//------------------------------// // Chapter Nine: Not Over Yet // Story: My Little Descendants // by Nerdz //------------------------------// Unshed tears burned her eyes. Her wings drooped in a manner of one not possessing the strength to hold them at their side. The torn tips of her feathers brushed against the cold, filthy floor that served as her bed. Her dull, matted coat clung tightly to her bones. Her tangled mane was glued to her neck and face by sweat and grime. Her head hung limply, her blurred vision stationed on the ground. She was the picture of death, kept alive by sheer refusal to die. Slowly, painfully she lifted her head, rising from her sitting position and wobbled to the crack in the wall that served as a window. The crack, which had once been the size of a bit, barely big enough to see out of, had widened considerably throughout the years of weathering, though not enough for her to escape her prison, though that didn't stop her from trying. She collapsed before the opening and fought to hold her head high enough to look at her bleak view of the outside world. How long had it been? How long had she been locked away? How many times had she beaten herself bloody trying to shatter these crumbling walls? How long had it been since time stopped? Since the days began to blur together? Since isolation began to take it's toll? How long had it been since she'd lost the fight? She turned away from the widow and slid back into a sitting position with her back pressed against the wall. She weakly raised a hoof to wipe away tears she refused to let fall. She let out a deep sigh that quickly turned into a racking cough. Catching her breath, she turned her eyes to the door to her prison that hid in the shadows. "I know you're there." she rasped, "Come in, already. What am I gonna do, stop you?" A loud creaking emitted from the door as it was opened, followed by a quiet click as it was closed. Hoofsteps echoed on the stone walls. "Hello." the newcomer said softly. "I felt like visiting today." she said at the weak mare's blank expression. "What do you want?" "I wanted to see you." A bitter chuckle came from the sitting mare. "No really, why are you here? And don't give me some crap about wanting to see how I'm doing. You know what happens here. You make sure of what happens." "I do. But still, am I not allowed to speak to you?" "Not after everything you've done! Everything that's happened!" the mare struggled to stand. She jabbed the visitor with a chipped hoof. "You. Destroyed. Everything." she growled. The visitor slapped the hoof away. "You did this to yourself." she snapped. "Everything you did, ever, lead to this! The final straw was leaving the Isle. That's what landed you here!" The mare raised her head defiantly, a stony expression written across her dirt-smeared face. "Don't pin anything on me. This only happened because you can't accept defeat." A sneer spread across the visitor's face as she whirled around and delivered a buck to the younger mare's chest and neck that sent her to the floor. The girl groaned as she curled into a ball, gasping in pain. "Now, is that anyway to speak to me?" the visitor asked as she moved to exit the room, "After all, I am still your mother." The mare whimpered as the door slammed shut. She ground her teeth in agony as pain rippled from the bruises already forming under her coat. She dragged herself to warped floorboard in the center of the room. She pried it up and reached her hoof into it and pulled out a tattered bag made of purple leather. It had been a miracle she'd been able to get the bag and it's contents. She peeked inside. An auburn colored bat crawled out. "Hey Berry." she whispered, "I'm sorry you had to go in there, but who knows what would've happened if she found you." The aging bat crawled onto her head, pretending to not notice the swollen bruises visible through the mare's thinning coat. The mare reached into bag an pulled out a faded purple-and-white jersey. Clutching the fabric to her chest, she reached back into the bag and removed a cracked mirror made of green crystal. Tears filled her eyes as she peered at her reflection. The little bat whimpered. "I know." she said shakily, "I miss them too." She laid down on her side. She reached into the bag once again. When she pulled her hoof from the bag, a silver ring with a circle of arrows symbolized on the front rested in the center. She closed her eyes. She could almost hear his voice. *** "Nyx. Nyx, wake up." The filly jumped as her eyes shot open. Her gaze met the eyes of the colt hovering over her. His face lit up, a wide grin spreading across his features. He pulled her into a tight hug. "Oh, thank Celestia! You passed