Shimmering Night teleported her parents back to their house. With Twilight's full power being blocked by her new foal, it fell to her. It was not hard for Night; she had her mother’s natural talent when it came to magic.

What was hard to do was looking at her mom right now; Night was angry, angrier than she ever thought she could possibly be at Twilight. Twilight lied to her; she tried to banish Ataxia to the moon using Night’s own power as some sort of quick fix. She took no regard to how Night would feel about that, or the fact banishing your problems to the moon does not solve them. Something she figured Twilight should know first hoof after she and her friends had to fight off Nightmare Moon to rescue Luna all those years ago.

Thinking about it was not helping the situation one bit. Shimmering Night wanted to yell; she wanted to scream at Twilight, to rage at her for having such hubris. However, it had to wait, despite her objections to the contrary, Rainbow was hurt and Twilight wanted to put her wife to bed. She would heal quickly enough, but Rainbow had taken the brunt of all of Ataxia’s attacks that night. So much so, that Night actually attacked Ataxia with intent to kill her after she almost killed Rainbow. The fact that Night could do something like that to someone else, much less her friend… that part still scared her. However, nopony or dragon hurts her family.

Of course that still did not help her current situation, she had to give her mom… her pregnant mom, a piece of her mind.

When Twilight finished placing Rainbow in bed, she came down stairs and looked her daughter in the eye. Silently, Shimmering Night cast a soundproof spell around her parent’s bedroom. How she wished she knew how to do that growing up.

“Night, I know you’re mad.” Twilight tried to cut her off, it did not work. Every cell in Night’s body was radiating with barely compressed fury at the night’s events.

“Mad? Mad? Now mom, why would I be mad? I have no reason to be mad, after all it’s not like you did something that completely betrayed my trust in you, or that you lied to my face in order to send by best friend to the moon using my own magic against her. Oh, wait; you did do all that didn’t you?”

Night paced back and forth, still visibly shaken from the day’s events. She had been so worked up that her legs would not stay still. First with the sudden return of Ataxia by destroying a bucking mountain, then her use of an insane magical attack, snapping when she thought her friend killed her mom, and lastly when Twilight betrayed her by trying to send her friend to the bucking moon.

Needless to say, it left quite the mark on the young alicorn’s psyche, something now that the crisis had passed, her body was finally able to catch up too.

Twilight pulled her head back at that, the words hurt more than if Night had just slapped her in the face. “Night… I di-“

“Don’t you try that, don’t you dare. You betrayed me mom, you lied straight to my face and used my power to try and banish my friend to the bucking moon, knowing full well that I would never, never go along with it if you had told me the truth. You… you… Ghah! I don’t even want to look at you right now!” Night shouted as she diverted her eyes away from her mother, stomping around like a pubescent foal.

Twilight actually thought it was a little cute; she would have laughed if it had not been so heartbreaking. She sighed… there was no way out of it, her plan… plan B, it was everything Night said it was. She had tried to use Night’s power against her friend. It was a last minute hail Mary pass. Something she knew would not last, but would grant her more than enough time to find a more permanent solution. She had not expected Night to be able to stop it. Then again, she had not expected anything her youngest daughter did that night.

‘Maybe that was the problem… have I been underestimating you this entire time? Your power alone is on a completely different level than I ever expected.’ Twilight thought about it, maybe it was time to place her trust in Night? The way Celestia used to place hers in Twilight all those years ago.

“You’re right.” Twilight said with a straight face. It took the wind right out of Night’s sails.

“No, you don’t get to do that!” Night yelled.

“You’re right. I shouldn’t have done that, I shouldn’t have lied to you like that, I did everything you accused me of doing… Night, I’m sorry.”

“No, no, no, no, no, no…” Night repeated. “You don’t… you don’t get to get off that easy.”

“Night, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I used you like that.” The adrenaline left Night’s body with every word Twilight said.

Shimmering Night turned and looked at her mother. There was no doubt that Twilight was serious, her body posture, tone, and words all conveyed the same message. Night collapsed on the floor, the weight of the day’s events and the sudden loss of the adrenaline in her body taking their toll, sighing aloud as she did so. Try as she might (and she really did try) she could not stay mad, not at her mother. “I forgive you.” She said reluctantly.

Twilight walked over and lay next to her daughter; she took one of her purple wings and wrapped it around the young alicorn, squeezing her ever so closer to share their body warmth. Night turned her head and looked at her mom. “How did you do that? How did you make me forgive you like that?” Night asked, generally puzzled at what had just happened.

“The same way I forgave you. We all make mistakes from time to time Night, even the wisest of us.” Memories of Celestia came back unbidden to Twilight’s mind. “But we’re family; we don’t hold each other to some impossible standard of perfection. We mean too much to each other for that.” She gently rubbed her muzzle against her daughter's in a tender display of affection. “I couldn’t stay mad at you when you were sincerely apologetic, so how could you stay mad at me?”

Night cooed softly from the contact. She missed this, more than she could ever say. To be held so closely by someone she loved, who loved her back, unconditionally. It did not matter how old, how big, or how much responsibility life threw at her. She would always be a little foal in her mom’s eyes, and truthfully, she did not want it any other way. It was nice knowing that some things would never change.

“Speaking of family, why don’t you explain that little comment about your soon to be brother.” Twilight added with a sly smile. “I do believe you said something about it being your fault?”

“Oh… that…” Night looked down sheepishly.

“Yes that, I haven’t forgotten what you said, that this is your fault somehow, care to explain?” Again Twilight smiled upon seeing the blush on her daughter’s face.

“Yes, I would like to hear that part too.” A voice from upstairs called down.

“Rainbow, you’re awake.” Twilight smiled a greeting at Rainbow that her wife instantly copied. “I was wondering how long you would sleep for.” Something deep down stirred in Twilight, something about the way Rainbow looked just now.

“It was just a little cat nap, nothing big. Besides, I wouldn’t want to sleep through this.” Rainbow said, ‘With the noise you two were making you would have woke the dead; still, they are cute together like that.’ Rainbow thought the last part, but kept it to herself; she did not want to ruin the moment.

Even without Rainbow saying it, Night seemed to sense the situation she was in; she tried hiding her head under her mom’s wing, an action that only caused both Rainbow and Twilight to chuckle. “Don’t worry Night, that’s my favorite spot too.” Rainbow joked. “While I’m up, anypony want something to drink; it has been a trying night.”

“Coffee, decaf; I don’t want to be up all night.” Twilight added. ‘Well, maybe some of the night…’ she thought to herself.

“Some tea would be lovely.” Night spoke up.

“Coffee and tea… great, that won’t keep me in there forever.” Rainbow said with a sigh.

“What was that, Rainbow?”

“Nothing Twi, coffee and tea coming up!” Twilight laughed as Rainbow made full speed for the kitchen, she would no doubt be back as quickly as possible, not wanting to miss the explanation of just how she was due to be a mother again.

Twilight smiled and turned to her daughter. “Shall we get up?”

