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.