• Published 7th Oct 2016
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Mother Nightmare - SnowCrystal802



16-yr-old Twilight has been held in a stasis spell for a millennia. Since her mother was banished from Equestria. What happens when she comes back?

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Awakened (edited)

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Heartbeat echoing in her ears, Twilight's eyes fluttered open glancing around the landscape in confusion. The only thing she could see was a dark blue sky, speckled with stars. Suddenly, she felt stone beneath her hooves and the smell of ginger tea and biscuits reached her nose. Everything was familiar, everything was in the proper place for her usual lunch tea. But something wasn't quite right. Her aunt was waiting for her, a gentle smile on her face. Shaking off the sense of wrongness, she trotted over and sat down, sending Celestia a hesitant smile. The white Alicorn placed a cup of tea in front of her, perfect with a couple cubes of sugar and a faint taste of cream. The sense of wrongness hit her again when she grabbed a biscuit. Weren't they usually in the shape of crescents, for the moon?

A pulse went through her head and the thought was dissolved, but that single moment made Twilight jump and a sense of rage fill her. She wouldn't be the most powerful mage of her generation if she didn't recognize a stasis spell. Her mother had put her in one before, to teach her how to identify them. Her horn glowed and she sent a pulse through herself. While she couldn't break the stasis, she could break the underlying memory spell she sensed tied into it. Soon, she was hovering in a black void, probing the memory spell for weakness. A shock went through her and she growled. This particular spell was all but forbidden, being considered a mind control spell as it allowed the caster to control the victim's memories, or change them. Curiosity overrode her anger and she went back through her memories of her mother and settled on the last one, allowing it to play in her mind.

The memory was fuzzy, marking it as the changed one. Twilight smiled, glad to have a base to work with. Memory spells were notorious for being tricky to break. She worked her magic into the spell array, trying to find the baseline for it. Suddenly, the spell snapped apart and her true memory hit her, making tears fill her eyes. Hatred for her auntie pulsed through her and she growled, heat filling her chest.

Twilight blinked, the black void fading away into a blurry mess of white, gold and green. She moaned, feeling very disconnected as she couldn't feel a thing. Slowly, the blurriness began to lessen, her ear twitching. A faint warmth spiraled up her horn, ending as a spark jumped off the tip. Relief warmed her chest as she once again felt her magic thrumming in her body, sending tendrils of warmth and feeling through her body. She could tell she was resting on a smooth, stone floor and she struggled to lift her head. Her vision cleared a little more, the white splitting into two different shades, the brighter one being right in front of her. There was a glimmer of gold on the bottom of the blotch. Blinking and shaking her head, she looked up as her vision cleared completely as her strength returned. Her auntie was standing in front of her, a concerned look on her face. Twilight stared at her for a few seconds before a snarl twisted her features, the young Alicorn leaping back and crouching.

"Twilight, honey, why are you mad at me? It's me, your Auntie Celestia." Twilight gaped at her in shock. Did she seriously not remember what she'd done, how she'd hurt her own family?

"Why!? Are you serious? Why do you think I'm mad at you, Auntie? You banished my mother, your own sister, and you expect me to LIKE YOU!?" Celestia sat down, both from the shout and from shock. At the moment, the shout seemed easier to deal with. She shook her head and rubbed her ringing ears. A thousand years of not using the Royal Canterlot Voice had made her ears sensitive. Shaking herself, she turned back to her niece and sighed, ears drooping as she extended a hoof towards the young mare.

"Twilight, sweetheart..." A bolt of magic hit her in the chest, making her yelp as she was knocked over. At that, the guards posted around the room rushed Twilight, pinning her to the marble floor. Celestia, stood and brushed the scorch mark off her fur before calling them off as the Captain came up to her.

"It's fine. I'm not hurt and she has every right to attack me. Shining Armour, this is my niece Twilight Carina Sparkle. She's my sister's daughter." The large stallion turned towards the small Alicorn and gave a confused frown. Shaking his head, he turned towards the guards and nodded. Reluctantly, they retreated, allowing Twilight to stand. Twilight stood, her whole body rigid as she stared at Celestia. Sighing, the larger mare turned towards Shining and nodded.

"What is it you wanted, Captain?"

"Oh, right. Princess, the Royal Astronomer said that the four key-stars are almost upon the moon. He estimated that Nightmare moon should return with in a few months, which meshes with your theory that she'll return on the Summer Sun Celebration." Celestia was about to respond when Twilight let out a growl. Shining turned towards her, Celestia glancing at him before doing the same. Her eyes were blazing with fury as she stared at the Captain.

