//------------------------------//
// Twilight 
// Story: Revisions of Past Mistakes 
// by SC_Orion 
//------------------------------//

	Nightfall strode down the hallway from the living room she had previously occupied. She did not know how Twilight would be reacting to the revelation, though she could make an educated guess, considering that she was an older version of Twilight and she remembered how she was when she was that age. Each time she passed a doorway she would turn her head and gaze into the room after opening the door with her magic. She would leave the door open and continue on after a brief glance to see if the room was occupied by the pony she was looking for.


She had not expected Twilight to be anywhere near them, but she checked the rooms anyway, and was rewarded with exactly what she expected. Once she reached the end of the hallway, she channeled more magic into her horn and cast a spell. She mentally berated herself for not casting the spell first, but pushed the thought aside as she confirmed that the only ponies in the castle were the ones in the room she had just came from.


She took a deep breath, then prepared a teleportation spell. She disappeared in a flash of purple magic, and a second later she appeared outside of the castle. She briefly looked up at the sky, and the moon filled her vision. She stared evenly at the body for several seconds, her mind filling with memories, good and bad, then she averted her gaze and returned her attention to the task at hoof.


She wasn't entirely sure where to start looking for her younger self. If she had fled the castle via teleportation, she could be very far away by now. All of her closest friends were in the castle. She wanted to be alone, and she likely wouldn't have gone to one of her friends' houses. Nightfall tilted her head and parted her lips as she thought about her conundrum. She wouldn't be going to Canterlot, it was too far for her to teleport, and Princess Celestia and Princess Luna weren't there, though if they were there she would likely avoid it too.


A thought struck her. She scowled and charged up another teleportation spell, then teleported to the Everfree Forest, along the path to the old castle, and the Tree of Harmony. As soon as she appeared, she prepared her magic to defend herself against any threats, but none were forthcoming. She listened intently to the sounds of the dark forest, birds, bugs, and other creatures less mundane. She carefully looked around, then turned to face the path leading to the castle.


She took a deep breath, then exhaled, and set out on her journey. She moved with intent, despite the danger of running into Starlight Glimmer. It took her several minutes to reach the ravine separating the castle from the rest of the forest, even having never stopped nor slowed. As she stood, looking at the castle from the edge of the forest, she found herself feeling unease and anxiety. She brushed the thoughts aside, then made her way over to the stairs leading to the bottom of the ravine.


She kept alert as she descended, if Starlight attacked her there was only so much she could do. She would still be able to do more than Twilight could. After making it halfway down, she powered up another teleportation spell and teleported to the bottom of the stairs. She immediately looked at the top of the cliffs, making sure she had not been seen. She saw nothing, nor anypony. She took that as a good sign, then cautiously made her way to the cave which protected the Tree of Harmony.


She slowed as she reached the cave and peered inside. Her younger self stood completely still in front of the tree. She pursed her lips and casually walked inside. Her hooves barely made any sound as she made her way inside the cave. Twilight was unaware of her approach until Nightfall was about halfway through the cave. Twilight glanced behind her, expecting the hoofsteps to belong to Eclipse. When she realized it was Nightfall who was approaching, her face paled, then her expression hardened. "Ni-Nightfall..."


Nightfall said nothing as she continued to approach. Twilight turned around to face her and lit her horn with magic. The lavender aura glowed brightly, but Nightfall did not slow her pace. Nightfall came to a stop two pony lengths from Twilight, and turned her attention to the tree. She looked over the tree, and found her gaze drawn to the eight cutie marks... The one at the center, in particular. After looking at the tree dispassionately for a few seconds, she turned her gaze back to Twilight.


"Why are you here?" Twilight asked quickly. She stepped back slightly with her left leg, as if preparing for... Something.


Nightfall tilted her head. "The others are worried about you. I said I would find you."


Twilight kept her gaze focused on Nightfall, and her face betrayed no emotion. "Why would you want to find me?" she asked harshly. "You're a monster."


For some reason Nightfall couldn't place, her younger self's remark stung a little. "I am you." she firmly retorted. "You are young and naive." she chided. "Coming here was stupid. What would have happened if Starlight had seen you? I can't match her on my own, any hope you had of doing so was foalish."


"It didn't stop you from coming after me." Twilight acknowledged.


"Contrary to your beliefs, I do not wish you to suffer." Nightfall snapped.


Twilight raised an eyebrow at that. "Isn't that what you're all about? Suffering, pain, death and destruction." she did not even try to mask her disgust. "You're a monster." she said strongly.


