Trinity: A Dark Rising

There had been gentler ways to wake up. For one thing, waking up willingly. Another being asked to awaken by a friend or a family member. What was not a gentle way to wake up was being thrown across the ground and slamming into a dead tree. Not only did Luna skid across the ground which caused her to become bruised and cut, she then slammed into a dead tree breaking it in half. She grunted as she leaned on her hooves to stand up and attempted to stretch her back, a snap and a pop sounding loudly and the pain suddenly subsided. Luna stood up, still burning from the cuts and bruises along her injured frame, at least she was able to stand without fear of breaking something.

Luna breathed heavily, Luna did not remember Concord being so strong. He was always so calm and collected. So sweet and willing to help anypony in need. Whatever they faced, it was not Concord. It was something else, something much more sinister and cold hearted. Concord would never be able to take the life of an innocent pony. She had sensed a familiar dark energy beneath him, a shadow filled entity that sent cold shivers through Luna. It was the form of Nightmare Moon, the dreaded spirit that took over Luna. But what most ponies did not know was that Nightmare Moon was literally a part of her, born from her envy and nightmares.

Luna moved her head up, still breathing heavily. The air was dank and filled with smog and attempted to fill her lungs but it was useless considering she did not require air to breath being an alicorn. Dead trees and plants lied all over, littering the ground with tainted and decaying trees. The bark rotted and seemed to be soft in her hooves. The air around her was a dark green color, the sky blotted out by the pollution. Everything was dead, an empty feeling resided deep within Luna. Void, no sign of life to reassure herself that there were ponies that could help them escape.

The ground was grey and cracked, no life underneath her hooves. They were at the site of a great battle that tore apart the earth itself. Luna thought back to Twilight's battle with Tirek. They had destroyed a small fraction of the earth with their battle but this, this was absolute annihilation. Luna could not feel any mercy given or taken away from the dead that littered around them.

And that was just it, they were lying on the bodies of thousands of ponies. Reduced to absolute ashes. Luna scrapped a hoof over the ground and lifted her now grey dusted hoof closing her bright green eyes and whispered, "Ashes to ashes and dust to dust. As we were once raised from the soil, so shall we return one day."

Luna cupped her hoof and, releasing the dust away, she blew a magical wind forward. It was the words to a funeral rite of Equestria. Luna had known a significant amount of rites to the dead, rituals that allowed her to talk to the dead or even ask them to raise once more. It was not necromancy as necromancy forced the skeletons to wake, binding their wills to that of the revivalist. Many times ponies had nightmares of her raising an undead army and conquering all of Equestria. Something she was close to doing a thousand years ago. It still pained her to this day, letting her jealousy overcome her and cloud her judgment. She was so weak and naive back then, a lot of growth can fill somepony in the span of a thousand years. When faced with isolation, ponies tend to reflect on the poor decisions they have made in their life.

She remembered back to the grueling images that still plagued her nightmares, creatures of shadow preying upon the ponies of Equestria. They almost mirrored the images she had seen of a few minutes ago, after she had raised the moon she decided to start the Dreamscape. Allow ponies the escape of dreams, but she found something that was not particularly pleasant to see. Concord twisted it and malformed the Dreamscape into a ravaged hellscape. She felt her soul tear itself apart as she remembered the altercation between them,

The land and air was stained bright red, crimson like the blood of mortal ponies. Luna was no longer standing in her realm where she ruled forever and plentiful. She was standing in the shadow of that. The ground was broken and the debris was floating in the air. It was like a cruel nightmare that Luna could not wake up from. She set her eyes on quite possibly the one who is responsible for this. She stepped forward and threatened, "What is the meaning of thi-Concord? Concord is that you?"

Concord gave a smile and said, "Indeed. I have awakened...but not to your exact liking. I am not the same draconequus you knew before."

Luna glanced around the landscape and she finally asked with concern in her voice, noticing that his stance was not inviting, "What happened to you?"

Concord stepped forward, and with each step forward Luna mirrored back. She could tell that he was not the same, she could sense dark and ancient magic boiling beneath him, "I was sleeping for two thousand years. Do you know what that is like? Surely you got a taste of what that was like, with your one thousand year banishment. It is cold and unpleasant, especially so if you can hear the dark whispers of villains that your friends have slain."

