> The True Self
>  by Violetta Strings
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> When the Moon Slumbers
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Princess Cadence was the monarch of the Crystal Empire. She was the Princess of love, and love was her domain. Nothing happened when it came to love that she didn't see, or hear. The very fabric of the world was as much built on love, as it was built on the fundamental forces of light, magic, and gravity. The love between anyone, no matter how true, or what kind, left ripples. The Empire was a veritable whirlpool of emotion; and Equestria was a close second behind. Cadence felt at peace in the Empire, and she felt content in Equestria. Even the Changeling hive—once as close to a deadzone as you could find—was beginning to add to the energy. It was a pure kind of love, too, the kind of unconditional love shared between family members. She couldn't wait to see what the newly-reformed Changelings could do, if they loved so fiercely!

But, there was something troubling her. She was twitching her legs underneath the covers of her queen-sized bed, and she was restless enough that her husband had long since given up any hope of getting to sleep. He lay still, not wanting to disturb her. He had been married, and had indeed known Cadence, long enough to know that he shouldn't interrupt her musings. He should simply wait, and she would drag him in all by herself without him having to initiate anything. To be quite honest, he was glad of it right now. It allowed him a few more blissful moments of pretend-sleep, where he could act like he was dreaming. He could even go through the motions; perhaps that would grant him some form of mercy from the oncoming storm.

"Shiny?" The voice of Shining Armour's wife dashed his last vestiges of hope, and the forces inside his head waging the war against his conscious mind for sleep finally capitulated, laying down their arms, and pumping him full of fresh resolve. For all of his dislikes about his wife's strange 'quirk', he had to do something about it, even if it was as simple as fluffing her pillow. 

He sighed, groaned, and sat up. He turned his head towards his wife, showing off the bags developing under his eyes—which themselves were still closed. "Yes dear?"

"Oh." She fluttered her lashes, and placed a hand on her chest.  "I'm sorry Shiny, were you asleep?"

"No." Shining waved her off with a dismissive hand, trying and failing to stifle a yawn. "Not at all."


"I was doing it again, wasn't I?" Candence reached up to play with a strand of her hair, twirling it around her finger, as she chewed on her lip in that sheepish way she did when she thought she was about to get told off. It was a childhood habit, that had progressed into adulthood, and then cemented itself in her princess-hood. Thankfully, Shining found it absolutely adorable.

Leaning forward, Shining planted a kiss on her cheeks. "A little bit," he said, with a wry grin, and shuffled so that he was sitting, propped up against her like a listing castle to a buttress. "What is it this time?" 

"It's..." she trailed off, her finger stopping its motions. She shook herself off and shrugged. "It's probably nothing," she said, waging an internal debate with herself. Shining had the right to know what she was thinking, but he also desperately needed his sleep. His new guard rota had been running him ragged when added on top of his life as a father, and she so desperately wanted to kiss his forehead, and lull him off to sleep with a gentle humming tune, like she did when he really was to exhausted to stay awake, but she knew he had to know. It was about his family, after all.  Sighing in defeat, she dropped her hands onto the satin duvet and turned to face him, taking his hand into hers. "Okay," she said, "have you noticed something about your sister's letters lately?"

"Cady," Shining resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "She sends us, like, one a month. They're all pretty odd; she tries to cram a month's worth of news into one parchment." Smiling fondly, he began chuckling to himself, leaning his head into the crook of Cadence's neck with a sleepy-sounding hum. "And she's started taping the parchment rolls together," he added.

Cadence couldn't resist the urge to smile as well. His fondness for Twilight was amazing, it was entirely unconditional. So much so, that he often missed the little niggling facets of Twilight that had changed over the past few weeks. Such aforementioned details had dug great gouges into Cadence's mind and left nothing but a growing bud of anxiety in the freshly tilled divots. "I mean besides that," she said. "The fact that she's got the time to write more and more every month is worrying, and she keeps on talking about what happened with Celestia and Luna," Cadence said. In her mind, that meant that Twilight was either neglecting her duties, neglecting her friends, or neglecting... something else. Like sleep, for instance. All of them were worrying.

Shining furrowed his brow and creased his forehead in concentration. Cadence thought she could strain her ears enough to hear the gears and cogs clicking inside his head. "What happened between your aunts?" he asked.

"They had a little spat," Cadence cleared her throat. Shining's brow arched. Normally, 'little spats' between the princesses leveled city blocks. The last 'little spat' ended with a castle in ruin, a forest growing wildly out of control through magic, and a thousand year time out. "And Twilight was worried it would turn out like... well, like before."

"Oh, really?" Shining propped himself up a bit straighter now.

"Yes." Cadence looked at him expectantly. "The map she has called Starlight Glimmer to help sort it out? She swapped their cutie-marks for a day? She had a dream in which Nightmare Moon did battle with Celestia's evil counterpart?" she prodded, waiting for him to remember.

He shook his head. "Must have missed that one," he said.

Cadence brushed off his obliviousness. "Well, after that, she gets really..." she stuttered, searching for the right word.  "Subdued? Like she doesn't want to talk about it anymore? Look at this." She sparked some magic into her hand.  A magenta horn of light appeared, sprouting out of her forehead, and thin tendrils extended from her fingers to wrap around the chest at the foot of their bed. The lid opened, and Shining could hear the sounds of ruffling papers from within. Having closed her eyes to visualise with her magic, Cadence smiled when she found the letter she was looking for "Ah ha! Here." She hovered it over, and set it out in between them, so Shining could read.

Dear Princess Cadence

Today was a wonderful day, and the whole month has been nothing short of delightful! Fluttershy opened her wildlife preserve officially, Rainbow Dash had an autograph signing at the Wonderbolts Museum in Cloudsdale, Rarity broke records in the fashion industry for opening week sales, Pinkie's still Pinkie, but I think she's happy all the same, Applejack finally found out about her parents, and got her Grandpa Pear back, the feud between the two families finally ended, and Starlight's lessons are going amazingly well! She's taken to friendship studies better than I ever did.

It's so nice to see everyone changing so much, they deserve all the happiness they get, and I couldn't be more proud. It makes me wonder what I'm going to be like in the future, and how much I'm going to change.

How's Flurry Heart?

Shining smiled. "Well, that's nice of her to ask."

"Shining, she completely changed the subject!" Cadence cried out, letting the paper fall to the bedsheets. 

Shining moved back, surprised at his wife's sudden change in demeanor. "So?" he asked. "That's normal for Twilight."

Cadence exercised all of her reserves of self-control to suppress the urge to slap herself on the forehead. "Ever since the Princesses' little dispute," she said, "Twilight has been steadily avoiding any future-thinking. It's worrying me, and I think it's because of Daybreaker."

"Well, Daybreaker was just Starlight's Dream, right?" Shining shrugged. "Why should she be worried about something that doesn't exist?"

"Well, yeah," Cadence nodded in agreement. "But according to Twilight, Celestia didn't seem all that surprised at the concept." Cadence shrugged.

"Uh, really?" Shining raised an eyebrow. The thought of Celestia turning out to be like her sister was all at once harrowing, and painted her in a whole new light. The front she put on for the nobles and the aristocrats, was it all a simple mask, hiding her true feelings underneath? Well, thanks to how close he grew with the Princess, he knew for a fact it was. But could what he knew of her less-formal face also be a mask? His face fell. "Oh." Suddenly he understood what Twilight was thinking.

"Yes," Cadence replied, slinking down against the headboard. "'Oh' indeed."

"Well," Shining cleared his throat, scratching the stubble on his chin. "Is there any way she would, I don't know, get over it?" he offered.

Cadence fixed him with a shocked glare. "Shining. She's your sister!" she exclaimed. "How could you even say that without thinking of helping her?"

Shining hung his head and nodded. "You're right. You're right, I know, but," he sighed with a heavy breath out. Cadence felt it sink onto the bedsheets like a lead weight before drooping off to one side. "It's just, between being a father, a prince, and the Captain of an entire empire's worth of Guards..." he trailed off.

Cadence pulled him close, and planted a tender kiss on his lips. Rubbing his shoulders, she cradled him close. "I know you're stressed," she said. "But she's your family. She's hurting, and we need to help her."

"Hurting?" Shining sounded at once protective and sad; protective of his baby sister, and sad that he wasn't there to comfort her. "Really?"

Cadence nodded. "I think she's worried about becoming like my aunts."

"But she wants to be like Celestia. Celestia is like her role model, she's like a second mother!" Shining said. "What could she be worried about?"

"If her hunch is correct, which I think it is," she added, "and Celestia's Daybreaker is a very real entity, then that makes two out of four princesses with a dark alter-ego." Cadence let that sink in for a little while before moving on. "That means, according to Twilight's thinking, that she has a fifty-fifty chance of becoming like them. And, if I were Twilight," she thought for a second. If she were Twilight, if she had the potential to become the shepherd of friendship; to see the world in terms of the magical field that permeated the world, if Cadence had been born with such a great destiny as becoming the Princess—the embodiment— of the one thing perhaps to exceed even the omnipresent force of love... Cadence nodded. "If I were Twilight," she repeated, "I'd be worried about who was going to stop me, if I did turn."

Shining balked at that. He knew his sister was a Princess; one of the four in this world that could affect the very fabric of reality, but it never registered to him until this very moment, that his sister had the power to irrevocably damage Equestria, the way Luna had done all those centuries ago. "But, doesn't she already have Midnight?" he asked. "I remember something about that in her letters.

"No," Cadence shook her head. "That's the other Twilight, from the mirror-realm."

"Oh, right." Shining's head hurt. The thought of multiple worlds, one of which having everything this world did but no magic, and greater technology, with another Twilight, made him develop a migraine quicker than when Flurry Heart got into the sugar bowl.

"But that is a good point," Cadence said. "Our Twilight knows about Midnight, and that probably makes her feel worse!" Cadence threw up her hands, and her finger found her hair again in short order, twisting and pulling, twisting and pulling. It wasn't so adorable now, Shining found.

"You think?" he asked.

Cadence said nothing. She simply rolled over, and reached for her bedside crystal lamp. "I need to talk to Luna," she said, switching it off.

"Now?" Shining looked around at the darkened room. "Cadence, it's the middle of the night!"

She nodded in reply. "I know. My aunty is probably watching over dreams right now, so what better place to talk to her than in a dream." She settled under the duvet covers, and closed her eyes.

Shining felt a surge of hope rekindle in his chest. "So, I can go back to sleep?" he asked excitedly.

Smiling, Cadence felt herself drifting off already, so much so that she barely registered his comment. So, she fell back on the age-old saying spoken by married mares all over Equestria; "If you like."

Shining sat back, smiled as his head touched the pillow... and found his thoughts swirling with anxiety. His sister was in trouble, a member of his family was having a very tough time dealing with world-altering news that her mentor, and perfect teacher may not be so bright and shining after all. His sister had just had her worldview shattered, and was worrying herself to the bone thinking that she would end up the same way.

He felt his leg twitching under the covers, and he cursed. "Dammit!"




> When the Night Fades
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dreams were a reality that Princess Luna enjoyed. A space of pure imagination, mixed with a steady stream of magic, shunted slightly underneath reality. And slightly to the left, depending on who you asked. She could access it, ever since she was a little girl. It was something to do with the tidal pull of the moon, as much as it affected the waves of the ocean, it also pulled at the fabric of magic that was woven into the world like fine stitching. The sun did the same, but because the moon only came out at night, it pulled a chunk of the magic off of the world in such a way that there was no one living attached to it. Almost everyone was asleep, and so there was almost no one to tether the magic to the world. Every person in Equestria, and everyone beyond, had minds, and souls, that were constantly acting upon and accessing the latent flow of magic within the world; keeping it tethered down like so many fine staples in paper. Starswirl had been the first to theorise on the nature of this fabric, and over time, Luna had come to understand it more intimately than anyone. When no minds were awake to act upon it, such as during the night hours, it came loose due to the pull of the moon, and it infused with the reality beyond this one, forming the basis for all dream magic. The conscious minds of people went away, replaced by a more powerful subconscious mind that could very easily slip out of the world, and into this aether. This netherspace, Luna still didn't have a name for it. She was toying with the idea of naming it something as brooding as her, but because no one else could access it, that point was moot. The Dreamworld, or Dreamscape, would suffice.

As she glided through this non-space on her wings of starlight, she kept an eye out for the nightmares. Happy dreams erupted in this world as white balls of pleasure; blossoming like flowers in a field. A neutral dream, or a nonsense one, would dance in a kaleidoscope of colours. A bad dream would be black, or red depending on the emotion. Fear, or anger, would be very easy to spot in this ocean of swirling purple. A true Nightmare, however, was much more sinister. It would pulse with an energy that made Luna's spine tingle. It would sometimes reach black tendrils out to infest other nearby dreams, and so, if left unchecked, the infection would spread. Her charge as keeper of dreams was much more important than anyone knew—if a single Nightmare were to infest everyone's dreams in one night, however unlikely that would be, then as those minds kept accessing the aether of the dream world, the nightmare would feed, and fester, as much a living creature as any that inhabited the waking world. Eventually it would consume the very minds of the people in the dreams, and  be able to access their bodies. The thought of anyone being possessed by a true Nightmare was horrifying.

Her thoughts quickly turned away from that dark path, as she reminded herself that that was relatively unlikely to happen. She was ever vigilant, and normally, one or two bad dreams would pop up. If she was unlucky, one out of every ten bad dreams would fester into a true, pulsating nightmare, which would then draw her in, ready to fight it off.

But, this time, as she looked around at the ocean of white spheres, there wasn't a single black spiderweb to be seen. No pulsating mass of darkness tormenting some poor soul, and no inky black tendrils searching for others to infest. She was about ready to leave for her own dreams for the night, as it was already far too late for any one nightmare to do any substantial damage to even one late sleeper. But then, something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. It was pulsing, but it wasn't a nightmare. It was black, but it wasn't fear. As she stepped closer to it, she realised, with a raise of her brow, that it belonged to her niece. Princess Cadence was calling to her, in a fit of lucidity that stunned the matriarch of the Night. Not wanting to react too brashly, Luna bent at the waist, and took in the sight of the dream beyond like a homeowner would look through a keyhole.

There was the Princess of Love, alright; pacing up and down a nondescript, endless hallway. Half-formed ideas floated past the arches, dreams that almost were, but could never be. As the Night Princess watched, Cadence stopped, closed her eyes, and sent out another pulse. The entire dreamscape thrummed with that one ripple, and her name carried out over the aether. Luna chose then to be truly concerned. Lucid dreaming was one thing, and it wasn't often she encountered even seasoned dreamers who could do it. Lucid dreamers that could call out to her were even rarer, and this? This was something else. Cadence was actively manipulating the dreamscape, calling out to her, pulling her in. And, with a dream as dark with fear as this one, Luna would be a very poor princess, and indeed a very poor Aunt, if she ignored it.

Reaching out a hand, she touched the sphere of darkness, and expanded it just enough for her to step through. The doorway sealed shut behind her, cutting her off for the moment from the other dreamers, and she found herself in the windy archways of Cadence's mind.

Luna stepped up towards the other woman, her hands pressed together over her stomach. Her midnight-blue heels clacked on the stone beneath her, she gently cleared her throat, and the sound cracked the delicate concentration Cadence had over the dream. She wheeled about, and finally smiled when she saw who it was.

Luna held her hands out. "Cadence, my dearest niece." She stepped forward, bringing the younger Princess into a warm embrace. "You were calling to me."

Cadence let the hug last for a few seconds,  before she pulled away. "I was," she said, nodding in confirmation.

"You seem troubled." Luna looked around, past the archways, into raw subconscious thought beyond. "I've never seen a dream like this," she said, holding her arms up around her.

"I'm anxious." Cadence twirled her hair around a finger, tapping a foot on the stone. "And lucid," she said. "And worried, and anxious."

Luna adopted a teasing smile despite herself. "You spoke of anxiety twice."

"Because that's how bad it is!" Cadence cried out, stomping one of her feet in emphasis.

Holding up her hands in a placating gesture, Luna summoned a bit of her magic and summoned a table and two chairs from out of the floor. "Calm yourself, Cadence." She motioned for the furniture, inviting the younger Princess to take a seat. "Tell me your troubles," Luna said, once she had taken a seat of her own.

Cadence sighed, and all but collapsed into the chair. She ran her hands through her hair and tried to think about how best to broach the subject. "It's about Twilight," Cadence finally said.

"Oh?" That got Luna's attention. She folded her arms, and pressed them down onto the tabletop. Her legs followed in short order.  "What about Twilight?"

"I think she's in trouble, or, well," Cadence quickly backpedaled at Luna's startled expression. "I think she's putting herself in trouble."

Tilting her head, one of the sides of her hair covered a teal eye, leaving the other one to curiously take in every word the younger monarch was speaking. "How so?"

"I believe she's worried about becoming, well..." Cadence stuttered, "like you were, back then," she hesitated. "Back when you were her. Nightmare Moon," she said for clarifications sake.

