Twilight Sparkle watched Moon Beam run about in the courtyard of the castle, laughing as she jumped in puddles of water from the recent rain. She couldn't help but enjoy the scene playing out before her. Times like this helped her to forget about the nightmares and hardships if even for a moment and she relished these moments. Moon Beam dashed up to her and pranced about giggling as she moved. "Auntie Twilight! Auntie Twilight! Look at the splashes I can make!" She jumped as high as she could and came down in a large puddle directly to the left of Twilight. The water shot up into the air around the filly and soaked the lavender mare with cold murky water.

Twilight gasped in shock, but soon recovered and cheered Moon Beam on. "That's great, Moonie!" The filly beamed and sprinted off to find more puddles to romp in while Twilight took the time to dry off. I haven't got a clue where she gets all this energy from. She runs around all day playing with the castle staff and yet she still has some hidden reserve that she seems to continuously draw upon. She sighed and waved the filly over. "Moon Beam! Come on! We're supposed to go check on Miss Horizon soon!"

Moon Beam stopped mid-jump and spun around with a look of uncontrollable excitement. She broke off in a full gallop towards Twilight and tackled her to the ground. "Oh yeah! Thank you for remembering Auntie Twilight! I'm sure that Cloudy would be very sad if I didn't visit her~!" She moved off of Twilight and allowed the unicorn to stand before hopping on her back. "Onward, my trusty steed!" She yelled, pointing her hoof in the direction of the infirmary.

Twilight sighed with a slight grin, but started off at a casual pace as she didn't want to dismount the filly. Moon Beam huffed on her back, disappointed that Twilight hadn't galloped off into the night, but soon found herself humming cheerily as they began their trek through the corridors of the castle. Twilight noted the distinct lack of ponies that had been here just two days ago and shuddered. So many ponies died that night. And I added to that count.... Images of her nightmare flashed through her mind and caused her to break out in a cold sweat. Fear was beginning to overtake her, but the warmth of a pair of hooves around her neck brought her back to reality.

"Auntie Twilight...? Are you okay? We're gonna be late if you don't hurry!"

The lavender unicorn looked back at the filly's large joy filled eyes and smiled. "Yeah. I'm all right. Just remembered my dreams. Now let's go see how Cloudy is doing!" She nuzzled the small unicorn before returning to her previous pace. In less than a minute they arrived at the infirmary and moved up to the only resident of this section of the castle.

Cloudy Horizon was laid on a raised cot sitting just below neck level on Twilight. She was covered in patches of gauze and bandages that were helping heal all of the minor cuts and wounds she had received, but that's not the injury that Twilight took notice of. Her eyes were immediately drawn the the bloody patch of bandages covering Cloudy's back. Pressed up against her skin.

"It's not going to grow back if you keep staring at it."

Twilight was startled by the pony she had thought was asleep. "I'm sorry.... How did this happen? I didn't think something like this would happen when I found you...."

The pegasus looked away, and stared out the window through locks of white mane. Her enchantment had faded after Nightmare Moon had rested the night after the battle. "That was the problem. It only seemed fine because it had stopped bleeding. The large amount of blood loss killed the limb."

Moon Beam hopped from Twilight's back to the bed beside Cloudy and locked the pegasus in a tight hug. "Don't you worry Cloudy! We still like you even if you can't fly anymore! Right Auntie Twilight?"

The unicorn flinched at the filly's abrasive words, but Cloudy just smiled. Twilight wordlessly gave her agreement. "If you keep acting like this, little filly, you're going to give somepony a heart attack." Cloudy said as she rolled onto her side to hide her grin. I'm growing soft cause of this kid.... She sighed and closed her eyes. Well, she did save my life, after all....

Twilight took notice of the pegasus' expulsion of air and levitated Moon Beam off the bed. "Alright, Moonie. You should go find somepony to play with. Miss Horizon needs her rest and I want to talk with her for a moment."

The filly whined and pouted, but, with a stern glance from the lavender unicorn, turned tail and ran off down the halls. Twilight couldn't help but to laugh at the instant reaction. Cloudy turned back over to stare the unicorn in the eyes. "What did you want to talk about?"

Twilight gazed back, but refused to be intimidated by the orange pony's glare. "You. I want to know why you serve Nightmare Moon. Why you would give up your flight for her." Twilight said this with the most sincere smile she could muster. She was naturally curious about a pony as devout as herself to any cause, especially Nightmare Moon.

