The Light of Day
Solar Flare
Queen Solar Flare stood on a raised podium overlooking her guards as they trained, fighting with one another using a variety of weapons. The weapons, while blunt, were enchanted to cause all the pain of real injury and then some.
Of course, she wasn't just looking. Her horn was alight with a deep orange glow, a brilliant yellow light shining from its tip. A torrent of yellow fireballs spewed out from it to saturate the courtyard, arcing through the air before smashing into mostly-random places around the guards and forcing them to stay nimble on their hooves lest their Queen blast them. The fireballs weren't lethal, but in case of an accident she knew many healing spells and there were multiple medics on standby. She could have let her fireballs be incredibly destructive, hot enough to melt lead, but that would result in a much higher casualty rate in training than was acceptable.
And so, she stood on high and sustained a non-lethal but far from harmless hail of fireballs on her sparring guards. Her magic flowed easily into the bombardment, a simple but effective spell made easier by the low power she pumped into it.
Solar Flare sneered each time she saw one of her guards get hit by a fireball. They weren't going that fast. They had plenty of time to avoid. Though she supposed their exhaustion was beginning to take its toll. Still, in a real battle the enemy would not stop their attack just because you were tired. She sustained the volley.
She only stopped when she heard the clip-clop of hooves on marble behind her. "Your Majesty," said a voice behind her. "I come bearing important news."
Reluctantly, she stopped bombarding her guards and turned to the bowing Coronal Guard who had approached her. "Speak quickly," she snapped.
He rose from his bow. "My Queen, the forces in Canterlot report having captured an unidentified alicorn." Solar Flare's blood ran cold.
"What?" she whispered threateningly. Her horn lit up and she lifted the guard to her eye level; to his credit, he didn't even flinch as he neared the flames of her mane "An alicorn? Describe this... alicorn to me," she hissed.
"It is described as approximately the same size as a mortal pony, with a purple coloration, and a cutie mark that indicates either talent in astronomy, fireworks, or magic. Young, roughly twenty years of age."
Solar almost let her relief show. That didn't match up at all to how Nighty had described Celestia, or Luna. "Where is this alicorn now?"
"She has been detained in the Canterlot High Prison," he said. "As per protocol, I have been sent to alert you as soon as possible."
She dropped him, and he expertly spread his wings to land softly. "Excellent work, return to your prior duties. I need to make a visit to Canterlot..." If it wasn't Celestia or Luna come to take her sister away from her again, then that meant there was another alicorn from her world here, and that was almost as unacceptable as their counterparts arriving.
He saluted. "At once, Your Highness!" he turned around and stiffly marched away. Meanwhile Queen Solar Flare walked with a hurried canter towards her royal chariot, painted with yellow and red flames that seemed to flicker when somepony moved their head. With a flare of her magic she signaled two pegasi to come and strap themselves to the chariot. Solar Flare climbed into her chariot after they arrived.
"Bring me to Canterlot," she said. "There's somepony there I want to have a little... chat with."
Without word they took off, climbing into the air and leaving Everfree Castle behind, flying fast towards the cultural hub of Canterlot. Her mane and tail streamed fire behind her, leaving no doubt in anypony who looked up; their Queen was busy. Everfree vanished behind her and Canterlot loomed before her. She was happy to let the nobles enjoy their little city while she and Nightmare ruled Everfree, it was well to keep the economy and the government separate after all.
Within the hour she touched down in Canterlot, and stepped out of her chariot. They were near the Canterlot High Prison, so there weren't many ponies around, but those that were dropped into deep bows that warmed her heart to see.
Canterlot High Prison was a squat, depressing building, all grays and sharp angles and no windows. She trotted in through the front gate, entering the lobby where a single stallion sitting behind a desk looked up at her, scrambled out of his seat to bow, rose, and then approached her.
"My Queen!" he said. "I'm assuming you wish to see the alicorn prisoner?"
She nodded. "Yes. At once. Do not tarry, I want to see this."
"Alright. Let me just send the signal..." He fumbled around with his desk, then pushed a button. "Alright, please follow me."
