> Dream Sickness
>  by XenoPony
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter One: Furthest From Home
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The dark sky, bloated with thick clouds, allowed only a few pillars of pale sunlight to beam down upon the vast emptiness of the flat plain. Dust danced on the wind, forming dry waves across the dull expanse, its path broken only by patches of thick shrubs or the odd withered tree. No life aside from the occasional tumbleweed floundered its way across the wasteland, and no sound aside from the howl of the wind or the rustling of loose branches filled the dry air. It was an oddly morbid tranquillity, a desert robbed of its harsh sun and left to wallow in overcast gloom as small bolts of rain plummeted to fill the puddles pooling between the weblike roots of the scarce trees. 
 
Then came the lightning, lancing to the peak of a squat hill, the only bastion of land bold enough to rise above the endlessly flat expanse beyond the distant mountains far off on the horizon. Yet the spear of celestial fire that blasted down from the clouds was not the kind the desert was used to, nor was the swelling dust shroud that was conjured across its striking point, scorching a crescent moon of enchanted runes and glyphs into the earth. The flash was a ‘blink and miss it’ event, leaving in its wake a benevolent blue alicorn, coat as dark as midnight and mane a canvas of cosmic radiance, to gently drift down to the dust. Her arrival was so smooth it was almost perfectly entwined to the stillness of the dark desert. That was, at least until the large mass of lavender scales, ruffled, leathery wings and overpacked saddle bags thudded into the dust next to her.     
 
"Luna, you could have warned me!" Twilight Sparkle, the once-beloved princess of friendship, at least before the mysterious affliction that had transformed her had run its course, groaned as she rubbed her draconic snout. 
 
"Teleporting with a body this big is completely different, I'm still used to being a mare!" the dragoness declared as she sat up and blasted sand from her nostrils.
 
"My apologies, dear Twilight. I was simply concerned that your affinity to enact every last precaution would hinder any progress," Luna responded, waving a forehoof dismissively.  "We really did not need to bring three telescopes, all those books, quills or half of your castle's supply of ladybug repellent."
 
"What? Have you never heard of the great Pranceivan orbit beetle?" The dragoness shuddered. "They literally do have eyes on their carapace!"
 
For a moment Luna looked unsure what to make of that. A creature so big and fearsome terrified by the mere prospect of an exotic insect was not something she'd expected to see even her long lifetime. Even so, it was hard for Twilight not to think that her concerns wouldn't even be an issue if Luna was able to keep her own desires and emotions in check. Regardless of the minor animosity, however, the way the princess of the night straightened herself seconds later, lean and muscular form taut muscles under her smooth, glistening coat, made Twilight's heart seem to skip a beat.
 
Urg, why does heroism have to look so attractive? She looks like the warrior that should slay the dragon, not fall in love with it!
 
"Fear not, I swore to ensure that no harm would come to you like this, did I not?" Luna declared, then winced as Twilight's face drooped. "At least until I have returned you to a body in which you are more capable."  
 
"I can still handle myself, Luna... I just... I want to get this over with as fast as we can," the dragoness grumbled as she dusted herself off.
 
Luna nodded, trying not to appear too downcast as Twilight sighed and added. "And don't blame yourself, I know that look." 

There was a leathery wing on the alicorn's back sounds later as Luna murmured. "I... I don't, we can fix this."
 
Caught between awkwardly looking away and daring to try and see Luna's reaction to her words, Twilight leaned in to nuzzle the mare's neck as she would sometimes do her friends. Luna stiffened, seemingly trying very hard to discern whether Twilight's affections were platonic or romantic, just as much as the dragoness herself.
 
"No doubt I do find your antics quite endearing, dear Twilight. Though you must forgive me... My ability to show affection has been... Well, let's just say it's been some time," Luna assured, glancing away slightly.
 
She thinks I'm endearing? I-l mean, she's kinda cute too. Look at how small she seems now... Heh, she really is kinda adorable! A thought of Twilight's, taking the mental image of her old alicorn self, beamed as she pranced around the dragoness's mind.

Meanwhile, the side of her still content with thinking like a grumpy dragoness huffed imaginary smoke. Sure, she's strong, powerful... She'd make a good dragoness, you sure you can't find a way to transform her too in this realm of dreams instead?  
 
Twilight shook her head, flexing a claw. "Yeah, I guess your track record is pretty... rough. I imagine usually turning a mare into a dragon comes after you ask her out."
 
Luna's expression turned awkward, her feathers ruffling. But Twilight smiled and brushed her new leathery wings against Luna's.
 
"I'm joking... If somepony loves me enough that it literally turns me into something else, then there must be some weight to it, right?" she assured and Luna cocked her head. 	
 
"You say that as if you approve of my feelings?" the princess of the night asked, and Twilight bit her bottom lip as she once again truly contemplated how she felt in return.  
 
"I don't disapprove... I mean, I kinda like you... Ugh, okay, cure for this first, romance talk later, please?" she improvised, motioning back to her transfigured body.	
 
Oh, why could we have not just asked somepony else for help? Starlight, Celestia, was this realm of dreams really so dangerous that two of the most powerful mares I know can't handle it?
 
Luna, seemingly knocked into full awareness by the revelation, shuddered up straight again and nodded. "Right, of course, forgive me... It is hard to maintain royal formality knowing there's nothing left to hide from you."
 
Oh, wouldn't you like to believe she's got nothing left to hide? Look at that body, slender, refined. She was a warrior, Equestria's sword... You really would like to uncover... Twilight pressed a claw to her face. Okay, I really hope that's dragon instinct talking! 
 
"Haha, don't worry about it... Kinda hard for me to be all formal-looking like this," Twilight stammered awkwardly, before marching over to the edge of the sandy hill to peer out at the vast wasteland. "Where are we anyway? I've never seen a place like this."
 
The sound of Luna's soft hoofsteps as her crystal slippers hit the sand heralded her appearance beside Twilight, the wind blowing at her mane and feathers making them dance in a way the dragoness was starting to find hard to ignore.  
 
"The far west, beyond the Luna ocean. Most ponies just call it the expanse, it's about as far as I can teleport using the old rune ways," the alicorn elaborated as Twilight's more studious side drank in the new information.	
 
A whole new land across the ocean, lost to rumors and tales from old scholars and ather sailors! Never before had she been so far, not even when driven to find Mount Eris or Tartarus. Yet for every part of her old self that would have been fascinated by the new world to explore and catalog, her new dragon self only huffed impatiently.   
 
Agh, let me have this moment! Her little mental princess demanded, even as the sleeping drake growled. Unless you plan to make this into your new dragon empire, I don't care. 
 
"And we're here because? I thought you had no idea where the passageway we need to find is?" Twilight asked skeptically, doing her best to ignore her inner conflict.
 
Luna smirked. "No, I know not where to find it. We'll need a guide, a map," Luna responded.  
 
"And I have a feeling that one who may be just that will be right down there." She nodded to the west where the wasteland gave way to a monstrous chasm.
 
As if the land itself just disappeared into the clouds, the cliff beyond must have been impossibly large. Even so, it was almost as featureless as the dreary desert around it, save for one break in the dull canvas. The spires of the distant sky port rose high upon a peninsula jutting out from the edge, the flying ships that came in to dock there like flies buzzing around the picked clean skeleton of a long-dead corpse. If not for the distant lights and smoke-belching chimneys, the lower layers of framework and structure sprawling out from the port's central tower, it would have looked abandoned by comparison. Yet the trails and caravans of creatures heading into the city through its many gates, looking no bigger than ants from this distance, proved otherwise.    
 
One look at it and Twilight was filled with both intrigue and apprehension. There was that will to learn, find out everything she could about the port and any creature that may live there. Then there were the new blunt dragon feelings, wondering just how much of it was flammable. 
 
"Ironstall, that's what traders call it. The last stop before ships head off into the cloud-spire," Luna explained, nodding to the port then the thick wall of clouds beyond the cliff.
 
Twilight cocked her head as she regarded the princess. To Luna, it looked like nothing new, like she'd seen it all before, leaving Twilight to wonder just how many things in the world the night princess had seen in her impossibly long lifetime.  
 
"And you want to go in there...? You're a princess, they'd recognize you?" the dragoness exclaimed, then looked herself over too. "What about me, how are they going to react to a dragoness!?"
 
Luna rolled her eyes. "I thought you'd been to a place like this once before, have you not?" she asked. "All kinds of creatures dwell here, your appearance will not be out of the ordinary." 

Twilight snorted. 

"Yeah and last time I was almost sold," she huffed, only for Luna to reassuringly nudge her side with a wing.
 
"Well, I'm sure nopony will try to sell a dragoness like you now... They're used to... Well, let's just say the hierarchy is based on size and whether or not you can breathe fire," she assured.
 
Great, so now I fit in because I'm a freak! the dragoness mentally grumbled, looking at one of her claws as it flexed in the dust. I guess I don't have to worry about hurting anypony here though.
 
"Okay fine, but what about you?" she finally relented, and the way Luna's smirk had failed to disappear over the course of the conversation made Twilight’s new scales crawl.
 

*******


"Oh, I assure you, my dear Twilight, I was a master of shape-shifting magic long before we even knew changelings existed," Luna explained proudly as the two of them, hidden under dark hoods Luna had conjured from darkness, made their way through the busy streets of Ironstall. "The spell even masks our names, scream my title from the rooftops and onlookers will only hear what I desire."
 
To think that the night princess would have come in here looking like her regular self seemed silly now, especially every time Twilight looked at the face of the tall, prim looking silver unicorn with a dark blue mane and tail. She had a cutie mark of a dark moon covering the sun, it was a persona that Luna called Eclipse... One that she teased Twilight had seen far more often then she knew.
 