Luna shook her head, "No they did not kill-"

"Tell King Sombra that," Concord said defensively, "Tell Queen Chrysalis that. Both of them did not go down with the merciful power of friendship, they died because of the magical output. And they went to me, so they could have their revenge. And Nightmare Moon trying so long ago, really it was her why I gave in."

Luna stepped back until she was brought to the edge. Concord stepped in far too close as he said, "For two thousand years I slept, and not once was I even mentioned to your little princess protege Twilight Sparkle. It was not even said that I created the Elements of Harmony and the Seeds of Chaos. Am I that insignificant to you? Am I that forgettable?"

Concord threw his claw forward, gripped Luna's throat and raised her in the air, gasping for air, "How soon can you forget the one that sacrificed so much to protect your nation, to protect you. Your nation would be nothing but a pile of ash if it was not for the actions of Discord and me. We deserve to rule, not you."

Concord moved his other claw to the side of her head as his hand radiated pale black magic and Luna felt something sift through her mind and her head began to burn and boil. Luna cried out in pain and Concord continued, "You are still a threat to your nation, whether you choose to believe it or not. You still have Nightmares hidden inside of you, they just don't know it yet. And you saw what happened when you did not destroy one, you allowed it to possess the element of generosity. But you will be a threat to the nation no longer, I will fix you."

Concord pressed his claws against her head, the pain increased and he continued, "On the light of the last day in Twelve weeks, you will feel the pain of holding so many nightmares beneath you. They will try and kill you. And they will hurt you. If you cannot control these nightmares by the final rising beams of light, then you will die."

Concord finished his spell, not only did he curse her but he also stole control of the Dreamscape as well. She felt a great weight lift from her mind, like she was missing something important. Luna pressed a hoof to the side of her head. She was not in control of the nightmares that lived inside of her and she could already feel them scratching and pressing out for release. Luna looked up as Concord stood tall above her and he said, "Sweet dreams, fallen angel."

Luna let an irritated breath come out of her nostrils as she reflected back on that. She could hear them, begging for Luna to release them. Pleading for mercy on their dark souls, hoping that Luna would end their existence quickly. But Luna could not listen to them, she ignored them with all her might pushing them far back into her mind. Even using a little bit of magic to push them back further. It was not an easy task now, keeping them at bay, and she knew that it would get harder as she approached her deadline. For they would only increase in power. It left her with a foul taste in her mouth, knowing that the Nightmares she has come to rely on so much were now going to slowly kill her. It left them on a time crunch, they needed to leave, and quickly.

She looked about the cold dead area around her, standing up on both hooves and looking around. Her eyes unable to see past a dense mist that seemed to come out of nowhere. She stepped hesitantly across the dead ground and went on in one direction. She lit her horn, the audible magical ping lighting up a small area giving her a larger range for her to see. She then cast a spell that allowed her to sense the magical energies of any nearby magical beings. A high pitched ping rang out from her horn and sent a magical wave in all directions. She continued on, waiting for a similar ping to ring out. She waited with a deep feeling in the pit of her stomach, fear of not knowing where Celestia and Twilight were. She swallowed back a lump in her throat and reassured herself, "It's okay Luna, we are sure they are fine."

The dead silence did nothing to comfort her however. Listening carefully to hear the tell tale ping of magical beings nearby. Her gaze sharp and focused on the ground that she could see, already her horn felt like it was a few pounds heavier like she had taken on an entire horde of Changelings. It was strange, normally she had a lot more magical stamina. It could have been the Nightmares that were interfering with her magic to escape. It was the only logical solution anyways, there was no other reason for her magic to go haywire like this.

Luna stepped over occasional rocks that jutted up and out of the ground. Some stained with blood that could have been centuries old, but something else caught her eyes as she continued on glancing over the dead tree stumps and logs. There were large craters in the ground, not like a catapult crater left behind by flying debris. The ground was not cracked, albeit very little damage, but had a thin coat of dust and ash. It was not a magical pulse discharge from an overactive unicorn, it would have been bigger and resin would have been left behind. Along with the remains of the pony that casted a more power spell than they had imagined. She could not sense whether it had any magical properties or not, it was just silent. She could sense that without even casting a spell, her eyes fixated on the many craters around her.

