Nightmares Over Equestria

by Ignimbrite

Shadows

A continuous blue flame lined the interior edges of a shack past the edge of the city. From the outside, the shack was little more than a dilapidated shed. It probably would have been torn apart and used for firewood if it wasn't so boring that ponies who saw it forgot it existed.

This trait made it a perfect meeting place for the six ponies who now sat in a circle, illuminated by the unnatural light.

The six ponies breathed in the atmosphere, which had been thoroughly infused with strange magic. As they did, they could feel the changes taking place, just as they did every month. Each one became a little stronger, a bit better rested, a step further from death.

A little over one month of old age was pulled away, drained into the crystals in front of them, and as they breathed out, they could feel themselves becoming younger.

This coming night would be the night. The dreams around them confirmed that the air was primed for her return. It seemed a shame that the time had not come sooner, but in a way, the wait made their satisfaction even more tantalizing. Now the time was nigh, and they did not have much of it. It would take at least a day to prepare everything, and the magic that had influenced their dreams would barely last much longer than that.

In a day, the Mother would come.

The Moon was but a shadow born of envy. The Sun, a flare of pride that would almost certainly never show itself after what had happened to the Moon. Two entities of anger that would unleash untold power if they bothered to show themselves.

The Mother, on the other hoof, was power, the raw manifestation of power combined with the desire to rule properly. When the Mother came, she would bring back every glory they once knew. Their land, their wealth, and their own power would return to them.

At one time, they had been nobles. They had power, riches, fame. They were untouchable to the common pony. A command from one of them could spell life or death to the ponies under their charge, and the ponies respected them for it.

Then, their glorious leaders went soft.

Conquered lands were returned overnight. With them went the need for regional governors to rule them. Thus they had gone from untouchable greats to inconsequential nobodies in just as little time.

Using the life extension spell, they had bided their time for centuries, waiting for their leaders to realize their mistake or for another leader to rise and overthrow them.

There were candidates of course, but none bothered to conquer the land. Those that tried were swiftly driven off by the two princesses. Millennia passed, kingdoms around them rose and fell, but the land in which they stayed remained unchanging.

The time had come for vengeance, for honor, for the return of their former glory. For that, they needed their old leader back. The spell that kept them young through the centuries would not bring back their leader on its own. They needed a host, a new body for the Mother to inhabit.

They needed a new sacrifice.

After another hour, the spell was completed, and they were all a month and a few days younger.

---

"Long night?"

Luna simply groaned in response. She walked over to the spot beside the table, sat down, and dropped her head, groaning again.

"So many nightmares..."

Celestia looked up at her sister, who somehow managed to look more tired now than she did last night.

"You too?"

Luna lifted her head, removed the pancakes that were now skewered on her horn, and turned groggily to her sister.

"Nay. I had one, but I didn't have time to pay any attention to it. Everypony else, on the other hoof, has been having nightmares of their own."

Celestia was puzzled. "That many?"

"Strewth. This was just from taking care of the foals here in Canterlot. I didn't even have time to help any others. I could see them though, and not just in the foals. Everypony from the youngest to the eldest had nightmares last night.

"They were strong as well. Normally, I could banish them with little more than a thought. Most of the time, I only need to remind the ponies that they could overcome their fears on their own, but tonight was different. I could barely interact with most of them. Strewth there were some that I could not even enter.

"Tia? What wouldst this mean?"

"I don't know. You say everypony had nightmares like that last night?"

Luna nodded.

"Luna, the last time that happened was when we were foals."

"I know. Something else perplexes me as well. The magic in the dreams felt different from the magic that usually fills them. It was more alien, more primal, more base. The only magic I have felt that comes anywhere close is that of Discord himself."

---

One of the unicorns looked over to their leader.

"There is one other thing. The life crystal discharged a little during the attempt."

"In that case, you two recharge it while the rest of us find the host."

The unicorns nodded.

---

Luna paused a moment and turned to her sister. "I saw thine."

There was no point in denying it. Celestia was worried ever since last night.

Her facade fell.

"It has been five months. Five... I thought those dreams had finally stopped, but just last night..."

She was interrupted by her sister nuzzling her.

"Thou art not the monster of thy dreams. I assure thee, thou hast no reason to fear."

---

Far away, in the city of Las Pegasus, a mare gave birth to a stillborn foal.