse now, but it didn’t seem she had recovered very much, either. Twilight really wanted to hear her daughter’s story of the day’s events before they arrived back in Ponyville, though. With about a half-hour of walking ahead of them, they had plenty of time. “Nyx,” she ventured, “are you ready to tell me what happened today?” Her forehead creased in the natural expression of worried curiosity as she looked to Nyx.

“Yes,” Nyx said. Her tone had changed from sad to sour. Twilight could tell she wasn’t angry, but there was definitely a tone of resign and helplessness there. “I turned all my friends and everyone else into their cutie marks. Even Miss Cheerilee.” She kept her head bowed toward the ground in front of her as she spoke, neither looking at Twilight or anything else in particular. She looked defeated.

“Hey, cheer up,” Twilight said, trying to sound upbeat. “That’s actually pretty impressive.”

This caused Nyx to look up at Twilight in surprise. “Huh?”

Twilight explained, “Well, think about it. You transfigured an entire classroom, twenty-six ponies, each into distinctly different objects, without even trying to perform the transfiguration spell I taught you. And when you did concentrate on casting the spell, you were able to turn everypony back again.”

“It was twenty-five ponies,” Nyx corrected. “Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom didn’t change.”

Yep, that’s my daughter, Twilight thought. Always keen of the math. At that moment, she felt pride more than anything else. Nyx, her own daughter, had done something that would be impossible for almost any other pony. The pride, however, was tempered by a twinge of worry. That’s something we’ll have to work on, though. Focus. “Whatever,” she answered. “At least we know what we’re going to do for your magical training for the next few weeks.”

“We do?”

“Of course,” Twilight said, her glee of planning and organization shining through in her voice. “We’ll work on your magical focus. You obviously have the ability to perform some pretty powerful spells, but we need to work on channelling that magic into only the spell you want.” That should help. She loves our afternoon magic sessions.

Nyx replied, her voice devoid of emotion, “Oh. Okay.” Her head had returned to its downward gaze into oblivion.

Twilight was confused. She wanted to press the issue, but she knew that Nyx’s mood would lift after a good night’s rest. The pair fell silent once again. In the distance, the lights of Ponyville grew brighter. Ten minutes, and they’d be back in the library’s living quarters. She wondered if Spike would still be up. He normally went to bed long before her, since she had the habit of studying late into the night. She knew that Spike could handle the tasks associated with closing the library for the day, and this wasn’t the first time she’d been out past dark to retrieve a dispirited Nyx.

“Mom?”

Uh oh. Twilight recognized the careful edge in Nyx’s voice as she called her attention back to the current situation. Nyx usually just called Twilight by name, despite their mother-daughter relationship. When Nyx called her mom, it was because she was in some sort of trouble or about to say something she really didn’t want to. She studied the filly, still plodding along with her head and gaze downward. A sudden worry pricked at her mind. “Yes, Nyx. What is it?”

“Can I stay up with you for a while when we get home?”

Twilight knew where this was going. “I don’t know, Nyx. You’ve had a pretty long day. Don’t you think you should get some rest?”

“I... I don’t want to go to sleep. At least not right away...” Nyx’s voice trailed off as if she was about to continue the thought but ultimately decided against it.

Twilight sighed. Her intuition had been right. “More nightmares?” Nyx nodded, avoiding eye contact. “Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it? It might make you feel better. I know I feel better when I tell one of my good friends about a problem.”

Nyx sniffed. She appeared to be teetering on the edge, emotionally. “It’s always the same. Well, the places change, and the ponies change... all but two ponies, anyway. But it’s always the same dream in the end.” Twilight didn’t respond. She continued listening as they neared the outskirts of Ponyville. “I’m Nightmare Moon, and you’re always there, too.” Twilight had heard various derivatives of this dream on several occasions. The frightening thing was that they successively became darker, more menacing. It didn’t take a psychologist to see that they were beginning to terrify Nyx. “I banished Princesses Celestia and Luna. Everypony hates me... hates me or is afraid of me. Then you get hurt somehow. It’s always my fault. Sometimes I don’t stop someone else from hurting you, and sometimes... sometimes...” A lone tear escaped from her eye, slowly moved down her muzzle before eventually dripping off the end of her nose. She sniffed again. Silence.

Twilight didn’t know if she wanted to hear the end of that sentence. She had an awful feeling that she already knew how it ended. “But Nyx, you’re not Nightmare Moon anymore. In fact, I don’t think you ever were Nightmare Moon!” Nyx said nothing. “The real Nightmare Moon would never have released the princesses or given up her throne. She wouldn’t have given Equestria the sun back, and she’d make sure there was night eternal.” It was working. Nyx had stopped crying and was simply listening. “When I was under Nexus’ spell at the gallows, the real Nightmare Moon would never have saved me. You did.”

“I didn’t want to hurt you again.” Nyx’s voice had acquired a flat tone again.

“Nyx,” Twilight stopped and used a hoof to gently direct Nyx’s gaze into her eyes. “You never hurt me. And I know you’d never do it on purpose. You saved Equestria from what everyone thought was Nightmare Moon. But you were there, inside her. You kept yourself from becoming the true Nightmare Moon. I’m proud of what you did.” The meaning behind Twilight’s words lingered as she finished. Nyx stared, emotionless, into Twilight’s eyes. Slowly, a slight smile spread across Nyx’s face. She started crying again, but this time it didn’t seem to be out of sadness.

“Thanks, Mom,” Nyx eventually said quietly as she wrapped her front legs around Twilight’s neck in a long-overdue hug. Twilight reciprocated, nuzzling her cheek against Nyx’s. She’s been through so much. It’s not fair that she had to become the reincarnation of Nightmare Moon. There’s got to be something I can do to help her cope with this.

* * * * *

They arrived at the library well after most of Ponyville had retired for the evening. The few remaining lights in town were those of the night shifts in the hospital and local guard station. Spike had, it seemed, successfully closed the library and even cleaned up a little before going to bed. Owloycious was inconspicuously keeping his nightly vigil over the main room.

Nyx had apparently changed her mind about staying up late. As soon as she was inside and the door was closed, she groggily dropped her school bag by the kitchen door and climbed the stairs to the living quarters. Twilight watched her until she climbed out-of-sight. She had to tell Celestia about the problems Nyx was having, coping with her past. It wasn’t often she wrote a letter to the princess which included nothing about her studies in the magic of friendship, but this was important enough for her attention. Besides, after taking Nyx away from Twilight by force two years prior, Celestia owed her, and she would never forget that. The resentfulness that she had learned to keep bottled up began to boil out into her thoughts. That couldn’t go into the letter. The princess already knew Twilight was still upset about that, and she didn’t want to start a missive on the wrong hoof.

Twilight made herself comfortable on a nearby sofa while a quill, ink bottle, and roll of parchment levitated across the room to her. The parchment and ink settled on the nearby table. Twilight’s horn continued to glow softly as the quill dipped itself into the ink and prepared to write. She closed her eyes for a moment. The anger she had felt bubbling up was subsiding. Good. Now, how to say this...

Dear Princess Celestia,

I’m writing to update you about my daughter, Nyx. You met her two years ago after I was ponynapped by that Nightmare Moon cult. As I’m sure you remember, Nyx was the result of their incomplete spell to reincarnate Nightmare Moon and rule Equestria. You also know that Nyx is the only other alicorn in Equestria apart from you and Princess Luna.

