Luna
Princess Luna stared out at the landscape. From her balcony on the tower of Canterlot Castle, she could see almost all of Equestria spread out before her. Most of the landscape was dark, the ponies sleeping soundly through her tranquil night. A small part of her still resented that, but she understood. Even if the ponies hadn't had reason to fear the darkness originally, her time as Nightmare Moon had given them more than enough.
As she stood on the balcony, she closed her eyes and fell into a trance. The world as it was fell away, replaced by an alien vista dotted with countless points of light. She stood in the Dreamscape, the world of dreams that most could only visit in their sleep. Each pinprick of light was a dreamer, the color and intensity of the light indicating the nature of the dream. She drifted free of her body, letting her mind soar through the Dreamscape with ease. The Princess of the Night flitted from dream to dream, silently watching her subjects as they slept. Some dreamt of fortune and fame, others of peace, and still others of adventures in fantastic worlds. Still others dreamt of things that Luna blushed at the mere thought of. She avoided these, ever since the one in which she had seen herself dressed as a maid. She had almost fled that one, but remained out of a perverse curiosity. Things had gotten strange rather quickly.
And then, there were the nightmares. Dreams whose glow was dimmed by a flickering veil of darkness, they tormented a small number of ponies each night. It was a simple matter to banish the darkness, but she preferred actually entering the dreams and repairing them from the inside. It showed a more personal touch, even if most of the ponies she helped wouldn't remember her intervention. Her nightly duties were occasionally a thankless job, but one she did with pride. After all of the fear she had inspired in the past, it was the least she could do.
Luna's incorporeal form glided across the Dreamscape, watching the vast swathes of light below. She loved this place, felt at home among the minds of the sleeping ponies. The cool night breeze blew through her ethereal mane and ruffled her feathers as she flew. Suddenly, and without warning, something changed in the air. No longer was it calm and cool. The wind blew in a mighty storm, suddenly bone-chillingly cold. It howled and roared like a mad beast, sweeping around in violent waves and gusts. Luna barely managed to regain her control. Fearing what she would see, she looked down. The dreamscape below was in ruins. The cities and towns reduced to rubble. The dreamlights remained, but all were cloaked in the darkness of nightmares. One by one, the healthy lights at the edge of the devastation were consumed as well.
“No.” Luna whispered. “This cannot be happening.” Her horn flashed with brilliant light as she hovered over the growing darkness. “I WILL NOT ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN!” She roared, her voice echoing with immense power as she charged into the nightmare. As she expended her magic, the darkness consumed her. She drifted in the void, feeling nothing but the cold. Nightmarish images flashed through her mind, monstrous faces from the distant past and things that defied description. In that impenetrable darkness, the Princess fell.
“Luna....” A monstrous voice snarled, its words distorted and magnified. “Luna....” It spoke in a low bass rumble, echoed by a screaming chorus. “Lunaaa....” The voice changed, less monstrous somehow. It almost felt familiar. “Luna!” Something hard hit her in the face, and she jolted upright. Celestia's face filled her vision. The Princess of the Sun stood over Luna, worry evident in her eyes.
Luna tried to stand, her legs barely responding. Every muscle ached, every jointed was stiff. She could hardly move. Worst of all was the pain in her head, a cold stabbing ache that felt as if it would split her skull in two.
“Sister?” She asked, her voice low and hoarse. “What...what happened?” She was no longer on her balcony. Instead, she lay on the soft cushion of her bed.
“You were having a nightmare Luna.” said Celestia. “I should be asking you the same question.”
Luna thought back as far as she could remember. The pain intensified, but she persevered. Memories of the previous night rushed back, and she gasped.
“Sister, I need you to summon Twilight Sparkle and her friends.” She said, visibly trembling. “There is something that must be done.”
In her mind, she still saw the expanding swathe of darkness. The entire Dreamscape was in danger if the nightmares continued to spread. She just had to hope that Twilight and her friends would be swift. Only they could turn back the darkness this time.
