Nothing could've prepared the friends for what they saw. The approached a large tree, but they could only see it because of the Crescent Moon. A Pegasus guard left formation to pull on one of the large boughs on it. With a slight creaking sound, a section of the trunk slid upwards. Twilight gasped and stepped closer to her brother and they descended into darkness.
"Close it, lieutenant." Shining ordered one of the soldiers as soon as he was sure they were all inside. With a "clank" it slid shut and Shining ignited a torch. After one last headcount, he lead them down a winding slop. After several minutes of walking down and down, their eyes were greeted by torches shining on the walls. Shining Armor added his torch to a bracket on the wall, and finally Twilight broke the silence.
"Shining, I don't understand. Why am I here? Why is my magic such a big deal to Empress Nightmare Moon?"
"First, Twilight, we do not refer to that monster as 'Empress', she's a traitor. The only way to defeat Nightmare Moon is with magic, and she knows it. She stole almost everypony's magic a millennium ago. The only ponies since who've had it are Nightmare Moon, Sombra, and their daughter. You're the first outside their control since." He explained calmly.
"Excuse me, Captain." Rarity interjected. "Does that mean that all unicorns had magic once?"
"Exactly, Ms..."
"Rarity. That would make dressmaking so much easier!" She stated.
"It does more than that, Rarity. Magic was used to raise the sun, and Earthponies farmed without Nightmares's blessings.See, the sun kept the Earth warm, and gave plants the abilities to make their own food. It also lit the sky so brightly that not a star could be seen in its presence." Shining Armor explained. "Magic helped in the defense of Equestria, along with aiding in everyday life. We've been searching for years to find the pony prophesied to bring an end to Nightmare Moon."
Twilight's mind whirled. Defeating Nightmare Moon? That sounded like a hefty task. "Maybe this 'prophecy' will shed some light on how exactly I'm supposed to do this." She thought. She voiced her speculation to Shining Armor, who sighed.
"It's pretty vague. I feel like a foal for not figuring out it was you sooner, but here it goes." Shining sighed before continuing. "These were Princess Celestia, The Bringer of the Sun's last words to Nightmare Moon. 'A thousand years thy reign shall last, but then thou shall pay for thy past. The Twilight shall come, the Sun will rise, and then thou shall meet thy demise.'"
Twilight shuddered at the prophecy, magic seemed to radiate from the words. It wasn't a cold magic, like Nightmare Moon's, nor clumsy like her own, but warm and motherly, and strong. None of the others seemed to sense it, so Twilight said nothing. The group walked on in silence as each dwelled on the Prophecy, but it wasn't long before they reached a large underground cavern. Gems reflected off the walls all around, and several passages branched off in multiple directions. The main cavern itself had to be at least 50 feet tall, and as wide as the Canterlot marketplace. Shining and the guards barely hesitated as they entered the cavern, forcing the friends to keep moving as apposed to gawking and taking it all in.
Twilight soon became aware of dozens and dozens of eyes on her. Everypony in the cavern stopped to stare as they walked past, and the mob followed close behind. Twilight stepped closer to her brother, who led them straight into a side passage off the way. Two intimidating guards stood by the doorway, barely glancing at Shining Armor and the group before nodding and return their gaze to the crowd. None dared to pass through the entryway after them, and relief filled Twilight as they turned a corner and disappeared from view.
Her joy was short-lived as she entered a room about the size of the library in Ponyville. A golden unicorn stood beside a... a...
"Alicorn?" Twilight gasped, but she didn't know where the word came from. The pink mare turned in surprise at the sudden sound and blushed deeply. The gold stallion turned, a large grin enveloping his face at the sight of them.
"General Moon Bane," Shining Armor said, snapping to a salute. The other four copied him. "Our mission was a complete success."
"I can see that, Captain Armor. Please, at ease, all of you." The Golden stallion said with a warm authority. He turned to the other four guards. "You should be proud of yourselves. As the Ponyville guard, you protected Twilight Sparkle quite well. You are dismissed. You may have the rest of the Cycle to yourselves." He said. The ponies snapped one more swift salute before turning as one and departing. As soon as they left, a feeling of ease seemed to invade the room and formalities were dropped. "Twilight Sparkle, we are so glad to finally get to meet you! I'm sure you must have a thousand questions for us."
"Um... I don't mean to sound rude... but how are you an Alicorn?" Twilight asked cautiously. k
The pink mare smiled kindly. "My name is Mi Amore Cadenza, but most just call me Cadence. Nightmare Moon took away Unicorn magic all those years ago, but what she didn't count on was somepony developing their special talent to the point of ascension. Unfortunately, I still cannot use my Unicorn powers, and I'm sure that her oversight has been corrected by now. However, I still aid in any way that I can."
