What Didn't Happen

by Zeg

Secrets and Conspiracies

“Um... well,” Fluttershy glanced over her shoulder toward the back bedroom nervously in spite of herself. She shook her head, trying to force her nerves into a calm state. Forcing a smile to her muzzle as she looked back to Moondancer, she pulled the door open. “Sure, please come in.”

Moondancer nodded, and looked to the two Nightguard that had accompanied her. “Why don’t you two wait outside for me. I wouldn’t want her to feel like her home is being invaded.”

“No problem, Captain,” the mare guard happily said with a quick salute. The two guards decided to each take up a post on either side of the doorway, standing at attention.

As Moondancer walked inside, she used her magic to remove her guard helmet. Her coat shimmered as the helm left her head, changing from dark gray to an off white. Her trimmed mane fell from the helm down around her ears, hanging to just a bit further than chin length. She absently used a hoof to tuck her mane back over and behind each ear. Her mane’s color changed to reveal its natural color of red with a two tone highlight of violet that ran the length of one side of her mane. She rapidly blinked her eyes as they shifted from golden irises with cat-like pupils to much more normal looking violet eyes. “I didn’t catch you at a bad time did I?” she asked as she glance around at the cottage’s interior.

“Oh, not at all. It’s just that Twilight is um... busy!” Fluttershy said, maintaining her smile as she nodded quickly.

“Oh, she’s not here?”

“No, she was...,” Fluttershy strained herself to remember some sort of excuse, and then her ears perked up as she heard the sound of running water coming from the back bedroom. Her frazzled mind recalled the plan that they had come up with should anypony come asking for Twilight. “Shower! She’s in the shower,” Fluttershy said quickly.

“Oh, okay. Do you mind if I wait then?”

Just then, Fluttershy noticed a violet colored primary feather lying on the floor just behind where Moondancer was standing. Her eyes widened a bit as her grin morphed into her gritting her teeth. “Um, yes! Over there, at the table!” Fluttershy said quickly as she nudged Moondancer to the dining table. Just as she was walking past the feather, she quickly kicked it to the side with a back hoof and used the tip of her tail to sweep it away, causing it to swiftly float out of view under a nearby chair. “You just take a seat there and... I’ll get something!” Fluttershy glanced at the partially empty cups of coffee that she and Twilight had been sharing a conversation over earlier, nervously chewing at her bottom lip. “Coffee! I’ll get coffee...,” she decided as she began to scamper off toward the kitchen.

“You don’t have to trouble yourself,” Moondancer said as she rested her helmet on the floor next to her chair and took a seat at the table.

“No trouble! Just wait right there,” Fluttershy called back as she vanished through the kitchen doorway.

Moondancer looked over the back of her chair to the kitchen door that the strange, flustered pegasus had rushed off too, following her with a perplexed look. After giving a shrug, she turned her attention back to the table, and there saw a white rabbit staring back at her with its tiny arms crossed as it seemed to scowl back. “Oh... hey there little guy,” Moondancer said as she reached a hoof out to greet the small creature. However, a quick swat from one of its furry little paws caused her to jerk her hoof back quickly. She gawked back for a moment in disbelief, until the rabbit turned its nose up and hopped away, leaping off the other end of the table.

“Ooookay,” Moondancer drawled out as she watched the animal scurry off. She looked around the room noticing that most of the animals in the home seemed to be hiding, peeking out at her from little cubby holes here and there. There must have been a few dozen pairs of beady little eyes staring at her. “Must be the uniform,” she said with a sigh. She then noticed something other than one of Fluttershy’s woodland friends staring at her when she happened to look toward the bedroom doorway. Twilight had decided to show herself now that she had her disguise prepared, but she seemed hesitant to come into the room as she remained there quietly staring.

“You must be Twilight Sparkle,” Moondancer said as she put on a smile.

Twilight eyed the helmet resting on the floor. “And you’re Captain Moondancer?” Twilight asked as she looked back up, seeming a bit unsure and maintaining her distance.

Moondancer seemed a bit surprised, but came to a quick realization as to how Twilight already knew of her. “Ah, right. You met my imposter back in the camp. I promise, I’m the real one. Though you can still check if you want to be sure. I’m told you know a really mean changeling zapping spell.”

Twilight took a couple cautious steps into the room. “You probably are the real one, since you look different with the armor off. But I would like to check, if you really don’t mind.”

“Not at all, in fact I’d prefer you do.” Moondancer watched as Twilight prepared a quick spell, causing a pinpoint of bright white to form at the tip of her horn. When the spell was released, a glowing orb of white expanded from the point. It passed harmlessly over everything within the room. “So, does that mean I pass?”

“It does,” Twilight said with a smile as she walked up to the table, offering a hoof. “It’s nice to meet you, Captain Moondancer.”

