Part 1: A foal found.
It's a warm summer's evening, and the afternoon shadows have all but faded away. Light from a handful of torches light the way to the ruins of the castle of the Two Sisters, and a light can be seen in an upper window. Closer examination finds Twilight Sparkle inside carefully wrapping up books, and placing them in a cart. Spike the dragon is not far away looking over the old musty volumes. "No, don't touch that." Twilight cautions. "These are so old that using anything other than magic to handle them will cause them to crumble to dust. - I have to get them to the Canterlot book restoration ministry. - Don't know why it hadn't occurred to me to do this sooner."
"Ya, these books are at least a thousand years old." Spike offered. "I just can't understand why there would be any of them that would even be readable, and yet we found a whole library of books that looked like they had been shelved recently. - I just think it's really odd considering the place is open to the elements, and all."
"Magic Spike. They'd been preserved with magic. - Otherwise, they'd all have rotted by now." Twilight offered as she used her magic to gingerly lift a book from its place of rest to carefully put it in protective wrappings. Once wrapped it went into a box, the box labeled, and added to the cart.
For spike the entire operation was beyond boring, his mind warring with a desire to explore, and the fact that the place just creeped him out at night. Spike was always a little bit nervous about being in the old castle, even after having been there so many times he'd lost track. Still, though, he feared the whole place might collapse, or there might be some long-forgotten dark magic still permeating the place. A blood-curdling scream emanating from somewhere in the castle wasn't helping either. "Twilight...?" Twilight had the oddest expression on her face. She'd heard it too, but her logical mind refused to let her imagination run wild. Could it have been the wind? … Try as she wanted to dismiss it there had been a burst of magical energy. She had to know what it was.
"Come on," Twilight said gently setting down a book she had. It was an old wizard tome on time and Interdimensional travel.
Spike followed reluctantly as they departed the small library they'd been in, and down the hall. As the two grew closer to the grand audience hall of the two sisters, the faint sound of a young filly crying could be heard causing a cold shiver to run up and down Spike's spine. "Hey, wait up!" Twilight on hearing the sound started to trot towards the source and then broke into a gallop all but leaving Spike behind as his short little legs valiantly struggled to keep up.
On entering the audience hall Twilight could just make out a small white form up by Princess Luna's seat. Spike pronounced it a ghost, and froze in his tracks, while Twilight ran towards the shape. She was a young filly of about six or seven, white with black on top her muzzle, a mane that was mostly black with purple, crimson, and white streaks, the back of her ears were black, a fox-like tail that ran purple, crimson, and white with the purple dropping off first then the crimson, and finally the white switched to black at the end, and on her legs black from the knees down. On hearing Twilight's approach, she looked up, cried mommy, and dashed to meet Twilight with an embrace that nearly knocked the wind out of her.
"I didn't mean to, I didn't!" the young filly cried as the two embraced. "I'm sorry!"
"It's alright, everything is going to be OK. - What, what did you do? What are you doing here in the dark?" Twilight asked trying to calm the filly while hoping for some answers.
"I – I read a passage out of a book – I've destroyed the castle!" she offered and began crying all over again.
"You haven't destroyed the castle, that wasn't your fault," Twilight said hoping to calm and reassure this odd filly. How could she possibly think she'd destroyed a castle that'd been in ruins for over a thousand years?
"But I did. - I only read a fragment of a spell – and there-there was a blinding light, and, and then everything..." She fought hard to explain while holding back the sobs that fought to get out. Now Twilight was even more concerned than ever. Spell? There had been that burst of magical energy like light flooding in from a door opened.
"Spell, what spell?" Twilight asked. "Spike, look around, see if you can spot a book?" Twilight used the magic from her unicorn horn to light the area they were in as best she could while instinctively shielding the filly with a wing.
"There." the filly offered while pointing. "By Woona's chair."
"Spike?"
"I got it, I got it." The young dragon called trotting across the floor. "Elemental Interdimensional multiverse." Spike read slowly. "A comprehensive compendium of Inter-dimensional travel through time and space by Doctor John Smith."
"Doctor who?"
"Ya, that's what I said. What a strange name. Who names there foal John Smith?" Spike offered. "Hey, this looks like the same book you had a moment ago."
