"She's beautiful, I'd only ever read about sky ships until we left Equestria a few years ago. But I've never come across anything like this," Twilight admired as she ran a wing tip across the smooth hull of the Nightshine.

The midnight blue vessel seemed to hum with magical energy, and she was pretty sure that, were she still an alicorn, she'd have been able to pick up on exactly what spells were woven into its intricate structure. The strands of silver metal that twisted and wound around the ship like a glistening spider's web were, she guessed, the source of the enchantments, and the pattern was only visible now that she was so close.

"Well that's to be expected, you wouldn't have heard of a ship like this before," Warp Runner stated, trotting down the small set of wooden steps onto the lower walkway and pressing a forehoof to the hull.

"Designed to be fast, nimble and almost invisible from below. Chameleon enchantments, a shielding spell wave. You'll never find a more worthy ship," the bat pony elaborated, seeming to admire the ship like it was some long lost lover.

"And she's yours, you made her?" Twilight inquired, glancing back at the fanged mare.

Eyes still fixed on the mosaic of stars and nebula that adorned Nightshine's hull, Warp Runner snorted a laugh before shaking her head.

"You really think I could afford to build a ship like this?" She glanced over at Twilight and the dragoness shrugged.

"Not to be rude, but there's an awful lot about you that I don't know," she responded and once again, Warp Runner chuckled.

"Touché, but no. Nightshine was built back in Canterlot by the finest magical engineers of the last age. Commissioned by the princess of the night herself," she went on, shooting a knowing glance back at Luna.

Still disguised as Eclipse, the silver unicorn was lost for words, and it wasn't until a few moments later that she finally shook her head and stammered.

"N–no quite, she was more a gift from my sister, yet..." She trailed off, eyes tearing up with happiness. "She looks just like she did the day Tia first surprised me with her," she added.

"Celestia had this built for you, why? What did you need a skyship for when you both have personal vessels in the Equestrian fleet?" Twilight asked Luna, yet her gaze was stolen from the shocked princess by Warp Runners snort.

"Seriously?" the bat pony asked bluntly, before jabbing a forehoof at Luna. "Do you really know either of your princesses at all?"

"True, I have Midnight Dream and my sister has the Celestial Lance. But Tia gifted me Nightshine only a few years after our coronation. She said it would be good for me to get out and see more of the world on my own terms," Luna responded, and Warp Runner rolled her eyes.

"You mean it would make it easier for the two of you to get out here and mess with things," she stated and the disguised alicorn blushed.

"Well, of course, you should know most of all that I was never one to just sit around and do nothing," Luna said as if Warp Runner should expect nothing less.

"So wait, you used to be a masked vigilante and an aethernaut?" Twilight exclaimed, and an awkward, adorable little smile appeared on Luna's muzzle as she responded.

"Well, technically they can just be the same thing if one has a ship?" If the princesses' humble look had not threatened to melt Twilight's heart like butter, she'd have pressed more on the topic.

I mean, she clearly did it all for the right reasons, right? The little princess in her thoughts reassured. Though if she didn't... Think of all the treasure she could have hidden away here!

"Hey, are you okay? I don't think a dragon's tongue is supposed to hang out all loose like that," Warp Runner asked apprehensively, and only then did Twilight realize she was drooling over the idea of treasure like a dog would a bone.

"W–what... Yeah, I'm fine, totally fine!" she declared, before stammering awkwardly. "Just silly dragon thoughts, n–nothing I can't handle!"

Warp Runner raised an eyebrow, appearing very unconvinced as she observed. "Wow, that transformation of yours really has run deep."

"All the more reason to get this issue corrected as fast as possible," Luna interjected, finally seeming to break free of her stupor long enough to fly down and land between the two of them.

Is it just me or does she seem even more uptight about it now that Warp Runner's around? Twilight wondered as the bat pony attempted to peer around Luna, before giving up with a shrug and marching back off up the steps towards her hammock.

"Whatever you say. Either way, you're not going to want to go anywhere until tomorrow," the thestral responded.

Twilight glanced around at the rugged wall of hexagonal pillars around her, then at the hanging stalagmites that loomed above like fangs.