Nyx has been experiencing trouble lately controlling her magical ability. As she grows, so does her magic. As a unicorn, I’m sometimes not sure how to teach her how to control the raw power of alicorn magic.

She’s been having nightmares lately, too. She says the nightmares are always about her time as Nightmare Moon when you were... well... you know. Her dreams have been getting more frequent, and I’m beginning to worry about the darker turn they’ve taken.

Any advice you could give me would be appreciated.

Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle

Twilight released her magic, allowing the quill to fall gently to the table beside her finished letter. With Spike sleeping upstairs, she wouldn’t be able to send this until morning. To make matters worse, with all that was on her mind (not the least of which was Nyx’s well-being) there was no way she’d be able to sleep. At least, not right now. Eventually, Twilight decided that if she couldn’t sleep, then she’d do what she always did when there was nothing else to do: study. She stepped off of the sofa and walked to the far wall of the library where the books on Equestrian history were shelved. Thinking about the book Nyx was reading in her castle earlier that evening, A Historical Guide To The Southern Equestrian Territories, she searched for something similar. She didn’t have that particular book, but she did have several on the early Classical period of Equestrian history. The Southern territories were rarely discussed in schools. Most ponies in Equestria considered them to be an embarrassment to their heritage, an indelible stain on the rich tapestry that was their nation’s history that would be better kept out-of-sight and out-of-mind.

It took her several minutes to find something close to what she was looking for. She finally settled on an old, worn tome entitled Early Equestria’s Rise And Fall. At the very least, this would give her some information on the Southern territories, and what, if any, link they had to alicorns. She might need to ask Nyx in the morning about her choice of reading material, if she couldn’t figure it out before then. Twilight resumed her place on the sofa and wrapped herself in a blanket as she opened the cover of the thick book. She quickly located the chapters on the Southern territories and began reading. Within ten minutes, Twilight was sleeping soundly, the book open in front of her.

* * * * *

Nyx awakened just after sunrise to the aroma of one of her favourite meals. She crawled out from under her covers, using magic to make her bed with extreme care. She nodded in satisfaction that she had done an adequate job and had not broken or enchanted anything. Descending the stairs to the large, main room of the library, the first yawn of the morning forced its way out of her. Twilight was sleeping on the far sofa, a very old and thick book in front of her. Nyx glanced around the library for only a few seconds before turning to the right, strolling casually through the door to the kitchen.

Immediately, Nyx was assaulted by a waft of air laden with the heavy scent of spiced apples and baking hay. Spike was busy at the stove cooking more than enough for three stallions, let alone a mare and two juveniles. Nyx’s eager anticipation registered brightly on her face. “Haycakes? All right!”

Spike started slightly at the sound of Nyx’s voice, then briefly turned toward her before returning his attention to the sizzling food. “Yep. And spiced apple butter!” Spike didn’t normally eat the hay pancakes. They tended to give him an upset stomach, and gas bad enough to evacuate the library in short-order. Shortly after their relocation to Ponyville, Spike accidentally set fire to one of the bookshelves because of this. As a result, Twilight always kept on-hand a small stock of gems and a few unfertilized eggs from Fluttershy’s hen house. She didn’t mind him eating eggs, as long as she knew there was no chick inside, but she wouldn’t allow anyone, baby dragons included, to eat meat in the library.

Nyx sat at the kitchen table and waited as Spike finished preparing their breakfast. “Is Twilight awake yet?” he asked. Nyx shook her head. Spike looked out the nearby window at the flawlessly blue sky. That side of the library was shrouded in shade due both to the tree’s foliage and that the kitchen was on its west side. The visible parts of Ponyville beyond the shade were bathed in the warm brightness that accompanies only a cloudless, summer morning. Various ponies were already beginning their business of the day, pulling carts of goods to the town square to sell at market. Mrs Cake stepped out of Sugarcube Corner, presumably to buy the ingredients she needed for the day’s baking orders.

Spike returned his attention to the filly sitting patiently at the table. “Let’s bring her breakfast out to her. We can all eat at the table out there.”

“Okay,” Nyx said cheerfully. It wasn’t often that Twilight allowed food in the library outside of the kitchen and very occasionally the bedrooms or her study. Nyx stood, her horn glowing as she removed a large tray and three plates from the cupboard. Spike, in the meantime, began stacking the haycakes onto a serving platter. As he turned to collect the carafe of apple juice from the counter, he saw something flash in the corner of his eye.

He ducked just in time to see a plate fly past his head at high speed, close enough to his spikes that he could feel the turbulence in the air behind it. “Hey, Nyx! Watch it!”

Nyx’s concentration faltered, and the plate nearly dropped to the floor from midair. “I’m sorry!” she said, her voice shaking slightly. She glared at the speeding plate for a few seconds, slowing it and changing its trajectory. A few seconds later, it made a careful landing on top of the other two plates already on the tray in front of her. Twilight could be heard through the door, stirring on the sofa. Nyx looked at Spike nervously.

“I won’t tell if you won’t,” Spike said as he dismissed the incident with a wave of his claw. All the ingredients of a good breakfast arranged on the tray, an aura of dark violet magic began to form around it. Spike intervened immediately. “Oh no. I think I’ll carry it this time,” he said, grabbing the tray and hurrying out into the main room. Nyx sighed, shrugged, and followed him out to the table in front of Twilight. Spike was already setting the tray down on the table and preparing plates of the haycakes for the ponies and a plate of gems for himself.

“Mmm, haycakes... my favourite. Thanks, mom,” Twilight mumbled softly. She was still asleep, her eyes closed but moving frantically beneath their lids. The aroma of her favourite breakfast had apparently influenced her dreams. “No, no, just two.” Spike paused to look at her as he was placing the third haycake on her plate. Her eyes were still closed, and her breathing was slow and regular. He gave her a third haycake and attended to his own meal, a small pile of sapphires.

“Wait, not there...” Twilight mumbled again, this time accompanied by a slight movement of her right front hoof. Spike chuckled quietly. Nyx smiled as she chewed on a bite of spiced apple. “Wait...” Twilight’s twitching had spread to both her front hooves now. “You’re... get it... no!” Spike and Nyx looked at each other, clearly trying to stifle laughter. Their smiles quickly faded, however, at Twilight’s next unconscious muttering. “Mmm... gone!” Spike and Nyx exchanged this time a more worried look. “Nyx!!” Twilight screamed loudly enough to disturb a pair of birds on a branch outside the nearby window, causing them to take flight. She inhaled a deep breath sharply and opened her eyes in a panic.

Twilight immediately righted herself on the sofa, still half-asleep and still panicked. She twisted herself, looking in every direction and nearly knocking the carafe of juice off the low table. “Nyx! Nyx!”

Nyx swallowed the half-chewed food in her mouth quickly and called, “Mom! I’m right here! Calm down!”

Twilight still wasn’t entirely awake, but her dreamed agitation was growing. She attempted to stand on the sofa, threatening to upend the table entirely if she happened to fall.

“Twilight!” Spike yelled at her. This was enough to snap her back to reality. She looked at Spike briefly as if he had grown a second tail from his chest. Her breathing slowed to a normal rate as she looked to the right, realizing that Nyx was right there, only a couple metres from her. It was just a dream, she told herself. A nightmare. Already, the details of her dream were escaping her memory, lost to the realm of things forever forgotten.