Twilight's heart sank on spotting the book. It still had a magical aura about it. That little filly had called her mommy. Twilight wished fervently that that wasn't the case. Twilight wasn't even in that kind of relationship yet. Twilight looked down at her, and asked if she could tell her, her name, and who she, Twilight, was to her?
"Mommy, don't you know me?" the little filly asked looking up, her eyes like saucers. She began to cry again and this time it brought on the hiccups.
"Please don't start crying again. - Come on, hey it's going to be alright." Twilight gave her another hug while the filly buried her face in Twilight's chest.
"She's got a name tag on a lanyard," Spike announced.
"Thank you, Spike," Twilight said feeling for the tag. On the tag written in Twilight's own quill was 'Hello, my name is Kitzumi. If lost please return to Twilight Sparkle'.
"Oh no, oh no, oh no!" Twilight said in a soft voice nearly devoid of breath. She sat hard pulling Kitzumi in closer. "I should contact Celestia."
"No!" Kitzumi protested, her stress palpable. She sat back looking up at Twilight, her hiccups stopping. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do it. - Please..." She wasn’t quite sure what she’d done but was certain she’d done something she shouldn't have, and what she was seeing around her was plenty of evidence to the fact. She was also very apprehensive about the elder Princess. Princess Celestia, she who must not be disappointed. Kitzu wasn't entirely sure why she must never disappoint the Sun Goddess, or what would happen, she just knew she mustn't disappoint her.
“No? - What about Princess Luna?" Spike asked picking up on Kitzumi's apprehension.
"It is the middle of the night," Twilight admitted also picking up on Kitzumi’s apprehension. "But then, maybe I shouldn't tell anyone? I can't tell ponies I've suddenly had a daughter drop into my lap from out of nowhere can I?"
"Oh, oh, oh!" Kitzumi exclaimed catching her breath. Her crying had stopped, but there was still plenty of evidence on her face. "I'm in the past! I didn't destroy the castle, it just hasn't been fixed yet! Daddy said that if I should ever find myself in the past I had to be really careful what I tell people. Because you might not be allowed to marry daddy if anyone thinks you've already got a baby." She'd blurted it all out really fast amazed that what her father had predicted had actually come to pass. Twilight had to take a couple of moments to take in and process what Kitzu had said.
"Any chance Daddy mentioned how we get you back to where you belong?" Twilight asked. Had they known all along that this was going to happen? That Twilight would get married, and have a daughter who would propel herself into the past? Just the idea of it left a sinking feeling in her gut.
"So who's Daddy?" Spike asked.
"No, and no!" Kitzumi protested all the harder on the second no. "I'm not allowed to say."
"To say how you get back?" Twilight asked.
"Daddy said I'd have to be brave, and that if you know who he is too soon, you might overthink it, and mess things up." Kitzumi offered, proud that she'd been able to remember everything while a bit contrite over the reality of the situation. “Daddy is really good at making predictions, but he’s not always spot on,” Kitzu added. “He never offered any solutions, but he did say that if I were to find myself in the past that I should be really careful what I tell ponies. That I can’t tell any pony about things that haven't happened yet.”
"Well whoever he is, sounds like he knows you pretty good." Spike quipped. It was with a mild teas aimed at Twilight.
"Who does … oh never mind, he's probably right on all counts," Twilight admitted. "So how exactly do I explain you?"
"Easy." Kitzumi offered, looking up into Twilight's eyes, pressing her chin against Twilight. "I'm a cousin who came out to visit without having asked permission. At least that's what I'm supposed to say." She let out a big sigh. "I'm grounded too, aren't I?"
"For life."
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Part 2: Morning at the castle of Harmony
A bright sunny morning following the arrival of Kitzumi. It's not too early, or late, but most ponies are already up and about. A quick look around the castle of harmony, and we find Kitzumi sitting at a table that’d fit no less than a dozen ponies. In front of her is a bowl of porridge. She’s not eating any. She’s just sitting there looking off into the distance while seeing nothing at all with her jaw slack. A bit of drool hangs off her lower lip.
