Episode 65 – The Trouble with Mares
A feeling of eeriness surrounded me. My coat was immediately chilled to the bone. I almost didn't want to wake up because it was so cold, but curiosity won the battle for that one. I opened my eyes and, without moving my head, looked around. I grew frightened at what I saw. Every single little area was empty. There was no pony around. And it wasn't just a peaceful night. There was fog everywhere. But it was more of a…darkness…that slowly crept around me. I was becoming really afraid. I was all alone…
I immediately noticed Twilight's home right in front of me. It was so cold that I really wanted to run inside. I placed my forelegs in front of me and pushed myself up. I began walking towards the tree.
Please, Twilight… Please be inside…
Once I felt my legs were just about to go numb, I quickly pushed myself inside and shut the door behind me. I released a breath, and in doing so, was able to see my breath in front of me, due to the temperature. It was not as cold as outside, but still a little chilly. I looked around and rubbed my hoof on my other leg to produce some kind of warmth.
While shaking lightly, I continued my way to the middle of the library.
"Twilight?" I called. The library was just so fearfully dark and empty. So cold…
I actually felt like…crying…because there was just…no pony around me…not one of the girls… It was like a nightmare…but much worse…
"Spike…Twilight…" I called once again, feeling absolutely horrible to have no pony by my side.
In somewhat slim hopes, I headed towards the stairs that maybe I would find her there.
Alas, once I quickly darted my eyes towards the bed, she wasn't. I sighed gloomily.
However, there was one thing that caught my attention. The object was too dark to see clearly, but it appeared to be very familiar. When I walked towards it, I was able to see it with whatever light I had. It was Twilight's good luck charm that she gave me…
What's this doing over here? It's supposed to be back home…
Nonetheless, that wasn't all. Below the charm was a scrapbook. The same scrapbook I bought Twilight for her birthday. I placed the good luck charm on me and opened the scrapbook with my magic. I flipped through all the pages. They were all empty.
What…? I'd think they'd be filled by now…
At the very last page, there was a letter in it. Growing awfully interested in it, I picked it up and observed it. There was only writing on the first page. With nothing else to do, I decided to read what was on it.
I narrowed my eyes and began reading out loud.
"With family love,
You shall succeed.
As of right now,
You will only bleed."
Muttering that in the dreaded silence instilled much more fear into me. It felt as if…somepony was just there…watching me.
I suddenly heard a loud noise downstairs, causing me to quickly turn around. A light revealed itself, initiating me to go check it. I quickly flew down the stairs and stopped when I noticed something completely different about the door. The door was now shining brightly as if somepony had placed magic on it.
I gasped, desperately hoping it was Twilight.
"Twilight?" I called again, flying towards the door and opening it.
Instead, the door led an ambush of an immensely bright beams of light to attack my face. I shielded my eyes with my hoof until it reverted back to darkness. The door changed to a different look. I observed my surroundings and found out that everything had changed. Even the good luck charm I placed on wasn't there anymore… The place looked to be familiar, but all the windows were barred shut by wooden planks, allowing only a little light to seep through. Dust particles floated around the airspace.
Immediately after spotting pony dress forms, which were actually very disturbing and creepy in my situation, I realized I was in Rarity's boutique. Feeling fear beginning to make me panic, I desperately looked around. "Rarity, please tell me you're here!" My hooves began trembling and I was slowly breathing heavily in a quiet voice. No pony answered my call. "Rarity please…" I pleaded, walking towards the stairs towards her room.
Inside her bedroom where she studied the most, I quickly looked all over for her, but I couldn't find her at all. "Rarity…" It was to my surprise, when I turned to the window, to see more of those completely disturbing pony forms staring at me again. I quickly turned around so I wouldn't have to look at them, but it still felt as if they were all living things that were only watching my every movement.
My heart jumped when I saw something in the bed sheets of Rarity's bed.
"Rarity?" I quickly called, desperately so wishing it was her, despite the extremely low chances.
I ran towards the bed and quickly removed the colors to only see a dark gem with a paper beneath it. I lightly growled and punched the bed with my hoof. Nevertheless, I placed my hoof on the gem and picked it up. It was the same gem Rarity gave to me after I rescued her from those Diamond Dogs!
I released another chilly breath, continuing to see it appear before my eyes. I used my magic to pick up the letter on her bed and began to try to read it.
"With a heart so beautiful,
She completely adores,
That which will only perish
Upon the shores…"
Why is this happening to me…?
Another loud cacophony sounded from the front of the building. Without hesitation, I ran towards where the sound originated to only see the door glowing bright again. Feeling anger evolve inside me, I pulled the door open to be covered by an immense light once again.
After covering my eyes, I cleared them to only notice that I was in a not so recognizable place. However, it was still familiar. The front door was behind me. I turned around and opened it, only to realize that the house was off the ground. I tried walking out, but I couldn't for some reason. It was as if an invisible barrier was preventing me to do so.
I sighed and turned around to observe the area I was in. Everything seemed fluffy…
I stumbled upon a room. Analyzing inside for a moment, I spotted a bed and some windows nearby. There was each a nightstand on the side. The most interesting thing that caught my eye was the huge rainbow in the middle of the bed sheet.
This is definitely Rainbow Dash's house!
On the nightstand right to her bed, I saw that same rainbow-colored whistle she gave me. Dashing to it, I quickly grabbed it and placed it to my lips. I took a heavy breath and blew strongly into the whistle. Perking my left ear up, I was so urgently hoping that Rainbow Dash would come flying in the room to help me and keep me company, but after waiting for a while…nopony came…
I blew the whistle again with a lot less strength this time and didn't see anypony come inside. Instead of drawing out a sigh, I used that breath to weakly blow the whistle. I let myself fall onto a seated motion and stared at the floor sadly, feeling the whistle drop from my lips.
A piece of paper suddenly blew my way, sending a wind of freezing temperature through me. I shivered greatly for a moment and grabbed the paper, wrapping my body with my own hooves and wishing that somepony would be here to keep me up.
Keeping my eyes on the paper, I read what I could see with the few lines on it.
"With wings so bright,
Soaring in the sky,
As the darkness falls,
She will only lie…"
No…
Another bright light emerged from the hallway.
Why?
I picked myself up and dragged myself towards the hallway, feeling my body become colder by the second.
Knowing what came next; I opened the door and allowed the light to pierce my eyes.
"Howdy, Alex!" I was immediately playfully tackled down by Applejack.
"Applejack?!" I beamingly exclaimed. However, she quickly disappeared like dust blowing into the wind. "what…?" I could only mutter softly.
…am I being played with on purpose…?
I began feeling sadness slip onto me as well. I lightly frowned and dragged myself more towards the places I needed to go. After that encounter with Applejack, I figured I was in her home.
Indeed, the theme of the walls and post decorations proved it to be. I was just…saddened to see no pony around them.
I walked up the stairs towards the rooms of Applejack and Applebloom, hanging my head down low.
"Applejack…? Applebloom…?" I called, directing at each of their rooms. On the other hoof, I had already learned that something was playing with my mind, and I knew they weren't going to come out… Even if they did, it would only be to hurt me more…
I sadly walked inside Applejack's room and sat on her empty and dark bed. I placed my hoof on the bed sheets and rubbed it among them a bit. I instantly began remembering the prank mainly Rainbow, Pinkie, and Applejack played on me…with Applejack pretending that I was married to her and even scaring me with a kiss…
I managed to chuckle and smile a little at the thought, but as soon as I entered back into reality with the darkness right in front of me, I shifted that smile back into a frown.
"Applejack…" I mumbled softly. "I could really use you right now…Just like when you spoke with me on the train ride home from Appleloosa…" I felt the need to spill some of my emotions out. "Where are you…? If I could just see you without my mind playing tricks on me…it'd help me enough to get through this nightmare…this…really real nightmare…"
I continued rubbing my hoof on the bed sheets until I felt a lump, which alarmed me. I slipped my hoof under the bed sheets and grabbed whatever was under there. When I pulled it out to observe it, it was a seed. Remembering back at my deep talk with Applejack, it was the same seed that she gave me…just not in the same condition…
In fact, it was in a horrible condition. The seed wasn't perked up and healthy looking. It was so…dried up and crushed.
As soon as I saw that, I felt tears begin their way to move out of my eyes. I immediately closed my eyes and strained them, feeling anger rise.
"Whatever this is, stop doing this to me!" I exclaimed.
But there was no pony to listen…so it utterly made it useless…
I felt so weak and allowed myself to fall back on the bed. However, there was a crunching noise. Once again, I felt it come from under the bed sheets and pulled it out. It was just another piece of paper. What is it going to say now…?
"With a strong platonic relationship,
She holds the truth in her eyes,
Only to see her friend fall,
Right before she even says goodbye…"
I allowed the paper to slip away and fall slowly back on the floor. I already sensed her front door awaiting my entrance. For a moment, I placed both my hooves to my forehead and shook it. Why is this haunting me…? Maybe if I just get it all over with, it'll all go away sooner? Then maybe I can finally be with the girls and just give each of them a great big hug to show them how much I've missed them? Yeah… This is all a bad dream… I just can't wake up right now… I just need to get this all over with. And then I'll finally be with those I love.
I hastily stood up and raced towards Applejack's front door so I could move onto the next stage.
I arrived in a dark and damp sweet shop; Sugarcube Corner… The only difference now was that there weren't any sweets or color. It was all obscure and hollow like the rest of the homes.
I received a big squeeze from behind me, startling me greatly.
"Where have you been, silly?" A mare asked.
I turned around to see Pinkie embracing me tightly.
"Pinkie!" I exclaimed. "Please tell me it's really you!"
"Who else can it be?" She asked.
Feeling my depression lower, I quickly wrapped my forelegs to return the huge squeeze, but it wasn't long before I discovered I was hugging myself. I realized this and growled. I wanted to scream and yell so loud, but it was too cold to do anything major. Continuing to shiver mildly, I walked towards Pinkie Pie's room and didn't see any sign of her, proving that it was just my mind playing tricks on me once again. Her room was completely bare.
Had her things not been occupying the space in the room, it would have appeared to be that she actually moved out. But it didn't matter. She still wasn't in the room and she still couldn't give me that loving and caring hug that I wanted so badly at the moment.
However, something caught my eye by her bed. At the nightstand, there was a candle…a candle on a cupcake. I slowly walked towards it and noticed it was a familiar cupcake. Feeling some warmth from the lit candle, I could also read the print there was.
I want YOU to smile! She pointed at me.
Pinkie…
Once again, that same annoying piece of paper was by the cupcake. Using the light from the candle, I was able to read the letter on the nightstand.
"With her joy so high,
Beaming with sweetness in her taste.
Now with gloom she shall face,
No longer filled with haste."
How long is this going to keep going…? I'm sick of it… Please… I just want to wake up and have the girls around me…
Wanting to get this nightmare over already, I headed towards the front door to the sweet shop. I just wanted to find whatever these letters were and go to the front door so hopefully I could wake soon.
After walking through the door to light, I was now in a completely different atmosphere. I looked around me to not see Ponyville anymore. Instead…there were so many crystals. The Crystal Empire… I was in front of the castle.
"Alex? Do you mind giving me a hoof up here?" I heard Miss Cadence's voice from the top of the castle.
"Miss Cadence…?" I questioned, but I quickly stopped myself. "No…it's just another trick your mind wants to play with you…but…" I grunted in frustration and ran towards the top of the steps. "Miss Cadence?" I quickly called in a cold breath, looking around where I heard the sound from. However, to my miserable expectations, there was no pony around here. "…Miss Cadence…? Shining Armor…?" Nopony answered. I punched the floor with my hoof. "I can't believe it… You're being a puppet to your own self…"
I was startled when something was thrown towards me. It landed firmly in front of my hooves on the ground and slowly slid to touch them. I looked down to be surprised. It was the Crystal Heart. I raised my hoof and slowly inched it towards the Crystal Heart. As soon as I placed my tip on it, it immediately shattered into pieces, frightening and causing me to gasp.
It appeared that inside the heart, there was once again that same piece of paper, but with different words.
"Let's just get this over with…" I muttered and picked up the piece of paper with my magic.
"With teachings so lively,
She greats with a friendly smile,
But once she hears the news,
It will only be a while…"
I threw the paper towards the floor. "What's all this supposed to mean?!" I exclaimed, hearing my voice strongly echo through the empty halls.
However, as I was expecting for some door to glow from light to step through, the Crystal Heart formed a heart of light instead. Gazing at the formation of the heart, I felt my hoof lift to touch it by itself. Once the tip of my hoof was through, I was blinded by light everywhere.
Hush now, quiet now
It's time to lay your sleepy head.
Hush now quiet now
It's time to go to bed…
I gasped lightly. I opened my eyes to see I was in Fluttershy's cottage.
Once again, there was nothing alive inside. The animals and critters were all gone. I could only hear the wind whistle loudly outside. Joining the vast chills, rain, thunder, and lightning appeared outside. I walked towards the window to gain a brief moment of deja vu.
I remember looking out the window just like this…but there's something missing…
Alex, you don't know how happy I am to hear you say that.
I placed my hooves on my head and closed my eyes.
Why are you doing this to me? Now you're playing these voices in my head as well?!
I opened my eyes and placed my hooves back on the ground.
I have to get through this as soon as possible! I'm tired of all of this! After I'm through with all this, I never want to sleep again!
I flew up the stairs and looked around. On the nightstand by her bed was another lit candle. This time, it was by a heart. It was the heart she gave me on the night of our first date… I picked it up, feeling the texture of the twigs she weaved on the outside. I lowered my eyes sadly and held the heart close to my chest, missing her so much. After some time, I felt it crumble on my hoof. I looked at the heart which was now just…separated… All the twigs were falling to the ground, losing the structure of the heart and causing it to become just a pile of twigs, leaves, and other lovely materials.
I could only stare at the pile, feeling so horrible. I almost fell to the floor, keeping my hooves on the floor in front of me. I noticed something sticking out from the pile. I quickly grabbed it with my magic to notice it was a letter. Following my determination to end this, I quickly began reading through, no matter how much horror entered into me by the disturbing words on the paper.
"With love so strong,
She will desperately long,
The bold stallion she wishes a future,
Who will only remain a creature."
No…just stop…stop…
This time, the bright light appeared in the middle of my chest. It was coming from my heart.
Without any voluntary action, it automatically transported me somewhere else while it covered my entire vision with light. As soon as I was able to see again, I noticed that I was now in my home. The coldness grew colder. The rain fell harder. The lightning became brighter. And the thunder boomed louder.
My voice quivered a bit. I was now breathing heavier while remaining quiet. My breath was shaking as if I could hardly breathe. I was even shocked to see all the photo frames empty…not holding those pictures with the girls that should be there… I walked up the stairs, feeling as if the end had to finally be near.
In both expectancy and surprise, I noticed that all of the girls' gifts to me were gone when I arrived in my room. They were no longer on the shelf, leaving it mostly bare. I sighed after seeing this sight, feeling already almost out of energy. I walked gloomily towards my bed while continuing to shake. I placed myself under the covers and tried just to hope to wake up somehow. No matter how tightly I wrapped the blankets around me, I continued to feel the icy touch linger on me.