Night simply shook her head no. “Can we… can we stay like this, just until Rainbow gets back.” In truth, she was exhausted, part of her just wanted to fall asleep right that second. It was more than a passing through; she was physically exhausted beyond simple fatigue. Night lay her head down and nuzzled into her mother’s neck, breathing deeply of Twilight’s scent. The warmth and smell took their toll, Night closed her eyes, “I… I just need to rest my eyes. Just for a minute or two.”

“Sure honey, we can stay like this for as long as you want.” Twilight saw the tell-tale signs of sleep in her daughter’s eyes. At times like this, Princess Shimmering Night, the first-born alicorn disappeared. She was replaced with Shimmering Night, Twilight’s little filly.

Twilight began lightly humming the soft melody Fluttershy used to sing to her kids when she would foal sit for them. It did not matter that her friends were not physically here anymore. Twilight knew that as long as she carried them in her heart, they would always be around.

That is the true key to immortality.

"Hush now, quiet now
It's time to lay your sleepy head
Hush now, quiet now
It's time to go to bed

Hush now, quiet now
It's time to lay your sleepy head
Hush now, quiet now
It's time to go to bed

Driftin' off to sleep
Exciting day behind you
Driftin' off to sleep
Let the joy of dreamland find you

Hush now, quiet now
It’s time to lay your sleepy head
Hush now, quiet now
It's time to go to bed"

Twilight smiled at her daughter, regardless how big she got, regardless what life threw at her, or how much responsibility Night had, she was still Twilight’s little filly. Twilight kissed her daughter on the forehead. “How I wish I could spare you all of this.” Twilight said to Night as she slept.

Rainbow smiled as she walked in and saw her daughter sleeping peacefully next to her wife. Any idea of getting further information from her tonight was forgotten, Rainbow would not interrupt this moment for all the bits in Equestria.

Rainbow did remark that together, Twilight and Night were quite the pair. If it was not for Shimmering Night’s slightly lighter coat, rainbow mane, and her cutie mark, one could be forgiven for thinking they were twins.

“I thought you wanted to find out what happened?” Rainbow asked her wife already knowing the answer but wanting to hear it anyway.

Twilight looked up with a smile. “She was so tired. I think it can wait until morning, don’t you?”

“Twi, for this sight it can wait forever. Besides, it’s not like finding out the truth will change anything. One way or another we will still be in the same exact situation.”

“Yeah, you’re right about that.” Twilight thought for a minute. “You never did say, what do you think about… about this?” Twilight nodded her head in the direction of her stomach, a clear indication of what she was talking about.

Placing the mugs on the coffee table, Rainbow lay down on the other side of her wife. She grew out her wing and wrapped it around both mares, the symbolism was clear as day, she was taking both of them under her wing, under her protection; or should she say, all three of them under her protection.

Rainbow kissed Twilight on the lips. “Twi, the greatest adventure I’ve ever been on in my entire life is being a parent. It has been something I have never once regretted, never once looked back on with anything other than joy. Both the good times and the bad times, I‘ve loved them all. Now… now you tell me that despite the odds, despite the fact that all the magic studies you’ve done on it say it’s impossible, I get to do it all again? I get to start over with another foal? How do you think I feel, egghead?”

“Thank you, Rainbow Dash.” Twilight said with a yawn. The warmth of Rainbow’s wing was one of the greatest joys in Twilight’s life.

“Thank you, Twilight Sparkle.” Rainbow replied with a smile as Twilight lay her head down next to her wife. Rainbow took a minute to examine this situation. Her, her daughter, and her pregnant wife were all lying down on the floor of their living room despite the fact that there were three perfectly good beds upstairs. She smiled as something Twilight once told her came back as a memory.

‘The definition of perfection is not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.’

Rainbow looked around one more time before saying one last word. She then joined her wife and daughter in blissful slumber. Her last word ringing in her ears as she fell asleep.

“Perfect.”

………………………

When Night awoke, it surprised her a little. It had been years since she last fell asleep on the floor of her parent’s house. However, just like all those years ago, there was a fresh mug of coffee waiting for her when she woke up and a blanket wrapped around her to keep her warm. There was no doubt in her mind that both of them were a gift from Twilight. Night smiled as she lifted the mug up to her lips to take a sip. The warm liquid did wonders to increase her mood. She did not quite remember falling asleep last night; yet even despite sleeping on the floor, she felt more refreshed than she had in ages.

“Have a good night’s sleep?” Twilight asked, watching her daughter enjoy the delicious mug of coffee.

“Mm hmm.” Night replied.

“Well, when you’re ready we can go over what happened and what we're going to do now.”

Night spit out the coffee at Twilight's remark, she had almost forgotten.

Rainbow flew down to join her girls in the living room. She did not want to miss this explanation for the world.

………………………………

“You see, five weeks ago I caught Ataxia spying on you guys outside the house, twice actually.” Night looked at her parents sitting on the couch, Twilight looked visibly taken aback by that, no doubt a little ashamed that someone was watching her with Rainbow. For Rainbow’s part, she looked like she did on any other day, the idea of someone wanting to watch her awesomeness in bed no doubt serving as an aphrodisiac, if the way her hoof moved up and down Twilight’s side was any indication. It was an action that Twilight did not fail to notice; the soft coos that came from her signaled her welcoming of it. It brought back feelings for Rainbow that Twilight had been unable to act on last night.

“I caught her and told her to leave, she wouldn’t go. We... we rather got into a fight, like a big one. I tried to simply paralyze her so I could teleport her way… she responded and well… We weren’t seeking to hurt each other, but…” Night looked down sheepishly.

“Wait?” Rainbow interrupted, “Does this have something to do with why you were hanging around here for two weeks?”

Night nodded, “I was getting to that. In the middle of the fight, Ataxia told me that I needed to shake things up a bit, I know she’s never had that much control of her magic so when she said it I think her magic agreed. She cast an unknown spell at me, and unlike her other spells, this was one that I couldn’t deflect away… I had no choice but to counter it with one of my own… well… well the spells collided in the middle of the air. It blew up for lack of a better term and a piece of it struck Twilight, while… while…” Night could not bring herself to say the last part.

Twilight did not need her to; she could easily put the pieces together in her head. The scenario played out, the sheer impossibility of everything was staggering.

Rainbow was more than happy to fill in the blanks. “Wait, Twilight got hit by your and Ataxia’s magic while I was pumping my load into her? And that’s why I’m going to be a mother again? That’s… that’s… that’s bucking awesome! Think you can pull it off a few more times?! Or teach her how to do that?”

“Rainbow!” Twilight screamed at her wife.

“Relax Sparklebutt, the damage is done, what harm does it do to admit the truth now? Besides, I would love to have more kids and I know you feel the same, you’ve told me as much.”

“Guys, Ataxia doesn’t even know what spell she used, or how she cast it. Besides, I doubt we could duplicate those events if we tried a million times.” Night said through her facehoof. It did not surprise her that Rainbow would be so crass about her sex life. Yet, that did not make it any easier to hear.

“Ah man, that sucks.” Rainbow sat back on the couch, pouting. Twilight loved it when Rainbow got into a pouting mood, just the way in which it squashed up her face, In Twilight’s opinion, the mare never looked cuter or hotter.