“Aren’t you going to eat anything?” Glimmer asked worried about her temporary charge. “Are you OK? What’s with your eyes?”. Glimmer placed a hoof against Kitzumi’s forehead. Kitzumi’s eyes had dilated down to slits in response to the morning sun. There is no obvious sign of a fever, but there is a sizable lump on her forehead. As for Twilight, she’d left for Canterlot early in the morning well before first light having given Starlight instructions to look after Kitzu. Without thinking Twilight had referred to Kitzumi as Kitzu resulting in her being called Kitzu from that point on. Starlight had finished her morning meal, and sat there at the table contemplating what to do – she knew nothing of taking care of a foal. Nor had she ever encountered one quite like Kitzu. Starlight called for Spike as she got up from the table. Kitzumi’s eye’s slowly closed. “Spike, I think there’s something wrong with her? - Where is he?”
“Pardon me, but wrong with who?” Fluttershy asked walking in. Her tone was cautious as she worried about butting in where she probably shouldn't, but then she had been summoned.
“It’s Twilight’s cousin. - She showed up late last night, and Twilight has gone to make some inquiries. - You’re here rather early?”
“The enchanted map summoned me.” Fluttershy offered with a puzzled tone.
“Anyone else? Where did it say you needed to go?”
“Here. It wanted me here?” Fluttershy offered just as Kitzumi dropped face down in her porridge. “Oh my!” Both mares hurried to Kitzumi’s side to pull her out of her breakfast before she drowned in it.
“I just don’t get it, I can’t seem to keep her awake? - She’s not running a fever that I can tell?”
“Twilight said this little filly is her cousin?” Fluttershy asked perplexed as she cleaned up Kitzumi’s face.
“Why do you ask?”
“Look, fangs.”
“Fangs? But she’s a Pegasus, not a bat pony? - Is she? Maybe mixed bat pony? - With those eyes, she could be, but the jaw is heavier.”
“Oh no, she’s no bat pony. She’s a fox pony. Fangs, sharp teeth, strong jaw, narrow slit eyes like a cat, the tail, and a lighter build than an ordinary pony. And I’m probably the only one in Ponyville who knows anything about them. - Just look at her cute little ear tufts. - The reason she keeps falling asleep is that fox ponies are primarily nocturnal. They tend to be rather shy, like to sleep in the sun, and have similar dietary needs as a common red fox.”
“Common red fox?”
“They need to eat meat now and then, just like bat ponies need to eat insects to supplement their fruit diet. - Let's move her into the morning lounge, there’s a nice big sofa she can lay on where the sun comes in.”
“Ponies that eat meat?” Starlight sounded horrified.
“Fish, and small rodents mostly. Nothing big. They can eat a very wide variety of things. Meat is only a small part of their diet.” Fluttershy offered as she hoisted Kitzumi up onto her shoulders.
“But meat?”
“Their bodies need an organic compound called Taurine. Most ponies can produce enough in their bodies without needing to supplement it, but fox ponies can’t produce enough. - It might seem cruel, but it’s all part of how nature works,” Fluttershy explained as she carried Kitzumi out of the room with Starlight following. Fluttershy was a licensed veterinarian and really knew her stuff. Her knowledge far surpassed what was needed to be a doctor for ponies alone. “I wonder how Twilight is related? I understand winged fox ponies aren’t very common. - Legend has it that the first fox ponies were the children of a fox that could change its form, who fell in love with a pony.”
“I wouldn't know anything about it. Twilight has never mentioned any relatives other than her immediate family – Come to think of it she doesn’t really talk about them very often either.” Starlight offered as they went down a corridor and into a room with an eastern exposure and large windows where the sun streamed in. There Fluttershy carefully set Kitzumi down, where she gratefully stretched out to soak up the warmth from the sun.
“Thank you Auntie-Shy,” Kitzumi muttered, and dropped into a deep sleep.
“Did she just call you Auntie?”
“Curiouser, and curiouser,” Fluttershy remarked as she contemplated the puzzlement that was Kitzumi. “Looking at her face there is a resemblance to Twilight. - I will simply have to pry it out of her regarding her relatives. - How high up is Twilight’s family anyway, and who are they connected to?”
“Why do you ask?”
“She’s wearing silver horseshoes.”
“So. Twilight’s family aren’t exactly poor.”
“No, I suppose not.”
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Part 3: Concerning time and alicorns.
Midday finds Twilight Sparkle returning home looking worse for wear.
“Have you slept at all?” Spike asked greeting Twilight as she entered the grand hall.