“That must have been some dream, Twilight,” Nyx said, returning to her normal address for the mare. “Are you okay?” Spike didn’t add anything, instead merely looking to Twilight expectantly.

“Yes,” Twilight said presently, still a bit distracted and confused, the final pieces of the dream fading. “Yes, I’m fine... Thanks.” She smiled at Nyx reassuringly. Both Nyx and Spike seemed to accept this and returned to their meals. Twilight looked at the table in front of her. Nyx was obviously enjoying her plate of (wow, five?) haycakes and apple butter. Spike happily crunched on his plate of sapphires. Twilight made a mental note to purchase some more sapphires from Rarity later in the day. Those might be the last of them. She did a quick mental inventory. I think we still have some rubies and emeralds, though, so he won’t starve. She looked at her own plate. Three haycakes. Spike knew her better than that. She loved haycakes, but there was no way she was going to eat more than two, especially with the size that Spike always made them. After the “pie episode,” as she had come to know it, she never had the urge to overeat again. She had consumed the equivalent of at least one full pie at the Sweet Apple Acres brunch during her first morning in Ponyville. The aftermath was that she’d been sick to her stomach for days. The come-down from the sugar high had been equally unpleasant.

“Thanks for making breakfast, Spike,” Twilight said happily, attempting to shift her mood more into the positive direction and away from the dark gloominess that had dominated the end of her dream. “But... why are we eating it in here?” She raised an eyebrow and looked sternly at Spike. He attempted to avoid her stare, but he was eventually caught as he checked to see if she was still looking at him.

“Well, you were still sleeping, and I thought that after the night you’d both had,--” Spike stammered.

Nyx interrupted to save him. “It was my idea, Twilight. I thought it would be like breakfast in bed... except you weren’t in bed.” She looked to the side, appearing to contemplate the logic of her own statement. Twilight looked back to Spike. He nodded animatedly in confirmation. Twilight rolled her eyes, but smiled knowingly. There was more to this than they were letting on, or one of them wasn’t being entirely truthful. But it was really inconsequential. If anyone would have caused a mess in the library’s main room with this breakfast, it would have been her, thrashing about on the sofa as she had been.

“Well,” offered Twilight, “Thank you both. That was really nice of you.” Spike and Nyx both released the breaths they’d been holding and looked relieved. “Let’s just not make a habit of this, okay?”

“Oh, no problem, Twilight,” Spike said immediately, nearly shouting in nervousness.

“Yeah, only on special occasions,” added Nyx.

“Very special occasions,” Twilight said, finishing the thread of conversation. She smiled inwardly. They wouldn’t try this again lightly.

One rainy day, about a year ago, Nyx had been eating her lunch in the main room. It wasn’t especially fancy, just a daffodil sandwich and a cup of celery soup. She knew that food or drink wasn’t allowed in the main room, but Twilight had gone out to the market for groceries, Spike was taking his afternoon nap upstairs in Twilight’s bedroom, and the library hadn't had any visitors for hours. She had been in the middle of an enthralling fantasy novel by her favourite author, Dream Quill. Twilight never learned the whole story of what really happened and how, but when she had returned, there was an inch of celery soup covering the floor, and daffodil sandwich residue everywhere else. Nyx was sitting in the centre of the room sobbing violently. Twilight was furious at Nyx for disobeying the no-food rule, but closed the library for the day and used her magic to help Nyx clean up. This had been the first of Nyx’s magic mishaps.

Spike popped the last of his sapphires into his mouth, crunching it loudly before swallowing the shards and licking his lips, a satisfied smile on his face, eyes glazed. “Oh! I almost forgot!” He jumped up from the table and ran up the stairs. Twilight finished the last of her second haycake, placing the remaining one and her plate on top of the serving tray. Nyx, finished several minutes earlier, followed suit. Spike soon appeared at the top of the stairs and walked down with a scroll in his claw. “Celestia’s already replied to your letter. I got it this morning while you were both asleep.” He tossed the scroll, emblazoned in gold with the royal seal of the sun princess, to Twilight as he reached the landing.

Earlier this morning? He must have seen my letter on the table and sent it to the princess awfully early. She suppressed a slight irritation at the baby dragon’s initiative. It was neither proper nor courteous to disturb the princess at such an early hour. Not that Celestia ever mentioned a time restriction for the letters, and she had responded early, as well.

The scroll was enveloped in a purple haze and slowly floated across the room to Twilight before breaking its own seal and unrolling itself in front of Twilight. She began reading the letter with optimism, but soon squinted at the princess’ handwriting in agitation.

My dearest, most faithful student Twilight,

Yes, I remember Nyx well. I am troubled to hear that she is having difficulty coping with her past as Nightmare Moon. This was, however, something my sister Luna did warn her about when she passed judgement on her. Nyx must learn to accept and take responsibility for her actions, as anypony would, including her actions while as Nightmare Moon.

It pains me to think of it, but I feel the need to remind you that Nyx did commit high treason against the Equestrian crown. It was only because of Nyx’s specific circumstances that Luna decided to be lenient in her sentencing.

I have spoken with Luna regarding Nyx’s current problem with her nightmares and lack of magical control. She seemed eager to meet with you and Nyx. I expect she will contact you soon.

Your teacher and friend,
Celestia

Twilight seethed. Her gaze was focused off into the distance toward the library’s front door, but she wasn’t looking at anything in particular. Spike caught a glimpse of her transition from happy to enraged while he was cleaning up the remainder of their breakfasts. He quickly escaped with the tray while Nyx hurriedly disappeared into the kitchen with him. They closed the door just in time to hear a magically-launched, wadded-up scroll hitting the wall at high speed.

Did she just call Nyx a traitor, Twilight thought. After all Nyx did to help Equestria, Celestia considers her a traitor?! Yes, she did depose her and Luna for a few days. But she didn’t know what she was doing. That crazy cult had transformed her into something she’s not. Once she realized what she was doing, she stopped. She even tried to put things back the way they had been before. How dare she?! Twilight’s heartbeat was pounding in her temples. She could feel her blood pressure rising and made a conscious effort to calm herself.

Spike opened the kitchen door wide enough to stick his head into the main room. Nyx’s head appeared presently above his. They both wore the same expression of nervousness. “Twilight?” Spike asked carefully. “Are you all right?” Twilight fumed, not responding.

“Twilight?” Nyx ventured.

“Yes, I’m fine!” Twilight snapped. She immediately regretted her response. She wasn’t angry at them; they didn’t do anything wrong. It was Celestia. Celestia never did like Nyx. She tried to take her away from me, then offered no apology when she accidentally delivered her to those cultists. Twilight allowed her emotions to soften before turning toward Nyx and Spike. “Sorry, guys. I didn’t mean to yell at you.”

“Was Celestia’s letter that bad?” Spike had left the kitchen and was slowly making his way across the main room to the sofa. Twilight again chose not to answer. Even the mention of Celestia’s name incited a sharp stab of anger in her. Spike had witnessed only two events where Twilight had been genuinely angry with the princess. The first had been as the princess carried Nyx away from Ponyville in her chariot late one night, the night she completed her transformation into Nightmare Moon. This was the second occasion.

