House of Sun

by Riossumari

Twilight's Wings

A full week had passed since Midnight Sparkle’s defeat, and many things had happened within that time. The very next morning an angry mob had appeared outside the palace demanding answers, while Celestia and Luna had done their best to explain what had happened many ponies were still unhappy with Twilight’s actions going unpunished. Twilight herself was now despised by a good fraction of the city, but more were outright afraid of her entirely. She’d only left the castle a few times but each time she had one of her family members accompanying her as she did. The city itself was undergoing repairs from the attacks of Midnight Sparkle as well as the shadow wolves she had unleashed. It was the worst possible scenario in the capital now, and Twilight was at the center of it all. Sunset and her friends had tried their best to help fix Twilight’s reputation among the general public, with Wallflower’s help they managed to get an article in the Canterlot Newspaper published further explaining the circumstances behind Nightmare possessing Twilight, but it hardly helped fix the situation at hand. For all their efforts Twilight was no longer the once beloved daughter of Celestia and the House of Sun every pony knew.

Celestia stood at the door to the castle study, Twilight sat at the table in the center of the room reading and studying the books inside. Celestia was glad that she wasn’t staying in her room but at the same time she knew that Twilight was depressed and for good reason. Celestia walked away closing the door without drawing attention to herself. As she walked down the hallway she was met by Luna at the corner.

“Oh Luna, how are you? Any problems with your work last night?” Celestia asked, the two alicorns walked down the hallway together Luna seemed almost as distraught as Celestia.

“There were more nightmares about Midnight Sparkle last night...they’re fewer in number, but the fact that there are a few that are happening still.” Luna said.

This made Celestia sad as well, “Poor Twilight, I wish there was some way we could fix this but I’ve already done everything I can think of. Changing the minds of every pony in Canterlot is no easy feat though. And its not like we can just make them change their minds either...” Celestia added.

“I can certainly understand what Twilight is going though, being Nightmare Moon was something I’ll never forget. And seeing every pony afraid of you afterwards...it never gets easier. But I hope she finds her strength again, she’s so much stronger than she realizes. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a pony with as much potential as she has. You saw what Nightmare was able to do by drawing out her full power, what’s worse I’m still not sure if her changing into an Alicorn was his doing or if she managed it on her own.” Luna added. She and Celestia walked until they reached the throne room, still being repaired from the damage of the battle before.

“That’s another thing that has me curious, Nightmare said Twilight used the elements of harmony to cast him out of her body. But, I’m not sure how she did it. What’s more I think...I think, the elements might have just divided themselves up amongst us. It’s no longer just you and I wielding them Luna, our whole family may very well be carrying one now.” Celestia explained.

Luna stopped to think about her sisters words for a moment, “But, there’s only one way to know for sure...do we? Do we want to see if this is true?” she asked, Celestia shook her head though.

“No, we still have enemies out there and I would prefer they not become suspicious of where the elements are currently being hidden. If they were to be destroyed now, who knows what might happen the next time that we'd need them.” Luna nodded in agreement, she knew her sister was right about this and the elements of harmony were to valuable to risk at that. The two sisters sat watching the construction ponies repairing everything and as they were Celestia saw them repairing the far wall where her throne once was.

“Oh...I hope you don’t mind sister. But, I decided to alter the throne room a little bit. We were both meant to rule over Equestria together, and I don’t intend to overshadow you ever again. So I asked them to make a second throne next to mine, one just for you.” Celestia said as she looked at Luna with a smile.

Luna smiled back and hugged Celestia tight, “You’re such a hopeless dork Tia, but thank you all the same.” she replied.

Twilight sat in the study reading at the table in the center of the room, her gaze focused on the book in front of her. She was reading up on old stories of Equestria’s forgotten heroes like Clover the clever and Rockhoof. Suddenly a large thick encyclopedia slammed down onto the desk scaring Twilight out of her daze. She looked up to see Sunset standing in front of her a smile on her face, then she laughed at her cousins reaction.

“Oh, hi Sunset...I didn’t hear you come in.” Twilight said, moving the encyclopedia aside.

“Well no duh, I said hi twice and walked a full lap around you and you just kept staring at that book the whole time.” Sunset sat next Twilight and pulled her close for a hug with her front hoof.

