"This is my son, your nephew. I just fully gained custody and now you're telling me that I have to give him up. No, I will not lose out on being a mother a third time." Celestia said scowling at Luna.

"I'm sorry Tia, I really didn't mean to upset you with this," her ears flattened against her head, her form seemed to fade into the shadows, if not for the silver edges of her gothic styled dress. "I just felt you need to know, that these dreams are a sign of something worse to come.” the princess of the night spoke wearily considering that this was her nephew. If any other pony the two would agree to act swiftly and with extreme digression to resolve a threat of this magnitude. The two were followed by General Calypso, after Celestia had put the young colt to bed in her chamber not long ago.

"I'm not suggesting anything more than keeping a close eye on him. Something ominous is coming." The night goddess continued.

"What could you possibly mean by that?" Celestia asked raising an eyebrow at her sister. As soon as those words glided from her lips she got her answer, but not from her sister. A high pitch howl echoed through the hall slamming into the alicorns' ears. Both turned and bolted backed to the bedrooms. They tried desperately to open the door not realizing that it was sealed by magic. Celestia banged against the door like mad mare.

"Whoever you are, do not harm my child." she demanded. Meanwhile Luna took to the dream realm to see if there truly was an intruder within the castle. The images the night princess witnessed were of true horror. Using the magic of night itself, Luna tried to pass through the barrier to no avail.

"What?!" Luna exclaim in disbelief. She shook it off returning to her true form. Her beloved sun goddess was using every unlocking spell known to force the door open. She soon resorted to more powerful spells that were based on destruction. By now half the royal guards and a good portion of the castle staff had been awakened crowding the hall bringing Twilight along. With each strike and each unanswered reply from the other side, the more Celestia's frustration grew.

"Princess Celestia," the lavender unicorn beckoned to the goddess of daylight. Touching her arm gingerly, Celestia froze causing Twilight to wrench her hand away from her after receiving a jolt of extreme heat. Luna pulled the young mare back as they watched blue flames flickering off her fingers.

"Celestia," Twilight utters again being weary of saying something that could possibly set her off. "What's going on, did he get in trouble again?" She asked while her beloved guardian of dreams used her magic to treat the mare's wound. Celestia didn't answer, she just stood there glaring calmly at the impenetrable door before her.

"We don't know. We heard him scream not long after, Tia laid him down. And there is something keeping us from going inside. Not only that but, he is experiencing a living nightmare. Though I suspect that it is the cause of this barrier.

"Can't you help him, why haven't you done something to help? Is it because he's still upset about yesterday, or is it because he stayed up last night mad at Princess Celestia? And what does a living nightmare have to do with any of this? Is there a way to wake him, if not what will happen? Wait what happens when we do wake him, will he still..." the young mare rambled starting to pace back and forth in front of Luna. Her worried tone and expression did not help the Ruler of the Daystar either.

"Twilight-" Luna said firmly placing her hands on the unicorn's shoulder. Twilight gazed up into the dark blue eyes of her Luna and realizing what they were saying without saying a thing.

"Sorry. How does this living nightmare work?" Twilight asked genuinely curious.

"Well, a living nightmare is a nightmare in a semi-physical form," Luna began explaining. "Much like any nightmare, it starts off as a normal dream. Though with a living nightmare it starts off as a regular dream then goes into a life or death situation. Dreams in general can turn deadly in a heart beat if not careful. I've seen this only once in my lifetime, and it didn't end well."

The eruption of inferno from the other side of the door ended Luna's explanation. A cry only the princesses could hear caused Celestia to lose all patience. "Mommy... Luna... help me!" Celestia's horn glowed with a slight bluish tint hidden within the golden aura of her magic, her eyes glisten a haunting fluorescent azure and her hand pluses in the same aura her horn gave off.

"Princess, Tia!" The two whisper as they watch Celestia carefully.

General Calypso stood in the background with a slight smirk gracing his lips. He watched as his princess of the Sun, head ruler of this massive diarch place her magic encased hand on her door protected by a layered barrier of magic. Upon contract the barrier ripples for a minute or two before splintering then shattering along with the door itself. Waves of suffocating heat slammed into Celestia causing her to take a few steps back. Luna and Twilight came to her aid only to be brought to their knees within minutes of encountering the raging heat as it began to bake them from the inside out. The image before them shook them to the core, Celestia's bed that Solar Flare lay in was engulfed in flames, flames as black as tar, blue as the sky and hot as the gates of Tartarus. Although the bed was alight no real harm fell upon the foal, least they knew of.

"What in the name of Faust-" Celestia breathed as she watches in disbelief as her son is encased in a coffin of unholy flames. "No, not now - not like this!" She spoke with fear choking her voice. Casting all logic aside Celestia ran into the black hellfire that was her bedroom. Flames flicked and rolled around the entire bed not allowing anyone to get close to the child. Once she got close enough, she witness her son's face contorted in pain and fear, with hers ringing anew. Blood flowing from both of Sol's wrists had stained the satin sheets and pillow and to Celestia's horror a two inch crimson stain covers the young colt's chest right where his heart set.

A quiet storm raged inside the elder princess, while tears rolled down her cheeks. Masked within her madness of grief, whilst seen by everypony else, mainly Luna and Twilight, the Sun Goddess's luminescent rainbow mane flickered and whipped violently at her back transforming it into a mane of blue flames.