"Then by your definition, so is Eclipse." Nightfall retorted. Twilight flinched slightly.


"She regrets what she did." Twilight countered. "You don't. You killed Princess Celestia, my mentor. Our mentor. And you don't feel any remorse." She lowered her head slightly and pointed her horn at Nightfall. Nightfall regarded her dispassionately. "You murdered her in cold blood, tricked her and then killed her. You committed genocide not once, but twice! You came back for simple revenge on the ponies I love!"


"You have not experienced a percent of what I have you foal." Nightfall rebuked Twilight with as much force as she could while keeping her voice from carrying out of the cave. Twilight didn't even flinch. "Talk to me after losing everypony you care about. Talk to me after outliving everypony you love." she continued bitterly.


"You're a cold blooded murderer!" Twilight spat with hatred. "I am not you, and Eclipse is not you! I would never hurt my friends, while you would kill them the second the opportunity presented itself!" she shouted. "I don't care what you wen't through! It's not an excuse for you to kill everypony I love!" Nightfall's eyes narrowed. "You say that they were your friends. You have the nerve to say they were your friends! And you would kill them just for revenge on them for dying! They did not have a choice in that matter!"


"I cared deeply for my friends." Nightfall said firmly. "Do not doubt that for a second." she hissed.


"I don't care what you say, you're a monster and you killed Princess Celestia!" Twilight took another step back. She swallowed as Nightfall glared at her. "You d-deserve to die..." she said softly as the realization struck her. The aura surrounding her horn seemed to grow darker. Nightfall clenched her jaw. "I-I won't let you hurt m-my friends..."


Nightfall wasn't sure how to reply. She did not want to fight her younger self, despite how foolish she was acting. Fighting her would be... Detrimental. Regardless of how it went, Eclipse would not be happy. She knew that if they fought, Starlight would win. She could not allow that. Nightfall's horn flared to life and a barrier formed around her as a bolt of magic shot forth from Twilight's horn. She staggered and grunted as the bolt of purple magic impacted her barrier. "If we fight, Starlight will win, Twilight."


"I don't care!" Twilight shouted.


"You would be sentencing your friends to their deaths." Nightfall stated. Twilight clenched her jaw and swallowed. "You wouldn't be able to stop her."


"Yes we would!" Twilight retorted. "We always find a way to defeat the evil! Once you're dead I will take the Elements from you and we will kill her!"


Nightfall broke out into laughter. The laughter struck Twilight to her core, and she shrunk back from the evil alicorn she stood against. She took a step back as the laughter echoed around the cave. After a few seconds the laugh died down into a chuckle, and then ended. Nightfall's barrier collapsed and she stepped forwards. "You are such a foal compared to me... You do not know the slightest thing about the Elements compared to me... Even Celestia's knowledge of the Elements pales compared to my knowledge of them." She smiled, not caring that Twilight would see her lack of sharp teeth. "Already you stand on the verge of being unable to wield a single Element of Harmony. Did you even pause to think about how I was able to defeat you and Eclipse while both of you wielded the Elements?" she chided. "Or why the oh so perfect Princess Celestia did not use the Elements on me the first time?"


"Sh-she didn't have the Elements!" Twilight shot back.


Nightfall's eyes narrowed. "True, but there is more to it than that..." Twilight shifted her weight, curious as to what more there could have been. "But that is a story for another day. I came after you to bring you back, not to fight you or tell you stories. They are all worried about you." Nightfall took a step forwards.


"S-stay back you monster!" Twilight shouted, fearful of the alicorn's intentions.


"You call me a monster, yet you don't bat an eye at Eclipse, or Princess Luna, who turned into Nightmare Moon..." Nightfall mused.


"You're evil..." Twilight replied. She didn't need to know that if she took many more steps backwards she would be cornered, and she did not want that. It would end badly if Nightfall cornered her.


"You call me evil, when you yourself know that you would become me if we had not returned." Nightfall chastised her. Twilight shrunk back further and took another step backwards. "To say nothing of the fact you are only but a single step away from crossing that line yourself."


"I am not evil!" Twilight shot back.


Nightfall's expression darkened and she took a step forwards, causing Twilight to take another step backwards. "You would say you're not evil, I would have said the same thing a millennia and a half ago. Even Eclipse was like me once, you cannot deny that we both killed our Celestias. I fought Luna and brought her to her knees, and then slew her with the same ease of which I killed Celestia. You are capable of so much more than you realize."


