Where Do Nightmares Come From?

by Grayson Gears

First published 8th of March, 2013

Are these terrifying dreams always there, waiting, or are they simply lost?

How real are the dreams that stalk through the dark corners of our mind? Are they created by our own troubled thoughts, or are they always there, waiting?

How real do they think they are?

The Long And Lonely Nights

The setting sun had dropped beneath the horizon, casting the world into the night. A calm, cool night filled with the melody of a soft breeze flowing through the trees.

Following the sun, the moon and stars appeared in the sky, bringing their own dim light to the land. Underneath their beauty, the ponies of Ponyville slept, calm and content...

As she walked among their dreams...

The night...it was hers. As it had been, as it should be.

Locked away for a thousand years...she had not known if she would be able to take up her old duties again. But on that first night, her elder sister had been right beside her and with a bit of gentle encouragement...it was like she had never left.

She had missed it, oh how she had missed being among her people. So many ponies viewed themselves as lesser than her and her sister, but just because they could not raise the sun or moon did not mean they were nothing. Each of them held the ability to be truly amazing...to be greater than those who came before them...

But if she spent any more time philosophizing she would miss out on her duties for the night.

Slowly the dreams swirled around her, curling around of her hooves as she passed. An amazing collection of thoughts and emotion, never staying the same for long. Through it all she could see the distinct dreams of the few ponies she knew personally from Ponyville.

She stepped forward, and the dreams parted for her. Ahead of her was a tiny sphere, a specific dream. She took a deep breath and stepped inside the sphere.

At first she thought she had just entered Canterlot. Much of the surrounding architecture seemed familiar, but she could not remember any building as large as this in the royal city. Spiral staircases grew shot upward to a ceiling she could barely make out and walls seemed to spread out endlessly. Walls covered with an endless supply of books.

Out of the corner of her eye she was able to spy a purple blur racing through the room, throwing together a truly impressive pile of books to read.

Twilight Sparkle was finally in the one place with all the books she could ever wish for, where she could find any and all knowledge she could use to make Princess Celestia proud.

She would bet that Twilight would do anything to make her elder sister proud. But...she didn't think Celestia could be any more proud of her.

Still...Twilight was doing all of this alone, she needed an assistant. With a quick spark of magic she created a dream from of Spike who quickly scampered off, ready to assist Twilight with anything she needed for as long as the dream lasted.

With a small smile towards Twilight she stepped out of the dream, unnoticed.

The next dream she found herself in was that of the calm and demure Fluttershy. While the setting was familiar, Fluttershy's cottage, the events going on were nowhere near normal.

Fluttershy was currently in the middle of painting a family of bears bright blue all while calmly humming a nursery rhyme.

"Okay bears, once the paint is dry you should be able to blend in with the sky perfectly. With your disguise you can sneak up into the air and grab a couple of clouds to make your breakfast with," she managed to hear as Fluttershy finished up her last dab of paint. "Don't worry, I'll be on the lookout in case any bees buzz by. We wouldn't want them to think you're stealing any of their sky, that would be just awful."

Ah, it was one of those dreams. Where everything you do in it makes perfect sense until you wake up. But it seemed that Fluttershy wasn't having any problems. In fact, she almost seemed to be enjoying herself.

She decided to leave the young Pegasus be and shifted back into the dreamscape.

Her next stop was a bright and exuberant dream, it seemed to be exuding a brilliant pink light that illuminated the world around it.

That dream could only belong to one pony, Pinkie Pie.

That exuberant equine would only dream of of one thing, a massive party. Big enough for every single soul she had ever met. There would be an endless supply of cake and other assorted treats where no matter how much you ate you wouldn't feel sick. Next to the treats were the best games to keep the foals entertained so their parents wouldn't have to worry about them. She even had a quiet area for ponies like Fluttershy where they could avoid the happy chaos of the regular celebrations.

Everything was absolutely perfect...as long as it remained a dream.

Even after all her years of exploring this dreamscape, she still did not know what would cause a dream to shift into the dark terror known as a nightmare.

Dreams would come from your own thoughts and wishes, and with a small hint of magic, they would blend together to give you a vision. Sometimes it was beautiful, sometimes it was nonsensical...

But ever so rarely would it become terrifying...

What caused such a change in the mind of a pony? Surely no one ever wished for such a vision...yet once it had found you it was almost impossible to escape.

Perhaps these dark dreams wandered this strange realm, looking for an opening they could spring into, corrupting the world they entered.

But then she would have to ask why...why would they do that? Why would they bring terror to innocent lives?

Suddenly, she felt a pulse echo out of the dreamscape, rippling through the myriad colors and thoughts spread throughout. It appeared her thoughts had become the reality.

Somepony was having a nightmare, the first of the night.

She followed the disturbance, effortlessly flying through the mists of this world, to its source...a midnight blue sphere. It almost seemed to tremble in her presence.

She flowed into it.

It was the dream of a young filly, obviously excited about her first day of school, but a nightmare had twisted that dream into something terrible.

Instead of a simple schoolhouse, the building the filly walked through was a massive maze, dark and surely full of terrible creatures. The filly ran as fast as her legs would carry her in an attempt to find an exit. On the very edges of her vision she could see other ponies carelessly trotting trotting through the maze. She tried to reach them, to call out for help, but they always managed to elude her and they would simply ignored her pleas.

The filly was lost, and nearly on the verge of tears.

Luckily, she was there to help.

Nightmares, while powerful, always had one weakness that could be used against them. Well...not just one. There was something else but...that didn't matter right now.