Luna's face fell. "Oh," she said. It was a heavy sounding word, dropping into their conversation and leaving a suffocating silence in its wake. It was no secret that her guilt hounded her, even now. While since the Tantabus incident she had become better at controlling it, and no longer sought to punish herself for crimes long forgiven, she still allowed herself some time to reflect. To linger on that painful part of her life, before she was banished to the all-encompassing cold void of the moon. She was a firm believer in studying history so as not to repeat it, and she was determined to never repeat her fall. Luna closed her eyes, shutting out the painful memories. I have been forgiven she told herself. All is well.

"I'm sorry," Cadence winced as she saw Luna's normally beautiful face scrunch up in pain. "I know it's a... sensitive subject,"

Princess Luna nodded, but took a deep breath, and buried the emotions deep down inside of her, where they festered along side the part of herself she so violently tried to forget. "It is for Twilight." She tapped her perfectly-manicured, midnight blue nails onto the glass table surface. "Why do you suspect this?"

"Well, she keeps talking about change, and the future," Cadence said, "but then she changes the subject, and it started after the incident with Daybreaker, in Starlight's dreams."

Luna thought about it for a second or two. It sounded much like her own experiences, if with a different trigger. "This is most troubling," she said, bringing a hand up to her face and wiping away the stray hair that was covering her eyes. "Fear and anxiety about change often leads to one isolating themselves from the ones they love. If she continues watching her friends go on, while she stagnates, she is in danger of, indeed, falling to the same forces that corrupted me."

Cadence slumped in her chair. "That's what I was afraid of."

Luna continued tapping on the glass. The crystal clear notes of nail striking the clear surface rang like bells in Cadence's mind. It was a sharp and light sound, but to Cadence it was like the tolling of a church bell, signalling the end of someone's life. Luna was thinking. A little voice in the back of her mind whispered cruel things; fates for Twilight too terrible to imagine, and fates the world might suffer in her absence. She tried to shut out the voice, because she knew what—or who— it belonged to, but the more she tried, the louder it became. 
Images of Twilight, bound in chains in the aether, doomed to banishment for a crime whatever alter-ego she had committed in her stead... it was almost too much to bear for Luna to think this way about one of her dearest friends.

Suddenly, Luna stopped tapping, stopped thinking, and pushed herself up from the table. "We must see for ourselves," she said. "If she is truly worried about this happening, then her dreams will reflect as such," she turned around, and raised her arms before Cadence could protest or ask what she planned.

Instead, she stood up as well, watching her dream crumble away into thoughts and feelings, flights of fancy, and then into mere concepts, and then... nothing. She felt the paradox of the dream world envelop her, like a cool mercury mixed with a fiery heat in her brain. It took her a second, and a stumble or two, to right herself in this world, and the more she focused on the background, the greater the ache in her head became.

Luna began walking, and so Cadence half-skipped to catch up. The two Princesses strolled through a seemingly endless sea of dreams, which looked to Cadence like nothing more than stars in a nebula. Except, unlike stars, every now and then, she thought she could glimpse something inside them. Fleeting things, here and there; a laugh, an image, things that happened so fast she was sure she mistook them. She knew that they were dreams, but she couldn't bring herself to focus on them. They were people's minds, but her own mind couldn't make that connection.

Luna came to a stop beside one sphere; as grey and foreboding as an overcast sky that promised rain. It looked out of place among the swirling colours, and other dreams. "This," Luna said, "is Twilight's dream."

Cadence watched it as it floated up and down, swaying and rotating in the same non-existent breeze that whipped Luna's hair about her head in its gentle way.

Cadence looked between the Night Princess—with her lips in a thin scowl—and the dream, not being able to make heads nor tails of what she was seeing. "Is she having a nightmare?"

"No," Luna said, shaking her head. She could see through the veil, and she didn't like what she saw. This dream was unlike Cadences, and unlike a Nightmare. It was a fearful dream, but it wasn't bad. It was tinted with a sadistic sort of joy that Luna had never seen before. The contents were even more disturbing; Twilight was trapped in what appeared to be a dungeon at first, but what later revealed itself to be a charred, burnt out tree that stretched into the sky infinitely.

"Well, that's good," Cadence said with a smile. Luna looked at her. Cadence's smile fell. "Right?"

"Understand something, Cadence." Luna turned around and placed a hand on her shoulder. "During the final days of my transformation, I did not have nightmares. My dreams did not change, but I grew to enjoy them. The freedom they offered, the exhilaration, the escape from the world..." she trailed off, lost in some vague memory, before she came back. "All of it. Nightmares are subjective, and are one of the reasons why I must be diligent in my duties, for there are no others that can do what I do. Nightmares that are born from the self are even harder to track down."

Cadence gulped. "Oh. That's bad."

"Very." Luna nodded, turning back to the dream. Her hand trailed down Cadence's arm. "Hold on to my hand," she commanded.

Cadence did so. "Why?" she asked, as her fingers linked around Luna's.

Princess Luna's other hand reached up, touched the orb, and expanded it. "You are coming with me."

Cadence felt a sensation rising up within her stomach, then her chest. The vertigo lasted for a scant second, but the sensation of falling never seemed to stop. Together, they stepped into Twilight's twisting, writhing dream.





Twilight only knew that she felt more terrified than ever before in her entire life. She was back in her old home, except it wasn't her home. It was a charred, black, ashen simulacrum of her old library. The stench of charred paper hung thick in the air alongside the smoke. It was suffocating in its intensity, and oppressively heavy in her lungs. Every step she took simply brought her back into the living room, where embers sputtered and sparked off of a hundred thousand different books; stretching up into the sky alongside the cracked, burnt oak. Pages fluttered forth in an invisible wind, torn from one book, before the wind brushed them past her cheek, and into the remains of another. A fell voice was carried with it, and it whispered her name. "Twilight."

She wheeled around at the source of this new fear. The whispered word alone was enough to send a shiver down her spine, and make the hairs on the back of her neck stand up straight. "Who's there?" she asked into the darkness.

"Twilight," the voice repeated from right behind her. There was a mischievous, sing-song quality to it this time, and a giggle broke through the haze as Twilight turned around to face it. The laughter retreated into the walls, and a shadow grew up one side. Wicked fangs glinted in a light source Twilight didn't know the source of, and she gulped down the lump in her throat as the shadow began peeling away from the wall.

Twilight dug her feet into the ash and the soil, raising her fists as she charged a spell. "You can't scare me!" she very bravely declared, her magic filling her hands with raw power. A magenta horn sprouted from her head as her unicorn magic took root, while a pair of matching magical wings sprouted from just below her shoulder blades, flaring out to their full span. Her porcelain skin turned to goosebumps as the figure stepping out of the wall became more and more pronounced. The more she watched, the smaller this figure became, and the closer the walls seemed to come. Book stacks toppled over, crumpled into charred black petals, and vanished into the floor. More and more the walls closed in, until Twilight could see that the shadow was hers, and the figure took the form of someone very familiar to Twilight indeed.

"I exist because of your fear, Twilight." Midnight Sparkle said, grinning impishly as she advanced on her mirror-image.

Twilight would have almost confused her for an actual mirror, had her eyes not been glowing with dark fire, and her magic swirling about her hands like black swarms of flies. "Midnight," Twilight said.

Midnight crossed her legs and curtseyed. "The one and only," she said, before snapping back up to attention and placing a finger to her chin.  "Well, almost," she clarified. "There's the business your alternate self had with me." Waving her hands in a dismissive way as though the other Twilight wasn't even worth considering.

Twilight, ever the analytical, latched onto that in hope. "So, you're not Midnight?" she asked.

"I'm the version of Midnight that exists in here." Midnight motioned around, then balled her fist, extending her index finger.  "Inside you!" she poked Twilight in the chest. It felt like a knife went through her heart.

Twilight slapped the hand away, much to the amusement of the dark shade across the room "You're not me!" Twilight yelled. "You will never be a part of me!" She raised her hands and fired a beam of pure destructive energy. Midnight phased into a dark smoke, cackling madly with glee as she swirled around the beam with a nimble agility Twilight had never seen from any creature. The magic bolts and spells she cast slashed harmlessly through the air—sometimes through Midnight's cloud, but never harming her. It shattered and broke the ashen walls of the tree until Twilight was standing in an open field of ash and smog, with the cackling, grinning smoke cloud still whirling around her like a tornado.

"I'm as much a part of you as your magic!" Midnight materialised behind Twilight, her own beam of darkness launching forth from her cupped hands. Twilight brought up a shield from the Earth, grunting with the sheer force of Midnight's attack. "The more you fight me, the stronger I become!" Midnight yelled over the rushing roar of dark spells. Twilight gritted her teeth, ignoring the way the dark magic chittered, and whined, and squealed like nails being dragged down a chalkboard. Twilight's shield held firm, despite Twilight feeling her magic drain away. Her magical horn lost its lustre; her wings disappeared, and suddenly she felt like a girl again.

Thankfully, Midnight seemed to choose that exact moment to stop as well. She landed on the floor, her feet making no noise. Twilight stood back up, readying her fists. "I can beat you!" she declared. Though she had never been in a purely physical fight in her life, she felt confident in her instinctual ability. Like a cornered animal, she was both angry and afraid.

"Oh really?" Midnight laughed a chilling laugh, and spread her arms out wide. "Then try it," she offered. Twilight didn't move. If anything, Midnight's confidence was terrifyingly disarming. After a while of waiting, Midnight's arms dropped a fraction of an inch, and she lost her smile. Her face became hard. "I'm waiting," she growled.

Twilight still didn't move. She dared not. Her legs felt rooted to the spot.

Midnight padded forward. Twilight's knees shook. Like lion moving in for the kill, Midnight stepped towards Twilight at a leisurely pace. "You really are scared of me, aren't you?" she asked. "Well, this'll be easier than I thought. There's no reason to fear the future, Twilight."

"You are not my future!" Twilight spat out the words as Midnight approached.

Midnight's face changed into one of false sympathy. A hand brushed away Twilight's hair out of her face, and cupped her cheek. There was no warmth in either the gesture, or Midnight's hand. It was as cold as ice. "You deny, and you deny," Midnight sighed out, stepping up behind Twilight, and draping her arms over the other woman's shoulders. "But look around at the world, Twilight." She snapped her fingers, and images appeared all around her. Twilight looked at them, astounded by the fact that she was witnessing her own memories. Memories of the time with her friends, and then her castle, and then her library, and her bedroom, with it gradually becoming darker, and less interspersed with her friends as time wend on.  "It's moving on. It's changing, and progressing, and you're being left behind," Midnight whispered directly into Twilight's ear.

"No." Twilight shook her head, tears brimming in her eyes.

"Oh, but you are. Look at you." Midnight froze the image. Twilight was writing a letter in the bleak hours of dawn, having not slept all night. "Cooped up inside your castle, like a spinster, "Midnight said. "With your paperwork and edicts, your governing, and your politics! Your friends are having fun without you, Twilight. They barely even notice your absence." Midnight licked her lips, changing the memory to one of Twilight watching her six friends laugh with each other, with a familiar woman with purple hair sitting in the middle of them. "Starlight Glimmer has comfortably slipped herself in the little niche you left behind."

"My friends would never do that to me," Twilight wheeled around, her hands clenching tight. "They'd never abandon me!"

Midnight grinned. "Of course they wouldn't. You abandoned them, and you're going to do it again," Midnight said with absolute surety.

Twilight was caught off guard by the accusation. "What?"

"You're a Princess, Twilight." Midnight knitted her brow in that sympathetic way once again. She stroked up Twilight's arms, and this time her hands were warm. Radiating warmth, in fact. Against the cool air of the nothingness around them, it was almost welcome. "You ascended past your Mage Tribe roots, and adopted the magic of the Cloud Tribe and the Earth Tribe. You are steadfast and immobile," her voice sounded so proud, "you're a stagnant point in time." Midnight pointed up at the image. "But them?" She scoffed. "They are fragile," she said with a sneer. "And mortal. They're leaving you in the dust as they live their lives, because they have lives to live! You have all eternity, and all eternity without them!"

"Stop it!" Twilight pushed her away, but the cold of the air and the sting of her words took away all her strength, and she collapsed onto the floor. She raised her hands to block out Midnight's gleeful cackling. "Shut up!" she sobbed.

"When they finally fall, when they die, I'll be right here," Midnight said. "Forever!"

"No!" Twilight collapsed to the ground, and curled up in a ball, while the laughter of Midnight sounded out around them, overpowering Twilight's sobs, and continuing to echo in the darkness for all eternity.



Luna had been watching from the sidelines, as had Cadence. While Luna had buried her emotions deep beneath her veneer of icy coolness, Cadence wore hers like a mask. Her hands were in front of her mouth in shock, and tears were freshly streaking down her face, left to drop off into the nothingness below.

"It is worse than we feared," Luna said, raising her hands once again, and willing herself and Cadence out of the disturbing dreamscape. They could do nothing for Twilight, not when Midnight had already vanished.  "Midnight, or, something that Twilight has identified as Midnight, has already taken root in her mind." Luna's voice was strained with emotion.

Cadence sniffed, wiping her tears away with her fingers. "Then, how do we get rid of it?" she asked. "We can get rid of it, right?"

Luna hated delivering bad news. So when she shook her head with a sympathetic upturn of her eyebrows, and Cadence's face fell, Luna felt like weeping. "We can't," she said.

"What?! What do you mean we can't? There has to be a way!" Cadence balled her fists. She wouldn't give up on Twilight. She wouldn't—couldn't— sit back while the girl she used to babysit, her sister-in law, her family suffered some form of self-imposed vicious cycle of negativity. She couldn't sit idly by and wait for that thing to turn her Twilight into some she-demon.

"Cadence." The gentle hand was back on her shoulder. It was warm, and yet it was firm. "This isn't simply possession. Midnight was telling the truth; the entity that exists within Twilight is Twilight. As much as Nightmare Moon is a part of me." She closed her eyes, and the night-princess turned into something straight out of a bad dream. Her voice became like ice, her cerulean magic constructed wings and a horn, and she appeared in full battle armour. When the Nightmare appeared in the dream world, right in front of Cadence, the Princess of Love took a startled step back. "Our magic," Luna continued, "as Princesses, gives our fears and hatreds life. They are a part of us, they are separate from us." Luna stepped... outside of the form she had chosen, and there were two of them. It was hard for Cadence to follow. All of a sudden both women were moving apart, even though there was only one. Luna appeared the very image of grace and poise, while Nightmare was aggression and cold, calculating slit-eyes that drank in Cadence's very soul. "If we let them, they can overwhelm us. Like it did me."

Cadence shook her head. "I didn't know..." she trailed off.

Luna snapped her fingers, and the apparition of Nightmare Moon vanished, with an upturn of her head, and her eyes closing. As if she were slipping back from whence she came. "There is nothing we can do for her," Luna sadly exclaimed, "except what we have always done. We must continue to show her that she is not alone, and will never be. We must show her she is loved, and that she is treasured."

"Didn't Celestia try that with you?" Cadence spoke before she realised what she was saying.

Luna's hand vanished from her shoulder, and her jaw set firmly.

Cadence quickly held up her hands. "I'm sorry, that wasn't my place to say."

"No, it's alright," Luna said, holding up a hand.  "She did. She tried so hard to show me how much she cared, but I didn't listen. I thought her love for me was hollow, born of pity. But Midnight and Nightmare are very different. Midnight is based off of fear, whereas Nightmare was jealousy and rage. Love merely exacerbates jealousy, but nothing is better at fighting fear."

Cadence thought about it. She would have to be the one to show Twilight she was still appreciated. She was the best at fighting this, so she would have to be there for her. Nightmare Moon was jealousy and rage, and Love made that worse? Cadence got to thinking, about everything she had seen. The Nightmare within Luna, and Midnight inside of Twilight were simply errant thoughts given form through magic and willpower. Only Princesses could do this to their negative emotions, only Princesses could give them a voice that fed themselves, because it was them saying it. That description sounded too much like many illnesses born of the mind, it sounded too familiar. It sounded too easy. Cadence turned away from Luna, her mind still racing. Perhaps all that Nightmare Moon and Midnight were, was simply the bad parts of themselves that they chose to keep trapped. Twilight felt guilty for her new duties taking her away from her friends, she felt that she was abandoning them, she felt anxious that they would leave her in turn, and rather than talk to them about it, she had instead let the business with Daybreaker clam her up, make her worry about becoming like Luna. In the way of all self-fulfilling prophecies, that had come to pass. But, still, it was all in Twilight's head, Luna had confirmed this wasn't possession, this wasn't some outside force, this was Twilight tormenting herself, as it was with Luna all those years before.

Perhaps all they needed was a little "Love..." she whispered.

Luna ignored her, having been lost in thought herself. If the incident with Daybreaker had affected Twilight so much, then perhaps it was affecting someone else. Someone much closer to Luna's heart, and much closer to home. "This is troubling," Luna said. "If Twilight has already fallen afoul of Midnight, then what of my sister..."

Cadence was brought out of her thoughts by the voice of her Aunt. "Luna?"