And you still like the way she looks, don't you? Her mind mused as she tried her best to keep her eyes turned upwards, away from Eclipse's flanks swinging under the cloak. Well, it's better than wanting to buck a dragon right... Okay, yeah, she's hot, now's not the time!

"And you and Celestia use this magic how often?" Twilight pressed, genuinely curious, despite the implications her idols' shapeshifting abilities summoned in her overly analytic brain. 
 
"From time to time, like I said, it comes in very useful in places like this," Luna responded as she ducked under a board that two gargoyle looking creatures were carrying by. 
 
Twilight was forced to weave around and duck under another set of hanging orange tarps, but failed to notice her tail brushing through a stall of dead bird-like creatures hanging by their necks. The dragoness winced, muttering a brief apology to the strange fanged-fish creature running the stall as he scowled at her. She looked back into the busy street as fast as she could, the smell of spices and exotic cooking thick in the hot air.
 
Yet as she was once again faced with the bustling crowd and the dust they kicked up in the narrow ramshackle street, her heart sank. The disguised Luna was nowhere to be seen. There were griffins, hippogriffs, minotaurs, centaurs, zebras and changelings that looked suspiciously like those under Chrysalis' rule, only with orange eyes wings and carapace, walking around openly.
 
Then there were those creatures like she'd never seen. Griffons with zebra stripes, ponies with talons, even snake-like creatures with scorpion stingers. Kirin, like the images from her books, Saddle Arabian horses offering exotic remedies, a pair of timber wolves tethered to a wooden post, and even a stall selling seafood tended by a water-filled-barrel-bound hippocampus. Birds with four wings buzzed amid large blue beetles, while glowing dragonflies and crab-like spiders scurried in the shadows. Foals and fledglings scurried around her claws, the game to not step on them not aiding in her efforts to avoid thrashing every store and stall she staggered into.          
 
And here I thought the last time I left Equestria was hectic! She thought to herself as a pony that looked about half as draconic as she was snorted fire and glared at her.
 
"Sorry, sorry, sorry!" she repeated over and over as she bumbled her way in the direction she'd swore Luna had gone. "By Celestia, I take my eyes off of her for a second and she's..."
 
The dragoness's words were cut off by a grunt as she slammed face-first into what felt like a brick wall, the force knocking her on her tail and almost sending the contents of her bags scattering in the street. Rubbing her muzzle, she muttered another apology, looking up to see the large, red-scaled dragon peering down his muzzle at her.
 
His scarred hide seemed to be missing a good few scales and his orange wings were like old, tattered parchment. One eye was cover be an eyepatch, ragged clothes were draped saddle upon his back and a neckless composed of what looked like plucked fangs and scales adorned his thick neck The rattling spines on his back were like that of a rattlesnake's tail, and in any other situation, Twilight would have immediately been on the magical defensive. At his toothy grin, however, her draconic mind melted like hot butter. She blushed hard, pony fear and the dragon attraction that had been so infuriating when Spike had been around going at each other like rabid wolves in her mind. 
 
"Well, well, ain't you just a pretty little thing?" the dragon growled, snaking his head down to Twilight's level. "Scales like those could get dirty in a place like this."
 
Okay, Twilight, we've been in awkward positions before, do I really need to go through it again? her little mental avatar asked, as her dragon side swooned at the large drake.  
 
"Little, right... hehe, believe me, I've not felt little in days," she improvised, backing away as onlookers began to stop and stare.
 
"Hmmm, you don't say? Still big enough to have plenty of scales though." The way he licked his lips made Twilight wish for nothing more than to have her magic back.
 
A good shield spell would come in very useful right now! She noted. Diplomacy with dragons is always so risky.
 
"Not as many as you, it seems. Now I really must be going, sorry for any interruption," she responded quickly, before swiftly darting for an opening in the crowd.
 
The dull pain in her tail as a weight came down upon it and it went taut caused her to stumble mid-stride, full bags rattling as she almost fell flat on her face.
 
"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" For a brief moment, the dragoness side of her mind was in control again, and she spun, snorting smoke in the larger dragons face. "Because if you're trying to intimidate me then I've seen way worse."
 
"Oh, some fight in you, I like that." He pressed a claw to her muzzle. "You seem new here, so I'll go easy on you. The price for any dragon to come into my city is a claw full of gems... No gems, then it's three scales from your back and you have such pretty..."
 
The dragon trailed off as the crowd went quiet, so much so that the hoof steps in the dust were audible. He lifted his claw from her tail and edged back like an oversized puppy, leaving Twilight dumbstruck for a brief second before she looked to where everycreature else was looking.    
 
"Razorback, how good to see you're still in business around here," Eclipse mused as she trotted up beside the perplexed Twilight, hood down to show off her disguised self.
 
"S–Silver mask... You... You were supposed to be dead," the dragon stammered as a collective sense of awe and unease came over the crowd.   
 
Eclipse chuckled, forehoof to her chest as Twilight looked at her in confusion. Eclipse, Silver Mask, what in Equestria is all this supposed to be? And are they all looking at her like she's the one to be afraid of?    
 
"Legends don't die, Razor." She narrowed her eyes as she smirked, flashing a glare that would cut through steel as she added, "This dragoness is with me, you have issues with your territory toll, you take it up with me."
 
He snorted, looming over her as he lifted to his full height and growled. "A lot has changed in the past millennium, I'm not some dumb little drake no more."
 
"Then, by all means, do what you will," she offered, standing before him and gazing right up into his fiery orange eyes. 
 
The dragon glanced around, from confused faces to fanged scowls. Then he swept a wing through the dust and turned.
 
"Mark my words, one day some creature will get you," he hissed as he stomped off into the crowd, the dust he kicked up causing the onlookers to cough as he barrelled through.
 
"Pity, it seems, that it will not be you to do so," Eclipse called after him before pivoting to address the crowd. "Anycreature else have anything to add?"
 
They all went back to their business with a murmuring series of grunts, groans and mutters as the disguised princess finally turned to Twilight.
 
"Are you alright, Twilight?" she asked as the dragoness inspected her tail, groaning before she nodded.
 
"Yes, I think..." she admitted then reluctantly looked at her claws. "Thanks, I almost lost it there, really, really have to keep the urge to lash out under control."
 
Luna placed a hoof on Twilight's side. "I understand, keeping my feelings in check was never my strongest attribute either." 

Despite her smile Twilight couldn't help but guess that something along the lines of the night will last forever would come about if Luna lost it.	
 
And this is the mare who loves you? Her thoughts commented as she followed Luna more closely the deeper they progressed into the city. Those feelings only came about because I saved her from the nightmare? So how genuine are they... How much gratitude does somepony need to mistake it for love?
      
Twilight silenced her mental debate for the time being, as the effort she had to put into walking straight down the cramped alleys with their high walls and low looming bridges took up most of her focus.
 
"So what was that all about?" she finally asked Luna as she lifted her leg to let a little colt with foreclaws and a lion’s tail scamper by. "It sounded like you knew that dragon."
 
Luna sighed. "Razorback, he's an infamous scale trader, among other foul things. Dragon parts are very useful in the making of fire salts out here, and he does not seem to care for his own kind," she elaborated, looking rather downtrodden.
 
"I'd have thought after all this time he'd be gone. Though a millennium is but a decade in the life of a dragon," she added, taking out her frustration on parts of a shattered clay pot littering the alley.     
 
Put's other dragon's scales on the table before his own, more like. Twilight suspected as she looked at the layer of shimmering lavender where her fur had once been. If they knew who I really was, would that make it worth even more? 

"And yet he seemed surprised that you'd lasted just as long?" Twilight inquired, even if she knew Luna had spent most of that time on the moon.  

"The Silver Mask, it's the title they bestowed me around here. Solar Flare is my sister, one does not live as long as we have and gain reputations solely as princesses," Luna added, glancing back.	
 
"So you're what? Like a vigilante on the side?" Twilight pressed, not sure how she felt about that.
 
Spike would love it, she's just like some of the characters from his comic books. She supposed, but Luna shrugged.
 
"I prefer the term ‘hooves on ambassador’... But the description fits."
 
So, how are we feeling about all those secrets Twilight? Her mind asked as she ducked under a set of hanging carpets and rugs. Just think, how many centuries will you live before you are doing the same?

"Still, it would be preferable if you were to avoid fiends such as Razorback. I fear his employers may see opportunity in my return." Luna looked back, sincerity in her newly green eyes. "I could not live should any foul fate befall..."
 
"Luna, I know... I... I'll be careful, it would just be a lot simpler if I was my old self," Twilight admitted, almost tripping over a claw as a pair of zebra fillies with what looked like a small, two-headed rat scurried by. "Though your care is appreciated."
 
What is that, is that my heart fluttering? Oh Celestia, really? There had been very few ponies to make her feel like that, maybe Rainbow Dash once or twice. What so I'm a sucker for protective mares, I like a filly-flank in shining armor!
 
She pressed a claw to her face, wondering if she and Luna had switched roles, what her own desire may have turned the midnight alicorn into. A shield? Turtle, literal suit of royal armor?

She was so lost in thought that she failed to notice that Luna had stopped right in front of her, pink blush clear on her silver cheeks as she pulled up her hood. Okay, that love is starting to feel more genuine again!

"Thank you, Twilight Sparkle, your appreciation holds great value to me," Luna admitted, before clearing her throat, straightening herself out, and marching up to a large wooden gate behind a raised iron portcullis.  
 
"Don't mention it, Luna... What are good friends for, right?" the dragoness added awkwardly as she caught up. 
 
Friends, hm... How sure about that are you, princess? She wanted to bury her face in the dirt. Shut up, brain! It's not the time!

Luna simply nodded to her once before proceeding to knock on the large wooden gate with one forehoof.
 
