//------------------------------//
// Chapter 6: Recovery 
// Story: Celestial Origins 
// by Dark Vessel 
//------------------------------//

Luna sighed as she left her injured sister in the cave, walking out with Faust while carrying the unconscious creature in her magic - the darker filly questioning "So... What exactly are we looking for out here?", causing Faust to blink and smile, the red-maned filly replying "A certain kind of leaf. If ground up in just the right way and rubbed onto the bite as a paste, it'll leave her feeling very little pain..."

Luna nodded happily, as Faust soon told her to put down the beast a decent distance away from the cave, the pair soon walking along the river, collecting leaves along the way. After 40 minutes, Luna sighed softly, finally asking "So... Did you make any progress in trying to call our saviors a little faster?" - the red maned filly gave a smile and nod at that, as she stated "We're down to 3 days, almost exactly, until they arrive to take us away from here..."

Luna frowned and nodded with a sigh, ripping some more leaves from their branches as she stated "3 days is a big improvement... Let's get back to Celestia, soothe her wounds and then get some rest..." - those words earning an approving nod from Faust, as the two walked back while Faust had Luna grind the leaves into a paste between two rocks. Soon enough, the two arrived back at the cave, as Celestia was still curled and wincing with gentle whimpers as she looked up hopefully upon the arrival of her sisters.

Faust smiled, stating "Don't worry, sister. This will ease the pain, at least for a few hours, then you'll need another dose..." - at Celestia's nodded agreement, Luna smeared the paste over the bite-wound, Celestia blinking before giving a relieved sigh as she visibly relaxed before stating "Thank you... I feel much better after that..."

Faust nodded and smiled, stating "I'm glad. For now, let's all get some sleep..." she paused, before she gained a smirk and glanced over to Luna, adding "...And, Luna... As for your dreams today... They are trustworthy. Say yes." - the darker mare blinked in confusion, but nodded and stated "If... You say so?", quickly moving to a darker area of the cave as Faust nodded, before each of the three soon found sleep.

Within moments, Luna began to dream of walking through the streets of a unicorn town - only going a short distance before her magic reacted to something, and she blinked - glancing around as she immediately became lucid, feeling her sleeping body on the cave floor below as the dream proceeded normally. Within moments, she saw a group of three unicorn stallions approach with angry glares as at the same time she sensed some kind of magical effect working in her mind. One unicorn growled "Brave for an Alicorn filly to show her face among savages. Maybe we'll make you fit in some more, hmm? Cut off those wings" threateningly, before laughing cruelly.

Luna tensed as she glared at them, taking a step back as she knew there was magic at work, specifically in this trio - something dark, created with the emotions of fear, horror and pain. Quickly, she extended her wings, lighting up her horn before she growled "I don't know what you are, but none of this is real. Show yourself! What are you, foul creature!?"

The trio blinked and paused as they stared at her, before they began to laugh maniacally in unison - the dark filly tensed up as she quickly willed a sword into existence by her side, stepping back as the group quickly melted into a shadowy form, which quickly rose into the shape of a shadowy alicorn-silhouette, a strange and echoing voice coming from it as it stated "A being who can fight my control in their own dreams? Unique... You will make a fine vessel of Shade!", as within moments stones rose from the ground to capture her hooves.

Luna gasped as she was captured, but quickly willed the stone turn to turn to sand, leaping up and slashing at the creature as she grazed its shoulder, before she tried firing a beam into its side - causing it to cry out as she felt the magical presence in her mind weaken, the creature glaring as it caused the buildings on either side of her to explode, shrapnel launching towards her, as the filly tensed.

Just before the shrapnel would hit, Luna felt 5 other magical signatures enter her brain, black-cloaked unicorns suddenly teleporting around her protectively as they raised a shield. Pitifully weak, it still served its purpose, blocking the shrapnel as Luna gasped in shock and stared at the group - noticing how their bodies repeatedly glitched in and out of existence, their magic similarly weakening and returning to its old strength repeatedly in her brain. 'Whatever they're casting to do this, it's too much for them. They're struggling, but their numbers give them a chance against the creature' she quickly realized, as one glared at the creature, exclaiming "You will not claim this mind today, nightmare! Give up!"

