Luna

The Princess of the Night stood on the balcony of her study, watching the moon and stars shift slowly in the sky. It had been a long two days since she left Dusk with the task of training the Canterlot Day Guard. The letters to Equestria’s allies all across the world took far longer than she had anticipated also, especially when some of the more stubborn and disbelieving creatures sent letters in question of the legitimacy of the warning.

The dark mare shook her head at the memory. “Ugh, the rulers of our allied nations one thousand years prior were far more trusting and reliable than what I hath witnessed this day. I thought that only griffins hath such a suspicious nature as to disbelieve a claim of imminent peril, yet it would appear that the rest hath learned to be this way during my imprisonment; perhaps due to the fact that they hath not the foresight to see the peril themselves.” Things were much simpler when I could use the Royal Canterlot voice to command their attention in pony. At the very least, the Giranian Republic hath listened to reason; Spike, thou art missed in the art of diplomacy.

Not only did those letters trouble the alicorn over their reliability when things would come to war, but what ledgers and journals that were sent to her on the mysterious presence in the Crystal Empire thousands of years prior did not calm the mind of the Protector of the Night either.

“Your Grace, may I enter?”

Luna’s ears perked to the familiar voice in Dusk Darkhelm. Without turning to the door, the alicorn continued staring into the stars. “Come.” The door opened and she heard hoofsteps within the room. “Join me on the balcony, Ser Dusk. Ask thine questions and make thine report as I watch my night unfold.”

“Princess,” he said, after a moment of silence. She did not need to turn to the pony to know that he had bowed in courtesy, standing back from the mare. “Have you sent letters to each of our allied nations?”

“Indeed, Ser Dusk.” Her lips rose slightly as she quirked her neck to the side to look upon the soldier. “Pray, be seated. Tell me of thine successes with my sister’s Day Guard.”

His jaw hung slack momentarily, yet in short succession he closed it, dipping his head. “As you wish.” Dusk took his position to her right and removed his helm, setting it down before him. “As I spoke of yesterday, each of her guard has done well for their first two days in the Dreamscape. Although they were far slower today, I would not blame them after being exposed to the dream world to the extent that they have been. It was honestly impressive; however, I still allotted them a shorter day to be certain that they recovered properly. Despite it all, they all expressed their want to continue with their training at full strength tomorrow.”

She listened calmly, her dark starry mane flowing gently in the nightly breeze. This is most auspicious news, pondered Luna. “And how hath thou slept these past few moons?” the princess quizzed, turning her gaze to the unicorn.

“Your Grace?” he replied, tilting his head in concern.

“I know of thine nature, ser. Thou may use the Dreamscape to escape the need to slumber, though such actions doth not equal a permanent alternative to true sleep.” The dark coated stallion cleared his throat and lowered his head. “Doth thy dreams still plague thy mind?”

“They do, Your Highness. There has never been a time where the images in my head as I sleep have not tormented me. Rather, they only seemed to grow in clarity and detail as I aged.”

Luna shifted in her position to face him, appearing remorseful. “Would I not have been imprisoned on the moon for the majority of thine life, I would have attempted to aid thou sooner in thine inner turmoil.”

“You are kind, princess, though I do not hold any ill will toward you for such things. It was you who saved me when I was merely a nameless foal in the forests outside of the castle. I am forever grateful to you for sending your Night Guard that night.”

She smiled and nodded sagely, feeling the light breeze of the night through her fur and mane. “Well, now that I have returned, wouldst thou desire to speak of these dreams with your princess?”

“Princess, I…I do not wish to trouble you over my situation,” he exclaimed, sitting up straight in his pose. “My journeys through the Dreamscape as of late have been enough to keep my calm under these new circumstances.”

“Nonsense, Ser Dusk,” the Lunar Princess spoke, shaking her head. She placed a hoof to her chest. “Thou art my most faithful and reliable pupil. If thou art suffering, then I wish to aid in whatever way that I am able. I am the Protector of Dreams, after all. Art thou certain that thou doth not suffer needlessly?”

The soldier exhaled and looked at his helm for a moment, before pushing himself to his hooves and magicking the helm over his head. “You are correct, Princess Luna, but I am afraid that I do not know why such dreams haunt me so. It is always in the area in which I was found all of those years ago, yet I am unaware of what they truly mean.”

“Tell me of what thou recall seeing, ser.” She could hear owls calling out in the darkness, see what little clouds there were hovering above the world as the stallion now stood with his back to her.

