Prologue: To Sleep, Perchance to Dream
All around her, Luna heard the screams of her subjects as they tried to fight back the horrors besieging Canterlot. She could see the flickering orange lights of burning houses through the stained glass windows of the palace, and she knew that most of those lights represented early funereal pyres for many ponies, unable to escape their homes in time, or else trapped in there by the monster assailing them. As if summoned by her thoughts, a skeletal griffon smashed through the window celebrating the ascension of Twilight Sparkle, shrieking in challenge. Before she could think to act, a beam of golden light smashed into the undead creature, shattering it and sending shards of bone everywhere. The source of the beam became clear as Celestia came running over to her.
"Sister! Oh, I'm so glad to see you safe!" Celestia threw her forehooves around her younger sister, nuzzling her cheek and sobbing quietly. "I've been so worried..." After a few moments, Luna pushed her away, offering a weak smile.
"I am glad to see you too, sister. I only wish I could say the same about many of our subjects." At the mention of the chaos occurring around them, Celestia sighed.
"I do too, Lulu. I do too." Before their conversation could continue, five more of the skeletal beings came crashing into the palace. Celestia could barely contain her shock and horror when the sisters realized that two of their attackers were ponies, one of whom was charred black and still smoking. Along with horror, Luna felt rage bubble up inside of her.
"They use our own subjects against us! Sister, we must do something about this! I will not let our precious ponies be twisted and warped in such a manner!" To emphasize her words, she slammed a hoof on the ground, cracking the stone beneath her. Celestia found herself robbed of words by the sight, and merely nodded grimly in response. Loosing a battle cry, the princess of the Night lunged forwards, blasting one of the griffins with a beam of silvery light, and smashing a second with her forehooves before she landed. The one she had blasted fell apart, but the one she had bucked started to pull itself back together, emitting a ghastly purple mist as it did so. "Maker!" She cursed, turning back to Celestia. "It seems that physical attacks have no effect! Sister, we must use our magic!" When the elder princess failed to respond, Luna tried again. "Sister! Do something!" Moments after the words left her mouth, she found herself tackled by the charred pony. Its bones were still hot to the touch, and she cried out as its hooves seared her side. That snapped Celestia out of her daze, and she shook her head.
"Luna!" She fired another beam of golden magic, smashing the pony apart and granting it the peace of death. As soon as Luna regained her hooves, she fired a beam of silver light towards Celestia. For a moment, the Sun princess feared that her sister had once again betrayed her. A fear that was put to rest as soon as she heard the angry squawk of the griffon that had been trying to sneak up on her as it was blasted apart. "Thank you!"
"Do not lower your guard, Tia! I cannot always watch your back." Luna warned, before spinning to blast the other pony apart. By the time the smoke cleared, the griffon that Luna had kicked had finished pulling itself back together. It looked around the room, let out a shriek, then fled through the window it had entered through. For a moment, Luna felt emboldened by the victory, and she ran after it. "That's right, you ugly sack of bones! Leave us, and our... ponies..... alone..." When she looked out of the window, all of her new-found bravado evaporated like so much mist. There, floating in the skies near the mountain metropolis, was an airship the size of which should have been impossible. It floated in the air, almost senely, even as it seemed to belch purple mist and skeletons. "Maker... There's so many of them..." Luna fell to her haunches as she watched the approaching cloud of the undead. "S-sister, what are we to do? We've only faced five of these things, but... the magical energy required to keep them down... I fear that we cannot defeat them all..." There was a wet sound behind her, and then a strangled gurgle. A new voice, one she did not recognize, rang out from behind her.
"Oh, yes, I do agree, Princess Celestia." The way the newcomer spat her sister's title left no doubt in Luna's mind as to their affiliation. She spun around, horn glowing with magic, only to stand shocked, the magic dissipating without her force of will giving it form. Celestia had fallen down, forehooves clutching futilely at her throat. Blood seeped from the wound, soaking her pristine white fur with a sheen of red. A skeletal griffon stood behind her, thin blade slick with the blood of her sister, simply radiating an aura of hatred and menace. As Luna stared at the blade, she started to see shimmering images flicker along the blade, runes meant to cut through any barrier. Magical, or physical. "What you can do, my dear Princess Luna, is DIE!" The griffin lunged forwards, blade extended towards the alicorn. She barely managed to dodge in time, the blade grazing her cheek.