“No. Maybe.” Twilight had flown all the way to Canterlot to try to get as much information as she could on the spell Kitzumi had apparently used. The verdict wasn’t good. An expert she’d consulted had told her that the spell as used shouldn't have worked. The portion that had been uttered was incomplete, and the hypothetical victim that she’d offered, was now part of the timeline. Sorry, but it’s a fixed point in time, the expert offered. The location also seemed to have played a role. He’d also talked about time loops, discordant magic, and some stuff that was over her head.
“Say, why don’t you come into the kitchen, and have some lunch?” Spike offered.
“Lunch might be nice.”
“Fluttershy is cooking. She’s a good cook too.”
“Why is Fluttershy in our kitchen cooking?”
“Apparently the friendship map didn't like your choice of foal sitters.”
“Well it’s not like I had a lot of time, and why is a magical artifact second guessing me?”
“Maybe because Starlight Glimmer doesn’t know anything about fox ponies. I hear Kitsu nearly drowned in a bowl of porridge this morning.”
“Drowned?! Fox pony? What the hemp has been going on?” Twilight exclaimed rushing off to find the kitchen.
“Oh and Princess Luna is here too,” Spike called.
“What?!” Twilight exclaimed skidding to a stop. “Why didn’t you tell me that first? Where?”
“East sitting room adjacent the southeast tower,” Spike called followed by Twilight, making an abrupt turn to head off in the direction of the east sitting room. “She’s sleeping, probably best not to wake them.”
“Princess Luna?” Twilight called softly as she entered the room. As Luna was in the habit of turning to Twilight whenever she felt the need to confide in someone, the two had become close friends. “Luna?” Twilight called again wondering if she was still in the room. It was also unusual for Luna to be up and about in the middle of the day as well. Twilight looked about not seeing the older mare at first. When she did see her, Twilight’s mind had to take a moment to compute the information. There on the lounge was Princess Luna with a black hoodie, along with matching black and purple leg warmers; sound asleep. No, but it wasn’t the sleeping form of Princess Luna with hind legs stretched out in a most undignified frog-like position with her body in a slight crescent, and forelegs brought up by her head that tugged at her heartstrings. No, the sight that made the picture complete was Kitzumi snuggled up with her, belly to the air, hind legs straight out, and forelegs brought up in the bunny paws position. It was nearly more cuteness than Twilight could take.
Twilight walked as quietly as she could up to the head of the lounge, sat on the floor in front of Luna, and contemplated what she should do next. She thought about it for a moment, reached out, and gently bopped Luna on the nose. Luna opened her sleepy eyes to see a smiling Twilight Sparkle.
“Sunbeam got me,” Luna announced.
“You’re probably wondering who she is?” Twilight asked softly.
“Twilight, perhaps the greatest drawback of being able to see other pony's dreams, is there are no secrets that can be hidden from me,” Luna replied. “I know exactly who she is.”
“You do?” Twilight's ears dropped.
“Any chance you’ve found a way to get her back?”
“Back, as in back to the future?”
“Yes, McFly, back to the future where she belongs.”
“Can’t be done. - At least that’s the answer I’m getting. - In order for her to have done the full round trip, she would have needed to set up an anchor point.”
“No anchor point?”
“No anchor point. She didn’t know what she was doing, and she’s marooned here. - Part of the timeline now.” Twilight hung her head down. “And it’s tearing me up too.”
“Anyone hungry?” Fluttershy asked entering the room with a covered tray on a pushcart. “Oh hello.”
“Why are you making lunch?” Twilight asked.
“Well I figured, fox pony or not, your little cousin should probably get something to eat.” Fluttershy offered. “Not that I’d have anything against her being a fox pony. Personally, I think they are quite adorable. Especially the kits. - I must say you have some interesting relations though. Never would have dreamed you were related to fox ponies.”
“Fox pony?” Twilight asked wondering what Fluttershy could be talking about.
“And interesting taste in stallions.” Luna offered with a grin. “Kitzu is still asleep though.” Fluttershy shifted the tray to a small table with cushions around it to sit on and removed the lid.
“Is that a dead fish?” Twilight asked astonished at the sight of the baked trout.
“If you are going to be taking care of a fox pony, you need to understand their dietary needs.” Fluttershy offered while picking up the plate with the fish, careful not to spill any juices, or get any in her mouth as she carried it. After all, her own taste was strictly vegetarian. She brought it over to Kitzu and held it close to her nose.