"Luna. My mother's name is Luna." Shining stared at her in confusion before shaking his head and turning towards Celestia as her horn light up. A ball of golden light form, the centre showing an image of her sister on the moon. She was wrapped in heavy, stardust chains, her head thrown back in an angry wail. Celestia sighed as she stared at her sister. Maybe, when she came back, Luna would be more reasonable and apologize for attacking her. She heard her niece whimper behind her but ignored the sound as Shining cleared his throat.

"As you can see, Princess, the chains are starting to disintegrate. I believe that your estimation of her return is correct." True to his word, small particles of stardust were drifting off the chains. As they watched, one of them snapped before completely dissolving. Shining lifted a clear, glass box about the size of a sugar cube. Touching it to the ball of light, there was a flash as the ball flowed into the cube. The white stallion stood and put the block into a compartment in his armour before bowing and leaving. Celestia watched him leave and sighed, turning towards her niece. Twilight was sitting with her head down, a sad scowl on her face.

"Twilight, I'd like for you to go to the Summer Sun Festival with me. It's obligation for all royalty to..." The door opened making Celestia let out a small growl of annoyance. A pink mare stuck her head in, her eyes scanning the room before entering. Twilight turned around and her eyes locked on the pair of purple tipped wings on her back, along with the long horn on her head. The mare trotted towards Celestia, not noticing Twilight as she passed. Celestia's heart dropped as her hope of gaining Twilight's trust decided to say goodbye.

"Auntie, I wanted to talk to you about funding for the Canterlot orphanage. They could do with more money or they might not be able to keep all of the foals there. Plus, Blueblood was... oh, hello. Who are you?" Twilight was still, her eyes wide as she stared at the pink Alicorn. Auntie. She'd called Celestia Auntie.

"Auntie? She called you Auntie!"

"Yeah. Why does it matter and why do you care? Everypony knows she's my auntie." A white hoof, clad in gold, landed on her shoulder, drawing the mare's attention away from Twilight.

"Cadence, we can discuss this at a later date. I'll explain later but can you please leave?" Cadence shook her head and turned towards her aunt, a confused and demanding look on her face. Celestia sighed and glanced at Twilight, the purple mare growling before turning and bolting. Cadence turned towards her aunt, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. When she spoke, Celestia's fur and feathers prickled at her cold, clipped tone.

"Explain. Now."


Twilight lay in a random bedroom, curled into a tight ball on the plush bed. Her tail flicked over her nose, as she whimpered in pain. She knew that her aunt didn't like her much but to replace her... was unthinkable. A few tears rolled down her cheeks as the thought of her mother. Normally, when she was upset she could go to her and her mother would make her feel better. Her last memory of her mother came back to her and her tears increased. Closing her eyes, the memory appeared to play in front of her.

I wailed as I was dragged through the castle halls, tears streaming down my cheeks as I struggled to break free of Auntie's telekinesis. Dust and dirt clung to the fur on my back and legs from being dragged over the stones outside. The guards we passed merely stared at me in hatred as I screamed for someone to help her. I hadn't done anything wrong. Auntie growled and shook me, making pain blossom from the scratches on my back. Soon, the doors to the throne room opened and Auntie walked in, still holding me in her golden magic. After a few minutes, Mom appeared in a flash of dark blue. With a cold glare, Auntie heaved me forward, sending me rolling to a stop in front of my mother.

"Twilight! What happened to you!?" I whimpered and curled into my mother, shivering as my tears started to slow. Mom wrapped a wing around me and gave me a reassuring smile before turning her eyes towards her sister. "Celestia, what happened to her?"

"I've had it with her, Luna. She's dangerous and if you don't start disciplining her, I will punish her myself." Mom's jaw dropped, her mind going blank as she tried to process this. She shook her head and unconsciously pulled me under her belly in a protective way.

"It's not your right to punish her. I'll talk to her, I promise you but you don't get to..."

"YOU don't get to talk to me that way. I am in charge of the day and I have the most responsibility. You haven't managed to keep her from endangering others and so I will treat your daughter as she deserves." Mom stilled, her eyes glazing as she stared at her older sister. I may not have siblings but I knew that it wasn't right for Auntie to imply that she was more important. Older siblings were supposed to care for and love their younger siblings, not consider them inferior. Tears began to flow down my mother's cheeks as she started to tremble. Hurt turned to anger, anger turned to rage, rage turned to fury then fury turned to blind, unbridled hatred. Her horn let out a pulse of magic, a line of black going down her horn and up her hooves. After everything else, this was the final straw.