I opened my eyes as I received no progress in making any progress whatsoever. There, I saw what would hopefully be the final note on the side of my bed. I sat upwards on my bed, continuing to rub my body to produce some kind of warmth. I picked up the note and read it, preparing for this entire nightmare to end.
"The truth you will find,
That which will bind,
For now you see,
That darkness is eternity."
I immediately felt sleepy and began falling to my back on the bed. My eyes closed on their own and I couldn't describe what happened to me next.
Finally, I opened my eyes, hoping that the girls would be right there in front of me to comfort me. But I was wrong. I appeared to be outside, beginning to be drenched with the rain. Thunder boomed in the sky above me, but fortunately not too loud. I looked back to see that I was, what appeared to be, on the outskirts of Ponyville. My eyes scanned around to spot that I was near the dangerous and steep cliffs. I pushed myself up and walked over to the edge of one. There was usually supposed to be the ocean, but I gasped and walked back when all I saw was darkness. It appeared as if you accidentally fell, you would never reach your end…and in speaking of dreams…you'd never wake up…
"This appears to be a perfect spot to place my new castle, don't you think?" I heard a dark voice ask, almost having that disturbing raspy tone in it. I turned my head to notice a larger pony looking out towards the ocean of dark fog. His coat was completely black. He wore armor on his legs and flanks. There was also a sharp helmet on his head. From what I could see, there seemed to be both a horn on his head and wings on his body. I was shocked. His mane also shot out from his back. His tail was long and rested on the floor. The colors of these strands of hair were too dark to see clearly. "Yes…perfect indeed."
"…who are you?" I asked.
"Once again, you don't remember me?" He tilted his head towards my way, becoming briefly familiar.
"I…" I gasped after analyzing his face for a moment. "You… Are you that same pony I saw when I was on the moon in a dream or something…?"
"Perhaps." He answered. "Who else could it be?"
"Then…" I clenched my teeth and growled. "Are you the one who's doing all this?!" I pointed around me.
"Well…I am the only stallion here besides you, aren't I?" He returned, beginning to anger me with his "smart talk".
"Leave me alone! Change everything back! Stop plaguing me with whatever you're doing! Just go away!" I ordered.
He chuckled. "Oh, I'm sorry. I suppose I should leave just because you told me to. No, I don't think so. Thinking how I actually own this place, I believe I'll stay and create my new castle right here." I growled and charged towards him, but as soon as I reached him, he merely used his magic to push me to the side and cause me to fall on the ground, scraping myself. "Come on. You're going to have to do much better than that." I began trying to push myself up. He walked towards me and lowered his head to my ear. "Take this in. I'm. Not. Leaving."
"Then…" I responded as I pushed myself back up. "I'll just have to make you leave!"
"Oh,ho,ho." He slightly laughed. "You really think you can do that?"
"I don't care. I just want you out of my life this instant."
"Hm…" He grinned. "I don't think you can be rid of me so easily."
As he stared at me with a smug look on his face, I began to feel the anger rise inside of me. He was provoking me to attack, and I couldn't help but fall victim to his trap. I immediately created a glow on my horn and tried to attack him with magic, but he easily deflected it. I attempted to attack him once again, but he blocked it and forcefully threw me to the ground. I continued staring at him while I slowly got back on my hooves.
"Come on. I know you can do better than that." He told me. "Here, why don't I start?" He then produced a glow on his horn.
Whatever it was began to shoot out towards me. I quickly jumped to the side and kicked him at the side of his face.
His head was only slightly thrown to the side. Nonetheless, he revealed no sign of pain, just evil laughter. "Impressive. Perhaps you will make me proud."
"What…?" I questioned, beginning to become confused by his statements.
"If you really want to hurt me, then you must release and use your anger and hatred." He offered.
I scoffed. "Anger and hatred only lead to blind strength. If you can't see what you're hitting, then a pony who really knows how to fight can easily win."
"Haha. Yes, perhaps. It seems you're not gullible either."
"What's with this talk of me with you?! Why are you analyzing me like I'm some kind of trophy? What do you want with me?!" I demanded.
"Hm." He smirked and pointed his horn towards me.
I dodged his magical attack, initiating him to continue on further instead of stopping this time. After ducking and avoiding a series of his attacks, I attempted to try to hit him, but he would only block or deflect all my attacks. If any of my attacks actually hit him, they only grazed him lightly. He pointed his horn at me again. This time, I tried going for his chest to move on to his face, but he suddenly grabbed a hold of me and threw me towards the ground.
I landed on my back. Before I could try to get up, he already had his horn in front of me.
"Give it up. To think you even stand a chance is foolish." He spoke. "It is useless to resist defeat and for what you really are."
"…you don't know who I am!" I exclaimed and kicked him with my back left leg. It only moved him back slightly, but it gave me enough time to surprisingly teleport some distance away from him and be back on my hooves.
Seeing how I wasn't so close to him, he began firing shots towards me with his horn. I created a blue transparent shield in front of me, negating his attacks. He stopped firing for a moment, leading me to shoot a beam towards him. It landed on his shoulder. He pulled back and placed a hoof to his shoulder as if it actually somewhat hurt him, but he didn't release a cry of pain. He looked towards me and shook his head emotionlessly. He readied his horn again. I quickly placed the shield in front of me, but once he released that dark beam from his horn, it broke through my shield and stopped when landing at my chest. I grunted and was thrown back towards the ground again. This time, I was stunned as I was placing my hoof to my chest. I then clenched it as something felt completely off in my heart.
He began slowly walking towards me again, placing his evil smile on his face. Once he was in front of me, he looked at me for a while. "There is no escape. I can destroy you in an instant. Just like that." I lightly shook my head and began trying to crawl away from him as I could not stand back up. "Alexander, you do not know what importance you hold. There is so much power inside of you that could really help you fulfill your destiny."
"Guh…" I grunted. "How do you know my name?! Who are you?!"
"If you join me by my side, you shall know everything." He tried to persuade me as I attempted to stay back. "I will teach you everything you need to know. You will become so powerful. Perhaps even more powerful than me! We can end this conflict between us and rebuild our relationship."
"…what?" I inquired and then shook my head in determination. "What makes you think I'll ever help the likes of you? I don't stand by evil!"
He chuckled and shook his head as well. "If you only knew…"
Something suddenly glowed at his neck, allowing me to clearly see it. Wait…is this…
"The Alicorn Amulet…"I muttered softly but loud enough for him to hear. "You have it?!"
"Yes." He smiled and observed it, placing a hoof on it. "I must thank you for retrieving it for me. It was quite nice of you indeed. It's been so long since I've last parted with it…"
"What? I didn't place my hooves anywhere near it! How did you get it?!"
"Indeed you did. Remember how you had those 'sleeping walking episodes'?" He asked, surprising me.
I lightly gasped. "How do you know that?!"
"How do I know that?" He repeated the question. "I have watched you all your life. From the day you were born to now. I've seen how those girls you call friends lifted your spirits from the bottom of the depths where they were." I could only shake my head, unable to share anything else. "I'm surprised. I'm sure you've seen me a few times before… Anyways, moving back to your other question, I have to say that it was no 'sleep walking' at all. It was you. The darkness inside you that wants to be released. All you have to do is allow it." The pinch in my heart increased, causing me to strain my closed eyes. "Allow it, Alexander. Allow it to consume and control you. Then, we both can work together and become so more powerful than the Princesses combined."
"Shut up…" I managed to spit out.
"Oh, isn't that disrespectful."
"You don't deserve any respect!"
He chuckled. "It seems Luna still hasn't told you, has she?"
"What are you talking about…?" I asked him, continuing to glare as I clenched my chest.
"It seems I have to take matters onto my hooves now…" He spoke softly. I remained silent as he turned his head towards me. "Alexander… I am your father."
His answer struck me. It stunned me so badly that I couldn't think or talk for a few seconds. It wasn't just his statement. It was the fact that my mother had told me that I wasn't really a part of her family. All this was scaring me. I didn't want to believe it. I couldn't believe it. No. It was all a lie!
"No…" I shook my head. "Stop feeding me lies! That's impossible! I would never have a father like you! I already have one that's bad enough!"
He sighed. "I can see you are in such great denial. This is why you must accept the darkness. Accept it, and you will never feel pain like this again… Alexander…rule by my side. We can both control the dream realm as father and son." He held out his hoof.
I began feeling myself lose control of my body. The darkness that was surrounding my heart was now winning. I felt my hoof raise towards his without control of mine whatsoever.
Before his and mine could touch, he was suddenly blasted to the side with another dark blue beam of magic. He was pushed back away a bit, but he still didn't offer any sign of pain.
"Alex!" I heard a voice cry.
I felt hooves land on the ground near me. I lightly looked towards the mare by me, not feeling so well anymore. I would have been jumping with joy, but at the certain state I was, I couldn't. "Luna…?" I asked.
"Alex, are you alright?" She asked, placing her hooves on me.
"…how…how did you find me?" I questioned.
"Oh, Alex. Twilight Sparkle called me and required my urgent presence for you. She told me what happened and when I saw you, I realized you had entered the dream realm. Alex, you're not just dreaming, this is much worse."
"…huh…?"
The stallion trying to persuade me laughed. "Oh Luna, you make me laugh so much. It seems that 'Nightmare Moon' had corrupted you enough for you to forget every little detail."
"I remember you, Night Terror…" Luna answered.
I widened my eyes as much as I could. Night Terror? The Night Terror from Applejack's story? He's real?!
"Of course you would. You'd never forget about me. But I'm talking about him." He pointed towards me.
"What are you talking about?" Luna inquired. "He has nothing to do with us!"
"He does indeed." He returned. "Remember your meddling sister that visited the moon every several years to check up on you? Despite the fact that you completely turned against her? Remember how she helped you do what you needed to do for the future of one little foal? By abandoning him and leaving him all alone in Fillydelphia? It was a good thing you gave me some of your corrupted power, my dear Luna. Had you not, I would have never been able to find my way back into the lands of Equestria while you and your imbecile sister were ridding of Alexander. I actually did the sensible thing and watched him for you because you wanted nothing to do with him."
"I…what…?" Luna was speechless.
"You know what you did, Luna." He added. "You know…"
Luna placed her hooves on her head. She appeared to have such a hard time trying to remember such things. I remained lying on the ground with my hoof to my heart, unable to accept any information as I began panting hard. Luna suddenly gasped. "…are you saying that foal was…?"
"No, I'm saying it was that dreaded and annoying Discord." He answered sarcastically.
Once I was finally able to interpret these messages, I looked towards Luna, expressing little of what was really going on inside me. "Luna…he's lying, right? None of that stuff makes sense… None of it."
She remained silent for a moment. "No…no…" Luna tried to remember and explain. "I loved him… I didn't want to leave him…but I had to… He needed a better home… My sister agreed…"
"Your sister doesn't know jack." He replied. "Just because she's some 'Princess' doesn't mean she knows what's best for what. She just didn't want every pony in Equestria to find another nephew in her name and you didn't want him at all as he would only be a burden."
"…Luna…?" I asked her, unable to take anything in. I wanted her to explain what was going on to me.
After Luna's silence, Night Terror began speaking again. "Enough of this." He boldly stated. "You must accept the punishment for your bad deeds. I'm taking Alexander under my wings and I'll become a real father to him, unlike his mother!"
He focused his attention towards me and all of a sudden, I felt him controlling my heart. I closed my eyes and clenched my chest. I tried fighting it but it was too powerful. I could feel all that darkness begin to take control of me. I slightly opened an eye to see my whole body turning black as wisps of obscurity surrounded me.
"Alex!" Luna exclaimed.
"Come now, my son! We shall rule together!"
Shadow covered my eyes, and I was unable to do anything anymore.
Luna
In my eyes, I could see Alex slowly taking steps towards him.
"That's it, Alex! Come to your father!" He spoke proudly,
"No!" I quickly flew over to Alex and grabbed him with my hooves.
I desperately needed to get him away from Night Terror. I looked back to see his result of Ponyville behind us. It was the only place to go hide.
Flapping my wings strongly, I commenced my departure towards the town as Alex struggled in my hooves. I placed him on my back with my magic and held on to him tightly.
"You can run, my dear. But you can't hide!" I heard his voice boom behind me.
I didn't pay any attention to his statement. I had to get Alex away from him if I had any chance to free him from his imprisonment!
I searched dreadfully for a place to help Alex in the deserted and obscure Ponyville. I managed to come across a narrow street between tall buildings. I realized I did not have much time for in fact, if allowed, it may become completely permanent. I lightly settled him down in the middle of the street. As soon as he was on the ground, he waved his forelegs frantically to return to Night Terror. I had to hold him down with my magic to prevent him from doing so.
"Just be patient, Alex… I'll get you back to normal… Don't worry… I'll protect you…" I placed myself over him and lowered my horn towards him. I began allowing the magic from my horn to touch him in attempts to heal him before the corruption planted itself permanently inside him. The longer I stayed on him to heal him, the more he struggled to remove my magic from him. I could certainly tell he received pain due to this and the fact that he wasn't even in control caused him to want to remove himself and follow Night Terror. "Please be still…" I pleaded softly, continuing to focus my magic.
Just as I felt I was about to temporarily remove his corruption, the darkness inside performed an explosion, throwing me so forcefully off from him and hurtling me towards the ground. Having hit my head on the ground with enough force, I lost conscious by him.
Alex
I began waking from a daze. I felt in total control now. My vision being blurry for a moment, I looked around and saw her with me in what appeared to be in the middle of nowhere. I noticed her, sadly. I sighed.
"Sorry, Luna…" I apologized to her unconscious face, knowing that it was my complete fault. Something I had noticed was that I was completely drained of energy, as if the corruption and transformation just depleted everything I had. I did have some energy to perform small movements, but I was a little weak. I grunted and groaned in pain as I moved my hooves to push myself up from the ground. I was a little sore as well. When I was fully up, I looked at her again, but then something suddenly caught my attention. I quickly looked back forward, noticing a bright light in the distance headed this way. I placed my hoof in front of my face to try to analyze the object accurately. It wasn't a false alarm. I had to move. "Quick." I stated boldly, but weakly. I limped towards her and used what was left of my magic to help her. The dark blue aura surrounded her, allowing me to move her. I continued to grunt, attempting to use the rest of my strength to transport her away from danger's way.
I looked ahead, noticing the bright light coming closer, causing me to move quicker. As I did, I looked around, attempting to find a place to hide. I spotted a closed off alley behind me. Nonetheless, I struggled towards it in a charged motion, bursting through the light barricade. After the impact, I fell to the ground, due to the lack of strength, as well as causing me to accidentally drop Luna. She fell to the ground and released a groan. I released a weak breath and quickly rushed to her. I began slightly lifting her up with my forelegs, holding her in them. My ears perked, causing me to quickly look back to see the bright light. It was dead ahead of me. I began preparing my horn for any defensive attacks, no matter what the cost, as I continued to pant quietly. Fortunately the light seemed to look around for a moment and then vanished. I released a breath of relief and rested my horn. With Luna still in my forelegs, I looked back to see a passage through where we could escape and remain hidden.
