> Where the Duck Nuggets are we? > by Chrysanthemum > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter One > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yawning, I pulled myself out of bed, "Hey, Maxie! Get up before I poor freezing cold water on ya." As I spoke, said boy shot out of bed and raced to the bathroom. "I'LL BE IN THE SHOWER IF YOU NEED ME!" I chuckled at my brothers antics, not that I was any different. After a few seconds, the water turned on and I heard him splash a bit. I turned away from the bathroom door, and skipped over to the closet, and pulled down a comfy outfit. The shirt was so soft! As I pulled my shoes and socks on, I heard the water turn off. I snatched my bag up and walked out of the room, "See ya downstair, Maxie!" I yelled, sliding down the railing. 'I wonder what will happen today? Maybe a dance off with Rachel..? Maybe annoying Paul? I dunno. How about we go to school so I can put pepper in Mr. Welder's coffee!' I thought, sitting at the kitchen table as my step-mom placed a plate of waffles at my spot. "Someone finally woke up!" she joked. I chuckled, "Yeah, and I got Max up too! He's getting dressed and all that jazz!" She smiled at me, shaking her head. I then dug into my waffles and their godly deliciousness. Max soon plopped into his seat, yelling, "YOUR QUEEN IS HERE, BEETCHES!" Off to the side, I heard a loud shout of 'Language!' But that was ignored. "Good morning my Queen!" I proclaimed in a squeaky aristocrat voice. "And to you, my King!" Max replied, with a curtsy. We both stared at one another before launching into laughter. Finishing breakfast, I grabbed our lunches from the fridge and darted out of the door, yelling, "LAST ONE TO THE BUS STOP GETS TO LICK THE BUS WINDOW!" Jumping up with his bag, Max shouted after me, "NO FAIR!" But chased after me in good cheer. In the end, he beat me there. And I had to lick a window. It tasted like dog shit. And don't ask how I know how that tastes, I just do. Max and me strolled into Mr. Welder's office, holding a cup of coffee. It had a mixture of pepper and hot sauce in it, though the smell of coffee blocked them out. I waved at the teacher as we walked up to him. "We bought you some coffee, Mr. Welder!" Max said happily, as I handed Mr. Welder the Starbucks coffee cup. He gave us a deadpan look, before taking the cup and dismissing us, "You better get to class. You might be late other wise." We nodded, before turning and speed walking to Social Studies. Everyone on the top floor could hear Mr. Welder yell, "SUMMER!" Max ran beside me as we dashed down the hall, laughing hysterically. We decided to ditch school before lunch, and a couple teachers were chasing us. Bursting through the door and down to the street, neither of us heard the teachers cries or the sound of tires screeching. We only noticed the sharp, burning pain. > Chapter Two > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ugh... My body hurts all over... Struggling with my eyelid, I managed to open my eyes. Light attacked my sight. I heard a youngish, female groan next to me. Swiveling my head to look, I see a pale blue horse with wings. Aren't they called Pegasus, from myths..? I noticed a black thing in the bottom parts of my sight, right were my nose is. I moved my arm to find out what it is, only to find a... black.... hoof...? Ugh, its to bright to think right now. I crawled over into the shade of a willow, dragging the Pegasus with me. Slowly, I relaxed, before trying to stand, which is kinda hard when you have hooves. But I managed, though walking would be another thing. A another groan came from the Pegasus. This time waking up, "Ugh.... Hey... Where are you, Mikaylur...?" I snapped around to look at her. "Maxie?" I questioned, leaning closer, "Are you a female?!" The reaction was priceless! She, or he whatever, jumped and stared at me in disbelief, "AND WHY ARE YOU A REALLY TALL HORSE WITH WINGS AND A HORN?!?!" I shrugged, "Dunno, but I got THE COSMOS AS A MANE!!!!! MUHAHAHAHA I WILL TAKE OVER EARTH WITH THE POWER OF ALIENS!!!" I playfully tackled my brother, or sister now. We both fell over in hysterics. After about 12 minutes of laughing, I struggled back to my hooves, "So we are horses and you have wings while I got wings and a horn with a badass mane!" Max just shook his, or her, head, "Calm thy horse titties! And you are bigger so I must ride on your back!" With his words, Max jumped up and sat on my back, "Onward, my steed!" I laughed softly. "Nope, Maxie. We should figure how to walk a bit first and maybe try flying like the badasses