1000 years ago
Luna was playing with her daughter in the castle garden, bouncing a ball between herself and Twilight. It was one of the few times she could just spend time with her beloved daughter. No duties or meetings, just innocent fun that she hadn't had since she and Celestia built the castle in Everfree. Twilight gave the ball a good buck and the ball soared far to the left. Luna had to dive to knock it back. She saw Twilight run for it, but Luna then noticed her aide behind her daughter.
“It's time, Your Highness,” her aide said.
Luna gave a sigh and nodded. “Come on, Twilight. Time for bed.”
“But I'm not sleepy. I wanna play more,” she complained, though a small yawn betrayed her.
Luna gave a knowing smile. “Sadly, I can't.” She took Twilight in her mouth and carried her into the castle.
“I'm not a foal anymore, Mom!” Twilight complained.
“Well, you're my foal, and I'm bigger than you,” Luna said through her muffled mouth. Twilight just crossed her forelegs and pouted. Luna put Twilight down in her bed and began tucking her daughter in.
“Do you really have to go, Momma?” she whined, her resistance to bedtime weakening.
“I have duties I must attend to. Signing these agreements is good for all of Equestira, even if most reject our night. You have little Woona to keep you company.”
In response, Twilight grabbed the doll in her forehooves. “I'd rather have you. Momma.”
Luna nuzzled her daughter. “And I'd rather be here with you, my precious Star. No matter where I go or how far it takes me, you will always be in my heart. Now, rest and I will be back before you rise with my moon.” Twilight soon fell asleep with a smile on her lips, clinging hard to Woona as if the doll was her mother by proxy. Luna smiled as she reverted to her old look, kissed her daughter on the forehead, and left for Canterlot.
* * * * * *
It was midmorning by the time she and Celestia got done with all the agreements, like mutual defense and trade agreements. Luna got up, stretched, and prepared to head for the balcony and home.
“Luna, wait.”
Luna snorted and looked back to her older sister. “What is it now, sister?”
“Our subjects are having a Harmony Parade this afternoon. I think it would be good for both of us to be there, since we bear the Elements of Harmony. Afterwards, you could spend the rest of the day here. You can sleep in my room, and we can share a meal with each other again, I miss having you around.”
“I doubt that.”
Celestia was shocked by that statement. “But, sister, how can you say that?”
“Rather easily, dear sister. Hay, this Harmony Parade is the perfect example. Harmony is the balance of forces, but our dear kingdom is far from balanced. They love you and your precious day, yet they hold nothing but fear and hatred for my night. A parade based on harmony is occurring during YOUR day. I could accept this if it were during twilight. No, what we have is yet another celebration during your day. Goodbye, sister. I have ponies who actually love me waiting at my home.” She left, flying toward her home.
What she didn't see was the hurt look on Celestia's face as her own sister rejected her.
* * * * * *
The flight gave Luna time to clam down from her last outrage. Her sister didn't care for what she did, just like the sun-lovers didn't. Luna had an equal role during Discord and Sombra. She had been on the front lines during the times some country foolishly went to war with them. She even guarded the Equestrians' dreams, witnessing horrors of nightmares when she monitored their dreams, and she received nothing for it. Was it so much to ask for the same love, adoration, and respect that her sister had? She nearly assumed her larger form just to spill out the magic contained in her.
The sun was midway in the sky when she spotted trails of smoke. “Is there a forest fire?” she thought aloud, increasing her speed. In minutes, fear reigned in her heart. It wasn't a forest on fire. It was the Citadel that was in flames. Her home, her ponies, HER DAUGHTER WAS UNDER ATTACK! She dove in and saw an army surrounding her home. However, the banners of the army were what truly enraged her. She saw Celestia's cutie mark; she saw the sign of the Knights of Ra, a red circle with blades around it; and she saw the sign of the Order of Celestial Light, a circle of red, white, and orange with closing wings.
Her rage was becoming too much. These radical followers of her sister's day have dared attack her. She even saw the armor of the Day Guard among their ranks. Her sister had betrayed her, the Parade no more than a ruse so Luna would be safe as HER precious ponies were slaughtered. IT SHALL NOT BE. Putting all her rage into her horn, she let out a beam of energy that sliced through the army below. The screams of the wounded and dying filled her with pleasure.
