//------------------------------// // Chapter 7: Dreams of Fire // Story: Dreams of a Princess // by Feenkatze //------------------------------// Celestia’s hooves sunk an inch into the white sand of the beach. A small wave rolled over them, caressing her fetlocks. Before her, the horizon bent into a perfect circle around Solar Island, as the four dimensions of time and space squeezed into a hamster ball that floated in a space as void as her heart. “Luna,” she pleaded, but no answer came – she was alone, trapped. In the distance she sensed the barrier that separated wherever she was from reality. She had tried to swim out there to follow back the path that had taken her to this place, but it was just as the Guardian had said: Once you have crossed the border, there will be no way back. The Sun’s blinding light was more intense in these domains than anywhere else. She could feel its heat, its power, which was now hers to control. But it was useless to her, and she had never wanted it in the first place. She could almost hear Luna’s voice calling for her from the other side. She had to be waiting for her back at the Passage. To get back to her and see her again was all that Celestia wished for. She noticed briefly that she started glowing as she thought about that, but payed it no attention. With her eyes closed, she summoned the image of her sister. Her wish took form. As she opened her eyes again, two wings had grown just below her shoulders. She spread them, and wind began to bristle her feathers, lifting her off the ground and sending a pleasant warmth through her. Celestia tilted her new wing joints, beat down, and feel the air flow across the surfaces, propelling her across the beach. It was so easy! She felt as if she could do anything. And then Celestia understood. She was not a regular pony anymore. Rules that applied to others simply did not apply to her. She flapped her wings again, harder this time, and headed away from the light of the Sun, towards the rifts and fissures of reality. The wish that had emerged honest from her heart carried her onwards. She flew through the blue fields of light and the monochromatic instances, approaching the barrier, never stopping to look back. She braced herself as it came closer. Any second now … But the impact never happened. Instead, a joyous cry greeted her on the other side. Grinning wide, Celestia dove down towards the ground where her sister was waiting. “Lulu! I made it!” Luna didn’t wait for her to land; she flapped her wings to jump at Celestia and pull her into a crushing hug mid-air. Together they fell to the ground. Celestia felt her sister land on top of her, pinning her down. A shaggy blue mane fell over her face, obscuring her vision, and a soft pair of lips brushed against Celestia’s own. She moaned hungrily and pulled Luna closer. A few minutes later, they lay side by side on the ground, staring up into the ever blue sky. For the first time ever, Celestia was able to drape a wing around Luna, her feathers tingling as they brushed against her sister’s coat. “I was so worried you wouldn’t come back,” Luna whispered. “Really? But I was only gone for a couple of hours.” “Hours? It has been a week since you left, if not longer! The Guardian told me to stay here and keep waiting. I was tempted to follow you, but he told me that I couldn’t.” “Oh, Lulu. But I am here now.” She kissed her sister again, not failing to notice a hint of tentativeness in her at first. But it only lasted for a less than a second. “I know now what we have to do,” Celestia said. “I cannot get the Sun to move as long as Nightmare Sun is holding it in place, but I can sense where she is.” “Will it take long to get there?” “Not if we fly.” Luna nuzzled Celestia’s cheek before getting up and shaking the dust off herself. “Then let’s fly together, sister.” The Land of Wind appeared before them as a gray-brown plane of burnt plants. Charred stumps of trees stuck out here and there, surrounded by patches of ash. It was a land promising death. They descended to escape a crosswind that threatened to push them off their course, and kept close to the ground. However, an even fiercer wind blew down below, tackling them again and again while teasingly blowing into their ears. Celestia clenched her teeth as a particularly strong gust almost knocked her against the ground. This was no ordinary air current. It was the same wind that had brought them sandstorms in the desert, the same wind that had forced them into the cave and then blocked their exit. It had to be an ally of Nightmare Sun. On the horizon appeared golden walls, giant domes, and high towers. The presence