Smoke rose from a few of the craters, making the feeling in her stomach seem to grow. Goosebumps shot over her skin, putting her on edge. She was on strange ground, ground that was stained with either war or dark magic. Perhaps a mixture of both. The dead that lied there was too many to count. Half the size of the Equestrian population. Devastation on a much grander scale than Luna could imagine. Luna clenched as her wounds rose in greater pain, causing her to fall to her knees. As she sat there grunting in pain, wishing the pain to stop. She heard it.

Ping

A few seconds went by, her heart racing and on edge as she listened.

Ping

She breathed a painful sigh of relief, they were all right. She was slightly calmed by this fact, but beating loudly in her ears was her heart beat. She groaned at the pain once more, hunching over in hopes to stop the pain and bleeding. Her other cuts started to act up and begin to bleed once more. Her eyes stung as she cried out, "Celestia! Twilight!-Agh!"

Her words being cut short as they rose in pain once more, her breaths sharp and painful as she breathed in and out. She looked down at herself and lifted her hoof briefly from her stomach. Her hoof stained from the tip of her hoof to her elbow, it was stained crimson against her midnight coat, making it almost black. She looked down and saw she was stained with both dried and fresh blood as well as dust and ash. Dirt filling her coat, and the feeling of her having physical wounds making her mane crawl. She stopped breathing for a second. She raised her free hoof to her mane and ran it through. It was no longer ethereal, it was not the consistency of the night sky anymore and it did not billow. She combed her hoof through it once more, freeing some dirt from it as she did so. She held it in her hoof and looked at it. She saw it was a very very dark violet color, almost blue from the looks. But it was still dark violet. It suddenly made sense that she could take physical wounds, she was not immortal anymore. She was a mortal alicorn.

"Luna!" Luna looked over at the distressful call out of her name and saw something that made her heart stop. Celestia was stained and had a few cuts along her as well, her sundress ripped and torn away, her coat stained with dust and dirt. The once pure white coat was now almost a grey. There was distress in her pink eyes, filled with despair. Luna then looked to her mane and saw that it was long and a dark pink, telling Luna that she was mortal as well. Luna then looked to the sight that caused her to stop breathing, Twilight lying limp in Celestia's hooves. Her face empty and closed, all life seemed to be gone from Twilight. Anguish filled Luna as Celestia approached swiftly. Twilight was covered in dirt and dust as well, but with much more cuts and bruises than Celestia and Luna. Much more crimson than Luna and Celestia. Celestia said with the most even tone she could manage, "Are you alright?"

There was fear in her tone, any wielder of dark magic could sense it. Something she had never sensed in Celestia for centuries, there was not much that could make her so flustered or distraught. Considering Twilight was like a daughter to Celestia, this did not surprise Luna. Luna grunted, "I...mm...we are fine. We would ask the same of you, how is Twilight?"

She laid Twilight on the ground and crossed her hooves over Twilight's stomach, seemingly avoiding the question. Celestia knelt down next to Luna and put pressure on the wounds Luna could not put pressure on. Celestia looked over her little sister and stated distraughtly, "You are bleeding..."

Luna cracked a half smile and sarcastically said, "Yes...tell us something we don't know..."

Her voice trailed off as the pain rose once more, much harder this time. She almost keeled over from blood loss when Celestia caught her. Celestia said sharply, "Come on Luna! I need you! We need you, stay awake."

Luna felt twenty pounds heavier and shook her head, "We are trying...but...heal Twilight before me..."

Celestia looked at her sister that was now cradled into her lap and she shook her head with tears welling up in her eyes, "No, I can't. I have physically healed her wounds but something is wrong with her. She won't wake up, it's beyond my realm of magic."

Celestia accepted not to talk anymore and activated her magic, normally the golden aura of her magic filling Luna with a warm and friendly feeling. But not this time, the golden light felt cold and distant. She lowered her horn and it rested on Luna's own. She grunted once more in pain and Celestia clenched her teeth together, summoning forth all the magic she could. She felt warmth spread throughout her body, healing her wounds slightly. The bleeding stopped and Luna felt some of her strength return to her. Her breathing returned to her slightly, she opened her eyes and saw bright white light spreading over her skin and watched some of her wounds seal up on sight. The only ones that did not were the large ones across her stomach, shoulder, thigh, and forehooves. Luna looked and saw Celestia straining so hard that her nose started to bleed. Luna raised her hooves and stopped her sister from casting the healing spell. Luna said evenly with sympathy in her voice, "Easy sister. You need to save your strength."