Moondancer gladly took the hoofshake. “You don’t need to use my title. After all, you are the pony who saved my life.”

Twilight took a seat at the table next to Moondancer. “It was much more than just my efforts that lead to your rescue,” she commented humbly.

“I think it would be fair to say that without your help, I’d still be dangling from a ceiling,” Moondancer said though a laugh as she pointed a hoof upward. “I heard about all the help that you gave the Nightguard after you revealed the spy. Quite a few in the guard have told me just how impressive you were. You managed to train nearly every unicorn there how to use a spell they’d never seen before in just a few days. That takes some talent.”

Twilight bowed her head slightly to the lavish praise. “Thank you.”

“You deserve the compliment. And actually, that leads me to the other reason why I’m here. I came personally because I wanted to thank you, but I also may have had a hoof in making a recommendation to her Majesty on who she should choose to replace her court wizard.”

Twilight glanced over to the kitchen doorway when she noticed Fluttershy coming out before glancing back to Moondancer with a questioning look. “Are you saying you recommended me? And why does she need a new one? What happened with the previous one?”

Moondancer gave Fluttershy a quick thank you as she accepted a small coffee cup and saucer from her with her magic, taking a quick sip before setting them down on the table. “Well, not really supposed to discuss it openly, but I think letting you be privy to some information wouldn’t hurt. The last one didn’t like his favorite princess being replaced, and made it abundantly clear that he wanted nothing to do with the Queen. He was let go to avoid any potential problems, so her Majesty has actually been without a wizard for weeks.” Moondancer took notice of Twilight’s slightly troubled look at the mention of the previous wizards dismissal. “He’s fine, other than being out of a job. I hope I wasn’t being too presumptuous by recommending you, but if only a few of the things I’ve heard about you are true, I can’t think of anypony else that would fit the position any better, and the Queen seemed eager to agree when I brought up the idea. She really is impressed with you.”

“That’s great, Twilight,” Fluttershy said as she took her seat at the table. “I mean, you really like magic and you’re good at it, so something like this sounds perfect for you.”

“Yeah, I suppose it does.” It seemed the two friends were both thinking the same thing; this was a chance at moving things forward. But Twilight had a nagging feeling that there was something too coincidental about being offered such a perfect position. She also found herself wondering why this Moondancer didn’t seem to recognize her at all.

Moondancer took another sip from her coffee before setting it down again. “If you decided to take the job it would likely mean moving to Canterlot since it’s a permanent position, but I’m sure the details can be worked out later.”

“It’s... rather sudden,” Twilight said as she gave Fluttershy a worried look. “I have to admit I’m wondering what our friends might think about this.”

“Oh, I think they’ll be happy for you. After all, isn’t this just like something you’ve been hoping for?” Fluttershy maintained that encouraging smile that she got when she was trying to tell somepony to ‘go for it’. “It wouldn’t mean we would never see each other again, would it?”

Moondancer quickly waved a hoof to dismiss that thought. “Oh, of course not. That isn’t the intention here at all. I know it’s a big decision to make on a moment's notice though. Maybe I should have asked you about it first before I went to the Queen about it.”

Twilight hummed as she thought over the offer. It did reek of something too good to be true, but that only made her even more curious. And if it did turn out to really be a job offer that would practically make her Nightmare Moon’s righthoof mare, there was a lot of potential good that could come from that. “No, I’ll go with you to Canterlot, Moondancer,” she said, deciding to play along. “You’re right, Fluttershy. This is an opportunity I’ve been waiting for. I shouldn’t pass it up.”

Just then, a ferret hopped up on the table with a violet primary feather in its mouth. It ran directly toward Moondancer, and stopped just short of her to stand on its hind legs, presenting the feather with its little furry paws as if giving a peace offering.

“Oh,” Moondancer said with a bit of surprise. “Well thank you little fella,” she said as she accepted the feather with a hoof and gave the ferret a pat on the head with the other. The ferret gave a little chirp of happiness at the petting.

“Ah hah,” Fluttershy laughed nervously as her rigid smile returned to her face. “Mr. Ferret is feeling rather generous today, isn’t he,” she said as she focused a thinly masked glare at the little creature, causing him to shrink back a bit and then turn to escape off the table to avoid the stare. Fluttershy turned her attention back to Moondancer, doing her best to hide her tension. “He tends to do that, giving random things to visitors. It’s his way of making friends. You don’t have to keep that.”

“I think it’s cute, and the feather is pretty.” Moondancer levitated the feather up, and tucked it just behind her ear. “You don’t mind if I keep it, do you?”

“Um, well,” Fluttershy caught herself about to glance at Twilight as if to ask her friend if it were okay, but quickly thought better of it as she blink-blinked to keep herself from doing so. “Okay. You can keep it,” she said when she couldn’t think of anything to say to possibly recover the feather without drawing attention to its significance.

