Shock...yes shock was an appropriate way to describe the mare's expression. If her eyes were any wider, they'd pop from her head. Taking a couple steps back, the mare thought everything over. How did Rune know the truth? She came from the future, even in her time her birth was kept a closely guarded secret;

"How did you know!?" Gemini stopped running, waiting for Rune to make his next move.

"Ahahahahah." Rune let out a hearty laugh. "She never told you!?"

"What are you talking about?!" Gemini demanded.

"Luna knew you would run into me in this time. Right?" Rune still laughed. "And she never told you I had the power to read minds!?"

"You can read minds?!" Gemini's eyes widened. "That means you knew who I was-"

'Since the very beginning." Rune answered. "But I didn't want to tell the truth."

"Because it might cause a massive time flux." Gemini assumed that's what Rune would say.

"No I don't care about that." Rune answered. "If the other mares knew the truth...they would probably kill Dusk, or at the very least tie him down and try to get pregnant. Those girls can be very vicious. That and I thought it was fun to know something they didn't."

"But I don't understand. Shouldn't you be angry?" Gemini asked. "Father said you didn't completely approve of the marriage but-"

"But I would still of given Dusk my full support." Rune finished her sentence, after reading it in her mind. "Despite everything, I will never have Luna look at me the same way I look at her. No matter how I treat Dusk, he is still my oldest and closest friend."

This comment was a shocker. Every time the name "Rune" was brought up in discussion during her fillyhood, Gemini heard more negative remarks and scarcely any kind words spoken about him.

"If you really feel that way, then why do you treat the others like you do?" She asked.

"Because they already have their opinion of me." The look in Rune's eyes was a cold, serious one. He almost never gives that look. "Even if I were to change, they would never see me any differently. I would rather live in the reality where I am hated, than suffer in a lie where I am loved."

Rune and Gemini saw the Castle getting closer, Rune immediately stopped in place.

"What's wrong?" Gemini asked.

In was a brief pause before Rune quickly tackled Gemini to the ground.

BBBBBBAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMM

A pony sized object struck the ground, making a small crater.

"I didn't even see that coming!" Gemini loudly said.

"I only heard her thoughts a second before she hit." Rune responded.

"Her?" Gemini responded.

Before Rune could answer, the figure in the crater, stood on her hooves. It was Rainbow Dash, but there was something different about her. Her coat and mane was a darker shade and her eyes color was now red.

"You should of just stood there Rune." Rainbow Dash remarked. "Would of saved me the trouble of taking you out."

"Yeah I have a habit of disappointing ponies." Rune joked back.

"Well then hold still next time...." Dash responded. In a flash Dash disappeared but Rune was able to move out of the way again. Dash reappeared in a flash of rainbow arched light behind Rune. "Cause if you're not careful, I might kill you by accident."

"Well....crap.." Rune said, charging up his horn.

...................................................................................................................................................................

"I can't believe this." Trixie protested.

After leaving Zecora's hut, Trixie not only was able to somehow make it back to Ponyville without realizing it but has spent the last hour flipping through every book inside the library.

"There isn't anything here." Trixie said aloud. "The Great and Powerful Trixie doesn't even know what Rune even wanted to find!"

Outside the Ponyville Library, a cloaked figure slowly made its way towards the library. Slightly moving the hood up, the figure revealed a white horn that glowed a light blue. The ground shook slightly, nothing to make one believe that something big would happen.....but something big was happening. Small chunks of rock broke from the ground around the cloaked unicorn, slolw condensing and shaping into perfect spheres.

"Die you harlot." The unicorn said, shooting the countless small balls of hardened rock through the library; breaking through the tree's walls and shattering the interior.

Trixie immediately dropped to the ground, covering her head and setting up a small protective bubble.

"What's going on?!" Trixie shouted aloud.

.......................................................................................................................................................................

The dust was now cleared and a grounded and very pissed the buck off Rainbow Dash was shouting at the smirking Rune. With effort and a lot of luck, Rune and Gemini were able to not only stop the "Dark" Rainbow Dash, but restrain her. Dash's arms, legs, tail, neck and wings were bound by heavy looking ghostly chains that were attached to the ground and nearby trees.

"Let me go you bucking asshole!" Rainbow shouted at Rune, struggling to get out of her restraints.

"Wow, that insult was terrible." Rune remarked. "Couldn't be more original, well whatever, moving on."

"What happened to you Dash?" Gemini tried to calmly ask.

"I'm not talking!" Dash shouted, trying to angrily look at Gemini. "Especially to you two!"

"Oh my." Rune said with a somewhat sadistic gleam in his eyes.

"I don't know what you're planning." Gemini said, placing her hoof on Rune's shoulder. "But maybe we should try a different approach?"

"Sure. I was just joking around." Rune smiled, taking a few steps back.

"Now Rainbow Dash." Gemini tried to be peaceful. "We need your help to..stooop...Midnig-" Both Gemini and Rainbow Dash nodded off and collapsed to the ground.

Using his magic, Rune, who was still awake, leaned both Rainbow Dash and Gemini against a nearby tree.

"Just lay back and have a sweet dream." Rune said to the sleeping Gemini, then turned towards the old Castle. "There's something I need to find out first." Rune started running towards the Castle as fast as he could.

.............................................................................................................................................................

Zecora was worried; she knew that Rune knew more than he let on. After getting to know him, Zecora was able to tell when something worried Rune, and this was something that worried him. She laid another damp rag across Dusk's forehead.

