Princess Luna backed up slightly as Candence landed in front of her.
Now that they had arrived, it was clear to see that Twilight was bruised and unconcious -- though the Lunar Princess could already see the lavender mare's wounds healing.
She looked from Twilight to Candence with a frown.
"What happened?"
"I don't know!" Cadence cried, "one minute we're talking to you and Auntie, and the next..." she looked up to sky and shivered at the sight of the blackened circle.
Luna nodded and looked away with a guilty expression.
"Forgive me, Cadence," she said quietly, "I'm afraid I've... done something rather foolish in my anger."
"...It destroyed the mountain..."
Luna looked back Cadence to see her staring at the large crater in silent horror. She slowly turned back to Luna as she spoke.
"Where's Auntie Celestia?"
"I..." Princess Luna turned to the crater, "I don't know, Cadence," she replied, "I was just about to search for her when you arrived with young Twilight in tow."
Cadence returned her gaze to the crater and slowly nodded in understanding.
"When that... attack hit Mount Canterhorn, Twilight cast a Barrier spell and from what I can see, it caused her to black out."
"I see," Luna said, eyeing Twilight, "that would explain much."
"Aunt Luna?"
"Yes, my niece?"
The pink alicorn pushed Twilight's unconcious body into Luna's hooves.
"Can you please take care of Twilight until she wakes up?"
Luna blinked and looked back to the pink alicorn. Her gaze turned somber as she watched her niece stare out at the crater with silent tears running down her face.
"I... I don't think I'm in any shape to do anything right now," Cadence whispered before trotting closer to the edge, "I just... please give me some time, Aunt Luna."
Luna frowned as she observed Cadence stare out at the wide crater before turning away with a sigh. She tried to stretch her wings once more and confirmed that they were now well enough to fly.
She took to the sky, holding the unconscious alicorn in her forelegs as she swept her gaze across the land. Celestia was nowhere to be seen as far as the Lunar Princess could tell -- not that she could see very far.
That particular limitation confused and frustrated Luna.
She was for all intents and purposes, the avatar of the Moon and Stars -- all things nocturnal and dark.
This darkness... whatever it was, it wasn't natural.
It wasn't her darkness.
She could see somewhat, but there was really nothing for light to reflect off of. The 'Moon' in the sky wasn't projecting any sort of light from what Luna could see. She had been wondering why the glow was so dim, but now realized it was because there was no real Moonlight.
So where was the little light they received coming from?
She set the thoughts aside for the moment to focus on the more important issue.
Where was her sister?
Did she get caught up in whatever attack the demon had unleashed?
Was she...
No.
Luna didn't dare entertain the thought.
Celestia had to be around here somewhere -- or maybe not. It was possible she may have Teleported to avoid the assault, but then where did she end up if that was the case?
Luna let out a grunt of frustration as she lowered herself back down to the ground. She gently set Twilight down and sighed heavily before closing her eyes.
She mentally prepared herself to do something she really didn't want to do.
She prepared to enter the Realm of Dreams.
Luna was still drained from her attempts to hold up her Static Barrier, but that didn't matter for what she was attempting to do. Entering the Realm of Dreams was an altogether different experience from casting a regular spell.
This was something far more personal -- far more innate than even her own magic.
She didn't want to do this, but with her sister missing and no real way to find her otherwise outside of possibly hours of searching, she wasn't left with a lot of other options.
Everypony was connected to the Dream Realm from the moment they were born, to the moment they died. It didn't matter whether they were dreaming or not -- their presence in the Realm of Dreams was a constant that the midnight blue alicorn could sense on a deep level.
While she couldn't travel directly to the pony using that unique connection, Princess Luna could locate virtually anypony anywhere in the world.
That's what made this such a terrifying experience.
If Celestia was alive, she would find her, but at the same time, the thought of finding no other presence aside from Celestia's, Twilight's, and Cadence's had her shaking.
Nevertheless she steeled herself and prepared to do what had to be done.
For her sister and her subjects.
She took another deep breath and called upon the 'door' to the Realm of Dreams within her mind.
Nothing happened.
Luna's eyes snapped open and she inhaled sharply.
This wasn't right.
She closed her eyes once more and tried again.
Nothing.
She ground her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut.
Still no response.
Luna began to shake in earnest -- her heartbeat picking up rapidly. It was as though the connection to the Realm of Dreams wasn't even there.
She stumbled back and fell to her haunches in horrified shock.
