Morning came as the duel Sun and Moon eclipse rose. Twilight let out a yawn as she awoke, finding a blanket over her. She had apparently fallen back to sleep after telling some stories of her timeline to Discord. She got up and left the room she was sleeping in, stepping outside. She heard a scream and turned, only to see a few fillies and colts playing with Discord. ‘Well at least they’re not screaming in terror anymore,’ she thought.

Upon seeing that Twilight awake, Discord decided he had spent enough time playing with the children and went over to go see how Twilight was doing. She walked with Discord through the ruins, seeing that although the ponies of this world had to deal with the terrible nightmares at night, they could at least still enjoy the day. Twilight decided to ask Discord for more info.

“So Discord, you said that you worked alongside this version of Twilight. I want to know, what was she like?”

“Well, she was a good, friendly mare and a bit an egghead.”

“And,” said Twilight, as she was hoping to get a few more answers.

“Actually that’s as much as she would let anypony see.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, there's not much else I can tell you.”

“Well…..” Twilight drifted on the next words? “What about Flash Sentry?”

“Why would you ask about him? What, is he part of your mane six group?”

Twilight paused upon remembering that she had indeed told Discord and Rainbow Dash about her friends from her timeline. Then her mind went back to Flash. ‘Wait, why am I asking about Flash? I should be asking about my other friends.’

“Twilight? Hello?”

Discord’s voice brought Twilight back, “Huh?”

“Twilight, you were asking about Flash Sentry?”

“Oh,” she gave a half smile, not realizing she was blushing.

“No way,” said Discord grin widely.

“What? What?” Twilight still hadn’t noticed. Then Discord fell down laughing. “What? What’s so funny?”

“You are,” Discord answered as he pointed at her. “Oh, this is good! I was right. Now Big Macintosh owes me fifty bits,” he continued to laugh.

“Wait, what are you talking about?” Twilight had no idea what he was talking about until she saw her reflection in some nearby glass. She was blushing heavily. Apparently, she had been blushing since Flash’s name was brought up.

Finally, Discord stopped laughing and got back up. “I’m sorry Twilight, it’s just this timeline’s version of you had been very secretive about things to everypony. Well, everypony except Flash, that is,” he tried to keep the giggles down, “And well although there was no openness about it, there had been rumors in the Dark Rebels that Flash was more than your personal guardian.”

“Okay, but what does that have to do with Big Macintosh?”

“Well because I and the big guy made a bet a few months ago that you had been in a relationship with Flash and that’s why he was so distant since…..” Discord stopped smiling, then took a moment. “Since you died.”

“Oh,” Twilight took a moment too, then spoke. “Well, how is he now?”

“Well, you should already know since you already saw him.”

“What?” said Twilight, as she was taken aback by this. "When did I see him?"

“Twilight,” said Discord with a smirk. “He was the one who gave you the phrase to tell me.”

“Oh,” said Twilight, realizing the pegasus did seem familiar. “But wait, Rainbow Dash say he has massive wings in this timeline.”

“Well, he does, but he learned to keep them hidden.”

“Oh.”

“Anyway, whatever else that you to want know about him will have to wait, because he will be here tomorrow with ‘F’.”

“He will?” said Twilight with a slight blush.

“Yeah, I contacted them while you slept. Flash and 'F' have been working alongside this timeline’s Twilight for years.”

Twilight stopped walking, “Discord you keep saying years, and yet,” Twilight stopped for a moment and the spoke again. “In my timeline, Nightmare Moon broke free only more than a year ago.” She looked directly at him. “Look, you may not have been out during the first Dark War, but I know for a fact that even in stone you can still sense what going on in the world around you.”

“I was afraid you would ask that.” They both stopped walking. “And you're right, I could sense what was going on around me, however, I could only sense the changes in magic and nothing else.”

“That's all I needed to know,” said Twilight. “How long has the Nightmare Force been free?”

“Thirteen years.”

Twilight’s jaw dropped. “So it’s been that long? That's the year of the Sonic Rainboom Event.” The pieces were coming together in Twilight’s mind. “And since this timeline’s Rainbow Dash said she did a Shadow Rainboom and not a Sonic Rainboom, that mean Starlight must have went back to that time and changed that moment.”

