After giving several apologies, and a pinkie promise that the crown would pay for the damage she'd caused, Celestia exits the hospital and stands in the early morning sunshine bathing the town, fatigue from the hour of desperate teleportation it had taken to reach Ponyville beginning to make itself known.

Once her sun's calming rays have warmed her coat, she heads off with a familiar destination in mind, I think it's about time I heard all the details of this strange little mess.

After walking nearly half the distance, an annoyingly jovial voice speaks above her, "Oh, I'm just so proud of you right now. I knew you had it in you."

Glancing up, Celestia sees Discord hovering above her, his mismatched body looking even odder having been forced into the general shape of an alicorn. Deciding not to dignify his words with a response, Celestia looks stiffly at the road ahead of her and continues striding forward.

"Oh come now Celestia, you should be proud!" Discord continues as he lands and walks beside her, all four of his feet somehow making a clopping sound despite only having a single hoof. "That was a wonderful little display of chaos back there. Why, I'd probably have to think for a few whole minutes before I could come up with something better!"

"Why are you here, Discord?" Celestia asks, still refusing to look over at him.

"Why am I here? Oh Celestia, how could you even ask such a thing?" he replies, swooning in a fair impression of Rarity complete with a couch appearing out of nowhere. "I thought you knew me better than that."

Celestia speeds up slightly as the Golden Oaks Library comes into sight, intently focusing on the library's door rather than the mismatched creature behind her.

Rather than get up to follow her, Discord opts to snap his fingers, a pulse of his magic causing the couch to drag itself along the ground, leaving small ruts in its wake.

"Why, I'm here for the chaos of course!" Discord proclaims with a wave of his forelimbs. On cue, the couch's legs give a mechanical sound and retract, a metallic steering wheel sprouting like a plant from the armrest nearest Celestia. Gunning the nonexistent engine with an invisible clutch, Discord and his chaos-driven couch putter along, matching Celestia's speed, "And of course for one of Fluttershy's wonderful tea parties. It's been far too long since the last one I attended, really."

Celestia smiles faintly, at which Discord rolls his eyes, "Yes, yes, friendship is magic, etc, etc."

"Well, I have something very important to discuss with Twilight," Celestia says, turning to look at Discord for the first time. "So if you'll excuse me."

"Ah yes, the 'vampony' you nearly disintegrated," Discord replies, smiling.

Celestia's eyes narrow in suspicion, "What do you know of them, Discord?"

"Oh, not much more than you, unfortunately. Can you imagine the fun I could have with carnivorous ponies though? I bet could make half the town pass out just by having one walk down main street eating a steak!" Discord cackles maniacally, lightning flashing ominously in the background.

"Discord!" Celestia glares at him reprovingly.

Discord shrugs, "What? Some species eat meat. It's your own fault for keeping your precious ponies so sheltered."

Celestia opens her mouth to retort, but instead hesitates for a second before speaking in a softer tone, "Perhaps you are right."

"I'm – you just admitted I was right?! I don't-" Discord sputters, nearly falling off his floating couch out of utter shock at the admission before regaining his composure with a hearty harrumph. "Well, so much for that book Twilight lent me. It was very clear that the stallion never wins an argument with his marefr-"

"Discord!" Celestia hisses, snapping his mouth shut with her magic.

"Hm?" Discord replies, smiling innocently before pushing off the magical aura holding his mouth shut with a paw. "You know Celestia, if I didn't know better, I'd say you're acting like you're embarrassed by our little relationship."

Celestia glares daggers at him without responding.

The smile vanishes from Discord's face, and he regards Celestia solemnly, "I was being serious earlier, you know. About the whole 'sheltered' thing. And this right here, this is a great example of that."

Celestia looks down, pawing the ground with her hoof, "I know, it's just-"

"It's just what?" Discord asks, his gaze softening. "I know you've been living on a pedestal of purity and power your ponies put you on for a thousand years, but you aren't protecting anyone by staying up there and you can't stay up there forever. Even immortals have feelings Celestia, and its long past time your subjects rediscovered that particular fact about you. Eventually, one way or another, you're going to have to decide whether you'd rather step off your pedestal or be pushed off. And really, what's the worst that can happen? A few generations of ponies not thinking quite as highly of you because you didn't stay within their boring expectations? Who cares! Whatever does happen though, just remember that you aren't the lone ruler of Equestria anymore. Luna, Cadence, Twilight, me – we're here and we're not going anywhere. You got that, Princess?"