Twilight Sparkle
It had been a normal morning in Ponyville. Twilight had rolled out of bed and dived straight into her work. Maintaining the order of the library was a full time job, demanding all of her attention and energy on some days. Humming to herself, she began levitating the books from their shelves. Before long, the room was filled with a swirling vortex of knowledge. The books danced in time with the music in Twilight's head, rearranging themselves according to her carefully planned shelving chart. The tune reached its end, and the books slid as one into their proper places.
“Perfect!” Twilight grinned. “Every book exactly where it belongs.” She paced over to the shelf, allowing her gaze to sweep across the flawless organization. Something, however, seemed off.
After a moment's search, she found it. One book was not in its proper place. Scowling, she levitated it out of its ill-gained place. With a triumphant smirk, she opened a new spot in the proper location and gently placed the book where it truly belonged.
The librarian turned around to begin organizing her desk, but was halted by another flaw. Two more books were not where they belonged.
“Impossible.” She said, glaring at the offending tomes. With a swift flash of her horn she pulled them out and swapped them. As she began to relax, a sound reached her ears. The rustling of paper, almost like flapping wings. She spun, wings spread wide and horn glowing, and snatched at the book, which was inexplicably flying across the room, in her telekinetic grip.
The purple alicorn closed in on the book, which struggled to free itself. It was one she was very familiar with, the book in which she had first read of the Elements of Harmony, of the struggle between the Princesses. She carried it, struggling all the way, back to its proper place on the shelf. Suddenly and without warning, the book exploded.
Pages stretched and tore out of the binding, folding and crumpling into long, insectoid legs. The cover broke and segmented into a shell over the book-thing's back. More books from the shelves flew out and merged with the ever-growing paper monstrosity. Still trapped in Twilight's magic, the thing began to struggle more rapidly. Its legs spasmed seemingly at random, knocking over furniture and scraping deep gouges in the wooden shelves. One connected with Twilight, knocking her back and breaking her focus. Freed from the magical hold, the creature scuttled across the room and loomed over the stunned pony. It was still growing, a chaotic amalgamation of books that towered over her. One razor sharp appendage rose, poised to strike. Twilight's life flashed before her eyes as the paper blade fell.
Twilight sat up with a gasp, the sheets flying away to land on the floor. A dream. It had all been a dream. She took a deep breath to try and calm down, and was nearly centered again when Spike came bounding up the stairs.
“Twilight!” He shouted, out of breath from his run. “You got an urgent message from Princess Celestia. She wants you and the others to come to Canterlot right away!”
“Ugh...” Twilight groaned, trying to clear her head from the dream. “Why can't she ever just tell me what she wants? I don't understand why it always has to be so mysterious.” Wanting nothing more than to go back to sleep, she began the complex process of disengaging herself from the sheets.
Somehow, during her nightmare, she had become so thoroughly entangled that actually getting out of the bed was next to impossible. With a weary sigh, she teleported. The sheets collapsed onto the bed, and the decidedly unhappy mare appeared in a heap on the floor. Between her late night studies and the dreams that were already fading from memory she felt more tired than when she'd gone to bed.
“I dunno,” Spike answered, glancing back at the scroll in his claw, “But it must be something real important. She's sending a chariot to pick you up.”
As if on cue, the distinctive sound of a large chariot landing in the street outside reached Twilight's ears. This was followed shortly by the knocking of a metal-clad hoof on the door.
“One minute!” Twilight called, brushing the last tangles out of her mane. The extra time involved was well worth avoiding an inevitable scolding from Rarity. “I'm sure it's important and all, but I can't help but notice how inconveniently timed the Princess' letters can be.”
Her morning grooming dealt with, Twilight quickly wrote five letters. Five spells, cast in quick succession, burned the letters away with a burst of emerald light.
“Is that a new spell Twilight?” Spike asked. “It seems kinda familiar.”
“It's a modified teleportation spell,” Twilight said, wiping the scorch marks from her desk. “combined with a version of your fire breath. It took a while to adapt it into something a unicorn can cast, and longer to figure out how to get the scrolls to go where I wanted them to.” She chuckled. “Princess Celestia got a lot of blank letters that week.”