Queen Solar Flare did just that. She hadn't felt any large spikes of magic to indicate a theoretical ascension, so she assumed that this alicorn had been born naturally, and kept hidden by their parents for a long time out of fear of Solar Flare killing them. It wasn't an entirely unfair assumption; anything that dared challenge the Sun and Moon was dealt with, using extreme prejudice. That was, of course, provided that this alicorn wanted that in the first place.
If not, then Solar Flare mused that Nightmare would love to make use of her.
The little pony led her through the halls of the High Prison, past several empty cells, down some stairs, and into a room packed filled with prison guards. "The prisoner is currently sedated, Your Majesty. She should wake up in a few minutes."
"Good. Move aside." They did, allowing her to move forward and open the door, then step inside the prison cell. She shut the door behind her, and illuminated the scene with an orb of white light.
The walls were inscribed with all manner of inhibition runes, negating magic of all sorts inside. However, they had also been tuned not to affect anypony with the proper identification, or herself and her sister. She looked down at the alicorn in the middle of the cubical room, sleeping soundly in spite of the thick chains around each of her limbs, including the wings.
Solar's eyes scanned over the tiny alicorn, taking in her coloration, nonathletic body shape, and cutie mark. She trotted closer and lifted her head with a gilded hoof, holding open her mouth with telekinesis.
"How odd," she told herself. "No fangs." She held one of the alicorn's eyelids open. "Regular, pony pupils too. Hmm." She lit up her horn and engulfed the pony with detoxification magic, rapidly draining the sedative from her veins. Once it was complete, she stepped back and waited for the pony to awaken, silently counting her blessings that her mane and tail were magical in nature, and as such didn't need oxygen to burn.
She watched the pony stir, then tug at her bonds in confusion. "About time you woke up," she said, cutting off the pony's panic and making her eyes snap up to her. "Let us begin with introductions. Who are you?"
The pony's swallowed, looking up at her. She hesitated, and then spoke. "T-Twilight Sparkle, my name is Twilight Sparkle." She flinched, as if expecting her to lash out for saying her name. Twilight then looked at her more closely. Solar Flare felt the pony's eyes drift over her cutie mark, at which point they widened and her jaw dropped. "No," she breathed. "No, no no... u-um, may I ask your name, if it's alright?"
Solar raised an eyebrow. Did she not recognize her? Perhaps she had lived in the middle of nowhere all her life. She held out her wings to their fullest extend to make herself look bigger and loomed over the alicorn. "I am Queen Solar Flare of the Equestrian Crown."
Twilight worked the name over. "Solar Flare... oh no, no no no. I was right, oh sweet alicorns I was right." She looked up at her worriedly, looking almost... betrayed? That was curious. In fact, everything about this alicorn was curious. "Please, please listen to me, you can fight this, you can beat this, Celestia. I know you can, I believe in - "
Icy panic gripped her heart. Solar Flare broke her bonds in a moment, grabbed Twilight in her magic, and wrenched her up to eye level. "How do you know that name?!" she bellowed. "Besides me, I can count the number of ponies who know that name on one hoof! How do you know it?!" Twilight Sparkle stammered a bit, but Solar Flare's mind was already racing.
This pony knew about Celestia. How?! The events that had happened to Nighty during her disappearance were a tightly kept secret, known only to herself and her sister. So there was no way in Tartarus that this pony should even know the name Celestia, unless...
... unless...
She sneered. "Oh, I see," she said darkly. "Why are you here?"
"P-Princess Celestia sent me to find where the Nightmare had gone after being purged from Princess Luna." Solar Flare held down a snarl. 'The Nightmare', she said, as if her sister was just a mindless beast. "A-And, I thought it'd returned to its place of origin," She had! "but instead it came here and... and it got you. Please, you have to believe me. I know you can beat it."
She tightened her magical grip on Twilight. Not enough to hurt, but enough to send her a message; shut up. "Oh believe me, I know all about Nightmare Moon, much more than you. I can tell you with one hundred percent certainty that she is not possessing me. I have always been Solar Flare and never Celestia."
Twilight Sparkle looked confused at that. "But... then where is - "
"Nightmare Moon's whereabouts are currently unknown," she said, and that was the truth. She was out in disguise, mingling with the populace. "As for you though... why don't you tell me your experience with Nightmare, hmm? Start from the beginning."
