CLANG

I managed to roll with my fall and got back to my feet a second later, before blocking with my two swords as Sora tried to skewer me with her claws. I grinned to my sister, who returned to look as, while it looked like we were in a simple stalemate, to the unseen eye six of my Vectors were quickly fending off Sora’s attempt at using her own four.

With a triumphant shout, I pushed Sora off of me, ‘shattering’ her Vectors back into her body, using her pained grimace caused by a headache to pin her with one Vector on each limb, followed by a bunch of Sensory Blades floating above her.

“Ha....ha...that makes....how many now babe?” I questioned my marefriend, who was sitting nearby with a book in her hands. She looked up for a moment, looking to my pinned sister before taking out a small sheet of paper.

“Alright, that’s Nat-10, Sora-7, myself-9. You’re falling behind Sora~.” Twilight sung, passing the two of us some water bottles. It had been a couple of days since our return, and we have been doing what we do normally back in Ed’s world; sparring.

Though Twilight’s friends were still weirded out about Twilight being so strong and stuff, they understood, at least I think they did. It was nearly nightfall and we decided to get a couple more matches in before dark.

“RRRAHHHHH!!” I turned to my annoyed sister as she yelled to the heavens. “I don’t get it! I have the Ultimate Shield, The Ultimate Spear, Shapeshifting, Vectors, Ice, Fire and Time magic and freaking Aura, AND I AM STILL LOSING!”

I looked to her with a blank expression as she went on another tirade, the fourth one this week. One of the apparent side effects of turning from a child into teenager at once was all of her hormones were acting up so she has been really moody as of late. Well, better now than later. But still, her mood swings were starting to get annoying. I swear she’s just like mom when she was pregnant with me, if dad is to be believed.

I just stood next to my unicorn mate as my sister began blasting her magic around in her fit, before deciding enough is enough and wrapped her up in my Vectors...again. This is quickly becoming a very common occurrence.

Sora struggled in my psychokinetic limbs for another minute or so, before she finally ran out of breath and noticed our expressions. I swear, how do creatures faces turn so red so quickly?

“Um, I did it again didn’t I?” She questioned in embarrassment, to which we just nod and began our treck back home. The ponies that saw us just sighed, knowing what had happened as I kept a firm wrap on my sister behind me.

I glanced to the house, a second after the door was opened by a bemused Selene. I just shook my head to her, telling her not to say anything as we walked in, and I ‘gently’ threw my sister onto the couch as I made my way to mine and Twilight’s room. A quick change later, I was in a pair of sleeping shorts and a purple tank top.

“So, what’s the plan for tomorrow?” Sora questioned, once again in her child form, petting a sleeping Chance. Twilight passed me on her way to our room, and I smirked to her over my shoulder as I felt her tail on my behind.

“Well, I was thinking we could use tomorrow to explore and try and fix the old castle in the Everfree. I mean, it would be cool to try and repair some of the history in that old place, at least then Twi could learn where all the tricks and traps are before the girls decide to do their own thing.”

“But aren’t the girls going to do that after Twilight’s ascension?” My sister questioned.

“Yeah, but at this point we can safety say ‘screw you’ to the timeline of events.” I responded, passing my sis an orange as I grabbed an apple for myself. She nodded in agreement and I saw her use her Vectors to peel and slice the fruit, managing to not spill on the Luxio on her lap.

“So, Everfree Castle, how about after lunch?” Twi asks, walking down in a pair of shorts and a sports bra. I nodded, before looking around again.

“Hey, where’s Spike?”

“Oh, he said he would be sleeping over at Applejacks since he and Big Mac are playing their Oubliettes and Ogres game with the CMC, Selene, Artemis and Topaz. Pandora is sleeping down in the lab.” My sister said, carefully maneuvering herself out from under Chance.

That made sense. With a quick nod, I grabbed one of the books I was reading recently, about simple magic spells, and continued reading from where I left off earlier while Sora and Twi grabbed their own books to read. A shame we don’t have any video games, I would kill to be able to play through some Fallout, Pokemon or Persona right now. Hell, I would take playing through FNAF or DDLC if it meant I could have my PC, 3DS or PlayStation with me.

Before I knew it, Luna had fully risen the moon outside while the three of us were lost in our respective books, the clock chiming 12 telling us to go to sleep.

I wish I knew what tomorrow was going to bring to us.

“Are we there yet?” Sora questioned....again. I am starting to think she is turning into a kid specifically to annoy me like a sister and to make up for the years she couldn’t.

“No, Sora.” I muttered, slapping my face as we flew above the canopy of the Everfree. “I mean, for Luna’s sake you are sitting on my back, you can see where we are!”