One night in a cave was enough for me. How does she live so comfortably all the way down here? she thought, ruffling her wings against a wave of cold wind from outside even as her draconic side rumbled. It's a cave, that's where dragons are supposed to live!

"Why exactly would we wait so long? Nightshine was designed to operate under the cover of nightfall, should we not just use it?" Luna declared and once again, Warp Runner shrugged.

"We? For one, I never said I was going anywhere with you," she began, stoking her campfire and righting her hammock then rummaging through her supplies as Luna walked up the stairs towards her. "Two, I'm not the only thestral the syndicate employs. Nightshine was designed so your own night guards could make it out, so that's why it's not a good idea."

Luna snorted, rolling her shoulders and seeming to bite back a frustrated snort as she bit her bottom lip. Twilight took one last glance at the beautiful ship, before walking up the platform towards the pair, worn wood creaking under her draconic weight.

"Maybe she's right, waiting here for things to die down can't be too bad, right? At least we're not back up there with all the crazy creatures," the dragoness reasoned, gesturing to the cave roof and what she assumed were the streets of Ironstal above.

Luna planted her rear down on a set of crates as she seemed to consider that. Yet from the way her look softened, she appeared to be far more accepting of advice from Twilight over the somewhat blunt bat pony.

"Fine, one night here. Maybe I can talk some sense into you and get you to leave this awful place while I have the time," she retorted, shooting Warp Runner a challenging look.

"You wouldn't have to ask me twice to get me to leave this dump now that the syndicate has it out for me too. But to go where you're going?" Warp Runner tapped a forehoof on the deck. "That's a whole other question altogether."

From the way Luna's expression seemed to droop at those words, Twilight was sure the disguised alicorn was once again feeling remorseful.

By Celestia, what is it with these two!? she mentally growled, before correcting her thoughts. Okay, time for some research. They don't want to make what happened obvious, so I'll just have to figure it out on my own.

"You've been there before too, haven't you?" the dragoness asked, looking at Warp Runner as the bat pony began to pull ingredients from barrels and crates.

Pausing for a moment, the fanged mare let out a sigh before trotting back to the fire in the middle of her makeshift camp, depositing the supplies into a metal pot hanging over the flames.

"Yes, I have, and I can tell you now that it's not somewhere anypony goes lightly. Dreams belong in our heads, not the other way around," she warned, tapping a forehoof against her temple.

Yeah, because that makes me feel so much better about going there myself, Twilight's thoughts chimed anxiously as she glanced at the silver-coated mare sitting beside her. Please, say something reassuring again, Luna!

The night princess leaned forward, the emerald green eyes of her illusionary form shining in the light of the flames from the campfire as she seemed to reflect on the idea.

"All my life that place has affected me, like a shadow over me. Looming, judging, waiting for a moment it could allow its power to seep into anything I cared about," she began to say, yet more to herself than anypony else as she continued to stare at the fire.

Then she sighed. "Dreams have been a reality for me for so long that I can hardly tell the difference anymore."

There was no sad break in her voice, yet, even so, Twilight felt a pang of sympathy that the princess had to live with the fact that crazy things could happen at any moment she showed emotion.

This transformation, the Tantabus? Even Nightmare Moon, how much of that was influenced by her connection to that place? the dragoness wondered. Was she really born with that power or did she seek it out? Is it even her fault?

Regardless, the dragoness wrapped a leathery wing over Luna's back, as across the fire, Warp Runner paused to regard the two of them, the first genuine look of care appearing on her face.

"You still have a way with words I see," the thestral observed, taking a wooden spoon in her mouth and starting to stir the contents of the pot. "All and all, I can't say you've changed too much."

"Yet still you say that as if it's a bad thing?" Luna inquired, but Warp Runner did not look up from her stew as she muttered around the spoon in her mouth.

"If you want the truth, I don't know either way. Good, bad. I'd have followed you anywhere once, but you really did some stupid things, Luna." Once again her expression fell, before Twilight chimed in.

"But doesn't everypony make mistakes? I don't know if you've heard all the way out here in the middle of nowhere, but since the elements saved her she's been nothing but a blessing to Equestria," the dragoness insisted.

