As Twilight awoke the next morning, she felt a distinct lack of a familiar warmth around her. At first, she believed that  her blanket had simply fallen off. This proved false as her eyes began to slowly open and she saw said blanket still laying over her. She slowly moved her head, taking in her surroundings from such a wonderful rest next to the stallion she loved. Then it clicked in her mind. Upon looking next to her, Twilight only saw the other side of her bed; no blue alicorn in sight.

Inwardly, she began to panic. Her husband was gone. What if he hadn’t been there in the first place? Had yesterday been just a dream? Was he really still gone? Her breathing started to become erratic; fears starting to overtake her.

*Crash*

Twilight’s ears perked up as she heard that sound. Another soon followed and then another. The crashing sounds became a steady flow, coming from outside her window. Curiosity taking control, she rolled out of bed, carefully due to her pregnancy, and opened the blinders to look out. The sight she saw brought her both happiness and wonder.

Outside, in the backyard, was her husband in his human form, clashing with another human that was grey-skinned and had jet-black hair. She instantly recognized the other human as Malice. Her heart was aflutter at seeing them, knowing that the previous day was no dream, but true life.

Her wonder came from what the two were doing: fighting. DJ and Malice were striking at each other with strangely shaped weapons. She recognized the sword-like one in DJ’s hand as the keyblade he had shown her and their friends upon his first return. What had he called it? The Ultima Weapon? Yes, that sounded about right. Malice’s weapon was much different, resembling a large tumbler key. There appeared to be a few bandages around the base of the blade and had a dragon-head medallion dangling from the keychain. Twilight watched in awe as the two clashed with the two weapons, seeing sparks fly as they collided.

DJ pushed away, twirling his blade in his left hand to readjust his grip. Malice simply sneered as he tightened his own grip on the reverse-held keyblade. The two charged each other, DJ swinging in from above as Malice came from below. The two swords clashed, whipping them back and the their owners were at it again. Blow for blow the two were matched, swinging, slashing, and bashing as the went.

As Twilight watched, it appeared to her as if the two were dancing. There was a grace to their movements, the clashing of metal sounding almost like music. Their speed was almost impossible for her to track without magic. Their movements were practically reverse, as if they were fighting true mirrors of each other. Then Twilight remembered that that was exactly what they were: perfect opposites.

That’s what Malice was, DJ’s opposite created via an accident with Discord. In an attempt to feel the effects of discording, as had happened to Twilight and the others so many years prior, DJ’s physiology and lack of magic had ended up giving sentience to his darkest aspects, creating Malice. When he was first revealed to the girls and their families, Malice came off as a deep hidden evil, one that wasn’t afraid to take lives needlessly. DJ later told them that Malice was more of an annoyance than an evil, basically thinking him to be a very crude Discord.

To this day, Twilight knew very little about “The Demon Within” as they had taken to referring him as. Malice had only been released a few times, most notably in the conflicts with the now-deceased King Sombra and the now-deposed Queen Chrysalis. DJ rarely spoke of Malice, only of the irritation that came from the chaotic being’s comments. However, during their first travels, the two had somehow grown close enough to call each other brothers, twins to an extent.

And now, Twilight was seeing the result of that relationship. The two clashing swords, both with smiles as they sparred. They knew the other’s moves, always countering, always counter-countering. One would come in from the left, while the other would defend perfectly. Neither seemed capable of beating the other, but that didn’t stop them from trying. Twilight realized with that thought why they were fighting: they were trying to better themselves by fighting the only one who could match them move for move. Perfect training for them.

After what seemed like hours, DJ and Malice finally relaxed, their weapons disappearing in twin flashes of light. The humans then transformed back into the alicorns they were, still panting from the intense workout. As they started to head into the house, Twilight finally shook herself from her awe-inspired stupor. She looked to the clock, seeing that she had only been watching for fifteen minutes. Still amazed from what she saw, Twilight made her way down to the kitchen, seeing Spike already making breakfast.

“Morning, Twilight!” the little, winged drake greeted from the stove.

“Morning, Spike. Have you seen DJ and Malice?”