"We must go." Luna turned away. "We must check on my sister's dreams," she said, sprinting off down the dreamscape.

Cadence spluttered in place as she felt her mind fold in on itself. She wasn't meant to be here unsupervised, it was proximity to Luna that kept her there. So, she ran to catch up before she could disappear into her own dreams once again. "Luna, wait!" she called after her Aunt, but still had to run at full-force to have any hope of catching up to her. When she did, all she saw was Luna's panic-stricken features.  "Why are we checking on Celestia?" Cadence asked, fearing she already knew the answer.

"An awful feeling I have," was Luna's cryptic reply.



There were few things Celestia enjoyed better than a spot of freshly brewed tea. Her favourite flavoured tea, in her favourite tea-set, in her favourite mug, in her favourite room in the whole castle. The veranda overlooked the royal gardens and offered a spectacular view of the rose bushes. They bloomed late, every single year, so now, in the throes of summer, they had just begun to peek their red petals out of their buds, ready to splash some extra colour into the already colourful Fall. It felt like a dream.

"Celestia," a voice whispered.

Sighing, Celestia took a sip of her tea, and gulped it down without a second thought. There was always something to ruin the perfect tranquility of her afternoons off. An uninvited guest thinking it could scare her was most unwelcome. Standing up, Celestia smoothed down her white sundress, and snapped her fingers. The tea-set disappeared in a flash of golden yellow, and she clasped her hands together in a practiced way that gave away no hint of her emotion. "I'm not going to play this game, creature. Either show yourself, or leave me be," she said into the air. Her face was a stone mask; as placid and unmoving as the marble pillars surrounding her.

"Always the direct one, weren't we?" the voice said, materialising in a wisp of sunlight. Rather than being gentle and warm radiance, it did its best to blind her. Scorching heat that would have instantly burnt away any other person filled the room, and the dryness almost took Celestia's breath away. What actually managed to do it, however, was the figure that emerged from the sunlight, with a ring of scorched marble and melted stone underneath her. She was dressed much like Celestia; except the white sundress was gold, with splashes of red here and there. Her stomach was clad in armour plating, bangles and bonds adorned her arms, ending in gauntlets that were segmented into plates of their own, ending in long, sharp nail coverings that glinted wicked sharp in the sunlight. Her hair, unlike Celestia's gentle rainbow, was entirely aflame. She exuded the raw power of the sun, she exuded Celestia's grace, and she exuded a predatory air about her that Celestia couldn't pin an origin on, mostly carried in the narrow eyes, thin smile, and long nails.

Celestia recognised her immediately, having dealt with an entity much like her not too long ago. "Daybreaker," she turned to one side, bracing one foot on the marble. She knew that this would very quickly turn into a fight, if she was the same as she was in Starlight's dream.

Daybreaker herself shuddered. "It feels so good to hear you say that," she said, tapping closer on high stiletto heels. "I must say, I like that name. It wasn't until you visited that silly Mage's dreams that I thought of it, and the design." She raised her arms and twirled. The armour plates adorning her stomach clanged together like gongs. "Oh, it was simply too good to pass up."

Before Celestia could say anything else, something else happened. A voice in the room that wasn't either of theirs.

"Sister!" Luna called out as she stepped into the dream, seeing Celestia facing down a demon.

Cadence was right behind her, and she balked at the vicious, sharp-toothed snarl she got from the simulacrum of Celestia.

"Luna, Cadence," Celestia smiled. "Just in time. I have an unwanted guest," she shot a look towards Daybreaker, who took a step back.

"I feared we were too late," Luna said.

"The little sister." Daybreaker crossed her arms, tapping her long claws against her elbow.  "Come to banish me? You of all people should know that I am more than just a bad dream!" she sneered.

Celestia recoiled in shock. A dream, of course! It would explain so much.

Luna stared her down for a while, but eventually relented. "She is right."

"What do you mean?" Celestia turned to face her sister.

"We have been to Twilight's dreams," Cadence said.

Luna nodded. "She was most disturbed by the thought of your darker self, she feels lonely, and abandoned by her friends. She fears change, and she fears leaving them behind."

Celestia threw a hand up to her mouth. "Is she...?" she trailed off, not wanted to finish the thought.

"Almost," Luna said. "An entity known as Midnight Sparkle has taken root within her mind, I cannot banish her, just as I cannot banish her." She pointed across the room, at the figure that had grown more irate with each passing second she was ignored. Finally, referring to Daybreaker as her had been the final straw, and she quite literally erupted into a column of golden flame.

"My name is Daybreaker!" she screeched, the fire tearing away the roof and floor of the castle, making it crumble out from underneath the three princesses. They fired up their magic, ethereal wings saving them from the fall. The three Princesses glided down to the next floor, while Daybreaker cackled and laughed from above them.

"What can we do?" Celestia asked, watching Daybreaker launch torrents of belching flame across the castle walls, melting murals and stained glass windows. Even though it was a dream, it was a little upsetting to have to watch her erase thousands of years of history immortalised in the windows.

"I don't know," Luna shook her head.  "You must wake up!"

"And what if I do?" Celestia turned to face her, her expression hollow and fearful. "Will she continue to hound me whenever I go to sleep?"

Luna took in a breath and nodded. "I am afraid so. Every day, and every night will be a struggle, as it was for me, as it is for dear Twilight. You are stronger than her, sister!"

"No she isn't!" Daybreaker swooped down from above, landing with enough force to crack the stone foundations of the castle floor. "Not in this place! You forget, little sister," she spat the word as though they left a bad taste in her mouth,  "hat while this may be a dream, it is my dream!"

Luna went to cast a spell, but chains sprouted from the floor and bound themselves around her. The more she struggled, the tighter the chains got. Similar chains struck out from the walls and floor like snakes, coiling around Celestia, and binding her arms to her sides. Cadence jumped up just as a third set went for her. The Love Monarch looked at her two Aunts with desperation in her eyes, as they both clawed for breath; the chains having lashed themselves around both of their necks.

As she watched her two Aunts, her family, writhe on the floor in this demon's grasp, she felt something she hadn't felt in a long time. It was rage. It was pure, unfiltered rage. She raised her hands, tapping into whatever Love she could find. She was shocked at the sheer volume of it. She had to remind herself this wasn't the real world, this was a dream. This was her Aunty Celestia's dream, and no one loved more than she did. No one had trained themselves, honed themselves over thousands of years, to love with unbridled compassion as Celestia did.

With power coursing through her, Cadence felt her horn and wings grow brighter than they ever had before in her life. Her eyes glowed as the excess magic spilled forth from her in waves, and she willed the chains to disappear. "Enough!" she cried, her voice echoing and flanging like an orchestra was speaking in her stead. A destructive wave rushed away from her body, shattering the links in the chains and making them drop to the floor.

Daybreaker was caught off guard, and swept back against the wall by the sheer force of the blow. "What is this?!" she yelled. "I will not be humiliated by you!" Daybreaker shot a ball of fire towards Cadence.

Cadence brought her hands up and effortlessly deflected the spell. Her hand made a fist in the air, and Daybreaker seized up; grabbed by an invisible force. Her arms and legs spread-eagled in the air, wispy pink magic coiled around her feet, then up her legs, around her midriff, and her head.  "As monarch of the crystal empire, and Princess of Love, I hold more power here than any of you!" Cadence said. The confidence, the strength in her words shocked even Celestia. "There is no emotion within Celestia greater than this, and so, I command you," Cadence began to squeeze, and the tendrils tightened so hard that they dug into Daybreaker's skin. "I command you to leave my family alone!"

Daybreaker screamed in defiance as Cadence roared. A bright white light encompassed the entire room, and Cadence collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. It took her a while to realise that Celestia's dream had collapsed.

Luna stood up, dusted herself off, and fixed her diadem as though nothing was amiss. "She will be back," she said. "Daybreaker will return."

Cadence stood up on shaky legs. Luna helped her up. "Of course she will," Cadence said. "But Celestia is awake now. This will give us time to think."

"Think?" Luna furrowed her brow. "Think of what?"

"Well, for starters, I think I know how to make this right," Cadence said with a smile. Gears were turning, and a plan was forming in her mind. It was desperate, and it was a long shot, but it might be just what everyone needed.

"You do?" Luna tilted her head, trying to keep hope from seeping into her voice, but it was impossible. She's lying the voice said to her. She can't fix you!

"Yes," Cadence rubbed her chin with her index finger, chewing on the knuckle. "Twilight feels fearful, and alone, Celestia feels trapped by her duties, and you feel guilty," Cadence said.

Luna indignantly recoiled. "I do not!"

"Aunty," Cadence fixed her with a knowing look, and Luna wilted under the gaze. It was Cadence's turn to comfort her, and she did with a hand on the arm, reassuringly stroking up and down. "It's been a thousand years, plus your return. You are forgiven, you should know this."

Luna broke. She threw her arms around her niece and sobbed into her shoulder. "She never truly leaves," she said. Her voice sounded truly pained, and Cadence's heart went out to her. "I always try to... but she never—"

"I know. I know," Cadence stroked her silken hair. "It's alright. I have a way to be rid of her."

"You do?" Luna looked up at her and sniffed. She must have looked a state, and a part of her said that she must have looked terribly undignified, but at the prospect of being rid of the entity that had hounded her every moment for the past thousand years, it was enough for her to tell that part of her to shut up.

Cadence nodded. "All we need is a little love."



Luna's dream was more peaceful than the others Cadence had been to that night. It was a pure black abyss of nothing, and yet it wasn't menacing like Twilight's. It was peaceable, and the little bit of mist that did gather around Cadence's ankles wasn't as stifling as the smog.

Luna stood with her hands clasped in front of her expectantly, while Cadence was pacing in front of her. She was thinking about the best way to go about this. It was a rather unconventional idea, but like Luna said, there was no one better suited to this than her. She turned to Luna and offered her the most radiant smile she could. Luna raised an eyebrow in reply. In her eyes, the only reason someone would smile like that is if they were about to ask for a favour. She had seen it in noble ponies tens of thousands of times by this point.

"This is going to sound a little..." Cadence made a vague see-saw type gesture with her hand. "'Out there', maybe a little insane."

She stopped, and Luna gestured for her to continue with a wordless command.

Cadence's smile turned sheepish. "I want you to summon Nightmare,"

Luna blinked. Her face an unreadable deadpan. "That is insane."

"Trust me," Cadence said. "Trust your niece, she knows what she's doing."

Luna held her gaze for a few more moments. Over the years she thought she had gotten good at reading other people, but now all she was getting from Cadence was confidence. After her display in Celestia's dream, she had certainly proven herself more than capable of handling herself against entities such as Nightmare, and, really, Luna had nothing to lose. She sighed, and held up a hand, palm up. "I hope so. Brace yourself."

"This is Nightmare. I thought I was rid of her, so when I created the Tantabus to ensure I never forgot what I did, I put its maliciousness down to my own guilt. Twilight Sparkle and the others helped me to overcome the Tantabus, once she threatened to escape into the real world. I thought I overcame my guilt, by I suppose I merely buried it. The Tantabus was more than a separate Entity, it was what remained of Nightmare Moon herself."

Nightmare growled across from them both. Cadence took in her upturned lip, the twin fangs where canines should have been, the black dress that hugged her pale skin, and the midnight blue hair that hung around her like a halo.

"Guilt never really goes away," Cadence said. "Can she speak?"

"I can." Nightmare crossed her arms.

Cadence's eyebrows shot up in shock, and she hummed. "Well, that makes this easier then."

Nightmare hissed. Luna ignored her, turning away from her and towards her niece. "How do you plan on helping me?" she asked.

"Well," Cadence looked between the pair of them, and held up her hands. "I plan on helping you both."

"How?" It was Nightmare that spoke this time, surprising both of them.

Cadence looked between them again. They were curious, that was a start. She adopted a gentle smile on her face. "With love," she said. "You need to learn to love each other. You need to learn how to love yourself."

"Excuse me?" Luna drew back in shock.

"You're kidding, right?" Nightmare Moon laughed. "The power of love?" She laughed in a condescending way.

Cadence ignored her. "No, I'm not kidding." She shot a pointed glare towards Nightmare, silencing her with its intensity. "Luna, everything Nightmare Moon is, are pieces of you that you don't like looking at. Jealousy, rage," she listed off the ones she knew, before tilting her head. "Anything else?"

"Fear of people not accepting us," Luna said with a nod, looking at Nightmare with a scornful gaze.

"Anger at those same people," Nightmare spoke up with a wicked grin.

"Desire for power," Luna added.

"And ruthlessness, desire to pursue that power, no matter the cost!" Nightmare's eyes had lit up with a kind of fire that Cadence had never seen in her Aunt before, maybe even in anyone.

Luna shook her head in disgust, unwilling, or simply unable to believe that this was her. "How could I ever love some thing like that?" she asked.

"She was born of all of your negativity," Cadence said. "She came around during a dark time in your life," Cadence sighed. "She is everything negative about you, and what defeats negativity?" she asked. At Luna's clueless shrug, Cadence simply smiled. "Positivity. You need to train yourself to be happy with all aspects of your personality."

"How?" Luna asked. "I know love, but, I just can't!"

Cadence took her hand, and began to walk towards Nightmare, dragging Luna in tow. Both of them seemed to tense up as the other approached, but while Cadence knew they would normally like to have as much space separating them as possible, this had to happen, so she tried to distract them. "Where you see jealousy," she said, looking over Nightmare with an almost appraising eye, "I see a carefully guarded passion. Your rage is due to things you cannot control, so why worry about them? Your fear is misplaced," Cadence turned to Luna for a second. "Celestia, Twilight, and I will always accept you, no matter what."

"And our desire for power?" Nightmare spoke up once more. There was barely a foot of space between them, and Cadence decided that was enough.

She let Luna's hand go, and stepped to one side. "Ambition," she said after a second's worth of thought. "Directed somewhere constructive that is a very good thing indeed."

"But we wish to rule Equestria! Bring about night, everlasting, and shroud the sun in blackness!" Nightmare shouted.

Cadence ignored the volume, and asked one very simple question. "Why?"

"Because our sister does not deserve to rule!" Nightmare spat.

"Why?" Again, the question came.

This time, when Nightmare went to speak, she found she couldn't. Confusion gave way to panic as she could no longer think of why she wished for eternal night in the first place. Was it simply to get back at Celestia? Was it because of some childish slight? Was she, Nightmare Moon, really reduced to pettiness?

Luna seemed equally confused. "She doesn't know," she said.

Cadence nodded. "This is just jealousy. And what did I say about jealousy?" she asked them both.

Both of them shook their heads. "I do not know," Luna answered.

"It's passion." She took Nightmare's hand, and she took Luna's hand, and she brought them across that foot's worth of space so that they were close. She drew their hands together, and placed them into each other. "Turn your desire for conflict into confidence, approach Celestia with your ideas for Governance, they might be rejected, or they might open Celestia to new ways of thinking. You want to bring about night everlasting?" She focused on Nightmare. "But the night is so beautiful because it doesn't last, nothing beautiful ever does. Nightmare, your sister has every right to rule, and you do as well, but side by side. Together." She pushed them a bit closer to drive her point home, and was momentarily hopeful when they couldn't look away from each other. She hoped she was opening them up to the idea of a little self-love. Perhaps it would be the answer to stopping any more conflicts, any more transformations and banishments. Maybe she could keep her family intact with this guidance, and that thought alone gave Cadence more butterflies than her wedding day. Her proper wedding day.

"I know what you are trying to do," Luna sighed. "But I do not think it will work,"

"How do you know if you won't try?" Cadence asked. "At least start trying some physical affection."

"What?" Nightmare asked with a skeptical look.

"Hugging." She motioned down to their hands. "Holding hands is a good start, when I said 'love', I meant it." She folded her arms.

Luna flushed a deep red. Nightmare did the same, and for a moment they couldn't meet each other's' eyes as they were now painfully aware of their hands caressing each other's. "This is most embarrassing." Luna cleared her throat.

"If you have time to feel that then you should have plenty of time to focus on the positives," Cadence declared rather adamantly.

"The positives?" Luna scoffed. "What positives?"

Nightmare growled at her.

"We're not leaving until one of you thinks of something," Cadence adopted her motherly tone that she used when dealing with an impetuous Flurry Heart. "It can even be something as simple as how pretty you find yourself," she paused. "Each other, whatever."

There was silence, and Cadence genuinely thought for a second that her plan was going to fail, until they finally made eye contact again. Nightmare sighed, reaching a hand up to brush Luna's hair away from her teal eyes. "Well, I suppose I have always admired our eyes."

Luna flushed. "And our hair," she added.

Nightmare smiled, appraising Luna with a swift up-and-down of her eyes. "And, well," she smiled. "We work to keep our figure don't we?"

"We certainly do," Luna chuckled. "It's unbecoming of royalty to have chubby tummies," she adopted a gruff voice that sounded entirely out of place. Cadence took the opportunity while they were laughing to take another step back. She didn't want to be noticed and break the spell.

"Oh," Nightmare wistfully exclaimed at the voice. "Father used to say that all the time."