we are!" Agreeing with me, Max tumbled down, before climbing to his hooves. "I'm also guessing you are a kid again!" A small pout came onto his face, "PUBERTY WAS HARD ONCE!" I chuckled, "And now you are female and a horse." He playfully punched my leg, before trying to walk a bit. "LAST ON TO RUN AROUND THIS WILLOW GETS TO LICK IT!" I shouted, before taking off at a stumbling-running pace. Max yelled something about unfair, and chased after me. He lost. And licked a tree. "Luna? Is everything alright?" Princess Celestia asked, approaching her sister. The younger shook her head, "Nay, Tia. We felt something... powerful... And it worries us as it is near our ponies, by Ponyville." "Would you like me to have Twilight look into it?" the elder sister asked, prepared to write to her faithful student. A sharp nod came from Luna, "Yes please, just tell her to be careful." With a nod, Celestia began to write. Spike had just finished making a sandwich when Celestia sent a letter. "TWILIGHT! THE PRINCESS SENT YOU A LETTER!" In a flash, said pony come in and snatched up the parchment, and began to read. "Spike, go get the girls together. Princess Luna wants us to investigate a magical disturbance near the Everfree." she said, while beginning to make a list and fill a saddle bag with things she believed she needed. I groaned, laying on my back, "Why is flying so hard?!" Hovering beside me, Max smirked. "You're just fat, Mikayla!" he jabbed playfully. I groaned again, "I'm not fat! I'm fluffy!" "Yeah, yeah." Looking at the sky, he pointed out, "We should hit the hay, and there plenty of space under this willow!" Max then dove into a spacious area under the tree, gesturing for me to follow. Rolling my eyes, I crawled in. Max crawled over me so that he was at my stomach. I smiled, ruffling his blue mane, "Night, bro." "yea... night.... girl-bro..." dozing off, he laid his head on one of my hooves as I draped a wing over him, before falling to sleep as well. Drowsily, I lifted my head up, just enough to watch the sunrise. A soft yawn left my mouth, as I looked down to see Max cuddled into my side. I poked him lightly, "Hey, bro! Wake up, I'm pretty sure there's a river nearby!" That woke him up. He shot awake, before glaring at me. I smiled innocently, "We should find something to eat, and if we don't find anything, we could clean some grass." Making a gagging face, Max trotted out from under the willow. "I'll hold down fort here, while you search for food. Come back in a lil bit." I told him, while he nodded. "YES MA'AM!" I chuckled as he trotted away, laying my head on my hooves with a soft sigh. Six ponies and a baby dragon sat in the middle of the library, while, Twilight Sparkle told them what they needed to do. "We won't into the Everfree, but we'll be close. I believe the area is just a bit away from Fluttershy's house." Twilight said, receiving a squeak from said pony. "Twilight, I did hear some shouting last evening, but as soon as the sun went down, it fell silent. I thought one of them was a filly though..." Fluttershy said, shuffling slightly. The lavender unicorn nodded, "Well, then, we should check it out anyways, even if Princess Luna hadn't said so!" Rainbow Dash hover about Applejack, "Let's get going then! If anythings dangerous by Flutters, we'll kick it's flank!" "Hold on now, sugarcube, we shouldn't jump to conclusions," Applejack said, "If it is dangerous, then ah say we try tah use as little violence as possible." The group let out their agreements, before heading out. I lifted my head of my hooves, only to see Max in my face. I jerked backwards, while he laughed. "I found a bunch of blueberry bushes, and a river. We both should go out, eat and drink, before it gets dark. We dunno what is out here, and I don't wanna find out and try to teach you to fly while trying to run!" he exclaimed, chuckling. I playfully punched his shoulder. "Staph bullying me, brother!" I whined, but smiled anyways. I pushed him out of the willow, and crawled out, "Now lets go eat some heaven berries." He nodded, before flapping his pale blue wings. I stood up straight, stretching my wings and giving them a light flap. Max then took off down a path, leaving me to follow. I trotted after him, singing softly. As I finished the song, I heard Max stomping on the ground, "Nice singing, girl-bro!" I blushed, sitting down on the riverbank, "It's not that good..." Tackling me with a hug, Max yelled, "Yes it was! Now stop saying that!" I nodded, smiling softly, "Thanks, I needed that..." He gave me a sharp nod, and was about to say something