Lily was sitting across the table from Opal, who had indeed taken her out for dinner. Laughing gently at a joke her husband had just made, Lily picked up her glass of wine and took a sip.

"You know, darling, this is one of the most successful dates we've ever had. Who knows, you might get lucky tonight," she told him, giving Opal a playful wink, her eyes shimmering in the candlelight.

Smiling, Opal chuckled and also took a small drink from the no doubt very old and expensive red wine in his wine glass. "That would be...wonderful," he replied, nearly licking his lips in anticipation.

The couple lapsed into silence as the waiter came up and took their orders. Upon the server leaving, Opal turned back to face Lily. His eyes got a dreamy, far away look as he stared at her.

"You're just as beautiful as the day I met you," Opal whispered lovingly.

Blushing, Lily took another shot from her wine to distract herself. When she was done, Lily glanced back over at her husband and a gentle smile graced her face. "And you just as handsome, ya big lug," she teased, her eyes glimmering with mirth.

Now it was Opal's turn to blush.

The redness in both their cheeks vanished, however, when Lily spoke up again, sighing. "I hate to make things awkward, but be that as it may, we both agreed to never talk about the past in public. You know how these ponies would react if they found out who we truly were," she reminded him in a hushed voice, making sure no one overheard.

Opal nodded sheepishly, an apology rising to the surface, but as he was about to speak, the waiter came back with their food. Choosing to say sorry later, Opal picked up his fork and began to eat, his example soon followed by Lily, who had paused to think about many, many things.

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The forest was wrapped in a thick fog, making it nearly impossible for Lily to see as she stumbled through the trees, her gaze panicked.

I'm not supposed to be here, she thought, her head filled with frantic thoughts.What if the others are here? What will I say? What will I do?

She was snapped from her worried thinking by the sound of slithering. Well, it at least sounded like slithering, but this fog was dampening the noise of the forest, so it was hard to tell.

Taking a deep breath, Lily looked around cautiously. "Hello?" she called, her voice echoing through the dank woodland. Nothing replied, which made her all the more nervous as she swore she heard a noise again, even closer this time. "Hello? Who's out there? Please, I mean no harm. Unless you mean harm," she yelled out into the darkness, her eyes hardening at the last part of her sentence.

It was then Lily saw the shadow. It dashed through the mist at the corner of her eyes. She whipped her head around to see it, but it had vanished. Growing irritated, and secretly more scared, Lily grumbled to herself, beginning to walk forward, her eyes still narrowed in the direction she swore she had seen something.

She was knocked from her suspicious glaring when she bumped into a tree. Or what she thought for a few seconds was a tree. Then she actually look at it. What she saw made her heart miss a beat, and she held her breath as she looked up the long, serpentine body in front of her. When she saw its face, she nearly fainted from shock.

No...., she thought, her insides shaking with so many emotions, it was hard to pin down what any of them were. The two simply locked eyes and stayed that way for what seemed to Lily like eternity.

Then it spoke. "Why?"

The voice was cracked and broken, and hearing it broke Lily's heart as she opened her mouth, trying to tell it everything, trying to explain, but only managing to stutter, "I- I was- then he came along- and I'm so sorry, I wanted to tell you, but...."

Unable to finish, Lily hung her head in shame. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry it hurts, but I know I can never fix this." There was only silence following her words.

When Lily finally managed to look up, the figure was gone.

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Lily spent all the next day silently brooding over her garden, unable to stop thinking about her dream. She knew that the pony who she had seen last night was not a figment of her imagination. He had found her, after all these years, and had managed to work his way into her dreams. Now all she could think about was the others finding out. What would they and the ponies of this kingdom do if they found out the truth?

She was shaken from her worrying by a hoof gently be placed on her shoulder. "Lily, honey, what's wrong?" Turning to look at Opal, Lily sighed. "One of them found us, Opal. I don't know what he'll do. I just hope the judgement isn't too harsh. At least not for you. I was the one who gave it up in the end."

Opal stiffened at her words, then his eyes narrowed as he processed them. "You mean him?" he asked in a hostile voice. Not missing his tone, Lily shook her head at Opal. "Now, Opal, dear, I know you two never got along, but please try to understand. He only wants friendship, which is something he attempts to gain in weird ways. That's probably what he was doing when you two first met."

Opal snorted at her words. "I suppose he never had any proper manners taught to him, what with him being separated from the others. Ah well, if judgement is on its way, I guess we'd better prepare."

Nodding mutely, Lily went inside, Opal right behind her.

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Twilight trotted lightly through town, her gaze sweeping over the decorations for tonight's Nightmare Night. "Let's see...candy? Check. Games? Check. Spider web and ghost decorations? Check. Statue of Nightmare Moon? Hmm, it appears they've yet to set it up. Weird."

Glancing around, she saw Pinkie Pie setting up the remaining streamers and trotted over. "Hey Pinkie, do you know where the Nightmare Moon statue is? They were supposed to bring it out first."

Turning to face her friend, the pink earth pony adopted a thoughtful look. Then she shrugged and said, "I don't know. I swore I saw it in place earlier. Oh, maybe a real ghost came and took it! Ooooooooooohhhhhhh."