Feeling my magical strength weaken, I decided to slowly erect my wings and wrap my right one around Luna.
"Come on… It's not over yet…" I spoke softly.
I began walking her through the passage, having some trouble with passing the barricades. I continued walking, reaching a small wooden ramp. I walked Luna to it, but at the end of the ramp, it collapsed, most likely due to our weight. This caused me to fall and accidentally release Luna's body from my wing. We both fell harshly to the ground as we both released a grunt of pain. Nonetheless, I managed to get on my legs and kneel by her, placing a hoof on her shoulder.
"I'll only slow you down…Just go…" She announced weakly, shaking her head and lying herself on the dirty floor.
I held out a hoof towards her. "You're not getting off that easily… Come on… You still have a whole lot of explaining to do…" She didn't reply, but instead weakly lifted her foreleg to touch mine. After, I gripped it, pulling her up from the floor and caressing her with my right wing again. I continued to slowly walk towards the door at the end. "After all we've been through…" I began as I continued to move. "It'd be a waste to give up now…" I reached the door but noticed an issue. It was barricaded with a wooden plank. I would've sighed, but I was too weak, and there was no time. Taking a risk, I readied my horn and concentrated on the plank. A dark blue aura formed around it. I took a moment, and then finally tried to pull the plank. It slightly formed cracks. I took a breath and tried pulling it off again. More cracks formed, and it looked as it was about to come off. I took another breath and gave one last pull. It broke off, causing me to throw it to the side and rest my horn. I raised my left hoof and pushed the door open.
It led me into a hall with an opening to the left. I saw a small light appear on the floor, causing me to quickly hug the wall and look around the corner. He was still there, continuing his possibly desperate search to find us. I waited until he finally left. Then, I continued walking Luna through the room.
"Let's try this way…" I released, continuing to hold Luna as I walked her through. As I did, I looked around, noticing how completely quiet and empty it was. I shook my head, refusing to allow any distractions disrupt us. "We're almost through this…"
When we stumbled through a hallway, Luna fell weakly to her knees, causing me to stop and hold a hoof on her back. I sighed and looked around. "Let's take a break…" We seemed to be safe for now…
I assisted Luna in placing her against the wall, allowing her to sit and rest. I moved next to her, forcefully planting myself in a seating manner against the wall as well, due to the lack of strength to do it slowly. I looked towards the ceiling. It was silent for a moment. I thought about everything…on how it came so suddenly…
"So…" I began. "Is it true…? Is he really…?"
"Yes…" Luna responded. "Unfortunately…it is…"
I sighed and looked towards the ground, shaking my head. "I just can't believe it… Why…? I had no idea about this…about any of this… It all seems like a nightmare to me really…" I looked towards her. "I respect and trust you Princess…but…I just can't seem to believe what he said…"
"I'm sorry, Alex… I did not know of it either… Tis quite shocking…" She looked at me. "But I just need thou to know that what thine did was the best for everypony…"
I didn't answer her for a moment. "…I suppose…"
Unexpectedly, my heart began racing. I placed a hoof to my heart and strained my eyes.
"Alex?" Princess Luna questioned.
I grunted. "Not again…" I could feel strands of darkness consume me. I tried to fight it. I shook my head and tried to push it away from me. After a while, I felt a relief of light flow through me. My heart resumed to its normal speed. I turned my head around and faced Luna.
She had just finished resting her horn and planted her head back against the wall. "Tis lucky it wasn't too late."
I released a deep breath of relief. I was still panting for several seconds. "Can't let your guard down for a second…" I grunted a few more times and crawled back next to Luna. I inhaled and exhaled for a few seconds, looking up towards the ceiling. Then, I turned to Luna. "How do you feel?"
"I think I'm going to be okay…" She thought for a moment and then faced me as well. "Thank you…" She added, most likely referring back to when I helped her through the whole mess…
I only nodded, my thoughts still battling with each other. I shook my head and stood up. "Come on…we still have a lot of work to do…" I held out my hoof.
She grabbed it and pulled herself up.
Afterwards, we began walking towards the exit.
When we were out of our hiding spot, we took notice on how the streets were completely deserted. All that remained was darkness and silence. This frightened me. I never thought I would see Ponyville like this…so empty of life…
"Dear Celestia…" I slipped out in a whisper.
"No time to waste, Alex." Luna looked towards me seriously. "We have to end this…"
I looked at her in silence for a moment. I nodded. "Right…"
We decided we needed to confront Night Terror in order to stop this and hopefully go back home in one piece, so we began our way to his castle which was already forming tall and proud in the exact spot near the cliffs. I walked almost slowly, still feeling fear surround my heart. My head bobbed slightly as I stared at the floor, noticing my hooves move in motion. To my left, I could feel Luna looking at me worriedly. It seemed as if she still wanted to talk about the situation, but we both knew there was no time for that.
Something suddenly stung my heart. I placed a hoof on my chest and then heard the sounds of small taps. I focused my eyes towards the ground and noticed a pebble bouncing rapidly on the floor. I motioned my facial expression to an alarmed and confused one and began hearing a sound that sounded like wind howling… It frightened me…
"Do you hear that…?" I asked Luna in a soft tone.
She nodded.
The noise grew louder, causing us to turn back. We noticed a huge wall of darkness that seemed to slightly grow larger as the noise grew louder. We analyzed it and found that it seemed to be hurtling towards us like an avalanche as it became nearer. I widened my eyes and held a hoof outstretched towards the other way. "Go… Go! RUN!"
We immediately began running in the opposite direction, away from the black wall of darkness that seemed to be slowly catching up to us with our current speed. We saw his castle not too far off. Believing we could make it, I sprinted faster. Letting my fears get the best of me, I tripped and landed on my stomach. Luna continued running until she noticed I wasn't by her side. She stopped, right in front of the doors. "Alex!" She exclaimed looking back towards me.
I tried crawling towards her, due to my leg being in pain, but I soon noticed that I wouldn't make it at that rate. Luna, without hesitation, quickly ran towards me, despite the wall of darkness gaining on me. When she was in front me, she picked me up and placed me on her back. She then sprinted and headed towards the doors to the castle. She barged it open and slammed it shut after charging inside. Once she knew we were safe, I rolled off her back and landed on the floor with a thud. We both were panting heavily.
After a short while of regaining our breath, I looked at Luna.
"…is that why you came back for me…?"
She shook her head. "Do not be silly. Anypony would have done the same…but I suppose it emphasizes it…"
I remained silent, looking at the floor, still in disbelief. I just couldn't believe it was true…
I slowly stood up and looked forward to two more double doors. I looked away for a moment, thinking. Then, I began walking.
When we reached the doors, I placed my hoof on them, but looked down in hesitation.
"What's wrong?" Luna asked.
I remained silent for a few seconds. "…I'm just scared, I guess…"
Luna placed a hoof on me. "I know how you feel…but everypony is counting on us…"
I sighed. "Okay…" I pushed my hoof forward, opening the door and hearing the eerie creak of the door open. We walked in, looking around and seeing the place completely empty. "Something doesn't feel right…" I slipped softly. I noticed the entire castle wasn't exactly finished. The exterior was done, but in the inside, there was a very large distance between the ceiling and us. There was still much more that needed to be added. We continued walking cautiously. After a while, I stopped, feeling my legs tremble in fear and my heartbeat pound.
"Alex…?" Luna inquired.
Suddenly, hooves pounded and shook the ground in front of us, catching our attention towards it.
It was him…
I furrowed my eyebrows in anger and readied my horn to attack.
"Back for more?"
He only stared at us with an evil smirk, clearly not intimidated at all. "King Sombra did a great job returning the favor after I freed him in the North. He was able to activate the potential darkness inside you, but I'd rather prefer making it stronger than it is now. Oh well." He shrugged. "It'll have to do."
I growled. "I'm not letting you take control of me… It's my life. Not yours!"
"Alexander…I'm doing this because I care for you as a father. It's what best for you, trust me."
"Best for me? More like best for you!" I exclaimed.
He clicked his tongue and shook his head. "Tch. Tch. Tch. Poor Alexander, still misguided by so many ponies." He looked towards Luna. "I know what you did, Luna. You clearly disobeyed me and took my own son away." He turned back towards me. "Don't you see, Alexander? She took you away so she wouldn't have to worry about you. She didn't want to bother taking care of you, so she dropped you off with parents who even went on to abuse you. How's that for a mother?"
"I know Luna…" I answered. "She's not like that…"
"But clearly you're calling her 'Luna'. You're not even sparing one 'mom'?" He brought up.
I remained silent.
"I know what I did, Night Terror." Princess Luna spoke. "And it wasn't for any of the reasons you've listed. I did what was best. I couldn't leave him with the likes of you… He needed to be protected."
"Ha." He laughed. "I could have easily taken him whenever I wanted, but proving as a good father, I allowed him to mature and wait until he's ready… Yes…waiting until the darkness inside him fully matures so he can realize that he belongs to me… It may have taken many years, but after I've finished with my plans, it'll all be worth it… Isn't that right, son?"
"I'm not your son!" I scolded. "And you're not my father!"
"You better watch that mouth of yours. It's very disrespectful to a father who only wanted the best for you." He answered, frowning in irritation.
"Shut up!" I returned, fuming over this talk about family. I had it! "I don't believe anyone, alright?! I've had enough of all this talk about family! I just want to go home and be done with this already!"
"You don't want me to lose my temper…" He added softly, presenting an angry expression underneath.
"You're no father of mine…" I continued. I shook my head, having enough of his lies. "I hope you have friends back on the moon…because no one's going to miss you here…"
The Alicorn Amulet on his neck began glowing very brightly. He finally released his anger slowly. "Why you ungrateful whelp… Here I am trying to help you and you're going to disrespect me? You don't realize…" Strands of his dark power began to suddenly evolve around him. "…how you are…" Using the Alicorn Amulet, he increased the power and his form began to change, surprising both Luna and me. "in…so…much…" Darkness wrapped around him, covering his entire body and creating something much more significantly larger. "TROUBLE!" He shouted in a distorted voice.
Luna and I both gasped to see that with his power combined with the Alicorn Amulet, it created a form so much more tremendous than us. Using his dark power, he actually formed himself into somewhat a dark dragon! The size of the dragon was about the same size of the dragon that brought smoke upon Ponyville or the one that attacked Spike when he ran away!
I could only widen my eyes at this in shock. He inhaled a heavy breath and released it all out as a roar. This roar was so loud that it instantly brought pain among our ears. Luna and I released both a painful groan while holding our hooves to our ears.
Once we recovered, Luna was in terrible shock as well. "He's…He's…"
I sighed. "Great…"
"Come here you piece of scum!" He shouted, continuing to use the distorted voice. He immediately began pounding his claws towards me. He raised his other claw and tried to swoop it across me, causing me to quickly duck before he could grab ahold of me.
"That Alicorn Amulet!" Luna pointed out in exclaim. "We have to get it off him if he is to revert back!"
"What? I can't even see it!" I returned.
Nonetheless, Night Terror quickly took action and began chasing me. I had no choice but to run, considering I had nothing that could possibly do any damage. I continued sprinting away from him, feeling the pounding of his claws grow closer. However, he stopped suddenly, causing me to cease my motion and look back. I saw Luna on his back, attempting to remove one of his scales. It must have been really difficult as she struggled so much to do so. Night Terror on the other hoof was trying to reach his claws back at Luna.
"What are you doing?! Get off me; I'm trying to teach a valuable lesson to our son!" He commanded. Just as he had her claw right next to Luna, she tore off the scale from his back with her magic. Night Terror released an actual roar of pain. Afterwards, he was severely close to grabbing Luna. She was forced to throw the scale to the side and fly off. As she did so, I noticed a red glow coming from underneath the scales. "Grraggh! You want to suffer with him as well, Luna?! Then you shall!" He yelled and began chasing after her.
"Hurry, Alex!" Luna yelled from across the interior of the castle.
As he began chasing her, having her dodge each of his swipes and pounding with his claws, I focused my attention toward the scale Luna dropped. I ran towards it and picked it up with my magic. I spread out my wings and began cutting across towards Night Terror to cause some damage. As soon as I reached him, he was too busy trying to reach Luna. I landed on him, causing him to stop and soon enough try to get me off as well.
However, I raised the scale and forcefully thrusted into where the red glow was at. He roared out once again as I attempted to also use the scale as leverage in order to remove the other scales. The scale in front began coming out slowly. It felt like removing a certain piece of fabric that was stitched onto another securely.
I released a loud grunt and finally removed the other scale, having it being thrown towards the floor. Night Terror growled loudly and immediately shook his entire body. I was forcefully thrown off his back, landing on the floor harshly. I groaned and tried to get up, but it was taking me a while as I had to deal with the pain.
"Alex!" Luna called, racing towards me to help me.
"You're all mine now!" Night Terror exclaimed and began storming our way towards us.
I felt my heart pound as if he was finally going to reach us. However, a lavender wall of magic suddenly blocked his way, causing him to hit against it and be thrown back, surprising him.
"Alex! Luna!" We heard a familiar voice. We turned back to see Twilight landing before us. "What the hay happened here…?" She asked, observing the huge problematic situation we were in.
"Twilight? How did you even—"
"Princess Celestia taught me! C'mon! We don't have much time!" She pointed towards her shield which was already breaking as Night Terror forcefully attacked it with his gigantic claws.
Princess Luna helped me up and began gesturing me to follow her and Twilight. They both began running. I had no idea what they wanted to do, but I started to follow nonetheless.
A loud boom and shatter of glass startled me. I saw Night Terror finish breaking off the shield. "Where do you think you're going?!" He began racing towards me. I quickly turned around and began sprinting as fast as I could to catch up with the others, but a blazing wall of flame appeared in front of me, stopping me in my tracks. "There's nowhere to run!" His dark flames weren't going anywhere. I had no choice but to run the other direction. "I've got you now!" Using his dragon tail, he pulled it back and swung it towards me. I quickly jumped and flew high enough to avoid being hit by it. Doing this allowed me to be away from him enough to where he had to chase me. "Ugh!" He groaned. "You imbecile! Come back here!"
"Alex!" I heard Twilight yell out, even though I had no idea where she was.
"I'm a little busy here!" I returned back, jumping once in a while to avoid Night Terror's stomping claws.
Soon enough, I began hearing beams of magic hitting against Night Terror, which seemed to be more than bothering him. Nonetheless, he avoided it like pests and continued chasing after me, not wanting to be distracted so he could finally catch up to me. However, he realized the magic was bothering him so much that he was slightly slowing down and couldn't catch up to me. He growled and suddenly lifted himself up in the air. Using his wings, he flew enough just to drop down right in front of me, startling me and causing me to slip and fall. He began opening his mouth to possibly throw fire at me. I was so shocked that I could barely do anything. Fortunately, I saw continuously lavender and dark blue beams of magic attack his face.