when a shout cut him off. Twilight could see the pale blue filly and Nightmare Moon. They all could see her and the filly. Of course, Rainbow Dash was the first to act, yelling out, "HEY! GET AWAY FROM THAT FILLY, NIGHTMARE MOON!" The filly had been cut off from saying something, turning to look at them, while Nightmare Moon stumbled backwards in surprise. "Huh? Who are you guys? And who's Nightmare Moon?!" the filly asked, a confused look on her face, while a dark blue mane was ruffled by the wind. Nightmare Moon shifted, moving to look at where the filly was looking. "Hey, Maxie? What's wrong?" Nightmare Moon asked the filly, before her gaze landed on Twilight, "Oh. There's others, get back on my back, I can run faster if need be." The filly, Maxie, looked up at her, before jumping onto her back. The two shared a look, nodding. Applejack spoke up, "How do ya not know who Nightmare Moon is?! You're sitting on 'er back!" Nightmare Moon stared at the friends, eyes wide in terror. Her mane moved on its own, wisps of it moving towards Max. Max shook her head, "No, that's my twin sis, Mikayla. And Nightmare Moon? That sounds like something from a babies show." She shoved a face into Nightmare Moon's mane, smiling. Nightmare Moon shifted her gaze to the ground, "Y-yeah." She rubbed her forehead, her voice cracking as she spoke, tears prickling in her eyes, "I-I... I j-jusy wa-ant t-to g-go ho-ome..." Max shot her a worried look, before speaking to the friends. "Two things. One, you are going to make my sister cry if you keep yelling, and two, the last thing that happened to her, was a shit load of pain!" Rainbow ignored the first thing, yelling, "Yeah! Cause we blasted her with the Elements of Harmony!" Fluttershy stuttered something, hiding in her mane as Nightmare Moon moved her gaze to her. A pained smile was on the alicorn's muzzle, tears just starting to fall. Max frowned, pushing a few tears away. "Not from any elements. The pain came from getting hit by a semi truck." Max said bitterly, hugging Nightmare around her neck. Ignoring the others, Nightmare Moon looked at Max, "I-i'm so-orry. I-it w-was my id-dea t-to dit-tch schoo-ol." Max just shook her head, booping the other's nose. A small, strained chuckle came from said mare. "OVER THERE, MY TRUSTY STEED! TO THE BERRIES!" Max shouted, pointing down the river. I nodded, before shaking my head. "On-ne, I'm not-t you-ur steed. Tw-wo, ok-kay." she laughed nervously, trotting down the bank, while Applejack held Rainbow Dash back. "Wait...!" Twilight shouted out, with no results. > Chapter Three > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- After we got the blueberries, we headed into the forest, hoping that those weirdos who called me Nightmare Moon wouldn’t find us. “...Hey Max..?” I mumbled, kicking the ground “Yeah. What is it?” “What if we never get home…? I mean…we did kinda die.” I muttered, staring at the ground sadly. Max did a double-take, staring back at me. “Don’t think like that! We carried on when Lilyann died, and we have to carry on now! Don’t you dare give up!” he growled. I reeled back, before hanging my head. “Sorry…I-I just don’t know how to handle this…” Max shook his head. “Let’s keep moving. I hope we find someplace to sleep..” he trailed off as we stumbled into a clearing. A huge, abandoned looking castle sat in the middle of it. “Wow. Talk about luck.” “More like ‘speak of the Devil and he doth appear,’” I chuckled, and trotted towards the castle, only to come to a giant ravine. I skidded to a halt. “Looks like we have to fly across.” Max announced. I shifted in my spot, before giving my wings a couple flaps. I backed away from the ravine, building my courage up, and dashed forwards. I flapped my wings softly, and I landed on the other side within a few seconds. Max cheered, as he landed next to me, “Great job! I knew you could do it!” “You called me fat when I failed.” I deadpanned. “But I’m the queen!” He whined. I rolled my eyes and walked towards the castle. Half the door was laying on the ground, so I pushed it up with my nose. Max sighed and pointed at my horn. “Use your magic, Miss Magical Moon-Butt!” he shouted. I facepalmed....Or would it be facehoofed? “Oh yeah. Wait. How does one perform the magic?” I questioned, tilting my head. Max shrugged, and slipped into the castle. He reeled back. “This place is filthy!” Max pulled a white handkerchief out of the sevenspace, and tied it around his mouth and nose. He pulled another out and wrapped it around his mane, “Time to go Cleaning Fairy on this place!” I poked my head in, before