If Twilight had been at all bothered with one of her feathers being handed over to the Captain of the Nightguard, she didn’t show it. “When would we be leaving for Canterlot, Moondancer?” she asked.

“I came here by chariot, so if you would like a ride back with me we could leave right away.”

Twilight nodded and stood from her chair. “Now is as good a time as any. Shouldn’t keep her Majesty waiting, should we?” Twilight walked around the table to Fluttershy, resting a hoof on her shoulder. “You’ll tell the others for me, right?”

Fluttershy smiled up to her. “Of course. And you’ll let us know how things are going?”

“You can count on it.”

Queen Nightmare Moon had chosen to welcome Twilight at the Canterlot Palace gates personally, along with a full entourage of Nightguard. It turned out that the offer had been very true, and Nightmare Moon was eager to welcome Twilight as her new enchantress, if she would agree to taking up the title.

Twilight accepted, of course. The new position would bring her just a step away from gaining access to the Canterlot Archives, and possibly even the Elements if she could find a convincing enough reason to be allowed to study them.

However, there was a necessity for patience. As eager as Twilight was to obtain her goals as soon as possible, she couldn’t show too much sudden interest in such secretive things without arousing suspicions. For now, she would need to settle in to the new position and gain what favor she could with the Queen.

Her new quarters at the palace would be the same tower that had been vacated by the dismissed wizard, and turned out to be the same tower that she had stayed at when she was Celestia’s personal student, which made her realize something. In this altered past, it seemed she had never been Celestia’s student. This put the change back even further than she had originally thought, to a time that was at least before she had taken her entrance exam to enter Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. This made it highly likely that Celestia would have no idea who Twilight Sparkle even was, and perhaps even explained why Moondancer hasn’t recognized her. Once again, Twilight found herself wondering if she had ever even existed in this alternate history.

Moondancer had offered to show Twilight to the tower. Of course the time traveling princess knew its location, but she accepted the escort to give the impression that this was the first time she had ever been to the palace. She would have to keep up her ruse as being a simple unicorn talented in magic going for the foreseeable future, and so far everything seemed to be going perfectly well.

That was until Twilight and Moondancer entered the tower.

Twilight’s ears twitched when she heard the sound of the door’s lock clicking after Moondancer had been pulled it closed, and her eyes widened a bit as she picked up on an almost unnoticeable surge of energy at the same time. If the Princess of Magic hadn’t been as attuned to the ebb and flow of magic as she was, she could have easily missed it. She continued to calmly walk into the room, mentally reaching out to discreetly test the air around her. She picked up on a magical aura surrounding the area; a strong ward cast over the entire structure that must have become active when the door was locked. Her mind gently tugged at the magical ‘threads’ that held the spell together to test it, noting its construction. The strength of the spell indicated that it had been assembled by a group of unicorns with the specific purpose of keeping all things in or out. She didn’t sense any immediate danger as there were no offensively based enchantments, but her mind came up with only one possible answer for this setup; a trap. What was concerning about the trap wasn’t the trap itself, but that Moondancer had willingly locked herself inside.

Twilight ascended the stairway that lead up to the upper level where the bookcases were kept. She saw that the room was mostly the same as she remembered it, other than the fact that all of the books and scrolls were not at all organized to her liking. She proceeded to walk across the platform to the pony sized hourglass suspended by a golden stand and pushed it with a hoof to flip it over, watching as the sand shifted and began to slowly trickle from the upper chamber into the bottom one.

“So,” Twilight said as she glanced around behind herself as Moondancer made it to the top of the stairway. “You obviously have something you want to talk to me about.”

A few tense seconds quietly slipped by, the only sound in the room coming from the grains of sand hitting the bottom of the hourglass. “You noticed,” Moondancer finally said as she cautiously took a few more steps closer to Twilight.

“Yes, but it’s not really necessary,” Twilight said with a shrug. “If you wanted to ask me something, you can simply ask.”

“I don’t believe you would willingly give me the truth.” Moondancer began to circle around to the right side of the room toward a desk, keeping her eyes focused on Twilight as she did.

Twilight tilted her head as she watched Moondancer. “And why do you say that?”

“A mare named Twilight Sparkle suddenly shows up after having been missing for thirteen years, and instead of coming home to her family, she goes on an expedition into the Everfree Forest.” Moondancer stopped near the desk, silently staring back at Twilight for a moment before she continued. “Either you really have something against your family, or more likely, you’re not who you say you are. So who are you really?”

Moondancer had just unknowingly told Twilight something that she had been wanting to find out. She now finally knew that she did exist in this past, or at least did thirteen years ago. However, Twilight’s brow rose as she pursed her lips at the accusation against her. “Wow, so you think I’m posing as a missing pony? I never knew you to be the conspiracy theory type. When did that happen?”