"You may want to act a little more composed... Creatures down here maybe after you for more than just scales," the disguised mare warned, and Twilight dreaded to think about that as clunking locks sounded and a small window in the gate slid open to reveal a beady-eyed griffin. 
 
"Yeah, who goes there... Coin or business?" squawked the gruff avian-hybrid, raspy voice broken by coughing fits.  
 
Luna pulled down her hood for a brief moment and the cloudy yellow eyes peeking through the hatch went wide.
 
"Talons and tail feathers, you're supposed to be dead!" She rolled her eyes as she once again pulled up her hood.
 
"Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated. Now, I'm here to see somepony. Would you mind allowing me and my friend here passage?" She motioned back at Twilight and the dragoness awkwardly waved a foreclaw.
 
"You come back with dragons..." With another series of clunks and rattles, the door was unlocked and swung inward. "Legends walk the sands again... Bless my tail feathers!"
 
"Thank you," Luna said with a bow, levitating a jingling blue pouch from a pocket inside her robe and offering it to the scruffy griffin.
 
He regarded it like a precious diamond as Luna trotted by and down a set of winding steps, while Twilight offered the crazy looking feather-winged creature her thanks too. When all he did in response was shove the bag of bits into his mouth and proceed to awkwardly swallow it, however, she winced and swiftly dashed by.
 
"Gizzard hoarding, featherwing. Woe whomever he pays with that gold," Luna chimed as Twilight followed her down the winding steps, the sensation of odd slimy things under her paws something she tried to ignore.  
 
"I dread to think. Seriously, Luna, where are we going?" she asked, but just as she did so the stairs looped round and the cave opened out into a vast chamber.
 
Seemingly a cavern below the cliff’s edge that had been invisible from above, the dank hole was illuminated by dreary sunlight streaming in from an opening on the far side. Large enough to house a small town, the odd, step like walls looked like they were formed volcanically. A series of many hexagonal granite pillars, like geological features she'd read about in her many books. The Centaur's Steps, The Longma Causeway, she recalled as she placed a claw down on one of the odd hexagonal pedestals.
 
Beyond the bottom of the steps, a wooden walkway led out to a small sprawl of ramshackle wooden structures, built into the walls of the cave, like flies caught in a spider’s web. Some larger ones boasted metal chimneys and other small docks at which smaller sky boats sat moored. Luna, like a mare on a mission, seemed to know exactly where she was going as she marched by a pair of bipedal felines Twilight did her best not to get involved with.
 
"Really feels like the place for a first date," she joked as she caught up with Luna, trying not to think about an odd, pony-griffin creature regarding her from a pillar across the dock.     
 
'The Lusty Hippogriff.' Silently reading the title of the backwater establishment Luna had brought her to from the decrepit sign sawing above served as a poor distraction. 

The chipped image of the skimpily dressed pony-avian hybrid on the rotting wood was even less endearing.
 
Can't imagine what Queen Novo would have to say about this place. She thought as she looked down at Luna.
 
"Well, isn't this place charming?" she offered, yet the disguised princess was not looking at her, but out across the docks as if searching for something that should not be there. "Everything okay?"
 
Looking for herself, Twilight was swiftly reminded that nothing here was the 'normal' she was accustomed to. Yeah, just like you, starting to feel like you fit in yet?

"Fine, Twilight, I assure you," Luna told her as she moved to the door of the tavern. "It just doesn't do well to linger in such places. Come, there's somepony we should meet."
 
One last glance over her shoulder turning up nothing but a few rowdy gnolls having a brawl on an upper walkway, Twilight followed Luna into the tavern. The reek of smoke, alcohol and a whole room full of rowdy, heated creatures struck her like a wall. There were just as many, if not more, creatures in here as there were in the streets above. Only, crammed into such a small space, between wooden card tables, the bar, and rotting seating booths, the craziness was amplified tenfold. It was like the underworld counterpart to Sugarcube Corner, though after her last experience at the Ponyville bakery she could forgo the comparison.      
 
I did not trash it nearly enough to make it look like this! She inwardly exclaimed as she tried to keep pace with Luna.
 
"Mind telling me who we’re looking for?" she called, ducking her head under a crooked banister before a pair of drunken ponies fell in front of her, forcing her to swiftly sidestep.   

"You speak as if it will be easy?" Luna called over the shouting as one of the ponies knocked to the floor was pounced upon by a foreclawed mare that proceeded to try and kiss his face off with a fanged muzzle.
 
Luna lifted a hoof away from the show, muzzle wrinkling in disgust. "I have a feeling that, in a place like this, she will be the one to find us."
 
"Well, that's helpful," Twilight grumbled with a roll of her eyes as the pair continued to sail through the turbulent crowd towards a more isolated back area.
 
If the smell near the door had been bad, then back here it was put to shame, so much so that Twilight’s muzzle scrunched at the stench and she covered her nostrils with a foreclaw. The wood the furniture was made from, and even the rotting walls, were almost green with mold and only the light of a few candles chased away the still gloom. It was enough even to make Luna's disguised form look as radiant as her natural beauty by comparison, and she guessed even she must look more princess-like being so clean in a place like this.
 
She's literally brought me to the rear end of the world, tell me this is not where the gateway to the dream realm actually is? The little princess in her head asked as Twilight finally spoke up. 
 
"You know this friend of yours really has great taste in living space." She'd even take the cave she'd slept in the Everfree forest over this squalor, that was at least until Luna's ears perked under her hood.  
 
Twilight paused, about to ask again, before from nowhere a dark blur slammed into Luna's side. The silver mare jumped back with the grace of a darting dragonfly, her cloak knocked free. Yet before either of the princesses could even make another move, their mysterious assailant tackled Luna, pinning her under a pair of dark purple hooves. 
 
"Princess Luna, I know that's you! You have a lot of nerve coming back here!" declared the cloaked stranger, leathery bat wings exploding from her sides as Twilight lowered herself, baring her fangs and snorting.    
 
"Get off her, now!" The force of her breath as she bellowed blew back the stranger’s hood, revealing the tufted ears and scarred face of a fanged mare, one eye blue, and one eye red. 
 
A bat pony, she's a thestral? Twilight's analytic mind noted swiftly, yet then came grinding to a halt. I never remembered thestrals having horn stubs on their foreheads like that!
  
 
 
 
 
> Chapter Two: Warp Runner
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Y–you... You're an alicorn?" Twilight stammered as the fanged mare was lost in a moment of confusion.

"What... D–don't you ever call me that!" she spat, bristling like an angry manticore and covering her horn stump with a wing.	

It was just enough time for Luna to get the upper hoof, and she twisted her body out of the other mare's grip. Like an elegant serpent, she corkscrewed back, wrapped a foreleg around one of the bat pony's and flipped her to the floor. Twilight leaned back, sure that anypony would have been outmatched by Luna's alicorn strength, yet this mare was not so simply bested. Like lightning, the bat pony struck out with a rear leg, a hoof to hoof technique that Twilight was sure boasted reminiscence to that of ancient zebra monks and warrior shamans. Luna staggered at the attack, allowing the mare to slip free.

"Okay, that's enough. Both of you stop it!" Twilight thrust a wing between the two mares. "I did not come all this way to see two grown mares fight like foals!"

The two mares looked at her oddly, Luna's ears folding flat to her mane as the stranger snorted and took a step back. "Well, I did not come all the way out here to be found by the likes of you!"

Luna's apparent shame at being scolded by the 'mare' she loved was washed away in seconds as she glared at the odd bat pony. "Lies, you know how hard it was for me to leave you. You would not go!"

"A thousand years ago, Luna! Where did you go all that time?" The stranger snarled, then pressed a forehoof to her chin. "Oh, yes, let me think... The world was not good enough for you, so you just had to try and take over!"     

"A mistake, I swear, a transgression I'm am still paying for with my every waking second," Luna retorted. Twilight mentally noted how she was almost starting to slip back into her old Equestrian dialect.

"Not a day goes by that I do not regret what I let the Nightmare do." Luna's ears folded and her head drooped. "For years since I punished myself for it... It took others to allow me to see reason."

She glanced at Twilight, and no matter how conflicted the dragoness felt, she was sure a part of her heart melted at the sad look.

Oh, she can express emotions like she's some kind of masterful portrait. I never blamed her for Nightmare Moon, she knows that, the little princess in Twilight's head reasoned. Seems whoever this 'friend' of hers is sees things differently.

Twilight draped a wing over Luna's back, ducking under a low banister and a set of grimy pots hanging from it to stand alongside the night princess. 

"Hey, she's not Nightmare Moon!" she declared bluntly, then looked down at the downtrodden princess. "The Luna I know is nothing like that monster."

By Celestia, that smile, so small yet so... Glancing at Luna, Twilight had to stop herself from getting lost in thought as the stranger pivoted and began to trot away with a flick of her dark red tail.  

"The mare I know had more similarities to her than you might think. You always were ambitious, Luna, you must like to hide it. The freedom-fighting warrior princess to those who really knew you, introverted second sister to Equestria to the masses." The bat pony glanced back. "Siren to those who loved you."  

"Neigh, thou lie and blaspheme thou..." Luna began to bellow, before cutting herself off as Twilight could not help but shoot her an odd look.

Blushing, the night princess went on quietly. "Never did I dare to fill the descriptions you offer, nor did I wish to leave you."

"Sure, just another one of those lost when you decided to become a psychopath." The stranger stomped a forehoof, ears pressed back as she drooped for a second. "I'd have at least thought I'd the first pony you'd come back for."

"Well, she's here now, isn't she? Forgive me for saying, but I think this is the last place anypony would come looking for you," Twilight interjected, stealing the bat pony's attention. 