Twilight blushed without meaning to. Cadence just seemed to radiate a warm and fuzzy feeling into the room, just like a sister. In fact, everything about the mare seemed... sisterly. "Um... where are we?" She continued.
"The caves beneath Canterlot." General Moon Bane piped up. At the look on Twilight's face he continued. "Because we are so close to the only three ponies in Equestria with magic, besides you, of course, any magic would be harder for them to find without assuming that it was coming from each other. Though this only played in a little, as the gems in here hide any magical signatures. It was close to a strategic place in Equestria, it was large enough to house all of us, and almost nopony even remembers that they exist."
Twilight could see the sense in this, so she continued. "Where are Mom and Dad?" This question was directed at Shining. His head ducked low at the mention.
"They... they wouldn't listen to me." He began. "I'm so sorry Twilight, but they chose to return with Nightmare Moon. She wouldn't hurt them, though. They're way to big a piece strategically in forcing your surrender." He refused to look his little sister in the eye. "I'm so sorry." Was barely audible.
"I know, Shiny." Twilight said and embraced him in a hug. "You did what you could."
"I'm sorry to interrupt, Twilight, but I did wish to test something." Moon Bane interrupted. Twilight stepped away from her brother and wiped a tear off her cheek before he continued. "Ancient scrolls make mention of... a spark. When knowledge of magic was still common knowledge, some of the Old Court Mages spoke of a 'spark' being able to ignite a pony's magic once again. We were hoping that... you might be the spark."
Twilight took a moment to process what he had just said. "You mean... I might... I could..."
"I don't know, but I hope. Since it could be dangerous, I would like if I would be the first experimented on." Moon Bane interjected.
Twilight closed her eyes for a moment, as if gathering up courage, then spoke. "No." Everypony's eyes went wide for a moment, but she continued. "I just met you, and I am still unsure of whether I can trust you or not. I would try on Rarity first, for she helped me learn Magic myself, but as you said, it could be dangerous. If Shining Armor is willing, I will try on him first, as I know his loyalties, and he signed up for this work willingly, not Rarity." She opened her eyes, expecting to see anger, but instead saw everypony nodding their head in agreement.
"I'm ready when you are, Twily." Shining said. Twilight flinched as she felt all of their eyes upon her. She wasn't sure what to do.
"Lower your head, Shining." She said without meaning to. It just felt... right. He obeyed without question, and Twilight closed her eyes to think.
"My magic first came to me in the presence of something magical. I felt it in my horn." Twilight thought as she reached deep and felt her own pure magic. Simply following instinct, she placed her own horn against Shining Armors, and let the magic flow.
A sharp light managed to break through her eyelids. She cracked her eyes open and saw a lavender Aura, slightly darker than her own shade, swirling around her brothers horn, as if unsure of its purpose. Twilight reached out to it, commanding it with her mind. It felt foreign, yet still familiar. It held passion and honor and a protective nature, and she recognized it as Shining's. She commanded it with ease, and fed it into her brother's horn. It tried to shoot away, to escape into oblivion, but Twilight refused it. At last, as though breaking down a wall, the magic seemed to attach itself to Shining's horn and fade from view. A light exploded from within Shining Armor, but from everypony else's faces, no pony but Twilight could see it. Her eyes adjusted, and she recognized the flame of Magic within her brother. She swayed on her hooves slightly before smiling. "I did it, Shiny."
Shining Armor opened his eyes, a white glow fading from them. "This... how... it's..." He seemed at a loss for words.
"Amazing?" Twilight suggested.
"Yeah." He replied with a smile.
"Try it out, Shining Armor." Cadence urged excitedly.
"How?" He replied.
"Just grab a hold of the magic with your mind, and let it do what feels natural. Don't let it loose, though. Keep control, but let it guide you." Twilight informed him. She realized that this was the first time she had really thought about HOW to use magic.
Shining closed his eyes, and Twilight could see the light spread to his horn. After a few brief moments, a lavender bubble surrounded Twilight. Shining cracked open his eyelids, and grinned like a maniac. The shield only lasted a few moments, but it left everypony in awe.
"Shining... your... your Cutie Mark!" Cadence gasped. In the center of the once plain, blue shield now rested a purple six-pointed star.
"Shining... that's... Agh!!" Twilight groaned as she lost focus on the room. A starry landscape flashed before her eyes, and her back muscles twitched painfully. It felt like her consciousness was trying... no, needed to escape. The sensation and pain lasted for several moments before subsiding. "What in Equestria?!" Twilight gasped.
"Twilight, I think you just started to Ascend!" Cadence gasped.
Moon Bane dropped to a quick bow. Shining mimicking his actions. The General declared "Hail the Spark, Princess Twilight Sparkle."