pulling back out. Max pulled another out, and handed me it. I tied it around my mouth and nose, and reentered the castle. “You are correct, my fair lady. We need to clean this place. But first, let us pick an area to sleep and live in.” I said with a Shakespearean-ish flair, calling over my shoulder while trotting back into the building. I randomly picked a stairway and door, pushing the door open to reveal a old and beat up kitchen. I left the door and trotted up the stairs a bit, opening random doors, until I had only one in front of me. It was a deep blue, and had moon handles to open it. I pulled the double doors open, and trotted in. A large, empty bedroom laid before us, pale blue walls peeling from age. “Wow. This looks nice. And it matches your mane, Mikayla!” Max commented, following me in. “Yeah, but we can make do, and maybe find some furniture that hasn’t been destroyed!” I smiled, looking around, “And if we can sneak into town, we could get some nice food and maybe a fridge or something like that, cause I need my waffles!” “Oh! My king hasn’t had her daily waffles?! What ever shall we do! The daily waffles keep sickness at bay and you may just perish from a cold!” Max sounded quite melodramatic. “Do not fear, my queen! I shan’t die without my death bed waffles of twelve!” I shouted, trotting farther into the room. “This shall do, but we need to clean up a bit.” With that said, I trotted over to a broken down pile of wood, and began to push it towards the wall. Max came over, and started to help out. “We could make a fire with these.” he pointed out, shifting a few pieces to the wall. I nodded, trotting towards the door. “I’m going to go fix the front door, and the kitchen. After that, we might want to practice flying a bit, and see if we can figure out my magic.” I told him, leaving the room. “‘Kay!” Max shouted back. I continued to trot down the stairs, when I heard three voices. I froze in my spot, the voices were obviously childrens’. “Come on, Sweetie! We could get our cutie marks in Filly Saving!” one voice spoke. Another started speaking, probably Sweetie. “I know, Scoots, but I heard Rarity say it was Nightmare Moon that took Sharp Twirl! We might get really hurt!” So Max is named Sharp Twirl. Nice to know. Hehe. Do they do knife tricks? “We won’t get hurt, Sweetie! Ah’m sure of that!” the last voice. Kinda like the blonde pony that yelled at us by the river, all country and stuff. I nervously poked my head around the corner, looking at them. “Uh.. Why does everyone keep calling me Nightmare Moon…? I mean, sure I got a really cool mane thats all starry and crap, but I hate nightmares…” I asked, furrowing my eyebrows. How I did so may never be known. A sharp yelp came from the children, fillies, or whatever their called. “C-cause you are N-nightmare Moon!” The one I guessed was Sweetie stuttered out. I simply shook my head. “No, I’m not. I am Mikayla Summer, not some weird Nightmare Thingie,” I moved into the doorway, plopping down on the ground. “and I have no clue why everyone seems so scared of me. The most scary thing I can recall doing is turning the fire alarm on at school, and then making gunshot sounds with my phone. That was a great prank, mean, but great.” I laid my head on my hooves. “Also, what’s this about me taking a filly? If I remember correctly, Max, or Sharp Twirl as you called him, was on my back, telling me to get blueberries for him.” “B-but...you look l-like N-nightm-mare M-moon!” the country filly shouted. “Yeah, I noticed. FYI, I love her mane. So pretty and full of stars!” I rolled over onto my back, playing with the cosmos that was my mane. The other filly, I think it was Scoots, said to her friends, “She’s either lost her mind….or she’s not Nightmare Moon.” I pawed at my mane, mumbling about how pretty it was. Max chose this moment to come down. “Hey, Mikayla, I thought you were…Who are they? And Jesus, stop playing with your hair. You’ll get it all dirty and I’m not gonna listen to you complaining about your ‘cosmos of a mane’ getting filthy.” he muttered the last part, kicking my shoulder. The other three fillies stared, awestruck, as I mumbled “okay...” and sat up. “Why does she listen to ya?” the country filly asked Max. “Cause I’m her twin brother, and she knows I’m not scared to confiscate her waffles and pranking privileges.” Max deadpanned, as I whimpered. “Brother! Why must you be so mean? I can’t live without pranking others and my waffles! I might perish from it!” I whined, playfully stomping one hoof. “Now, who are you three? And how’d ya get across the