My sister adjusted herself to look at me upside down from my back. “So?” Was her only reply as she smirked. I could hear Twilight laughing behind us as I flew us ahead of her. I rolled my eyes and allowed a pout to cross my face before looking ahead, seeing the aged and dilapidated castle another minute out from our location.

“So, what exactly are you expecting us to find?” Twilight questioned as she caught up.

I shrugged to her. “Not a lot honestly. In the show the only thing of real note you and the girls found was Celestia and Luna’s old journal and library. The girls went through a large serious of unfortunate events and ended up scaring each other all night.”

“I still can’t believe the sisters built so many traps and tricks into their own home.” Sora muttered. “That would drive me nuts if I were one of them and they didn’t have their shared journal.”

“Agreed.” I muttered, slowing down my flight as we came in for a landing. I let my sister off my back before she shape-shifted back into her teen form, in a pair of baggy black cargo pants, a pair of matching black boots and a plain purple tank top.

I motioned to the doors and my sister and I opened them up, revealing the rundown entry hall with an old carpets, some large banners that Rarity scared herself with, and the branching hallways.

Not going to lie, this place looks both better, and worse in real life than on the TV. Better because it looks like a real ruined castle with damaged cobblestone and other items, worse for the same reason, especially the smell of mold and still, old water puddles.

“Soooo...which way first?” My sister questioned, looking around with curious eyes.

“Well, we should probably look for Celestia and Luna’s study to find their journal before anything else if this place is as booby trapped as you described.” Twilight suggested, already walking up the stairs. I nodded along with my marefriend and we made our way through the ruined castle.

A couple times while we were walking through the halls, I couldn’t help but get a weird feeling on my mind. Like there was something here that I just wasn’t seeing. And seeing the look on Twilight’s face, I think Sora was the only one who wasn’t thinking like that.

‘What is that feeling? You feel it too, right?’ I mentally question the mare.

‘Yeah, it feels odd. It feels...almost like Princess Luna but...not at the same time? I also feel this weird tingling in my chest, like my magic is telling me something.’ She responded. Oookkayy? I don’t feel that second part myself.

I shrugged it off for now, staying next to my sister as we made our way through the halls, eventually finding a pair of slightly ornate doors, which I recognized as leading to the study. A quick push and we were in, seeing all the, surprising well maintained books and furniture.

My sister and marefriend took the lead, looking around the room with intrigued eyes while I searched one of the bookshelves, searching for anything interesting.

“You know, for being over a thousand years old, this library isn’t all that bad.” Sora said, grabbing a seat at one of the tables while Twilight lit up a candelabra.

“Yeah, honestly I expected this place to be full of rats and stuff.” I muttered back, taking out an old book, but the ink was so smudged I couldn’t read the title.

“I remember Celestia saying she sometimes came by here to clean on the very off times she had free. Even then, I honestly thought this place would be worse maintained. I mean, look at this!” I turned to Twilight as she pointed out an old couch, which was actually completely clean, likely dusted off recently.

“Um, Twi? I don’t think Celestia did this.” I said warily, looking at the old couch, notching it actually wasn’t all that old, only a couple years. Actually, now that I though about it, I think I saw a couch similar to this one being thrown out by one of the carpenter ponies back in town last week.

.....

Eh, it’s probably just a coincidence.

My sister turned to us as well, before putting too much weight on her chair, causing it to tilt. She waved her arms with a small shout as she nearly fell, before it stopped and we all heard a loud click followed by the shifting of gears.

Twilight and I noticed the mechanism connected to one of the legs of the chair before having to catch our hair as the bookshelf next to us opened up revealing a hidden door and caused a inward draft.

“Huh, so that’s where that was.” I muttered, now remembering what the opening trick was.

Once the door finished opening, the three of us got a look in, Twilight writing and using her magic to make a light source, revealing an old bedroom with a crescent moon and sun shaped beds, with two stained glass windows depicting Luna and Celestia as well as a large bookshelf with several ornate seat cushions nearby.

In the middle of the room, was a pedestal, with a large book resting atop it.

“‘The Journal of the Two Sisters’. Sweet, we found it.” Twi muttered, taking the book and hopping onto Celestia’s old bed. It was as my sister was settling next to her, that I noticed something.

“Hey girls?” The duo look to me as I was looking over Luna’s old bed. “Is it just me, or does this bed looked like it was recently used?”

My sister and marefriend walked over, and saw the creases and half-hazardously made sheets, along with a couple of pillows near the end that was clearly from nearby and not the bed itself.

“Hmmm, do you think maybe somepony is squatting here?” Twi questioned, keeping a firm grasp on the book.

“Possibly. It isn’t like somepony would need to pay Celestia or Luna rent or something. Plus this place is actually pretty well preserved and clear.” I replied, taking a seat on the Lunar mares old sleeping spot. I admit, this was a really comfy bed for being a thousand years old.