“But how will that help you now? You don’t have the time traveling spell.”

“You're right,” said Twilight, as she hung her head down. “I need to think of something.” Twilight hit her head as she couldn't think of anything, “This is crazy, but I can’t think of any ideas without my little assistant.”

“Who?” asked Discord.

“Spike,” said Twilight. “He has always been there for me, like a little brother,” Twilight had a thought. A crazy thought. “Discord, this is going to sound crazy, but I need to go talk with the Cave Rebels.”

“What?” said Discord. “That IS crazy. You do realize that Rarity threatened to kill you?”

“Yes,” said Twilight with determination in her voice. “But there is something I need to know. I have to ask Spike who hatched him.”

“You don't realize how crazy this idea of your is? We're dealing with a master of crystals here,” said Discord. “Getting answers from her or Spike is insane.”

“Don’t worry. I have a plan. We can pull it off once we find Rainbow Dash.”

And indeed Twilight had a brilliant, incredible plan. She thought she thought of everything, only she didn’t account for one thing...

******

<5 hours later, just outside the Cave Rebels Base>

“Brilliant plan Twilight,” said Rainbow Dash in utter sarcasm.

“Hey, how was I supposed to know this would happen?” said Twilight. They had gotten close to the main base in the Smokey Mountains, which lay to the far west of Fallen Canterlot. The plan was to sneak in, however it fell apart quickly as large crystals rose from the ground and trapped them. “And where did these things even come from anyway?”

“Well I said she’s a master of crystals,” said Discord.

“I thought you meant that sword of her’s,” said Twilight.

“Oh, the sword is just one of her weapons. She has many different abilities,” said Soarin.

"What? When was anypony going to fill me in on this?"

“You didn’t ask,” all three said.

******

Soon Rarity’s army of diamond dogs stepped out of the entrance to the base. They surrounded the four. “So it seems, dearie, you want your death now,” said Rarity as she stepped forward. She was wearing another fancy dress that covered most of her body and a veil over her head.

Twilight looked confused. This was the second time seeing this timeline’s version of Rarity and again she had most of herself covered. It was unusual for Rarity to keep her beauty hidden. Twilight pushed her thoughts away and asked, “Rarity I need to talk to Spike.”

Suddenly the giant dragon that was Spike flew out of the cave and surrounded them. “And what is it you want with me?”

Twilight took a gulp and spoke up. “Spike and Rarity this may come as a shock to you, but I'm not the Twilight you knew,” They looked curiously. “I’m from a different timeline.”

“Oh really, “ said Rarity, as she summoned a chair made of crystal. “Prove it dear. Tell me something about me that you would know and not something the other Twilight would know.”

“Fine,” said Twilight, as she gave another gulp. “I know that you design your own dresses.”

Rarity giggled. “Alright then now,” then she stopped and looked at Spike. “Now Twilight, tell me something about Spike that the other Twilight wouldn’t know.”

Twilight took a deep breath. ‘Well, I am going to have to break a Pinkie Promise for this part.’ “Rarity, in my timeline Spike had a major crush on you.” Suddenly silence fell over them all, followed by complete laughter. “What?” Rarity, Spike, and the diamond dogs were laughing as hard as they could. “Will somepony please tell me what’s going on here?” No answer, Twilight looked at Rainbow Dash and the others and they didn’t have a clue what was going on either.

Finally, they stopped laughing and Rarity spoke. “Alright dear, enough jokes. Tell me, why are you here?”

Twilight was at a loss. She couldn’t figure out what was going on. ‘They were all laughing, including Spike,’ Twilight pondered, then she finally spoke. “Spike I want to know who hatched you?”

Instant silence fell over them all. Upon hearing Twilight’s question, Spike instantly froze and shrank to his normal height. Then he ran and stood by Rarity. Twilight could see that the other form was a sort of transformation that Spike could pull out at will. She could see now that Spike was clearly older in this timeline and that he stood slightly taller than Rarity. She looked at Spike’s face and there was absolute terror in his features.

“Spike?” Twilight said shakily. Suddenly a strange looking crystal shot up from the ground and wrapped around Twilight’s throat. Twilight started choking as the rope-like crystal wrapped tightly around her neck. The three others looked on in shock.