Spike wrinkled his nose at the mention of his other brother-in-law. “Why? I thought they were upstairs.”

“They were just coming in from outside. I thought they would be coming in through the kitchen.”

Spike shook his head. “No, I didn’t even know they were outside. Was that the banging from earlier?”

Twilight nodded. “They were out back sparring. I swear I saw them--” Twilight’s train of thought stopped when she heard the sound of the shower starting up. “Oh, that must be them. That jumping power of theirs must be handy.”

“It’s practically silent,” Spike added as he refocused back to cooking. “Who knows what other powers they gained? I have to say, I’m pretty curious.”

“So am I, Spike. I’m hoping that they would be more willing to--”

Once again, Twilight was interrupted, this time by another alicorn walking in. “Good morning, everypony!” Berry greeted happily. She always had been a morning pony. “What are we talking about?”

“Your brothers,” Spike said offhandedly.

Berry nodded as she sat at the dining room table, Twilight joining her. “What about him? Sure, he’s a little darker than before, but he’s not all that different.”

“We were more talking about any new powers he acquired. The jump ability, those ‘keyblades’ of theirs, and whatever else they may have.”

Pixel nodded in understanding. “That would be interesting to know. Has he said anything about other abilities?”

Twilight shook her head. “No, not yet. He did promise to tell me everything when he had a moment.”

“Well,” Pixel started, looking a little uncomfortable, “that could be a while.”

Twilight’s head tilted to the side. “Why is that?”

“Mom sent me a message late last night. She’s set up a press conference for late this morning to announce DJ’s return. Representatives from the Griffin Empire, the Minotaur lands, the Crystal Empire, and the UHA will be there.”

Twilight’s left eye started to twitch a little, but before she could explode wrongfully on her sister-in-law, DJ walked in, hair still damp from the shower. “Little short on notice there, Pix.”

Berry blushed a little from embarrassment. “Yeah, sorry bro. I was gonna tell you, but I figured you and Twilight wanted some alone time last night.”

“Well, thanks for that. It was a nice night,” he said as he gave Twilight a good morning peck on the cheek. “Morning Love.”

“Good morning,” Twilight said as she returned the peck with a kiss on lips. “We were just talking about you.”

“So I heard. This is gonna go either really good or be really bad.” DJ sighed as he sat down next to Twilight. Spike came in at that moment, a plate of pancakes stacked tall in his claw. He passed the food to himself and the others, sitting across from DJ and Twilight. “Thanks, Spike. Anyways,” he said between bites, “I can see why mom wants to get this done now. The faster it’s out that I’m back, the less political pressure there’s gonna be. Sorry if this cuts into our time today, Twi, but this shouldn’t take too long.”

Twilight sighed, but still nodded. “I understand, politics will always be a pain. I’m just worried because you’ve never met the other dignitaries before.”

DJ waved off her concerns. “Don’t worry about it, love. I’ve handled other species on the other worlds before. Plus, it’s highly likely we could see Insectum or Sting. That alone is enough for me to go along with this.”

“You can also get your new name out to the public,” Berry added. “Though, I still find it strange. Why did you change your name?”

“I’ve been quite curious myself,” Twilight mused. “The kids are still asleep, so do you think you could tell us what happened to calling yourself ‘DJ’?”

DJ was silent for the next few moments. He was quite torn, not sure as to whether or not he could tell them all the truth. That decision, however, was made for him.

“Tell them, kid,” Malice said as he appeared next to Spike, who wasn’t quite happy with the arrangement. “Tell them, or I will.”

DJ sighed, slumping his shoulders slightly. “Alright. But, it’s gonna be a little hard to hear. Just please,” he looked at them, sadness and pain radiating from his eyes, “please, don’t hate me for what I’m about to tell you.”

Berry and Spike nodded warily, not exactly sure about where this conversation was going to go. Twilight leaned in and nuzzled him affectionately, placing a kiss on a lips. She looked at him, displaying her own love filled eyes. “DJ, no matter what, I love you. Anything you did wrong, I know that you had your reasons. I could never, ever, ever hate you. Do you understand me?”