This nightmare was a maze, and the filly needed a guide. So she gave her one.

The filly stopped, hearing the sound of hoofsteps moving towards her. She paused, looking as if she was planning on running away, but before she could make her decision a pony stepped out of the shadows. This new pony had a purple coat, a striped rose and light pink mane, and a calm easy smile.

"Why hello there. And what would your name be?" the new pony asked the filly, her very presence seeming to push the shadows.

"Um...I'm Sugar Song," the filly said. "Do you know how to get to the classroom?"

"Well I certainly hope so, I'd be in big trouble otherwise," the new pony held out a hoof. "My name is Ms. Cheerilee and I'm going to be your teacher." Sugar Song seemed unsure for a moment, but tenderly held out her own hoof to shake Cheerilee's.

"It's nice to meet you," she said to the teacher.

"And it is very nice to meet you Sugar Song. Now let's hurry to the classroom, you wouldn't want to be late for your first day of school," Cheerilee turned to one of the walls in the maze and after a quick moment it abruptly swung open, revealing the calming interior of a simple classroom. A few other young ponies lazed around their desks as gentle sunlight flowed in through the windows.

Sugar Song walked into the class, stopping to look back at the maze...only to see it had disappeared. Now there was only an open doorway leading to Ponyville.

"Okay everypony, talk among yourselves while I get class ready. Try and make some new friends if you can," Cheerilee said happily, trotting up to her desk.

Sugar Song smiled, the memory of the monstrous maze already forgotten.

The nightmare had been driven away, and this was once more a happy dream. So she left Sugar Song behind, her work finished.

That was how she spent her nights, how she spent every night. She would wander through the dreams, stopping to peer at those she had some interest in, though she had learned long ago to stay away from dreams that may be too personal.

And as the night wore on, she would battle the nightmares.

They always started out small and few, but there were so many thoughts, so many dreams, and the nightmares never stopped their assault. More and more would grow as the night wore on.

Before her banishment she had tried to stop every nightmare, tried to save everypony. But while the nightmares never weakened in their efforts, her own power was finite.

She could not be everywhere at once.

Back then, she had tried to help them all, moving as fast as she could. Sometimes this worked...other times she would leave the dream too early, and the nightmares would take hold again.

Eventually...there were rumors spreading through the town, rumors caused by those who could remember her from their nightmares.

That she had been the once to cause them.

She remembered finding her sister in the throne room of Canterlot and begging with her to extend the night.

"Just an hour more Celestia, please! With just an hour I will surely have enough time to stop all of the nightmares," she had said, following her sister around the the room.

"I am not sure that is a good idea little sister," hearing that tone, the calm title of 'little sister', she'd immediately known what Celestia had decided. "Even if the extra hour was enough, certainly more nightmares would rise in their wake. Besides, while nopony would wish for a nightmare, it is no true disaster if you cannot stop them all."

"But I can stop them! I can make my night a truly perfect and safe place for our subjects," thinking back, she could not remember why she had been so determined to protect their subjects from nightmares. Perhaps it was an attempt be as loved as her sister...or maybe she was just determined not to lose in this battle for realms.

Or maybe deep down, she thought that if she could do it...it would prove she was just as powerful, if not more so, than her sister.

That she was better.

"No place is perfect little sister. No matter how hard we try there will always be danger in this world. I thought you had realized that by now," Celestia had seemed so...disappointed in her then. "I'm afraid there is nothing else to say. Good day little sister." With that Celestia had walked away, leaving her alone in the throne room.

Perhaps that was where it had started. She had never been able to determine the exact moment when the darkness in her heart had begun to grow.

When that dark and terrible magic had spread throughout her being, turning against not only her sister, but all of Equestria.

Those were memories she would happily forget if she could. Celestia had been right after all, another hour of night would have simple been foolish. It would have brought out far more problems than it possibly could have solved.

She had learned to do the best she could in the time given, just like her sister.

Thankfully, there was never any danger in handling the nightmares, as long as you remembered one important thing...

Another ripple grabbed her attention, letting her know that somepony had been trapped in a new nightmare.

Her work this night was far from over...

The night was close to ending and she was quite tired. Luckily, this feeling would disappear upon her waking. One of the few perks of working in her sleep.

Surprisingly, this night had been quieter than most. She had finished with no more nightmares remaining in the dreamscape.

She let herself feel just a bit proud at that.

Soon she would wake up and have to being her daily duties as a Princess. Thankfully her elder sister handled most of those obligations, though she was always sure to leave her a few stubborn diplomats to argue with.

Something had to keep her busy during the day after all.

Her time was nearly up so she gathered her magic together and prepared to step out of this world of dreams...

Until a sharp cry pierced her ears. There was one more nightmare for her to deal with...a powerful one. She set off immediately, following the scream and wondering just what sort of terror awaited her.

Some nightmares were truly terrible and to enter always carried a risk, a small one, but a risk nonetheless.

If she could not find the nightmare's weakness she may become lost and trapped within... forgotten in the blackness.

There was a way to defend herself, as long as she could remember that...

The dream stood before her, dark and silent. She did not pause or hesitate and flowed within.

Shadows...screams...running...

She was running, but with no idea where...the screams would constantly come from different directions, leading her astray.

Light! Make a light!

Her horn ignited with a blue glow to reveal...nothing. All she could see was a cold stone floor and no ceiling. There was no sun, no moon, no stars...only a black void.

More screams, closer now.

