The Darkness Is My Light

Too many of us are not living our dreams,

Because we are living our fears.

~Les Brown

Celestia awoke with a fleeting sense of calm as she recalled just what had occurred then, nothing bad, but just, older times. Times she had been forgetting and she had wished stayed forgotten. Again not because they were terrible, but they made what he had done even worse. Celestia often wondered what had gone wrong with her small family, first her sister had...changed, but then even the closest thing she had to a father changes just after her, Well, change is life, and life is-

"Celestia are you ok?" Her sister asked as she came through her door, not in a rush but certainly not a steady pace, "I could feel his being here!" She whispered so that the guards could not hear, "Stronger than in my own dream when he was there!"

Celestia had felt something too, but she was actually in a rush then and it wasn't posing any immediate threats, "No I'm fine Luna, thank you."

Luna visually relaxed as she came up to rest on her sister's bed, "Oh good, I- I just wanted to make sure you didn't go through what I had."

Celestia's ears perked at this, "What did you dream of, you never told me, for understandable reasons of course." She finished hastily as she realized she had just stepped on thin ice.

Luna looked at her sulkily, "Why'd you have to bring that up? What did I ever do to you?" Again Celestia made a face at this, Luna's face dropped a little, "Did I ever do anything to you?"

"What do you mean dearest sister? I- I don't know what you're talking about." Thankfully her stutter was either unnoticed or ignored, "You haven't done anything to me except be the best sister I've ever met." She finished, trying to convince herself as well.

Luna was disheartened when she heard her sister talked like that, "You know Tia, sometimes I wish you were a better liar, it's fine if you don't want to tell me, I won't make you, but please, for future reference, don't insult my intelligence." And with that she stalked away to her room. Upon arrival she slammed the door wide open only to immediately shut it as she came to her bed and fell asleep without a second thought, her headache from the nights business peaking as she hit unconsciousness. She let out a single frantic kick before her body stilled for the day.

Oh no oh no! Luna what have I done? She franticly thought as she stood and got off her bed, I had tried so hard to rebuild what we had, but there was just so many missing pieces! She worriedly went out to their dining...hall and hoped that Luna would be there to talk to. When she came through the large doors, graciously opened for her, she came into a room that would make anypony else stop for at least ten hours just to process the possible possibilities. But Celestia wasn't Anypony, she was Celestia, the supreme goddess of the Day, "Thank you Lock."

"You're welcome, Princess Celestia." He replied with a salute, "But your sister has not shown."

Celestia jumped only the slightest at this but her heart was pounding, "What do you mean? Where is she?"

"Last I saw here she was off towards her quarters, but she may have stopped somewhere else!" He quickly reprimanded when he saw the horrible look of fear on his princesses features.

"Did she say anything?" She coarsely asked, "Did she look tired!" She ordered rather than asked.

"W-well yes. But she's usually tired aft- "

"No. No this was a different gene of tired." She began deducting as she paced, "I need to go see her, please tell the ones who had made this lovely dinner-breakfast for us. H-help yourself even, but please I need to go now." And she left Lock to stare into the Banquet Hall absolutely dumbfounded, the superfluous set was beautiful to those who had to protect it, but now, now he could actually touch it! Smell it, and eat it! I hope they have some to-go boxes.

Once Celestia had made her way to her sister's room she told the positioned guards to leave, to go join Lock in the Dining Hall. They were almost *too** eager to leave.* She thought as she went into the room, the lights were off and her curtains were drawn. But Luna's personal night sky diagram of the heavens kept the room lit in a way that was homely.* She saw her sister lying down in bed peacefully and her worries ebbed until she came around and looked at her face. Her face was halfway between Nightmare and herself, a fang was pronged, her eye lids fluttered to reveal entirely serpentine lenses, her breathing rattled and her tongue...her forked tongue hissed. Celestia immediately shut the rooms doors and enchanted them to open for nopony else but those demanded. She fretfully paced around her sister unaware of what to do, she didn't know what would happen if she woke her during her dream, but she didn't know if she should do anything at all! She'd never checked on Luna before so she didn't know if that was a- a normalish thing for her. She couldn't take it anymore after her mane and tale began to dissipate into a thick fog like his and another fang began to sprout, she came up to her and used an awakening spell on her, but all that did was make Celestia feel tired, she shook her and even used the Royal Canterlot Voice to call her from whatever dark dream she was in. But her body lay limp as if, "No no, that's ridicules! She's still breathing!" The distressed Sun deity whispered, But none should be able to withstand such attempts! What could it be, what should I *do*?

Sleep.

Celestia jumped and searched the room for a source of the voice, "Who's there? Show yourself!"

Sleep. It pried again.

And again she repeated herself with a quick swivel to find any movement, even the telltale subtle distortions of an invisibility enchantment, "Show yourself! By the order of Celestia, co-ruler of Equestria, I demand it!"

