The Days of The Eclipse

Chapter Two: Revelations

By Star Origin

"Why are you here? You should have been executed for what you did to Blitz here!" exclaimed the unicorn.

"She had a life ahead of her… and you took it away from her. She didn't deserve to die like this and it's all your fault."

"Dusk Shine… please refrain from saying something you might regret. This alicorn is not the one you are seeking revenge against," spoke Celestia.

"Oh yeah? Well explain to me why she was the only one that came back from the Everfree Forest. If she did not kill them, who did? She's Nightmare Moon to my eyes and she's nothing but a monster!" shouted Dusk Shine, aiming all of his harsh words at Raine.

To have been taunted by her mother was one thing but to be called a monster by another pony was just too much for her to handle. It started with a single tear but soon enough, countless tears began to roll down her cheeks abundantly. She wanted to leave and she attempted to do so at the first occasion she had but as she was approaching the doors, Luna opened them and unwillingly stopped Raine from running away.

"What is going on around here?! And who are they, sister?" Luna demanded, confused by the whole scene she witnessed.

"This is Dusk Shine, my second private student. He's been my student for some years and I hid him from the rest of Equestria. I did so at his request because he didn’t want to overshadow his foalhood friend, Twilight Sparkle. But as for the second one, would you care to tell me who he is?" asked Celestia, looking at Dusk.

"This happens to be one of my good fri-" Dusk began, only to be interrupted by the Pegasus next to him.

"I can introduce myself just fine, Dusk! Greetings, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. I am Blitz but my full name is Rainbow Blitz. I'm also Rainbow Dash's older brother, who was murdered by that freak!" finished Blitz, glaring daggers at Raine.

"No… I didn't do it…" Raine replied, struggling to speak back.

"Yeah, right! You can't fool me, Nightmare Moon! You've killed my sister so why don't you quit the act and just receive your sentence?"

"Enough!" Luna shouted, her voice possessing enough power to shake the very foundation of the castle. "Thou will cease thy shameless accusations and leavest Raine alone. She is not Nightmare Moon but her daughter and she is nothing like her mother and her heart is fragile. If we were thou, we would be careful about our choice of words for it could bring harsh consequences!"

"But answer me this; if you were with them when they died, and the fact that you are an alicorn, why didn't you use your magic to save them? Surely you must also possess great magic abilities like the princesses," said Dusk.

"I… I…"

"He's right. You could have used your magic to save their lives instead of letting them die. Why didn't you use your magic?" Blitz asked, still using the same harsh tone.

"BECAUSE I CAN'T USE MAGIC!" Raine yelled at the top of her lungs before she left the room and ultimately, the castle itself to go back to the one place that still acted as a safe haven for her: the Everfree Forest.

"Raine, wait!" Celestia called out for the black alicorn, but it was already too late.

"I'll go after her, Celestia. You stay here and deal with them," Luna told her sister, her voice cold and harsh.

Celestia nodded and then, Luna left the room in a hurry, determined to find Raine. However fast the princess ran, she was not able to find the black alicorn anywhere within the castle. She tried the streets of Canterlot but she was also unsuccessful. The only other place she had left to search was the Everfree Forest. She took flight and flew off to the forest that once housed the princesses' previous castle. It would surely take time to find Raine in that forest but Luna was determined to find the black alicorn. She needed moral support more than ever before.

"Raine? Raine, it's me," Luna called, trying to make contact with her even if she knew her efforts could be in vain.

No responses were heard. Luna worried about Raine, mostly because she was hurting inside. She tried to run away from who she was and it still caught up to her. If only Dusk and Blitz hadn't barged in, maybe nothing like that would have had happened. That thought was the largest in Luna's mind as she searches for her protégé. It were their accusations and hurtful words that caused the black alicorn to run away in the first place. Still, she chased those thoughts from her head and resumed her search for Raine.

Luna forgot how long she had been searching in the Everfree Forest. Had it been an hour, or more than that? Luna truly had no clue as to how long she had been in the forest. She began to think that finding Raine in an area she knew everything about was an impossible task but just as she was thinking of giving up, she heard strange sounds coming from a cave near her location. She approached the cave's entrance, thinking it could be Raine and then took a look inside.