DJ smiled a sad smile at her, returning her affection with a kiss. “Thank you, Twi, that means more to me than you realize.” He sighed and looked off into his memories. “After I left here the second time, I tried to be a hero for the worlds that I traveled to. It worked...on the first few. Then, I started running into worlds where being the hero wasn’t enough. I wanted to save those worlds; as the Being of Harmony, it was my duty to do what I could to bring them balance. I did...many things, things that I’m not proud of. I committed acts that no one being should.”

The others were not sure what to make of this, it was turning into something that they weren’t sure they wanted to hear. “L-like what?” Spike asked, truly afraid of what the answer would be.

DJ was very thankful that it was Malice who answered that question. Though, it was quite the list. “Homicide, genocide, specicide, attempted murder, intentional manslaughter, the list goes on.” Twilight, Berry, and Spike were all aghast and pale.

“Yeah, those. After three months, and nearly fifteen worlds, I realized that living with what I’ve done was too much. I couldn’t commit suicide, not while knowing that there were those waiting for me to come back. Instead, I committed a symbolic suicide, discarding my original name in favor of one I could use to protect others, to be the hero the worlds needed me to be.

Blue Frost was the name I chose. It’s simplistic enough to be easily remembered and still be relatively cool.” Spike chuckled a little from the unintentional pun. DJ rolled his eyes. “Yes, ha ha, ‘cool’. Anyways, my new name caught on to others who Travel and now I’m known to them as Blue Frost. This is why I need the public to refer to me as such. I have marked this planet as under my protection; as my home planet. This means that it is off limits to other Travelers. We all respect each other’s homes and will not intrude unless invited.”

“There are others?” asked Twilight, unable to hold off of her knowledge taking habits. Underneath the table, a quill was painstakingly scratching down her husband’s very word, hoping to use the for a project in the future.

“Oh yes. Hundreds, possibly even thousands of others travel between the worlds. Some are heroes like me, while others just make a living via their travels. There are those who do commit terrible acts throughout the many worlds, but they are the minority. Each one of them are quite powerful and I’m glad I only ever ran into the friendly ones.”

“So, did you become a hero or a criminal?” Berry asked, trying to fully understand what he was saying.

DJ sighed, hanging his head slightly. “I’d like to think I was a hero, but on some Equestrias I had to be the villain. My heroics branded me as such because I went against those who ruled. I had to do terrible things to protect the innocent amongst the worlds. While I may regret my actions, the results were often worth the pain in the end. The means may not justify the end, but it did lessen the pain a bit.”

“DJ,” Twilight said as she put her hoof on his shoulder. “Even though you did those terrible things, I still love you. You did what you thought was right, even if it was through questionable means. Now, let’s have enough of this dark talk, the girls are going to be waking up any minute now then we need to get read to address the populace.”

Her loving smile was all DJ needed to pull him back out of the darkness. He leaned in and kissed her, holding it for a good few seconds. “Thank you, Twilight,” he said as he leaned his head on hers. “Your light has been what has kept me going all this time. Thank you for keeping me out of the dark.”

“No matter what, I’m not leaving, DJ. I’ll always be there for you and all I ask is that you also be there for me. I need you just as you need me, please remember that.”

“Yeah,” he chuckled tapping his noggin. “I got it memorized.”

They all had a good laugh over that, clearing the dark air. They went back to finishing their breakfast, Nyx and Scootaloo coming down after another few minutes. They informed the girls that they would be going to Canterlot for most of the day, but promising to be back by dinner. The girls understood completely, saying that they would be fine until then. DJ and Twilight wished them a good day at school and proceeded to jump to Canterlot, Pixel and Spike in tow.

“That’s still awesome,” Spike commented as they started their walk towards the throne room. “But why didn’t we just jump to the throne room?”

“Didn’t want to freak anypony out. Teleporting in would have been different, since the light would give warning, but since jumping is silent and instantaneous probably could turn into an international incident or some shiz like that.”