Luna held her sisters head and let her gather herself again. Celestia shook her head and in between painful breaths she strained with sweat running down her brow, "No...I can't lose you Luna."

Luna swallowed hard and said, "And we need you Tia, Twilight and me. Don't hurt yourself trying to help us. Now what's wrong with Twilight?"

It took them a few hours to find a place to rest but find a place they did.

Celestia set Twilight down against a soft stone, resting her head on it like a pillow. Celestia cast a spell, summoning gauze to wrap around their wounds. Celestia gave one roll to Luna and the midnight princess began tending her wounds. There was a small pool of water at the center of an outcropping of jagged stones. Soaking the bandages in the icy cold water so clear that she could see the bottom of the pond, she wrapped the linen bandages tightly around her stomach and chest as well as her shoulder, left thigh, and her forehooves. The damp linen bandages cleaned her wounds and helped cool her down after trekking through the unrelenting heat. She cupped her hooves as she knelt next to the small pond in the center and dipped her cupped hooves into the water. She brought her hooves to her mouth and dipped her head back and felt the water fall into her mouth and she drank deep the crystal clear water. She felt the water spread through her body and felt her physical stamina recover slightly from the energy the water gave her. She looked over at Celestia and she wrapped gauze around Twilight as she did she explained, "When we came out of the spell, Twilight and I, we were flung over the edge of a cliff. I was able to stabilize myself in flight but Twilight went unconscious from magical exhaustion. I caught her but a large gust caught me off guard and we were sent into the cliff face."

Luna held an expressionless face as she tested the tightness of the bandages, paying close attention to Celestia's story. Not taking her eyes away from Twilight. She looked peaceful, yet distraught as well. The silent and pained breaths coming from the young filly all but filled her with an uneven feeling. Celestia paused wrapping all four hooves from the tip to the elbow or knee, winding them all tight. Luna listened carefully as she continued, "I grabbed Twilight and climbed the cliff face. Unable to fly because my wings were broken. Once I reached the top I healed both Twilight and I so that we might find you."

She finished wrapping her wounds and breathed heavily and wiped her brow from sweat. She looked over at Luna as they rested under the shade of a large pillar of pure stone. They felt the cool wrapping of shadows as the harsh sun remained behind the large pillar of stone, giving them half a day to find out where in the name of Tartarus they were. Luna released a sigh of frustration and kept on being knelt by the pond of icy water. She scooped her hoof in the pond and splashed her face with it. Another scoop and she ran it through her mane, wetting it down and made it less as frizzly. She combed her mane with her hooves and pulled it back in a ponytail, a few strands of her mane hanging over her cheeks, her peripheral vision opening up. Luna dropped her wrapped hooves and released another sigh.

She felt a mix of emotions as she let everything simmer down and paid attention to the events that had just transpired. Glancing over her environment briefly. They were still in the same dead forest but the mist had cleared and the green polluted sky made way for the sick looking sun. Luna rested a hoof on her propped up hind leg and asked in a melancholic tone, "How is she doing?"

Celestia finished wrapping up Twilight and now Twilight just lied there, resting calmly and peacefully. Celestia leaned back with a slight pull of her muscles. She hid it well, the feeling of fear. Luna knew it was there because Luna saw it only about two hours before. It finally sunk into her at last. She seemed a little distant in the way she carried herself. And heartbroken.

She answered looking at her former pupil, "She will live, thank the stars. But I still can't wake her."

Silence ensued between the two alicorn sisters. Neither one wanting to interrupt each other from mourning. Luna sat up, her movements more fluent and less sluggish unlike a few hours ago. She let her gaze fall as she remembered back to the events that transpired and she sniffled trying to keep herself from crying, "I can't believe she's gone Tia."

Celestia seemed to be in the same state and responded to her little sister, "I know..."

Celestia shook herself and trying to hide the pain in her voice she said, "Can you see what's wrong with Twilight while I wrap my wounds?"