out, and, and I didn't..." "Shh, I'm okay." she nuzzled into her coltfriend's neck, shaking off the nightmare. Will broke the hug and turned to the ponies surrounding the Guardians who were once again able to move. Everyone had been too fixated on the battle transpiring within the dome, which had shattered behind the spell that had ended the fight, to try and help the frozen royalty. The colt nuzzled the filly a final time before hurrying over to his parents. Nyx turned to her friends as she reached a hoof to her cheek, discovering quickly that her cut had been healed. The villain foals had picked themselves up and made their way over to the young Alicorn. They shared a gaze before wrapping each other in a group hug, tears welling in their eyes. They'd done it. They'd defeated Nightmare Moon. They were free. "Excuse me?" Nyx turned to the voice behind her. Twilight stood there, a warm smile on her face. A silver ring floated in the mare's pink aura. "I believe this is yours." Nyx smiled as the ring changed auras. She caught Will's eye as she slipped in back on, where it rested perfectly at the base of her horn. The colt started over to her. The filly then lit her horn again and removed the tiara she realized she still wore. "And, I'm pretty sure this belongs to you." Twilight took the crown. She stared at it for a moment, her smile growing. "No," she said fondly. She turned the tiara so that the filly and the teens crowded around her, the Isle foals, Doub, and Will, could see the gem. In place of the pink six-pointed star that once adorned the gold band was a blue gem carved into the shape of a shield. The filly stared, shocked, at her reflection in the gem. She turned her gaze up to her teacher. Twilight had tears in her eyes as she set the crown on the filly's head. "It belongs to you now." "Woah, check it out!" the teens' eyes turned to Flare and the necklace he still wore. The blue balloon gem had turned into a flame of an orange color. Slowly, the four remaining teens lowered their eyes to their own necklaces. Lady's, which had been a purple diamond, was now a pale red beetle spotted in grey. Shade now wore a triangular gem of a slightly darker shade of red. Will's had transformed into a half-pink-half-brown heart, and Doub's had become a pale pink heart with two little gold colored circles at it's base. They turned to Twilight who only smiled and nodded before walking away muttering something about talking to her daughter. "So, we're the Elements now?" Shade asked, comparing the gem to the image on his flank. Lady rubbed her hoof over her own necklace. "I guess so." she whispered. She rested her head on Doub's shoulder, gazing up at him with a smile. "Wait," Flare drew the group's attention, "What happened to Nightm-" "Luna?!" a voice rose from the crowd. All eyes turned to the ivory Alicorn as she galloped down the path cleared by the parting crowd. It was then that gazes fell on the pale blue mare sprawled on the floor. Her delicate wings were spread open, and a long sharp horn rose from her forehead. Her eyelids slid back to reveal bright turquoise irises. She looked no older than nineteen. The ancient mare skidded to a stop before the girl. She leaned down, breath heaving, eyes wide in disbelief. Tears sprung to her eyes as she looked over the young mare. She reached a hoof out to help the girl up. She let out a laugh as she pulled the younger Alicorn into a hug. "Oh, Luna, I missed you so much!" "You...missed me? Really?" the young mare whispered, hesitantly returning the hug. Celestia pulled away slightly to look at the girl. "Of course I missed you." she breathed, brushing her sister's mane back with her hoof, tears streaming, "You're my baby sister." Luna grinned and pulled her sister into a crushing hug. "I missed you too, sister!" "I don't understand..." Nyx whispered under her breath, more confused than moved by the scene before her, "you were dead." The pale blue mare glanced up, locking eyes with the dark filly. Surprise and some unknown emotion spread across her features. "You." she whispered, her voice barely audible. Nyx gulped fearfully. She took a step back. "I-I'm not who you think I am." she said shakily as the young mare broke away from her sister and advanced slowly towards her, all too aware of her likeness to Nightmare Moon. If her mother had lied about Luna's death, wouldn't make sense for her to have lied about their friendship, and Luna's supposed request? The blue mare reached the dark filly. Her wide eyes scanned the filly's face. "You..." Nyx tensed her legs, ready to run should the mare try to attack, and she could feel her friends doing the same. "You look so beautiful." Her mind reeled. "I'm