The pegasus eyed Twilight angrily before sighing again. "Very well. It is no fault of mine if you come to hate as I do...." Cloudy looked away from the unicorn and closed her eyes as she prepared herself for her tale. She returned her gaze to the purple unicorn who was simply watching and waiting.

"Princess Celestia sent me on a mission to retrieve one of our scouts from griffon lands about eight years ago. We've always been on tense terms with Grffonia, so when our scout was found patrolling in their lands he was imprisoned. It was my job to infiltrate the prison, get him out, and return back to Equestria safely. Everything went according to plan until we came upon Whitetail Woods. We were ambushed by a platoon of Griffon skirmishers and he didn't survive. I was able to make it out with nothing more than a few scratches as I was more actively trained for combat." Cloudy's demeanor shifted into one of sad acceptance. "The scout was my mate. Star Gazer was his name. Never really skilled for the job, but devout nonetheless. When I returned to the castle alone, Celestia questioned me on the whereabouts of Star Gazer and when I told her what had happened she and a group of her guards, with me as their guide, went to find the scene. When we got there, the bodies of the griffons had been hauled away and all that was left was Star Gazer's body with my sword beside him."

Twilight gasped and looked at the pegasus' calm countenance with pity in her eyes. She knew where this was heading. "They blamed you for the death, didn't they?"

Cloudy glared at the unicorn with traces of anger behind those blue orbs. "Your precious princess didn't even give me a chance to defend my word! She only saw what was laid out before her and had me imprisoned without trial! I had never, not even once, gotten into an argument with Star Gazer! All they could see was a traitor and murderer and so they forced me away to my cell. I struggled and that's where I got my scar. But that wasn't even the worst of it...." The pegasus's anger faded and Twilight caught just the briefest glimpse of a tear in her eye. "I was with foal at the time. I wasn't very far along, but... the undernourishment and poor conditions of my confines caused me to miscarriage six months in...." She breathed in deeply to compose herself once more then looked back to Twilight. "Now you know why I've sworn to crush the Royal Guard and bring as much suffering to Celestia as I can, why I've sworn myself to Nightmare Moon. I hope this satisfied you curiosity."

The lavender unicorn just stared, dumbfounded, at the orange pegasus as tears began to well up in her eyes. She stood up and walked out of the room, ignoring the cold glares that the pegasus was giving her. I.... I don't want to believe that Celestia did something so terrible.... I know that Celestia was only judging based off of what she'd seen..., but her story seemed too real to be a lie.... I just don't know what to believe anymore.... Twilight continued walking through the halls on the verge of crying until she came to the royal chamber's doors. She opened the door with her magic, a feat she was still learning to get used to once again, and found that she was alone. Moon Beam must have run off to go play with the castle staff again. I wonder where Nightmare Moon is.... She laid herself upon the bed and closed her eyes. Restless sleep soon overtook her.

The six mares and Spike gathered together just outside range of any possible prying eyes from the castle. They huddled around a small cart that was hitched to Apple Jack as they prepared for the infiltration they were about to perform. "Okay now, y'all. Ah need Spike an' Fluttershy to stay on watch here at the cart and be ready to leave at a moment's notice. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, y'all will follow us to the walls and be ready to make a ruckus if'n either of us get in trouble. Rarity and I will be going in, getting Twilight, and coming back out to meet back up here."

The group said their agreements and took positions. The four of the main group began the short trot to the castle walls, eyes peeled for any guards that may be flying around or watching from the towers. To their grateful surprise, there didn't seem to be anypony around to spot them as if every guard was off duty. Rainbow Dash leaned in close to Apple Jack. "You don't think that all of Nightmare Moon's army died in that battle do you?"

"Ah'm not sure Dash. It does seem strange that there ain't no guard ponies around."

"Well, I, for one, find it to be quite convenient, don't you think? At least we'll only have to worry about the staff finding us and I honestly doubt that they'll turn us in." Rarity said bluntly.

"Ooooo! Maybe they'll even let us have some tasty dessert when they find us! I would absolutely loooooooove a cupcake right now!" Pinkie Pie bounced around in excitement at the prospect of possible sweets.

