//------------------------------//
// A Truth Revealed 
// Story: A Disparate Bond 
// by the7Saviors 
//------------------------------//

Neither Twilight nor Starlight knew when it had happened, but somehow while they were distracted by Moonlight's sudden and horrifying change, the five members of the Council had formed a semi-circle around her and were silently prostrating themselves before the mare a few hoof-lengths away, face to the ground, one hoof stretched out in front of the other and wings spread open in reverence.

The position looked somewhat awkward, but that was the least of either filly's worries. Indeed, they hadn't taken their widened, horrified eyes off of Moonlight. Moonlight, in turn, hadn't taken her cold blue eyes off of Twilight. She still wore that savage, knowing smirk that promised something unpleasant, though thankfully she had pulled back and stood at a reasonable distance from the filly.

"You all may rise and return to your seats," Moonlight commanded, not even looking in the direction of the Elders, "I will address you in due time, but for now, these foals and I have some matters to discuss."

"As you wish, Lady Moon," Fallen Snow replied obediently, her eyes fixed on the ground, "we shall wait until you've finished your business with the younglings."

With that, they all seemed to slither back and away from Moonlight, and before Twilight could really understand what she was seeing, they'd already taken up their original seats on the fancy cushions further away. They all sat stiffly and silently, almost like soldiers waiting for an order—all save for Sanguine Oak, who fixed the fillies with an inconspicuous glare.

"Now then," came the deep commanding voice that was decidedly not Moonlight's. The two fillies' turned to see the white thestral mare watching them with great interest as she spoke, "I don't have a lot of time, so I'll dispense with the formalities. I am the one they call the Mare in the Moon, Nightmare Moon," she smirked and gestured to herself, "for self evident reasons, I cannot greet the two of you personally, so I am commandeering this body in order to speak to you directly."

Twilight tried to speak, but the oppressive weight of the mare's presence made her breath catch in her throat. It was as though the horrible sensation she'd been feeling since she arrived had increased drastically and converged at one point to smother her beneath the pressure. Starlight didn't seem to have the same problem, though she was just as speechless and unnerved.

"Nothing to say?" Nightmare Moon asked, raising an eyebrow at the two. Her gaze focused on the nearly hyperventilating lavender filly and her brow furrowed in understanding, "ah, it seems you've become rather sensitive to Dark Magic. How interesting..."

Twilight wasn't sure what happened, but the intense pressure seemed to lift all of a sudden and she could breathe properly once again. She took full advantage, gulping in as much air as she could before coughing it back out a few times.

"You try to subconsciously reject what you feel, and thus suffer for it," Nightmare explained, shaking her head like some disappointed schoolteacher, "an easy mistake for a budding Dark Mage to make if their character and affinity for the Darker Arts are at odds. Simply learn to accept your own affinity for Dark Magic and all will be well."

She left Twilight to puzzle out her words on her own as she turned to Starlight, who flinched back slightly. The Nightmare's presence, combined with those icy blue draconic eyes made her shiver involuntarily, and she had to push back some very unpleasant memories.

"And then there's you," she began in a thoughtful tone, "another hidden gem amidst a sea of sand and rock," the possessed white thestral turned to fully face the pale pink filly, "you may not have heard of me, Starlight Glimmer, but I know all too well of you and your... mistakes."

Starlight's face grew pale beneath her fur and she retreated yet further back.

"You... y-you don't mean," she slowly shook her head, the horrible memories she was trying to suppress pushing their way forward at the mare's words, "how... do you know about that?"

"It matters not how I know, only that you and Twilight Sparkle are ponies of interest to me," Nightmare Moon replied with a haughty sneer. The look didn't last long, and the malicious grin soon returned to her face, "but we can talk of such things in due time. For now, I shall 'set the record straight' as it were in regards to this insulting tale."

Twilight, having recovered from her ordeal, watched the white mare as she began to pace before the two fillies, her emotions a mix of fear, wariness, and—to her own surprise—curiosity. She'd heard what Nightmare Moon had said about a sensitivity to Dark Magic, and that raised several questions in her mind.

