Nightmare Moon defeats Celestia in the original battle, and sets herself up as queen. Fearing rebellion, Nightmare Moon uses her powers to take away all the unicorns' magic. Well, almost all of them.
Nightmare Moon defeated Celestia in the original battle. Nightmare set herself up as queen over Equestria, and even married King Sombra. She feared rebellion, however, and used her powers to take away all (excluding Sombra) of the Unicorns' magic. But 1,000 years into her reign, Twilight Sparkle discovers that she has magic. Nightmare Moon was right to fear rebellion...
"Luna, please, it doesn't have to be this way!" Celestia pleaded.
"I said before, Luna is dead!" Nightmare Moon snarled as she blasted another beam of magic at the princess.
"I'm sorry." The white Alicorn's eyes teared up as she dodged the attack. "You force my hoof." The Elements of Harmony floated up behind her, and they began to glow. "I love you" Celestia whispered.
"NO!" The dark mare shouted. She reached out to Luna's three Elements in desperation. Loyalty, Laughter, and Generosity refused to listen to the Princess, even when she connected with them. She grinned an evil smirk as she ordered the Elements to attack herself. The Elements adamantly refused to do so. The six sparked out, the three under Celestia's command were not powerful enough to defeat the Nightmare.
"What now?" Nightmare Moon gloated. "Your Elements failed you, and I've practically defeated you already. Not so mighty now."
Celestia stood shakily on her hooves. "I will never yield to you! I will protect Equestria with my life! You cannot beat me!" Celestia powered up her horn and shot a large beam of magic directly at the Dark pony. Nightmare's pupils dilated in fear as she hastily shot a dark beam back at Celestia. The Magic connected mere feet from Nightmare Moon, but it quickly moved backwards. Celestia's eyes shown with fear as it quickly approached her horn. Celestia used her magic to divert the beams into a pillar beside them. Exhaustion made the alicorn wobble on her hooves, but she refused to fall.
"I have a surprise for you, Celestia. I freed an old friend before I came. Say hello to Sombra." The dark unicorn entered at her words. His fangs shown with sick joy.
"Hello, Celestia." He said. Celestia stared in disbelief.
"It can't be..." She mumbled. A cry of pain tore from her throat as Nightmare Moon struck her in the back. Celestia fell to the ground, tears flowed from her eyes. "Please..." She pleaded.
"SILENCE, YOU CUR!" Nightmare yelled as she slammed her hooves on the ground with force enough to shatter the marble floor around her. Her horn lit up with a dark aura, and Celestia was dragged to a pillar beside the throne. Black chains shot out and grasped the Princess by her hooves, her neck and one around her middle pinning her wings. "You, too weak to defend your kingdom. Perhaps it's better for me to be queen. Don't bother trying to escape, pet." Her horn ignited again and a dark aura surrounded Celestia's horn, and it absorbed the light. "You've cast your last spell. And so have your precious ponies." An evil glint shown in her eyes. Her flowing mane grew and seemed to fill the room as she cast the same spell on every unicorn in Equestria. "Sombra and I have the only magic now. None can oppose my rule!" an evil chuckle finished the statement.
Celestia's eyes went white. "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." The voice carried more power than the tattered body appeared to contain.
Nightmare Moon laughed, but fear shown in her eyes. Prophecy was something that could change, and this one would have to be stopped.
Twilight Sparkle walked through Canterlot's castle, doing her job. She hated being a maid, but you couldn't get much else for work without your cutie mark. Dusting statues wasn't that fun.
"Twilight!" Dust Bunny called as she trotted down the hall. A guard glared, and Dust flinched. "Sorry." She mumbled as the earth pony made her way to Twilight.
"Yes?" The Unicorn asked.
"Can you clean the artifact room? Her royal majesty has requested that I clean the throne room today. I have permission to get aid with my other chores." Dusty said.
"I would love to!" Twilight declared. "I've always wanted to see the ancient artifacts."
"Just remember, dust them, but don't tarry or touch them." Dusty warned before trotting off.