"Somepony help me!" a voice called...a young voice.

Closer...closer...don't worry, I can help you!

There! At the edge of her light she saw something moving.

"Over here!" she called.

More movement, and then somepony was suddenly running past her. She tried to grab them, but she was too late. She could only watch as they disappeared back into the shadows.

Grey coat...blue mane...and that face...

A face of absolute terror, bloodshot eyes with tears streaming down her cheeks. She almost followed...when she felt the presence of something behind her...

Just a part of the nightmare.

No...

This felt...different, it felt powerful, it felt...

Real...

It was closer now...it was nearly upon her...

And then she was shoved back in the dreamscape. The dream that had stood before her had disappeared.

Perhaps the filly had simply woken up, breaking the nightmare...that was always a possibility. Yet even as she though of it, she did not believe her own reasoning.

Something had been very wrong with that nightmare.

But there was nothing more she could do now. Finally she allowed herself to leave and enter reality.

The memory of the dream was quickly shuffled to the back of her mind as she went to make sure her older sister was ready to raise the sun.

Celestia was always ready, but she hoped that just one day she would find her trying to sleep in, catch her off guard in some way.

Maybe some day...but not today.

Celestia was waiting for her and together they went through the morning ritual. Letting the moon drop beneath the sky as the sun brought its golden light to the land.

Even after so many years, it was still such a beautiful sight to her.

"So is there anything important I should know about today sister?" she asked as they walked back to the throne room.

"Noting more than the usual Luna," her sister replied, sounding a little bored. "A few delegates with their-" she stopped as a waft of sparkling smoke wafted in front of her, materializing into a letter. Narrowing her gaze Celestia grabbed the letter with her magic and began to read.

"What is it Celestia?" she asked after a few moments.

"A letter from Twilight. It appears a young pony in Ponyville wouldn't wake up this morning. They're currently treating her at the Ponyville hospital..." Celestia kept her tone steady but she could tell her elder sister was already going a hundred different ways to handle this.

As for her, only one thought was going through her mind.

"Celestia...did she happen to say what this pony looked like?"

She knew what would happen next, knew with absolute certainty.

Still, she hoped she was wrong...but then again, hoping for things had always proven to be a futile effort for her.

Author's Notes:

Alt title: Luna And A Nightmare

Alt Alt title: I'm sorry you got the shaft in my previous story Luna, so here's something all for you.

An...experiment of sorts. Another multi-chapter story based on a random thought. Don't think it'll update too fast. Let me know what you think.

An Endless Sleep

No chance for any rest or relaxation this morning, such was the life of a ruler.

Her and her sister had set off immediately towards Ponyville leaving the letter discarded in the throne room. Thankfully Celestia had not asked her exactly why she knew what the young filly looked like...though she knew that would only last until until they had a firm grasp of the situation.

Her elder sister was not one to leave something like that waiting by the wayside.

Silently they alighted on the smooth dirt road of the town. Everything seemed so very silent...most of the ponies were still probably relaxing between the soft covers of their beds, an embrace that only the most determined could pull away from.

Still...even with that she felt as if they were being watched, but that was hardly a surprise. The arrival of two of the princesses from Canterlot was always seen as a momentous occasion by their subjects.

However, nopony stepped out from their homes to try and get a better look at them, to get a chance to talk with them...a chance to be recognized.

She found herself wondering if this was to be expected or if it was because...she was there.

Ever since her rather...mixed initial reception at Nightmare Night her standing among the citizens had grown dramatically, but a part of her had always suspected there would be a few ponies that couldn't help seeing the past when they looked at her.

Couldn't help seeing the monster she had been.

She knew to make everypony accept her, to overrule all their memories of of the long night, of the childhood story of 'The Mare In The Moon,' would take time...

But after a thousand years on the moon she was rather tired of waiting.

At least that terrible monster was gone know. Forever banished to oblivion thanks to the power of the elements. Maybe someday that creature would be forgotten by everypony.

Now that was something she looked forward to.

Finally she tore herself away from her thoughts to look up at their destination, the Ponyville hospital.

"After you Luna," Celestia said, nodding her head forward. Wasting no time, she pushed her way inside, shocking the tired receptionist at the front desk.

"P-Princess Luna!" she said, quickly trying to bring her workplace into a semblance of order, her panicked hooves only making things worse.

"Good morning," she said, keeping her tone low in an attempt to calm the mare. "Where you you put the filly that was checked in earlier today?"

"Filly? Oh, right!" the receptionist quickly grabbed a small slip paper from the pile in front of her and scanned it with her eyes. "Room 204, I think the parents are still with her along with your sister's student Twilight Sparkle."

"I see, thank you for your help," as she turned to head towards the rooms her sister stepped into the hospital, once more shocking the receptionist.

"This way Celestia," she said to her sister before making her way to the stairs, not looking forward to what they may find.

In the orderly hospital the correct door was easy enough to find, but she found herself pausing before it. Her hoof reached for the doorknob but time seemed to slow down, the air pushing down on here like a massive weight.

She was partly responsible for whatever waited within, no matter how much she wanted to say otherwise.

The door swung open noiselessly, showing her a single hospital bed, the curtain pushed aside so nothing was hidden. A tiny filly lay under the covers, several monitoring devices attached to her happily making steady beeping noises. You would almost think she was in a calm sleep, if not for the distraught parents worriedly watching over her.