giant ass hole in the ground?” Max asked, stepping past me, as I pulled myself back to my hooves. The country one was the one to answer, “Ah’m Apple Bloom, and they are Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. And we went over a dead log, but it broke after we crossed.” “Now if we want to leave, we have to fly, again. Just great,” I muttered. Max rolled his eyes, looking at the three. “So...you’re stuck here. Just great. And I doubt my idiot of a sister will be able to help carry any of you over the hole.” He glanced at me. “You go and get us some water. And fix the door like you went to do in the first place.” I nodded and began to trot towards the door, passing by the fillies. “No problem. And I had better grades than you, so you are in no way allowed to call me the idiot!” I chuckled, smiling. I suddenly turned to Sweetie Belle. Since she had a horn, she knew how to use magic, right? “Hey, Sweetie Belle? Do you know if you could teach me to do magic?” She looked down and kicked the ground a bit. “...I can’t do magic that well…but I could bring a couple books…” her voice squeaked a few times, but that doesn’t really matter. I’ma get me some magic books! I thought, as I nodded to Sweetie, turning back to the door. “Okay. Thanks. For now, I’ll do some old fashioned repairs. Hopefully.” I muttered, pushing the door back up, as the fillies had pushed it down. I moved the door into it’s place, it was quite heavy. I straightened up, and trotted out the door, heading for a well I saw from the room we started cleaning. It was covered that could gather in an open one. I flapped my wings a bit, before taking to the air, and flying to the well. I landed a bit clumsily, stumbling. “Okay. Operation Well is ago.” I mumbled, glaring at the stone covering. How I wish I knew how. Before I could understand what was happening, the stone was covered in a blue light, started to crack and break apart, and float to the ground. “Woah…” “Well, Operation Well is done. Now to get the water.” I moved over to a bucket, picking it up, and trotted over to a small river. I dipped the bucket in the water, before pulling it back out, checking for leaks, and dumping it out. I pulled some vines down from the wall, and tied it to the bucket, lowering the bucket into the well. When I pulled it up, the water was crystal clear. “Hey, Max! I’m back with water!” I yelled, trotting into the the room we met the fillies in. “Hey. Since we lack a certain thing called cups, we must just drink from whatever you used to bring the water.” Max told me, looking at the fillies. I smiled, sitting the bucket down. “I sorta figured a bit of my magic out! On accident.” I grinned, pushing the bucket towards the fillies, “Drink up. I know I am thirsty, so you must be too!” “That’s what she said.” Max smirked, until I glared at him. “Those jokes started when we were twelve! Staph with it, and maybe drink some brain bleach, it’ll clean those jokes out.” I deadpanned. He grimaced, looking away. “I know… I couldn’t help myself!” he whined. I rolled my eyes, before smiling. “I missed this. No school, no work, no friends. Just us.” Max nodded in agreement, about to say something, when Sweetie Belle spoke up. “You had no friends?!” she shouted, a look of pity and horror on her face. I nodded, “We didn’t need anyone else, and the others never liked us. We’re too ‘weird’. We’re too ‘hyper’. We’re too ‘annoying’. We’re too ‘immature’.” I muttered, moving to go back upstairs, “I’m going to sleep.”, so it might be safe. > Chapter Four > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Max sighed, looking at the three fillies, and then to the window, “It’s getting dark, so you might want to stay here. Unless you want to brave the woods at night.” Sweetie Belle looked at Max, sighing, before asking, “Why was Nigh- I mean, Mikayla so mad…?” “She’s tired, and dealing with a lot. It also doesn't help that those ponies were yelling at her, makes her cry. And Mikayla hates crying, says it makes her look weak, and that she can’t just smile through it.” Resting a wing Sweetie Belle’s back, causing her to squeal, he continued, “How about we all just get some sleep.” With that, Max trotted towards the stairs. One by one, the three fillies followed him. ---- A flash of purple illuminated the large bedroom, and dragged a tired moan from one blue filly. “Gah! … Teleporting all of us… is not that easy…” Twilight Sparkle muttered, looking at her friends, and the room they were in. Nightmare Moon laid in a corner, curled up in a ball. The blue filly laid by her stomach, while the C.M.C