"Oh, it's a long story," Twilight said nervously.
Solar Flare gave the magic a brief squeeze. "I am immortal. I have time."
"Alright, alright. So, it all started back when I read this book of old mare's tales in Canterlot, and I got to thinking about one story in detail..." Twilight Sparkle began to relay the story. Eventually Solar put her back down and sat on her haunches to better absorb the story, of journeying to Ponyville, the return of the 'wicked' Nightmare Moon, the Everfree Forest despite Everfree not having any forest around it. Solar Flare grit her fangs whenever the tiny alicorn before her described Nightmare Moon as 'evil'. Then she got to the 'Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters' and described herself and her friends acquiring the Elements of Harmony.
There, Solar hid her breath catching in her throat. This wasn't just any pony. This was one of the Bearers of the Elements, who wielded the weapon that had banished her sister to a millenium of isolation, who had... who had brought her back to her. Then she described briefly how she'd become an alicorn herself, and then the reason she had come to her world. "... so you can understand we're really kinda worried about the Nightmare coming back to possess Luna."
"She won't," Solar Flare said coldly. "Rest assured of that." She chuckled. "So, Princess Twilight Sparkle. You have brought our two nations into contact with each other." Twilight wasn't here to steal Nighty away from her. In fact, she was here to make sure that Nightmare wouldn't go back to their world. That, combined with the fact that this pony was responsible for her sister returning in the first place, meant she owed her at least some hospitality. "Please, allow me to escort you back to our capital and get you set up for some ambassadorial duties." She knew that, eventually, Nighty would return to her room in the castle. Oh she couldn't wait to see the look on her face when she brought in 'Twilight Sparkle'.
"Huh?" Twilight asked.
"This... other Equestria you come from intrigues me," she said. "It could provide a powerful ally for us." Or a large territory to conquer, depending. She'd need to get more information on the situation beforehoof. After all, knowledge was power. "You are here, in my country, and a princess of your own. I would like to, how should I say, open negotiations?"
Twilight considered this for a moment. "I don't know, I mean, I need to help the princesses ensure Nightmare Moon won't return."
"Oh, she won't," Solar said. "Trust me on that. Come along, now. I have a chariot not too far, we can take that to Everfree Castle." She started walking out of the cell.
Nervously, Twilight Sparkle followed her, seeming almost shell-shocked. "Right. Everfree."
Oh yes, she couldn't wait for her to meet Nighty.
The police guards quickly bent under her insistence that she was bringing Twilight with her back to the castle. She walked out with the younger alicorn besides her, and approached her chariot. She made a motion towards it with her head. "Get in." She did without complaint, apparently still stunned. Her Coronal Guards had waited there, ready to serve their Queen, so while Twilight Sparkle made herself comfortable she told them, "We are headed back to Everfree, post haste." She flew up and then down into her chariot, making sure Twilight had enough room to be reasonably comfortable. Then they were off.
As they flew, Solar Flare watched Twilight out of the corner of her eyes. The purple pony was looking over the side of the chariot, inspecting the land carefully. No doubt it was notably different compared to what she was used to. Finally, Twilight asked, "So, may I ask something?"
"Do so."
"Well, a few questions actually." Solar Flare rolled her draconic eyes. Oh joy. "Well, why did your guards attack me? I've done nothing wrong."
Solar took a moment to consider the question. "That is two part. They've always had standard detaining orders for unidentified alicorns, simply because our kind are so rare that the emergence of a new one presumably heralds great upheaval. Given what your presence here means, I can't say that is entirely wrong. In recent years however, those orders have become a bit more... enthusiastic thanks to Celestia," she said, snarling out the name.
"What did she do? I'm not aware of her ever having encountered, um, your world."
"All in due time, Sparkle. All in due time."
"Um... okay. So on another note, if you don't mind, why is the sun still in place?"
"Hmm?" She looked up directly at the sun, its unmatched radiance not even phasing her eyes. "Oh, that. I'll lower it in a few months. Why, what is the day and night cycle in your world?"