Moondancer narrowed her golden eyes at Twilight. “I’ll be asking the questions, and neither of us are leaving here until I get the answers I’m looking for.”

Twilight let go an exhausted sounding sigh. “Right, lets take this somewhere more private.” Before Moondancer could respond, Twilight quickly cast a spell that caused two bright flashes where the two mares had just been standing, leaving nothing else moving in the room other than the sand shifting through the hourglass.

Two bright flashes of light lit the area within a small cavern for an instant. Twilight casually trotted to the center of the dark cave and cast a few orbs of white light from her horn. They each traveled up toward the cavern ceiling, slowly brightening until the area was completely lit. Moondancer looked around herself frantically, trying to figure out exactly where she had been taken, and how.

“You can’t do that!” she accused as she pointed a hoof at Twilight.

Twilight glanced back at Moondancer for a few seconds and then up to the ceiling, a thoughtful look on her as she tapped a forehoof to her chin. “I think I just did,” she said with a confident smile.

“But, the ward—”

“Wasn’t nearly complicated enough to hold me. It may have been strong enough, but I just went around it.” Twilight noticed Moondancer’s confused look as she tried to figure out what ‘went around it’ meant. Suggesting that such a thing was even possible probably sounded ridiculous. “Don’t worry, nopony will be able to figure out how to do that for awhile, other than me.”

Moondancer gave a stomp with a hoof. “I demand that you take us back. Now.”

“If you want to go back so badly, just teleport back yourself,” Twilight said as she dismissed the captain’s order with a wave of her hoof. She walked over to one of the many small crevices in the side of the cave where a solitary beam of moonlight cast itself on the floor. Peaking out of the crevice, she could see the tops of the spires of Canterlot Castle down below. “It’s just right below us. This is actually one of my favorite spots in Canterlot Mountain. A quiet little spot high above it all where I like to go to when I need some time to think.” Twilight seemed to enjoy the view for a moment before she turned her gaze to look over her shoulder at Moondancer, a small smirk turning up the corner of her mouth. “Of course, you probably can’t teleport yourself out. Quite a few unicorns can’t teleport at all, and those of us who can usually can’t make a jump this far in a single go. That’s why I like this spot so much, I’m one of the only ones who can reach it.”

Moondancer grited her teeth. “Act smug all you want, you’re still going to answer my questions before this is through.”

“That’s fine, but only if you answer some of mine too. Fair is fair, after all. And if you refuse, you’ll have to find your own way down the mountain,” Twilight said as she nodded toward Canterlot down below. “So, the first thing I would like to know is just how much you think you know about my disappearance. You said it happened thirteen years ago, but you didn’t say how.”

Moondancer furrowed her brows, quietly grumbling something to herself in frustration. “I don’t know how it happened. We were both only ten back then, and I just remember the teacher telling us that you had gone missing. There were rumors that you ran away from home, rumors that somepony foalnapped you and was going to ransom you for bits because your family was rich, and there was even a silly rumor that you had died in a shed near the playground and would come back to haunt the school. Pretty much every stupid story that a bunch of children would come up with. But officially, you just vanished.”

Twilight hummed at the information, and then asked, “Officially? What about unofficially?”

Moondancer responded with an incredulous look. “What do you mean? There is no unofficially. You vanished without a trace. There was never proof of a foalnapping, or a run away, or anything at all. It was like you just ceased to exist.”

Twilight obviously wasn’t satisfied with that answer, as her sides heaved to a sigh. She had only managed to unearth another unanswered question; just what had caused her to ‘vanish’ thirteen years ago. “Another question then,” Twilight said as she fully turned away from the crevice and walked back into the chamber toward Moondancer. She stopped only a few steps short of Moondancer. “Why do you even care?”

“Huh?” Moondancer said as she shook her head at the confusing question.

“Why would you care so much about figuring out what happened to me? If I recall right, we weren’t exactly what would be called the best of friends when we were young.”

Moondancer let go an exasperated sigh. “I really don’t care what happened back then. What I want to know is what you’re intending to do now.”

“And what do you think I’m intending to do?”

Moondancer seemed to grow more frustrated at the probing questions. “If I knew, I wouldn’t be trying to figure it out, would I?” she growled.

Twilight let go a little hum as she thought about the answer. “Okay, lets talk about your intentions then.”

“Lets not,” Moondancer said flatly as she narrowed her eyes at Twilight. “It’s time you start answering my questions.”

Twilight made cautioned gesture with her forehoof. “We’ll get to that. But first I need to know if you can be trusted.”

Moondancer scoffed at the remark. “Me? You’re questioning my integrity? You’re the one who’s hiding something!”

“And you’re the one who is likely guilty of treason.”