"Run!" Twilight announced.
I quickly got up as fast as I could and began running again.
This time, it seemed that Luna and Twilight had annoyed him enough. He turned his gigantic head towards them and began aiming his flames to be rid of them. Seeing this as an opportunity, I raced back and managed to pick up one of his scales along the way. I jumped onto his back and climbed hastily until I reached the part of his back with the red glow. I still needed to remove just at least two scales until I could fit my hoof and try to remove the Alicorn Amulet, so I raised the broken scale and struck it into him, interrupting his planned attack towards the girls. With the rising Adrenaline, I quickly used my magic to harshly peel his other scale off.
He released a loud roar of pain and whipped me off with his tail. I flew a bit in the air without my wings and felt my body landing painfully back on the floor. Princess Luna quickly attended to me while Twilight remained in the air with her wings.
"Alex…!" She expressed, placing her hooves on me to help me up.
She sacrificed a bit of her magical strength to heal me. I felt it easier to get up. As I did, Night Terror spotted us and released another deafening roar.
"I think he's pissed off…" I shared to Luna.
"Just stay focused, we've almost got him!" Luna returned.
Night Terror began stomping towards us, but Twilight immediately shot out beams of magic towards him. Seeming to have a very short temper, he quickly turned around to face Twilight, who continued to shoot beams of magic at him as she slowly maneuvered away from him. I heard him growl loudly. He raised his head and released large flames towards Twilight, causing her to yelp and quickly move away, almost burning her wings.
"Twilight!" I exclaimed. I immediately began running, picking up all his scales that I could find. Then, I finally jumped onto his and pierced him with every scale with a loud grunt of force. As he roared loudly, revealing the pain his received, I kept one scale to break off one last one so I could finally reach the Alicorn Amulet. Once I stuck the tip of the scale under the last one I needed, I flew above it and forcefully landed on the other end of scale, immediately flicking off the scale that needed to come off. Afterwards, I struck my hoof deep into that red glow and felt something tangible inside. I clenched it tightly with all my strength to pull it out. Almost as hard as pulling off one of his scales, I finally managed to take it out, causing him to release one last painful roar and fall to his side on the floor.
I fell off, holding the Alicorn Amulet. I felt a little pain when I hit the floor, accidentally releasing the Alicorn Amulet, but it wasn't as bad. As I grunted while pushing myself back up, I noticed Night Terror's form reverting back to normal.
I was panting heavily, trying to regain my breath as I only watched. All the darkness that had evolved now disappeared from him. He still remained the same way, but something about him was missing… He didn't have wings anymore. Did the Alicorn Amulet actually make him an Alicorn? Perhaps if known how to be used properly…there is so much more to gain from the amulet…
Nonetheless, he lay on his side, seeming to be unconscious either way. The walls of the castle seemed to be fading away, seeming to represent his defeat. Luna joined me by my side, spotting Night Terror as well. She wasn't as stunned and shocked as I was.
"Are you both alright?" Twilight asked us, landing before us.
"Y…yeah…" I answered, beginning to feel awful and depressed, despite the two ponies near me.
Twilight released a breath of relief and used her magic to grab the Alicorn Amulet. "So this is where it was, huh?" She moved it towards me, allowing me to receive it. "Here, hold on to this, I'm going to go tell Princess Celestia really quick on what's going on. She can probably send him back to the moon where he belongs." Afterwards, she flew away, possibly to cast a spell to get out of my apparent dream.
I looked around to notice how we were in the exact same spot as before. We were now outside as everything Night Terror had created disappeared as his power died. I picked up the Alicorn Amulet to my eyes and observed it for a moment. I growled softly and narrowed my eyes towards it. After, I immediately threw the stupid thing away from me, feeling so silently irritated.
"What's wrong…?" Luna asked, wanting to place a hoof on me.
I remained silent for a moment. "…nothing…" I turned away from her. "…I just need some time to myself…" I walked away from her towards the cliff. Once I reached the edge, I looked down. There were still some strands of darkness below, but after Night Terror is done with, it'd probably leave.
I continued staring at the depths of endless darkness, feeling just as empty as it was. So many things were going through my mind. So much to take in. I didn't know what to do… All I could do was…well…nothing…
I heard soft and gentle hoofsteps approaching by my side, but I didn't look back. I sighed quietly and continued staring at the abyss.
"I'm sorry…" I heard Luna softly apologize, slightly looking her way but not making contact with her eyes as I kept my head towards the ground. "That's all I can say… I'm sorry… I know it's all hard to take in…but… I've been a terrible mother… I had no idea the foal I had to give up was you, Alex… I just… I completely forgot… I know it sounds unbelievable but… I could only remember having to give up a foal back when I was at the moon…but I completely forgot how you looked like…even what your name was… No wonder your name felt so easily memorable afterwards..." She sighed. "It was all because of the corruption of 'Nightmare Moon'…almost the same thing you're going through… Listen… I'm just sorry I forgot. I'm sorry about everything… I needed to give you up because I couldn't let you be anywhere near that monster… As I was possessed with the darkness of Nightmare Moon, my sister so badly wanted to find a way to break the spell, but she couldn't… When she visited me in the moon after you were born…she found out what happened… We both discussed it for a while and realized that…you couldn't be with me. Even I was too dangerous for you… She allowed me to come back to Equestria only to leave you to another family. Of course…we didn't know of any perfect family for you and we wanted to keep you away from Canterlot, so Princess Celestia advised me that I should place you in Fillydelphia. I wrote a note and placed you inside a basket and covered you with a blanket Princess Celestia gave me for you. Then… I could only just…" She paused for a moment, seeming to struggle with her emotions. "…I…I had to put you down in front of some random home I had no idea about… After I did… I couldn't leave your side… I was crying so much…so much… I was biting my lips and everything… I just could not leave… But my sister insisted that we needed to leave before any pony found us. I could only nod while wiping the tears from my face, despite the rain. When I finally found the strength, I quickly knocked on the door and flew away with my sister to safety. I needed to go back to the moon, which saddened me even more because I knew I was going to be all alone once again…especially without you…but…" She shook her head as I felt tears fall to the ground. "It was for the best… I apologize for leaving with you with such an abusive family, Alex. I really am. I had no idea. Princess Celestia never even had a chance to have a good look at you because… I kept you wrapped around a blanket." She sniffled a bit. "For all it's worth… I'm sorry…"
I remained silent, too depressed to even ask the more questions in my mind. I could only ready myself to release my thoughts about this.
"I'm sorry too, Luna…" I presented, catching her attention. "But I can't believe it… I can't believe you…" She slightly widened her eyes. "This is…all too much…" I shook my head. "I mean… I really trust you, Princess… but… I just can't… Everyone expects me to believe everything I hear… I've had enough of it… I can't take it anymore… It's all too much… Why does everypony put so much weight on me? Just today, I've had to deal with my mom bringing me down with a story about how I was actually taken in. Just when I thought I had enough, I had to deal with everypony being everything but themselves. Fortunately, that's in the past now, but… now I have to deal with this? I can't… I mean… I know it all connects but… I just can't… I can't believe anything anymore… I'm sorry, Luna…"
Luna remained silent for a moment. She looked out towards another piece of the land on our lower right. "…I understand. Perhaps, it's just best if we forget everything… It was fine the way things were… I didn't mean to bring all this on you. I'm sorry. Just…forget everything…"
She looked away sadly.
I couldn't help but lift up my eyes to see her appear to be lonely once again.
"LUNAAA!" A voice suddenly screamed out.
Luna and I both gasped and looked back to see Night Terror there, huffing angrily as he wore the Alicorn Amulet around his neck. How stupid of me! I let my anger get ahold of me and make the biggest mistake ever!
"I thought we finished him?!" I asked Luna as he stared at us with revenge in his intentions.
"Well…just another reason to believe he's your father." She returned.
I answered with silence towards that comment.
"Alexander is not taking you away from me!" He exclaimed and shot out a beam that headed towards Luna.
I widened my eyes and quickly pushed Luna out of the way to be hit instead. The impact of this shot caused me to be thrown back towards the edge of the cliff and fall down. Realizing how I was growing closer to the darkness by the second, I quickly pressed my hooves towards the rocky texture of the cliff. I caught several rocks that were sticking out from the cliff, but they were extremely not reliable to be safe on. I began to try to flap my wings, but I immediately noticed they were missing. I looked at my sides to see they weren't there. Neither was my horn!
I was back to my Earth Pony form and I tried so desperately to shift back. I couldn't, not at all. Something in my heart was blocking me to do so! It must have been his magic!
"Alex!" I heard Luna's voice cry out.
"Forget him!" Night Terror answered. "Come, Luna. Why don't we just start over?"
I can't let him hurt Luna…
I began lifting my hooves from rock to rock in hopes to climb up. I was already tired enough and climbing things rocks caused me to be even more exhausted. However, I had to do this. I had to protect Luna…if I can reach her in time…
Suddenly, I felt wings flap loudly above me. As I continued to carefully climb up, I slightly looked back to see Luna and Night Terror on the piece of land to the left of me. It wasn't that safe to be on. The land was very narrow and contained cliffs on each side.
"Luna! Welcome back!" Night Terror announced as Luna seemed to try to distract him from me. "You've finally come back to me."
I couldn't tell if Luna was ignoring him or was responding too quietly to hear. Nonetheless, I continued releasing grunts in attempts to reach the top. Unfortunately, it was… a while long…
Ugh… I don't know if I can last this long… My forelegs are already shaking and they almost feel like giving out…
"You and I… We're destined to be together." Night Terror continued to say.
Fortunately, I spotted a piece of land that was attached towards the cliff. It wasn't big at all, but it seemed large enough to allow me to rest for a while. I continued climbing, focusing on the area.
"You're mine! Every inch of you belongs to me!"
He began becoming really obsessive… What is wrong with him…? He's starting to frighten me… I have to get to Luna as quick as possible…
"Give in to your feelings! You can't live without me!"
Once I reached the piece, I quickly but sorely placed my hoof on there. I gave one last strain on my muscles to pull myself up. When I was finally sitting on the piece, I panted greatly. As I did, I looked out to where Luna was. That's when I widened my eyes. Night Terror used the Alicorn Amulet to shift again! Only this time, it was a wolf! His form contained the structure more of a timberwolf. He continuously tried to seize Luna, but she made every move to dodge his attacks.
"You were to be at my side, when I sat on my throne! You are the one! My beautiful pony!"
I continued regaining my breath as I sat there helplessly. I would be a lot more of use if I could get my form back!
"I want you by my side! Come to me, Luna!"
Even while in his shadowy wolf form, he was able to somehow use magic as well. He fired out a shadow bolt, but it headed in the wrong direction, straight towards me. I widened my eyes and felt the bolt impact the piece I was resting on. It immediately began breaking off from the cliff. I quickly turned around and attempted to find pieces where I could hold on to. Nevertheless, I was forced to jump and grab ahold whatever I could.
"Why can't you understand my…my love for you?"
I fortunately was able to hold on to several rocks that were peeking out from the cliff. However, the rain that was pouring down made it really challenging. The rocks were becoming very slippery and were slowly slipping out from the cliff. I knew I couldn't stay at one place too long. Otherwise, the rocks would slip out and take me down with them.
"Look at me, Luna! Yes. Yes! Look at me!"
I grunted, having the motivation to save Luna from that wretched stallion. I continued pressing on forward, using whatever available energy I had left.
"Why must you torture me?!"
I continued climbing until I heard another mare's voice.
"Alex!" I looked up to see Twilight worriedly gazing at me from the top. "Hold on, Alex! I'll get you out of there!" She began focusing her horn to use her magic on me, possibly in an attempt to teleport me out of harm's way.
However, Night Terror had fired out another one of his shadow bolts. This time, it had impacted the ground Twilight was standing on.
"Twilight, watch out!" I yelled.
"Ah!" She yelped when the ground she was standing on collapsed enough to bring her down. I quickly held out my hoof to catch her before she passed me. The weight of her body almost pulled me off from the cliff, but I managed to find the strength to pull her up enough for her to wrap her forelegs around my waist. As I held on firmly to the rocks so difficultly, I allowed Twilight to climb onto my back. She wrapped her forelegs across my chest and her back legs around my waist. She also looked down to see how high we were up.
"Hold on…" I grunted and groaned, straining in physical exhaustion. "I'll get us up…"
"Alex…" Twilight returned softly.
"It's him, isn't it?!" Night Terror growled. "He's the one keeping you away from me! Don't worry, I'll get rid of him, and then we can be together once and for all!" He exclaimed.
"Alex, watch out! He's coming!" Twilight warned, causing me to look back to see him roughly land on the part of the cliff below us.
Using his nails, he dug them through the side of the cliff and hastily climbed up towards me. He already caught up to me before I can move one step ahead. He raised his claw to swipe at us. I grunted and quickly attempted to dodge it by releasing my right hoof from the rock and turning to the side. He missed, striking the exact area where my body would have been had I not moved. Losing his grip for a moment, he slid down the cliff before he stopped some distance from us.
"Twilight! You need to get out of here!" I demanded weakly.
"Hold on! I'll get us both of here!" She focused her magic to form a spell around us. All of sudden, she teleported and disappeared from my back. There was less weight, allowing for the climbing to be easier, but the bad news was that I didn't move at all with her teleportation. She appeared at the top, which was not too far away. She noticed how I hadn't moved from my original spot. "Why didn't it work?! I performed the spell correctly!"
"It must be his magic! I can't even shift back to my Alicorn form!" I answered.
Once I felt the vibration of his movement again, I quickly took action and took every measure to get back up to where Twilight was.
She held out her hoof towards me, stretching it as much as she could. "Come on! I'll help you up!"
As I continued growing closer to Twilight, I looked below me to see Night Terror growing closer to me by the second.
Seeing how I was becoming very close to Twilight, I pushed myself as much as I could to reach her. Once my hoof was finally at the length of hers, I was just about to grab it until my back leg was grabbed ahold of tightly.
"I've got you now!" Night Terror announced and began to pull me down.
However, a beam of dark blue magic struck him, causing him to release the grip he had on my back leg. I strongly pulled it out away from him and struck the end of the hoof at the front of his head. He stumbled back in pain, granting me an opportunity to remove myself from climbing the cliff. As he was stunned, I took my chances and pushed myself to where I lifted into the air a bit and quickly caught Twilight's hoof. She grabbed ahold of it and quickly began pulling me up.
Night Terror growled and looked back at where Luna was supposed to be. "Curse you, you vile mare!"
As soon as I finished pulling myself up onto the safety of the ground where Twilight was on, I looked back to see Night Terror push himself away from the cliff. He quickly headed towards Luna and struck her with his claw, sending her back towards my side while Night Terror was on the opposite side of the narrow land. I only watched in horror as I observed Luna being struck so horridly.