"Princess Luna!" Twilight walked over from the side of the room, startling her. She must have been waiting, keeping a watchful over the patient, for her and her sister to arrive. "And Princess Celestia! I'm so glad you both were able to make it here so quickly. I wouldn't have called you here but I um...I really don't know what else to do. All of the doctors tried their medical spells and I tried everything I could but we-"

"Calm down Twilight," Celestia said, moving over to her student. Luna found herself envying her sister's ability to sound so calm in almost any situation. "Just tell us what you have managed to find and my sister and I will do all we can to fix this." Twilight nodded slowly, taking a few deep breaths to steady herself.

"Well...first the doctors and I talked to the parents to see if they knew anything that might help..." she started to say. Celestia nodded and walked over to the parents, leaving Luna behind.

"I know this is difficult for you," she said to the couple, even standing several feet away Luna could see how the mother's eyes were red from crying. "And I cannot even imagine the pain you must be going through, but please, if you could tell us what happened before your daughter was brought here it may prove vital to helping her."

Luna ignored them as the parents began to speak, her sister only asked so that they could feel like they were doing something to help their daughter.

It was a noble gesture, but she turned her attention towards more important things. Specifically, the current state of their child.

Silently she stepped over to the side of the hospital bed, looking down at the girl. She was just as Luna remembered from the dream. Her gray coat with a long blue mane, coiled back into at stylish ponytail. Her mother must have done that while waiting, a routine to make things seem more normal.

At least her face no longer carried that terrified expression, in fact, one could almost say she looked...happy. It was hard to see, but if you looked closely you could see the edges of her mouth turned up into a calm smile...

Strange, but it was probably nothing.

However she was not here to gauge her emotions, she was here to check something far more important.

This filly was sleeping, so Luna should be able too...

She closed her eyes, shutting out the world around her, sending everything to black.

Connecting with others during the day, without her moon in the sky, was always...different. It was difficult, like trying to push your way through wet sand.

But she was the Princess of The Night, such a small magic would be trivial to her. However, as she probed closer to filly's mind she met a barrier. Like a stone wall it stood, resolute against her attempts to break through.

This didn't make any sense, while every pony had some ability to shield there mind from a spell like this, even the most talented magicians would not have been able to build something like this unless they specifically knew her unique magical signature...

The only thing that could create such a barrier, at a moments notice, would have to be...

No, that was an impossibility. Whatever the reason, this mystery would have to be solved later, right now she would need to find a way to slip through this resistance.

After all, there was no spell, of any power, that was without a weakness. She pulled her magic back, silently probing the surface of this filly's mind.

The wall of magic seemed so strong, ready for any assault, but there, one corner of it was flawed. So small, but to a Princess, it was enough.

Like a mouse scurrying though a hole she slid through the barrier and connected with the filly.

She readied herself to face a crushing darkness, a terrible nightmare trapping the filly in this enchanted coma. She waited for the response, her defenses ready...and waited...and waited.

There was nothing there.

No nightmare...no dream...no anything.

Just an echo of a child's imagination. It felt lonely...it felt...wrong.

"Princess Luna?" a small voice at her side, breaking her out of her concentration and away from the magic. Twilight stood beside her, a worried expression on her face. "What are you doing?"

"I am just...checking something. Trying to find some answers," she replied, trying to give a reassuring smile to the apprentice.

"Well...did you find any?" Twilight allowed a bit of hope to shine on her face.

"Perhaps, mostly I have found more questions. Questions that can only be answered back in Canterlot." She looked over to her sister who was already staring back, knowing what they needed to asked the parents. She nodded.

"If you would allow it, my sister and I would have your daughter moved to the infirmary of our Castle. She would be under the utmost care and it will hopefully lend to a more speedy recovery," the parents paused, looking to each other for a few moments before turning back to Celestia.

"If you really it will help our little girl...do you know if this condition is serious?" the father said, gently holding onto his wife.

"The condition itself should not prove hazardous," Luna moved up next to her sister. "It is the cause that I am worried about. With you daughter in Canterlot we may not only help her, but prevent something like this from happening again."

"Then...yes. Please, take her to Canterlot, and please help." the mother asked of them, desperation in her eyes.

"You have our solemn word on that. We will send a carriage for her in just a short while. Twilight, if you could stay until it arrives I would be most grateful," Luna could tell twilight almost wanted to salute Celestia, so ready to make her teacher proud.

"You can count on me," she proclaimed.

"Very good," with one last look at the filly and her parents, Celestia stepped back out into hall, Luna following closely behind.

Her elder sister did not ask her what spell she had cast on the filly...at least, not until they had returned to the castle.

"So...you saw this filly while dream walking, and something attacked her in a nightmare, something that drove you away with its strength," Celestia had given her the disapproving glare the entire flight back to the castle and once they had landed it had only taken a simple phrase for her to say the whole story.

"Explain..."

"I was not driven away by it. I did not even have a chance to understand what was happening to me before I was thrust back into the waking world," she said with a sigh. How could her sister sit there and look so disappointed? Celestia did not, could not, understand the sort of things she faced every night.

"And when you were examining the filly at the hospital, what did you find?" Luna told her, but she could see this information didn't make her sister any happier.

"Then...what are we going to do now?" with those words the disappointed expression fell from Celestia's face and for a moment, just a moment, Luna was able to spy something else.

A face full of worries and sorrow, weathered down by so many years of rule. So completely unsure of what to do when faced by this new threat to her people.

Her sister truly did care for her subjects above all else.

Then the expression was gone, replaced by a face of calm tranquility. The face of the Princess of The Sun.