sorry, what?" "You don't know me, Nyx, you've never really met me, but I know you." the mare breathed shakily, "I'm your mother!" The filly stared at the mare barely older than she was. "That's impossible, Nightmare-" "Is the mare who raised you." Luna finished gently. Her face hardened slightly. "But you are my daughter." her eyes softened. She reached a hoof to touch the filly's face. Nyx flinched away, causing tears to spring to the mare's eyes. "She hurt you, didn't she? She hurt all of you, everypony, didn't she? I'm so sorry, I never should have left you with her, never should have asked her to..." she began crying, "I missed seeing you grow up! I d-didn't get to teach you to fly, or use your magic! I didn't g-get to, to take you to a park, or play dress up! I mi-issed your birthday, I missed Hearth's Warming!" she took a shaky breath before finishing with a whisper, "I missed everything." "I still don't understand." Nyx said gently, pushing the crying mare away slightly, "I mean, I'm sixteen, and you were, well, oh, how do I put this?" The mare sniffed and wiped a her eyes. "I've been dead for the past millennium, I know." she said bluntly. "I was twenty-two when I last spoke to Moon, when, well, I'm sure she told you." "But that was centuries ago! I'm only sixteen!" "I know." Luna said gently, "I can't remember...anything since that night, apart from having you, and that you were born on an island." she finished quietly. Nyx opened to speak again, but was interrupted by the mare. "I don't how I'm here now, or why really, but I promise you," she paused, taking a breath, tears threatening to fall once again, "I promise that I will make it up to you." The filly stared dumbfounded as her 'mother' was escorted away by her sister. She almost didn't notice her friends coming up beside her. "You...you guys saw that too, right? That actually happened?" Shade slowly nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, that was real." "That doesn't answer my question!" Flare winced as Lady Bug gave him a hard nudge in the ribs, "Okay, that was a bit insensitive, but still! You don't think we," he gulped, "killed her, do you?!" "No." Nyx said quietly. She cleared her throat and spoke a bit louder. "No, the Elements can't kill, only bring justice. Maybe...maybe since Luna died prematurely, the Elements brought justice by bringing her back and sending my moth-um, Nightmare back to the Island. Yeah, yeah that's probably what happened." Nyx tried her best to sound convincing. In truth, she had no idea what had happened. Nyx glance up at a break in the crowd. "I'll be right back. I need to...fix something." "What were you thinking?! You could've hurt somepony! Not to mention yourself!" Twilight scolded. "I know, but-" "No, Nova, I don't think you do!" Twilight sighed, "I've told you time and time again that the Elements won't accept just anypony! It's dangerous to try and use them without knowing what's happening! When used by the correct pony, the Elements are only harmful to the unjust, but when used by somepony who isn't connected to it, it can be lethal! Is wanting to be an Alicorn really important enough to risk not only your own life, but the lives of everypony in this room!?" "Um, Twilight?" "What?!" the mare screamed, her anger getting the best of her. Nyx winced at the harshness of her teacher's voice but brushed it off, knowing the anger wasn't really directed at her. 'Now,' she thought, 'time to save the one it is directed at.' "If I may interject?" Twilight sighed, cooling off. "Yes, of course. What is it?" "Don't be mad at Nova, okay? It wasn't her fault." "Excuse me?" The dark filly took a deep breath. "I admit, my friends and I were sent here with the intention of stealing the Elements of Harmony for our parents. One of the plans we had come up with to do so was using Nova to get it. I, well, cornered Nova in the bathroom and convinced her that your Element would be the best way to get what she wanted, in hopes that I could get close to it and grab it. In other words, I'm the one who put all that crazy stuff in her head. And..." the mare and teen turned to the younger filly's rat nest of a mane, "I'm also the one who did that." Nyx directed her attention to Nova. "I'm sorry, by the way. For everything." "It's okay." the timid filly said quietly, "I saw your mom. I don't think you had much of a choice." The older filly chuckled. She turned to look at her friends before speaking again to the mare. "I think I speak for us all when I say that my friends and I apologize greatly for everything we've done, and we'll gladly accept our punishments." Twilight nodded slowly. "I should hope so. I'll see you in Saturday detention on tomorrow