"And yet she still needed some magical rocks to save her in the first place," the bat pony was swift to point out, spitting out the spoon. "Do you know how worthless it made me feel when you ran away? How insignificant I felt when you declared that the world was not good enough for you?" she pressed, holding a forehoof to her chest.

Save for staring down at the chipped, wooden floor, Luna didn't respond. Meanwhile, Twilight's attention perked up once again.

"So that really would make you over a thousand years old?" she asked, and rubbing her forehead, right where Twilight had seen the stump of her horn, the bat pony grumbled.

"A millennia and then some... Now years go by like days, a whole decade could just be a week out here, nothing has changed in centuries." She took the spoon in a forehoof and used it to tilt the contents of the stew pot into bowls.

"The Syndicate rules everything with an iron hoof, keeps everyone down and in line, while I just linger," she went on, before finally adding. "All parts of things I'd rather forget."

At those words, she glanced at Luna, and for a split second, the two mares' eyes met. Twilight looked between them, before finally asking.

"So what really happened to you... If you don't mind me asking?" Warp Runner did not take her glare off Luna for a long moment before muttering.

"Nothing that matters now," she finished, dishing out her stew before she slid bowls over to each of them. "But you're going to need something to eat if you're going out there, so here."

Twilight peered down her muzzle at the stuff, half expecting an eye to come bobbing to the surface of the steamy brown mixture of cabbage and carrots. She could have sworn she could even smell meat in the mix, and if she'd have been her normal pony self, she'd have had to fight not to throw up. Yet her dragon side merely scoffed at the meager offer, imagining the gemstones and minerals she would much rather her seek out and consume.

"Thanks," Luna declared to her right as she took the bowl in her magic and levitated it to her lips.

Not so formal about drinking it right from the bowl out here, hm? Twilight observed, pretty sure she was starting to like this 'not-so princess-y' Luna. I mean with the way you eat hayburgers, can you really call anypony else messy, Twi?

"Don't mention it," Warp Runner responded, as Twilight's thoughts caused her to hide a blush with a wing.

"There's more where that came from on the fire if you need it. That's if you haven't forgotten how to cook, too," she stated, glancing at Luna before downing her stew in one go and hopping up into her hammock.

"First light should be the best time for you to leave, right before the morning market fleet comes in and the Syndicate switches over the guards," she added as she rolled onto her back and stared up at the cave roof from the hammock.

Twilight looked at Luna as the disguised princess finished her stew and nodded. "I'll adhere to your judgment then," she responded.

Warp Runner chuckled before adding, "Oh, well that'll be a first." She lifted a forehoof to rub her broken horn. "Well, in that case, I think the best thing you can do for now is to get some sleep."

Ugh, come on, Twilight. You slept in a cave just a week ago and that one didn't even have a mattress! the grumpy princess in Twilight's mind muttered as the dragoness rolled and fidgeted uncomfortably on a set of rags she'd thrown over the deck for herself. Yeah, that last one was far more character building.

Even so, there were far too many thoughts spinning around her head, so many loose ends, so many questions, most of which now revolved around Warp Runner. Seriously, I'll get to the bottom of what happened between her and Luna if it kills me.

As far as she could perceive, the two were very reluctant to speak to one another without encouragement. Neither had even brought up what they planned to do come morning, nor a word about Warp Runner's supposed map Luna had mentioned in the tavern. So finally Twilight slumped with a huff, smoke blasting from her nostrils as a low, draconic growl bubbled up from deep in her throat.

I hate this body so much! she inwardly groaned as she practically melted into a scaly heap of spines and lavender wings atop her nest of rags. By Celestia, if I still had my magic I'd do everything in my power to at least feel comfortable!

"You're not actually going to sleep, are you?" Twilight's ears perked at the sound of Warp Runner's voice across the deck, and one of her eyes momentarily flashed open to catch the leathery winged mare still laying in her hammock, forehoof batting a ball against the ceiling in a continuous motion.

"You know the night is my time, how could I sleep?" Luna responded, laying with her forehooves crossed in front of her.

"Because I'm guessing you've been awake for at least a whole day, if not more," Warp Runner reasoned, before groaning. "So much for adhering to my judgment."