"When night falls I will step once more into the dream realm, find the cause, and bring her back. Simple really," she tried to reassure her sister.

"Simple for you perhaps..." a pause. "But I trust you Luna. I know you will do everything you can to end this threat."

"Of course Celestia, now I believe you have your royal duties to attend to, I shall prepare for tonight," she gave here elder sister a final nod before walking out of the throne room to her private quarters.

Waiting for sunset had proven quite boring indeed, so she had tried to pass the time poring through the vast collection of books she had hoarded in her room.

Many of them dealt with dream magic, or things related to it, and she hoped there might be something hidden within the pages related to his mission.

She even tried leafing through old books describing the numerous fantastic creatures that could be found in Equestria, perhaps there was one that could travel through dreams as she did. She had never heard of, or encountered one, over her many years but you could never be too careful.

Still...there was nothing for her to find. Bored, she found her mind wandering through her memories, back and back and back over the years. She finally stopped on one of her very old memories.

A memory she had not thought of in a long time.

Training with her mother, to rule, and to see the dreams of her subjects.

It would always start out in the courtyard near the castle. Funny how everything seemed so much bigger back then.

"So are you ready for your lesson today Luna?" her mother was quite the imposing figure. She wasn't very tall but here mere presence made it feel like she was towering over you at any position.

"Of course!" she'd always been so eager to learn.

"Very good, but first I think we need to talk a little something," she'd known immediately what her mother was talking about, but she tried to put on a face of innocence. "A little something concerning the senior magicians?"

"Are they planning something for our magic lessons? I'm afraid I haven't seen them at all today." She wasn't going to budge...

That is until her mother put on that expression. In fact...it was the same look that Celestia had used on her earlier today.

So that was where she learned it...

Her younger self was just as powerless.

"It was just a little fun mom..." the elder mare held up a hoof, not even wanting to hear her excuses.

"You dyed all of their robes bright pink and replaced their hats with rainbow wigs," her mother shook her head. "Their leader talked my ears off about how I'm raising a 'demon child with absolutely no grasp of any of the social graces.'" Luna could not help but smile a little at that, her mother noticed.

"What's that there? Please don't tell me that they're right about you," and there was the tone that always managed to make her feel ashamed of herself.

"I'm sorry mom..."

"Don't apologize to me, you're going to apologize to the magicians later..." her mother sighed. "What you need to apologize to me for...is lying. For trying to hide from what you'd done."

"But...it wasn't that big of a lie..." she tried to defend herself.

"Trying to to hide from our own mistakes, especially when we know we've been caught, won't do any good for anypony. Lies can be more dangerous than you know Luna. Do you understand?" a stern glare.

"I...think so?" her mother sighed again.

"Perhaps one day you will, but until then how about we begin our lesson..."

The lesson itself had been a normal one, to be expected. Her mother went over the basics of traveling in the dream realm, explaining how it was her duty to recognize which dreams were to be entered and which were to be left alone.

But at the end, the expression on her mother's face had turned serious.

"Now, what would you to do rid somepony of their nightmare?" she'd asked.

"I would find a way to break it's control or turn it against itself," Luna had answered quickly, easily remembering.

"And what happens if that isn't enough, what happens if you find yourself being drawn in to the nightmare's grasp?" her mother had never brought up such a possibility before, she had been forced into silence, unable to answer.

"Sometimes all our power is not enough to break a nightmare free, sometimes we may begin to believe that we are truly trapped within that darkness," her gaze hardened as it seemed to bore into Luna. "In such a situation there is one thing you must remember to do."

Luna didn't reply.

"You must run! You cannot take any chances, you have put so much of yourself into another living beings mind that to become lost in it would very dangerous, for the both of you. That is your only defense against something like that, do you understand?"

"Yes mom, I do!" she said as quickly as possible.

"Good...very good."

Shaking her head slightly the memory faded and Luna found herself back in the present. Surprisingly, it seemed her sister had allowed to sun to begin to set. She must have nodded off while reminiscing...odd.

But at least it meant she no longer had to wait. Pulling herself up from the floor Luna did a quick stretch and headed to the top of her personal tower, to her private room where she could ensure she could travel among the dreams of her and her sister's subjects without interruption.

Her eyes found the only window and silently watched as the sun fell lower and lower behind the horizon. As the last shred of light began to vanish over the edge she closed her eyes...

And dreamed.

It was always so relaxing for her, to step into the world of dreams. It was the one place where it felt like she always belonged. It welcomed her with no judgmental stares, no incessant murmurings, just quiet calm acceptance.

Long ago she had wished with everything she had that she could stay here...

But those wishes were long gone, best forgotten, and ignored. Forget the past and focus on the present, focus on what she had to do.

Her essence floated through the dreamscape searching for the dark nightmare that had attacked last night...

She did not find it, in fact, there seemed to be nothing amiss in this world of dreams. No tormented dreams shouted out for her, everything was at peace.

Yet Luna was still worried.

Unconsciously she found herself drawn to a specific dream. Newly birthed and struggling to maintain itself it gave off a calm yellow glow as she approached. It was almost beautiful, the troubles of her mind almost seemed to melt away in its presence.

Don't worry, it's okay...

With a shudder, the light accepted her, and she found herself someplace...different...

An old empty room greeted her, filled with dust covered furniture with sad flickering lights set into the walls. There were no windows giving her no chance to find her bearings.

There was only one doorway leading to a vast darkness from which she could hear...a song.

It was too indistinct to make out the exact words, but the tune was soothing. She moved forward, stepping in to the black, only to find she wasn't alone.