The fanged mare rolled her eyes. "Did you ever consider that may be the point?" She fixed another glare on Luna. "But you knew just where to find me, even after so long."      

Twilight blinked, yet Luna did not say a word to the bat-winged mare as her attention went from the disguised night princess, up to the dragoness.

"Looking at you I can guess pretty easily why you're both here, Princess Twilight." Twilight felt a sudden spike of alarm, but one reassuring glance from Luna and the tension in her loosened, wings drooping. 

"Might I say, you're looking... well, rather impressive. Though, being a dragon around here may not seem as luxurious as back home in Equestria," the thestral went on.    

Twilight shook herself out of her stupor, then frowned. "So I've seen."

She glanced back at the mark Razorback had left in her tail before looking back at Luna and adding. "I have no idea who you are or how you know me... But I guess it's nice to meet you."

"The feeling would be mutual, that's if I was sure you were here just to see me," the bat pony responded.

"Do you still have the map?" Luna suddenly asked, seemingly reluctant to do so, and when the stranger's face dropped Twilight had a feeling she was about to understand why. 

"See, after all this time that's all you're really after." She kicked a forehoof at a half-broken glass sending it clattering down a boarded offset of stairs. "Yes, I still have it, right where you left it. It's pretty hard to get something out of my dreams, Luna!"

"Wait, wait, a map? She's got the map to this realm of dreams?" Twilight asked, looking between the two, before fixing her draconic eyes on the stranger. "I'm sorry, do you at least have a name?"

The bat pony looked at the dragoness coolly, as if staring down a beast with fangs, claws and the ability to breath fire was nothing. She seemed just about ready to open her mouth to introduce herself when, from the crowded tavern behind her, a new and unrecognizable, gruff voice called out.   

"Warp Runner!" The stranger's ears drooped and her head fell with a dry, bored sigh, before she turned to the door, pulling up her hood again.

Twilight cocked her head and blinked at the mare in confusion as Luna looked very unsure, magically re-summoning cloaks around the both of them. The thestral merely looked back over her shoulder and shrugged.	

"My friends call me Warp Runner." She said the word identifying the relationship as if it tasted foul, before adding with a huff, "And this could take a while."  

The pair of them only had a moment before the mangy old curtain separating the back room from the rest of the tavern was shoved aside and in barged a rather grizzled set of shabby barding clad creatures.

From what Twilight could make out only one of them was a pony, unicorn horn and all. Yet his hind paws and talon tipped forelegs, along with his lion tail suggested that he was not entirely equine. Another pair were griffins, glares made more menacing by one's clouded right eye and the other's metal beak. The largest of the group stood on her hind legs, had four limbs tipped with hooked claws, and a yellowed set of sharp teeth.

It had been years since Twilight had even laid eyes on a diamond dog, and never had she seen a female of the subterranean canine species outside of her books. Yet she could now confirm the shaggy brown-furred biped looked just as menacing as those depictions. Last of the group was another griffin, or that was at least as close as anything Twilight could compare her to.

"Did I hear the word friends there, lil-batty?" the lead creature cooed as the tapping of large talons on moldy wood signaled her advance.

"You flatter me, really, I'd never imagined I'd have friends before." She looked back over the others and the group seemed to force a laugh.

Most of her large, quadrupedal body was covered by a dark leather tunic, into which was sewn many pockets, bandoliers, and pouches. Many were filled with glass vials or jingled with coins. There were even two sheaths at her sides, each housing a set of serrated blades.

Is it just me or do those look like they're made of bones? Twilight wondered, studying the creature further. By Celestia, I really don't want to imagine where they came from.

Her sleek attire left all but her crimson wings, claws, tail and head up to the imagination. The former most were similar to how Twilight's had been only a week ago, half-covered with feathers and mostly composed of a rugged, leathery membrane. The flesh at their base, near the creature's shoulders, was red and scaly, as was her long, serpentine tail, spines running down its length to where it ended in a tuft of maroon fur. Her head was most peculiar of all, covered in a shaggy ruff of feathers and equipped with a muzzle full of sharp teeth that ultimately ended in a serrated beak. Her eyes were bright yellow, more cat-like than any griffin the princess had seen, with pupils as thin as a knife-edge. Behind them, a rugged crown of dark red feathers sat between a pair of curved, ram-like horns    

Goddesses, I've no issue with love across species but by Celestia! Twilight thought, trying not to stare as the little alicorn in her head chimed. I know, she's even more freaky than you, Twi!

"Oh, Gracie, I'm sure if you really wanted some friends all you'd have to do is ask." Warp Runner cocked her head with a smirk. "One mean look from you would have most folks just dying to follow you anywhere."  

Gracie? Twilight caught the name, as her thoughts chimed. No offense, but she's about the least graceful thing I've seen all day.

Meanwhile, Warp Runner looked around at the group behind the dragon-griffin hybrid, while Gracie snorted smoke. "Come on guys, if any of you are here because you're actually this lizard brain's friend, please speak up!"  

If nothing else, Twilight could not fault the bat pony's boldness. Warp Runner had the entire band of grizzled looking creatures glancing at each other awkwardly after just a few sentences.

"So, when are you planning on telling me who exactly this mare is?" she asked, nudging Luna's side with a wing. 

Luna did not budge as she muttered back. "I was hoping things would be less complicated. All you need to do is what I say and they'll be no need for trouble."

Twilight blinked. Why, what is she about to do this time? The more she wondered the more her draconic thoughts began to simmer. Oh, that's right, just stay behind the perfect pony princess, she'll keep you safe. Some dragoness you are!

"Watch that mouth of yours," Gracie growled, shooting her companions a dangerous look before glaring into Warp Runner's eyes. 

"Why, you and the Syndicate gonna come lock me up? I know for a fact that Eris won't do that," the bat pony responded, calm and unflinching as the hybrid growled. 

"The way I see it, you have two fangs and a flapping tongue. I got a whole mouth full and don't take smack from lackeys like you," she hissed, and when Warp Runner opened her muzzle to retort, the hybrid lifted a claw up to cut her off.

"And, as a matter of fact, I'm here because Eris ordered me to look for you." She jabbed a claw at the thestral's chest. "You failed to pay in on that collection job, you owe us."

The bat pony seemingly pretended to think about that for a second before responding. "Oh, you mean that job?" she cooed, then rubbed a forehoof against her chest.

"Well, you see I was never in the business of shaking down creatures just because you think they owe you money. Life's hard enough for them down here as it is."

Gracie's growl grew louder as smoke began to seep from her muzzle, while Warp Runner still failed to even budge.

"If the Syndicate says someone owes us, then they owe us, end of story. So are you gonna pay up or am I going to have to make you?" she pressed, and once again Warp Runner feigned thoughtfulness. 

"You, and I both know you don't want to do that," she stated casually, flicking a forehoof in the air. "Plus, you know the tavern rules, Syndicate's not allowed to start fights in here."

Gracie's eyes narrowed. "Like I care about that. I never got anything done by following the rules." The hybrid smirked. "Besides, what're you going to do, fuzzy ears? There's five of us and you're what... Gonna get your mysterious pals out there to help you out?"

She peered around the fanged mare. "That's right, I see you, don't you know it's rude to have hoods up indoors?" 

She gave a nod to the pony hybrid beside her and he proved his magic still worked as his horn lit up and telekinesis ripped down the pair's hoods.

Twilight instantly winced, waving a foreclaw awkwardly. Oh, what to say? Say something or say nothing, do what Luna says or do what the dragon side of me wants to do? Urgh, my brain is so messed up!

Gracie only looked at Twilight with confusion, it appeared as if she'd have burst out laughing if her attention wasn't swiftly diverted to Luna. There her expression turned into one of bafflement, while the disguised night princess's harsh glare caused everyone else in the group to fall silent and take a step back.

"By the great egg, Razorback was not kidding," the draconic griffin stated. "Ha, first time that dumb oaf's spoken a word of truth!"

Luna stiffened. "I'm sure that you've heard, yet I assure you that my business here has nothing to do with you," she declared, but Gracie snorted.  

The draconic griffin finally laughed. "Ha, you're kidding, right? You think you can just disappear for a thousand years and nobody’s gonna hold a grudge? Syndicate be damned you're my business."

She drew one of her bone blades in a flash, running her claws along its edge. "I bring you in and I'll be so rich I'll never have to set foot in this squalor again!"

She grinned, calling back to the others. "You ready for an early payday, guys?"

The group gave a series of low cheers, drawing weapons of their own as Gracie spread her leathery red wings. 

Twilight fidgeted, looking down at Luna unsurely. "Not to be an issue but I really don't think I'll be able to take anycreature on in here and not accidentally burn the place down."

"No one is fighting anyone, Twilight. We're leaving," Luna stated, moving to trot away.

"Oh no you're not, just because Razorback isn't tough enough for you don't mean I'll back down," Gracie threatened, yet before she could shove her way towards Luna, a dark blue foreleg was thrust between them. 	

"Gracie, you're too young to remember so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. But, like I said, you don't wanna do this," Warp Runner said calmly, and that seemed to be the last straw for the hybrid griffin. 

"Oh, I'll show you just what I wanna do!" She drew her second blade and leaped up with one beat of her leathery wings.

Dragoness or not, Twilight's eyes sealed shut as her forepaws covered her face. She's just going to slice her forehoof right off! Oh, Celestia what have I gotten myself into? 

Yet there was no scream of pain, or splattering of blood. There was only silence, and when Twilight dared open her eyes she saw only Gracie staring dumbstruck at Warp Runner's very intact foreleg. Her very, ghostly looking foreleg.     

The scaly hybrid blinked once in confusion before her snarl returned and she bared her fanged muzzle.

"Oh no, don't think you can go pulling all your dumb magical tricks on me!" she roared before rearing up to strike her full weight down on the bat pony.