“You’re not actually thinking of giving her that are you?!” Twilight protested horrified at the thought of any pony eating such a thing. Her horror turned into a sort of morbid fascination as Kitzumi’s nose twitched, and sniffed, and began to zero in on the aroma. Twilight looked on thinking how cute. Fluttershy slowly pulled the plate away, Kitzumi stretched up to find where that wonderful smell was coming from, and a moment later rolled over to fall off the sofa. Fluttershy took the plate to the table and put it back down. “If you want it, you’ll have to come to the table.”
“Is that roast fish?” Kitzumi asked as she maneuvered her legs under herself.
“Trout from the river, bean curd soup, a bowl of fruit, and spinach salad.” Fluttershy offered.
“Minus the fish, that’s a really nice meal to wake up to.” Luna offered as Kitzumi all but crawled to the table.
“I don’t believe it? She’s actually going to eat that?!” Starlight asked where she’d been watching from the doorway.
“I’ve some fox ponies on the night staff at Canterlot.” Luna offered. “They’ll even eat raw fish. - They seem to like it.”
“Raw too?” Twilight asked.
“It’s good.” Kitzumi offered between bites. Twilight scolded her regarding talking with her mouth full. “Yes, mother.” Kitzumi cringed realizing she should have been more careful with how she addressed Twilight and gave a quick glance to see if any pony had remarked on her slip.
“She’s quite taken with you,” Fluttershy said to Twilight.
“I imagine her real parents probably kicked her out.” Starlight announced.
“I would never do such a thing!” Twilight protested.
“Not you. I know you wouldn't. For Celestia’s sake, she shows up in the middle of the night, and you have to go scrambling to Canterlot before the crack of dawn.” Starlight offered. “She’s a button head. - Look, when I thought she might have a fever I checked her forehead, and she’s got a unicorn button horn.”
“Wait, wouldn't that make her an Alicorn?” Luna asked.
“Immature Alicorn.” Kitzumi offered. "I'm nothing more than a pegasus with a horn."
“Can you fly?” Starlight asked.
“I’ve still got baby feathers.” Kitzumi protested. She held up a fluffy wing. “Look, no flight feathers yet. It’s all floof.” Kitzumi was starting to get annoyed, she’d heard it all before, and it was putting her off that delicious meal that had been presented to her.
“Starlight Glimmer...” Luna began as she sat upon the lounge. “We can assure you that Kitsu was not thrown out by her parents. Truth is she performed a rather spectacular transportation spell last night. It seems to have been a fluke, and owing to circumstances beyond our control we can’t get her back to where she started.”
“I was just saying.” Starlight offered. “I’ve encountered a few. They are all slow starters, weak fliers, and Pegasi tend to view them as an embarrassment.”
“Her flight feathers will come in. It just takes longer.” Fluttershy offered. “I begin to see the real reason the map sent for me. - I’m also a button head.” Fluttershy offered. “It’s hidden under my mane so it’s not likely anyone would notice.”
“Well, you’re a good flier now.” Twilight offered. “I know I was pretty miserable when I first got my wings. - You really have a little button horn?” Fluttershy’s response was a bashful, yes, being that it wasn’t something she really liked to talk about. She wasn’t too keen on anyone knowing about it either.
“I wonder...” Luna began mulling an idea in her head. “Twilight, you became an Alicorn through magical means, but the process was essentially the same as Cadence. You were both pushed to your limits, and you were both exposed to a lot of magical energy.”
“I can’t say I was at my limit when I transformed.” Twilight offered.
“No, but you did manage a very difficult spell which resulted in you being saturated with magical energy. - That spell was of course designed to bring out the full potential of the caster." Luna replied. “Flurry Heart was born with wings, she is a pegasus first. Her horn came in shortly after hatching, and I’m wondering if the Crystal Heart had anything to do with it?”
“I thought we were born with our horns?” Starlight asked. "Hatched?"
“Don’t be silly. If a Unicorn baby had its horn before birth it would impale its own mother. The horn grows in after they are born. - And pegasi lay eggs so it really wouldn't matter one way or another." Luna explained. “Some take longer than others to come in, but most have a decent sized horn by the time they can crawl.” Luna had to think for a moment. "Still though, Flurry having a fully developed horn and wings is unheard of. Pegasi being born with horns is something I wasn't personally aware of."
“It almost sounds like you are suggesting that button heads are Alicorns?” Starlight asked.