'This is what you get for attacking an alicorn's home.'
“THE NIGHT MARE! THE NIGHT MARE IS HERE!”
“AND YOU WILL PAY FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE HERE!” she declared in the Royal Canterlot Voice, doing a couple more sweeps with her magic, taking out their siege weapons, before enemy fire forced her to retreat to the castle. So far, most of the fire and damage were in the lower sections of the Citadel, but how long would that last?
She landed in a balcony and cried out, “Night Hammer!”
A bat pony appeared only a minute after the call. “I'm here, Your Highness.”
“I want a full report of the attack and the current state of the Citadel,” Luna ordered as she headed to the war room, her captain at her heels.
“Well, Your Highness, they attacked about midmorning, when the bulk of us were asleep. Their aim was true; a quarter of the guard were incapacitated before they could wake. From what we can tell, they likely used the forest around us to hide their approach. From what I saw, it has to be easily an army of four thousand ponies. There is fighting in the lower levels, and reports say they are sparing nopony.” Night Hammer wilted in her armor. “We weren't expecting this, Your Highness. I'm sorry.”
Luna sighed. “You are not to blame, my captain. Our forces have been focused on outside threats. Though my sister and I have had a rift between us, not even I suspected such an attack from what are supposed to be our fellow Equestrians. Where's my daughter?”
“In the safe room.” Upon hearing this, Luna sighed in relief.
The doors to the war room burst open, and a unicorn guard rushed in, shouting, “Princess! They have gotten to level forty!”
Luna frowned. 'That isn't good.' Luna looked over the layout of the Citadel on the table. No, it wasn't good at all.
She turned back to her guards. “We've lost the Citadel. We've lost too many guards on the initial attack, and I have no faith in help from my sister as I had originally planned on. Night Hammer, begin evacuating the civilians through the emergency tunnels. The guards should be either trying to hold back the enemy or directing the evacuation.”
“Yes, Princess. What will you be doing?”
Luna gave her a dark smile. “Showing these traitors why I am a Princess of Equestira.”
* * * * * *
Show them, she did. For hours, she helped hold the traitors back as the civilians fled. Sadly, they couldn't save all, and her rage grew as she saw the bodies of children in the streets and buildings. Her valiant guard fought hard, but it was a doomed fight to begin with. Even brave Night Hammer fell an hour ago, taking ten ponies with her as she collapsed a building. She was taking a short break, when she heard armored hoofsteps nearby.
“Come on, troops. We have the Night Mare of the Moon in a corner. She and her tainted ilk can't hold much longer. This will be our greatest victory since we allowed that tainted pegasus captain of hers to die at the borders.”
Luna had been right all along. Darkwing was murdered by proxy. Rejuvenated by her hate and anger, she felt it was time to act. She took flight, and, with a beam of magic, she cut through the column of troops near her. One mare only had time to grunt before she was smashed to death by Luna's landing as the next victim of her rage. She then went hoof-to-hoof with the survivors. She barely felt the impact of their blows as her hoof smashed the face of one pony. An uppercut sent another flying. Her buck sent another through a wall from which the unfortunate mare didn't get up again. A Wing Burst beheaded another. Soon all but one foe were dead. The stallion tried to crawl away, but two of his hooves were mangled. From the ranking on his armor, he was likely the head pony of this group, thus the one who talked earlier. GOOD. She leapt over and pinned him to the ground.
“Why have you and your ilk committed treason against the crown?” she asked him.
He spat a bit. “What treason?”
“What treason!?” Luna repeated with restrained rage. “You have risen an army without my knowledge and permission, you have attacked and murdered your fellow ponies, and you have assaulted a princess, and you ask, 'What treason'?”
“There is only one princess in Equestira, and you and your tainted ilk hamper her. With you gone, we can at last convince her to have eternal day, and we can bask forever in her glorious sun.”
“At least my sister isn't a part of this atrocity. But you are a foal. I AM A PRINCESS OF EQUESTRIA. SOMETHING YOU HAVE QUITE FORGOTTEN. I SHALL REMIND YOU AND ALL OF EQUESTRIA OF MY POWER!” She closed her head to the stallion's with the most evil of smiles. “And I shall pay you for the death of my husband, who was a far better pony than either of us.” With those final words, she lifted a hoof and killed him.