Warp Runner's bored expression was the last thing to disappear as the bat pony faded away in a cloud of dark smoke.

A 'go incorporeal' spell, I thought that school of magic died out eons ago? Twilight thought as Gracie's claws struck the floor with a splintering crunch.

As if the two had somehow orchestrated the attack perfectly, the hybrid had just enough time to let out a frustrated growl before Luna's hind hooves struck at her through Warp Runner's smoky haze. Staggered, the scaly creature fell back as Luna rounded on her and struck out with one forehoof, relieving the smoke-snorting griffin of one of her bone blades.  

"What are you waiting for, an invitation!? Get them, you idiots!" Gracie called out to the others in her group, who'd seemed content with just watching apprehensively for the time being. 

Meanwhile, Luna kicked up, spinning in the air like a silver hurricane and striking out with another of her forehooves. Gracie let out a grunt as she shifted aside and twisted back to her feet, striking out at the disguised alicorn with her claws.

"Luna, look out!" Twilight called as she shoved her way forwards.

The sensation of something heavy landing atop her back and another thing wrapping around her neck gave the dragoness pause, however, and she had about a second to look down and see the wooden shaft of a spear below her chin as well as the two muscular brown arms either side of her neck.     

"Silver mask and a pretty bag of scales, boss is gonna give me... Uh, us a raze, yes, yes!" howled the diamond dog as she practically bear-hugged Twilight's neck, yanking the spear back and heaving the dragoness with her.

Twilight gasped, breath struggling to reach her lungs as she floundered. Smoke bubbled from her snout on instinct, but every time she tried to shake off her attacker the dog's claws ripped through her cloak and dug into her scales.

"That right you ride that drake, Poppy!" called the griffon-unicorn hybrid as his magic lit up again and before Twilight knew it, there was a rope snaking around her hind legs.

"Ha, This one's going down like a total fool!" chimed one of the scared griffins, as the one with the metal beak darted away from one of Luna's kicks.

"A little help here!"  Twilight choked out, catching the shocked look on Luna's face as the disguised alicorn turned.

The momentary break in Luna's focus was not something Gracie seemed about to ignore, however, and taking full advantage of her briefly diverted attention, the draconic griffin lunged.

"Look out!" Twilight called again, her wings surging open as she tried to bat off her canine assailant.

Luna was shoved aside, shattering a barstool before she was leaped upon by Gracie. The hybrid's face was a mask of exhilaration as she loomed over the downed silver mare triumphantly. 

"See, you ain't so tough, no idea why my family's always had such trouble with you," she growled.

Twilight's draconic mind was screaming before she knew it. Argh, this is ridiculous. You're a dragoness, stop floundering like a stupid foal and do something!

"Luna!" she roared, kicking up with her hind legs, snapping her bonds and throwing the dog perched atop her back over her head.  

The spear clattered to the ground as the large canine was tossed through the air and right into Gracie's side, the pair of them sent slamming through several old seating booths before coming to a stop in a pile of moldy old wood.  

Luna was on her hooves again in a flash, so too was she set upon by the metal beaked griffin as the remaining two thugs both rounded on Twilight.

The dragoness snorted smoke. "Back off I'm warning you, I really have no idea how to control this thing!" she warned, looking at one of her paws as she flexed her claws.

The scarred griffin and pony-avian hybrid looked at one another, shrugged, then leaped at her with claws and sword ready. Twilight did all she could to ignore her instinctive equine drive to flee, and her usual urge to just use magic to solve her problem. Instead, she flared a wing in the path of the two attackers, flicking the lavender membrane forward and stunning the two with a blast of air. The half-pony fell back, head swaying while the griffin recovered first. 

He was in the air before Twilight could even retract her wing, talons striking along the exposed membrane and cutting a series of painful gashes. Twilight winced at the sting, an uncontrollable grunt escaping between her bared teeth as, carried by his momentum, the griffin struck the side of her neck with all of his weight behind it. Twilight staggered, her still alien limbs floundering under her as she collapsed through another set of bar stools.

Miniature princesses dancing in her blurred vision, the dragoness looked up just in time to see the griffin land on her chest and press a claw to her throat.

"Scales ain't so thick on the underside, so how's about you just come along with us all nice and qui..." Before the avian-feline could finish a pair of silver hooves connected with his head and sent him tumbling down an old set of stairs.

"One would think that they'd have learned to speak less and just fight in the past millennium," Luna panted as she appeared beside Twilight.      

The dragoness shook the fluttering alicorns from her vision and managed to lock her swaying sight on Luna.

"One would think you'd explain why I'm suddenly being assaulted by thugs in a tavern halfway around the world!" she exclaimed, lashing out with her tail and unintentionally smacking the pony-griffin hybrid across the room over the head with it.  

Twilight winced as he fell into the mess of broken planks with a weary groan. "Urg, stupid body... He'll be okay, right?"

"As okay as any soul stuck out here I'm sure," Luna offered before reaching out a forehoof to assist the dragoness back to her paws. "Twilight, your wing, are you alright?"

The dragoness shifted the limb to inspect the gashes the griffin's claws had torn in it, wincing a little. "Nothing worse then I got running off into the Everfree forest."

Luna didn't look quite convinced of her companion's well being, but Twilight rolled her eyes. "You did say this trip may be dangerous, it's just a scratch, nothing a little healing spell won't fix."    

Luna closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I... I... You're right... And a time and a place will come for explanations too, I assure you," Luna assured, then sighed. "For I had hoped to simply come here, get what we needed, and leave without complication."

"Oh, if you think you can just wander into our town and get what you want, you got another thing coming," Gracie muttered as she rose from the pile of wood Twilight's toss had left her in, the stunned diamond dog groaning at her side with a paw to her snout.

Luna stepped in front of Twilight, her horn glowing as the scaly hybrid strode across the newly unconscious body of the metal beaked griffin.

"Things have changed in the last millennium, now the Syndicate's got me and..." There was a sharp whoosh and the hybrid's words trailed off as her words faded. "And... I... sleepy..."

She hit the floor with a hard thud to expose Warp Runner standing behind her, a wing neatly folded across her chest. There was a small silver blade on its edge, like the elegant wing blades Twilight had read about in ancient thestral culture, before their oaths as protectors of the night.	

Any other time she'd have squealed at the pure fact that she could lay eyes upon something of such historical significance. Right now, however, she wanted nothing more than to be back home in Ponyville with her old body and a whole month's worth of study material to work through.     

"Night soul poison, remember that one, Luna?" Warp Runner asked as she inspected the small blade on her wingtip. "Just enough to knock most creatures out cold, never to kill." 

Luna collected herself, running a forehoof through her messed up mane as she responded. "Old habits die hard, I see?"

Warp Runner chuckled as she folded her wing and stepped forward. "I just wanted to see if you were still all you used to be. Still a fighter, that's for sure." 

Luna didn't look impressed in the slightest as she peered down at the shorter mare. "Glad to know I still impress, though more assistance would have been appreciated."

"Oh, but you had your big dragoness to beat them all up. Looked like you had it all under control," she countered, glancing around Luna to address Twilight. "Not bad, your highness. Those guys are trained to take down dragons."

Despite herself, Twilight blushed. "W–well... I... I–I...Thanks, I guess." She scratched the back of her head with a foreclaw, before finally giving up and letting it flop back into the mass of broken wood under her.

"So she is the reason you're here then?" Warp Runner went on. "You did the thing again, didn't you?"

Luna seemed to battle so hard not to look awkward at those words, a rosy blush pooling in her cheeks. "I... I may have allowed my feelings to slip... A thousand years out of practice, you see."

"So all we ever did is even wasted, figures," Warp Runner said with a long sigh, and a look of regret spread across Luna's face in place of embarrassment.  

"Look, I really have no idea who you are or what's gone on between you and Luna, but she came halfway around the world to find you,  so will you help or not?" Twilight finally interrupted.

Warp Runner turned her attention to the dragoness, an unsure look plastered upon her face. "Once I'd have helped with whatever my princess asked, but now..." she trailed off, taking a deep breath.

"But it's not just our problem anymore, is it, Luna?" she asked, looking back at the disguised night princess as Luna sighed.

Twilight looked between the pair, wondering what she'd have to say next to get them to stop arguing before Luna finally spoke up.

"No, it's not, this is my mistake and I have to fix it." She tentatively reached out a forehoof and placed it on the bat pony's shoulder. "But I need your help. So yes, that is what I came all this way for."

Warp Runner glanced at Luna's outstretched forehoof and huffed. "At least you can still be honest."

Luna's awkward smile returned as Warp Runner glanced back at the band of unconscious thugs and finally added, "All I know for sure is that if you don't want to end up in a dungeon, we're going to have to go somewhere other than here."


 ********


"So this Syndicate, what? Can they just do whatever they want out here?" Twilight asked as she squeezed her way down the narrow, rocky tunnel after Luna and Warp Runner. 

"That pretty much sums them up, they got claws, hooves, and skies know what else in all kinds of places around here. Anything goes down this side of the Luna ocean and they'll know about it," Warp Runner elaborated as she led the way, startling glowing roaches and snake tailed rats as she did so. 

"Then how come I've never heard of them? I've read books on the far west before and all records stop at the east border, before the desert of glass," Twilight persisted, both curiosity and shame that she did not know everything pushing her to do so.

"All records of lands this far west are scarce in Equestria, the last trade routes to run here were lost over a millennia ago, so our current knowledge is limited," Luna explained, glancing back.  

"Yeah I can tell, you come all this way and expect it to be just how you left it," Warp Runner added and Luna frowned.

"What is that supposed to mean?" the disguised princess asked, and the bat pony rolled her eyes.