“Yeah, but I hope whoever they are, they aren’t all that aggressive. The last thing we need is to start a fight in a place that could collapse on us at any moment.” Twi responded, taking a seat next to me while my sister did the same to her.

“Well, there isn’t much we can do about it now. For now, let’s just read through this journal so we know where all the hidden doors are.”

We nodded and Twi began to read aloud. I admit, some of the stories in here were great, like the time Luna set up a small trap in the Hall of Hooves so when Celestia tried to use one of the doors, a bucket of red paint would fall on her. But the response clearly made it clear that Luna was the one of the receiving end of her own trap, along with some pony named Eclipse.

I am not sure how long the three of us were there, reading through the old diary, but eventually we got to a part that was worrying.

“‘Why don’t you let us help!? I don’t understand at all! Eclipse is sick taking a bolt for me and you won’t let us do a thing! We CAN heal him! He is my best friend Tia, more than that! Just let me-‘. It cuts off after that. Looks like Luna was interrupted before she could finish.” Twi said, a frown on her face. She turned to me and Sora, her question obvious, but we just shake our heads.

“We’ve never heard of anypony named Eclipse in the show back on Earth. It’s possible he was a night guardstallion, but that’s all we’ve got.” Sora said.

“But whoever he was, he was clearly precious to Luna. And from what we can gather, he took a bullet for her.” I said swinging my legs lazily through the air.

“Hmm, I wonder if Luna even remembers Eclipse.” Twi muttered to herself.

“She should. I mean, I am not sure how being stuck on the moon worked, but it was clear she wasn’t conscious the entire time. Even an immortal Alicorn isn’t immune to the mental and emotional damage of total isolation.” I said, sitting up.

“Well...I was more so thinking about her time as Nightmare Moon. I am not sure how it was showed back in your world, but Nightmare Moon caused a civil war for half a decade before she was banished. It’s where Celestia first began to go on her anti-dark magic crusade, originally believing Luna was possessed by something caused by her tampering with dark and acult magics.” Twi said, placing the book on the nightstand.

“I’m guessing that line of thinking didn’t last long after confronting Nightmare?” Sora said, earning a slightly disappointed nod from Twi. Sora scoffed, “Figured as much.”

“Yeah, one can only lie to themselves for so long before reality sucker punches them in the teeth.” Twi said, stretching her arms before glancing out the window towards the slowly darkening sky. “We should probably call it and head back to town, its starting to get late. I’m sure Spike and the pokemon are back by now anyways.”

My sister and I nod, stretching ourselves out from our spots on the bed. It was as I was bending down to stretch my back, that I noticed something we missed.

“What’s this?” Crouching and then reaching under the bed, I grabbed what looked to be a small notebook, like the ones from the local surplus store, but it had a bunch of stars and the night motif all over it. The girls tilted their heads as I tried to open it, but I could tell almost immediately when it didn’t give that it was magically sealed.

“Hmm, looks like we found the squatters diary. I think.” I stated, toss the small notebook in the air a couple times. The duo shrugged as we left the bedroom, placing the stool back down and allowing the secret door to close.

“So, wanna do anything else before we head out?” Sora questioned, reading through Luna and Celestia’s journal again. I looked to Twilight, who just shrugged.

I was going to suggest walking back for the hell of it, when a cold chill flowed through me. And I wasn’t the only one as I saw Twilight and Sora shiver themselves, our breaths becoming visible for half a second. Out of the corner of my eye, I could swear I saw something dark duck behind the corner of a nearby hall.

“W-w-what was that?” Sora questioned, lighting herself on fire, but just barely as to not catch any of the nearby books ablaze.

“That....that was not natural. That was almost an eerie, ethereal cold.” Twilight stated, warming herself up with my sisters flames.

“Yeah, but am I the only one who felt like we should follow whatever that shadow was?” I said, pointing down the hall. Twilight looked down the hall with a narrowed gaze, silently telling me I wasn’t the only one who saw that.

“What shadow?” I turned to my sister, seeing her adorably confused face on her tilted head.

“You didn’t just see an odd, almost cloaked figure ducking behind the hall?” Twi questioned, earning a shaken head negative from my little sister.

“Hmm, whatever it was, it may hold some answers. To what questions, I am not sure, but something is generally better than nothing.” I said, taking another glance around the room before heading down the hall, followed by my sister and Twilight.

“So, what did you girls see? Also watch your step Twi.” Sora said, nudging Twilight away from another pressure step.

“Not sure really. All I saw was a dark figure. I can’t make heads or tails of what they looked like.” Twi said, ducking under a mounted pair of antlers.

“Same.” I muttered, looking around as we turned the corner.