A young colt walked alongside her, his eyes glazed over as he moved towards the singing voice.

"Little one," she tried to grab his attention, hopefully to understand this place more. "Where are we? What is happening?" The colt shuddered at the question, blinking his eyes a few times.

"Mom and dad are...gone. Left me here, but I don't have to be..." he trailed off and the singing seemed to intensify. Luna could now make out the words...

The colt increased his pace, heading further into the darkness.

"Little one wait! It does not look...safe..." as the word left her lips they sounded...wrong to her. Why should she be so worried? This place could not mean any harm, it seemed too...familiar...

"This place is a lie!"

Her own voice echoed out in her own head, her inner self rebelling against these illusions.

This dream was dangerous...she needed to save the colt, needed to pull him away from here...

She tried to spread her magic thorough the dream, tried to shift it, even slightly, to try and change it. Nothing worked, the darkness and music only seemed to grow stronger from her efforts.

The colt had pulled away from her and the shadows seemed to be slowly enveloping him. She needed to help him!

"You must run!

Her mother's words repeated themselves...and she had to be right. There was nothing she could do here, nothing she could do to save this child...

"I'm sorry..." she whispered.

She ran...

"Another one?" her sister was waiting right outside of her tower, to be honest she had been afraid to step outside.

"Not one..." Celestia's gaze was dark. "Three..."

Author's Notes:

The last part was really annoying to write up. Really did not like this chapter as a whole, though am very excited for what happens later.

Beginnings and endings are always easy for me, it's the middle parts that tend to trip me up.

Memories

She was awake now, but the nightmare refused to end.

She tried going over her memories of that dream again, of the lost filly in that dark lonely room. There had to have been something she could have done, but no matter how hard she tried she could not find any possible escape.

She, that filly, and that...darkness had been trapped in there.

So how did it managed to steal two more in the night? How could it have been so powerful? There was nothing with power like that in the world of dreams, nothing with that much control over the world.

Nothing but her...

There had to be some solution, but she just couldn't focus. There was a pounding in her head and she was still exhausted from the dream walking in the previous night.

It did not help that her elder sister was hounding her, demanding an explanation for the problem plaguing their citizens.

"Please Luna, there has to be something we can do right now! Something you haven't thought of!" Celestia was nearly begging for a solution, and she truly wished she had one. "You had to have seen something in the nightmare."

"Once more Celestia, I saw nothing in there but darkness and..." there was that song...the peaceful light. The power that had reminded her so much of...

"And what?"

"Something...strange. It almost felt...familiar," she wished she could explain it better, but she just couldn't make sense out of it. "I don't know, I'm sorry sister."

Celestia was silent for a moment, slowly walking towards one of their many stained glass windows. The sun had just begun to rise shone through the colored glass, casting the throne room in a myriad of colors. Her sister seemed not to notice.

"I did not wish to bring this up before...but given the circumstances..." Celestia turned her eyes back to her. "Do you think that the dark magic of Nightmare Moon may-"

"No!" she slammed a hoof on the smooth floor, the noise echoing through the massive room. "That...creature, is gone forever." She tried to make her voice sound as final as possible. Her dark magic had been completely purified by the Elements of Harmony, there was no chance that monster could ever return.

"But if there is the slightest chance it...isn't, we might be able to-" Celestia tried to continue.

"I will not speak of this any longer. There is something else causing this disaster, and I will find it," she declared, her gaze defiant as she glared at her elder sister.

"Please sister, do not let your painful memories cloud your judgement. Do not let them bring further pain to our subjects...please, let me help you," She'd already begun to leave the room, her mood even darker than before.

Celestia was wrong, Nightmare Moon was gone.

"I will not be taken in by that darkness again..."

She walked and walked and walked throughout the castle, simply trying to distract herself. If she let her mind wander towards thoughts of what she had been...then those memories return.

Memories of her hatred, of her jealousy...

Of her absolute need prove her sister wrong. To show her the power she held, to make everypony finally acknowledge her!

She would be content if those memories vanished forever. Those times should be forgotten.

If they could just go away...then things could be like they were before...everything had happened. Back when things were easier between her and her sister. Back when there was no underlying fear in the gaze of her people whenever they saw her.

Before that darkness had taken hold of her...

Wait a moment, where was she?

She'd been so focused on going somewhere away from her sister, away from the questioning glances from the other residents of the castle, that she'd completely lost track of where she was walking.

This part of the castle was...old. Very very old. There was no sounds of life here, no other ponies making their ways through these halls.

There was a window nearby and looking outside she was surprised to see that she was several stories up from the ground. She didn't even remember going up any stairs...

Still, she saw no reason to turn away now. Luna made her way forward, her hooves stirring up the old layers of dust covering the elegant carpets in the hallway.

She did not really understand what kept pushing her forward. This journey would have to end eventually, she could not run away from her thoughts forever.

She didn't stop moving.

Her hooves continued to lead her throughout the castle, taking to another staircase, and another, and another. How high up was she going? When was the last time a pony had explored this tower?

What exactly was awaiting her at the top?

She crested the final stair to come face to face with...a door. Tall and carved out of oak, it almost felt like it had been waiting for her.

Without a second thought she felt her front hoof raise up towards the door handle

The door slid open without any resistance, revealing...

No!

She tried to step backwards, to close her eyes, to escape this room and forget what she saw.

But it was too late, she remembered.

How long ago had that been, the last time she had stepped into that lonely room?