She'd accidentally dabbled in Dark Magic and been around somepony whom she knew for certain was a powerful Dark Mage, and had reacted similarly. It was true that deep down she hadn't quite accepted that she had an affinity for Dark Magic, and what she'd done recently because of it had only complicated matters.

With what she'd done to that manticore, how was she supposed to simply accept that part of herself? 

As she tried to wrap her head around the issue, the possessed mare began to speak again. Heedless of her inner turmoil, Nightmare Moon began her tale, and Twilight found herself sufficiently distracted enough to listen.

"As you no doubt may have guessed, this 'nameless kingdom' was Equestria, and I was the foolish younger sister who'd fallen in love with the mysterious stallion from an empire to the north—the Crystal Empire located in the Frozen North to be exact," Nightmare explained, "there was indeed an illicit relationship, and my dear sister and I did indeed have a... falling out over it."

Nightmare Moon chuckled humorlessly, and went to continue her tale, only to stop and frown as the two fillies looked at each other. Nightmare's own eyes narrowed even as theirs widened in realization, like they'd solved some kind of mystery.

"Have the two of you something to say?" Nightmare Moon asked, catching the attention of the two fillies, "go on then, out with it."

A beat of silence passed as Twilight and Starlight looked from Nightmare Moon, to each other, their expressions hesitant. A silent conversation seemed to pass between the two and Starlight nodded towards the white thestral. Twilight swallowed and nodded once in return before stepping forward.

"Um... that empire in the north, the Crystal Empire?" Twilight began after a moment of hesitation, "we—I mean, Starlight and I... we've actually been to the Crystal Empire."

Nightmare Moon opened her mouth to reply, but nothing came out and she slowly clicked her mouth shut. Her eyes narrowed to dangerous slits and when she next spoke, it was with a tone as cold as the Frozen North itself.

"Do you think me a fool, child?" she hissed, "I may be a prisoner trapped within my own namesake, but I am far from ignorant of the current state of the world. I know full well that the Crystal Empire is no more," she took a threatening step forward, her eyes seeming to glow with malice, "if you mean to mock me, I assure you, foals, the consequences will be most—"

"It's true!" Starlight blurted out in a panic. Nightmare snapped her cold gaze towards the pale pink filly, who shrank back, but didn't relent, "A-Aeon was able to send us there through some kind of portal. We have seen the Crystal Empire, and we know about Sombra. We met Sombra."

Nightmare Moon mouth dropped open slightly at Starlight's words, but she quickly regained her composure and shot forward suddenly, her ice blue eyes flashing in the darkness of the cave. What happened next, neither Twilight nor Starlight could say for certain.

They both gave a sharp gasp and their eyes widened in shock and fear as their bodies locked up. Some horrible sensation tore at them, making them feel as though their minds were being pulled apart. Both wanted to scream, but could only whimper in agony as something cold and unpleasant violently wormed its way into, and scoured through, their heads.

Then, just as abruptly as it had started, the pain ceased.

The two shaken and exhausted fillies slumped bonelessly to the ground, their bodies trembling from what they'd just experienced. Nightmare Moon paid them no mind, as her own mind was reeling from whatever she'd gleaned from Twilight and Starlight. Twilight looked up to see the possessed thestral looking up and away from everypony present.

Her eyes were wide and unfocused, her mouth hanging open in shocked disbelief. To her surprise, the lavender filly could see the beginning of tears shining in her eyes. She looked over to Starlight and saw that the other filly looked just as stunned as she herself felt. The Elders fidgeted restlessly, unsure of what to make of this new development. Sanguine Oak made to move forward, but a look from Fallen Snow made him retreat, though not without some bitterness.

"He's alive," Nightmare muttered numbly, "I thought we... that spell wasn't finished when I..." she slowly shook her head and sank to her haunches, "all this time, I thought Celestia had razed the empire to the ground. All this time... all the mourning, all that heartache," her cold, imperious voice cracked and her breath hitched in her throat, "the Crystal Empire yet lives, as does my beloved Sombra."