The three of us paused a moment, Sora flipping through the old journal and pointing out the traps in the area with small balls of fire hovering over the spots. The three of us just continued down the paths, Twi and I just following our instincts for now.

“Ok, I can’t be the only one feeling like we’re being watched right?” Sora broke the silence.

“Yeah, I’m with you there sis.” I agreed, catching myself before I stepped on yet another pressure pad.

“Yeah, but am I the only one who feels like this is a familiar gaze?” Twi questioned, earning our attention as we finally made it into the main hall. “I don’t know, but I can’t help but feel like I have felt this before. Like, whoever is watching us, I know.”

I just hummed with a hand on my chin, before we hear the shifting of stone and saw someone run down another hall.

“Hey!”

The three of us run down the stairs and into the hall, catching the tail end of the pony in question, following as they ran down and other hall.

“Who is that?” Sora questions, hopping over some debris as we turned another corner, seeing the figure go through a pair of doors.

“Not sure, but whoever they are, they aren’t getting away.” I replied, seeing the doors led to a large staircase. With a small nod, Twilight made a light and the three of us made our ways down, seeing the pathway split into a T.

A glance around, and a wave of light, showed the left way had long since collapsed, so with no other alternatives, we made our way right, seeing it lead to another corner. I placed my back to the wall, Sora and Twilight following suit, before I took a breath and rushed the corner.

What greeted me was a short corridor leading to a collapsed doorway. Confused, I walked over, seeing through the broken door that whatever room was there had been long destroyed. I could barely see in past the fallen rock and dirt.

“What the, where did they go?” Sora questions, looking around the hall in confusion, creating a couple balls of fire to light the area.

“Maybe they teleported out?” Twi muttered before shaking her head. “No, we would have seen a flash or heard a pop.”

I frowned as I looked around, feeling along the walls with my Vectors and feeling nothing but solid stone, no secret passages, no doorways, nothing.

‘What happened? Where did that person disappear to?’ I thought to myself. ‘And....what is this familiar feeling?’

“Twi.” My marefriend turned to me. “Do you feel that?” She rose a brow. “That...dark essence. The encompassing darkness.”

“Uh sis? Are you just trying to be dramatic? I don’t feel a thing.” My sister replied behind me. I just shook my head, seeing Twilight place a hand on her chin.

“No, I feel it too. Honestly it is a familiar feeling. The feeling of dark magic. You probably can’t feel it Sora, because technically you have never learned a thing about it. Only Nat has.” She said, looking at the debris again before pausing. “I wonder. Sora, snuff the lights.”

My sister rose a brow but complied, extinguishing her fire and leaving the three of us in pitch blackness. I could sense the magic in the area clearer now that there wasn’t any fire to distract me. I looked towards the rubble again after my eyes adjusted to the dark and widened my eyes, nudging Twilight to look as well. Now that there was no light in the area, the rubble almost looked like it had a heat haze around it.

“What is that? Some kind of illusion?” Sora questioned, standing next to us. I slowly nodded my head. Twi suddenly walked forwards, a look of determination on her face, before she closed her eyes. My sister and I watched as black and purple bubbles of dark magic began to appear on her horn, followed by sparks of magic electricity, before her eyes snapped open, revealing them to be completely green with purple and gold wisps coming out of the sides. With barely a moments hesitation, she pointed her horn forwards, sending a beam of dark magic at the rubble.

The rubble seemed to wobble, almost like it was made of a bubble, before like a bubble, burst, revealing a hidden, darkly designed door with two crescent moons as the door handles. As the illusion dropped and Twi deactivated her magic, I noticed some shattered chains on the floor, showing this door was once sealed off.

Keyword being was.

“Okay? Looks like we found wherever they went.” Sora muttered, earning a nod from me and Twi as we walked up. After a moment, I grabbed the doorway and slowly opened it, a wind blowing back our hair as the door opened.

Looking around, we saw a large, for lack of better comparison, apartment. It had a main room with a couch, a tall bookshelf, a hallway leading to a bedroom and archaic bathroom, and another door, sealed off. Walking in and closing the door behind us, Sora and I took the lead, looking around and taking note of the overbearing night and space decor. All without an inch of the sun anywhere.

The girls and I carefully make our way in, seeing the place was actually pretty nice, definitely better than the apartment Adam was going to be moving into when he was going to leave for college.

“Ok? So, what’s behind door number 1?” Sora questioned with a grin, grabbing the handle to the only closed door. Almost immediately she let go with a yelp as a bolt of magic electricity shocked her into the wall.

“Sora!” I run over to my twitching sister before she got herself under control, red sparks appearing as she healed herself. “You good?” She slowly nods her head, clutching her hand as it healed.

“Okay, looks like this door is sealed with another dark magic seal.” Twi said, looking over the door with a critical gaze.