Discord had long ago been cast away into his statue, and King Sombra had been sealed away as a shadow beneath the cold ice of the north. But she did not know the exact date of that fateful evening.

All she did know was that it was after another confrontation with her sister.

"Please sister! Listen to me!" she had stormed into her sister's room, begging for an audience. She'd been so sure her sister had been avoiding her, not even caring about her opinions any more.

She had been wrong of course, her sister had so much to deal with, trying to calm the nation, to eradicate all those old tremors of chaos left over from Discord.

So much more important than her need to be acknowledged.

"I could make the night a paradise for our citizens! Just give me a little more time and I could remove the nightmares from the dream realm, they will finally see the beauty of my night..."

Celestia had turned that gaze on her, not the gaze of a sister, the gaze of a ruler.

"I cannot give you this extra time Luna. You have spent so much of your life trying to achieve this goal, with so little to show," she turned her gaze to the window. "We have our time, dusk to dawn and dawn to dusk. Equal shares, be happy with what you have."

"But nopony truly recognizes my nights, they only see them as...time to pass between your days..." she had wanted this, wanted this acknowledgement. To create something that would make her equal to her sister.

Or perhaps...greater.

"I am sorry Luna, we have had this discussion before, and my decision is final," that tone...how she had hated that tone. There was no chance to argue with it.

Without another word she had stormed out of the room, wanting to escape that tone.

And had found herself once more in that tower, led to that lonely room.

The room full of nothing...but that mirror.

That mirror that seemed to tower over her, surrounded by a beautiful silver edge, reflecting everything in the room with perfect clarity.

Everything but her.

In the mirror she saw herself as something...greater.

She stood taller, an aura of power and strength surrounded her that could not be denied...

An aura that everyone would have to acknowledge.

She moved closer, touching the unmarred glass with a shaking hoof. This was everything she wanted to be...but no matter how hard she strived would never be able to reach.

You are simply afraid to try

That voice...that was the first moment she had heard it.

She should have ignored it, but she had been so desperate.

"Who are you?" She had tried to look around the room, but her eyes were locked on the mirror. Her reflection stood still for a moment before its lips curled up into a smile.

I am your wish, your distant dream. You crave acknowledgement, the love your sister has...

You must remove your limitations...

"What limitations are you talking about?" She could not move now, frozen as she stared at this dark version of herself.

You wait for your sister's approval before doing anything. You are afraid to move forward with your ideas. You are stronger than you know, you could take the time you need, show her the beauty of your night. The beauty she refuses to see!

To simply take without asking...such a thought had never occurred before, but that it had, the possibilities played out before her. She would use the extra hours to finally cleanse the dream realm, to find the true source of nightmares and lock them away forever. Her sister would be upset...but forgiveness would be so easy to give once she had seen the results.

It was so simple, she just needed to...take control.

"How...how do I do this?" she had asked, a strange joy filling her chest.

Do not worry, you will know when the time comes...

With that, her reflection had snapped back to normal. It showed who she really was once more.

But that would soon change, everything would change.

She was smiling as she stepped back outside the room...

Only to run into her very startled sister.

"Luna, I have been looking everywhere for you. How in Equestria did you find your way up to this dusty old tower? I would have never found you if that guard hadn't seen you wander up those stairs," she could see that her sister had been worried, but she found herself not caring. "There are several delegates here to talk, I was hoping that you could help with the negotiations."

It had been a peace offering, she knew that now, an apology for her refusal earlier. But back then, she had refused to recognize it.

"I am sure you can handle it sister, I am too tired and should return to my quarters," Celestia had been taken aback at this, but quickly nodded. As she walked past Celestia had curiously peered inside the room.

"Was there somepony in that room with you? I could have sworn I heard you talking..."

"No...there was nothing in that room," she replied quickly, perhaps a little too quickly.

"Luna, please do not lie to me, I know I heard you talking to somepony," Celestia continued to pry, but she had had enough.

"Nopony was in the room but myself sister, goodnight," and she had left her sister behind.

Oh how she wished she could somehow go back to then and tell herself of what the future would bring. That voice would return eventually, and it would tell her the ways she could bring herself power, and when that power should be used.

And on that fateful night, when she hoped to make a perfect night and rise to heights unheard of...

She had fallen, so far and so fast...that darkness had corrupted her.

All because of that voice...if she had never heard its tempting call...

She had never learned where it had come from, perhaps it had been Discord's influence...or a final parting gift from Sombra...but she would not be tricked like that again.

She could not let her self be taken away...

The memory left her, and she was once more left in the room, still somehow free of the dust that covered the rest of the tower.

She was so tempted to lift a hoof and smash that mirror into a thousand pieces...but in the end that would not change anything.

Still, reliving that memory had taught her something. Back then, she had refused to listen to her elder sister's wisdom, just as she was refusing to listen now.

That dark magic may still be around, even if Nightmare Moon was gone.

And she could not deny one simple fact...she needed her sister's help. At the moment, she was not strong enough to face this monster.

This time, the room had served to help her.

She walked out of the room, giving the mirror a small nod before quickly making her way back down the stairs. She knew her sister would still be in the throne room, it wasn't in Celestia's nature to roam when troubled, as it was hers.

"Sister," she gave Celestia no time to react as she rush back into the room. "I have had some time to think, and you are right, I do need your help with this."

"Oh..." Celestia was stunned for a moment. "That is rather sudden, what happened to help change your mind?"