"You just prance around the streets looking like that and expect no one to notice, you may as well just be your real self," she stated, much to Luna's apparent irritation. 

"Well, do forgive me if I expected things to be a little more civilized. I thought the Syndicate destroyed. Sure, I was prepared for a few thugs but it seems there is no fixing things this far away from home," Luna huffed, holding her head so high it was a wonder her horn did not scrape the low ceiling.  

Warp Runner's eyes rolled again. "I see that sense of nobility hasn't gone anywhere. I forgot you're always right, Luna," she said, and the night princess frowned. "You're just lucky I'm in good with Riptide or you'd have to take a sum out of your treasury to fix up the tavern." 

Twilight had no idea what the thestral had said to the hippogriff running the bar, she was pretty sure the muttering she’d heard and the subtle passing of bits between the two wouldn't have been enough to pay for the damage, no matter the state they'd found the back room in. Nevertheless, after that, and a swift healing spell from Luna on her wounded wing, Warp Runner had been swift to lead them both deeper into the caverns below the skyport, the only place she was sure the Syndicate would never look. 

"And how was that our fault, those creeps attacked us?" the dragoness blurted, then pressed a claw to her muzzle. 

What did I tell you about speaking for me! The little princess in her head snapped at her draconic side. We don't just go around wrecking other's property!

"Still don't get it, do you? After that stunt back there, plus whatever you did with Razorback, the Syndicate's gonna be all over you." Warp Runner warned, looking at Luna in particular. "Eris is not going to let the fabled Silver Mask out of her claws." 

How many more monsters are going to come after us now before we can get this mess sorted out? Twilight wondered. Look on the bright side, it's like a real adventure, like Daring Do or Lord of the Golden Horseshoes.

Hmmm, maybe there'll be treasure... Lots of treasure. She almost had to smack herself to keep from drooling as Luna once again spoke up.

"Let them try, I'll put them down like I did last time. Whoever this Eris is, I'd like to see her take anything from me," the disguised night princess stated.

"Yeah, just the Luna I remember," Warp Runner observed casually. "Doesn't look like you have big sis to back you up this time though."  

You know I'd really like to know what Luna and Celestia neglected to put in their diary, Twilight wondered as she finally collected herself enough to ask. 

"A–and why do you remember her, what is it between you two?" That gave the bat pony pause, and for a split second Twilight swore she could see a look of sadness in the fanged mare's eyes.

"W–we were friends... A long time ago," Warp Runner told her, before swiftly marching on towards a large metal door at the end of the tunnel.  

She began to undo the multitude of locks, levers, and latches that sealed the door like one of the secure Canterlot vaults, muttering inaudibly as she did so.

"Warp Runner and I were... Well, it's a long story. I..." Luna began to say, but for the first time since Twilight had met the nightly mare, the princes of the night was silenced by a glare.

Warp Runner's red and blue eyes narrowed as she shifted a forehoof and the door shunted open.

Meanwhile, Luna huffed again. "What? It's not like you cared all this time either, I'll bet you didn't even keep any..."

The door swung to one side to reveal a small grotto, its right wall exposed to the sunlight below the cliff as the grimy cavern containing the tavern had been. A wooden walkway ran around its edge, supporting several tables, a charcoal fire, and a hammock. Glasses and vials littered the place, and hanging roots had been made into make-shift storage, from which hung food, drying cloaks and the odd weapon. If not for the gusty exposure to the sky beyond the cliff it may have been cozy, but one glance to the middle of the cavern and it was clear why such a gaping hole was necessary.

The skyship was smaller than most, for a crew of no more than five, Twilight guessed. Its aetheric balloon was as sleek and narrow as its slender hull suspended in the dock below, each of them flanked by wing-like sails that, even tied down as they were, rustled in the wind. The deck was polished blue wood, as was the cabin towards the ship's stern. Yet most striking of all was the vessel's deep blue coloration, decorated with stars, comets, and nebulae as if to perfectly blend into the night's sky. One last detail, positioned just behind the sharp silverpoint upon the ship's bow, caught Twilight's eye.	  

"Eternal Nightshine," Squinting, Twilight read out the name of the vessel, while at her side Luna stammered and Warp Runner looked back at her with a grin.  

"Y–you... You kept it?" the disguised alicorn managed to mutter as the bat pony nodded.

"Of course I did, the thing's worth more than most of Ironstal," she assured, moving over to stroke the ship's hull. "And for where you're gonna have to go, I think you'll need her."

At that, Twilight had to fight hard not to feel faint. A journey by airship? The little princess in her head was giddy with excitement. Dear Celestia, I really am living out an adventure novel!
> Chapter Three: Eternal Nightshine
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"She's beautiful, I'd only ever read about sky ships until we left Equestria a few years ago. But I've never come across anything like this," Twilight admired as she ran a wing tip across the smooth hull of the Nightshine. 

The midnight blue vessel seemed to hum with magical energy, and she was pretty sure that, were she still an alicorn, she'd have been able to pick up on exactly what spells were woven into its intricate structure. The strands of silver metal that twisted and wound around the ship like a glistening spider's web were, she guessed, the source of the enchantments, and the pattern was only visible now that she was so close.

"Well that's to be expected, you wouldn't have heard of a ship like this before," Warp Runner stated, trotting down the small set of wooden steps onto the lower walkway and pressing a forehoof to the hull.

"Designed to be fast, nimble and almost invisible from below. Chameleon enchantments, a shielding spell wave. You'll never find a more worthy ship," the bat pony elaborated, seeming to admire the ship like it was some long lost lover.

"And she's yours, you made her?" Twilight inquired, glancing back at the fanged mare.

Eyes still fixed on the mosaic of stars and nebula that adorned Nightshine's hull, Warp Runner snorted a laugh before shaking her head.  

"You really think I could afford to build a ship like this?" She glanced over at Twilight and the dragoness shrugged.

"Not to be rude, but there's an awful lot about you that I don't know," she responded and once again, Warp Runner chuckled.

"Touché, but no. Nightshine was built back in Canterlot by the finest magical engineers of the last age. Commissioned by the princess of the night herself," she went on, shooting a knowing glance back at Luna.   

Still disguised as Eclipse, the silver unicorn was lost for words, and it wasn't until a few moments later that she finally shook her head and stammered. 

"N–no quite, she was more a gift from my sister, yet..." She trailed off, eyes tearing up with happiness. "She looks just like she did the day Tia first surprised me with her," she added.

"Celestia had this built for you, why? What did you need a skyship for when you both have personal vessels in the Equestrian fleet?" Twilight asked Luna, yet her gaze was stolen from the shocked princess by Warp Runners snort.  

"Seriously?" the bat pony asked bluntly, before jabbing a forehoof at Luna. "Do you really know either of your princesses at all?"

"True, I have Midnight Dream and my sister has the Celestial Lance. But Tia gifted me Nightshine only a few years after our coronation. She said it would be good for me to get out and see more of the world on my own terms," Luna responded, and Warp Runner rolled her eyes. 

"You mean it would make it easier for the two of you to get out here and mess with things," she stated and the disguised alicorn blushed.

"Well, of course, you should know most of all that I was never one to just sit around and do nothing," Luna said as if Warp Runner should expect nothing less.

"So wait, you used to be a masked vigilante and an aethernaut?" Twilight exclaimed, and an awkward, adorable little smile appeared on Luna's muzzle as she responded.

"Well, technically they can just be the same thing if one has a ship?" If the princesses' humble look had not threatened to melt Twilight's heart like butter, she'd have pressed more on the topic.

I mean, she clearly did it all for the right reasons, right? The little princess in her thoughts reassured. Though if she didn't... Think of all the treasure she could have hidden away here!

"Hey, are you okay? I don't think a dragon's tongue is supposed to hang out all loose like that," Warp Runner asked apprehensively, and only then did Twilight realize she was drooling over the idea of treasure like a dog would a bone.  

"W–what... Yeah, I'm fine, totally fine!" she declared, before stammering awkwardly. "Just silly dragon thoughts, n–nothing I can't handle!"

Warp Runner raised an eyebrow, appearing very unconvinced as she observed. "Wow, that transformation of yours really has run deep."      

"All the more reason to get this issue corrected as fast as possible," Luna interjected, finally seeming to break free of her stupor long enough to fly down and land between the two of them. 

 Is it just me or does she seem even more uptight about it now that Warp Runner's around? Twilight wondered as the bat pony attempted to peer around Luna, before giving up with a shrug and marching back off up the steps towards her hammock. 

"Whatever you say. Either way, you're not going to want to go anywhere until tomorrow," the thestral responded.

Twilight glanced around at the rugged wall of hexagonal pillars around her, then at the hanging stalagmites that loomed above like fangs.

One night in a cave was enough for me. How does she live so comfortably all the way down here? she thought, ruffling her wings against a wave of cold wind from outside even as her draconic side rumbled. It's a cave, that's where dragons are supposed to live!

"Why exactly would we wait so long? Nightshine was designed to operate under the cover of nightfall, should we not just use it?" Luna declared and once again, Warp Runner shrugged.

"We? For one, I never said I was going anywhere with you," she began, stoking her campfire and righting her hammock then rummaging through her supplies as Luna walked up the stairs towards her. "Two, I'm not the only thestral the syndicate employs. Nightshine was designed so your own night guards could make it out, so that's why it's not a good idea."  

Luna snorted, rolling her shoulders and seeming to bite back a frustrated snort as she bit her bottom lip. Twilight took one last glance at the beautiful ship, before walking up the platform towards the pair, worn wood creaking under her draconic weight.

"Maybe she's right, waiting here for things to die down can't be too bad, right? At least we're not back up there with all the crazy creatures," the dragoness reasoned, gesturing to the cave roof and what she assumed were the streets of Ironstal above.

