A loud whistle pierced the air, rousing Princess Cadance from looking up at the crystal wall in front of her. She only sighed and glanced back down at the little foal in her hooves, watching the little one giggle and gaze across the ceiling with curious eyes. Cadance herself let out a quiet laugh, bringing a hoof towards her week-and-a-half-old filly. The smile on Cadance’s muzzle softened as her little foal, Gleaming Heart, grabbed Cadance’s hoof with two tiny hooves of her own.

“You’re so cute, Gleaming,” Cadance murmured, feeling the little alicorn in her forelegs fidget in her grasp, cooing with joy. Her heart melted at such an adorable sight. Yet this filly brought back memories of her of her late husband, having some color patterns of Shining. Those last moments she had shared with him soured all of her treasured memories of her beloved. Those few months of marital bliss and her belief that “true love” would last forever: fairy tales. What a lie she fell for.

Another whistle from the train signified that Ponyville was only a short few moments away. It had been a week since her last visit with Twilight. Their last get-together was at Spike’s funeral, a sad and depressing day to watch the drake that had helped save the Crystal Empire be interned into the ground. Or at least that was what the public thought. In all actuality, there was nothing left of Spike, or that was what Princess Celestia had told her. His body had burned to ashes, consumed by his own internal fire, and then blown away in the wind. Gone forever.

Cadance stood up as she felt the train come to a stop, walking up to the door without being pushed by the force of the train stopping its momentum. It opened up for her, and she walked through the entrance and stepped out onto Ponyville’s train station. She surveyed the station, hardly seeing a soul in sight. The light in the sky was at its weakest, the Sun nearing the edge of its horizon.

With a quick turn to her left, she followed the small stairway down to the dirt ground, the clacking of her golden horseshoes against the wooden floor ceasing. Wrapped in a blanket and resting in a baby carrier wrapped onto her chest was Gleaming, cooing as her little baby eyes glanced across the buildings within her sight. The path to Twilight’s castle was a simple trip, Cadance thought, and would take but a minute.

Picking up her hooves, she continued forward. But she took her time, each step taken at a leisurely stride. Cadance had to give herself time. What would she say to Twilight? How much distress was her sister-in-law in? The question itself was repetitive and unnecessary after it came to mind. She had seen the state Twilight was in during Spike’s funeral. That memory was the spoken thought to her answer.

‘She’s filled with so much hurt. It’s all a painful reminder…’ She could recall that stage of grief she had faced over her husband’s death. But for Twilight, it was a pain even beyond what Cadance had experienced. Not only had she lost a brother, but now a drake that, at the funeral as she had said herself, was like a son to her.

Even still, Cadance would not let this go. She had received a message only a couple of days after the first week of Gleaming Heart’s birth. It was from the mare that Celestia had taken under her tutelage once more, Crystal Rune. While Cadance did not know this Crystal Rune all that well, reading what she had written put her past the stage of worry. If Twilight was as bad as Crystal had noted, then it was of dire importance to do what she could to help her.

After all, the only link she had with Twilight and her family was through Gleaming Heart, her daughter being the only pony she was related to by blood. And as she walked past the streets, she noticed the lack of ponies, and those who did appear bowed as she walked past. While the gesture did bring a small smile, that emotion wasn’t present within her. As she walked past the left side of a building, she came across the dirt road leading to Twilight’s castle.

The crystal exterior gleamed in the sunlight. A beautiful sight that brought images of the Crystal Empire’s tower with such a familiar gleam. She increased her pace to a slow trot, being mindful of the baby hanging in her carrier. When she came to the door after a few steps, she knocked on the crystal door. There was no response. She waited for a few seconds and pushed against it. The door opened with ease, squeaking loudly as she pushed it open. “Twilight?” Cadance called out but only heard her echo come back to her.

The door closed with her light cornflower blue aura. “Hello? Twilight?” Cadance called again and received no response as before. She frowned; Twilight had to be here. Cadance glanced at the right hall and took to that direction. A moment passed. She walked by the the library and peeked inside to see that Twilight wasn’t even in her favorite part of the building. ‘It’s so unlike her.’ How much had Twilight changed? It was a scary thought indeed.

The last place she had to check was upstairs. Glancing to her right, she noticed a flight of stairs. She quickly ascended upwards to the third floor. As she passed a door on her right, she saw that it was open. Inside, Nyx was sound asleep in her bed. Cadance smiled, then took a step back and closed the door with a gentle click.

She then brought her attention to the center door. Inhaling, she walked towards the door and opened it. She found Twilight in the same state, sitting in a chair with her muzzle face down and resting the right side of her face on a desk, eyes closed, and gently breathing. Cadance let out a tiny giggle and looked to the bed. She unraveled the cloth carrier from her chest and brought her foal near her muzzle, who, with a loving nuzzle, giggled and yawned.