The creature growled "Your arrival is just an annoyance. Leave!", firing a beam at the shield as it cracked heavily, but barely held, the cloaked unicorns gasping at the strain. Luna gasped as well, before she glared at it, teleporting out of the shield. Immediately, the cloaked ponies looked to her in shock, as one exclaimed "How--!?", before Luna glared at the creature and exclaimed "This ends NOW!", firing a final, well-placed beam at its chest - the shadowy figure almost immediately evaporating into thin air with an unnatural screech on contact, as Luna felt the presence leave her mind.

She sighed in relief, before she smiled and looked to the small group of unicorns, stating "Thank you for your... Help...?", pausing as they stared at her with dropped jaws - one looking over the group before stating with a serious tone "Did any of you give her a boost with your magic?" - as they each shook their heads, they again looked to her with wonder.

The pony who spoke paused, before he slowly approached her and stated "Able to fight your own nightmare-infection, and with strength unlike any I have seen before... I have never seen that, even among our own ranks, or the odd travelling alicorn, until today... Shouldn't you be protected from magical attacks like this even starting in your city? Or did that explosion mess up your magical defenses?"

Luna tensed and paused, before she remembered Faust's words and sighed '...They can be trusted'. The dark filly inhaled before stating "I would be... If I were still in the city. My sisters and I... Were changed by the blast. We have been thrown far away, and while help from the unicorn kingdom is coming, we won't be able to return. The other Alicorns should disappear within a week..."

One cloaked figure gasped, stating "That's awful! Where are you? Perhaps one of us could help?" - to which Luna frowned and shook her head with a sigh "I'm not sure where we are, and I don't think you could help us even if you knew, it would take a powerful warrior or cunning mage to last long out here..." - the stallion frowned and gave a defeated nod, as another looked to the first one who spoke, questioning "...If she's going to stay... Should we try to recruit her? I've never seen anypony like her before, she made it look so easy..."

The first who spoke, now clearly their leader, sighed and stated after a long pause "...That would be best...", focusing on Luna before he questioned "What do you know of what you just did? What that... Creature was?" - the dark filly gave a frown, pausing before she stated "It was.. A monster of magic. Dark magic. Made of fear, pain, horror... And it said something about me being a good vessel of Shade?", tilting her head lightly.

The leader frowned, stating "What you fought... Is what we call a nightmare. A being of dark magic, created by a greater sapient mass of dark magic coating the world, fed by all of us at any negative emotion. The ancients called it the Darkness. It seeks to torment us through our dreams, and gradually work its corruption into our minds, until it can seize direct control. Luckily, that has never happened - partly because of our influence - and if it had, we would know..."

One mare in the group frowned and nodded, stating "All the books on the topic are clear. If the darkness ever took over a being... An immense power, sometimes called Shade, would fill them, while their conscious mind would be restrained. A bit of their personality may bleed through, more if the pony had great magical power, but... The one walking and talking would be the darkness. And it would seek nothing more than the eternal torment of all..."

Luna tensed nervously, stating "T-That sounds... Bad...", as their leader frowned and nodded "I don't know how, but from what we saw of you fighting that nightmare? You're better than us at fighting them. We have a spell which should allow you to travel to other ponies' dreams, but it's hard to grasp, hard to use, and even then our magic resists it... Our organisation must be kept secret, believed to only be fiction, to avoid the anger of the pegasi and earth ponies - but if you can keep a secret, I think you will be the best of all of us in fighting this threat."

Luna tensed and paused, inhaling before she stated "I..." - a smile slowly crept onto her face, as she stated "I can do it! Just tell me how I can help, and teach me the spell. Hopefully it will be a little easier for me than it is for you..." - the leader nodded, smiling and glancing to one other cloaked figure, pointing at him before stating "Can you teach her the spell? The rest of us will go after the remaining nightmares tonight" - the figure smiled and nodded, stating "Of course. Good luck in your efforts!"

With that, she felt all but one magical signature leave her mind, the one stallion remaining as he sat down, stating "Now.. This may take a few nights. Let's get started..." as Luna gave a nod, moving to sit down in front of him.