“Yeah, but how do we get in? I don’t think the same spell is going to work twice.” I replied, scratching my head.

‘Fools...’ Twilight and I jumped, but I kept us all rooted in place with my Vectors to not give anything away. ‘how can they hope to get in here? They have no royal blood. I just have to stay here until they leave. Yes...I just have to wait...nothing new...’

The voice trailed off with a sigh, it almost sounded sad. I glanced to my sister and Twilight, seeing the former looking around, while Twi was looking to me with wide eyes. A tap to the head and I set up our telepathic connection.

‘You heard that right?’ Twi questioned, to which I just nod. ‘That voice, it...almost sounded like Luna.’

Everything suddenly came into focus as I heard her say that, my eyes opening wide.

“Gods I hope I’m wrong.” I muttered, catching the girls attention as I grabbed the handle. Unfortunately, just like Sora I got shocked, but not nearly to the same degree as Sora, just like a static shock. Taking my hand back and shaking the pain away, I frowned, before glancing to Twi.

“You wanna try?” I questioned with a frown. Twilight frowned as well, before sighing and walking over. Sora and I stood behind her, prepared to catch her should she get blasted away. Twi shook her head and took a breath before raising a shaking hand to the handle. A moments hesitation passed before she closed her eyes and grabbed the handle.

Sora and I tensed and waited, but after a couple seconds of nothing, Twi finally opened her eyes to see she wasn’t getting shocked.

“Umm, alright?” She muttered, turning the handle and slowly opening the door. It revealed another set of stairs leading down to than other room, a light showing it wasn’t just a random room.

“Ok, why did that work? Could the seal not interact with your arm or something?” Sora questioned, looking at Twi prosthetic arm. Twi and I were silent, looking down the stairs before simultaneously walking down. Sora caught up after a second before we made it to the bottom.

Entering the room, our eyes widened at what could only really be described as a trophy door or armoury. Several weapons like swords, spears and bows lined the walls while several ponyquins of different armours stood at attention. Walking over to one, my eyes winded as I realized this armor was the same that Rainbow Dash wore when Twi went to the Timeline where Nightmare Moon took over.

“Whoa, these are old night guard armor sets. But...what are they doing all the way down here?” Twi questioned aloud, earning a shrug from us as we made our way through the room. I noticed a large bookshelf off to the side with several old and dusty books and scrolls. I walked over to grab one, only to stop as I heard Twi gasp.

Looking over, I see her looking to the back, and following her gaze, I saw what she was looking at.

It was a sword, but it looked way more dangerous yet beautiful than any other I have seen here. It was double bladed with the blade itself being straight and the black metal composing it giving off an odd, almost glowing blue reflection. Slowly trailing up the blade, I saw the cross guard looked to be fashioned after bat wings, with them both being retracted around the connection, almost like a bat folding its wings around itself. The handle was wrapped in some beautiful white and black cloth that I think would make Rarity pass out, some of it still had some hanging off the rest, almost like a scarf. The pommel was rounded with an onyx stone resting in the centre, and I noticed there was a bright blue sapphire in the centre of the cross guard in the shape of a crescent moon.

The sword was stabbed into a slab of cobblestone, almost like it was trying to be like Excalibur, and I noticed a gauntlet was resting next to it. The glove was made of some black metal like most of the armor here, it had sharpened fingers, giving the illusion of claws, and several small onyx, sapphires and even aquamarines lining the knuckles down to the wrist like it was highlighting where the wearers right hand bones would be. It also had some black cloth that would reach up to ones elbow at the opening.

“Woah, that is one hell of a sword.” Sora thought aloud. I nodded in agreement as Twi walked over to the blade, summoning her notepad and quill and beginning to sketch it.

“Remarkable. I have never seen this blade in any books back in the castle.” Twi said, looking over the blade from every angle before looking at the gauntlet.

“I think there is an obvious reason for that.” Sora said, looking around again before whipping out the journal.

“Yeah, its clear these pieces are from Nightmare’s era.” I said, looking at another set of armor with a critical eye, noting the holes both on the back and in the centre of the forehead to signify it being for an Alicorn. “Honestly, I am not sure if Celestia even knows about this room.”

“Probably not, there isn’t any notes about the hallways leading here in the book. It’s obvious this room and the hall were created after Nightmare showed up.” Sora said, flipping through the sisters journal before slamming it shut with a sigh. I shrugged my shoulders and looked back to the blade, before blinking and looking closer.

“Hey, am I the only one who senses an odd aura around the sword here?” I questioned, earning my sisters attention as well as Twilight’s.

“Yeah, I feel what you mean. This blade is...cold. Strong. Dark.” Twilight muttered, looking it over carefully.