of Nightmare Sun was overwhelming now, hot and destructive like a thousand fires burning at once. Celestia wasn’t sure whether they could take her on – after all, Nightmare had infinitely more experience with her powers that her. She threw a glance behind her. Luna, who was flying in her slipstream, met her with a determined look on her face. She seemed ready to fight. Celestia swallowed. They had no choice. They landed in front of the polished walls of the golden castle, which reflected the light of the Sun so brightly that Celestia had to lower her gaze. The air rumbled as the main gate’s wings slowly moved, indicating that their arrival had not remained unnoticed. A voice arose that was as piercing as the Sun and as dry as the desert. “Now look who decided to drop by.” Behind the gate appeared the form of a tall alicorn, taller than even Luna. Her coat was ash gray, and her mane looked like a flame winding up her neck. A spiked coat of armor covered her upper body, complete with a helmet sitting on her head. Celestia stepped forwards. “Nightmare Sun! This scheme has been going on for too long – lower the Sun or you will regret it!” “Too long? Petty little pony. I say my reign has just begun.” Celestia braced herself. Nightmare snickered. “There is no way you of all ponies can best me, Celestia. This day shall last forever!” Her armor flared up, forcing Celestia to squeeze her eyes shut in pain. But she still heard Nightmare moving towards her and took a step aside, blindly throwing kicks. “Mwahahaha,” Nightmare laughed. “I’m over here, silly.” Celestia turned around again, unsure of what to do. She couldn’t fight like this. Something crashed into her back. She kicked after it with her hindlegs, but missed. Her shoulder was hit next. A sharp pain made Celestia cry in agony, but then it was taken away. “Tia,” Luna whispered into her ear. “Open your eyes.” Celestia peeked through her eyelids, and found herself wrapped in an aura of darkness. Luna stood right next to her, midnight purple smoke pouring out of her horn and enveloping them in a smoke screen that blocked out Nightmare Sun’s light. “What a lovely party trick,” she heard Nightmare’s voice. “But you cannot hide in there forever.” “Get ready,” Luna whispered. The smoke lightened up, just so much that Celestia could see through it while still being protected from the flash of Nightmare’s armor. Nightmare Sun grinned arrogantly. “Do you want to know why you cannot defeat me?” She looked Celestia in the eye. Her pupils were slits, like those of a snake. “Because I am you.” Celestia, about to unleash a spell, hesitated. What did she mean by that? Nightmare Sun turned towards Luna and shot a fiery blast at her, which send her flying a few feet through the air. Celestia yelled in rage and jumped at Nightmare’s back, but it was covered in armor right up to the head, with nasty spikes that threatened to rip open any attacker’s limbs. Thinking quickly, Celestia stretched her neck and bit down on Nightmare’s ear, who buckled and backed away with a yelp. Celestia spat out a bloody patch of hair. “Luna! Luna, are you alright?” Luna crawled back onto her hooves, shaking. “I’m fine, keep going. We have to stop her.” “Right.” Another blast flew towards them, but this time, Celestia was ready and summoned a shield of light to block it. She wouldn’t let Luna down again. She would protect her, and if it was the last thing she did. Focusing herself she summoned her magic, unleashing a ray of light at Nightmare, but the cackling mare got out of the way with a lazy flap of her wings. Instead, the spell went into the golden castle wall, forcing Celestia and Luna to dodge a cascade of debris and loose bricks raining down. A cloud of dust emerged, while Nightmare returned a volley of fireballs that rained onto Celestia’s magical shield. “Let’s take that nag down,” Luna pressed between her teeth. Celestia took off, shooting a barrage of spells to keep Nightmare locked in place. She flew over the castle wall, grabbed a nearby tower with her magic, and threw it onto Nightmare Sun. But instead of dodging, Nightmare didn’t move from her position, instead making the tower detonate in a wave of heat that hit Celestia straight in the face. Wincing in pain, she summoned a blizzard around herself and Luna that kept them cool and blew away the pieces of debris that were shooting all over the place. She then transformed the snow into water and let it fall onto Nightmare Sun, who yelped when she was hit with the ice cold liquid. “Afraid of water?” Luna yelled, summoning a storm of dark clouds above them. With a beat of thunder they burst into rain so dense that