Twilight sighed. “The princess and I...” She wasn’t entirely certain how she felt about their current relationship. Since Nyx arrived on the scene, her student-teacher ties with the princess had never been more strained. Celestia knew (and openly admitted to Twilight) that she was aware of Nyx’s origins, and that her very existence threatened the stability of Equestria. Celestia had always treated Nyx with respect and dignity when in-person. But Twilight knew there was a resentment hiding deep beneath the regal facade. Nyx was the embodiment of the entity that had stolen her throne not once, but twice. First as her sister, now as this... ill-born filly. “We just don’t agree on some things,” Twilight said, finishing her sentence. At some point, probably soon, she would have to straighten this situation out with Celestia. For better or worse, Nyx was her daughter, and she was here to stay. Celestia’s opinion on the matter be damned.

“Oh no! I’m late!” screeched Nyx from the corner near the kitchen. “I promised to meet Apple Bloom at Sweet Apple Acres before school today!” She disappeared up the stairs in a full gallop, nearly tripping over her own hooves on a few of the steps.

“Walk up the stairs, Nyx!” Twilight scolded. Nyx rolled her eyes, but slowed until she reached the second-floor landing. The last thing Twilight wanted to deal with was a physical injury. She already had to deal with Nyx’s emotional issues.

Within a minute, Nyx was back on the main floor and trotting up to Twilight, her book-stuffed school bag hurriedly placed on her back. She took a few moments to nuzzle her mother before she darted out of the library, leaving the door open behind her. It was Twilight’s turn to roll her eyes as she used her magic to close it.

* * * * *

Twilight was exhausted. Fortunately, the day had been free from any magical accidents at the schoolhouse, but her written exchange with Celestia weighed heavily on her mind. It was psychologically draining. She had fallen to sleep almost immediately upon her head coming to rest on her pillow. Nyx had already been in bed for a few hours, surprisingly upbeat for a filly whose attendence was the reason much of her class had been absent that day. After a few wild (and, to Twilight’s vexation, loud) games of “Ponies and Dragons” with Spike in the library’s back yard, Nyx had been worn down to the point where Twilight nearly had to carry her up the stairs.

The Canterlot Castle gardens were beautiful this time of year, Twilight thought. The night air was cool but comfortable, and a breeze blew from lower Canterlot, carrying with it the scent of the district’s renound bakeries. To her left, Luna stood, admiring her own work on the night sky. “Princess Luna,” Twilight greeted her. “How are you?” The princess shifted her gaze out over Canterlot and the surrounding countryside.

“We are well. Our thanks, Twilight Sparkle,” the princess responded. She apparently had still not lost her dialect from a thousand years prior. At least her volume wasn’t deafening anymore. “Our sister, the Princess Celestia, has told us that thou farest not so well. We wish to lend our assistance, if possible.”

It was this last of Luna’s statements which made Twilight realize she must be dreaming. The moon princess was known to have the ability to entre the dreams of ponies (and sometimes manipulate them for fun, in her somewhat foalish way), but Luna rarely did this without the permission, or very least the knowledge, of the host pony. “But, princess... why are you here?” Twilight asked.

Now the alicorn turned to face Twilight. “We sent thee a letter through your dragon, Spike, this afternoon. However, we are somewhat... out-of-practice using that method. The letter was returned to us along with the contents of Spike’s stomach.” Luna hesitated and looked embarrassed, then resumed her more regal pose. “Thy dreams were the best alternative.” Twilight nodded. It seemed to make sense, and she had extended Luna a standing invitation shortly after resuming the throne to visit her dreams. She felt a suddent pang of sympathy for Spike. That couldn’t have been pleasant for him, even though he hadn’t mentioned it to Twilight earlier that day. Then again, it couldn’t have been any worse than the time Celestia made him regurgitate several dozen scrolls over the course of a single afternoon.

If anypony could understand what Nyx was going through, it would be Luna. She was the only other pony in all of Equestian history that had actually been nightmares incarnate. Twilight took a deep, measured breath and sat on the garden grass. “It’s Nyx,” she said. “She’s been having trouble dealing with the weeks she spent as Nightmare Moon.” Twilight winced. The subject of Luna’s former visage was still an open wound with her. The topic was usually avoided when they occasionally met, in the waking world.

“Yes,” the princess replied sadly, “we feared she might.” Luna began to fade away while at the same time fading back into existence in front of Twilight. Her face skewed in irritation. Twilight flashed a look of apology in Luna’s direction.

“Sorry, Princess... I’m not very good at controlling my dreams...” As she said this, Canterlot Castle began to wave slightly, as if behind a watery surface.

Luna rolled her eyes. “Twilight Sparkle, thou knowest that thou art our good friend. But thy dream-scape is quite... odd,” she hesitated on that last word as she looked upward to see Star Swirl the Bearded flying upside down over Canterlot. He was wearing no robe and leaving a contrail of small, red hearts which fizzled loudly as they dissolved. Luna looked back to Twilight, a single eyebrow raised. Twilight giggled nervously, raising a leg to hide her eyes in embarrassment.

“Uh... maybe we should talk about this in a more... normal environment,” Twilight said, her coat hiding the intense blush of her face.

Luna’s eyebrow dropped as an amused grin attempted to spread across her face. “Perhaps thou speakest wisely. We will send an escort of our royal night guard to summon thee on the morn. Please bring Nyx with thee. We should like to speak with her.” She rose and turned toward the castle which was still waving. Circular ripples appeared and grew in random places as if an invisible, sideways rain was falling. Having second thoughts about leaving Twilight’s dream the same way she entered it, she simply closed her eyes and disappeared. The last thing Twilight remembered was watching a bright blue Pinkie Pie wearing Gummy as a hat and jumping from roof to roof around the castle towers, leaving multicoloured bubbles in her wake.

* * * * *

“Nyx, hurry up! The guards can’t wait all morning,” Twilight called up the library stairs. Nyx had been reluctant to awaken that morning, and she wasn’t in a particularly good mood. She was told over breakfast that she and Twilight were going to spend the day in Canterlot to meet with Luna. Twilight didn’t tell her exactly why they were meeting the princess, or why Nyx was coming along this time. Nyx became upset only when she realized that this meant she’d miss the day at school. She hadn’t minced words when she let Twilight know what she thought of that. Even Spike, who had somehow gained (from Celestia-knows-where) an impressive vocabulary of offensive words and phrases, feigned shock at a few of her exclamations.

Nyx appeared presently with her school bag secured tightly on her back. “Why can’t I go to school?” she asked sullenly. She looked up at Twilight with her serpent-like, turquoise eyes, defeated.

“I told you, the princess wants to talk to us,” Twilight said for, what felt like, the billionth time that morning. “Now go get your glasses and come on. We’re expected in Canterlot this afternoon.”

Nyx stomped a hoof and shot Twilight a dirty look before turning back toward the stairs. “I don’t want to talk to Luna. She hates me.”

“Princess Luna,” Twilight corrected. “And she doesn’t hate you. The princess is trying to help you.” Nyx returned moments later with her glasses and sans bag. Her eyes’ appearance had changed to look normal, thanks to the spell Twilight had used to enchant the glasses two years ago. “Spike,” Twilight said as she and Nyx reached the front door, “you’re in-charge until we get back. We shouldn’t be any later than sunset, I think.”

“You bet, Twilight! Don’t worry about a thing. Oh, and say hi to Princess Celestia for me!” Spike snapped to a mock-attention, giving her a sharp salute and smiling. Twilight grinned at him, rolling her eyes.