“How ya holding up Twi? Do you want to talk?” Sunset asked. Twilight sat quiet for a minute as Sunset hugged her,

“I do...but, I don’t even know where to start. I’m an alicorn now, but I didn’t earn it. Nightmare made me attack my family and scare all of Canterlot into obeying him, and to make matters worse, every pony is afraid of me. I can’t go outside without Cadence or Shining with me because I’m afraid of what might happen. Did you know some foal actually threw a rock at me? He kept screaming that I was a monster the entire time...” Twilight said. Sunset looked at her friend concerned and then she turned Twilight to look at her,

“Hey, every pony is only scared right now because the memories still fresh. You just have to give them time, once every pony has calmed down you just have to go out there and show them that you’re still you. That’s all Twilight, and until then we’re all here with you. So don’t forget that okay?” Sunset reassured her.

Twilight gently pushed Sunset back a little, “It’s not that simple Sunset, I was a genuine monster and possessed by an old dark magical being. Not every pony is going to have the same attitude as you and the rest of our family. They won’t accept me being an alicorn or being a princess like Cadence for that matter...they’re going to hate me.” Twilight said, she stood up and started to walk away she picked up the book she was reading as she did.

“Twilight!” Sunset shouted, Twilight looked back and saw the angry expression on Sunset’s face. She’d seen that look before too, it meant Sunset was about to do something that she probably wouldn’t like. Then Sunset marched towards her with purpose, Twilight dropped her book and backed away nervously.

“Sunset, lets just take a deep breath and relax ok? Just relax and we can keep talking about this...” Twilight whimpered, Sunset finally stood in front of Twilight almost nose to nose with her.

“Sorry Twilight, its time for some tough love!” Sunset snapped, and then in red flash of magic the two mares disappeared from the castle study.

Instantly the two ponies moved to a new location, Twilight realizing this lost her temper and shouted at Sunset at the top of her lungs. “Sunset!!! What did I just tell you!?!” Twilight went to yell at her again but then suddenly she felt a small pony hug her followed by an all too familiar voice.

“Twilight! You came to visit!” Twilight looked to see Sweetie Belle hugging her a bright smile on her face as she looked up at the purple pony. Twilight glared back at Sunset for a second who simply smiled back at her, this was a cheap tactic she thought and now she couldn’t just leave not without upsetting Sweetie.

“Hi Sweetie Belle, sorry I haven’t come to visit you or Rarity. But…a few things have happened these past few days and I haven’t really been myself I guess.” Twilight said. Sweetie looked at Twilight a little puzzled by her words but then her face turned back to a smile, she gripped one of Twilight’s wings and stretched it out to look at it better.

“Oh my stars! Spike was right! You are an alicorn now! Does this mean you’re real princess too?” she eagerly asked. Twilight went to answer but then bit her lip, unsure what to say. Luckily Sweetie spoke up again before she could answer, “Hold on, I’ll go get Rarity! She’s gonna be so excited to see you too!” Sweetie rushed out of the room and into the back, Twilight turned back to Sunset who still sat smiling at her.

“Trust me, by the time this is over you’ll be thanking me Twi.” she said. A moment later Sweetie returned Rarity following her,

“Twilight, Sunset, its so good to see you. I wished you’d have let me know you were stopping by though, my shop is just an absolute mess right now...” Rarity said as she finished hugging her friends.

“Hi Rarity, sorry about that. This was kind of a spur of the moment thing really. I thought Twilight needed some cheering up and being with a friend or two seemed like the best idea.” Sunset explained to Rarity. She smiled back and waved for them to follow,

“Well I certainly don’t mind darling, but let’s continue this in the kitchen. We can sit and I can put on pot of tea and some cakes while we talk.” They all walked into the kitchen and sat around the table there, Rarity putting on a pot of tea while Sweetie sat next to Twilight all the while Sweetie was looking at Twilight’s new wings.

“So what’s it like having wings now? Have you flown over Canterlot yet? Come on, tell me Twilight!” Sweetie eagerly asked. Twilight blushed a little bit from Sweetie’s questions, she was a little embarrassed but also happy to see Sweetie was so excited over her having wings.

“Actually, I haven’t really tried flying yet...only thing I’ve done with them so far is Cadence taught me how to properly preen them. It’s a little bit of a hassle, but I’m sure I’ll get used to it eventually.” she said. Sweetie was a little puzzled by Twilight’s words,

“How come you haven’t tried flying yet? Are you scared of heights or something?” she asked, Rarity brought the teapot and a tray with snacks over to the table and began to pour them all cups of tea.

“No Sweetie, I’m not afraid of heights...its just, I don’t really want them. They way I got them, I don’t feel I deserve them. Cadence got her horn and became an alicorn because she showed how compassionate and loving a pony she was. She did something amazing to get the way she is now, but me...I just screwed up. I didn’t earn my wings at all...” Twilight said her eyes lowering with the sad look on her face.