"Luna!" I exclaimed as Night Terror faced her unconscious body. I shook my head and quickly ran to jump towards the plateau. "Twilight, stay here!" I ordered before I jumped off.
"Alex, wait!" Twilight tried to warn. "You don't have your wings! You're too weak!" Nevertheless, it was too late. I had already leaped off and knew I was going to have a harsh landing at the bottom. I immediately fell when my hooves touched the ground. I released a small cry of pain as I closed my eyes. "Alex!"
However, I opened them once again and pulled out my hooves to slowly push myself back up. Once I was finally back on my hooves, I rushed over to Luna, despite the pain.
"Luna, Luna!" I called her as I wrapped my right foreleg around the back of her upper body and placed my left foreleg on her chest. "Can you hear me?" I asked her, desperately searching in her face for any sign of vitality as I slightly lifted her upper body a bit. However, her eyes remained closed and her head merely fell lifelessly towards the right side of her body. I released an almost worried breath and looked towards Night Terror to see him only looking our way. "Don't let it end like this…"
Night Terror then voluntarily reverted back to his stallion form, instantly revealing an irritated face towards me. "Get away from her, Alexander! You're not HALF the stallion she needs!" Afterwards, he began walking towards us with an evil grin on his face. "Come with me, my love…" He directed towards Luna. "We'll be together…forever…"
I clenched my teeth and narrowed my eyes in anger, immediately feeling my wings and horn form back. "Not if I can help it!" I growled, pointing my horn towards him and attempting to form magic. However, the magic on the tip of my horn merely crackled and barely revealed any power, proving no intimidation. Nonetheless, I kept it pointed at Night Terror as he showed no sign of fear or hesitation while slowly continuing to walk towards us. Twilight seemed to have tried to keep him away from me by shooting her beams of magic towards him, but they seemed to have no effect as he continued walking with no indication of damage. As I remained my glare towards Night Terror, I directed my voice towards Luna. "Come on… Wake up…" I pleaded softly, almost to a whisper. "…If you're really my mom… I know you can pull through this…" I paused for a moment. "…we both can…"
After realizing that I wasn't going to move from my spot at all, Night Terror stopped and faced towards me with a frown. "Why must you continue to protect this mare?! She left you for dead and she didn't give a single care about you! She left you with abusive parents which only led to so many miserable years of your life! And you're still going to protect this mare?!"
"Yes…" I answered calmly. "She may have made a few mistakes in her life…but she's learned from them… She's become a better pony from those mistakes… She knows not to make them again… She may have…left me with…not so loving parents… But it was all worth it in order to meet the girls that I now love today. And guess what…?" I felt a few tears begin forming in my eyes. I was ready. "It's still bringing me good things because…my life is slowly becoming better…" I sniffed a bit. "Why…? Well…" I looked towards Luna. "She's not just a mare… She's my mom… She loves me… And I love her… And I'm going to do whatever it takes to protect her…no matter the cost…"
Hearing my emotional speech, he growled loudly, being fed up with my presence being in his way. "Then, what about these costs?!" He instantly began shifting back towards his shadow wolf form. As soon as he was finished transforming, he raised his body and began forming almost hundreds of his shadow bolts to attack us. I gasped and widened my eyes at this. I quickly placed my body in front of Luna's and used my wings to cover any part of her body left that was vulnerable. After hearing the bolts of shadow shoot out, I felt their stings pierce me, causing me to release cries of pain as I endured each one.
Finally, when it was over, I was panting very heavily as I tried to deal with the extraordinary amount of pain. I felt like it was over for me, as if I was just about to fall over and see my life fade away. However, as I closed my strained eyes, I felt a very strong relief flow through me. It removed most of the pain from my body. I slowly opened my eyes to face Luna, continuing to pant softly. I spotted a smile lightly stretched on her face. She slowly opened her eyes as well and looked directly in to mine.
"I was just resting my eyes…" She joked warmly.
I shook my head and began helping her back on her hooves, chuckling a bit throughout my answer. "Shouldn't sleep on the job…" I teased as well, realizing how we were in my dream, it was nighttime, and that we needed to remove Night Terror's danger on everypony.
Night Terror on the other hoof growled as his effort was useless.
"As you can tell…your father is quite obsessive over me." Luna commented as we noticed Night Terror grow furious.
"So…are you ever going to tell me how you ended up with this jerk anyway…?" I asked.
"Perhaps when you're older." She answered, which I couldn't exactly tell whether she was joking or not.
Nonetheless, I sighed lightly. "Fair enough…"
"Hang on! I'm coming!" Twilight exclaimed from the higher ground.
"You're not going anywhere!" Night Terror returned towards Twilight and used his magic.
Shadows immediately were summoned near Twilight, startling her and causing her to begin shooting them with her magic. She was able to keep them off her while using her magic to defeat them with light, but Night Terror summoned enough to keep her busy for a while.
"Twilight!" I called.
"Don't worry!" She assured. "I'll be fine! You two take care of him!"
As soon as we returned our attention back to Night Terror, he began charging towards us hastily. "You should have listened to me! We all could have ruled both the dream realm and even Equestria with our power! I guess I'm going to have to do it by myself, and nopony's stopping me!"
When he was a few steps in front of us, he leapt towards us. Luna and I quickly ran to the side to avoid being captured or even crushed by him.
"Come on!" I directed Luna, hurrying to gain some distance away from him. She followed me in a sprint as well.
"Come out and face your destiny!" Night Terror order and turned around. He summoned some more shadow bolts and began shooting them towards us. Feeling my magical strength return, I formed a shield in front of us, deflecting the bolts.
"What's the plan?!" I asked Luna, concentrating on keeping the shield active. "How are we supposed to take off the Alicorn Amulet now?"
"He no longer has scales to remove. You will be able to reach your hoof directly where the amulet is at, but it is going to be much harder to pull it out."
"I guess we pretty much don't have a choice…"
Night Terror ceased his firing and began running straight towards us. By his attacks, I was beginning to assume that he now was using a strategy of calm rage. He wasn't going completely berserk, but he wasn't exactly thinking on his actions. He just wanted to be rid of us once and for all.
I stopped forming my shield and headed towards him as well. As he continued charging, I slid down on my back at the right time and as soon as I saw the red glow within him, I grabbed ahold of it with my hoof and attempted to remove it with the force of his momentum. He stopped and roared in pain a bit. Nonetheless, he immediately turned around and swiped me with his claw. I was thrown back a bit away from him and he used this advantage to pounce on me. He held me down with his strong claw and raised his other to swipe at me. However, he immediately threw back his head in pain as Luna seemed to have done something behind him. I focused my magic from my heart and drew out a small blinding light strong enough to force him off me.
Afterwards, I quickly got up and regrouped back with Luna.
"You both should have accepted the opportunity of a lifetime when you had the chance!" He growled and faced towards us. He lowered his body and quickly leapt. Luna and I ducked down to avoid it. However, as soon as he landed, he readied his shadow bolts and fired them as he turned back around towards us.
Not expecting this, we were hit on our hooves, causing us to fall to the ground. As soon as I began to try to push myself back up, Night Terror had shifted back to his normal form and stopped in front of me. He quickly grabbed ahold of my neck and lifted me up in the air as I struggled to somehow remove his grip with my hooves. He held an expression fuming with anger as he glared at me. He lifted me up a bit more and suddenly threw my body forcefully at the ground. Feeling completely stunned for a moment, I tried to turn my body and slowly bring myself back up again. However, he winded up his leg and kicked me fiercely, actually bringing me off the ground for a second until I landed once again and rolled over for a bit. Having felt so hurt from this, I released a painful cry.
When I stopped, I was on my back, feeling incapacitated. I instantly began feeling the end linger over me once again. I breathed heavily as I slowly lifted my upper body towards Night Terror while keeping my right hoof on the ground to give me support. In the corner of my eyes, I noticed those black walls reaching for my life again. The only difference was that this time, I most likely wouldn't survive. Night Terror began shifting back to his wolf form as I felt the end reach nearer and nearer.
"Hang in there, hun!" I heard Luna faintly. She immediately rushed to my side and lifted my upper back a bit. She placed a hoof on my chest as well and lowered her horn towards me. Using her magic, she was able to heal me enough to get back up. The black walls faded away and I could now hear everything clear once again. She stayed by me, helping me get up hoof by hoof. "Be careful…" She shared softly.
I lightly nodded a bit tiredly once I was up. When I was finally able to move on my own, I heard Night Terror's voice raise in anger.
"Stop helping him, you revolting mare!" He shifted back into his normal form to grab Luna's neck the same way as he did to me.
When he raised her up in the air, ready to throw her to the ground, I immediately felt my energy unexpectedly rise significantly. My eyes widened as I became alerted. He threw her in the ground, stunning her for a moment as he was ready to kick her as well. I growled and ran towards him, tackling him and throwing him to the ground. Once his back was on the ground beneath me, I rose my hooves and began striking him fiercely.
"Keep! Your! Hooves!" I exclaimed between my three punches to the right side of his face. "Off!" I added with my left hoof to the left side of his face. "My!" I placed one more punch to the right side again. "MOM!" I finished with striking my backhoof across his left cheek, causing his head to be thrown to the right side.
Afterwards, feeling I needed to exert one more action. I jumped off him and raised his upper body a bit with my magic. I turned around and pointed my back legs towards his face. I finally released a loud grunt and bucked him straight in the face.
Being knocked out for just a short while, I climbed back on him and attempted to pull out the amulet from him. I was able to loosen it a bit before he threw me back with a small explosion of his dark power.
Luna, having already recovered, rushed to my side and made sure I was okay.
On the other side, Night Terror remained in his form for a while. All of a sudden, he began softly laughing in a maniacal way. "You all just don't see it, do you…?" His laughed became louder. "It's all over! Your efforts are useless! I will become the ruler of the dream realm and soon, ALL of Equestria!" He began turning back into his shadow wolf form.
"I won't allow you to plague the mind of innocent little ponies with your corruptive powers!" Luna asserted. She ran forcefully towards Night Terror and flew over him, causing him to quickly search around. However, she surprised him when she used her magic to pull his body back and completely leave his chest vulnerable, where the red glow was held. "Now, Alex!"
I understood her signal and quickly rushed towards his chest. Striking my hoof deep towards the glow, I rapidly began attempting to pull it out as Night Terror groaned and grunted. As soon as I was so close to removing it, feeling the glow actually move, he somehow was able to release Luna's grip and throw her back. He struck me off and away from him. I landed on the ground with pain that held me back from getting up for a while. He turned back to Luna and used his power to place some darkness that trapped her to the ground, having her unable to get back up.
He slowly turned towards me. I shook my head and attempted to get back up as he slowly walked over to me. Before I could proceed any further, he gripped his strength at my neck again, lifting me up. "It's not too late, Alexander… Join me… We both know that there's no chance for you to resist my power… It's time to allow the darkness inside of you to take control… It is your destiny…" I began feeling the darkness inside do as he instructed. Revealing the progress, the end of my body was becoming completely black. It slowly moved on upwards. I grunted and groaned as I tried to remove his corruption from me. "Don't fight it… Let it control you…consume you…then you'll never have to feel pain ever again…" No matter how hard I tried, the darkness continued its progress, eventually arriving at my chest. I felt myself give up and release a weakened breath. "That's it…what do you say you and your father finally fulfill our dreams and use our power to become such great leaders?"
I grunted and managed to growl a bit, shaking my hoof in determination to gain some of the control back. "Like Pinkie Pie…I say…" I returned weakly, raising my hoof slightly towards his neck. "Yippee ki-yay, motherfudger!" I exclaimed and gripped the Alicorn Amulet from his chest. I ripped it off, causing him to be startled and growl angrily. His wings disappeared, leaving only his horn. He raised my body and threw me to the ground, causing for the Alicorn Amulet to slip from my hooves and slide some distance towards the side.
"Alex!" I heard Luna call in a struggle.
Seeming to not care about the amulet anymore, he focused my attention towards me. He slowly walked over to me as I attempted to push myself back up. Before I could straighten my hooves, he kicked me a few steps closer to the edge of endless darkness. "Do you want to live…?" He asked as I placed my hoof in front of me to try to get up again. My legs were shaking in weakness greatly. However, it seemed that my efforts were useless as he only kicked me again, bringing me closer to the edge. "Then beg! Beg for your miserable life!"
I released a small grunt and positioned my hooves to restart my try. "I'll pass." I muttered through clenched teeth.
Fuming at my response, he kicked me once again, leaving me directly on the edge towards the darkness.
Just as he was about to kick me once more to end me, Luna suddenly appeared from behind him. "Don't you dare lay another hoof on my son!" Something formed in her horn and shocked Night Terror, paralyzing him long enough for Luna to cast another spell.
"No! Noo!" He cried in defeat.
Luna released a burst of power from her horn and sent it towards Night Terror, causing him to fade away along with his dark power. "Have fun back at the moon…" She finished.
After, she looked at me and held out a caring hoof towards me. Panting a little, I raised my hoof and grabbed hers. As soon as she pulled me up, she immediately brought me in for an embrace. She closed her eyes as she caringly wrapped her hooves around me and stroked my mane. I released another few pants and closed my eyes as well to accommodate her.
A few hoof steps sounded towards us, causing me to open my eyes. Twilight was standing behind Luna, smiling warmly at the scene we produced. It seemed she had already been there for a while. I could tell she had so many questions running through her mind, but she allowed them to relax as she spotted our heartwarming scene.
After Luna was done, she softly and lightly pulled away. I looked into her eyes to see them narrow sadly as she slightly look away.
"Are you ponies ready to go?" Twilight asked.
I remained silent for a moment when noticing Luna's apologetic expression. "Y-yeah…" I answered. "Just…give us a moment…"
"Okay." Twilight returned and walked some distance away to give us some private time.
Luna continued to stare at the ground, seeming to be lost in regrets. I frowned and looked at her face softly. I turned my gaze towards the ground for a moment and thought. Then, I lifted it back up to her. "…Mom…" She gasped and widened her eyes which were immediately placed on mine. "…you saved me… You know that don't you…?" She could only react with a fully silent and shocked expression. I tilted my head a bit in a shrugging motion and blinked my eyes. "Thank you…" Luna slowly changed the expression on her face towards a warm one. Seeing this, I formed a warm smile on my face as well and walked towards Twilight who was waiting patiently. "We're ready…"
Twilight released a breath of relief. "I'm glad we'll finally be able to go back… This has been the longest night ever…"
"Hm." I chuckled a little as Luna joined us.
"Don't worry, I can send us all back." Twilight offered and closed her eyes, holding the Alicorn Amulet safely near her and beginning to work her magic. "Stay together!"
Keeping the smile upon my face, I looked towards Luna. She performed the same expression. As soon as Twilight's magic began its duty, Luna quickly grabbed my hoof lovingly before we were sent back.
I groaned a bit as I felt myself slowly opening my eyes. As my vision cleared, I looked up to notice many mares staring at me.
"You're alright!" Pinkie Pie hopped and tackled me with a tight hug.