Nyx had already walked out the front door and had climbed into the dark blue chariot with the assistance of Luna’s royal guard. They were clad in their standard armour, silver highlights and spines on midnight blue, polished steel. Their cutie marks were hidden by the powerful magic imbued on the armour; the same magic altered their appearances to fit the designated uniform. These were stallions that no pony, Twilight included, would consider messing with.

One of the stallions broke formation, lifting a hoof to help Twilight into the raised chariot. “Thank you,” she said, smiling as he gently pulled her upward and into the vehicle. The guard neither smiled nor responded. They never did. Twilight used to make a game of attempting to incite laughter in the guards while she lived in Canterlot Castle. She never succeeded. Celestia herself had mentioned once that even she couldn’t get her royal guard to crack a smile. One day, Twilight thought with a foal-like mischievousness. One day...

Her train of thought was interrupted by a figure in the corner of her eye. Two ponies, a mare and a stallion, were standing in the town square several hundred metres away. Normally, this would be nothing unusual. These ponies, however, were staring directly at her, and they obviously weren’t from Ponyville. They were larger than any ponies who lived in the town; they weren’t taller, just stockier and far more muscular, leaner. Their coats were thickly interspersed with heavy, white hairs. Twilight had never seen coats like this. They looked like something Celestia or Luna might use as a type of super-warhorse in their military legions. They were still staring, and this started to bother her.

“Twilight?” Nyx asked as the guard reigned themselves to the chariot and prepared to take flight. “What are you looking at?” She tried to follow Twilight’s line-of-sight, but couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary. The chariot jostled slightly as the guard began a trot and lifted off the ground, perfectly in sync with one other. They quickly gained altitude and turned toward Canterlot, picking up speed as they rose.

Within seconds, the two strange ponies were too far away for Twilight to see well. “Uh... nothing. I just thought I saw something, that’s all.” Nyx blinked and looked at her incredulously for a few seconds before turning to face forward. Their flight had levelled, and Twilight noticed that they were still gaining speed. The ground, now nearly a kilometre below them raced past surprisingly quickly for something so far distant. In the distance ahead, she could see the tops of Canterlot Castle’s tallest towers. A quick calculation told her that they’d arrive in Canterlot within an hour.

* * * * *

A rapping on the large oaken doors roused Luna from her daydream. “Enter.”

The guard opened the door, bowing as he entered the cavernous reception hall. “Your Highness, Twilight Sparkle and Nyx have arrived.”

Luna practically leaped from her divan, closing half her distance to the guard within the blink of an eye. “Excellent! Please show them in.” She briefly glanced at her reflection in the black, marble floor to make sure her crown, breastplate, and shoes were on straight. Twilight honestly wouldn’t care if Luna’s adornments weren’t perfect, but that was irrelevant. Princesses always had to look their best in front of their subjects, she once told Twilight during a previous visit.

Both doors were open now, and the guard stepped aside to allow Twilight and Nyx entrance into the room. “Princess! It’s so good to see you,” Twilight smiled at her, genuinely happy. Luna ignored Twilight’s breach of royal audience protocol. Twilight was one of a very few ponies who Luna did not expect to follow the pomp and circumstance associated with an interaction with her.

The guard, however, glared at Twilight and cleared his throat. “Your Highness, I present Twilight Sparkle of Ponyville and her daughter, Nyx.” Luna rolled her eyes impatiently as the guard continued. “Twilight Sparkle, ... Nyx...” he paused, his disdain for the little alicorn filly dripping from his tone, “I present your Princess of the Night, Her Royal Majes-”

“Oh, that is enough!” Luna interrupted, prompting an injured look from the guard. Luna’s face softened a little. “Thou may leave us now, Proper Etiquette.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” He bowed, backed out of the room, and closed the doors behind him.

Luna quickly met Twilight near the centre of the room. “Twilight Sparkle, it is a pleasure to see thee again!” she exclaimed, beaming at the smaller mare.

“The pleasure is all mine, Princess. We really need to see each other more often,” Twilight responded. The trembling filly hiding behind her left flank was beginning to make her leg itch. Nyx had a vice grip on Twilight’s hind leg, making her hooves go numb. “Nyx, come out and say hello. You remember Princess Luna.” Nyx didn’t budge, her eyes shut tightly. Twilight’s horn glowed, and Nyx was extricated from Twilight’s leg in a haze of purple magic. She landed softly on her haunches in front of Twilight.

Nyx looked up sheepishly at the regally posed Luna. “Um... Hello, Princess Luna,” she whimpered almost inaudibly.

Luna smiled down at her. “We are glad to see thee again, as well, young Nyx.” She lowered her head to Nyx’s, forcing their eyes to meet. “Thou need not fear us,” she cooed reassuringly. “Thou art our friend.” She considered her words for a moment. “Indeed, thou may be more...” Luna let her thought trail off.

Both Nyx and Twilight looked at each other, then at the princess. “Huh?” they asked in unison, confused.

“Come,” Luna rose again, correcting her posture, “avail thyselves of any comfort thou desire.” She turned and walked toward her personal living chambers, Twilight and Nyx in tow. “We shall explain everything in due course.”

As they passed through the archway and into a much smaller antechamber, Luna sat on a nearby pile of large, dark blue pillows in the corner. Facing the corner were two smaller piles of pillows, obviously placed there specifically for the two visitors. Twilight glanced around the chamber, taking notice of the huge stained-glass windows opposite Luna’s position, the day’s sunlight pouring through and creating a beautiful tapestry of colours on the labradorite floor. Underneath the windows stood an elegant tea service. Twilight could smell the herbal blends already steeping in the exquisitely fine china.

“Twilight, dear Nyx, please sit.” Luna nodded to the stacks of pillows in front of her. Twilight immediately felt the absolute luxuriousness of the pillows. Velvet covers emblazoned with a moon of pure white, faux fur and filled with the softest down feathers. These were truly fit for a princess, and Twilight surmised that similar luxuries were far too expensive for her to acquire for her library’s reading room. “May we bring thee anything? Tea, perhaps? Our sister Celestia has mentioned thine fondness of lavender and mint,” Luna directed her question at Twilight.

“Oh, thank you, Princess. That would be wonderful,” Twilight responded.

“Call us ‘Luna,’ dear Twilight. In here,” Luna gestured with her foreleg to the room around them, “we are good friends, not princess and subject.”

Twilight smiled, “No problem, Luna.” Nyx leaned over to whisper into Twilight’s ear. They may be friends in this room, but it still isn’t polite to whisper in front of the princess like that, Twilight thought. Nyx pulled away and looked at Twilight. She turned to Luna. “Do you have any carrot juice? Nyx has never had the same taste for tea as we do.” Nyx made a sour face as if she had just swallowed a toad, prompting a quiet giggle from Luna before she could repress it.

She beamed at the little alicorn, now looking at her quizzically. “But of course.” Luna’s horn glowed its familiar midnight black, and the tea service rolled to the wall beside them, surrounded in the aura of magic. A large glass of carrot juice, chilled perfectly, appeared on the end table beside Nyx. Twilight watched as the tea poured itself into two cups and deposited themselves into the waiting hooves of herself and the princess. Twilight took a sip of the tea and briefly lost herself in its warm, soothing deliciousness. Luna also sipped from her tea, watching Nyx and Twilight expectantly.