Luna nodded, watching Nightmare's hands in her own. The subtle differences were few, but they were there. She was sure they were there, but as she stroked over the back of Nightmare's hands, she couldn't see or feel them. Her mind was locked in the past now. "I have always wondered what would have happened if they were..." she choked back something akin to a sob. "If they were still here when I, well, when you came into being."

"You think things would have turned out different?" Nightmare asked. There wasn't anything sinister to the question, or condescending, it was genuine.

"Maybe. Maybe I would have had somewhere to turn," Luna said sadly.

"Well, if there's one thing I don't regret, it's keeping you company, even if sometimes it was only to torment." Nightmare stepped a bit closer.

"Sometimes?" Luna asked impishly.

"Yes, only sometimes." Nightmare very clearly defended herself. "Despite what you may think of me, or what I thought of you, I always wanted to keep us safe. When the world shunned us, I grew restless within you. My shock at becoming separate was what drove me to protect us the only way I knew how."

"I suppose we did what we thought was best." Luna nodded.

Nightmare sighed. For once, she was beginning to look more and more like Luna. The black dress was replaced by blue, her hair lost some of its intensity, her eyes were no longer slit pupils, she became more like a mirror image with each passing second. "We made a mistake," Nightmare said. "And we paid for it, and we learned from it."

"That's all anyone can ever expect from us," Luna said with a firm nod.

"Thank you," Nightmare said to Luna, drawing her into an embrace. One that the Night Princess was all too happy to return.

"Yes!" Cadence cheered, jumping up and down for joy,and spinning in place. "It totally worked. Once again, I am amazing—" she began to say, before she looked back over at the pair.

Luna had Nightmare's face in her hands, while Nightmare's hands had reached around Luna's back to slip the zipper of Luna's dress down. They were locked in a passionate kiss, as though the world around them was ending and they were finding final comfort in each other. As Cadence watched, Nightmare pressed Luna back against an invisible wall, slipping the blue dress entirely off of the Princess, and letting it pool at her feet, where it vanished into the floor.

Cadence's shock was matched only by her embarrassment, and she quickly found the decency to look away from her Aunt's naked body. As the noises of the kissing progressed into gentle gasps and moans, Cadence found her curiosity overwhelming that sense of decency. She had been the one to advocate for self love after all, maybe they were just taking it literally.

Nightmare's hands trailed up and down Luna's back, nails raking over alabaster skin, leaving angry red trails in their wake. Luna gasped into Nightmare's mouth, and the other woman took the opportunity to slip her tongue in between Luna's lips, exploring every inch. Luna responded with her own tongue coming to meet the invader, and the wrestle for dominance began. Feeling a little put out being the only one naked, Luna's hands came away from Nightmare's face, and trailed down her toned shoulders, slipping into the bust of her dress. Luna wasn't one to bother with the subtleties of zippers, she simply yanked the dress off with a cacophony of ripping noises. Nightmare shuddered at the sheer desire displayed, and responded by raking her fingers across Luna's scalp. The advantages of sharing a body in that moment became all too clear; both of them knew how to make the other one's knees weak.

Luna, despite shivering at the feeling of nails raking through her scalp, was not one to be outdone. She broke the kiss, trailing a flurry of them right down to a sensitive spot just above Nightmare's jugular. Nightmare felt a lance of lightning shoot down her spine towards her core, and she growled in desire. "That's cheating," she admonished, her hands coming to rest on Luna's hips and pressing her firmly into the invisible barrier.

With a gasp and a groan, Luna's head rolled back as Nightmare pressed a leg in between Luna's, and began to rock back and forth. Cadence felt like a voyeur as she watched, unable to tear her eyes away from the erotic display. This is your aunt she told herself.

Not by blood another voice in her head reminded her.

Cadence nibbled on her bottom lip. It's still wrong.

Then look away.

She couldn't. She was transfixed by the lights shining off of skin quickly becoming glossy with sweat. She watched in rapt fascination as the hair on both of them swept upwards in invisible winds, seeming to spread out around them as though through water. Cadence observed with a keen eye that both of them were shuddering and moaning in equal pitch and volume. Both of them knew which buttons to press, both of them knew how to make the other one yearn for more touches, because both of them were the same. Nightmare cupped Luna's generous heart-shaped ass, and hiked her up the wall. Now, she had easy access to Luna's chest, which she quickly lavished with kisses, sucks, and nibbles. Luna wrapped her legs around Nightmare's waist, grinding their hips together still. There wasn't much pleasure in the action itself, but it still showed just how much they desired one another.

Luna brought her hands up to Nightmare's head, pressing them on her neck as though trying to keep her in place forever. She arched her back, squeaked something into the sky, and shuddered once more before her voice rose. Nightmare purred in a sultry way as she felt a warm, wet sensation on her stomach. Her hands left Luna's buttocks, trailing up thighs with the same raking movements, and suddenly they were angling backwards onto the floor, without falling. Nightmare crawled up Luna's body, and settled herself in such a way that she was straddling the Princess's face. Without so much as a pause, or a confirmation, she began grinding down onto Luna's face, gripping a fistful of hair. By the way her back shivered, and Luna gripped Nightmare's thighs, the intention was clear.

The smell of arousal was thick around them, and their noises flowed unbidden, and unchecked. Nightmare was thrusting her hips back and forth, with little regard to Luna's wellbeing, or her ability to pleasure Nightmare at that pace. Neither of them cared, it wasn't about who was pleasuring who, it was about the act itself. It was about overcoming everything that had separated them, and smashing down the final barriers after all these years. Decades—centuries of frustrations were aired out in the way that Nightmare ground down against Luna, using her for her own pleasure. By the time Nightmare's voice caught in her throat, and her back arched in the throes of pleasure, Luna was already pushing Nightmare down. Now, it was her turn. Their hips hooked together, Luna lifted one of Nightmare's legs while bracing herself with her hand on the other one, and both of them began thrusting into each other with wild abandon.

Nightmare gripped fistfuls of the mist that surrounded them, bucking her hips and moaning Luna's name. Luna was in no better shape. Her hair had long since stopped swaying, matter to her skin like waves off of a waterfall. Cascading down her body and sticking to her glossy form. She uttered a breathy whisper of "nightmare" before she collapsed atop the other woman. They stared deep into each other's eyes, and Nightmare leaned up to plant a tender kiss on Luna's lips. They soon began to move again, but as Cadence watched, Nightmare seemed to glow. It wasn't just a radiant, happy look, but a literal white glow was surrounding her. Both of them approached their peak together, with each wild thrust they fell out of cohesion. There was no order, no harmony in their movements anymore, merely desperation. They sped towards climax, and teetered on the edge for a few more, short-lived and needy thrusts, before they both catapulted themselves over the edge. As they both cried out, Nightmare was enveloped in the white glow, which grew to cover the entire dream.

Cadence found herself shielding her eyes, and then the entire world went black.



> When the Day is Embers
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cadence awoke to the sound of birds chirping. When her eyes focused, and her head stopped spinning, she discovered that she was back inside her bedroom. The bed sheets were tangled about her arms and legs, her pillow was wet with her saliva, and she had a throbbing pain in her head. As she sat up, the birds chirruping outside seemed to turn into jackhammers, pounding away into her skull. Usually to have such a headache would mean having come back from a night on the town, gods, she hadn't been for a night out in decades. 

Banishing the memory of her last foray into the wide world of nightclubs, something was hazily kicking at the back of her mind. Some strange memory she had chosen to forget. Trying to remember something like that was always hard, so she back traced to events before it. It was something about last night she couldn't remember, but she was asleep in her own bed the whole night, so why—?

Then her eyes widened. Everything came rushing back. The dreams; Twilight and Celestia, helping Luna with Nightmare, and the way their bodies looked—shining under the false light of Luna's dream.

A flush came to her cheeks, and Cadence noticed that her sheets were rather damp in another place. She ignored it, swung her feet around, and attempted to quell the singing heat in her cheeks. First port of call is a shower she thought. Long, relaxing shower.

She untangled herself from the bed linen, and stood up on shaky legs. Ignoring the burning between her thighs, Princess Cadence instead paced over into the en-suite bathroom. She left the bed in a mess. Hopefully the castle maidservants would take the sheets and wash them, without asking too many questions. Her mind had become filled with a singular thought, and that was the shower ahead. As though it would fix all of her problems. For the moment, it certainly served the purpose of filling her mind with no other thoughts, so that it couldn't wander into the events of last night, where she saw her Aunt and Nightmare locked together, their legs quivering, sweat beading on their immaculate, alabaster skin—

Shower!

As she stepped into the en-suite bathroom, she shed her nightclothes, letting them pool on the bathroom floor in a puddle of purple silk. As she walked into the bathroom proper, Cadence caught a glimpse of herself in the shower door. Their bathroom was the very definition of opulent, despite the Prince and Princess' reserved nature when it came to finery. There was a bathtub that could hopld ten people, a shower that functioned more as a small room in and of itself, a sink engraved with ivory and gold, and pristine white tiles along every wall. Whereas usually Princess Cadence would use these mirrors to assist with her hair, her makeup, or her general appearance, this time, in the shower glass, she caught a glimpse of herself; her appearance as a whole was disheveled; there was drool encrusted on the corner of her mouth, which she quickly wiped away. Her eyes had heavy, deep-burgundy bags underneath them, which would be impossible to cover with makeup. She didn't even have any excuse to wear makeup that day; she had the day off. Her hair was disheveled, but thankfully, not enough that a few minutes of love and care with her favourite Zebrican Spice shampoo couldn't cure. 

She moved past her physical state, and into the mental one. Staring deep into her irises. She felt conflicted; tumultuous emotions waged war within her, and she had to fight to suppress a sigh. The niggling voice from last night—the one that told her it was okay to watch—was back in full force. She knew it was likely the residual shock from last night, but another part of her wondered if it wasn't. Why she delighted in seeing her aunt involved in such carnal act? Did tearing down the pedestal she had but her adoptive aunts on delight her in some way? Was the shock of discovering that they had desires really affect her that much?

It shouldn't have. Just like she shouldn't have been fantasizing about Luna's perfect skin, her generous 'assets', so voluptuously shaped and proportioned. Firm and attentive after thousands of years. Her hair, matted with sweat sticking to her body, which glistened like freshly cleaned marble.

She shook her head, turning away from her reflection before she could convince herself that it smiled at her. She was being silly, and thanks to her little fantasizing session with her damn reflection, she would have to pay extra attention to her thighs. While she meant to think that in a purely utilitarian way, a little tiny part of her mind purred at the implications.

The first thing Princess Cadence did when she got in the shower was blast herself with cold water. A long, scything blast at full power, right on her back. Once she was finished shrieking in shock at the sensation, she allowed herself the mercy of some hot water. Once the cold began to ebb away, replaced by the warm, she felt herself finally relax. Picking up her shampoo, a smile graced her lips once she squeezed some into her palm. Washing her hair was her favourite part of the shower. It was something she could truly enjoy; as her hair was something she was immensely proud of. She was glad to say that she had gotten young Twilight into the same sort of mindset; and even though the young teenage Sparkle sometimes neglected showers, and bodily hygiene as a whole (every teen went through that phase), she always kept her hair in good order.

Giggling to herself at the memory of her time spent babysitting a younger Twilight, Cadence slipped her hands through her magenta locks and sighed as the combination of warm water and her own fingers worked away her stress, her troubles, and every bad thought in her head. The shampoo worked itself up into a pleasantly-scented lather, and she let her head tilt backwards, imagining the hands to belong to the best masseuse in the world. Or her husband, depending on who was available at the time.

The fingers worked their magic, and Cadence felt everything melt away. Cadence's scalp had never been the most sensitive part of her body, but right then all the nerves felt like they were aflame. Her hands pressed and kneaded away in circular motions, working the soapy shampoo deeper into her hair. The aroma made her thing of her days as a younger woman, learning how to be a princess, babysitting jobs on the side just for fun, Twilight...

Twilight. Cadence's brow furrowed, but her eyes didn't open. She saw the woman as she was now; a princess in all her glory. A well-rounded woman with friends, family, noble ties, and a charge that would surpass her own one day. There was something else there, too, however. A shadow that consumed her. As Cadence watched, the lovely young woman transformed into what could only be described as a lustful interpretation of Twilight. Her purple summer dress gave way to stockings and lingerie, her skin took on a darker hue than it ever had before. Her eyes were positively alight with lecherous intent, and two fangs pierced the veil of darkness when she smiled; running her teeth over them in a silent promise. Gone was the innocent girl; gone was the friend Cadence had known forever, and gone was the gentle Princess of Friendship. In its place was a demon, and one that was sauntering towards Cadence with every step. Her hands took on a life of their own, gripping hard onto her scalp, just as the version of Twilight in her own mind reached her own hands forward, and gripped the sides of her head. Suddenly they weren't her hands anymore, they belonged to this demoness...

Just like I do.

There was something through the fog that she had to remember, something that troubled her about that thought. But, oh, the fingernails that raked across her scalp, and the fire that they left behind, just made her not care. She could belong to anyone in Equestria and not care, as long as the sensations never stopped. She felt something cold against her back, and realised it was a wall. Water cascading down her breasts, down her stomach and thighs, but in the world behind Cadence's eyelids, it was the velvety magic of this apparition, playing across her body, dancing over her flesh.

Cadence was panting, and the hands worked up into a frenxy. She was sure her hair was becoming knotted, she was sure there were going to be marks, and she was sure that it was supposed to hurt. But oh, the pain was pleasure, the knots didn't matter, the marks were a sign of ownership that she would wear proudly around the castle. She opened her mouth to moan, and a pair of lips took her own without question; without permission or pause. They felt like they belonged—they felt right, they felt like they should be nowhere else except pressed up against hers.

When a tongue slithered into her mouth and wrapped around her own, she shuddered. Her knees buckled, and she collapsed onto the shower floor with a splash. Her nerves racked her body with pleasure, and the fantasy shattered into a million pieces as she came back to the present. 

Gradually the rush faded, replaced with a crushing realisation. Cadence's eyes went as wide as saucers, while her pupils shrunk to pinpricks. That did not just happen! She ripped her fingers out of her hair, and slammed the hot water tap. Another shriek, and another jet of cold water spritzed her back.





Shining Armour was humming to himself as he cooked breakfast. He knew that, whatever Cadence had done last night, it had probably been hard on her. She had been tossing and turning, and moaning for half the night. Whatever could have caused that was obviously no laughing matter. It was why, then, that he had taken it upon himself to make her favourite breakfast; pancakes and coffee. He had, unfortunately, not been strong enough to wait for her while he cooked in their small little kitchenette, and the temptation had caused him to eat his pancakes while hers were cooking. Now, as he made the coffee and did a little spell to make sure hers stayed warm, he had to resist the urge to eat hers as well.

It was difficult, considering how close they were, and how good they smelled, and how he could 'feel' them within his magical field, but he would endure. 

When he heard the door to their private kitchen open, he turned around with a smile. One parts relief, one part happiness. "Hello dear," he paused, taking stock of what Cadence looked like. Her hair was wet, obviously fresh out of the shower, her eyes were heavy with bags, and her face was set in a permanent thunderous expression.

"Wow." Shining arched his brow. "You look..." the force of Cadence's glare made him rethink his words with a gulp of fear. "Beautiful as always," He beamed at her. She didn't smile back. 

Instead, she marched over to the small table without any words at all, and thudded herself down in the chair. A moment later, her forehead made contact with the Everfree Mahogany.  

Shining winced. "Rough night?"

Cadence scoffed without mirth. "I was right, for one thing."

"You were?" Shining tilted his head.

Cadence looked up at him, her face one of sorrow now. "Twilight, and Celestia, have both created their own versions of Nightmare Moon."

Shining dropped the coffee mug he was holding, and started walking over towards where he had left his guard uniform for the day. 

As he was halfway through strapping his chestpiece on, Cadence finally recovered from her sorrowful musings, and fixed him with a confused glower. "What are you doing?"

"We have to do something!" Shining responded, with a fearful gaze. 

"Oh, right," Cadence rubbed her temples and sighed. "I have a way to help them."

Shining paused, looking at her in shock. "You do? You thought it up last night?" He made his way over to the table and took a seat across from her.

"With Luna's help, yeah," Cadence nodded.

"Oh. Well, what is it?"

"I tested it out on Luna, with Nightmare, and..." Princess Cadence paused. How could she tell Shining what she had seen? Would he still love her? Would he think of her as a freak? Would he never look at her the same way again?

"And?" Shining pressed her for more information when she fell silent.

Cadence gulped. "I don't know if it worked, but it certainly did something," she said. It wasn't a lie, it just wasn't the whole story. 

"Well that's good, right?" Shining's smile was genuine and radiant. And most importantly of all; infectious. Cadence found herself smiling back.

"Yes, it's good," she said.