it was almost impossible to see through. Bolts of lightning burst down onto Nightmare, illuminating the scene in flashes of light. “The Sun!” Celestia yelled over the noise of the storm. “Your clouds are blocking the Sun out. Keep that up!” She flew towards the rain, preparing her final attack. She felt her own powers fading as well, but her struggle was nothing compared to that of her enemy, who was trapped in the very center of the storm. “You were right, Nightmare – I cannot defeat you. But we can together.” If she managed to strike now, this would be over for good. Her horn prickled with magic as she lined herself up. “Tia!” Celestia spun her head around, but her sister’s warning was too late. A blast of wind hit her in the side, throwing off her aim. Her spell went off into the sky, creating a nova of light, while Celestia crashed into the castle wall. She didn’t even have a chance to get up before Nightmare Sun appeared in front of her, water vaporizing from her coat and forming a cloud of steam. The clouds above her busted into shreds. Whatever had happened to Luna, Celestia couldn’t see. The wall crumbled beneath her, little bits of it breaking free and forming arms that grabbed her legs. She tried to cast a spell – any spell – but her efforts were disrupted by a blast of fire burning her face. She yelped in pain. The smell of singed hair filled her nostrils. “Luna …” “Ugh.” Nightmare Sun appeared in front of her, grimacing. “Crying for your sister – when will you grow up and do things on your own? You’re a shame for both of us, Celestia, and the sooner I eradicate you, the sooner I will be free!” “What do you mean by that?” “I have told you before: I am you. I have set hoof upon sacred ground, and so have you. I have returned from the island outside of this world, and so have you. We are two sides of the same coin, only that you seek weakness while I seek strength. In the end, there can only be one of us. And now excuse me if I am being short, but you bore me. May my reign be bright and never end.” She grinned as a blade of blazing sunfire materialized in her hoof. Celestia shut her eyes. “I’m sorry, Luna.” With an ugly noise, flesh crashed into flesh. Looking up again, Celestia saw Luna tackle Nightmare Sun aside. “Lulu! I thought you were done for!” Luna shot her a grin. Her face was covered in bruises, and blood was dripping from her chin. “Not that easily, Sis. I could not just leave you hanging.” She turned towards Nightmare Sun again, dodging a swing of her blade. Celestia thought quickly. One versus one, Luna had no chance of winning the fight. Celestia was stuck, and if she targeted Nightmare with a spell while she and Luna were engaged in their fight, she might as well hit the wrong target. So what could she do? We are the two sides of the same coin, really. Nightmare drew her power from the Sun, but Celestia shared the very same connection. If only she could find a way to cut it off – to take the power from both of them. That would give Luna the upper hoof. She felt for the connection to the Sun. It was sitting in the sky, still immovable. Even while fighting, Nightmare Sun had it under her total control. But there was another presence. Somewhere deep beneath the earth, another celestial body rested, put to sleep for as long a the eternal day would last. Celestia’s eyes widened at the realization. She pulled gently at the Moon, and it moved ever so slightly, responding to her touch. Celestia blended out the fight, blended out the pain. She concentrated solely on pulling the Moon. Soon, its shape appeared above the horizon, rising higher and higher. Nightmare and Luna first didn’t notice it, and only when the light of the Sun began to fade did they hold on for a second and look up. “No!” Nightmare shrieked. She flapped her wings to shoot towards Celestia, but Luna grabbed her leg and held her back. The wall started moving again, pulling Celestia deeper inside and covering her mouth. She held her breath, slowly draping the Moon over the Sun. She could feel her own power shrinking. The pain in her sides grew as the wall threatened to crush her ribcage, and black patches appeared in Celestia’s vision as her body revolted against the lack of oxygen. Darkness fell over the land, and of the Sun remained only a glimmering corona as it was entirely eclipsed by the Moon. Nightmare’s blade had vanished, and she now looked desperate in trying to fight off Luna’s attacks. Celestia smiled. She had done her part – Luna could take it from here. She had protected her. A bolt of lightning striking Nightmare Sun was the last thing Celestia saw. Then her mind slipped into darkness.