"Well, twenty fours hours of roughly equal night and day, sometimes varying a bit due to seasons."
She frowned. So it was the same cycle that the unicorns had kept before Discord. How disappointing. "I see. To change the subject, when we arrive in the castle I will show you to your chambers, then I must leave to manipulate my schedule to accommodate your arrival. Should you desire anything, there are servants to speak to, and I shall personally vouch for you should any... incidents occur. When it is time for dinner, I will send for you." She was going to have to ask Nighty to have dinner in her chambers when she got back to the castle. Her sister'd understand once everything was made clear.
She considered the angle that Twilight Sparkle was lying about her motives, that she was truly here to take her sister away, but even considering that was laughable. Nightmare Moon, in her world, had splintered their government in half with her attempt at Eternal Night, and if 'Celestia' was anything at all like Solar- unlikely but possible - then losing Luna had hurt her almost as much as losing Nightmare had hurt Solar. There was no reason for them to want to bring Nightmare Moon back, so while she was going to keep an eye on Princess Twilight, she wasn't going to implicitly not trust the mare who'd, as far as she was concerned, brought her sister back to life.
It didn't take long for them to arrive at the castle. Her guards swooped down with the chariot towards an open landing zone, making large circles to burn off their speed. She saw Twilight looking at the castle in awe. That made her feel quite proud. Whatever castle she knew of, it clearly didn't hold against Everfree Castle.
***-_***_-***-_***_-***-_***_-***
Twilight Sparkle
That was not what a castle should've looked like.
It looked more like a crown made out of spikes than a castle. Seriously, they were everywhere. And the guards! If Twilight had thought there were a lot of Coronal Guards in Canterlot, they'd practically taken over Everfree Castle, training in large courtyards surrounded by walls. If she didn't know it was a castle, she'd have assumed that it was a military fort. Especially with all the cannons.
The city of Everfree was, much to her surprise, not surrounded by any forest whatsoever, but rather by green grass as far as the eye could see. Not far from the bustling 'capitol' city was a small clump of houses that she assumed was Harvest Brook, located squarely where Ponyville should have been. It was actually rather... jarring, to look at a place like Everfree, knowing you should see something, but instead getting the near polar opposite.
She'd ridden by chariot before, but when they touched down and she got out after 'Solar Flare' her legs were shaking and her stomach was heavy. The palace was decorated in heavy golds, oranges, and reds, arrayed in such a way as to give the illusion that the floor was the base of a fire and the walls were the rising flames. A quick, innocuous magical scan revealed multiple enchantments, including reinforcement spells and, oddly enough, color changing spells.
She followed after Solar Flare warily, passing servants and Coronal Guards, the former of whom bowed and the latter of whom saluted sharply. It was easy to see why their fur was enchanted to be orange, given who their queen was.
And what a queen she was. Solar Flare was scary. Between her fangs, slit pupils, raging inferno of hair, and harsh demeanor overlaid with what could barely be called hospitality, she was just as terrifying to behold as Nightmare Moon. She wasn't torturing her for information, so that was a plus, but her guards had knocked her out - seriously, where had that guard kicked? A pressure point or something? - and put her in jail.
Queen Solar Flare was precisely what Twilight would've imagined a Nightmare-corrupted Celestia to look like, especially since her cutie mark's sun had black rays, but she claimed to never have been Celestia. And yet she knew her name, and it made her angry? She just didn't know what to think. She walked through the castle almost in a daze, this day was not at all going the way she'd expected. If she was right, it hadn't even been a full day since she got the princesses' letter.
Was this Solar Flare a natural counterpart of Celestia? Or was she just lying about the Nightmare not corrupting her? If she were a demonic soul-twisting parasite that's what she would do. But then why was Solar Flare being semi-polite to her and talking about opening negotiations with her Equestria? Was it all an elaborate ploy to get back to Luna? Twilight resolved to keep that in mind.
Twilight also decided to keep in mind that Solar Flare had started talking and she should probably listen!
" - given Ambassadorial Suite E. It's not the most opulent we have, but Ambassadorial Suite A is currently closed for repairs. I trust that will not be an issue?"
"Oh no, it won't," she said sheepishly. "I'm told I'm quite modest."