Moondancer blink-blinked as her voice caught in her throat. “What?” she said through a laugh, as if the claim was completely ridiculous.

“You heard me,” Twilight said lowly as she took a single, deliberate step toward Moondancer, to which she retreated from a single step. “Tell me how it happened. When Celestia was defeated, did you jump at the chance to replace my brother as Captain of the Guard? Or, where you approached by Nightmare Moon and asked to replace him?”

“W-what are you talking about?” Moondancer felt the hackles on her neck raise at the sudden shift in mood from the other mare. Even the air in the room suddenly felt suffocating under the imposing aura that Twilight seemed to be giving off.

Again, Twilight took another slow step toward the captain, causing Moondancer to retreat another step back. “Shining Armor. My brother. Do you know him?”

Moondancer could feel an inexplicable wave of panic welling up inside her. She tried to fight past the illogical fear she was suddenly feeling to answer the question. “Y-yes, of course I know him.”

“And you took his position from him, didn’t you.” Twilight seemed to be demanding that Moondancer answer with a yes.

“Where did you hear something like that? He never was in the guard!” Moondancer explained, her wide, fearful eyes fixed on Twilight.

Twilight halted her imposing advance, pursing her lips with a confused look. “He wasn’t?”

Moondancer relaxed slightly, letting go a calming breath as the tension in the room seemed to evaporate. “No. I became the guard captain over three years ago, after the previous captain received a promotion. Shiny has never actually been part of the guard, even though I have asked him to join before.”

Twilight blinked at the nickname. “Wait, just where do you know my brother from?”

“He’s an apprentice arcane armor smith who makes armor for the guard, he isn’t in the guard, so whoever told you he had become a guard captain, they told you wrong.” Moondancer glanced down to stare at the floor before her as she quietly spoke. “I sort of got to know him more after you disappeared. He used to always say that I reminded him of you.” She slowly glanced up and smiled faintly. “He also used to talk a lot about how he’d once had dreams to join the guard and it got me interested. I thought if I joined that he might actually follow through with it, but it ended up his heart just wasn’t in it. But, after I joined, he was the one who issued me my first set of arcane armor, and... things sort of went from there.” Moondancer paused for a short moment, glancing to the side as she kicked a forehoof against the floor. “Actually, we’ve been engaged for nearly a year now.”

Twilight stood there staring at Moondancer, her eyes steadily blinking as if she had been completely unable to understand what she had just heard. Her mouth slowly fell agape as she slowly shook her head. “What!?” she finally screeched, causing Moondancer to flinch back on her haunches. “How did something like that happen!?”

“We... went on a date?” Moondancer said as she shrugged her shoulders. When she saw the hard look she got in response, she asked, “Do you seriously want me to go into detail?”

“Ugh, no, please don’t,” Twilight said as she too rested on her haunches, bringing her forehooves up to massage her temples. “This shouldn’t be happening,” she lowly grumbled as she felt a mild headache starting to form.

“Hey!” Moondancer suddenly came to a stand as she stomped over toward Twilight. “Did you just expect life to come to a complete stop when you decided to vanish? You may not like it, but I fell in love with your brother, and he loves me back. And whatever it is that you’re planning, I’m not going to let you drag him into it!”

Twilight stared back at Moondancer with a blank look for a few seconds, her hooves slowly falling back to the floor, and then nodded with an ‘ah hah’. “I see. That’s what this is really all about isn’t it? Convincing the Queen to summon me here, the little trap that you tried to set for me... you were afraid I was posing as your fiance's little sister, and thought I might get him mixed up in something.” Twilight let go a light laugh as she pushed herself to stand up. “Well, if I haven’t proven to you yet that I am who I say I am, I’m sure I can list off a few memories from when we were both little fillies to drive the point home.”

“How about you tell me about this instead,” Moondancer said as she reached to a side satchel on her armor and flipped the flap open. Her hoof disappeared inside the satchel, and then came back out with something that sparkled and glittered in the light of Twilight’s illumination spell. “This was found in the woods by my Nightguard in a trench where something landed in the Everfree, though whatever it belonged too was already gone by the time they got there. It’s beat up pretty bad, but it’s not too hard to see that it’s a rather expensive piece of jewelry.”

Twilight eyed the mangled remains of what was once her royal hoofware. “What makes you believe I would know anything about that?” she asked as she kept her expression devoid of any readable emotion.

Moondancer smiled slightly as she set the jewelry down in front of herself before reaching back into her satchel a second time. “The same thing that makes me think that you know something about this,” she said as she pulled a violet feather from the side satchel. She gave it a flick with her hoof, causing it to float down to the floor where it landed resting against one of Twilight’s forehooves, to which Twilight glanced down at it slowly. “Primary feather’s can usually be found around the home that a pegasus lives in, but they usually match their coat color. I don’t think your friend has any violet in her, but it appears to match you perfectly, which is honestly really strange since you’re a unicorn.” Moondancer allowed a grin to spread across her muzzle as she watched Twilight slowly look back up to her. “Also, I know that you were first seen only a day after something hit the Everfree, by Sergeant Gale in the Everfree. I’m willing to bet you know what that something was, and you’re going to tell me what it is and why you were looking for it.”