Luna planted her rear down on a set of crates as she seemed to consider that. Yet from the way her look softened, she appeared to be far more accepting of advice from Twilight over the somewhat blunt bat pony.

"Fine, one night here. Maybe I can talk some sense into you and get you to leave this awful place while I have the time," she retorted, shooting Warp Runner a challenging look. 

"You wouldn't have to ask me twice to get me to leave this dump now that the syndicate has it out for me too. But to go where you're going?" Warp Runner tapped a forehoof on the deck. "That's a whole other question altogether."  

From the way Luna's expression seemed to droop at those words, Twilight was sure the disguised alicorn was once again feeling remorseful.

By Celestia, what is it with these two!? she mentally growled, before correcting her thoughts. Okay, time for some research. They don't want to make what happened obvious, so I'll just have to figure it out on my own.

"You've been there before too, haven't you?" the dragoness asked, looking at Warp Runner as the bat pony began to pull ingredients from barrels and crates. 

Pausing for a moment, the fanged mare let out a sigh before trotting back to the fire in the middle of her makeshift camp, depositing the supplies into a metal pot hanging over the flames.

"Yes, I have, and I can tell you now that it's not somewhere anypony goes lightly. Dreams belong in our heads, not the other way around," she warned, tapping a forehoof against her temple. 

Yeah, because that makes me feel so much better about going there myself, Twilight's thoughts chimed anxiously as she glanced at the silver-coated mare sitting beside her. Please, say something reassuring again, Luna!

The night princess leaned forward, the emerald green eyes of her illusionary form shining in the light of the flames from the campfire as she seemed to reflect on the idea.

"All my life that place has affected me, like a shadow over me. Looming, judging, waiting for a moment it could allow its power to seep into anything I cared about," she began to say, yet more to herself than anypony else as she continued to stare at the fire. 

Then she sighed. "Dreams have been a reality for me for so long that I can hardly tell the difference anymore." 

There was no sad break in her voice, yet, even so, Twilight felt a pang of sympathy that the princess had to live with the fact that crazy things could happen at any moment she showed emotion. 

This transformation, the Tantabus? Even Nightmare Moon, how much of that was influenced by her connection to that place? the dragoness wondered. Was she really born with that power or did she seek it out? Is it even her fault?

Regardless, the dragoness wrapped a leathery wing over Luna's back, as across the fire, Warp Runner paused to regard the two of them, the first genuine look of care appearing on her face.

"You still have a way with words I see," the thestral observed, taking a wooden spoon in her mouth and starting to stir the contents of the pot. "All and all, I can't say you've changed too much."

"Yet still you say that as if it's a bad thing?" Luna inquired, but Warp Runner did not look up from her stew as she muttered around the spoon in her mouth.

"If you want the truth, I don't know either way. Good, bad. I'd have followed you anywhere once, but you really did some stupid things, Luna." Once again her expression fell, before Twilight chimed in.  

"But doesn't everypony make mistakes? I don't know if you've heard all the way out here in the middle of nowhere, but since the elements saved her she's been nothing but a blessing to Equestria," the dragoness insisted.

"And yet she still needed some magical rocks to save her in the first place," the bat pony was swift to point out, spitting out the spoon. "Do you know how worthless it made me feel when you ran away? How insignificant I felt when you declared that the world was not good enough for you?" she pressed, holding a forehoof to her chest.

Save for staring down at the chipped, wooden floor, Luna didn't respond. Meanwhile, Twilight's attention perked up once again.   

"So that really would make you over a thousand years old?" she asked, and rubbing her forehead, right where Twilight had seen the stump of her horn, the bat pony grumbled.

"A millennia and then some... Now years go by like days, a whole decade could just be a week out here, nothing has changed in centuries." She took the spoon in a forehoof and used it to tilt the contents of the stew pot into bowls.  

"The Syndicate rules everything with an iron hoof, keeps everyone down and in line, while I just linger," she went on, before finally adding. "All parts of things I'd rather forget."

At those words, she glanced at Luna, and for a split second, the two mares' eyes met. Twilight looked between them, before finally asking.

"So what really happened to you... If you don't mind me asking?" Warp Runner did not take her glare off Luna for a long moment before muttering.

"Nothing that matters now," she finished, dishing out her stew before she slid bowls over to each of them. "But you're going to need something to eat if you're going out there, so here." 

Twilight peered down her muzzle at the stuff, half expecting an eye to come bobbing to the surface of the steamy brown mixture of cabbage and carrots. She could have sworn she could even smell meat in the mix, and if she'd have been her normal pony self, she'd have had to fight not to throw up. Yet her dragon side merely scoffed at the meager offer, imagining the gemstones and minerals she would much rather her seek out and consume.

"Thanks," Luna declared to her right as she took the bowl in her magic and levitated it to her lips.   

Not so formal about drinking it right from the bowl out here, hm? Twilight observed, pretty sure she was starting to like this 'not-so princess-y' Luna. I mean with the way you eat hayburgers, can you really call anypony else messy, Twi?

"Don't mention it," Warp Runner responded, as Twilight's thoughts caused her to hide a blush with a wing.

"There's more where that came from on the fire if you need it. That's if you haven't forgotten how to cook, too," she stated, glancing at Luna before downing her stew in one go and hopping up into her hammock.

"First light should be the best time for you to leave, right before the morning market fleet comes in and the Syndicate switches over the guards," she added as she rolled onto her back and stared up at the cave roof from the hammock. 

Twilight looked at Luna as the disguised princess finished her stew and nodded. "I'll adhere to your judgment then," she responded.

Warp Runner chuckled before adding, "Oh, well that'll be a first." She lifted a forehoof to rub her broken horn. "Well, in that case, I think the best thing you can do for now is to get some sleep."


*******


Ugh, come on, Twilight. You slept in a cave just a week ago and that one didn't even have a mattress! the grumpy princess in Twilight's mind muttered as the dragoness rolled and fidgeted uncomfortably on a set of rags she'd thrown over the deck for herself. Yeah, that last one was far more character building.

Even so, there were far too many thoughts spinning around her head, so many loose ends, so many questions, most of which now revolved around Warp Runner. Seriously, I'll get to the bottom of what happened between her and Luna if it kills me.

As far as she could perceive, the two were very reluctant to speak to one another without encouragement. Neither had even brought up what they planned to do come morning, nor a word about Warp Runner's supposed map Luna had mentioned in the tavern. So finally Twilight slumped with a huff, smoke blasting from her nostrils as a low, draconic growl bubbled up from deep in her throat.  

I hate this body so much! she inwardly groaned as she practically melted into a scaly heap of spines and lavender wings atop her nest of rags. By Celestia, if I still had my magic I'd do everything in my power to at least feel comfortable!

"You're not actually going to sleep, are you?" Twilight's ears perked at the sound of Warp Runner's voice across the deck, and one of her eyes momentarily flashed open to catch the leathery winged mare still laying in her hammock, forehoof batting a ball against the ceiling in a continuous motion. 

"You know the night is my time, how could I sleep?" Luna responded, laying with her forehooves crossed in front of her.

"Because I'm guessing you've been awake for at least a whole day, if not more," Warp Runner reasoned, before groaning. "So much for adhering to my judgment."

"I have restrained my ambition to make for the sky as soon as possible, have I not? Am I not still here now as you advised?" Luna countered, but Warp Runner shrugged. 

"What really happened to you, Luna?" she asked, and at that question, Twilight's ears perked even more eagerly.

Yet there was only a sigh from the midnight mare. "You know if I were to tell you everything we would be here for years."

"Try me, I've got plenty of time. You were the mare I looked up to once. No pony would have dared even think about putting down others while the fabled Silver Mask and Solar Flare where around," Warm Runner mused, almost like a filly would about their comic book heroes, and there was a slight chuckle from Luna.  

"I would be lying if I said I did not miss the times we were free, my sister and I." There was another long pause before the alicorn added, "We were able to do what we wished with who we wished, when and where we wished, we felt like real ponies, not idols." 

"Well forgive me for saying, but you went ahead and made a pretty bad idol of yourself since we last spoke," Warp Runner declared.

"A shame I'll carry for the rest of my immortal life, you must understand," Luna responded, and once again there was a pause as the two mares seemed to consider what they'd missed.

"If you'd still been here back then I'd have knocked some sense into you. You shouldn't have cared so much what ponies thought of you. So what if Celestia was so high and mighty, you mattered more to me than any of those fools in Equestria." There was a ruffling of wings and the sound of magic sparking to life.

"Who did your sister have that was close to you as I was? Nopony and you..." Twilight caught the flash as Warp Runner's words trailed off and opened her eyes again to see that Luna had dropped her disguise.  

It was now the bat pony's turn to stammer speechlessly as Luna awkwardly covered a blush with her wing. "Still all you remember?"

"N–no, not exactly..." Warp Runner stammered before seeming to correct herself. "Your mane looks different."

"A boost in power, my sister would have you believe. For the citizens of Equestria have warmed to me like they never did over the millennia before," Luna elaborated, and Warp Runner caught the ball she was bouncing,

"I'm guessing that's why your dream magic's so out of check," she questioned, and once again Twilight's attention was on edge. "All that power's gonna be harder to contain."  

"It's a possibility. Twilight saved me from Nightmare Moon, saved me from my own self inflicted torment when the Tantabus threatened Equestria. I could not keep my admiration for her in check... Though my newfound strength may have been the reason the transformation overtook her so much, so fast," Luna proposed.

"I'll say, it changed her into a completely different species. I didn't know you had a thing for dragons." The sly tone the bat pony employed at that was unmistakable, and Luna snorted before stammering.

"I–I... I don't... You know as well as I how dreams can be manipulated... It's just a personification of the desire I have for strength and power in a partner, that's all," the night princess insisted.    

