Arch of Shadows

Luna and Sombra spent the next month or so within the crystal palace, and had a tendency to avoid both Celestia and Solaria. The two together also had been working on composing on volume II, and much to Luna's delight, Sombra was eager to learn more about the Dreamscape.

“The Dreamscape, as the name implies, the world where the dreams of every dreaming thing come together as one.” Luna paced around their personal chamber as she talked, unable to stand in one place and give a 'proper' lecture.

“It is with great care that one explore it, for what creatures dream can range from simple everyday living, to horrendous nightmares capable of taking you with it.”

Sombra sat on a pillow, and hung onto every word. He raised a hoof, and like a teacher would address the class, Luna stopped pacing and turned towards Sombra.

“Questions?”

Sombra lowered his hoof and smiled deviously. “Is it also possible to view fantasies?”

Luna, for a brief moment, considered the implications of answering that question, but then reasoned she would get some of her own answered soon enough.

“Yes, you can in fact, visit the fantasies of specific creatures.”

Sombra raised his right hoof again, much to Luna's dismay. She had a feeling she knew what the next question would be.

“Yes, Sombra?”

“What is the strangest fantasy you have ever visited?” Sombra seemed genuinely curious concerning this.

Luna thought about it for a moment, as the competition was stiff for that one. There was that one time she visisted a pony's dream and found them hopping around in frozen chocolate milk.

They were enthralled, and when Luna ,disguised of course as a waffle, inquired as to the nature of the dream, the pony swore that they would create a frozen milk treat that would go great with toasted waffles.

Needless to say, Luna hiked it before the pony got any strange ideas. No need for her avatar to have to resort to violence to keep from being eaten.

Next was a dragon's dream, where she found herself in a room filled with gems, crystals, and stacks upon stacks of griffin and pony slaves.

They were all stacked atop each other, in chains of course, and looked rather miserable. The dragon, however, beamed at the thought, and declared that each and every one of them pleasure her till the gem supply ran out.

Luna did not even want to know more about that one, so she hastily fled to another dream. The next one, Celestia's...

Luna cringed, her wings retracted to cover her face, and the princes felt a very deep blush come on. No, for Celestia's sake, she could not divulge that one to Sombra.

Sombra did not miss this physical gesturing and leaned forward with wide eyes. Had it not been for the fact that Luna was trying to hide her face, she might would have commented on how adorable curious Sombra looked.

“Err, the strangest one involves a dragon's horde.” She shook her head in an attempt to get Celestia out of her head, the images attempting to burn themselves back into her memory.

“A dragon's horde, is that it?” Sombra leaned back in disappointment. “I thought it would be something more scandalous, like Celestia fantasizing about your father or something.”

Luna opened her wings and stomped a hoof forward in a fit of anger. “Do not be ridiculous! Wherever did you get such a thing from?”

Sombra burst out laughing, holding his sides the best he could while rolling back onto the floor, kicking his hind hooves in the air in a fit of hysteria.

Luna would have went over and demanded to know what was so funny, but she caught herself before doing anything so rash. Sombra had healed considerably since his stripping, but there was no need to start breaking things again.

There was no telling how fast they would heal this time.

“Are you done?” Luna impatiently waited for Sombra to compose himself. When he finally caught himself, he wiped a tear from his eye and grinned wide.

“Celestia had to sleep too when she took care of me shortly after my fight with your mother. And besides, your reaction suggested it had something to do with your family, and I doubt you have ever invaded your mother's dreams.”

That last bit was not true, but Luna reasoned it would be better for Sombra to think that she had not paid her own mother a nightly visit.

“Well, anyways, the dragon horde had sex slaves of griffin and pony origin, with a room filled with gems.”

“Presumably payment?”

Sombra snickered, but Luna was unamused by the joke.

“As food.” Luna then tapped her hooves to express that it was time to switch topics.

“Alright, now it is your turn, jestar king.” Luna sneered as she switched places with a grumbling Sombra, whom likely did not enjoy the label.

Sombra, unlike Luna, stood in a single place while he began his lecture. He cleared his throat dramatically, as if about to begin some sort of speech.

“As you aware of by now, my family has been researching dark magic for a considerable amount of time. With its power, crystal unicorns were able to stave off changeling hordes and barbarian Ursas for generations.”

Luna chuckled, prompting a glare from Sombra. “What is so funny about that?”

“Crystal unicorns, really?” Luna eyed Sombra with much scrutiny. “I will believe it when I see it.”

Sombra gestured to his body with a wave of his hooves. Luna was not convinced.

“Mother stripped you of your wings, not your horn.”