"What? Who?!" Luna gasped as the wound began to burn, one of the curses on the blade sending waves of fiery agony through her body. The griffin snarled and lunged again, the remnants of what once might have been a bridal gown flowing behind her in a spectral wind. Luna managed to stumble drunkenly out of the way, feeling uncharacteristically sluggish. "I don't understand. Why are you doing this?!"
"Silence! I do not need to explain myself to the likes of YOU!" Instead of lunging again, the griffin summoned a sphere of purple mist and flung it at Celestia, who was now kicking weakly at nothing, her eyes bulging in her head. "Since you seem to be so stubborn, how about I give someone else a chance to kill you?" After a few minutes, the mist cleared. Celestia was on her hooves again, her rosy eyes glassy and blank. Blood was still streaming from her neck, but it was no longer gushing as it had earlier. The griffin snapped her fingers, then pointed at Luna. "Kill her." Celestia let out a sorrowful moan, walking towards her younger sister with an unsteady gait.
"S-sister?" Luna's voice was but a whisper. Celestia paused for a moment, and Luna allowed herself to hope for a moment that her sister was still alive and fighting. Then, the white alicorn loosed a beam of golden light at Luna. She yelped, trying to force her hooves to move. She almost escaped the blast, but it washed over her hindlegs, scorching them down to the bone and rendering them useless. Luna howled in agony, tears streaming down her face as she almost blacked out from the pain. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the husk that used to be her sister approaching, horn aglow to deal the finishing blow. Luna screwed her eyes shut, unable to stand it anymore.
"Wait!" The griffin called out. Celestia paused, the spell still lingering on her horn. "Bring her to me." The former princess moaned again, letting the spell fade and trotting over to Luna. When she reached the sobbing pony, Celestia grabbed the limp mane of the surviving princess and began to drag her back to the mysterious griffin. When she was deposited at the griffin's feet, she felt a claw wrap around her neck and lift her up. "Look at me." When she refused to open her eyes, Luna felt something impact her face. "I said, look. At! ME!" When Luna finally managed to pry open her eyes, she found herself face-to-face with the being who had so easily destroyed everything she held dear. "Tell me, Princess. How does it feel, hm?" The bitter hatred in the voice addressing her confused Luna even more. "How does it feel, to watch everything you love being taken away from you? How does it feel, knowing that you are absolutely powerless to stop me?" She could only moan in response. "Yes, I thought so." The griffin sneered at her. "I will have you know that I am not entirely cruel. I will allow you one last act of defiance, before I reunite you with your dear sister." The sneer grew when the griffin looked into her eyes. "Well? Go on! Call for help, cast a spell, try to run away! See what good it does you."
Luna felt her head droop. There was nothing she could do. Equestria was doomed. As her vision started to swim, those words echoed endlessly through her mind. Nothing she could do. Nothing she could do. Nothing she could do. "Well? Go on. I'm waiting." The words brought her out of her stupor, even as inspiration hit. Screwing her eyes shut, Luna poured all of her power into one last spell, in the school of magic unique to her. There was nothing she could do, yes. But... perhaps another could succeed where she and her sister had been powerless? So, she crafted a dream, detailing the events that had transpired, as well as inserting a desire to aid, a desire to prevent this tragedy. The, when she had finished her masterpiece, she released the spell. A wave of teal energy washed over the mountain as the power she had gathered was released. The world seemed to fall silent for a moment. Then, the griffin spoke again. "Well. I was expecting something ineffective, but I never thought that you wouldn't even try to hurt me." Luna felt something pierce her neck, and then it became impossible to breathe. The last thing she heard before the life seeped from her body was the griffin laughing as Canterlot burned.
Damien Smith awoke with a start, one hand rubbing absently at his neck, where the phantom sensation of cold steel piercing flesh still lingered, "Gods above, what is with this nightmare?" He sighed as he sat up, the blankets falling from his body to pool around the couch below. "Fifth night in a row, too." He groaned and stretched, hearing joints pop and crackle as he worked every part of his body. After a few moments, he pushed himself up and out of the couch, pressing a hand to his forehead. "C'mon, Smith, pull yourself together. 'S just another nightmare, that's all." He walked over to the window, pushing the blinds to the side to allow the sunlight in. For a brief moment, instead of the skyscrapers of his home, he saw the burning city of his dreams. He closed his eyes and shook his head. When he looked again, pale yellow light filled the room, courtesy of the sun above. All around, the glass windows of the sprawling spires blazed with reflected light. If he hadn't known that the light was artificial, he might have found it beautiful. Even as he watched, the city started coming to life, people going about their business. He allowed a smile to grace his face. "Heh. Home sweet home."