“I don’t see it.” Sora finally said, crossing her arms with a frown. “I am really starting to dislike my lack of dark magic.”

I rose a brow at her and frowned before turning to Twi, and noticing she almost seemed mesmerized by the blade. I tilt my head before looking to the glove and shrugging my shoulders. Picking up the gauntlet, I am about to put it on, before pausing.

‘Lack of royal blood. But Twilight got us in. Maybe...’ I frowned before sighing and holding the glove to my marefriend. Twilight just blinked and tilted her head. I motioned to the sword then the glove, before it clicked in her head.

“Are you sure Nat?” She questioned, taking the gauntlet from me. I just nodded, helping her get the large hunk of metal on. Sora just looked to us with a raised brow. Once the gauntlet and gloves were one, Twi flexed her fingers, before it suddenly glowed black and shrunk to properly fit her. I tilted my head at that.

“Alright, that’s odd.” Sora muttered. I nodded in agreement while Twi just shrugged and went over to the pedestal.

Sora and Twilight kept their eyes on the blade, while I discretely kept an eye out. As Twi wrapped her hand around the hilt, I saw movement from the corner of my right eye. Without moving, I glanced back, and saw a misty shadow just out of direct sight behind the Alicorn armor. Then I saw it.

Those burning bright turquoise eyes. Their pupils slit like a cat or dragon.

They view barely regarded me and my sister before locking on the form of Twilight as she took a breath.

’Foolish mare. Only one with royal blood and dark essence can even hope to-’

The voice I could barely hear was cut off as Twi grunted with effort, slowly retracting the sword from its stone placement. The shadow’s eyes widened in shock as the metal scraped against stone, slowly passing the threshold before, with another tug, Twi pulled it free and above her head.

Sora and Twi looked to the blade in awe now that it was released from the stone, while I just smirked and turned to the shadow behind me, who just stared in shock.

“That enough for you Nightmare?”

The girls turned to me as I turned my body to the darkness, the bright eyes finally turning to me and seeing my smirk. They blinked, then Twi lit up her hand while Sora burst into flames.

“Nightmare Moon!?”

The shadow scowled before coming into the light, the shroud of darkness giving way to the form of an Alicorn as tall as Celestia with pitch-black fur and a violent purple and blue nebula for a mane, as opposed to Luna’s calm night sky. She was adorned in a dark blue and purple dress that reached her ankle and a black over coat with white fur lining. I also noticed a couple of starry strips in her mane.

“How are you doing that?” The Alicorn questioned, earning a raised brow only. She pointed to the blade. “That is my most prized blade, one I used against my sister on more occasions than any other weapon. That blade is especially enchanted so only one with my royal blood and a connection with dark magic can hold it, let alone wield it.”

Sora and I turned to Twi, who looked just as confused. She lowered her hand and dispelled her attack before looking at the blade in her other hand.

“I...don’t know.” Twi muttered, not lowering her guard. “This blade...it just felt like...like it was calling to me, I don’t know.”

“Hmph,” the Alicorn scoffs, “well it is obvious you have some connection to my sister. So what are you? Her daughter, granddaughter? Descendant? Seventh bastard child from a drunken romp?”

“Oi!” Twi shouted with a scowl. “I don’t know what I am to Celestia aside from her personal student, but I am NOT her child or grandchild!” She frowns. “Honestly I would prefer to be Luna’s anyways.”

That caught the mares attention, her eyes snapping open. “You would...what?” The three of us looked to one another, frowning before Twi sighs.

“I said I would honestly prefer if I was Luna’s descendant if there is that connection. Not to be rude to her, but my respect for Celestia has been on a steady decline ever since I lost my arm and gained some dark magic.”

Nightmare’s eyes opened wider as Twi rolled up her sleeve to show her her crystalmail arm. I blinked, and then turned to Twi as Nightmare seemed to teleport to her and took her arm in her hands, looking it over with wide eyes.

“Remarkable! I have never seen anything like this!” The mare exclaimed. I looked to Twi, who just rose a brow, before looking back to Nightmare. Sora and I looked back and forth a couple times before my sis started talking.

“Huh, that’s...odd. You two have nearly the same look in your eyes when you find something new.” That threw the duo for a loop. I looked to my sister before going back and forth between the two again, and nodding.

“Okay? Now that I am properly looking at you two side by side, you actually look a lot alike.” I said with a frown. And I wasn’t kidding. Nightmare and Twilight had the same body proportions, the stripes in their manes were in the same spots, hell, even their eyes looked similar aside from the colour.

Nightmare blinked a couple times before turning to Twi, who just frowned as well, her head tilted to the side. She then got her arm free from the alicorns grasp and reached up. Nightmare didn’t move aside from a raised brow as Twi began messing with her face like a child.