And then the strangest thing happened, something did show itself. A starry figure, like a constellation, formed in the room. At first it was obscure, but then they realigned themselves into a dazzling array of points, and then a chilling, echoing voice rolled over her, "Why Tia, if I didn't know better I'd think you'd have almost forgotten me, this is much harder than it should be." The apparition said as it walked over to the slumbering princess, his metaphysical armor reflecting the very light it created, "And look, even she still listens to me. I always said bridges were harder to burn the more you crossed them."

What roused her from her shock wasn't his being there or even what he was doing, but what he said, "What are you saying? You've never said that before." She lied, but then she didn't. He had said that, but not this him, after what had happened he knew nothing of his past self, just as how Luna's change came to pass.

"Well you see Star," the revenant began as he stood, "ever since I was overthrown, I have been conducting some very interesting research." He was directly in front of her now, "Right." His arm reaches up, "In." His index finger protrudes from his fist, "Here." And he gently taps her forehead and her eyes roll before her body falls, but before she can hit the floor, he catches her, "And what I've found..." and carries her with great effort to her sister's bed, easily large enough for the both of them, "is interesting." He finished as his figure flashed to robes before ultimately blinking out of existence.

Celestia and Luna were playing in a golden field with gently waving grains of wheat that cleanly came up to the happily watching Zasdin which meant it easily covered the girls, but he wasn't worried about them getting lost, he could easily see where they were from the impressions they left. He decided that no harm could befall them in such pure land and lay down in a clearing in the field and let his other senses take over as he closed his eyes. The dirt was soft and warm, his cloak was gently brushing his legs, arms, and hands, the natural scents of the field overcame him, encompassing his smelling capacities, the grains from the wheat had played their ways into his mouth and he could taste the perfection they held, he could clearly hear the girls laughing and he nearly fell asleep before he was brought back by a faint scream, "Tia?" He yelled as he sat up and turned his head to try and find her. But the wheat was too tall and he had to stand up, he conned his hands around his mouth and called for both of them but got no response. He began to panic and sprinted over to where the most compressed stalks were but saw nothing, "Tia! Luna where are you?" He desperately cried, but then after he did a cave appeared and loomed over him, just barely passing overhead. He felt certain the two fillies had wandered into there, but he didn't know what could be in there. The thought of any other danger befalling them pushed any care for his own person as he ran into the cavern.

The sisters had seen something shine in the cave and did what any small child would do, run in after it. But during their brief gallop Luna became uncharacteristically tired, "Wa- wait up Tia! I can't keep up with you!" She squeaked as she gasped for breath.

But Celestia was young and ignorant still, "Come on Luna you can do better than that! I think I still see it up ahead!" She gaily laughed as she hopped around her sister, "Hurry up Loona, it's going away!" She finished as she started off again after the shining. After a while of empty searching she came into a grand chamber within the cave and looked in wonder at the arrangements. Glowing crystals of every color shone and a gorgeous pool of water reflected it throughout the room magnificently.

"Wow Tia, it's amazing." Luna quietly said as she came up behind her sister, "I've never seen anything like it in all my life."

Celestia didn't say anything however as she just walked away and around the natural pool, occasionally dipping a hoof into the chilling water, she wanted to swim, but something told her not to. As she walked around she saw an enormous ebony crystal down a narrow pathway. She wanted to see if there was a reason for this one gem to be so in the middle of a vibrant display and squeezed her way through the first pair of formations and managed the rest of the way easily enough.

"Tia where did you go? We aren't supposed to break apart, I don't want you to get lost." Her sister strangely called, and she even noticed it seemed out of place as she looked around for anything strange, "Please Celestia come back." Again she jumped, she'd never called her by her full name before. She decided to stop talking and look for her, but apparently her body had other plans, "Celestia come out now. Where have you gone? Come here." She said as she began to feel unnaturally angry and...protective.

The elder Alicorn could just barely discern a distant sound, but the acoustics seemed to block any outside noises while amplifying the silence within to near claustrophobic proportions, M- maybe I should go back.

She began to turn as a presence made itself felt, No Celestia, you should stay. I will take care of you, grant you anything you want, make you powerful, and grant you immortality. You need not rely on mortal constructs and methods. We will help you, with everything. Just grant us, existence.

If Celestia wasn't scared before she was now, "W- who's there?" She looked behind her as her slow gait became a fearful trot.

"All of us, we are always, never, in between, and nowhere." The voices called again, "Don't be scared, come here, to us, and you will fear nothing ever again. We will protect you, serve you, and take care of you." But there was something most definitely off about its promises.

She had had enough, Luna would wait no longer. She followed her sister's hoof prints around the water, occasionally swerving into it or away to a clutch of particularly colorful rocks, she couldn't help herself but to think, "Silly filly," but then again, she really couldn't, "what is happening to me?" She was stuck with that until she came into a tight room with luminescent crystals aglow all around her. She was caught in a brief moment of wonder before her gaze lowered to the other end, of a lone, cloudy crystal that sat in a clearing devoid of anything else, besides Celestia. Who was surrounded by swarming clouds of whispering darkness, but Luna knew what it was, "Celestia! Celestia get up! Please just move!" She yelled as she ran over to her, the clouds seeping through her skin, "No! I will not let you take her too!" She cried as she put both her fore hooves on her sister's side, "I, Zasdin Denui, take upon myself this burden and call you from her body!" The man roared with a convicted growl as the evils were absorbed from the fillies body, "You will never have another, I made sure of that, and I will take it overcome again!" He finally said after he had expunged it from Celestia's body, but this time, it was different. It was far more than he had taken the first time, and you can't ever get rid of it unless another willingly accepts such a burden, a job he was wiling to take but would never push on another.