She didn't see anything at first so she used her magic to create a light at the tip of her horn. There was still nothing in her sight so she decided to delve further in the cave as she was still hearing the sounds that brought her inside in the first place. As she ventured deeper in, the sounds became clearer and clearer until she recognized them as being Raine. From her sobs, she was crying to no end. For her to cry like that, she must have been very hurt. Well, it was true that Dusk and Blitz didn't go easy on her either.

"Is that you, Raine?" Luna asked, approaching the black alicorn even more.

"L-L-Luna? I-Is th-that really y-y-you?" Raine asked back, her voice strangled by her sobs.

"Don't worry. It's only me and no pony else," Luna answered in an attempt to reassure the frightened alicorn.

"P-please, just l-l-leave me alone."

"I'm sorry, Raine, but I cannot do as you ask of me when you are like that. It breaks my heart to see you suffer in such a way," Luna pleaded.

"I on-only wish to b-be l-left alone, Luna," Raine replied.

"That I will not do. You need help, and I think I can give you that help."

I d-don't think a-a-anyone can help me, Luna. You saw how D-Dusk and Blitz t-treated me?"

"Yes, I saw how they acted but don't forget that their emotions are influencing their way of thinking. They said those things because they're overcome with sadness and anger."

"Y-you think i-it's that simple, Luna?" inquired Raine, still crying buckets of tears.

"I don't think so, I know it is so. Now come on, my sister should have spoken with them already and you don't want to be there when she speaks to somepony," replied Luna, slightly laughing at her own remark to ease the mood.

"Would it be possible for me to just go to sleep instead of having to see those two again? I think I've been through enough for one day."

"I think you only deserve that. Very well, in that case, just head to my tower and tell the guards there that I sent you and then tell them your name. They should let you in. If they don't, well, just remind them of the consequences disobedience brings."

"Isn't that a little bit extreme, though?" queried Raine as she dried off the last or her tears.

"Maybe so, but we have to make sure we stay in authority. Besides, they know that each and every consequences we bring to them aren't that bad if you compare them to the council's. They would take no shame in putting a pony to death while we would only suspend them for a few days. We are not harsh but we need to receive our due respect, Celestia and I."

"Could we go now? I'm rather tired after everything that happened in the last few hours," stated Raine, yawning after she had finished her statement.

"Yes, we can go. I'm rather sleepy myself so I might just join you after I'm done talking to Celestia."

Raine nodded and slowly rose to the sky and headed towards Canterlot. She wasn't familiar with the city yet but she still remembered where Luna's tower was, at least she thought she did. In the end, she ended up getting lost, confused by the city's layouts. She was still too afraid of the city's populace to descend to the ground and ask for directions. She was about to give up when she noticed a Pegasus pony clad in blue armor standing in front of two large doors, the same that she had entered a few hours before with Luna.

Relieved that she wouldn't have to search any longer, she went straight for the tower the guard was on. When she landed, she was greeted by the guard in an emotionless voice, "Ah. You must be Miss Raine. Her Royal Highness, Princess Luna, has ordered me to stay guard here and only grant passage to herself and a black alicorn with a silvery mane. Everything has been prepared for your stay. I hope you enjoy your stay in Canterlot."

"Thank you, umm, Sir… "

"Ironwind. Lieutenant Ironwind," replied the guard, taking pride in his title.

"Well, I thank you, Sir Ironwind."

And with that, the guard opened the path for Raine. The alicorn thanked the guard a second time before she entered the princess' private chambers. A few looks around the main piece indicated that no changes had been made but it was when she reached the bedroom that Raine took noticed that a second bed had been added. And it looked awfully comfortable too. One glance at it made Raine even more drowsy and before long, she was already in the bed, fast asleep.

—

Raine stood in a desolate street in Canterlot. As she watched around her, she saw that the whole town had been reduced to pieces. Dead ponies were lying on the ground all around her and even some of them were still conscious. The gore and the bloodshed nearly made Raine vomit. The smell was also extremely disturbing, sending waves of fright and disgust down her spine. Thinking about Luna, Raine immediately made her way to Canterlot's castle, only to discover that it had also been turned to shambles. Panic took over her and she kicked the castle's gates open and rushed to the throne room.

There, she saw Celestia's lifeless body, or at least what remained of it, lying on the floor. In the back of the room was Luna backing away from Nightmare Moon. She had a terrified look on her face and countless tears rolled down her cheeks. Still, Nightmare Moon paid no heed to that and continued advancing towards the princess. Luna kept on backing away until she hit the wall, a sign that she couldn’t escape . Raine looked in the princess' eyes and the black alicorn saw something in them that she was surprised to see; it was guilt and self-pity.