“Weird.” We hear her mutter. “The more I look at you, the more I see my mom.”

That got our attention as Twi released the other mares face, said mare taking her turn to feel up Twi’s face, much to her amusement. Nightmare was silent, looking over every part of Twilight’s face, before she groaned and grabbed her head.

“Eclipse.”

The three of us look to one another, confused, before a crazy theory popped into my head. I narrowed my eyes as Nightmare released her head and blinked a couple times.

“Nightmare.” The Alicorn turned to me. “Just, who is this Eclipse?”

Nightmare blinked a couple times before sighing, taking a seat near the stone that once held the sword.

“Eclipse Divide. He was a thestral guard back a thousand years ago. He was only a teenager when he joined up as a guard, so bright and cute despite his species stigma. He was so nice, but respectful and obedient, nearly to a fault when Luna wanted a laugh and pranked him.” Nightmare laughed a little, a fond smile on her face.

“He joined nearly a year before I took over. Despite being so respectful, he wasn’t afraid of Luna, he just wanted us to be happy. He and Luna became friends, really he was her only friend. They were...content I suppose, in their solely platonic relationship.” She frowned, a sad and angry look passing into her eyes.

“But then, on a return trip from a thestral village that had been hit by a while storm, some of Celestia’s ‘cultists’ attack, intent of making sure she is the only ruling body. But they were weak, no match for Luna and I, let alone our contingency of guards.” She frowned, more sadness than anger in her eyes. “But then, we got distracted. As I was comforting Luna about having to slay ‘her little ponies’ an archer we missed took a pot shot at us before anypony could react. But Eclipse saw it.”

The three of us frowned, nodding to her as we realized what happened. Nightmare gave a shaky sigh, reigning in her emotions.

“The arrow was poisoned specifically to turn the ponies magic and body against itself. He made the body think the magic was an invading virus, making it tear itself from the inside out. There was a relatively rare cure, but we were out after our latest attack from the griffons and Celestia decided that saving one more guard was too much since the plant needed only grew deep in Griffonian territory.” She took a breath, calming herself. “Luna didn’t like that because she didn’t want to lose a friend.” She blushed. “I didn’t want to lose him because I didn’t want to lose a love.”

“Wait Wait Wait.” Sora interrupts. “So, Luna just liked Eclipse, but you had a crush on him? How does that work?”

“Well, believe it or not, Eclipse already knew of me. I had some control over the dream realm without Luna knowing, and had been visiting him for the past couple months. Obviously he was confused at first, and to be honest so was I, but eventually he actually accepted me as me and not Luna.” She blushed a bit brighter. “And, I won’t deny I used his dreams to have some....fun.”

“Oh? OH, oh my.” Twi muttered, a blush appearing on her face as she realized what was going on. I coughed into my hand after a minute, getting the others attention on me.

“Alright, so Eclipse was poisoned, Celestia refused to treat him, Luna and yourself didn’t like that. I take it that was the spark that started the power keg explosion that was your takeover?” I questioned, earning a nod from Nightmare. “And I take it you used this time to grab the cure for Eclipse and secret got together with him?” She nodded again, a loving smile on her face.

“Am I the only one getting Minato and Kushina vibes, or what?” Sora added. I blinked a couple times and slowly nodded, seeing the similarities while Nightmare and Twilight were lost.

“Kinda.”

“Alright, back on track.” Twi broke in, earning our attention. “That still doesn’t explain why we look so alike. I mean, I seriously doubt its just a coincidental case of similar genetics.”

“Wait. Genetics.” I muttered, a hand on my chin, an idea slowly forming in my head.

“Whatcha thinking Nat?” My sister questioned, while I smirked.

“Be right back, I need to grab a book from the library.” I said, summoning my wind and flying out the door at high speeds. I could barely catch my sister questioning what I was doing before I was zooming through the halls and towards the library.

Once I arrived, I began looking through the shelves at a quick rate, using my Vectors to grab any books to high up from me, going through them all, searching for something I knew was around here. I knew, because I saw it earlier but couldn’t remember where I put it. After a minute or two of taking down practically every book from the shelves, before, much to my embarrassment, I finally found the book.

On the table from before.

Oops.

I chose to ignore the mess I made, intent on cleaning later, and grabbed the old medical magic book. I flew through the pages, looking for something specific, before stopping two thirds through the book. A smile broke across my face as I found what I was hoping for. Bookmarking the page, I flew back to the secret room, tossing old armor and decorations out of the way with my magic.

Once I arrived, I found a rather amusing sight.

“How are you so small and adorable?!”

“Damn it let me go!”

I had to hold in a laugh as I watched my eight-year-old sister struggle to escape her fate while she was being glomped by the ‘pure evil and menacing’ Nightmare Moon, her muzzle nuzzling the child’s hair. Twi had to cover her mouth to prevent her own laughter, but an occasional snicker escaped her muzzle.