The Lunar Princess felt as though she had lost one of her limbs -- or something just as integral if not more so -- and only just now realized it was gone. She couldn't access the Realms of Dreams anymore, and she couldn't understand why.
But she was willing to bet the demon and this unnatural darkness had something to do with it.
The alicorn's gaze slowly hardened into an icy glared that she directed at the false eclipse.
An eclipse that was no longer there.
Luna's glare changed to a bewildered frown as she scanned the sky for any sign of the demon, but she couldn't see it. Confused as to what this could mean, she turned to her niece.
"Cadence, do you..."
That thing isn't Cadence.
Luna slowly backed away from the edge of the crater and towards Twilight, refusing to take her eyes off the thing standing where Cadence was only moments ago. Several thoughts ripped through her mind at high speeds as she felt her wings quiver involuntarily -- her body ready to take flight at the sign of any sudden movement.
Where was Cadence?
What was this... thing?
Was it the demon?
It had to be.
Luna barely registered the pain in her horn as it tried in vain to cast some sort of attack or defense spell in response to her fear.
And Luna was most definitely afraid.
She couldn't wrap her head around what this thing even was. It didn't seem to have any sort of concrete form, and Luna found that she couldn't quite keep it in focus without getting a headache. She wanted to say it was a pony -- or at least somewhat pony shaped -- but that wasn't right. Not really.
Whatever it was, It made no sound.
It made no sudden movements.
it merely... existed in that one space.
Actually that wasn't quite right.
Luna continued to back away from the thing, but it didn't seem to get any closer or any farther away. It was as though it was a permanent fixture in her vision that she couldn't escape. She swallowed and flicked her gaze behind the demon to see that she was indeed moving away from the crater.
And then it screamed.
It was a high pitched, angry, tortured sound that she was certain no pony could ever replicate.
She reeled back in horror and would've taken to the sky right then and there, but instead she tripped over Twilight's prone form. She quickly scrambled to her hooves and several erratic and heavy thuds made her look up.
It was moving.
Luna couldn't make out it's features but staring at the thing brought about horrible images of gnashing dagger-like teeth, tearing flesh, and snapping bones. For a brief moment, she sat there in abject terror listening to the thing howl as it got closer.
It was with that angry, agonized howl that Luna understood. She understood the intent behind the scream -- she understood the promise of that tortured wail and the implications made the blood drain from Luna's face.
It promised Death for the Deathless.
The weakened Lunar Princess yanked Twilight from the ground and fled to the sky. She held on to the lavender alicorn for all she was worth as she pumped her wings as fast and as hard as they could go.
She didn't look back at the demon.
She didn't need to.
Luna could hear it's heavy mismatched steps beating against the ground right behind her.
Right behind her...
Luna's eyes widened as she realized she was galloping at full speed across the dry cracked land -- Twilight slumped over across her back. She had no time to question what had just happened as she could hear the off rhythm thud of the thing's heavy gait.
She tried to take to the air once more -- twisting her body so that she caught the comatose alicorn slipping off of her back -- and for a moment, she thought she had succeeded as she put on an extra burst of speed.
Then she was galloping across the empty field once again a moment later -- Twilight once again, slumped over her back.
She tried this twice more before giving up and putting all her effort into keeping Twilight one her back as she galloped away from the howling abomination.
She wasn't sure what was going on, but she was almost certain that thing was the cause.
She pushed her powerful legs to the limit -- panting and sweating heavily from the exertion. Her heart was pounding painfully in her chest and somewhere in the back of her mind she found this odd.
Her panic was beginning to give way to absolute exhaustion as she galloped onward. It was as she passed by the third fallen and crumbling building that she realized she was no longer galloping across flat, dead land.
Now she was in a ruined dead city.
Luna eyed the many destroyed structures in bewilderment as she continued her frantic gallop through the broken and empty streets of the town. It was clear that the demon's initial attack on Equestria had enough power and range to completely wipe out the city and its inhabitants.
All that remained was ruin and a warm, dry breeze that made it hard to breath without inhaling all the dust and ash being blown about.
When had she gotten here?
Just how long had that thing been chasing her?
In all honesty she had no idea.
Her sheer panic, combined with this ever-present darkness had completely robbed her any sense of passing time. At the very least, this explained why she had been feeling so exhausted.
She must've been galloping at full speed for miles to be as tired as she was. Alicorns were far more fit than the average earth pony or pegasus, but even they could only gallop at maximum speed for so long before they had to rest.
Nevertheless she continued to push herself as she made her way through the city. She took the opportunity to weave in and out of various buildings, trying to throw the thing off her trail.