"I will never kill the princesses! They are like family to me!" Twilight firmly retorted.


"They were like family to me also." Nightfall stated.


Twilight swallowed. "Y-you killed them... Even if they were l-like your own family..."


Nightfall nodded her head. "Time... Has a way of changing things, so much quicker than you realize. Twenty years ago, Princess Celestia was the only alicorn. In a few months from now there will be five. You'll be an aunt."


"C-Cadance is pregnant?" Twilight asked. Despite being afraid of Nightfall, her curiosity showed through in her question. Nightfall nodded. "How... How can you want to destroy everything, and kill everypony when... When Cadance and my brother are going to ha-have a f-foal... W-why?"


Nightfall felt a pang of guilt strike her chest as she looked at her younger self on the verge of tears. "Even that ended in pain and suffering..." she said quietly. She shook her head. "You are in pain right now." Twilight swallowed. "Come back with me and be with your friends."


Twilight lowered her head and pointed her horn at Nightfall again. "I-I'm not going anywhere with a monster li-like you."


Nightfall scowled at her. "Answer me this, in the time that I have been around all of you, have I once broken my promise to not hurt any of them until after Starlight is dealt with?"


Twilight shifted her weight. "N-no..." she answered. "But that doesn't mean you won't break it! Besides, it's null after we beat her! Why should I trust you if you're just going to kill us all after we defeat Starlight!?"


"Because I am not attacking you." Nightfall answered sharply. "I could easily defeat you right here, right now. You're nothing but a foal to me." Twilight swallowed and grimaced, realizing Nightfall probably could beat her without much effort. "But, as you should have noticed by now, I have not."


"H-how am I su-supposed t-to face them... After... After this... After hearing wh-what I... Did?" Twilight asked. She looked up to Nightfall, not caring that she would see tears forming in her eyes.


Nightfall did her best to ignore the tears starting to fall from Twilight's eyes. "They care about you." she answered. "Talk to them about it."


Twilight snorted and looked back to the ground. "Why would you care..."


Nightfall pursed her lips. "Unlike the others, I do care about you. You are me, just younger." she answered. Nightfall tilted her head to the side, debating what else to add. After a few seconds, she spoke again, "Take comfort in your friends, they will not live forever."


Twilight nodded her head, but said nothing. She found her vision blurring from the tears forming in her eyes, and clenched her eyes shut, not caring that it would leave her vulnerable to Nightfall. She took a deep breath, then broke down into sobs as she exhaled. Her body shook with each cry of pain, and tears ran down her muzzle. Nightfall ruffled her wings and turned around. While she could not comfort her the way Eclipse or her friends could, she could at least make sure nopony was going to attack them.





Eclipse stood alone on the balcony of her room, gazing off into space, staring at the moon. It had only taken a few minutes for almost everypony present to scatter, heading off to search for Twilight. Which left her alone. All alone, in a massive, empty castle. She traced over the moon with her eyes, comparing it to the moon from her memory. From before she crossed universes and traveled back in time. It was so similar... And yet, so different. She lowered her head and sighed.


She had dreaded this day from the moment she had decided to try to fix everything. She knew that inevitably, something bad would come of it, though she did not know what it would be. Of course initially she hadn't planned to tell them before everything was fixed, but it hadn't turned out as badly as it could have... They had forgiven her, despite having so much blood on her hooves.


Twilight, on the other hoof... Eclipse knew she should have went after her instead of letting Nightfall go after her... She mentally added another mistake to her list, and wondered what this one would end up costing her. She had known Twilight would react poorly... And yet she told her story, while Twilight was present. Another mistake. 'Maybe coming back was the real mistake... Things could have turned out differently here... I'll never know now though...' She sighed.


She sat in silence for several minutes before the sound of wings broke through the still night air. She didn't need to look up to know who it was. She remained silent as the pony landed and walked closer to her.


"Are you doing okay Twilight?" Rainbow Dash asked. Eclipse did not immediately respond, and Rainbow looked over her with concern and worry. "Twi?" she asked.


A memory stirred in Eclipse's mind, and she briefly smiled, then frowned as the memory faded. "I am fine, you should be looking for her." she said casually.


Rainbow shifted her weight and walked over so that she was beside Eclipse. "I know..." she trailed off guiltily. "But I also know you. I wanted to make sure you were doing okay." She sat down on her haunches.


"Thank you." Eclipse said absently.


Rainbow shifted her weight. "Talking about that must have been hard..." she trailed off.