She shook her sadness and wiped away tears that threatened to spill. Luna nodded and stood up. While her strength was back she still had little energy to lift herself off, as well as getting used to her bandages. She walked over to Twilight who was laid out on a stone a few feet away from the pond. She tucked both her back legs under her and sat on them, resting her hooves on Twilight's stomach. She was still warm and rose slightly with long breaths. She was still living, but she could not awaken. Luna cast a spell that caused a sharp pain to rise in her horn, not only was she suffering from magical exhaustion she as well was casting spells during the day. Her spells were not as strong as they would be if it was night and a lot less potent.

Luna rested her hooves on Twilight as her horn glowed a bright blue glow, one hoof on her chest and the other on her wrapped stomach. She took in deep breaths, gathering and sensing the energies inside of Twilight. Luna had a good guess of what it was that kept Twilight in a constant state of slumber.

How Luna managed the Dreamscape was through a way she called the 'Open Door' policy. Ponies could enter and exit as they saw fit, but they could not shape it or manipulate it like she could. While true, there were someponies who were given their talent as able to affect dreams. Most were gracious and left control to Luna, while others were not so friendly in which case Luna had to impose a threat to them. These ponies given the talent to manipulate dreams became known as Dreamweavers, capable of effecting sleeping ponies. Either to heal their minds and bodies or to refresh ponies magical outputs.

The Dreamscape had a direct relationship with the magical energies that are given off of ponies, the Dreamscape being in and of itself made from magic. It was a focal point that could combine the minds of different places and events in the mind of a pony and create their own reality within their minds. A purgatory or a bridge between worlds, as it was most often called, but for the sake of ponies everywhere it became known as the Dreamscape. Each pony formulating and creating their own space in the Dreamscape. Dreamweavers are capable of alternating the paths of dreams or the foundations of dreams, either changing their morale outcome or the message lying underneath. A powerful magic and tool indeed to wield and carry, which is why it is so rare. Those that are gracious enough to let the reigns of dreams to Luna become known as the Council of the Scape. Dedicating their lives to the Dreamscape and each council member becoming a part of the Dreamscape. Dreams of lust, dreams of freedom, dreams of fear, dreams of darkness, dreams of the future, etc. The Council controlling the many corners of the Dreamscape and relaying any problems to Luna and Luna answering immediately.

So, with this information Luna tried and entered Twilight's section of the Dreamscape. Twilight's corner was large and vast, spacious and holding packed in knowledge. Secrets held together by a very thin rope. But Luna looked underneath her corner and saw what was causing her to not being able to awaken. And just as Luna suspected, the door was closed. Concord changed the rules of the Dreamscape and made it so that ponies could enter but they could not escape freely. Luna clenched her brow and put forth more effort to try and open the door again. Her face clenching and her horn a small torrent of magic as it raged on and she tried with all of her might to push the door open and allow Twilight her freedom. She gritted her teeth, clenching them hard together, "Come on, open damn it!"

The door heaved slightly under Luna's great strength, Luna propping the door open and she felt Twilight's essence leave the Dreamscape. Luna had a feeling that this would not be the last time that she would have to do this. Leaving the Dreamscape she heard Concord echo in her mind, 'Your journey has only just begun, fallen angel.'

Luna released her muscles and she breathed heavily as she stopped her magic, leaning on a hoof to keep herself propped up and straight. She gathered her senses and shook her wits back to reality, she needed to keep herself from performing too much magic. Rubbing her head at the base of her horn she opened her eyes and saw Twilight breathing normally, her chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm. Luna pulled in a large breathe of air and stood up. She looked at Celestia who finished wrapping her back hooves and her thighs. She stood up and moved her hooves, getting used to the bandages. Celestia asked with a hopeful tone, "Is she awake?"

With another large breathe of air Luna answered, "Yes...should be another minute or two."

Celestia released a sigh of relief and sat down in the shade, resting her head back and closing her eyes. She set the roll of bandages down and grunted as she rested on her wings. Luna asked taking the roll of bandages in her hoof, "Sit up and turn around."

Celestia raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

All Luna said was, "Wings."

"Oh." Celestia said as she propped herself up with a grunt and turned around. Luna took the time and inspected her back. She had strong back muscles that supported her large wings quite well, her wing span being six feet across. Though when they folded up they seemed to shrink. But they were not folded up, they were covered in dirt and bruises, leaving brown wings rather than alabaster wings of white. Luna took a piece of the bandage and gently she began wrapping it around Celestia's wings. Celestia clenched her teeth at the pain, even with Luna's soft touch could not quell the pain in her wings. Luna focused her attention on wrapping her sister's wings, meticulously she wrapped them. Trying not to cause to much pain for Celestia. Celestia shifted slightly and Luna asked with a friendly tone, "Could you not move so much?"