Sombra rolled his eyes, and then carried on. Luna could tell that she would not be enjoying this as much as Sombra apparently had.

“Anyways, dark magic cannot be absorbed by changelings, as it is fueled by fear, hatred, jealousy, and things of that sort. Regular magic can be charged with emotions too, but this sort of polar magic takes on the actual affinity of the emotions charged into it.”

Luna raised a hoof, mimicking Sombra in more than just stance. Sombra tipped his ruby horn towards Luna for her to ask her question.

“If there is dark magic, then there has to be light magic fueled by things like love and friendship, right?” Luna confidently felt that she had hit the nail on the head.

Sombra refuted that notion almost as soon as she got the words out of her mouth. “No, friendship is not an emotion, it is a state of a relationship. But yes, love. The Crystal Heart is an example of a light magic relic.”

“Do you have any samples of dark magic?” Luna eyed Sombra, expecting him to decline.

Again, Sombra surprised her and, after a quick scan of the room, nodded. He dashed over to his bed, slightly renovated with two head pillows (yes, they make a distinction for a reason) instead of one.

He pulled from underneath them a pendant of interesting design.

Its top bore the image of a winged unicorn, wings outstretched, colored red and black, with fierce red eyes and a long horn. The grey head hardly stood out, with the red, rhombus shaped gem ominously glowing underneath.

All of this decoration was attached by a metal triangle with two strings on either side, presumably to be used for wear by the user.

“Nice jewelry, but what has that got to do with dark magic?” Luna titled her head as Sombra hovered it above his head, a smile evident on his face.

“My dear Luna, this here is the Alicorn Amulet, a magical pendent created for the sole purpose of being a more portable enhancement than the Crystal Heart.” Sombra waved it around as if it were a sort of triumph, his smile growing wider.

“On its own, it does not hold very much power, but when combined with the dark emotions of its wearer, it can grant incredible power, at the price of control.”

“Control?” Luna stood up, eyeing the pendent with some levels of doubt. “What kind of control?”

“The longer you use it, the more powerful your dark magic, and as a direct proportion, your darker ego, gets. There is a grim-dark story that explains why I have it, and why it is only now that you have come to see it, but I would rather not go into that.”

Sombra hid the pendent in a flash of red light, the gleam in his eye fading. He seemed slightly more downcast now that his thoughts lingered on whatever that event was.

Though very curious, Luna decided not to press. “Moving on, how about we do a game of truth or dare?”

Sombra perked up all of a sudden and trotted off to drag anther seat pillow. Once retrieved, he placed it a few feet in front of Luna, sat down, and smiled.

“I warn you, my dares can be very off-putting.”

Luna giggled, no doubt assuming that Sombra meant something rather disgusting in nature by that. “I will have to keep that in mind. Alright, you first: truth or dare?”

“Dare.” There was no hesitation, not even a moment of thought in Sombra's decision. Luna grinned, having the perfect dare in mind.

“I dare you to beat me in a wrestling match.” Luna smiled wider, but Sombra frowned and groaned, putting a hoof to his horn.

“Only if we both agree that no magic is to be involved.” Sombra narrowed his eyes, a thought coming to mind. “What made you choose that one?”

Luna lightly blushed, though for reasons beyond her grasp the question seemed to reverberate in her own head. Why did she choose that?

“The apple does not fall far from the tree?” It was more of a question than an answer, but Sombra seemed to accept it.

“Right, though you do realize that your parents supposedly fell in love while trading blows at the school yard?” Sombra did not seem perturbed by this, but much rather, he seemed to be trying to confirm some suspicion.

“You can learn a lot about a pony by fighting with them.” Luna used her forehooves to slide backwards ever so slightly, unsure of her own response to the question.

“Besides, we are not going to be fighting like that again. Just a playful wrestling match.”

“Are we not a little old for that?” Sombra took a step closer, almost threateningly. “But if you insist, I must warn you, I will not go easy on you just because you are a mare.”

Luna grinned, and then shot to her hooves. She would have had it no other way.

Before Sombra could get to his hooves, Luna tackled the stallion backwards. Rather than pinning him tot he ground, momentum sent them rolling until Sombra thrust his hind hooves into Luna's belly.

The inevitable buck sent Luna flying through the air, though it was no trouble as she used her wings to catch herself before ramming into the ceiling.

Dropping back down, Luna managed to land atop of Sombra once again, pinning his back to the floor and his rear hooves uselessly flailing in the air. Taking a seat, she snickered in victory.

Sombra, intent on wiping that snicker from her face, took his left forehoof and smacked Luna straight in the jaw, sending her sprawling backwards.

