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.”