"I have restrained my ambition to make for the sky as soon as possible, have I not? Am I not still here now as you advised?" Luna countered, but Warp Runner shrugged.

"What really happened to you, Luna?" she asked, and at that question, Twilight's ears perked even more eagerly.

Yet there was only a sigh from the midnight mare. "You know if I were to tell you everything we would be here for years."

"Try me, I've got plenty of time. You were the mare I looked up to once. No pony would have dared even think about putting down others while the fabled Silver Mask and Solar Flare where around," Warm Runner mused, almost like a filly would about their comic book heroes, and there was a slight chuckle from Luna.

"I would be lying if I said I did not miss the times we were free, my sister and I." There was another long pause before the alicorn added, "We were able to do what we wished with who we wished, when and where we wished, we felt like real ponies, not idols."

"Well forgive me for saying, but you went ahead and made a pretty bad idol of yourself since we last spoke," Warp Runner declared.

"A shame I'll carry for the rest of my immortal life, you must understand," Luna responded, and once again there was a pause as the two mares seemed to consider what they'd missed.

"If you'd still been here back then I'd have knocked some sense into you. You shouldn't have cared so much what ponies thought of you. So what if Celestia was so high and mighty, you mattered more to me than any of those fools in Equestria." There was a ruffling of wings and the sound of magic sparking to life.

"Who did your sister have that was close to you as I was? Nopony and you..." Twilight caught the flash as Warp Runner's words trailed off and opened her eyes again to see that Luna had dropped her disguise.

It was now the bat pony's turn to stammer speechlessly as Luna awkwardly covered a blush with her wing. "Still all you remember?"

"N–no, not exactly..." Warp Runner stammered before seeming to correct herself. "Your mane looks different."

"A boost in power, my sister would have you believe. For the citizens of Equestria have warmed to me like they never did over the millennia before," Luna elaborated, and Warp Runner caught the ball she was bouncing,

"I'm guessing that's why your dream magic's so out of check," she questioned, and once again Twilight's attention was on edge. "All that power's gonna be harder to contain."

"It's a possibility. Twilight saved me from Nightmare Moon, saved me from my own self inflicted torment when the Tantabus threatened Equestria. I could not keep my admiration for her in check... Though my newfound strength may have been the reason the transformation overtook her so much, so fast," Luna proposed.

"I'll say, it changed her into a completely different species. I didn't know you had a thing for dragons." The sly tone the bat pony employed at that was unmistakable, and Luna snorted before stammering.

"I–I... I don't... You know as well as I how dreams can be manipulated... It's just a personification of the desire I have for strength and power in a partner, that's all," the night princess insisted.

"Whatever you say, I know you at least had a thing for ponies that were taller then you," Warp Runner quipped.

"Neigh, thou hast no idea... I..." Luna's sudden shouting trailed off into a squeak. "I... Okay, perhaps, but any pony of such merit was so rare."

"Oh, the struggle of being a pure-born alicorn. Everypony literally has to look up to you," Warp Runner chimed, before adding. "But if you're really gonna try and fix this I guess I'm going to have to give you the map back, right?"

"It would be necessary, yes," Luna responded and the bat pony sighed once again.

"Okay, we fall asleep and I'll let you in this once," she stated, before rolling over in her hammock and fixing Luna with a glare. "But you go in, get what you need, and leave, okay."

Luna nodded firmly, before tentatively reaching out with a wing and placing it on Warp Runner's shoulder. Despite herself, the thestral appeared to be resting the urge to melt at the soft touch of Luna's pinions as the alicorn assured.

"Thank you."

Warp Runner glanced away. "Well, either way, once it's out of my head the better. Maybe then I can sleep straight."

"I have a spell that can help you sleep if you want to?" Luna offered, but the fanged mare shrugged her off.

"N–no... I've slept well enough with it for centuries, I'll be fine," she insisted, and once again, Luna nodded.

"Well, goodnight then," the night princess said, retracting her wing and curling down to fold it over her head.

"Goodnight," Warp Runner responded, and at that, there were no more words from the two as silence fell over the cave.