Sighing, Twilight left the mare trying to do her best imitation of ghost sounds. Then she spotted a familiar black and white striped fur coat near Sugarcube Corner. Quickening her pace, the princess caught up with Zecora in no time.

"Zecora, do you know where the Nightmare Moon statue is?"

The zebra nearly jumped out of her skin as she whipped around to face the purple alicorn. "Oh Twilight, it is just you!" she exclaimed.

Ever since Fluttershy's funeral, the alchemist had been extremely jumpy, and had abandoned her home in the Everfree, taking up resident at Fluttershy's old home, which she had bought. Of course, this confused many and angered a few ponies, but the zebra simply ignored it all, refusing to give her reasons why.

Twilight attempted the best smile she could as Zecora calmed down. "Sorry Zecora, I'm just trying to make sure everything's in place for tonight. That being said, any idea where Nightmare Moon is?"

Zecora put a hoof to her chin as she thought. "Hmm...Nightmare Moon I did see, already sitting prepped and pretty."

Twilight's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "That doesn't make sense. It's gone now, which would imply someone took it. Why would anyone do that?"

Zecora shrugged at the question, then adopted a hesitant look. "Twilight, princess, I feel there is something I should tell you."

Her thinking derailed at the zebra's shy tone, and Twilight tilted her head. "Yes, Zecora? What is it?" The zebra shook her head and pointed towards the outskirts of town. "No, not here, too dangerous will it be. Only will you get the truth at Fluttershy's house."

Twilight was startled both by what she said, and her saying it partially without rhyming. Then she shook her head clear. "What?! Fluttershy's cottage?! Are you completely insane?!" the alicorn practically hissed at Zecora. The zebra took it all in a stride, nodding in reply to her second question. "I only wish to tell you why it is that I have fled my home. It is dark, and something that may yet be a threat."

The princess felt her anger giving way to confusion. "A threat? What, to Equestria? If you knew something might attack, why didn't you say something earlier?!" Clearly the anger was back.

Flinching, Zecora looked over towards the square. "I am not sure of who it seeks, assuming would be very bad for me." And cue confusion again.

"What do you mean, who it seeks? Are you saying a specific pony's life is in jeopardy? If so, who?"

Zecora was struggling to not reveal too much out in the open. "Princess, look, I am afraid too much I have already said, only if you come to the cottage will you see."

With that, the striped pony cousin walked away, leaving the local ruler completely bewildered.

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The silver moonlight washed the home in a gray glow, stripping it of what little color it had left after years of neglect. The grounds around the house were no better, grass growing to neck height, random weeds and flowers all over the place, and not a single creature in sight to try and manage the overgrown yard.

One dreaded step after another, Twilight forced herself towards the old home of her old friend. Coming back here was like a hoof to the face, but she didn't have a choice. As a princess, she was supposed to protect all the ponies of Equestria, and if even one was in danger, it was her duty to help them.

Reaching the door, Twilight reached up a hoof to knock, but paused as a flashback hit her. She saw the door opening, Fluttershy inside, that gentle smile on her face as she welcomed in her friend.

The memory nearly made Twilight start crying, but she just barely kept herself in check. Taking a deep breath, she brought her hoof down, knocking three times. Then she waited.

The door opened to reveal Zecora in the black cloak she had worn when Twilight first saw her. Her eyes glowed yellow in the darkness, making the princess shiver. Thankfully, the zebra pulled back the hood to reveal her regular blue eyes. "Come in, Princess," she greeted courtesly.

Still holding back her emotions, the alicorn stepped into the house. Her eyes stayed straight ahead, Twilight not wanting to see what had become of Fluttershy's place.

Zecora swiftly closed the door and headed towards the stairs. Concluding that Zecora wanted her to follow, Twilight hurried after the zebra as she reached the top and went down the hallway. She found the alchemist in Fluttershy's old room. The bed and walls were a little dirty and faded, but pretty much the same. The big differences were the dresser, which had been converted into a storage space for all Zecora's ingredients, and the familiar big black cauldron sitting in the middle of the room.

Said cauldron was already boiling and producing a red mist, which Twilight noticed Zecora took extra care to avoid. The zebra was staring into the broiling pot, her gaze locked on something within.

Hesitantly, Twilight stepped up to stand next to Zecora. Gulping, she looked down into the cauldron. Her eyes widened into the size of dinner plates.

"What is that thing?!"

Zecora flinched at the sudden noise, but calmed herself down immediately. "She is called Red Harvest, an ancient and evil pony from before Discord took over Equestria the first time. She is responsible for the birth of one of your greatest enemies, the same pony who sealed her down there and took away her power at great loss."

Twilight was stunned by what she was hearing. "It was Discord, wasn't it? That's why he went mad, right?"

When she saw Zecora shaking her head, Twilight frowned. "Then who? It can't possibly have been Chrysalis or Tirek, right? Who else is there? Who would do something heroic out of all our enemies besides Discord?"

The zebra sighed and went over to the dresser. She stuck her hoof in a drawer and removed a few strands of some mysterious plant that may have once been leaves.

Walking back over, she threw the leaves in. A flash of green smoke rose up, and within this smoke, the image of a pony started to form. An image of somepony Twilight hated so deeply, she had spent many a night wondering if she would actually kill him if she ever saw his ugly little face again.

"Sombra?!!"