morning." Nyx's eyes widened in confusion. "T-that's it? That's all we get? Weekend detention?" "No, you, Nyx, get weekend detention for bullying a fellow student." the mare gestured to her daughter, "For attempting to steal the Elements, the punishment is a bit more severe...however, you did save Equestria from Nightmare Moon, and any villains she'd had alliances with..." she smiled gently, "What's say we call it even?" "You-you're sure?" "I think it's more than fair. Now go, before I change my mind!" the mare chuckled playfully. Nyx started to walk away, but stopped, gesturing to Nova's mane. "Twilight? Do you mind if I...?" The mare sighed in defeat at the puppy eyes directed at her by her daughter. "Go ahead." The young Alicorn flared her horn. The tangles in the young Unicorn's mane receded, split ends disappeared, and the hair grew to her shoulders, bangs coming down just above her eyes. As a final touch, a slight inward curl was added to the ends of the mane and bangs. "Don't think this means that you're not in trouble, young lady!" Twilight glared slightly at her filly, "You are still grounded for that stunt you pulled!" Nova sighed, a pout forming on her face. She shook the look away. "That's fair, I guess. I can live with that." "Good." Nyx smiled at the filly before heading back to her friends. "Is Nova okay?" Flare asked as the Alicorn approached. "A little shaken up, but I think she'll be fine." "Good." A nudge in the side brought Nyx's attention to the blue Changeling at her side. "Don't look now. Here comes trouble." The dark Alicorn glanced up to see a golden filly in a pink gown heading their way. "Nyx." she said simply, giving a nod of acknowledgement to the other teens. "Sunrise." The yellow Alicorn used a hoof to brush a blue lock of her mane back into the tight bun she wore. She cast a glance to her mother and the blue mare she called 'sister'. "So...I guess we're..." "Cousins." Nyx said bluntly. "Yeah..." Sunrise kicked lightly at the tiled floor, cracked from the battle. Nyx reached a hoof out, a small smile forming. "No hard feelings?" The yellow filly stared blankly at the filly, then at the offered hoof. She slowly returned the smile, reaching her own hoof out. "I totally don't blame you for...whatever happened between Nightmare Moon and my aunt." she said jokingly. "And I totally don't blame you for your mother banishing my...Nightmare to the moon for a thousand years." "Water under the bridge." They shared an awkward laugh and a genuine smile. "I, uh, I should go." Sunrise gestured towards her mother, "I...need to talk to my mother." she headed towards the ivory Alicorn. "Hey." Nyx turned to see her coltfriend at her side. He gestured towards the mares Sunrise was walking towards. "I had a few things to sort out. I thought I'd have at least a day to celebrate before they threw me into my kingly duties." he joked. Nyx smiled gently as she looked towards the mares. Her smile faded as her gaze locked onto the blue Alicorn. Will set a hoof on the girl's shoulder. "How are you holding up?" "I..." she took a deep breath, "I'm okay." Will raised an eyebrow. "I'll be okay." "Hey, Nyx?" The teens turned to Shade, "Hate to interrupt, but..." he flared his horn, lifting the bent frame of the girl's shattered glasses. Nyx frowned, taking the frames in her own magic. "Are you gonna be okay without those?" Will asked as the girl peered at the ruined frames. The filly smiled, using her magic to make the frames disappear. "Yeah. I don't need them. I'm through hiding." she turned to smile at the colt. Will took a deep steadying breath. He stepped away from the filly, earning a confused look from the group. He flared his horn, the magic spreading across his body, enveloping him in light. When the light receded, his Equine form had gone with it, leaving Will as his true half-pony-half-Draconequus self. Shock was written across the faces of all who saw the transformation, excluding Nyx who remained confused. "If you're going to be yourself," he smiled, "then I will too." The filly grinned, nearly knocking the colt over as she hugged him. She pulled away a short time later, using her magic to knock the young king's crown sideways on his head, earning a laugh from their little group. "Not that this isn't awesome and all, but," Flare spoke up, "now what?" "Yeah," Shade added, "we didn't exactly check to see what was happening after the coronation." Will smiled and draped his wyvern-like wing over his marefriend's withers. "There's an after-party set up in the gym. It should be starting soon." Lady Bug grinned as she looked at the other villain foals. "Well, I'd say we're dressed for a party." she smoothed out a wrinkle in her