Twilight finished dusting the statues in the corridor. Normally she would return home at that time, but she had to finish the Artifact Room. She had a slight skip in her step as she pushed her cleaning cart to the room down the hall. She pushed the door open slightly at first, but then all the way. The dim lights ignited the room. Twilight went about her duties, sweeping the floor, dusting the artifacts. She came to the last one in the back corner, a green and purple egg. Twilight got a funny feeling as she got close to it. Her useless horn tingled slightly. Her mind whirled. She was moving to Ponyville that day anyway. Might as well slip the egg while nopony's looking. She lifted it carefully into her cart and hid it under a towel and a duster. She briskly walked down the hall to her closet where she put the egg in her saddle bag along with her uniform. She couldn't relax until after she had gotten home, where her parents had everything in boxes.
"Ready to go, Hun?" Her dad asked.
"Yeah. When does our carriage arrive?" She asked.
"Soon." Her mother said as she entered the room, a box on her back.
"Mom, do you think that unicorn horns are special at all?" Twilight asked. The bustle in the house ceased as her parents and brother stared at her.
"What makes you ask that?" Her mother asked nervously.
"Nothing." Twiilight said and ducked her head low. Deep down, she knew that unicorns couldn't be as worthless as everypony thought. Pegusi fly, Earth Ponies are strong and grow plants. Unicorns are usually smart, but that couldn't be all. There had to be something more. And that egg had to have the answers.
The chariot gently set down on the dark town of Ponyville. Unlike Canterlot, Ponyville didn't have a large enough budget to keep the streets lit brightly all of the time. Only a few lights gleamed during the slow time of the town, when most ponies were asleep. Only the Mayor greeted the family as they exited the carriage.
"Welcome to Ponyville!" She said with a smile. "We're so glad you're here, Twilight Velvet and Night Light. Ponyville is honored to finally have official star-gazers. And these must be your wonderful children, Shining Armor and Twilight Glitter?"
"Sparkle." Twilight corrected. Shining Armor stood silently. His glare clearly put off the Mayor.
"Anyway..." The pony said with a nervous chuckle. "We'll have you in the old library. You'll have a great view of the stars." She said as she picked up some luggage and lead them to an old oak tree. Inside, the layers of dust indicated that nopony had been there in years. The Mayor placed the suitcases before wishing us a good night and leaving. The unicorn family lit some lights with matches. Twilight Velvet and Night Light took the bedroom in the attic, claiming it had the best view without all the clutter of the books. Shining Armor took a room on the middle floor, and Twilight got stuck by the library. She didn't even have a door, she was just up a short staircase from all of the books.
The Sleep Cycle passed peacefully for all but Twilight. All she could think of was that feeling in her horn earlier. When the Cycle was over, Twilight explored the library. She found a shelf with empty notebooks, they said "Scientific Studies" on them. She grabbed one and a quill with ink. She placed them in her saddle bag with her stolen egg.
"MOM! DAD! I'M GONNA GO EXPLORE!" She shouted through the lantern in her mouth.
"ALRIGHT! BE BACK FOR THE SLEEP CYCLE!" her mother's voice echoed back, but Twilight was already out the door. The lanterns in the street were fully lit, and ponies filled the streets going about their business. Twilight tried to slip out unnoticed, but a pink blur would not allow her to.
"HELLO!" She shouted, even though she was right up in Twilight's face. "YOU MUST BE PART OF THE NEW FAMILY THAT LIVES IN THAT DUSTY OLD TREE! I'M SO EXCITED TO FINALLY MEET YOU!" Twilight stepped back and looked around for guards who normally would have scolded anypony who was that loud.
"Pinky, ya scarin' the poor filly." An orange Earth Pony with a hat corrected.
"Oh no! I just don't want her to get in trouble with the guards." Twilight said in a low voice. The two ponies laughed.
"Ya'll really are from the big city, ain't ya? Us folk don't git in trouble, So Nightmare Moon don't waste 'er ponies here." The orange one said. "I'm AppleJack. This 'ere is Pinkie Pie."
"I'm Twilight Sparkle." Twilight said, but she longed to run away. She had business with the egg. "It was lovely to meet you, but..." She began.