“Mom…” Night looked at Twilight with a sheepish look on her face. “Why were you going to do it anyway? Not that I want to start another fight on it. Why did you want to send Ataxia to the moon?”

Twilight sighed… she was expecting this question, not that it made it that easer to deal with. “Night, when… when I scanned Ataxia with my magic, I saw that only the complete destruction of her body could ever stop her. Whenever she dies,” Night visibly cringed when Twilight said that, memories of her causing two of those deaths came back to mind. “She comes back that much stronger. That much more dangerous; I don’t know why we can’t reach her, but right now she is nothing more than a rabid animal, seeking to strike out at those around her. She’s dangerous, very dangerous. I… I can’t transform her back… not in my condition.” Twilight rubbed a hoof on her stomach. “I was trying to think of a way to save her without killing her, it was all I could come up with at the time.”

“Teach me how to transform her back.” Night spoke up. “I’ll do it if you can’t.”

“It would take months to teach you that, even then, the odds are not good you would succeed. I’m sorry about using you like that, using your power against your friend. I just didn’t see any other way. Maybe if we knew something about why she was like this…” Twilight trailed off, lost in thought.

“I…” Night said softly before shutting her mouth. It was not her place.

Rainbow looked up, her daughter looked like she was about to say something, something important. “Night, if you know something you can tell us. I promise we won’t make any more decisions without discussing them with you first.” Night felt better at that, her mom was obsessive over keeping her promises.

“Ataxia… when she and I fought Tirek a few months back. He… he showed her something. Something she told me about on the way home. He showed her a vision of… of her fate or at least the fate he told her about.”

“Night, you know there is no such thing as fate.” Twilight looked at her.

“I know… I dismissed it off hoof as simply him lying. At the time I thought he… he was simply using the story to get Ataxia to willingly give up her power to him. It was somewhat strange though, even after she gave up all her power to him, she still found more of it. She was still able to transform. We stopped him together though, in fact that was the first time I cast one of those enhancement circles.”

That got Twilight’s attention in a big way, she had temporarily forgotten about Night’s strange magic, and the fact Tirek drew away all of Ataxia’s magic, yet the mare was still able to transform? She had to know more about what Ataxia saw in this vision. “Tell me what she told you. About what Tirek showed her, about this… this fate of hers.”

Night did her best to recall everything she could. It was not easy, a second hoof retelling of a story she was only half told several months back. It was when she got to Discord arriving that Twilight really began to take notice. Although it was Rainbow who spoke up first.

“Wait, Discord said what?” Rainbow asked, intrigued at what their old nemesis/friend did all those years ago.

“He said she would kill all the alicorns. He seemed deadly serious about it too; it was his trump card. He pulled out some big spinning wheel to illustrate his point too. I didn’t take it seriously when I heard it, but…” Night trailed off.

“You think it might be real now?” Twilight asked. To which Night just nodded her head in agreement. “That’s… that’s quite the story…. I, we need more information though, if Discord is somehow involved, that… that changes everything.”

“Why would Discord do that?” Rainbow asked, “And even if he did, why wouldn’t he undo it when we became friends?”

Twilight just looked at her, “Rainbow, Discord might have been our friend but he is still Discord. It’s his nature to be chaotic, ‘Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony.’ That even means he would undermine himself if given the chance. He wouldn’t seek any sort of harmony, don’t you remember the Plunder Seeds, he didn’t undue those just because we were friends. He let us do it ourselves, even with the danger it represented.”

“I guess…” Rainbow spoke, looking off in the distance. Memories of having to give up the elements came back, fresh in her mind.

“What’s wrong?” Twilight asked her wife.

“Do you think we could use the Elements of Harmony again? They generally do a good job at bringing back the true nature of the one they are used against.”

Twilight shook her head, “No, We don’t have the bearers anymore, and while we could use them just the two of us, they wouldn’t be at full power. That’s why Celestia wasn’t able to remove the Nightmare from Luna when she first turned, they require six users who represent everything they stand for.”

Rainbow look dejected at that, Twilight noticed this. “What’s really wrong Rainbow, you know you can tell me anything.”

“Are we… are we always going to be faced with things like this? I mean, don’t we deserve a break at some point in time? The first day you’re in Ponyville, we had to face down Nightmare Moon for Luna’s sake. Then Discord himself, and then stop a changeling invasion. Now… now we’re playing with Gods… again.”

“What are you really worried about Rainbow? You’ve never had a problem with any of this stuff before.”

“I know… It’s just… it’s just last time we faced off against a God… Twi, you… you died.” Rainbow looked up with tears in her eyes. Twilight moved over and sat next to her wife. “I can’t… I can’t go through that again… not again.” Rainbow started crying in earnest. Night could only watch with tears falling from her own eyes. She had been there at the end; memories of those times came back, of seeing Rainbow so broken… so defeated. It broke her heart at the time. She had done her best to move beyond, yet now with Rainbow again in tears over it, Night could not stop her own feelings from resurfacing.

Twilight wrapped a hoof around her wife. There was nothing she could do for her; Rainbow simply needed time to let it out. Twilight softly hummed, allowing the vibrations of it to pass through her into her wife. It seemed to help Rainbow, a little at least.

When Rainbow calmed down a little, she looked up at her wife. “Twi… Discord showed me, he showed me everything you went through when I died. I thought I knew your pain, what you experienced. I was so foolish. It wasn’t until I saw you lying on the ground with that accursed sickle in your neck and your blood on my face that I truly knew what you felt all those years ago. I… I… would rather spend an eternity in Tartarus with Hellhounds eating me than for either of us to face that again. Not again.”

“I know Rainbow… I can’t lose you again either. Last time I did I almost took over the world and you weren’t even dead.”

Night joined her parents on the couch with her own tears falling from her eyes. It was painful at times, painful and unfair. Her family had lost so much, so many times they had to put it all on the line simply to do what needed to be done and it had not been without cost.

Although none of the three had said it, they were all thinking it. They did not need to say it, but Dayspring Gleam's absence was always on their minds.

“I should go to the dragons.” Night said out of the blue. She said it with complete conviction in her voice. As if it was just another comment on another day.

Twilight and Rainbow both turned to their daughter, shocked expressions plastered on their faces. As one, they both shouted. “NO!”

Night thought it was cute when they spoke in stereo like that.

“Listen, whatever this Lord Tirek actually showed Ataxia, we need to know more, we need to talk to someone… some dragon that was actually there. That means we need to talk to a dragon that we know was there. That means we have to talk to the Dragon King. The Dragon King was there, if he’s still alive, and if he’s willing to talk we might learn more, including a way to actually get through to Ataxia, without banishing her to the moon.” Night made a small inflection to Twilight. Twilight just shrugged.

“That’s a lot of ifs.” Rainbow added. “I’m not sure I’m comfortable with that. I’m definitely not comfortable with my youngest daughter flying off to Luna knows where on some hunch.”

“I know, but it’s the only thing I can think of though. Unless you two have a better idea?” Night looked at them each in turn, she was not surprised when Rainbow shook her head no. Twilight took some time to think about it.

“You’re right.” Twilight spoke.

“Twi!” Rainbow shouted. “You can’t be serious.”