He began to stumble as he stood, and his vision was doubled and inverted, instead of the one alabaster girl he came in with, he saw two. The other was laying just besides Celestia, with a darker coat, a cutie mark of a moon in the night sky, and smaller. She was breathing gently as wisps of smoke were dissipating from her body, "Who is this? Another? Is this the one? Did I make her?" He asked aloud as the voices within him took place and settled with their predecessors. He could feel the alien magic settle in him, unused to his person and combating with the other form. He took a moment of respite as they battled furiously, one had size while the other experience and strength, and went between the fillies, stroking both their manes, then he uncertainly wobbled over to the dead stone and placed a hand on it, but that was all it took to tip the scale of the equal forces inside him, the evils of humanity, and the archaic magics of the new worlds. He was frozen with pain from the sudden turmoil as his lesser, stronger, and inherent power was overthrown and cast out into the crystal, and from the crystal he took. It bridged across and impaled him through his chest, but he did not die. Instead it interlaced throughout his body and formed over his skin, encasing him in a crystal prison, all while the two alicorns slept, unperturbed while he was being transformed.

Once he was entirely covered, the spike holding him in place retreated back into its base and the hole it lest was too covered. Then it broke, a little at a time. But each piece that broke from him revealed either a gleam of metal, or a patch of swaying fur. And his bones, they burned and twisted, the crystals seemed linked to his pain as they grated in the direction he pushed, painfully. Then all at once they shattered, leaving a smoky, unicorn with armor accented with golds and reds in his place, his mane dispersing as a gas would but retaining its form, his eyes glowing green, and a red hot horn, but only for a moment. Then he fell unconscious as a human, clad in blackest metals and a helmet that betrayed nothing. And than he vanished, in a puff of smoke.

The two woke with a jump, somepony was hitting the door, it was still daytime out, and they had been asleep, "What, what happened?" The fully grown Luna asked as she looked around, rubbing her head.

Celestia was even more surprised then Luna was, because she knew what it was, she just hadn't known it happened like that, "It was, a memory. H- how did you see that?"

"A memory? I- I don't, remember it." Luna said contemplatively as she tried to remember.

"No, you wouldn't. Because it wasn't yours."

At this Luna protested, "But I felt like Id been their before! Like, like it was something significant, then why was I how I was? How could we have fit so perfectly?"

"I never saw you," Celestia was getting nervous now, "I was playing with Din again." She finished quietly.

"Din? As in 'Zasdin'? The evil tyrant who tried to overthrow us? How could that possibly have been him?"

You don't know what you're saying! After you came everything I knew went up in flames! Is what she thought, but dealing with foolish representatives has taught her to hold her tongue when something instantly comes to mind, so she took a deep breath, "Luna, there are some things we need to...discuss. Things, long ago and quite recent. Things that I never even knew or thought connected and one until I saw it all again, no matter how much I wish I'd have never relived. But proved to be irrefutably informing. But first please open the door." She finished as she readied herself for the long talk ahead.

Luna nodded her head slowly as she walked over to the door, "Yyyes. Ok, but you need to tell me everything, ok?"

"Ok."

"Good. Now," and she opened the door, "who is it?"

A worried group of guards that were gathered on the other side cheered until one shouted, "Luna! Is Celestia with you? Where have you been we couldn't open the doors!"

Luna was jarred by the suddenness and volume, "Yes, we were just...talking for a bit, what's wrong?"

Another guard spoke this time, "A bit? You've been missing for days!"

"Days?" Celestia asked as she came over to the doorway, to another round of cheers.

"Yes days. We looked everywhere but found this one door we couldn't get through! We stayed to guard while other groups are currently scouring the lands for you!" A third called.

"Has anything happened?" Luna asked worriedly.

"Thank...no nothing's happened." The second guard hastily covered.

The sister's knew what he was going to say, but they chose to ignore it I favor of more pressing matters, "Nothing? Nothing at all?" Celestia questioned, astounded another army or something else to the effect hasn't declared war against their peaceful country...again.

"Why do you sound so surprised?" Another inquired ignorantly.

Luna sighed, "Never mind, we are fine thank you, but now do please carry on." And she shut the door.

Her sister still found it difficult to be so abrupt and to cut through them like that, but it was certainly acceptable in this case. They went back and settled down again, this time however Luna chose the couch over the bed, while Tia contended herself with the bed, rather paranoid given what has lately transpired, "So. From the top, all of it." Luna said as she drew a glass of chocolate milk from the kitchen's reserves, well they don't just get them from anywhere.

Celestia looked at the glass apprehensively as her sister began to drink from it, "Well, do you remember Sombra?"