"LOOK OUT!" A voice yelled, and Twilight looked up to see a rainbow-maned Pegasus crash into her. She groaned in pain and shook the pony off of her. "Sorry." the mare apologized.
"It's alright." Twilight said. A look of panic spread over her as she opened her saddle bag just enough to make sure the egg was alright.
"Whatcha got there?" The cyan mare asked.
"Nothing. I got to go." Twilight said, and galloped off before anypony could say anything.
Twilight Sparkle didn't stop until she reached the end of the lights, and even then she only hesitated enough to light her lantern before continuing on. After several minutes of not seeing anypony, she stopped and set down her lantern. Excitement filled her as she emptied the contents of her saddlebag in the small ring of light. She prepared her notebook and quill, and watched the egg. She sat there excitedly for nearly ten minutes before sighing.
"Great. I risked my life for something completely worthless. What did I expect?" Twilight mumbled. In her mind she imagined the egg hatching. A crack slowly starting, first at the top, then spreading downwards. She closed her eyes as she picture it, and smiled at the thought of what could be inside. She felt a strange sensation in her horn, and a loud crack interrupted her thoughts. She opened her eyes, and saw the cracks spreading down the egg, just like she imagined! A small purple head emerged from the egg, followed by a body with green spikes.
"Yikes!" Twilight yelped, but she imagined the rest of the egg falling apart, and it did. The inside was highly reflective, and showed a purple light around her horn. The light ceased, and Twilight felt exhausted. She wasn't sure, but she knew that only the King and Queen could do that!
A gasp shattered her thinking. Twilight turned and saw a light speedily departing towards Ponyvillle. Twilight slapped her forehead, sure that Nightmare Moon would have her head.
"Well little guy, I'm gonna call you Spike, cause yours are so cute! Come here." Twilight started to pick him up, but changed her mind. She slowly imagined him lifting up in the air, and her horn lit up again. The dragon squirmed slightly, but quietly allowed himself to be placed in Twilight's saddle bag. She gathered up her items and galloped home, praying that Nightmare Moon would not come for her. She blew out her lantern as she entered town, and knew that it was almost Sleep Cycle. More time had passed during her experiment than she had thought. As she passed a shop window, her eyes were drawn to her reflection. In the glass shown a six pointed star on her flank.
After the Cycle, Twilight opened up the closet where she had hidden her baby dragon. Spike sighed in his sleep and rolled over to face Twilight. A content smile was on his adorable face. Twilight had decided last night, she wanted to show her asocial brother, Shining Armor. She climbed the stairs to her brothers room and nocked on the door.
"Shining? I have something important to talk to you about." Twilight called. She still wore the cloak she always did to hide her blank flank, but she knew that Shining would love to see it.
"Crap!" Shining's voice was muffled. She heard desperate clattering inside. Shining mumbled incoherent things before opening the door a crack. Twilight craned her neck to see around his face, but the door was opened too narrowly. "Yes, Twily?" He asked.
"I was hoping to show you in my room." Twilight said hopefully.
"Okay." Shining said nervously as he squeezed out the door and followed Twilight to her room.
"You have to keep it secret, though." Twilight warned. Shining Armor rolled his eyes.
"Whatever, Twilight." He said.
"I'm serious." Twilight said with a pout.
"Alright!" Shining agreed. "What is it?"
Twilight smiled and shook off her cape. Shining's eyes widened at the sight of the star. "The Twilight shall come, the Sun will rise." he mumbled.
"What?" Twilight asked. Shining told her nothing, so she continued. "I don't really know exactly what it is. Do you?"
"Twilight, promise me you will show this to nopony." Shining said. Twilight flinched at his tone.
"Why?" Twilight asked.
"TWILIGHT, PROMISE ME!" He insisted as he moved closer to her. Fear filled her eyes and she stepped back.
"Tell me why." Twilight replied.
Shining shoved Twilight up against the wall, and she whimpered in fear. "TWILIGHT SPARKLE, QUIT BEING SUCH A FOAL! PROMISE ME RIGHT NOW, YOU STUBBORN MULE!"