Twilight let the silence linger for a few seconds. After all, raising a baby dragon and alicorn filly wasn’t exactly a quiet proposition. “Luna,” she asked, directing her attention back to the princess, “how much did Princess Celestia tell you about Nyx’s... um... problem?” Nyx snapped her head toward Twilight and gave her a poisonous glare, a too-large-to-be-polite mouthful of carrot juice puffing out her cheeks. She quickly swallowed it and huffed at Twilight before turning back to her juice.

“We... must apologize, Twilight,” Luna said, almost sheepishly.

“Apologize?” Twilight asked, shocked. “But why? You didn’t do anything.”

Luna shook her head. “Nay. We have not been as forthcoming with thee as thou might think.” Twilight took another sip of her tea, waited. “Our sister told us only what we already knew.” This time, Luna paused for a sip of her tea, nervously.

“Go on.”

“We... have been maintaining a watch on dear Nyx for some time,” Luna admitted, actually flinching away from Twilight at these last words. Twilight giggled briefly. “What is it?”

“Oh, Princ-... Luna,” Twilight corrected herself, “it’s okay. I noticed your royal guard around Ponyville over a year ago, even with his disguise. I kind of appreciated it, actually.”

It was Luna’s turn to act shocked. “Indeed. But, how did thou knowest this?”

Twilight snorted. “Even without armour, it’s pretty easy to spot a guard stallion like him. Not many ponies in Ponyville are that...” Twilight blushed, “well-built.” She quickly tried to hide her embarrassment in another sip of tea.

“I see,” Luna said thoughtfully. Twilight smiled at the princess’ inadvertent drop of the royal ‘we.’ Even in private, Luna still used the traditional royal dialect. Hard to break a thousand-year habit, Twilight thought. Luna sighed, turned her attention toward the filly who was just finishing her juice with a rather un-marelike swig. She grinned, managing to suppress another giggle before it escaped her lips. “Dear Nyx,” she began, “tell us these things which bother thee.”

Nyx looked up from her now empty glass and set it back onto the end table. “Um... okay...” she said, looking down at her hooves. She started as the glass of carrot juice magically refilled itself, betraying its enchantment. Nyx left it there, for now. She looked at Twilight.

“It’s okay,” Twilight urged her, “she wants to help you.”

Nyx looked down at her hooves again, sniffed quietly. “I have nightmares,” she said almost inaudibly. Luna pretended she hadn’t heard. Twilight gently nudged Nyx with her hoof. Louder this time, “I have nightmares,” Nyx repeated. “Scary ones. And my magic does stuff all on its own.” Her eyes began to tear up. “I... hurt ponies.” She began to cry in earnest now.

Luna looked at her sadly. “Dear Nyx...” she said soothingly, “thou hast never harmed anypony. At least, not intentionally.” She paused momentarily before continuing. “Thou art an alicorn. Thy magic will never cease growing in strength and ability, so long as thou live.” This did not seem to comfort Nyx at all. Her tears had stopped flowing, but she looked as dejected as ever, still staring down at her hooves. “Fear not, young Nyx. We will help thee tame this ability.” She lowered her teacup into her hooves and looked intently at Nyx. “But thy nightmares must be tamed by thyself, and thyself alone. Thou were born to be Nightmare Moon, but thou hast defeated her!” Luna smiled triumphantly before regaining her seriousness. “Thine battle scars are thy cutie mark and thy memories. Thy memories will haunt thee until thou hast accepted and learned from them.” Luna now looked at her own hooves, rolling the tea in the bottom of her cup slowly. “We know this ourselves, from experience,” she said sadly.

Nyx looked stunned, and she shifted her gaze toward Luna for the first time in the conversation. “Really?” she sniffed. “You have nightmares, too? About being Nightmare Moon and hurting ponies that you love?” Nyx brightened a little at the thought of finding another pony who actually understood.

Twilight glanced at Luna nervously. A few tears had worked their way from Luna’s eyes and down her muzzle, dripping into the tea remaining in her cup. “Princess? Are you all right?” Luna sniffed and nodded. Her regal visage had disappeared, and the mare that sat before Twilight and Nyx was now what looked like the broken shell of a pony who had experienced far more than her share of loss and torment.

“Yea, Twilight. We are fine,” Luna finally said. Twilight wasn’t convinced, but said nothing. “Dear Nyx,” Luna managed, her voice regaining a portion of its practised dignity, “thou dost not know this. We have never told any pony, even our sister Celestia.” She met Nyx’s curious eyes. “We have long considered thee as a sister to us. Thy birth was made possible through the remains of Nightmare Moon.” She raised a hoof, pointing it at her own chest, then at Nyx. “Thou carries part of us in thine self.”

Nyx looked dumbfounded. “Huh?!” She considered the princess’ words carefully before squealing, “We’re... we’re sisters?” Her eyes widened, pure glee creeping into her expression. “I have a sister...”

Luna stopped her before she could carry the thought any farther. “In a way, yes.” Twilight’s lower jaw looked as if it would fall off, her mouth agape. “Nyx,” Luna said, brightly, “we will speak with thy mother in private. Wouldst thou like to visit the royal gardens?” Nyx looked to Twilight, who smiled at the filly, then nodded to Luna excitedly. Luna closed her eyes for a brief moment. Her horn flashed, and seconds later, Proper Etiquette appeared in the archway leading to the reception hall. Luna’s voice assumed an air of command. “Proper, see that young Nyx receives a proper tour of our royal gardens.”

Proper Etiquette glanced at Nyx, a look of disgust in his eyes. “But, Your Highness, surely one of the gardeners would be a far better guide than I for the filly.” Luna glared at him dangerously. Proper Etiquette shrank back immediately, bowing deeply and trembling. “Yes, Your Highness. Right away.” Twilight nodded to Nyx, who happily jumped from her pillows and trotted to follow Proper from Luna’s chambers.

Once Luna heard the heavy doors secured behind them, she turned to Twilight. “Twilight,” she said carefully, levitating her cup back onto the tea cart, “how are thou coping with Nyx’s... unique situation?”

Twilight used her own magic to discard her teacup and looked at her hooves, thinking before looking to Luna and responding, “I teach her all I can. But lately, her magic is getting too powerful for her to control. Sometimes, I feel like I can’t help her, like I’m not...” A lump caught in her throat. “... good enough.”

Luna feigned anger, stamped a forehoof on the marble floor. “Nay!” Twilight started at the sudden outburst. “Thou art never ‘not good enough,’ dear Twilight. Thou hast saved us from the terrible Nightmare Moon! We are eternally grateful for this. No mere librarian mare could have accomplished this. Thou art special.” Twilight stared at her. “Nyx’s magic will soon eclipse even thine own,” Luna continued, her voice returning to a normal tone. “Continue teaching her all thou can. Thou mayest surprise thyself.”

“But,” Twilight began, but she was silenced as Luna raised a hoof in protest.

“If thou experience any trouble, if thou needest advice or assistance, simply call on us. Nyx is very dear to us, Twilight. We will help any way we can.” Twilight nodded. Luna let her gaze drop toward the floor near Twilight. “One more thing, Twilight, about Celestia.” Twilight listened carefully. “We beseech thee not to relate these things to our sister. She... is wary of Nyx.”