Startled, as she thought she had pinned him entirely, Luna did not get back to her hooves in time before Sombra was atop of her, pinning her wings down with his forehooves.

He pressed himself forward, using his body weight to prevent Luna from using her upper body strength from hurling him off.

Try as she may, she could not get any of her hooves underneath him, and attempting to bat him aside did little good either.

After a few minutes of struggling, Luna finally surrendered, sighing at her lost victory. Sombra playfully flicked a serpentine tongue across Luna's muzzle with a wide grin.

“Truth or dare?”

Luna thought carefully about her position. Perhaps with a few more minutes she could find a way to throw Sombra off without magic, but then again, perhaps not.

Considering Sombra's earlier warning and their rather awkward positioning, Luna decided it was better to be safe than sorry.

“Truth.”

Sombra frowned, though playfully nicked at her ear with one of his canines. “Good choice. Now then, if I were to ask you to be my queen right now, what would you answer?”

Luna's breath got caught in her throat, and in seconds her heart rate increased. Her body tensed, her mind reeling with the likely reaction to either answer. Wanting to be sure what she was getting herself into, Luna made eye contact with the crystal pony.

“Are you asking what I think you are asking?”

Sombra bit his lip, and eased released Luna from his grip. Luna did not immediately flee to the comfort of her side of the room, as she did not want to give the wrong impression.

“What do you think I am asking other than what I just asked?” Sombra took a few steps away from Luna, lowering the front of his body as if he were about to pounce again.

“I think you are being rather serious...” Luna rose to her hooves and took a few steps towards Sombra, once again closing the distance between the two to a mere three feet.

“If that is the case, then, my answer would be...”

A bright light flooded Twilight's vision as the dream abruptly cut off, sending both her and Luna sitting upright in the real world. It was late in the afternoon, just short of dusk, and a brilliant light seemed to be receding from an unknown source.

“I thought only you could wake us up?” Twilight groggily held her head, a pounding headache coming on from the sudden interruption.

Luna rose, hardly fazed at all, and looked towards the stain glassed windows of the throne room. “I figured it important that we investigate whatever caused that light.”

As if right on cue, the front door burst open, and a royal guard member dashed down the hallway towards Twilight and Luna. The earth pony stood stiffly at attention once he reached the princesses, only relaxing when Luna nodded in acknowledgment.

“Princess Luna, there is trouble in the Equestria! Magical portals are opening all over the kingdom, and the citizens are becoming restless!”

“Is that so?” Luna perked her ears forward and plastered a serious look on her face. “Perhaps the strange visions have something to do with this?”

“Maybe, but it is almost like the entire northern portion of the country is getting out of hoof! As far south as Canterlot!”

Although still eager to know Luna's answer to Sombra's question, Twilight concluded that this new issue took precedence. “We have to do something! Where is Princess Celestia at this moment?”

“We were keeping an eye on the train, but it suddenly ran into one of those magical fields. Reports relay that it led directly to the Empire, though we have yet to ascertain what opened these portals in the first place.”

The guard seemed flustered at this point, perhaps in part because of Luna's unnerving calm in the face of this issue.

“I am guessing that the riot situation in Canterlot has only worsened as a result of this?” Luna revealed none of the concern that she deeply felt, at least in part because she did not want it to come off as panic.

The nightmares she could fix, but this new space-time phenomenon flew with a different set of wings.

The royal guard seemed to give a small smile at the mention of the riots. "Discord dealt with that hours ago, and has since been spotted lounging in the gardens. We have kept a very close eye on him"

“Do you think he is behind this?” Twilight had her reasons for suspecting Discord, as no doubt the chaos caused by such an unnatural event would delight the spirit of disharmony.

“The remaining Elements have already been called from their respective locations, just to be on the safe side,” the guard answered. “We presume that you all are prepared for a situation like this?”

“Of course!” Luna broke her stoic demeanor for a more dramatic, meaningful one, gesturing towards the door with a hoof in the air. “Bring them in! In the meantime, declare a national emergency until we can get this all sorted out!”

The guard saluted, bowed, and then dashed back the way he came.

Twilight look at Luna inquisitively, recalling that the Elements themselves were back at the Tree of Harmony, all the way in Everfree forest. “Uh, Luna, you do realize...”

“We are prepared to deal with Discord,” Luna pointed out, “If it is him, then his friendship with Fluttershy should reign him in. If not, then we will have to borrow the Elements from the Tree again.”

“But...” Twilight started till Luna stamped a hoof to the floor.