The deed done, she took to the air and surveyed the battle. The Citadel had flames everywhere from the siege weapons she destoryed earlier, but many were likely started by the solarists as an attempt to 'purify' the city. She saw only a handful of fighting.
'Time to get Twilight and get out of here.' She flew through the smoke-filled sky and entered the castle. From there, she raced through the hallways, which still looked intact. The solarists hadn't gotten this far, yet. She arrived at the safe room and, with a magical key, opened the doors. She saw Twilight huddled in a corner with her Woona, crying.
“Twilight!” Luna raced over to her daughter.
Twilight tried to sink farther into the corner. “No! STAY BACK! MAMA!”
“Mama's right here, my Little Star.” Twilight had never seen this form of her mother. Hay, even her voice was different, so she lifted a hoof close to her daughter. Twilight manage to gather the courage to sniff the offered hoof. No matter the form, Luna's scent would always be the same, and a daughter would know the scent of her mother. She saw the light go on in Twilight's eyes before the filly leapt and hugged her mother.
“I was scared, Mama. I heard explosions and screaming. Miss Hammer put me in here and told me not to come out.”
“It's okay to be scared, but I'm here now, and I will protect you, my Star. You were a good girl to stay here. Now get on my back. We are leaving for a safe place.” She felt Twilight shift and get on her back, and she saw her grab Woona. “Ready?”
“Yes, Mama.” With that, Luna charged her horn and, with a pop, she teleported from the safe room to the top of the castle. Once outside, she took to the air, and, after blasting a couple of foalish pegasi, she set course for the last place she felt safe now. Twilight asked, “Mama, where are we going?”
“To an old castle I helped build, long ago. It's even older than the Citadel. It's the only safe place left I can think of.” The Royal Sisters' Castle had many wards that she placed, and there was always the Harmony Cave. Only she and Celestia knew where that was. In either case, Twilight would be safe there. She felt Twilight hug her tightly. “Fear not, my daughter. I will set this right for both of us.” That seemed to comfort Twilight, and Luna flew on in the late afternoon sky, leaving the Citadel behind.
* * * * * *
She arrived at the old castle and quickly shooed away what staff was present, before heading to her old room. Once inside, she activated all the wards and placed Twilight on her bed. She summoned and drank a potion she learned long ago from a zebra shaman. It healed what few wounds she had and energized her. She would need that for the plans she formed as she sang to her daughter to get her to sleep. Her Children of the Night could always pull them off, and, with Twilight asleep, she petted her daughter with a wing for an hour, before a knock sounded at the door. With a sigh, she got up and opened the door. A maid was on the other side.
“Your Highness, Princess Celestia is approaching.”
“Very well. Tell the staff to seek shelter. Things will be messy soon, and I do not wish the staff harmed by what is to come.”
“As you wish, Princess,” the maid said, bowing, as Luna returned to her daughter's side. She gave the sleeping filly a loving smile and kissed her on the forehead. She then left to meet her sister.
* * * * * *
She was nearly at the throne room when she heard a familiar voice.
“Luna?”
Luna steeled herself and let herslef be known. “Not another step,” she said coldly as she came around, walking in front of the throne she once sat in and likely would again.
“Luna.” Celestia actually looked releaved. “I felt your use of magic. Is everything okay?”
“Is everything okay?” Luna repeated, shaking her head before looking coldly at her sister. “Did you really think I would stand idly by while they all bask in your precious light!” Celestia looked confused. “I see I need to clarify things more. Today, my Citadel came under attack. Hundreds of ponies were killed. ALL DONE BY EQUESTRIANS!” Celestia looked shocked, and Luna pressed on, “Oh yes, I can confirm the presence of the Knights of Ra, The Order of Celestial Light, several ponies bearing your banner, and even members of your Day Guard. It no longer matters whether you were behind it or not. This incident has made one thing clear. Until my daughter is ready to rule at my side, there can be only be one princess in Equestria. And that princess will be ME!” With that, she stomped her forehooves. Cracks formed behind her, and a window shattered. She dug deep into her power as she moved the moon to block the sun and transformed into her true form. There was no reason to hide anymore. She jumped from the balcony that connected the thrones and landed on the floor below. She approached her sister in her true and fearsome form. To her sister's credit, she didn't flinch. She just stared at her younger sister.
“Luna, you must lower the moon. It is your duty.”