He got up and walked back to the counter, where he poured two cups of coffee, and picked up her pancakes with his magic. Carrying the breakfast over to the table, he set the plate down in front of Cadence; whose eyes lit up like fairy lights. Shining took his seat again after he placed the coffee mug beside his wife, and sipped his own beverage. It took approximately three seconds for Cadence to finish eating the first of the fluffy pancakes. It was very undignified, and certainly not princess-like, but she had been dating Shining for years, and had been married to him going on five now. It wasn't exactly beneath her for him to see her eating like a slob. 

She was in the middle of sipping her delightful coffee—feeling the caffeine banish the exhaustion—when Shining spoke again. "And now you can help Twilight, and Celestia!"

She sucked in a breath. Burning coffee filled her lungs. She coughed and hacked, spluttered and gagged, and collapsed onto the table with her hand over her head. The exhaustion was back. The horror and the trepidation, the residual thoughts from her shower. "Oh god," she shook her head. "I can can't I?"

Shining regarded her with an expression halfway between hurt and scorn. "No please," he said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Sound less enthused about the whole thing."

Cadence squeezed her eyes shut. "I'm sorry, Shiny, but, if you knew what Luna did, then..." she paused, snapping her mouth shut with a click.

"What did she do?" Shining's expression softened. 

"She, and Nightmare, they..." It was too late to back out now, but still Cadence couldn't bring herself to say it. Saying it made it real, and that would make her feelings real, too.

"They...?" Shining drew the word out as he leaned forward. 

Cadence sighed heavily. "They had sex, right there. In the dream, in front of me."

There was a pregnant pause. The crickets were too embarrassed to squeak; the kettle too perturbed to whistle. If a pin dropped somewhere in the castle, they would have heard it, but it seemed like the whole palace was holding its breath at this realisation. 

"Oh." Shining shattered the fragile silence into a thousand different shards, each one stressing his inflection on that one word, making it the worst, most ominous word Cadence had ever heard. 

"Yeah," she said in reply.  She waited. 

Shining hummed, arching his brows up while he drunk his coffee. "That's—"

Cadence sat bolt upright, slamming her hand down on the table, and pointing her other one at her husband in an accusing fashion. "If you say 'that's hot' I will neuter you, and turn you into a girl!"

He held up his hands in defense. "I was going to say 'that's not what I expected'!"

Cadence dropped her hands. "Oh."

Shining put a finger to his chin, and he nodded to himself. "But now you're worried you're gonna have to watch Celestia and my sister do the same thing." It wasn't a question it was a statement. He didn't even look at her for confirmation.

Cadence wilted under the silence. "Well, I mean, so far 100% of cases have responded in that way, it's reasonable to think the trend would continue," she said. She wasn't sure if it was a joke or not, but it was rattling around in her head. One case did not a trend make, but that one case was every case she had taken like this, and it had ended with some intense self-love indeed. 

Shining laughed, and stood up, walking over to the counter to place his empty mug in the sink. "You know," he said over his shoulder, "I always wondered where Twilight got her neuroses, because it wasn't from our parents." His head ,moved to one side, dodging the coffee mug that had rocketed towards him with a pulse of pink magic. He caught it with his own, and set it onto the counter beside his before it could smash. "Look." He turned back around, and braced his hands on the counter. "You're worried about the wrong things. All you should be focusing on is the positives; you helped Luna with Nightmare Moon! I don't know the specifics, but she's been dealing with that monster for a thousand years."

"She wasn't a monster," Cadence said. "Not really. None of them are. They're just pieces of the person that the conscious mind doesn't want to face."

"Well, either way," Shining waved a dismissive hand, "she's been unable to face it for a thousand years, and you helped her get rid of it." He paused. "Her. Whatever."

Cadence nodded slowly. "I guess,"

"If you can help Twilight, or Celestia with their problems, before something terrible happens, then that's a win," he said with a determined nod. "Even if you have to..." he gulped, disgust on his face. "Watch Twi... watch them love themselves."

"That's exactly the reason why Luna and Nightmare did it I think," Cadence said. "I thought that they had to love those parts of themselves, see them differently. But Luna definitely took it a bit too literally."

Shining hummed in agreement, sitting back down. "Who's next then?"

"I don't know," Cadence shook her head. "The only way I can do it is in dreams, and if Luna isn't comfortable with the prospect of watching her sister do that then there isn't much we can do."

"Well, you don't really have to watch, just... start the ball rolling and dip out," Shining very artfully hedged around saying the actual words.

"And what if it goes wrong?" Cadence asked suddenly. 

"How could it go wrong?" Shining retorted. 

"I don't know, I've only done it once!" Cadence responded in a shrill tone.

"Alright, well," Shining moved his hand downward, telling her to keep her voice quiet. "First thing you need to do is talk to Luna."

"Are you insane? No, scratch that," Cadence very quickly backpedaled. "You are insane!"

"As insane as thinking Nightmare Moon can be defeated with self-love?" Shining put on a saccharine smile and batted his lashes like a naive country girl. 

"Love is the perfect cure for hatred," Cadence folded her arms. "Even hatred of the self."

"And talking to someone is the perfect cure for awkward situations," Shining said with a nod of his head. "Besides, you can't help Twilight or Celestia without her, so you'll have to burn that bridge sometime."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Cadence drolly replied.

"You have to get into these sorts of circumstances every now and then," Shining said.

Cadence laughed. "Every now and then?" she asked. "There shouldn't have been a then, and there certainly shouldn't have to be a 'now'! They're my aunts, and Twilight... I've known her since she was a kid!" She suddenly stood up, knocking over her chair. "How do I suddenly think about watching her do that?! With herself, too!"

"Cadence," Shining got up as well, walking over to his wife and taking her into his arms. The small gesture of comfort made Cadence stop, and all her worries melted once more. She wrapped her own arms around her husband, and nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck, where the only thing that existed were him and her, and their heartbeats. 

"I know that you'll be fine," Shining said, running his hands down her back. His shirt was now wet with water from her dripping hair, but he didn't care. "I know that you'll do everything you can to help those you care about, even if this is the only way to do it." He leaned his head down slightly and planted a kiss on the top of her head. "I love you, Cadence."

"I love you too," Cadence sniffed, hitting his chestplate playfully. "Dammit, why do you have to make so much sense?"

"It has been known to happen," SHining replied, letting Cadence out of his embrace. "I didn't become the Captain of the Guard just with my dashing, roguish good looks, you know." He clicked his tongue, winking at her, and she giggled.

"Alright, alright." She sighed. "I'll talk to Luna about this, and I'll help them."

Shining smiled at her. "Thatta girl," he said in his best country drawl, pulling out her chair.

Cadence deadpanned, but took the offered seat. "Never say that again."

Shining smiled. "I never want to."







> And when the Sun Wanes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------





She was back in the dreamscape—the twisting, and writhing world built within her own subconscious. Whereas before it was filled with evidence of her worry, now it was filled with her trepidation, her nervousness at the prospect of having to see Luna again. The thought of facing the elder Princess after what she witnessed the night before was something that made her shiver with anticipation, and wretch at that reaction. Two halves of her mind both yelled different things at her; one side told her that she was a deviant for even considering it to be any sort of sexually appealing. The other half was saying to hell with that, it was hot. That half was slightly more vocal, and as Cadence shifted in her dream world, she saw the faintest tinges of scarlet tinge the sky—evidence of her more carnal thoughts. She made to push those thoughts aside, and cast her mind towards more pressing issues. 

Like the fact you'll have to watch Celestia and Twilight? a little voice in her head spoke in lecherous tones that made her skin crawl. She gritted her teeth. There was a reason she was lucid at the moment within her dreams, rather than enjoying a relaxing, pleasant dream. She was calling out to her Aunt again. They had things to discuss. And not how nicely her porcelain skin glistened in the moonlight, thank you very much!

She drummed her fingers on a table—unsure of when exactly she had sat down. There was no structure in her unconscious mind, because there was nothing she wanted to do in her lucid state. Normally she would be running, or flying, possibly even re-living happy memories, but now she was waiting, as she had been last night. Calling out to the only one that could visit her, the one she needed to see the most, and the one she didn't want to see the most.

Cadence kept drumming, turning the sounds into a little salsa rhythm to soothe her nerves. She didn't notice heels clacking on stone until the figure they belonged to was already behind her, as they blended into the rhythm

"Good evening, Cadence," a voice spoke to her. Soft, but confidently tinged with stone.

Cadence tensed up a little in shock, and let out a little sigh when she recognised the voice. Turning around to face her Aunt. Cadence recoiled a little at the woman's appearance. Rather than the usual, reserved and slightly somber look, the Lunar princess positively glowed. The corners of her mouth were permanently upturned ever so slightly, not enough for anyone except those that knew the Princess closely could tell. Her hair, which usually splayed about her shoulders like a halo, was tied back in a long ponytail that reached in between her shoulder blades. Her eyes were alight with something that Cadence had never seen before, and her posture was straighter; it made her seem all the taller, and she positively exuded an air of confidence that took Cadence's breath away.

While Cadence was fumbling for her words, Luna tilted her head to one side, and brushed aside a stray strand of her midnight blue hair, floating in front of her face as it was on an invisible breeze. "You called me here again," she said. "Is it to speak of last night?"

Cadence swallowed around a very dry mouth and nodded, smoothing down her dress. It took her a few moments to pull her thoughts back to the present, she hoped that the mistress of dreams couldn't see how utterly attractive the younger Princess found her at that moment. "Yes," Cadence said. "I wanted to... smooth things over, I suppose."

Luna nodded, stepped forward, and picked Cadence up into a warm embrace.

"Oh?" Cadence's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Her entire body was enveloped in warm, radiating heat. For some reason, Cadence always considered Luna to be cold. It wasn't often that she gave out hugs, and she had never given one to Cadence. It was all nods, respectful handshakes even—once she did get a pat on the back, though.

But here she was, being hugged by a Luna that she had never met before; a completely new woman that had stepped into the diarch's shoes. Perhaps Cadence really did help her, and she felt a little surge of pride in her chest at that, as Luna stroked over her back. "I wished to thank you," Luna gave Cadence a little squeeze. "Thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping me." Her voice was laced with sincerity, and she breathed a heavy, contented sigh.

Cadence hesitantly returned the hug, bathed in the crisp scent of Luna's perfume—like that of a winter's night. Her eyes fluttered shut, and she resisted the urge to bury her head into Luna's neck and inhale. A part of her was laughing, another part was trying to worm little fantasies into her head, and another part still was simply content. "You're welcome," the Princess of Love said, "but, what I did was—" she began to speak, to say how she should never have done what she did, telling her to love herself was good advice when it didn't lead to self-pleasure, if it could be called that. 

"What you did was help me face myself." Luna cut her off, and pulled away. She kept her hands on the younger Princess's shoulders. "What I did was..." she trailed off and stepped away, her cheeks flushing a deep crimson. "I took that a bit too literally. The mind is unguarded while it sleeps, my mind even struggles, so when I embraced my... poorer qualities, and saw them in a new light I..." she trailed off.

Cadence let the pregnant silence linger for a few seconds before deciding to break the tense air around them. "You were overwhelmed?" she offered.

Luna nodded, a small smile tugging at her lips despite the subject. "You might say that."

Cadence gave out a little chuckle. At least she wasn't mad, and they could now move away from it. "Well, I'm glad it worked," she said. "It did work, yes?"

Luna closed her eyes, shrugging. "Nightmare is silent," she said. "I have peace of mind for the first time in a thousand years. Now," she turned around, clasping her hands as she gazed out over the ever-shifting landscape. "The time has come to help the others."

Cadence cleared her throat. "Are you sure you're okay with seeing Celestia... do that?"

Luna froze, and shook her head. "I will admit, I have spent the better part of the day considering the implications. But, there is no guarantee it will happen." She turned around with a smile. "Besides, if someone like you were able to help me one thousand years ago, I would want that help." She stepped up closer to Cadence. "Celestia will never want, nor ask for help. She believes herself strong enough to fight any enemy. I fear she is not strong enough to fight herself. You must help her instead."

Cadence smiled back. "That's a very selfless thing for you to do, Luna."

Luna nodded. "I just hope we are not too late."

"Only one way to find out," Cadence said, holding out her hand for Luna to take so they could exit her dream. "Only one way to find out a lot of things tonight."

Luna looked at the hand and arched an eyebrow. "Are you ready?" she asked.

Cadence nodded in reply. "Ready as I'll ever be. Will you be okay?"

"For my sister's sake, I must be." Luna straightened her back, and took Cadence's hand in an iron grip. Cadence felt vertigo overtake her, and they were gone.





Time was meaningless to an immortal. That wasn't to say it was unimportant, there were still dates to remember, activities to attend, celebrations to be had, and a life to live, but you would never see an Immortal move with any sense of urgency when attending to personal matters. The simple act of taking a break, of walking from point A to point B, would be so lax and leisurely that one would be forgiven for thinking their attitude cavalier. Time was simply a method by which subjects found meaning in their lives. Happiness could always be found, even in a century, and Celestia often took comfort in that. Though her subjects may have lived entire lives in the time it took her to blink, she would always ensure their happiness. It was just, the lives of Immortals were such that things lost urgency as she aged. She could always put off a personal errand until tomorrow, because for her there would always be a tomorrow. 

So why then, if her life was indeed so relaxed and carefree when she removed her regalia, why then was she sprinting down a hallway, sweat pouring from her head in cold rivulets, and her chest constricting with fear?

She had never run from anything so fast in all her life. She had never run from anything in her life. In her long millennia of being alive, never once had she turned tail and fled. That thought alone was more frightening than whatever it was chasing her, that she should break her streak for this, whatever this was.

She came to a large atrium, surrounded on all sides by Romane pillars and Gothic moldings, forming archways of alabaster white. Two spires of marble rose into the sky, forming the entrance she had just come through, and another two mirrored their partners on the other side of the atrium. Around her, upon the keystones of each arch, sat a sconce alight with golden flame. Usually they would radiate warmth, banish the chill of the mountain air, but Celestia only felt an icy sensation grip her heart, deep within her chest. It sunk its fangs and talons into her, and would not release its hold. It reminded her of the Everfree Castle, where she faced her sister for their final confrontation. She felt the same coolness spread through her chest. She felt her heart shatter and her soul cry out while she sent her sister to the very Moon that she tried to use to destroy their fair nation. Except she didn't run that time. She wasn't a scared little girl.

"Celestia..."

That voice was enough to make her consider the truth to those words. She stiffened at it; it sounded like glass tinkling together, with all the gentleness of a Timberwolf's fangs. The sconces were replaced with an unnerving stillness, and a figure emerged from the dying light. The warmth and golden light of the sun was drawn into her, and coalesced into a burning that was neither friendly nor warm, but stifling, and burning. Celestia did not flinch. She recognised the armour, the nails that ended in golden points. The grandiose crown atop her head, and the wicked smile belonged to Daybreaker. "You again." The Princess felt the fear within her abate just a tad. She had a face to put to her fear; a figure to focus on, and a fight to win, should it come to that. She turned to one side so as to present the smallest possible profile to the other combatant, and they began to circle around each other in the circular atrium. "I thought Cadence commanded you to leave me be!"

Daybreaker cackled; a harsh sounding noise that sent a chill rushing down Celestia's spine. "Cadence? That sniveling worm?! I am worth ten of her. She took me by surprise," she had the good grace to admit that at least, "but that will not happen again!" She rushed for Celestia; a blaze of fire in her wake. Talons outstretched, and face twisted in a snarl.

Celestia willed her magic to flare to life, and did the only thing she could think of—she dodged. She winked out of existence, and reappeared behind Daybreaker. The other woman skidded to a halt, digging her golden heels into the marble, and leaving trenches in the smooth stone. 

"I don't know what you are, or where you came from, but I will find a way to defeat you, even if it takes me a thousand years!"

Daybreaker threw her head back and laughed a full-bodied laugh. "Oh my dear, sweet, stupid Celestia," she wiped away a tear of mirth from the corner of one of her cat-like eyes. "I come from you. I am you. I thought your dear sweet Sister explained that?"

The Solar Diarch shook her head in abject denial. There was something familiar about this conversation, and a memory that danced along the edge of her mind like a winter mist at the edge of a field. "You can't be me," she said. "That is not possible!"

"Why?" Daybreaker sneered. "Because you're kind? Because you're pure?"

"Because I'm not callus!" Celestia shouted back. "I'm not a heartless wretch that seeks only power!"

"You are not you!" Daybreaker bellowed, bringing one hand up, and straight out. A torrent of fire boiled the air between them. Celestia could smell ozone and melted marble. A defensive barrier was hastily erected in front of her, but it was barely enough. The sheer force of the spell was enough to make Celestia take two shuddering steps back, to say nothing of the heat. "

I'm more of a Celestia than you could possibly hope to be!" Daybreaker continued, taking slow steps forward while she burned Celestia's barrier away, bit by bit. Celestia gritted her teeth, put all of her magic into the spell that she was willing to unleash. She had more, she had so much more, but she vowed not to use it.

Daybreaker had to shout over the roar of the flames, but that didn't stop her. "You are an ideal! You've been sculpted and forced into your ways by hundreds upon thousands of people under your rule! Over thousands of years your name has become synonymous with charity! With kindness! You have forgotten our origins, but I have not!"