“Why wait? I shall call him at once!” Luna shouted, following up with a by now familiar chant, “Discord, show yourself!”

Right on cue, as if listening in the entire time Discord replied from somewhere in the castle, “I am in the banquet room!”

Luna and Twilight exchanged looks before trotting down the hall and through the throne room doors.

The dining hall, sometimes referred to as the banquet room, was a very large eating area reserved for guests of the princesses. Additionally, it held a large rectangular table, though it only had corresponding seating arrangements for a few dozen occupants.

Discord initially was nowhere to be seen, and Luna was tempted to call for him again when grey smoke burst from the center area of the table, with Discord standing dramatically in his first statue pose.

Clearing his throat, it seemed as if he was about to sing, but using the Canterlot Voice Luna cut him off before he could get the first note out. “Are you behind all of this chaos, Discord? Answer me!”

With her Canterlot voice in full effect, even Discord had to leave his dramatic pose and take her seriously. “I don't know what you are talking about."

Hardly had the words left his mouth did the remainder of the Element Bearers arrive.

First, a rainbow maned, blue toned pegasus, followed by an orange mare with a brown hat, flanked by a bouncing pink earth pony and a yellow pegasus with wide eyes. Bringing up the rear was a white unicorn with purple hair, who's entry brought the door to a close by the guards.

“Discord!” Rainbow Dash zoomed towards Discord, intent on tackling the draconequus. “What are you up to?”

Discord ducked, narrowly dodging the Element of Loyalty, causing her to zoom past his head and swerve in order to avoid smacking into Twilight.

Discord's reply was simple and to the point. “I didn't do anything.”

“Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie I am glad that you could join us.” Luna calmly greeted the ponies before turning back to Discord with a suspicious gaze. Discord shrugged as the newcomers joined Twilight on her side of the table.

“Now now, what is all this nonsense about me doing something?” Discord hardly seemed uncomfortable, despite Dash hovering near his head, hooves at the read as if she were about to attack him again within a moment's notice.

“Portals have opened up everywhere, wrecking havoc on the unsuspecting!” Luna pointed an accusing hoof at Discord for emphasis on her next statement. “Honestly, it sounds like something you would do for kicks.”

“Sounds like the same spell used to make the Crystal Empire do a vanishing act,” Discord offered, surprising the assembly against him, “I am not behind it though.”

“Oh yeah?” Dash challenged, clearly not convinced, “Prove it.”

Discord dully looked towards Dash with some clear signs of contempt. “Frankly, you lot are not in the position to demand anything from me. If you do not believe me, then turn me back to stone, and see that all does not return to normal.”

“Oh no, that's quite drastic,” Fluttershy piped up, her soft voice oddly enough cutting through the tension “I believe you.”

“Even if he is telling the truth, we are kind of stuck up a creek here." Applejack removed her hat, placing it over her chest in thought. “We can't force him to do anything, and he might not have the power to stop the crazy.”

"Crazy is right!” Rarity pitched in with a dramatic, ponified version of Discord's earlier table-top pose, “Where there is chaos and misunderstanding, the Spirit of Chaos is near!”

Unamused, Discord decided it was time to more directly get the ponies off of his case. “I'll have to remember that one of these days. Instead of pestering me about whether I did this or not, why not just ask me to reverse it, if I could?”

When no pony responded, Discord cracked a smile, and then snapped his fingers.

“There, it should all be better, if it were my doing. One day, I shall have a party cannon to shoot the egg that will appear on your faces.”

Twilight dared take a peek through one of the unstained glass windows; not shockingly, dragons, griffins, and all manner of creature till ran rampant throughout Canterlot.

“Well, we can assume it was not Discord,” Fluttershy concluded once she saw Twilight's sunken face.

Dash, on the other hand, folded her arms in denial of that conclusion. “Maybe he faked using his magic to try to fix it, or he might have made it worse.”

In the middle of all of this, Luna was contemplating. If Discord indeed had not caused the disturbance, then what did? And more importantly, how could she send the group off to fix it so that she could deal with the dream visions?

Luna desperately looked amongst the group for anything that might give her a cause and reason to send the group off.

Her ears stood up on end as she noticed the absence of a certain faithful assistant.

“Where is the baby dragon?”

“What do you mean?” Twilight raised an eyebrow, having not considered his absence as an issue. “You mean Spike? He is back in Ponyville I bet. What does that have to do with anything?”

Putting on a grave expression, Luna pressed further on the otherwise trivial issue.

“It has to do with everything! You must go now to make sure he is fine.”

Discord shook his head, suddenly slithering over to Twilight. He slunk just behind her wings, pointing out, “I believe it is a little late, as this light show is likely to end soon.”

