Equestria & Beyond

Back at the Castle of the Two Sisters, the two sisters sat in an upper chamber as the eldest finished recounting a tale of sorrow.

The moon alicorn couldn't help but shed a tear or two of her own, "I'm so sorry sister... I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions like that. I've just been so anxious these past couple days..."

"As have I, Luna. We were both were looking forward to being back there, seeing old friends, visiting some of the places of our filliehood... But now Lumeria is one more thing that monster has taken from us." Celestia spitefully spat.

"Do you remember playing in the castle there?", Luna piped up to brighten the mood.

The white alicorn smirked, "Indeed... you threw tantrums because everything was 'too bright'."

"And then that one time I eclipsed the sun just to make it darker!", Luna said amid giggles.

Celestia let out a hearty laugh, "Everpony thought it was the end of the world! It took me and Iggy plus mother and father threatening to ground you just to put the sun back in front!"

Speaking of celestial movements, Luna noticed noticed the moon rising through the window. It was strange seeing something she had done every night for centuries passed on to another. That was when she and Celestia had accepted their presumed fate. If I survive this, I'll never grumble about raising that thing ever again, Luna promised herself.

Her older sister rose to her hooves, "Well, I'm turning in for the night dear sister, are you going to watch dreams this night?"

Oh, that's right, Luna thought. She and Twilight still hadn't agreed whose job it was to watch over the dreams of Equestria's citizens. It was much easier managing things when one watched the day and one watched the night. Twilight had tried fulfilling both duties on her own before, with disastrous yet hilarious results. I suppose it wouldn't hurt if I stood sentinel this night, Luna said to herself as she stood. After all, she found something comforting in still doing one of the duties she had shouldered for so long.

Her horn glowed with blue magic as she entered the dream realm, a starry landscape where clouds and mists of ponies dreams floated about like a dancing nebula.

She was about to start her nightly journey at Canterlot like she always did when a thought came to her mind. He still has to sleep, right? I wonder if...

The spacial scene around her blurred as she scanned far and wide, over mountains and oceans, across canyons and through valleys. There. A single mind floated alone in an expanse almost devoid of light and others' dreams, vibrant with a magic menacing yet familiar.

Luna gulped as she approached the dream, terrible images of burning and destruction flashing across it's surface. She grimaced viewing the awful imaginations. What kind of pony would dream about this? Unless of course, they were... memories?

She entered the dream and almost immediately everything around her turned to black, the pained screams and consuming flames vanished. Even asleep, he must've realized her presence. Although usually at home in the darkness, this void was different. She could feel eyes everywhere despite seeing nothing no matter which way she turned. This shadow was not simply the absence of light, it was alive with a dreadful, crushing aura. The alicorn of the night couldn't help the instinctual fear that gripped her.

Like waving a piece of flesh before hungry wolves, a pair of eyes appeared in the darkness. These were not normal eyes. They glowed with white energy, void of pupil or iris. They belonged to a black feminine equine head with a curved horn, tears streaming down it's face, a blue mane waving in an unseen air behind it. It's muzzle opened, sharp edges forming teeth from the inky mass.

Luna cowered as it reared back to strike, she was about to break the dream spell before... it stopped.

She curiously opened one eye, the shadow pony struggling against the sparkling glow of yellow magic. Had Celestia followed her? No, this magic was a darker shade than her sister's.

Luna turned as the dark body around her parted ways, revealing a scrawny and tired-looking orange alicorn with a short red mane that was noticeably older and taller than herself, but both qualities just behind Celestia.

He cocked his head as he squinted,

"Luna?"

She couldn't believe her eyes, not knowing whether to jump for joy or cry.

"Iggy?!?", Luna said in disbelief. She leapt on the orange alicorn, who returned the warm embrace.

"I can't believe it's you!", he said, "You've all grown up without me!" the orange alicorn noted. His smile quickly turned back to neutral, "How long was I out?"

"Over two thousand years- I think. It's hard to keep track when you're sealed away for one of those millennia."

"Wait- what happened?", he asked concernedly.

"What happened to me? I should be the one asking that question!", Luna half-heartedly chuckled.

The orange alicorn looked away and took several steps backwards

"Ignius?", Luna said.

"You were young, so there's no way you could've understood everything that was going on. But-", he said looking back towards Luna, "You have every right to blame me for what happened."

Luna had seen these eyes before. She had seen them in the mirror. She hated living carrying that guilt with her, but it was even worse seeing the same happen to somepony else.

The moon alicorn approached her old friend, carefully placing a hoof on his cheek. He still refused to maintain eye contact.

"I know I do... but I refuse to. I've heard the legends and I don't believe them. All those horrible things... the others, that wasn't you. I've been stuck with questions all this time- please... will you tell me?"

Ignius remained silent.

"Look, if anyone understands how you feel... it's me, I-"

"How!? How could you possibly understand what I've been through?", the fire alicorn snapped.

Luna tapped his horn with hers, flooding his mind with her own memories. Growing jealous of her sister's adoration, turning into Nightmare Moon, watching herself fight her own sister and then enduring a thousand years of banishment on the very aspect of nature she embodied. But it wasn't over there. Her guilt continued to eat away at her until the Tantabus she held became strong enough to infect others through her own dream magic. The night that she finally renounced that guilt and prevented the Nightmare from entering reality.

The orange alicorn was speechless as his eyes began to moisten. The rush of images and memories quickly changed his tone.

"Luna...I- I'm so sorry, I had no idea... That's exactly what I was trying to prevent from happening."

The night alicorn lifted a brow, curious and concerned at the same time. She empathized with him since she didn't have to imagine how he felt at this moment; but as bitter as her own memories were she knew this alicorn had been through something far worse. They took a seat as he began telling his story, it was going to be a long night.

The dark expanse fell silent once again as the last word was spoken. The two alicorns sat somberly for a while before the dark blue one spoke up.

"I understand now", Luna said as she came to her hooves, "but what do the Nightmare Forces want with Equestria?"

"Celestia's sun magic more than likely. I gave up all control I had to her when she got her cutie mark. That, and..."

"The Nightmare I hold...", Luna said, holding a hoof to her chest, "I've been calling it 'Tantabus' all this time, but I must've heard you or one of the others use that term and it's all I remembered," she chuckled.

"It is still a Nightmare, but since it feeds on guilt and fear it's name would be... 'Nox' in old ponish. If Inferno assimilates it I can't imagine-"

Luna looked around at the swirling darkness, "What about this one?"

"You're lucky, it used to be much more crowded in here. This is 'Maeror', embodiment of grief and despair."

"Did it begin with you?"

"No, just from looking at it I think you can guess. It's all I have left of her now, just a shadow... However, I was the one that made it this strong."

"I'm sorry for your loss... I miss her as well."

"It's entirely my fault they're gone..." the orange alicorn said, watching the Nightmare shift back and forth above.

Luna looked down back at the fiery alicorn, "You were only trying to help, we both know from experience that holding on to the things we regret only makes them more painful."

Ignius sighed, "Even if I forgave myself, could you and Celestia forgive me?", he returned.

Luna paused, she knew breaking the vicious cycle of revenge through complete forgiveness was the right thing to do, and yet the pony responsible for her parent's death was right in front of her.

Before she could respond, Luna realized the dawn was breaking, and hurriedly said goodbye before the morning came, ending the dream spell. The alicorn of the night promised herself she would return, refusing to leave her old friend to fight through this alone. She had been there as well, as was not going to lose any more family.