laid across the room. “Apple Bloom!” Applejack whisper-yelled, galloping over to her sister. “Wha? Oh, mornin’ AJ!” Apple Bloom smiled cheerfully, while prodding her two friends with her hooves. The two soon woke up, and Sweetie Belle was immediately swept up by Rarity.The blue filly shifted, before getting up, and stretching. She lazily shoved a hoof at Nightmare Moon’s shoulder, and muttered something about water. Nightmare Moon’s eye shot open, a dopey grin on her face. “Hiya, my queen, Maximilian! Ready for a day of fun, and food!” she cheered, before her gaze landed on the six who made her cry. She moved her gaze back to the blue filly, nuzzling her. “Oi, King Moonbutt. Get up. I want food and you’re the adult.” The filly groaned, shoving Nightmare Moon again. “King Moonbutt needs waffflesss…..” “Excuse the king for a moment. If anyone here can get us some waffles, I would much appreciate that.” the filly told the six, before returning to the newly dubbed, King Moonbutt. Rainbow Dash hovered where she was, staring at the two. Pinkie Pie bounced in place, handing the filly and plate of waffles, which was quickly snatched up by King Moonbutt. She soon got up to her hooves, stretching. “Yum.” Max sighed, flying up and whacking Moonbutt in the head. Twilight spoke up, politely asking, “Would it be alright if we brought you both to meet Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna?” Max shrugged, curling up on Moonbutt’s back. “Sure. Its not like I have any hope of getting home..” Moonbutt mumbled, causing Max to whack her in the head, hissing about not giving up. “Shut up, Mikayla!” Max groaned, shoving a hoof in his sister’s starry mane. Nightmare Moon stuck her tongue out, while making bleh sounds. Twilight made her way to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. “Are they usually like this?” she asked, glancing at the two. Sweetie Belle nodded, “Yeah. Those two are close though, and Max is even able to tell her what to do!” Her voice squeaked in the middle of her sentence, before Scootaloo spoke up. “Nightmare Moon apparently doesn’t even know how to do magic!” Max trotted over to them, a soft smile on his muzzle. She opened her mouth to greet Max, only to be cut off. “Ma’am, I’d like to apologize for when we met. We both panicked, and we both we’re having drapetomania. And, please don’t be too hard on Mikayla. She’s some of my only remaining family, and I don’t want to lose her like we did with Lilyann...” He apologized, glancing at Mikayla. “I don’t think I ever introduced myself! I’m Maximilian Alec Summer, but most people call me Max. That moonbutt over there is Mikayla Noelle Summer.” Max grinned, pointing at Mikayla when he introduced her, while she waved wildly. “Weird names!” Scootaloo said bluntly, while Max faked hurt. Mikayla trotted over, ruffling Max’s mane. “Max! The shame! Gossiping about lil old me!” she grinned, hugging him. The two laughed, grinning. The two moved to trot downstairs, while the three fillies dashed to follow them. Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack where next to follow, while Fluttershy lagged behind with Rarity and Twilight. Max groaned, laying on Mikayla’s back. “Come on! We haven’t got all day!” he whined. His sister laughed, while jumping down the last three steps, and running into the Throne Room. The mane six followed, and they all left the Castle. ________________ The group got onto a train, and sitting in a private car. Mikayla sat in a corner, staring out the window absently, while Max sat next to her. Rainbow Dash sat in front of the twins, watching Mikayla. Twilight moved into the seat across of Mikayla. “Nigh- I mean, Mikayla, may I ask you some questions?” she asked softly. Said girl jumped, before looking at Twilight. “S-sure..” she murmured, shifting in her seat. Twilight nodded in thanks, pulling out a quill and paper from somewhere. “So, how are you and Maximilian twins? You look nothing like each other, and your ages are different.” she began, causing Mikayla to stiffen up. “W-well, we used to look about the same, but… when we woke up a couple days ago, we looked as we do currently… and we are the same age. We both turned 17 this year, and had our 12th annual prank war…” she replied, keeping her eyes on her hooves, “Before we woke up here… we were ditching school, and got into an accident….” Max put a hoof on his sister’s shoulder, shaking his head lightly. “Oh.. Moving on… What were you doing so close to Ponyville?” Twilight asked, a bit awkwardly. “Well, we weren’t doing anything, really. Sure, we did race each