"Whatever you say, I know you at least had a thing for ponies that were taller then you," Warp Runner quipped.

"Neigh, thou hast no idea... I..." Luna's sudden shouting trailed off into a squeak. "I... Okay, perhaps, but any pony of such merit was so rare."

"Oh, the struggle of being a pure-born alicorn. Everypony literally has to look up to you," Warp Runner chimed, before adding. "But if you're really gonna try and fix this I guess I'm going to have to give you the map back, right?"  

"It would be necessary, yes," Luna responded and the bat pony sighed once again.

"Okay, we fall asleep and I'll let you in this once," she stated, before rolling over in her hammock and fixing Luna with a glare. "But you go in, get what you need, and leave, okay."

Luna nodded firmly, before tentatively reaching out with a wing and placing it on Warp Runner's shoulder. Despite herself, the thestral appeared to be resting the urge to melt at the soft touch of Luna's pinions as the alicorn assured.

"Thank you."

Warp Runner glanced away. "Well, either way, once it's out of my head the better. Maybe then I can sleep straight."  

"I have a spell that can help you sleep if you want to?" Luna offered, but the fanged mare shrugged her off.

"N–no... I've slept well enough with it for centuries, I'll be fine," she insisted, and once again, Luna nodded.

"Well, goodnight then," the night princess said, retracting her wing and curling down to fold it over her head.

"Goodnight," Warp Runner responded, and at that, there were no more words from the two as silence fell over the cave.


 ********


Twilight had no idea at what point she'd actually managed to fall asleep in the awkward position she'd been forced into in the cave. Now she stood in a large meadow of open grass, wildflowers swaying in the breeze around her, but she did not care. For here, unlike in the waking world, she did not have claws and scales, but hooves and a smooth, lavender coat. She could just run forever with her real legs, flap her feathery wings and use magic to her heart's content. Yet before she could even budge, a shadow passed over her and a soft voice spoke up.

"I noticed you were having trouble sleeping, so I helped you along," Luna declared as she landed beside Twilight in the meadow, majestic alicorn form glistening like diamonds as her ethereal mane billowed in the soft wind.

Yet at the words, Twilight blinked, before stammering. "Y–you knew I was awake?"

Luna smirked. "And that you also probably heard every word I and Warp Runner had to say." The larger alicorn chuckled. "Worry not, dear Twilight, your curiosity is more than justified and our conversation was hardly too private."  

Even as Luna offered a reassuring wink, Twilight could not help but stammer, an awkward blush pooling in her cheeks, no matter how much she attempted to will it away.

"I... I... I, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, I'm so sorry... It's just you came all this way to see her and well..." Luna pressed a wing tip to Twilight's muzzle, silencing the babbling mare before she began to trot on along a yellow brick pathway that materialized before them.

"Warp Runner is a friend of mine from long before my banishment. We met one time that myself and Celestia were out here for some freedom," she began to explain as the meadow around her fell away, scattering into a cloud of blue and red-winged butterflies.  

Twilight followed, several of the fluttering insects passing by and finding perches on her muzzle and wings. She shook them off with a ruffle and a snort, earning a small giggle form Luna as the alicorn glanced back playfully.  

Aaa! Even when it feels like I'm in my own body again she makes my insides feel like they're dancing! Twilight thought.

Even so, blush still burning on her cheeks, the lavender mare pressed on with her questions. "But if you've known her so long how come you've never mentioned her?"

At that, Luna's ears folded and her head drooped. "Just another part of my past I dared not go back and face after the Nightmare. Warp Runner locked me out of her dreams so I was worried she may not want to remember me. But true to what she says, she helped a lot in the days of ages past. When I allowed my dark feelings to overcome me I betrayed her as much as I did my sister."

Twilight blinked at the confession, just as the world around the two of them came alive with starlight. The winding path that led away from the meadow was now snaking its way through the night sky. Odd fireflies and glowing birds darted across the cosmos as comets whizzed by. Yet the lavender princess maintained her focus on what Luna was saying, her mind now clear of her draconic side, coming to all kinds of conclusions.

"You two must have been very close, I–I'm sorry things had to come between you," she admitted, pretty sure the two of them may have been a little more than close.

How else can somepony just become an alicorn, if not the same way I and Cadance did? Twilight wondered. Could Luna's feelings have done that to her?

"You could say that..." Luna began before she cut herself off, shook her head, and added. "But it's in the past, it does not matter."

Twilight cocked her head. Oh, I think it does, I'm not the only pony she's loved before, am I? she wondered. Then again, she's thousands of years old, what am I to expect?

"What does matter," Luna swiftly resumed, "Is that I promised you I'd teach you a thing or two about dream magic, if you're still interested."

Twilight perked up at the prospect. No matter how curious she was about Warp Runner, a unique form of magic such as Luna's was not something she was about to miss out on. Meanwhile, around the two of them, the stars became brighter, until the world was eventually transformed into an ethereal blue haze, similar to the reality in which Twilight knew a pony could become an alicorn. Only where she remembered there'd been screens displaying triumphant moments of her life, here there were only rows of doors, one side of them blue, and the opposite red. Every single one of them was chained shut, with a multitude of padlocks and bars sealing them. All save for one red door.  

"So this is how you do it? Like the time you had us help you with the Tantabus?" Twilight asked, and Luna nodded.

"On the surface, yes, though this is more of a behind-the-scenes view. I seldom bring ponies here," The night princess informed, and once again, it was hard for Twilight to not squee at the idea she was in a place of such magical significance.  

Luna's smirk returned as she glanced down at the shorter princess. "It's good to see that my misguided meddling has not dampened your curiosity."

"Ha, it'd take more than sprouting scales and some claws for me to not be interested in this. Your dream abilities are legendary," Twilight exclaimed, and at that, it was Luna's turn to hide a blush.	

"Yes, well, ponies will have to do without me this night, for we have work to do," she declared a second later before her horn flared and she opened the only unchained red door before her.

"You need to get that map, don't you?" Twilight asked, looking at each of the locked doors around them and swiftly connecting the dots. "This is Warp Runner's mind, right?"

"Of a sense, yes, though more of a converging point of her dreams. Come, stay close to me. I'll teach you what I can, but we must tread lightly. I promised her I would not interfere with anything more than what I needed," Luna elaborated.

Not that it looks like she can mess with anything, this place is locked up tighter than the Canterlot vaults, Twilight observed.

Nevertheless, the lavender mare nodded as the two of them made their way through the door and into a suddenly materializing set of winding stairs. The sudden drop caused her to stagger and she'd have ended up flat on her face if not for Luna's wing opening in her path.    

"The first rule of dream walking, reality is not what we perceive. Physics as you know it has no place here," the dark alicorn explained.

No physics? What, how can any place work without physics! Twilight's thoughts exclaimed, but she nodded to Luna nonetheless. Look on the bright side, think of all the interesting things that could occur with utterly different laws of nature.

"So what do I do if I end up falling upwards or something?" Twilight inquired as the two of them made their way down the winding staircase, surrounded by darkness. 

There were voices in the gloom, shadows darting around in the corner of her vision. She swore she could hear Warp Runner's name drift like a ghost caught in an ethereal wind. There were mentions of Luna, Nightmare Moon, even Celestia. 

"How could you think that... Where would you go?" whispered one voice as another responded.

"I stay here and they'll hunt you down because of what I did... They're monsters all of them... Need to be destroyed." Twilight's head snapped back as she thought she felt a claw tap her shoulder. 

"Oh, and you're the one who could rule them... Of course!" There was nothing behind her but darkness.

"Eyes on me, Twilight. Seldom does one look back in this realm and find themselves perceiving where they were before." The sound of Luna's voice as Twilight felt a wing on her shoulder called the mare back.

"I thought I heard voices, they were all around us," she admitted, but Luna didn't even so much as glance around.

"That you did, echoes, lost memories cast out in the void between dreams where they can be forgotten. It is best to ignore them so they can stay that way," Luna warned as the darkness around them seemed to break. 

Like a web of frozen lightning, twisting fingers of light cut through the pitch black, growing more and more in number until the darkness was replaced by golden sunshine and clear blue sky.

"But I heard your name and..." Twilight's words fell utterly flat as she glanced out at the vast landscape stretching out before her. "By Celestia."

The sun shared the sky with a pale-blue moon, both shining down on rolling hills of dark purple sand, broken by mountains of red crystal. Clouds the shape of bat-winged foals drifted overhead along with birds with feathers of red and blue. Below, where the sand gave way to a rocky labyrinth of ruins and maze-like walls, cracks and crevices shone with a baleful green light. Among them were broken statues, most of them depicting yet more thestrals, with one great bat pony standing at the center upon a jagged hill.

Forged from a shimmering black stone and ten times the size, the great statue of the bat-winged mare had one eye of brilliant sapphire and another of deep red-ruby. The long horn that protruded from under her mane was topped with a sphere of solid gold that glowed brilliantly in the light of both the moon and sun. Yet even that great monument was utterly put to shame by one far grander that loomed over the thing, an alicorn statue so vast that its feathery wings filled the alien sky.

Stars lingered under those wings like fireflies trapped in glass, yet the entire thing was cracked and broken. Huge chunks had crumbled away and it looked mere moments from a devastating collapse that would surely bury everything below it. Nevertheless, the second Twilight's eyes fell upon it, she was almost sent tumbling back from the stairs in awe.

"L–Luna, is that you?" she asked, gesturing to the monolithic alicorn with a wing tip. Luna did not even gaze up at the titanic statue made in her image as she nodded.

"One's personal dreamscape is often the truest reflection of themselves, providing it can be deciphered," she declared before reluctantly adding, "And never have I met a pony who had dreams like Warp Runner."