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Twilight screamed. She imagined getting to the other side of the room, and she felt her horn ignite again. She found herself on the other side of the room feeling disoriented. "You're a monster." Twilight sobbed as she pulled on her cloak and ran from the room.
"Twilight! Wait!" Shining shouted, but Twilight ignored him and slammed the front door behind her.
Twilight strolled pointlessly through the streets. A slight headache from her teleporting plagued her. She longed to go home to get her stuff an go back to seclusion, but she didn't want to risk seeing Shining Armor again. She knew she couldn't practice her new-found abilities with so many ponies around.
Twilight was lost in thought when the same cyan mare landed in front of her. "Twilight Sparkle! You need to come with me." She said.
"What? Why?" Twilight asked nervously as she stepped back.
"We just need to talk to ya, Twilight." She heard AppleJack's southern accent behind her.
"I really don't want to right now." Twilight said as she tried to walk past the Pegasus. The mare shot out her wings and blocked her escape.
"Not so fast, freak. We weren't asking." She said with a huff. Twilight cursed herself for walking down an alley where nopony would see her dilemma.
"Rainbow Dash!" AppleJack scolded. "But she's right, Sugar Cube, it is urgent that we speak with ya. Ya'll need to follow me." Twilight hated it, but she couldn't teleport again. She lowered her head and faced her fate: she was in their hooves now.
Twilight was lead through several back alleys until she was practically shoved into some sort of boutique. Inside three other mares awaited them.
"What's going on here?" Twilight demanded.
"What's going on is that Rarity caught you during your little charades yesterday. We want to know what's going on." Rainbow Dash said. She refused to move from her place guarding the exit.
"What was that ya were doin, Sugar Cube?" AppleJack asked.
"Nothing." Twilight lied.
"Maybe we made a mistake?" The yellow Pegasus suggested.
"Yeah! Maybe Fluttershy is right and Rarity ate funky mushrooms while gem hunting!" The pink one declared.
"Pinkie! A lady does not eat strange plants in the wild." Rarity stated, sounding offended.
"Rarity wouldn't lie. Ah know a liar when ah see one. This mare is lyin' to us." AppleJack butted in. "And ah bet it has somethin' to do with her cape she always wears."
"Me too." Rainbow said. Before Twilight could react, Rainbow Dash leaped forward and ripped off Twilight's cloak. The five gasped at the star on her flank.
"What is that, Dear?" Rarity asked.
Twilight thought of a million lies, but then her mind went back to her encounter with Shining Armor earlier that night. He was a real jerk. She didn't need to obey him. "It represents this." She said. She reached out to her cloak and lifted it up into the air.
The reactions were mixed. Fluttershy hid under her chair, AppleJack and Rainbow Dash hugged each other, Pinkie Pie poked the cape, and Rarity stared in shock.
"What is it?" Rarity asked.
Twilight smiled, having no doubt of what it was anymore. "Magic."
Supper came around, and despite her new friends' insistence, Twilight returned home for supper. Her family was at the dinner table when she walked in. After two whole nights of unpacking, her parents had finally unpacked everything but their science equipment. Her parents greeted her warmly as she walked in, but Shining Armor refused to even look at her. They ate their daisy salads in awkward silence, until Twilight Velvet broke the silence.
"Did you have a good night, dear?" She asked.
"I had an amazing day! I met five friends and got my cutie mark!" Twilight declared. Her mother had her remove her cloak so that she could see.
"That's great! Star-gazing, like us, right?" Twilight Velvet asked.
Twilight smiled. "What else?" She barely could fake the happiness under Shining Armor's glare. The dinner passed with light chitchat, during which Shining never took his eyes off of his sister. As soon as supper was over, and Sleep Cycle began, Twilight escaped to her room. Shining Armor hesitated as he walked by, but did not say a word as he continued on.
Shining Armor entered his room, not at all shocked by the figure in a dark cloak standing by the window. "We need her now. The prophecy must be fulfilled." He said.
Shining glared. "Sargent Sunlit Sword. We have been over this. Both Nightmare Moon and the Solar Stance will be after her when they find out. We will wait until they come to take her out of her life. She doesn't deserve to be the one of prophecy."