Finally Sora managed to angle herself and saw me, an adorable glare on her face as she saw my expression. I finally lost it at that moment, Twi following suit as the two of us fell to the floor, an angry Sora and confused Nightmare just looking at us.

“Oh haha, NOW STOP LAUGHING AND HELP ME!” my sister screamed, surprising Nightmare enough with her outburst to let the girl go, resulting in an unintended face plant. Twi and I lost it again.

“OH OH GODS THAT IS FUNNY!” My marefriend screamed, kicking her hooves into the air as she clutched her stomach. I would have agreed, but I was took preoccupied trying to get oxygen into my system.

Nightmare chose to ignore us as she walked over and grabbed the book I brought, flipping through it to the marked page. I looked over and saw Nightmare’s raised brow, before I managed to motion to Twi, who just managed to get to her hooves.

“Why would-” Nightmare’s eyes shot open, before she whispered so quietly I nearly missed it. “Nebula Heart.” Sora and Twi looked to one another, then to me in confusion, while I frowned, taking the book from Nightmare.

“Nebula Heart huh? I take it, that was your filly?” I questioned, looking over the book, while Sora and Twi looked to Nightmare, said mares eyes wide in shock.

“Surprised? I was actually kinda easy yo figure it out once I put some pieces together in a different order. You have too many similarities to Twilight and her family. Your random attempts at placing what Twi was to Celestia showed you, Luna and her aren’t above a couple rolls in the hay. And, maybe its just me, but I get this weird maternal vibe from you, especially when you were glomping Sorano. You remind me of my aunt Chiho on my surrogate elder sister’s family.” I walked over to Twi, still reading the book and quickly cut a hair from her head with my Vectors, surprising her as it hovered in front of her. Nightmare sighed, ignoring as I took one of her hairs as well.

“I knew that our fight couldn’t last forever. Celestia and I had both lost so many of our subjects, too many. That mare was a stubborn as a boulder and I wasn’t any better. We both were preparing for our ‘final battle’ so to speak. We planned for it, but it didn’t happen till nearly a year after. That night, the night I was prepared to meet her, I decided to got all in with Eclipse, not really caring about the ramifications. I was prepared to either win or lose, I wasn’t that far gone that I lacked anything other than anger and hate. I was my own pony, I just happened to be inhabiting Luna’s body and mind.”

She took a breath, a small blush on her face. “That was the night I gave him my everything, prepared to make him my king should I win.” She then rubbed her head sheepishly. “Unfortunately, thing’s didn’t go to plan and Celestia and I wouldn’t be having our fight until nearly a year later.” The three of us just deadpanned her, before I went back to the spell, making sure I understood everything.

“So, I guess it goes without saying that he planted her in you?” Twi added bluntly, her remark making Nightmare blush and then glare at her before nodding.

“Yeah, you have no idea how hard it was to keep my pregnancy secret, but when you are a master of dark magic, a couple dozen illusions is nothing.” She boasted, earning an eye roll from us.

“Wow, way to sound like Trixie.” Sora stated, earning a Vector hit to the head. She frowned and looked to me while I just narrowed my eyes to her, finishing drawing the spell formula on the ground.

“Anyways...not long after Nebula was born, I had Eclipse take her away from here since I knew Celestia was actually coming this time. I didn’t want either of those two to be hurt. Last I heard before we were sealed on the moon, Eclipse and Nebula were on a boat heading out of Equestria.”

“And it looks like either they or their descendants came back.” The others look to me while I frowned, looking at the blue flame before me.

“Uh, what is that?” Twi and Sora asked. I held out the book, not looking away from the floating flame.

“A magic DNA test basically. It was developed by Clover the Clever to help with those that were orphaned or lost during the reign and aftermath of the Windego’s to help find their family. It would take two pieces of DNA, and magically cross reference them, becoming red fire if they weren’t related.” I explained, Sora taking the book, her eyes widening as she read through it quickly.

“And...becoming yellow if they were distant relatives.” Sora said, finally handing the book to Nightmare, who looked near the end, before tears began to form in her eyes.

“And...finally...blue if they were...direct descendants.”

Twilight’s eyes shot open and she took the book from the now tearful mare, reading through the spell again. She read it through four times before frowning and taking off a piece of her mane, doing the same to Nightmare before casting the spell herself. The results were the same, the two hairs floating up in a white aura before twisting around each other faster and faster before they burst into a ball of blue fire.

There was silence except for our breathing at the ball of flame before it slowly went out, Twilight slowly dropping the book. Once it hit the ground, Sora blinked a couple times before looking back and forth between the two ponies.

“Well...damn.”