Twilight silently stared back into Moondancer’s eyes. While it appeared she hadn’t fully puzzled everything together yet, she was getting close, and if she was anything like the Moondancer that she remembered, she would figure it out eventually. Twilight wasn’t a hundred percent sure she could fully trust this mare with her secrets, but it seemed to already be beyond the point of keeping her from finding out. If Twilight refused to tell her, Moondancer would continue to dig and could possibly draw a lot of unwanted attention her way, which left her with only one way to avoid that. Twilight reached her forehooves up and undid the snap buttons at the top of her jacket. She removed her disguise, allowing her crown to become visible as she spread her wings out to their full length to her sides. The grin melted off of Moondancer’s face, her mouth falling open as if she was going to say something, but nothing ever did come out.

“Well?” Twilight asked. “Not exactly what you were thinking, is it.”

Moondancer’s voice cracked as she tried to find something to say. “How... you’re a... is that even possible?”

“Long story, but I’m not telling it to you until I know you can be trusted as Captain of Equestria’s Royal Guard.” Twilight stood to her full height, pacing off to the side as she began to consider what she had learned so far. Now that Moondancer knew her secret, she was going to have to go on the offensive to ensure that it didn’t go any further. “From what I’ve heard, it seems like you chose to betray Celestia willingly, which would make you a traitor.”

Moondancer’s eyes widened a bit as she felt a wave of panic return to her. “I-I did what I had to!” she said a bit frantically.

“What you had to? Explain that one to me,” Twilight said as she turned and started pacing the other direction in front of Moondancer. “What forced you into betraying your country?”

“I didn’t betray Equestria, I saved it!”

Twilight stopped in her pacing, turning a narrow eyed gaze slowly back to her. “Really...,” she said, her tone indicating that she didn’t at all believe the claim.

“Would you rather that I had thrown the weight of the guard behind Cadenza? That would have plunged Equestria into a civil war.”

Twilight’s stare suddenly became very intense, causing Moondancer to squirm a bit. In a sudden flash, Twilight teleported across the short distance to only a single hoofwidth away from Moondancer’s face, causing her to scramble backwards in shock. “You know what happened to Princess Cadenza?” Twilight asked as she stared at the frightened captain as if she could somehow pull an answer straight out of her with her glare. Moondancer cowered away, avoiding eye contact as she shrunk toward the floor. “You do...,” Twilight said in a low whisper. Suddenly the air in the room filled with a static sensation that made Moondancer feel like every hair on her body was trying to stand on end. She dared to look up at the angered alicorn, and found herself unable to look away at the terrifying scene as Twilight’s eyes glowed a solid bright white. Her mane and tail had begun to whip around as if a strong wind had caught them, through the air in the cavern was completely still. Her voice carried an echo as she spoke. “I swear by the power that I wield, if any harm at all came to her—”

“No! She’s unharmed,” Moondancer quickly said as she cowered down as close to the ground as she could.

Twilight lowered her face to within a few inches of Moondancer’s, the brightness from the glow causing the later to squint her eyes closed as she leaned away. “You know for certain?” Twilight asked.

“Yes,” Moondancer whined as she quivered on the floor. “She’s in Canterlot.”

“Where,” Twilight asked, the single word impacting the air in the room like a sledgehammer.

“At the palace!” Moondancer cried out.

Twilight’s face twisted up in anger as she grited her teeth. “You know what I’m asking, stop being vague!” she yelled, causing Moondancer to finally scramble to her hooves and flee.

Moondancer only made it a few steps, where she found the back wall of the cavern. She had no idea why she had ran, since doing so in the confined space made no sense. It was as if her legs had suddenly decided to try to get her as far away as they could on their own. She pressed her side against the wall, slumping against it as she slid down to the floor. She could feel herself breathing heavily, and noticed the tears streaming down the side of her face. She had never known anything to instill pure fear in her like this. Before her was a mare no more physically imposing than herself, but something about the raw power the alicorn seemed to give off made her feel completely inadequate, as if her existence could be simply snuffed out with a thought and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

“She’s being held... in a cell,” Moondancer weakly croaked as she tried to control her emotions. “What else could I do? She had to be kept out of the way to avoid a possible uprising. Celestia was already gone before any of us knew what had happened, and Cadenza isn’t anywhere near powerful enough to face an ancient alicorn like Nightmare Moon. We would lose, and in the end the only thing we would accomplish would be ripping Equestria in half. Celestia wouldn’t have wanted that.”