"Dream… " Luna pleaded. "Please, don't do this. I'm sorry I did those things to you but you have to understand that it was for your own good. Can you ever forgive me for what I did to you?"

"There is no forgiveness for what you have done. I am here to return the favor. I'm putting you out of your misery. You won't have any problems with that, right?" Nightmare Moon said as her horn lit up with intense magical energy.

"Stop it!" yelled Raine.

"Aw, what's wrong, Rainie? You know as well as I do that this is the future that awaits your precious Luna. They will all perish under my strength and there is nothing you can do to stop me!" replied Nightmare Moon, her maniacal laugh following soon after.

"How did you-"

"You're even more pathetic than I thought you were, Raine. Did you already forget what it is I rule over? Did you forget all those nightmares you had when you were just a filly in my castle?"

At first, Raine was confused by what her mother was trying to imply. She had never noticed her mother make use of her special abilities neither had she seen her cutie mark. But it was only when the alicorn that was now standing towards her mentioned her nightmares as a filly that Raine began to align the pieces together.

"You don't mean that… " Raine started before she stopped herself from saying more.

"Oh yes! It's exactly what I'm implying. I manipulate dreams and I manipulated yours when you were younger so I could break you. But it never worked because of that accursed caretaker!"

"At least, she acted like she cared!" Raine harshly replied.

"I cared about you. That's why I assigned that caretaker to you. I needed you in good shape if I were to use you in my plans. That's why I had her executed when I found out about her actions. She was softening you! A few days after that, I'm informed that my daughter died in a fire but that her body was not found."

"I faked my death! Because I couldn't stand to live with you anymore. I'm not like you and I will never be. You turned my entire life into a living nightmare!" Raine exclaimed.

"What is this? Rebellion? Looks like you need to be taught a lesson," said Nightmare Moon, summoning a spear of energy with her magic.

It didn't take long for Raine to understand what her mother intended to do. Before she could interject herself furthermore, a force field was formed around her, restricting her every moves. After that, she was forced to see Nightmare Moon impale Luna several times with her spear. Blood splattered on the walls and on the mare's face as she maniacally laughed while she amused herself in torturing the once regal princess. Multiple holes could be seen in the princess' body as she lay down on the ground, powerless in front of her assailant.

"Please! Stop it! I beg of you… " Raine weakly pleaded.

"Oh? Are you ready to submit to me completely, body and mind, then?" queried Nightmare Moon, her voice sounding slightly victorious.

"Yes. But please… stop hurting Luna."

"R-Raine… t-there is a-always h-h-hope. Y-you n-need to b-b-believe," Luna spoke as she coughed large amounts of blood, no doubt the results of Nightmare Moon's torture.

"YOU SHUT UP!" yelled Nightmare Moon as her horn flared with magical energy.

The scenes that followed were simply too much to bear for Raine. As she watched her mother's horn being suddenly infused with magic energy, she was forced to see what happened next as she unleashed all of her magical energy on Luna. It was unleashed as a powerful beam of magic that hit Luna easily. Raine dared not look at the scene itself and instead opted to look at the wall, slightly above Luna so she wouldn’t have to see the entire scene.

However, no matter what she did, her eyes darted right back to where Luna and Nightmare Moon were. Right before her, on the very same wall she was looking at a moment before, was a form made out of blood. It highly resembled the form of a pony, and an alicorn at that. Her eyes instantly widened when she saw the next scene. Nightmare Moon was laughing madly and at her feet were the carnal remains of Luna. Her flesh had been torn off, leaving only the ligaments, muscles and bones in a gruesome display. Her eyes were no longer in their orbit, laying down on the floor while still attached the optic nerves. Her horn had been broken down in several pieces but what traumatized Raine the most was the sight of Luna's intestines sticking out of her guts, laying in a pool of the princess' blood as well as her beating heart visible through her torn rib cage.

And Nightmare Moon still laughed. She had killed a princess and she was laughing at that fact. She turned around and once she saw her mother's face, Raine thought she would be sick. Nightmare Moon's face was nigh completely drenched in blood and she began approaching her daughter.

Suddenly, the black alicorn remembered Luna's words before Nightmare Moon silenced her. Thinking about those words for quite some time and letting the realization of what had happened sink in, she then exclaimed, "LUUUUNAAAA!"