Twilight had no idea at what point she'd actually managed to fall asleep in the awkward position she'd been forced into in the cave. Now she stood in a large meadow of open grass, wildflowers swaying in the breeze around her, but she did not care. For here, unlike in the waking world, she did not have claws and scales, but hooves and a smooth, lavender coat. She could just run forever with her real legs, flap her feathery wings and use magic to her heart's content. Yet before she could even budge, a shadow passed over her and a soft voice spoke up.

"I noticed you were having trouble sleeping, so I helped you along," Luna declared as she landed beside Twilight in the meadow, majestic alicorn form glistening like diamonds as her ethereal mane billowed in the soft wind.

Yet at the words, Twilight blinked, before stammering. "Y–you knew I was awake?"

Luna smirked. "And that you also probably heard every word I and Warp Runner had to say." The larger alicorn chuckled. "Worry not, dear Twilight, your curiosity is more than justified and our conversation was hardly too private."

Even as Luna offered a reassuring wink, Twilight could not help but stammer, an awkward blush pooling in her cheeks, no matter how much she attempted to will it away.

"I... I... I, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, I'm so sorry... It's just you came all this way to see her and well..." Luna pressed a wing tip to Twilight's muzzle, silencing the babbling mare before she began to trot on along a yellow brick pathway that materialized before them.

"Warp Runner is a friend of mine from long before my banishment. We met one time that myself and Celestia were out here for some freedom," she began to explain as the meadow around her fell away, scattering into a cloud of blue and red-winged butterflies.

Twilight followed, several of the fluttering insects passing by and finding perches on her muzzle and wings. She shook them off with a ruffle and a snort, earning a small giggle form Luna as the alicorn glanced back playfully.

Aaa! Even when it feels like I'm in my own body again she makes my insides feel like they're dancing! Twilight thought.

Even so, blush still burning on her cheeks, the lavender mare pressed on with her questions. "But if you've known her so long how come you've never mentioned her?"

At that, Luna's ears folded and her head drooped. "Just another part of my past I dared not go back and face after the Nightmare. Warp Runner locked me out of her dreams so I was worried she may not want to remember me. But true to what she says, she helped a lot in the days of ages past. When I allowed my dark feelings to overcome me I betrayed her as much as I did my sister."

Twilight blinked at the confession, just as the world around the two of them came alive with starlight. The winding path that led away from the meadow was now snaking its way through the night sky. Odd fireflies and glowing birds darted across the cosmos as comets whizzed by. Yet the lavender princess maintained her focus on what Luna was saying, her mind now clear of her draconic side, coming to all kinds of conclusions.

"You two must have been very close, I–I'm sorry things had to come between you," she admitted, pretty sure the two of them may have been a little more than close.

How else can somepony just become an alicorn, if not the same way I and Cadance did? Twilight wondered. Could Luna's feelings have done that to her?

"You could say that..." Luna began before she cut herself off, shook her head, and added. "But it's in the past, it does not matter."

Twilight cocked her head. Oh, I think it does, I'm not the only pony she's loved before, am I? she wondered. Then again, she's thousands of years old, what am I to expect?

"What does matter," Luna swiftly resumed, "Is that I promised you I'd teach you a thing or two about dream magic, if you're still interested."

Twilight perked up at the prospect. No matter how curious she was about Warp Runner, a unique form of magic such as Luna's was not something she was about to miss out on. Meanwhile, around the two of them, the stars became brighter, until the world was eventually transformed into an ethereal blue haze, similar to the reality in which Twilight knew a pony could become an alicorn. Only where she remembered there'd been screens displaying triumphant moments of her life, here there were only rows of doors, one side of them blue, and the opposite red. Every single one of them was chained shut, with a multitude of padlocks and bars sealing them. All save for one red door.

"So this is how you do it? Like the time you had us help you with the Tantabus?" Twilight asked, and Luna nodded.

"On the surface, yes, though this is more of a behind-the-scenes view. I seldom bring ponies here," The night princess informed, and once again, it was hard for Twilight to not squee at the idea she was in a place of such magical significance.

Luna's smirk returned as she glanced down at the shorter princess. "It's good to see that my misguided meddling has not dampened your curiosity."