It wasn't working.
She could still hear it's heavy steps and each time it got too close, fractured and broken images of a violent and brutal death would flash through her mind.
She was nearing her limit.
Keeping Twilight secured to her back was exacerbating her fatigue and she wouldn't be able to keep up the chase much longer.
And then it was gone.
The heavy erratic steps, the howling, the flashing images...
All gone in an instant.
Luna chanced a glance behind her and, sure enough, there was nothing there. She stumbled over her own hooves and fell to the ground, gasping and coughing as she tried to catch her breath. Twilight had fallen off her back and was lying a little ways away.
She knew she shouldn't have stopped, and that the thing could be anywhere or pop back up at any moment, but she didn't have the strength to even stand -- at least not yet.
Thankfully that would be remedied fairly soon.
Even by alicorn standards, Luna was nothing if not resilient. She took another few minutes to recover her stamina before rising to her hooves and placing Twilight on her back once more. She slowly and carefully made her way through the city -- trying to be as quiet as possible.
After what felt like an hour, she deduced that the thing really had vanished.
Again.
Still, she didn't allow herself to relax -- not yet. Nowhere was safe as long as that thing was alive and she wouldn't risk hers or Twilight's life by being careless.
As she roamed the city however, her thoughts inevitably began to drift towards her sister and niece.
What happened to Cadence?
She was standing right there at the edge of the crater, and Luna hadn't hear her leave or anything.
Did the demon get a hold of her?
Did it get a hold of both Cadence and Celestia?
Were they both...
No!
She was not going to entertain that thought.
They both were alive somewhere, she just had to find them. She grimaced as she realized just how incredibly difficult such a task would be without access to the Dream Realm.
She frowned and tried to cast a Long Range Telepathy spell. The magical feedback made her flinch and she sighed in frustration.
With no way to get to the Dream Realm, no magic currently at her disposal, and this unnatural darkness, she would quite literally be flying blind.
And speaking of flight...
She glance at her wings with a furrowed brow before sweeping her gaze around her surroundings. After a minute she took Twilight off of her back and into her forelegs before lifting herself into the air.
She hovered a little ways off the ground, waiting for something to happen. Nothing did for a moment, and then her ear twitched.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
Luna's eyes widened and she stumbled back a few steps. She barely managed to stifle a cry of surprise and frustration as she quickly but quietly trotted away from the noise.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
She was back on the ground and the demon was still roaming about. She frantically swept her gaze back and forth, spotting a mostly intact store to her right. She wasted no time in galloping inside.
She could still hear the thing getting closer as she scanned the interior of the store. Her eyes locked onto the sales counter near the back and she quickly made her way to and around it. There was a small space barely big enough to fit both her and Twilight.
She crouched down and deposited the unconcious mare beneath the counter before crawling next to her.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
Luna tried to calm her breathing as she lay there listening to the heavy steps pass by just outside the store. Her heart hammered against her ribs and she scowled as she willed it to slow down.
She hated this.
She didn't want to have to hide like a scared little foal. It left her feeling ashamed and humiliated.
She was Luna!
She was the Princess of the Night!
She and her sister had survived countless years together! They had survived wars, famine, and all manner of other dangerous situations throughout their lives!
They had all survived what she was beginning to think deep in the back of her mind was the end of the world.
And yet here she was, hiding behind a counter in a destroyed toy store.
She clenched her teeth.
It was absolutely mortifying, but there was nothing she could do. Her magic was still out even though she was sure it should have returned by now and she couldn't fly whenever that demon was around.
The heavy steps had passed, but she remained hidden for what felt like another half hour or so to make sure it was gone. After some time, she moved out from under the counter and scanned the area around her.
She trotted to one of the broken windows and peered out at the streets, seeing no sign of the demon. She took a step back and frowned before glancing back to the counter.
She needed to find Celestia and Cadence.
While it was a stretch that they may have ended up in the city, she had to start somewhere. As much she wanted to take Twilight with her to search the city, the smaller alicorn would just be a liability as she was now.
She thought about waiting for her to wake up, but she didn't know when that would be, and the longer they both stayed there, the more likely it would be that they'd be found by that thing.
At the very least, she could lead it away from Twilight.
She nodded to herself in satisfaction and silently trotted out the open doorway and onto the dark empty streets.
Luna hated to admit it, but she was scared.
That thing terrified her on a level she couldn't quite fathom, but she couldn't -- and wouldn't -- let that fear stop her from finding her sister and Cadence.
Besides, she had managed to avoid it so far, right?