While nothing happened at first, and seeing that Nightmare Moon was still approaching Raine, the tyrant's daughter began to back away but soon after, her vision went white and then, silence.

—

"Luna!" shouted Raine as she woke up in sweat.

She looked around her and realized that she was back in Luna's private chambers. Or perhaps she had never left it. She wondered if that whole thing had been a nightmare of her mother really trying to break her by entering her mind space and making her lose her will to resist her. But the images of the nightmare were still imprinted in her mind and they troubled her. She had seen bloodbaths, the body of Celestia torn apart and thrown in every direction and she had been forced to witness Luna's death at the hooves of Nightmare Moon.

"Guess that's what it was. A dream… " Raine said to herself.

—

After she had parted with Raine, Luna made her way to Celestia's private chambers to see if she had dealt with their guests accordingly. While on her way, she saw Shining Armor heading towards the main barracks. The Lunar Princess figured that he was just checking if the night shift was ready to take over and then head to his own private room in the residential wing of the castle. Nevertheless, she brushed the thought aside and continued to make her way to Celestia's chambers

.

"…hear anything else… expose yourselves to great consequences!" Luna heard as she neared her sister's chambers.

'She must nearly be finished,' Luna said to herself as she heard her sister's sermons.

At that point, the thought of telling Dusk Shine and Rainbow Blitz about her past, along with the aftermath of the War of Magicka, touched her mind. It was still fresh in her mind even if it had been a few thousand years since she was forced to do what she had to do to protect Equestria. She debated with herself for a while, laying down the pros and the cons of such a decision. One of the cons being the two ponies not believing her revelations. However, it was an undisputed fact that if she told them about what happened during the last few millennia, they would be inclined to stop antagonizing Nightmare Moon and Raine.

Finally, she decided that it would be best if she were to tell them about her past, the ancient war as well as the truth about Nightmare Moon. With determination in her eyes, she opened the door with her magic, put on the best smile she could make and asked, "Hello, you three. Am I interrupting anything?"

"Not at all, Lulu. I was just done dealing with these two," replied Celestia.

'Good. In any case, I thought about it and if they are to understand the situation they are in as well as to who they were harassing, then I think it may be a good idea to tell them of my past, starting from before the Great War of Magicka,' Luna told Celestia through their telepathic link.

'Lulu, are you sure you want to do that? We didn't clear all of Equestria's shelves of any information about ‘her’ to see our efforts be broken by misplaced trust.’

'Yes. I am sure. Besides, they already know more than most, so it wouldn't be right if we denied them their right to know.’

'Very well, but you are treading in muddy waters right now, sister,' said Celestia, ending their telepathic conversation.

"Dusk Shine! Rainbow Blitz!" Luna said, using the Royal Canterlot Voice, to command the two ponies.

"Yes, Your Highness?" both answered at the same time.

"You are to stay here until I am done with you. There is something that I need to talk about with you. It concerns alicorns, Raine and Nightmare Moon."

"'Alicorns' as in more than just two alicorns?" Dusk questioned.

"Yes. In the past, there were several other alicorns apart from ourselves. We were known as the kingdom's most powerful faction in a land far away from Equestria when it was still divided in feudal states. However, that quickly changed when the three other factions, the unicorns, Pegasi and Earth ponies, soon desired to silence us because of the powers we wielded. The war that followed is now known as the Great War of Magicka."

"Please pardon my interruption, Princess Luna. However, those are taught to every pony that attend the Academy for Gifted Unicorns," said Dusk.

"I am well aware of that fact, as it was me who requested it to be taught to the students. Now, do you plan on constantly interrupting me?" Luna demanded, her voice cold and powerful.

"No, you may go on, Princess."

"Thank you. Now, as I was saying, the war happened because the other factions were afraid of our powers. During that time, I was in love with another alicorn, one called Star Shower. He was the alicorn in charge of the stars back then, until he gave me his powers before he died. In any case, we had been together for a few years and a few months before the war started, we decided we wanted a family of our own. I became pregnant two months before the Great War began. Unfortunately, Star Shower did not survive the war and both Celestia and I were forced to go into hiding in the Great North."