“Very well. As you doubtlessly remember, I have no recollection of the time before I awoke on the border of the forest, but in my dreams I recall running through bushes and underneath trees.” Dusk spun on his hooves to face the princess. “I never see any other pony or creature around me, though I feel quite vividly that I am galloping for my life from something. I find myself in many dead ends or at the top of cliff faces with scars all along my form, fearing that whatever is chasing me is too close to be escaped, before I am able to see a clearing. I awaken seconds after appearing there, to the sounds of the rumbling of the earth and flames in the distance.”

“Hmm. I see. It seems as though thine dreams may know more than thou doth remember.” The Princess of the Night stood tall before him, waiting only briefly to continue. “Perhaps they are the key to understanding thy past. If thou art ready to delve into thine worst fears, I may be able to aid thee in thine quest to understand where thou came from. As my guard told thee when thou were comfortable with life in the castle, we do not know from whence thou came. The forest is far off from any sort of civilization and no citizen in any of the nearest village or city knew of thee. However, if thou art prepared…perhaps it is finally time.”

“Your Grace, you are gracious beyond measure to wish to help a nameless stallion such as myself,” he said, bowing his head. “I cannot say that I am not afraid to find out the possibilities of my birth and upbringing, yet still, I believe that you are right.”

“Good,” she replied, as he lifted his head once more to lock their gazes together. Thou art more deserving than most ponies I know, to understand the truth of thine being. “Thou art still recovering from thine practice, so we shall begin after thou hast had a full night’s rest.”

“Very good, princess,” he relented, nodding his head before turning to gaze at his princess’ nighttime sky. “Your Highness, if I may ask, what of the pony and dragon’s quest to the dragon lands? Has any information reached you on their whereabouts as of late?”

For a long while, the dark alicorn spoke not, lost in her own thoughts on the coming battle and the strange occurrences that began once the two left. Once she resurfaced from her imaginings, she found Dusk staring at her in worry. She shook her head lightly. Those two brave souls. “Nothing. Rarity and Spike have passed beyond my sight. That magical storm along the western continent hath not deigned to remove itself. I fear that where those two are is now one of the most mysterious and dangerous locations any creature hath known.”

“That does not bode well for Equestria, or the rest of our allies then,” the Captain of the Night Guard spoke, stepping back into the mare’s quarters. “What of the ibex? They are not the most trusting of creatures; however, they must also know of their lands being consumed by that, do they not?”

Luna followed him in, pulling the large window shut with her magic as she did so. “Both my sister and I have sent letters regarding this situation, yet they choose to maintain their solitude away from most of the known world. Proud though they are, I shall continue to give them warnings to the state of things to come. They will not have the strength to face these beings on their own.”

As the silence resumed around them, Luna lowered her head a touch and felt a familiar magical aura materializing. A small scroll appeared in a flash of light, which the Princess of the Night took in her own spell and unrolled it easily. “Speaking of which, my sister hath sent another missive from the Crystal Empire.

Sister,

Things have been progressing well here in the north. Princess Cadence has been quite quick to alert every citizen to the possible dangers ahead all across Equestria, and Shining Armor is in the process of training his guard further in hopes to quell the coming threat.

I have also been in contact with the Griffin Empire and the leader of Yakyakistan loosely, though things are slow going with them. As you know, griffins rarely act on troubling issues when there is no substantial evidence, even after one thousand years of the ancestral line have passed; the yaks believing that their power and mountainous dwellings will be enough to defend their homes. Still, each nation has said that they will bolster their guard to keep alert to any strange occurrences and have told me that they will send a letter of warning.

How are things with the other nations and my Day Guard? Hopefully they have not given you too much trouble. And your good Ser Dusk-

The princess halted in her reading of the letter, turning her head and parchment to the right, away from the dark blue stallion in embarrassment. Sister, she thought crossly, a light blush covering her cheeks, I will make thee regret this. Taking a deep breath to relax her nerves, Luna turned back to complete her sister’s letter.

How is his training of my guard within the Dreamscape going? I am ever so looking forward to seeing the new extent of our ponies’ abilities upon my return. And you, my dear sweet sister; I hope that you are well, and I believe I will see you quite soon. However, I have also been thinking that to improve our odds, we may need to consider resorting to some drastic measures in whom we recruit to our cause.