Twilight sighed. Yeah, I know, she thought. Nyx’s existence had put a serious strain on her relationship with Celestia, a relationship that she desperately wished could be restored but knew was irrevocably altered. “Your secret’s safe with me.” Without thinking, she went through the motions of a Pinkie Pie promise. Luna’s expression was confused. “Oh... uh... inside joke. Sorry,” Twilight offered, removing her hoof from her right eye.

* * * * *

Twilight wandered casually through one of Canterlot’s middle-class shopping districts, window shopping to pass the remaining afternoon hours. Luna had graciously offered her night guard to escort Nyx home to Ponyville after Twilight’s visit was finished. Nyx, Luna said, had gained a very negative reputation among the Canterlot denizens. This was unsurprising, considering the city was the royal sisters’ stronghold, of sorts, within Equestria. Nyx’s short time as the reigning Nightmare Moon made her unwelcome among many ponies and businesses. Luna had suggested that Nyx return to Ponyville as a matter of her own safety. Twilight agreed, albeit for an entirely different reason. She didn’t think anypony would actually harm the filly. But tonight was a school night. She’d already missed a day of school this week, and she wasn’t going to miss another.

She also had an ulterior motive. Her stroll through the shopping district wasn’t entirely for leisure. Her destination, a modest house in Lower Canterlot, required this path from the castle. Twilight hadn’t visited her parents since Nyx appeared, and they didn’t approve of her adopted daughter. Like the rest of Equestria (except a few notable exceptions in Ponyville), Star Sparkle and Crescent Sparkle saw only the terrible purpose for which Nyx had been created. She was always welcome, they had told her in a letter earlier that year, but Nyx was not. Twilight was in no hurry to reach her parents’ abode.

After perusing a few bookstores and, she thought in hindsight, purchasing a few too many books and scrolls, Twilight had taken a direct route from the shopping district to her parents’ house. They hadn’t done too badly in their careers; the house was modest, but by no means was it lower-class. A well-maintained lawn surrounded the structure, an uncommon luxury in this, one of the most densely populated areas of Canterlot. Twilight stood on the doorstep, taking a deep breath before raising a hoof to the door, knocking thrice.

The sounds of hoof steps a few seconds later preceded the appearance of Star Sparkle at the door, wearing a kitchen apron and an expression as if she was expecting a door-to-door salespony or, Celestia forbid, another one of those Luna’s Witnesses. There were enough of those in Ponyville. Even Luna herself found them distasteful. The white mare’s sudden recognition of Twilight erased her expectant annoyance and replaced it with delight. “Oh, my goodness!” Star Sparkle gasped, bringing a hoof to her mouth and the threat of tears to her eyes. “Twilight!” she cried, practically lunging at her daughter.

The two embraced in a long-overdue hug. “Hi, Mom,” Twilight said, nuzzling her mother’s cheek. After what seemed to Twilight like hours (which she would gladly have extended to years, had it been in her power), the two mares parted. Star Sparkle moved to the side and looked behind her. Twilight’s father had silently made his way to the foyer during the mares’ tearful reunion. “Daddy!” Twilight cried, still using the name she called him as a filly.

“Come here, pumpkin,” he said gently. Twilight flew into his forelegs, and she received the tightest hug she had ever felt. Right now, though, she didn’t care if he broke every one of her ribs. She’d been too long away. Her mother wiped her eyes on her apron and closed the door as Twilight and Crescent made their way into the house.

Twilight and her father sat at the kitchen table while her mother hurriedly prepared some tea and biscuits, bringing them to the table to join them. “It’s been so long since you’ve last visited,” she said. Twilight smiled and bit her tongue. She wanted to tell her mother that it was because of her attitude toward Nyx. That if Nyx wasn’t welcome, then she couldn’t feel welcome, either. No, she thought, later.

The afternoon quickly turned to evening as the ponies shared their stories from the past two years. Twilight felt relieved that her mother hadn’t created a large celebration dinner in honour of Twilight’s visit. She was nearly overjoyed to discover that her mother simply prepared an extra serving of what would have been the meal that night regardless. Her parents hadn’t changed a thing since her move to Ponyville. She even reclaimed her old spot at the table for the meal. While Twilight lived and studied under the direct supervision of Celestia at Canterlot Castle, she would still eat dinner with her parents at least twice per week, usually more. Now, two years after she left the castle and her parents’ city permanently, she wondered if they had finally accepted that her visits would be far less frequent. To her nostalgic happiness, it was almost as if she had never left.

“Mom?” Twilight asked as the trio sat in the living room before a small fire. “Can I ask you something?” She took a sip of her tea nervously.

“Of course, sweetheart. Anything.” Her mother looked puzzled. It wasn’t like Twilight to ask permission for asking a question. Indeed, it was very much out-of-character.

“Well...” Twilight began. She had no idea how she was going to phrase this without the awkwardness she was trying to avoid. She took another sip of her tea as she paused, prompting a curious eyebrow raise from her father. “How...” Oh, Celestia damn it, I should have prepared and practised this question before I came! “How did you help me get through those times as a filly when...” When what? I never had the issues poor Nyx is going through. “When I had personal issues?” Oh, well, done, Twilight. You’ve probably just given your parents the idea that you’re having a psychotic break.

Crescent shared a quick glance with his wife before Star answered her daughter. “What kind of ‘personal issues?’” She took another sip of tea, but without breaking eye contact with Twilight.

“Issues like... like trouble with magic. Or nightmares. What did you do to encourage me to be my best, even when I didn’t think I could do it?” Nice recovery. They’ll never suspect a thing now, Twilight grinned inwardly.

Star looked to Crescent for support to find he had suddenly become very interested in the bottom of his teacup. She sighed. “Twilight, you never really needed much encouragement from us. You were always so ambitious about your magic studies after your first Summer Sun Celebration. After that, your mistakes were usually enough to motivate you further. By the time we took you to test into Celestia’s School For Gifted Unicorns, you hadn’t sought us for encouragement in months.” She stopped, looking disappointed and somewhat sad.

“No, no. You were always my motivation. I studied hard to make you and Dad proud of me.” Twilight smiled.

This got Crescent’s attention. “Twilight, we’ve always been proud of you,” he said gently. “You didn’t have to prove yourself to us.” He paused, then quickly added, “and you never will.”

This conversation hadn’t gone where Twilight had wanted it to. She was hoping to gain some advice on how to deal with Nyx’s issues while not actually referring to the filly specifically. She swallowed the last bit of tea, sifting the leaves in the bottom of her cup.

“But,” Star broke the silence, “you are not your...” She paused momentarily, correcting herself, “You are not Nyx.” Not my what, Twilight thought. She could feel a tingle of irritation creeping up her spine. Her mother, at least, apparently did pick up on the root of her questions. “I don’t know what to tell you to help Nyx. She’s... different.” Tread carefully, Mother. “Maybe your teacher could help? How is the princess these days?” Star asked rhetorically, clearly attempting to hijack and
divert the subject.

Crescent interrupted before Twilight’s tingle of irritation could become an electric buzz of anger. “I think what your mother is trying to say is that we really don’t know the first thing about raising an alicorn.” He chuckled briefly. “In fact, I’d say we didn’t know anything about raising a unicorn, either, until you came along.” His seriousness returned. “Parenting is something you just learn along the way. You can’t study it from a book. Well, not from any reputable book. It’s a lot of trial-and-error, really.” Twilight considered this for a moment. It made sense. No two ponies in history ever really parented their foals the same way, and there were likely thousands upon thousands of so-called parenting books out there, most of them offering contradictory advice. Crescent smiled as he saw that Twilight was beginning to think along his wavelength.