"Calm down there, Sugarcube. Don't want to be givin' ourselves away do ya?" Pinkie stopped mid-air and seemed to float back down to the ground, landing silently. She drew a hoof across her lips to signify that she'd be quiet before resuming their pace.

"Oh, I do hope my friend is all right. I haven't heard from her since Nightmare Moon first started gathering that army...." Rarity swallowed nervously.

"Hey! You never did tell us who your friend is. If she's been helping us out this much then we should at least know her name." Dash exclaimed.

"Oh my! Did I not tell you girls? I've no idea how it slipped my mind. It was never supposed to be a secret. My informant on the inside is a mare by the name of Silent Brook. It's a fake name, though. I cannot recall what her real name is as she changed it when she got her cutie mark. She really is such a darling. I knew her from when she lived in Ponyville as a filly right before she moved to Canterlot to get away from her parent's deaths. She doesn't like to talk about their deaths. She sent me letters every now and then about how she had become a worker in the Canterlot palace and was being taken care of by the Princess herself. Kind of like a certain lavender unicorn we all know. Well, she's become the head maid of Nightmare Moon's castle as well and has been feeding us information about the goings-on inside."

"Ah reckon we'll hafta thank her fer all she's done fer us. Fer now though, we'll just hafta focus on our task."

The ponies reached the front gate to the castle where Rainbow Dash took to the sky to search for a way in. She soared high above the walls, watching about her cautiously as her eyes scanned the area for any separate entrance. She quickly spotted the broken wall, but immediately averted her gaze. The gore from the battle still hadn't been cleaned up. She fought the urge to vomit and descended back to the waiting ponies below.

"Any sign of a way in Dashie?" Pinkie asked, bouncing about once more.

She grimaced as the images of the dead resurfaced and shook her head. "No. It's okay though. I'll just carry them inside. When they get Twilight they can open the gates since it won't matter if we're noticed then."

Apple Jack nodded and braced herself as Rainbow hovered above her and latched her legs around the orange mare. With powerful wing strokes, the two flew up into the air and glided over the wall. Rainbow set the earth pony back on land and disappeared over the wall only to reappear moments later with a frazzled Rarity.

"You could have warned me that you would mess up my mane." She complained as she used her magic to right her curls.

"Yeah, yeah. I doubt that your mane is the most important thing we have to worry about right now. Just hurry up and get Twilight so we can high tail it out of here." She looked around nervously as if expecting to find more corpses. "Besides..., I don't think you would have preferred the alternative." The other two mares gave her an inquisitive look, but the cyan pegasus just brushed them off. "Don't ask. Just hurry up so we can leave. This isn't a good place to be."

Apple Jack gave her a final worried look before agreeing. "Right. We'll be back here in a jiffy. Y'all just make sure nopony finds you unless you absolutely hafta. And ah know it won't be easy, but could ya try an' follow us from the outside just in case we need ya ta cause a ruckus?"

Rainbow saluted with a grin. "Sure thing, boss!" She shouted in mock uniform before soaring over the wall and grabbing Pinkie. The two ponies took up position along the castle wall and stood waiting as Apple Jack and Rarity sneaked inside.

Rarity and Apple Jack walked through the halls as silently as they could, muffling their hoof-falls with light steps as they crept along. They encountered few of the castle staff, but those that they met paid them no heed as they went about their daily business. "Ah'm guessin' that they're used ta ponies just walkin' around. They probably don't even know everypony on the staff list since they likely work in shifts."

Rarity nodded. "So it would seem. I'm honestly quite surprised. You'd think that, with living under Nightmare Moon's rule, these ponies would at least know each other. I mean, honestly, what else is there to- oof!"

Rarity was cut short as she tripped and fell face first onto the obsidian floor. Something soft beneath her gave a muffled 'eep' as she shifted causing her to jump away in surprise. A little navy filly with a smoke-like mane was sprawled on the ground, dazed. "Owwie..." She said as she stood up and shook herself off. She quickly took notice of the two mares standing before her and jumped in joy. "Oh oh! Hello! You must be new here! My name is Moon Beam! What's your names?"

The two ponies shared a puzzled look before turning back to the filly. "Hello there, Moon Beam. My name is Rarity and this is my companion, Apple Jack."

"Ohhh yay! I was right! You ARE new here. I know everypony in the castle cause I like to play with everypony! Not all of them like to play with me though. Are you gonna play with me?! Ohhhh that would make me soooooooo happy!" she exclaimed, bouncing about.