"I don't know every detail." She said aloud to herself. "But I fear Rune is going down a terrible trail."

Zecora's ears immediately pointed upwards and her head directed towards the door.

"I knew this Midnight's servant would be coming by." Zecora said, walking out the door. Her tone became one of disappointment and some sorrow. "But I hoped it wouldn't of been you.....Fluttershy..."

The cloaked pony only a few feet away from Zecora threw off her cloak revealing a darker colored Fluttershy. Her eyes had a more red hue of color, just like Rainbow Dash.

"Just hand Dusk over and I won't hurt you." The mean Fluttershy demanded.

"So you have fallen under Midnight's rule." Zecora took a defensive stance, ready for combat."I will not hand Dusk over to somepony so cruel."

"Gaan - Lah - Haas!!!" Fluttershy unleashed her shout.

Zecora's body became limp, dropping to the ground. Though still awake, Zecora's body wouldn't respond, too weak to move.

"That was quick." Fluttershy cruelly laughed, walking by the downed Zecora.

Before she could touch the door, several vines sprang to life, wrapping around and blocking the doorway.

"I..won't..let,,you..in.." Zecora dragged herself up. "Our encounter is about to begin."

Zecora's Mohawk mane started crackling with sparks of white electricity. Her body shivered and trembled with the flowing magic around her.

"So this is your magic?" Fluttershy was curious. Almost everypony knew Zecora could do some kind of magic, but nopony knew the extent of it.

Zecora took a deep, relaxing breath and closed her eyes.

"Laat die bome my bene die bas my vlees...." She spoke the words were almost inaudible. The trees behind Zecora started to tremble violently. "Slaan my vyand totdat daar niks oorbly nie....." The trees cracked and split into shard and chunks.

These chunks and shards reformed into the form of a massive snake-like creature. This creature wasn't a true animal, so Fluttershy's "Stare" would prove no effect. But despite this, the "different" Fluttershy remained calm and stood in a confident yet aggressive stance.

"I only hope this will bring you back." Zecora said, then turned to the snake. "ATTACK!!"

The snake roared and charged at the still standing Fluttershy.

Fluttershy took in a deep breath. "Yol - Toor - Shul!!!!"

A large ring of red light shot from Fluttershy's mouth and towards the snake. Not realizing the threat, the snake charged regardless. As soon as the snake passed through the ring, it was burned to ashes and then to none existence. This sight was a major shock to Zecora, who used just about all her remaining magic to summon that snake. Dropping to one knee, Zecora could barely remain conscious.

"Oh I'm sorry." Fluttershy sarcastically teased.

Knowing that Zecora was no longer a threat, Fluttershy made her way into Zecora's hut. Quickly exiting the hut, with the still sleeping Dusk across her back, Fluttershy looked at Zecora with a cruel smile.

"I'll let you live." Fluttershy said, spreading her wings, taking to the sky. "Only so you can live with the fact that you failed."

Fluttershy took off laughing while Zecora slipped into unconsciousness.

....................................................................................................................................................................

The interior of the Castle was just as bad as the front, ruins. Rune was cautious along the broken hallways, his mind searching around for anyponies' thoughts but he heard nothing.

'Strange.' Rune thought to himself. 'If Midnight is here, then I should hear her thoughts, and if the others are here I should hear theirs as well.'

Turning a corner, Rune saw the massive hall, torn banners and cracked walls were everywhere. In the back of the room was Midnight, still sitting in her "throne".

"Now don't go hiding in corners Rune." Midnight said aloud, turning her gaze towards Rune. "Why don't you come here."

Rune revealed himself and made his way across the hall.

"Quite a setup you got here." Rune remarked. "Creep ruined Castle, almost all the Elements of Harmony under your control, and a cool looking throne to sit on. But for what reason?"

"You mean you haven't guessed it." Midnight laughed. "Oh but you can't can you?" Midnight brought one hoof tapping at her head. "You can't read my mind can you?"

"I'll admit I found that strange." Rune answered. "That and there was something you said earlier that got me interested."

"And what is that?" Midnight asked.

"When I attacked you in the Everfree Forest, not only did you take my attack with no damage." Rune answered. "But when you grabbed my face, I could of sworn I heard you say 'I'm only after Dusk, don't interfere'."

"Oh so you did hear that." Midnight smiled. "Don't get me wrong, I recognize that you have some power. But all in all you are incapable of defeating me. I am immune to your level of Lunar magic and you cannot read my mind."

"That is another thing." Rune took a step forward. "You know I can read minds. I don't tell that to just anypony. That and it's a hereditary ability, not a magical one. So it should be unblockable, yet I can't read your mind."

Midnight let out a loud, very manic laugh, shaking the castle. "Have you not figured it out?! I have not cast any magic to stop your mind reading, I simply blocked you from my mind."

Rune took a step back, his eyes were opened in shock.

"That's impossible!" Rune shouted. "The only pony that could block my mind reading it a-"

"Another mind reader." Midnight answered. "Yes I can read minds as well, I inherited it from my father."

Midnight reached into her mane and pulled out something that shocked Rune even more. It was a silver locket, the very same that Rune wore around his neck.

"This is the proof I have of my father, all I have left of him." Midnight remarked. "My full name is Midnight Rune...........your daughter!!!!!!!!!!!"