"Sorry Luna." Her voice apologetic as she let Luna wrap her wings. Slowly she wrapped the bandages around tight on her wing. As she rolled the bandage tightly over Celestia's wing, Celestia took laboriously focused breaths. Trying to keep her mind off the pain. Wings were delicate in nature, and though Luna was no licensed physician, it took her no problem at all to figure out that she had fractured more than a few of her bones in her wings. Wing related injuries were a scary thing, the many bones that gave wings flexibility are very fragile and can break easily. Most wing related injuries end with permanently paralyzed wings. Luna hoped that this was not the case.

Luna finished wrapping Celestia's wing, the linen wrapped tight around her injured wing. Luna looked at the remaining amount of bandages and noticed there was only enough left for Celestia's other wing. As she began carefully wrapping around the other wing she asked, "How are you holding up?"

There was a moment of silence in the time it took to wrap Celestia's wing, clearly trying to avoid the pain and not wanting to think about everything else. That and Luna needed to see Celestia's face when she answered, it was hard to tell what Celestia's mood was half the time. Usually, Luna could measure how she was feeling with her look. Celestia always showed more emotion in her face than her voice. But when you knew her emotion, you knew her emotion. When Celestia is angry for instance, she made sure every pony knew it.

Once more she finished wrapping her other wing and she stood up and sat in front of Celestia, waiting for an answer. Her eyes were drawn to the ground, trying to stay out of contact with Luna's. Celestia released a sigh and replied, "As much as you would expect...I mean...we were just thwarted from our thrones Luna. Not to mention separated from all of our subjects and friends. The elements are divided so they cannot help...and..."

Celestia's voice trailed off, her eyes still low but her face told it all. That same brokenhearted feeling was there, showing in full colors on her face. Luna finished her broken sentence, "And you are worried about Discord."

Celestia looked over at her younger sister, with big eyes. Filled with worry and fear, an unfamiliar look that Celestia does not often show. She knew better than to show those feelings in front of her subjects. So paranoid and always thinking that somepony or something was going to take their birth right. Luna smiled and, leaning in, she rested her hoof on Celestia's shoulder and said, "You're a selfless pony, Tia. You always have been, but right now we need to worry about getting out of here."

Celestia, while not fully convinced, shouldered the thought and replied, "You're right Lulu...we have more pressing matters at the moment. Where exactly is here anyway?"

Celestia asked Luna, honestly knowing if Luna found out. Luna did not feel exactly where Concord put them. She rubbed her chin with her hoof, "We do not know exactly where we were sent. All that we know is he used the Dreamscape as a gateway."

"So we can use the Dreamscape to escape?" Celestia asked.

"Technically."

"Technically?"

"The Dreamscape is not the Time Waves," Luna explained, "All that we know is he somehow combined a portal with a time travel spell. It started in the Dreamscape, he spellspliced."

"Spellsplicing," Celestia uttered as her wing was finished wrapped, "I thought no pony was capable of doing that, especially that fast."

Celestia turned to meet Luna's eyes and Luna rubbed the back of her neck, "We are not an enthusiast of magic, we don't know exactly how spellsplicing works, but yes normally it would take days if not weeks to finish splicing."

Luna turned to Twilight as she lied out on the stone, Luna said keeping her eyes on the still sleeping mare, "Perhaps your former student can give us some insight into spellsplicing."

Celestia sat up and focused on Twilight, a ghost of a smile spread across her lips. Luna smiled at this and commented, "You have grown rather attached to Twilight Sparkle."

A warm smile spread across her lips as she responded, "She's like a daughter to me Luna, it started only as a teacher and student but I had no idea that I would grow to love Twilight this much. There's nothing in Equestria that would stop me from protecting her."

"But we thought-"

"No Luna," Celestia shook her head, suddenly her expression turning dark and dangerous, "My intentions changed. I was going to dispel it once we finished celebrating. I needed her to be in a good mood to do so."

"Hmm..." Luna was going to badger further on the subject until they heard Twilight stirring awake. Luna set her gaze on Twilight once more who sat up, rubbing her head with her hoof and moaning at the bruises and cuts. She did not look refreshed, as it usually happened with sleep, she appeared confused and irritated. There was clearly something that was on her mind.