“We don’t really have a choice, Rainbow. We need more information about Ataxia; this ‘Dragon King’ might have that information. It’s really our only option. I know it’s a small hope, but it’s the only one we have right now.”

“So let me go talk to him instead. I don’t want to send my daughter to dragon territory on some sort of wild goose chase.”

“Yeah Rainbow, let me outline how that would go. ‘Hey Dragon King, my niece has become a monster we can’t figure out how to stop, I heard from my daughter that her friend was told a story about a time thousands of years ago where you might know something about it, spill it, now!’ I think the farther away we keep you from there the better off we'll all be.” Twilight said sarcastically as she over exaggerated Rainbow’s movements.

Rainbow simply sat back. “I wouldn’t have used so many words.” She said in a pout.

“Besides, would you really leave me here to fend for myself, with nopony to look after me?” Twilight looked at her wife with a pouty expression on her face. It was the sort of look that wars would be fought over.

“No.” Rainbow said sheepishly. Twilight was once again taken by how cute Rainbow looked right then.

“We don’t know exactly when Ataxia will be back or where she will strike, so we have to prepare. Besides, Night has always been the best negotiator I’ve ever known. If anyone can get a meeting with this Dragon King it will be her.”

“Thanks mom.” Night beamed a smile at her mom, one in which Twilight returned.

“Can't you just, I don’t know, teleport her there and back?” Rainbow asked.

Twilight shook her head. “Not with this little one growing in me, I can’t teleport that distance with him cutting off my power, and I don’t want to risk exhausting myself with shorter teleports. Besides I need to start preparing with Luna and Cadance for when Ataxia does return.”

“Speaking of Ataxia, where is she, exactly?” Rainbow looked at her daughter with intense scrutiny on her face.

“I… I don’t know.” Night looked down at the floor, she found a spot that required her attention.

“You… you… you don’t know? How do you not know?”

“I… it wasn’t intentional, all right. I don’t even know what I did, I just wanted the magic to take her someplace safe, someplace where she wouldn’t be hurt and where you couldn’t banish her to the moon. I felt the teleport… I know she ended up someplace safe, I’m just not sure where that was… exactly.”

At that, Rainbow facehoofed.

Twilight interrupted before Rainbow could say any more. “It’s fine Rainbow, I’ll just go back to the spot and run a trace. I’m sure we can get a lock on her location and station a few Wonderbolts on point as look out. They will be able to give us more than enough forewarning when she’s up and will let us know where she will attack.”

“Yeah… I guess that will work. Although Firestar will not be happy about it.”

“And you young mare,” Twilight looked at her daughter. “We need to do some serious research on your new abilities. You’ve done things in the past day alone that I want to know a lot more about.”

Part of Night wanted to remind her mom that she was not in fact, a young mare. She was in her thirties for crying out loud. She squished that idea, logically; she supposed that she would always be a young mare to her mom. Besides, next to everything that Twilight knew, she felt like a young mare at times. So she just nodded her head in agreement, truthfully, she wanted to know more about it herself. Such an opportunity was too good to pass up.

“I look forward to it.” Night smiled at Twilight and turned to leave.

“Where are you going?” Rainbow asked.

Night looked back, “What? I was going to see the dragons, you know, like we planned.”

“You got to go now?” Rainbow looked at her with pleading eyes. “After everything we just got through doing, I was hoping…” Rainbow wanted to spend more time with her daughter before she left.

Twilight walked up to her wife and smiled. “I think Rainbow wanted to spend a little time with you. After everything that happened we could all use a day to relax before we begin again.”

“Sorry, we really don’t have time for that, it’s a long flight to the dragons, and even then there is no guarantee that I will find the one I need to. Besides, I want to make Warclaw before it’s time to set the sun.”

Rainbow looked dejected at that. Twilight just nuzzled her as a way of communicating.

“Are you going to fill your sister in on everything that happened?” Twilight asked Night.

“Yeah, I need to let her know… It still sucks she couldn’t stay for a while after the funeral.”

“She has her own kingdom now, Night. You should know as well as anypony that it comes with a lot of responsibilities.”

“I know… I do miss the old times some days.”

“So do I.” Both her parents said in unison.

“I’ll be in touch with Luna and Cadance over the next few days, I’ll let them know what happened and start preparations for her return.” Twilight stated, not explicitly mentioning who her was; there was no need, as they all knew she was referring to Ataxia.

Night just smiled. “All right, I should get going. Wish me luck!” With that Night turned around and left out the door. She spread her wings and took flight. Not once looking back. This was her idea, her plan, it would pass or fail based solely on what she did next.

“She’s just like you, Twi.” Rainbow nuzzled her wife, grabbing her attention away from the space her daughter used to occupy. Twilight looked at her and smiled.

“No Rainbow, you’re wrong. She’s better than me and her abilities… I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Yeah, about that. What’s the deal with that? It seemed like she’s able to amplify magic to no end; and don’t give me a line about you not knowing, I know you at least have a theory about what’s going on.” Rainbow knew her wife more than enough to know when she would try to excuse herself from having to answer the question.

Twilight just smiled, “I may have a few actually, I’m willing to bet it’s somehow tied to Gaia and how Night came to be…”

Rainbow interrupted before Twilight could continue her sentence. “Oh… right… I never filled you in on that part.” Rainbow looked like the proverbial foal caught red hoof with a leg in the cookie jar or, as it was known in this house, Aurora on any day that ended in a Y.

“What?”

“After… after the incident with Tartarus and you… you died… Gaia showed up, she survived your death from the sickle by transferring over to me. She said… she told the other two, Eros and Chaos, that Night is her daughter. That’s how she was born in the first place. She’s not just our daughter, she’s also the daughter of Gaia.”

“You’re just telling me this now!” Twilight yelled.

“Sorry… I got a little distracted with the death of Siros, Orion, Rarity, Spike, and now the whole Ataxia thing.” Rainbow said defensively, “We really haven’t had a moments rest since you got your memories back. You know with the rebuilding of the Griffin Empire and all and I forget what you know and don’t know at times… With you having lost your memories.”

“I… I need to think about this.” Twilight began running through several new possibilities. They both intrigued and scared her at the same time. The scientist in her was highly intrigued though. She could not wait for Night to get back and they began researching the implications in earnest.

“What’s there to think about?” Rainbow looked confused.

“Rainbow, this… this changes everything. I never knew why Night was born an alicorn. With this knowledge… Rainbow, The reason why Night does not seem to have any limits to what she can do may very well have just been answered. She could be key to undoing everything that happened to Ataxia. We may be able to save her after all.”

Rainbow perked up at that. “Should I… should I get her back?” Rainbow asked; pointing a hoof in the direction her daughter had just taken off.

Twilight thought about this. She shook her head as she reached a decision. “No, let her go. Whatever she finds out will be important regardless of what she is. Besides, this is the first time she has ever taken the lead on a crisis. To be honest… I think I now know what Luna was talking about all those years ago.”

“Oh, what do you mean?”