“Rarity, stop this now!!” shouted Rainbow Dash.

“How dare you!” said Rarity as she got off her chair. “How dare you ask my beloved Spikey Wikey that question!!” She shouted in utter rage.

Twilight was shocked by those words. ‘She said her beloved.’ The words just kept repeating in her head until finally, she lost consciousness.

******

Twilight felt like she was floating. She finally heard a voice. “Twilight, oh Twilight.”

Twilight open her eyes to see herself floating in the air. She saw stars as if she were in space. “Am I dead?”

“No, I assure you, Twilight, you are far from dead,” the voice said with malice.

“Who are you?”

“I am insulted that you would forget your adopted mother twice,” said the voice with annoyance.

“Nightmare Moon,” Twilight trembled.

“Yes, daughter it is I. Nightmare, ruler of this world,” said Nightmare Moon.

“What do you want with me?”

“Many things, but right now I want to know what you want in your sister’s dragon.”

“What?”

“Spike.”

“What do know of Spike?”

“Well, I know who hatched him.”

“Who?” said Twilight. “Who hatched him?”

Nightmare let out a psychotic laughter. “Isn’t it obvious?”

“No, now tell me.”

“Who would fill Spike’s mind with so much terror and so much fear that that moment would be one of only two memories of his entire life that he would never look back upon?”

“I don’t know who, now tell me.”

The voice got closer, so close that Twilight could feel Nightmare’s breath on the back of her neck. “Your Father,” Twilight got her answer but she was still confused. Who was this ‘Father’? She got no more answers as all she could hear was Nightmare Moon laughing over and over as the dream ended.

******

<Nightmare Moon’s POV>

Nightmare Moon opened her eyes and looked upon the Empire as she sat on her throne. Not many features could be seen on Nightmare Moon as a shadowy silhouette covered most of her body. All that could have been seen of her were her eyes.

As she sat there on her throne, she looked upon the Empire from an incredibly tall crystal spire that seemed to be made with the same crystals that the Castle Of Friendship was made of.

She admired her empire. To her, it looked glorious, but to anypony else, it looked like a nightmare wasteland devoid of life. Even most of the mountains around the spire were gone. The crystal spire itself stood on top of the tallest mountain in what used to be Griffinstone. Swarming around the spire were her personal army of Nightmare Griffins. Nightmare Moon was always impressed with her power.

Suddenly Nightmare Moon felt a pull on a group chains that was hooked to her throne.

“Oh so you’re awake now,” spoke the one on the chains. “I will get free sooner or later.”

Nightmare Moon laughed, and then spoke “Still on that, are we? You know you can’t break those chains.” But the one chains continued to struggle. “What? Worried about the other Twilight, and the fact she is gathering the prophesied newest element wielders? But don’t fret, I will deal with them soon enough. But for now, I think I will visit a certain dragon.”

******

Twilight woke up and found herself in a cell. It was nighttime. “Uh, what happen?” said Twilight as she got up. She looked around to see that Rainbow Dash, Soarin, and Discord were all in cells. “What's going on here?”

“I’ll tell you what's going on Twilight,” said Rainbow Dash, as she got up from the chair in her cell. “Rarity nearly murdered you right in front of us.”

“What?” said Twilight in terror, as she grabbed her neck. She could still feel the pain in her neck from where Rarity nearly killed her. Then she remembered seeing Spike’s face just before losing consciousness. His face had shown absolute terror, not of Rarity, but of Twilight. Her question had absolutely scared him. As if he were so afraid of his past. It terrified Twilight to think who this ‘Father’ might be that hatched Spike and brought him such fear.

Suddenly screams filled the caves, the voice of the scream sounding all too familiar. “That’s Spike!” said Twilight as she jumped at the shock of hearing Spike. “I have to get to him!” she said as she tried to break down the cell door. It wouldn’t budge.

“That’s pointless Twilight. You won’t break it down. These bars are made of onyx. It’s going to take a lot more than simply kicking,” said Rainbow Dash.

“Yeah, you would need some magic to break these down,” said Soarin.

“Magic? That’s it! Rainbow Dash, what kind of magic do those dark amulets work on?”