Sunlit glared. "You are aware that Nightmare Moon will kill her, right Captain?"
Shining Armor lowered his head. "I am."
Twilight and her friends sat in the clearing with Spike. After several months of research and slipping off for practice, Twilight's spell casting abilities had increased immensely. She had found an ancient history book, it told of the Unicorns' magic. She was impressed with Rarity's selflessness, she never pouted about how she couldn't use magic, she just worked as hard as she could to help Twilight.
Spike had grown to be almost as tall as their shoulders, and he was speaking rather intelligently. He still got words confused, though. He lived with Fluttershy at the edge of town, and she loved that arrangement. Everyday he went out with the six friends to help Twilight, and his organizational skills could almost rival Twilight's. He quickly volunteered to record all of the experiments in the notebooks. Twilight often noticed the other's glances, but none ever commented. They always glanced away when she noticed their curious gaze, and she couldn't blame them. The question in their eyes was the same constantly on her own mind: why can't they do magic too?
When the news finally hit Twilight, it came like a wrecking ball: Nightmare moon was coming to Ponyville for a visit very soon. Fear filled Twilight at the thought of seeing the pony she used to serve, and the one she stole something priceless from. Every pony else shared her concerns, what if Nightmare Moon found out about Twilight? What if she hurt her? They considered themselves fortunate to have two whole wake cycles to think of a plan before she arrived, but the hours were ticking away. The end of the first wake cycle yielded no new plan. when Twilight returned to bed that Cycle, tears were in her eyes and fear in her heart.
"ALL PONIES, REPORT TO TOWN SQUARE IMMEDIATLY! HER SUPREME MAJESTY DEMANDS YOU PRESENCES!" The call jolted Twilight out of her dreams and she glanced, shocked towards her clock. The sleep cycle had barely ended, Nightmare Moon wasn't supposed to arrive until this time tomorrow! Panic filled her as she yanked on her cloak and ran for the door, the chilly air nipping at her horn. Freaky bat-like pegusi flew around ponies urging them toward the center of town, Twilight's heart wasn't the only one racing that night. All around ponies were being shoved and herded violently to where she was waiting. Nightmare moon. As if by magic, as soon as the last pony was herded in, the clatter died down and every mare, stallion and foal bowed down low. The Alicorn scanned the crowd with disdain, power seemed to radiate out of her. Beside her stood whom all knew to be Lord Sombra, a grey and terrifying Alicorn, and Princess Aura Moon. The silence seemed like an eternity, but finally the bringer of night spoke.
"THERE IS A THEIF AMONG US!" The very ground shook at her voice. "I WANT MY ARTIFACT RETURNED. TURN YOURSELF OVER, AND YOUR PUNISHMENT WILL BE LESSENED." Twilight's blood went cold as she glanced for her friends, but the crowd was too large. She couldn't find even her own family. The order came for the crowd to stand. Twilight stood, terror in her eyes, staring at the Queen of Darkness. Twilight stared as Nightmare Moon's horn began to pulse darkness. A wisp of magic, much resembling Nightmare's mane, grew from the horn and snaked through the crowd. For several moment, the fog-like matter slinked through them, but the convoked upon one pony: Twilight. The mist surrounded her, and she felt her hooves leave the ground. She faintly heard the rest of the crowd dismissed, but her panic blocked out most things. Her heart raced as she was placed before Nightmare Moon herself. She stumbled backwards, but magic caught her and held her like a statue.
"WHERE IS IT!" She demanded in a raspy voice that made even her family cringe. Twilight's mouth was freed, but she did not speak. "FINE, I WILL FIND IT MYSELF!" The large mare's horn lit and was pressed to Twilight's forehead, summoning the memories of the egg. Twilight squirmed the best she could, but to no avail. Her memories were whizzed through faster than she could read. Then came what she feared most of all: The magic. Nightmare's eyes went wide as she saw those, and she stepped back in shock. "You?" For the first time her voice was quiet and held fear. That's when they attacked.