“You remember, after our talk with Celestia, when I saved you from the reaper. She came out and told me that she and Celesta were proud of me, proud that I stood up to them. I feel a little of that now. I think Night may be finally coming into her own. I wouldn’t want to take that away from her over a theory that may or may not work.“ Twilight began feeling something, something slightly off.

“Oh, right… Yeah, I guess you’re right. Shall we get started on our end then? We have to locate where Night sent Ataxia or something.” Rainbow stood up and arched her back like a cat. She flexed her muscles and stretched.

Twilight looked at her, she could not quite explain it, but Rainbow looked different at that moment. The curves on her flank seemed more so…. Like they simply begged to be rubbed, the slight way she tilted her head, the way her mane lay just right over her back… almost like they wanted to have a hoof run through them. She suddenly felt a pressure build up in her, something that needed to be released right that moment.

“We can, but after.” Twilight said as she suddenly knew just what the problem was and how she wanted to fix it.

“After what?”

Twilight smiled as she pounced on Rainbow. The two kissed deeply, their tongues reuniting yet again. When Twilight finally came up for air Rainbow simply smiled. “I almost forgot how horny you can be when you’re pregnant, Twi.”

“I could give you a lecture on hormonal imbalance again but I have other uses in mind for our tongues right now.” Twilight said seductively.

“Awesome.” Was Rainbow’s only reply.

………………………………………………………..

Shimmering Night once more found herself very envious of her mom, Rainbow Dash. It had taken her most of the day to fly this far, the journey from Ponyville to Warclaw was not an easy one, and the responsibilities of being a princess did not leave her with a lot of time or opportunity to stretch her wings. She still smiled, most ponies would take two days to get here, she did it in one. Although Rainbow would still have her head for taking that long. What she did not know would not hurt her.

All of it was nothing more than her excuse for being out of shape, something she did not want to admit to, yet could not deny. If Rainbow knew, there was no doubt in Night’s mind that she would tear her a new one.

Needless to say, when Shimmering Night made it to Warclaw it was already time to set the sun. She knew that Twilight would have sent a message to Luna about her mission, and that if she could not get to it in time, Luna would lower the sun for her. That being said, it was not easy to lower and then raise a celestial body in such a short span of time. So as long as Night could do it, she would. She would never purposely leave Luna with both responsibilities.

Shimmering Night landed in Warclaw and set to work on lowering the sun. It was when it passed low to the ground that she noticed just what she was standing next to. It should have been obvious to most and to anyone who was visiting the capital city of the Griffin Empire for the first time; it would have been just that. Yet she had been here so many times helping her family rebuild after the battle with Blood Dawn she had grown used to it. Shimmering Night was standing right next to the statue of Ataxia.

She looked up at it. The statue brought back all the memories of everything that had happened over the last two weeks, ever since that night… their date.

She had not known what it was at the time, she had thought it was just a girl’s night out, just a way for Ataxia to make up to her for what happened with Twilight. It had been anything but. It was so obvious now, but that is what they always say, hindsight is always twenty-twenty. Although, that did not stop Night from kicking herself over it, everypony else saw Ataxia’s feeling for her, yet she did not.

‘Why was I that blind? Luna… I was such a fool.’ She thought with a tear falling down her eye. “Of course it was a date; she was so kind, so thoughtful…. I… I just threw it away. I… I’m not even mad that you kissed me. It was I who messed up, Ataxia. I just… I just want you back.” Night said to nopony in particular.

Night held her head up to the statue and looked at it, she stared it straight in its eyes. “I’m… I’m sorry, Ataxia. Can you ever forgive me?”

The statue did exactly as it always had, it held silent, motionless, still. Just as Night expected it to.

“I deserve that.” Night said aloud. “What right do I have to ask for your forgiveness when I haven’t even forgiven myself?”

“HALT! Who goes there!?” A shout from behind her caused Night to turn around and watch as a group of guards approached from the east.

Night watched as the three griffins in royal armor ran up to her with their spears drawn. It was almost comical to think that they could challenge an alicorn with such a measly force. She dismissed that thought off-hoof. As much as she hated to admit it, there was more of Rainbow in her than she wanted to say. Although not saying it did not make it not true; still, she was happy in her state of denial.

“Sathor and Braten, how good it is to see you two again.” Night said with a bow. She recognized the aura around the back two guards without having to see their faces. However, the front one was new, yet not… almost familiar too. She could not place it and that really bugged her. “I’m sorry… I don’t know who you are.” Night said to the third.

“I told you that was her!” Sathor yelled out, “I called it boss.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Braten said back.

“Stow it you two. Who are you, ma’am? What is your business in Warclaw?” The third one questioned. Whoever he was, he was the obvious leader of the group. As the three approached, Night was able to get a good look at his armor. It was highly ornamented with several different design carved into it, all of it detailed the slaying of dragons. Her time around the royal guards in Canterlot allowed her to identify this armor as that of a royal guard captain. That meant he had the favor of Siros and her sister, Aurora.

“Sorry to come in like this, my name is Princess Shimmering Night of Equestria. I’m here to see my sister, Empress Princess Aurora Flash.” Night said with a small bow, she had learned a long time ago that simple manners would often win over the starchiest of opponents.

“Princess Shimmering Night, I revived no word from the Emperor or the Empress of your arrival.”

“It was kind of a last minute thing… Something has happened in Equestria, something bad.” Night could not help but look up at the statue of Ataxia when she said that last part.

“Captain Fay Light, I know her, she is who she says she is.” Braten said to the captain.

That did not seem to convince him a hundred percent. However, Night did not believe that even a written letter identifying who she is from Aurora would convince this griffin of anything. She liked that part of him. A healthy sense of skepticism was an admirable quality in any one of his rank. It would ensure the protection of those he guarded and as those he guarded happened to be family, she was very glad for it.

However, that did not stop her from having a bad feeling about him overall, something just seemed off about him.

Fay light seemed to consider his guards words before making up his mind. “Very well, I’ll take you to the empress, but until she verifies who you are, I’ll be keeping an eye on you the entire time.”

Night nodded to him. As much as this griffin just seemed off to her, his sense of duty was right on the bits. She could ignore the rest. “Do as you must, captain.” Captain Fay Light pointed his spear in the direction of the palace and gestured with his beak, Night nodded and begun walking in that direction. True to his word they were going to keep an eye on her the entire way. She was really beginning to like this griffin.

As she walked down the hallway, Night could not help but admire the work she and Twilight had done to restore this place. There was not a sign of damage anywhere. It was almost hard to believe that less than a year ago, this entire place was under siege from a horde of dragons, one that would have destroyed the entire empire if Ataxia had not put a stop to it.

“Captain Fay Light, I take it you are new here?” She asked the no-nonsense captain. He simply nodded. Her bid to establish some sort of bond had failed. That was unusual for Night. She had never encountered someone she could not connect to on some level.

“The captain transferred in from the west. He personally fended off three dragons from attacking a village.” Sathor said with a smile on his beak. The pride he felt in serving such a warrior was obvious.

That impressed Night; she took a closer look at the captain. He was powerfully built. Strong claws, a well-defined flank, and enough muscles to match. She took a look at his wings; they were pristine, from that alone she knew that this was obviously a griffin that knew the value of proper preening. His coloring also seemed to fit; his feathers were white with a brown coat. It seemed as far as his genetics went, he had gotten the best of both halves. Truly she could see the lion in this griffin.