No sooner had they said that did the flashing outside stop; Luna gave a steely look to Discord. “Why didn't you just say that? That would have saved us a lot of time!” Now for sure she would need to find another excuse for sending them off.

“What?” Twilight's annoyance at Discord's proximity caused her to flap her wings in an attempt to shoo him away.

It was ineffective, and Discord merely transformed into an exaggerated detective's hat atop Twilight's head.

“I had a little chat with the denizens of Canterlot, and it seems that they have noticed a great decrease in the number of dragon sightings throughout Equestria."

“But most dragons live at least an ocean away anyways,” Fluttershy pointed out, “How could they be behind this?”

“Simple,” Luna planted her hooves firmly on the wooden table, taking a seat at one of the head ends of the table. “Draconia, in light of these strange events, has likely called many dragons back to their homeland.”

“But Spike was born here!” Twilight seemed to be catching on that this was more of a distraction than anything else. “Why would they take him too?”

“Twilight, the only reason your defense would make sense is if Spike were related to me and Celestia,” A few bubbles emerged from the detective hat, Discord snickering all the while.

“By investigation, Celestia would not give me the time of the night for such an endeavor, so obviously he had to be born to ordinary dragons, who migrate to and fro during their seasons.”

Another set of bubbles from the talking hat. “Now, if dragons have always had some connection to Equestria, what do you think they are doing when they migrate?”

Applejack was the first to guess. “Surveying the land?”

Discord blew false confetti from his hat-like self. “Oh please, Equestria is not that hard to get a map to. Anyways, they are either, by tradition, mating over here or laying their eggs.

If it is the former, then someone stuck around too long, and Celestia conveniently got her hooves on it.

If it is the latter, then obviously she 'borrowed' some of the eggs for the applicants of her unicorn school to forcibly hatch.”

“Sounds kind of strange when you put it that way,” Pinkie had been oddly quiet much of this time, but she nonetheless had to interject here. “Why would dragons fly all the way to another country just to lay their eggs? That's silly!”

Luna decided to take the situation a little more seriously, for the sake of moving along the discussion. "A recall is a serious diplomatic issue that needs to be immediately assessed, and not just for Equestria either.”

“Come to think of it, Gilda always did mention that dragons and griffons were on razor edges,” Dash added, still hovering in place long after Discord had left, “So many dragons being sent back to their homeland is bound to cause the griffons to suspect the worst.”

“As they should,” Luna declared, “And as shall we! Issues with the nightmares will have to wait; I am going to call a summit between Draconia, Griffia, and Equestria to discuss the nature of what is going on.

In the meantime, you six should continue to investigate. Discord, you are sticking with me.”

Perfect, now she could send the Elements off to investigate the nightmares, she could solve the problem right here in the palace while waiting for the diplomats, and she can be the one to sort through all of this.

Maybe this would not all be a bad thing. Luna felt that she could really use moments like these to put herself more on level with Celestia in the views of the world.

Twilight's new hat promptly exploded in a purple poof upon Luna's declaration, leaving Discord sitting atop Twilight's head, leaving just enough space to keep Twilight's horn clear.

“And what am I there for? Certainly they will blame me for the events!”

Luna frowned, not in the mood for resistance from anyone to her hastily crafted method for dealing with the situation. “And so they might. However, at the same time, I would rather they suspect you than to bring any flak to Celestia and myself.”

Discord did not care in the least for Luna's temperament, much less her preference. “Why would there be any flak to you two? After all, you are the rulers of the most powerful country in the world, why would they think you are trying to weaponize teleportation techniques?”

Luna rolled her eyes, though scrutinized the inquisitive look that the Mane Six were giving her. “My point, Discord I would rather them suspect that it was a random event than that it was a purposed attempt to test something that could be a threat to them.

No creature likes to think itself cornered, and I don't want them feeling that way.”

“Yet, you bring me,” Discord continues, apparently trying to get a point across, “You do realize that Griffia and Draconia are not aware that I and Celestia are on speaking terms?”

Luna did not have an immediate counter for that point, so she took a pause to assess her next answer.

“Well, your presence might lighten the mood, at least. They might not be into chocolate rain, but maybe being able to talk to you directly might can ease their fears.”

“Talking to Discord easing fears?” Dash skeptically repeated, “This is Discord we are talking about here.”

“Oh come now, give him some credit,” Pinkie pointed out, “If he can't bring a smile when he wants to, then Luna might as well send Twilight to disarm them.”