“Luna? No, not anymore. She was too weak to protect those she loved. The name garners no respect.” She looked away from her sister and put a hoof to her muzzle, before she got an idea. “Do you know, dear sister, that your beloved subjects never used my old name? No, they came up with a nice little title for me. I was, to them, the Night Mare of the Moon. I think I will use that against them. Yes, I am Nightmare Moon. And I have but one royal duty, now: TO DESTROY YOU!”
She charged an attack that just barely missed Celestia, blasting an opening in the glass ceiling. Her sister flew through it, causing Nightmare Moon to smirk. “And where do you think you are going?” She flew after her sister, getting blasted for her troubles. She did a barrel roll to recover. 'Nice move, Tia,' she thought, firing several bolts at her sister, causing Celestia to break off from the attack and give momentum to Nightmare Moon. Celestia fired blindly behind her to try to regain momentum while dodging Nightmare Moon's returning blasts. The castle took a lot of the punishment from missed blasts as the two alicorns flew around it. Nightmare Moon predicted her sister's next move and launched a powerful beam. It hit dead center on her sister's chest. Celestia screamed in pain and fell through the hole in the roof of the throne room. Nightmare, for her part, laughed in glee. 'Celestia will soon fall, and night will reign eternal. With my strength shown, the ponies wouldn't dare oppose me or even think of harming my daughter ever again.' She saw a flash below and saw her sister rise up with, of all things, the Elements of Harmony spinning around her. 'She's bluffing. There's no way we can use them alone; they need both of us. No matter. This will end it.' She summoned the bulk of her power as Celestia arrayed the Elements with her horn. Nightmare thought she saw a tear in her sister's eyes as they both fired. Her beamed held for a second before being overwhelmed by Celestia's. Somehow, she did it. She used the Elements.
“No!” she said before the beam hit her. “TTTTTTTTWWWWWWWWWILIIIIIIIIIIGHT!” she screamed, as she flew to the moon for her thousand-year imprisonment. Now, her daughter was alone.
* * * * * *
Present day
Luna looked down at the memory of what happened. She went overboard, back then. Eternal Night wouldn't have protected her daughter. It would have left the two of them alone on a dead, frozen world.
“I can take over from here, sister,” Celestia said. Luna nodded and waited to hear how her daughter got stuck with a split personality and how she only barely aged since that night. Twilight should have been more like Luna in her second form or her sister's than an average pony. That was not even mentioning her posing as a unicorn, instead of the alicorn she truly was. She listened intently as Celestia began her side of the tale.
* * * * * *
1000 years ago, directly after the battle
Celestia landed hard on her hooves, taking deep breaths. She saw a round stone land in front of her. It had an imprint of a gem on it. It shocked her, and she quickly glanced around and saw five stone orbs around her. They had to be the Elements. They had rejected her for using them the way she did. The Element of Magic itself seemed to have just disappeared. She looked up at the moon. It had changed to feature an outline of a mare on it.
She was about to lower the moon and return the day, when she finally heard another voice shouting, “No! No. No. No. NO! MOTHER!”
Celestia looked towards the voice and saw a filly alicorn with dark lavender fur, a dark blue mane with purple and pink stripes in it. What really disturbed her, though, were her fangs and slitted pupils, which matched those she saw on the corrupted form of her sister. Only, the color was different. Also different were the tears and sadness in them. She also saw something at the fillies hooves, but before she could look further, the filly noticed her.
“YOU!” Not even Luna had such hatred in her voice a mere few minutes ago. “First, you took daddy away, and he never came back. Now, you took my mother from me! I WANT HER BACK!” She tried to blast Celestia, and, although she was slow to charge her bolt, Celestia felt a good deal of power in it. Her niece was a powerhouse. “THEY HAVE TAKEN EVERYTHING FROM ME! NO MORE! I WILL GET BACK WHAT IS MINE, STARTING WITH MOTHER!” Her niece's eyes glowed white, and Celestia saw, to her great surprise and despair, stars fall from the heavens and crash around the castle, causing massive earthquakes.
“Niece, please stop! You will harm our ponies!” Celestia pleaded.