“Stow it trooper, we’re on duty, you can talk on your own time.” He was also highly disciplined. Night was beginning to like him more and more.

“C’mon captain, everything you’ve done, it’s something to be proud of.” Braten said with a smile.

“The next griffin to speak out of line will give me fifty laps around the city.”

Both griffins shut their beaks. Shimmering Night almost laughed, Rainbow’s drills were far worse when she was growing up. Still… in her current condition even Night would not look forward to such treatment.

As they approached the Royal Throne room, Fay Light nodded at Braten to proceed ahead. The griffin acknowledged the unspoken command and proceeded forward. He gave a slight nod to Shimmering Night before opening the door and walking in. From the small look Shimmering Night got inside, it appeared as if her sister and brother-in-law were still holding court, despite the late hour.

Night had to laugh when no more than a few moments later the doors opened up and every noble was immediately leaving the Throne Room. Most of them had upset looks on their beaks as they left. It was obvious to the princess that Aurora had just kicked them all out. No doubt wanting to see her sister was a greater priority than whatever these griffins wanted. If they were anything like the so-called noble ponies in Canterlot it was a bunch of BS anyway. She could easily see herself doing the same if the situation was reversed.

Braten was the last one out; he turned to the alicorn and smiled. “She can’t wait to see you again.”

“Thanks.” Night stated.

As soon as she walked in the door Aurora shouted out her name. “NIGHT!!! It’s wonderful to see you again!”

Shimmering Night ran up to her sister and hugged her with all her might. Aurora had done her best to try and beat Night to it, but her legs were stiff from sitting in one spot for so long. Of the many things Shimmering Night missed at the funeral, seeing her sister again was high on that list, easily one of the top three. To Night’s eyes, Aurora looked tired. Night did not know if it was the stress of the pregnancy or of ruling that was weighing her down the most. She was hoping for the former, but she suspected the latter. Command could take the wind out of anyone’s sails.

Icarus looked over at the two with a smile on his beak. It was still hard for the griffin to believe that these ponies were the same ones that saved his kingdom from the dragon attack all those months ago. Well, these ponies and the other one… the one that went missing.

Night noticed him and smiled, “Sorry about interrupting court, emperor. I didn’t intend to disrupt your official duties.” Night said with a small amount of sarcasm. It was well known to her that Icarus hated everything to do with ruling. Yes he was trained to take over the empire his whole life, but much like Night, that did not mean he wanted to rule it. He had never really wanted anything before, well, not before he met Aurora that is. It was then he knew what it was to have something truly precious in his life.

Icarus laughed. “You’re bucking with me, right?”

Night smiled. “Maybe a little.”

Icarus turned to the three guards and dismissed them with a wave of his claw. They nodded and left. He turned to Night and spoke. “I should be thanking you, we’ve been playing catch up after taking the time off to go to the funeral yesterday, needless to say we still had a few hours worth of annoying piddle to wade through. As soon as Aurora found out you were here and told everyone to get out, I wanted to jump up for joy.”

Aurora turned to Icarus and blew him a raspberry. “I didn’t tell them to get out, I simply stated that I wasn’t feeling well and needed to reconvene in the morning.”

“Tomato, tomahto.” Icarus replied, putting the emphasis on the dual sounding words. “I really don’t care what you call it, I’m just happy they're gone.” He walked up and kissed his wife.

“You won't like it tomorrow when we have twice as much work to do.”

“That’s future Icarus’s problem. For now, I just want to spend time with my wife.”

“Yeah, well I want to spend time with my sister.”

Icarus’s thoughts immediately went to a very different place… a place only a male’s thoughts would ever go. Aurora smiled as she lightly slapped Icarus on his beak with a feather, whispering a quiet. “Don’t even think about it.”

Icarus smiled at the playful jest as he tried to play it off, for he could no more deny where his thoughts went to than deny that the sun was bright. He turned to the alicorn and tried to change the subject before his blush gave it away. “So I take it you’re here for a reason; have they located Ataxia?”

That seemed to be the wrong thing to say, as if merely stating the word was enough to kill Night’s mood. The look on Night’s face caused Icarus to suspect that they had not found Ataxia. As such it surprised him when Night nodded that they had.

Aurora saw it too. “You did find her? What… what happened?” Aurora knew her sister enough to know something was wrong. She would not be so crestfallen if everything was alright.

“That’s why I’m here actually, we did find her… she’s… she’s…”

Aurora walked up and hugged her sister. “I’m sorry… how did she die?”

Night did not know if was the absurdity of the comment or of everything that had happened the other night but she actually found herself chuckling a little at that question. It was an action that caused Aurora no small amount of confusion. “Well, twice by me and once by Rainbow actually.” Night said.

“Wait?! What?!” Aurora looked confused to all Hades at that comment. It was a rare day when Night could elicit such a reaction from her older sister. Although the cost this time around had been a little high for her liking.

“Maybe I should start from the beginning?”

“Please do.” Aurora responded, but before Night could began, someone else decided to let themselves be known. Aurora’s stomach began growling in protest at not having eaten for some time.

“After dinner?” Night asked, in parallel of Aurora’s situation, Night’s stomach started doing the same, it had been a long flight and she could use some food as well.

“Well, I guess that makes three then, ‘cause my vote is to eat too.” Icarus added.

……………

They all ate in silence as Night went through and detailed the events of the other day, including everything from how she skipped the funeral to how she came up with this crazy idea. Both Icarus and Aurora could not believe it. Ataxia lost it… she had not been seen for two weeks and now…now she was a threat to all of Equestria, maybe even the entire world. “Are… are you serious about going to the dragons?” Aurora asked Night with a questioning look on her face.

“It was my idea actually. After talking with mom she stated that we needed more information on this… this prophecy. If it is true, we need more information; we need to talk to someone who was actually there. That only gives us two options and Tirek is dead, so we need to go with the dragons.”

“You know that’s crazy right? Odds are good that the so called… ‘Dragon King’ is dead, or if he isn’t, he doesn’t actually exist, or that he wouldn’t even want to see you, or that they would eat you before they even let you get close enough, or tha-”

“I get it… I get it, all right. I’ve been thinking about nothing else for the entire flight down here. It’s a far shot, a one-in-a-million odds of success, but sometimes those pay off. You remember the stories of how our parents finally got together, of their trek through Hades and Tartarus all on the word of Discord, Master of Chaos and Disharmony. Is this really any different? That was a far shot, that was a one-in-a-million odds of success, yet it worked.”

Aurora considered her sister's words carefully. It was true, her parents had gambled everything on that trip, all of it because they had no choice, and because of something that Twilight had done to save her friend. That had all worked out in the end, was this situation really any different? The situation may not have been as bad this time around, but if Ataxia was really what Night thought she was…

“Are… are you sure about all of this Night? About some old prophecy that may or may not be true? About Ataxia going after the alicorns? Going after Twilight, and you?”