"Pinkie…?" I looked around to notice all my loved ones standing before me. "Girls! I'm so glad to see you all again!"
Princess Celestia turned her attention towards Luna. "Sister, tell me. What happened in there?" She asked.
"Well…this may be hard to believe, sister, but…" Luna paused for a moment, trying to think of the correct words. "…Remember that foal I had to give up many years ago…?"
"…the foal Alex reminded you of…?" Princess Celestia questioned.
"Yes…well…" Princess Luna placed her lips near Princess Celestia's ear and began whispering.
During her explanation, Princess Celestia suddenly widened her eyes in shock. "Are you sure you heard right, Luna?!"
Luna returned a nod.
Princess Celestia seemed to be stunned for a moment. "Why…this is…this is…astonishing…" Princess Celestia remained silent for a moment and then faced back to Luna. "Are you absolutely sure of this, sister?"
Princess Luna warmly chuckled. "Look for yourself, sister." She placed the tip of her horn on Celestia's. They both closed their eyes.
As they did so, Luna retained a grin on her face while Celestia's changed every once in a while. She would form an agape mouth in interest and then silently gasp as she seemed to see the images inside her mind.
When their connection was over, Princess Luna opened her eyes and looked at Princess Celestia with a slight proud look on her face. Princess Celestia only opened her eyes to widen them. She slowly turned her head towards me with an agape mouth.
I could only begin feeling a little embarrassment as Princess Celestia stared at me in amazement.
"This is…this is truly astounding, sister… We must get the preparations ready immediately…!"
I placed a look of confusion on my face. "For what…?"
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Standing inside an empty room at Canterlot Castle, I walked towards the mirror and looked myself over. The shoes on my hooves were somewhat similar to my mom's. Not the one who took me in, but Princess Luna. Actually, she even offered to share me her recently unlocked memories that Twilight assisted her with in order to give me confidence that she was truly indeed my mother.
Now… I do believe it… She really is… And I couldn't be happier…
Returning back to my shoes, they were a darker shade of blue, rather than Princess Luna's which were tinted in white instead. While the Princesses wore fantastic and royal dresses, I wore a piece of royalty as well. The lower sleeves on my forelegs were touched and trimmed with gold silk, matching the lunar plate I wore, which was also similar to Luna's as well. The rest of the upper half of my body was covered by a dark night blue royal suit. The lunar plate I wore hung over it, just like Luna. While Luna's moon in her plate was purple to match her dress, mine was a creamy white, almost just like the coat of Celestia, my aunt.
Lastly, my mane was combed very neatly and formal to the side. Fluttershy and the other girls had to wait to notice my new appearance; otherwise Fluttershy, and perhaps even Rarity, most likely would have blushed in seeing me before.
I smiled lightly and placed my hoof on the mirror, noticing that throughout my many struggles, I've come this far to be so happy.
I heard the door behind me softly open.
"There's my Prince." I looked back to see her gazing at me warmly. I grinned a little embarrassingly while she walked towards me, continuing to observe me. The tiara she wore was different from the one she usually wore. It was a lot brighter in color. I noticed that it was not intended to only match her dress, but to symbolize how much joy was brought upon her life as well. She placed her left hoof on my shoulder and then her right hoof on my mane. She brushed my mane a bit, causing me to chuckle a little. "You look so handsome…"
"Mom…" I slipped a little bashfully.
She stopped brushing my mane and faced me with softly beaming eyes. She embraced me for a while before she pulled back. "I'm so proud of you…"
"Thanks, mom…" I returned gently. "I'm just glad to know…that…I've actually had a loving mother my whole life…who just needed to come at the right moment…"
"I understand how you feel, Alex…but I just want you to know to not forget about your other mother…"
"Huh?" I questioned.
"From what you've told me, your other mother may have not been the best mother in Equestria…but she was willing to ask for your forgiveness. And she did take you in and somewhat raised you to be the bold stallion you are today. The life may not have been perfect…but look where you are now."
I thought about it and lightly smiled. "I guess you're right, mom…" I paused for a moment. "…after all, forgive and forget, am I right?"
"Of course." She answered. "Go check on your friend, Twilight Sparkle. We'll all be waiting for you to begin…"
I nodded. "Okay, mom. I'll see you then."
She smiled and turned around to begin walking out the room.
Wondering how my L.S.B.F.F. looked, I walked out the room after a moment and began heading down the hall towards the room she was preparing herself in.
I stopped in front of her door before the two guards standing outside. They took a glance at me and nodded their heads, allowing me to enter through. I opened the door and entered the room, lightly closing it behind me. I saw Twilight brushing her mane as she sat in front of her mirror. I placed a small smirk on my face and walked towards her.
"You look beautiful, sis…" I commented, slightly surprising her. She turned around and noticed me. "…if that's okay…"
Twilight released a smile as well. "Of course it is. You look great yourself too, you know?"
"Heh, thanks…" I sat by her as she turned back to the mirror and continued brushing her mane.
"Isn't it amazing…?" Twilight asked softly while keeping her eyes on the mirror.
"Hm?"
"We're both becoming a Prince and Princess together at the same time." She explained. "It's really just…well…awesome." She giggled.
"I know. It's one of those events that you can't just help but feel proud and happy…" I returned.
"But I thought you didn't want to be a Prince, Alex?" Twilight brought up.
"Well…I didn't…because at the time of the discovery of my true being, being a Prince at that time would only feel like I was trying to be the best of everypony. But now…it feels just right. My real mother is Princess Luna, and that just makes me related to the other Princesses as well. Plus, you're being crowned as a Princess as well so…what better time than now?"
"I understand you, Alex." Twilight responded. She placed a hoof around me and pulled me towards her, smiling brightly when we were both visible in the mirror. Then she giggled lightly again. "Hehe, and when you marry Fluttershy, she'll probably become a Princess too."
I immediately widened my eyes and blushed, becoming slightly nervous. "Whoa, that's a little too big of a jump, don't you think?"
"I'm just teasing you." She giggled once again. "…but you are thinking of a future with Fluttershy, aren't you…?" She asked a little more seriously. "I mean…you both are perfect for each other."
I nodded. "…I know… And I've caught myself between thoughts before… For right now…I just want to worry about the present. Things that are meant to happen will happen when they're supposed to. As of right now, I just want to spend my life with her, and have the amazing company of all you girls."
"Hehe." Twilight lightly blushed. "Aww."
There was a knock at our door, causing Twilight to stop brushing her hair, place the brush down, and for the both of us to look back.
One of the royal guards entered.
"The Princesses are waiting and are ready with the preparations. They shall start whenever you are ready."
Twilight glanced at me and replied to the royal guard. "Tell them we're ready."
The guard nodded his head and walked out.
Twilight sent another smile towards me. "Let's go and begin our new change."
"I'm right with you." I answered.
Together, we walked out of the room to then be escorted by some more royal guards. We were taken to the front of the main hall which we were to present ourselves. However, the doors in front were closed. Four mares accompanied us. Two of them were holding Twilight's cutie mark on a banner while the other two were holding mine on another banner. The guards that escorted us aligned themselves behind the mares to join us as well. As I stood behind the huge double doors, I began feeling nervous; the good kind of nervous. I was pretty excited.
After a moment, we began hearing Princess Celestia's voice announce from the room.
"We are gathered here today in celebration of a momentous occasion. My most faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, has done many extraordinary things since she's lived in Ponyville. She even helped reunite me with my sister, Princess Luna. However, that wasn't the only reunion that has taken place. Not too long ago, a noble stallion discovered that he was in fact an Alicorn. As of right now, I am pleased to announce that not only is he an Alicorn, but my loving nephew as well… Alexander, or as he wishes to be called Alex, is the proud son of Princess Luna." I lightly stared at the floor and looked around a little bashfully. "Today, the both of them did something extraordinary. Twilight Sparkle created new magic, proving without a doubt that she is ready to be crowned Equestria's newest princess. Alex, using the great help from Twilight Sparkle and Princess Luna, defeated the fearing Night Terror from plaguing the lands of Equestria and corrupting the dreams of everypony. But the most heartwarming scene I've seen is his reunion with Princess Luna…" Princess Celestia paused for a moment. "Now, fillies and gentlecolts, may I present for the very first time, Princess Twilight Sparkle and Prince Alex!"
The doors opened and we began our walk together, side by side. The four mares and guards followed us, beginning to chant a song in union.
"Thou Princess Twilight and Prince Alex cometh
Behold, behold" As Twilight and I reached where the Princesses where, I noticed my true mom gazing me with proud eyes, appearing as if she wanted to spare a few tears herself. As Twilight looked towards Princess Celestia, Spike walked over to us with a smile on his face and presented two pillows. One held a crown for Twilight…and the other one held my crown…
"A Princess and Prince here before us
Behold, behold, behold" As the choir raised their voices, Princess Celestia raised Twilight's crown and placed it on Twilight's head delicately. Princess Luna, actually unable to hold one tear, held my crown with her magic and placed it on me as well. I couldn't help but release a grin full of heart towards her. Afterwards, Twilight and I shared a look to our pony friends on the side. Pinkie Pie raised a hoof as she cheered excitedly in silence. Fluttershy smiled at me softly, but I could tell she was holding in so much excitement within her instead. Rarity looked proudly among us. Rainbow even presented a wink. Applejack held the look Rarity was giving us as well. Twilight released a modest response while I grinned softly.
"Behold, behold (behold, behold)" Twilight and I looked out to the crowd of ponies before us. It was really just…breathtaking to have so many ponies celebrating an occasion about us… Afterwards, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna escorted us out towards the balcony thousands of ponies were awaiting our presence from different parts of Equestria. This all reminded me of the wedding Shining Armor and Miss Cadence had…
"The Princess Twilight and Prince Alex cometh
Behold, behold (behold, behold)
The Princess and Prince are
The Princess and Prince are here" The choir finished as Twilight and I waved out towards the thousands of ponies cheering.
As Twilight continued waving with slight nervousness, Princess Celestia walked up to her and placed a hoof on her shoulder. "Say something, Princess."
"Oh. Um..." Twilight cleared her throat and began announcing to everypony looking before us. The crowd lowered their cheering and Luna grinned while placing a hoof around me warmly. "A little while ago, my teacher and mentor Princess Celestia sent me to live in Ponyville. She sent me to study friendship…" She looked over to the girls and me, keeping her attention locked onto us. "…which is something I didn't really care much about. But now, on a day like today," Twilight gestured her hoof towards the girls, signaling them to join her on the balcony. "I can honestly say I wouldn't be standing here if it weren't for the friendships I've made with all of you." Twilight began acknowledging each one of us, causing for every one of the girld to form tears in their eyes…even Rainbow Dash. "Each one of you taught me something about friendship, and for that, I will always be grateful. Today, I consider myself the luckiest pony in Equestria. Thank you, friends. Thank you, everypony!" Twilight finished as the girls looked down at everypony as well. The crowd immediately resumed their cheering.
Next, Princess Luna placed a hoof on my shoulder.
"I'm sure you have a few words to spare yourself, Alex?"
I smiled lightly and nodded.
When I stepped forward in the balcony, everypony allowed their cheering to fade out to listen on what I had to say. I looked among them and took in a deep breath. I then allowed my heart to take charge.
"I'm speechless." I announced. "But at the same time…there's so much I want to say… I honestly never expected seeing myself up here in front of you all. In similar experiences with my very best friend Twilight…I knew nothing about true friendship before I met all those girls that I now hold dear to me. They changed me. They really changed me for the better…" I felt a few tears form in my eyes by themselves. "Back before I met them, I wouldn't even want to speak to any of you because I was so afraid of society. I always dreaded and expected the worst to come… I've learned that you have to take risks if you ever want the chance for something great to happen. These girls give me the motivation and power to do what I want and need to do. If it weren't for them, none of this would be possible. I love them all so much because…they're just a huge piece of my life! And listen… This is for all of you ponies out there. I may be a Prince. I may be the son of Princess Luna. I may be an Alicorn. But it doesn't matter… I don't want any of you to work out of your way to treat me like I'm better than the rest of you. I want you all to just treat me like any other friend. I want to be treated for who I am, not what. I know most of you probably won't be able to help feeling nervous when you're apparently talking to a 'celebrity'…but just know that I don't find any of you less important than I am… Thank you everypony…" I looked back to face the girls. "Thank you all…"
Ending my speech, everypony in crowd before the castle cheered.
Before we could move on, Princess Luna walked towards Princess Celestia and asked for a favor. "Sister…may I share a song to Alex?"
Princess Celestia was slightly surprised of this request. Nonetheless, she smiled warmly and nodded. "Of course."
Princess Luna returned another soft smile and then turned her head towards me. I slightly formed an agape mouth, wondering what she was going to sing about.
She lowered her head a little and then closed her eyes. She opened them and began softly singing.
"You've come…such a long, long way…" I widened my eyes at her blissful voice. She was singing Celestia's ballad, only a little different and softer.
"Since I've seen your face…from that very first day…
To see how you might grow…" She slowly walked towards me, step by step.
"To see what you might do…
To see what you'll go through…" She stopped in front of me.
"And all the ways you've made me proud of you…" She tenderly placed her hooves around me and held me closely.
"It's time now…for a new change to come…" I could feel tears from her eyes drop onto my coat.
"You've grown up…and your new life…has begun…" I could only truly feel so warm inside my heart with her completely meaningful words. I smiled lightly, feeling tears fall from my eyes as well as I placed my hooves around her.
"To go where you will go…
To see what you will see…
To find what you will be…"
She paused for a moment and sniffled.
"For it's time for you…to fulfill your destiny…" She ended, giving me so many mixed emotions inside me.
I sniffled and whispered into her ear. "I love you, mom…"
"I love you too, son…" She returned.
After, she pulled away and held her hoof around me as she escorted the other girls and I back towards the castle.
Twilight was immediately confronted by Shining Armor and Miss Cadence upon returning inside.
"Twilight! I'm so proud of you!" He hugged Twilight slightly, revealing teary eyes when pulling back.
"Are you crying?" Twilight asked, hinting a little laughter in her voice.
"Of course not, it's... it's liquid pride." He wiped his eyes. "Totally different thing."
Shining Armor, Twilight and I laughed.
"You know, Shining Armor…" I shared. "I think the stronger stallion is the one who admits he cries." I teased playfully.
However, Miss Cadence immediately intervened before allowing Shining Armor a chance to response. She threw her hooves around me and held me tightly. "I'm so proud of you, Alex!" She exclaimed. "I just can't take it all in! A Prince? Luna's son? That makes me not only your teacher but…but…your cousin!" Miss Cadence paused for a moment, holding a hoof to her chin. "I think…" Nonetheless, she shook her head. "Still it's really amazing that I'm actually related to you!"
I chuckled softly. "Yeah…" I suddenly realized something. "Wait…if I'm related to you…and you're married to Shining Armor…and Shining Armor is Twilight's brother…then…then that means that I'm…actually…technically related to Twilight!"
Twilight grinned at my announcement while Shining Armor laughed.