"Eventually, we stumbled upon the land of the griffons, Gryffonia. We were not welcome there and the kingdom's inhabitants made sure we were aware of that. However, the king, a fair one, allowed us to stay for a short while and at the same time, hide from the Alliance. We stayed there for three months before we moved south-east. At that point, I was quite advanced in my pregnancy and even simply trotting became difficult. In any case, as we travelled, we reached the land of the dragons. They weren't the most welcoming, but they were still more welcoming than the griffons. We stayed them for a few years, mostly because the dragons didn't mind our presence and also because they enjoyed sharing events of the past. As you must know by now, we alicorns have the gift, and curse, of immortality."

"What about your foal? Did you give birth in a proper manner?" demanded Blitz.

"I was just about to get to that part, child," answered Luna, giving Blitz a temporary reply. "If you truly want to know, I did give birth during our stay in the land of the dragons. It was a filly, a filly with a fur coat as black as the night I brought forth. We kept her safe and educated her there. I called her Dream Nights. She grew into a beautiful mare and after a thousand years passed, we agreed that we would need to leave the lands to find someplace else to live."

"It was then that you stumbled upon Equestria, correct?"

"Yes. We arrived in Equestria after leaving the lands of the dragons. But then, everything changed. It all changed because of Discord. As you should know by now, Discord used to rule Equestria in a state of total disharmony before we came to Equestria. We managed to seal him into stone using the Elements of Harmony but not before he corrupted my daughter. He used her against us and even after he was defeated, she remained corrupted. Our only option was to wield the Elements of Harmony against her but right before we were about to strike her down, I realized I couldn't bring myself to cause any harm upon her, even if it was for her own good. In the end, we triumphed against Discord but I lost my daughter."

"What happened to her, then? asked a concerned Blitz as he noticed the melancholy in Luna's facial expression.

"For another thousand years, Celestia and I kept Equestria safe but not a single day passed by without Dream appearing in the back of my mind. I couldn't stop thinking about her. We encountered her for the last time on this very night a thousand years ago. We confronted her but all hopes of attempting to bring her back were for naught. Discord's magic had taken her completely. She adorned a battle armor and kept referring herself as Nightmare Moon and ceased to respond to her normal name. We fought and fought but she proved to be far too strong for us alone. We had no other choice than to use the Elements of Harmony. If something could free her, it would be the Elements. We managed to trick her and with the advantage we possessed, we used the Elements of Harmony on her," explained Luna as her expression becoming grim.

"Wasn't that a good thing? She seemed evil from what you told us, Your Highness," Blitz replied nonchalantly.

For a split second, Dusk and Celestia both noticed something in Luna's eyes. A certain flicker of some sort, as if something had snapped inside of her. Without even letting Blitz any time to evaluate his situation, she menacingly approached him and, using the Royal Canterlot Voice, started screaming, "She didn't have a choice! Discord corrupted her mind using his twisted magic and forced her to fight us, to fight against me. Her very own mother! Do you have any idea of the pain I felt when I had to banish her? Did you even think about how much it tore me apart to watch her fall into madness? For that matter, were you thinking at all?! And now, after a thousand year, I find out that I have a granddaughter that doesn't even know her lineage. Granted, she is most probably Dream's illegitimate child, but that doesn't mean she is not a part of our family!"

"Your Highness, I'm not sure I understand all of this. Your daughter, Dream Nights. had a daughter of her own but that's all I can follow. Normal ponies don't live for a thousand years," Dusk said in an analytical manner.

"That is very true, Dusk Shine, but her daughter was anything but a normal pony… In fact, you met her not so long ago."

Dusk began thinking about all the ponies he had met during the day but he couldn't find a single one that could be affiliated with Nightmare Moon. He was convinced that he hadn't met the princess' granddaughter until the image of Raine passed through his mind. She was Nightmare Moon's daughter and Nightmare Moon was Luna's daughter. It all began to make sense in his mind although he began regretting being that harsh with the black alicorn. He had been extremely harsh to her and he was unaware that she was part of the royal family, sort of anyway.

"It's Raine, isn't it?" Dusk guessed, surprising the sisters with his deduction.

"What are you saying, Dusk? That pony can't be Princess Luna's granddaughter. Surely, she has to be something else. A changeling, maybe."

"Rainbow Blitz! Thou needest to learn to keep thy mouth closed! We shalt not let thou insult a member of the royal family, even if Raine is an illegitimate offspring and not directly part of royalty itself."

"Now, now, Luna. I think you said all of which you had to say. Is there anything else you wish to mention?"