"Yes, it was." Eclipse agreed. She looked down to her hooves guiltily. "It is painful... But it is my punishment for..." She shook her head. "And then all of you forgave me like it was nothing. I don't deserve that..."


"Well, I made a promise and I intend to keep it." Rainbow said, eliciting a smile from Eclipse. "As far as the others, well... You know we could never hate you Twilight!"


Eclipse nodded slowly. She chose to ignore the fact about them hating Nightfall. "Thank you, but you should get back to looking for Twilight."


Rainbow stood back up and looked at Eclipse. "You're coming with me then."


Eclipse turned towards Rainbow and regarded her evenly. "I would like to be alone right now, Rainbow Dash."


Rainbow beat her wings and hovered in the air so that Eclipse had to look up at her. She folded her arms and smiled at Eclipse. "Yeah, not happening. Either you're coming with me or I am staying here."


Eclipse swallowed. "I'm not going to try to hurt myself if that's what you're worried about."


"You promised you wouldn't. I know you will keep that promise." Rainbow stated seriously. A few seconds passed, and her expression softened slightly. "You can help us find her quicker."


Eclipse sighed and turned away from Rainbow. "I'm the last pony she would want to see right now."


"She looks up to you." Rainbow stated. "Maybe you have destroyed that pedestal." Eclipse grimaced. "And maybe she will never forgive you." Eclipse looked to her hooves in shame. "But," Rainbow started, "if something happens to her, you would never forgive yourself."


"There's already so many things I haven't forgiven myself for..." Eclipse said softly. She looked up and gazed back at the moon. " I suppose I do owe it to her..."


"Well then what are you waiting for! Come on, let's go get her!" Rainbow said as Eclipse spread her wings.


Eclipse hesitated a moment. "Twilight may want to be alone right now... But I guess we'll just have to remind her that she has friends who care about her." She beat her wings and hovered in the air momentarily. "But I don't know where she would have gone. I was never in her position..."


"You don't have any idea?" Rainbow asked.


"Not really... But maybe somepony else has had better luck than us... Nightfall started first, maybe she found her."


Rainbow's face paled. "I... Hope not..."


Eclipse tilted her head to the side. "I do not believe Nightfall would attack her..." Eclipse's face paled. "Twilight... On the other hoof... I shouldn't have let Nightfall go after her..."


Rainbow looked at Eclipse cautiously. "What are you thinking?" she asked, half afraid of the answer.


"What do you think I would have done fourteen hundred years ago if I was in Twilight's position?" Eclipse asked. Rainbow grimaced. "I should have thought it through more before telling her what I did... She was already under a lot of stress... And now..."


"We need to find her. Now." Rainbow stated firmly.





It took what seemed like an hour, but eventually Twilight's sobs had turned into sniffles. The whole time she was crying, Nightfall had kept an eye on the entrance to the cave, prepared to defend both herself and her younger self should the need arise, even if her defense ended up being futile. The need never arose, Starlight never showed her face, and she was beginning to believe Starlight was no longer occupying the castle. The thought that Starlight had left and was making her move made her anxious. She tried to think about something else, but with little else to distract her, that though became her focus.


"W-why?" Twilight quietly asked. "Why did th-this happen?" Twilight swallowed. "Wh-why did... I..."


Nightfall tilted her head to the side and glanced back to Twilight. Tears had stained her fur, and her eyes were puffy. She still looked despairing. "We wanted to ascend our friends. Celestia denied our requests countless times." she stated. "She always said it was not meant to be. I never believed her, nor do I believe her now. Not that I care whether it was meant to be or not."


Twilight was about to ask what she meant by ascend, but before she could, it clicked. "Y-you didn't want to be alone..."


"No I did not." Nightfall replied bitterly.


"Y-you c-can have th-them back..." Twilight stuttered out between sniffles.


Nightfall turned around to face Twilight. "Your friends are not the ones who I knew." she stated.


"That doesn't mean you c-can't be friends with them!" Twilight retorted.


Nightfall turned back around to face the cave opening and looked down ever so slightly. "Fluttershy calls herself my friend." she stated. She looked back up. "But it does not matter."


Twilight stood up on shaky hooves, then took a step towards Nightfall. "Why not?"


Nightfall opened her mouth to chide her, only to be cut off when she sensed a nearby teleportation. "Eclipse draws near." she stated.


