The party had lasted for two hours, giving Nightfury enough time to mingle with everypony that came to visit her and play a couple of pranks on a few ponies that Pinkie picked out. It gave her time to meet the rest of the Elements of Harmony, remembering all their names so she would know exactly who ponies were talking about without having to ask. She spoke with several of the most important ponies in all of Ponyville, namely the Mayor, and answered whatever questions they had for her, like if she was going to stay in Ponyville and did she need a temporary residence before her castle was finished.

She smiled at them and gently told them that she and her cousin would be staying with Twilight for the next week or two, giving the workers that her mother and aunt hired plenty of time to work on the ruined castle.

When the party was over Nightfury made her way to the table that Twilight and her cousin were sitting at, noting that Crimson looked like he was bored as he released a puff of smoke into the air. She took a seat at their table and grinned, knowing that she had a blast hanging with someponies for the first time in a thousand years, something that she had missed. It was refreshing to actually have a conversation she could be a part of and not be forced to listen to the constant wind until she was sure that she would have been driven mad. Crimson moaned as she sat down, but she figured it was fatigue from all the magic he had channeled the previous day to break open the prison that had held her.

"Your mother came by earlier," Twilight said, still not used to referring to either Princess Celestia or Princess Luna as a mother, "She wanted me to give you this scroll, which, if my memory serves, will be exactly like the one Crimson got when Pinkie threw him his 'Welcome to Ponyville' party. It should be a copy of the announcement that went out to the rest of Equestria, telling everypony that your here and that your the Co-Owner of the 'Everfree Kingdom'. Unfortunately, Princess Luna had duties to perform in Canterlot and couldn't stay very long."

"Awww," Nightfury replied, disappointed that her mother couldn't stay longer, "I guess being a Princess in a modern Equestria might be harder than I originally thought, but I'm sure that you and Crimson could help me adjust."

Crimson huffed and looked away, giving the message that he had no interest in teaching anypony about the new practices that would be required of a Princess. Nightfury didn't know what she expected of her cousin at this point, as he had literally spent the last thousand years preparing for a single event. Now that his plan had succeeded and she was free Nightfury wondered what her cousin had up his sleeves this time, or if he had even planned that far.

"Crimson mentioned the Prime Sigils a few days ago," Twilight commented, drawing both of the alicorns attention to her, "and I was just wondering if you'd possibly let me borrow the Sigil of Air for a few days? Crimson rudely shot me down before I could ask him when he showed me the Sigil of Fire, but I hoped for more of a tempered reaction for you."

"Its not as simple as that Twilight," Nightfury replied, shaking her head before staring down at the opal stone she carried, "The Sigils only allow certain ponies to carry them, which is usually revealed to the pony by a vision of some kind that tells them of their destiny. Sometimes an alicorn will be given the honor of carrying even one of the Prime Sigils, but only if their elemental affinity matches one of the Prime Four, Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. Take Crimson for example, his elemental affinity is fire, so the Sigil of Fire called out for him to find it and he did so without delay.

Another problem is the primordial power that each one of them contains, which is usually bound by a certain type of metal that keeps its powers in check. Gold blocks Fire, Silver blocks Air, Bronze blocks Earth, and Platinum blocks Water. The reaction of the Sigil being kept in such a state usually distorts the metal its in, such as Fire turning gold into a state of looking like somepony is wearing flames around their neck. Air really doesn't do anything and I haven't seen the other two Sigils to tell you exactly what they are capable of doing. Giving an inexperienced alicorn one of the Sigils, or any unicorn for that matter, would result in a disaster that could destroy the land around them."

"Oh, well," Twilight said, amazed that Crimson could have forgotten something so important, "Crimson didn't tell me that it would have been dangerous for me to acquire one of them without any prior knowledge."

"Well, he was always the strategist," Nightfury replied, sighing before looking up at Twilight, "but that's not the end of that. Maybe I'll show you how to properly control the power of the Sigil of Air, but I'm afraid that's really all I can offer in that category. If you were interested in the Darkness, however, I could show you a thing or two about them, but we'd have to be somewhere private."

Twilight remembered that Nightfury had mentioned something about the Darkness when she had introduced herself, but all she could pinpoint was that she was the Princess of Darkness. She wasn't exactly sure what that meant, but she was positive that it was a type of magic and her eyes lit up the moment Nightfury had mentioned showing her something.

"Where would be an appropriate place to display the magic?" Twilight asked, wishing that she still had the basement of her old library, "We could always head into the castle and do it without somepony walking in on us..."

"Why not the Everfree Forest?" Crimson commented, causing Twilight to look at him, "There are plenty of places for you two to show off your magic without anypony, namely my mother, bothering you. I'd say the same about those Cutie Mark Crusaders, but they might find you by accident and not understand what they're walking into before its too late. And speaking of the little devil, here comes one of them now. If you'll excuse me, I'm heading back to the castle to sleep and get my energy back, so don't bother me or I might burn you a little."