"Then that makes you my…" He thought for a moment. "…brocousin?" He guessed and stuck with that word. "And every brocousin gets one of these!" He placed his foreleg around my neck and pulled me towards him. He raised his hoof in order to playfully mess with my mane, but Princess Luna suddenly stopped his hoof with hers.
"Ah. Ah. Ah. Alex's mane is perfect the way it is as of now. I wouldn't be so happy shall I see even one strand of his hair misaligned. Understand?" She expressed politely, but I could tell she was dead serious in her eyes.
Shining Armor noticed and quickly released me, laughing nervously and beginning to sweat. "O-Of course!"
"Way to go Prince and Princess!" Applejack cheered, the girls joining us.
"Best coronation day ever!" Pinkie Pie screamed out loud.
"We all love you both!" Fluttershy added, initiating a large group hug between us all.
"We love you all too!" Twilight and I answered warmly.
After we pulled away, Princess Celestia stopped between Twilight and me. "Come on you two, it's time to finish your coronation." She smiled.
Twilight and I looked at each other chuckled a bit. "Sure thing, Tia." I answered.
At the bottom of Canterlot Castle, Twilight and I were then pulled through the crowd of ponies on a carriage by two royal guards. Once we were pulled out to see the ponies before us, Twilight and I both began waving at them.
"Life in Equestria shimmers" Twilight and I both sang, continuing to wave with a big grin on our faces.
"Life in Equestria shines" Twilight had caught a bouquet of flowers from the crowd. Once we saw the girls ahead of us, skipping in a trot, we both jumped off the carriage and joined them.
"And we know for absolute certain"
"That everything (everything)" The girls joined us in our song. Twilight and I looked back to see Princess Celestia and Luna were looking back at us. However, I paid most attention to my mother, Luna, who was looking at me directly. I could just really see how proud she was of me.
"Yes, everything
Yes, everything is certainly fine" We all sang loudly and proudly at the end of the overlook.
"It's fine!"
Twilight suddenly spread her wings and began flying excitedly. "Yes! Everything's going to be just fine!" She exclaimed as she soared the skies.
"Hey…" I chuckled a little. "How come she knows how to fly so great like that while I'm still learning?" I playfully asked the girls.
"Well…" Rainbow Dash returned as we continued to see Twilight spread her joy. "She's really magical, isn't she?"
"Yeah…" I smiled as I observed Twilight. "She really is…"
"We best be getting to the train station soon." Rarity offered. "Pinkie Pie is absolutely exhilarated to continue this party back at Ponyville." She faced Pinkie Pie who was literally vigorously shaking in the same place while grinning extremely brightly.
"You girls go on ahead. I'll catch up." I responded.
The girls returned simultaneous agreements as they began walking and waved. Fluttershy shyly looked at me with blooming cheeks and quickly kissed me so adorably. Afterwards, she quickly fluttered away. I smiled at her action and decided to take my first quiet stroll around Canterlot with the new title I held.
However, before I began to move, I was immediately confronted by another familiar mare. She gazed at me with a light smile on her face.
"I'm proud of you." She walked towards me. "I'm glad that…you're living a great life now…" She looked downwards at the ground for a moment. "I just hope…you can find it in your heart to forgive me…"
I managed to send a smile to her. "I forgive you, mom… Thanks for clearing it up with me and actually doing your best for my forgiveness…"
She looked up and resumed her smile. "Thank you… You know…you don't have to call me mom… You can call me…Rosy…"
"Rosy…" I allowed the name to roll my tongue off a bit. "Well…you are still my foster mother…"
"I know…but I wouldn't like for you to be exactly calling me mom when your real mother is a great Princess. I think it's fine to call me Rosy… Besides…I wanted to start over and begin anew with you, remember…? Maybe…we can get lunch some time…and you can…tell me more about your friends." She giggled lightly. "And that cute little mare you're seeing…"
"Haha, sure thing, Rosy." I answered.
She nodded, sustaining her smile. "I'll see you later then, Alex. I guess I should start heading back to Fillydelphia…" She was about to leave, but not before I landed a big and warm hug with her. She was largely surprised at my action, but she soon shifted that expression towards a heartfelt one. She accepted my embrace, and we both pulled away after a few seconds. "Thank you…"
I merely nodded. She returned one as well and turned around to begin walking towards the train station to take the train to Fillydelphia.
Afterwards, I began my walk.
Wanting to stay close to the train station, I decided to spend some time near the enormous waterfall by Canterlot . As I heard the soothing sound of the rushing water splashing against the moderate currents, I smiled lightly and sat down.
I began slipping into my deep thinking process. After the whole ordeal with family, I slowly realized something I had not before. From my light smile, it formed in the opposite direction. I now sighed at the waterfall in silence.
"Alex?" I heard behind me.
I looked back to see Princess Luna. "Oh…hey, mom…" I returned despondently.
"What's wrong?" She asked, walking to my side and sitting down.
"I've just been thinking…" I answered, staring at the gentle currents.
"About what?"
I laughed in a scoffing way. "It's funny, isn't it? I just realized that from the two of my mothers, both of my fathers wanted nothing to do with me…"
"That's not true." She responded, surprising me.
"Huh?" I questioned.
"Your father loved you very much."
I was silent for a moment. "…what are you…?"
"Remember when you wanted to know why I ended up with a 'jerk'?"
"Well…yeah, but you saw how—"
"I did." She assured. "Listen…do you also remember how I used to be Nightmare Moon?" I nodded. "Well, after I was banished to the moon, Celestia tried to find some way to be rid of the corrupted spirit so I could come back…but it was one of the most challenging things she had to face in her life. She couldn't…and she wasn't sure if I could ever be rid of it… It wasn't until I met your father on the moon. He had been stripped of all his dark power and completely normal. He offered to remove, if not some, most of the corruption from me, Alex. He's the reason why I had been able to be myself again. He's not really this 'all-fearing' Night Terror. If it wasn't for him, I would have never been able to be Princess Luna again and you would have never been able to find your real mother. So…what I'm trying to say is… He does love you, Alex. He really does. He's just been possessed by the evil spirit that once lingered in me. But…" She paused for a moment. "…I still have hope that when he comes back…maybe…we can remove that darkness from him and we can all be a family again."
"I…I can't believe it…" I reacted a little speechless. "…why didn't you tell me this before?"
"Well…for one…you didn't believe me… And if you did, you would have allowed your emotions to control your actions. You wouldn't have fought so valiantly and he might have accomplished his evil task. However… I can feel that he's proud of you for what you did…"
"So…about that darkness inside of me…is it still there…?"
"Yes…it has always technically been there, but in different stages. As of right now…you could say it is…hibernating… As long as Night Terror cannot control it, hence being at the moon, it will not bother you. But as I stated, he will eventually come back, and once you begin feeling those sudden and bothersome moments once again, hopefully we'll be ready to try to change him for the better…"
"What about the Elements of Harmony?" I offered. "Will those work?"
She released a smile. "That is a possible solution; something I have great faith in. Unfortunately, we weren't able to use them recently because we were all completely surprised of his return, especially since he was inside your dream. If that shall be the place he returns next time, then perhaps Twilight Sparkle can bring your friends into your dream and use your Elements of Harmony then."
"Wow…" I stared towards the grass. "I can't believe it… I mean I really can this time but…it's just that… there's actually a chance to have a father who really loves me for once…"
"Indeed there is." My mother placed a caring hoof on my back, sharing a grin.
I remained staring at the grass in positive disbelief until I heard my name being called.
"Hey, Alex!" I looked up and around to see who it was. I spotted a group of six girls waiting on the road nearby. "Come on! We're going to miss our train!" Rainbow Dash warned out loud.
I looked at my mom to see her smile and gesture her head towards them, allowing me to move on. I returned a nod and stood up to begin walking towards them. When I had walked a few steps forward, Luna suddenly called my name back.
"Alex." I turned around to see her suddenly throw something my way with her magic. I quickly caught it with my own magic and dropped it down to observe it. It was a baby blue blanket with my name engraved on to it. I lifted my eyes towards her for an answer. She smiled both warmly and teasingly. "For the next time you see him." Afterwards, she turned around and began leaving with that.
I felt touched in a surprised expression. I lowered my eyes towards the blanket again and felt the emotions within me kick in.
"Come on, 'Prince'! Let's go!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed from the short distance, revealing her somehow cute impatience.
I glanced at them for moment and then back at the blanket. I chuckled a little as my eyes brimmed with tears, having a few escape. I softly shook my head and then wiped my eyes lightly.
"Mares." I slipped softly.
I placed the blanket somewhere safe and began walking towards the girls, reaching them to begin heading towards the train station.
After we arrived back at Ponyville, Rainbow stretched her legs widely while the others were just great to be back home.
I noticed Twilight's eyes beaming towards the sky. In those eyes, I could see the days she was looking forward to on being an Alicorn.
I walked towards her and placed a hoof caringly on her. She was startled a bit, but the expression on her face beautifully melted into a warm one when she saw me.
"So, what do you suppose we do now?" Applejack asked.
I thought for a moment. The next idea that came to me wasn't by thought at all…but I could feel it come from my heart.
I took a moment before offering it. "…hey…"I announced, capturing all their attention. "…how about a big sleepover at my place tonight?" I asked.
They all looked at each other and began agreeing on the idea.
"Why, absolutely!" Rarity commented.
"Sounds fun!" Rainbow agreed.
"Nice way to end the day." Applejack included.
Twilight giggled. "Yeah. Ending the day with all of us together. It's about time we had a sleepover again, except every one of you is coming."
"Actually…" I added. "There are a few more friends I'd like to invite…" They returned slightly surprised expressions. I chuckled a bit. "Don't worry. You'll get along fine." I sent an assuring smile.
"Well then, alright." Twilight responded and looked at the others. "Let's get ready, girls!"
"I"LL BRING THE CUPCAKES!" Pinkie screamed out loud and fled the area.
"See you in a while, Alex." Twilight smiled and brought the girls with her to leave and prepare themselves.
I remained in my place, observing the girls walk away for a moment with a smile plastered on my face as well. I could already feel like tonight was going to be a great night.
On the way to the first mare to invite, I accidentally bumped onto another pony.
"Oh, sorry." I rubbed my head a bit.
"Well, well, well. That was quite a performance." She answered with a familiar voice.
"Huh?" I looked up to see that the mare was…Trixie. Only…something was really different about her… "Trixie…you aren't wearing that cape or magician's hat…"
"I know." She responded. "I've decided that…perhaps…I don't need them. They only made me feel important…and…" She paused for a moment, trying to think of the right words to say. "Well…it only made others think of me as a foolish Trixie. I'm going to try doing without them. Maybe one day…I'll wear them for fun…just to laugh back."
I was amazed by the change she was going through. "Wow, Trixie…" I chuckled a bit. "Just by your response…I'm already seeing you as the Great and Powerful Trixie…with words…"
She blushed for a moment and then shook her head. "Then stop trying to flatter the Great and Powerful Trixie with your own words. Trixie's trying to be modest, not egotistical."
"Haha. Alright, Trixie…say… Do you want to come over to a sleepover I'm having tonight?" I offered.
"Sleepover?" She questioned. She was a little surprised at first, but then she lowered her eyes tenderly. "That sounds nice…but maybe another time. Maybe when Trixie is sure she'll be more considerate of others. For now, Trixie must continue her work in the rock farm." She began walking past me, but I was completely surprised when she stopped to hug me. "Thank you." She added and then pulled away to continue on.
"Rock farm?" I questioned. "Don't you want a better job? I'm sure I can help you get one…"
Trixie stopped to look back at me. She chuckled softly. "Thank you for the offer, Alex, but I think I'll keep my work until I learn to be a better pony. Until then, I shall get what I deserve." Afterwards, she looked back to the front and continued moving.
I chuckled inside me as well. "You're already at a great start, Trixie…" I stated quietly.
When she opened the door, her face was immediately revealed with all the attention held towards the muffin in her mouth. She tried to ask something, but the sound was completely muffled with the muffin. She quickly swallowed it in order to the ask question again clearer.
"Alex? Hi!" Derpy exclaimed her greeting.
"Derpy, hey." I responded with a smile.
She hugged me with a bright smile that an excited little sister would appear to have. "I saw the coronation! It was awesome! You're awesome!"
I laughed as I patted her back. "I'm still Alex, though. No matter what."
"Of course! I know that!" She agreed.
"I came by to see if you wanted to come over to my sleepover tonight. All of the girls will be there. You know… Twilight, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash…"
Derpy gasped and beamed excitedly. "I'll bring muffins!"
"You can go ahead and do that." I warmly allowed. "I'll see you tonight. Okay?"
"Okay!" She returned and happily began her baking.
Next, becoming nearer to my home, I stopped by my favorite DJ's house.
Once she saw me as she opened her door, she instantly perked up.
"Alex, yo!" She greeted. "How are you?" She suddenly stopped herself as if she remembered something. "Oh… Sorry about what I said about your girlfriend… I didn't mean it like that."
"It's alright, Vinyl. There's no harm to it." I assured her with a smile.
"Cool." She returned, smiling as well. "What's up?"
"I just wanted to see if you'd like to come over to a sleepover I'm having with my friends. You could meet them, and I'm sure you'll like them."
"A sleepover? Beats spending my nights listening to beats! Sounds like fun!" Vinyl reacted.
I grinned. "I'll see you tonight then."
"Of course you will, dude!" She brightly and playfully punched my foreleg.
"Let's just hope you don't stay up all night like that other night." I joked.
"Please, with the fun that'll be in that sleepover, I'm sure I'll knock out before the fun's even started!"
"I'll hold you to that." I chuckled and then allowed her to prepare herself for tonight as well.
On the way to my house to set up, three little fillies ran into me.
"Big Brother!" Sweetie Belle's voice cried. "Since you're a Prince, does that mean you won't see us anymore?"
"What?" I questioned and then lowered myself to her height. "Of course not. I'll still be your old Big Brother Alex." I smiled and messed with her mane lightly.
She jumped towards me and wrapped her little hooves around my neck. "You Pinkie Promise?"
"Cross my heart." I created a crossing motion against my chest. "Hope to fly." I flapped my wings. "Stick a cupcake in my eye." I finished.
Sweetie Belle held me tighter in happiness as Applebloom reinforced my statement. "It's true, Sweetie Belle! Alex would never leave his pony friends like my sister Applejack! Neither will Twilight!"
"Yeah!" Scootaloo agreed. "I know if Rainbow Dash became a Princess, she'd never leave me!"
I chuckled.
Sweetie Belle slowly pulled away and continued looking at me. "Good! Big Brother is the best!"
"We just wanted to make sure you'd still be around." Scootaloo explained. "After all, who's going to watch after us when we keep doing some crusading, huh?"
Sending me some little nostalgic memories, I smiled warmly at her. "Me."
"Come on, y'all!" Applebloom encouraged her friends. "Let's go look for somethin' else to do!"
"Yeah!" They all cheered. "Bye, Alex!" They ran off.