She let her head hang, and the cave descended into a tense and horribly uncomfortable silence. As tense as the silence was however, neither filly dared to break it, and the Elders could only look to each other with varying expressions of concern and bewilderment. The loud silence eventually gave way to hushed but urgent whispers amongst the Council members. Dusk had been the only one to hold his own silence, looking almost oblivious to everything around him with his eyes closed and the serene expression on his face.

The voices rose steadily as arguments were made, but before things could get too loud, a decision was finally reached. After a moment, Sanguine Oak stepped forward and gave the fillies one last glare before turning to the possessed thestral and bowing low.

"Forgive me, Lady Moon," he began, his raspy voice barely above a whisper, "I mean no disrespect, a-and I'm happy—ecstatic to know that the stallion you've given your heart to is alive... b-but... the trial—"

"FIE ON YOUR WORTHLESS TRIAL!" Nightmare Moon suddenly boomed. She whipped around to face the startled stallion, her teeth bared and her eyes blazing, "I CARE NOT ONE WHIT FOR YOUR GRIEVANCES AGAINST THESE FOALS YOU FOOL!"

Sanguine Oak backed away a few steps before throwing himself onto the ground, practically concussing himself on the cold hard rock beneath him as he bowed.

"Y-Yes, my Lady, I apologize!" he stuttered fearfully, "I m-meant no offense. I simply—"

"Enough!" she barked before taking a deep, calming breath through her nose and turning away from everypony once more, "you are to let these fillies go. Send them back to the main hall of the Fortress and let them find their own way from there."

"What?!" Sanguine Oak cried, his head shooting up and his eyes bulging, "but... b-but, Lady Moon, I beg you," he shot Twilight a caustic look as the filly helped Starlight to her hooves, "these... these... outsiders have committed a terrible sin, and justice must—"

"Do not speak to me of justice, worm," Nightmare Moon hissed in Sanguine's face, "these foals and their mentor are of great interest to me, and I will have the fillies returned to where they belong unscathed, or my next visit will not be as pleasant, am I understood, Elder?"

Sanguine Oak visibly swallowed and bowed again.

"Yes... of course, my Lady," he muttered in defeat, "by your will, we shall see it done."

"Good," Nightmare Moon replied, straightening up and turning to Twilight and Starlight. All knowing smirks and malicious grins were gone, replaced with a stoic formality that seemed odd after all they'd heard from the mare, "we shall meet again, perhaps sooner than you think. When that time comes, we will talk more, but until then... we are done here."

With that, the snowy thestral blinked and the cold blue eyes vanished. In their place were the milky white eyes of a blind and dazed mare. Moonlight let out a loud gasp as her legs gave out from underneath her. She fell to the ground and was still as a stone, much to Twilight's worry.

"Oh she'll be fine," came the silky voice of Jade Rose. Almost all eyes turned to the greened eyed thestral, and she gave the two fillies a gentle, reassuring smile as she spoke, "Moonlight may be the most gifted Mystic to date, but performing a séance of this magnitude is still no mean feat. All she needs is a bit of rest and she'll be back on her hooves in no time," her eyes flicked towards Sanguine Oak and her smile grew wider with the slightest hint of smug satisfaction, "isn't that right, Elder Sanguine Oak?"

The two fillies followed Jade's gaze and immediately shuffled back from what they saw. Sanguine Oak hadn't moved from where he stood, but that didn't bring any real comfort to Twilight or Starlight. The withered old thestral stallion was practically choking on his rage as he sat hunched over and staring at the fillies. 

His teeth were bared in a furious snarl and his glare was downright murderous, but he made no move toward the two, nor did he say anything. He merely gave a few strangled gurgles and an angry snort before turning on his heel and stomping back to his own cushion. The other Elders watched him warily as he took his seat, though Jade simply smiled at the sight before turning back to Fallen Snow.

"Well, I believe our illustrious Lady has settled things quite nicely," the mare concluded, "if she says the outsiders are to go free, then I think it pertinent to obey, don't you?"