Before either of them could stop him Crimson got up and made his way out of Sugarcube Corner, just seconds before Sweetie Belle came up to the table. Twilight wondered what her friends were doing, but figured that Apple Bloom was busy with the harvest and Scootaloo was likely practicing so she could fly like Rainbow Dash. If Twilight had to guess she would have guessed that Sweetie Belle had the day off from school and was coming to learn something from her.

"Oh aren't you a cutie," Nightfury said, eying the filly as she thought of something, "What's your name?"

"I'm Sweetie Bell," Sweetie replied, somewhat surprised that the new princess had taken an interest in her, "and Rarity is my older sister. My friends Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and I are the Cutie Mark Crusaders and we crusade almost every day to find our special talents. Its how we ran into Prince Crimson Flare."

"I remember him telling me about that this morning," Nightfury remarked, a smile appearing on her face, "Tell you what, I'll show both you and Twilight a little something about the Darkness and the magic that comes from it. Oh, Twilight, I just realized that once the castle is complete either Crimson or I are going to have to open a School of Magic to teach fillies how to control their magic. Maybe we can come up with something before the castle is finished being repaired."

Twilight continued to be amazed by how fast Nightfury could think of something that she might have missed being added to the ruined castle, which made her wonder if she had read the list she had made. To be completely she hadn't even considered adding a school to the list of things that needed to be changed in the castle, as they still needed to repair the place. Now that she knew that Nightfury was thinking of a school she wondered how hard it would be to designate some area of the castle for her to teach whatever students came to them. Though she had to admit that learning anything about the Darkness and the magic that it held was something that caught Twilight's attention almost immediately.

That was when she thought of the perfect place where they could be free from distractions for the time being, though it would quickly fall apart if Crimson had lied to her.

"What about the Everfree Forest?" Twilight asked, getting a surprised look from Sweetie Belle, "Hear me out, its the perfect place where she can show us exactly what this Darkness is without somepony bothering us or getting in the way before she finished. Besides, you'd be traveling with two alicorns the entire time, so I don't think any of the creatures that call the forest home would dare to bother us."

"If you say so Twilight," Sweetie replied, not liking the idea of returning to the Everfree, even with two alicorns coming with her.

"Then we had best get going," Nightfury said, getting out of her seat, "and I think I have the perfect place in mind where we can avoid detection for some time."

-------------------------------------

For the first time since Twilight started visiting the Everfree Forest the trees were silent, the winds had died down completely, and none of the creatures that called the forest home were making any noises. The Everfree Forest was silent, though Twilight had to wonder if if was because of the storm that had tore through the forest the previous day. Or maybe it was the fact that there was a hint of a lingering magical energy, Crimson's from when he summoned everything he had to pierce the storm. She also considered that it could very well be that the forest was shocked from what had transpired and was taking a short break, if the forest could think for itself.

Nightfury seemed to know where they were going, but that was to be expected as the Everfree Forest hadn't changed in the last thousand years. As such Twilight suspected that both Crimson and Nightfury knew the layout of the forest like the back of their hooves and could traverse any part of with with their eyes closed. Twilight was more than ready to follow Nightfury into the forest, though Sweetie Belle trotted behind her and she could tell that the young filly was scared, even without the creatures running around. As they moved through the trees Twilight noticed that they were delving into the depths of the forest, someplace where Twilight had never been before.

Eventually they came to a small clearing, similar to the one that Crimson had been found sleeping in, but it looked as if the shadows covered most of the ground and the sun couldn't pierce the top of the trees.

"Welcome to my private sanctum," Nightfury said, smiling as she stepped into the clearing, "I would come here and perform my weekly rituals, directing my magic towards whatever breaches there were in the Veil between our world and the Darkness. Even if there weren't any breaches I would store part of my power here, in the off chance that I was somehow sealed away in a prison for an extended period of time. It was a good thing I prepared for being sealed away, because I'm sure that something might have broken through the Veil if my magic hadn't patched up the breaches."

"Explain this Darkness," Twilight inquired, eager to learn something while they were there, "What exactly is it and why are the denizens of that world eager to enter Equestria?"

"Oh how to explain it to somepony who hasn't heard of them?" Nightfury commented, shaking her head before turning to her companions, "Basically the Darkness is a world that is filled and ruled by every negative emotion that you can think of, such as hatred, envy, pain, and pride. Shadows are creatures that call that world home, but they could be anything from a young filly that's interested in learning the secrets of magic to a demon that wants to rule the world. The Darkness is separated from Equestria by what I call the Veil, a gigantic web of magic that prevents most of the Darkness from seeping into our world, but there are cases where one of its denizens manage to cross over.

My job as the Princess of Darkness is to maintain the Veil, watching for creatures that are trying to breach the web and patching up whatever holes they're making, forcing them back into their world. Most of the creatures that managed to cross over before I could patch up the breach they made had to be hunted down and deported back to their world, save for one. I found a creature that was completely different from the rest of her kind and found that she had a soft spot for the power of knowledge. I persuaded her to return to her world, but only in exchange for gaining the power to call her into a willing pony's body so she could work as a personal assistant for a few hours each day.