"No, that was all. Now, if you'll excuse me, I will retire into my own private chambers. It has been a long day and I require some rest."

With that, Dusk and Blitz bowed as the princess left the room. Though the words of the princess had left a bitter taste in Blitz's mouth, he knew all too well not to provoke the princesses. Especially when one of them was dealing with issues about her own family. In any case, after the Lunar Princess left the room, Celestia turned her gaze upon Dusk and Blitz again and offered a stern facial expression.

"I have a mission for you. For both of you, actually," said Celestia.

"Your Highness?" both Dusk and Blitz asked at the same time.

"I would like you two to investigate the whereabouts of Nightmare Moon. We have recently heard that trouble has appeared in Ponyville in the form of a pony. Also, you shall be accompanied by another pony along the way to help in your investigation," Celestia explained, still offering her stern expression.

"I would gladly do it, Your Highness, but why us of all ponies?" Dusk queried, curious about the princess' decision.

"You may be wondering why I am sending you instead of the royal guards, am I right?" inquired Celestia, who was soon answered with a nod. "It is rather simple. With the recent threat Dream Nights, otherwise known as Nightmare Moon, is posing on Equestria, we need every able guards to defend the city in case she would try to seek revenge against Luna or myself. That being said, I have complete trust in your abilities, Dusk Shine, and that is why I am sending you on such a quest."

"When will we depart, then?" Blitz queried.

"Tomorrow, after noon. Your first destination shall be Ponyville and for the sake of communication between the two of us, I will be assigning Spike with you for your quest."

"But… wasn't Spike Twilight's assistant? I'm sorry, Princess Celestia but I don't think he will want to come with me, especially after everything that's happened," Dusk replied.

"That is where you are wrong. I'm sure Spike will desire justice for what happened to Twilight," revealed Celestia.

"Nevertheless, he will accompany you as he can be used as a way to communicate via letters. I'm also sending him with you because his judgment is sometimes more thought through than yours."

"W-what do you mean by that, Your Highness? Are you saying that my judgment is lacking?" Dusk asked, taken aback by the princess' reply.

"No. That wasn't what I was implying, Dusk Shine. I trust your judgment completely. However, you act rashly without thinking it through too often. Spike, on the other hand, will rarely act in such a way, except to defend those he holds dear. You have to understand that I am doing this to balance out the flaws in your personalities," explained Celestia.

"I dunno, Your Highness. I get the feeling you're not entirely trusting us," Blitz said aloud, before realizing what he had just said. "I-I'm s-sorry. I didn't mean it that way, P-Princess!"

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Rainbow Blitz. I encourage the freedom of speech. However, it is as you said. I do not entirely trust you because of your emotional responses. Your earlier outbursts at Raine Moon earlier proved me right."

"That was… " Dusk began.

"Before you knew of Raine's identity? While a good point, you should try to be less judgmental. You may end up offending somepony unwillingly otherwise," replied the princess.

"Understood, Princess."

"Now, now. Don't look so ashamed. You simply weren't informed. In any case, you two should try to get some rest because you will need it."

"That wouldn't be a bad idea after all, actually," Blitz admitted.

"Wait! Dusk, I would like to have a word with you for a brief moment," said Celestia in a cold and harsh tone.

The unicorn gulped as he obeyed the princess and stayed in her chambers. He wondered why she wanted to have him stay a tad longer but he began to worry about the matter of the discussion they would be having. Would be it bad or good? There was no telling behind Celestia's stern expression. Both remained silent for a while until the Solar Princess broke said silence.

"Dusk Shine, I am disappointed in you," uttered Celestia.

"What do you mean, Princess?"

"You know exactly what I mean, my dear. How did your friend know about the changelings?"

"I-I-I may have talked to him a little bit about them," Dusk admitted in defeat.

"Do you remember what we discussed about the information on changelings, Dusk Shine?" queried the princess.

"They are currently considered a potential threat and as such, no information about the changelings should reach the public until we know more about them," recited Dusk Shine. "I know that, Your Highness, but Blitz is trustworthy. He may seem carefree at times, and he is, but one thing he does not do is act carelessly. He may brag at times, but he always applies himself when he needs to be serious."

"That is not the point. You were ordered to refrain from informing the public of the changelings and you did not follow your orders."

"I apologize for not following my orders, Your Highness, and I am ready to accept whatever punishment you decide to give me," said Dusk, looking at the ground in shame.

