Luna was becoming exhausted. She had been running for who knows how long, dodging memories. The darkness that was attempting to cloud her vision was becoming harder to retreat from. Her exit was lost among the memories and madness of Artemis’ soul. Her hooves had long since numbed from how long she had ran, her chest heaving greatly and her mind feeling like she was being beaten with a pipe. Luna spared a glance behind her, seeing the darkness eating away at the world around her, memories and emotions becoming corroded by the dark.

The sight alone was enough to make her run faster. Finally, a glimmer of hope showed itself, a blinding white breach in the soul of Artemis, the place she had entered and soon to be the place she escaped from. A smile worked itself onto her face, happiness seeping into her heart as she found herself to soon be rid of this warped and disturbed soul.

Putting what little she had left into her movements, she bolted forward. As she got closer and closer, she could hear the outside world. Opening her wings, she gave a mighty leap towards the opening, her wings propelling her forward. Her hooves could nearly feel the embrace of her physical body, the warmth of the sun heating her coat.

But she was stopped not a inch from the opening, her hooves unable to grasp the outside world. Her eyes widened in horror as she found herself being dragged back into the dark. Her head whipped behind her, tears of terror welling up. A skeletal hand, coated in black fire was clinging to her hind hoof dragging her back into the dark.

Faces, skulls, bones, and rotted corpses began to take shape in the dark. She had seen this before, the fear of what Artemis fought so hard to avoid. The Hollowing.

Nary a second before soul crushing pain flushed through her, her muscles tensing and numbing as she felt her behind get dragged towards the dark. A scream escaped her, tears falling down her cheeks as the darkness was nearly engulfing her. She shut her eyes tightly, not wanting to see the maddening sight before her any longer.

Then it stopped. She no longer was getting pulled across the ethereal surface of the soul she resided in. Eyes opening she found a creature, figure much like Artemis but wearing a strange turtle shell like armor, grabbing her hooves and pulling her from the dark. She felt herself escape the darkness’ embrace before she was thrown over head and landing roughly behind the creature. A small whimper escaped her as she fell, her eyes darting towards the creature.

It was one of the souls that Artemis had claimed, the Darkness seemingly repulsed by the figure. Then more souls came, each a monster, man, or animal that Artemis had slain. Souls of Dragons, Knights, Giants, and soldiers, even a mighty king faded into existence. The souls said not a thing as they stood defiantly in front of the darkness, seemingly pushing back the hollowing dark. And it did not stop there, more and more creatures poured out of the air, pushing back the dark.

Luna could not believe her eyes at what she saw, the thought of consuming the souls of the fallen brought upon images of horror and madness, a hell to all those slain. But this seemed more of an endless war against one's inner being. Shaking her head, she had no time to ponder the scene. Standing up as quickly as she could, her hooves carried her towards the exit and pushed her through, the feeling of warmth upon her skin telling her she had escaped and was finally free to rest.

~!~

A gasp filled the air as Luna’s eyes shot open, the warmth of the setting sun seeping into her skin and softness of her sister’s coat bringing on comfort. Luna’s eyes shot all around her, studying her surroundings to make sure she was truly out of the nightmarish place she ventured in to. She ripped off the breathing mask that was placed on her muzzle and sat up right. Her head snapped it all directions, startling the medical staff and guards. Even Twilight jumped into the air, regardless of her tired state.

As her gaze landed on her sister’s worried expression, she immediately turned over and latched onto Celestia in a nearly bone crushing hug. Despite the surprise at the sudden movement, Celestia wrapped her hooves around her sibling, cooing gently as the lunar Alicorn silently sobbed into her chest.

“It’s okay Luna, you are safe now.” Celestia whispered softly, rubbing her sister’s back and doing her best to calm her. A soft clatter filled the air, the sound of heavy boots against stone. Luna’s head lifted from her sister’s chest, glancing towards the noise. Her eyes widened in both horror and awe, the undead whose soul she was sifting through, was walking towards her.

Armor stained red from recent endeavours, the wolf pup following him at the heels. Despite the helmet covering his face, Luna could clearly tell he was locked onto the glowing mist beside them. Having seen what he was capable of first hand, not to mention invading his very soul, she was nearly trembling with fear. Despite having the power to crush the guards before him, he stopped in front of them, his eyesight switching to the ponies barely half his height.

As his vision slowly left them, the line of sight was set on Celestia. Luna glanced up at her sister, seeing her expression of joy and concern quickly changing to one of protection.

“Your sibling has returned, Celestia. Call off your lackeys.” Artemis’ voice pierced the air, his tone was raspy and slightly gargled. Celestia’s guards looked to her, a nod making them step out of the way. As soon as the guards were out of his way, he was striding quickly to his soul. The medical staff stepped out of the way as he walked through them, beelining for his soul.