“What are you talking about Twilight” Sweetie spoke up, every pony suddenly looking at her with a surprised look.

“Of course you deserve to be a princess! Spike and Cadence are always talking about your thinking of other ponies first! You always jump in to help your friends, not to mention you love your family so much right?” Twilight was a little surprised by how adamant Sweetie sounded about this,

“Oh she’s absolutely right darling, you saved Princess Luna from being Nightmare Moon, you fought off Discord, and you risked everything to save me from that dreadful Nightmare creature. Of course you deserve to be an alicorn, I can’t think of any pony more deserving than you.” Rarity added.

“But that’s the thing, I let Nightmare possess me and look at all the damage he made me do! Every pony is scared of me now, and these are a reminder of that now.” Twilight said in response.

Sweetie reached over and put her hoof on Twilight’s, “Every pony makes mistakes Twilight...” Sunset reached over and put her hoof on Twilight’s back,

“She’s right Twi, its true. You did screw up, badly. But what matters is that you’re trying to make things right, you want every pony to like you again right? You just need to make the effort now, and shutting yourself up in the castle isn’t exactly helping with that.” Sunset said. Twilight looked around the room at the other mares with her she wanted to tell them they were wrong but she couldn’t. Deep down she knew they were right,

“Well, I’m gonna need help doing it. As much as I want to I can’t convince every pony that I’m the same old Twilight on my own right?” Twilight replied,

“I’ll help! Spike probably will too! And if he doesn’t then I’ll make him help.” Sweetie said with a smile.

“Now don’t you worry about a thing Twilight, with all of us helping you will make all of Equestria see how great it is that they have a brand new princess within the House of Sun. Oh! My goodness I need to start thinking about the dresses you’ll have to wear to help your image with this. Sweetie stay here I need to go get my sketchbook.” Rarity said as she went to leave, Sweetie started to talk to Twilight and Sunset but then suddenly they heard Rarity stumble. They all looked to see her holding herself up against the kitchen counter, her free hoof on the side of her head. They all got up to check on her, Sweetie standing beside her and putting her hoof on her side.

“Rarity? Are you okay?” she asked, Rarity looked back at Sweetie and smiled,

“Oh yes, I’m fine Sweetie. I just tripped...but, now that you mention it I think I’m getting a headache...” Rarity answered. Sunset walked up to Rarity but then paused when she saw something unusual, a single black spot on the back of Rarity’s neck. Sunset wondered if that was always there, but then she saw another on Rarity’s shoulder, before she could ask she then saw one appear on her back then a small patch of white appearing on her mane. Sunset’s eyes grew in horror as she started to realize what was happening and she tried to warn Twilight.

“Sweetie Belle! Get over here now!” Sunset shouted, Sweetie looked at Sunset confused as Rarity’s face became more pained. Then black smoke began to rise from the corners of her eyes, Twilight gasped and Sunset instinctively used her magic to pull Sweetie back to her and Twilight for safety. Then Rarity suddenly shrieked in pain an explosion of dark magics erupting from her body and throwing the kitchen into disarray, Twilight raised a barrier around all three of them shielding them from everything now being thrown around the kitchen like they were in the center of a tornado. Twilight looked back at Rarity calling out to her and when she looked at her friend she gasped when she saw a pair of emerald green eyes glaring back at her, Rarity had returned to her nightmare form! Twilight gasped in shock and Rarity simply shouted over the magics wreaking havoc in the kitchen.

“This isn’t over Twilight! Not by a long shot!!!” then in an instant she vanished into the shadows around her. A second later everything in the kitchen was still again, Sunset and Twilight were breathing heavy in shock of what just happened.

“Twilight...that, was that him!? How? How’s he still alive? And now he has Rarity again!” Sunset said, Twilight didn’t know what to say she was just as shocked as Sunset.

“I don’t know! I really don’t know! I was sure Aunt Luna and I destroyed him! But you saw..." Twilight was interrupted by something that broke both hers and Sunset's hearts.

“RARITY!! Rarity! Where’d you go? Rarity?!” They looked and saw Sweetie Belle frantically searching the shop for her sister, she stopped in front of Twilight and Sunset her eyes tearing up.

“Twilight...where? Where’s my sister? Where did Rarity go?” she cried, Twilight was speechless she had no words, no explanation. Then as Sweetie began to cry Sunset walked over and hugged her tight as she could, Sweetie Belle crying into her stomach as she did. No pony expected this, Nightmare was still alive, and now he had Rarity as his host again...