Unwrapping the foal from her blanket, Cadance grasped her gently in her magic aura. She smiled as the filly’s eyes slowly closed. Although it wasn’t a motherly approach by putting her baby to sleep with magic, her foal would have to be in a deep slumber so she could talk to Twilight. She laid the foal onto Twilight’s bed, and the aura disappeared as Cadance turned towards Twilight.

With a few steps, she stood beside the sleeping mare. With a gentle prodding of her hoof, she pushed into Twilight’s side and got a short, grumbling response. Cadance leaned closer and nudged Twilight’s muzzle with her own. “Twilight?” Cadance whispered. Twilight’s eyes finally opened.

Twilight yawned, stretching her forelegs into the air. “Cadance?” Twilight groggily whispered. “W-what are you doing here?”

“I came because Crystal Rune told me what’s going on.” Cadance glanced down at the desk Twilight slept on and noticed a picture. It was the one they had taken with her whole family. Twilight’s parents, Shining Armor, Nyx, Spike: they were all there. Seeing Shining Armor again nearly brought Cadance to tears. But she breathed in and exhaled. "I was told that you weren’t doing well.”

“Everypony’s been concerned about me…” Twilight murmured, looking away from Cadance. “Why can’t everypony just leave me alone to deal with this by myself?”

“Because we’re concerned for you,” Cadance said. She noticed a chair next to Twilight and brought it close to Twilight’s. Sitting down, she wrapped her hooves around Twilight’s shoulders before continuing. “Listen… you know you can tell me what’s wrong… we both lost somepony important.”

Twilight didn’t move, but a moment later she began to shake. Cadance’s ears flicked as she heard whimpering from her sister-in-law until Twilight began to quietly sob. “I-it’s j-just so h-h-hard…” Twilight unsteadily began, her tone cracking with pain, a sorrow that seemed to come with an age to it. “Y-you and I l-lost Shining… and t-then I l-l-lost Spike.”

“Right… both times were awful.”

“But… h-have you f-felt like you could’ve d-done something? That… m-maybe there was a c-chance that… you could have s-saved him…?”

Cadance had struggled with that very question since the first day without Shining. Was there some decision that would have altered Shining’s fate? What if she had just tried to assure Celestia that maybe Shining was right? What if she had thought of going with him so she could make sure he wouldn’t die? “Twilight… I know I have, but… in the end, there’s nothing you could have done.”

“A-are you sure? B-but maybe we could have saved Shining i-if we just forgot about the others. O-or maybe I could have kept trying t-to heal Spike.” The fragility in Twilight’s voice was disheartening. “There can’t be no options. Wh-what if they could have been saved? Wh-what if the--”

“Twilight.” Cadance spoke with a soft tone. “You know as well as I do that there was no chance… Unfortunately… in the end there was no way I could have changed Shining’s mind. He was going to go through with his plan even if I had intervened. And even if I had helped, we would have put ourselves and my unborn baby in jeopardy.” Cadance tightened her grip as Twilight’s crying worsened. “Spike… you would’ve hurt yourself as well if you tried to keep healing him. You… might have even done something worse if you kept that healing spell running.”

“B-but I’m the Element of Magic!” Twilight cried, the dam she held finally giving way. “I should have found a way to save him! I-I can’t let myself believe that I couldn’t!” Cadance felt the hurt increase, the pain in her heart only growing. “If I can’t believe that there was a way, then how can I help anypony else if I couldn’t save my own family? It’s my fault for pushing Shining Armor away when he hurt you! It’s my fault for not trying hard enough to save Spike!”

“It’s not your fault and you know it.” Cadance turned Twilight’s muzzle toward hers, their gazes meeting one another's. “You can’t let yourself fall into this despair, blaming yourself that you couldn’t save Shining or Spike. Twilight, you did all you could.” Twilight sniffled, and Cadance wiped away a few tears on Twilight’s muzzle. “I know you’re hurting badly. I know you’re struggling to accept this fact. I did too… please don’t fall this low. You don’t know how bad it gets when you’ve reached the lowest you can be.” Cadance knew all too well what thoughts spun in her mind, the hostility to her own bodily form.

“I want you to see that you did everything you could. It will take a long time to get over this, but… you have to remember that Spike and Shining wouldn’t want you to live with this regret. Don’t let it consume you.” Cadance pulled Twilight closer, gently embracing her, believing now that the title sister-in-law would not fit anymore. If she were to relabel it, sisters seemed to be a more appropriate term now.

With that in mind, she looked towards her foal and lifted the filly into the air and over towards the two. “There are still other things that you have to live for.” Cadance rested the sleeping foal in her forelegs before raising her baby towards Twilight, gesturing for her to take hold. Twilight continued to whimper but reached for Gleaming Heart. Resting against her forelegs, the sorrow that Twilight held was still there, but cracks began to show as her frown turned into a fragile smile.