“NO! They have harmed ME! My home is gone, Daddy is gone, and now Momma is GONE!" Celestia saw more stars beginning to fall. She had to act to save the world again. With a magic bolt, she knocked her niece to the ground, interrupting the filly's control of the stars. She had to prepare another spell, one she wished she didn't have to use. However, it was the only hope she and the world had. It would take a lot of her magic, but, considering everything, it was a small price to pay.
Her niece begged and pleaded as a stasis pod was created around her. As powerful as she was, she couldn't fight the effect of the spell, and she quickly fell asleep before it fully covered her. When the spell was finished, the pod looked like a lavender-colored orb which pulsed slowly. She would not age, and she would sleep until she was released. Celestia saw a bit of pink mane come in front of her. She had used so much magic that she lost her etheral mane and tail.
She wordlessly lowered the moon and brought back the day, as she nuzzled the orb. “I am so sorry, my niece. My foolishness lead to this. I swear to you, you will be reunited with your mother, and when we are reunited, we will be a family. I am SO SORRY!” With that, she wailed and cried at the injustice brought upon her family.
* * * * * *
Hours later, Celestia carried the pod containing her niece on her back as she surveyed the castle. It was hit hard by the short fight. It seemed the staff fled the castle during the fight. She couldn't blame them. The last time she had to go all out was a couple years ago, against Sombra. Luna was in a hurry to get that job done, and now Celestia knew why. Looking at the pod, Celestia felt jealous. Her sister had an alicorn daughter, a very rare thing, indeed. She wished Luna told her about the little filly.
After her survey, she was once again in the throne room of the ruined castle. She could repair the place, but she felt no urge to do so. Without Luna it would simply feel like a crime. She stepped on something and looked down. She saw a doll on the floor. She picked it up with her magic. It nearly brought her to tears. It was a likeness of her sister in their early years, before they had fully bonded with their celestial bodies. It took some damage in the fight, and she used magic to repair the doll. It obviously meant much to her niece, and she would preserve it. Lastly, she placed the Elements back on their pedestals. She hoped that, if not her, then maybe others could wield them again. With nothing else to do, she left the castle she and her sister once called home. She silently cried as they left the ruined castle and landscape behind.
* * * * * *
She landed in her private room. She warded it so nopony could come in. Her niece would be safe there until she could find a more suitable place for her. With that finished, she left her room and headed for the throne room. She had things to take care of.
“Princess!” Celestia saw her head maid Glimmer Belle gallop up to her. “Are you alright?”
“No, no, I am not. Glimmer, I want my generals in the throne room within the hour. I have critical things I need to discuss. Also, until further notice, nopony is allowed in my quarters. Understood?”
Glimmer bowed. “Of course, Your Highness.” With that, she raced away to do her job. Celestia liked the Belle clan. They were a proper, but generous, clan of unicorns. They were far more worthy of the title of nobility than many who held it. She sat on her throne and prepared a spell she would need for the meeting to come.
Before the hour was up, her generals had arrived, along with her Captain of the Royal Guard Piercing Armor. What she didn't expect was her Grand Mage as well.
“Sunbeam Sparkle, I didn't request your presence here.”
The flame-colored mare responded, “No, Your Highness, you didn't, but I felt the massive use of magic, and I know something big has happened, so I came to offer what support I can.”
“Very well. I believe it will be useful for you to witness what will happen at this meeting. Now all of you have noticed the change in my appearance. It is temporary, but it is a sign of what I have had to do. A couple hours ago, I had to fight my own sister and prevent her from causing Eternal Night. I, using the Elements of Harmony, have banished her to the moon. The fight was costing, and the Royal Sisters' Castle is in ruins.”
“So that's the reason that we had an eclipse and that stars fell?” General Terra Firm asked.
“It is.” She had to keep her niece's existence a secret, for now. She saw signs of a smirk among the generals, and she quietly raged. 'Lulu was right,' she thought. Aloud, she said, “However, my sister was not without cause." With a tap of her hoof, she activated her spell. While the generals looked around in confusion, the room was bathed in golden light. Sunbeam simply look around, intrigued.
“Oh, some kind of persuasion spell.”
Sunbeam's statement caused at least a small smile on Celestia's face. “Very perceptive, Sunbeam. It is, indeed, a persuasion spell. It will tell me if any of you lie to me." She said that last part coldly. “You have to answer any question I give, for these are answers I need. Now, the reasons for my sister's actions are not fully known to me, though I can make some good guesses. For a long time, our little ponies didn't give her the due she has earned through her service to Equestira. Very few ponies did. She received her due mostly from her beloved bat-ponies, which are equally as shunned as she was. Not even I showed her proper respect, for I was blinded by the love and adoration the ponies gave me.