Author's Note:

And that concludes the Nightmare Arc, hope everyone enjoyed that bit of a twist ending there. I'm genuinely excited to see the comments for this chapter, and as much as I liked Rarity I did want to fix the fact I rushed through her Nightmare form so quickly. Now she's going to be running around Equestria. Next few chapters should be a little less dramatic, mostly to help things wind down before I get to the Vacation arc. Anyway hope everyone is doing alright out there with all the crazy happening right now. I'll try and update the next chapter as soon as I can, in the meantime leave me some comments and maybe throw up a like or two.

Comments

[Melody Song]

Aww. I feel bad for Twilight, but noo Nightmare Rarity's back!

[SpikeSmolder fan]

Yeah just like I thought, pretty much everyone in the general pony populace are afraid of Twilight. She really gonna need to work hard to earn their trust back after her blunder on letting herself be controlled by Nightmare.

And speaking of which............ARE YOU KIDDING ME??????????? That cliffhanger at the end left me speechless!!!

Can't wait to see what's in store in the next couple chapters plus the Vacation Arc, thanks for sharing & stay safe out there Riossu!

[Riossumari]

10161542
Thanks! You too

[Comickook]

REALLY good job on this epilogue chapter/set-up for the next arc. The exchanges, characterizations and future chapter/arc set-up are well done in all the right places. Yeah, I can understand Twi having so much trouble rebuilding her reputation after the "Midnight Sparkle" mess, even with her family and friends making an honest effort to help. And, yeah, it IS going to take a lot of hard work (though I have a feeling she's going to be getting A LOT of opportunities). I did enjoy the chat between Celestia and Luna though as well as Sunset's effort to get Twilight to Rarity and Sweetie Belle. Too bad Nightmare is back and has re-possessed Rarity. Pretty much the only two good things to come out of that are that I could see this being the start of Twilight regaining the trust of the general public AND I could see Spike and Sweetie Belle eventually getting MUCH closer from the effort to save Rarity again. Then there's the Changelings, Sombra, the Plunder Vines, Tirek, the Storm King, etc.

I'm definitely going to be looking forward to the future arcs.

[Arceaion]

i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/243/827/706.gif

[DavisSentoV5]

How does this conclude the nightmare arc?! It's not over, not at all

[Dark Feather]

10162303
Introduction arc, now we have an reacuring bad guy/girl.

[SuperSonicHeroes]

What do you mean the Nightmare arc is over? It certainly doesn’t feel over.

[Riossumari]

10162440
Maybe "Over" was a poor choice of words. But Nightmare Rarity won't be the focus for some time, guess that's what I was really trying to say. Sorry if I made that sound confusing...

[SuperSonicHeroes]

10162764
Okay then. Now suddenly I am thinking that Grogar might try to recruit her into his Legion of Doom. Though I might be completely wrong on that.

[Twilight Is Cool]

Poor Twilight! She doesn't deserve the hate all those ponies are giving her! She was doing her best to save Rarity, it's not HER fault she was trying to save someone!! I hope she can show all those doubters she's still the beloved daughter of Celestia they considered her before real soon!! I have faith she'll show them all she DESERVES those wings!! She's my fav pony after all!!

Even though it's not the same, I am glad she became an alicorn like in the other version! But... If I may make a small request... Can Shining get wings too please?! He should be able to live forever with his family too!! I also think it'd be a great way for him to get over his airsickness if he suddenly got wings and had to learn how to fly too!! But still, I REALLY hope u give him wings & make him a alicorn!!... Or would it be Stalicorn(I have no idea if I spelled that right)?

[Doctor_Den]

why did nightmare take Rarity so easily again? Twilight allowed herself to volunteer. Princess Luna was emotionally depressing and depressed, making it easy to direct.
Rarity is doing well, but for some reason even a weakened nightmare takes control of her. Is she really so heartbroken and emotionally exhausted inside?

[K-O-D-E-X]

To quote Yahtzee "This is like a mouthful of dinner plates cause it leaves me doing this ---> 😬"

[Kiityguy]

Forgive me if there's a reason for this and I'm just missing it, but everyone saying Twilight "messed up" by letting the Nightmare possess her doesn't really make sense? She volunteered to sacrifice herself to save her friend, she didn't realize what the Nightmare was going to do while he was in control. And she wasn't even choosing to do any of the things Midnight Sparkle was doing, it was all the Nightmare