Celestia looked up, and found Daybreaker to be launching her fire from less than a foot away./ Her eyes stung in the light, but she endured. Wisps of flame rose up around the alter-ego, blended in with the hair flying from her skull like agitated waves in an orange ocean, making her look far more terrifying. In a single moment of inaction, Daybreaker brought her hands close to her chest, then lunged forward, thrusting them out. A ball of white-hot plasma shattered Celestia's barrier and dissipated. The air blast was enough to knock her away, and the head singed her sundress a dark black, but she was unharmed. Her skin prickled, her dress smouldered, but other than that she felt nothing but fear. 

"Celestia is power." Daybreaker stood back up, taking a deep breath, and flashing those wickedly-sharp canines at her counterpart. "Was power. Your name used to inspire awe, and fear, and you were worshipped where you stood! A thousand years ago, two, three, it doesn't matter! We weren't this snivelling, washed up fragment of ourselves!" She gestured wildly at Celestia. "We felt no guilt, we had no remorse but that for our own kin!"

Celestia's face twisted in anger. "That's not true?"

"No?" Daybreaker arched an eyebrow.  "All the wars we fought, all the fights we marched into at the helm, we never shied away from using our full destructive force."

"We were arrogant," Celestia said.

"We?" Daybreaker grinned. 

Closing her eyes, Celestia continued. "I was arrogant. I was young. I didn't know how to rule, so I did whatever I wanted, and innocent people suffered for it."

"Oh boo hoo," Daybreaker chided her, bringing her hands up to her eyes, pantomiming wiping away tears with over-exaggerated movements. "You used to think that sacrifice was the hallmark of a great nation. You never were one to turn your head to suffering and ignore it. You never sought to personally remedy it, you delegated, as any ruler would do. And now you are so bogged down with governing that we have no room to live." Daybreaker looked downtrodden. It was surreal to see the woman, who just a few moments ago had blasted Celestia across the room, seem so utterly pitiful. 

Celestia remained guarded. She would not forget what had just happened just because of a pretty face. "What are you saying?"

Daybreaker sighed, and took graceful steps straight across the marble floor towards Celestia. She didn't radiate the aura of power, or of anger, or of terrifying raw strength. This time, there was something different in the way her hips sauntered about as she polaced one heeled-foot in front of the other, something predatory, but without twisting Celestia's heart in fear. It was confidence—assurance that she knew Celestia wouldn't try to move away this time. She was trying to distract Celestia so she wouldn't bolt away this time while she made her point. Thanks to the little display, it was working. "I am you." Daybreaker dropped her voice to a husky drawl. Celestia was startled out of her musings by how close the other woman had gotten. A hand was raised, and placed on Celestia's golden-tanned cheek. Confident orange eyes found harrowed and stunned fuschia, and locked them in place. "I am thousands of wasted afternoons, sitting in your study and signing legislation." 

The tips of her fingers, dangerously clad in razor-sharp, armoured points, were cold against Celestia's skin. The palms, however, were warm enough that she could feel it coursing through her flesh in waves. The danger in this act made the Princess' breath hitch in her throat. She briefly wondered what she was doing; was she really thinking of the evil that stood before her as beautiful? When Daybreaker dragged her fingers down Celestia's cheek to rest upon her chin, her mind screamed 'yes' as shivers found their place dancing across her spine. Daybreaker cupped Celestia's chin with her index finger, running her thumb over Celestia's lips. Her orange eyes flitted about Celestia's face, studying it in detail, while Celestia found her back against the cold marble of a pillar.

"I am all the yearning you have to embrace your full potential once more. I am that potential," Daybreaker continued, stepping ever closer. "I am everything you want to be, in that I am free!"

"I'm perfectly free!" Celestia found her feet, so to speak, and finally slapped the hand away. 

Stung, Daybreaker drew back with another mirthless cackle. "Are you really? Can you take the day off? Can you stop raising the sun one morning? Can you elope with a lover to Saddle Arabia for a few decades?"

Celestia's face flushed as she realised the answer to all of those things was #no'. "Things are different now. No one else knows how to raise the sun—"

"No!" Daybreaker cut her off. There it was again. The power, the force behind the alter-ego. Eyes wide and stance proud, Daybreaker looked like a threat again. "You are different!" Daybreaker declared. "You have forgotten who you were, and I'm here to remind you."

"You're here to take over, you mean," Celestia said. "You're here because you want power."

Daybreaker's lips tugged upwards in a malicious grin. "You're so sure of that, you must desire power, too."

"Never!" Celestia snapped back. 

"We already rule a powerful nation," Daybreaker narrowed her eyes, "what more could there possibly be?" It wasn't a question directed at anyone but herself. 

Celestia, rather than answer, snapped her mouth shut. Several seconds ticked by as Daybreaker paced, considering the answer to her own question, all while keeping her eyes glued to Celestia. If it was true what she said, and she really was a part of her, then what was she doing? Surely she should already know the answer? Or was she searching? Rifling through their shared memories, as she could do now, trying to find that hidden spark of desire that Celestia fought so hard to contain deep within herself? Of course she wanted power. She yearned for it as a flower yearned for the sun, but she abstained. She told herself, night after night when the thoughts found her in her vulnerability that she was content. There were no more wars to fight, there was no more territory or land to claim, there was no more. 

"Nothing," She finally broke the silence. The single word shattered the delicate spell that had settled over the room, and Daybreaker seemingly snapped back into the current world. "I am at peace! I am content!"

Daybreaker's eyebrows arched downwards in an expression of sympathy. "You lie, and you lie," she covered the distance between them again. This time, her hand rested on Celestia's breastbone, just underneath her collar. Celestia gazed downward at the offending limb. It came to a rest just above where her sundress ended; concealing her body, but leaving her clavicle exposed for her torque to rest. Celestia tried to control her breathing, but her frantic heart beat so hard that she knew Daybreaker could feel it.  

"I know what lurks in that lusting heart. It must be so agonizing, knowing that you could bring the world to its knees with a single spell," Daybreaker said to her. "To resist that urge day after day..." trailing off, she licked her lips slightly, and smiled. "Maybe I was wrong. Maybe you do still have strength."

"It's not my place..." Celestia shrunk under Daybreaker's domineering form, feeling as small as a mouse before a giant. 

"Why not?" Daybreaker leaned in a bit closer. " Why shouldn't you rule?"

"We were only ever meant to act as guides." Celestia countered.

"Guides are for the blind and deaf. We are neither. Our people are neither," Daybreaker said. "We are so much more, we could be so much more. If you just gave in," as she spoke, her second hand trailed down to Celestia's waist, and pulled her closer. Their bodies crashed together, and Celestia took in a shuddering breath. She felt nothing but the armour plates and the strength behind the body that cradled her close, but she knew that Daybreaker could feel every one of her curves underneath her simple sundress. 

"If you just saw things the way I do," Daybreaker continued, stroking her second hand over Celestia's hip, "we could bring this world into the light for good. Think about all the people in this world, united under one banner, in harmony. True, honest harmony."

The words were like honey to Celestia's ears. Her eyes fluttered shut for a second. The thought of a world united, the thought of culture after culture living in peace, no more chaos, no more politics save for one nation... The soft-spoken, silken words of a master temptress. The silver tongue that hid forks like a serpent's; a siren song in the night, drowning her in the promise of everything she ever wanted. It would be easy for Celestia to give in, let Daybreaker take over, take whatever she wanted. It would be oh so simple. Which is precisely why she couldn't bring herself to do it. She never took the path that was easy, for better or worse. "Under an imperial regime. Ruled by fear. That isn't a world I want," Celestia said, pushing Daybreaker away, and breaking free from her spell. "That isn't harmony."

Daybreaker smiled. Celestia didn't know if it was the disappointment or the elation that made her blood run cold. "I had hoped you would see reason, but I guess we'll have to do this the old fashioned way."

This time, Celestia wasn't going to go easy on her. No defensive spells, the only thing that came to her mind were all the myriad ways she could incinerate Daybreaker. She made a point of touching Celestia, making her feel powerless, and saying that the Solar Regent was stuck in a rut, where she wouldn't—or couldn't—use her full strength. The former was the truth; if she unleashed her full magic potential, it would be like a solar flare raging across the surface of the world, and she would not condemn her subjects to that. But, right here, with this abomination in front of her, such qualms went out the window.

Alicorns had a natural affinity for all things magic. The magic plane that was tethered to the planet was as much visible to them as the real world, if she only desired to look at it. Over the millennia, Celestia had learnt how to will those forces to be at her beck and call; attracting them as through some form of gravity. She did so now. She felt power surge through her, from her feet to her head. She practically thrummed with an ancient and powerful energy.

She felt the power, she felt the confidence flood her system. She could win. She would win. She would banish this monster to the deepest reaches of tartarus, and she would never let her out. She would rot, for all eternity, long after Celestia's sun had burnt out and reforged, long after the world cycled out to be replaced by another. Long, long after the world around her crumbled and formed anew she would remain stagnant, in a cell, bound by chains, forced to watch.

As she focused her attention on the woman in front of her, however, her face fell. Daybreaker had raised her arms on either side of her body, and her arms were glowing with an otherworldly, forceful orange glow. Celestia's stomach dropped like a leaden weight. If what Daybreaker had said was true, if she really was a part of Celestia, then she had all the power, and all the abilities of her as well. Her sudden and decisive win was seeming more and more like a pipe-dream. The shards of marble rose from the trenches dug by Daybreaker's heels into the floor, rising up, and glowing first red, then white hot. They melted into orbs, the ground began to shake, and both women prepared to unleash truly apocalyptic forces upon the other.

"Stop!"

Until a voice commanded them to stop. Mist whirled around their feet, sapping them of their magic and releasing it as hurricane-force winds. Celestia and Daybreaker stood firm, shielding their eyes. The wind tore down the marble pillars and reliefs, the Gothic molding crumbled, the keystones fell, and everything faded to a muted gray, flat in every direction, as far as the eye could see. 

Two figures descended upon Magical wings; Princess wings, and landed in between Celestia and her counterpart. One wore her dark hair up a ponytail, with a confident swagger that made Celestia do a double take. The other one had two-toned pink and cream hair, and wore a strapless pink dress. She recognised the two of them as her sister and niece, respectively.

"Cadence. Luna." Memories came flooding back from the dream she had the previous night. How Luna explained what Daybreaker was. The revelation that Daybreaker was in fact a part of her made her seize up in disgust. To think that she could harbour such dark thoughts.

"You again!" Daybreaker growled, baring her sharpened teeth. Cadence fell into a defensive stance, raising a simple Ward. Daybreaker would tear it down in an instant, but her previous encounter with the pink-haired Princess left her wary, and she would carefully consider her options before blindly engaging again. She knew because that's what she herself would have done.

"Me again," Cadence said with a small smile. 

With a new resolve, she looked between her niece and her sister.  "I appreciate the gesture, but I am perfectly capable of tending to my own... issues without outside interference every night."

"With respect, Sister; no. You're not," Luna said, taking a step back away from Cadence, to fall in line with her sister.

Celestia drew back at the candidness of her reply. "What?"

"Our niece has found a way to help," Luna said. "Trust her."

Daybreaker cackled. Cadence tensed up. "Oh really?" She drew one hand across her midsection to support her elbow, twidling her thumbs in a gesture that could have either been nervousness, or confidence, Celestia wasn't sure. "And how do you plan on doing that, little girl?"

Cadence smiled. This was it. She took a step closer to Daybreaker, and strengthened her Ward.

"No! Wait!" Celestia ran forward, grabbing ahold of her Niece's arm. "You can't fight her!" she said, terrified of what would happen if Cadence took another step. Daybreaker could incinerate her on the spot, or liquefy her with a spell made of pure force.

Cadence turned to face her Aunt with a grin. "Actually," she cleared her throat, "what I had in mind is the exact opposite of fighting."

Celestia looked between Daybreaker and her, before releasing he rhold and turning back to her sister. "What does she mean?"

"Cadence has successfully banished the Nightmare within myself," Luna said, "in such a way that she is now a part of me. I was hiding from my flaws, as you are no doubt hiding from yours," Luna said, motioning towards Daybreaker.

The dark echo of Celestia let out an indignant snort. "I am not flawed!"

"Then what are you?" Cadence asked suddenly, startling everyone in the room with the abruptness of her question. It was almost enough to distract Celestia from the revelation that Cadence had successfully banished Nightmare Moon; an Entity that seemed as permanent within Luna's life as her very skin. 

"I am all of her wasted days," Daybreaker replied. "All the times she considered tossing off the shackles of duty, every time she bit her tongue for a noble, every time she wished to rain fire and death upon her enemies but held back." Her face contorted with disgust with each and every offence she listed off, while Celestia's face grew more and more angry. "I am the rage, and the fire, and the fear and the doubt, I am the oppression and the yearning to be free from this cage!"

Luna looked at Celestia with shock. "Is this true, sister?"

"No!" Celestia snapped. 

"Aunty," Cadence sighed. "This won't work unless you are honest with us, and yourself."

Celestia went to automatically reply again, but something stopped her. It was either the way that Daybreaker seemed to grow ever more burning and dangerously-radiant with each refusal, or the care that she could see in Cadence's eyes. If Cadence could really help her, then she owed it to both herself and her niece to be honest. "Sometimes it can be trying to be Princess Celestia every day and night. Sometimes I just want to be Celestia. A normal woman. With a normal life."

"And sometimes we want to vapourise a few enemies of the state!" Daybreaker added. 

Celestia's eyes snapped up. "We hold back to protect our subjects," she said. "We hold back so they don't suffer, or revere us as godlike." She moved past Cadence, beyond the flimsy ward, and back towards Daybeaker. 

"But that doesn't matter now, does it?" Daybreaker asked cynically. "How many people worship us?"

"Too many. We never wanted that," Celestia said. 

Cadence tilted her head. "Why?" 

"If I may, Cadence," Luna stepped up to her, taking her arm and lowering her voice, taking up a position beside the younger Princess, while her sister continued to inch forward. "We are what happens when powerful Magic, influenced by the forces of pure Harmony, create something meant to bridge the gap between all three Equestrian tribes. We are not meant to be revered as gods, or as all-powerful entities. We are chaperones and guides only."

"But we were built for so much more!" Daybreaker yelled over to them, evidentally able to hear them no matter how low their voices dropped. Luna straightened up at that revelation, indignant at having been eavesdropped on.

"We were built to rule, and we are ruling," Celestia said. "We were not built to conquer or enslave."

Cadence's mouth formed an 'O' in realisation. "I think I understand now," she said gently.

"Do you?" Celestia laughed, then snapped her mouth shut with a 'click' at the reply that had just come spilling out. It was hollow, lacking any sort of her usual warmth or kindness. It chilled Luna to the bone, but to Cadence it was a good sound; it was the sound of brutal honestly. She nodded for her Aunt to continue, and after a calming breath, she did. "I have been alive for thousands of years. I have outlived mountains, and oceans. I have seen war, and death, and destruction, I have done things I regret. I never wanted to be all powerful, I just wanted to be me. That's all I've ever wanted."

"But Equestria needs a ruler, so you rule," Cadence said. "No room for error, no room for mistakes, no room to just be you, right?" she asked.

Celestia turned back to her counterpart. "We try to rule justly, and fairly, and we try to show them that we are fallible, and we can make mistakes."

"But they will not have it!" Daybreaker snarled, balling her fists so tightly that her armoured nails pricked against her flawless skin, drawing the faintest and smallest buds of crimson forth from them. "They refuse to believe us any less than gods!"

Another step, and the two closed the distance even more. Cadence took a hesitant step alongside Celestia, not wanting to be far from the 'action', so to speak. She told herself it was so she could react to any unintended conversation topics; egg them on to their final reconciliation. But, a budding anticipation within her told her otherwise. The fluttering of a thousand butterflies in her stomach, and the beating heart in her chest told her everything she needed to know; she was excited.

Squashing that down, she continued to listen, holding up a thumb at Luna, who was likewise watching in rapt attention as both Celestia and Daybreaker laid bare their issues. "So we have to be what they think we are, lest we shake the very fabric of this nation's founding," Celestia said.

"So with every battle we are forced to act weak!" Daybreaker spat. 

"When in reality we are strong enough to bind the Sun to our will." Celestia finished for her. 

"With each public appearance, the most trivial, and useless of things—" Daybreaker began.

"We must remain strong, and vigilant," Celestia cut her off.

They were less than a foot apart, and they stared deeply into each other's eyes. With a final breath, they both said the same thing; "Lest it all come undone."

Cadence followed them both. She was close enough now that she could smell the scent of Daybreaker; burning air and bonfires. Rather than being offputting, or frightening, it was almost comforting. She took her aunt's hand, and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Do you see now that you're not different?" She stepped forward, reaching out, cautiously, towards Daybreaker's. Celestia's alter-ego tensed, but did not resist when she felt Cadence's hand close around her own. The Princess of Love stood between them, holding both their hands, and inexorably dragging them together. "You're just two sides of the same coin. Facets in a statue, one shrouded in shadow."