Celestia simply nods, eyes glistening as they lean into each other, a minute passing before Discord breaks the silence.

"Wonderful! Now then," Discord stretches as his kooky smile returns and he smacks Celestia's royal rump, "off you go, talk with your newest princess about her newest neighbor or whatever, but know this," he pauses, lowering his voice to a purr, "I'll be waiting for you when you return."

Then with a snap of his fingers, Discord vanishes. Celestia smiles slightly and sniffles, noticing after a few seconds that Discord's magical flying couch hadn't disappeared with him, the draconequus instead leaving a note taped to the steering wheel.

A gift for you, my Princess.

It's engine is your imagination; it will go wherever you believe it can.

~Discord~

A wonderful warmth rivaling even that of the sun radiates through her body as she finishes reading the note and looks at the couch again. Her lips begin to wobble as she tries to suppress a snicker.

I wonder what would happen if I gave this to Pinkie Pie?

A giggle manages to escape her lips before she gathers herself, returning to the issue at hoof. Taking the last few steps, she arrives at Twilight's door.

*knockknockknock*

Celestia waits. Nopony answers. She knocks again, this time waiting longer. However, despite her patience, no sound comes from the other side of the door. She raises her hoof to knock again, but changes her mind prior to doing so – instead choosing to bypass the door and teleport inside. The library is briefly illuminated by the flash of her entry before returning to its previous darkened state, a faint snore emanating from the second floor as Celestia looks around the empty room.

Well, her letter did say she was tired. I suppose I should leave Twilight a note and return later. I do have Day Court to oversee and nobles to endure and paperwork to fill out and… I wonder what kinds of tea Twilight has.

Having rationalized a reason to stay, Celestia clops quietly out of the main library and into the kitchen. Levitating a cup over to the sink, she fills it with water, then heats it with her magic before beginning her search for Twilight's tea. After rummaging through the various cabinets for several minutes, she manages to find a few dusty teabags. She frowns at the meager selection, instead choosing to continue searching. Finding nothing more despite her best efforts, she sighs and selects one, washing the dust off in the sink before lowering it into the heated water to steep. Returning to the main library, Celestia lights several of the lanterns scattered throughout the room, setting down her cup as she peruses the diverse assortment of books lining the library shelves in search of something to occupy herself with. Finding a few that sound at least vaguely interesting, she returns to her tea, sitting down and opening the first book to wait for Twilight to wake up.

Twilight's eyelids slowly open and she blinks, panic gripping her for a moment when she sees what time it is, then calming once she remembers the events of the previous night.

Something tells me I'm going to be glad I got the extra sleep by the time today is over, she thinks as she stretches, only leaving her bed to face what remains of the morning once she can no longer justify remaining beneath its sheets.

First things first though, I should send a follow up letter to Princess Celestia with a more thorough explanation.

She descends the stairs, a yawn forming on her lips until a familiar voice reaches her ears.

"Good morning Twilight. I trust you had a restful night's sleep?"

Twilight's mouth snaps shut with an audible click, eyes wide as she turns her head to see her mentor looking up at her, a book surrounded by a golden glow held in front of Celestia while a cup of tea likewise floats off to her side.

"I-I-yes, of course, Princess Celestia," Twilight stutters. "I'm sorry; I wasn't expecting you to be here."

"It's quite alright, Twilight," Celestia smiles. "I did drop in unannounced after all. However, I have some rather important questions regarding the letter you sent me last night, specifically it's distinct lack of details." She grimaces slightly, "As well as your choice of teas."

"There is nothing wrong with my tea." Twilight huffs, faking offense, then smirks. "You just didn't find where I hid them."

Celestia furrows her brow as she scans her memories, trying to find another place she could have searched. Coming up empty, she looks at Twilight curiously.

Swelling with no small amount of pride, Twilight answers the unspoken question, "A hidden panel under the third cabinet to the left from the door, which I enchanted with a minor illusion spell and an aversion ward. So unless you already knew where to look… "

"…you'd never examine it closely enough to know it was there in the first place," Celestia finishes, smile returning to her face. "Well done. Few enough have managed to stand between me and a good cup of tea. I don't suppose you'd be willing to dip into your stash, so that we might enjoy some of it while we discuss recent events?"

"Not at all." Twilight responds, a spring in her step as she trots into the kitchen, returning several minutes later with a pair of steaming cups. She levitates one of them over to Celestia who sets down her previous cup before taking the new one in her magic, cooling it with a breath and taking a sip.