“Dark Magic. Why?”

“Well, it’s been awhile since I used it but……” Twilight took a stance and then sent a dark magic blast, which broke the bars. “Yes! It worked!”

“Okay what about us?” said Rainbow Dash, but Twilight ran off, “Hey, come back!”

“Sorry, I have to check on Spike,” said Twilight as she ran down through the cave to find Spike.

“Wait……” but it was too late. Twilight was gone.

“Great. Now, what do we do?”

“I don’t know. What do you think ‘SS’?” Rainbow Dash asked Discord. There was no answer. “‘SS? Hello, are you even listening?” She looked in Discord’s cell “Shit, that draconequus already escaped.”

“Damn.”

*******

Twilight ran through the caves trying to find Spike, not knowing what she would find. She came upon a pathway the led to a single door. Twilight walked to the door. Still hearing Spike’s screams, Twilight went to open it, but then she heard Rarity’s voice.

“Calm down, Spike it will be okay, I’m right here,” said Rarity.

“No, get away from me Rarity. I’m a monster!!” yelled Spike. “Please get away from me before I hurt you again.”

“No, you saved me and I know you will never hurt me again. At least not on purpose.”

“But you should hate me for what I did.”

“I could never hate you. I love you, Spike.”

Twilight felt tears going down her face upon hearing those words. After Spike finally calmed down from the nightmare, Twilight slowly walked back to her cell, not noticing the fact that Rarity had seen her behind the door.

******

Twilight went back to her cell and sat down. ‘Why did I even doubt their relationship could ever work? It's clear that Rarity and Spike love each other in this timeline, so why not in mine too?’

Twilight did a few more hours of pondering. She was completely ignoring the world trying to figure out if her timeline version of Spike and Rarity could one day be as close as this timeline’s version of them.

It wasn’t until Rarity stepped into Twilight’s cell with her crystal blade out that Twilight finally snapped back to reality. “Rarity,” said Twilight, as she jumped up, seeing the blade.

“How much did you see?” said Rarity, as she stood in front Twilight. Twilight looked in terror as she saw Rarity. She was now wearing her Mare Do Well suit.

“I heard-- ” but Rarity cut her off.

“I said what did you see?!?!” demanded Rarity, as she aimed her crystal blade right at Twilight’s neck.

“What do you mean? I didn’t see anything.”

“Liar. You saw me with my veil off, didn’t you?”

“What?”

Suddenly Rarity stopped and broke down in tears. Twilight reacted instantly by pulling Rarity into a hug. “Go on let it out,” said Twilight as she let Rarity cry on her shoulder even though she was understandably confused as to what was going on.

Finally, Rarity stopped and said, “Follow me. There is something I have to show you.”

“Alright.”

******

Twilight followed Rarity to the living quarters. “Here is a good spot,” said Rarity as she channeled some magic. Crystals shot up and covered the entrances. “There, we should have some privacy now.”

“I’ve been wondering how you can do that. My timeline’s version of you can only find gems, not control them.”

“Dear, well that's obvious, I was once a princess, too.”

“You were a princess?”

“Yes when you left, I was meant to be your replacement,” She seemed a bit hesitant. “Now you have to promise me you won’t scream at this next part.”

“What?”

“Please, Twilight?”

“Oh fine. I promise. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” as she completed the motions.

“A what now?”

“Oh sorry, just something from my timeline. Now, what did you want to show me.”

“Okay, here goes,” Rarity removed her mask.

Twilight’s eyes shot wide open upon seeing Rarity's face. It was covered in a huge, old scar and burns. “Rarity?”

“Wait there's more,” said Rarity as she rolled up her sleeves and shirt and showed the old scars and burns covered her entire body.

Twilight was in tears upon seeing it. “What happen?”

“You asked about Spike’s past, but I can only tell you everything if I tell my story as well.”

“Okay,” Twilight took a seat.

“This is the story of the secret Princess Crystal Star and the Dragon who won her heart.”

******

Author's Notes:

New chapter out. Now on to the changes. Before it was hard to tell the Nightmare was talking to somepony. In fact I don't think anypony really notice my hint right there. Well it more obvious that she talking with somepony but who. Don't forget to comment. Feedback is always welcome.