dress. Shade punched the air. "Let's have some fun!" *** Strobe lights reflected off the clouds emitting from the smoke machines. Ponies crowded the floor, swaying and swinging to the music blaring from the hanging speakers, shouting out the lyrics as they danced. "Let's set it off! Oh yeah! We could make it happen! Ohay, ohay, hey!" Will jumped to a clear spot on the floor, mouthing the words to the song. "Don't you know that it's our time to shine? Shout it out; story of our lives! Now here we are, Taking back the night! Ohay, ohay, hey!" He reached a hoof out to his marefriend. She skipped over, taking his lead as he spun her around. "Break the spell, Yeah, we were born this way! Just be yourself and forget the DNA, Everypony raise your hooves and say! Ohay, ohay, hey!" A mirthful laugh came from a few feet away where Doub was trying to teach Lady to line dance. She twirled, clicking her heels against the wooden floor as she sang the next part. "Sound it out, get on your feet! Time to set it off and rock this beat! Dance till your heart beats wild and free! Ooh, oh, oh!" Doub grinned, deciding that she had gotten the hang of the dance. He joined her, both in dancing and singing. "Feeling powerful, let it all out, Gotta like what you see in the mirror, shout! We got the keys, you know this kingdom's ours! Ooh, oh, oh! Ohay, ohay hey!" Everypony joined in the song as they danced, hearts beating as one. "Let's set it off! Oh yeah! Let's start a chain reaction, And we'll never let it stop! "Let's set it off! Oh yeah! You know that we can make it happen! With everything we got! "Let's set it off! "Get ready, set it off! We got to set it off! I said, get ready, set it off! We got to set it off!" Flare took a deep breath and marched towards the orange filly nursing a cup of cider. "Hey." he smiled, reaching a hoof out, "Wanna dance?" Nova raised her eyebrows. "Uh, s-sure." she set her cup down and let the colt lead her into the crowd. "Yo, it's time to set this thing off, And make it happen now! We're make our own future, ignore all their rumors, And show 'em how passion sounds! "They all told me I should turn around Judgin' me 'cause of my background Thinkin' 'bout changing my path now 'Cause I ain't gonna be like that now!" Shade turned at a tap on his shoulder and found himself being dragged away from the food table by a surprisingly strong Lolly. He raised an eyebrow at her as she began swinging her tail to the beat. "C'mon, I didn't drag you over for you to just stand there! Live a little!" "'Live a little?!' Please, I'll show you fun!" he grabbed her hoof to twirl the curly-haired filly. "Feeling powerful, let it all out, Gotta like what you see in the mirror, shout! We got the keys, you know this kingdom's ours! Ooh, oh, oh! Ohay, ohay hey! "Let's set it off! Oh yeah! Let's start a chain reaction, And we'll never let it stop! "Let's set it off! Oh yeah! You know that we can make it happen! With everything we got! "Let's set it off! "Get ready, set it off! We got to set it off! I said, get ready, set it off! We got to set it off!" Nyx smirked at Will. "You dance pretty good for an Equestrian." "Why, thank you." the colt winked. "You know, you're not so bad for a villain foal." They stopped dancing for a moment. Will leaned in. "Three, two, one, oh!" Nyx turned her head at the last second, the kiss landing on her cheek. "Tricky." Will muttered in mock annoyance. "You know it!" the girl laughed smugly. "Let's set it off! Oh yeah! Let's start a chain reaction, And we'll never let it stop! "Let's set it off! Oh yeah! "Let's set it off! "You know that we can make it happen! With everything we got! "Let's set it off! "Get ready, set it off! We got to set it off! I said, get ready, set it off! We got to set it off!" The music faded away as the song ended. Bright flashes brought everypony's attention to the window, where fireworks were set off by somepony outside. Cheers rose from the crowd of ponies as they rushed to the windows, their excited faces bathed in the colored light. A slow song whispered from the speakers, and a few ponies left the windows in favor of dancing. Nyx and Will gazed at each other as they swayed to the music. They pressed their foreheads together as the calming melody guided their movements. The young Alicorn turned to look at her friends, both from the Isle and Equestria, as they continued to marvel at the colorful display. 'Hard to believe what can change in a week.' she mused, 'Has it really only been a week? So much has happened; it feels like it's been ten months! So much has happened...but it's gonna be better here. Things are looking up.' Nyx rested her head on Will's chest. She closed her eyes. She was happy.