"One of Zecora's I take it?" Celestia inquires.

"Mhm. Though to this day she still won't tell me the ingredients," Twilight replies. "I've been working on a chemical analysis to try and duplicate it but… it hasn't produced anything particularly edible as of yet."

They both sit quietly and enjoy the relaxing flavor for a time, Twilight eventually breaking the silence as the minutes tick by.

"So… you received my letter, Princess?" Twilight ventures.

Celestia nods, "Yes. Though the lack of information in it caused me to jump to a particularly incorrect conclusion, which resulted in a rather embarrassing confrontation at Ponyville Hospital. So, I would like you to recount in detail what you know about last night's events."

Twilight nods, resisting the urge to ask what happened at the hospital. After taking another sip of tea, she begins recounting the events of the previous night. Celestia remains quiet throughout the entirety of the retelling until Twilight describes the strange stallion Time Turner had bucked out Derpy's window. Upon hearing this, the cup floating next to her shatters into dust, the little remaining tea falling onto the floor.

"Impossible," Celestia murmurs to herself. "There's no way… "

"Princess Celestia?" Twilight asks, startled.

Celestia does not move for several seconds, then lets out a deep sigh, "It is nothing, I'm sure; it's just that your description of the second creature brought back memories of when vamponies did truly tread upon Equestrian soil."

Twilight frowns, perplexed, "Wait, so what Time Turner saw was a vampony? Vamponies do actually exist?"

Celestia stares at Twilight without seeing her for a long moment, her mind clearly elsewhere, before shaking her head, "No. While vamponies did once exist, it is impossible for any to have survived, much less into this era."

"But how have I not seen any mention of them or their magic in any of my books?" Twilight protests, "I've read dozens of books about all sorts of rare and not-so-mythical creatures, and vamponies never even appeared in passing!"

Celestia nods, an uncharacteristically tired expression on her face, "As I intended."

Twilight starts to ask another question, but Celestia silences her with a raised hoof, "It is a very dark story Twilight, one that I had hoped to erase from history so that all knowledge of it would be forgotten."

Celestia moves to take another sip of tea, but instead begins coughing as her head moves into the dusty, hovering remains of her cup. Twilight stands and runs into the kitchen, returning with a glass of water which Celestia downs gratefully.

After the coughing subsides, she begins speaking again, "It all began in the Crystal Empire with a unicorn named Sombra. At the time, he was only a Royal Advisor, neither the wisest nor the kindest nor the most knowledgeable, but still well respected within the empire nonetheless. However, something happened to him, something which changed him from the respected advisor that he had once been into a traitor and a tyrant."

Celestia speaks slower as sadness creeps into her voice, "While what exactly happened to him is unknown to this day, the eventual outcome is accurately recorded in the history books. The events which occurred afterwards, though, are not."

Celestia pauses, and Twilight feels a coldness beginning to creep through her body.

What could be so bad that the Princesses would try to erase it from history? she wonders, focusing on Celestia again as she resumes her story.

"Sombra knew that very soon Luna and I would attempt to remove the empire from his control. He also knew that he was no match for either one of us, much less both. Vamponies were his attempt to… even the odds."

Celestia shivers at this, the colors of her iridescent mane fading along with the intangible wind flowing through it, "A Vampony is essentially a former pony whose body has been turned into an undead golem powered by the enslaved soul of its former owner. It uses the blood of living ponies – who also become similarly bound if the feeding kills them – to… I suppose refuel would be the best way to describe it. The spells and binding rituals he used to create the first vamponies were some of the most objectively evil pieces of magic Luna and I have ever encountered."

"To put it another way," Celestia continues, meeting Twilight's eyes, "I am to the Alicorn Amulet what the Alicorn Amulet is to Sombra's binding rituals."

Twilight stares at her, mouth hanging open slightly in shock, "Oh… oh wow… That's… that's pretty bad."

Celestia nods, "Indeed. We were alerted to this particular activity by a high-ranking official who had somehow managed to smuggle himself out, but by then it was too late. Sombra had already sent a few dozen vamponies to infiltrate Equestria. He gave us an ultimatum: obey his conditions, or he would release his vamponies on Equestrian civilians. Complying with even one of his depraved demands was unthinkable, and any attempt to stall or delay would merely give him time to create more of his vamponies, so we reinforced our cities as best we could before heading North to dethrone him. The battle was over quickly, and we headed home victorious, only to return to utter chaos."