Night shook her head, “Aurora, you know everything I do. It’s farfetched to say the least, and I would normally never even entertain the idea had I not seen it for myself. She came back from the dead three times, Aurora. I sensed it as well as mom. It’s chaos magic at work; it brought her back every single time. There has to be a reason why; someone who might know something about all of this, maybe this Dragon King. If he exists, he would be our best bet.”

“Did you… did you ask Luna if she knew anything about it?”

Night shook her head, “In Ataxia’s vision, it stated the alicorns that were around at the time were the first ones, before Luna and Celestia’s time. Besides, I talked with Luna before, she told me all about her history and never once mentioned anything like this and there were no alicorns present in the vision.”

Aurora thought about all of this, it was unreal… Ataxia, a threat? Well she believed that part without too much issue, Ataxia was the town troublemaker most of her life. Aurora could follow that much; however, Ataxia coming back from the dead was new... new and completely odd. That she was having trouble believing, although she did not think her sister would lie, not about something like that.

Still there was one thing she wanted to talk with her sister about, but she wanted to do it alone. “Hey honey?”

Icarus turned his head and looked at his wife. “Yes?”

“Can you run to the kitchen real quick, I want some oatmeal raisin cookies before bed.”

“Sure, it shouldn’t take long.”

“Can you bring back some fresh ones? I like them best when they are right out of the oven.” Aurora said with a smile. It was a small gamble, the kitchen may be finishing a fresh batch now or they might have to start a new one, still it should give them at least a little time alone.

Icarus was never the brightest of the griffins, he was always a do first, ask questions if necessary after, but even he could see the writing on the wall this time around. Aurora was trying to get rid of him. Even still, it was always best to simply give her what she wanted. When Aurora got what she wanted, she was grateful, which means he would get rewarded. That was definitely something he would enjoy.

“As you wish, dear.” Icarus said with a smile on his face as he got up, gave his wife a kiss, and left for the kitchen. Night watched him go before turning to her sister. The smile on Aurora’s face told her everything. Her sister really did love him.

“He’s a good griffin, isn’t he?” Night asked, Aurora’s smile was infectious. It was a bug that Night quickly caught.

“Icarus, he’s an idiot, but he’s my idiot. I wouldn’t want him any other way.” Aurora responded to her sister. “Anyway, I wanted to ask you a question, and I figured you might be a little more comfortable talking about it with just me here.”

“What?” Night asked; her curiosity peaked at her sister’s sudden desire to protect her modesty.

“When you do get Ataxia back, and I have no doubt that you will. What will you do?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well… I didn’t want to say anything, but when you and her were down here after the battle with it…” Night did not fail to notice the look of utter disgust on her older sister’s face. She did not blame Aurora for that, if someone killed her foal, she would hold it in such contempt herself. “I saw the way she looked at you, the way you two were when you were around each other. Have you given any thought to what you will tell her? How you actually feel about her? You know, the thing that caused the issue in the first place.”

Night sighed. “You know, I got enough of this from mom, I don’t need it from you too.”

“Hey, it’s the big sisters prerogative to look after her little sister, and don’t change the subject. How do you actually feel about her? What will you tell her?”

Night looked into her glass, suddenly finding the water in it very, very interesting. “I… I… I don’t know, Aurora. I really don’t.”

Aurora nodded, she suspected as much. “Maybe that’s what you actually need to spend time figuring out. How can you help Ataxia if you’re so conflicted with yourself?”

Night shook her head. “You can’t be serious, I think figuring out a way to reach Ataxia is a little more important than me figuring out my feelings.”

“Well, I disagree, but I know you far too well Night. You got Rainbow’s stubborn streak in you. So you will need a little help figuring this all out.”

“What are you saying?” Night asked her sister.

“I’m saying you're not going alone, I’m coming with you.”

“Bucking hell you are!” Icarus yelled from down the hall, he dropped a plate of cookies he was caring in his right claw. The plate impacted the ground with a loud clang that echoed around the hallway.

Aurora looked at him like he had just murdered a thousand foals right in front of her eyes. “You… you dropped my cookies!!!” She shouted at him.

Night found herself laughing at that. Icarus looked pissed. “I don’t bucking care. You’re not going into the Dragon Kingdom, I forbid it!”

Aurora got up on her hooves. “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear that. Care to say it again?”

Shimmering Night knew her sister well enough to know when she was giving you just enough rope to hang yourself with. She also knew enough to know when to keep her trap shut. So Night just sat back and enjoyed the show. Aurora was always a master in situations like this. Her mouth was her second most dangerous weapon, and it was only surpassed by her looks.

“I said, I forbid you to go to the Dragon Kingdom. I don’t care what reason you might have or what’s going on.”

“You forbid it? You forbid me to go with my sister on this mission… really?”

“Really.”

“Well…” Night sat back on her flank. “Ok then, I’ll just go to Equestria and help my moms then.”

That seemed to put off Icarus. “That… that should be ok.”

“Night, remind me again what Ataxia did.”

“You mean beyond destroying an entire mountain, incinerating several large areas of our forests and almost killing Rainbow Dash, one of the strongest mares in all of the world?” Night said with a smile, she already knew where this was going.

“Yes, let me go help them with that threat. I’m sure an unstoppable dragacorn would be quite the safer option, wouldn’t you agree, dear?”

“No!” Icarus yelled, his mind playing through all the ways in which that could go wrong.

“No? Oh, you might be right, you see they’re going to need all the help I can give, I doubt someone like me would be able to be of much help there anyway. They’ll need the best fighters we can give.”

Icarus nodded at that.

“I’m glad you agree, so you should go help Twilight and Rainbow. In three days time take the royal guards with you and head north. I’ll go with my sister to the Dragon Kingdom. That was a good idea, Icarus.”

“Wait, what?”

“You’re going to Equestria and I’m going with my sister. It was your idea after all.”

“No it wasn’t, you’re staying here and that’s that.” Icarus had gotten used to his wife’s ploys.

Aurora smiled, her first plan may have failed, but she did have a fall back plan. She stood up and walked to her husband. “Here’s the deal, my sister is about to go into a dangerous area all by herself. She is going to need help when she does, so that means one of us is going with her. My moms are dealing with a very powerful, out of control grave danger to the entire world. Something that, if Night is right, is fated to kill every alicorn alive, including her. That means one of us is going to have to help them. They’re my family, the ones that I grew up with, that I love. I’m not going to leave them to deal with this threat alone. So where would you like me to go? I can go with my sister, an alicorn, the only one ever born, who is quite powerful, into the known threat of the dragons. Or I can go to my moms and deal with the dragacorn, who almost put one of my parents in the grave.” Aurora walked around her husband, running her tail over him a few times as she did so.

“I’ll leave the choice up to you, dear husband. You decide who’s going where, but make no mistake, one of us is going with her, and one of us is going to Equestria to help deal with Ataxia. Those are the only two options.”

Icarus sighed. He just lost this and he knew it. “You go with Night, I’ll go help Princess Twilight.”

“What was that? I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you.”

Night cringed, Aurora liked to rub salt into open wounds.

“I said you can go with Night. I’ll go to Equestria.” Icarus said a little louder.

“That’s so wise of you, dear emperor.” Aurora said sarcastically. “Now, go get me more cookies.”