"Well. Aren't you just a energetic little filly. Actually, Rarity an' ah are lookin' fer our friend. Her name is Twilight and she should-"

"Oh! You know Auntie Twilight too!? Are you friends of hers? If you want I can take you to her! Then we can all play together! That would be so much fun! Especially since I can't seem to find Brookie anywhere." Her mood turned sour as she spoke that last sentence, but the hope of new play mates instantly raised her spirits once again. Her mood was truly infallible.

"That would be wonderful dear. Could you please show us the way?" Rarity asked, her voice gentle and kind.

"Uhuh!" The filly shouted before bolting off down the hall leaving the two mares standing stunned until they realized they were falling behind. They followed the filly past multiple branching halls and doors until they came to the hall leading to the staircase. The filly turned the corner at lightning speeds, as she was quite used to dashing through the castle, with the mares following close behind. They reached the third floor swiftly and, after a few more moments on running, came upon the obsidian doors to Nightmare Moon's personal chamber. Rarity opened the way with her magic and the three stepped through the portal to find Twilight sleeping soundly on the lavish bed centered in the room. Moon Beam dashed to her and pounced upon the lavender unicorn, startling her awake. "Auntie Twilight! Auntie Twilight! Some friends of yours are here to see you! We're going to go outside and play together right!?"

Twilight shook off the remaining drowsiness from post-slumber and slowly absorbed the words the filly was barraging her with. She couldn't understand what she meant by friends, but a quick glance to the entrance to the chamber gave her the answer she sought. "Rarity! Apple Jack! What are you doing here?! You have to leave now! You don't know what Nightmare Moon will do to you!"

The two mares frowned at the unicorn's outburst but just stepped closer. "Oh no, dear. Not without you. We've been planning to come and get you out of here for a while now. We've just been waiting for the right moment."

"Rarity's right. Ah reckon you'd want to escape from this place. Now hurry up before somepony finds us out."

Moon Beam frowned and hugged Twilight to herself. "You can't take Auntie Twilight! She wants to stay here with me and Mommy Moon! Right?!"

Rarity walked closer and leaned in close to the foal. "Now now, darling. You can come with us too if you'd like. I'm certain that you'd have much more fun with us than here at the castle. Besides, Twilight doesn't want to stay-"

"She's right." Twilight interrupted.

The mares stared at Twilight in shock before Apple Jack recovered. "Pardon? Ah thought that ya'd want ta be rescued! Ah don't believe that ya'd stay here willingly."

"I did..., but that was a while ago... I can't leave now. Moon Beam needs me and besides..., there are other reasons too...." She looked away, mixed emotions playing across her features.

"What ever do you mean, darling? What could possibly make you want to stay here?"

"I.... I've devoted myself to Nightmare Moon and Moon Beam.... They're all I have left...." She attempted to hide her true issue, but her eyes betrayed her.

Apple Jack gave her a disapproving frown. "Now, come on Twilight. That can't be it. Ya know ya got us in Ponyville. What's the real reason ya don't think ya can come with us? Why do ya think that we'll not accept you?"

Twilight looked away, fear and sorrow twisting her countenance. She looked at Moon Beam and saw the pleading look in her eyes, begging her to stay. She knew to leave would mean being torn inside forever. "I.... I murdered a pony.... She was the head maid here.... She tried to kill Nightmare Moon, but I killed her instead."

Rarity stepped back away in shock, realization dawning on her. "You.... You killed Silent Brook didn't you.... You're the reason that she...." Tears welled in the corners of the white unicorns eyes as Twilight hung her head in shame. The fashionista looked at the lavender unicorn in disgust. "I cannot believe you would do such a... horrendous act.... She was... such a nice pony! How could you kill somepony like that!?"

Twilight recoiled from Rarity's anger and fought back tears of her own. "I... She would have killed Nightmare Moon! She would have killed me! I didn't mean for it to happen..., but I didn't stop it. Now please..., go before Nightmare Moon comes and-" Her words were cut short as she took notice the of form of the dark alicorn standing behind Apple Jack and Rarity.

"Comes and what, my pet? Finds them? I've known they were in the castle for quite some time. I've just been... busy fishing out some other rats." She levitated the remaining four of the group into the room, bound and gagged by magical restraints. "Would you care to explain why these foals were in my domain?" Nightmare Moon's features were plain as she hid the anger welling inside her.