Twilight had chosen to sit at the center of the room and quietly listen. The amazing power still radiated from her entire being, but she otherwise just silently sat there as she considered what she had been told. Finally, she decided to speak. “So, you chose to jail an innocent.”

“I had to!” Moondancer cried. “If I hadn’t, then ponies would try to rally behind her even if we didn’t! It’s the responsibility of the guard to keep Equestria safe, and this was the only way to do that.”

Twilight rose to her hooves, slowly walking over to where Moondancer was slumped against the wall. Moondancer didn’t make another attempt to flee, she only braced herself for whatever might happen next, but Twilight only sat down next to the her. “Tell me, Moondancer,” Twilight gently said as she slowly blinked her glowing eyes. “If my brother, the one who you seem to care for so much, was the one who had to be jailed to save our nation... would you do it?”

Moondancer felt a knot in her throat. She closed her eyes as she turned her head down toward the floor. “N-no....” The answer was almost a whisper, but it had been loud enough to be heard through the hollow room. “It’s not fair to ask me that.”

Twilight had gently reached out to place a hoof on top of one of Moondancer’s, which caused her to flinch as her eyes shot back open. “I can tell you’re telling me the truth, which is all I really wanted. It wasn’t an easy choice for you, was it?” she heard Twilight say. She glanced up out of the corner of her eye, and could see the bright light fading from Twilight’s eyes as the powerful aura seemed to dissipate. Moondancer answered by only silently shaking her head.

Twilight stood, and then offered her hoof. Moondancer stared warily at the hoof, but once again it was as if the mare before her had completely changed. The fear had melted away almost as quickly as it had gripped her earlier, and now there seemed to be something almost comforting about the alicorn’s presence. She reluctantly took hold of Twilight’s hoof and allowed herself to be pulled up. Twilight smiled gently back at her before speaking. “There is another way to do this, one where everypony ends up happy, but the only way it’s going to happen is if I can count on you for help. I think I can, because we have something in common.”

Moondancer seemed unsure about that claim, tilting her head away slightly. “What do we have in common?”

“We both want to protect Equestria. We just don’t agree on how to do it. But I think we can come to an understanding.” Twilight turned to walk across the room back to the crevice to glance down to the city below once again. She quietly remained there for some time letting her thoughts wander, before she glanced back to Moondancer. “About my brother... you don’t have to worry. I really don’t want to involve my family in this mess. I’ll be sure to keep Shiny out of this.”

Moondancer let go a calming sigh as she walked up to the other side of the crevice. “I doubt you’ll be able to hide the fact that you’re back. I can imagine once word gets around the palace that the new enchantress’s name is Twilight Sparkle, Shiny will be trying to track you down.” Moondancer tapped one of her forehooves idly against the floor as she looked out at the view. “He never really did give up the search for you, you know?” she said with a quick glance to Twilight.

Twilight leaned toward the crevice, hooking her forehooves over the edge and resting her chin atop them. After staring out over Canterlot in silence for a moment, she rolled her head to the side to look back at Moondancer. “You’re right, I can’t avoid all contact with my family. But, at the very least, what you’ve seen here has to stay secret, especially from them. I’d rather not take any chance of them getting mixed up in this, and simply knowing what I’ve become would be involving them.”

Moondancer nodded. “I’ll keep your secret then, if only to keep him safe. But, as far as helping you goes, that depends on what you mean by ‘help’.” Moondancer steeled herself as she sat up straight on her haunches. “Use your scare tactics on me all you want, I’m not going to lead an army for you.”

Twilight’s look slowly shifted, appearing as if she was suddenly ashamed of something. She lifted her head up slightly, propping it against one of her forehooves as she leaned into it. “I’m sorry,” she said though a sigh. “I consider Cadance to be a very close friend of mine. Hearing that she’s been locked away just for being who she is set me off. I forget sometimes just how much of an effect my magic can have on those around me, and I think I overreacted a bit.”

“A bit, you think?” Moondancer dared to ask, her eyebrows having climbed a bit.

Twilight rolled her eyes, and then pushed herself to sit up straight. “Okay, a lot,” she said with a shrug. “I promise you, I’m not going to force you into anything you don’t want to do. I’m asking for your help.”

Moondancer crossed her forehooves as she leaned her shoulder back against the cavern wall. “But what can I do that doesn’t involve the rest of the Nightguard, if that’s not what you’re looking for.”

“Like I said, I want to protect Equestria just like you do,” Twilight said as she pointed her hoof to Moondancer, “and just like you, I really don’t want violence to be a part of it. However, I get the feeling that the entire world isn’t going to be thrilled about an eternal night, and though they might all be scared of Nightmare Moon right now, in time they’ll make a move against her, maybe all as one. Equestria wouldn’t survive something like that, so we’ll need to end the eternal night before that happens.”