Still weak from both the entry and exit of the soul, Luna shied away from Artemis as he passed, pushing herself against her sister for comfort. The Knight barely acknowledged the princesses, or any of the ponies as he walked. Stopping at the orb of green, he knelt down and placed a hand within its depths. Not seconds later did a soft wing began to pick up around Artemis. The Mist swirled around his gloved hand, trailing up his arm and around his chest before slipping under his helm.

The glow of the mist barely illuminated the shadows of his helm. As the mist trailed around his body, the orb shrunk until it was nothing and the last of the mist wisped away under Artemis’ helm. A relieved and almost lustful sigh escaped Artemis’ lips as he stood up and rolled his joints.

~!~

Artemis’ mind felt almost renewed as he retrieved his soul, the darkening thoughts immediately pushed away. His memories became clearer, and the overwhelming feeling of power coursed through his veins. Fists clenched, his neck rolled, and his body relaxed for the first time in near a millennia. Truly, there were few greater feelings than reclaiming the power you once lost.

A sigh escaped his lips, a breath of fresh air taking its place as he rolled his joints. He turned to Celestia, seeing her sister cowering in her arm before looking off towards the castle in the distance. This was his true destination, as he had already met the self proclaimed “Princess”. But where there is a princess, there is a King. And he needed to warn the King of the peril his Kingdom was in.

Turning towards Celestia, he gave a courteous bow, crossing his arm in front of him. Celestia’s expression became one of shock as he dipped his body in respect, her sibling more or less cowering away from him. As he stood back up, he gently adjusted his armor and helm.

“I offer my apologies for earlier, your highness. I become rather... Rude when my souls are not with me.” He stepped past her and walked by the guards, heading in a straight line towards the castle in the distance. “I bid you farewell, Celestia, Princess of this land. I pray we may meet again, under better circumstances of course.” Turning in place, he slowly started walking. He turned his head towards Celestia once more as he walked, speaking in a serious tone. “But I warn thee, Princess. Should you send any to follow me, there shall be dire consequences.”

And without another word, he left the town. Only stopping to grab a few foodstuffs from abandoned stands, mostly for the wolf pup following his boots. As he walked, he saw a Orange mare standing completely still, aghast, near the dirt road leading into town. He gave her a curt nod of the head as he walked by, picking up the pup in his arms so it did not get squashed under the wheels of the wagon.

~!~

Celestia watched the creature leave, her glare following its every move as it walked away. She knew that she could have easily stopped the creature in its tracks with a blast of magic, but something about it sent off warning signs in her mind. Shaking her head, she pushed the creature aside in her thoughts and focused on her sister. Luna was shivering and whimpering into her chest, eyes stained with tears.

Luna gingerly looked up, scanning the area a moment before looking up at Celestia. Her eyes showed a deep concern, one that she hadn’t seen since the reign of Sombra. “Sister, if what I have seen is true, then we have much more to be wary off than a wandering Knight.” She softly spoke.

Celestia’s ears perked up as confusion lined her features. “What do you mean?” She asked. Luna’s breath shuddered a moment as she gingerly looked towards her legs, muscles tensing as she remember the blinding pain.

“He wishes to stop the dark before it can begin.” She whispered, curling her legs against her chest. Celestia scrunched up her nose in confusion as she heard these words. Did she mean stop the night from coming? Did she mean to keep some ancient evil at bay? As she began forming questions, she heard a soft snore escape her sister. Looking down she saw the lunar mare sleeping soundly against her chest, her dream walking having exhausted her mentally, emotionally, and magically.

Despite the situation, she smiled softly. She knew the situation was beginning to turn grim, no doubt action had to be taken soon. For the moment, however, she was glad her sister was safe and resting. Turning her head, she called for her guards. She told them to prepare carriage to the trip back to the castle, the guards saluting and going off. Then she looked for Twilight, finding her examining the ground the creature had tred on.

“Twilight?” Celestia spoke, gaining the alicorn’s attention. The purple mare trotted over quickly, stepping aside for the medical as they packed up to leave.

“Yes, Princess?” Twilight asked, sitting on her haunches.

“I need you to gather the elements and meet me back at the Castle as soon as possible. Recent events have showed we need to start preparing. For what I am uncertain, but I believe my sister may know. When she awakes we may hopefully have answer.” Celestia spoke. As the guards pulled up the carriage, Celestia gently placed her sister inside and climbed in herself. She looked to Twilight and smiled warmly. “Please be careful, Twilight. I fear we may have more problems we can see.”

Twilight nodded as the carriage was pulled into the sky and made a beeline towards the castle. Not taking a moment to hesitate, Twilight ran into her damaged home. She had to prepare before they left.

Author's Notes:

Sorry about the Chapter. I hit a hard case of Writer's Block after the Luna scene.
Not really pleased with this chapter, but I didn't want to leave you guys hanging.
Chapter will be revised and made WAY better
But for now it will allow the story to progress so you all may at least get some entertainment in the meantime.

Tl;Dr: Not pleased with Chapter, going to be revised, progressing the story, stay tuned.
Hang in there everyone!