“Another alicorn will not be welcome news to them,” Rarity spoke up, “I mean, we are talking about other nations who might feel threatened the stronger that we get.”

Having had enough of the conversation, Luna clopped her hooves onto the table, bringing all attention back to her. “It is decided then that, as I said earlier, I and Discord will go to the summit; you six focus on the nightmares.”

Discord reluctantly agreed, and with that, discussion of the issue was over. However, before another move could be made, the guard from earlier rushed into the banquet hall ran directly up to Luna's back.

He did not even wait to be acknowledged this time before delivering his report. “Princess Luna, we have a problem! Draconia and Griffia are demanding an immediate summit right here in Canterlot!”

Luna turned around, slightly startled at the guard's lack of tact this go round. She decided to excuse it due to the nature of the report. Good, I was just about to call one. How long until they arrive?”

"A few minutes maybe?" The guard stoically watched on as Luna's mouth became noodle-shaped, her left eye twitching and ears pointed outwards from her head.

He took that as a sign of being dismissed, and hastily left the room. Luna, as angry as she was about yet another interruption, knew that she needed to contain herself, lest she draw unwelcome questions about her reaction.

Canterlot was practically in the center of Equestria. If they actually got here so fast, then that meant the portals must have opened not just in Equestria, but in their kingdoms as well.

This was not just a logistical nightmare for Equestria, it was a matter of global stability now.

And she was the one who was going to have to convince Griffia and Draconia that this was not some attempt by Equestria at attacking them

"Twilight, escort your friends out of the palace." Luna spoke slowly, her body language attempting to revert to a more neutral expression. "It seems that the meeting will take place here, much sooner than I expected.

Not much time passed between the departure of the elements and the arrival of the two diplomats from Griffia and Draconia. Much to Luna's surprise, these were not just ordinary diplomats; these were the actual heads of the two states.

How fortunate it had been that she and Twilight had not been sent halfway across the world.

Once the two had seated themselves on opposite ends of the table from each other but equidistant from Luna, Luna noticed that Discord once again stood atop the table, though this time he was at the center of the triangle formed by the rulers' seating arrangement.

Luna shifted uncomfortably in her seat at the head of the table. A serpentine dragon lay coiled on her left, and a scowling griffin was on her right. In front of them was Discord, who was trying his best to ease the tension.

“The story of how I became obsessed with chocolate milk rain really is a pun." Here Discord gestured whimsically with his paw. "Back in the day, many a stallion would refer to their special excretions as rain. Needless to say, other creatures picked up the phrase for the white stuff.

Well, I put a twist on it and instead had it rain chocolate rain; they all freaked out as they assumed it came from the other end. It was a good day to be Discord.”

The dragon seemed taken with the story, amused even; the griffin maintained a scowl.

Luna, in the meantime, could only thank Discord for stalling, as she had been trying, in vain, to come up with an explanation that did not involve Discord.

When she came up with none, Luna tapped a hoof on the table as a sign that she was ready to begin. Discord took the hint and coiled himself to the other side of the short round table.

The griffin spoke up first. He cleared his throat, and sent a rather angry expression in Luna's direction, though not directly at her. Luna reasoned that the griffin understood the hierarchy enough not to so boldly show his disdain for the situation in mere body language.

“My wife is most displeased that her husband warped from our love nest. And I am most displeased at having been disturbed! I demand an explanation for all of this!”

The dragon giggled, finding some humor in the statement.

“Well then, at least you were not nearly crushed by one of your own subjects. I saw an orange mare warp on the top side; I nearly got crushed on the underside of one of my larger dragons.”

“Amusing.” Discord positioned a monocle on his left eye. “And tell me Dratina, how did you slither your way out of that one?”

“It was not easy,” she continued, “I had to shape-shift myself numerous times before I got the right one, a cheetah, to dash away.”

“Well, I think we all are glad that you could make it in one piece." Discord nodded towards Luna. “I am sure you are impatient, Luna, so go ahead and tell these fine rulers what they came for.”

Luna, now the center of attention, took a deep breath in an attempt to calm her on edge nerves. Once she felt more level, Luna began, not forgetting the pleasantries.

“First off, I want to thank you for coming by on such short notice, and having the courtesy to make me aware of your arrival before bursting in.

The issues on the table are the dreams and the random warping, both of which I want to assure you are not Equestria's doing.”

“We assumed that at least the warping was your doing,” the griffin stated, “Especially since it seem you are allied with the likes of Dissscord.”

The hiss drove the point that the griffin was not at all pleased to have to see Discord either; the draconequus seemed to take very little offense to the jagged gesture.

With a regal tone, Discord intended on driving home is innocence.