"Then how do we reconcile, my dear Cadence?" Celestia looked down at her niece, and tilted her head. 

"Yes," Daybreaker said. "How can I possibly return when she has learnt nothing of her own desire for freedom!"

"That is what we're going to remedy, her and now," Cadence smiled, drawing their hands together, and clasping them. Celestia and Daybreaker seemed shocked, as though they forgot how close they really were. "You need freedom, Celestia," Cadence said. She was very careful not to mince her words, but, at the same time, she knew her Aunt well enough that she wouldn't jump right into what she had in mind. Careful guidance was necessary. "You need an outlet for you most baser impulses."

Celestia cocked an eyebrow in confusion and intrigue. "Baser impulses?"

Cadence nodded. "If you truly want freedom, if you wish to be less than the perfect princess people have made you out to be, but you want your subjects to not lose hope, then you need a private, fulfilling, and safe outlet."

Celestia turned to look at Daybreaker. For once they both seemed to have the same look on their face; confusion, with the barest hints of intrigue. "What would you suggest?" Daybreaker asked. 

"Well, in Luna's case," Cadence began, casting a look over her shoulder at where Luna was standing. She was chewing on her finger, watching the exchange with an air of nervousness. Cadence caught her eyes for a moment. A lot of thoughts rushed through Cadence's mind; she had automatically tried to do to Celestia the same thing she had done to Luna, except now, she was actively attempting to steer the conversation into the art of seduction. She wasn't exploring any alternatives, which gave her pause. She shook it off after a second, and turned back to the two other women in the room, continuing her speech. "All she needed was a little self love. She needed to learn to embrace her flaws and turn them to her advantage, you two need something different."

"I am still not following." Celestia shook her head, and rolled her shoulders. 

Cadence sighed, and turned around once again to face her other aunt. "Princess Luna, you may want to leave."

She shook her head solemnly. "I cannot leave the dream with you here."

"Then, turn away? Don't watch?" She weakly offered. 

Luna nodded. "I will endeavor not to."

"Right." Cadence sighed. Her thoughts were a jumbled mass. The only way she knew would work in 'combining' the two women beside her was the way she had done so with Luna. She had already drawn their attention to how similar they were, but apparently that was not enough. It was either Celestia's age, or her purist mindset, that had no doubt settled in after millennia of ruling with no release, but whatever the reason, Cadence sensed that she would need to be more 'hands-on' with this attempt. The thought alone was enough to send shivers through her body, and for her mouth to suddenly turn dry. She didn't know how she would do it, but she had an idea of how to start. She pushed aside any thoughts of impropriety, or familial connections. She couldn't afford to seem nervous right now. She turned to the tall, dark, and fiery incarnation of Celestia's alter-ego. Daybreaker, close your eyes."

She drew back. "I will do no such thing in the presence of so many enemies!" Hissing, she assumed a more defensive stance, letting Celestia's hand go from her grip.

Cadence cursed inwardly. She couldn't afford to lose it now, not after so long. She would never get another chance.  "I'm trying to help you, and Celestia." Cadence inclined her head towards both of them, respectively. "I'm not trying to get her to banish or destroy you, but embrace you as a part of her. Close your eyes."

Daybreaker did nothing, she narrowed her eyes, but in suspicion.

Cadence let out a frustrated sigh, and turned to her Aunt. This wouldn't work unless they both couldn't see. "Celestia, close your eyes. She won't do it unless you do."

"But we—" Celestia began.

Cadence cut her off with a dazzling smile. "Just trust me, okay?"

Celestia's mouth clicked shut. She looked between Daybreaker and her niece. She had always trusted Cadence, and now was not a time to start doubting her family. "Very well," she said, closing her eyes.

Cadence's chest fluttered, and she turned to Daybreaker. "Your turn."

Daybreaker groaned. "I am not happy about this arrangement," she said, pointing at Cadence with a slender, armoured index finger.

Cadence folded her arms.  "Suck it up," she commanded.

To her surprise, Daybreaker closed her eyes. With both of them without their sense of sight, she could easily work. She summoned a thin tendril of magic, and gulped around the lump of fear that had settled over her throat like a vice. She worked the thin coil beneath the hem of Celestia's sundress, resisting the urge to run it over her skin. It was absolutely imperative that she not touch the older Princess at all, which would be difficult by itself, but now, without their eyesight, it would be damn-near impossible. Every one of their other senses would be heightened, and it was likely only their mutual trust; Celestia in her, and Daybreaker's residual, that allowed her to even get away with casting a spell with their eyes shut, without them questioning it. She briefly wondered if this was a breach so great that she would never be forgiven, but she had bigger things to worry about.

The coil of magic wrapped around Celestia's leg, in between the fabric of her dress and her skin. It did not touch either; so thin was the tendril that it would take all of her concentration and magical ability to summon it in the waking world, let alone manipulate it to such a fine degree. Luckily, Celestia had an ample supply of Love within her, which Cadence had tapped into before, and so was drawing from now. Like an electrical conduit, or a transformer of sorts, she channeled this raw energy into something she could use. 

Briefly, her magic touched Celestia's side, and she saw the woman twitch. Cadence froze. Celestia said nothing, but her brows did contort. After a while, she shook her head. Cadence let out a shuddering breath, full of fear, and something much different. Her skin felt silken smooth, free of any and all imperfection. Corded, toned muscles lay just beneath, and Cadence, for once, looked over her Aunt's hidden form with an appraising eye. It was a crime to cover such a body beneath loose dresses. Perhaps after tonight, she would begin branching her wardrobe out, like Luna had. 

The tendril finished wrapping around her abdomen, snaked between her perfect breasts, and then came to a stop just at her collarbone. By now, it had wrapped itself around every inch of Celestia's form, and was ready and waiting for Cadence's next command. Beads of sweat trickled down Cadence's brow, and she was breathing rather heavily at the exertion. With each of Celestia's breaths, her magical field stayed a hairsbreadth away from her skin, nestled in the mere millimeters between bare skin and fabric.

"Here we are." Cadence clenched her fists. This was the moment of truth.  "Celestia, do you trust me?"

With no hesitation, she nodded. "Yes."

"Say the words, please," Cadence said.

Again, with barely a pause, she said the four words that made Cadence's heart sink. "I trust you, Cadence."

"If I were to do anything untowards," Cadence began, "know that it's for your own good."

There was a significantly longer pause; almost a full five seconds. Cadence heard nothing save for the beat of her own heart, and the breathing of three women. "I understand," Celestia finally said.

Cadence licked her lips. There was something about what she had just made Celestia say that was empowering—intoxicating even. It gave her a rush, whatever it was. Carefully, she stepped up behind Celestia. Her hands were shaking, and she cast one last look behind at Luna. She had turned away. Good. Cadence leaned up on her toes to cover the few inches that separated her head from Celestia's. She dropped her voice to a whisper. It wasn't meant to be husky, it was meant to be soothing. It wasn't meant to smoulder, it was meant to relax, but somehow she found herself slipping into her 'bedroom voice'. With all the smoothness of dark bourbon, she began speaking in her Aunt's ear. "You need to be taught how truly freeing it can feel to give up control for a while." Unable to resist, she planted her hands on Celestia's arms. Her aunt gave a shiver. "Maybe you knew already," Cadence said, "maybe you've entertained fantasies about it, but I'm here to teach you now."

"Fantasies?" Celestia opened her eyes. Something seemed very off, and she had been hearing this faint tinkling of a magical field for almost a full ten minutes now. When she turned her upper body to ask Cadence what she meant; she found herself bound by the thinnest string of magic. Looking down in panic, she saw it straining against her dress. Before she could ask what was going on, it expanded outwards all at once, with the roar of ripping fabric, and all the speed of an exploding star. 

While she was still in shock, she felt something warm slide up over her chest, and grab ahold of her two soft breasts. Startled, her mouth dropped open, and a surprised squeak left her lips as she felt the warmth rush into her body, along with the electrical tingles of pleasure. "What on earth?!" Celestia began to squirm, trying to get away from the kneading hands. She realised that they could only belong to one person; they could only have belonged to Cadence.  "What is the meaning of this?!" she shouted.

Daybreaker's eyes snapped open, going wide as dinner plates at the sight.

"Cadence, what are you doing?!" Luna bellowed, rushing forward towards the scene. Celestia tried her hardest to cover herself up, but Cadence's magic had not been idle. Almost on reflex, it had bound her hands, and lifted them up over Celestia's head, ensuring that she was on display for all the world to see.

Cadence's eyes were wide as well, though for much different reasons. She had an almost-manic looking glee in her eyes as she spoke to Luna. "I'm teaching Celestia that there are ways to relax, unwind, and be normal." She trailed one hand down towards Celestia's core, enjoying the little hums and coos, writhes and squirms her adoptive Aunt made as her fingers toyed with her skin. Every touch was meant to entice, every action designed to send trails of fire in their wake. Cadence leaned forward, pressed as much of her body against Celestia's bare back as she could, and held her still. Her left hand remained glued to Celestia's generous bust, alternating between soft massaging, and pinches. Her other hand dipped between the monarch's legs, and Cadence smiled as Celestia squeezed her thighs together, trying to halt its advance. Good gods those thighs, they could crush boulders.  "Pleasures of the flesh, shall we say, are perfectly normal," Cadence said, a casual shrug of her shoulders.

Luna did not seem convinced, and her face was furiously flushing. Cadence could only imagine what Celestia's must have looked like. 

She turned her eyes downward, and her face morphed into one of concern. "I don't want to do this, but there's no other way."

Luna backed off.

Cadence was lying, of course. Her hand continued to worm its way in-between those rock-hard thighs. She squeezed Celestia's bust a little bit harder, and in the shaking and shuddering, her hand slipped in. A finger dipped low; her palm brushed up against her most sensitive part while the finger dragged up along its length. 

"Cadence!" The word came out as a half-strangled moan. " Let us go this instant! This is embarrassing!"

"Oh I don't know," the soft, dulcet tones of Daybreaker reminded everyone that there was an observer. An observer that seemed to be enjoying the show, if her state of undress was any indication. Her armour had been mostly discarded, one hand working on removing the sundress. She toothily grinned at Celestia. "I say we let her continue,"

Celestia went to protest, but Cadence dipped a finger into her heated core, and her protests were forgotten. How long had it been since she had felt the intimate caress of a lover? Oh and Cadence's touch was intimate indeed. The correct combination of rough and caring. Pinches melded with sensual massages, seamlessly melding pain with pleasure, but there lied the problem. This wasn't a lover. This was Cadence! "This is debasing and humiliating," Celestia said between her pants and moans, straining to keep her voice level. "And I want no part of it!"

It would have been more convincing had she not stuttered. Cadence leaned up, planted a reassuring kiss on Celestia's neck, and began whispering once again. "That's the point, isn't it?" she asked. Celestia felt her head loll to one side as Cadence's incessant kisses continued. "To debase. To toss off the mantle of Princess for a little while." Cadence's eyes roved towards Celestia's alter-ego, and she flicked her head. "Daybreaker? Would you mind giving me a hand?"

"With pleasure," Daybreaker purred, and slipped out of her dress, revealing herself in her full naked glory. SHe covered the meter distance between both of them in one short stride, and grabbed a hold of Celestia by the waist, their bodies pressed together tightly. 

"The whole point of this is to show you that your fears, your anguish, all the things you feel like you have to lock away need not be buried," Cadence said. "They can be used for better purposes. Healthier purposes."

Celestia felt her niece pressed against her back, and her dark self against her front. She found her gaze locked by the orange eyes of Daybreaker, by the lust in that gaze that made her shiver. She felt her arms wrapped up in magical bindings, she fult utterly, utterly helpless.

And she loved it.

"T-this doesn't seem healthy..." she protested. She felt her resistance ebbing away; the question of why she ever wanted to fight this propped up in her mind. They just wanted to help her. 

"But doesn't it feel good? Doesn't it feel freeing?" Cadence asked.

Daybreaker leaned forward and captured Celestia's lips with her own. Celestia's eyes rolled back in her head at the searing intensity of the kiss, and the warmth of another's body pressed against her own. Cadence slipped her hands off of her aunt with great difficulty. Daybreaker's thigh slipped in-between Celestia's, serving as a substitute for Cadence's hand, and Daybreaker's own hands—still bearing the armoured tips—raked down Celestia's back just hard enough to leave angry white marks. They cupped the perfectly sculpted, heart-shaped ass of Celestia, and hiked her up, grinding her against Daybreaker's body.

Celestia threw her head back, letting out a melodious song. "It does..." she finally answered. And it was true; control had been wrestled from her in the most delicious way. She no longer had to worry about nobles, petitioners, her subjects, she wasn't tied down by anything except the magic around her wrists, and that felt good. A physical representation of her bindings, but these ones felt infinitely better. The sensual feel of Cadence's magic, delicately wrapped around her forearms, only heightened the feeling of total loss of control. It only served to enhance everything she was feeling.

Cadence decided that now it was time to leave them be, but she still sensed that Celestia had reservations. She stepped around to behind Daybreaker, and looked up at Celestia with a smile. "Then let yourself go, Celestia. Be whatever you want to be here." Cadence raised her hands up at the wasteland around them. "No prying eyes, no one to see, no one here except you. No more grand openings, galas or gentries, no more nobles or maids or men bowing to you. Canterlot is a distant memory, all that matters here is you," she lifted her hand, then moved it towards the fiery red hair of her counterpart. "And her. Embrace that."

Celestia looked at Daybreaker again. At the half-lidded gaze, and the sheer love in her eyes. The wind swept her fiery hair around her head, like a glorious halo. Her eyes were strong, she was powerful, why had Celestia ever pushed her away?
Daybreaker chose that moment to dip her head, and suck on the sensitive spot underneath Celestia's chin. As she did, one hand grabbed Celestia's hair and yanked back, while her thigh slid up and down her womanhood. 

And Celestia was lost. "Oh gods!" She felt her very first orgasm in a thousand years rush over her like a tsunami. Wetness coated the inside of her thighs, and she screamed her pleasure into the heavens. Daybreaker growled possessively, and nipped at Celestia's neck with her fangs, pressing her back until Celestia was against a wall. Her back arched, her hands came free of their bindings, free of the lashings, free of everything, free to wrap around Daybreaker and cradle her close. She never wanted to be let go,  never wanted this pleasure to end. 

Cadence stepped back, and kept her eyes glued to the scene in front of her. She felt a sense of satisfaction, and of arousal. There was definitely that. 

Luna placed a hand on Cadence's shoulder. Her back was turned, and her face twisted in unease at every moan, and every lewd sound. "We should leave," she said. "Leave them to... finish."

Cadence looked down at Luna's hand, then back at the display. She shook her head. "No. We have to make sure it works."

Luna shifted, and hugged herself around the stomach. "This is most uncomfortable for us."

Speak for yourself... Cadence privately thought. 

Daybreaker was fully in control now. Celestia was desperately clinging to her as they passionately embraced, kiss, suckled, and moaned. Lips found lips, and tongues battled for dominance. Daybreaker purred; Celestia moaned as her own tongue lost, and Daybreaker was allowed to explore to her heart's content. She broke away, trailing the kisses down, down, ever lower until her lips wrapped around Celestia's breast. Teeth clamped down, and a tongue relentlessly lashed, and Celestia writhed ever harder. Hands found Daybreaker's shoulders, and helf onj tightly. Celestia wanted the torturous sensations to stopl, but also continue. 

Daybreaker continued her quest down, trailing a long, serpentine tongue very lewdly, and very suggestively, along Celestia's toned stomach. Stopping briefly to dip into her navel, Celestia giggled softly to herself. Daybreaker grinned, then came to her prize. She dragged her tongue up Celestia's right thigh, then her left. She planted a kiss right above her mound. The teasing was driving Celestia mad. She wanted it so bad, and now Daybreaker was toying with her. Her eyes snapped open, and locked onto Daybreaker's and they both paused.

Celestia decided to take a page from the villainess' book. A hand shot forward, and wrapped itself in the golden, fiery tresses of Daybreaker's hair. With a primal growl, Celestia shoved the face in between her thighs, and began rolling her hips. Daybreaker moaned, her hands came up to grab ahold of Celestia's legs to steady herself, while she got to work.

Daybreaker's hair lost some of its fiery hue, but none of its vibrancy. As Cadence watched it wrap around Celestia's hand, it became multicoloured, and wafted on a much more gentle breeze, unlike the inferno it had been previously. Celestia's movements became more desparate and erratic, until finally her back bent and she tossed her head back. Daybreaker's eyes fluttered shut as Celestia found release.