“That’s another thing I’ve noticed, bro. You’re using a lot more human-esque terms lately. You’re saying things like ‘hell’, ‘shit’, and other things. I get Malice using it, since he’s such a human-supremacist--”

“Damn straight.”

“But you had embraced most of this stuff early on. Why the change?”

“A lot about me and my ways of thinking have changed, sis. I’m not completely the same pony I was when I left. I still love my fun and my craziness is even worse, but I’m serious a lot more now.”

“If you need proof of that, he hasn’t really bothered crackin’ a joke. Even rolled his eye at his unintentional pun a couple paragraphs back.”

“What?” Twilight and Spike asked.

“Don’t worry about it,” Malice, Berry, and DJ all replied. Twilight and Spike looked at each other and shrugged.

Soon enough, they were outside the throne room, the guards there bowing to the family. Berry stepped forward, “I’ll meet you all inside, I should probably be up there with mom and aunt Luna.” DJ nodded and Berry teleported in a burst of pixelated magic.

“Is Berry any different?” DJ asked once the four were alone… well, guards don’t count. “I mean after being gone for so long too.”

“Well, only Celestia knows the full story. Pixel usually keeps to herself these days, mostly sticking around Canterlot. She has come by to visit every now and then to check on me.” DJ made a mental note to thank Pixel for doing that. “I have noticed that, like you, she has mellowed a bit compared to when she first arrived. It seems that Equestria has a way of calming you random humans over the years.” She smiled and nudged him slightly with that crack.

DJ snickered a bit. “Heh heh, good one, love. Yeah, it seems that humans just can’t stay wacky here, must be something in the water.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Yeah, that’s it.” She shook her head, still smiling. “It’s really great to have both of you back now. She was pretty broken up when she came back to find you were gone. Tia told me that she lost somepony important to her while she was on her journey, so your disappearance was just icing on that cake.”

DJ cringed slightly. “Aw man, that makes it even worse. I’m gonna have to set aside a day for the two of us or something. Have some brother-sister time.”

“I think she’d like that,” Spike said as he leaned against the nearby wall lazily. “She mentioned that she had something to show you when you got back, so could be interesting.” DJ nodded and a silence came over the group. Malice was spending the time waving his hoof in front of the guards, trying to get reactions out of them. Twilight tried to stop him, but DJ stopped her and just shook his head. He said to let Malice just have his fun, that he needs something to stay occupied. Twilight still couldn’t understand that pony, but she made a mental reminder to speak with Malice a little more to get to know him.

After a while, Spike spoke again. “So, while we’re waiting, got any other stories bro?”

“Plenty, but we don’t have enough time to get into them.”

“Aw! But last night’s was so cool! It sounded like you and Ryan made a pretty good team.”

“Yeah, we did. Though I’m still gonna strangle his neck next time we meet. It was because of his ponies that I got sent from world to world uncontrollably. “

“That’s not a healthy way to get rid of anger, dear.”

“Don’t care. He’s gonna suffer just like Bart Simpson when I get my hooves on him.”

“And I’m gonna sock that two-bit excuse for a spirit he’s got right in his fucking face.”

Spike let out a whistle. “Dang, you guys are really harboring some hatred for those two.”

DJ just waved it off. “I highly doubt we’ll run into them again anyways, so it’s not important. Some of the others we met would be nice to see again, but like I said I don’t plan on Traveling for a long time.”

Twilight nodded and nuzzled him lovingly. “That’s just fine with me. But just because you have these new powers doesn’t mean you can treat the rest of us like invalids. Even like this,” she gestured to her distended belly, “I can still take care of myself if need be. I hope you got that ‘memorized’,” she said playfully. DJ smiled and tapped his head without a word, just kissing her lightly afterwards.

Not even a moment later, Celestia trotted into sight from the hallway. She looked at the group lovingly, even to Malice who simply waved with a face that said, “I don’t really care right now.”

“Hello my sons, Spike, and faithful student. Are you ready?”

“Yeah, let’s get this done. I’ve got stuff to do,” DJ replied with a dopey grin. Twilight smiled at the sight, missing it slightly.