Solar nodded. "Good, good."
The passed by several other rooms, most of which appeared to go towards either servant or guard rooms. There was one, however, that caught her eye. It was a large, wooden door with two Coronal Guards standing before it. It was a tall, oak wood thing with many arcs and triangles carved into it. It was also locked. "What's behind there?" Twilight asked.
"Those are the history archives. She who controls the past controls the present, and therefore the future."
"Can I look in there? It'd be interesting to see where our history diverges..."
"No." Solar looked down at her with something bordering on contempt. "There are few circumstances that warrant me providing authorization to look into the past. Come along, Sparkle. We mustn't be late."
"Um... okay," she said morosely, following after Solar with a final, longing glance back at the doors. She really wanted to look into them, see where the point of difference was. But she was not in any mood to defy the alicorn that could probably roast her to death by simply hugging her; just walking next to her was parching her throat.
They took a few more turns, and soon came to a stop by a certain door that was rather unremarkable, all things considered, patterned with the same golds and red as the rest of the castle. Solar stopped and turned to face her. "This will be your room for your stay in my country. It had better be adequate, miss 'modest'." With a flick of her deep orange magic, Solar Flare opened the door to her room.
"Wow," she breathed. As she surveyed the room the only sound was the gentle crackling of Solar Flare's mane and tail. It was fairly large. Not exactly giant, like the guest rooms in Canterlot, but still sizable. The bed was no larger than it had to be but seemed so soft, the cabinet drawers were open to reveal their contents; countless brochures - a fair number of them about recruiting into the guard - and several books about how the government worked. There was a separate door leading to what she assumed was a bathroom, a ticking clock, and a window that offered a view to the circular city of Everfree. She had to be honest, it was quite beautiful, especially the fact that the place was painted to resemble the day sky.
"I trust it is to your liking? Good. I did not anticipate the room to be in use for some time, so it is not properly stocked. I will send a maid by to do so in addition to bringing you back your confiscated belongings, Princess Twilight. Feel free to peruse your room, but do not leave. I will call you to dinner when it is time." There was an immense surge of heat and light as Solar Flare teleported, and then Twilight was alone.
She looked around uneasily, alone in the room. She trotted in and closed the door behind her, electing to explore in case of any unkind surprises. After a magical scan revealed nothing, she locked her eyes on the bed and, with a flap of her wings, flew over and flopped down on it. It was very soft, almost cloud-soft, and it felt remarkable after all the stress she'd been under recently.
She wiggled around the covers, doing her best to doze off. In that moment, Twilight Sparkle didn't want to worry about dark parasites, alternate universes, or strange versions of Princess Celestia. The alicorn was happy to let her mind wander and let her breathing level out. She'd had a long day, after all. She'd earned a little rest -
Knock knock knock!
"Ponyfeathers," she grumbled, dragging herself out of bed. Firing up her telekinesis she opened the door, revealing a pegasus, pulling a cart behind her filled with all manner of towels and such. "Hello?" she asked.
The mare bowed low, her well-trimmed chocolate-brown mane flopping before her. Twilight couldn't see her cutie mark due to her outfit. "Greetings, Princess Twilight. I have supplies to stock your room, if it is alright with you?"
"Um, sure, come right in." The mare came up from her bow and trotted past Twilight, dragging her cart as she did. "May I ask your name?"
"Oh, um, I'm Plush Pillow. Um, just Pillow if you please, Your Highness." She reached into the cart, pulled out a brown sack, and placed it on the bed. Probably Twilight's belongings.
Twilight laughed nervously. "Please don't call me that, just Twilight's fine, Pillow."
The maid smiled. "Pleased to meet you, Twilight." She walked over to the shelf and, reaching into the cart, she pulled out what looked like a little fan, with a gently glowing crystal in its back. "Air filter," she explained, seeing her confused look. "Pollen's always nasty this time of day."
"Right, day," she said. Given that the day seemed to be eternal, 'time of day' could mean anything. But if it was eternal, then what was Solar Flare's remark about lowering the sun 'in a few months'? "Thank you, Pillow."
"Oh no, it's my pleasure," she said. The beige mare trotted into the bathroom and began unpacking toiletries into it in silence.