I continued gazing at them as they fled. I just can't wait to see the looks on their faces when they get their cutie marks…but at the same time, I'll miss all their adventures in doing so… It's like raising a child… You enjoy the time they spend when they're little, and you can't wait to see how mature and bold they become as an adult, but you'll miss the times enjoyed when they were still your child…
I shook my head.
Who am I to talk about memories with your children?
I'm not even married…
…yet.
When I was back home, I decided we could all be in the living room since there was barely anything in there except my art supplies. There was a lot of room and if I did some small moving, I could really make it comfortable to be in. I removed any art supplies on the floor and organized them on the shelf.
Noticing the couch being in the middle of the room, I decided to use my magic to move it to the side, where it could be a place used to sleep on, but not in the way.
After messing with the small stuff, I managed to make a nice amount of space in the living room.
As I waited for the girls to arrive, I carefully removed my uniform from my body and placed it neatly and caringly away. For my crown, I slowly removed it from my head and stared at it for a moment. I felt like releasing a few tears once again, but I shook my head and placed it on the middle of my shelf, allowing it stand out from the other items. Lastly, I folded the baby blue blanket of mine and placed it right on the night stand. My mane style remained the same, but I had removed the clothing from me.
I heard a knock on my front door.
I walked back downstairs to open it.
Twilight revealed herself and grinned in silence. Afterwards, she walked in, holding a sleeping bag to her side while also holding a cake. She also had removed her formal clothes.
"Where do I put the cake?" She asked.
"Here, let me go ahead and take that for you." I returned and grabbed the cake with my own magic to place it on a counter in the kitchen. After, I walked back to Twilight as she settled her matching sleeping bag on the ground. "Where's Spike?"
She giggled lightly. "He's staying home. He thinks that sleepovers are for girls and that it is only going to be girly gunk and whatnot."
"Oh really?" I raised an eyebrow. "So, he's calling me a mare then?"
She giggled again. "I don't know. Maybe."
I shrugged. "You know… I've come to realize something…"
"What's that?"
"Pretty much ALL my friends are mares, excluding Spike and Shining Armor. That makes me wonder whether other ponies I don't know might think that it's a little odd to be around girls all the time…but you know what? I don't care. My life may just be full of mares, but it's alright because you all make me happy. I don't care what others think as long as you all accept me. You all are all I need."
"Aww." Twilight expressed and hugged me. "That reminds me. I just want to thank you for what an amazing friend and B.B.B.F.F. you've been. You've accompanied me through many times, good and bad. You're just a big part of my life and I can't imagine how it would be without you. Really. I can't even wonder how things would be now if I or any of the other girls never met you." She paused for a bit. "Also…if you don't mind, this is just a little bit to show my appreciation for you." She sympathetically and friendly placed a gentle kiss on my right cheek.
I smirked a little and rubbed her mane. "Thank you. It might be a little, but it sure means a lot to me. After all… It's just another one of our destinies right?"
"You're totally right…"
I remembered something.
"Hey…did you take care of the Alicorn Amulet?" I asked.
"Yep. It's back with Zecora and she's going to try to find something to ensure that it doesn't get taken again." She answered. I frowned a little as I remembered that I was still the one who took it, even if it was out of my control. "Hey, hey." She noticed my changed expression. "Don't worry about it. I explained to Zecora what happened and she understood. She's also sorry if she kind of got a little too judgmental on you."
I perked up a little again. "Alright. Thanks, Twi…"
There was another loud knock.
"Yo, yo!" Rainbow Dash burst in with her own sleeping bag as well. She brought some sodas and threw them over to me while she flew over to the living room to set up her bag.
I chuckled and then walked over to the kitchen to place the sodas near the cake. Before I was able to walk out of the kitchen, the others immediately came in; each carrying both their sleeping bag and something for the sleepover that made it seem like it was going to become a party instead. The girls gave me their snacks, treats and consumable items as they walked past by me happily with their sleeping bags. Once I had finally organized them all on the counter, I walked out into the living room to see the rest of the girls setting up their sleeping bags. The only ones missing were Derpy and Vinyl Scratch.
Pinkie was already bouncing her body in a rhythmic motion happily. She had already stuck her back hooves in her sleeping bag. She closed her eyes and nodded her head with a grin. The girls already began talking to each other as I noticed the sun set in the background outside the window.
Before I could join them, there was yet another knock.
I turned around and opened the door.
"Hi, Alex!" Derpy exclaimed and brought a plate of muffins for me.
I grabbed them. "Welcome, Derpy. Go ahead and come in."
"Thanks!" She flew inside.
I placed the plate in the kitchen and walked back to the living room to introduce Derpy to those who have not met her.
"Everypony, this is Derpy." I spoke. "To every one of you that hasn't met her before, she's a fun and lovable gray pegasus."
Derpy blushed cheerfully at my comment.
"Fun?" Rainbow Dash asked in a negative manner.
"Rainbow…" I lightly scolded. "I will not have any rudeness at this sleepover. Only fun, right, Pinkie?"
"Right!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. She noticed Derpy's eyes. "Oooh!"
Already seeing a fantastic conversation coming on, I walked back to the door, expecting Vinyl to arrive soon.
There was a knock once more.
I opened it.
And there she was.
"Am I late?" She asked with a small smirk. Spotting the musical themed sleeping bag on her back, I also noticed she didn't have her DJ glasses. Her eyes were completely revealed.
"Not at all." I gestured my head towards the inside.
She walked in to hear the small conversation of the girls in the living room. She looked around and continued to smirk a bit. "Nice place you got here."
"Hardly." I answered. I looked at her. "Come on. I'll introduce you to the others."
"Cool." She followed me into the living room.
"Alright, for the last pony of the night…" I announced towards the girls. "Everypony, meet Vinyl Scratch, Equestria's best DJ pony."
"Hi, Vinyl!" Pinkie greeted.
"Sup, Pinkie." Vinyl returned.
"You ponies get to know each other. I'll get some snacks ready." I walked back out of the living room and into the kitchen.
I sliced some of the cake Twilight brought me into pieces, poured some soda into different glasses, and brought along a cupcake for the first round. I moved the treats towards the living room and placed them on the coffee table for the girls to grab.
"So you're Alex's girlfriend, huh?" Vinyl asked Fluttershy. "Nice to meet you." She held out her hoof towards Fluttershy.
"Nice to meet you too." Fluttershy hesitantly raised her hoof, but accepted the hoof shake nonetheless.
"So…" Rainbow Dash began speaking with a mouth half full of cake. "Why did you want to have a sleepover so suddenly, Alex?" She asked. "I never thought you would ever invite us to your place."
"Rainbow…" Twilight slightly scolded.
Nonetheless, I lightly chuckled. "Well…I just thought…it would be the perfect way to end the day…and to somehow show all of you how much you mean to me." I paused for a moment, feeling an emotional speech come up my throat. As the words processed through my head, they engaged my tear ducts to become active. "I'm just so…happy with you all…" The tears brimmed in my eyes and slowly fell out. I shook my head. "Look at me. I always cry so much…heh…" I wiped my eyes even though the tears continued forming. "I'm not sure if I have already mentioned this to the most of you but… you all are my everything. Miracles that have entered my lives. You all are perfect the way you are to me… I never ever want any of you to change one bit."
They were silent, but their soft and heartfelt smiles broke through it.
"Never thought you'd go so deep, Alex." Vinyl lightly joked.
I wiped the rest of the tears and chuckled. "You'd be surprised, Vinyl. You'd be surprised…"
After several hours, when it was around midnight, the girls began feeling sleepy.
Twilight yawned. "Derpy, if you don't mind me asking, why do you cross your eyes like that?"
"Yes," Rarity agreed. "It seems awfully painful." Rarity was just finished placing on her curlers and face mask for the night.
"It's just fun to do." Derpy answered with a smile. "It doesn't hurt, so don't worry."
"Derpy has had her eyes crossed like that since Flight Camp. She's trained herself to fly with those kinds of eyes! Can you believe that?!" Rainbow Dash pointed out a bit…rudely…
"And that's what makes her special and unique." I added happily towards her comment.
"Yeah, dude." Vinyl included, holding a muffin in her hooves and looking at it. "Not only does she make these best tasting muffins I've ever tasted, she can cross her eyes like that and fly perfectly." She looked towards Derpy and smiled. "You have a lot of talent to share with Equestria."
Derpy lightly blushed and looked towards the floor bashfully. "Thanks."
"It's been fun, y'all, but I suppose we get a little shut-eye." Applejack offered. "Don't wanna keep the neighbors up."
Vinyl laughed. "Ha. Please, I've done loads worse. No pony has ever gotten after me about it…" She stopped herself and looked at me. "I mean…heh…only one."
"If there's any candy left over for tomorrow morning, I'm having it for breakfast!" Pinkie exclaimed cheerfully and threw the covers of her sleeping bag over her.
"I do need my beauty sleep." Rarity fluffed her mane a bit and then laid down in her own sleeping bag as well.
Everypony had already had a part of their body in their sleeping bags, they just needed to cover themselves in order to go to sleep.
"I suppose so." Twilight yawned again. "Goodnight, everypony."
"Nighty-night!" Derpy exclaimed cheerfully.
"Night." Vinyl added with a smile.
I chuckled inside and turned out the lights in the living room, letting the light outside lightly light the inside.
Strange… It seemed darker than usual…
"Alex…" I heard a whisper by me.
I was almost startled when I saw soft eyes near me. "Oh. Hey, Flutters. What's wrong?"
"I forgot my sleeping bag…"
I released a questionable smirk. "Forgot? Or accidentally on purpose forgot?"
I could feel Fluttershy's mouth stretch softly across her face. "You know…"
I placed a light kiss on her lips. "Come on." I took her upstairs to sleep with me in my bed. I lifted up the covers for her to be able to fly and land on the bed. She lied down and looked at me with adorable eyes. I placed the covers on her and lightly tucked it around her with my magic. "Comfortable?"
"Mm-hm." She nodded her head.
I flew towards the bed and joined her.
I heard her mumble something quietly under her breath as she closed her eyes to sleep.
"Huh?" I questioned in a whisper.
She slightly widened her eyes and I felt her cheeks become hot a bit. "Nothing…"
I smiled at her reaction and kissed her cheek, then her lips. "Goodnight, Fluttershy."
"Goodnight, Alex… I love you…"
"I love you too."
I closed my eyes in order to fall asleep, but she didn't allow me to win the battle. She forcefully, in an enchanting and beautiful moment, placed her lips on me. I was surprised by this action. However, I placed my hooves on her and closed my eyes dreamily.
After a moment, she giggled softly and then pulled away to start sleeping as well.
I smiled in the darkness and closed my eyes, feeling so much…relief that all the girls were indeed with me, Fluttershy being the closest.
I had fallen asleep until my state of rejuvenation was interrupted by a voice.
Come outside.
"Huh…?" I softly spoke. I lifted myself up to see Fluttershy resting with her chest raising up and lowering down in a rhythmic motion.
I slowly removed myself from the bed in order to not wake her up. I quietly walked down the stairs to see if anything was going on downstairs. I looked towards the dark living room to hear silence. It seemed the girls were still asleep as well.
Taking that voice in my head a chance, I turned to the front door and gently opened it enough to be able to slip through. I quietly pulled it back to close it, but not fully.
"Why, hello, Alex." I heard behind me.
I turned around to be surprised by her appearance. "Mom…! What are you doing here?"
Princess Luna released a tender beam. "I'd like to accomplish our first bonding task as mother and son."
"Huh…?" I tilted my head in confusion. "It's a little too late for that, isn't it…?"
"Not exactly." She returned. "Tell me, Alex. Is there anything different you notice about tonight?"
I looked around for a moment. It took me a while to figure out since I was half-asleep, but I understood what she was talking about when remembering the "not as much light" thought I brought up earlier. "The moon… You didn't raise it up?" I slipped out a whispered laugh. "Don't tell me you're letting your motherly duties get the best of your royal duties, Mom."
"Hmm." She smiled and closed her eyes. "Once again, you are wrong, Alex." I looked at her questionably. She opened her eyes again and looked at me passionately. "You are a Prince, remember? The Prince of the Night." I remained silent, continuing to look at her with a question that I wanted an answer for. "…let us raise the moon together."
I gasped. "…you and me…?" She nodded her head lovingly. "Mom…I don't know a single thing about raising the moon…"
"As the Prince of the Night, you do indeed. Here, I shall guide you." A glow emerged from her horn. "The important piece comes from your heart, Alex. It knows what to do. Allow it to accomplish this task with your magic. Let it be what it wishes to be." I released a deep breath and closed my eyes. Without actually trying to cast a spell or such, I felt the glow on my horn slowly become brighter. "That is it… Now…just let it take control of your body for just a moment, Alex… You don't need to be afraid. It is your heart. You know you can trust it…"
"…Okay…Mom…" I relaxed my body and soon, it actually felt as if I was being controlled by a good spirit this time. We were both levitated in the air.
"Now…let us accomplish this together…" She placed the tip of her horn on mine.
Both of our glows combined and created an immense light between the both of us. I opened my eyes to see this light. Then, before me, the enormous moon slowly rose to its usual position in the sky. I was astonished in its beauty.
After several seconds, it stopped where it needed to be. My mom and I were slowly lowered to the ground.
"Mom…" I whispered, stunned by the amazement of both our powers.
"Shh…" She returned, lightly shushing me. "You must receive your rest now… We shall see each other very soon…"
I felt myself weakly smirk. "What about my goodnight kiss?"
She chuckled and lowered her head towards mine. She kissed my left cheek and embraced me. "Have a goodnight, honey… Remember… I'll drop by in your dreams if you ever feel lonely or fearful again…"
"Thanks, mom… I love you…"
"I love you too…"
She allowed me to return to bed for the rest of the night.
I laid in my bed for a while, but I quite couldn't go to sleep yet. There was nothing bad about that however. There was an accomplishment that kept me thinking for a while. I sat up on my bed and looked out the window, noticing the slight increase in light and brightness in the room.
What will go on from now, I wonder?
I looked at my bed sheets and continued thinking.
This is just the beginning… So many new doors and opportunities have been opened… Twilight is both a Princess and Alicorn… Princess Luna is my real loving mom on who I plan to treat as such… and…apparently my father…Night Terror…actually loves me but is just…not himself right now…
I sighed quietly in a contented manner.
This is just the beginning…
I can't wait for the next day… I want to spend my whole life with the girls because they are just my whole life. This statement may sound redundant but that's how much it means to me. And Fluttershy… I looked towards her sleeping face and smiled at her adorableness that sure could kill anypony if used to its fullest extent. I feel…in my heart…for a future with her… I don't know if I'm getting ahead of myself…but it's true… She's just my…soul mate, I believe. Sometimes, I just want to show my affection to her as much as I can, but we all have limits…
I yawned.
I always find myself thinking too much at night…
Noticing the light of the moon on my bed sheets, I turned my head out the window once again.
Before finally allowing myself to shift into slumber, I took a notice at the accomplishment my mother and I achieved.
It was a full moon.