Celestia did too, it seemed as she giggled at him. “Of course, Frost,” she said with a wink. “Now come along. It’s time to meet the public.”

DJ nodded and followed, his family in tow. They reached another pair of double doors and DJ sucked in a big breath, and let it out. “Ok, let’s do this.” Celestia nodded and opened the door. Instantly, DJ was attacked by flashing camera’s, reporters with microphones, and (to his later surprise), tv camera ponies. Each one were bombarding him with questions, none of which he could fully hear or be able to answer them.

At first he was thinking of just jumping away, but he feared that could cause even more problems since nopony else knew of the ability. They would probably freak, thinking he’d been kidnapped again. Instead, he did the second best thing: yell as loud as he could.

“SHUT THE HELL UP!!”

In that moment, everything just stopped. All of the reporter ponies were staring in shock at DJ for using the Royal Canterlot Voice on them and were unsure how to proceed. DJ took the initiative and moved forward, up to the conference table and took a seat, still looking very much unamused by the ponies. Twilight, Spike and Celestia all joined him with Pixel Berry and Luna already at the table. Those two were also trying not to burst out laughing at the scene they had just witnessed. Malice turned to mist and returned to DJ’s head.

Less things to explain, the faster we can get the hell out of dodge, he explained when DJ asked what he was doing. He nodded, thankful for having one less thing to explain. It was already bad enough he was about to lie to the entire world, best not to make things even more complicated.

“That little incident aside,” Celestia began, “I would like to thank you all for coming. I am quite happy to announce the return of my son, Prince Blue Frost, formerly known as Prince DJ Sparkle. Would you be willing to say a few words and take some questions, my son?”

“I will not be saying a few words,” DJ said getting a quick murmur out of the crowd. DJ refused to carry on this lie if he didn’t have to. “I will, however, be open to taking questions. Would anypony care to begin?”

Several reporters scrambled to get the big scoop, nearly climbing over each other. However, another burst of the RCV from Celestia settled that matter and they took their seats. This time, they simple resorted to the old elementary tactics of reaching their hooves high and chanting, “Ooh! Ooh! Me! Me!” DJ waved his hoof over the crowd and picked out one of the calmer reporters, this one a light blue pegasus stallion.

“Cloud Dasher, Equestria Daily,” he stated. “Your highness, why the change of your name?”

DJ chuckled a little. “Out of everything my name is what’s got you confused?” He received a good chuckle out of the crowd for his efforts. “I just felt that a change in identity was required after all the things I experienced. Next question.”

This time was a queen unicorn mare. “Harmony Shimmer, Canterlot Times. Where did you travel to exactly, your highness?”

“That is, unfortunately for you, a secret. Some of the things I experienced should not be repeated. I will say this, I have done good, done bad, and done some in between. As the old saying goes, ‘shit happens’.” Some ponies shuffled uncomfortably, but some of the more experienced reporters cracked up. DJ smiled as the laughter filled the air, almost becoming infectious. “Next question.”

And so this went on for a little over an hour. DJ was happy to answer some of the questions. Especially the ones focusing on his plans for the present and future. He was glad to tell them that he would be settling down in Ponyville to live out his days with his family. He did state that should Equestria ever need help, he and the former Bearers would always be there to defend their home.

With the questions over with, DJ and his family were escorted to the foreign dignitaries. He was first introduced to the griffin emperor, Michelangelo. DJ kept wanting to call him Mikey and see if he wanted to go get some pizza, but Berry kept him back. She later whispered to him that she already tried that but didn’t get any results. The minotaur chief was a little harder for DJ to make fun of, being that his name was Bone Crusher and he didn’t want to press his luck. He still doesn’t believe Pixel that he’s actually a big softy. Upon seeing Insectum, the two hugged like old friends. Sting, DJ’s old comrade from the Changeling Revolution, was also present, having been promoted to the captain of the changeling royal guard. The two promised to meet up next time Sting was in Ponyville.

The meetings went relatively quick, though DJ was required to return at a later date to properly converse with the dignitaries, being that this was too quickly planned. He agreed and, after saying goodbye to his changeling friends, Celestia, Luna, and Pixel, the family were back home just as Nyx and Scootaloo were returning home.