Icarus lowered his head and walked away, he looked defeated in every sense of the word. As the girls watched him go, Aurora turned around and walked to her sister.

“That was mean, Aurora.” Night said with a cringe on her face. She couldn’t help but feel sorry for Icarus.

“I’ve never put up with anyone telling me what I can and can’t do. Besides, he gets a big head from time to time. It’s good to remind him who the real boss is every now and again.”

“Still, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look that defeated.”

“I’ll make it up to him, later.” Aurora said with a smile.

“I do need to ask, I know you want to come and everything, but are you sure about it? I don’t even know if this is a smart idea, and chances are good that it’s not.”

“I know, but… well to be honest, I feel so left out at times. I mean, so much is happening with all of you but I’m stuck down here. Plus…” Aurora whispered the next part. “I’m kind of bored.”

“Wait? What?”

“I said I’m bored. Mom literally made this a self-running country before she left. Designing everything to run as efficiently as possible. It doesn’t even need us anymore. I wouldn’t be surprised in a few generations if they just did away with the position of emperor and empress.”

“What about all of the meetings you were having before you I got here?”

“Just a bunch of mindless BS. You know how it is, one noble or another bitching about this or that. The only reason they were even here is because there was someone to complain too. If we weren’t here they would just have to suck it up and deal with it on their own.”

Night laughed at that. “Yeah, no matter where you go they are always the same, some in power seeking to keep it at any cost. I guess some things are the same regardless of race.”

Aurora just nodded. “True, but we should get some rest. We've got a long flight ahead of us and that’s just to get to the border. Who knows how long it will take to find this ‘Dragon King.’”

As they got up to leave, Night’s eyes fell to her sister’s stomach. “Aurora, are you sure about this, I don’t mean to keep asking but…”

Aurora turned and looked at her sister. It was not hard to see where her eyes were looking. Unconsciously, her hoof went to her belly, falling at the same spot where Blood Dawn impaled her all those months ago. “Night, I meant what I told Icarus, I can’t just sit by and do nothing. I’m going with you or I’m going to help our moms. I think… I know that you’re the key though, so that means I’m going with you.”

Night walked up and hugged her sister. “Thank you, and I promise I will keep you safe. You and your foal.”

“I know you will.” Aurora smiled.

………………………

Night woke up from her slumber early the next day. It did not take her long to get everything ready for the trip, for in truth she brought very little, preferring to keep things light. That all changed when Aurora invited herself to tag along on this little adventure. There were several bags of supplies she would have to take with her now, as with Aurora coming along, they could not quite ‘rough it’ as Night intended too. She still did not know how Aurora did that. She invited herself to come along without even asking if Night wanted her along. Yet she had done it in such a way where Night agreed wholeheartedly.

“No wonder you make such a good leader, Aurora. You could teach me a thing or two.” Night laughed to herself.

She lifted up the supplies with her magic and placed them on her back. Night then went to join her traveling companion in the Throne Room. She smiled when she saw Aurora with her own pack on her back. She stopped smiling when she saw Icarus. The griffin looked both completely satisfied (no doubt at Aurora making things up to him last night) and upset at the same exact time, the ambivalent nature of his feelings were plainly written on his face. She almost felt sorry for him, if it was not for his little stunt last night that is.

“Sleep well, Night?”

“It was very comfortable, thanks. How about you two?”

“Well, we didn’t get much sleeping done, but yeah, I can’t complain, how about you dear?”

“No, nothing to complain about at all.” Icarus said with no small amount of sarcasm in his voice.

“Shall we get going?” Aurora asked her sister. “You know how I feel about long goodbyes.”

Aurora stretched her wings, a precursor to her about to take flight. Night followed suit. Before they could either lift off the ground, both mares were stopped dead by Icarus, who cleared his throat before they left.

“There is one small change I must insist on.” Icarus said with a smile on his beak.

“Icarus, we’ve been over this already, I’m going.”

“I know, I know there is nothing I can do to stop you, and I know that I will be needed in Equestria to help fend of this threat, but still, I’m not letting you go off alone. Not without someone to watch your back.”

“Night will watch over me.”

“Icarus, I swear I will watch over her with my life. You have nothing to worry about.”

“Then consider this an extra precautionary measure. I talked to him for a while, and we decided that Captain Fey Light will going with you.”

At that moment, the captain of the royal guard walked in, fully decked out with his own supplies in tow. Aurora turned to look at her husband. “This wasn’t something we agreed upon, dear. When did you decide this?”

“I ran into him this morning, we started talking and he volunteered his services.”

“Icarus, we’re not going in there to pick a fight, success of this mission is diplomacy, not war. We cannot succeed if we have someone who simply wants to fight. Someone who might may not listen to orders when it matters.” Night stated, she had no doubt he would listen to Aurora’s commands, but she was the one in charge and Fey Light had no loyalty to her.

“I know that, Night, and I already talked to him. He knows that his mission is only as an escort. He will follow your orders to the letter and only interfere if it is absolutely necessary and Aurora’s life is on the line.”

“I swear princess. I will obey every command you give.” Fey bowed to the Equestrian Princess. Night merely nodded, but she was not fully convinced about that and did not want a wild card on this mission.

Aurora glared at her husband. “Honey, I wish you had talked to me about this before now.”

Icarus met her graze without flinching. “Aurora, I must insist on this. No griffin has his sort of track recorded with dragons. It won't change your mission and you still get to go.”

Aurora ran through his comment in her head. It was true, she still got what she wanted, and her husband’s fears were alleviated, at least a little. “Fine dear, I guess I have no choice.”

Icarus gulped at that. He knew what the underlying threat to that comment was. She all but told him that he would pay for this when it was done. Aurora turned back and glared at Fey. She had wanted to tell him to buck off; however, Aurora could come up with no good reason why to deny this request. “Captain, you best be able to keep up. I don’t put up with slackers on this flight.”

Fey Light stood up even straighter and saluted. “Empress, you won't even know I’m here. I assure you, you will not once be slowed down by me.”

“We’ll see about that.” Aurora said.

Shimmering Night gulped. She had no doubt that even with Aurora’s pregnancy, her sister could leave them both in the dust if she wanted too, and while the captain looked in peak physical condition, Night was anything but.

“Let’s go.” Aurora shot out of the throne room at full speed. Night sighed and followed. She could only grunt as she tried to keep up with her sister.

“Protect them.” Icarus said to Fey Light before he left. It was both a command and a plea.

“Like they were my own family.” Fey Light saluted before following the two out.

That made Icarus smile. There was not a griffin alive who would let any harm come to their family.

Author's Notes:

We have a new mission and a new player on the table. Lets see what this leads too.

There was an issue with the last chapter, many people did not seem to understand Night's emotional state and why she did what she did. It's a mark of her upbringing that she would always defer to Twilight's orders. As Twilight always knew best. After it backfired Night was in a state of shock and emotional distress, causing her to respond with more or less knee-jerk reactions to the situations as opposed to a logical solution (in much the same way she responded to Bright Dawn when they broke up). Now? Now she is taking things on her own. If it will work or not only time will tell.