Thorn's likely gone mad from me not calling her for the last thousand years, but I can only hope that she's still listening for my voice and is willing to come when I call her. Sweetie Belle, is it okay if I channel her through your body for a few minutes? I just need a chance to speak with her and arrange a permanent solution, as most of the ponies that volunteered for this are long gone by now."

"Why don't I channel her?" Twilight asked, not willing to place Sweetie Belle in danger.

"Channeling a Shadow into an alicorn is extremely dangerous," Nightfury told them, sighing just a bit, "What would happen is that, even though Thorn is one of the more passive Shadows you'll meet, even letting her into your body would twist your mind and body. Shadows and alicorns don't mix and they could create a creature that's bent on destroying all live on Equestria, which would all depend on the power of the alicorn they're controlling."

For some reason that statement made Twilight think about why Princess Luna, angered by her subjects for rejecting her night, had become Nightmare Moon and declared she was enforcing her night upon the entire world. She wasn't sure that she was even right about this thought, but she wanted to know what Sweetie Belle was thinking about this turn of events. Sweetie looked a little scared that there was going to be something dangerous sharing her body for a few minutes, but Twilight suspected that she was freaking out on the inside.

"Is it painless?" Sweetie Belle asked, raising a valid question.

"Yes," Nightfury replied, "All the ponies that volunteered to do this told me that there was no pain from allowing a Shadow to enter their body, which also means that if you weren't willing and I forced it on you I'd be causing you pain. As long as you are willing to allow me to perform this spell I can promise you that no harm will come to you."

"O...okay," Sweetie said, trying to steel her nerves before they got the better of her and made her run from the clearing, "I'm w...willing, but p...please be quick."

Nightfury nodded and directed her to the center of the clearing, asking Twilight to back up so she didn't get caught in the spell and accidentally channel the Shadow into her body. Twilight, having considered how dangerous it could be for her, complied with the request and backed out just a bit, making sure she was over the line that Nightfury pointed out. Once Twilight was in place Nightfury approached the center of the clearing, her magic igniting the ancient runes she had carved into the ground and called her summoning circle into existence. This was the only place to safely summon a Shadow into Equestria, though she was glad that it had survived all the years that she had been trapped in the storm.

When the circle stabilized Nightfury called upon her magic and directed it towards the Veil, allowing the magic to push against her and cast a vibration into the Darkness. The vibration was the call, the signature that she had taught Thorn to listen for so she would know exactly when she was being called into Equestria. She hoped that Thorn was still listening for her call, but as the seconds ticked away she was slowly losing hope and suspected that Thorn might have moved on. Just when she thought that it would be best to cancel the call she felt the return vibration all around her, the grass moving and the trees blowing as if there was magic at work.

That was before a fog wrapped around the circle, spiraling around the area before it neared Sweetie Belle, where it seeped into her body until all of it was gone. The immediate reaction to the fog entering her body was for Sweetie's coat to change, dulling to a grey color and her head dipped close to the ground. When Sweetie rose her head back up Twilight was shocked to see that her eyes had changed to a bright red color, making her suspect that the spell Nightfury had cast actually worked. Sweetie looked down at herself in confusion and gently raised a leg up, making the normal movements as if she had forgotten how to walk, but then stopped the moment she spotted Nightfury standing near her.

"Princess Nightfury?" Sweetie asked, her voice sounding a little rough, "Is that really you?"

"Oh Thorn," Nightfury said, stepping close to her and draping a wing over her, "Yes, its really me. My cousin managed to break the storm that was holding me for the last thousand years, which is why you didn't hear from me for so long."

"I was shocked to feel you call after a thousand years," Sweetie replied, or rather Thorn did, "I thought it was my imagination finally getting the better of me, but when I decided to investigate I could tell that the call was actually real. I set what I was doing aside and came to you as fast as I possibly could, though I am somewhat surprised that you used a filly as my temporary body this time. Is this young filly going to be my permanent body that I'll be sharing or is there somepony else I'll be sharing a body with when you call me?"

"I need to ask my mother and make some arrangements," Nightfury said, shaking her head before beckoning to Twilight, "Allow me to introduce Princess Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship. Twilight, this is Thorn, my personal assistant from a thousand years ago."

"Its...a pleasure to meet you Thorn," Twilight said, not sure if she should be happy to finally meet one of the Shadows or to be scared, "I'd introduce you to Sweetie Belle, but your currently sharing her body and all..."

Thorn glared at her for a moment before turning to Nightfury and whispered something into her ear, though it had to be something that the two of them had shared a thousand years ago and didn't want her to know about. Nightfury, in turn, whispered something back to her assistant, who stood there as if she was a stone statue and waited until she was done whispering to her. Once the two were done speaking Thorn opened Sweetie's mouth and a grey swirl escaped from inside her, her coat and eyes returning to their normal colors. The circle died down and the clearing returned to normal, though Sweetie seemed exhausted and Twilight knew that channeling something from another realm had tired her out.

She would need to get her back home before Rarity came looking for her, though she wasn't looking forward to the conversation she was going to have to have with her later.

"Twilight, I have to ask you something," Nightfury said, "I need you to tell me anything and everything you know about somepony that Aunt Celestia called Nightmare Moon."