“I’ll be perfectly honest in telling you that I don’t even know how one actually becomes an Alicorn. It’s possible Princess Cadence had a button. My understanding is that she did start out as pegasi, and it's been so long ago for me, I don't rightly remember.” Luna admitted. “But it could be reasonable to hypothesize that ponies who are destined to become alicorns are already alicorns when they are born, but no one recognizes them as such until certain conditions are met. There would need to be some trigger for an immature Alicorn to become a mature fully-fledged adult.”
“Wait, does that mean I’ll…? That I’m an alicorn or could become one?” Fluttershy asked astounded at the implications.
“In my book – you already are.” Kitzumi offered her a smile back.
“Fluttershy, can you get me some coffee?” Luna asked. “And take Starlight with you?”
“Um, OK.”
“And take your time. I need to talk to Twilight.”
“Come on Fluttershy. We’re not wanted.” Starlight said turning and exiting the room.
“About Kitzumi I gather,” Twilight said once Fluttershy and Starlight had left.
“I’d like to take her on as a student at the academy.”
“But she just got here? I’m going to lose my baby in the future, and I’d like to spend some time with her now.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Kitzumi stated as though she had a choice in the matter. “Moona, you are the last pony to try to force that issue.” Luna gave her a quizzical look.
“But you’ve never taken on a student?” Twilight asked. “Why now, why Kitzu?”
“Maybe at the start of the next session?” Kitzumi offered hopefully. “Might raise too many eyebrows if you were to cut me into a class now.”
“Aside from the fact that she’s a precocious little brat who isn’t afraid of me, she’s a dream walker,” Luna announced. “Waltzed right into a dream I was having.”
“Did not.”
“Then what do you call it?”
“A foxtrot.”
“You are a precocious little brat,” Twilight said giving Kitzumi a dirty look.
“Hate to admit it, but she’s right about the school.” Luna offered. “Also to avoid excessive contamination to the timeline, no one can know the truth. - To avoid interfering with your timeline, and reputation, we can’t tell anyone she’s your foal.”
“And what do we do if people insist on knowing who her parents are?” Twilight asked.
“If push comes to shove I’ll say she’s mind, and I hid her.” Luna offered. “My reputation will survive. At least it can’t get any worse.”
“I feel like you are taking my foal.”
“You have a better idea?”
“Not really – no.” Twilight was feeling like she’d been punched in the gut again. “The worst part of this is I’m going to know this is all going to happen right up to the moment I lose her to the past.”
“I’m an Alicorn. Even if I can’t fly, or have any significant magical ability, I’ll still be around. I’ll still be your daughter.” Kitzu announced with a degree of bravado. She'd no way to know if she ever made it home.
“Do you know for a fact that you as your older self was around?” Luna asked her.
“No, but that doesn’t mean anything. I’m a dream walker after all. It’d only make sense to stay as far away from my younger self as possible.”
“That does sound reasonable,” Twilight said reaching over to give Kitzumi a pat. She rubbed Kitzumi’s head experimentally. “You know, that’s a little more than a button you’ve got there.”
“I think it’s grown a little.” Kitzumi offered.
“Twilight, what did you find out regarding your inquiries about time travel?” Luna asked. “Have you really given up on that?”
“She would need to be able to repeat the same thing she did to get here while going forward in time to return to where she started. Anyone else doing it would have to be willing to risk a one-way trip, plus in order to get there, we have to know where there is. Anyone going forward with the appropriate anchor point to pull them back again won’t be able to leave her behind because she’ll be pulled back when the caster returns. - Same applies to someone going back in time. Can’t pull a pony out of the past.”
“If we knew a date a person could go one way.”
“And what if that person is critical to Kitzumi being born?” Twilight asked. “For all I know, just being here means she no longer exists in our future. - She’d be from an alternate future we can’t get to anymore.”
“I don’t think I want that.” Kitzumi offered, nibbling on an apple slice.
“The whole situation is just loaded with paradoxes!” Twilight muttered, sounding exasperated. "Although, if we are talking about an alternate dimension we'd be in the clear. The moment she appeared in the Castle of the two sister's ours was no longer her dimension and it's not going to much matter what we do."
“Try not to think about it too much. OK?” Luna said hoping to calm Twilight down a bit.
“Oh, when you enroll me, can you put me down as a Nightfoal?” Kitzumi asked, the idea popping into her head.