"Well, things have gotten worse than that. Members of my own government have conspired against her. Earlier today, as she returned to her Citadel, it came under attack. Not by griffons, minotaurs, or monsters. No, they were attacked by fellow Equestrians.” She saw quite a few gasp in surprise. Pony against pony in a violent matter was unheard of since the founding of the nation, outside of criminal intent. “Oh, yes," Celestia continued, "Followers of the Knights of Ra and of the Order of Celestial Light have been confirmed to be a part of the attack. But that's not the worst of it.” She paused to let that settle. “No, the worst of it was that my sister saw and fought members of the Day Guard, and the Guard went after everypony who lived there. Luna was not even sure if anypony lived. This caused her to believe that she had to remove me from power, becoming what she called "Nightmare Moon" and bringing Eternal Night. Now, I want to know. Did any of you order the attack on my SISTER!?”
“I certainly didn't order any attack,” said the pegasus Shadow Kicker. She continued, “By your will, Princess, I will find those responsible and bring them to justice.” The beams of light didn't change, showing Shadow Kicker's reputation for loyalty to be well-founded.
“I am ashamed that members of my Guard have played a part in this,” said Piercing. “While we are focused on your protection, that protection also applies to all members of the royal family. I WILL find the traitors for you, Your Highness.” Again, the beams didn't change. Sunbeam and a couple of other generals also proved their innocence. However, three failed to do so.
“Captain," Celestia ordered, "place these ponies under arrest for treason against the crown.” The accused ponies tried to run, but still-loyal guards secured them. “Shadow Kicker, form a group of your best fliers and head to the Citadel of the Stars. Find the ponies that attacked it. Capture their leaders and kill the rest. They have forfeited all rights by attempting to commit genocide.” Shadow saluted and raced off. “Sunbeam, you will take some guards and search the homes of the dishonored generals to find anything about the attack, plans against my sister, or ties to the cults behind this. We must nip this corruption in the bud, now.”
* * * * * *
A few days later, Celstia regained her ethereal mane, though it was still only of one hue. She looked down coldly at the masterminds behind the attack against her sister. What they did sickened her. Especially after she went through the documents of the cults, who accused Luna of being her enemy and a corrupting influence, and who even wished for an eternal day. She had decreed that these groups be disbanded and outlawed. Any who followed their teachings were to be jailed to await trial. She held the masterminds' trials publicly, and now she was going to make an example of these poor excuses for ponies. They wanted her sun so bad, then they shall have it. She used her sun and burned them alive. They had a chance to scream for a second before they died, the message sent.
With the execution done and over, she headed back in, feeling tired. She just didn't have much energy, anymore.
“Princess!”
Celestia looked over to see Sunbeam gallop up to her. “What is it, Sunbeam?”
“I have been using some of Starswirl's old books and spells, and I used some on the stars. Your Highness, according to my readings, the stars will align with the moon in a thousand years.”
Celestia looked up in shock. “That would give her enough energy to break free.”
“Indeed, Your Highness. That cannot be stopped, but there is some hope. According to a vision I had while performing these spells, six ponies will confront your sister. Either they will heal your sister or we are doomed to Eternal Night.”
'Six ponies,' Celestia thought as she looked to the sky. She said, “Maybe there is some hope after all.”
* * * * * *
10 years ago
Celestia looked out of her balcony, enjoying a break. She looked over to the Everfree Forest. The place has drastically changed since the battle. It has grown wild and dangerous. Creatures born from the remains of the stars her niece brought down roam the forest. She feared how bad it would be were the Tree of Harmony not trying to keep things in balance. She has monitored the changes. It helped her deal with the pain of loss. She even managed to use the forest to help some humble earth ponies find a new home.
The small town of Ponyville always brought a smile to her lips. A town of harmony. No place in Equestria had had all three major tribes represented in equal numbers like Ponyville does now. Sadly, she has not been met with complete success.