"Old memories," was all she said. "But that doesn't matter, all that matters is that you must come with me this night. We will join our strength to defeat this nightmare."

Celestia seemed to steel herself at those words. Straightening her back, hardening her gaze, drawing her strength together.

"I am ready," her older sister said.

"No...you're not, not yet."

Celestia had a basic understanding of the how shaping the dream realm worked, just as she had vague instructions on controlling the sun, but hearing about something and actually experiencing it are two very different things.

"Magic is very different within dreams sister, magic spells do not work with simple incantations. Power is shaped with the mind, all things in that realm are made from thoughts," she was trying to figure out what information she should focus on, it was rather difficult to fit years of instruction into the few hours before nightfall. "But you must be careful, too much power put into your spells may cause them to morph out of control. Mother told me many stories of magicians being devoured by their own strength."

"You were not the only one who heard such stories as we lay in bed sister. As long as we are together we will be safe. I trust you," it was hard to believe, they were about to confront the creature that had taken away four of their young subjects, and Celestia was still so calm...so sure of herself.

She would have to make sure that faith was not for nothing.

"Yes, of course. You were always a quick learner. Just follow me and everything should be fine," at this point she wasn't she if she was trying got reassure her sister, or herself.

The fact of the matter was that bringing someone directly with you into a dream could be very dangerous...

Most creatures, when dreaming, create their own world and fill it with their own emotions. Bringing her sister with her meant the possibility of their emotions and powers clashing together as they shared the same realm.

When she helped others she spent as little time as possible within their dreams, but something like this would require all of her training and concentration keep under control.

That...she did not mention to her sister. One of those 'whatever you do, don't think of elephants' situations.

"So, how soon shall we begin?" her sister asked.

"As soon as you let the sun set, then you will join me in the world of dreams. We shall send this monster back to the darkness whence it came." Celestia gave a gentle nod at that.

"And together our kingdom will have peace again," Luna felt her worries melt away as she smiled back at her sister.

Together, they had hope.

The spell needed to bring another with you into a dream, and them be aware of the true nature of that realm, was actually very simple, but only one such as her could perform it.

Together they sat in her personal tower, watching as the world shift from day to night. The humble shades of red and orange fading away to still blackness.

It was time.

As she prepared to enter her realm, she leaned forward and tapped her horn against her sister's. With a tiny spark of magic, everything changed.

Like an ocean before a storm, the dream realm was laid out before them. Without any dreams to affect it, it appeared as a field of black rolling waves, endlessly shifting as if it was searching for something.

Even like this, she still found it so beautiful.

"So...this is where you go every night," Celestia observed, floating in the void. "Is it always...like this?" Her voice continued to remain calm, echoing through the emptiness.

"Only for a short while, once our subjects begin to dream you could lose yourself in the calamity. This place becomes a maelstrom of emotion and color, truly a sight to behold," all that chaos was what made this realm beautiful.

"It sounds like it, perhaps I should have asked to see this world before," a smile came to her face as she pictured her elder sister face to face with the storm of thoughts brought about by the dreams of all those ponies occupying the same area.

"Perhaps when peace has been restored. Right now we must find this dark creature," right now had to be the best time to find this monster. It had no place to hide this time.

Yet she could not see it.

"But how can we bring it out?" she cast her vision through the tides, searching for any discrepancy. Could it have sensed the both of them already? Sensed their power?

Perhaps it was the monsters turn to be afraid.

"I have an idea..." Celestia waved her head and Luna felt something shift in the realm.

There was a tiny popping noise and a small lantern appeared next to them, its warm glow showing the calm flow of this world. Something strange and unreal, waiting to be shaped the thoughts of others.

"A light to reveal the shadows," Celestia explained. Luna brought the lamp up to her face, enjoying the warmth of its simple light.

"Perfect," she added her own magic to the lamp, increasing its strength, making the glow spread further outward. She began to drift through the realm, waving the lantern in front of her as Celestia followed close behind.

She knew what they were looking for...but what form would it take in this world?

She scanned her eyes over the waves, searching for...there!

Amongst the rolling tides there was something worming its way through the nothing. A curling infection, spreading itself through the world. Upon seeing it, Luna began to feel it as she did dreams. It was like the worst sort of nightmare, twisting deep in her mind, awakening her primal fears, driving her to run awake and hide.

She would not listen.

"There!" she pointed it out to her sister. "We must track it to the source!" Together they raced across the waves, following the dark feeling in her head. It only grew stronger, digging deep into her mind, but it would never be enough to make her stop.

She was stronger than this.

They were nearing the source now, the creation of this nightmare.

When suddenly, it was upon them.

The corruption surrounded them, leaping out of the waves as the pain in her head began to scream.

They did not even have time to scream before they were engulfed.

The screaming stopped, and was replaced instead by a small, mocking laugh.

"Oh how lovely it is to see the both of you," that voice...she would know that voice anywhere. "Those who call themselves princesses of the day and night."

Her eyes opened, and she saw it, the thing she wished had left her forever.

An alicorn armored with dark blue steel, her mane and tail resembling a sparkling galaxy full of stars. And that power, that overwhelming aura of dark strength. It was almost suffocating just to be near her.

"Nightmare Moon," she managed to gasp. Desperate, she looked around only to see her sister struggling to move in the darkness next to her.

"I think it is time your reigns came to an end!"

The nightmare was real.

Author's Notes:

Oof, never work on two stories at the same time, can lead to burnout.

But aren't you working on a third story as well?

Shut up brain, I pay you to make stories, not make fun of me.