"Indeed," Fallen Snow replied somewhat absently as she continued to watch a now stone faced Sanguine Oak, "our Lady has spoken, and has made it abundantly clear that no harm or retribution of any sort is to come to the fillies," she finally turned to the fillies in question, "I suppose that means the two of you are free to go."

"It's about time," Starlight muttered, trying to regain some of her old bravado. She glared at the Elders, but it was plain to see that the whole experience, short as it was, had left her drained—both her and Twilight, "I can't wait to get out of here."

"In light of Lady Moon's verdict, we shall conclude this trial," Dying Flame exclaimed, "a pair of guards will escort you out of Nightshade and back to the main hall of the Fortress just as our Lady ordered."

"Are we gonna have to wear blindfolds again?" Starlight grumbled, "because it's really hard to move around when you can't see. It's already dark enough around here as it is without—"

"Wait," Twilight interjected, taking a step forward. Her eyes locked on Dying Flame's and the two stared at each other for a heartbeat before the filly continued, "...before we go, I'd like to know something first, if that's okay."

Dying Flame furrowed his brow and Twilight was sure he was going to reject her inquiry, but a moment later, and much to everyone's surprise, he gave her a small knowing smile of his own.

"You're wondering what will become of my grandson."

It wasn't a question, but a statement, and an accurate one at that. Twilight reined in her surprise after a few seconds and nodded mutely, to which the large thestral snorted and shook his head in apparent amusement.

"It is kind of you to worry about Firebrand, but I assure you nothing will happen to the youngling," Dying Flame answered, "we will simply have to postpone his trial until further notice. It is a shame, but—"

"You're gonna put him through all of that again?" Twilight cried angrily, "don't you care about what happens to him? Aren't you happy he didn't have to go through with it in the first place? Why have him do it again? Where would you even find another—"

"SILENCE!" barked Sanguine Oak, Twilight's outburst enough to break his bitter stoicism on the matter, "I don't expect an outsider like you to understand, but we thestrals are born and bred to become the very idea of what it means to survive! 

"Strength, endurance, cunning, a keen eye, a stout heart, the insurmountable will to live and an undying devotion to Nightmare Moon!" he stomped a bony hoof  angrily into the ground, the impact somewhat lost as he hit the cushion beneath him, "that is what it means to be a thestral! This is why the Trial of the Waxing Moon exists, as it has for centuries!"

"None of that means anything if the one undergoing the trial dies in the process!" Starlight argued, "they're just foals! How can you expect them to survive against something like a manticore? That's insane!"

"Is it?"

Quiet as it was, the deep, raspy voice still cut right through the argument like a razor. The fillies and the other Elders all turned to Dusk, who's eyes were open and fixed solely on Twilight. There was a small smile playing on his face, but to Twilight, it was anything but pleasant.

"You, Twilight Sparkle, are a mere foal after all," he countered, "and yet, you managed to do what many of us thought impossible and slay Tenebris on your own." 

Twilight winced and hung her head.

"That was... those were different circumstances," she muttered before shaking her head and glaring back into the calm face of Dusk, "the only reason I was able to do what I did was because I had magic, and even then, it was an accident!"

"I very much doubt that, little one," Dusk replied with a wry chuckle, "still, you are right I suppose, though I think you give our young ones far too little credit. Despite his inappropriate outbursts, Elder Sanguine Oak is not wrong in what he says. Ever since the thestrals either went into hiding almost a millennia ago, ours has been a harsh and unforgiving life.

"In order to adapt, we've had to do things both horrible and fantastic. We trained and pushed our minds, bodies and spirits to their very limits all in the name of survival, and over time, the idea of survival had become ingrained in our very beings. It became second nature to the thestrals living out in these forsaken wastes."

"Elder Dusk speaks the truth," Fallen Snow added, "we understand your concerns, and there are even a few that would agree with you, but whether you accept it or not, survival has become central to our way of life and nothing you or anyone else can say will change that, and as for the supposed lack of magic on our part..."