Star carefully attempted to rejoin the conversation. “We know that you consider Nyx to be your daughter,” she said. “Princess Celestia even informed us in a personal letter that you had legally adopted her.” Twilight noticed the caring smile form on her mothers lips and felt her hidden anger subsiding. Her mother meant no harm, and she was only trying to help in her own way. “But honestly, Twilight,” Star continued, “Nyx frightens me. She frightens a lot of ponies here. We respect that she’s your daughter, and we know that you love her like we love you, but we can’t in good conscience call her our granddaughter.”

Twilight looked to her father for support. Crescent was again intensely interested in some inanimate object nearby. She rolled her eyes and sighed before looking back to her mother. There was really no use arguing about Nyx with them. She couldn’t win. All they could see was what the rest of Equestria saw: an alicorn filly who had spent several weeks as a cruel queen of the night... a monster.

The defeat in Twilight’s expression was unmistakeable. “Maybe we should get some sleep? Talk about this in the morning?” Star suggested. Twilight knew that this would be the end of the conversation. There would be no continuance of this topic the next morning.

Crescent and Twilight helped Star with the tea service and tidied the living room before they retired to their bedrooms. Twilight’s room, as she expected after dinner, was exactly the same as she had left it two years ago. Her mother had even kept her small telescopes and science kits carefully dusted. As she climbed into bed, pulling the star and comet emblazoned comforter over herself, she thought about how much her parents must have missed seeing her. They obviously still cared a great deal. She hoped that she would never experience the same lack of presence with Nyx. Some day, Twilight thought as she drifted to sleep, some day they’ll see Nyx for who she really is.

* * * * *

The following morning and afternoon was another refreshingly familiar event for Twilight. The three wandered Canterlot and reminisced, simply enjoying the togetherness they hadn’t felt in years, finally stopping to watch the sunset from a park near the house. Twilight was in the middle of retelling her version of events from the last Running Of The Leaves festival in Ponyville (including a bit which had her parents howling with laughter at how Rarity had ended up flank-deep in mud and Applejack had accidentally doubled back to the starting line in a competition with Rainbow Dash) when she was interrupted by the arrival of a pair of royal guards. Twilight and her father exchanged a curious glance as the guards unhitched themselves from the white, gold-trimmed chariot and approached them.

Star Sparkle looked nervous. Before her stood two of Celestia’s elite guard, their golden armour glittering in the late evening sunlight. Twilight approached cautiously. She’d never felt entirely comfortable around members of the royal guard. The appearance enchantment in their armour caused them to all look identical. This unnerved her, since she prided herself on remembering a pony’s name once they’d met. Even as a filly, she didn’t like being escorted home from the castle by guards whose names she would never (could never) know.

“Can... I help you, gentlecolts?” Twilight asked them. She hoped they were both stallions. The last thing she wanted was to inadvertently insult one of Celestia’s guards.

“Twilight Sparkle,” one of the guards said, his voice rough and incredibly deep. “Princess Celestia has requested your presence immediately at Canterlot Castle.”

Twilight looked at them quizzically. “Is there a problem?”

The other guard answered, thankfully in an unquestionably male voice. “We don’t have that information, ma’am.” Guh, Twilight thought. I hate it when ponies call me that. I’m not some old mare, you know! “The Princess will explain everything when you arrive,” the guard finished. Twilight felt the stares of her parents boring holes in her flank.

“Well,” Twilight stammered, “I guess we should be going, then.” She turned to her mother. “Sorry, Mom. I promise I’ll try to stop by again soon.” She nuzzled against her cheek for as long as she dared, given the guards’ explicit urgency. “Daddy,” she began, looking to Crescent Sparkle pitifully.

“We understand, sweetie,” he smiled. Star Sparkle was starting to get teary. Twilight, barely containing her own tears, wrapped herself into her father’s welcoming hooves. Crescent broke the hug after only a few seconds. “Go on now, Twilight.” Even his voice, a sea of calm as far back as Twilight could remember, betrayed an emotional waver.

Twilight nodded to the guards and followed them to the awaiting, regal chariot. As she climbed into the chariot, she glanced back at her parents standing near the park bench they’d been using. Horse apples! she cursed to herself sourly, thinking her visit had been unfairly cut short. She quickly waved goodbye before turning away from them, hiding her face as she wiped the growing tears from her eyes. Less than five minutes later, Twilight was following the guards into the castle’s throne room.

* * * * *

“Twilight, good, you’re here,” Celestia said from the far end of the throne room. She looked harried.

Uh oh, Twilight thought, this can’t be good. Celestia almost never greeted Twilight without her “most faithful student” bit. Twilight had always found the extended greeting to be unnecessarily formal. However, it was at the same time, something she had grown to expect, and this made it somewhat comforting and stress-relieving. Its absence was telling. What Celestia hadn’t said just now was louder and more implicative than anything she could have placed in its stead.

Celestia’s horn glowed as a scroll levitated across the room to just in front of her. She held it there offering it as Twilight made her way toward her. Finally, the scroll was captured by a new, purple haze of magic and pulled toward Twilight. The scroll neatly unrolled itself as Twilight stood in front of the throne reading it. She immediately recognized the dragon scratchings as those of Spike. He really needs to work on his penmanship, Twilight mused. His scratches on this parchment were more untidy than normal, though. Reading on, her eyes grew wide, pupils reduced to pinpoints. “I received this message from Spike about fifteen minutes ago,” Celestia explained. “I immediately contacted Luna, since I knew you were visiting with her. When she told me you had gone to visit your parents, I sent my fastest guards to fetch you.”

Twilight couldn’t believe what she had just read. Spike’s handwriting was egregiously disorderly, because he had written it while hiding in a broom closet off the kitchen. Her library had been robbed?! Who would rob a library? She took a mental inventory of the valuables that might have been taken. The books in Ponyville’s library were not rare, and they were all easily replaceable. She kept very little money in the library, just enough to make change for the few overdue book fines that came in each day. She couldn’t imagine anyone would want to steal the furniture or her personal possessions. They had very little monetary value. The only things that anyone could possible sell or use would be locked in the trunk at the foot of her bed with the Elements of Har--...

Twilight’s heart skipped a beat and dropped into her stomach. Oh no. No no no no... Spike hadn’t mentioned the Elements of Harmony in his letter, but those were the only possible reasons someone would break in and rob the place. Spike, obviously was not hurt, since he had hastily written a letter from his hiding place as (or maybe just after) the robbery occurred. “Princess,” Twilight began, her eyes betraying her panic.

“I know, Twilight. The guards who brought you here will escort you back to Ponyville,” Celestia said in a tone clearly meant to calm the purple mare. “Once there, they will begin an investigation immediately. They may require your assistance.”

“Yes, Princess. I’ll help any way I can,” Twilight responded, her more logical nature starting to regain control.

“Hurry now. The Elements harbour some of the most powerful magic in Equestria. They can’t fall into the wrong hooves!” Celestia’s voice had taken on a more urgent tone. Twilight nodded and turned toward the guards, galloping from the throne room with them. Celestia sighed as she watched the doors closed behind them. “Good luck, my little pony.”