Twilight swallowed. "Eclipse..." She had conflicting feelings. On one hoof, she was happy Eclipse was looking for her. On the other hoof, Eclipse had killed Princess Celestia. On one hoof, Eclipse had promised to protect them all and to tell them everything. On the other hoof, Eclipse had killed Princess Celestia. And to top it all off, both Eclipse and Nightfall had killed Princess Celestia. Both of them were future versions of herself. She clenched her eyes shut from the pain she felt.


Nightfall ignored Twilight and made her way to the mouth of the cave, then looked around searching for Eclipse. She spotted Rainbow Dash first, and she clenched her jaw. Even in the dark of night, it was hard to miss the rainbow manned pegasus. She watched her land, followed by Eclipse. The pair landed facing the cave, and paused as they caught sight of Nightfall. After a few seconds of silence, Eclipse took the lead and stepped forwards. Nightfall eyed her evenly as she approached, then glanced to Rainbow who started following her a few seconds later.


Eclipse paused a pony's length away from Nightfall and looked her over. "Is... She safe?" Eclipse tentatively asked.


Nightfall's expression darkened, causing Rainbow to take a step back. "She is safe, yes. But telling her what we did... That was stupid." Eclipse met her gaze and did not back down from it.


"Ec-Eclipse..." Twilight called from inside the cave. Eclipse continued to glare at Nightfall for a few seconds, then broke contact and looked passed her. Nightfall sidestepped, allowing Eclipse access passed her. Eclipse eyed her evenly as she walked passed her, Rainbow watched Nightfall carefully as she walked passed her, and Nightfall met her gaze. After Rainbow had passed her, Nightfall turned then walked into the cave, trailing behind the other two.


Eclipse paused about halfway into the cave. She looked over her younger self and felt pity, shame, and guilt. "Twilight!" Rainbow shouted as she ran passed Eclipse, worried about her friend. Twilight looked at Rainbow but didn't quite smiled, she wasn't sure how she could face her friends again. It came as a surprise to her when Rainbow grabbed her and hugged her. After a second to overcome the shock, she wrapped her arms around Rainbow.


Nightfall came to a stop beside Eclipse and both alicorns watched in silence. Twilight was sniffling again, and Eclipse lowered her head in shame. She had hurt her younger self, something she had not wanted to do. Nightfall watched the scene and felt a longing sensation in her heart. As much as she hated her old friends, she could not deny she missed them. "We should leave as soon as possible." Nightfall stated. "If Starlight had not detected our presence yet, then your teleport will have alerted her."


Eclipse lifted her head and looked towards Nightfall. "You..." she shook her head and sighed. "Right." She looked at Twilight and Rainbow. "I'm going to teleport us all back to the castle..." she said. Rainbow and Twilight glanced at her and both nodded. Eclipse nodded to herself then powered up her horn and prepared the teleportation spell to bring all of them back to the castle. She took a deep breath and then cast her spell. The four mares disappeared, leaving the cave in the subtle glow coming from the tree of harmony.





Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor slowed their pace as they neared Eclipse, who stood guard at the door to Twilight's room. Shining and Cadance shared a glance, and paused in front of her. Eclipse looked between them and felt guilt as they gazed at her, despite neither showing any signs of disdain. She tentatively stepped to the side, allowing them access to the room. Shining Armor opened the door with his magic, and let Cadance in first, then followed her and closed the door behind her.


Twilight lay on her bed, surrounded by her friends. Cadance felt a pang of sadness in her heart when she realized Twilight was crying. She looked at her husband, and he looked at her. Even Shining was saddened by the sight, but both of them were relieved she was safe. They slowly walked over to her bed, and six sets of eyes fell on them. Spike looked pleadingly at them as he rubbed Twilight's shoulder. Cadance looked over Twilight, her eyes were screwed shut and her mane and coat were a mess. She knew she wasn't Celestia, but she had to at least try to help her. "Twilight..." Cadance said sweetly in an attempt to mimic Princess Celestia. She knew she couldn't quite pull it off, but it would have to do. "I know it's hard... I know you're hurting... But you aren't responsible for what they did. You aren't either of them."


"Y-yes I am!" Twilight replied. "Th-they are me, j-just older!"


"Twilight..." Cadance's heart felt heavy for her sister-in-law. She was taking it badly. She hadn't done anything to deserve this... "Listen to me, you're a good pony. Everypony in this room loves you, Twilight. None of us think badly of you based on what Eclipse and Nightfall have done." She knew she didn't, and she knew that everypony in the room was worried about Twilight. Twilight said nothing in reply, instead only sniffling.