“Hey girls!” Twilight greeted as she, Spike, DJ, and Malice spread out from the jump spot. “How was school?”

“Was okay,” Scootaloo shrugged.

Nyx rolled her eyes. “I found it very fascinating. Ms. Cheerilee decided to do a lecture on Canterlot Royalty to celebrate dad’s return. How is Blue Blood related to Celestia, though? That wasn’t covered.”

“If I remember right,” Twilight said as she put a hoof to her chin in thought, “He is a descendant of Luna’s family line. She, unlike Celestia, did have children, but they grew old where she did not.”

Even Malice winced at that. “That’s gotta hurt. No wonder she’s the dark one.”

“Amen to that,” DJ said. “Well, let’s get some snacks and then you and I can talk, Twi.”

“Yay!” Twilight squealed as she clapped her hooves in glee. Then she remembered where she was and noticed her two daughters beginning to crack up. Her face burned with embarrassment. “I-it was a mood swing,” she tried to pass off.

DJ rolled his eyes. “Whatever you say, dear.”

After a quick snack of hay fries, DJ and his wife went to the study so she could grill him on all of his new abilities. As they walked in, Twilight continued into the room, but DJ had stopped at the entrance to stare. The study was a complete wreck! Books, scrolls, and note papers were scattered everywhere!

“Damn, hon! Looks like a tornado ran through here. What on Equis have you been doing in here?”

“Well, during your absence, I decided to dive back into my studies. I’ve been working more with rune magic, a few other projects too, but most recently I decided to finish up my genealogical studies.”

“Finish up?” DJ parroted before realization came. “Oh yeah! I remember that one. That was the project that got interrupted by Pixel coming to Equestria. ...wow, that feels like so long ago now.”

Twilight nodded in agreement. “Yeah, that was way back when you were still human. Those were some interesting times. I’ve just about finished up that research, too.”

“Really? Mind if I see?”

Twilight gave him a suspicious glance. “You’re not trying to get out of telling me your stories, are you?”

DJ shook his head. “No, I’m just a little curious as to the results of that project. History has always been a big interest of mine, remember?”

“Yes, I remember. Well… I suppose a little show shouldn’t hurt.” She ruffled through a few pieces of parchment and pulled out a specific sheet. She hoofed it over to DJ. “This is the final spell I created. Casting this should show a pony’s full family line, starting with them and working both forward and back through time.”

“Huh, interesting,” DJ said as he looked over the spell. “It’s not all that complicated from the looks of it. Can I see it work?”

“Sure! I’ve been waiting to test this out.” Her smile turned a little scary and DJ backed up a little, right into the wall.

“Now-now, now Twilight! Y-you remember what happened the l-last time you tested a spell on me! I got teleported to an alternate Equestria, you can’t seriously be wanting to test on me again!?”

“Oh, that’s where you are wrong, honey,” Twilight said as she approached, her voice sickly sweet. “You’ve been around at least fifty different Twilights and well, this will be enough proof for me that you weren’t messing around out there.” Her horn lit up with her raspberry-colored magic and pointed it right at DJ. She cast the spell with a flash, blinding both ponies. “D-did it work?” she asked groggily, rubbing her head.

DJ, looking at something right above her, nodded, but was trying very hard to hold back his laughter. “Yep, it worked. Look!” He pointed up and she looked, her eyes widening at the sight of a bubble with a picture of her within. Her blank stare was enough to push him over the edge and started to roll on the ground, laughing his flank off. “Oh, oh, oh, it hurts! It hurts! Hahaha!!”

Twilight pouted angrily at him “It’s not that funny,” she said in whiny whisper.

DJ calmed down after a few moments, getting back to his hooves as he wrapped Twilight in a comforting hug, though he was still slightly chuckling. “It’s alright, dear. It still worked. And just so you know, I swear to the highest beings that I did not cheat on you out there. I will admit, there were times where I was tempted, but I held out because I had the most perfect, most beautiful, and smartest mare waiting for me at home.” He kissed her cheek softly and rub it with his. “You’re the only mare I need, Twilight.”