“So,” The baby dragon began, twiddling his claws, “does that mean you don't need me anymore?”
“Oh Spike,” Twilight said, wrapping him in a hug, “I'll always need my number one assistant. Just because I can send letters through other means doesn't mean I'm replacing you. Besides, I can't receive letters with that spell. It only works for sending.”
The dragon still looked uncertain. Twilight scrawled another letter and handed it to him.
“Can you please send this to Princess Celestia for me?” She asked. “My spell still isn't very good over long distances.”
The knocking came again at the door, more insistent this time. Twilight set down her quill and rose from the desk.
“Alright, I'm on my way!” Twilight called down. “Come on, Spike. Let's get moving.”
The pair stepped out into the bright sunlight. The guards' armor gleamed brilliantly, polished to a flawless sheen. The others were just arriving. Pinkie Pie was bouncing excitedly, eager to see what adventure awaited. Rainbow Dash was leaning against the chariot, tapping her hooves impatiently as she tried to make small talk with the guardsponies pulling it. Rarity stared at a small mirror, putting the finishing touches on her mane. She seemed rather put out at having to rush her primping routine. Applejack simply sat, hat pulled low to block the sun's light, while Fluttershy looked nervously around. The all looked over as Twilight approached.
“Mornin' Twi.” Applejack said, flipping the brim of her hat back. “Care to explain what y'all called us here for? That letter o' yours didn't say much.”
“I bet it's some kind of super duper ultra secret princess mission!” Pinkie shouted, practically dancing with excitement. “We need to face danger like nothing we've ever seen and save Equestria from some ancient evil!”
“Pinkie, darling, I'm certain it it nothing quite so dramatic as that.” Rarity said, tucking away her mirror. “I'm sure the Princess will explain everything once we arrive.” She hopped into the chariot. “Well then, girls, Canterlot awaits.”
The others climbed in as well, and the guards began to pull. Before long, the chariot was soaring through the skies en route to Canterlot. The seven passengers could only wait, wondering all the while what new task Princess Celestia had for them.
Celestia
Princess Celestia paced back and forth in front of her throne. A scroll sat on the seat. The writing was unmistakeably Twilight's, hastily written but still neat and tidy. She picked it up in a field of golden magic and read it again.
Dear Princess Celestia,
We are on our way.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle
The words gave her no small degree of comfort. Although as Princess she considered it her duty to appear confident and composed, she had come to rely on her young pupil more and more for support. Twilight had started as merely a student, but Celestia had come to think of her as a surrogate daughter and a very dear friend. She had never wanted to, but that had been the case with all of her apprentices. Although she knew she would inevitably live on as they aged and died, she could not prevent herself from getting attached.
Finally, after what seemed like hours of waiting, the doors swung open and the six bearers of the Elements walked in.
“Princess Celestia!” Twilight called, trotting to her teacher's side. “I'm sorry it took us so long to get here. What's going on?”
“Follow me, please.” Celestia said, leading the six mares deeper into the castle. “Last night, Princess Luna encountered something in the Dreamscape. Whatever it was took control of her dream and turned it against her.”
The group turned down a corridor that few ever used. The walls were unadorned, simply made of smooth gray stone. Eventually they came to a spiral staircase leading up into one of the castle's many towers. The staircase ended at a massive door made of flawless obsidian. Inlaid into the glassy surface were silver images of the moon in various phases. The door swung open at the touch of Celestia's hoof.
“Luna?” She called, stepping into the gloom within. “Twilight is here.”
The room brightened slightly. On the huge plush cushion in the room's center, the Princess of the Night stirred. She raised her head and blinked at the increased illumination.
“Sister?” She asked, rubbing her eyes. “Please, come in.”
The room grew brighter still, and the six mares gasped. The normally beautiful Princess slouched limply on the cushion, her coat dull and pale. Her normally ethereal mane had lost its lift, hanging in a tangled fall around her. Dark circles lined her eyes, which had taken on a slightly glazed appearance.
“Twilight Sparkle,” She said, her voice weak and rasping. “We must talk.”