“Nightfoal?” Luna asked astonished at the name that was once so familiar to her.
“It’s an old family name before it was changed to Sparkle.” Twilight offered. “Not too many people would know the name. I gather someone in the family tree changed it, but I haven't a clue why?”
“Because it’s associated with a certain Stallion I tried to wed. It was his original Surname before he used dark magic to try to force a transformation into an Alicorn.”
“Then using the name would be a bad thing?” Kitzumi asked.
“I think it’ll be fine.” Luna offered. “No one really remembers the name anymore, and it is technically my last name. - Luna Moon is just my title. Luna, Princess of the Moon.”
“I thought you said you tried – not that you did? Why do you still use his name?” Twilight asked.
“When he transformed he went mad,” Luna explained, a touch of sadness in her tone. “I was forced to fight the very stallion I loved. - Celestia and I attempted to use the elements of harmony to undo the dark magic. Given what I just learned today and what I’ve surmised, I don’t think he was ever meant to be an Alicorn, because he wasn’t one to begin with. When we tried to undo his spell his body shattered. - I suppose I kind of did too. - My heart if not my body."
“And the capital city of the Crystal Empire vanished with him. Everything from that point I’m familiar with.” Twilight said guessing that Luna meant Sombra. Twilight couldn't resist going to her and giving her a comforting nuzzle. “So you were actually married to him.”
“He was a good pony. It was his own ambition that was his undoing." Luna offered with a sad wistful tone to her voice. For her, it hadn't really been all that long ago. "I never got to live with him as mare and stallion though.”
“Kitzu, please tell me I do better with your father?” Twilight asked.
“Spoilers,” Kitzumi replied.
“I don’t think I like that answer.” Twilight countered.
“Happily married so far as I know. I suppose I can tell you that much.”
“And a handsome fox pony I gather,” Twilight said with a smile.
“That would be telling if I were to confirm that.” Kitzumi offered. “Maybe I’m adopted?”
“Not likely. Fox ponies are especially protective about their young.” Luna offered. “Dare I ask why you call me Moona?”
“I couldn't say my ells when I was little. - It just sort of stuck. - It's either Moona or Muma."
“That’s nice.” Twilight offered as her head began to droop. Her marathon had caught up with her, and the adrenaline rush was well gone.
“Why don’t we get you on the sofa before your lack of sleep catches up with you.” Kitzumi offered, moving away from the table. “Uncle spike? I know you’ve been listening in the whole time.”
“Uncle?” Spike says from behind a large chair. “I’ll go get a blanket.”
“I’m going to assume he already knows.” Luna offered. “Here, I’ll give you a hoof.”
“Spike was there when I popped in, and he kind of needs to be in the loop on this.” Kitzumi offered as a soft glow enveloped her and then Twilight. Twilight without really being aware of what she was doing, got up from her spot, and climbed up onto the lounge, and lay down with her head resting against Luna.
“How did you?” Luna asked once the glow faded.
“Made her sleepwalk. Can’t you do that?”
“Can’t say I’ve ever tried.”
“Say, um… after you’ve had some coffee, would you mind walking me down to the school, and sign me up for the afternoon classes?”
“Just in the afternoon?”
“They got night classes?”
“Doubt it. - Tell me, what do you know about Nachtlicht Nightfoal?” Luna asked cautiously as Kitzumi retrieved her breakfast tray to place it on the cart.
“Don’t look at me, ask Grandfather.” Kitzumi offered as she began to push the cart. “But you didn’t hear anything from me.” Still pushing, but not getting anywhere.
“So how exactly do I breach such a subject with a Stallion that avoids the palace despite being a high-ranking government minister?”
“Don’t you get the same feeling out of him that you do out of Mother, and myself? Ask him if he has any idea why Nightmare Moon went so easy on Twilight and the others. I know you went easy on them. Admit it, you went easy on them. Maybe you should ask yourself that?” She was still not getting anywhere with the cart.
“Because, because I didn’t want to hurt anyone, least of all Twilight. - You’re not saying my feelings for her is a maternal thing are you?”
“I never said a thing. - Even if it were, and I were to admit to certain secrets that aren't mine to tell, there's been plenty of generations between. - Let's just say kinship, and leave it at that.”
“You sure you don’t want some help with that cart?” Luna offered as a big smile crept up on her face.
“OK, maybe a little. Yes, please. Thank you.”