"You don't get to decide how my daughter is punished. She is MY child and I will decide how she is to be disciplined. When you have a daughter come talk to me. You already managed to stop us from leaving, saying that it 'wasn't safe' and that you'd 'take care of us'. Well, tell me, sister, how have you taken care of us?"

Celestia scoffed and glared at her sister, neither one noticing as I teleported behind my mother's throne. Mom's mane turned into a floating mass of sparkling, purple mist. Her pupils slitted and her teeth sharpened, a growl rumbling in her throat as her anger and hatred grew. Enough was enough. Shivering in my hiding place, I watched as the sisters stared to circle each other, two feet from each other but as distant as the opposite sides of the world. Sighing, Celestia suddenly relaxed and stopped, her eyes cold and calculating.

"Come on, Luna. Stop overreacting about everything and stand down. She's my blood and that means you have no right to keep her from me." Celestia's cold, demanding voice sent Mom over the edge and she let out a roar of pure fury, sending an azure bolt towards her sister. A quaking tremor ran down my spine as I watched my mother's eyes flash. There were very few times where my mother unnerved me. Now was one of those times.

"How am I overreacting!? You never seemed to care about her being your niece before! I don't care if it's dangerous out there, we're LEAVING. You let her be beaten, abused and ignored her for years!!" Mom sent another bolt towards her sister, a golden shield coming up to block it before she returned fire. I cowered behind the dark blue throne, tears streaming down my cheeks as my mother and aunt fought. Even now, I could feel a sparkle of hope that Celestia would love me and my mother again. Suddenly, Celestia threw her sister towards the wall, Mom's head going through the window. As she collapsed, her head hit the bottom of the window, leaving a red stain from a piece of glass. Celestia growled and pinned her sister to the floor, wrapping her magic around my mother's neck and legs. My aunt's eyes were narrowed as she glared down at her sister. Whenever Mom and I would make to leave, she would stop us then turn around and turn on us.

"Fine, sister. If you want to get away, then I will give you your wish. Hopefully some time alone will cool that temper." Her horn began to glow, blazing a brilliant gold. Mom struggled and her eyes widened as the spell took shape. She lit her own horn right as Celestia released the spell. A golden glow formed over my mother's body and began to brighten. Tears started to roll down my cheeks as the spell gained power. Then with a flash and a blast of power, she was gone. My mom was... gone. An anguished cry ripped out of my throat and Celestia turned towards me.

"Hush, Twilight, you will be fine. After some time, you can help me get your mother to see sense." Her horn glowed again and blackness began to mist over my vision. Slowly, I slipped off into unconsciousness.

Twilight's eyes opened as the door handle jiggled before turning, the door creaking open to reveal her aunt. Her eyes were dark as she stared at her niece, taking in the young mare's suddenly hostile glare and angry snarl. Her wings were half-spread and puffed, the tops of the feathered limbs facing her in a defensive move. Sighing, Celestia walked into the room, her ears flicked back as she closed the door behind her.

"I knew you hated me but that's going a little far. I mean seriously, you replaced me!?"

"No, I would never do that to you, honey. I love..."

"NO! You don't get to say that. You don't love me and you never did. If you loved me, you wouldn't have treated me the way you did. If you really loved me, you wouldn't have banished my MOTHER" Celestia glared at her niece and gave an exasperated sigh. She walked over to the bed and sat down on the marble floor, her eyes soft. Twilight was key to her plan to win her sister back over and if she was going to get Twilight on her side, she needed to gain her niece's trust. However, if that was going to happen, she needed to appear apologetic for her actions.

"Twilight, honey, I'm sorry. I've had a lot of time to think about my actions as well and I can see how they must have seemed from your point of view. But you have to trust me when I say..."

"TRUST you!? How, in the name of the moon, do you expect me to trust you? After everything you've done to me. No. Me trusting you is never gonna happen. Not in this year, not in a million years and I swear, if you try to turn me on my mother, I will run so far from here you will never see me again. I promise you that..."

"Enough! I'm trying to mend bridges"

"No, you're trying to get me on your side of things. Well let me tell you, that is NEVER gonna happen. You've dissolved any chance of earning my forgiveness so stop trying." Suddenly, Celestia found herself outside Twilight's room with the lavender mare glaring at her.

"Now stay out." With that, the door slammed shut in Celestia's face. Sighing, she teleported to her room, shaking her head in annoyance.

"Trust me, Twilight. You'll agree with me eventually, I know it."