Her eyes fluttered open and she groaned, "Ugh...what happened? All I remember is...Concord...and him casting a spell...and...Cadence."

Twilight's heart seemed to drop as her ears drooped at remembering the gruesome sight of Cadence's death. Luna stood up and sat down next to the new princess, draping her hoof over Twilight's shoulders, "You exceeded your magical limit. You passed out while Concord cast his spell. We do not know where we are, all that we know is that we are in a desert of some kind."

Twilight rubbed her eyes, no doubt shaking the exhaustion away. But nothing stopped her from looking disturbed at a thought. Clearly it could not wait as she looked to her former teacher, she did not have a friendly gaze as she asked, "Cadence said that it was strange that I had not grown into, at least, a mature alicorn. You wouldn't know anything about this would you?"

Celestia and Luna exchanged hurtful looks, Luna mouthed the words 'Tell her'. Celestia released a sigh, sauntering closer as she explained, "When I first took you in at your display of power, I did not know what to think. You were such an eager filly to learn, eager to know and remember the taste of power. I did not know what to do or to think, the magic that you commanded was unlike anything I had seen in years. More powerful than Starswirl in his prime, and you were only 8. I was scared."

Celestia sat next to Twilight but Twilight scooted away, clearly disturbed and angry at this new revelation. Celestia continued, "I feared that you would grow too powerful too fast so I implanted a magical wall, holding your powers in a concentrated holding cell in your mind. Then you grew into a mare so much more than I could imagine, I was going to take off the magical block after the party so that you might take the news a little bit better than now."

Twilight sat up fast and kept her back to Celestia. There was pain in her steps and when she spoke there was poison in her words as she hissed, "So all these years you thought me a threat because of the magic that I held. You thought of me as a threat to the safety of Equestria."

"Twilight I never wanted-"

"Stop!" Twilight shouted, "You have said enough. You did not trust me to keep control so you stunted me. You caused me to struggle so that you could ensure a future would not come to pass, which it likely wouldn't have."

Celestia was speechless, she seemed both hurt and confused at Twilight's outburst. Twilight released an agitated sigh, Luna was silent. She did not know who's side to take. Celestia had her reasons to take measurable precautions, yet Twilight did not deserve to live most of her life in a lie. Knowing that there was a certain point that she could reach and not grow anymore. Both parties were in fault, but Luna stayed silent letting them get it all out. Hoping the tension between the two of them will not last.

Celestia stood up and said in a comforting voice, "Twilight I did this so I could protect you-"

"Protect me!?" Twilight spun on her hooves, giving Celestia a threatening gaze causing Celestia take a few steps back, "Protect me from what!? You were the only one who was endangering me!"

Luna saw pain rise in Celestia, she was close to cracking now. Celestia tried to keep a calm tone but it faltered a few times as she said, "I did it to protect you from yourself."

Twilight scoffed, "No you stunted me so you can have reassurance of a future that was not even certain! And we both know what an effect a holding spell can have on somepony's memories. You could have killed me!"

Celestia snapped, "But I didn't!"

"There have been numerous occasions that you sent me on a task and my magic faltered unexpectedly! I thought it had something to do with me! When it was you all along!"

"All that I have done it has been for you! I have sacrificed so much for you, and this is my repayment for that sacrifice!"

"Oh that's rich. Sacrificing a whole two seconds out of your daily schedule to teach a stunted student!"

"Will you stop going back to that! How are you so short sighted that you can't see what I did for you!"

"Oh I'm short sighted!..."

Luna felt a pain strike her head suddenly, Luna raised a hoof to her head to try and ease the pain. She felt one of the Nightmares begin to rise and spur to take over Luna, her physical form shifted a little bit and almost turned into her Nightmare form. But she fought back and shoved back the Nightmare. It cried out in her head, 'Come on! Release me from this prison princess! Let me end their tension at once!'

A chorus of voices suddenly rose in her head and she felt rage rise deep within her. Fury like she could not believe rose inside of her. The many voices talking at once rose her irritation to a level that was nearly unbearable. She uttered to herself at the painful headache, "Enough..."

Kill them

End their tension right now. Release us.

Darkness has taken them, let's end their pitiful misery.