For a moment, as the unicorn raised his head, Dusk thought he saw a grin on the princess' face. Shaking his head, he looked at Celestia once more and saw her grinning as if she had a mischievous idea planned for him. Without any delay of any sort, she announced, "For disobeying orders, I will place a pony under your care, or rather under your protection. As such, you will have to keep her safe while searching for Nightmare Moon's whereabouts."

"And who exactly might she be?" Dusk inquired, puzzled by the identity of the pony Celestia was talking about.

"Oh, you've met her earlier!" Celestia cheerfully exclaimed. "She's quite the fragile soul, though."

"Oh no, no, no!" Dusk let out as he figured out who that pony was. "I don't mind having her with us, but Blitz still wants her head for bringing about the death of his sister."

"I can understand his anger. I felt the same way when Discord took Dream away from us. However, your friend will have to come in terms that he does not have a say in the matter," replied Celestia, offering a stern expression once more.

"I will be sure to pass him the message, Princess."

"Good. You are dismissed now. I have said what I had to say. Don't worry about sleep, I have asked Luna to instruct the guards to prepare your old room for you and your friend's stay for the night," Celestia told Dusk.

"Thank you, Your Highness.”

—

Luna entered her private chambers and let out a long sigh. She had had a bad day, although she did learn that she had a granddaughter. Nonetheless, the day had exhausted her, so much that it showed in her eyes. However, the Lunar Princess was alarmed by something: mumblings. She was hearing somepony mumble things that she wasn't able to clearly understand. She instantly dashed to her bedroom, the place the mumbles seemed to be coming from. Once there, she saw Raine curled up in a fetal position, repeating the same things over and over again.

"'Twas just a dream. 'Twas just a dream. 'Twas just a dream."

"Raine?" Luna asked before she noticed the black alicorn's eyes; they were blank. "What's wrong, Raine?"

The black alicorn didn't respond to the Lunar Princess and simply stared at Luna, her eyes completely empty. Soon after, she curled up in a fetal position once move and her whole body began to shake. Whatever was happening, it was scaring the life out of the poor pony. Luna embraced Raine in an attempt to bring Raine back to reality, speaking soft words into the black alicorn's left ear. Unfortunately, all of her attempts to reassure Raine were met by failure as she was unresponsive to any kind of stimuli.

"Raine, everything's going to be alright. Luna's here for you," spoke Luna, a single tear rolling down her right cheek.

"L-Luna?" Raine repeated slowly.

Before the princess could do or say anything, she found herself in a tight embrace. As she looked down a bit, she saw Raine, her eyes back to normal, tightly hugging her. The black alicorn lifted her head shortly afterwards and offered Luna a warm smile. Luna couldn't help herself and just hugged her granddaughter.

"I'm so glad you're alright, Luna!" Raine exclaimed, tears beginning to collect in her eyes. "I thought something bad had happened to you."

"What would make you think things like that, my dear?

"Well, it's a rather long story… "

"I think I can afford some time, so I think we have the time to talk about it."

Raine wasn't exactly secure about telling her dream to Luna, even though it was more of a nightmare in the end. She finally began to talk about the dream in general, how she felt in it and how it felt so real. She told Luna that she was actually able to sense what was happening. Her senses were fully active during the dream.

Then, she began to talk about the dream in details. She began with when she opened her eyes to find herself in the streets of Canterlot only to see a bloodshed in front of her. What came next was, however, extremely disturbing, both for Raine and for Luna. It was the description of Nightmare Moon’s massacre in Canterlot. Raine explained that when she arrived in the throne room, she found Celestia dead, her body parts scattered all around the room. He voice began to waver as she told Luna that she had to watch her mother brutally murder the Lunar Princess right in front of her eyes.

“Shhh, it is going to be all right, Raine. Nightmare Moon cannot invade your thoughts as long as you are awake or if I am by your side,” said Luna, slowly caressing the black alicorn’s mane with her right hoof.

“It was just terrifying, Luna. It felt so real, so intimidating.”

“Let it go, Raine,” softly spoke Luna, “for you have a big day waiting for you tomorrow. I’d suggest you to get some sleep, if you want to be in top shape.”

Raine nodded and lay on her bed. Her mind was slightly more a peace now that Luna was there. Her mind had been previously tainted by grim images and disturbing visions but those were slowly but surely exiting her mind as she found sleep, guided by Luna’s humming. It was a melody that she hadn’t heard before and yet, it was very soothing. Raine was soon lulled to sleep as Luna watched her fall asleep, a peaceful smile on her face.