“You have to remember that… even though Shining and Spike are gone… you still have your parents, Nyx, Celestia and Luna, your friends, me and Gleaming Heart.” Cadance giggled a little. “I know for certain that after all this… I believe I’d consider you not as a sister-in-law… but as a real one.” This approach finally appeared to be lifting the negativity.

While Cadance was happy that she was helping Twilight, she still knew they’d be dealing with this newfound loneliness for a very long time. But she couldn’t let that get in the way now. Cadance returned her gaze to Twilight and murmured, “You were there for me when we lost Shining. We were there for each other when we wanted company only a couple weeks after his death. I’m here for you now so I can repay the kindness you gave to me. I won’t let my sister be alone in the darkness.” With that Cadance hugged her again, the two staying like this for a while.

When they let go, Twilight brought Cadance’s filly back to her. “Th-thank you, Cadance…” Twilight hiccuped, sniffling a little.

“Of course…” Cadance nodded. She glanced at the sun outside the window to see that the evening was nearing its end and night would soon follow.

“Cadance…” She returned her attention to Twilight as her sister spoke. “Would… it be alright if you stayed here… for the night?”

Cadance chuckled and nodded in agreement. “Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere tonight.” Maybe there was hope for them just yet. Maybe… the darkness would not have any of them, and they could find the joy of light once more. Peace returned and they would enjoy every single moment of it. Now as sisters, that bond would only grow, and that darkness would be banished forever. A future Cadance could only look forward to.

All’s well that ended well, right? A disaster had now been fixed. As for Nenne, however, she stared out the window from the medical facility, watching as parts of the Admission building were put back together. This was, more or less, a start to something beyond her. Beyond the nation of Equestria. “They were all right about Bishop Neighland. He was nothing but a psychotic stallion. Even if he was against a monarchical society, his own attitude befitted a plutocracy.”

Although, he did desire a government run by others alongside the princesses. Calling Neighland a plutocrat might have been an exaggeration of his governmental ideal, but weaponizing the Xenomorphs was undoubtedly another mistake. Princess Twilight Sparkle was correct--these creatures, as intelligent as they were, possessed a hostility far beyond any controlling factor. Maybe there was a chance that her research could have successfully tamed one of those creatures. However, she was glad she had kept her distance. ‘Being safe was a better option. Less chance for any accidents or injuries on my own part.’

She turned from the window and towards an array of medical items--pulse monitors, an x-ray screen, and to her left, the same case she had carried with her upon escaping the island in the first place. “Bishop couldn’t take his wealth with him. After some… choice words… from the only two remaining security workers, the board placed me as the new owner of the company.” Seion was never one to hold anything over others like Bishop.

Such a role, she felt, was reserved for the princesses themselves. She moved over to the case and opened it. Among the light-colored acidic blood of the Xenomorphs, four new slots had been added. 'Blood from the four princesses.'

What wonders awaited her, Nenne could only imagine. Creating new beings. Maybe even finding the key to immortality that only alicorns seemed to possess. But that would come in time. That technology was not ready for them yet. But it was close, thanks to the human’s ship. Their odd sleeping chambers held another factor to them. They seemed to function as an artificial stasis pod, but if Nenne combined the stasis technology with her own formulated artificial growth liquid, she could create something new.

Though that liquid was still in its prototype stage, she had seen positive results. The test bacteria she had used were growing at an exponential rate. Even before those Xenomorphs had broken free, an earlier test with her liquid had produced a small rabbit. If she could grow rodents, maybe ponies weren’t too far away. What then could stop her from creating a being that could even rival the princesses?

The only obstacle Nenne had was time. And she was a patient soul. She could wait.

Author's Notes:

I truly have to thank you all for staying with me for three stories. This was certainly the longest story I have worked on to date. At a whopping one-hundred fifty thousand plus words, it truly was a journey. As before I have stated that there shall be a sequel for this one. (Sequel is sort of correct. Although I'm still in the process of deliberating on the idea of it being so. But since it still follows the same characters as before, I guess it should be considered as such).

Firstly, I must also say that I may not get to said sequel for the time being. Before I work on that, I'm going to finish the revision of the first story that I started long ago and get that done, as well as another story on my other user first, and then come back to the third sequel in The True Nightmare series. If anything, I also like to mention that I don't write for fame, for views, or followers. (That's just like... a minor bonus to me). I write because I love to create worlds; writing for writing's sake. It's just something that I truly enjoy.

Now with all of that said I'll be doing one of my Q&A posts for both this and the coming future sequel. Don't worry. I promise not to take a whole year to finish the revision.

With all of that said I want to thank each and every one of you who has continued to follow the series from the bottom of my heart. I'd also like to thank AlicornPriest and TehSporkBandit for proofreading. I'd also like to thank DiabloGuapo for his wonderful editing and help in creating new ideas for the series. And of course, one cannot forget Sakura for her haunting coverart to the story. Thank you all again, and I hope you all have had a fun experience. And remember to always have... pleasant dreams.