After a long pause, Twilight decided to break the tension. "So... what can you tell me about the Queen?"
Plush Pillow's irises constricted. "Um... what do you mean?"
"Well, I'm rather... new to Equestria, so I don't really know what to expect from her. She's invited me to dinner, so I want to know if there's anything I should avoid saying that would offend her."
"Be very polite," she said. "If she says something is true don't challenge her on it; Queen Solar Flare is a hundred times older than you and she'll make sure you know it." She put up a towel. "She doesn't have a problem with you speaking without being spoken to, but never interrupt her. Over all, just be polite, respectful, and you will probably not get incinerated in the nuclear inferno of the sun." Lovely, Twilight thought.
"Um, thanks." An awkward silence passed while Pillow kept unloading her cart around Twilight's room, and then the pegasus began to leave. "So, um, bye."
"Goodbye to you as well, Twilight." She curtsied, making Twilight laugh nervously. "You need anything, please just ring me down."
"Thank you, that's very kind of you."
Pillow blushed. "Oh, well, it's nothing. I'll see you around... probably." Plush Pillow trotted out of the room, cart in tow, leaving Twilight alone in a well-stocked guest room, in an opulent castle, in an alternate universe ruled by what appeared to be Celestia's evil twin.
She collapsed back on the bed and made herself cozy. She saw a clock out of the corner of her eyes: It was seven in the afternoon. She was getting a little peckish, but what could she do until dinner? Organize her thoughts, maybe send the Princesses another report. Should she still send the next pulse twenty-four hours after her last one, or after her report since they served the same purpose? How could she even send a report to Canterlot Castle, given that she was in the middle of what, in her world, was undoubtedly the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters?
So... no more letters for the time being, but at least she could still send the magic 'I'm okay' signal. Resolving to do so before she forgot, or slept in the next 'morning', Twilight sent the pulse down the thread keeping her tethered to home.
Her mind drifted back to Baron Fast Track, and his warnings about alicorns. All things considered, things could've gone much worse. She still wasn't entirely sure where Solar Flare had heard the name Celestia - provided she was telling the truth about not being corrupted - but she had ideas. It was possible that the Nightmare had told her and... wait. What he'd told her...
'Do you live under a rock? Last I checked there are only two alicorns.' Two alicorns? There was Solar Flare, obviously, so did that mean Nightmare Moon was the other? But how was that possible? Had the parasite somehow manifested a body without possessing somepony? Or what if it had possessed somepony else? Or maybe this other alicorn was somepony completely different. Or maybe not.
Solar Flare was very familiar to Nightmare Moon. The slit pupils, the fangs, the armor, and the whole 'eternal day' thing. But then what was that comment about eventually lowering the sun about? She didn't know, and that made her want to scream into the pillows and throw something through a wall.
Knock knock knock!
"Oh now what?!" she shouted, flinging open the door with her magic.
Behind it, a stallion in a suit stood with wide, unblinking eyes. "H-Her Majesty, Queen Solar Flare, wishes to extend a-an invitation to dinner to you, Princess Twilight," he stammered.
"Oh," she said, getting off the bed. Twilight wasn't quite ready to meet his eyes after the scare she'd given him. "Thank you, I'll be right there." She stretched her limbs and folded her wings back. Apparently she'd flared them out when she snapped at the poor stallion, which was an interesting reflex to say the least. Twilight wasn't sure if she'd ever get used to it. She walked over to the stallion. "Please, lead the way. I'm afraid I don't really know my way around yet."
She caught him giving her wings and horn an extra glance, and then he nodded. "Right this way, Your Highness." He turned tail and began a brisk canter through the castle. Twilight closed the room behind her and marked its location with a tracker spell so she could find her way back, and followed after the servant. She took note of the Coronal Guards standing around diligently, briefly looking at the enchantments woven into their armor with no small amount of amazement.
The servant led her towards a not-quite-spacious room with a long, oval glass table in the middle. There were paintings of all sorts around the walls, including one of Solar Flare... with her mane lighting a Hearth's Warming tree on fire? And why were some of the paintings covered in a film of opaque magic, as if to hide them from her eyes?