Though I would discuss this with you in pony,

Celestia

“So, Princess Celestia shall be returning then,” the stallion said.

“So it would seem.” She sighed and set the piece of parchment down on her podium, spinning on her hooves to address Dusk once more. “I would ask of thine assistance in this matter once more.”

He wasted no time in giving her his full attention, standing at the ready. “Anything, Your Highness.”

“I must ask that thou relay a message to strengthen the posts of the lunar guard over the duration of these unforeseen times and ask them to continue their training within the Dreamscape as well. I shall not allow my sister’s guard to best mine without a fight.”

Ser Dusk smirked after a moment and sauntered closer to the exit. “And I believed that you did not participate in petty squabbles with your sister.”

“Simply because she doth not take the training of her guard as seriously as I, doth not mean that I will so easily train her guard to surpass mine. This is to save the world, indeed, and so I shall look after them both, yet not all of my guard is as experienced in the ways of the dream world as thou art. I must be certain that thine lunar guard doth not fall behind. Now, will thou do this?”

“Yes, my lady. I shall do as you ask before I leave for sleep.” Once more he bowed in courtesy and walked over to the door, pulling it open with his aura. “Is there anything else that you need of me, Your Grace?”

Luna stood in the middle of the room, lost in thought as she stared across at him. She quickly refocused herself on the night guard, seeing him wander closer once more. “No, Ser Dusk. Be certain that thou art well rested before we attempt to uncover your dreams.”

“Of course, princess.”

He left, leaving the lunar alicorn alone in her room once again. Once his hoofsteps receded into the night, she allowed herself to exhale. She meandered over to the window again, magic opening it to stand out on the balcony. Luna looked off in the direction of the western continent, concerned over what will come in the near future.

“These dreams that thou continue having, Ser Dusk Darkhelm; it is not only thou that art frightened over what transpired before my guard found thee. I apologize for what must be done, though I require thee at thine full strength in order to face this new threat and to have no concerns for thine safety.” Safety, she pondered, closing her deep blue eyes and entering the dream world. I believe that I can already guess whom thou mean to recruit, dear sister; however, what will become of him after…if we should succeed?

She clenched her teeth as she followed two dream auras to the western continent, finding severe difficulty in the action once finding the shore. The dark blue princess materialized over the shoreline, glancing forward at the tundra spreading out before her. Just as she feared, the great storm of magic had increased in size since her last attempt to locate Rarity and Spike. It was already causing her concentration to slip, yet she needed to focus, to keep up her magic for as long as she was able in order to ascertain the whereabouts of the two brave souls.

The Protector of Dreams trembled under the eyeless gaze of the storm, venturing ever deeper into the lands of the ibex. Their string of dreams hath already grown faint here, she surmised. Yet it continues on…further into dragon lands. They…they are not…

Before she could progress any farther, she felt a searing hot pain in her forehead. Luna shut her eyes tighter, agony beginning to shoot through her as she felt her dream self being cast back into her body, thrown through the open window and against the east wall of her room. She felt magic holding her in place, a spell of some kind that she had never felt before; like her very soul was tearing itself apart from the inside out. No, it is not a spell. It is something else; something…alive.

It kept her there for an unknown time, the night princess incapable of thinking of anything but how much her entire being hurt. Sweat soaked her body and cold shivers only increased the anguish of the mare, pain rippling through her. Celestia…thou will not return to find thine sister perished on the floor of her own quarters. Allotting what strength she still possessed, she clenched her jaw and focused all of her magic around her form, managing to distort the field that encased her long enough to escape. She collapsed to the floor of her room with a breathless grunt.

Luna coughed into the rug beside her bed, finally able to breath properly again. She felt weak, unimaginably so, lying there on her stomach motionless except for an occasional shudder. Her one thought prior to passing out from the mental and physical strain on her was how cold she felt throughout her experience; as though she had frozen in the Ibexian Tundra.

Author's Notes:

Hello again,

I hope that you all like this one. I am trying to flesh out Dusk's story and also his relationships, so it is a bit of a short chapter; mostly to be certain that each character's story lines are up to date, but still expect more from the mysterious individual. Luna on the other hoof, being her powerful, calm self, just found out some wonderful news, yet at what cost?

Hurray, another chapter down; plus I have another one already written afterward, so look forward to a second one soon too. Also, what happened to indenting paragraphs? I noticed that the paragraphs even in my old chapters aren't indented anymore. It makes it difficult to read.