A crossbow bolt shattered on an invisible shield, and a roar emitted from Nightmare Moon's throat. Her mane exploded and flew around wildly as more bolts pelted her shield "FOOLS! SHE IS MINE!" Anger filled Twilight and she realized she had to get free. While Nightmare Moon taunted and attacked the assailants, Twilight began her magic. It was discreet at first, but she poured more and more magic into her spell. Her focus bent on shattering her invisible prison, her horn glowed brighter than ever before. When Nightmare finally caught the attack on her spell, she turned to find a very brave and defiant mare grunting with effort, horn engulfed in light. Nightmare's own magic began to counter the attack, but her spell had already begun to fail. Roars of anger and screams of effort filled the night while the rebels fought the Night Guard and Nightmare's family. Twilight's mind began to burn, muscles ached, and her throat went dry. Tears and sweat mingled together on her face as she poured the last of her strength into the battle, and Nightmare Moon's spell shattered. An explosion of light filled the night as the dark Alicorn was shoved back several feet, but was more annoyed than beaten. She shielded her eyes with her wings and searched for Twilight to beat her to a pulp, but all she could see were figures fleeing, a pony draped over their back. The scream of rage that followed, they say, was heard for miles around, and resolve filled Nightmare Moon.
Pain. That was the first thing Twilight noticed when she woke. She felt like Applejack was bucking the inside of her skull, and her throat felt like a desert. The next thing she noticed was the small light radiating from behind her. She turned and saw her friends huddled in a circle around a lantern, shivering in the chilled air. Rarity was the first to notice Twilight.
"Twilight!" She gasped, and the others turned to look. "Darling, you were out for two whole Wake Cycles!"
"Are you okay?" Rainbow Dash asked, concern showing in the usually cool Pegasus's eyes. Twilight swallowed painfully before answering.
"Tired. I think I'm fine. where are we?" Twilight asked.
"Well... we're not really sure." Rainbow replied. "AJ grabbed you, and we just kinda ran. We only stopped long enough to get Spike, a lantern, and his notes. Fortunately, he had an emergency bag packed with some food and water. we saved some for you, but there wasn't much to go around." Twilight drank the meager supply of water thirstily, and soon wished for more.
"What now? It'll be practically impossible to find our way back to civilization, and even if we do, Nightmare Moon will find us. If we don't, we'll starve!" Spike asked. It struck Twilight how shockingly his vocabulary had grown.
"We'll die of thirst first..." Twilight mumbled gloomily. Suddenly she shot straight up. "My family!" She gasped. "Nightmare Moon will hurt them!"
"No, she won't." A stallion's voice replied. Twilight turned in fear to see Shining Armor step into the light.
"Shining!" Twilight squealed as she rushed and embraced her brother. "How did you find us?!"
"I never lost you. I had to wait for you to wake up, I knew your friends would never trust us." Shining Armor replied. Twilight noted the glinting gold metal under her hooves.
"Us?" AppleJack asked warily. Four more ponies stepped into the light, each wearing golden armor. Twilight's four friends stepped backwards warily, and Twilight stepped away from her brother.
"Shiny, what is this?" She asked with fear in her voice.
"This," Shining Armor replied, "Is the Solar Stance Army."
"But you told me the rebellion was just an old pony's tale!" Twilight exclaimed. Shining looked down apologetically.
"Captain Armor, we need to move. We've tarried too long as it is, It will find us soon." One of the stallions in the group insisted.
"Thank you, Private Glint." Shining replied as he looked back up and met Twilight's eyes. "He's right, Twilight. If you want to stay out of Nightmare Moon's grasp, you need to follow us."
"Twilight, c-c-can we trust them? Not to be rude..."
"I don't know if we should..."
"He lied to ya Twi...
"How'd they get their armor so shiny?"
"I'm scared Twilight!'
"Why wasn't I ever recruited?!" Each of Twilight's friends and Spike spoke out.
Twilight looked in her brother's firm, yet loving eyes. "He's my brother, I trust him. And we don't have any other choice." Shining nodded in appreciation to his sister before turning to his guards.
"Star." He ordered simply, and the four rebels took formation around their seven wards. The group moved through the darkness, each wondering what the future would hold.
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."