Both Twilight and Starlight looked on in bewilderment as Fallen Snow's cerulean eyes blazed to life with an arcane light. The air around her seemed to shift and a cool white mist enveloped her withered frame. The fillies watched the old thestral mare warily, not sure if they should be scared or amazed at the display.

Then the temperature dropped like a rock and the fillies gasped from the shock of it. They looked around, wide eyed and shivering as a gentle snow began to fall from seemingly nowhere. Starlight looked up, but found no visible source of the snowfall. Twilight knew better and was staring at Fallen Snow. Her mouth would've dropped open had her teeth not been chattering uncontrollably.

"Y-You... can use Elemental M-Magic?" she asked in a stunned whisper, "but... h-how?"

Fallen Snow smiled as the ethereal glow faded from her eyes. To Starlight's relief, the snow stopped and the temperature returned to normal, as though the weather had never changed.

"We thestrals have a rather interesting ancestry," Fallen Snow replied, her smile growing mysterious, "thanks to that, and the ancient blessing of Nightmare Moon, a rare few of us can tap into powerful Ice Magic. Well, I say powerful, but our abilities are nowhere near as powerful as they once were so long ago."

"Innate Ice Magic," Twilight muttered in disbelief, her eyes shining with awe and curiosity, "that's... that's amazing! Who else can do it? How rare is it? Who were your ancestors and what does Nightmare Moon have to do with—"

"Twilight!" Starlight snapped. She grabbed the other filly's face in her hooves and twisted it around so that they were looking at each other, "Twilight... focus. Yeah, they can use Ice Magic, yeah that's super neat, but I. Want. To. Leave."

"But—"

"No, Twilight, they said we were free to go, so we're leaving... now," Starlight let go of Twilight and rounded on the Elders, "we can leave now, right?"

"Of course," Jade replied with a nod towards the entrance behind the two fillies, "just as ordered, we'll have the gaurds escort you out."

The clop of hooves nearby caused the two fillies to turn in alarm. Coming up behind them were two unfamiliar thestrals clad in onyx armor that covered most of their body and some of their face. The pair consisted of a short, but lithe thestral mare with cold grey eyes and a jet black coat and a large, muscular grey thestral stallion with pale magenta eyes and an unpleasant smirk. Their helmets covered their manes and a cloak draped over their armor covered their tail, making it impossible to tell the color.

"Well, it looks like you got to keep your horn after all, eh, filly?" the large stallion joked, "not only that, but you get to waltz out of here scot free. Talk about lucky."

He laughed a grating laugh and both fillies recognized the voice as that of the stallion who'd assaulted them back in Starlight Cave. With that in mind, they deduced that the mare standing a little ways behind must've been the other guard who'd been with him at the time.

"Can it, Iron," the mare hissed, jabbing the stallion in the side with a hoof, "we're in the presence of the Council. Show some respect, would you?"

"Right, right," the stallion replied, bowing his head towards the Elders, "beg your pardon, meant no offense and all that."

"Ugh," the mare groaned, shaking her head and bowing along with the stallion, "forgive this idiot, Elders, he's... well... he wasn't exactly raised in a cultured household."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" the stallion grumbled under his breath.

"Never mind that," Dying Flame replied, "as you've heard, you are to take these younglings back to the surface and lead them as far as the main hall without delay. You have your orders, I expect you to carry them out. Dismissed."

The two guards bowed low once more before turning to Twilight and Starlight.

"Well, you heard the Elder," the stallion said, smirking at the two, "time to shove off, fillies."

"Hold a moment," Dusk exclaimed. The smoky eyed thestral turned to Dying Flame, "Elder Dying Flame, if you'll permit me, I have a proposition regarding your grandson."

Dying Flame, along with a curious Twilight and an irritated Starlight, looked at Dusk expectantly.

"Oh?" the large thestral replied with an intrigued raise of his brow, "and just what sort of proposition did you have in mind, Elder Dusk?"  

Dusk smiled back at Twilight and Starlight. It was an odd, mischievous sort of smile that was horribly at odds with the old thestral's wrinkled features.


"I propose... that young Firebrand accompany these foals to the surface."