Sitting at one end of the oval was the alicorn herself, Solar Flare. Before her was a plate of spaghetti and... were those meatballs? Twilight was fascinated, apparently the fangs weren't just for show.
The queen noticed them enter. "Well done. Leave us, servant." The pony bowed and left the way they'd entered, leaving Twilight Sparkle completely alone with Solar Flare. "Come Twilight, please take a seat. I hope you like what I had made for you." Twilight trotted to the place Solar had gestured to and sat, staring at her plate of intricately cut daisy sandwiches as if they held the secrets of the universe.
"It looks good, thank you," she said, careful to keep Pillow's advice in mind. "May I?" she asked, gesturing to the food.
"What, do you think I had that put there so you could look at it? Eat, little pony." Twilight obediently brought a sandwich to her mouth and took a bite. It was good, the bread fluffy, the lettuce crisp, the flowers powdery. "I trust everything in your room is to your satisfaction?" she asked.
Twilight swallowed what was in her mouth. "Yes, thank you. It's all very good."
"Excellent." Solar Flare magically moved her fork to twirl some spaghetti onto it, which she ate. They two alicorns ate their dinner in silence for a little while, the only noise coming from Solar Flare's crackling flames.
Every now and then Twilight caught the larger alicorn looking at her out of one eye, judging her. One slit-pupiled eye which reminded her less of a cat and more of a dragon. And thinking about that just made her think about Spike, which in turn made her think about all her friends. How they didn't know where she was, what was going on. She hoped that Spike had at least told them she was on official business with the Princesses. Maybe if she were lucky, they would tell her friends in more detail about what was going on.
"So," Solar Flare said at last. "Your first day in a new world, must be quite exciting."
"Well, it hasn't been dull," she said with a nervous laugh.
Solar nodded with a mirthful smile. "I can imagine. Anyway, once we finish up here, there's somepony I want you to meet."
"Really, who?" she asked suspiciously.
"I think, that you already know her," Solar said with a growing grin.
"I do?"
"Oh yes. My sister, Nightmare Moon."
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Amazing. Update faster.
Cliffhanger!
It's amazing how oddly suspenseful this story can be despite not that much really happening this chapter. I kept expecting Twilight or Solar to try something... ill advised. I see Solar Flare has a bit of a prankster in her, much like Celestia.
Minor correction:
If Twilight can see the bed, it can't be behind a separate door that she has to guess what is behind. Maybe you meant bathroom?
4969629 Thank you! And d'oh! Yeah, bathroom was what I meant to write. Fixed.
I'm so glad I faved this fic
Ooh, can't wait for Twilight's reaction. Calm and collected because of Solar Flare's presence? Or freak out and completely forget the Queen is even there? I hope Solar Flare's reaction to Twilight's reaction will be to start laughing, because when Twi leaves the room on the first reaction then she'll probably start freaking out then.
Thank you for the update, hope to see more soon!
Oh yes! I've been waiting for this! *sits down to wait*
Hmm, getting a bit of mood whiplash on Solar here. Still, it's a good chapter.
With this, I'm in. Before, you had my interest. Now you have my attention.
4969683
As a side note: I'm assuming Celestia covered up all the pictures with Nightmare Moon for her 'prank'? Because Nightmare must have been home at least a year by now and I'd think she could bear to look at them again (exactly how long depends on your read of the canon timeline, which is iffy, as episodes don't take place in chronological order).
Oh I am enjoying this.
And I wouldn't say Solar is evil per say, just more direct in her methods and less gentle.
Still the same protective sister for her lunar alicorn.
I like villains who are not just evil for evil sake. IE: Discord and the changelings are the best villains. Making Nightmare Moon still "bad" but more understandable is all good in my book.
"She was happy to let the nobles enjoy their little city while she and Nightmare ruled Everfree, it was well to keep the economy and the government separate after all."
Ah, and there's the answer to my question from the previous chapter.
when I read Twily state that she did not understand what Solar Flare could gain from hiding or altering history I immeadiately thought" heh, Twily hasn't read 1984" and then of course Solar Flare Directly quotes the relevant party slogan from 1984