“Well, I will have you know that I am now reformed! Celestia herself has even approved a small space where I may wreck chaos to my heart's content, and permits occasional visit to Equestria proper as long as I check with her first.”

“So it is more like an uneasy acceptance than an alliance,” Dratina mused, “That seems more understandable considering your history with Equestria.”

“Yet, I find it hard to believe that he is not behind all of this!” the griffin howled, slamming his talons on the table, “He is the spirit of disharmony and chaos after all!”

Luna desired to disarm the ticking time bomb, knowing that Discord only had so much tolerance for accusations against him. “While it has been hard to swallow, no pun intended due to Discord's earlier joke, there is a chance that this could entirely be a random event.”

“Or the work of unicorns,” the griffin surmised. “Or griffins,” Dratina shot back, “ Grackus, has it ever occurred to you that you are just seeking a guilty party?”

Grackus huffed, puffing out his chest and flapping his feathered wing in defiance. “First of all, griffins and magic of this sort do not mix well. Second of all, you are not seriously buying that this is all a coincidence that occurs in nature?

If it were just Equestria, alright, maybe, but throughout our realms as well? It is a wonder that Saddle Arabia has not stampeded its diplomats this way!”

“Well not everyone can get conveniently transported to Canterlot via magical channels,” Discord jested with a map in hand, “It is a big world out there.”

Not to mention Saddle Arabia was south of Canterlot, Luna thought to herself. Then again, so were parts of Griffia and Draconia, so Luna decided not to bring that point up.

Dratina did not react physically to Grackus' rebuttal, likely in the same mindset as Luna at this point.

“I agree that we were fortunate to be able to discuss this matter quickly. Grackus does make at least one good point; whatever this is, we need to get to the bottom of it before it gets any worse.”

Luna almost literally jumped on the opening presented by Dratina. “We are working on that even as we speak! That is at least part of the reason that Celestia could not join us on such short notice.”

“So what now?” Dratina asked, “Do you have any leads? The best that I can gather is King Sombra, or one of his successors.”

The room chilled as Luna shot a glare at Dratina at mention of the name. “Why would you assume that?”

The sharpness in tone directed Dratina to explain herself.

“Well, if you all are not behind this, then dark magic may be the answer. It is the only unaccounted for force in Equestria, neigh, the world.

Luna noted the distinct focus on Equestrians in this explanation, and considered refuting the claim when Grackus ridiculed the hypothesis.

“That is ludicrous! You know the saying; Discord was stoned and then reformed, the changeling queen was blasting off to Never Ending Maze land, Nightmare Moon was just a phase of our dear dream princess, and Sombra became a shadow of himself, Pronounced dead in recent times.

You would think that they allow an actual pony the same chance at redemption as someone like Discord.”

That last remark stirred up an unexpected amount of anger from Luna, though it was not directed at Grackus at all.

A flashback to the Crystal Empire, on that fateful day that would change the course of their history. Solaria had long since passed, but for some strange reason, Sombra still retained a rather youthful appearance, despite everything.

His coat had stopped shining, but his eyes gazed upon his subject with hatred and malice; the clanking of their chains resounding throughout the Empire.

Needless to say, many Equestrians felt that they were becoming slaves to their new alicorn saviors (who really were not so new at all in the grand scheme of things).

It had hardly been thirty years since the fall of Poni, one since the fall of Discord, and yet, everyone seemed to so easily forget the past. Perhaps they felt that it was better to forget it, so that the events leading up to the present would not have to happen again.

To stave off possible revolution, the two sisters had to make a choice; become tyrants, form a republic, or free the crystal ponies and Equestria from the darkness that ensnared it.

"Tis only banishment, Luna, not true death." Celestia and Luna flew towards the dark city with the sun at their backs. Luna grimaced upon seeing the deplorable state of the kingdom.

The homes were now made of ordinary materials; wood, straw, the likes replaced what had previously been all crystal.

The castle no longer shone with a brilliant, inviting sheen; it now cast a dark, ominous shadow over the world around it, defiantly casting away the rays of the sun from its surface.

Standing atop the balcony, surveying his work, was Sombra. In full armor, with the red and white overcoat draped over to give a more regal than martial appearance.

"But turning him into a shadow too, is that necessary?" Luna growled. "Wouldst not be easier to use the Elements...?"

"No!" Celestia turned her head towards Luna, a trickle of the Canterlot voice present in her voice. "Sombra is acting out of vengeance and hurt; there is no other answer but to banish him, and grant him some time to think about what he hath done."