“End it?” Moondancer said, a worried tone crossing her voice.

“Nothing violent,” Twilight reiterated. “I’m hoping that there could be a way to convince Nightmare Moon to end it herself, though I know that’s not going to be very likely.”

“So, what would be the alternative?” Moondancer asked as she shrugged her shoulders slightly.

“Haven’t decided yet. I’m keeping my options open, but mostly I need more time and information to come up with a plan. And that’s what I was hoping to rely on you for.”

Moondancer let her forehooves fall back to the ground with a clack as she narrowed her eyes at Twilight. “You want me to spy on Equestria’s ruler for you?”

“No,” Twilight said as she shook her head. “I just need you to keep putting a good word in for me. The more that Nightmare Moon trusts me, the more things she will likely be willing to trust me with. If we’re really lucky, I’ll be able to convince her to make the right choice.” Twilight stopped suddenly, staring off in front of herself when a thought struck her. She tapped one of her forehooves against the floor as she considered the idea. “Though now that I think of it, there probably is something a bit more direct that you could help me with.”

“What would that be?”

“Well, it’s probably something I shouldn’t do just yet, but eventually I want a chance to speak to Chrysalis. I think she knows something important.”

Moondancer considered the request, touching the side of one of her hooves against her bottom lip as she mulled it over. “If I took you there right away that would probably seem suspicious. What would the Queen’s new enchantress need with a prisoner, right?” she asked, to which Twilight seemed to agree with a nod. “Maybe we could come up with an excuse to let you question her after some time goes by. So far, she hasn’t really told us much of anything that we didn’t already know or found out on our own.”

“What did you find out?” Twilight asked, her curiosity piqued. “If you don’t mind me knowing.”

Moondancer hesitated for a few seconds, but then shrugged her shoulders as she decided to divulge what she knew. “You know about the rescue operation to recover the other victims from the hive, right?” Twilight nodded back silently in response. “Well, it’s been cancelled for now.”

Twilight jerked her head back slightly in surprise. A concerned look washed over her face, and she shook her head as she asked, “Why?”

Moondancer went back to leaning against the wall, raising her forelegs to fold them across her chest again. “When we started identifying the first group, we came across a shocking discovery. None of them were listed as a missing pony. That might be possible for one or two, but a dozen? It didn’t make any sense. So we started digging deeper, going through any kind of identification records we could find. Birth certificates, tax records, criminal records... and that’s where we found something unexpected.

“Every single one of them has a criminal record. A bad one.” Moondancer turned her eyes away to look out at the city below. “They’re the worst of the worst, every single one of them sentenced to life imprisonment for their crimes.”

Twilight sat there in stunned silence for a while, until she finally managed a question slightly above a whisper. “All of them?”

“All of the ones we freed, which was about a dozen,” Moondancer said as she looked back to Twilight. “We stopped after that, thinking that there’s a good chance that the trend would continue. We aren’t prepared to deal with over a hundred of the worst criminals Equestria has ever known suddenly being ‘guests’ at the palace. These ponies belong in maximum security prisons.”

Twilight let go a groan and closed her eyes as she once again leaned toward the crevice. She let her forelegs droop out over the edge, lazily letting her chin rest on them as she heaved a heavy sigh. “I can’t believe there would be that many.”

Moondancer tilted her head until it was resting against the wall right at the edge of the crevice, catching a side glance from Twilight. “It isn’t a far stretch at all. Equestria is home to millions and there’s going to be some bad apples in it. Just glancing over the last ten years worth of criminal records to identify the few that we did rescue showed me that there’s plenty out there to fill that hive with them.”

Moondancer shifted slightly, leaning forward so she could look out at the view of Canterlot. She traced her eyes over the hundreds of small lights that lit the streets and homes below. “I know that Celestia liked to avoid making unpleasant things visible to the public. She wanted everypony to feel like they lived in a perfect kingdom. So, most of the worst criminals were tried, sentenced, and then just quietly went away with no fuss. But, I don’t think any of us ever realized what she was really doing with them. We just assumed they’d all been packed away in a prison out of sight somewhere. But the papers for the ones we rescued from the hive showed that they had been transferred without any destination specified.”

Twilight’s face seemed to take on a pained look as she lifted one of her forelegs, leaning her forehead into it. A part of her wanted to defend the one she had looked up to her entire life, the one who’s hoofsteps she had aspired to follow in. She wanted to find a way to prove that the Sun Princess had nothing to do with something that seemed so... unlike her. But the simple fact was she had to have known. Every single one of the transfer documents would bear the signature of Princess Celestia; it was required by Equestrian law. “Celestia...,” Twilight said in a whisper as she glanced skyward. “What were you doing?”