"Ha, it'd take more than sprouting scales and some claws for me to not be interested in this. Your dream abilities are legendary," Twilight exclaimed, and at that, it was Luna's turn to hide a blush.

"Yes, well, ponies will have to do without me this night, for we have work to do," she declared a second later before her horn flared and she opened the only unchained red door before her.

"You need to get that map, don't you?" Twilight asked, looking at each of the locked doors around them and swiftly connecting the dots. "This is Warp Runner's mind, right?"

"Of a sense, yes, though more of a converging point of her dreams. Come, stay close to me. I'll teach you what I can, but we must tread lightly. I promised her I would not interfere with anything more than what I needed," Luna elaborated.

Not that it looks like she can mess with anything, this place is locked up tighter than the Canterlot vaults, Twilight observed.

Nevertheless, the lavender mare nodded as the two of them made their way through the door and into a suddenly materializing set of winding stairs. The sudden drop caused her to stagger and she'd have ended up flat on her face if not for Luna's wing opening in her path.

"The first rule of dream walking, reality is not what we perceive. Physics as you know it has no place here," the dark alicorn explained.

No physics? What, how can any place work without physics! Twilight's thoughts exclaimed, but she nodded to Luna nonetheless. Look on the bright side, think of all the interesting things that could occur with utterly different laws of nature.

"So what do I do if I end up falling upwards or something?" Twilight inquired as the two of them made their way down the winding staircase, surrounded by darkness.

There were voices in the gloom, shadows darting around in the corner of her vision. She swore she could hear Warp Runner's name drift like a ghost caught in an ethereal wind. There were mentions of Luna, Nightmare Moon, even Celestia.

"How could you think that... Where would you go?" whispered one voice as another responded.

"I stay here and they'll hunt you down because of what I did... They're monsters all of them... Need to be destroyed." Twilight's head snapped back as she thought she felt a claw tap her shoulder.

"Oh, and you're the one who could rule them... Of course!" There was nothing behind her but darkness.

"Eyes on me, Twilight. Seldom does one look back in this realm and find themselves perceiving where they were before." The sound of Luna's voice as Twilight felt a wing on her shoulder called the mare back.

"I thought I heard voices, they were all around us," she admitted, but Luna didn't even so much as glance around.

"That you did, echoes, lost memories cast out in the void between dreams where they can be forgotten. It is best to ignore them so they can stay that way," Luna warned as the darkness around them seemed to break.

Like a web of frozen lightning, twisting fingers of light cut through the pitch black, growing more and more in number until the darkness was replaced by golden sunshine and clear blue sky.

"But I heard your name and..." Twilight's words fell utterly flat as she glanced out at the vast landscape stretching out before her. "By Celestia."

The sun shared the sky with a pale-blue moon, both shining down on rolling hills of dark purple sand, broken by mountains of red crystal. Clouds the shape of bat-winged foals drifted overhead along with birds with feathers of red and blue. Below, where the sand gave way to a rocky labyrinth of ruins and maze-like walls, cracks and crevices shone with a baleful green light. Among them were broken statues, most of them depicting yet more thestrals, with one great bat pony standing at the center upon a jagged hill.

Forged from a shimmering black stone and ten times the size, the great statue of the bat-winged mare had one eye of brilliant sapphire and another of deep red-ruby. The long horn that protruded from under her mane was topped with a sphere of solid gold that glowed brilliantly in the light of both the moon and sun. Yet even that great monument was utterly put to shame by one far grander that loomed over the thing, an alicorn statue so vast that its feathery wings filled the alien sky.

Stars lingered under those wings like fireflies trapped in glass, yet the entire thing was cracked and broken. Huge chunks had crumbled away and it looked mere moments from a devastating collapse that would surely bury everything below it. Nevertheless, the second Twilight's eyes fell upon it, she was almost sent tumbling back from the stairs in awe.

"L–Luna, is that you?" she asked, gesturing to the monolithic alicorn with a wing tip. Luna did not even gaze up at the titanic statue made in her image as she nodded.

"One's personal dreamscape is often the truest reflection of themselves, providing it can be deciphered," she declared before reluctantly adding, "And never have I met a pony who had dreams like Warp Runner."