other and teach ourselves how to fly a bit, and I did end up having to lick a tree, but we weren’t doing anything else than that.” Max answered, sending Mikayla a playful glare. “Why’d ya have to lick a tree?! Did Nightmare Moon force you to?!” Dash butted in, causing the twins to erupt in laughter. Once they calmed down, Max answered. “No! That’s the stakes of our races! Last one gets to lick something of the winners choice! I picked a dirty window the last time Mikaykay lost!” he started laughing again, falling off of his seat and onto the ground. He laid there laughing for a few more minutes, before getting a hold of himself, and crawling back into his seat. “What did you mean by annual prank war when you told me your ages?” Twilight asked, finishing up the notes of the last two questions. “Every year, since we were five, we’ve had a prank war. It starts on the day after our birthday, and lasts until someone surrenders. It is a brutal time, trust no one during the prank war, for they may be spies for the enemy.” Mikayla answered, her tone dead serious. She narrowed her eyes at the skeptical looks Dash and Twilight were giving her, “It is a treason on the Summer family to shame the Prank War. It is about honor, nobility, and strength!” Max nodded sharply. “The art of Prank Combat is sacred. Blemish it’s name, and ye shall forever suffer.” he stared at them, narrowed eyes. Twilight nodded hesitantly, writing it down on her papers. She then launched into her questions again. _________ To say that Celestia was surprised would be the understatement of the year. Nightmare Moon just trotted into the Throne Room, with two fillies on her back and head. The Elements were behind and beside her, chatting. “Princess!” Twilight greeted, running up to hug her mentor. “Hello, Twilight. I believe you might be able to clear up why you brought Nightmare Moon here?” Celestia asked, glancing at Nightmare Moon, who sat off to the side, playing with her mane. “Well, uh.. we found Mikayla and Maximilian yesterday, but they.. um.. fled…” she trailed off, rubbing the back of her neck nervously. “Mikayla and Maximilian?” Celestia repeated, confused. “Oh yeah,” Twilight pointed at the fillies and Nightmare Moon, “Apparently, Nightmare Moon goes by Mikayla Noelle Summer now, and Maximilian, the blue filly, is her twin brother. They are pretty nice, as long as you don’t yell at the-” she was cut off as Luna walked in, and yelled. “NIGHTMARE MOON?!” she exclaimed, frowning in anger. Said pony, turned her head to look, only to get a face full of hoof. The force launched her across the room, where she laid limply. Luna had punched her. She let out a quiet sob, while Max dashed over, pushing a hoof into her side. “Get up! Mikaykay, you get up right now! Don’t let other bully you! We’re tricksters! We’re not victims!” his cries were in vain, as Mikayla just laid there, quietly sobbing. His rage was then pointed at Luna, “WHY THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT?! SHE’S ALL I HAVE LEFT!” A flabbergasted expression overtook Luna’s face, as she stared at the unresponsive alicorn. “Why isn’t she getting up…” she growled after a second, her fury at the mare reignited. “BECAUSE SHE IS IN PAIN, YOU MOTHERFUCKER! YOU JUST HIT HER IN THE FACE, AS IF SHE JUST KILLED YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY!” Max yelled, desperately trying to wipe the tears off of his twin's face. “God dammit, Mikayla, snap outta it!” The fight was soon interrupted by a upset Fluttershy. “She might be Nightmare Moon, but she’s not mean! She cares about others, and she’s crying because of you!” she exclaimed, before backing away, embarrassed. For a while, everything was silent, other than the sobbing of one alicorn. Rainbow flied over to her, poking her in the shoulder. “Hey, please get up. Max needs ya, so don’t leave him hangin!” she told her. Slowly, Mikayla got up on shaky hooves, and stumbled over to Luna. “Whatever I did to anger you, I apologize. But, one question, who the hell are you?” she mumbled, steadying herself. “How do thou not know, foul nightmare! I am Princess Luna!” she exclaimed, causing Mikayla to wince. “Uh.. Cool… I guess… Though, I’m not some weird ass nightmare. I’m a trickster, sure, but not scary. Unless I’m in the Prank War.” she gazed off in the distance, pausing dramatically, “We lost many souls in the 12th Prank War..” She then stumbled away, and laid down next to the wall, laying her head on her hooves. Max followed after her, and they promptly started to nap. Scootaloo had one thing to say, “They do that a lot.”