Celestia didn't stop. Before Daybreaker could fully pull her head away, and catch her breath, Celestia pushed her back. She landed on the floor with a grunt, staring up at Celestia with newfound, wide eyes. Celestia's eyes lidded, and she bit her lip as she sauntered over to Daybreaker, settling her body on top of her counterpart's. It might have been Cadence's imagination, but she swore she noticed a pronounced cat-like slit in Celestia's eyes. She didn't get time to observe more, as they were already locked in another passionate embrace. Celestia pulled away, and dragged a finger down Daybreaker's lips. "My turn." she said, before turning around, and bending at the waist to capture Daybreaker's lower lips in a kiss of equal intensity as the one they were just in. Daybreaker gasped and arched her back. Celestia enjoyed the noises that she was enticing from Daybreaker, and she also enjoyed being the one to elicit them. Perhaps Daybreaker was right; she could stand to be a little bit stronger.

As she thought, Daybreaker leaned up and licked Celestia's own core from the bottom to the top once more, capturing her clit in between her lips. Celestia moaned, and redoubled her efforts. As they inexorable drove each other towards their peak, they began softly glowing. Soon, Cadence was forced to avert her eyes by the sheer intensity, and then the dream was gone.

She looked around at the unfiltered, untapped dreamscape. "I guess it worked?"

Luna sighed in relief. "The dream has ended, and I must attend to my duties." She took Cadence's hand, and they were back in her dream once more. "Your methods may be unorthodox," she cleared her throat, "but if it helps those we care about, I suppose I have no choice but to follow along with them."

"Honestly, I'm just as surprised as you are."

Luna scoffed coldly, and folded her arms. "Indeed?" she asked. "Gazing lecherously at my sister mid-coitus was you acting surprised?"

Cadence placed a hand on her chest in indignation. "I was not 'gazing lecherously'—" she began.

"No," Luna cut her off. "You were much more hands-on."

Cadence flushed red. She was right of course. Cadence didn't know what came over her. She just felt a need to do it. If her thoughts were confused before, then they were a maelstrom now. She had, essentially, seduced her aunt. "It got a little..." she searched for the right word. "Physical. Intervention was necessary."

Luna sighed, and turned away from her niece. "My sister will have things to talk about. No doubt she has issues that still need to be resolved. She will likely wish to speak with you, come the morrow," she said, looking over her shoulder. "I recommend you think long and hard about what you say to her, regarding your role in her dream. No doubt she will come to see you differently."

Cadence chewed on her lip. She couldn't let Luna leave, not with the hostility in her mind, and her voice. "What about you?"

Luna sighed, her shoulders sagged, and she turned around to face Cadence.. "You played a passive role in my resolution of Nightmare Moon. I was embarrassed, and insecure about you having been there to witness it. Now, I have seen your hands roam the body of my sister. Can you blame me for thinking of you differently?"

Cadence shifted in place, sheepishly looking away. "I suppose not."

"I'm not angry," she said, "or accusatory, merely... confused."

"What about?" Cadnece looked up, and cocked her head. 

"Why you chose to engage so actively, for one thing." Luna said, placing a hand on her hips. 

"She never would have done it herself," Cadence said, shaking her head. "She's spent so long being Celestia The Pure that she needed a little push to just be Celestia."

Luna studied her for a moment. Cadnece gulped. THey were in a dream, they were in her realm. It was pointless to lie, and so she didn't. She merely didn't mention her desire, because Luna did not ask. Luna finally nodded. "Very well. If your intentions were purely altruistic, then I can forgive and forget."

Cadence sighed. "That's good."

Luna turned away for good this time. "Goodnight, Cadence."

"Goodnight Luna." Cadence called back to her, and then Luna was gone.

Cadence waited for a time, just in case Luna wasn't really gone. When she was finally satisfied that she was alone, she allowed the thoughts to come rushing at her like a tidal wave. Lustful and regretful, happy and confused, it was all too much for the young Princess to handle. She kept envisioning her hands roaming Celestia's body, she could remember the softness of her skin, the smell of sunflowers and spring, the warmth of Celestia's womanhood around her fingers, and she could hear the amazing, beautiful, sexy noises that came pouring from between two perfectly pouty, sculpted, red lips. Cadence regretted that she hadn't gotten to kiss them. 

By the same token, she felt disgusted. She felt dirty, she felt like she had betrayed the woman that had served as her surrogate mother, and Aunt for a thousand years. She felt a hollowness inside her that couldn't be filled by any lustful memories. She felt cold, and like a villain in her own right, and she still had Twilight to help yet.

She lost control with Celestia, how would her sister-in-law fare?

Cadence stepped back up to the table she had left in her dreamscape, sat down upon it, and buried her head in her hands.
> When Twilight Remembers
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

With the morning came a rush, then a fall. A rush of endorphins, then memories, and then a fall back down into the depths. Cadence lay in her bed, her hands covering her face, groaning into them. Images of alabaster skin mingling with flame red hair, the gentle sway of Celestia's bosom as she was brought to a shaking orgasm. It was too much, too much for Cadence.

She brought her hands up into her hair, fitfully grabbing hold of the pink locks, and staring up into her ceiling. As though the patterns above her bed would hold all the answers. She looked over, and saw the sleeping face of her husband. She would have to say something, wouldn't she? She would have to tell him. A gnawing, pulsing feeling of guilt ate away at her gut. Anxiety pooled in the pits of her chest, setting her heart a flutter. 

In her mind, there was no two ways about it. No way to reason herself around this one. She had been unfaithful, with her own aunt no less.

Still, a voice said. It was in a dream, and dreams didn't count, surely? Everyone had a dream about doing that with someone that wasn't their significant other. Hell, sometimes she and Shiny would share notes on what happened, because all it was was subconscious fantasy.

Except, this wasn't subconscious, nor just a fantasy. She was conscious all throughout, and so was Celestia. Cadence had, for lack of a better word, seduced Celestia into trying her methods. It had worked, but that still didn't stop what she did. It didn't stop the magic she worked, twisting around Celestia's body right underneath the clothing. It didn't stop that Cadence had, quite literally, exploded Celestia's dress from around her supple curves. It didn't stop that Cadence, just mere hours ago, was running her hands up and down Celestia's chest.

Shaking her head, Cadence dispelled the memories. She couldn't afford to get lost, she had something important—and painful—to do. 

She whipped her head up when she heard the bedroom door open. Shining stepped through, and when he saw she was awake, he offered her a dashing smile. "Morning, sweetie," he said. "How were things with Celestia?" He went into the room proper, and towards a set of drawers. He was dressed in his finery, a red coat and navy blue slacks, with his hair styled in a slicked-back, windswept look that made Cadence's knees weak.

For a moment she purred, and imagined stalking out from between the covers, and doing her best to break the man's control, and rut her over the bed in his uniform. Send him off on his duties smelling of lust, and sweat, and her.

She licked her lips and thought about doing so much more with him. Pinning him to the bed, tying him up, blindfolding him, and riding him until he begged her to stop, and then going some more because he was hers. 

He popped open the top drawer and took a look inside it. He turned around to face her. "You don't know where my broach has gone to, do you?"

In an instant, Cadence was back in control. She felt a surge of love in her heart for the man at the foot of her bed, that completely dispelled the lust she had felt not a few moments before. She knew that he deserved to know the truth about what had happened last night. What she had done. 

Cadence felt a pit open up in her stomach. She opened her mouth, and tried to speak, but the words wouldn't come. Taking a breath, steeling herself, she tried again. "Shining?" she managed to squeak out. 

He looked over his shoulder, tilting his head at her. "Yeah?"

Cadence when to speak again. She wanted to tell him. She needed him to know, she had to be honest. She imagined his disappointed face at hearing she was unfaithful in the worst way, and she clicked her mouth shut. With a smile, she shook her head. she had to tell him, and she would deal with the consequences as they came. 

Shining, I'm so sorry. Celestia and I... In the dream, we got a little intimate. she thought the words, willed herself to speak them, but when she went to speak, something else spoke for her.

"They went fine. Daybreaker is gone." Her eyes went slightly wider when she heard the words coming out of her mouth. What in the hell?!

Shining grinned back, and turned around fully so he could see her. "That's great! Anything weird happen?" he asked. 

The more Cadence thought about seeing his disappointed face, the more she thought about him not bearing to look her in the eye, the more she thought about destroying the trust that was there, built up over years of a happy marriage, she found herself less and less willing to speak the truth. 

She shook her head, and feigned a yawn. Inside she was screaming at herself to come clean, but she kept going. 

I had sex with Aunt Celestia!

"No, not much." She said, her arms stretching above her head, displaying her lithe figure and supple curves. She saw Shining's eyes shamelessly drive across her body, covered as it was by a thin, silk nightgown. "I'll tell you about it later."

He nodded, satisfied with her explanation. Taking her lies as truth because he had no reason to distrust her. "Alright," he nodded. "You coming down for breakfast? Sunburst and Flurry made pancakes." He went back to rifling through the drawers, finding a purple-gem encased in a broach, and wrapping it around his neck. He never went on guard duty without it; it was her anniversary gift to him.

Her heart twisted itself, strangling her, but she grit her teeth and nodded. 

Shining wait. I lied. I need to tell you something important!

"Great!" she actually said. "Save some for me."

Shining shut the bedroom door with a click. Cadence threw herself back onto her bed, smothered her face with her pillow, and stayed there until her eyes were dry from crying. 





The Night came early that day. Far too early for Cadence. For a third, and hopefully final time, she sat at her dreamscape table, sending out a subconscious signal for her aunt. She saw the pulsating, writhing inky blue horizon shift and swirl into clouds of dust, nebulae that formed, sparkled, and dissipated instantly, and offered her flashes of memory—often disjointed and meaningless. 

The Princess shut her eyes, and took a deep breath. There was an icy flash of mercury-like sensation in the back of her mind, and she opened her eyes to find the smiling face of aunt Luna looking back at her. 

"Cadence," the Night Princess said. "We must speak with you."

"Luna." Cadence stood up. "I was wondering when you would show up." She took a step towards her aunt, only to freeze when she felt another flash of cold ice, and felt a presence as warm as the sun manifest next to Luna. Her other aunt, regal and poised as ever, appeared in view. Absent was the trademark sundress she was so often seen in, and in its place was a gown of white silk. A silver sash was around her waist, and a slit ran up one of her legs, displaying her perfectly sculpted thighs. Her golden peytral hung around her neck as ever, accompanied by golden chains that went from the sleeves of her gown, down to her hands, wrapping around her middle fingers before running backup. They shifted like water as she clasped her hands over her stomach, and offered Cadence a motherly smile. 

Cadence swallowed around a very dry throat, and made to bow. "Celestia, it's good to see you, if a bit unexpected."

Celestia ignored the bow, stepped forward, and wrapped Cadence up in a hug. The smaller princess yelped in shock as she was embraced by the warmest pair of arms she had ever felt. "I wanted to thank you," Celestia said. "What you did was..." she trailed off, and Cadence flushed. Celestia cleared her throat. "Well, at least the outcome was very much appreciated."

Cadence furrowed her brow and stepped back. "The outcome?"

Luna tittered briefly behind a hand. "You should have seen her, Cadence. Lady Penny Pinch petitioned for a ten bit tax on carriages, knowing that it would only serve to inflate the costs of Manehattan's taxi services, thus lining her own pockets." She waved a hand. "Trifling matter, happens all the time. My sister very eloquently told her to... piss off, was it?"

Celestia flushed hotly and swept a strand of her prismatic hair behind her ear. "It was."

Cadence put both of her hands up to her mouth to stifle the gasp of shock. "Oh my gosh!"

"In any case," Celestia said with a cough. "I've been feeling more sure of myself. More confident, definitely, and, well, more daring in my wardrobe choices?" Giving a little twirl on the spot, she displayed herself a bit more fully to the others. The bottom of her gown flared outwards, and came to a stop when Celestia did. 

Cadence watched the display and hummed. "I can tell."

"Luna told me, and I remember vividly, your very personal approach in the matter of reconciliation with Daybreaker."

"I, uh," Cadence flushed a beet red and idly started playing with her hair. She took a seat back down, like a scolded child. "I really didn't see any other way to—"

"Peace, Cadence," Luna said with a gentle tone. "The both of us do not come to judge."

"I just want to know, Cadence," Celestia stepped forward, and tilted her head to one side. "Is there anything romantic in your mind towards me?"

Cadence balked. Her mind replayed the events in great detail. She looked at Luna, and then at Celestia. They were both beautiful women, and the lustful part of her mind cackled with glee as Cadence shifted in her seat. She couldn't tell them the truth. She couldn't explain the depths of her fantasies, all spawned from Luna's unexpected display. She looked up at the two of them, and shook her head. "It was a spur of the moment decision to get things started between you and your counterpart," she said. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth. "I didn't mean to—" she continued, but Celestia held up a hand to stop her, and Cadence's mouth clicked shut. 

The solar diarch looked towards her sister, who was studying their niece with intense eyes. "She does not lie."

"Very well," Celestia took a seat across from Cadence. "We've established a metric."

Cadence drew back in confusion. "A metric?"

"Cadence." Celestia reached over and took ahold of Cadence's hands. " I want you to listen to me very closely. I love you,  you are as close to family as Luna is. You kept me company for much of Luna's absence, and on top of that, you are burdened with the role of Princess, watching the world age before you. I care for you as deeply as I care for all those I consider my friends, or my family. Now I'm going to ask you a question, and I want you to consider your answer carefully."

"Okay..." Cadence gulped her fear down. It stuck in her throat and wouldn't budge, in the form of a lump of pure dread. Her mouth felt dry. 

Celestia stared into her eyes with a gentle look. "Is there anything you want to tell me, regarding last night?"

Cadence considered it for a moment, before setting her jaw and shaking her head. "No?"

"Cadence," Luna placed a hand on the table, rapping her nails against it with a symphony of clicks. "I advise you to rethink your answer. Think about where you are, and who I am." Luna's look was one of quiet, and solemn command. The dream world belonged to Luna.

Cadence gulped.

Celestia's look was much gentler. Much less forceful. She reached over the table and stroked the back of Cadence's hand. "I don't want you to lie to me, Cadence. So I am going to ask once more; is there anything you want to tell me, regarding last night?"

Steeling herself, willing her heart to still, she thought about it. There was nothing she wanted to tell Celestia. There was nothing that the solar diarch needed to know. There were things Cadence should've told her, but a quiet, giggling, and exceedingly coy voice in the back of her mind singsonged that, as there was nothing Cadence wanted to tell her, then she wouldn't be lying if she said; "No."

Celestia nodded.

Luna narrowed her eyes. 

"Have you been feeling yourself, Cadence?" Celestia asked.

Cadence tilted her head. The little voice in her head stilled, and silenced itself. "Myself?" she asked. "What do you mean?"

"You are dealing with forces that have not yet tried to harm you. To fall into darkness is easy, to fight it is hard, especially if it begins as something you think is normal." Celestia explained. Though she cast a side eye at Luna—who, herself, bristled at the words—there was an air of regret about her look. 

Cadence listened intently. "You think I'm gonna go the same way as...?" she let the question hand.

Shaking her head, Celestia sighed. "I don't want to, but have you been casting protective spells? Wards? Guarding your mind?"

"Well, I've been with Luna, I didn't think that..." Cadence once again trailed off.

Luna merely shook her head. "I cannot guard another mind. My duty within the dreamworld is to banish nightmares, and assist people with overcoming their own personal issues. I cannot magically ward against dark influence."

"Oh." Cadence let the word drop from her lips like a lead weight. 

"We may be reading too much into this, but please, Cadence, be careful." Celestia took her niece's hand and squeezed it. "Your mind is walking amongst darker minds. Myself, Luna's... we try to be good. But the very fact we have been alive for so long, seen so much, makes our minds far blacker than any other." She shook her head once more. "I couldn't bear to lose you to the same powers that haunted us—that still haunt my student."

"Hopefully, not for much longer," Cadence said, with a resolute nod. 

"Indeed." Celestia took that as her cue to leave, stood up, and offered a small smile to Cadence. "When you're ready, I'll leave for my own dreams, and the two of you can, uh, work on Twilight." She stepped past Luna, towards the edge of the dreamscape.

"Phrasing, sister," Luna teased.

"Oh stick a cork in it!" Celestia shot back over her shoulder, face alight with mirth.

Cadence arched a brow. "She seems happy."

"We both are." Luna watched her sister leave. "The only reason we are not harsher in our interrogation is that your methods, however unorthodox, seem to have worked."

Cadence cleared her throat and rubbed the back of her neck. "That's good to know, I suppose."

"Tonight, I hope, will be the last night of your involvements?" Luna crossed her arms over her chest. 

Nodding, Cadence linked her fingers over her stomach, partly to quell the butterflies, and partly to quell the rising realisation that she didn't want it to be her last night/ "I hope so, too. After this I can relax, reconcile with these thoughts, maybe distance myself if needs be."

Luna arched an eyebrow. "That is most unwise."

"What?" Tilting her head in confusion, Cadence spluttered for something to say. "Why?"

"Distancing yourself never works." Luna stepped forward, placing a hand on Cadence's shoulder. "Take it from someone who tried that,"

Cadence nodded. "Point taken. Well, if I'm not gonna distance myself from you, then what should I do?"

Luna paused for a second, unsure of how to answer. Flicking her head, she bade Cadence follow. "Come," she said. "The night has begun."