The pain of Sunset Shimmer was still fairly new. She had hoped the talented mare would be a new bearer for the Element of Magic, or even be Celestia's replacement. She has seen no activity from the Elements all this time, and time was running out. She felt that another fight between her and her sister would end with their deaths. If Luna refuses to listen to reason, she would have no choice, and she hoped that Sunset would care for her ponies. Instead, Sunset grew power-hungry and fled through a magic mirror. She hoped the mare was okay. She had again failed somepony close to her. 'You'd think you would learn by now, Celestia,' she thought bitterly.
Her musing was disturbed by a massive boom and rainbow colors. She looked in surprise. A Sonic Rainboom. She hadn't seen one in centuries. The pegasus who pulled that off will go far, indeed. Soon after the Rainboom, a massive rumble happened in the castle.
“What in Tartarus?” Then she felt it. A magic she felt once before. With wide eyes, she teleported to the hidden room in the castle. She had kept her niece's pod here since she made it. However, the pod was in shards, and her niece was out and breathing. Her eyes were glowing, and magic was streaming around her. It already caused a dragon egg that was also stored there to hatch. Fearing a repeat of a thousand years ago, she tried to seal her niece away. However, she was meeting resistance. She tried to force her spell more, but the resistance was too strong. She scanned the magic and was surprised to feel the Element of Magic itself present. The Element of Magic has chosen her niece!? If so, she couldn't use the pod again. She tried a pure sleep spell, which did get past the Element of Magic and succeed in putting her niece to sleep. Celestia observed the sleeping filly. There was no change but a cutie mark. It was a black star with a white starburst, with five pink stars surrounding it.
'What to do? A sudden appearance of another alicorn shortly after Cadance would raise too many questions.' The country wasn't ready for the full truth of the past. Sadly, even what was known back then has been blurred. The Harmony Parade has become the Summer Sun Celebration, an event Celestia attended, but one she hated due to the real meaning behind it. Even Nightmare Moon has survived as a boogeymare. Luna would have a hard time adjusting, if everything works. She had to keep her niece safe, but she couldn't hide her away. Also, her niece might not be willing to help her, due to lack of trust. 'So how can I do what I need to do?'
She pondered the question, soon getting an idea. It would be cruel to her niece, but it was the only way to get everything to work for her family. She could only hope the filly would forgive her for this. Gathering her magic, she cast a spell that suppressed her niece's pegasus and earth pony magic. She would be, in essence, a very powerful unicorn. She also suppressed the filly's memories so that she would be more trusting of her aunt. She noticed the filly change more than a mere loss of wings. Her fur turned into a lighter lavender, and the cutie mark, which was once a black star, became a magenta star, and the smaller stars turned white.
With that taken care of, she needed somepony to help raise her. Who could she trust? She then remembered something that brought a smile to her a few days ago. Cadance said an attractive stallion had entered the guard, and, being the good aunt, Celestia looked into it. Shining Armor seemed like a fine stallion and would likely do honor to that proud clan. She became very interested when the Sparkle and Armor clans began joining forces often. They were among the most loyal and honorable families in Canterlot. Yes, they would do nicely. She would cast a powerful geas spell to make everypony believe that her niece was their daughter. She would be safe with them, no problem.
But now her niece needed a name. She remembered Luna crying something out before being sealed on the moon. It sounded like a name. 'What was it? Sunset, Sunrise, Dusk, Twilight. WAIT, THAT WAS IT! Twilight.' Celestia looked at the sleeping filly. 'She does look like a beautiful twilight and the balance between day and night. Rather fitting. Now for the last part of the name?' She glanced at the cutie mark again. 'It's like sparkling stars. Wait. She will be part of the Sparkle/Armor clan, and she has that cutie mark. It couldn't be better. She will be Twilight Sparkle.'
* * * * * *
Present day
“I summoned Shining Armor, Night Light, and Twilight Velvet to a private room in the castle and cast the spell. Nopony, not even Cadance, knew the full truth before now.” Finishing her tale, Celestia looked up at the girls in front of her. Most were in shock, but the one she cared about most had her attention. Twilight was the saddest she had ever seen her niece. Tears were streaming out of her eyes and have been so for a while, it seemed. She lifted a hoof to comfort her niece. Twilight responded by swatting the hoof away, and the look on her face went from one of pure sadness to one of hurt and betrayal. Before Celestia could say anything, Twilight's horn lit up, and, with a pop, she was gone.