"ENOUGH!!!"

Luna shouted at the top of her lungs, her voice carrying over all the noise and silencing the wind itself. Magic rose through her veins and filled the crevices in her eyes. Shadows steamed and rolled onto her form, offering their strength. Her eyes shot open and they glowed the same pale light as the moon. She hunched over and opened her hooves threateningly, Celestia and Twilight looking towards Luna in fear. The shadows rippled and rolled off of her as her magically enhanced voice cried out, "Enough of the voices! We have heard enough! You will not be freed! Not now! Not ever! And your incessant bickering is not helping!"

Her voice was sharp and could cut through the air like a knife, it echoed with three other voices behind it as if to raise the already ear piercing volume of her voice. Luna had never felt so angry, so furious in all of her life. They were friends...no more than that...they had a relationship that so many wish they have. That Luna wished she had.

Her breaths were long and drawn out, she presented herself threateningly. Something she had been known to do countless times. IF there was one thing that Luna knew what to do, it was present herself accordingly. She saw the fear in their eyes and slowly Luna stopped invoking the powers of the nightmares that resided inside of her. Their voices finally silenced and pushed back into the farthest corners of her mind. A place where they could relish in the dead light. The wind picked back up and the air no longer crackled with her deadly dark magic, magic that she stole. Her breaths calmed and her eyes returned their normal hue, trying to calm her restless spirit. Her body drenched in sweat. There was always a cost at using dark magic and hers was, at that moment, her wounds deepening and bleeding with more intensity. She grunted and keeled over. Almost losing her balance against the boulder. She looked and saw her bandages begin to stain red and a very light tan, showing the amount of dirt that seeped in and the blood that was slowly leaking out.

Both Twilight and Celestia ignored each other and helped Luna back to her hooves. Once she was standing she shoved them away and growled, "I'm fine."

Celestia was hurt by her harsh words and responded, "Luna? Luna what's wrong?"

Luna brought herself to the edge of the outcropping, raised a few feet off the ground and looked out trying to ease her troubled mind. She had to tell them now, there was no use in hiding it from them. Groaning as the pain rose again. Twilight inquired, "Who won't you set free?"

Celestia was quicker to the punch and answered, "Luna is the protector of the night, goddess of the moon, and caretaker of the Dreamscape. But there is also something that ponies don't know about that is also her domain. Death. She controls the spirits that pass on into the afterlife. In the beginning it seemed like a trivial thing, but soon it became more taxing on her. Physically and mentally. She was rapidly decaying away, she was dying. These were more powerful wounds than even I could heal. So she sought the help of different sources and eventually found out that she could sustain herself if she burdened the Nightmares. Deadly spirits that birthed shadow itself, ponies that terrorized Equestria for centuries. Eventually Luna collected them all and she uses their dark magic to control the streams of death. These Nightmares strive on inner conflict."

Twilight looked to Luna who kept their back to them and asked, "Then what's the problem?"

Luna crossed her hooves and took in careful breaths, easing herself into explaining. Eventually she was able to find the words to explain, "Before we were taken here, I met Concord in the Dreamscape. He twisted it and made it into his own realm. Changed and contorted it. His final passing gift to me was the Curse of the Fallen Angel, as he seems to take a liking to calling me, where I have twelve weeks to keep the Nightmares in check or..."

Her words faltered and she choked on the last part of her sentence. Not wanting to burden their already troubled minds with further worry. Celestia stepped next to Luna and asked, "Or what?"

Luna closed her eyes and tore her head away and said, "Or...I...die."

"Luna..." Celestia offered a tender hoof and said, "I didn't know. I never would have brought this up had I known."

Luna looked harshly at Celestia with tears swelling in her eyes and growled, "Would you have ever brought it up until now?"

"Luna-"

"No!" Luna shouted, briefly flashing her nightmare form before she calmed herself and sniffled, "No...Celestia...just no...don't...You care too much for Twilight to have told her that until now. If it wasn't brought up now, it likely would have never been brought up."

Luna looked over at Twilight and said, "And you need to find it in your heart to forgive Celestia for what she did. She, in every definition of the word, raised you. You cannot live a life of constant hate, or it will destroy you. Trust me I know."

Luna wiped her eyes and gathered herself and drew in a few calming breaths before she asked, "Phew...okay...now what is our next move?"