“You two are very much alike. That same melody used to lull her to sleep as well,” Luna said, making efforts not to wake Raine.

—

“Rise and shine, Raine! It is a glorious day!” Luna exclaimed.

Raine woke up instantly, startled by Luna’s voice. She had such a peaceful rest and it had all been ruined by Luna’s enthusiasm. Still half-awake, she got up from her bed and looked around her. Although she thought all the luxury was a tad too much, she still agreed on the fact that it looked better than the cave she had been living in back in the Everfree Forest.

“What was that for, Luna?” Raine inquired.

“I thought I had told you. You have a big day ahead of you and you need to be prepared for it.”

“Prepared for what, exactly?

“You’ll see soon enough. However, there will be the matter of which kind of illusion you would like as your disguise to discuss first,” Luna began. “So, which one do you want?”

“I’m not sure I’m following you right now, Luna,” admitted Raine, a shameful look in her eyes.

“My sister and I have decided that it would be good for you to explore Equestria. Since you only know of the Everfree Forest, we thought you might enjoy seeing the rest of the kingdom. Our only problem is that we can’t have a black alicorn near the public. It would cause an uproar and my sister and I would like to avoid that. I am asking you, in her behalf, what kind of illusion you would like as a disguise between an Earth pony, a Pegasus or a unicorn,” explained Luna, making sure to share all the details that were discussed during her last conversation with Celestia.

“But… I don’t know the first thing about Equestria’s geography,” replied Raine.

“We figured that would be the case so we are sending you along with Dusk Shine and Rainbow Blitz on their quest to locate Nightmare Moon.”

The name of her mother alone was enough to make Raine shiver in fear as she thought about meeting her again, which was something she was not looking forward to.  Figuring that it was probably a royal order, Raine simple said, “You make it sound like I have no choice in the matter.”

“And that is the case. We are issuing a royal order to the three of you and we will require you to abide by it at all times. Also, I have yet to receive an answer concerning my earlier question.”

“If I have no choice whatsoever, I think I’ll go with the Pegasus one,” spoke Raine.

“Understood. For now, stand still for you may experience migraines while I work the illusion around your body,” said Luna.

“Wait, so it isn’t just a simple illusion then?” queried Raine.

“Well, no. It is a complex hex that was used in ancient times to completely disguise a pony as another kind of pony. It could be called a second skin but it can easily be shattered,” revealed Luna as she began collecting magic energy in her horn.

Time began to pass very slowly for Raine as she felt Luna’s magic around her. The princess worked a strange spell that made her feel dizzy. She didn’t know why but she felt that way the whole time Luna worked her magic. The princess told her she was done several minutes afterwards and said that she could have a look at herself in the mirror.

Looking at herself, Raine realized that she was now a Pegasus with dark blue coat. Her eyes, mane and tail remained the same but she couldn’t be confounded with Nightmare Moon with that illusion.  What surprised her the most what that she was still aware of her horn but it didn’t appear at all in her reflection.

“As long as you have that disguise, you shall be known as Midnight Flight. However, I placed a second hex on you so that the illusion will become inactive once you are with ponies you trust,” explained Luna.

“Do you really think they’ll accept me that easily?” Raine asked, somewhat doubtful.

“Well, Dusk Shine already claimed that he wouldn’t mind having you along. That only leaves Rainbow Blitz. His only problem is that he seems a little dense and spiteful but I think that can be changed given some time,” answered Luna, managing to convince Raine with her answer.

“Maybe I could give them a chance if they are ready to give me one.”

“That is a very good idea. Now, if you would please follow me so I can give you your briefing.”

Raine nodded and followed the princess to another region of the castle that she had not visited before. She was guided into what seemed to be a meeting hall. Raine deduced that it was the same one the military used when they were gathering before an important mission. What the disguised alicorn did not anticipate was that Dusk and Blitz were both waiting there along with Celestia.

“Your Highnesses, may I ask who this Pegasus is?” Blitz asked in a rather annoyed manner.

“This Pegasus here is better known as Raine Moon. Luna placed an illusion on her that acts like a second skin so she could pass unnoticed while accompanying you,” Celestia answered.

“Wait, what?!” Blitz exclaimed, shocked by the sudden news.