"Celestia please," Luna pleaded with her sister. "Don't let her win, your much stro-" she fell silent as the black flames were absorbed into her sister. Once it was all consumed, she placed her hands on Solar Flare's face and noticed that the fire inside had all but died and only a ember remained. A river of tears cascading down Celestia's face causing her flaming mane to ignite with the intensity of the star she commanded.

"Calypso! Find who ever did this, and bring them me!" A darkness flowed within the voice of the reigning Sun Goddess not of her own. It was not truly the words of Celestia, but that of her other self, one driven by a suppressed emotion; anger. Though Celestia, the benevolent, wise and patience princess rarely lost her cool only two beings have ever witness this.

"Y-Yes princess." His smile was gone and a somber mood feel over him, though he was still pleased with the dishevel and chaos that unfolded. He did an about face heading past a few castle staff that still wanted to know everything that developed with the young colt and his mother. Strolling down the corridors deep within the castle Calypso was flanked by two others wearing dark armor that resembles those who swore to protect Princess Luna. The the ponies walked in silence through hidden passages that led to dimly lit hallways and a seemingly old staircase which opened to long forgotten chamber room. A massive blazing fire was the only sound that blankets the room.

The three stopped in front of a row six figures draped in hooded cloaks. To the far left of the room stood a rusty iron cage. Inside a unidentified pony sat slump against the bars, while a plate of leftover greenery withered away.

"Have ye found 'im?" A deep voice calls cutting through the roar and crackling of the fire.

"We have," a pony beside Calypso responded. The pony sporting short neon blue mane continued on. "What would you have of us do?" She questioned.

"Nuthin fur now, though do keep de nightmares aflowin'. Til it serve as a reference of his place in de world." the voice says in a mocking tone. "Oh an' as fur lil miss darklin, keep an eye on her she will com in handy." With that they were dismissed.

The three retraced their steps up to the main castle out a side door and entered the staff quarters. None of the ponies there paid them no mind for most of them are resting. They passed four rooms, two kitchens and three and a half bathrooms, stopping in the hallway in front of a bust of the former queen of Equestria. Pushing the head of the bust back then to the side, the wall behind them slid back, revealing set of dimly lit stairs. After heading down the three entered a small room with two foals bound to each other in a chair and a young pony chained to the wall across from them.

"Please, let them go... I did everything you asked!" A pearl pony pleads to Calypso. Instead of answering her plea the war pony turned and walked off towards the exit.

Back within Celestia's bed chamber, Celestia sat next to her son weeping softly, her mane of an azure inferno now a smoldering dull blue, as she stroked his head murmuring quietly to herself. "I'm so sorry... this all my fault, I should've stayed."

"Tia this is not your fault. There was no way of knowing." Luna said firmly placing her hands on Celestia consoling her. Twilight just stood there close to the lunar princess, but on the other side Celestia with tears in her eyes as well racking her brain on how this could've happened. She looked over Sol's body as if she were a detective. His breathing was shallow, with little to no pulse. Examining the boy's arms first, she noticed that even though they were parallel to his body the streaks of blood flowing from those wounds were vertical. Deep claws like gashes ran from his forearm up to his wrists. Then there was imprint of something holding his feet down. Not to mention The more Twilight examines the colt's wounds, the more she realized that something was very wrong. She looked back at Celestia, still caressing the child's head, to comfort the mourning day star the only way she knew how, with science. Though before she could utter a word something caught her attention.

A twitch. But from where, or was that just me imagining things. Twilight thought to herself as she stared at body of the colt she been secretly growing attached to. The longer she stared at his unconscious form the more she thought she was going insane. Then came another twitch as well as deep breaths. Twilight spun towards the mourning Sun goddess and her comforting sister, the two did not know what was happening within the princess's room. A two syllable word that flew from Twilight's lips had not been heard from the purple unicorn since she was a filly herself.

"M-Mother," she called softly. Celestia responded with quietly with a "hmm." So Twilight called again a bit louder. "Mommy, look!" Both princesses shot their eyes up to the unicorn, who turned a shade darker, then followed her finger in the direction of Solar Flare. He shifted his body slightly, which caused him to groan in pain. The sisters inhaled sharply, completely taking aback with joy flooding their souls that the child breath life again.

"Mommy," two voices beckon for the Sun Goddess's attention as well as affection. One said it with doubt, not sure if it was allowed for them to use this form of personification. While the other said it with fear and a need for comforting. Placing a hand back on Sol's body and holding the other towards Twilight she simultaneously soothed and beckoned her children to her. For the first time in years the embodiment of the the celestial star governing the galaxy's light (or more importantly this planet's light) actually felt blessed to have her children by her side and safe. Any rage that was left within Celestia vanished as her mane of flames reverted back to a rainbow of astral lights. Tears of joy cascade down from both mother and daughter face from being lost for a long time and now finally reuniting with each other. A tight grasp of her thigh with the soft mumbling rubbing against her, gave the Sun Goddess quiet a jolt.

"M-Mo-Mommy said I could." The slumbering prince spoke. The three mares just stared at him for awhile cloaked in a curtain of relief. Soon Twilight felt herself dosing off in her mother's embrace. "Can I-"

"Of course." Celestia responded with kiss to the young mare's head and a smile. Using her magic Luna pulled a blanket from the closet and draped it over the three, before leaving and praying to Fausticorn that they have peaceful sleep.

Author's Note

Been out for a while. Now I'm back. Thanks for those who continue to read my work. I really appreciate it.