Twilight gasped, but stayed rooted to the spot. "They were coming to steal me away." she said, looking away from her six friends. She hung her head once more and choked back a sob. "I'm sorry, you guys.... Especially to you, Spike, but I'm staying here. I've made my choice...."

The four new arrival's eyes all shot open in shock and they struggled against their bonds, but Nightmare Moon silenced them with a surge of her magic. "Excellent...! I'm glad that you have finally chosen me as Your Queen, Twilight Sparkle. Excuse me while I take care of this filth."

The alicorn turned to walk away, levitating the five ponies and Spike towards the exit, but was halted by a squeak of a voice from the bed. She turned her head to find Twilight barely hanging off the edge, her eyes desperate. "Wait...! Please. Don't hurt them...! They only wanted to help me...!" Apple Jack and Rarity stared at Twilight, the anger from her confession fading as she tried to defend them.

Nightmare Moon scowled. "Do not harm them? They were attempting to get away with their Queen's pet and you wish for me to let them go? They deserve the fate that I have in store for them!"

"I know.... Please! I'm begging you! Let them go! They won't come back ever again! I promise! If they do..., you can do what you wish and punish me for my insubordination, but please...." Twilight pleaded, her voice cracking as Nightmare Moon's scowl failed to change.

"I will do with them as I please now! I will not take the chance of them returning with any type of support and you will be punished for this outburst regardless! Now silence yourself, foal, or I-"

"Please, Mommy Moon?" Moon Beam was standing right beside the alicorn's fore-hooves staring up at her with large, pleading eyes. "Please do it for Auntie Twilight! I know you don't want to hurt her.... She helped you and Cloudy, remember? If you love Auntie Twilight like I do, then please let them go." The filly pouted underneath the stare of Nightmare Moon and, after several long moments, the alicorn faltered.

Nightmare Moon looked over her bound captives and then to the sob-ridden Twilight and sighed. "Very well. I will release them. Know this, foals. Should I ever find you in my castle again, your lives will not be saved by the words of my foal or pet again."

She released the magical restraints and her horn glowed brighter. Just as the spell was nearing completion, Spike turned to look at Twilight, his heart break showing clearly on his face. Twilight looked away in shame just before the group was teleported outside of the castle near the cart they had arrived with. Nightmare Moon looked to Twilight who was choking back tears and trying to compose herself. Her features softened slightly, but quickly returned to the typical mask she wore to hide any emotion. "Be thankful that Moon Beam has spared you and your friends. Were it not for her, they would be dead and you'd be wishing you were...."

Twilight looked up at her and smiled weakly, having caught the momentary crack in the alicorn's emotional armor. "Thank you, My Queen. And thank you, Moon Beam." The filly hugged Nightmare Moon about a fore-leg then hopped up to Twilight and curled into a ball, snuggling up in the unicorn's warm embrace.

The five mares quietly made their way back to Ponyville, the silence only being broken by the cries of Spike as he laid curled up in the cart, mourning the loss of his 'big sister'. Rarity and Apple Jack shared a look, the truth weighing heavily upon them, and silently decided that they'll tell the other three ponies of the true reason for Twilight's refusal after Spike had fallen asleep. They knew that the truth would destroy him, and his image of Twilight, even more than the seeming betrayal of the lavender unicorn. The rest of the trip was made without a single glance from either of the ponies as they all kept their gazes on the ground, not wishing to validate the events that had just occurred, pushing back the inevitable as far as they could....

Author's Notes: Sorry this one took so long guys! Been doing my best to get this out, but working and being sick and working while being sick has pretty much kept me busy. That and LOADS of sleep. Fun and joy, this chapter brings amirite? Finally get to see what happens when the truth is revealed to the other Elements and you guys get two of their reactions. The others will be shown at later points in the story as, if you couldn't tell, Rarity and AJ will procrastinate with the confession until they simply cannot hide it any longer. At least it's not ALL bad though. Also, more insight on one dead earth pony and one awesome pegasus! Can't get much better than that! Well, anyhooves, I'm going to play some games then get to sleep. Will reply to any comment I get before then! Peppy out!

Editor's Notes: Dr.Jekyll here, how have you guys been.... Good, good. Well, anyway, had fun with this one. Same ol' issues in this. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.