Tears in her eyes, Twilight returned the nuzzle. “I’m sorry, DJ. It’s just that I was so afraid that… and with the baby coming--”

DJ silenced her with a kiss to the lips. She gasped in surprise, but quickly melted into the kiss. The passion behind it made it feel like hours instead of the thirty seconds that it was. DJ looked right into her eyes, “You are the love of my life. I don’t blame you for your fear, but I will never betray you like that. I will forever be yours and that will never change, my shining star.”

Twilight wiped her eyes and nuzzled under his chin. “Thank you,” she whispered. They stayed like that for several seconds before…

“Ew!”

“Ah gross! Not this again!”

DJ and Twilight turned to see Nyx and Scootaloo in the doorway, Spike and Malice flanking them. Spike was just smiling warmly while Malice still looked like he didn’t care.

“Was there something you needed girls?” asked Twilight, trying to get her emotions under control.

“We just wanted to know what that flash was,” Nyx said while her gaze drifted up to the bubble. “What’s with the picture bubble?”

“It’s the result of the Family Tree Spell I’ve been working on. But I had aimed it at your father, yet it seemed to have been cast on me. Why?”

DJ looked over her notes again and smiled. “Found the problem.” He showed the parchment to Twilight and pointed to a part of the spell. “See this part here? You carried over the wrong coefficient. As such, this spell affects the caster, not something else.”

Twilight snatched the spell and looked it over quickly, running through the equations in her head. She slowly set it down, staring at DJ. “You’re right, but how could you tell? Has your magical knowledge increased?”

“Greatly!” DJ boasted. “But what’s with bubble? Isn’t it suppose to be doing something?”

“Try touching it,” Twilight suggested.

DJ shrugged and tapped the bubble with his hoof. There was a small ‘ding’ and the bubble started to glow softly. Everypony and dragon present watched as glowing lines started to extend from the picture of Twilight. One line went to the left and formed a bubble picture of DJ as another went down, branching into two that formed pictures of Nyx and Scootaloo. The final line went upwards, and branched into a much longer line that extended into bubbles featuring Spike and Shining armor at the downward ends. Shining’s continued left, forming Cadance, and down between that line to form Guard Armor. The lines continued upward again for Night Light and Twilight Velvet, extending past them as well.

Twilight was giddy that it worked, clapping her hooves in success. “Oh, yes! It worked!”

“Wow,” Nyx commented as she saw the lines continued upwards. “Are those our great grandparents?” she asked as more pictures formed above Night Light and his wife.

“Oh my, I haven’t seen pictures of them in ages. Yes, that one is your great grandfather, famous for his discovery of the ninth planet in our solar system…”

As Twilight explained to Spike and the girls their ancestors, DJ’s attention was on Night Light’s picture. Another line had branched off to the left of him and was continuing on, forming a picture of a robin’s-egg colored, unicorn mare with a dark blue mane. In between the two, another line formed, going down and forming another bubble. DJ started to panic.

“Twi...please tell me that you have an aunt on your father’s side that you never told me about.”

“No, not that I know of,” Twilight asked while still following the lines up. “Why do you ask?”

“Uh...you may want to see this.”

Twilight turned her gaze to where DJ was looking and her eye widened in fear and panic at what she was seeing. “No, no this can’t be right! My father he...he…”

Everyone watched with rapt attention as the line started to form a bubble. They were all flabbergasted at the picture that appeared. In the bubble was a pale blue unicorn mare with a silver mane… a very familiar looking pony.

“How...how...can this be?” Spike asked as he tried to grasp the concept.

“If, if this spell is correct then...my father….he had an affair!!” Twilight nearly screamed.

“And not only that,” Malice said as he too stared at the picture. “He had a kid. You got a half-sister out of the deal.”

“And it’s a pony we all know,” DJ said.

“I can’t believe this!” Twilight screeched. “Trixie Lulamoon, is my half-sister?!”

Next Chapter: ...Can Hurt You... Estimated time remaining: 19 Minutes