"Uhm... I don't see anything." said Epsilon.

The black alicorn stared questioningly at the white stallion. If her pupils were visible, she would most likely have been rolling them right then. "That's the point."

Epsilon turned back to the window and studied the outside world carefully. "So what's the problem?"

"You don't get out much, do you Epsilon?"

He shrugged. "Guess not."

"Look outwards, towards the grass lands. Away from Canterlot. What do you see?" asked the alicorn.

Epsilon tried his hardest to repress his imminent laughter. "I see grass, your majesty."

"Now why is that a problem?"

The white stallion lowered his brows as he focused on the outer lands in thought. "I don't get why there's anything wrong wi..." his eyes widened as he realized the situation. He backed up slowly and fell to his knees, shaking his head in disbelief. "How!?"

"I fear that I am losing my connection to the elements. Their combined power was what kept it up for thirty years." admitted the alicorn.

The two looked out of the window in despair. The black aura which once surrounded and shielded Canterlot had dissipated. The city was now open to any invasion or attack from Celestia's group, and the Queen herself was vulnerable to their wrath. The worst of it was, nopony knew exactly why the black alicorn could no longer use any of the five elements of chaos.

"You must have changed." said Epsilon, breaking the silence.

The alicorn began pacing around the room, holding up her hooves to look at herself. Her appearance was still very much the same. Black coat, white eyes, black mane. "I didn't."

Epsilon sighed. "I meant your personality. When we spoke earlier today about you, you asked me if you were evil."

The alicorn tilted her head and stared at Epsilon. "I don't quite follow..."

"When I explained to you why you were not, and you let your concealment spell fade, I assume you were thinking about important things. About yourself, about your past." interrogated Epsilon.

"Yes of course, it was natural." answered the alicorn.

The white stallion grinned. "What did you conclude?"

The Queen looked off to the side and thought about it for a few moments. "I... I don't really know. I guess that if I could turn back the clocks, I would have never made my same mistakes. I no longer want this Aumean forsaken throne, Epsilon. I want my life back. I want Celestia back."

Epsilon smiled warmly as he walked over to the Queen. "You'll have to take it." he whispered.

The alicorn returned the smile as her concealment spell faded for the final time. The magical coat of black returned to it's natural colour, and her eyes cooled as she closed them. With a gentle shift in weight, the alicorn removed the cloak and hood from her back. For the first time in years, she spread her wings wide and took in  a deep breath.

"You don't know how beautiful you are." said Epsilon.

The alicorn giggled. "Prettier than you, old man."

Epsilon portrayed his best fake look of disgust. "I'm not that old!"

The Queen shook her head and looked up at the stallion. "Epsilon, how do you always know the right things to say?"

Epsilon sighed and looked away. "I've been through a lot, your majesty."

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked in a concerned tone.

He walked over to the alicorn mare and rested a hoof on her shoulder. "Do you really want to know?"

-----------

Spike growled as he rolled around in place. After today's events, it was slowly becoming obvious that he wasn't going to be able to get any sleep. Had he really hallucinated everything? Was everything he was seeing now just an illusion? The thought of his deteriorating sanity scared him.

"Peppers, you awake?" asked Spike.

The elder dragon smiled. "Of course."

"Do you remember much of earlier today?"

Peppers raised a brow, considering how to answer the peculiar question. "I may be old, but not that old, my friend."

Spike chuckled a bit. "Can you tell me what happened?"

The red dragon stared at Spike blankly. "... What?"

"Well?"

Peppers shook his head and laughed. "We left camp early since you made us, and when we got to Manehatten, well, you know."

Spike snorted and glared at Peppers. "No, I don't know."

Peppers didn't know whether he should be amused, or scared. "Everything was dead. Nopony and nodragon anywhere to be found in that ghost city."

The purple dragon rested his head on his claws and sighed. "Of course."

"You look troubled, Spike." said Peppers, walking over and sitting down next to the younger dragon.

"Do I now?" asked Spike, chuckling to himself.

The conversation between the two dragons was interrupted as Peppers uncontrollably belched a large yellow fireball into the air. It swirled for a few seconds before forming into a small scroll with a royal seal. Peppers gulped and carefully brought the letter up to his face, reading it. He was completely oblivious to the staring purple dragon that was now wondering why exactly a conspirator would receive a message from the palace.

Spike growled. "Peppers?"

"Worry not, hatch ling. This message is from General Epsilon." reassured Peppers.

"What does it say?"

Peppers laughed. "He's just on my tail about how it's taking quite a long time to find Rarity."

Spike let out a sigh of relief. "Speaking of Rarity, there's something you should know."

-----------

Epsilon carefully grabbed a large brown book from the shelf and brought it over next to the alicorn queen. She gave him a confused look as she read the title. "What does this have to do with your past?"

"Your highness, you remember this book, correct?" asked Epsilon.

"Of course." she replied. "It's the one Rainbow Dash had read in her story, the alicorn history book."

Without a response, Epsilon flipped to the page on Stardust Arcane. The alicorn's eyes widened as she stared upon the familiar face.  "That's..."

"Yes. That's him." said Epsilon.

"I don't get it." said the alicorn. "Where do you come in?"

Epsilon sighed as memories of his childhood assaulted his mind. No. The Queen has a right to know this, she has a right to see. With struggle from every fiber in his being, Epsilon pointed to a small, formal looking passage located directly under the picture of Stardust.

----------

Name: Arcane, Stardust.

Race: Alicorn.

Gender: Male.

Date of Birth: April 30th, Year 2054.

Date of Passing: July 21st, Year 4271.

Title(s): General; Prince; Element of Magic.

Spouse(s): Sparkle, Celestia.

Offspring: Sparkle, Twilight. Arcane, Epsilon.

-----------

The alicorn's jaw dropped as she read the final line. A mix of unwelcome emotions flooded her, a dangerous combination of pity, confusion, and the overpowering sense of betrayal. Why hadn't Epsilon told her that he was her...

"I'm sorry, your highness." he said, destroying her train of thought.

She rested her wing on his back and looked deep into his eyes. Epsilon turned away in shame for a moment before returning the gesture. Gently, the alicorn queen removed his armour and brushed away his mane to reveal an old, permanent scar where his horn should have been. Pure maternal concern overtook her as she embraced the distressed stallion and stroked his mane.

"Epsilon... What happened to you?"