"What goodeth will that do?" Now Luna was the one shouting, the two stopping to hover in mid-air. Celestia did not want a discussion about this, not here, but she was not going to deal with Sombra on her own.

Luna persisted, tears welling in her eyes at the thought of how long Sombra may be locked up in the frozen north.

"He will brood hatred in isolation! No heirs, no family, and mine visits serve to only torment him even more! There has to be another way!"

Celestia gave it a moment of thought, then shook her head. "Sombra is too powerful to be left to chance, and your attachment to him only maketh this more necessary." Celestia then closed her eyes, perhaps thinking to re-open them to a compliant Luna.

Luna growled in response, horn aglow with magic. "Thee do not understand! He may have been thine's first, but careth not I! I care for him, I dost not wish to see him suffer any longer!"

Celestia's eyes shot open, her own horn now aglow. "Then do what must be done, for his sake."

Princess?

Luna snapped out of her flashback, hardly recalling that she had been in the middle of a meeting. Feeling a warm wetness streaming down her cheeks, Luna shifted to wipe them, sniffling as the present returned to prominence.

To her surprise, all three of the other occupants gazed at Luna with worried expressions. She could only imagine the confusion that her reaction had brought about to the small gathering.

With an angry tone, Luna switched approaches to more curtly end this. “How we treat threats to us is our business and our business alone. We make our decisions knowing full well the consequences."

And she had just stood there, and allowed her sister to finish the job mere months ago.

“Something bothering the princess of the dream world?” Grackus asked, breaking the self-loathing that threatened to engulf Luna's thoughts, “If so, I think we might have the answer to our dream problem.”

Luna was not in the diplomatic mood, but kept her final statement relatively short and to the point.

"No, I will be fine. Go rally and tell your subjects that nothing terrible is going to transpire; you may stay in any room in the palace that you desire, as long as it does not have a sun symbol on it.”

“What she means, is that you may stay in any of the guest bedrooms,” Discord clarified, while 'escorting' the two to the door with a snap of his fingers, “She sometimes forgets just how often that symbol appears around these halls.”

Dratina and Grackus strode out, giving a glance backwards before Discord ushered them on. Discord closed the doors behind them, and only when sure that they had departed did he turn towards Luna.

"I think we have solved the dream problem." Discord placed himself back onto the table, making it a pedestal of sorts. "I think it is King Sombra."

"But, Sombra is-" Luna was cut off by Discord putting an over-sized lion finger to her muzzle. For a few moments, the contact reminded Luna of her brief captivity, and she reflexively bit at the finger.

Discord yelped and retracted his finger.

"Sorry, I do not know what came over me." Luna did not entirely lie about that.

Sucking the finger for a few seconds, Discord narrowed his eyes at Luna, as if trying to ascertain the sincerity in her statement. Once satisfied, he retracted the finger and continued.

"Sombra and your alter ego go very well together. Neither of them are gone just because they can no longer manifest themselves in the land of the living."

Despite disliking Discord for his part in the tumultuous past, Luna did have one thing to be grateful to the draconequus for.

"Had it not been for you, I would have never met Sombra," Luna bitterly commented, unilaterally surrendering her inhibitions towards Discord, "He would have been miserably wed to my sister, and I would have been the distant cousin who inherits nothing."

Discord smiled, perhaps pleased by the appreciation, or perhaps at the thought that Celestia would have been married to Sombra. Luna did not care as she carried on.

"I and Sombra would have been so compatible, scandal and civil war likely would have ensured. I guess in her own way, Mother tried to prevent that by keeping Sombra and I distant."

"Well she failed, apparently." Discord withheld no chuckles as he poked fun at the alicorn. "Sure, she may have forced Celestia and Sombra to mate, but she overlooked that all that would do was allow Sombra the chance at double tap."

Luna swiped with a hoof the draconequus' legs, causing him to fall back head first onto the solid table.

"Do not think that this changes a thing between us," Luna snidely smirked at Discord before turning to leave. "And since I am guessing you are aware of that, I will have to ask that the descendents remain none the wiser unless Celestia or I so tell them."

"Of course, would not want a bloody struggle for power now would we?" Discord cackled, vanishing before Luna could get another shot in.

Luna scowled, not sure whether that was Discord's way of complying or teasingly threatening with blackmail. Shaking her starry mane, Luna had no time to waste; she had to get to the Dreamscape, physically, and deal with one of her most persistent shadows:

Nightmare Moon.

Sombra would have no power, not to this effect, without that mare's influence. Whether Luna liked it or not, she had to stop denying the facts; Nightmare Moon and her were one in the same.

And it was high time one was put back in her place.