Princess Celestia chuckles mirthlessly as she recalls the memory, "We had hoped that perhaps it would be like cutting the head from a serpent – without Sombra's control, the vamponies would be useless and easily dealt with. Instead it was quite the opposite – without his control they went berserk and simply attacked anypony that breathed. Their ferocity, combined with a golem's strength and immunity to pain, as well as being able to create new vamponies from their victims, meant that the battle was a bloodbath even though they were outnumbered severely."

Her voice cracks and she pauses again, taking several deep breaths to calm herself, "Even after the initial battle was over, some managed to slip away and continued to spread their taint. It was… bad, Twilight. In all my time ruling, both before and since, I have never seen my ponies so twisted by fear and hate as the year following Sombra's attack. Neighbors accusing neighbors of being vamponies, of harboring vamponies, of setting vamponies on them… it would have almost been silly if not for the fact that they would have gladly watched each other burn."

She pauses once more, swallowing a lump in her throat as her eyes start to shine, "It was Luna who suffered most though. Despite the fact that vamponies weren't actually hurt by the sun, my ponies clamored with me for the its protection against the monsters that walked in the night. My sister though… rumors began spreading about how as the Princess of the Night, she obviously had something to do with this waking nightmare, that she was somehow responsible for everything. It became not uncommon for her, a Princess of Equestria, to be harassed in the streets. When she entered ponies' dreams to aid them with their nightmares, they would become more afraid of her than the nightmare. Even her own guards began to fear her, and I… I was too caught up trying to keep Equestria from falling apart to realize how bad it had gotten. So when she came to me seeking solace and understanding, I instead became angry with her for thinking only about herself, for whining about trivialities while Equestria was in crisis, not seeing how much she was hurting. Not until it was too late."

"Nightmare Moon… " Twilight whispers, an awestruck look on her face as she makes the connection.

"Yes, Twilight. That is what truly drove my sister to become Nightmare Moon. Not some stupid fit of jealousy!" Celestia spits the last part venomously, a faint smell of ozone filling the room.

Twilight flinches away at this, not used to seeing her mentor genuinely angry. Noticing the look on Twilight's face, Celestia reigns in her emotions – though with only moderate success.

"I… I see," Twilight responds, still somewhat nervous at Celestia's outburst, "and the whole 'erasing from history' thing?"

Celestia sighs, "Fear has a mind of its own, Twilight, especially when combined with loss. I can't force ponies to think a certain way or believe a certain idea. And once she had all but validated every claim made against her by becoming Nightmare Moon, even as a Princess there was very little I could do to truly convince anypony that she was as worthy of their love as I. So I did the next best thing. I worked to destroy all knowledge of Sombra's dark magic – every book, every note, every scrap of paper. Everything. I then let vamponies fade from truth into rumors, and finally into myth as the centuries passed, so that my sister would not have to return to the same prejudices after a thousand years in exile. It is one of the benefits of agelessness, I suppose."

"And… Nightmare Night?" Twilight asks, still hesitant.

Celestia chuckles, "I had nothing to do with that actually, though I am glad Luna has a holiday of her own now. The festivities are certainly more enjoyable than the mess of bureaucracy and tradition the Summer Sun Celebration has become laden with. I've actually been considering abolishing the whole thing and simply taking the day off instead."

Twilight leans back, her mind slowly processing the story she's been told.

Celestia watches her for a few moments before rising, "I know it's a lot to take in Twilight, and if you have any questions at all I would of course be happy to answer them, but I must return to Canterlot. Vamponies may no longer exist, but the two ponies who snuck into Derpy and Time Turner's house most definitely do, and certain processes must be set in motion in order to accommodate knowledge of a new tribe's existence."

Twilight nods absently, her mind clearly still elsewhere.

Celestia just smiles and raises her horn to teleport back to Canterlot, but looks down again before doing so, "Oh, also, you should expect Luna to arrive in Ponyville by sundown."

"Huh? Why?" Twilight asks, waking from her reverie.

"The pony in the hospital may not be a vampony," Celestia explains, "however she is a creature of the night, and therefore is my sister's responsibility."

"Ah, right. Of course," Twilight replies with a nod and a weary smile.

Raising her horn again, Celestia vanishes in a flash of white light.

As soon as she is gone, Twilight slumps to the floor with a groan, I just woke up and I already feel exhausted again…

Author's Notes:

Do you want crossovers Celestia? Because that is how you get crossovers.

Nightmare Moon dialogue partially inspired by this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGEf_YxBxZI